Pete Elleray

Haberdashers sell things to help thread cotton through the eye of a needle. I've no idea of the proper name but get down to a shop that sells needles and cotton and ask the assistant. If you say please they might show you how it's done. Pete

It was way back in the dark ages that I fished the pits at Steeple Langford but I cannot imagine Salisbury DAC ever giving them up. I dont know if they do day tickets, try their website at www.salisburydistrictac.co.uk Just over the river from the above waters there is, or perhaps was, a trout fishery with a coarse lake by the keepers cottage. When I was fishing the Salisbury waters, the trout lakes had some decent tench in them but they were very strictly off limits to the coarse angler. Anyway, some years later a fluff-chucking friend told me that some of the big coarse fish had been moved to the cottage lake and that is was open as a coarse fishery.. Longleat Estate near Warminster has a group of, I think, three small carp ponds right down by the house. There are several contributors to Anglers' Net who have talked about the fishing there, a search for Longleat should turn up some information. And then there is Sheawater Lake on the edge of the estate, a big water that, if my memory serves me right, used to be known for bream and tench and is now full of carp. I think that day tickets for Shearwater are available on the bank but you should check with somebody in the area. A few miles south of Salisbury is Witherington Farm coarse fishery, a commercial fishery with a mix of lakes and a 'snake' for the match men. It also has a decent tackle shop. The website www.witheringtonfarm.co.uk talks about the bed & breakfast and doesn't mention the fishing, there used to be a website for the tackle shop but I can't find it. The guy that runs the shop is an all-round good guy and a very good angler, he should be able to put you on to other waters in the area. Hope that you find something to enjoy when you come down. Pete

Tony, there are two clutches on Shimano baitrunners - the usual one to set the drag when you are playing a fish and a baitrunner one to set the drag when the baitrunner is set on. Next time you get to use it, have a look at the adjuster knob - the little ring behind the knob sets the free spool drag. Pete

The original BOSS trolley was, as Worm says, the bee's knees if you have a load of tackle to shift and I used one for years on weekend sessions. Eventually I swapped to a barrow for long sessions and found that assembling the BOSS, and finding the bits, was a bit much for the tackle I needed on a short session. For the short session, go for a standard trolley like the Rover from the Badger catalogue. Pete

I wonder where they will find the money to pay the fine? Pete

Well done Jamie, those tench are the start of a long and happy life as an angler. Pete

Isn't the first rule on the internet to delete incoming messages from 'strange' addresses? If you haven't got a Barclays account and you replied, you have told the sender that your address is valid. Pete

Try one or other of the angling weeklies or get some copies of the Improve Your Coarse Fishing Magazine. The best way to learn, as Alan says above, is to go with an experienced angler and watch what he does. But you will find plenty of tips in the angling press.

They don't allow fly fishing because we are coarse anglers. The regulars there pay a fortune for their fishing and would be upset to see coarse anglers, outside of the trout season, apparently fishing for trout. Pete

'Not all my helpers are newts'. The mind boggles. Pete

Does it matter what it looked like and whether it becomes an official record?

Bill, I have a few groundbait mixes copied from angling papers and magazines. Everybody has a special mix that cannot fail, none of them are particulary special and all of them fail regularly. Birchy's tip about the dog biscuits is a good one and will go on my list of baits. Vitalin is another dog food that, when ground down, makes a good groundbait. Pete

Nobody has asked to see why you are using spade ends. Is there any reason why you can't use eyed hooks? Are you tying the knot with the line at the front of the spade? It must come up the front,the edge at the top of the spade will cut the line if it is at the back. Pete

Horses cannot resist dog biscuits.

Sorry ajay, your reply wasn't there when I started typing mine.

The usual advice is to lay the feed spool flat with the line coming off in the direction, clockwise or counterclockwise, that it winds onto the reel. If you get tangles, the feed spool needs turning over. Pete

Edd, for my money jak and several other contributors have got the solution. Stick with your hemp groundbait. Set up a feeder rig with a short hook link and an artificial maggot. Put a hemp and caster or maggot mix in the feeder and have a good day. Pete [ 23. July 2005, 10:02 PM: Message edited by: Pete Elleray ]

"Surely the EA should be pursuing unlicensed anglers and polluters rather than those who have already paid up." Of course they should. They did and they caught one. That angler deserved everything he got. Pete

Mine likes a good squeeze but it's usually me that gets dropped in the liquid.

I don't know anything about the rivers around Bedford but the Ouse sounds a good place to start. A few years back I fished a gravel pit with the Ouse next to it and the river looked ideal for the species. Pete

Excellent service from Good Fishing Ltd. Ordered the items Wednesday afternoon, used them this evening. Pete

Hi. Sorry, I forgot that I was on a carp anglers' thread. On the rods that I use for most of my fishing, the second ring is the perfect position for the bite alarm. On the carp rod that I use for spodding, the second ring is far too far away. Pete

Sounds good, no reason for it to fail. Do you plan to use the Vitalin as it comes out of the bag or will you grind it in a food processor? I don't bother blending it for prebaiting because I like to see plenty of tasty bits in the mix. Pete

Graham, Remember that the diagram taken from that article is only a sketch. If there had been enough room for a bigger sketch it would have shown the bite alarm further away from the reel. Have a look next time you see someone using a bite alarm, I think that most people position the rod so that the alarm is the other side of the second ring. Please take this as a friendly comment, Rabster did well to find an article that answered your question. Pete

Is the nun in the bedroom a special feature or an option?