BigKev

the Kentish Stour at Chilham watermill

you forgot the 1/2 lb club hammer required to bang the bivvy pegs to kindom come

spot on there Budgie . its definately that split second moment of uncertainty following the bite . but also just being out by water does it for me catching or blanking (although the former is the more preferable of the two )

i was talking to chris about his dry suits only the other day and he said that they dont keep out the cold just keep you dry they have to wear several jumpers and long johns etc and then they work on the principle of 20 mins in the water and 10 mins out. i'd suggest breathable waders with a quality thermal underlayer like sundridge sleepskin (thats what i use) . neoprene waders will keep you warm in winter but if you want to use them at other times of the year you will sweat your bits off ,were as breathable ones in the summer can be worn with just shorts underneath and they keep you nice and cool

2007 was a super year for me with the following p.b's carp 29lb (off the surface) barbel 13lb 8oz chub 6lb 1st ever cat 12lb 2oz 1st ever zander (unweighed but i would guesstamate it at approx 8 lb) this year i'm really going to concentrate on a 30 lb carp, double figure tench and bream wouldn't mind a big perch too (4lb +) but i don't want to be greedy

i've had fox digitals since they came out and the only prob i had was whan the battery terminal broke but fox replaced them immediately . i also like the new berkley range of digi's they look a bit more compact. i had a set of reuben flyweights that used to stick when zeroing! , big round reubens where the needle bounce was terrible even with a weigh staff. and i looked at buying a tiny set of okuma dials the other day that weigh up to 11 lb but when i got them out the packet in the shop to check them and weighed a kilo bag of bait they were well of the mark so we opened up all the sets of okumas in the shop and referenced them against some digi's(5 sets) and they(okumas) were all well out . needless to say they were returned to the manufacturer! its digital all the way for me

not sure if there are any in your region Ant, but keep an eye out for boat jumble sales there is a regular big one in kent and you can pick up some real bargains

heres an idea how about we all agree that we love/enjoy to (or for whatever other reason) go angling, and agree that we should all stand together to uphold the benefits of our sport/pastime whatever species or method you fish ,instead of argueing about which is best or right/wrong etc

i had a perfectly good 3 litre glass thermos that had lasted me for years until i put in in chubstar's car recently and he jinxed it ! but i wont bother with stainless,i got my dad one a few years back and the seals went on it waste of £25 i.m.o. my glass one only cost me £3 in woolie's sale . i shall be on the look out for a new one powdered milk is the way to go once youve got used to it . it doesn't cool the drink at all like cold milk would

hi ant , i'm currently looking at buying at 14 ft wilson flyer for fishing on the River Medway and Thames . my brother in law buys and sell s/hand boats and has a few 4 and 5 horse power outboards (which should easily be capable of pushing that boat in your pics along) varying from £150 up to £300. boat licensing cost for the medway are £102 for april to march . launching from the local E.A owned slipway cost £3.50 a go . if you go to the e.a website and select the river you will find out all the rules and regs and prices etc . i just got a quote for insurance and it was £54 a year with £3 million liabiltiy just in case you crash into a lottery winners motor cruiser