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I was in Italy '99/'00. The international match spanking where Bolo rods came to attention in the UK was earlier than that. Exactly when, I'm not certain. I'd guess at late 80s/early 90s. (I've just checked and found those with a greater interest and knowledge of match fishing saying that the...

That bit is absolutely true. I'm not remotely convinced about this bit. I recall seeing Bolognese rods first appearing in the UK shops and angling press. This was shortly after the home nations had their arses handed to them on a deep flowing venue by Italians fishing Bolo style. These rods...

Early Bob James signature reel

I have the Fox 5". It's essentially a larger copy of what is currently known as the Super Lightweight. I don't recall Fox doing a version of the Bob James (sold backplate) reel.

I'm not trying to alter your preferences. I can well understand you not needing a 15' Acolyte Specimen when you've already got the 15' Freespirit. In most scenarios, I'd rather use my Spheres too. Presented with a lower river than I'd seen before, I only used Spheres for those big grayling the...

Here are a couple of suggestions from someone that has a similar thing for trying float rods. Whilst our tastes and opinions don't always match, there's some overlap. First up, ignore the excess weight and try to find a Shimano Aerocast Specimen Match (ACM45SPC). Second, for the minimal...

Bob, When I first bought my Twistlock, I did the usual overtightening thing. When talking to Drennan, they asked me whether the widget was black or grey. Apparently (if my memory isn't playing tricks), an older version had a black widget that wasn't interchangeable. I don't remember them...

I'm guessing that you mean you can't get at the widget? 1) Undo the cap at the butt of the handle. 2) Unlock the mechanism so that the inner pole will slide. 3) Push the inner pole down towards the butt. 4) Remove the widget by unscrewing it from the metal thread. 5) If required for...

Is it black rather than grey?

I'm liking the Skellerup safety boots and waders that I've been using for over a year. I'm impressed enough that I'll probably end up with a pair of their more countryfied boots.

I'm guessing you want the ones on the right in my photo? I have two sets of the Specialist ones. I doubt that they've ever left the house. It was only a couple of weeks back that I got rid of the boxes they came in. I'm sure you could persuade me to part with them, especially if you can get...

This is my first "Super Specialist Twistlock" handle. The next incarnation has a plain inner pole rather than the taped diamond pattern that matches the outer pole. The latest incarnation doesn't seem to have "Super" as part of the graphics (despite one of the pictures on the Drennan website...

I'll just leave this here. It goes a fair way to explaining why the Milo Team 2024 Titans never (officially) found their way to the UK.

The two good sized becks that join the Swale from the Dales side have always seemed to produce bigger grayling than the main river. I've seen no bigger than 1lb 12oz for years from the Swale. However, it sometimes seems like every man and his dog has caught a 2lb fish fairly recently. The place...

Richard, I've been waiting since 1988 to see a fish exceeding 2lb on the local rivers and becks. The best I managed in all that time was five or six years ago. A fish of 1lb 15oz from a beck that has since suffered a catastrophic pollution event.

Back down to earth on a regular haunt today. Eighteen grayling and two dace. I'd be lucky if any of the grayling exceeded 1lb. However. it was a nice day, it's due to snow, getting colder and I had leftover bait to use. It was an enjoyable couple of hours.

Not while I live.

You are out of luck. This trip only reinforced just how good the Sphere float rods really are. If they had done more powerful versions (for flood conditions and stillwater lumps), I'd never use anything else.

We went back last week. On Tuesday, I had a red letter day with twenty one grayling, the best of them going 2lb 5oz. Wednesday was a red letter day of a different kind. I only managed a single grayling, but it was 3lb. Thursday was an excellent, slight, comedown. I had seven grayling...

Be wary, some regions will no longer grant licences to trap signals. I've heard two reasons: people struggle to differentiate small Signals from native crayfish. Then there's the theory that removing big Signals just ends up with having loads of small ones.