gozzer

What no condoms?? We used to catch them regularly when fishing the Calder. They put a good bend in the rod if you hook them in the open end, and they've have had me reaching for the landing net on a few occasions! I never actually used the landing net though, even the biggest ones could be swung onto land to be carefully unhooked with the forceps. John.

First, I feel I must apologise for my last self indulgent post, my only excuse is that I'd had a couple of drinks, and was feeling pretty down at the time. This self isolating for the over seventies, that's been suggested could last for up to 12 weeks is not helping things. Is it just me, or are there any others that don't feel they could last that long? As it is I don't go to pubs, clubs, eateries, theatres, cinemas etc, and the only time I'm in any kind of crowd, is when we do the weekly shop. I follow all hygiene advice, don't use public transport, and the car is cleaned out regularly with antibacterial wipes especially on all touch points. There are news reports rumours that this could end up being made law, with penalties incurred by offenders. I fail to see how it could be enforced, and surely if I were to go fishing, walking in the country, or if I had an allotment, then all these would be beneficial to both my physical, and mental health, and carry little if any risk. This is all academic anyway, because my wife, who is 5 years younger than me, works full time in an accounts office, and surprise, surprise, we live in the same house! John.

I'm 70 in 3 weeks, and with having COPD I'm in the high risk group. I had an episode a few months back where I couldn't get my breath. I was alone in the house, and it just started. I can understand your fear of it chesters, it was unlike anything I've experienced in my life. I imagine it's like when you're drowning, you've no control, and all I can really remember was thinking, 'no, not like this'. I ended up in a heap on the bathroom floor gasping for air for what seemed ages, but was probably only 3 or4 minutes. I suddenly managed to force a deep breath, and started breathing, shallow at first, then gradually deeper, until I started breathing more normally. Instead of breathing automatically, I started being aware of my breathing patterns, and felt I had to concentrate to keep breathing. This became worse when trying to sleep, and as I was dozing off, would snap awake in case I stopped breathing. It became so bad that I had to either have a few drinks, or take sleeping pills. I saw my doctor who suggested a complete health check to try and settle my mind. My ECG, blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood tests all came back as normal, but psychologically I still struggled. After all this time, although I'm much better, I still struggle to sleep at night, and usually get by on 4, or on a good night, 5 hours sleep. That one episode has completely change my outlook on life, and I often see things in a different light. Sometimes it's like I'm seeing familiar things/events for the first time, at other times I see them with a kind of retrospective regret. I'm a different person in many ways, although still a moaning old git, eh Phone? Like you, this is the thing I dread the most, and if the published figures are to be believed, then the odds against it actually happening are not very good. John.

I've never made it a secret that I'm in favour of a closed season, preferably regional ones to meet the needs of different areas. I've said before that I well remember the 60s when rivers were classed as trout, mixed, or coarse fisheries. There was just a couple of weeks from the closing of the coarse season, and the start of the trout season. You were allowed to bait fish the waters classed as trout and mixed fisheries from the start of the trout season, using maggots and worms. It was just a ploy to allow the catching of coarse fish, because some of the 'mixed' fisheries rarely saw a trout, maybe one or two a year. I admit that during my teens, I took advantage of this, and 'accidently' caught plenty of coarse fish, while failing miserably to catch the elusive trout. I started to notice, especially on the most popular stretches, 'anglers' finding where the fish were shoaling prior to spawning, and having great 'sport'. The fact that the fish were so densely packed that most were foul hooked, and shed milt and eggs when handled, didn't seem to bother some of them. Although I moved on if I found myself fishing such a swim, many did not, and I had many an argument on the bank, and in the clubs, but some couldn't see a problem. I've never been squeamish about the things in angling that often cause outrage amongst the anglers of today, but the sights I saw then sickened me. It was so bad that I packed in fishing during the 'closed season', and the general selfish attitude of some of the anglers, nearly caused me to pack it in completely. That was the practical side to my reasoning, the other was the traditional one, where the anticipation of the opening day, and the freshness of the banks early season, were a much loved part of the whole angling package. In 1968, (I think that was the year) we had an outbreak of foot and mouth, and all the rural fisheries were out of bounds for several months. They were closed from about sept/oct, until the end of the season. It was decided that there would be no closed season on any society waters where the landowners allowed, so the 69(?) season started three months early. Whether it was a coincidence, or not, I've never been sure, but the following season saw a massive reduction in fry numbers, it took years to redress the balance. I only fished the Yorkshire water board area in those days, so I can't speak for the rest of the country, but it certainly affected us. The abolition of the closed season on stillwaters was IMO, only done for financial reasons to appease the commercial fisheries, and the tackle trade. The irony being that the local tackle trade is partly losing out because many 'commercial' fisheries have their own tackle shops on site. I've long since stopped actively campaigning for what I believe are the right things for angling, being dismissed as a moaning old git, looking at the past through rose tinted glasses. I do however, still like to dip my toes in occasionally, and muddy the waters a little. John.

