ooarr_not_a_maggot

I use a couple of cheap ABU rods for my light lure work. A 6'6" Conolon and a 5' Enticer - not sure of the exact weight ratings but I'd say 8-15g and 2-10g respectively. Both will easily cast an Ondex 25+ yds, with a light reel line. Both are American imports but I bought them brand new, on eBay UK. £35ish for the pair. They've now had 3-4 years hard use and are still going strong. Best value trout/perch rods I've ever owned! The Conolon also gets some use when I'm sight fishing for jacks in the margins.

Rock fishing it is then

Spinning in Orkney, in February........now there's something you don't hear about everyday and with good reason Coarse fish are non existent. The brown trout season will be closed and if there are any pike to be had, they're going to be frozen to the bottom and reluctant to chase lures. Rock fishing is your best bet. Grab yourself some cheap kosters/slim jims/toby's/jelly worms etc and see if you can catch some pollack. Just be careful! The swells up there can be hellish at that time of year.

I hate to echo all the other replies but they're spot on and should be taken on-board.....quite literally I've no experience of the mentioned waters but have fished on similar sized Scottish lochs, and bigger, all my life and the same rules apply. Large expanses of water + small amounts of wind = big waves. The conditions will change in an instant and you will, as Emma says, see 4 seasons in one day. Stick to 12ft as a bare minimum but the bigger the better. I still find myself bouncing along in a 16ft longliner, on choppy days, with clenched bum cheeks! And get yourself a good reliable outboard. There's nothing worse than losing power on a big water, then having to row home. Scrap the buoyancy aid and go with a life jacket, for reasons already mentioned.

Starlings have been on the DEFRA's list of "not to shoot", for a few years now. They're in decline and can only be "controlled" under special circumstances, with the appropriate licence. Did the cat apply for said licence? As for slow worms? Well I'm afraid my strimming accounts for more deaths, in my folks garden, than their cat ever does. It's unavoidable and even waiting till the cool of the evening, I still hit 5-6 each year. Ban strimmers?

I've been involved in shooting and fishing ever since I was old enough to walk. Rules, responsibility and respect were drilled into me from that young age and have served me well throughout both disciplines. I have no issues with people taking "one for the pot" or culling, where necessary, so long as it's done responsibly, humanely and within the law. That applies to both shooting and fishing. I start to have issues when people break the law and have no clue about legal quarry or suitable calibre. Sadly there are a few of you on this forum that fall into this category. And by my way of thinking, if you don't follow the rules whilst out shooting, what rules do you follow whilst out fishing? Please just stop, think and grow up! All you're doing is fuelling the antis, who in turn tar us all with the same brush.

Congratulations on your first 20lb'er. Between yourself and Andy Macfarlane, there were some pretty impressive fish landed over the weekend. It must be a good time of year to fish in a loch, filled with water, somewhere in Scotland under some clouds. Although I struggled to break double figures yesterday, I caught 14 fish, between 4-10lb, in under 2hrs. My best session so far this season and all on lures.

Spinning for brownies, at the back end of the season, has always been far more successful for me than baits. Why? I don't know.... It might be because the trout are more aggressive/territorial near spawning time? Or maybe instincts telling them to put on weight for winter - ie going for the bigger bait?

Google is your friend - In England the brown trout season runs from the 22nd of March through to the 30th of September, however some fisheries may go on for another week in October. Check locally to be absolutely certain. Why? So they have a chance to spawn without being disturbed. Do people still fish? Yes but for coarse fish only! For natural course fishing waters the close season is 15th March to 15th June each year.

THIS may be of help. I've never boated tidal water but used to have a similar sized dingy with a 5hp engine. It pushed two big blokes and gear up-river quite nicely.

You're absolutely right. The majority of highland rivers are either owned or partially owned, by an elite few and have been for the past 200+yrs. They decided what "tradition" is.

This wasn't really a catch, more a foul hooking incident..... I was wading around some weedy margins, harassing pike with lures, when I spotted what appeared to be a small treasure chest. Being the curious fellow that I am, I proceeded to hook and pull it to the surface for closer inspection. Upon doing so, the lid popped off said "treasure chest" to reveal some pebbles and a little plastic bag full of sludge - which was causing a shiny oil slick on top of the water, around my bare legs. The little brass plaque on the lid was scribed "Mary MacDonald 19XX - 1993" Feeling somewhat guilty after disturbing someones final resting place and disgusted at being covered in dead person slick, I quickly put the urn back together and re-sunk it. I don't fish there anymore.....

