yog

Budgie,Bruce and Walker blanks are not to my liking!!!!.I much prefere Harrison.Alot of the B&W blanks were made in a warehouse about 5 miles from my house .My nextdoor neighbour used to work there years ago and when he gave up fishing due to a bad back he gave me 2 of his rods both B&W. SHOCK HORROR..i didn`t like them,bloody horrible action and the quality of the blank was nowhere as good as my harrisons.

Polands rivers are devoid of fish................I KNOW BECAUSE I`VE FISHED THERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The trouble with us Brits is we never seem to do anything about anything until its to late.

Richard,i can assure you THIS IS happening.Here in the Fens they are driving about in organised gangs. They are using GILL-NETS. Only 2 weeks ago i was verbally abused and threatened with an iron bar.This is just one isolated inccident.Friends of mine have also had run-ins with these immigrants using GILL-NETS. I witnessed 2 bin-liners full of dead coarse fish. And yes,i had a visit from 2 EA intelligence officers.Whom admitted that they know about these so-called gangs,it was just catching them red-handed that was the problem.Manpower for them was the main issue.

Here in the Fens immigrants are a big problem in that they are using gill nets to catch their fish.I know this because i`ve witnessed them using them on 3 seperate occasions.The last occasion 2 EA intelligent officers visited my home.This was mainly due to me being threatened both verbally and with an iron bar.I wont go into detail or i`ll be here all night but i caught these blokes at 5 AM in the morning using these illegal nets.Beside their white transit van were 2 bin liners full of coarse fish.This is just one inccident among many here in the Fens.I explained to one of the immigrants [who ,by the way could speak very good english] that this practice is now illegal in this country.But he and the rest of the gang just didn`t seem to bother.Educating these people is completely laughable,as i can assure you they already know the law. If something is not done this country in time will be like the rivers and lakes of poland...devoid of fish!.

When i`m using cheesepaste or similar i now use the Drennan teflon coated Barbel hook for Chub. For Roach i tend to stick with the kamasan hooks in sizes ranging from 14 to 20 depending on bait and method.

I use harrison rods nowadays.There is nothing flash about the rods cosmetics.But the performance is absolutely spot on.And they`re British made!! Which is something of a rarity nowadays!!!!!!. IMHO Harrison rods are probably the best rods you can buy and offer superb value for money.

I`ve had a couple of items of them in the last couple of weeks and both items were delivered in 3 working days,so i`d definately use them again.

I agree something has to be done but not purchasing a licence isn`t the way to go.The only people it would effect is ourselves,which is a tad stupid,dont you think.The best way to gain attention,is through an organised march in central london.There is power in numbers,and always will be.Any march in central London,is bound to attract the national press,and better still the TV. I`m sure Mr Keith Arthur is an accomplished angler,and is highly regarded by some,personally i do not think he is an influential spokesman,he is extremly arguementitive when someone else has a different opinion,he is completely "one-sided" ..and no other river seems to matter apart from the Thames!!!!!. But Keith Arthur has also missed a big point [very conveniently] regarding the licence issue...which seems ironic considering.......Thames Water has the largest number of licence dodgers in the WHOLE country!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Personally,i really think its down to the individual and especially the type of venue that you fish.I have two Barbel rods and fish for Barbel on a regular basis and both rods are 1.5tc.I find both these rods are more than adequate for my needs,even for snaggy swims.I can understand anglers that fish large snaggy big rivers such as the Trent need to use a larger tc rod,but i`ve seen anglers use these 2lb+ tc rods on my local rivers such as the Ouse and Ivel,there is just no need to use such a powerful rod.

OOOH OUCH..Its just not the JW rod that i`ve not been disapointed with,i`ve found through trial and error that alot of masterline gear is way behind alot of its competitors as far as quality goes.For example i`ve had line,floats,lures and even a couple of spinning rods,that i`ve been disapointed with.One particular spinning rod lasted only 4 trips before it split at the tip.So sorry, i do not rate masterline gear at all.

I have both the jacket and trousers.A fantastic bit of kit.100% waterproof and warm. As for the price i paid £99.99 for both items!.You`ve got to shop around for the best deal.Just do a google search,or as i did find a "buy it now" price from ebay.

I agree with steve the rod to me also feels "dead".I replaced mine with a Drennan specialist duo [sECONDHAND,60QUID].This is far a better rod.Brand new alot more expensive,but there are plenty of good second hand ones knocking about.Another "Avon" style rod worth considering is the TFG "river and stream".I`ve owned mine for a couple of years now and cannot find fault with it.Its now my no1 chubbing rod.

