Bob Bradford

A picture speaks a thousand words.

I have fished for Roach in matches for the last 20 odd years and have never caught a two pounder, they are not as common as some would have you believe, however, if I were targeting large Roach specifically , I would use breadflake or Hemp and Tares, the Hemp would be loose fed and I would impale a Tare onto a size 16 or 14 hook, breadflake would be my first choice in clear water conditions though.

I would never use a whip or pole for Carp up to 40lbs!!!!! Whips were invented to "whip out" small fish at speed in matches, pleasure anglers use them of course, because the technique is as basic as it gets ie; a stick and some line tied to the end of it, swing it out ,strike and swing it in...good,cheap fun and an ideal way of starting youngsters off into our sport /pastime....but a definite no ,no if targeting large ,powerful fish, the end result will be a either a broken line or worse still a broken whip. I use a pole with powerful elastic for commercial carp up to 20lbs in some matches, but even that size is on the upper limit IMO, a running line is far safer and the way to go, always use the correct gear for the task.

I can confidently state on this public forum that Lathams of Potter Heigham and Angling Direct in Beccles were selling un-marked coarse deadbaits at that time, I can confirm that I spoke to both of the managers about this , both party's said they were purchased from a legitimate source ( a bait wholesaler) but I was never shown any invoices, I was told by the then manager of the Beccles Angling Direct branch ( Mr Daniel Brydon) that the Norwich shop were also selling the same item ,from the same source, I have checked the Beccles branch this winter and there were NO un-marked coarse deadbaits on sale, when I asked the new manager the reason for this he said " we have changed our suppliers Bob". Now, I would never open myself up for libel on here if those were not the facts Chris, I am in total agreement with you and Mark Barrett though in the knowledge that together ,with the help of Keith Arthur and one or two others that the practice of selling un-marked coarse deadbaits in the major angling shops of Norfolk seems to have been eradicated, I do however take your point that I could have taken a more subtle approach to this problem , and God forbid, if this "problem" should ever resurface and I discover it happening again I will have no hesitation in contacting you or Mark privately, you have to understand Chris, at the time I did not have contacts from within the PAC, I genuinely feel both you and Mark have endeavored to build a bridge and this has to be a good thing for angling and shows quite clearly that the PAC are trying very hard to get their house in order, lets hope that all the other disciplines in angling can follow your lead, Regards Bob.

I know nothing about a rehashed story this March, I suggest you speak to the author, as far as I am aware there has been no repeat of the incident from 3 winters back, I have only ever referred to that incident, I believe it was conducted over a period of days and not a one off, there were just too many missing fish for it to have been carried out overnight. My "story" I prefer account, has never altered, except I did believe the fish were netted but did not know how, as I have previously stated I was enlightened as to how it was done by an "Expert" several weeks after I first raised this issue on here. It is a fact that un-marked deadbaits were on sale in Lathams of Potter Heigham, and several of the Angling direct shops in my area, I saw them with my own eyes and questioned the managers as to their origin, I was never shown an invoice but the managers "assumed" they were ligit, this winter I have not seen un-marked coarse fish deadbaits for sale in these shops, nor as I understand things have there been any reports of disappearing fish .....and that is why I posted this thread, to me at least I see this as a huge success, I may be guilty of gloating a little but I am guilty of nothing else. I am still looking forward to a Pike trip with you in the near future Chris, Regards Bob.