Judging when, where, and how much information to release to the public can be a 'double edged sword'. On one hand I would like to have as much genuine info as possible, to help us to make choices for our families. On the other, there are those that would react aggressively towards anyone who was even suspected of being infected. You just have to look at the reactions by some to anyone looking remotely Chinese. My son was in a large clothing store, last week, and told to his partner to watch peoples reactions to a Chinese couple who were shopping there. As the couple moved around the store, people were visibly parting, and backing away from them. There were even a few insults thrown their way. The same store announced a policy of cleaning all touch points in the changing rooms, between customers that used them. There were a few arguments, because people were asked to wait a couple of minutes while it was done. Same store, same group of people, but two different reactions. One scared of being infected, the other complaining because a procedure designed to reduce the chance of infection, caused a slight inconvenience to their 'shopping experience'. My Grandaughter was sent home from school on Friday, because there were too few children present in her year class. It appears that the mother of one child while travelling to the school on the bus the previous day, was heard describing symptoms similar to those of the virus, to someone on the phone. It was assumed that she was talking to 111, and asking for advice. This resulted in a lot of parents contacting the school to say that their child would not be attending on the Friday, and would not return until the school has been disinfected, and declared safe. I don't know yet how this will pan out over the weekend, and into next week. It's natural to care about, and want to protect our loved ones, but releasing information into the public, can cause panic, and fear in sections of it, with serious, and adverse consequences. I don't believe that the Government are doing a bad job so far, and admire Johnson for his openness in admitting that there will be many more deaths of loved ones before this thing runs it's course. That's something that many politicians would have shied away from saying. John.

We've had a few of similar requests on here over the years, some have given more detail about the nature/aims of the research than this person has. I am very wary of giving details to these 'surveys', because I know from experience that some are just 'fishing' for information to use against angling. The use of livebaits is a very emotive subject, even amongst anglers. So unless the OP decides to offer more information about the legitimacy, and aims of their research, I for one am very reluctant to participate. John.

I found a decent link to the use of personal protective equipment here https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/hcp/respirator-use-faq.html It seems that the type of mask that I've seen most people wearing does less to protect the wearer from the virus, but more to protect everyone else from the wearer if they are already infected. I've seen some strange and desperate things some people have done to prepare/prevent a possible infection. I went in a branch of Wilkos, and, like most other stores, they had run out of hand sanitizer. A woman was most indignant that she couldn't get any, and seeing a bottle beside the cashier said she'd buy that one. The cashier that it was hers, for her own use. The woman wouldn't accept that it wasn't for sale, and security had to be called. When she calmed down, it was explained that the cashier had bought it herself, because she was handling cash etc. The woman then said that she shouldn't have it on display, but hide it under the counter so as not to upset customers! Another woman bought 68 rolls of toilet paper, 'in case she had to self isolate'. The woman behind her in the queue said, 'bugger toilet paper, if I have to isolate, my priority would be a case of gin, and as much chocolate as I could carry'. Each time I go into a shop, different things seem to be missing, first it was hand gel, then antibacterial wipes, then hand wash, now toilet paper. I've just read that the FA are considering measures in regard future matches. They are considering, among other things, playing behind closed doors, and banning over 70s from attending matches! Starbucks banning the use of refillable cups, in case the 'baristas' get infected by handling something brought in by the general public. They haven't banned the use of cash, (handled by thousands of people), to pay for the coffee served in a paper cup though! Obviously they haven't heard of supplying gloves to their employees either. It's a strange world, and the people in it are even stranger. John.

