Tony U

I was hoping to get a bit of Pike fishing on the Rother or Medway before the close of the season but I don't think there is much chance of that in the next few weeks, I giuess I will have to try a trip down to a commercial when the weather settles to see if I can remember what to do. I wonder if a size 16 buzzer under a bung would work?

I got into LRF fishing last year and had some great sessions down at Samphire Hoe, catching Wrasse on isome worms and on gear lighter than your average quiver tip rod.

Well the mice have eaten all the old ground bait so I don't have to get rid of that, they have also chewed through a couple of carryalls I will have to get up in the loft to see how the rods have faired.

I am up for an LRF "fish in" down Samphire Hoe once things warm up and the rain stops

So I think I fancy a bit of coarse fishing again after a two year sabbatical, does this mean I have to get rid of all the Coarse kit, I have festering in the loft and the shed and go out and buy a load of new stuff or can i just carry on with the old tat?

Barry It could have been worse you could have had an outbreak of sinkholes!!!

Shaun I find Flyfisshing to be highly addictive I started to take it up again about four years ago and now i do little else, my coarse gear is lying unused in the loft nad the only sea fishing i do is a spot of LRFing in the summer months , when flyfishing in the South East beomes a chore.

I've always used a KISS case when transporting my Rods to Cuba and have never faced any problems; last time by using specialist travel rods and four piece fly rods I transported #9 and #8 weight flyrods, 20lb and 50lb travel boat rods, 2 x 8' travel spinnning rods, 2 x 6' travel LRF rods, and a Greys Popper Rod. I am off to the USA this spring but dont intend to take the case but use one of these and take just a travel float and a travel Carp rod with me to teach my hosts a bit of english style fishing. Tony

Well if it is a toss up between, my fellow countryman Robson Green, and John Wilson I would pick John Wilson every time!

Further to Vagabonds post; we used to tie caster flies, a suitably shaped piece of cork on a size 14 hook wrapped with maroon thread or floss and varnished, was an unsinkable imitation.

The Carp are spawning in the KAPS lakes at Snodland and we are having the annual argument as to whether we close the lakes or not!

Dvae I understood the RSPB helped out this winter by leaving out mealworms, at their reserves where they knew they had resident Dartford Warblers, whether this was a success or not is a different matter.

My biggest Rudd 2lbs 12oz thereabouts was caught on a PTN and I have always enjoyed fishing for Coarse Fish on the fly. Indeed I learned to fly fish fishing for Roach and Perch at Killingworth Lake back in the 1970's. Anyone interested in fly fishing for Coarse Fish shlould check this out: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Flyfishing-Coarse-Fish-Dominic-Garnett/dp/1906122385/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1370520642&sr=8-1&keywords=flyfishing+for+coarse+fish Tony

Jack Even if you are a tifgt wad get some casting instruction check out your local Trout lakes many of them offer beginners days or free instruction, that will save you a bob or two both in the short and long term. Tony

Jack why dont you look at the Airflo Kits http://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/airflo-fly-kit-9ft-6-7-line-p154003 as they offer value for money and will contain all you need to start fishing with a balanced outfit, the 9' 6-7# should meet your needs. Also get some casting tuition if you can it will stop you developing faults in your casting which will only casue you problems later on. Tony

Errm Well done with that Tench, I'll bet it was a darned side colder than fishing in Cuba though. Tony

Good luck to you all, I look forward to reading the reports. Tony

After a bit of soul searching I have taken up an offer to go Fly Fishing that weekend. I have a big decision to make as to whether I go coarse fishing again! Maybe it’s time I sell up and spend yet more with Orvis.

Well my coarse fishing close season has lasted nearly two years and I am happliy wandering the country "fluff flinging" as some like to call it.

What about Maggies Farm, by Bob Dylan, he was such a visionary he wrote the song 14 or so years before she came to power :) Of course I am really talking about the covers by the Specials and the Blues Band.

You Royalist

How many people in the North East and your beloved Scotland did she lead to suicide and despair, how many communities were torn apart by her policies? I could not care less about her; if you think I'm sick it's because I believe in something called society, what about you?

Most divisive politician of the past 100 years and was more effectve in harrying the North than William the Bastard, I hated the woman and would happily dance on her grave.

I'm with Ajay, Lesser Redpoll for me it appears to have a yellow rather than a blue-grey one.

Defo an American Coot: The American Coot measures 34–43 cm (13–17 in) in length and 58–71 cm (23–28 in) across the wings. Adults have a short thick white bill and white frontal shield, which usually has a reddish-brown spot near the top of the bill between the eyes. Males and females look alike, but females are smaller. Body mass in females ranges from 427 to 628 g (0.94 to 1.38 lb) and in males from 576 to 848 g (1.27 to 1.87 lb), Juvenile birds have olive-brown crowns and a gray body. They become adult-colored around 4 months of age.