Bally

Well, you've got Sheephouse Farm that is actually in Maidenhead just up the top of Ray Park Avenue. But I would much rather spend a day at Barn Elms. Much prettier surroundings and much healthier looking fish. Let us know where you go and how you get on.

I would go along similar lines as Budgie pinch the shot onto a small length of silicon tubing. Much better for the line. Yorkio, I've never liked those leger stops as I find they do more damage than shot. However, if you replace the leger stops with float stops, you'll have a nice method of avoiding damage to the line whilst waggler fishing.

You're right Steve, it is all down to trust. And the club only had about 150 members. So not a large club by any means. I believe the facility to check numbers is already there. Haven't the EA bailiffs got a gadget that can check a licence No. on the EA computer? As you say though, it would be a lot of extra work at renewal time. Especially for some of the larger clubs. Personally, I wouldn't have thought there would be many anglers that are members of clubs, that don't have an EA licence. Surely, if you go to all the trouble to join a club, getting a licence is a walk in the park. (or Post Office!)

I used to belong to a fishing club that had a box on the renewal form for your licence No. No need to send your licence off. This was a perfectly workable system. No licence No., no permit. If I remember rightly, renewal was 1st June. But even if it was 1st March all anglers should have a licence No. on that date. I really don't see why more clubs cannot do this. (Even commercial fisheries)

Wylands Farm near Battle, Sussex fits the bill, I think. You can stay in their chalets, or you can camp, or you can bivvy-up. There are several lakes on site. We used to fish the old specimen lake mostly, but I think some of the other lakes had bigger fish in. Apparently, its changed since then and the new specimen lake has proper specimens in it. I haven't fished there for over 10 years but it was good fishing then, and I'm sure it'll still be as good. There used to be a snack bar on site, and the Guvner would came round on a quad selling home-made ice cream! Yummy. Do a Google for details.

Net Spreaders I think they are called. I used to have a couple years ago. You clip them onto the bottom 3/4 rings and it keeps them spread out. You could put a heavy-ish stone in the bottom of your keepnet before you throw it out.

You could try the River Cray at Bexley/Crayford area. I haven't fished there myself, but apparently its improved greatly recently. Burgess Park used to have some cracking crucians in there. Greenland Dock for massive perch.

I caught the Sun once........ I know, I know. My coat's on.

That looks like a lovely spot there Steve. Definately worth Jamie making the extra effort to get there by public transport. (In June, of course ) I know I would if I lived up that way without transport. Go for it, Jamie.

My John Wilson didn't come with a screw-in tip ring, so I just took it into the tackle shop round the corner. They fitted one for about a fiver. Could've done it myself really. I think he just sawed the old ring off and glued the screw-in on. I probably lost an inch in the length of the rod, but I can live with that. I always thought that all tackle shops stocked a selection of all sorts of rings, whether it be tip rings, butt rings or anything in between.

Ha ha. Dan, I've been fishing for almost 40 years and still have trouble getting to sleep the night before. (And I mostly floatfish) Its the same every single time I go. I normally set the alarm for about 5ish and you can bet your bottom dollar I'll still be awake at 2am! Gladly, I live a little closer to my venues these days, so driving home isn't as dangerous as it was years ago when I had to drive a couple of hours to get home. I also see a float going under when I close my eyes. But this is always after a days fishing when I've had lots of bites, never before.

I think Bisterne is open for coarse fishing now. It did only open August and September, but I'm sure I read on the interweb somewhere that they know stay open until 15th March now. The guys in Avon Angling or Ringwood Tackle should be able to tell you the score. I also remember going to a place near Fordingbridge many moons ago. Bat and Ball I think it was called. I remember the lady selling the day-tickets that there was a huge shoal of roach by the bridge, all over 2lb!!!!!!

Yeah, course you can, bbigbbob. Just click on my name on the left and you can send me a PM from there. If you finish work early enough maybe we could get a couple of hours in the evening.

bbigbbob, I'm not too far from royal berkshire. If you want I could meet you there one day next week and give you a few pointers. i.e. setting up and feeding etc. I don't know the venue that well, but been there a couple of times. It would have to be mid-week though, can't make week-ends. Just don't give up too soon.