Yup, that's the one Ian. The fish we used to catch in the Leeds Liverpool canal when I was a kid, were nearly all afflicted with this parasite, and in severe cases, they were blinded. Some were blind in one eye, some in both, and other than the blindness they looked healthy enough. It used to fascinate us how a completely blind roach, could still find our baits, but they did. The canal was almost over run with snails. If you picked something from the canal bed, it always had several snails on it. Leave a keepnet, or landing net in the water for a while, and you would find several attached when you lifted it out. The water also had a lot of gulls patrolling the lengths, so had all three of the requirements to complete the life cycle of the worm. When I've fished it in recent years, I've found that the snails are not there in such numbers, and the black spot is seen on fewer fish. There are also some waters I know, where there are loads of snails, but few fish with that with black spot. I don't know if there is a specific snail that is prone to carrying the parasite, or it's the water quality that curbs it's numbers, but there seems to be fewer waters that have are as affected as the canal used to be. John.

I agree with both cameraman and phone, it can be fantastic, but would advise a degree of caution. I would talk it over with your wife, check your finances, and how much early retirement would impact your final pension. I don't think you drive, so check where you can get to a water either on foot, public transport, or have a fishing friend you could travel with. I didn't have transport, having had the use of a company vehicle for so long. I bought a car to enable me to go fishing, and carry my grandson, (who was born a month after my retirement), to the many hospital visits he needed in his first couple of years. Without my grandson, or the car, I think I would have stagnated at home, but they got me moving, and gave me something to focus on. My wife is one of the 'waspies' that got stung over her retirement age, and is still working. I run her to work and back each day, but she has the option to retire this year, and is undecided whether to go part time, or retire completely. It's partially the money, but unlike me, she loves her work, and the social life with her workmates. That's another thing that I would consider, whether you would prefer to take a small part time job, to ease you into retirement, it's worked for a few people I know. We are all different, and have different needs, and lifestyles. I, for instance, have always been a bit of a loner, with just a few people that I would call friends, and I was mostly fine with my own company. Over the years, I have lost contact with many people, especially angling friends who chose a different 'commercial' path to me. I now find that I sometimes miss having them around, it's probably an age thing. I might sound all 'doom and gloom', but I've known many people over the years, who have longed for retirement, but found that the idea, and the reality, don't always match. They have found themselves 'lost', and have fallen into depression. Some have eventually found something to focus on, be it part time work, a hobby, and in the case of a widower neighbour, a new lady friend. Other have not been so lucky, and have deteriorated both physically, and mentally, into a 'different' person. I hope it doesn't sound like a 'trying to teach my grandma to suck eggs' thing, I genuinely believe it's not always an easy thing to adapt to. Whatever you decide Martin, I hope it works out well for you, and your missus. John.

I gather from your earlier post that you were made redundant Martin, I can empathise with you, I'm a veteran of 7 bouts of redundancy over the years. The ones when I was younger, although pretty traumatic financially, were easier to handle than those in my 50s and later. The later ones in particular took a toll on my health, my sanity, and my confidence. The cycle of trying to find work, while trying to appease the jobcentre staffs requirements, and keep at least a small amount of dignity, slowly ground me down. I was fortunate in that my usual bombastic 'adviser' at the jobcentre, took ill and I got a different one. He actually spoke to me, not at me, and advised me to see my GP, and explain my situation. My GP put me on 'sick' for a while, and the 'time out' did wonders for my personal wellbeing. I went back after a few weeks, and attended a course on IT, but eventually got a job back in my old trade. Unfortunately after a couple of years, I was made redundant again, but by then I was near enough to retirement age to not have them pressure me as much. Keep your chin up, and try not to get too angry with the staff, (it's hard, I know). If they offer you a course, and you fancy it, I'd advise you to give it a go. It might not lead to a job, but it gives you something to focus on, and you get out of the house and meet a few people in similar situations. Good Luck John.

