Recent content by Darren Smith

The American hunting and fishing communities promote the use of moon phase data... There are numerous gadgets to predict best fishing and hunting times, like there would be a good time to go shooting bears! My own personal opinion is it probably does have an effect but so does barometric...

I think a certain camaraderie existed where we could ask for general information on rivers and get welcomed replies. Many friends were met that way and three strangers who became friends in that way have commented on this discussion. I think Tony is absolutely right in missing that connection...

No Dave, not been around the forum for a few years but was 10 or so years ago. Lost interest in fishing mostly because of differing attitudes and glory hunters. Hoping to put that behind me and rekindle something........

Hey Tony, A few of us are still around ;-) 10 years ago things were very different. There were plenty more fish to go round and helping others realise their aspirations was enjoyable. Unfortunately the more anglers catching regularly puts enormous pressure on fisheries and before you know it...

Flood defence dredging..............and the success of the Dorset Stour flood defence scheme from the 70's/80's.............. Middle river dredged and ended up almost barren of fish....... Barbel corner on Throop dredged and almost drained the river.......cobbled weir, glens weir and golf...

Gary, PM sent........

I think good anglers don't just know how to catch those 'more difficult to catch' fish BUT when. Understanding feeding paterns, areas they frequent at any one time, seasonal changes etc will all play a part. That is why some fish appear to outwit numerous anglers only to be caught by the...

Cheers Simon, I thought I recognised the tail damage although it would have been larger than the fish I thought it was....... Incidentally, how did the sizes add up? I did purely guestimate the weight etc from your picture and wanted to see if a picture could be estimated fairly...

........the more I fish for them the cleverer they get.......bugger!

Simon, is that a Throop fish....? Every bit 15lbs if the 10lb'er is to be believed. I would guestimate: 22" long, 18" girth and weigh close to 8lb?

Derek, Maybe I should send mine back then. Only been using it very happily for the past 2-3 years! My post was written as a very satisfied USER and RECOMMENDER of the reel. Darren.

Proportion-wise I would be surprised if it was near 7lbs. Irrespective of its length it is far too lean for a chub any where near 8lbs let alone 10.......! Darren.

The line guard is an optional extra and yes they are free running enough for trotting. They also have a rock solid ratchet for legering and are (IMO) an absolute steal at this price. I have raved about them at £100 since buying mine a few years ago......... Darren.

Just found this thread and was going to suggest circle hooks...............Andy beat me to it! I have heard great things about these hooks but you must not strike as with normal hooks. The idea being that as a fish moves away with the hook in its mouth the hook will automatically find a hold as...