I must be the only bloke on here that doesn`t like the JW.I owned one for a while and replaced it with something i consider to be of better quality.The reel seat is not the best of quality either.Be careful when tightening as the cork has a bad habit of splitting,as i found out twice!!.The quiver tip section is also to be frowned upon.The tip section where the quiver inserts,isn`t the best of quality. Just because its one of the best selling rods of all-time,it doesn`t mean its one of the best rods!!!!!.There are plenty of Avon style rods out there in the same price bracket,but of far better quality.

Pike,Grayling and Chub for me,but lets not forget Roach,i have had some fantastic winter Roach fishing on my local River Nene,using hemp and tares.

Bugger!!,a mate and myself have just booked up at Timsbury Manor for the following week,shame that would have been nice to meet some new faces..all the best anyway.

The Okuma Aventa Pro pin,,top dog,,a great bit of kit for trotting,i wouldn`t hesitate in recommending this reel.At first i was very scepticle when they first came onto the market,but curiosity got the better of me,and i bought one,i`m glad i did.

I`ve enjoyed using my pin in various fishing situations,although not an angler who regular fishes for carp i do enjoy using my pin for close in work.With this i team it up with my 1.75 Barbel rod [TFG].I have caught numerous carp over 20lb using the pin and find it great to use.When targeting Barbel i change over to my beefed up float rod [fox],and when trotting for species such as roach,dace,grayling etc,,my pin teams up with either a drennan drx,or a map ultra-light...Just out of conversation i recently purchased the new Okuma Sheffield pin..anyone who is thinking of buying a new pin,take a look at these bits of kit,they are a fantastic reel for the money.

Blimey,,lets see,a tough one this!. Like most anglers on this forum i enjoy a bit of everything!!.From fishing for Zander on my local Fen drains,to trotting a stick on a small backwater in search of Roach and Dace. I suppose its got to be in 2 parts [is this allowed!!].In winter my fav method would have to be quiver-tipping for Chub,and in summer trotting a float for whatever species i`m targeting at the time.

Jerry,I have the Korum carryall,been using it a few months now and its a great bit of kit,extremly waterproof and ideal when roving.The tackle boxes which you get with the bag are adequate but i`ve replaced mine with my "chub boxes" as they are of better quality. But this is a minor gripe,and the bag as a whole is exellent,very well made and durable,well worth the money.Regards.

You will not go wrong with the TFG river and stream mate,i`ve had mine since they came out and for big roach,perch and chub they are superb.Alot of Avon style rods tend to be 12ft,but i prefere 11ft due to the small rivers and backbrooks i fish.Even though its under-gunned for big barbel fishing i safely landed an 11lb.4oz barbel with this rod whilst chub fishing.

Cheesepaste is my 1st winter chub bait,i`ve had tremendous success using it over the years.I do tend to try out different cheeses,but my fav mixture is gorgonzola and Red leicester,before mixing add a teaspoon of olive oil and a few drops of pure garlic oil,it stinks like hell but the results are rewarding!!!.Also when using paste try the Korum paste coils they really are a great bit of kit.

Without doubt mate,its definatly worth travelling a few miles to the Fens.The 20 and 40 ft drains are only about just over an hours ride from where you are.Both these drains hold a healthy head of Zander,even though location is definatly the key.Dont dismiss lure fishing for Zander,this can be very productive on its day.I`ve caught several Zander whilst lure fishing at night.But one word of warning be very careful at night whilst walking the drains as alot of these drains have very steep banks,and the last thing you want is to fall in!!!!!!!!!!!!

Cheers for that mate,i`ll do that,i have been looking over the last few weeks and 99% of whats been advertised is made of wood,which isn`t really what i`m after.To take your point about "farting about",i did just that 3weeks ago when i missed out on a 12ft flat bottom ally boat complete with trailer and outboard for 750 quid i couldn`t decide so rang up next day,the bloke sold it that morning..what a bummer!!!!.

Peter,i`m going to have the same trouble here.As you can gather from my previous thread i live in the Fens,my "main" two drains being the 40ft and 20ft drains,along with countless others!!.I`m sure you will be fully aware of the utter steepness of the banks.Of course there are reasonable places where i can launch a boat safely from but the places i have in mind are few and far between,and to be honest it would be alot safer if i took my mate along,which is the intention anyway.But it will become quite difficult when the time arises for me to fish alone.Nevertheless i`m still looking forward to it!!!!

What a fantastic boat mate!!.That certainly looks the business.That was roughly the size i was thinking off.I suppose my budget will be around the £1000 mark give or take?.I have been doing a little reading and i agree with what you say regarding the welded aluminium option.Thanks again for a very informative thread,this certainly has helped.Cheers.