Ask the match secretary and the Chairman of Stalham angling club about the huge amount of fish scales covering the boardwalks inside the wetsheds three winters back, ask them how many fish they caught prior to this and then ask them how many they caught a week later in their club matches, and subsequent matches held that winter, go into the tackle shop at Lathams and speak to the manager, ask him if he recalls selling me a disposable camera so I could take shots of the wetsheds and boardwalks, phone the EA at Ipswich and ask to speak to Mr Rupert Pyatt, ask him about the conversations I had with him on the phone and the letter he sent me, while you are at it , ask him about my letter of complaint regarding his response in this matter. Be in no doubt thousands and thousands of small roach and skimmers were stolen from those wetsheds three winters back, for your information and I told you this fact on the phone when we spoke a month or so back but you choose to ignore it, THERE WAS NO CAMERA SECURITY IN OPERATION FOR THOSE WETSHEDS , there was a defunct camera on one of the wetsheds and I inquired with the staff of Herbert Woods reception if it worked at the time, I also spoke to several members of staff that were plainly anti angling and very unhelpful indeed. One more time , the wetsheds were NOT NETTED, it is not possible to net the wetsheds because of the amount of boats inside, the fish were removed in a very efficient way, known to poachers and bailiffs, I was sent an e-mail by some-one off of this site describing EXACTLY how it was done....he WAS a fish poacher and is now a bailiff....I sent a copy of this e-mail to a couple of members I trust on here and Keith Arthur...I WILL NOT DIVULGE HOW IT WAS DONE ON HERE OR ON ANY OTHER PUBLIC ANGLING FORUM FOR REASONS I WOULD HAVE THOUGHT OBVIOUS. I have no proof who took those fish or where they ended up, but , I do not think they were for human consumption,private stocking of another water (the fish were damaged too much , remember the thousands and thousands of scales?) I do not believe the EA official response that Mink and Otters were responsible, there was and still is NO EVIDENCE OF MINK AND OTTERS LIVING IN THE AREA, I invited the EA down on site to prove their existence and up to now they have refused my offer, perhaps you can show me where they are Chris? this is the OFFICIAL REASON for the disappearance of those fish from the EA remember. You choose to believe that the fish were not removed illegally, in fact you clearly think they never disappeared at all......where's your proof? The EA officially said that the missing fish were the result of Mink and Otter predation, so they at least admit and acknowledge that fish went missing, even though the reason they gave could not be upheld with any evidence on site. I KNOW what I saw on the boardwalks that fateful Sunday, I took photo 's and sent them to the Angling Times, I spoke to staff in Lathams and Herbert Woods boat yard that day, I also spoke to the match secretary of Stalham and several of his members that were fishing that Sunday about the lack of fish being caught and huge amount of fish scales on the boardwalks inside the wetsheds, one of the members I spoke to was Jimmy Randell an ex -England International....he blanked from a peg that only the week before he had caught 20lb from, he and his mates all caught double figures the week before in fact, but after the incident a 6 oz Roach was all that was caught to win the match and they decided to cancel the remainder of their matches that Winter, Stalham AC had paid £2500 for the fishing rights that winter do you think they would have stopped fishing it after such a heavy investment of club funds if the fish were still present? The following winter I returned to the wetsheds several times to search for signs of a repeat, I was delighted to see fish topping inside the wetsheds and huge shoals of fish sheltering for the winter as usual, Stalham did not renew the fishing rights and the fish remained unmolested all that winter, I understand this winter that Stalham have paid for the right to fish there this winter but I have not paid them a visit yet, I am more than willing to do so next Sunday and if you wish we can meet up and talk to those match anglers ,the secretary and the Chairman and question them about then and now. I have no hidden agenda, no Axe to grind , I flagged this up because it was hugely significant and thought it would interest every conservation minded angler that just might give a damn, I have not a made a penny from this nor do I intend to, I have never even fished their nor am I a member of Stalham AC........in short I have nothing to gain, and in fact it would be far easier for me if I had never bothered to write about it in the first place and just walk away, I still could and frankly I do not give toss what you choose to believe , you carry on blindly ignoring the bleeding obvious if it makes you feel better, but never, ever question my honesty in this matter.

I participated in quite a lot of the various debates regarding Bob Nudd's comments in the N.O.T.W so you must have missed them , For the record I do not agree or endorse what Bob Nudd consented to putting his name to in a National newspaper re; Pike culling on the Avon and other rivers, but in the interests of fairness I have to point out , it was only HIS opinion and as far as I am aware there has not been a Pike cull as a result of his voicing his thoughts, at the time it was suggested that match anglers would blindly follow his every word and start killing Pike because Bob Nudd says to do so, well this was and is rubbish I think you will agree, there is a vast difference between the Bob Nudd saga and the Holyhead one, Williams and Banks knowingly broke the law and went to extreme lengths to do so I might add, they admitted it and have been dealt with, I know that the PAC came out very strongly against them , others have not, in fact the Anglers Mail still employ Williams and that reflects badly on the Mail IMO. Whilst typing this I was reminded of an incident that occurred on the TF site a few months back, A match angler from the midlands but not one that I have ever met was posting things like "I kill Pike with my bankstick as they are vermin" and other such harmful crap, let me tell you I did not hold back on him, I told him precisely what I thought his brains were made of (sounds like grit) anyway , on a public forum he threatened to "wrap his bankstick around my neck" I of course called him out but as is always the way he disappeared off the forum, I do try to be fair, as far as I am concerned wrong is wrong whatever branch of the sport/pastime they choose to participate in, I hope that gives you a better understanding of me, have a good Christmas , Bob.

