Janet

You should have seen our table in the cabin when there were just two of us fishing on Christmas Day and Boxing Day...I even had place setting cards in little holders.... As the only woman member of my angling club, I think it's expected that I'll be a little bit eccentric and I don't like to disappoint! Janet

Normally I take toasted bacon sandwiches with me, but if the weather's expected to be a bit nippy then I make a hearty stew and warm it up in the cabin. I'll have you know I've had men fighting over my dumplings! I make enough to serve everyone, but I do expect them to have some table manners! Yes, I really did set the table in the fishing cabin like that... it was worth it just to see the looks on their faces... they didn't know quite what to make of it but we had a fabulous lunch! OK, I don't do that on every fishing trip, but in the winter I do always try and prepare a huge batch of stew on every fishing trip to make sure everyone fishing has something warm to eat. It's very sad when you see an angler munching on a Peperami when it really is better used as bait! It's the least I can do. The lads have looked after me, so I like to look after them. Janet

Trust Chesters to take a thread totally off topic again....ah bless, you've got to love him, haven't you? Can't live with him...not allowed to shoot him.... I think the OP was referring to alien and invasive plant/animal species such as crayfish, Himalayan balsam, Japanese knot weed etc and not people. If you want to have a rant about people and Council policies, then start a new one....otherwise I can see this one going down the pan almost as soon as it started.... Janet

I think I was possibly classed as a bankside nutter last year when I decided to go up to my club lake after work for an impromptu fishing session. No gear with me, (I tend not to carry it to work!) so I used the tackle that we leave in the cabin for members to use. I ended up sitting on a white plastic picnic chair in full office clothes with my handbag stuffed underneath, just as a new member was being shown around... I well remember the look he gave me....!!!! Janet

Happy birthday! Janet

Errr.....no! Do you think I should? I think watermarks, unless they are done very well are extremely distracting, so I tend not to. As a complete newbie, I really don't see the need. Janet

Woo hoo! One of my pictures has won a prize! Nothing major, just the local village show, but I've won out of 30 entries and got a trophy which is now off for engraving... To say I'm chuffed is a bit of an understatement! Janet

That's the sort of attitude of anglers these days, is it? Janet

You never know when you might get lucky! Go for the rugged look... It never fails! Janet

Well, if you must make yourself so attractive, what can you expect? You only have yourselves to blame... What woman could resist the tantalising aroma of "Monster Crab".... the subtle yet carefully tailored camo gear...the gentle "come hither...." glance as you lean out of your bivvy and ..... No, I can't continue...it's too scary! Janet

There is, or used to be, a website called ratemypoo.com...it seems to be unavailable at the moment, but it seems to have left a lasting legacy... Don't click unless you're really sure you want to! Contains disturbing images of poo piles... Please don't ask me how I know about this, or I may be obliged to kill you... I've learned a lot since I started fishing...not always for the better! Janet

Would you really want that thing parked on your drive? I'm sure it would lower the tone of the area and get all the net curtains twitching! Elton, have you lost leave of your senses? I couldn't get my fishing gear in there, let alone yours! Janet

Elton, that pink is just sooooo you!!!! Janet

Killed for fun? Sport? A magnificent creature like that? Sorry...I just don't see the point in killing for the sake of killing. No offence meant, as I realise what is natural to you is very different for us over here, but I found that very disturbing... How anyone can take pleasure in killing a magnificent beast like that is beyond me... Janet

Certainly looks like a newt to me... This one swam on the surface for ages...just as yours looks to be doing. They seem to be very few and far between these days, although I remember seeing loads when I was a kiddie. Janet

Lovely images, but I think Photobucket has made them rather soft...one of the reasons I stopped using it. I really like the one of the lone angler... Janet

I think you got a bargain with that! Janet

A smiling angler with a carp? Now, there's a first! Well done on a good session. Look forward to hearing more of your reports. Janet

Banksy is good, but he isn't a patch on that guy! Stunning stuff. Janet

Neither does this... Janet

Now, that's what I call a blast from the past! Janet

I caught a gudgeon of 4 1/2 ounces when I first started fishing...this was from the Leeds and Liverpool Canal near to Gargrave. I'd only been fishing for a few short weeks, and I was at that stage when I simply had to weigh everything. We were on a camping trip, and I sneaked my calibrated kitchen scales into the packing! I'm sure I was the only angler on the bank with a nice frosted glass ensemble...very Delia Smith....! I didn't have a clue what I'd caught until I got home and did a bit of research...I thought it was yet another tiddler...I'd never heard of a gudgeon before, let alone caught one! Sadly, I haven't caught another approaching that weight since, although I keep trying! Janet

Den, I heard about the service on the BBC from the link that Elton posted... Two Tone.... I don't mean to mock, really I don't, but honestly, they are just asking to get wound up... True, it was an astoundingly huge fish, but that's all it was...a fish! Janet

Someone's having a laugh, right? They held a service for a fish?????? Well, thinking back, it's probably quite appropriate, as I remember burying our goldfish with full honours...crossed lolly sticks and the full works... mind you, I was only about seven years old and I learned to get over it without too much trauma. I then had to spend several months supervising my younger sister, who kept trying to dig it up to see if it was still dead...just don't ask about the rabbit...you really don't want to go there! Janet

Don't let the carp anglers see this...it may give them ideas! Janet