MatNewman

It is good to see that action is being taken however upon reading the article I spotted this line "The maximum punishment that can be awarded for these offences is three months imprisonment and or a fine." Not really that scary is it? I mean if they are awarded a full 3 months in jail I am sure they would be out within 4 weeks - All of the time they would be fed and sheltered all paid for by the taxpayer! We need to be much tougher over here! 3 of these guys were russian! From what I saw in the Champions league final the Russians dont appear to be a anation that take breaking the law lightly! Perhaps we could learn something?

So Anderoo, Mainline with a bomb / feeder on a snap swivel with a bead to another swivel to the hooklength. This means I was missing 1 swivel?

Cheers Guys sounds like a plan to me. As a general rule what kind of hook length would you start with? I always tighten up to the feeder / bomb and hadnt considered leaving a little slack for the more timid fish. In response to what I fish for........I bait up with any one of the baits that I have on me corn / meat / pellet / bread / worm etc and dont really have a target fish. I love to catch all kinds and know that the pond holds a good head of most of the usual suspects except bream which I am led to believe have died out. I would be just as please with a small gudgeon as I would be with a large carp

I bought the Wigan card and have only been to one water. I hear that Fan Lodge is a good water and that Morans moat is one of the waters that the AA are reguarly maintaing and improving. I am sure that Figure 8 is also a good water in the summer?

Hi there I think Wigan AA control a fair stretch of the canal although without checking my map book I couldnt be sure how much. Hang on I have found it online - check these out! http://www.wigandaa.org.uk/waters/canals/l...pool-canal.html http://www.wigandaa.org.uk/waters/canals/rufford-canal.html Hope this helps

Hi All, I normally fish on a pole but recently bought a cheap tip rod for the windy days. I have caught a few fish however seem to miss more bites than I hook. My question is when do I strike? Is it when I get a little pull? A tap tap? a Big Wrap around lol I know the answer to that! The tip I am using isnt heavy so registers most touches. In addition can anyone suggest a simple rig? I normally fish 6lb straight through to a 4lb bottom with a korum quick change bead in between. I use a size 14/16 with a hair rig. I have one of those anti tangle tubes above the quick change bead with a feeder or bomb attached to a swivel Any help as always will be much appreciated

Was going to ask the same question! They look like warts! Is it just the male ones that get this?

I tried it a few years ago for tench - they love it! Can be tricky to hook as the pasta soft so forget casting at long range - on a pole it works well. Might use it again soon The slop from the tin is also good to create a cloud in the water - I wouldnt recoment putting too much in though!

Sounds like you had an enjoyable day mate Welcome to the wonderful world of using a pole. I started off using a Ron Thompson Zensorflex 8m pole that weighed a ton - didnt catch anything memorable however decided that fishing with a pole was the way forward for me. I upgraded to a shakespeare 11m Xcede which served me well for a while. This pole was also really heavy but served a purpose. I snapped my no 4 section after landing my first double figure carp I then bought a new pole which was an 11m Garbolino Mystery Carp that also served me well however the no 4 section ground down at an alarming rate until it split. I "repaired" it so that it was usable but as I was getting more confident with a pole and wanted to fish at longer lengths I decided to upgrade again. The Garbolino will be passed onto my daughter for her to use My new pole is a 14.5m Maver Powerlite that I bought secondhand. The pole is awesome and is in mint condition with loads of extras. It is sooooo light and can be handled with one hand even up to 13m - I cant believe I used to manage with the others! I hope that you will also enjoy the pole and go on to use it all the time! **hInt** I have found that taking a small tip rod along when fishing the pole is beneficial for those windy days!

I also saw them last night! The tackle box looks ok for keeping spares in or for roaming. Has anyone got any thoughts on the salmon / fly and trout spinners? They looked ok to me but I am not a lure fisherman.....................

I keep mine in a fridge but normally use them all during a session anyway The last post was interesting about coloured maggots. Does the Dye kill them quicker?

Hi Boozlebear - this is perfectly legit. It is an extra security step that I believe most banks have set up. I have used it before and have to enter my online banking details and it goes through ok - I then get a mail from the bank usually to confirm it Hope this helps

Following on from the floodlit fishery thread I thought it best to start a new topic about everyones thoughts on commercial fisheries Discuss.....................

