msutton

I am thinking about buying a fish finder. Since I don't have a boat I'll need something portable and that has a good side scan which I can use whilst wading. The Fishing Buddy series from Bottom Line seem fairly good according to what I've read. They are priced quite reasonably. Do any of you guys have experience of these particular models. Are they worth saving up for? I cant find a thing on the differences between the two models so any help on that would also be welcome since they are over £100 different in price. Cheers guys

Is this what I want? a Roberts Lead Lifter "John Roberts Lead Lifters Simple but effective. Need to be tied into the rig for best results" If not, any idea where I can purchase these? The only reference on Google for "Tackle lifter" is this forum [ 04. December 2004, 11:33 AM: Message edited by: msutton ]

The water is extremely shallow. 60 yards out I am barely at the top of my waders. It very gradually gets deeper as it goes out so with an 80 yard cast from there I am fishing in slightly deeper water, maybe 5ft. Maybe I dont need to wade as far, but fishing in 2-3ft of water at this time of year isnt normally productive. Correct me if I am wrong [ 03. December 2004, 11:37 PM: Message edited by: msutton ]

Thanks, I'll get some of those, they will surely do the trick in the shallow water where I catch more muscles than fish!

Thanks Peter. How should I secure one onto the line? I'm using 50lb fireline through to a fox solid wire trace. So the distance from the lure to the paravane sets the depth for the retrieve? Is that correct? Sounds like an awful lot of line would need to be out for casting, if I'm fishing in 5ft of water and I set the paravane 4ft from the lure, I'll need probably 5ft of line from the tip of the rod when casting, when wading this could prove difficult with a 7ft rod. Or have I got it all wrong?

This question is really aimed at Peter Waller who appears to be an authority on the use of these devices when lure fishing. I thought I would post though so that everyone could benefit from the answer I am thinking about using these as I feel it may help me to fish my local water's shallow margins with spoons. I realise they life the lure on the retrieve but do they lift it so much it becomes a surface lure? I'm a little confused as to how it can give just the right amount of lift. Also, how does this affect the casting/action of an already fairly heavy spoon, such as the Kuusamo Professor 0? PS. Anyone who doesn't know what these are... they are paravane like devices used in sea fishing to life your terminal tackle over snags on the retrieve. [ 03. December 2004, 07:34 PM: Message edited by: msutton ]

I think I'm going to find another water. Wintersett is extremely hard going to be honest. Do you guys know anywhere else I could try around Wakefield? I did try sink and draw with a 5" firetiger shad, not a peep.

Forgot to mention. Last time I went, my mate, fishing along side me, hooked up twice in the shallow swim. Both times he used what he calls a predator lure. I've never seen these for sale. Obviously, typing that into google brings up everything so is anyone familiar with that style of plug? It's a shallow diver.

I think I am a walking disaster area when it comes to pike fishing. I set out at 9:30am this morning in the pouring rain, thermal undies on and raring to go. I started out on what is supposed to be a great swim. It's shallow, about 5ft at most, but the pike do seem to hole up there, even in winter. I went out around 60 yards from the bank and the water wasnt even over my waders. First out of the bag was a Mepps Aglia no.7. It's usually a pretty good lure. After 20 minutes of catching freshwater muscles and their home rocks I put it away and tried a 10" shallow diving plug in firetiger. Still nothing. Looking across the lake whilst nonchalantly winding in my crank bait I saw another angler wobbling with a small smelt. In 40 minutes I must have seen him catch 5 or so pike. I wondered over close to the swim he was fishing which drops to about 25ft. After 3 more hours I must have caught at least 20lb, of weed. Not a touch all day. I tried every lure I have, my tackle is balanced, I get 80 yard casts with certain lures and I've read plenty of books on technique. What am I doing wrong? This is my third blank in a row and I know I'm fishing the right spots since I've seen other people deadbaiting/wobbling and catching all day. Help!

Harris (www.harrisangling.co.uk) do copper/gold and silver spoons. I've just got hold of some lucky strikes and kuusamo professor's. Apparently they are awesome spoons. Postage is free too.

