Nutshell

What a wonderfully unbiased and historically acurate account of French military history that list is. Whatever floats your boat. Funny how some people seem to forget the importance of Russia in helping to win the war too. As for today's pupils not studying WW1 and WW2... When were you last at school?! That is practically all they're taught in history classes these days! ------------------------------ quote: PC exists to balance out the bigots. Britain is obsessed with political correctness. Now, before you nod enthusiastically in agreement and start dusting off the hilarious rubber gollywog hidden away in your loft, I'm not referring to the necessary and useful corrections to prejudice that have been made in the name of PC over the years. What I mean is: Britain is obsessed with the idea that PC is a conspiracy, a hurricane of embittered, lefty oppression determined to strip us all of the right to speak as we find. It has resulted in a terrible, cultural black hole in which only Marks Thomas and Steele are funny, goes the argument, and to make up for decades of imperialism, all white Britons should leap over the cliffsof Dover in a futile but poignant lemming-style suicide/apology. And yet, not everything that happens to us that we don't like is because political correctness has gone mad. Some of it is because things need changing. Brace yourself - but some of the old ideas that we call "traditions" are rubbish. The clearer, better, computer-generated BBC weather reports are not a PC trick. Neither is the fact that both Julian Clary and Graham Norton are on BBC1 on the same night (it's a mistake, but PC it ain't). Some gays and Asians and Muslims and disabled people pay the licence fee too, so would the straight, white, able-bodied, Christian, PC-phobic majority just shut up for a bit? (Don't worry, another ethnically cleansed Only Fools and Horses or EastEnders will be along in moment or two.) Accusations of politically correct thought control have become a pathetic and transparent excuse for lazy racists, sexists and Islamophobes the land over. Challenging PC has become a game of chicken for bigots - daring each other to run out into the busy PC motorway and say something stupid before dashing back for cover. Who will dare to go the furthest without actually invading Poland? The Tories? Ukip? The Daily Mail? An excellent comic by the name of Chris Addison has said, "You can tell people who read the Daily Mail because they follow every stupid thing they say with the phrase '... but I suppose that's not politically correct', and think that makes it OK to say whatever they want." Thus the Mail's coverage yesterday of the war crimes trial of the British army Colonel Jorge Mendonca suggested that he has been "dragged into a politically correct witchhunt". Tssk. Typical of the PC brigade - one Iraqi man gets beaten to death and they are down on you like a ton of righteous liberal bricks! The chap wasn't even English! (I should point out that Mendonca was allegedly only in charge of a group of British soldiers who beat a civilian to death, he didn't actually beat a civilian to death himself.) The magazine the Week has a column called PC Watch, which this week bemoans the fact that the National Trust has stopped allowing children to collect eggs and feed goats at Wimpole Hall in Cambridgeshire, in case they pick up germs. That's not PC, that's parasitic "no win, no fee" litigation companies continuing to put a price on every stubbed toe, achy neck or wet fart they can get their hands on. It's greedy insurance companies hiking the premiums every time the lawyers get a win and a fee. Political correctness is as exploitable as any other progressive ideal, but its aim is to stifle the incessant noise of those who flap their careless lips without a thought about those they might offend and why that might be important. PC exists to balance out the loudest voices, who assume that the things they are used to are somehow sacred or (God forbid) "traditional", just because no one's had the sense or the balls to change them.

Why don't the EA give the bar code readers that the they apparently use (I'm not sure, I've never been checked ) to all fishery managers/baliffs? That way when you pay for your day ticket you can get your licence checked too? Would it work? Too expensive?

Don't worry mate. I've never caught anything either by lure fishing. But then again, I've never been lure fishing.

You might catch a Monk fish too....... Never fished the Wensum but... it features a bit on the free John Wilson DVD that came with this months Improve Your Course Fishing. Nice little DVD. 65 minutes long. He fishes 4 rivers in search of chub.

