Chris Bishop

Looking doubtful for me now due to work, might try and sneak down for an hour first thing or around lunchtime.

There's a link to the NAFAC article here, from where you can find something called Pike In Your Waters - a booklet you can download for free which explains why culls don't work.

Should still be able to make it.

does anyone have any idea were i can find some info about it on the web as my local tackle shop are unsure whats in it Somerset has an active branch of the Pike Anglers Club. You can e-mail Pete, the liaison officer at Levelspiker@aol.com - he might know.

Found a couple of waters which responded to it and had some good days. usually when I had two or three days at it, baited up with chopped fish the first one and then came back the following day or the one after. When I say chopped fish, usually half a dozen joes, trout, sardines and other left-over bits and pieces cut into inch chunks scattered along 15 or 20 yds of out of the way river. Best day I've had this season was the day after baiting up like this, had several fish the following day and three or four either puked up prebaits in the net or had bulges from chunks in their stomachs. Have also baited up what looked like promising unfished areas on gravel pits for some weeks, few baits in every other lunchtime, gone back and cut a swim and blanked.

Cut-Off's flood banks have loads of giant hogweed, which by now is dead and usually dry as it's exposed to the wind. Burns like hell with a bit of paper and cotton wool to get it going.

I've frequently caught the same pike several times, even had them twice in the same day inc a 20 I caught first thing on one stretch of river, before catching the same fish a few hours later half a mile away.

"I am pleased to announce that Chavender and I will be able to reprise our most successful Kelly kettle lighting workshop, " This made me smile. Bunch of us were fishing the Cut Off on Christmas Eve with a Kelly Kettle merrily smoking away when the police turned up. Just thought we'd check yew wun't a load of furriners catching other people's fish an barbecuin' 'em on the bank, says officer.

Next time you go, watch the line as you twitch the bait and let it sink. You'll soon get a feel for what it should be doing and will spot anything out of the ordinary.

When you're fishing slowly - more sink and draw than wobbling - try watching the line where it enters the water. You'll learn to spot takes because it will often twitch or slacken when a fish mouths the bait.

I went through a phase of using Wonderwire for zander fishing with lives and knotless knots were fine with the hooks. make sure you cover them in shrink tube though so they don't unravel. For the swivel end a Lark's Head knot with a crime to keep the tag end neat and stop it slipping.

Dave Lumb's got an article about sharpening your hooks on his website: linky thing

Don't think it makes any difference, it's easier to strike sideways if you've got a lot of line sunk as pulling it up through the water absorbs some of the force of the pull.

Put me on the list provisionally dep on what the weather's doing. I've fished both waters quite a bit, both can be hard come Feb. The Wissey's quite shallow and fast-flowing around Hilgay and there are few spots you'll find anything other than jacks. The Cut-Off can be coloured and up over the banks that time of year, which again makes for a bit of a grueller.

Step up the hook size and switch to barbed. I'd go for fours or better-still twos. Drennan Extra-Strong have quite small barbs but seem to stay in once you nail a fish. They don't do them in twos, so I'd go for a good round bend like Owners. If you're tapping the bait along slowly, watch the line as it slackens after each twitch with the rod at a slight angle to the water. If the line tightens, swing the rod towards the fish for a foot or so, let the line tighten and bend into it. You should hook most of them doing this. If it slackens (fish comes towards you...), just start reeling in the slack until you feel the fish and bend into it. If one comes in and and you see it take it at the end of the retrieve, let it turn and hit it as it moves away from you. I'd reckon to hit most of them when I used to wobble baits.