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Making the best out of what we have and what we may have left

H

Howard Cooke

Senior Member
The Matt Hayes related thread naturally threw up some passionate and robust debate. It's an incredibly emotive subject for us lot. Different backgrounds, perspectives and experiences clashing.

Anyway, as a distraction I wanted to start a new thread in which the politics of fishing is respectfully put to one side for the time being, and the focus turns to what folk intend to do next season to make the most of our rivers. What new things, baits, techniques are people going to try? And is it just me, or is the close season a very expensive time of year? I have bought various bits of kit and have resorted to getting it delivered to work rather than home. Did get caught by the wife trying to slip a package in and in a bid to cover my tracks I said it contained porn. That seemed to do the trick- well in the sense of not getting grief for spending more money on fishing equipment. It did, however, give rise to other kinds of grief which may mean I get more time on the bank next year than originally anticipated.

For me, next year will see more focus on fishing the float and also giving some new venues a go, including the Loddon. With the float, who knows, I may even catch some chub, perch or roach.
 
Bought a new landing net head.I hope i get get it wet! with a fish or two from the Stour and Avon,not just rain water.
 
Hi men ,

I intend to be less diplomatic next season . The next person who casts over me , fishes directly opposite , or generally tries hard to effect my fishing will not receive any formal warning . I have very limited , precious time to be wasting on people that are nitwits .


Hatter
 
Mark Anderson said:
Hi men ,

I intend to be less diplomatic next season . The next person who casts over me , fishes directly opposite , or generally tries hard to effect my fishing will not receive any formal warning . I have very limited , precious time to be wasting on people that are nitwits .


Hatter
Click to expand...

You gonna leave Sue at home? :p
 
I have had that! Only one on the stretch and a guy plonks down 10ft from my right and casts in the same swim! Grrrrrrrrr:mad:
 
And by the way more float fishing.
 
Caught first time out rolling, travel as light as you can very interesting.
 
I too intend to try to get around to more float fishing, despite the fact that there are three reasons why that is less attractive to me than it should be...and certainly less so than I would like it to be. The first is a lifelong back problem that leaves me in severe pain if I try standing to trot a float, even for fairly short periods. The second is the price of that ubiquitous bait, the humble maggot...the third is a mere bagatelle...it is the fact that I am fairly rubbish at trotting :eek:

It is true that you can sit down to trot in many circumstances, but not in all...and the best seat style for trotting is without a doubt a match fishing style box, which gives the correct height and a level position (both of which are adjustable)....and is unencumbered by backs and arms and such to hinder your movements. Unfortunately, I suffer almost as badly from sitting for long periods on an upright, backless chair as I do standing....and in any case, I aint about to invest in such a seat, just for occasional use...at my time of life...even if I could carry it :D

And yes, I know there are alternatives to maggots, baits that can and do work very well at times. However, if you wish to be consistently successful at float fishing on rivers, be in with the best chance available in 90% of the conditions and opportunities presented to you, then nothing beats maggots (and I count casters as essentially the same thing)....as an all round, effective and successful bait. The fact that it is readily available, requires little or no preparation, and so is the ultimate convenience bait does count in it's favour as well....but is as nothing compared to it's almost magical and universal attractiveness to fish.

The third problem...my being a totally cra* float fisherman...I blame on to the previous two issues entirely...which I must admit does make them quite desirable in a way :D

Cheers, Dave.
 
Last season I float fished and had more fun than I have had for many years.

Next season I shall be trapping crayfish, and have obtained the necessary permits.


Regards


Hugo
 
David Gauntlett said:
I too intend to try to get around to more float fishing, despite the fact that there are three reasons why that is less attractive to me than it should be...and certainly less so than I would like it to be. The first is a lifelong back problem that leaves me in severe pain if I try standing to trot a float, even for fairly short periods. The second is the price of that ubiquitous bait, the humble maggot...the third is a mere bagatelle...it is the fact that I am fairly rubbish at trotting :eek:

It is true that you can sit down to trot in many circumstances, but not in all...and the best seat style for trotting is without a doubt a match fishing style box, which gives the correct height and a level position (both of which are adjustable)....and is unencumbered by backs and arms and such to hinder your movements. Unfortunately, I suffer almost as badly from sitting for long periods on an upright, backless chair as I do standing....and in any case, I aint about to invest in such a seat, just for occasional use...at my time of life...even if I could carry it :D

And yes, I know there are alternatives to maggots, baits that can and do work very well at times. However, if you wish to be consistently successful at float fishing on rivers, be in with the best chance available in 90% of the conditions and opportunities presented to you, then nothing beats maggots (and I count casters as essentially the same thing)....as an all round, effective and successful bait. The fact that it is readily available, requires little or no preparation, and so is the ultimate convenience bait does count in it's favour as well....but is as nothing compared to it's almost magical and universal attractiveness to fish.

