Jump to content

msutton

Members
  • Posts

    84
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Posts posted by msutton

  1. 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.

  2. 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.

     

    :)

  3. 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.

  4. 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.

     

    :)

  5. 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

  6. 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

  7. 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".

     

    :)

  8. jeepster:

    jeepster:

     

    Line:

    50lb Berkley Fireline (You cannot beat it.)

    30lb PowerPro (In testing at the moment...)

    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.
  9. 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 ]

  10. 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!

  11. 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..!!

  12. Sadly I overheard one guy in the pub last week was boasting how he simply tears the hooks from fish, lips and all when he goes to his local fishery.

     

    I wish he'd named the water thats all I can say.

     

    It's a sad state of affairs when people feel the need to do that, all it takes to disgorge a fish is about 10-20 seconds.

  13. Had a day float fishing last week at one of my local club still waters. I fancied a break from piking and I decided to set off with my heaviest float rod and do a bit of tench fishing.

     

    First cast was 7:30am and the lake was already full of people fishing (mid week too!). I decided on a Drennan 1.5BB waggler shotted mainly around the base to 3lb main line. Size 16 barbless hook and a nice chunk of Plumrose luncheon meat. I was laying on about 3 inches.

     

    I forgot about groundbait but in the end this probably worked to my advantage as the fish seemed to hone in on the loose feed much quicker.

     

    After about 10 minutes my float bobbed.

     

    2 minutes later it started to move off very slowly in the opposite direction to the surface drift.

     

    After a quick flick of the rod tip I was into my first tench of the year. A 7 minute scrap (on 3lb line) saw me land a 3lb 2oz fish in beautiful condition. Not bad for my first ever catch on luncheon meat in 15 years of fishing!

     

    The rest of the session saw roach to just under 1lb, perch to .5lb and numerous other small tench and bream. All on meat.

     

    For all the pleasure I get from piking, it still feels amazing to catch tench of any size especially on a totally new bait.

     

    I'm getting up at 3am (4 hours time) and heading down to the same lake for first light. Can't wait. I'll post some pics if I get a decent fish as the wife is coming this time as camerawoman!

     

    I guess I'm a lucky man if my wife is getting up at that time to come fishing, do your wives/husbands do that guys?

     

    :)

     

    BTW, do any of you rate Van den Eynde Expo for tench? I've heard it works well but never tried it, I tend to use Sensas Lake for a cloudy still water which smells great - even to me.

  14. Last week I sat there and watched two guys downing an entire crate of lager and talking/shouting extremely loudly about their infidelity with the local bar maid.

     

    After what must have been 12 beers each and looking very unsteady they packed up, leaving rubbish everywhere, got in their car and DROVE away.

     

    If I'd had my mobile I'd have phoned the police for sure. It's not acceptable to spoil the day of other fishermen by drinking and leaving litter everywhere, never mind the drink driving.

  15. Hi all,

     

    I'm taking the wife down to Norfolk tomorrow for a couple of days and we want to do some fishing.

     

    Can anyone point me to a good spot for a bit of pike fishing, maybe on the broads? It needs to be day ticket though.

     

    I once fished Blickling Hall as a kid for small stuff, amazing fun. Anyone know how this venue fishes now? If it's doing well I might even chuck in a float rod or two.

     

    Hope you can help!

     

    Cheers,

     

    Martin

  16. Oh and Peter, thanks for the site link but they don't have the pattern. It's so frustrating!!! I think it must be an older colour scheme.

     

    I might contact Abu directly about obtaining some. Time is running out though because plugs will be the best lunch soon....

     

    :/

  17. The pattern is a sort of brown orange and flourescent yellow.

     

    Oh, and my mate just had a very large fish out of our local water with one of them. He says it's possibly a 30 but I'm waiting to see the pics and do a size comparison on one.

     

    Off to the pub now for the gossip!

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We and our partners use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences, repeat visits and to show you personalised advertisements. By clicking “I Agree”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit Cookie Settings to provide a controlled consent.