msutton

When I first came here I received a lot of help from Gerry who provided sound advice no matter what angling mess I had got myself into! He was always kind and patient, a thoroughly decent man who will be sorely missed in our community. RIP Argyll.

I usually go with a huge bunch of maggots on a size 12 or 14 and half a ton of loose feed (not literally). I've gone through a gallon of maggots in a days barbel fishing before. It's important to keep the feed going (without a line in initially) so the fish build up confidence. Sometimes I'll just feed fish rather than attempt to catch them. It has long term benefits to your chosen swim. Important not to overfeed them though. Freelining helps with shy fish but I'd only do this if you are certain of what you are doing and the outcome if you get it wrong.

You really need to distinguish between the species more. Each one requires a different approach. Whilst obviously you may catch a 30lb pike on a spinner designed for perch it is fairly unlikely. Fishing for perch and trout is more alike. However, you will find they prefer different colours and different times of the day. For trout, I think you can't beat trotting a worm on a small float, but small spinners can be fun too. For trout I'd get an ultra light rod and reel (unless in a still water known to contain large pike), for perch I'd go medium (chance of a pike is higher) and pike I'd go for something that is up to the job, such as the kit I suggested above. Peter Waller is FAR more experienced than me, but I've got a few fish to my name now, and with each one you gain vital knowledge. I find the evening is very good for Pike. I've had up to 6 fix in a session whilst my buddy had 15+ (we lost count). Nothing massive in the last couple of weeks except for one which snapped his 50lb wire and got away...looked like a warthog on steroids and ate half of another jack I was reeling in. Best of luck.

If it wasn't for pike most coarse fish wouldn't last long in a natural environment so how anyone can dislike them is beyond me. But... If I had to choose one fish I disliked the most it would be Roach. They are the most annoying species ever and devour the baits I put out for Tench when I'm in the mood. Don't get me wrong, a 2lb+ fish is a welcome catch, but I wish they were born that large instead of the tiny 4" fish I get taking my luncheon meat and corn meant for Tench! Oh..and eels, they poo on you. I don't like moray eel's either but for a different reason. If anyone has ever caught one, you'll know what I mean. And angler fish are kind of scary too. Whilst not a fish, Octopus aren't my favourite either. Up in Carradale over deep (ish) water, I had one take a fish bait and cling to the boat for about an hour until I beat it off with an oar. Come to think of it, there really are quite a few fish I dislike. But when I'm about to blank, I'd be happy with a Mako shark on double maggot if I could land it.

It seems the main species are unique forms of trout, carp, barbel and some others which I cannot translate. Im thinking a worm bait might work. I've also found details on another smaller mountain lake. Now that would be something as none of these places are ever fished by anglers with a rod and line. Apparently crayfish are in abundance too so Im thinking a small trap just for food purposes. It's legal there, unlike here. Imagine, 1300sq km of lake never fished. heh

Hi all, I'm going to Armenia in August at the height of the summer and I aim to do a spot of fishing in the worlds largest alpine lake - Lake Sevan. It is 2,000 meters above sea level but I'm still going to take my rods! I have no idea what fish might be found there but I know it is popular with fishermen locally. Can anyone recommend a way of tackling such a large water reasonably effectively? I'm thinking lures as it's certain to contain something large I'm sure. Water temperature even at that altitude is about 19-22C in summer so what kind of species might lurk there? I don't suppose anyone here has ever fished it though have they or knows someone who has? Help! hehe

Argyll's suggestion is a good one. I go to Denmark fairly often and usually pick up my Abu and Landa stuff there. They have a much larger selection in their tackle shops. eBay always seems to have plenty of older Toby patterns for sale though. There were quite a few this morning actually. Oh, and please call me Martin everyone. I only chose the "msutton" name because I couldn't get "Martin".

Nope, just 30lb to date. It's doing OK so far but I havent really tested it. Largest fish was 6lb on the new line.

you certainly can beat fireline, the other line you're testing beats it soundly To me, Berkley Fireline is the daddy of braids. I find others to be too thin in general. I've tried all sorts and I keep going back to it. It's simple line and performs very well, particularly when fishing near snags or other abrasions as the extra diameter makes it more resistant imo.

