TrevBoy

Well, the mystery is solved - it happened again tonight: a fast, straight run across the lake. 20mins later, and half a pound of pond weed to the good, I landed the culprit and was a little disapointed to find it was a 5.5lb tench. never saw it until it was in the net due to the weed wrapped round it.

That's interesting - because the runs were so different I had assumed they weren't tench. Thanks all for the info

never tried bread, for some bizarre reason. Whats the best way of presenting it? Do you need a big hook like a 10 or a 12?

Please tell us - how the heck do you break a disgorger when trying to unhook a fish????? Are you ramming the thing deep into the fishes' guts? Even then, I doubt its possible! Oh, and barbless hooks help a lot.

Well, its only a nuisance if I don't land it! Both times, the fish in question found its way into some weeds. The first time I really thought it had come off as I could no longer feel any movement. After leaving the line slack a while, the line hadn't moved so I figured it was gone. I thereupon set about hauling my tackle free - I was amazed at just how much welly I could give my set-up without it breaking. Lo and behold the fish WAS still on. Anyway, Next time I will be more confident at giving some resistance. I use barbless hooks, so that is the probable reason I lost them. I don't want to get all carpy as am happy to fish for me tench, but will step up a little in strength of line just in case I need it. I get the impression the tench don't mind too much how I get the bait to them when they are really hungry.

Thanks a lot.

or you could buy it for 20 and sell it for a load more, THEN buy what you need. I half decent rod and reel will only cost you 40 (well, thats what I paid).

...and will it make caching tench any easier?

Was fishing for, and catching, tench and bream yesterday when twice something took the corn and shot off at speed across the lake. Those somethings were not tench. 30yds of line gone just like that. Needless to say the 14 hook pulled out pretty quick in the snaggy lake. I have never caught a carp, so is a carp run like that - a high-speed straight line dash? If so what is a simple set up to try to catch one of 'em? I was fishing sweetcorn over a bed of Skinz feed pellets.

By the way, Handel was a composer. The word you were after was 'handle'. Don't want to order the wrong thing.

I fish a stillwater that is no deeper than 5'. I had imagined the hot weather would eventually put off the fish due to low oxygen levels, but they keep on feeding. Yesterday I spent a very enjoyable half day watching large bream, tench and carp cruising around my swim, eventually enticing a 5lb slab to take me corn. The only reason I stopped was cos I had forgotten the umbrella and I was getting burnt to buggery. I can't recommend highly enough fishing close in, in clear water, with Polaroids on. Very exciting to watch a big fish cruise close to the float........ Anyway, the crux of my question is, when the weather does eventually break, and we get a sudden deluge of storms and rain, what is the likely effect on the fishing? Will the extra water make them feed more or less, or does it just "depend"?

Where are you located specifically? There'll be someone nearby who would take ya along. If you live near me in Notts, I'll do so gladly. Just dont catch more than me! lol

Could be the most boring webcam ever.........

There's loads of day ticket waters around - its just a matter of if you wanna shell out the 3 or 4 quid each time, or buy a fed book at 24 which covers the whole season and all their waters. Holme Pierrepont regatta lake and surrounding ponds are quite accessible, as is the Trent and canals in Nottingham. More info (if I can give it) if you wanna email ( tgssmith @ hotmail . co m )

Thanks for all the opinions. I will try some even larger plugs too. Would I be right in thinking that pike will hng out under weed cover near the margins, or is a plug randomly chucked into the middle and retrieved likely to attract the attention of pike wherever thay are at the time? May sound like a stupid question but I am used to using smelly groundbait to attract fish from some distance away.

I've heard that HP holds some big shoals of bream. Is that true, in your experience?

I've just started trying my hand at pike fishing. My local lakes have them in some numbers (so the locals tell me) and to some size (20lb+) but the same locals all give conflicting advice as to where the larger specimens might be hiding. I've had jacks to 5lb, which was a good start, but would like to test the new rod a little more. Is there a way to target the bigger fish? I am using a selection of surface lures at the moment as the lake is quite weedy below the surface. I don't wish to go down the live/dead bait route yet, so am I gonna struggle?

Hi I was swingtipping a feeder today for the first time after tench or bream- maggots on a 14 hook to 5lb line straight thru with a gb mix in the feeder. Seemed to get plenty of bites but never managed to connect to a fish. Might I have been striking too early (I tried to wait until the swingtip was almost straight out) or perhaps too late? If they were line bites, how might I pursuade 'em to actually take the bait? I was actually on the feeder as I was having no joy on the float, perhaps because its quite weedy where I was fishing and I wondered if my bait was not reaching the bottom because of that. Come to that, is it important for the bait to reach the bottom at all for tench and bream?

Never fished it, but Beeston or Holme Pierrepont weirs any easier to reach?

I used jungle formula in Africa and, while it works, it also tends to eat thru various materials, including plastic! Well, the one I had did anyway. So be aware that it might affect line and other tackle.

why assume its a racist attack - probably just "caused" by the argument earlier. Jumping to conclusions like that is what inflames the situation in the first place.

nah -- I stick to maggit and corn as I know they work! Well, usually...

Two problems - firstly I am a relative newbie so am unsure of where best to target barbel and secondly, I don't know where you've tried already! I do know that just below the weir at Holme Pierrepont (actually, where the canoeing course enters the river) is supposed to be good for barbel (at least, it was last summer). There's chub all over the place in the Trent.! Not much help - sorry. Have been targeting the Finger Lakes at Holme Pieerepont for the big tench in there - had some to 5lb but they go a lot bigger. Also double figure bream and a good head of pike and carp.

There's tons of day ticket stretches downstream of Nottingham. Holme Pierrepont section for one. Also the north side of the river above Gunthorpe bridge. Embankment stretch is still "free" ie never checked. Notts AA web site has a list. email me at tgsmith @ bigfoot.com for any more info!

Oh, is that all?!? Thanks for the info - I know the Iron Monger's ponds (actually they are marked on the map as the Ire Mongers Ponds). Will give 'em a try. I'll let you know how I get on. Hopefully weather aint too bad this weekend. Excuse the noob question but do lakes remain pretty dormant until the weather really warms up, in like May or June, or should they be good to fish now?