The trouble with where I live, is that it’s at least a 30 minute drive to any decent river, often longer depending on the traffic in Leeds. Add to that getting to the river and then tackling up, and it’s often over an hour and a half from leaving home to actually fishing. As l don’t get off that often I’m reluctant to pack up without giving it a decent try. Im looking for a club with decent river fishing closer to me, probably the Calder, but that’s taken a real hammering with the recent floods. John

Don't feel embarrassed mate, you're not the only one, I didn't know either. Not that it would have been of much interest to me had I known. I recently found out that there are World Feeder fishing championships, as well as the old float version. There are also world carp fishing championships, although I'm not too sure whether it is won by those who catch the biggest, or by those who manage to avoid catching any at all. I know which I'd prefer. John. EDIT, Just noticed that this as my 10,000th post. There were times that I doubted that the forum would last long enough for me to reach this milestone, but it's still running, only just, but still here non the less.

How do you think I felt then Ian? I'd really looked forward to the day, after having no chance since the new year. I didn't mention it all though. I'd decided to use an older float rod when I got there, it's an old Diawa, and was the first carbon rod I ever bought, and one that I really like using. I took the rod tube out of my holdall, assembled the rod, and started threading the line when I saw that one of the guides had broken. I'm trying to get an exact match to replace it, but I think I will have to compromise with using something similar. I had two catapult elastics snap, lost two floats, although I did manage to rescue one, and went through at least a half dozen hooks. Who coined the phrase "Relax go Fishing"? I doubt I'll be going back to that particular length for some time, mainly because of the stupid dog situation. It's a shame because I've fished that stretch since I was in my early teens. Phone, I would agree with the sentiment in your post most of the time, but the 'angling gods' were really taking the pee on that day. Martin, I fished Roundhay Park so many times that it was almost like a second home, especially during my school days, and up to my early twenties, and a bit less often in later years. I can honestly say, that apart from the odd kid that tried the distract, and pinch, trick, I had more grief from the general public, and their dogs than anything else. The Leeds and Liverpool canal, especially the Gotts park/Kirkstall Power Station area, was a different Kettle of fish. I had umbrellas peppered with holes from air rifles. I got a hold of one kid, who had been shooting chub on the canal, and then shooting at me, I smashed his rifle butt, then bent the barrel on a metal mooring ring, and then threw him in. Justice was swift back then. Chesters, The Yorkshire river authority, had the same idea back in the sixties. They thought that clearing the banks, and making them slope down at 45degrees, would move the water away faster, and prevent areas flooding. It did for the immediate area, but caused worse flooding downstream. Miles of willows on the river Nidd, prime chub and barbel waters, were stripped away, causing erosion of banks, and flooding downstream. It took some time for the banks to recover, but with some illegal planting of willows, and the speed at which they take hold, many of us anglers helped it along. The powers that be realised eventually, and left it for the angling clubs to manage most of the time. Cameraman, I doubt that those nets would be much of a deterrent to the kind of dog that I met that day. I think barbed wire would be more appropriate, and effective. The majority of the owners and their dogs are ok, the dogs are just nosey, and they respond to the calls from their owners. A small percentage are aggressive, and their owners are either stupid, ignorant, or both. I wish I could get something like a mild pepper spray, that would irritate instead of harm, and if it works on them, I would then try it out on the dogs! I'm (like most people) still pee'd off with the weather, but have started some therapy that I haven't done for years. I've started making a few floats, from a collection of stuff I had in my box of 'miscellaneous, might come in handy someday' things. I've used corks, polystyrene 'eggs', off cuts of balsa wood, drinking straws, sections of cane/bamboo, stainless TIG wire, small diameter plastic tubes, and cocktail sticks. I've so far, make a few wagglers, avons, and even a couple of bolo' floats. I find it very therapeutic, and calming. The only problem is wondering when I'll get the chance to actually use them, the forecast isn't looking good from now until the end of the river season. John.

I did mention the political bias Ken, and the need for change and restructure, but I would rather put up with the BBC than the hundreds of hours of vacuous crap that has become the norm with the appearance of so many channels. It has, as I also mentioned, IMO caused the channels we had before, the BBC included, to sink to the same level of dross, that this commercial crap has brought with it. I struggle to find anything I feel worthwhile to watch on any station, but the level of crap provided by some of this 'fabulous choice' we've had foisted on us, is beyond belief. John.

