TrevBoy

Managed to catch my first carp of the season, a 9lb lump of flesh. After a strong 15min fight, during which I had to run along the canal to keep up, I was amazed to see the weight. I was really hoping for a good double (only my 4th ever carp). Lord knows what a 20+ must be like on the line! Someone try to express what such a large fish feels like - I think I am getting the "big carp" bug.......

or this one?

When you say "not a lot of pole" do you mean its physically a short one by pole standards, or that its, well, rubbish even for the money?

Hi guys, Am interested in trying pole fishing, and have no clear idea what's involved. Would a cheap kit ebay offer like this one just disappoint in the end? If so, what might a beginner expect to have to pay for a good starter outfit?

I would like to try float fishing a large weir (Holme Pierrepont on the Nottingham Trent). There's a lot of white water, a lot of turbulence and a lot of swirly back-flows and eddies. I'm thinking a big old float, with plenty of shot, but I am not sure where to fish it to go for any chub in particular. Also, do I use bulk shot quite close to the hook or string it out down the line?

Fab. Is it sensible to lightly feed on each trot thru by tossing out a few wrigglies where the float lands each time, or is it better to feed upstream slightly? I take it its best to keep the float behind the bait as it goes thru?

After two threads on fishing this time of year, the question arises: how would I get started fishing the mighty Trent this time of year (probably the Holme Pierrepont stretches, if you know it). Trotting thru with regular feeding of maggot and/or caster was one piece of advice I read. If so, what sort of float would be best, what shotting pattern etc? The river there is about 3' deep close in but a lot deeper quite quickly i think.

Do you think its still too early for carp and tench? my canal is shallow, and last year I was catching carp to 11lb and tench to 4, so I know they're there. If there's a chance, would meaty baits work best this time of year?

my licence has fallen apart and rotted. anyone know how to get a replacement?

Thanks guys

I have so far been a summer angler. But I do realise I am missing out on some good sport by spending the winter months by the fire. I usually fish the local Grantham canal (the bits which aren't overgrown or dry). Can you tell me if a shallow canal is likely to be fishable when it gets colder? It is home to tench, carp and lots of silver fish. Also, I was thinking of getting into some trotting on the Trent but its not something I have really tried before. Would that be a good idea in the winter and if so, is a simple stick float set up the way to go? What general rules can you give me about winter fishing as compared to summer fishing? eg smaller baits, lighter lines,.....etc? TIA

I have had some success with worms this summer, for tench mainly. However, I find hooking them tricky - (a) if I leave too much tail hanging loose the small fish grab them, giving false bites. (b)If I bunch them by hooking them several times I deffo dont get as many bites and/or the darned things wiggle off so leaving dangly loose bits again (see (a)). (I stick to barbless hooks) Any thoughts?

How do u find little streams like that?! Even if I found one I dont think I'd assume there was fish in there. Did you get a tip-off about it or did u just try it on spec?

A rudd, and a nice one, too, by the looks of it. What did u catch it on and in what circumstances?

When you get to the stage of "a fish a chuck" it is a very good time to experiment a bit. Try changing just one of the many variables under your control, to see the effect it has. For example, you swapped baits but kept everything else the same, and you got bigger fish. You therefore know it was simply the bait that made the difference (although it might have been say, the speed the meat fell thru the water as opposed to the maggot bait). You can't use this approach if not getting regular bites, though. I find it a lot of fun to experiment in this way. Just have to remember to keep the feed going in.

I've never grasped why one bothers with main line at a higher bs than the hook length - that weak point means the whole system is acting as if at the lower bs isn't it? Why not use the one bs all thru, albeit with a hooklength in case the fish breaks you? Someone please clarify for this relative newbie.

Oh well - it's my first carp/goldfish hybrid, then. Could be a record........

Interesting - will give it a go. Thanks

As still a bit of a beginner at the malarky, i frequently find myself confused by this sport. I could make a long list, but I'll give you a few to start off - I'd be pleased to hear some of your own, if you find yourself similarly confused: We are told to keep distrubance to a minimum to avoid scaring fish, but pole fishers seem to succeed despite waving the rod right over the noses of the fish Carp crew dress in camo gear (I even saw one with a camouflaged kettle last week) in an effort to blend in with their surroundings, yet they the park their huge white vans right behind their peg Hooks studiously avoid hooking the fleshy mouths of greedy fish, yet still manage to snag every blade of grass, welly inner, seed head and strand of weed anywhere to be found. Little and often is the way to go, except when it isn't.

My local venue is host to a number of tench, but it is also host to a huge number of small silver fish. Is there much I can do to prevent my baits being attacked as soon as they hit the water? Luckily the water is clear enough at the moment to be able to see if my corn actually makes it to the bottom still on the hook, as these baby fish will attack anything. If that wasn't bad enough, I can see that there are a few bigger roach which I wouldn't mind catching. How would I go about attracting them instead of the fry?

Just bought some hooks on line. When they arrived I see that they are spade-end, rather than eyed, which is what I normally use. My question is, why have both types - is one design better than the other and in what regard? Off to find a suitable knot to use -'em!

Yes I tried that but can't get low enough because of the reeds. Will try lift method next, though the colder temps of the last few days seem to have made the fish disappear.

Good ideas - thanks

My local canal is stuffed with tench and naturally I want to catch them. I prefer float fishing and have had some success, but I am missing some bites. The water is pretty clear at the moment and my problem is that I find it hard to tell when the float has slipped under. I can see it just as well as when still above the water. Any ideas how to tackle this?