As a fairly new lure angler myself I'll just tell you what I've got in my bags since starting out. I've had a fair few fish including some big ones so I'll share the benefit of my research I hope you find the list useful. Most of my lures are very well known and generally perform well, but of course I have my favourites like any angler. Be careful though, some lures look better to an angler than to a fish, and buying them is addictive (*gulp*). For the equipment, the top entry for each category is my jerkbait outfit, lower one is for medium lure fishing. Lures are listed in no particular order, check weight is suitable to your rod when buying any lure. Rods: Shakespeare Powerplay 7ft 2pc jerk bait rod Bass Pro XPS Performance Graphite 6ft 1pc Reels: Abu 6500 CT Mag Elite (High quality reel with tremendous power - also used for beach casting) Quantum Accurist 501CX Line: 50lb Berkley Fireline (You cannot beat it.) 30lb PowerPro (In testing at the moment...) Traces: Fox 176lb solid wire traces with standard swivels. Joe Bucher 90lb 7 strand wire with berkley swivels. Surface Lures: Heddon Crazy Crawler (Red/Yellow) Bass Pro XPS Walkin' Frog (Brown Tiger) Arbogast Hula Popper (Frog) Heddon Zara Mouse (All colours, weedless - discontinued) Heddon Moss Bros (Roach, weedless - discontinued colour) Crankbaits Shakespeare Big S (Silver/Black) Shakespeare Temptress (Orange Burst - these are crap imo...) Abu Terminator Sinking 28g (Red/White) Cotton Cordell Ripplin' Redfin (Black/Gold) Cordell Thinfin 7g (Perch and Firetiger - a bit light for my rod to be honest) Spinner/Buzz Baits Various from Luremania.co.uk Spoons Abu Garcia Toby (Perch) Abu Atom (Blue/White) Abu Hammer (Silver/Blue) Abu Uto (Green/Bronze) Rapala Minnow (Silver) Rapala Minnow (Bronze/Black) Rapala Minnow (Silver/Green) Lucky Strike Lizard (Silver) Kuusamo Professor 0 (Silver/Bronze) Johnson Silver Minnow Weedless (Perch) Spinners Mepps Aglia 5 (Fire tiger) Mepps Mega Dressed Aglia (Fire tiger) Soft Baits Muskie Innovations Spring Dawg (Lime and Lemon) Storm Wildeye Shad (Perch) Storm 6" Shad Jig head (Herring) Accessories Long forceps (almost useless as fish are hooked well with lures in general - still nice as a backup) Strong pliers (Stanley from B&Q) Strong wire cutters to cope with big hooks Soft (wont hurt fish) but grippy gardening glove Camera type bag to keep lures in when fishing Plano tackle boxes for spare lures Thigh & Chest Waders - Neoprene Spare traces (at least 3 in my bag) Reel lube Small sheath knife (very sharp to cut braid in emergency) I didn't include a landing net because I don't use one. But if you have never been taught how to glove a pike properly then a landing net is essential. An unhooking mat is also a good idea unless you are sure there is plenty of soft grass at the venue to unhook the fish on. Thats about all I can think of just now. There is probably a bit more, but thats most of what I have. The kit has been worth every penny, I really enjoy lure fishing. Best thing is, you can take the wife/girlfriend too as they like a walk around! [ 12. June 2005, 07:47 PM: Message edited by: msutton ]

Snatcher might have just come home from a club! it's about the right time!! hehe

Then I'd say that 8lb is a decent weight! Same as catching a 20lb'er in water where a 40 lurks surely? I'm not good with carp fishing stuff but the maths work. Looking at it that way, you've already caught a 20....but from the wrong lake. hehe

Im sure it's possible for you to do that From what I have read, alot of it depends on the waters you fish. That 8lb'er might be a huge fish for the water it came from. Whereas, if you fished my local lake, a 20lb fish would be average-good. Good luck in your quest!

It's massive compared to your previous personal best. Thats all you can do I guess, continue to break your PB until you hit the elusive 30lb mark. Everyone started somewhere. I've never caught a carp over 5lb, so you're beating me already. Then again, there's always this mornings fishing coming up..!!

I often take a hip flask in the winter but a "hip" crate of lager is a different proposition, unless you've got big hips of course...