Waveney One

Seems to me that you are asking for trouble taking a rod and line down to the river. What if people see you doing it, assume you are fishing and all go down at the weekend. As for cutting swims out, apart from the obvious path to a swim that may look as if it had been fished to passers by, one of the reasons for a close sesason was to protect nesting birds etc. What if there was a warblers nest in those nettles? Stay to the footpaths and leave your rod at home. How long does it take you to plumb a swim on a river for goodness sake?

A section 30 would be required and in addition to get a section 30 the pond/lake must be registered with the EA. I believe that all lakes must be registered under recent legislation but I can't find a link on the EA site.

There is a new link for this :- http://www.fishingmagic.com/forums/general-fishing/ One further point that I would make about the Angling Trust and the club that mushroom is setting up for tidal Thames anglers. They will also be protected by 3rd party liability insurance by joining the Angling Trust. It gives members of that club free 3rd Party liability cover so if a member should be unfortunate enough to hook someone on a back cast or crack off when casting a lead and injure a passer-by, either on the towpath or on a boat, then they are covered. So, if you regularly fish a stretch of 'free' water like that owned by the EA on the R. Yare just outside Norwich, or the Thames then form a club and get that club to join the Angling Trust. The benefits are there to be used.

If you were listening to Fisherman's Blues yesterday morning you would have heard a guy calling himself mushroom call in. One of the things discussed with Keith Arthur was how the Fish Legal Arm of the AT would be able to bring an action against Thames Water if the people who fished the Tidal regularly got themselves organised into a club that belonged to the Anglers Trust. Mushroom is now in the process of setting up such a club and to put your name forward see here. http://www.fishingmagic.com/forums/river-r...ne-else-28.html He wrote "Howdy chaps and chappess,s, I will be brief. Spoke to Keith Arthur on his radio show this morning, one thing led to another and I,m now trying to set up a club on the tidal Thames. Keith bless him, volunteered on air to be president. The idea is to join the Angling Trust, get Thames water prosecuted for the Mogden Lane pollutions,and laugh alot with fishy friends. I haven,t a clue whats involved, so any, and all assistance will be gratefully received. I am not looking to make any money, just feel better and laugh alot. Thanking you all for taking the time to read this post " Sounds like a very sensible move to me. Other actions that could be taken are to make representation to the authorities where they are restricting more and more access to the free fishing on the Thames. The only way to be heard is to act collectively as an organised body, they won't listen to unrepresentative individuals I am afraid.

Matthew with a carp Dominic with a bream

I have to say that the NACA and the EA do a brilliant job with their training. Dennis Willis is a great angler and coach as well. I must say though that the turnout could have been a lot better, perhaps that is down to advertising. I had three separate 3 hour sessions at the Suffolk Water Park in brilliant weather for the time of the year and those involved a total of 20 children. I am setting up a link for 2 photo's of fish and the youngsters who caught them.

It's because you come from Suffolk mate

I have seen this happen before on the Thames. I have also seen pelicans doing the same in Australia and I have seen perch and pike doing it on London reservoirs. They are definitely working as a team whether they realise it or not, but to me they do exactly what they are doing. As to the size of fish that cormorants will take, I saw one with a zander that was larger than the cormorant. It couldn't get the fish down its throat although it tried for over an hour. The zander was alive at first but eventually drifted off when the cormorant finally gave up barely alive. I eventually fished the zander out after it drifted to the bank and took it home to weigh, I can't remember for sure what it weighed now (maybe 3lb) but it was larger than I ever imagined a cormorant would even try and tackle.

Quite right Lyn. I don't know exactly what Andy's complaints are but as I understand it membership of the NACA is open to all. If I read Andy's comments literally then the NACA have the fishing rights to stretches of river and let no one fish there for conservation reasons. If that is so then it probably is a good thing for short periods. If he means that it used to be free fishing or at least just for the asking of permission and the old bottle at Christmas then I have some sympathy but I am sorry to say that in this day and age idyllic scenarios like that just can't exist any longer. Shame but there it is. The NACA do some very good teach ins annually and it is a part of the EA's remit to promote angling, a statutory obligation.