Mark ,lets get a few things straight here; I do like Pike and am planning to go Pike fishing in the near future. Some Pike anglers are fish thieves and fish smugglers and it is these I am attacking , and not the vast majority of innocent pikers. I flag up issues that I feel need flagging up, it is hardly my fault that lately most of them are Pike related, as you have been studying my posts on here and elsewhere you will know I have condemned cheating match anglers, bad angling practice,the killing of ANY freshwater fish for the pot , and scores of of other issues related to angling in general. The Holyhead incident is one of the more serious in recent years and I believe any angler ,regardless of background is equally appalled at the actions of Williams and Co, they broke the law not some poxy clubs rules and they are an utter disgrace to angling . Now I will finish with a question for you Mark, How many deadbait wholesalers have signed up to the PAC kite-mark scheme and how many have not?. PS, When I was the skipper of a very successful match team in the 90s, Webster would ring me up for quotes to print in the EDP and other papers.....he ALWAYS mis-quoted me and printed crap that I never ,ever said, I am not a big fan of his and have no qualms in saying that on a public forum, if you think I am part of his little band of anti pikers you are very mistaken, I am my own man Mark, I suspect, just the same as you are, Regards and seasons greetings,Bob.

A good question Grandma and one I am unable to answer, Large fish or specimen fish are being taken for the table up and down the Country, some by some of the posters on here, some by immigrant workers, some by illegals and some by illegal means.....but the big problem is with the legal removal of specimen fish for the table due to local by-laws allowing it, as long as an individual has a current fishing licence , and is not using illegal methods to trap his/her quarry he /she is perfectly within the law to remove his/her quoter of specimen sized fish for consumption again and again regardless of the environmental impact it is having, I and others want a change in the law to stop this, some ,like Keith Arthur are doing something to make this happen, Regards Bob.

Budgie, I believe great anglers are capable of catching any fish,anywhere, at the end of the day if an angler can put his hook where he wants time after time,present it properly time after time, and use the correct feeding pattern and bait time after time, they will succeed regardless of their quarry or environment. The question of who the Greatest angler is, is ,for me at least, more complicated than catching fish though, there have been hugely influential anglers over the decades like Walker and Drennan, Hayes and Wilson,Marks and Ashurst but over time one man will stand head and shoulders above all of those luminary's because of his political influences for the good of angling....all of angling, and that man is Keith Arthur, if he succeeds where others have failed it will be a no contest, Regards and seasons greetings to you , Bob.

Grandma, ask yourself how the PAC were made aware of this problem, so you like Mr Waller are making a mute point, and there was plenty of evidence of un-marked deadbaits for sale in my area, every shop I visited in fact! I congratulate and support the PAC for taking their stance on this issue but my understanding of it is the Pike mark scheme is voluntary and not obligatory so it only goes so far, nevertheless it is a step in the right direction. As for the possibility of small roach and skimmers being netted for food from the boat yards , do you mean for human consumption? if so , what evidence do you have?

I think we would agree on a lot of other issues if we met in person Mr Waller, Keith is a straight talker and journalist, but never malicious, he does and will listen to an alternative point of view but it must be based on facts and well presented, a few weeks ago in one of his Angling times articles he admitted quite openly and honestly that he had got the issue regarding Cormorants and the demise of our rivers wrong, so you will find there is some humility in him , people confuse his inexhaustible enthusiasm for loudmouth opinionism , I say to that , they are not a good judge of character, he will and does help any genuine case, he is very accessible and ALWAYS responds to e-mails regardless of the author.

It's a very subjective issue and I believe only meant to be a little bit of festive fun...but there you go! I do feel that I have to defend a few on this list however, starting with the single most influential angler and broadcaster this Country has ever had....Keith Arthur, he is acknowledge by his peers as being the greatest living authority on all things angling related, a walking encyclopedia, a top angler (not just match angler either) and respected journalist, but for me where he really excels is in angling politics and open debate....no-one can hold a candle to him.......no-one. Dave Thomas from Leeds became World coarse fishing champion in 1981 among other angling achievements, he was a top match angler and all round nice bloke. Steve Ringer is an awesome angling talent, he is best known for his exploits in Fish'o Mania and catching commercial Carp, but it would be doing him a grave injustice to assume he is not an all round angler, from catching gudgeon and roach on the Warwickshire Avon to Tarpon fishing in the Florida Keys his natural angling skills stand out, if you ever get the chance to watch this guy fishing grasp the opportunity with both hands.... he is simply awesome.

Chicken or egg Mr Waller? I can tell you that "The trade " were reactive and were not pro-active in the abolition of un-marked deadbaits for retail, so despite your miserly (well it is an appropriate time of year for Scrooge I suppose) attempt to give credit where it is so obviously due , your "point" is null and void, it is a fact that due to outside pressure things have changed for the better, as for the "tens of thousands of dead fish due to salt tides" how many have you actually seen on the banks of your beloved Waveney? I am reliably informed that there were surprisingly few fatality's , I would be grateful if you could supply me with an accurate number however, Seasons Greetings, Bob.

