Jim Gibbinson

I suspect that the main cause of mouth damage is simply due to repeat captures i.e., fish getting caught too often. Repeated injury (which is what a hook-hold is) will result in ulceration, and it that doesn't get a chance to heal it will result in erosion (producing the awful parrot-mouth look). As others have said, lower-lip hookholds are less damaging than side-of-the-mouth hookholds. I suspect the problem is exacerbated by long-shank hooks as they provide the potential for more side-to-side movement when the direction of pull is altered while a fish is being played. I'm not sure where I stand on the barbed/barbless debate. Certainly barbless hooks are easier to remove, and probably cause less UNhooking damage, but how they compare with barbed hooks while a fish is being played, I'm uncertain. A big benefit of barbless hooks, of course, is that there is more likelihood of a fish that breaks the line subsequently shedding the hook and with it the rig, trailing line etc. In summary, the only way we'll stop causing mouth damage is to stop catching them.....

I have not found that the shape of the lead makes much difference as regards hooking carp and tench - I'm not even sure it makes any difference at all. Nor does whether it is semi-fixed or running. Nor does whether it is inline or fished pendulum style. My concerns with regard to choice of lead are threefold: - it should enable tangle-free casting - it should be compatible with the bottom (eg., you don't want a lead-shape/pattern that will bury in silt) - it should enable accurate casting - it should have minimum fish-scaring effect (i.e., be as light as circumstances allow) Safety considerations are a separate issue, and apply whatever shape/pattern of lead is chosen. Of more significance when it comes to hooking fish are such aspects as presentation, size relationship between bait and hook, hook size, hair length, hair material, hook-link length, hook-link material(s)... and others that apply in specific circumstances (not forgetting free-feed situations, of course).

Different lines have different qualities. Depends if you want high BS in relation to diameter, high abrasion resistance, tolerance of favourite knot(s), low memory, floating/sinking qualities or suppleness. Doubtless there are other characteristics people might want, but they are the main ones - coupled with reliability, of course. Unfortunately, no line embodies all the aforementioned qualities - it's necessary to establish one's priorities and choose accordingly. What is very important, though, is to conduct bench-tests rather than rely on manufacturers'/distributors' designations. Worth knowing, too, that the same lines are sold under different labels - I've known instances where anglers have condemned one label while praising another, without realising that the lines were identical! Batches vary, too. I've even known situations where a line has changed completely due to the manufacturer altering the "recipe". As I said, it's important to conduct one's own tests - I test every bulk spool I buy before using it. And there's no universal "best line" - the old cliche "horses for courses" applies.

A pleasant surprise to see several contributors to this thread recommending light-ish rods. I was beginning to think my brothers, son, friends and myself were the only ones who thought this way! Trouble is, there is a very limited range available of carp rods with a test curve of less than 2.5lb - this is due to carp anglers having lost the plot with their erroneous perception that rods of 3lb-ish are generally necessary. Fact is, 2.25lb test-curve will suffice for 95% of carp in 95% of UK waters - and yes, that includes long-range fishing. As an incidental point, big, heavy reels are unnecessary, too. Heavier rods only become necessary when - as stated by others here - heavy Method balls are being hurled any distance, or when thick weed and/or snags are an issue.

I'm with Maidstonemike on this one. Well put. As for eating mullet..... when I was a teenager I took home a mullet that I caught from Southend Pier. Cooked by my mother (an excellent cook), it tasted awful. The best way I can describe it is that it tasted like fish that had gone "off", even though it was fresh out of the sea. Whether my mullet was typical in this regard, I don't know - I've never wanted to repeat the experience. All the mullet I've caught since have been returned to the water. But then all my bass are returned, too - and they ARE good to eat! In the end, I guess it comes down to altruism rather than culinary qualities.

Elton, I don't rate your chances of catching eels in February. Even March is "iffy". April is okay, but then you couldn't fish rivers (not with rod, line and hook - although you could employ non-hook bobbing/babbing techniques) due to close-season regulations. I don't want to be unduly pessimistic, but I think the likelihood of catching eels to order in February is the poor side of highly unlikely!

Julian, if you are talking about big fish, then it's true that there are very few undiscovered waters around. Anglers who are willing to lower their sights somewhat will, however, find a lot of untapped potential. I can't speak for other parts of the country, but here in the south-east, where I live, most rivers and drains hold carp, but fishing tends to be confined to specific locations. Most stretches of most rivers/drains are neglected - they may not hold many carp, and the fish they do hold may not be particularly big, but in most cases it's a 99% bet that those carp have never been hooked. The point I'm making is that the pioneering spirit and sense of discovery that existed back in the 50s and 60s, and to an extent the 70s, can still be experienced today. It means foregoing the "privilege" of adding one's name to the list of those who've caught Big Scale, Split Tail or whatever........ But some of us reckon that capturing such fish is a pretty dubious privilege anyway! Unexploited still waters are harder to find - but even they exist. My policy is to look for waters that lie in the vicinity of high-profile big fish venues. Such "Cinderella" waters, as I call them, tend to be overlooked. Night-fishing bans and boilie-bans also contribute to neglect. They're out there - you just have to have the confidence to take a risk.

