Andy Thatcher

Check out the Anglinglines site they have a secondhand Brotel on there at the moment.

Keep banging on about it but the Trakker Weighsling/Unhooking Mat. Cannot imagine being without it for all my fishing bar monster carp or cats. Fantastic bit of kit for under £25 and that's Leslies prices !

How long does it take for these to get through ?

I'd add 95% of fluorocarbon line ! Have found a good one after lots of playing and that's Grand Max Riverge. I can straighten a Raptor T6 with this stuff ! As for rig tube get yourself down to the shop and buy a Pole Elastic Threader, avoid the Gardener carpy one that goes on this list, and cut it in half and bingo all your tube hassle will disapear. [ 27. November 2002, 09:12 AM: Message edited by: Andy Thatcher ]

Have to agree with the Hotfoot boots. I'll add £100 brollies that last 2 sessions before they fall apart (cost me £300 in the end to get something that lasts), mono that breaks 30% under what it should 3 days after spooling up, hooks that straighten (losing you a good fish) for no acertainable reason !

Good to see those, thankyou. I have been visiting Tring again lately and it isn't quite the same without Alan being there. See the water levels about the same as it is now.

Great news ! All the best to you Peter.

Oh I wouldn't be so sure ! I have forgotten the times I have gone trotting down to the shop with receipt and gift in hand after a kind thought wasn't quite what I was after. Go for the vouchers.

I haven't been too bad really as I have spent time catfishing, roaching and perching but as soon as the rivers are open again I tend to lose any coherent strategy about other species to a single minded barbel quest ! Apart from the now annual Yateley jaunt. Next season will be a little different, erm possibly.

Roach and are a closed season target but I hope to have a serious go at rudd in the summer/autumn next year. I seem to have neglected everything bar barbel for the last few seasons so a change is in order. So much fishing so little time !

I seem to remember in the dim and distant past thate Steve mentioned winter rudd fishing. Did you get around to it Steve ? Has anyone else ever tried this seriously ?

Not problem telling people methods as long as I am happy with them and not whatever my cuirrent hair brained scheme is until proven. No problem with bait either. That's the positives out of the way. I will not pass on information given to me in confidence unless I clear it with the person that told me be it bait, methods, venues etc. I am afraid to say that I won't recommend venues that either a friend or myself is seriously fishing let alone swims but as I have fished quite a few places have no problems recommending those that I drop into now and again or have learnt all that I can from.

Goes and catches a double and he's the expert

I'll have one of those ! Ordered

No badge here either I'm afraid.

Thanks for the advice so far. Been flavouring maggots for ages and that was one of the prime reasons for going to Tring to try the Essential Barbel flavour Milkspice on maggots as I had a feeling about it. Rightly so it seems taking into account there was one bloke there who had been biteless for 2 days. I did play around with the hooklength length but that didn't seem to make much difference so I stayed with 2 - 3". Been wondering about the rods, never had a problem before though, and if it might be worth going to 1lb tc instead of the usual 1.25.

According to my girlfriends workmate that'd be about right Den

Whilst being a safe set up it works on the bolt principle so that I have never had to strike even when using 6lb mono mainline. I soon learnt that striking was not needed years ago in fact sometimes it hindered rather than helped so even though it takes a fair bit of mental discipline I never strike while fishing this way.

Keep it under your bedchair overnight always works best for me.

As the boys say above but I would say that wouldn't I

I really thought I had my feeder fishing stuff sorted. Right down to a t then when I decide to be clever and it all turns nasty ! Through some unscrupulous blackmail I found my self at Tring the other day for the first time in 4 years. I wasn't too upset as I plan to go back there next closed season but it has been 4 years and braid has played an increasing part of my fishing since I last visited. Due to this I have spooled up the reels for this trip with 8lb braid instead of my old favourite 6lb GR60. After spodding out a couple of pints of dead maggots to 80 yards the feeders soon followed. To stop this being a article in it's own right suffice to say I landed 5 perch up to 2.5lb. Not a bad result you might think but the fact is I lost another 5 while playing them in ! One in particular felt rather good. The rig incorporated a length of powergum but this still was not enough to prevent the fish from being bumped off. I also changed up hook sizes from 16 to 10 in the end and again bump offs occurred. Has this just happened to me or has anyone else had this happen ? If it has what did you do to get around it as I do prefer the sheer sensitivity of braid but find the lost fish absolutely unforgivable. In the meantime I am going to have to go back but with the good old 6lb line to see what happens !

Can't add much here other than don't worry about taking extra water and milk for hot drinks. The persperation of carry it is worth it on those cold nights ! One other thing, remember to take a radio. OK it doesn't make you any warmer but with the clocks changing listening to it makes the time go quicker so you don't seem as cold for so long

Good luck to you all ! Hey Dick who showed you how to use a search engine to get here ?

Most of the swims upstream are at most 40 - 50 yards away from the car so access is OK. The place to avoid is the jetty area by the carp park. I lost about £30 of method feeders there in a night last season. Everywhere else give you a chance.

Tingrith has a few I seem to remember and that is't too far from you. Now who nows where I can find some large one's in the MK area ??????