Ken L

Pike fishing in the "closed season" is no problem whether you use lures or any other method, just so long as you stay away from the rivers and SSSI's. If you must chuck lures in running water (I usually manage at least a couple of sessions before the season opens), you can legitimatly spin for trout. Lure choice is restricted, as is choice of swim and there has to be a viable population of spotties to target but it's hard to beat a mid May session on the river. If you know where to go, there's some good trout on the Severn and Teme (we've caught and returned them to 4 1/2 pounds) but the chub pike and perch can be a definate nuicance

Hey, that's a bit good. Have you tried one Nick ?

Did you by chance sit down on a pointy stick to have the photo taken ? It definatly looks as if you got snapped in the middle of a nasty suprise.

What a tit !

There appear to be three options for converting slides and negatives to digital files for storage and display on a PC: 1. Go out and buy a scanner for £350 - £700 - Very expensive when all I want to do is convert my uncle's photo's of me, my brother and my cousins from when we were kids. 2. Use one of the compainies that offer their services on the web - Sounds good but I'm wary of sending off prised family photos (that arn't mine) to an unknown company where I may or may not see them again. 3. Try one of the digital camera adapters that seen to be available and simply photograph the illuminated slides one at a time - A complete unknown. Has anyone actually tried doing this and can anyone make any firm recomendations for companies that offer this service ?

Nothing interesting to add, I'm just playing with trying to post that picture again. Well, I can see it. What about you guy's ?

It all depends on the method that I'm employing and the water that I'm fishing. Also, just becase a water holds pike to 30lbs, it doesn't mean that I'll be specifically targeting the big fish.

That's the least of your worries. WD40 has the opposite effect. It reduces surface tention and makes things slip straight through the surface film of the water. How do I know ? Well, speaking as a man who sprayed half of his dearhair pike flies with WD40 to make them float........ Never mind, they floated again after a good wash and a dose of vaseline.

I'm with Chesters on this one. Go home ! Having had mild hypothermia twice and severe hypothermia once I have no wish to repeat the experience. It's insidious and deadly and even if you're well wrapped up, it can happen with suprising speed.

S'ok. What works for me may not suit you and vice-versa. This is a coarse forum though and although I agree that there are times when heavy gear is needed because of the conditions (sadly, not often because you're likely to hook big fish), most of the time, anyone with a decent pike or even carp rod can have some fun with the bass.

My beachcasters no longer see the light of day. When I'm on the coast and not chucking lures, I use a pair of 3lb TC pike rods that'll happily chuck a 3oz griplead and a decent bait a fair distance. I stick one in a stand and can hold the other all day. I see bites that others would miss and actually get to enjoy a scrap when I hook a decent fish. In calm conditions, I'd willingly drop down to a carp rod and have happily used both a match rod and a little feeder rod in the past. There are times when powerfull rods and heavy leads are needed but summer (bass) fishing from a British beach isn't one of them.

A local tackle shop. I've not been in one of those in years unless I wanted to buy licences. I assumed that you got them here: http://www.tacklebargains.co.uk/acatalog/V...Selections.html The big grubs are half way down the page. The AC clones are here: http://www.tacklebargains.co.uk/cgi-bin/sh...ehtml%23a97#a97

Interesting that you don't have problems with line twist Peter. Does that apply to the shads as well ? I ask cause I've got a bumper fun bag of 9" shads that I ordered accidentally a while back. BTW, I believe I've found your suplier of those monsters and have to say that I'm suprised that you went the full Monty and got the 40cm XD version of the lure when they also stock the slightly more sensible 30cm SD version. Personally, I like the look of their "AC Plug" clones made by Salco. I know that the original plug had a fantastic reputation for big fish but have you tried these ?

http://www.esox.co.uk/new_page_63.htm

Many thanks guys. All downloaded as suggested. Mind you, I'm a bit p'd off with PC World 'cause yesterday their website was ofering a 320 Gig Toshiba branded external HDD for £89.95 but it was out of stock for net ordering. By this morning, they had the same HDD back on sale for £130 and miraculously, it is back in stock.

