david t

Hello, I am very interested in trying out some jigging for squid, I did a forum search, and there are a few helpful tips, but would still like to know a little more, please. I would be looking to jig from the shore/rocks, rather than a boat. Am I best to try jigging in low light or night time, is clear water best or do they like a little colour to the water? Is there a type of jig that anyone recommends? I will be fishing in north anglesey, I have a few spots I fish from which are 12 metres deep under the rod tip, if its deep water that is needed. Many thanks Dave P.s - if I am slow to reply, its because I have a poor internet connection, not because I cant be arsed!

Thanks for all the replies. Yes, like others, I get through quite alot link ledgering, I prefer using link ledgers as you can adjust them, and then of course, you invariably drop a pack in the grass at the bankside from time to time. Typically my tackleshop trips involve buying shot, hooks and maybe line, thats about it usually, not that I have any against tackleshops, its just I tend to use worm alot lately, and other natural or free baits, so buying in bulk would save time. Ive had a scout on ebay, seems to be alot of what you get on the shelf anyway, nothing different. I like the modelling clay idea, thats nice and heavy. I guess, living in a clay rich area, I could just take a shovellful from the ground. Someone should make a realtree version of modelling clay, sell it to the camoflague carping brigade, you would make a fortune! cheers dave

Hello I was wondering if anyone knew of anywhere that sold swan shot or other split shot in bulk, or in bigger packs than just 6 or 7 shot. Just seems abit expensive really, when you think of it, the price of a box of 7 or so SSGs at about £1.60, especially when you go through quite a few of them. Would be easier if you could just buy a bulk bag of 100 or so to last the season. Anyone know of anywhere? Cheers Dave

Prof Callum Roberts is one of the leading figures in fisheries science, dont really think this will add to any rod and line fishing argument really. More about conservation on the whole. I do wonder why the BBC were talking about Lamlash though, it was designated NTZ a while back. Its the scallop dredging boys that are in question here, not much to worry about as far as rod and line goes. Although, maybe the antis should go pester the oil companies or such like if they really want to do something constructive and ethical.

http://eric.exeter.ac.uk/exeter/bitstream/...ver%20temps.pdf

Thankyou seen the link, will be subscribing soon. Regards David

Dear Gentlemen, I have to admit that I have, of late, had little or no interest in the contents of the glossy angling publications. I used to buy a few of them in my teens, but have since moved on to Trout and Salmon, not because Im anymore of a game angler than a coarse angler, I just believe its put together in a more interesting way and holds my attention much longer than most other angling magazines. Anyway, with the content of said glossy magazines being predictable, cyclical and often uninspiring, I wondered if I could get hold of the quarterly (?) Waterlog publication, which ive heard about, edited by Chris Yates I believe. Is it still in print? If so, Id like to get hold of it and possibly start subscribing. Just seems that if Chris Yates is the editor, I would imagine it is a more inspiring magazine than the rest, and would probably hold my attention for longer periods of time. Many thanks for any directions given etc. David

Thanks for all that advice. I dont do alot of lure fishing on the thames, well, I do abit but certainly its not the tactic which I use most often. I dont do it too often because I tend to lose lures too often on certain stretches of the thames, particularly those with alot of sunken trees, but when I have used them, ive done ok. I understand what you are saying with regards to colour, ive often found, particularly with canal pike in my area, that red is a killer, or more accurately a touch of red. I had a lovely roach pattern Rapala countdown, which I modified by whipping a bunch of red hair to the end treble, and it caught more than anything else. Alas, said lure is somewhere in the murky depths of the middle severn near welshpool now, attached to a sunken log. On those waters where I will be less likely to lose gear I do intend to lure fish this year, and I do like to chop and change with size and colour, even down to something as small as no2 mepps. I guess the whole venue/colour thing could have something to do with the clarity or colour of the water on the venue, as different colours will only reflect certain colours in the spectrum, depending on what type of light is filtering down though the water. I dont mind wading through the jacks, they are just as welcome, better than a blank. I reckon its just a matter of waiting and wading through the smaller fish like you say. I like clifton, but I often think its not as good as it should be, its also hard to fish when the river is running high, little in the way of sheltered water then. I did though catch a real cracker of perch approaching the 4lb mark from Clifton, which surprised me, as I always thought somewhere like Medley/Portmeadow was the venue for the big perch. Many thanks again, I am grateful for your input. Cheers David