I've used Delkims since their introduction; in all weathers, too. Likewise brothers Rick and Martin. Between us we've clocked up countless hours in sub-zero conditons. And as I said before, they've never missed a beat.

You gave me a smile with that, Den! Re. the original subject - it isn't necessary to go back to a bygone era to experience something exciting and fresh, simply try a new and different sort of fishing. Anyone who takes up a (for them) untried form of fishing will, in effect, become a beginner again with its accompanying hunger for knowledge and experience. So, if you've never cast a fly, or stalked chub in an overgrown small river, or fished for pollack off the rocks, or trotted for dace, or float-fished the margins for tench, or worked a shallow-diving plug over subsurface weeds, or........... well you get the picture. Give it a try.

Crabtree..... wonderful stuff. I consider myself very fortunate that, in angling terms, I was brought up on Bernard Venables (via Mr Crabtree) for inspiration, and Dick Walker for instruction.

Notwithstanding the fish being held at arm's length and photographed with a wide-angle lens, it's clear that the perch is colossal - it looks every ounce of 5lb-plus. Good quality picture, too, with the fish in perfect focus and the angler in satisfactory focus. Beautiful colours on the perch; absolutely magnificent fish. I'm rarely envious of other anglers' catches, but I think I'll make an exception in this case!

Yes, at the budget end of the alarms market, those produced by Good Fishing are very good.

I don't know if the aforementioned rumour regarding Solar alarms is true, but my advice whenever anyone asks me about alarms is to buy Delkims. I bought mine from the very first production batch (can't remember when that was, but it was a good many years ago), and in all that time they've not missed a beat. I know, too, that in the unlikely event of any of them developing a fault, Delkim offer a first-rate after-sales service. Other alarms may come and go; Delkims go on for ever!

Does anyone know how to prevent jelly-worm/lures from deteriorating? Mine are in serious danger of morphing into a gelatinous "glob".

The fish to which I referred was, according to the report, caught in the Medway.

In the readers' catches section of a recent issue of a sea fishing magazine (might have been Sea Angler), there is a picture of an angler holding a mullet, the weight of which is given as 9lb 6oz. Did anyone else notice it? Any comments?

I've only caught a handful of big perch - but then I've only fished for them on a few occasions. My most recent big ones (spring '05) came from a corner of a farm reservoir where I'd spotted perch bow-waving as it/they chased fry. The next two trips, fishing the same spot, produced a big perch on each occasion. They fell to legered dendrabaena. My perch fishing in that water was brought to an end by piranha-like small tench (herring size) which made the use of worms impossible. I couldn't resort to livebait because the controlling club doesn't allow their use (I wouldn't livebait anyway). I could have used deadbaits - and did consider it - but got diverted by fishing elsewhere. So my advice, Sam, would be to try to locate where perch harass small fish (look especially in the water's corner swims), and offer them a legered worm.

£75 for a thermometer............ I wouldn't even want to take it out in the rain, let alone chuck it in snaggy ponds!

This is probably a daft question, but why don't barrow manufacturers equip their products with solid rubber tryes? Or am I missing the point?

A friend of mine uses the Nash 4-Play. He's used it for estuary shore fishing (mullet), and in freshwater for pike and roach. He's very pleased with it. He reckons it's well designed and well made - and as he lectures in engineering, I reckon he's well qualified to comment. I've not used one myself, but I've seen my friend's in use and I agree, it looks good. It's very light and user-friendly, too.

Mr Beef and Andrew, thanks for the replies. Mr Beef, the sealant you mention seems as though it is exactly the sort of thing I am looking for - I shall track down a source. Andrew, I'm greatly reassured by your experience. Thanks to you both Jim

I've been given a tackle barrow for Christmas (Chub Transporter model). The tyre, as on most barrows, is pneumatic and therefore, I would imagine, subject to the risk of being punctured (given the nature of the terrain on which it will be used). Has anyone found a solution to the problem? Two possibles occur to me: carrying a spare wheel, and/or carrying some Tyreweld. I've heard of pneumatic tyres being filled with decorator's foam - anyone know anything about this? Anyway, any ideas from those who have encountered and solved the problem would be appreciated.

When I read the first few posts, I intended replying to the effect that the so-called "minority" of angling cretins are, in fact, the majority. But as I read on, I saw that others had made the same point. As Maidstonemike wrote, it's the minority who behave responsibly. Sad - infuriating, too - but it's true.

Polly, I'm not being rude, but if you don't fish big waters, why do you need a bait boat? Come to think of it, even if someone does fish big waters, why do they need a bait boat? Just asking....