Oh yeah! Well spotted!

8lbs? I think that's a bit light, personally. At least a double, surely? 11/12lbs? Difficult to tell.

So that's what happened to my holiday snaps. I meant to tell you guys about a big fish I caught whilst in Thailand.

quote: Edit note: this was in reply to Nutshell's question about how many rods and the bait/tactics I used. [/QB] Hi Steve. Thanks a lot for that. Sorry I deleted my question! After I posted the question I re-read the thread and noticed that you had given some more information in the post with the photo. Therefore, I went back and deleted my question! Anyway, many thanks for taking the time to answer. I really appreciate it (and I'm sure many others do too.)

Cracking tench! [ 30. June 2005, 10:03 AM: Message edited by: Nutshell ]

quote: got an absolute discharge. That sounds painful! -------------------------- No, it's not a hanging offence. Which is why he wasn't hung! Harsh............ but fair imo. It clearly states that the licence is only for 2 rods

Urgh! Have you seen the Sea Lamprey attatched to that fish further up the page? Horrible. ghost

9 lbs?!?! That is enormous. What's the UK record? I mentioned in another thread that I caught my first eel last week and I definately have a lot of respect for them. It fought like a real beast. God knows what a 9lb eel fights like. Scary.

I just spotted this in another thread... quote: Fished Makins a few times years ago and used to like it. Gone off commercial fisheries altogether- Tried Cudmore a couple of times and it does nothing for me at all - the water absolutely stinks and looks stagnant!

I think Leeds makes a very good point. Passion for Angling is SO good that it is hard to match, imo. Just look at the places they got to fish, the fish they caught, the fun they had etc. It managed to capture all of the very best eliments of fishing. Sometimes I feel the same as Leeds. I get to a local fishery and all is going well.............. then a group of blokes come along to fish the same lake, they talk non-stop and spend their time shouting to each other and making crap jokes, their mobiles go off and then they speak loadly on the phone etc etc etc. It wasn't like that on PFA! I'm not some old purist either! I'm only 23! Now it's not always like that but it does happen far too much for my liking. Where else is there to fish? I've got out the Ordanance Survey maps out and looked for the little blue patches. Their aren't any 'undiscovered' quiet waters near me. It's commercials or nothing for me. I can fish the river Culm (that runs alongside the M5 motorway and the London-Penzance railway line) or the Exeter Canal (that has the M5 motorway roaring away above me) or the River Exe (massive electricity pylons, bulls(!), railways, concrete river banks). Like I said, it wasn't like that in PFA! (Apart from the two pike in the Kennet ) However! I'm really enjoying my fishing. It really is best just to keep things simple and 'go with the flow'. Don't worry about how it could be in an ideal world. Just focus on what you have in front of you. There's still a hell of a lot of fun and enjoyment to be had. Or, you could just grow a beard... santa

I found this on the web. Not sure if it's correct though! quote: When you get a bite the float will rise upwards. This is because when the carp sucks in the bait he lifts the weights so the float is not counterbalanced (simple physics) The beauty of this method is that the carp feels no weight or resistance as the float helps to lift the weight. Also its easy to tell between a line bite (knock) and a real bite (lift) This method is superb on stillwater and lakes but is difficult to set up on fast moving rivers. Float fishing is fun but can be hard work and is restricted to close range fishing . http://www.carp.net/bobber.htm

I caught my first eel on Wednesday! It was berr luddy huge! I thought I had a really big carp on because it was fighting like a beast. I had the shock of my life when I saw it was an eel (I just wasn't expecting one). I was fishing a mixed fishery (mostly carp etc) and had been catching Crucians and skimmers off the bottom (using the lift-method with sweetcorn). I've looked at photos of eels and I'd say it was about 3lbs (very rough guess though!) but it definately wasn't a bootlace. . Fortunately it was hooked right on the lip, perfect. It was very similar to this one but it was definately a bit longer: http://www.anglingpictures.com/details.php...amp;mode=search It wasn't as big as this one though: http://www.anglingpictures.com/details.php...amp;mode=search (That's not me in the pics. Just some random guys) Do eels bite? <small>[ 24. June 2005, 10:48 AM: Message edited by: Nutshell ]</small>

Bloomin' heck! You two seem to be having a cracking start to the season! What's the secret? Pheromones? Great stuff.