Sadly I am forced to agree with you BP, take a common or garden bog standard McDonald's as an example, I guarantee that there is a bin provided every 20 yards or so, take a look and you will see, I also guarantee that "People" sit in their cars and when they are finished eating their big Mac's and slurping their milk shakes the window is rolled down and the empty packages are left strewn on the tarmac, this is symptomatic of the mindset of a vast majority that inhabit our Islands, our Country is filthy compared to most of our European neighbours, I do my little bit the same as the rest of you conscientious people in trying to hold back the tidal wave of filth and laziness .....but then I still have some pride in my Country.

Whilst I believe the pair of them got away with it lightly, at least Williams was treated the same, I feared because he is so high profile that an example would be made of him and that would have been unjust , his mate did exactly the same so it follows the sentence should be the same in my view.

Some of you may recall me posting on here about a massive fish theft a couple of winters ago ,the incident occurred in the small broadland holiday village of Potter Heigham, huge numbers of fish were removed from their winter sanctuary, 3 giant wetsheds (water filled boat sheds) were systematically raped of nearly all fish life over a short period of time, the EA said it was "natural predation by Mink and Otters" but those of you in the know saw this a massive red herring (incidentally, this was the only fish that survived, all be it for a short time!).That winter there were other incidents of fish thefts all over Norfolk and the Broads, coincidently, at that time , local fishing tackle shops were selling un-marked blast frozen packets of roach and skimmer deadbaits, I among a few others made a link between the two, I had no hard evidence of course that they were linked, as I say, it was a "coincidence". Now for the Good news! Thus far this and last winter there have been no significant reports of fish thefts from the usual locations, nor indeed from any of the Broads or rivers, great news ,really terrific........coincidently, it is not possible to buy blast frozen, unmarked roach or skimmer dead baits from the local tackle shops. I would like to think that this situation will remain, I would also like to thank Keith Arthur for helping highlight this problem in his writings and radio show,of course it may just be a coincidence that Keith exposed this Nationally and it has stopped, I love coincidences like this,don't you? Regards Bob.

Argyll was a fierce and formidable debater on this forum, and it will be all the poorer for his passing. R.I.P

Here is the reply e-mail ...copied and pasted; Dear Bob Many thanks for the mail regarding Mr Williams. It isn't normal practice to discuss internal business as all transactions I enter into are private and only of relevance to the parties involved. Obviously I wouldn't expect you to tell me how much you earn per year. That said, this particular subject is sensitive so I think you ask a fair question to which I reply Nigel will be receiving no pounds, no shillings and no pence. Neither did he at any time request payment. I hope this explains things in full. Tight lines for the winter ahead. Richard.

While we are correcting people, I feel it is very important to point out that ANGLERS MAIL employ Williams for articles on a weekly basis......not the Angling Times, the Angling Times interviewed Williams but did not pay him one solitary penny nor did he ask for any money, I know this as fact because I e-mailed Richard Lee and asked him last week.

Andrew to Budgie "Why are we aground bruv?" Budgie to Andrew "Cos I need a dump and these Norfolk reeds will cover my arse nicely"

Rules are the following examples; Using barbed hooks on a Barbless water. Wading ,when club rules say it is not allowed. Using 4 rods on a club water that only allows 2 etc....those are "rules" and are not breaking the LAW of the land...the difference is huge IMO but apparently not for others like Williams and Banks.

I agree with a lot of what you have written Waveney One (Richard) especially about the mans intelligence, in fact after reading the interview in todays Angling Times I remarked to my Son the very same thing! Williams thinks ,even now, that he broke some rules, he states just that in the interview ......the truth is he BROKE THE LAW OF THIS LAND and was prepared to break the law in a foreign Country too.....all this just to catch some bloody Pike to feed his ego....the guy is as thick as **** and deserves everything that comes his way, my view of him has changed,last week I stated he at least deserved some credit for holding his hands up and pleading guilty, I do not hold that view now....how can I when he thinks he has broken "some rules" and "made the biggest mistake of his life"? Masterline must be hard up for angling consultants and the Anglers Mail must be bankrupt of good angling contributors for their weekly paper ....shame on them for standing by the idiot.

My wife and I watched it, she visited India earlier this year courtesy of her boss Dr Kumar, the trip was paid for by Dr Kumar as a reward to her and her work colleague and good friend Dawn, for many years of hard work and loyal service,they both had the most amazing time and were struck by the two extremes of wealth (they stayed in five star converted palaces!) and abject poverty everywhere they visited, anyway Dr Kumar re-visited his birthplace a couple of months ago and actually went fishing himself (I think I must have sown the seed at a B-B-Q we both attended)he did catch a couple but only very small ones, on Monday my wife asked if he had seen the program and of course he had, next year he is retiring and is definitely returning for another bash, it moved him so much.