kreid

what species are you targeting ? Pike are a well different proposition from say roach ....

I bought a smartcast last year 2nd hand off ebay, thr RF10 model, and very good it has been too, despite its limitations in range etc….BUT, when I tried to use it last night , it displayed the signal “waiting for response from sender unit” (or words very similar). Now this usually occurs while the wee orange “sender” isn’t yet in the water and it starts to work thereafter. Not now. I believe this wee orange unit has a limited lifespan, and this may now have been reached. Would this be an accurate assessment ? If so , where can I get a replacement , and how much are they ? Is it a “straight swap” , ie with no tweaking of freaquencies etc ? Many thanks in anticipation for your help, Keith.

I take your point....I just tried to look on the bright side... What about thre WORST tackle shop you've ever been in....mine has to be the old Crockarts in Stirling. Served by women who knew absolutely NOTHING about fishing, the bloke there wasn't interested unless you were there to buy a Hardy outfit. Crap service crap attitude, the pits. I opened a bottle when it closed.Hope it went out of business, didn't deserve to exist.

there are at last some decent shops ....just not in Perth. At least Stirling/pitlochry has people who have an interest and knowledge in a variety of types of fishing , not just salmon.God how i hate a certain shop in perth. Thankfully , its a dying breed.

Go to Ted Carters in Preston and ask. There are several.

surely in winter , low pressure means warmer, ie no frost ? Ergo carp must be more mobile , being cold blooded, and ergo again need to feed more. Or am i wrong...feel free to do a red baron ...(shoot me down in flames...) keith.

salmon , because if they are present in any number , it usually means you can't coarse fish , or are treated like crap.

The game fraternity moan about pike. They have a bloody nerve. They openly have introduced several species to the UK for THEIR enjoyment, often to the detriment of other indigenous species. Pheasant, French Partridge to name but 2 , never mind rainbow trout. In addition , most birds of prey were practically wiped out to "protect" grouse moors or other game interests. Yes Corrydoras, any law which is out of date , archaic and is no longer justified should be changed. hence we no longer burn witches, bait badgers or poison birds of prey(at least not legally). Yes I know you can kill immature trout "set lining" but the same can happen to pike if bite detection is poor, or non existant....assholes will be assholes, you can see 'em every day at Loch Earn. But the action of some shouldn't prevent others from using rod rests properly. The law is often openly ignored anyway.Because it is unsustainable.

fair enough, I'd agree that pike are most probably not indigenous to that area.

read the thread at work but couldn't participate. I have a question for Sandison. What exactly do you mean by "northern" lochs ? I know that pike existed in the 50s and 60s in lochs west of Inverness. Don't know if they were/are indigenous though...but they hadn't been put there recently. Do you include Loch Tay as a "northern" loch? It appears that pike formed part of the diet of iron age man there. That would make then indigenous for me.And not a pac or paas man there to translocate.....

Bound to be plenty mullet anywhere near a harbour mate. Tight lines.

doh!

Charr are only a "rarity" down south. Up here they are in pretty well most lochs. Some lochs hoach with them. They are not in short supply and certainly NOT in "only a few waters".Maybe you're mistaking them for powan/schelly? They are rare and only in a few waters.

nonsense, i just bought a Fox hanger(as new) for only £12.89 + £2.99 P+P so there are bargains to be had......

like any method, it has its day...and at this time of year it does work very well.....don't sell your dead bait gear ....next time it may be the other way round !

there is no "rod licence" in Scotland but you do have to pay for a day/week permit as in England. Some fisheries however are free, and i believe Lomond is still 1 of them, at least for coarse species....of which there are a lot in Lomond...perch, roach, chub to name but 3, as well as the obvious pike.

well for chub it has to be goldheads. GRHE gold ribbed hare's ear goldhead works very well on a floating line , but with a strike indicator. In smaller sizes also fine for dace.

I have the JW avon tele and its a very nice rod, but probably a little undergunned for carp at 1.25 tc....and its telescopic, but great for tench or small carp. He also does a 2.5 tc tele carp (nomad)but its more like 2 lbs really, but it has also been a very nice rod to use and i have landed several pike on it. It has ir#ts limitations , ie load and casting but for a tele it is very handy. Got it off ebay for £60 New .

great , surely i can sneak a coupla sessions off from the fam to chase a few carp /mullet or anything !

will be going to SW france next summer , family holiday , just thought I'd see if any member had fished there (any species)....if there were any recommended venues , esp rivers to try when I am out there...(Perpignan/midi pyranees) or any helpful websites. French or English , no matter. Thanks , Keith.

will be going to SW france next summer , family holiday , just thought I'd see if any member had fished there (any species)....if there were any recommended venues , esp rivers to try when I am out there...(Perpignan/midi pyranees) or any helpful websites. French or English , no matter. Thanks , Keith.Pyranees/spanish side too...

the leeds reels are under rated. The 1 i have has a set of ball races and it spins really freely, out spinning a certain other make costing over £100 by a fair bit...(about 30 seconds longer spin). Doesn't have a ratchet , the only drawback. Had mine about 8 - 10 yrs now , no problems. Tight lines.

I believe that Grey's need to offer a guarantee , as they DO seem to have a lot of breakages....not heard of so many Daiwa gear for example breaking , and they must sell as many as Grey's... I've heard of a few problems with their blanks being weak...maybe strength sacrificed for lightness...?

Are they quite common in Sweden ? How do you go about catching them ?

Some pretty rare (here anyway) Burbot too ! Now if i could only catch even a small 1 here ,....