They probably didn't know tyhey were hooked but we certainly knew they were attached! Great memories mate.

How about the Thames or the Walthamstowe Reservoirs. Having said that, if Peter H is not experienced enough to know where to fish, in my opinion he should stick to smaller fish first and learn some basics.

Hi mate glad to see you are still keeping people on their toes! Zebra mussels are a new curse to these isles that you would not have encountered before you left. They grow in huge bunches like their salt water cousins on rocks, smallish stones even, lumps of wood anything that is stable and in the water for long enough. I have even seen them covering a rod and reel that couldn't have been in the water all that long. They certainly don't mind attaching themselves to wood in the water. They are blocking inlet and outlet pipes for power stations and at reservoirs and costing hundreds of thousands of pounds all over the northern hemisphere now. Apart from their ability to cut line like a pair of scissors a further problem is that being filter feeders they are making rivers run clear for 99% of the time and lakes almost 100% thereby making or very hard fishing. They are very small but certainly I have seen them larger than any pea I could grow! The really strong braid is quite normal for lure fishing for pike nowadays as well. As someone mentioned one of the reasons being that you can pull some enormous snags in with it or if the snag is immovable then the lures hooks bend

I think that you missed the point Alan. I haven't a problem with commercial fisheries per se, just that it was largely pressure from them and stupidly enough, the tackle trade and anglers, that got the close season lifted on lakes and canals. I wasn't referring to matches at all, most commercials probably see more pleasure anglers than matchmen who restrict their visits to maybe 2 or 3 days a week whereas they are open 7 days a week. What I was meaning is that because of the demise of the close season, all the jobs I normally get done are now no longer done at all! Worse, I have lost the anticipation leading up to June 16th that I used to have. I couldn't sleep for a few nights leading up to the great day. You could say that 'Why not impose your own close season?' a good question and to be honest at first I tried to. I have only visited commercials for a few years, preferring to stick to rivers and traditional species. Trouble is I have no self control when it comes to fishing! I just can't get enough of it. That is why I took up fly fishing and trout fishing in the first place, just to get out fishing during the close season. I have travelled to the ROI and Holland to fish, to Lincolnshire when they abolished it but we hadn't down here in Suffolk. I am a junky when it comes to fishing. It was like like banging your head on a wall for 3 months, not enjoyable at all but knowing that eventually relief would come and you ould go fishing and no one could stop you. I even got my sister to change her wedding day from the 16th June to 23rd!!

And I for one can't wait - but it doesn't hold the same thrill for me that it used to. In the days of the old closed season, by now my tackle box would all spick and span. Hooks would have been tied, reels oiled with new line on, groundbait cleaned off rod handles that would have been washed down and if necessary even had a little rubbing down with a piece of very fine sand paper. Floats would have been made and old ones would have been checked over for cracks and splits. New pole rigs would have been tied and all the old ones stripped down and retied with new line. I would have been sea fishing and trout fishing - not a great deal as it was expensive but I would have gone. I might even have got around to doing a bit of decorating at home. I would by now be spending time walking around the local lakes, pits and rivers looking for potential swims that I missed the previous 2,000 times I walked around fish spotting. Anticipation would be high and I might even start becoming a little tetchy! Now, none of these things have happened, I have rigs in my dirty and grubby tackle box that are at least 8 years old as they were tied specifically for the last Div 1 National that I fished. The rod handles are caked with groundbait that probably if you got down to the bottom layer would be 5 or 6 years old! I haven't spent 1 minute fish spotting as I am too busy match fishing. I haven't been trout or sea fishing since February. My wife is complaining that the grass looks too long and as for decorating, well she has to do that when I am out fishing! I used to really enjoy the anticipation of the new season. I miss the break and tackle shops don't sell coarse anglers the sea fishing and trout fishing gear that they used to. We have a generation of anglers that have never used a float or any other form of bite indication other than a buzzer. What have we allowed ourselves to be talked into!! And all in the name of profit for commercial fishery owners! Rant over.

