Anderoo

I've only ever used the cooked ones, and then only at one water, but they worked well. I have been told that it can be a very water specific bait, on some waters perch love them and on others they don't - maybe the Thames perch just don't!

Time to ditch the micro lures and break out the 50g jig heads

Oh no

2" or 2.5", I've tried smaller (down to 1") and gave caught on them, but the slightly bigger ones seem better. With the really small ones, the tail action doesn't seem so effective.

Don't forget the crayfish I had a spell where I went off the kopytos but on my last few sessions (canal and Thames) I've had quite a lot of fish on them, both perch and zander. I think they're popular because they're easy to work, but they are very effective too on the days when the fish want something a little more substantial. Best colours for perch for me have always been plain yellow and plan white. Now the temperatures have dropped and the fish may be less willing to chase a lure, I'll be slowly bumping crayfish lures along the bottom. It's worked ok at the canal, but the real test of nerves will be the Thames...!

Still here but haven't fished for a while...last trip was Rutland about 3 or 4 weeks ago. Since then just a series of excuses - too windy, too rainy, not enough flow in the rivers, too much of a change in temperature...etc I could fish this weekend but I think it'll be too cold

If tying it to a swivel, double the braid up and do a twice through the eye grinner.

Got a link Ken?

Thanks for that Steve, another one on the 'possible' list! I'm really wary about buying blind now, as Rich says the claims rarely stack up in real life, one way or another. Also...it has to be yellow A personal thing I just can't avoid! For vertical jigging in deep water, I'm sure there's a sweet spot somewhere out there with a braid that's thin enough for difficult conditions while being sturdy enough not to wory about it wearing or breaking all the time, but I haven't found it yet. The 6.6lb PP I've been using recently has been good so far, but it's not round enough in profile to win the prize... For casting from the bank I think you want something very durable and relatively thick, both to avoid wind knots and to slow the drop of the lure. So for that, I'm perfectly happy with standard 10lb PP.

I use these on all my rods (float, quiver, lure, specialist): http://www.anglingdirect.co.uk/nash-h-gun-tip-tops?gclid=CJGykOeu-8gCFQgXwwodkYsFUw The drawstring means they're very versatile.

Yes I have one of the Shakespeare Agility rods in Rich's link, it's a fantastic rod for £30. I couldn't believe the difference when I went from my standard bank jigging and drop-shotting rods to one of these - it meant I could use very small jig heads (down to 2g) and tiny lures but still keep in contact with them and fish them properly. On the heavier rods you lose all control over the really light lures and miss bites. The extremely light tip also means you feel/see tiny bites that you'd otherwise miss. It's great fun, I really recommend it Until we get some flow in the rivers, lure fishing is the only style of fishing I have any interest in, it is very addictive...

It was just me and rich in the end, another fun day in very different conditions, good strong wind and 50g jig heads We had a decent number each with a respectable average size, rich especially had some really nice fish. Lovely and quiet again, only a handful of boats out. We had 3 small pike between us too which are always a shock - you're concentrating hard waiting for a delicate little zander pluck and suddenly the rod is nearly wrenched out of your hands!

Perfect weather

3 boats now cancelled due to lack of demand, 1 space available if anyone fancies it.

No other takers so tomorrow I'll cancel 3 of the boats

Last call before I cancel boats...

I fish the Thames further up around the Oxford area, and even up here the one thing I would say about baiting is, it's VERY hard to put too much in! I don't ever remember thinking I've overfed when fishing the Thames, except when after roach in the dead of winter.

Loads better, thanks Elton, hope you're well!

Oooh below the belt!

Dunno! The one I lost was an FJ and was a US import, I wonder if the FB was a US model too. There are so many versions of the stradic but I can't find anything on the FB...

Those are nice bites, it just feels like the lure has touched down on the bottom sooner than it should have. It does depoend a bit on how you work the lure whether you get them or not though, the bigger the jig and drop, the more likely you are to get them. If you work the lure less and don't do much lifting and dropping, you're more likely to get other types of bites. I guess the equivalent when 'dead sticking' (or just giving the lure an occasional twitch) is when it just goes 'light' - there's no rap or donk, you just lose the weight of the lure as a zander picks it up and moves slightly up in the water with it. Those are exciting too A lot of the zander bites can be very subtle, it can take a while to get your eye in woth them, as Steve says. It's worth striking hard at absolutely anything. It takes a lot of effort and concentration to do it properly all day long.

Anyone know anything about this reel? I've been given one in the 1000 size, it's an old model and I can't find out anything about it on the web. It says it's made in Japan on the reel seat so should be good quality. Certainly seems it!

Donk!

I'm not really interested in fishing it but would pop over and see how you're getting on

No, but as soon as it went in I dropped an h block marker on the spot, and it was only 15ft deep - but even so, after an hour of dragging heavy lures all over the area we couldn't snag it! I once dropped the top of my landing net into the thames, right by the bank and in shallow water. I did get it back eventually but it took ages. It's amazing how hard it can be to snag tackle even if you know where it is. I've got replacements on the way so no harm done I've told the lodge at Rutland just in case someone does drag it up and decides to see if it's been reported as lost but I think it'll be there forever now!