Im using 67.5lb fox braid at the moment. I chose it over fireline (my sea fishing favourite when used with a mag elite) as it has a more rounded profile which I find more suitable for coarse uses since it lies better on the reel, requiring less bedding in. Couple that with 178lb BS single strand wire trace (possibly a bit heavy, I might replace with 70-80lb 7 strand), and Im able to cast anything except those enormous Rapala display lures

I will be sure to lol

I just purchased the following: Lucky Strike Lizard: Gold Kuusamo Professor 0: Nickel/Copper Shakespeare Temptress: Orange/Chartreuse Cordell Riplin Redfin: Gold Muskie Innovations Spring Dawg: Lemon & Lime Storm Wildeye Jigging Shad 6"/42g: Shad Hopefully these will catch me a few winter pike. The shakespeare is a bit of a novelty, I simply liked the idea of the adjustable vane, it should be quite versatile. I'm looking into spinnerbaits. Not sure what to get yet.

I thought that since pike were mainly visual hunters (correct me if I am wrong), that they would need some kind of illuminated lure. If that is not the case I might try a rattler or something after sunset. If I can brave the cold that is.

A wholetail 6" herring drizzled with delicate mackerel and sprat jus served on a bed of lake weed accompanied by two firm treble hooks. Sounds like a brewers fare menu. What self respecting gastronomic Pike could resist? (Inspiration taken from post by Argll)

Here i go again. The sun tends to go down at around 4:30 at this time of year and I find it decidedly inconvenient since I can rarely finish at lunch time these days. I would love to be able to lure fish into the late evening. Is it even worth trying and if so, what kind of lure should I consider?

Have you tried any of the American online stores? Americans tend to be, well, larger than us skinny little Brits, mainly due to those square burgers at Wendy's (Yum). Might be worth a look on Basspro, Cabelas etc.

Oh goody, I am sure I can come up with some more questions then

I am going to try and obtain a map of the lake bed. That will give me more information. I suspect the fish are in the deep part of the lake which is not really accessible without a boat (or kite....). I am shortly going to try another water where the depth is more consistent. All lakes around here tend to be shallow though, so I'm looking at shallow divers which go to a maximum of 8ft on a fast retrieve. PS. Yay, this post makes me a regular! Hooray for me. [ 23. November 2004, 09:52 PM: Message edited by: msutton ]

I have a friend who has many thousands of them, he only uses 12 or so, most of which I have already added to my arsenal. So don't worry, you are not alone. Has anyone tried these Storm Naturistic softies? [ 23. November 2004, 09:35 PM: Message edited by: msutton ]

Can you guys help me out with the actual brands? I recognise the names of what you are suggesting but I can't find them on Harris. What brand are they all?

What kind of trolley do you mean, the kind to put your tackle box on when moving to the water? I tend to carry my tackle with me and I have a lot..! I've got a good product name for you though, call it "The Wife"

Any particular patterns I should be on the look out for? I'm certainly going to look at some lucky strike spoons, they seem to be well received by many people. Also the spoons by Kuusamo seem good.

I hope nobody gets mad at me for posting a few times on the same theme. I would like to know what everyones opinion is on pike lures for this time of year. I only have a small selection of lures at the moment and I definitely want to avoid going out and buying lures which I will never use. This lure thing is addictive! So far I have: 1) Rapala ThinFin (firetiger and perch) 2) Storm 6" Wildeye shad in perch 3) Zebco 8" rattler shallow diver in firetiger 4) Minnow spoon in copper/bronze 5) Shakespeare Big S in silver/black 6) Mepps Aglia (Mega) No.7 in Firetiger 7) Abu tobu in perch 5" 8) Abu Hammer in silver and blue 9) Abu Uto in green/yellow Is this a decent selection, any recommendations? My next purchase is to be a cotton cordell rattlin' redfin. By all accounts an amazing lure although a bit light.

Ahh yes, this was taken from the Ryhill local web site. I spotted that before. The reservoir has changed a lot since then and it is now huge in comparison. I have no idea how large it is but you can only just see someone standing at the opposite end to where you are!