My son damaged his calf ligaments, and was on crutches for a few weeks, then his partner fell, and injured her ankle, and neither could walk very far, so Grandad became chauffeur, child minder, and general dogsbody, for a while. The only chance I've had to go fishing, this year was the other week, when I saw a break in the wet and windy weather, and the river levels looked near normal. I haven't renewed my Leeds & District yearbook yet, so was limited in choice of venue, and decided on my old favourite, Wetherby. I arrived about 8 o'clock, and the river looked at an almost perfect level, carrying a few inches of extra. The water was very clear, but it was overcast, and slightly misty, so I wasn't too bothered. I walked the length, and decided on a swim I hadn't fished before, it was on the inside of a bend, with a slack on the near bank, and the flow about a couple of rod lengths out. With a slight upstream breeze, it looked perfect for trotting, or holding still in the slack. I plumbed it at about 10 ft just on the crease, and started to introduce a few casters, with a little hemp, while I had a coffee prior to fishing. After about 15 mins, I cast in and began my trotting, feeding a little every couple of casts. I had that feeling of expectancy, and a tinge of the excitement that I hadn't felt for years, since I was a kid, and every session would be a probable 'red letter day'. An hour later, with the clouds and mist clearing, to a bright blue, sun lit sky, and the breeze doubling in strength, and without so much as a nibble, I was feeling somewhat less confident. I switched to maggot, and a heavier float, introduced a little cloudy groundbait, and still no action. While I was baiting my hook, I heard a splash, and looked up to see the aftermath of what seemed like a fish swirling in my swim. I threw a few small crusts in to see if the chub were in residence, but they floated downstream until the gulls saw them. I carried on fishing until I heard another swirl just upstream, and turned to see more spreading ripples. This happened a few more times over the next half hour or so, I heard it, but didn't see it. I then cast into the slack, and 'laid on' while I had a coffee and a sandwich. There was another swirl, but this time I saw it. I saw the head, the tail, and the bloody wings! A cormorant was working the length, and I hadn't seen it surface, this time it came up about 30yds downstream of me, dived, then resurfaced just upstream of me. I don't know if it had been more successful than me, but it must have scared the crap out of any fish that I might have attracted. In the past, this would have called for a walk, with a coffee, and a calming cigarette, but that was over 5 years ago before I packed in, but I doubt that if one was offered, I would have struggled to say no at that moment. Instead, I put out a feeder, with flake on the hook, and breadcrumbs in the feeder, in the hope that a bigger fish would maybe escape the attention of the cormorant. I thought about moving, but felt dejected enough, to not have the energy or inclination. Another half hour without a bite on the feeder, and more important, no sign of the bird, I reverted back to the float. I'd kept up the feeding routine, and first cast the float sank, I was so surprised that I didn't even strike until it was on the way back up again. The next cast, another bite, this time I stuck, and connected with...a minnow, then another, and another. I was just glad to see the float go under, so I thought I'd fish through the minnows, and hope for something better to show up. A few minnows later, I hit something that put a bit of a bend in the tip, only for it to shed the hook. On inspection, I saw that I should have changed the hook when I'd caught a snag, but since it came off easily, I didn't bother. The next cast, with new hook, produced another minnow, then another, so I thought that I would try a small spinner in case the local large perch has arrived to the table. I took out the telescopic spinning rod that I bought for the fruitless trip to Fort William last year, and put on a small mepps, that I'd bought at the same time, and tried a few casts. Those who remember my old posts about this place, might remember, apart from the minnow population, there was also the occasional 'dog walker problem', but with this being mid week, I didn't think it would be too bad. I was just about to cast again when there was the sound of something rushing down the bank towards me, followed by the sound of growling, and barking. I turned to see two dogs, one of them looked like one of those Japanese fighting dog things, the other a large scruffy mongrel. In my shock and surprise, I had release my thumb from trapping the line, and the spinner had fallen onto my keepnet laid on the ground beside me. I stood with a couple of bank sticks in hand in hand, feeling a little apprehensive, and a lot pee'd off, and waited for the owners to appear, they didn't. I heard a few people on the other side of the flood bank, call out to dogs, and the two things looked towards the calls, but carried on barking and growling at me. This stand off lasted what seemed like ages but in reality was probably only about 5/6 minutes. The owners never appeared, and the dogs got bored and left, only to come back for a few seconds and start again. Now I know I moan a lot, but for all these dickhead dog owners knew, it could have been a child that had attracted the attentions of their beloved canine 'children', instead of a gnarled old moaner like me, with different, and more serious consequences. After the mutts had left, I turned to pick up my spinning rod, only to find that the trebles had embedded themselves in the mesh of the net. I usually change the trebles on any shop bought spinners, or at least squash the barbs, I had obviously missed this one! In trying to extricate the barbs from the net, I found that I had left my pliers/cutters, at home, and ended putting a hole big enough to take my fist, in said net. The next cast out with the spinner prevented a repeat of the situation, I hit a snag, and had to pull for a break, leaving the lure behind. I carried on trotting for another hour or so, but with just few minnows to show for my efforts, and the reappearance of my feathered friend, I packed up and left. I was always taught that, Proper Preparation Prevents **** Poor Performance, I have come to realise that this is a load of crap. The day before my 'fishing' trip was spent making sure that everything was ready, (everything but the wire cutters, obviously), so all I had to do on the morning, was fill my flask with boiling water, get my bait from the shed, and go. It's the most prepared I've been for many a year, and the result was one of the worst days I can remember. Next trip will be different, I'll just bung my gear in the car and set off, somewhere, anywhere there is water, and I'm allowed to fish it, sod everything else! Apologises for the extended rant, but I needed it. I don't know if I will be able to get on a river before the end of the season. We've had almost constant rain since that day, with added 50 mph winds. Yesterday I woke up to a couple of inches of snow on the car, but the rain and sleet took it away during the day. Today it was snowing most of the morning, but that has melted now, and added to the already swollen rivers. I know I'm lucky in that I live on high ground, and never likely to flood, unlike the poor sods that are being flooded for the 4th or 5th time in recent years. I'm left wondering that if it does calm down before the end of the season, how much will there be left to fish for? The number of fish that will have been swept away, or stranded well away from the rivers, must be in the hundreds of thousands, although we will still have the bloody carp that escape from the flood plain ponds to pollute restock the rivers, won't we? John. PS, On a lighter note, I had a lady approach me and ask something about 'swimming off the sandbed upstream of me'. I assumed that I had met a considerate dog owner, and, seeing that there were a good 30yds of trees between the spot, and my swim, I said ok but keep the dogs up that way. She then explained that it wasn't a dog, but her and a friend that wanted to swim! I warned her that the water was very cold, and the floods had brought a lot of snags into that area, but said it's ok with me, but be careful. I soon heard some splashing, and laughing, and looked to see these two 40 something ladies, in just ordinary swimming costumes, enter the water, and spend the next 15/20 minutes swimming up and down the area. In hindsight I believe that they had probably scared the cormorant away.

