gozzer

I can remember going to see Dr Hook in the 70s. It was the most painful prostate exam I've ever had! John.

There were quite a few AN members who had little regard for the Angling Trust, Phone. Nick, (Worms) was one of them. He, like many of us, had difficulty getting any answers to questions we put to them when they first started. Some were barred from the forum that the ATr had set up, most of us had emails ignored. He hasn't been on here since sept 2017, and the last time I had any contact with him, he said he had an actual meeting with someone from the ATr. I never heard the outcome of the meeting, or heard from him again. On the topic of the Angling Trust, I've been following several threads on another angling forum, they have been pretty entertaining. Some members had concerns about the letter the ATr send to the government about restarting angling after the lock down. The abuse they received reminded me of those days when Barry, Worms, Sharkbyte, and the rest, dared to question ATr policies back in those early days. John.

In hindsight everything can be scrutinised, analysed, and criticised. What might have seemed like insignificant statements, and suggestions that were ignored at the time, can become terrible mistakes in the light of newer developments. The number of early forecasts, and predictions that were later proven to be untrue, or mistaken, are conveniently forgotten, especially by those who are happy to play the blame game. They seem to get some kind of 'kick' out of playing this game, but very rarely have they offered a viable alternative, prior to the event. We've had to listen to too much confirmation bias, now we're getting it's close relative 'hindsight bias'. John

When fishing in a swim like you describe Ken, I would use a straight float such as a quill, or balsa, with long float rubbers that go past the ends of the float. This allows the float to pass through weed without catching on it. If possible I would fish over depth, and have a few shot positioned to keep the first few feet of line hard on the bottom, to reduce the chance of line bites, and help show a positive indication of a real bite. I've fished in streamer weed like this, fishing well over depth, with an over shotted float held back hard against the current, and shot holding the bait on the bottom. It's like an amalgamation of stret pegging, laying on, and legering, the float just indicates a bite quicker, and with less resistance than using a quivertip. John

I have been reluctant to recognise the ATr as anything but an advisory organisation ever since they formed. I know that 'Fish Legal', (I hate that name, it sounds like one of the 'have you had an accident' type of law firms), have done a decent job of helping out in cases of pollution etc, but I much preferred the old ACA, despite the alleged mis handling. I did consider carrying my long standing subscription to the ACA over to Fish Legal, but at the time, you had to subscribe to the ATr, in order to do so. I see the ATr as a self elected body, with a self devised remit. During it's early days, it was very reluctant to answer any questions regarding it's policies, or aims, other than the ones they wanted to discuss. I had several emails ignored at the time, I assume because they felt that any answers they could give wouldn't enhance the image they were trying to promote. I know I wasn't the only one who had the same treatment. I don't know the current official membership, but unless they have had a massive surge in numbers, then I would guess it's well short of 10% of individual angler numbers, back then it was below 1%. I wonder how many individual member there would be, if membership wasn't a requirement of entry into many big matches. It probably explains why so many of those who see it as a governing body, are in the match fraternity. It angers me that many are seeing the ATr as being mainly responsible for angling being allowed this week. I know they sent a letter pleading our case, but to now try and claim full credit for something the government were going to allow anyway, seems to me to be presumptive, and self promoting, at the very least. John.

I'm with Keith and Ian, on this. Apart from the fact that I would be reluctant to buy anything described as a 'Bobber', (sorry phone), I don't think they are practical, versatile enough, and in the case of those in Martins link, much too expensive. I have plenty of floats that would do a much better job, and I could interchange them to suit, when needed. John.

I've just been looking in on another angling site, and there was a discussion about what anglers were allowed to do now we can actually go fishing. What struck me was the number of times the 'rules' of the Angling Trust were mentioned. How long have the Angling Trust been the angling rule makers? Was there a vote taken amongst the members, (the few that exist), that made it the governing/ruling body, as opposed to the representative/advisory body? I have always seen the EA as the ones who set the rules, backed up by the local by laws, and those who run the fisheries. Am I the only one who still feels this way? I'm beginning to see what Barry was on about with his campaigning against the ATr. John.

That's my interpretation of it too Ken, but there should be more info when it's discussed in Parliament tomorrow. As Keith says, it's all dependent on which fisheries will be open. I haven't joined a club yet, been waiting to hear what might happen. If/when I do, I will still struggle to find a water that will meet social distancing requirements, so I might hang on until the 16th and have a better chance of finding somewhere. John

That's good to hear Martin. I was beginning to wonder if they had stopped doing it. The longest I had to wait before recieving the monies was about 2 months. John

If you're anything like me Ian, once you hear something like that you can't unhear it. It's the same with the car, if I hear a slightly different sound, it seems to get louder until I find what it is. Others in the car think I'm imagining it. If you've been hearing it for that length of time, and had some of those barbel on it, I wouldn't worry too much about it, even if it is blood annoying. John

If anyone deciding on anglings return after lock down was watching ITV4 earlier this morning, then we've no chance of getting back bankside any time soon. The whole morning was taken up with Korda 'fishing' programmes 'starring' Dean Macey and his mate Ali. Social distancing while hugging, kissing, wrestling, back slapping, rugby tackling, while screaming and whooping on the top of their voices, are hardly conducive to social distancing. It hardly supports the stereotypical view of the solitary angler, sitting on the bank, absorbing the peace and tranquillity of nature. I watched one about catfish from the Amazon, which was passable, but they then went to the Anglers World 'fishery' in Devon. It endorsed my less than complementary view of these places, and I had to turn off after struggling to watch about ten minutes of it. John.

Doesn't the Government scheme pay out your redundancy money, and money in loo of notice Martin? I've been made redundant 7 times in my life, 4 of them where companies went bust, and each time we were pay out by the scheme. John

It nearly 2 years since he logged onto AN phone, June 2018. John

Come off it chesters, if 99% of the population died off, who would you natter to on here? Unless you had a very busy time back in the day, and were very prolific in sowing your seeds back then. John

That's not a duck. 'Realtree' have branched out (see what I did there?), that's one of their latest 'Realduck' camo suits. The guy is just baiting up a swim prior to fishing. They are developing 'Realcow' and 'Realhorse' suits, for those who like to fish in pairs. As well as 'Realsheep' for those silly flockers, who just like to follow the latest trend. John.