bluelabel

looks okay and for the money not too bad... keep an eye on the quality though Advanta is getting better with it's products, but it's still not quite up there with the best... you are looking at a "Budget" item after all

I have been using a Daiwa 5.90mts landing net handle for the last couple of years... dead handy for sneaky placing of bait and rig... the pole is a multi section telescopic that collapses down to a cheeky little 27 inches... I bought it for fishing high banks and for that its also superb... a well thought out bit of kit that fills two roles admirably... not cheap(£60) but it fits nicely into my Nash Dwarf rod bag as well ... win win all round

S'what gave Mr Fairbrass his grubstake... He started out selling leads from a bucket round some of the busy waters

Best start emptying me bag then... its no wonder the thing weighs a ton

Silly question... just going through my kit and although I tend to use light leads I seem to have loads of the things.... how many do you guys carry at a time...? I had summat like 10 flat pear swivelled 1oz -1.5 oz and and perhaps 15 flat inline of the same and a few 2.5 COG'S... I know its probably too many.... trying to lighten the load but the obsessive bit in me says I need em

Isnt the Nash Dwarf spod still available... I have a 9' one with a 4.5lb tc... does the job for me

The wife bought me this and slipped the little volume into my bag for my night shift along with my sarnies..... It covers the year after Chris caught the Bishop at Redmire... Interestingly enough, he rarely mentions that historic capture, you can see his interest waning for Redmire, or perhaps it is the other way round... who knows...? It retains the clipped diary style with short chapters but still has the Yates stamp all over it.... I love Yates's style of writing, I also love the fact that this diary went missing for ages and was found in a box of Christmas deccies in an attic and was only found by accident.... if I have any criticism its that I feel that it feels a little rushed with the journal style and lacks the almost poetic narrative that previous works by himself that are his trademark... That said, it is hugely enjoyable and charts his year very well and lets face it, the man can write as well as he can fish... a good read...

You'd be better off with a shelter rather than a bivvy if you are not going to night fish.... a 60" brolly will get you and your lady tucked away nicely out of the weather

Both... not difficult... I had the Churchwood Ghost out at 19.8 first trip there nice little venue

Churchwood lakes, Brentwood... nice fish, good facilities, lodge, loo's, showers, local takeaway delivery, safe parking....

Oh the club itself is a great well run club... and the waters are stunning (Boreham Mere is superb) you certainly get a good deal, its just the actions of a few leave a bad taste... gotta say I might be back for the river fishing in the next year or two

I used to be the club NFA coach for CAA years ago... as has been said, good waters, although the behaviour of some of its members can be improved... there is a certain cliquieness amongst some of the hardcore carpers, with a lot of "swim saving" and general rule breaking... trying to get a swim on Braxted was murder with some of the "anglers" refusing to leave a swim, despite being packed up, "cos their mate is coming in after them"... according to a mate who left last year for that very reason, it still goes on, and it seems the bailiffs are in on it...

I bought the Nash Dwarf spod rod (4.5lbs IIRC) to go with the 9' 2.75lb Dwarf's that I use... works well, lobs fully loaded spombs out as far as I can chuck 'em and basically does what it sez on the tin and for less then £60 (when I bought it) you can't go wrong

Loved the last one, but my... did the Iron Maiden Lass have a cracking pair o' baps... Nay bad for a tribute band... went to see Aussie Floyd a couple of weeks ago... they were superb as always.... I wish these guys would get back together again... saw them numerous times in the 90's

One of the things that tickles me is the way that manufacturers are making up problems to be solved with their products.... yes I know it's called "Marketing" BUT back in the 70's we roughed it... a brolly with a bit of nicked tarp, a cheap sun lounger and even cheaper sleeping bag... jeezus we are spoilt bankside now... I know a few still do it "Au Naturel" but I even saw a green carpers baccy pouch the other day .... do me a favour... Last time out at Bluebell I saw a bivvy with a sky dish and generator fer cryin' out loud... if you are taking it to that degree you might as well stay at home with yer X-Box-Boy thingy and play that BIG Fish game....

buy a tin of biscuits, eat the biccies... place 5 or 6 tea lights on the lid pierce a few holes in the base of the tin and place over the lit candles... viola....! one bivvy heater for the price of a tin o' biccies and a few tea lights... oh and if it's really cold out you'll get a ton of condensation.... oh and don't put it on the plastic bivvy table or on your plastic/rubber groundsheet

Oh fffffffffffergoodness sake....!!!!!

