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An old timer swore blind that early part of the season a lip hooked minnow on a bottom rig was a killer barbel bait Never tried it personally as castors do it for me and you need to catch them & then club rules etc.. Always fancied trying mussels as the lad on Andrews Knots catches some...

Knotless - god knows where moles knot came from?

I don’t want to sound flippant but honestly I don’t think barbel give two hoots about the hook kicking off when using the knotless knot on mono If it does bother you you can tie a supple braid hair using say 10lb Gardner trickster , whip it on with a moles knot and then tie the hook + braid...

A 2.25 tc rod will find a snag just the same as a 1.25tc rod. There is so much interpretation on ‘ backbone’ and ‘ power’ but really it boils down to how much weight you want/ need to cast to fish effectively Actions are again very personal - no rights or wrongs - Torrix are different to...

No idea why? System glitch? Maybe next season for me

Good luck Gary I’m getting close - think 129 in Ashfield Angling waiting list but to put things in perspective the end of the queue is 3723!!!! Then I’ll spend some time on the Trent

I went in a jungle’ swim this morning Very steep and took an age up and down bringing gear in Got set up and looked an amazing swim Just about to put a bait out and noticed insect activity- well more specifically I was about 3’ from a hornet or wasp nest and had plonked my mat over the entrance...

River was a horrid strained tea colour - never conducive with good fishing Had a lot of chublets and dace on castor and maggot Managed a modest but lethargic barbel Switched to pellet and managed another 2 shoal barbel Results were similar to most anglers on this stretch This morning has...

Why not chill out and go use it - it might fit your style of fishing perfectly ? I completely get the excitement and anticipation but I would suggest pace yourself and be realistic - opening week can be a real anti- climax on a lot of rivers if it’s all about getting your string pulled. Enjoy...

I don’t do a lot of float fishing but have used the CS10 4000s for quite a few seasons and had plenty of barbel and good chub on them Light as a feather, nice line lay, strong bail arm, good clutch and reliable - tick every box for me and I’ll use them for speci- waggler work on the far bank

It is shocking Wouldn’t you think the RSPB , the Otter fans and generally anyone genuinely interested in nature would work out seals in an inland river is catastrophic for the whole ecosystem? I feel your pain- we had a seal in the Swale and it was devastating but things did recover but..it was...

That makes sense??, lug a load of rock salt about , wait for it do what it needs to do, when with a spopper I can open the tin, and be accurately baiting in minutes. I won't mention caster. I'll pass on that thanks Jim. As always, everyone entitled to their opinion and I do use PVA socks quite...

How do you put tinned( wet) hemp in a PVA sock? I’m curious

Speak to Mark Tunley - definitely not ultralight but he made me a Torrix with a 2oz spliced tip that I didn’t know existed until I gave him the brief - lovely bloke

Alarm wise you can’t go wrong with Delks The original TXIs are always on eBay and have come down in price since the V2 appeared I use EV-Ds which are brilliant so long as you don’t need a receiver ( I sit on my rods so not required) Strangely they were discontinued after a short release ( I...

https://www.defiantmps.uk/defiant-river-pod/ Quite a few people rate this pod But I believe it’s made to order

Again used a lot but go back to Solar P1s which i got in a carp job lot. Never let me down. Can bend them back into shape, re-tighten them, don't damage the cork etc..but most importantly keep hold of the rod! I did buy some of the fancy magnetic ones from New Direction for pike fishing( more to...

I've tried most options and so long as the line doesn't get trapped they all do the job I think I have Delkim EV-Ds with snag arms on my barbel set-up. I try not to use the alarm audible function, but comes in handy if you're night fishing, need to take your eye off the rods to tie some rigs etc...

Pm sent Ray Hope it helps

I think so Sure I’ve seen some pike rods on ebay recently I do have a number somewhere which I’ll send on a PM