Brian Carragher

Very true which is why having asked the question I'm interesed in real opinion based on experience rather than making any comment myself All replies very much apprieciated

Phone Looking to buy 2 pair, one at size 9 for me and one at size 12 for my lad (aged 16) think hes stopped growing at 6ft 4" or I'm in trouble when it comes to buying him a new bed, some very good products mentioned so far but the only link I can't open is your outdoor link as the works laptop has a strict content lock on it that stops me Derri boots have been mentioned to me but I'm a bit dubious about the stiffness/thickness of the sole being an issue on long walks Funny how the one boot, the TFG , which I initially fancied but was put off by a bad review comes out regulary by anglers who use them, a few comments on a local forum to me have also reccomended the TFG boot as being very good I've got the welly type boot which I use with insulated socks and get real good grip and traction but they're not really a winter option when theres snow and ice and scummy slippy banks to contend with as cold muddy crap stuck to a welly type soon freezes on the boot and gives you cols feet and toes. Ankle nip and rubbing is a bit of a problem on long hikes to the bank and some of mine are 3/4 mile walks along the bank as access is difficult on some of the stretchs I fish so I would prefer a tight ankle fit if possible

Well after years of using moon boots warm that they are, I'm looking to buy a couple of pairs of boots for me and my lad Ideally I would like a high boot as in a proper field boot type rather than a hiking/walking type boot that just covers the ankle, waterproof is an absolute neccesity and lined to insulate against the cold Anyone got ant experience of good or bad or a particular make to look out for and buy, don't want any think these are good type responses but real practicle experience from users of said boots After the last weekends slipping and falling on my ar*e a few times and previous winter experience of poor traction and grip with moon boots its time to give the field boots a whirl I like the look of the TFG field boot, nice and high for good ankle support but the only reviews I've seen are poor as they appear to let in water, some of the hiking/walking boots are'nt much better despite manufacturers claims and the Maver ones look like heavy wellies with fur liners so which ones are the best, high boots are a preference given that I'll be plodging about the banks and margins so don't want my legs or clothing getting soaked under my waterproofs Any thoughs or comments or suggestions

My favourite bait for a big chub is a big fresh dead minnow on a size 6 fished through the upper and lower jaws, kill them first because if you fish them live on a leger they just dive under stones and hide

Surprised you have'nt had a bit more interest in this yet, maybe a quick bump will help For those on here who fancy a meet they will not be dissapointed with this part of the coastline, its got the lot and I know these meets cater for the absolute beginner right through to the more advanced yakker, safety boats and insurance what more do you need

Well I had a real good day yesterday and fancied it again today but wimped out Was'nt the roads or the driving that put me off just wimped out on safety grounds, yesterday was bad enough with the slight thaw melting the surface making walking river banks trecherous but the added snow on top later in the day just made it downright dangerous More snow overnight on top of freezing conditions and steep uneven riverbanks and a pacey river made the decision quite easy, was going to take my lad with me today so the right call was not to go, the quick thaw we're going to get today and tomorrow will just about goose our local river for a week or so, just hope it'll be right for next weekend

Saw something today that I'd never seen before Big predator attack among the bait fish and the prey were jumping clear of the water, one jumped clear and landed on the ice alongside the near bank, could'nt reach it though

If you post this in the coare section I'm sure you'll generate a lot of interest

On the river for 7am this morning for a spot of piking and don't think the temperature got above minus 2 all day , there was a money nearby looking for a brass welder Had two very nice fish out though in terrible conditions to fish in

He'll be up to his nicky nacky noo's in no time

I'll be on my local river tomorrow but theres ice in it already

If I'm fishing a jointed lure I prefer a smooth retrieve but I do alter the speed of the retrieve to see if it makes any difference but if I'm fishing a solid lure like a Big S I do pull the lure with the tip and then retrieve just taking up the slack so it gives that jerky look to it You can wind down really fast and hard to get your diver down to different depths, more than the box will say and then keep a slow but steady retrieve and you'll fish a constant depth till you're under the rod tip when your lure comes up in the water Sounds like you've already got the angles covered, river lure fishing is no different to canal work, just work out where you think the fish are and try and get your lure into that zone and you're more than halfway there

For your chub and perch I would say a Big S type size or even that lure would be my first choice followed by a jointed lure of 4/5inch trying different colours to see what bthey preferred A decent pike will still take a smallish lure and the hooks will generally be in its mouth whereas real big lures will present a bit of a problem trying to hook up with chub