A few years ago I picked up a bag of trout pellets from a petshop. Nice and cheap, I thought they would be ideal as loose-feed as they were about 3-4mm. Gets down to the lake and fishing for crucians with sweetcorn on the hook. Time to try those new pellets, so I throw a handful around my float. Bugger........... they all float! Oh well. The pellets I threw in started to drift out into the lake. Soon there were a couple of carp showing an interest. After a catapult out another handful a few more carp were on the scene. They were just mopping up these pellets, so I tried a Chum mixer on the hook, (which I've had success with on this lake) and they just weren't interested at all. I carried on feeding these small pellets wondering how I'm going to catch these carp. They were literally in a frenzy. Never seen them like this with mixers. I decided to put a few in a bait-box and just cover them with water. This softened them up, and after a while they were hookable. So I tied a 16s hook to my 8lb hooklink, attach a controller float and I'm away. I proceded to catch 6 carp on these small pellets. Biggest was 14lb 2oz so not monster fish, but great fun. So I think the smaller the better. Carp in most lakes have seen enough Chum mixers to feed all the dogs in Battersea Dogs Home for a year. So something different is called for to have regular success. The trouble with small floaters is balancing your tackle so that you are fishing heavy enough to land a big carp.

Well done, Andrew. Good fishing! Your secret lake isn't beside a nuclear power plant, is it???? That fish looks scary!

A good tactic for roving for chub is to start at the upstream end of the stretch you're fishing, and walking along with just a bucket of mashed bread. As you walk downstream, throw a handful of bread into any likely looking areas. Somewhere between 6-10 swims is a good number to start with. Now return back ustream to the first swim, add another handful of bread and fish with a piece of flake on the hook, with a link leger just light enough to hold bottom. If you don't get a bite within 20 minutes, move onto the next spot. Repeat this process until all swims have been fished. Then, you can either go back upstream and fish the same swims again. Or, you can move futher downstream and start the feeding process again.

I would start off by fishing about 6 inches over-depth and take it from there. If you've got any Onion floats, these are excellent for tench fishing. You shot these floats with your bottom shot, a No.1, on the deck, and when a tench picks up your bait the float stem rises out of the water. STRIKE!!!! I also have a shot on the deck if the wind picks up and is pulling the float out of position. This shot will be a No.4 or 1 depending on the strenghth of the wind.

Thanks chaps. I forgot about using mollasses, I'll have to get myself a jar or two. There are a couple of animal feed shops close by so they will be getting a visit from me in the week. Those lucky bream...... They've got a nice feast coming thier way soon! I will be baiting up with brown crumb, betaine pellets, a couple of tins of corn and maybe some casters and worms. Oh, and the mollasses! Nothing fancy, but hopefully, this little lot will put a few on the bank.

Yay or Nay???

Honey is a natural product and therefore cannot be 'over-flavoured'. I would start with a couple of spoonfuls in a jaffa size ball of paste and go from there. I personally would use a base mix to form a paste rather than bread.

Or even the main lake at Bury Hill if you really want to get amongst the stonkers. I've had some nice tench to 6.5 (but they come out much bigger, regularly) and a few crucians between 3 and 3.5.

Its only illegal if you get caught!!!!

1.Please tick in one of the following spaces. Are you: Male [x] Female [ ] 2.Which age describes you best? under 15 [ ] 16-25 [ ] 26-35 [ ] 36-45 [x] 46-55 [ ] 56-65 [ ] 66+ [ ] 3.What kind of fishing do you do most? Coarse [x] Fly [ ] Sea [ ] Pole [ ] Match [ ] 4.What kind of product are you most likely to buy? Reel [x] Rod [x] Line [x] Hooks [x] Bait [x] Other [X] Bait 5.What product(s) would you like to see in our fishing shop? [x] Floats [x] Camouflage clothing [x] Bite alarm [x] Rod holder [x] Nets [x] Specialist baits [x] Seat/Boxes 6.What price are you most likely to pay for a Reel? £4 and under [ ] £5-£10 [ ] £11-£19 [ ] £21-£29 [ ] £30-39 [ ] £40+ [x] 7.What price are you most likely to pay for a Rod? £15 and under [ ] £16 - £25 [ ] £26-£35 [ ] £36-£45 [ ] £46-£55 [ ] £56-£65 [ ] £66-£75 [ ] £76+ [x] 8.What would attract you to buy from a fishing shop that has just opened in the area? [ ]Poster in a shop [ ]Website [x] Leaflet through your door [x] newspaper advertisement [ ] yellow pages 9.Where do you think would be a suitable place to situate a fishing shop? [ ] Near the beach [ ] Near a river or a lake [x] In the middle of a town [ ] Inside a shopping centre 10.Where are you most likely to buy fishing gear? [x] Shop [x] Internet [ ] Mail order [ ] Fishing specialist [ ] Sports shop

Thanks Alan, I'll give them a call in the morning.