Shred it up and make a nice light ceasar salad. Don't be doing the bottled sauce thing though, get a nice Romain lettuce and go wild with the raw egg, parmesan, garlic etc. Alternatvly, make up a big batch of turkey, mushroom and vegetable #(Ok, leftovers) pie filling with a cheasey sauce and either make your self a pie or stick it in the freezer.

My entire CD collection has been ripped and stored on my PC for a couple of years now, with the little silver discs being religated to a box in the loft. Now, HDD's are getting bigger and cheaper and I'm seriously considering doing the same thing with my DVD's. Can anyone recomend any DVD ripping software that will allow me to rip DVD's from several regions, in both NTSC and PAL formats and then manage and play them simply (through a TV) without any significant loss of quality ? Also, is copy protection an issue and can it be sidestepped ?

Likewise. I still do the occasional trip out to the coast to target the bass, pollock and wrasse on lures. It's a bit annoying though when you travel down from Birmingham to Devon or Cornwall, spend £25 a night in a B&B, then cough up tourist prices for drinks, snacks and a pub meal only to find that some local wideboy who's working whilst drawing benefits has drapped gill nets all over your favorite bass marks and cleaned them out. As said, these trips are now only occasional 'cause I'd rather spend my hard earned and use my annual leave on a trip abroad, knowing that I 've got a good chance of decent fish.

If I can get the photo to upload, this was Scott's best fish. YES ! It worked. My first photo on AN.

It does lok like the lure has been tossed up the bank after loosing it's tail. There are indeed some idiot anglers in the world. You can tell that they're stupid and thoughtless 'cause anyone with a brain would have removed and re-used the belly hook or even welded a curly tail on in place of the paddle.

I'd just like to take this seasonal oppertunity to wish every forum regular (as well as the newbies and lurkers) a very merry Christmas and a safe, happy and prosperous new year for themselves and their loved ones. Chears all, you're the best bunch of mates I've never met.

Ah Newt, I can see that you're detirmined that bass fishing tactics can and will catch pike. You're right, they will but one thing that's going to do your head in is trying to pull a hook through a Texas rigged plastic worm when the latex has been peirced by 15 or 20 pointy teeth. Same problem with your Scumfrogs and similar lures only more expensive.

I had a few Manns Buzbaits and a couple of smaller ones of unknown origin. I worked them to death (I didn't have many lures at the time) and yes, I caught fish but there are MUCH more consistent catchers on the market for the same sort of conditions and they do take up a lot of valuble tackle box space. Personally, I don't rate buzbaits at all. Spinnerbaits are of course a totally different proposition. Newt. If you're out to make a point, you're certanly comming at the right time of year. May and June would be my favorite time for surface lures on stillwaters.

Personally, I wouldn't hang them at all unless it's very cold and if they were shot, that applies twice over 'cause the pellets often pass into the birds gut allowing bacteria and all sorts of other delightful stuff to leach slowly into the flesh. Pheasants are a bit small for roasting and carving so I don't bother trying to pluck them. Just lay them on their backs, cut them up the middle, take both breasts off, push the skin off the legs and then remove the thighs and drumstics (snip though the lower legs once you've cleared the skin of them) and just chuck the rest of the carcass in the bin. Give the skinless portions a good wash and either bung them straight in a casserole or poach them, let them cool and strip the flesh off for pies and the like.

Personally, I'd have doubts about the integrity of a plastic lure that was glues together. Almost without exception, comercially made hollow plastic lures are cast in two halves, have the wirework and any rattles etc inserted and then the two halves are ultrasonically welded together in a purpose made jig - Glue doesn't get a lookin. Wooden lures can be drilled and rattle chambers can be added if you want to really play and of course there are loads of little glass and plastic rattleing thingies (I belive this is the industry standard term) that can be added to jigs and soft plastics. If the aim of the enquiry is to save a bit of dosh by building lures then I'd suggest that Neil has a look at buying bodies, split rings and hooks seperatly and doing his own assembly. There are lots of supliers but this is a good place to start: http://www.barlowstackle.com/fishing-lure-bodies.html