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it says out of stock on the website?

I was intending to carp fish this year but given the likely crowds will probably wait till the 16th and go on the river. That is always assuming we're not back under lock-down by then of course. Pretty confident if I go on the Cherwell I can socially distance at 2 miles never mind 2 meters!

The trouble is, if fishing gets the green light then many other sports and recreations will expect the same. Also, you can just imagine towpaths etc. crammed with "new" angling families fishing with a hazel stick and a bent pin just so they can get out and have a picnic! But in time some...

Barbel eat worms as readily as any other fish, but, as has been pointed out, keeping a worm long enough for a barbel to find it is the problem. The worms don't need to be static either, I've caught them on the Windrush while freelining in a fast current for trout.

Elite Barbel is my favourite fishing book of all, not just barbel. The whole book totally captures the incredible hard work, patience and dedication that go into cracking a rock hard stretch of water like Kikcles farm, and the tiring slog to achieve the goals. Brilliant book. I also love Redmire...

Yes I think it was early to mid 80s Steve, good magazine.

That's the one Neil

I'm pretty sure the magazine you're referring to was called "Specialist Angler". I had my first ever article published in this magazine, if I have the name right. Very similar to CAT, great mag.

I have only hit the carp target in this list. Mine would barbel 14lb, roach 2.5lb, tench 9lb, pike 20lb, perch 3lb and chub 7lb. Although I seldom sea fish these days I think a double figure bass would beat them all.

Maybe they should try crowd funding..

There may be many aspects of specimen angling which others find repugnant Nick, but they aren't being faced with a proposed license increase to sponsor specimen hunting. I am totally against this idea, why should people be forced to contribute to something they don't want to? I thought that was...

Nash bullet lasts forever and you could pull a fully loaded silage trailer with 12 bs. In lighter bs I like Drennan super specialist.

A friend of mine once caught a big Cherwell barbel on a gooseberry

Depends on the health areas you're concerned about. Refined sugar/carbohydrates are very bad for high sugar levels whereas protein like bacon and eggs will not have that effect. Both are obviously a threat to the waistline! But a good breakfast can sustain you for a good while and this can...

In all bar the Trent and Wye the barbel heyday, numbers wise at least, is well and truly over. I remember back in 1995/96 walking a stretch of the Windrush and seeing over 30 barbel in half a mile. Not big but plentiful. Also, same river spinning for trout and it would be chub after chub. Now...

Quite agree Wayne, people taking sides either way but in the end the least distress a fish can be caused is by not getting fished for or caught at all. I have to say, regardless of my preference for barbed or barbless, I cause very few barbel any stress at all these days!

Interesting comment about the bite Mark. That is exactly how my pb took the bait, a rattling tip and a very slowly ticking bait-runner. I had a good idea what was happening and had that been a carp no fish would have been hooked. Barbel do indeed have problems ejecting hook baits but I'm sure...

Barbel generally grow bigger than these species, apart from pike, and are presumably easier to catch. It would appear that otters like big fish. Almost all the carp in the Aynho fishery near Banbury were wiped out by otters. In the case of the Cherwell, the chub population isn't what it was and...

On the Thames you need to establish how many small or "nuisance" fish there are in your swim generally. This can be achieved by the simple means of light gear and small particle fishing for a few hours. If you get roach after roach etc. it's likely that your loose particle or feeder attractors...

Damians views are often bizarre but I have never thought them offensive. He is entertaining and it's good to have the odd puzzle to mull over!