Congratulations to all those involved. 10 years is a long time to keep it up as they say!!

It also depends upon the depth of the water that the fish are hooked in and of course the tackle. Hook a summer pike on a lure in the shallows of an Irish lough and they fight like crazy. A larger carp hooked in deep water in the winter is no comparison at all. Alternatively, compare a carp in shallow water in the summer and a pike in the winter in deep water on a dead bait rig and they change change places. Not a question that can be answered with a definitive answer of course. It is all very subjective.

I have fished their waters on the upper Trent in the past and they were very enjoyable. Some nice proper river fishing.

I can understand people misunderstanding my comment. What I meant was that specimen carp and pike fishing shouldn't be for beginners. I certainly wasn't trying to imply that anything else was less of an achievement, only that beginners should start at base camp and work their way up to whatever specialisation they want or indeed stay fishing for all species and enjoy the sport and satisfaction to be gained by that. Variety to me means everything. Personally neither large carp or large pike appeal to me in the slightest but if that is where these youngsters wish to end up then for them it would be 'the pinnacle' but it should only be after an apprenticeship with other species and varieties of angling. That way they learn to appreciate other species and understand that a bream, tench or barbel on the right gear not only gives a reasonable account of itself but is just as much fun. Only then could they call themselves an angler and be in a position to decide what type of fishing they really want to do and enjoy. I hold an opinion that a lot of the guys who start out fishing for large carp and nothing else soon give up the sport and never return. They quickly become disillusioned and it is bad for the sport as a whole.

With the longer pole then a longer line in the wind. Also a large back shot can steady the rig considerably.

That would be a shame gozzer, but surely that is cutting off your nose etc.. There are plenty of natural venues around that suit all types of fishing and whilst I have some sympathy with your views I would be very unlikely to ever give fishing. I say that even if for some strange reason it were made illegal I wouldn't be able to hang up my rods! I have fished ditches with a few sticklebacks in as a kid and if necessary I would do the same now. I fish the fly for trout on reservoirs and natural rivers and I fish in the sea from the beach, pier and boat so I am sure that I will always be able to fish so long as there is someone good enough to push my bathchair out of the home to a suitable location.

Must have been the Severn in its heyday for barbel worms - Do you have any hair left at all now mate

I think it unlikely after 4 years though!!!

If they are all stuck in the main section there is an easy and danger free way of getting them out. Personally my first approach would be to give it a bang on a carpeted floor, on the bank if I get one stuck (it does happen because I haven't cleaned/dried them properly when I put them away) I bang it on my boot. Never caused any damage. If that doesn't work, what you need is and 'expanda bung'. I believe they come in different sizes now but the one I have fits the larger pole sections. Insert it into the first section that won't come out and tighten it up slowly. The rubber section will expend slowly and grip the inside of the pole then you just pull it out. You will probably find that there is some dampness or perhaps even grit somewhere inside which you should have with a new pole. To stop it happening again, make sure that you clean and dry it before putting it away and a good polish with furniture polish will help as will rubbing a candle on the sections, that should help those sticking.

I would say it was the vibration rather than the noise that moved the fish. Water transmits noise and vibration better than air. The fish would feel it through their lateral line and find it uncomfortable. Remember Mr Crabtree telling Jim not to stamp and shuffle his feet on the bank! Having said that, fish do have hearing and their inner ear is attached to the front of their swim bladders in the case of most cyprinids. I have seen the surface of a lake erupt with sounding fish when someone carelessly slammed a car door. Why on earth didn't you move on? I wouldn't have wanted to fish there with all the noise and disturbance.

What I will say is when using it and playing a large fish, let the elastic do the work. Don't lift the pole high in the air but keep the tip low and with a slight angle to the fish. Make sure you don't point the pole directly at the fish as the top set can be pulled off. Keeping the pole long slowly ship the pole back when the elastic is retracting and once you have got hold of the top set then you cna lift the fish to the net. Try lifting 6 or metres of pole into the air and you are asking for a breakage.