The third problem...my being a totally cra* float fisherman...I blame on to the previous two issues entirely...which I must admit does make them quite desirable in a way :D

Cheers, Dave.
Click to expand...

Dave,

The Shooting Stick approach proposed on another thread could be a possible answer to your comfort levels whilst honing your trotting skills.
 
Richard Hamlyn said:
Dave,

The Shooting Stick approach proposed on another thread could be a possible answer to your comfort levels whilst honing your trotting skills.
Click to expand...


I thought for a moment there you were suggesting that ending it all might be a reasonable option for me Richard :D (And yes, before you say it....I am aware that there are some here who would willingly lend a hand in that direction :p)

Seriously though, I appreciate your thoughts on this, whether a teensy bit tongue in cheek....or not. However, I have serious doubts about a shooting stick being the answer. Over the years, I have tried every variety of situpon receptor I have come across, with varying degrees of success. As the years progress, one thing above all others stands out as a pain catalyst....and that is a chair that does not have effective back support. I admit that my one and only test flight with a shooting stick was very brief.....but I do think that the total lack of a backrest would be a serious issue for me.

Cheers, Dave.
 
David Gauntlett said:
I thought for a moment there you were suggesting that ending it all might be a reasonable option for me Richard :D (And yes, before you say it....I am aware that there are some here who would willingly lend a hand in that direction :p)

Seriously though, I appreciate your thoughts on this, whether a teensy bit tongue in cheek....or not. However, I have serious doubts about a shooting stick being the answer. Over the years, I have tried every variety of situpon receptor I have come across, with varying degrees of success. As the years progress, one thing above all others stands out as a pain catalyst....and that is a chair that does not have effective back support. I admit that my one and only test flight with a shooting stick was very brief.....but I do think that the total lack of a backrest would be a serious issue for me.

Cheers, Dave.
Click to expand...

Dave- have you tried Pilates? If not you should. And some of those MBT footwear things. I had a terrible bad back- had all the scans and some consultant nutter wanted to fuse a couple of discs (thought he sounded like a deranged DJ with a suggestion like that). I declined the offer and instead did Pilates for a year followed by general gym work. Made a huge difference. I could never stand for more than 5 minutes without back pain. The MBT's were a revelation too. Enabled me to go to music gigs and could stand for ages without so much as a twinge. Not sure they make footwear for country pursuits though. Back ache- it's a pain in the arse.
 
new luggage for me new bedchair and chair and a new bivvy so well over a grand spent so yeah expensive lol :D :D
 
Howard Cooke said:
Dave- have you tried Pilates? If not you should. And some of those MBT footwear things. I had a terrible bad back- had all the scans and some consultant nutter wanted to fuse a couple of discs (thought he sounded like a deranged DJ with a suggestion like that). I declined the offer and instead did Pilates for a year followed by general gym work. Made a huge difference. I could never stand for more than 5 minutes without back pain. The MBT's were a revelation too. Enabled me to go to music gigs and could stand for ages without so much as a twinge. Not sure they make footwear for country pursuits though. Back ache- it's a pain in the arse.
Click to expand...

Hi Howard,

We have one of those 'Back in action' shops that apparently supply those shoes about a mile away from us...I will go and take a look. The problem I see is that as usual, they are talking about backache being mainly the product of poor posture. Mine is a hereditary thing, I have one leg a little shorter than the other, which causes a curvature of the spine. That resulted in my being dragged by the scruff of the neck to a clinic as a very young lad, and made to do exercises....but never found it helped much. To be honest, like all kids I found it intensely boring...and so wasn't that dedicated. Probably why it didn't work :rolleyes:

Pilates...now that's something I had not considered as a possible aid....but again, I will look into it.

Thanks for that Howard, interesting thoughts mate.

Cheers, Dave.
 
New season

If your worried about the cost off maggots try good old hemp and tares. Also two pints of casters can easily fit into five pints of hemp. I'm going to try some early morning sessions as opposed to evenings. i have noted about 6 pegs near me on the Avon I will target. Also a few trips to the Severn, a place I have left for a few years. :) can't wait
 
I'm hoping to fish a couple of new rivers this coming season, though with a new(ish) baby the opportunities may well be few and far between. It's a case of building up brownie points.....so, with that in mind, no new gear for me. Having said that, I only ever buy to replace broken anyway.

Good luck to all for the season ahead. :)
 
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