The rivers I fish have pace so its pointless casting upstream as your geaars on top of you in no time and you get a big bow in the line that you struggle to keep up with and generally snags up As Budgie I cast across and down or at slightly upstream at about 80 degrees to the current that way my gears fishing straight in front of me when its down in the water, the pace in the water is generally enough to make the lures work but only with lures lighter than about 1.5 oz. If you just rely on the current to work your lure then it just goes deep and snags you have to work the lure as soon as it splashs down Fanning your casts out and across helps with chub location but most pike are taken along the margins anyway where a simple downstream lob works best, you can cast out to wards the middle and let a floating diver come right round to your bank before you retrieve and it'll work its way right up your bank under all the overhanging trees and bush's where you can't quite cast to Before you start chucking big heavy bottom crawling lures around I prefer to use floating diving lures to get a feel for any snags or rocks that I think might be there and if confident enough use a bottom lure then, too many sunken trees in our rivers up here to risk a £20 lure first cast If you're fishing for chub then don't avoid the upper part of the water as they often hit lures on or just under the surface, if sub surface lure fishing for the chub you often feel a "hit" or "pluck" before the fish takes,thats when I reckon chub are trying to stun your lure before returning to eat it, if you feel those and sometimes it feels like a punch or a bit of weed on the hook, I slow down or stop before I start retreiving again and thats when chub come back for another go

Aah Teesside, Gods country If you're looking at spinning rods then you might want to look for rods that can handle 3 or 4 oz lures, not many can and you might want to have a look and feel one in the flesh to see if it will do what you want, shark rods are a little different in that you won't be casting anything any distance more over the side and let the tide drift out your baits, depending on the size of the shark you could be looking at a 40lb class rod or so maybe 30lb depending on the species You'll need some wire for traces if you're targetting shark as you'll get bitten off with ordinary mono aand if you're looking at spinning rods as a preferred option then you'll be better off with a fixed spool reel rather than a multiplier If theres more tuna and dorado around then you'd obviously be better off fishing for them given the greater numbers but spinning or lure fishing for them will be the way forward and the gear for them will be easier to scource but for sheer adrenelin the sharks will do it for you even if theres not so many of them You might be better looking on some of the websites that cater for the Southern American sport fishers as thats the type of gear you'll be looking for and a lot of it is'nt available in the UK due to its slow take up or demand, some of the Bass Pro spinning rods will be designed to be telescopic or multi section and will fit the bill , worth having a look at Cabelas as well

Is it his birthday then Barry,it does'nt show on the bottom of the page, you got some secret info? Does'nt appear much these days which is a bit of a shame as I like to read what he has to say, if you see this Steve keep posting as your thoughts and comments on RSA issues and politics have been missed

Would Dave Lumbs Bait Blasters be any good for catting, they're available in 3.5lb tc but i think he does heavier tc's in other ranges, all on harrison's blanks

Pike fishing there from the bank is pretty much useless as the crays are on your deads as soon as it hits the water, you can pop your deads 4ft up on long traces and the little bu**ers just swim up and murder them, when theres enough weight of cray on your bait it sinks and gets destroyed in minutes, piking on Ken is about knackered

Some come pre loaded with zonal maps and they're no use over here unless the internal mapping system actually covers the UK If the map works by means of a NT Map or C Map cartridge then you can buy a machine fly it over and buy a cartridge with the mapping you want and use it over here no problem

That would have been Cyril Close, if they could'nt beat him they were determined to nobble him One thing thats not been mentioned so far is the wasp cake itself, don't throw it away, use it as a ground bait, chub love it as much as the grubs

Brilliant bait and if you walk in the woods you can often see where theyve been dug out, smoke disorientates them but poison is best but it doesnt kill them all so be ready for them Do you know any pest controllers or anyone who works for the council doing the same job, would imagine theres plenty of call for wasp nest removal in Edinburgh, you just need to get hold of the right bloke

It only works out cheaper if it comes through customs undetected, if it gets picked up you get stung for import duties and VAT and a handling fee and depending who delivers it, they won't pass it on to you untill you've paid them the excess first. That can sometimes be a bigger combined bill than buying one direct from the UK. The other problem is with guarantees, unless it has the EU stamp on it your guarantee is worthless in the UK as the UK dealerships won't honour American guarantees I get my electronics from here http://www.jgtech.com/index.htm

When you actually challenge some of the Eco zealots who tell you you're wrong and/or mad to be eating sentient beings and we should all be eating lentils or pasta, they get very defensive and almost refusnick in accepting that in order for them to be a veggy, millions of fish have to die in order to make the fish based fertiliser that goes into sustaining their veggy existence They make hypocrites look like saints

Fresh coarse baits fish better than their frozen counterparts but if you're preparing your own to freeze then providing you do it right and exclude all the air from the bags before freezing then the properly prepared freshwater frozen work very well, given a choice of fresh deads or frozen deads I'd go for fresh dead freshwater every time I'm lucky in that i can scource fresh sea baits quite easily, mackeral herring scad and big big launce (sandeel) but generally when it comes to sea deads providing you take the same care in preparing them for freezing then it makes no difference whatsoever

Don't use mine in freshwater but do use one at sea in depths of up to 30 fathom, 60 yds or 180 ft in old money,only one brand LOWRANCE