Smudger - I had no problem with the statement about blindmen fishing commercials as I found it a stupid arguement anyway. The comment I took offence to was when you insinuated that I may get confused by flowing water. Anyhow - I do not believe that you have magical powers and am also big enough to appologise. This thread seems to have gone right off track and is now all about what is a commercial and not discussing if floodlights are acceptable. I will now begin a new thread entitled "What is a commercial - your thoughts" to carry on this discussion Incidentally - I think floodlights are ok as long as they are not overpowering to the fish and are on for too long affecting the fishes behaviour

John - you have made some interesting points - all of which are your opinion which you are perfectly entitled to express. The idea of a forum is to discuss and shares interests and views which is exactly what you have just done. I do not always fish commercial waters as I hold a local Angling association card that allows me to fish quite a few venues close to me. I didnt have any commercial waters close to me when I was growing up and so chose the rivers and lakes near by. I relocated in my late teens and now have these commercials close by. Unfortunately the river near me is quite undesirable so I chose not to fish it. I have visited several waters in Wigan, some on a day ticket or commercial and some on a Wigan AA card. As I have already mentioned some I have found easy and some I have found very difficult. A few plus points for commercials (This is not true for all commercials) 1. A lot now cater for the disabled angler which is very commendable. 2. Most do actually care about who fishes them and will reject idiots (the ones that are suddenly anglers after buying a few bits of kit and thinking that it is all about getting **** by the bankside) 3. Fish will be looked after and waters treated for disease The whole commercialisation arguement is one that will run and run. There are so many good points and also as highlighted by yourself so many bad points. Having said this fishing is ever changing and with change brings new methods / thinking / expectations etc etc Years ago people used to fish with cane rods and the pole hadnt even been thought of........................

Got another email reminder about buying one today although my licence arrived two weeks ago Vagabond - I would go to the post office but unfortunately never seem to have time to get there so having the ability to buy online makes it so much easier however having said that it may have stopped these email reminders :rolleyes

Smudger - I tried to reply at the weekend but my internet was playing up so here goes......You so called clearly laid out statement is utter nonsense. Why would a blind man fishing on a commercial fishery have more chance of catching than on a river? Do fish not take the bait of a blindman on a river?You have views and so do I. The fact that I choose not to argue is because I joined AN to discuss with sensible logic and not to make silly somments where personal judgement completely clouse rational thought.An earler post questioned what is a commercial fishery? This is an excellent question and one of which is worth debating I think your opinion of them is that they are simply a dirty hole in the ground stocked full of carp that are easy to catch - this may be true for some commenrcials howver is not true for all. I have fished several commercials - some are easy and some are very difficult to fish. Some fishery owners appear to be only interested in $$$ where as others seem very keen to try and keep the fishery as natural as possible and ensure that all stocked fish are very well looked after.Your statements about me being confused by seeing flowing water - I find this a little harsh as I see no need to insult someone on here. Like I have already said I joined to debate not to insult. FYI - I watch a float as I fish with a pole. I dont use a radio nor do I have a bait boat. I dont possess a bite alarm and no I dont get the message Smudger - I tried to reply at the weekend but my internet was playing up so here goes......You so called clearly laid out statement is utter nonsense. Why would a blind man fishing on a commercial fishery have more chance of catching than on a river? Do fish not take the bait of a blindman on a river?You have views and so do I. The fact that I choose not to argue is because I joined AN to discuss with sensible logic and not to make silly somments where personal judgement completely clouse rational thought.An earler post questioned what is a commercial fishery? This is an excellent question and one of which is worth debating I think your opinion of them is that they are simply a dirty hole in the ground stocked full of carp that are easy to catch - this may be true for some commenrcials howver is not true for all. I have fished several commercials - some are easy and some are very difficult to fish. Some fishery owners appear to be only interested in $$$ where as others seem very keen to try and keep the fishery as natural as possible and ensure that all stocked fish are very well looked after.Your statements about me being confused by seeing flowing water - I find this a little harsh as I see no need to insult someone on here. Like I have already said I joined to debate not to insult. FYI - I watch a float as I fish with a pole. I dont use a radio nor do I have a bait boat. I dont possess a bite alarm and no I dont get the message

What sort of arguement is that? It seems you and I are worlds apart in logic as well I officially invite you to a commercial of my choice for me to see your amazing art in motion - I am sure that others would like to join us to see your obvious magical powers in action

Clocks go forward this weekend so more daylight hours to fish

Got the mail today to remind me, my licence actually arriuved yesterday lol

Following on from all the comments I am going to start a poll

Thanks for the info

For the margin do I need to go as high as 18-20 or would a 14-16 be ok?

Which pound shop was it? Is it a chain store? Thanks Mat

Thanks for that Mat - I will have a look around. I hadnt even thought of an elastic for the margins Cheers!