On the local rivers that I have salmon fishing on, yes. These are traditional highland rivers which cater for traditional highland fishermen - ie well to do, non locals. The vast majority of which will stand there all week, in their plus fours and tweeds, lashing the water to death with flies and catching nothing. Only to scoff and moan at my techniques, which catch fish. It's mostly in jest and probably partly down to jealousy but there's still an elitist element of Salmon fly anglers who can't stand plebs and their spinning rods

If you really have to go down the cheaper reel route, at least buy something from the UK. Then when it turns up and you're not happy for whatever reason, you can still return it. There are plenty of usable reels on eBay (located in the UK) that are within your price range.

Take up lure fishing?

And if that doesn't work, you could always "cheat" and bounce a worm through the lie. Just don't let anyone see you doing it! I get enough dirty looks from the posh fluff chuckers, just for spinning. I'd probably be hung if they spotted me with a worm

"High strong nylon body" - So it's plastic..... If money's tight, you don't want to be throwing £17 away on a cheap import, which could potentially be junk. It's difficult to tell without handling a reel, but the above does indeed look like junk, with a big, shiny, plastic handle stuck on for effect. You'd be better off saving another £10-£20 and looking for a low end Okuma, Daiwa, Shimano or Abu reel on eBay UK. Most of which are tried and tested, with a good reputation.

Good advice from Andy there. You'll have to do a lot of searching around but once you find where the Salmon like to lie, you'll catch them there year after year. A bit old fashioned but Devon minnows and Abu Kynoch's are certainly worth a chuck. Black/orange and Silver/blue for the devons and pink/white for the Kynoch.

Seconded. I recently bought a 7ft Rogue Plugger (10-30g) and a 7ft Lite Plugger (30-60g) . They were intended as cheap, knockabout rods for the missus but now I'm using them. Paid £50 for the pair and for the price, I can't fault them! Great build quality and fantastic feeling blanks. If it was me starting out and buying my first lure rod, I'd go for something like the rogue plugger. It's cheap and leaves you some extra pennies for lures and a decent reel. It's also a good allrounder (10-30g) - a bit on the heavy side for trout/perch but it will deal with everything else in your list. Choosing rod length is a bit harder though. It's trade-off between personal taste and water situation and only after a bit of trial and error will you find what you need/like. I try to use shorter rods wherever I can. They're lighter, more manoeuvrable and just feel better to me. Unless I'm casting 50+ yrds, fishing fast flowing or snaggy marginal waters, where extra reach and power are essential, I stick to sub 7ft rods.

Your missus did very, very well Tigger. There's at least 6 lures you've got there that are worth a fiver each. A word of warning about the Big S's though - the hooks and hook hangers are not what they used to be. I had one bend to within and inch of it's life, after a 14lb pike.

That's just eBay / Paypal policy and has been for a few years now. However, they still find it perfectly acceptable for folks to sell big, long, pointy knives . As has been already stated, the VCR bill only covers dealers and does not affect 2nd hand sales. A word of advice though - don't use paypal for the transaction. 1 - they won't cover it and 2 - if they see you selling a "gun" , they'll notify the police. Ridiculous, but there you have it. If you're still trying to sell the gun, use the trade section over on airgunbbs.

I was a couple of clicks away from buying the Ugly Stiks when I spotted the Wychwood lure rod range. Wychwood 7ft Rogue Plugger Rod 10-25g £20 Wychwood 7ft Lite Plugger Rod 30-60g £35 Anyone had any experience with either of these? If the casting weights are anything to go by, they pretty much cover all of my medium to heavy lure fishing needs.

When mines not in use, it gets the washing line treatment, then stored away. If you're trying to get rid of the fishy smell, wash it in cold water with a lemon detergant. Just make sure you rinse it thoroughly before using it again.

You've hit the nail on the head, Budgie. The law's the law but at the end of the day, it's still down to the keeper/baliffs discretion. In my experience, across dozens of Scottish waters, they've always been 100% sensible about it. However the above situation is a little different. I know for a fact that the guy was drunk and a country mile away from his rods. And having had run-in's with this him in the past - sworn at and threatened just for walking past him - I can assure you he's a c*** of the highest order. I'm pretty sure the "law" is being executed to the letter here, so they can make an example of Mr Brown. Loch Lochy has been getting a lot of rough treatment of late and this case will hopefully make anglers stop and think about what they're doing.

Excellent find Ken. I'll be looking into those right away. Cheers.