Nice one! Did you fall in though? I noticed you changed your clothes during the first day day?

I was like you this time last year, now I'm an expert(!). Well, not quite! I found Improve Your Coarse Fishing magazine to be a great help. Definately recommend that, it's only £2.80 a month. Available in all good newsagents! I never subscribed but they often have gifts (reels etc) to those who subscribe. This place is great. Don't forget to use the search function (top right of the screen) as most questions have been asked a few times before! Go to your local tackle shop. Tell them your situation and just get the basics off them. Don't let them sell you the whole shop but don't be afraid to ask! I've found it's worth taking things slowly. Don't try and catch every species on every different type of water with every different type of method in one week! My biggest mistake has been to try too much at the same time rather than focus on one particular type of fishing and try and get that sorted. Don't forget your rod licence!

Well it looks as though the Glorious 16th isn't going to be quite so glorious afterall! The weather forecast isn't good in Devon. Wind and rain forecast :mad: . It looks great for the weekend though.

Thanks for the tips. I was just wondering what you or anyone else with experience in this kind of thing does about payment? Will the owner be expecting a fiver? Will they ask for money? Is it best to offer something? I appreciate every situation is different but I was just wondering what the 'done' thing is? Cheers.

A few days ago http://www.metcheck.com said summer was going to arrive later than last year and at the 'normal' time. Apparently the cold snap we had a few weeks ago is going to mean that we'll be in for the traditional 'April showers' etc and it will take a while for things to warm up. God knows if it's true but that's what it said! I think last year we had a really warm late May and early June? Here's what they said: Delay to Summer Added [Wednesday March 30 2005 : 12:22:43 PM] Over the past few years, we've been accustomed to early starts to Summer, with April and May, traditionally Spring months bringing early heatwaves as a taster of things to come. This year, will be different due to one very obvious factor. Around this time of year the Azores high starts to push North in pulses as the ITCZ (band of thunderstorms around the equator) begins to shift from the equator Northwards. The Azores high relies on warmth at the surface to continue this expansion and it doesn't take a great deal to stop this happening. Over the past few years the winters across Western Europe have been mild, resulting in a lack of snow. This year, the late Winter brought substantial snow to many areas and it's this which is the key. When snow melts, it takes up a vast amount of energy from the lower atmosphere, it's a bit like being in a warm room with a cold draught under the door. As the Azores high tries to expand, so the energy being drained from it will become a major player and as a result, this Spring is expected to run much like clockwork with traditional April showers and a somewhat disappointing May for many areas. The Summer forecast will be released on May 1st. [ 01. April 2005, 04:02 PM: Message edited by: Nutshell ]

Absolutely. I don't live anywhere near any RMC waters but looking at their website they have a fantastic collection of lakes. Also agree about club waters. Not only are they cheap (well the Exeter and District one is!) but they offer great value for money. Considering I only pay £29 a year I don't even feel the need to do all my fishing on their waters but it's great to know that I can when I feel like it. Once I've paid the one-off fee it almost feels like I'm fishing for free when I fish one their waters! http://www.exeteranglingassociation.co.uk/welcome.htm

Thanks for your tips lads. Very interesting and I'll definately be trying them out. I've got a catapult but I need to work on my accuracy! craynerd are you talking about the Korda videos/dvds? I haven't seen any of them but there's 3 of them isn't there? Which one were you talking about? Thanks

Vagabond is right. A gardon is simply a humble roach. I think 'gardons' comes from the verb 'garder': to keep.