Michael

Guys, Thank you very much for all your help. I've had a look at the websites and theres some great info on them. Given the opportunity i'll be sure to check out those waters.

Hi All, I am going to be spending the next 3 or so months down in Reading, and this would be a superb opportunity to due some coarse fishing. I myself am a hardcore coarse fishing nut however due to BA flight restrictions, they won't let me on with 20 rods, poles, seatbox, bags, groundbait, etc.... unless I pay thousands. Being from Sunny Scotland, coarse fishing is not as established as down there, and its more the fluff chucking domain. Having only fished in England once in my life, I really am a total noob. Can anyone recommend where to start down in Reading? I am staying in a Hotel off junction 10 for my duration, with minimal tackle. Would love to hook into a carp or 10, tench etc... Locations of good tackle shops, and where to get bait? Any help would be much appreciated! Regards, Mike

Hi Rob, Behind the Mausoleum there is 3 ponds that hold a head of pike and Perch. Down at Strathclyde Country Park there is the loch, however I don't know if you can fish it or not due to blue/green algae. The Clyde as you mentioned holds large shoals of Roach, perch, pike, some chub and barbel. No idea where you can get tickets for there, as the tackle shop in Hamilton has shut down. PM me if you need more info mate. Mike

Hi Swanyboii, Just want to share a few tips on how I learnt the principles of pike fishing. First up I done a lot of reading up on the topic and google helping greatly. Take a look at this link for pike handling http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&q...dling&meta= and for the basics have a look at http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&q...earch&meta= What I generally do is read through the first few websites that google return, and what you will find is that the information is generally the same. However each article tends to explain certain points in a more in depth/informative way. From reading the articles it will give you a better all rounded understanding of pike fishing. I certainly am no expert on pike fishing, in fact a couple of the members here are showing me the ropes and I am sure you will find friendly helpful people on these forums who will be more than happy to show you the in's and out's of pike fishing. Hope you have happy fun piking days

So bunny poo it is then. I've saved up a bag of bunny poo already and graded them by colour (depends on what the bunny is eating ranging from hay to Maccy D's chips) and hopefully trying them this weekend with Andy. Bring the alcohol wipes please mate. oh yeah forgot to mention my bunnies poo has a strong smell of curry and seeps a natural oil. To answer a question posed here, they float as their almost impossible to flush down the toilet. However the night time poo which is soft and sticky sinks

I am a regular coarse fisherman, and I myself am in Scotland. Glasgow to be precise. There is a spot on the canal i regularly fish that has a few pontoons jutting out into the basin, and on the pontoon are boat moorings. More often than not i find 20lb line with size 10 hooks baited with maggot or worm attached to the moorings, and were talking about 20 moorings. From my understanding and local knowledge, the certain minority of the eastern European population have been setting these fixed lines to catch their dinner! Correct me if i am wrong but this is highly illegal and completely insensitive to the local wildlife, be it fish or mammal/bird. Currently there is a swan with a length of this line attached to it's beak/throat due to this, despite efforts of the RSPCA trying to catch it. Before I start getting pelters about pointing the finger at eastern european folk, i would like to point out that a) i have been asked by this minority of people why I return my catch, and can they have my catch to take home my mate who is Albanian himself almost threw the guy into the canal for the comment. I would say this is a illegal method of catching fish and hopefully the 1951 Act will help prosecute those responsible.

took a wee stroll down to the springburn park ponds today as i heard a rumour there were fish in them. Once there i spotted some large roach and rudd feeding but can not catch one no matter what i threw at them. Does anyone know what is the best way for fishing for rudd on the surface? i have this wild idea of using a wagger and instead of a dropper shot, hook a small polystyrene ball onto the hook to float it. Anyone know of any other parks in Glasgow with fish in them that are allowed to be fished?

yarp, thats me back online. missed you at the canal today Andy. only caught one, but the tench or going mental up there. Up for a bagging up session tommorow mate? Oh yeah one of the lads pulled out a ruffe from the basin. First time i have heard never mind seen one being pulled out from there before. Spikey we pricks they are

I was out with Andy at the time when we both saw it jump clean out the water. Never seen anything like it before, large round bellied pike with with bright red anal fin. We thought it was a large carp at first, but it was far to elongated to be a carp. We went back down today and saw a few carp jumping about, but none had the grace of the pike, just a big belly flop. Good day out roach/rudd fishing as we bagged up!