I imagine the patch of earth where he landed must be a bit flatter now. I always thought that the curvature of the vial varied according to the length and accuracy of the spirt level. But then I'm no college lecturer. John.

The trouble with the 'hundreds of others' is that over 90% are crap, or repeats. I always believed that an increase in number of TV stations, would mean a decrease in quality, and it's proven to be so. The trouble is, that it's brought the standard of the more traditional stations down nearer to that level, you just have to look at the shift towards so called, 'reality' TV. I agree that the beeb needs some restructuring, especially on the scale of salaries, and a more neutral political approach. But on the whole, I don't think paying a couple of quid a week for the TV that provides us with the fantastic wild life and nature programmes that the beeb do is that bad. That's not counting the radio stations, national, local, as well as international. The whole broadcasting media promotes a 'celeb' culture, and 'dumbs down' it's content to appeal to a significant section of todays viewers, so I would be sadden, but not surprised, to see the beeb go commercial. If it does then be prepared for even more programmed bias, slanted towards what the 'sponsors' are promoting, be that a product, or an idea. With 'repeats' in mind, then the Brexit thread would be the AN equivalent of Dave tv, and Davejavue, combined. John.

You seem to have been patched up more often than the $6 million dollar man Phone, I'll have to start calling you 'The Bionic Carper'. I hope you're well on the mend mate, take care, John.

It doesn't surprise me in the least that you don't understand it Paul, it's like so many things that people post in reply to yours. Again 'the memory span of a gnat'. I have explained to you so many times how I feel about Johnson, but still you can't get it into your head, or you ignore it because it doesn't fit in with what you want to believe. Because I voted for an MP who has done a great deal for my local community, in your child like logic, it means that I think Johnson is "great". You know what? 'You couldn't make it up'. You're still repeating the same old stuff, over, and over again. Maybe it's that memory span problem, you don't remember what you've posted, and think each time is the first. John.