Doubt it was a salmon, right up in the heart of the south east, but you never know. I know, not a lot to go on, just didnt fight like any chub ive caught before. A mystery. Cheers David

Didnt get to see it unfortunately, nor did I get to put much pressure on it, but the swirl was sizeable. Maybe it will remain a mystery, until I catch it next week!!!

Maybe the faster stretches will contain a higher amount of food matter, such as stonefly and mayfly larvae. I do know that riffles are often described as the powerhouses of the stream, in that this is where most of the benthic primary production goes on, as they recieve more light on the whole, than deeper pools. Anyway, I digress, maybe it is because there is more invertebrate food in the shallower faster water. That said, the faster spots are likely to be more unsettled, the sediment will shift around more than it will in a slower pool, which might not allow many invertebrates to set up station there, but having said that, most invertebrates relocate regularly by drfiting downstream. To conclude, maybe its due to a combination of food availability, oxygen saturation and maybe temperature? Interesting though.

Oh, no, dont think I will be using a smartcast, I might use the sonar on a boat at sea, but I think I will have to be abit of a traditionalist on the rivers! Yes, bite detection is quite good with a paternoster on the river I find. Cheers David

Maybe. I think the fish which have run solidly downstream are carp. Probably a mink! David

Yes, Im sure there are a few 30 plus fish in there, has to be. I think lives are the way forward, yes, its not ideal, I try not to cast them to death, rather just keep them in the water as much as possible. Ive paternostered a fair bit, although I often feel you have to use too much lead to keep the bait in position, especially in a steady flow, which might give alot of resistance, but there is no other way really. Legering might be ok, but you have crays to contend with then, and I often think some baits will just lay out of sight on the bottom mostly too. Hit and miss, but one day it will pay off! Cheers David

While fishing for chub on the Thame the other day, using a really big worm bait (3 lobs) I struck into a fish, rather than bolting around or maybe into the far bank like chub do, this fish stopped, and ran straight upstream and slightly towards me, throwing the hook with a swirl, a decent swirl from a sizeable fish. It was very different from any chub ive hooked before, and ive had a few. Ive caught barbel in the Thame, but never this far up river, ive caught them 10 miles or more downstream. Ive also lost a fish or two, as has my father which have just slowly speed off down river with no decrease in speed as you apply pressure, just to snap the hooklength, 4lb hook length, again, not like most chub. What do think would run upstream? Im thinking either Barbel, or Big perch, by the way it threw the hook, as ive had and lost some big perch there. I often think its the fish you lose which keep you going back, not just the fish you catch! Cheers David

I suppose the pike season isnt too far away now, got me thinking about the thames again, and how ive never really done as well as ive expected down there. I fish the Thames around Clifton Hampden, Benson, Dorchester etc, where its fairly wide and often over 12ft deep in many places. I know there are some good pike there, but its all too easy to blank down there, or maybe just get a jack or two. In contrast I always tend to do better on the smaller rivers, like the Thame for instance, probably because my style of fishing is more suited to those rivers. Maybe the problem is that I tend to use small river tactics on the big river, ie, mainly sink and draw or trotted livebaits. I see a problem or two with these, firstly, sink and draw, while its good, I think on larger deeper rivers its easier to accidently draw the bait too far up in the water, or just due to the nature of the river and the bank, its easier to miss out alot of water (vertically speaking), and send a bait 6 foot over a pikes head, which is maybe less of a problem in a small river with smaller swims. Maybe the size of the water would mean that trying to cover every bit of water is daft, maybe its better to concenrate on 3 swims over the course of the day, rather than 20 swims. I think this year my plan of attack will be different. I think I will go for a slower approach, by fishing for roach or chub in one swim at a time, using either maggot and stick tactics or bread crumb feeder tactics, and sit a legered roach at the back end of the swim and just wait. Im sure ive fished my way past many quality pike on the thames, so there has to be a way of getting them out! Any one else had any luck or bad luck with thames pike? Thoughts appreciated. Cheers David

