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Think this is the common opinion, that you see no benefit, and probably dont, but it all depends on how deep you look in to where it goes. I personally know of at least 50k worth of rod licence monies that went back in to improving the River Nene, because I spent it! Also another 20k has gone to the local angling club in the last few years for various projects like otter fencing & platform access over the venues. The club has to be proactive in getting hold of it as the grants come up twice a year. Calverton fish farm is partly paid using rod licence money, so all those fish restocked after pollution or to supplement species like barbel population or to restock club waters. The EA are being cut to death by central government, most of the teams rely on the big budgets of FCRM to supplement them. It's about time the government twigged on to the fact they'd be raking it in if they employed 100s of EA bailiffs and went and caught all the dodgers out and got the fine income. Sadly the EA dont get the fine money, it goes straight to treasury to be spent on a dinner party or something.

I used predominantly yellow pop ups in probably 75% of all my fishing so if I was going to catch then chances are it would be on a yellow so it maintained my confidence in that colour. I would also change the shade of yellow throughout the year , always starting with sweetcorn yellow in spring and towards autumn it would be washed out yellow with half the flavour levels . Plus I predominantly fished weedy waters and yellow seemed to be the one on all those waters. In winter and into early spring I'd often switch to orange , white or match the hatch as the yellows wouldn't be as effective in winter for some reason. My mate seemed to think their eyesight was affected in the colder months and his go to was white so I tried it and caught a few so like anything if catch on something a few times it gives you confidence and that's a big part of fishing. That and being on the fish in the first place.

A day on the Chelmer, MkIV Avon and Adcock Stanton pin... only a coupla little 'uns though

I recently bought a couple of 9ft xtractors and pretty quickly sold them. I used them a couple of times but they just don't feel like a proper fishing rod. I have also used 10ft rods and they didn't seem as unusual. But I think I've come to the conclusion I just like 12ft rods. What I did like was the space they saved and how compact they were packed up. But otherwise a 12 footer is a better all rounder for me. If you are being mobile all the time and stalking lots or for a specific job, then maybe but as an all purpose rod I just think they are a bit limiting.

Personally, I'm currently using the Daiwa Crosscast EXT 3.5lb 10ft rods. Previously I was using some Greys Prodigy Plus 2.75lb 12ft rods. They are both through action rods and play fish really nicely. The one big difference I notice between the 2 sets of rods with keeping everything else the same is the casting distance. I've sure I've lost a good percentage of my casting distance. I'm sure I used to be able to hit around 100yds pretty easily with the 12ft rods, but with the 10ft rods, I feel that I'm struggling to hit 80yds. That's the trade off. The big benefit of the shorter rods is that they are much easier to transport. I because the bottom section of the rods are telescopic, the full length of the Crosscasts is less than the width of my car. I can lay them across the back seat rather than having to load them in from the back and thread them between seats etc. This also means I can take them on holiday a lot easier with a full car. If you're happy with the limited range or can use a bait boat or similar with them, the shorter rods would be great, but if you're fishing a larger water and need the casting distance, you'll need the longer rods. Different tools for different jobs and scenarios.

Yeah definately about confidence, my usual starting point is washed out pink, then white. Then If it's really not going well a yellow tutti lol

My floater fishing and stalking rod for years was a 9ft Browning spinning rod, and I found it brilliant. Seems weird as it had no test curve rating, I think it was 30-50grams casting weight, sadly it was stolen. Most of my fishing is on big waters, where long casts may be required and I know that I can cast a lot further with a 12ft than a 10ft rod. In fact I don't think that I have fished a water less than 45acres since 2010, other than occasional day trips to Bromeswell, and there I prefer to use my specialist rods as I'm not going to fish for carp just reaching double figures with 2.75 or 3.25lb rods. Even feeder fishing with a 10ft specialist rod, I am casting shorter than the exact same make in 12ft, although to be fair on the river that's not a problem.

More like a resurgence of an old trend I think. A set of 9's is a good addition to the collection for those that can afford and/or keep multiple sets. For me, a decent set of 12's (or even 13's) is more versatile as a single set. I personally prefer an extra set of 12's with a softer action as a second set rather than 9s.... more useful for fishing the types of waters I fish. It's only recently I've considered a set of 9s for one particular water I have a ticket for. It's a bit of a maze, overgrown, and requires boat work to land them from several swims. Nine's aint essential, but they'd help. Struggling to justify the spend on a non-essential though.

Stiffer but with less of a wiry feel.

Been using these 9' 3" Sharpe's Impregnated cane for years now... to be fair it was Rod Hutchinson who first advocated 12' footers to cast further... the fact remains many manufacturers have jumped on the Nash Dwarf/Scope bandwagon, If you wish to go down the 9' route there are plenty out there, Scopes are hideously expensive, and brittle, I have some Dwarf 9' 2.75lb rods and they are very good. Their main limitation is picking up line at distance... other than that they are brill

Nash tackle started a trend for shorter rods. Fine for smaller waters but on big lakes where you need big casts...

If I had to, I'd say pink. I got my garlic spice made up in pink, and I also have my food bait in natural colour and pink. Strangely the one colour I've rarely done well on is yellow!

When I started 9foot was the norm I think

Voted pink, but tbh I couldn't choose one. Pink is a great starting point, but white can be lethal over bait. I've also done well on red when the going gets tough. I think, like rigs, it's all about confidence.

I've seen them doing that, just sitting there terrorising the poor rudd who just want to eat a free meal. They like yellow pop ups, waiting till you've broken your rod and reel and you are trying to retrieve your end tackle, following in my rigs, then just being so knackered they have to recover in the margins for a while. If pike were human they would definately take any opportunity to loot a greggs after 8 cans of Stella and a riot.

This might be controversial 😱 I think pike are a bigger nuisance than bream.

I’m 54 and 11 months I have been checked once I was 17

If you fished on the rivers you might catch the plague or something these days, all the faecal matter being dumped into them by privatised water companies, ruining the utilities whilst making gross profits for shareholders, and yet when they go belly up we will have to bail them out again with tax payer funding. I'm not sure what the rod licence really does either.but it hasnt maintained our waterways, they always flood now because they never seem to dredge thema keep the drains clean. Nowadays the ouse seems flooded for a 3rd of the year. Whag a country this is, ruled by parasites of the working class.

It still winds me up tbf. I've paid probably tens of thousands in tickets over the years and not once have I seen any syndicate I've been on benefit from license fees. I had a club ticket for the past few years which I thought made the license fee easier to swallow but even then I saw nothing. If I fished the rivers then I'd think the license is a bargain but I don't. Imo your average carp angler sees nothing from license fees. It's just another tax. I've only been checked once in the last 25 years. It was the 1st of April about 10-15 years ago, on a day ticket place, and I hadn't had time to renew (schoolboy error). To be fair to them they checked my history on their little tablet thingy and saw I'd had a license continuously for years. They let me get the license online there and then. Got a letter a while later saying no action taken. Fair play to them.

I tend to keep most of my kit on a barrow under a cover. take if off barrow when needed and put it back when it’s not. just put your bait buckets on the floor and put the kit on top of that at a push.