jonboy walton

In Somerset we had a few reports that the British Pike Squad were handling fish badly, I reported this to Mike Skipper. On a more positive note, despite the fact that, like most who post in this forum, I don't like pike matches, I have offered my regions services to act as stewards the next time a qualifier is fished in my area. At least this way the PAC can have some sort of control over the situation, not ideal but the best solution while these matches are going on. Jon Helyer RO Somerset Levels

Heard of several carp that have been found dead after injesting Fake mixers in my area, so it appears they cannot pass them though after all.... Most of my friends however have caught some big 7lb+ tench on fake corn, so I'm not arguing whether it works or not...

I've used Leslies a bit and have had a mixed response. The last few orders went okay, but my 1st order was all wrong! Tried to get a refund on one item worth £4, took several phones calls, e-mails, and 3 months+ before they sent me a cheque for a fiver! That was last year, but no trouble since then. It's not just the little shops that have trouble with big suppliers, the Tackle Box in Kent waited 2 months for some Monster Pursuit Fish from Nashy, and eventually I was advised to give up, I phoned Hinders and they had some! So there seems to be an element of luck involved.

I have tried using slack lines, but the drifting weed catches it every time! The problem is the weed actually drags on the bottom (this in 4ft of water) and backleads do pin the line as tight to the bottom as possible, also offering some resistance if some minor weed picks it up. I will try sinking the rods further under the water though. Jonboy

Is it true that with use, a rod gradually becomes softer? My carp rods are 14 years old! and don't seem as powerful as they used to be. How often do you change your rods based on this reasoning? Jonboy

Thanks for that lads Jonboy

I fsih a weedy canal where the use of backleads is essential, due to drifting weed. However, I have had several takes that have not shown up at the indicator end, despite fishing a tight a line as possible. I have picked up the rod, and the line has gone down to the backlead, and then shot along the margins, as a carp that has picked up the bait, swum in towards me, and due to the backlead, a drop back has not occurred. Is there any way arund this? Are light backleads better than heavy ones? Jonboy :confused:

Just added mine, no 735. Angling is long overdue to be back on terrestrial tv.... Jon

Jon I have to agree on many counts about your experiance with the EA. As a club secretary and PAC member, I have had much written communication with them over the last 2 years and I can say that only 15% or so of the answers that I have received have been in any way satisfactory. Sometimes they will do things for you, such as check out minor pollution incidents etc, but the reason they give for the fish kill can defy belief, and just leaves you wondering what really happened. Recently I wrote to them about otters, as they are starting to cause havoc in my area (Somerset). I sent them an e-mail with the facts, and got a reply saying that I was 'narrow minded'! At a recent AGM, when the subject of barbel stocking came up, an EA spokesperson at the meeting said that 'you can't stock barbel, the pike will eat them all'!. Comments like that make my blood boil. I have actually had more cooperation from British Waterways, and that is saying something believe me. Regards Jon

Howard Funny you should say the WSD. The friend that phoned about the otters started the conversation by talking about the West Sedgemoor. Apparentley the WSD has had it's worse season for carp catches ever. In fact only 2, an 11+(which I caught) and an 18lb 2oz have been confirmed all season. In 1997 as you probably know, Somerset had a continuous 4 days of rain which caused all the crops to be flattened and start rotting. This ammonia run off affected the WSD badly, but the Carp seemed to escape. However the next year, 1998 a mate of mine counted 30-35 dead carp floating in the water. The EA passed it off as a deoxygenation, which I thought was utter rubbish as no other fish died. Taunton AA restocked with carp (mainly small) and the next season my mate had over 50 doubles. However since then he has struggled to say the least, 17 trips for 1 carp last season and 7 trips for bream and tench this season, thats with prebaiting. I saw 3 mirrors in June up the Pincombe end spawning, but as for the rest of the carp it is a bit off a mystery. As for the otters, it was actually the Bridgwater and Taunton canal where they have been spotted, in several different areas. Jon :confused: :confused:

Fencing may work on stillwaters, but how do you fence off a canal or for that matter the Somerset Levels? If otters had been reintroduced 25 years ago no one would have batted an eyelid. However in 2003 we have 1000's of cormorants, the ALF releasing 10,000 mink inyo Southern England, a large increase in fish stealing, and in my area last year some asylum seekers were seen taking tench home in bags. Now is not the time to reintroduce otters on a large scale, especially as their main diet (eels) is also on a decline. Jon

Rob Thanks for your offer, I don't have any more info at the moment apart from the fact that otters are being spotted a lot more in Somerset than they were two years ago. The other problem is that due to an increase in the number of elver fishing licences the eel population has dropped in Somerset to perhaps 5% of what it was 12 or so years ago, eels being the otters staple diet. Jon

I sent the EA an e-mail detailing some of the reports that I have received, the reply was that I was very narrow minded! Not particularly constructive when you are a club secretary just trying to do your best for your members.... Jon :confused:

Bill Apparently the water in question has photos of every carp in it on a notice board, my friend took a photo of the fish that had been stolen and matched the photos EXACTLY. However this is not enough to get a conviction, you have to catch them in the act, something which is very difficult. Jon

Now don't get me wrong, I don't hate otters, it's just that around the area that I live (Somerset) they are being reintroduced, with disasterous consequences. i was informed last week of an otter caught with a 20lb+ carp in it's grasp. The carp was rescued and returned. Is this happening in any other areas of the country? Jon