Anderoo

Good! Thanks Paul, sounds like it's safe to return

Any idea if they've spawned yet Paul?

There are no crays in the canal either as far as I know (we fished with deadbaits and didn't have any trouble) so I assume they just think of them as 'food'! I tried a different canal last weekend and had a few more fish, only 1 on a cray lure that time but it picked the lure up off the bottom right under my feet in shallow water - very exciting

It seems to have been a funny spring crucian-wise, I had a brief dabble at MF a few weeks ago and it was a similar story. I gave up on my main lake as the cold spring postponed their spawning and it turned into a right old circus with everyone chasing monsters - I like catching big fish but it was too much for me. I'll go back once they've spawned and everyone's moved on to the next thing!

Nice one Lyn, sign me up! Hopefully there'll be some volunteers to arrange some of the others

Nobody who is able to catch that many tench plus a bream should get a wingham ticket

Oh I'd forgotten about that! Yes, happy to revive that one, should be a good laugh if nothing else!

A possibility for a catfish fish-in if enough people are interested - Orchid lakes club lake in Oxfordshire, which can be booked for £160 a day: http://www.orchid-lakes.co.uk/club_lake.htm It would be good to hear of other options too!

Let's have some ideas about potential fish-ins this year I am happy to arrange a zander fish-in at Rutland in October. I'm also willing to sort out a day at Pitsford for the big perch if anyone fancies it, it's not something I've done before but I want to try it this year (I think it's 'any method trout fishing'). Things I'd like to do if they could be arranged: - barbel fish-in - catfish fish-in - Lower Itchen fish-in The social side of AN has really declined recently, it would be nice to revive it a bit if possible

Despite the stubbornly unspringlike weather I popped out for a couple of hours yesterday evening to see if the mayflies have started hatching at a local tributary - I really wanted a trout on the dry fly, it's been ages! 'Despite the weather' was right, not only was it rather chilly but the wind was a nightmare, really strong and gusty. It not only put the brakes on a big hatch, it also made casting and presentation very hard. It's a very overgrown little stream and I didn't need anything that makes casting any more difficult...true to form, a few more flies adorn its trees this morning However, on arrival, several of these greeted me: Yay! There weren't loads of them and the hatches were very localised, but they did stir the occasional trout into making their presence known. I only managed to fool one (so much for duffer's fortnight) but that was enough for me, for now at least - I watched him rise a couple of times before covering him with a dry mayfly on my little #2 outfit, and watched him rise up and sip in the fly, absolutely fantastic to see and really exciting. I'll never get bored of that! He put up a very spirited fight on the light tackle too, and was a handsome fellow: I only saw one other trout rising after that, and failed to convince him that my fly was just as good as the real thing. Hopefully the weather will improve over the next couple of weeks and I'll get a few more chances

Steve, no need to feel guilty, certainly not your fault! It could have just been a dodgy one. Rusty one consideration about the bivvy is weight, if you can drive to your swim or its only a short walk then no problem, but if you have to walk/barrow any distance, a big heavy bivvy is not the way to go. When I was looking around for a bivvy a few years ago it was mainly for wingham, which involves long walks to swims, which was the main reason I settled on the a-lite.

I don't know of any bivvies I can recommend that meet your requirements (I have a trakker a-lite which I like but there's no porch and it has a separate groundsheet), but I can offer some generic advice on bedchairs. I've had a cheap JRC bedchair for 10+ years and it's still going strong, albeit rather saggy these days. Recently I bought a Venture 'flatbed' bedchair which on first impressions looked good, but on only its second outing it fell to bits, meaning a night on the floor and an early return home. Plus the hassle of returning it and sorting out a refund. I've also had a JRC chair for 10+ years and that is also still in really good shape. So, I am happy to recommend JRC stuff!

Welcome to the dark side

Andy yes, the Thames certainly fits that description! Cheers Philo, interesting - blue crays eh, I will have to try that. So far I've caught on lime green, orange/brown, and brown/red. Any thoughts on the different sizes? When the perch are feeding well, they seem happy to wolf down pretty big baits.

The canal lure fishing this spring has been fantastic fun, Rich and I have been exploring different bits of water and seeing what we can trick into taking various bits of rubber and plastic. Small paddle tail rubber lures on small jig heads have done well, and on a good productive bit of canal we have had our first success with imitation crayfish. I've tried crayfish lures before at the Thames and lack of action soon turned into lack of confidence, and I gave up on them. Now, however, I'm looking forward to trying again. It's a fascinating method, short casts (usually around structure), and a v-e-r-y slow retrieve, bumping the cray slowly acrosss the bottom. Bites are often pronounced but gentle, as the fish picks it up off the bottom. I imagine at greater range, watching the line might be a better way of looking for bites rather than feeling for them. First it was perch I was catching, but over the weekend my first cray-caught zander came along. From the sublime... ...to the ridiculous Can't wait to go again, it's so addictive, just like the deep-water reservoir zander and perch, the electric 'donk' as they hit the lure is like a drug you just can't quit. And after half an hour with no bites you convince yourself that you're the worst lure angler in the world, that you're doing everything wrong, and you'll never catch another fish ever again. ...and then. 'donk' The hardest bit is the early starts to get as much fishing in as possible before the boats start moving. Bank holiday Monday we were getting up at 3.30am. That hurt! ...but them, 'donk'!

Could be worth trying a windbeater float and fishing for lift bites - these are very stable in big winds and very sensitive if set up correctly.

I quite often use blood knots too, because I find them very quick and easy to tie and they are more than strong enough for many situations.

That is rather astounding, congrats Steve and Dan! Now the best carp fishery in the country...?

Hmm, you outfished him at Rutland, I seem to recall...

I've given up on this again, one of the 'very strong' hooklengths was fine for a few fish then suddenly parted on another. It's a shame, but I'v gone back to light braid which is much more reliable.

Congrats on a fine fish Norma! And many happy returns Vagabond

A knotless knot is the easiest option, but it will leave the line coming out of the eye at quite an agressive angle, which you may not want. To have the hook lying straight on the line I'd recommend a grinner/uni knot. I pass the line twice through the eye when using braid but only once when using mono, as it can make it curl up when you tighten it.

Yes the wind has been unbelievable! Plus on a shallow lake that means undertow, which complicates things. I think the crucians are shoaled up and quite localised. On my last trip only 3 of us caught crucians and we were all next to each other. I only fished there because there was a free swim, not for any other reason. The lake is really busy so it's a case of turn up, find a swim, and hope they come across your bait. Not really how I like to fish, but I expect it will calm down a lot once they've spawned.

Similar to Ken, somewhere like Blacks I reckon rather than a tackle shop. I have a green Peter Storm waterproof jacket that I really like, from Blacks. Wasn't expensive (about £40 from memory), lightweight, lined, breathable and actually is waterproof! It's worth a look for waterproof overtrousers while you're there, I got some good ones there recently (lined, breathable) for £15.

Photographed a 4.03 for a guy in the next swim yesterday - couldn't match that but I did get another new pb of 3.14