I would say a wesbite called Tiny trout, but thats mainly for ceredigion and north pembrokeshire. Also, it can be abit slow, and some of the anglers tend to spend more time on the web than on the sea, but can be good sometimes. Dave

Cheers, I did wonder about plaice, perfectly targetable on a bass rod, dig a few ragworm or use peeler. Looking forward to just spending a week or two where my only worry will be catching enough fish for tea, simple life for a week or two! Thanks Dave

Hello Island Man Firstly, I envy you for having visited 160 odd scottish islands, I would very much like to do a similar thing. Can I ask, how do you get to these islands? Is it with a sea kayak or something? I would particularly like to get to Jura this summer, spend a week or two there, then move on. Do you know of the cheapest ways or have any tips on cheaply visiting these Islands? Im volunteering for the RSPB in April on Rathlin, the Northern Irish Island for a month, then for a wildlife trust on the Scillies for a month in July. Im trying to sort out some volunteering on Islay in between these, which would then allow me to hop over to Jura for a week hopefully. Cheers Dave

Hello Im going to volunteer for the RSPB on Rathlin Island for a month, which is about 6 miles off the North coast of Northern Ireland. After this, Id like to head round Donegal area, for at least 2 weeks, with a rod in my hand and few worries! I have seen pictures of the coastline, and seen maps, I expect there would be some nice exposed deep marks for Wrasse and Pollack fishing, and some nice sheltered coves or gullies for fishing when the weather is rough. Ive never been there though, so its only guess work. How good is the coast around that area for general rock fishing or roving fishing for bass, pollack, mullet and wrasse etc? My plan was to take my bass rod and, a load of plugs and spinners, and a few jelly worms for pollack fishing, and hopefully get a few prawns or peelers when im fishing. This sound about right? Thanks Dave

Cheers. I wont be chasing up leads of big pike spotted and mentioned in the AT, as im sure they exist uncaught in many of the larger rivers in this country; Wye Severn and Thames included. Im planning my trip for the week coming, but at the moment I think there is still snow melt water in and going into rivers throughout the country, so im waiting on the river levels dropping and if possible a rain free outlook ideally. I will watch the weather. Many thanks Dave

Not sure how easy it would be to get hold of a set. I wouldnt want to part with mine anyway. Might see them on ebay, but never looked myself. Its the sheer amount of material in them which makes them better than most books on angling.

avoid the expensive flash walking boots with suede and gore-tex, as they seem to need alot of maintentance, dont shed mud, and fall apart. Get some army issue boots, you know where you are with leather.

Hello, In my house ive got a old set of 6 folders made up of monthly articles on coarse sea and game fishing, called the art of fishing, its from the 90's. Does anyone else have this set of folders gathering dust in their attic or bookshelf? I say this, as I take it for granted, but really its a very good reference point for loads of fishing bits and pieces. Its the variation in the sections, articles on winter canal fishing, maggot breeding, deep water float fishing etc, things that seem to be lost in many magazines etc nowadays, partly with the obsession with commercial fisheries. Just wondered how many people have it, or refer back to it? Cheers dave

Thankyou both of you. I will see about fishing close to hereford road bridge then. As for finding the roach etc, ive heard the area downstream of hereford is prime roach territory. I guess fishing for pike where they have previously taken 100lb match weights of chub/roach will be a good starting point. I think making sure the river is low or clear will be the most important thing. I need a contact at the Plynlimon ridge to let me know if its been wet there, when I intend to go. I think you can get day to day information on rainfall levels from the EA website though? will have to check. Brian, is the stretch you talk about below hereford bridge controlled by hereford and district AA? Thanks again Dave