Ian FG

good stuff rudd, thanks mate. I think I will give the carp another go when I have tired of the river and need the thrill of striking and feeling the rod bend right over...no other feeling quite like it is there?

Thanks for that chesters. I went down the avon (2 minutes walk)and fished a feeder and caught all sorts(about 8 different species), a bite a chuck. Not as thrilling as a 7lb carp but non-stop fun and you never know what you are going to hook next. The thing about carp pools is you always know what you are going to hook next (carp) and they are just a bit unnatural compared to the river..hmm...mixed feelings but I think I like the river best.

Nice one Pangolin. I remember Alf Tupper. Anyone else got a favourite comic character? I used to love Q-Bikes (I think they were called) and what was the name of that boy who controlled a minature army with some weird radio control wrist gadget thing?

Summers that lasted for ever. Night fishing for bream with a bunch of mates. Cycling everywhere. Comics. Watching your friend's brother drive off on a BSA Thunderbolt with a bird in a mini skirt on the back.....the sound and the smell (of the bike). Beer and fags were considered GOOD things and were calling us. Women were from another planet and we were curious about that planet.

Thanks guys, I am pretty sure we were all fishing on the bottom and using corn or meat, perhaps my float etc. was too heavy, like you say spodrokit I will need to play around with it if I ever go back to that place. The GOOD news is my new house is a few minutes walk from the river Avon so I really should join the local club and fish there. I had a walk along there this evening and got chatting to a pretty decent bloke who was catching well. He gave me good advice on the local style of fishing. In the past I nearly always fished for tench in gravel pits and rivers and ponds stuffed full of carp were unknown to me. The other good news is I don't have to buy a pole *phew*

Hello everyone, as you can see I am a newbie. I have made a few experimental posts and even got the hang of adding pictures but have no idea how to add a pic next to my name. I have recently moved out to the country and have taken up fishing again after a few years lay off. I went to a small day ticket water yesterday which was bunged with carp (is this what is known as a commercial?) ……anyway I caught a few small carp and one not bad one but missed hundreds of superfast bites. I had my waggler tip very low in the water and I kept my rod in my hand and applied ultra-concentration and still missed the buggers, very annoying! What was even more annoying was a couple of guys on the opposite bank hauling them in like they had used dynamite. They were using poles, a thing I have never owned, but can poles really be that much more effective? Please don’t tell me I need to buy a pole…I wouldn’t know where to start.

Beats me mate, sounds like you will need to cut the line off with a stanley knife or summat.

Sorry ben88, that sounded a bit harsh, it weasn't meant to be. I used to have a red ABU Garcia closed face years ago, a atrange reel and the "closed face" bit used to fall off, normally about 1 second after hooking a fish. The best place for bits to fix your old reel is probably ebay, especially the American ebay.

Ben88, I doubt it is a 306, that was a saltwater reel. There is a whole world of antique fishing tackle out there. The Mitchell 300 is collectable because it was the Rolls Royce of fixed spool reels once. However, for it to be worth anything it needs to look like this beauty! This is my own (never been used) 300, I have other (even older) ones for fishing with. When I wer a lad we used to dream of Mitchell 300’s and it is a sad sign of the times when young uns have to use them “as a last resort”.

travel light, keep moving, respect the fish, eat one occasionally.

If you have ever had a barbed hook in you you would never dream of putting one in a fish.

Absolutely as new condition with box and paperwork might get you 60 quid.....otherwise a tenner tops.

Apparently I only have to work for one hour on Wednesday. That's EVERY Wednesday mind!