It was so bad, it nearly blew mine off! John

You seem to have the memory span of a gnat Paul. All this stuff you regurgitate is what most of us said we expected when it was brought up 3 bloody years ago! We expected to take an initial hit, but were looking to the long term. It's now been just a few weeks, and a different thread, and lo and behold you're posting the same stuff agreeing with what we said we expected, but posting it over and over again, not always in the same format, but the same non the less. I agree the truth can hurt, and I hope that the truth about your posts has struck home to you, and you actually think about what you are posting, and it's relevance. You must either troll the 'net just looking for something with a 'trigger' word that seems to be in line with the stuff you've already posted, or are relying on all your social media 'friends' to supply the stuff for you. That way you don't have to read it, and that probably accounts for the number of times your links have said the opposite to what you thought it did. John.

The sad thing about you Paul, is that you go on about Trump, his deceptions, and lies. Then you support a 'petition' by posting a link, that copies the same trick Trump tried to pull on Obama, and you don't see the irony of it. You post about people lying, and because they have lied in the past, your twisted logic infers that everything they say is/will be a lie. Using your childish logic, must mean that you constantly lie, because you have been caught out lying on here. That's without regard to your posts saying that the papers lie, and then using the same media to prove something must be true. You say that you are posting all this crap to 'scrutinise' the actions of the Johnson Government, that's an even bigger pack of lies than you accuse Johnson of. Why can't you just admit that you are only posting this crap, because you don't agree with the vote on Brexit? You post all this negative rubbish, instead of rolling on the floor screaming, or stamping your feet in some childlike tantrum, to show your displeasure at not getting your own way. I once posted on here how I felt embarrassed for you, it's gone past that now, it's more like pity. You are so twisted inside about the referendum result that I suggest that you seek some professional help, before it's too late. John.

What a load of shite, are you related to the New Zealand guy Paul? As for the so called petition, was it started in the Dandy, or the Beano? It's about that age level. Here's an article from one of your favourite papers, I'm surprised you haven't posted it yourself. https://uk.yahoo.com/news/fighting-ferrets-bag-eu-tries-074423436.html John.

Do you mean Andy MacFarlane Phone? He fished with 'Andy1984', both from Scotland. Sadly he passed away a few years ago, at an early age. I can't see anyone ever having to defend him, he stood his ground, and spoke his mind, a trait that I admire. John

I believe that Anglersnet is in it's 20th year, if so, Happy Birthday! https://www.anglersnet.co.uk/forums/index.php?/forum/3-coarse-fishing/page/1775/ Last month was the 14th anniversary of my joining, and looking back at the lively debates we used to have, (mainly about fishing believe it or not), it's sad to see what we have now. AN helped me through a stage when, for various reasons, I couldn't indulge in the pastime I've loved all my life, indeed I was on the brink of selling my gear, and packing in altogether. There are many names that have come and gone in those years, and I sometimes wonder what happened to them. There was a wealth of information, from anglers vastly more capable than me, but my input was discussed, and accepted, and was even found to be helpful at times. There were of course some disagreements, (mainly in the sea angling forum if I remember correctly), and threads were locked on occasion, but it was all reasonably amicable. I am as much to blame as most, for the lack of angling input, but now that I can get off more often, I find it difficult to post about the 'ordinary' results of my recent trips. I try to get off two or three time a month, but age has added different restrictions, to the ones I used to have, and my posts seem to turn into rants, or moans, (it must be an age thing). I used to be able to come on here, and talk with fairly likeminded anglers, but now, this Brexit thing has, IMO, caused many members to leave, and the animosity that it spreads, is depressing. It's taken over the whole forum, as well as the national media, so there is no escape, no respite, from it, and I admit my own part in continuing it, when I like an idiot, get 'suckered' back in. I wonder if this place will exist in a few years time? I do hope so, but with more angling input, and a more friendly atmosphere. So a big thank you to Elton for starting AN, it can't have been easy over the last few years, and a Happy Birthday to AN, with hopes for a happier, and healthier future for it and it's members, John.