I have 4 moggies, Murray, Motson, Lemmy and Dave... Lemmy and Dave were Rescues, some pikey types dumped them on the doorstep of the local feed merchants, so we had them... Dave weighed 250 grams at 8 weeks old... he was soooo tiny... now the two youngsters are 2 years old and thundering round the house, whereas Murray and Motson are the two elder statesmen (pushing 13 years old now) and spend most of their time asleep... When I retire I think we are going to get a dog (as a puppy, so he's at home with the cats) Possibly a Border Terrier, Jack Russell, or possibly a Heinz (57 varieties)

Another tip is to eliminate draughts.... wear a scarf or shemagh, tuck your joggers into your socks or get a pair of boot gaiters... don't wear trainers.... get a good pair of boots, preferably thermal types that you can get in and out of quickly... after lugging your gear to your swim/pitch & setting up you'll be sweating cobs... take off your boots and put on a fresh pair of dry socks... and some dry clothes... it don't half make a difference...!

Oxlease & Manor sees a lot of pressure (as do most of the waters at Linear) I'd look at Brasenose 2 for runs or maybe Hunts Corner... midweek would be a good bet as weekends are rammed, Any quality bait... Sticky, Mainline, CC Moores, if it's a high pressure day get on the Zigs, otherwise keep the rigs simple and start off with solid bags to try and nick a bite, then put a bit of bait out in that area.... other folks may have other ideas on the place but that's how I've approached it in the past (2 years ago) and it worked for me (Brasenose 2, Active 8, & 2+4mm pellets, simple lead clip rig, just over the marginal shelf = 13 fish in 48 hours, best of 23.14) Hope this helps...

With the set of atts dongles and the reciever the reciever has a vibration alert.... I use the vibro alert and have the volume to zero.... that way the reciever wakes me up but no one else (reciever round my neck on a lanyard)

"Larkin Poe"..... superb.... the full band is even better, but I love these stripped out versions... no hiding place here.... Enjoy...!

Well, I tried using Solar Lead free and as a leader it works well, I found splicing it to be a bit of a faff at first, but once I got the hang of it it was easy enough.... that's the good bit out of the way... for solid bag work it's next to useless, as the material holds water so as soon as you start to tie off the neck of the bag the water witheld in the leader started to dissolve the PVA bag... as I said though as a straight leader for fishing in snaggy or places where abrasion is possible, it's great, it's soft, supple, follows contours and does what it sez on the bag (comes in sort of grey/green or silt black colours) Tried to find a link for Linqtek... nothing worth following... is it still made..?

it's been said many times by various anglers... and then there are the cries of the faithfull to the stuff, shouting down the arguments against it... "it's safe if you know what you are doing" is a famous argument for it..... but who is to say who knows what they are doing, it only takes the line to hit a mussel shell or gravel bar and the potential is there for a snagged fish... I stopped using it years ago, in part because of all the horror stories around it, but mainly because most waters round my neck o' the woods have banned it. Here's my take... it doesn't lie flat on the deck, it bridges dips and depressions on the lake bottom, looks blatant, can snag or tether fish if you get cut off... I can see no upside to it.... other than abrasion resistance and there is no guarantee that any abrading of your end game is going to be on the leadcore section... (I did hear tales of folks using 6' plus of the stuff a few years ago.... ) That said.... if it's that dangerous why have Korda and other companies persisted with it's sales, and I heard t'other day that Korda have brought out short pre spliced lengths in packs of 6 for use with solid bags... TBH I can see a use for a short leader for that application, but leadcore....???? (why not just use tubing?) If you take the arguments against leadcore a stage further are not ANY leaders that safe...? given the way in which it can tangle or tether... Surely the safest rig has to be a freeline with a hook and bait and nothing else, and even that can tangle and tether (admittedly in very extraordinary circumstances) so where do you go from there... ? I'd love a system where I can make up solid bags on a ready made leader and just slip a loop over it and cast it out... but if it's going to be that dangerous I'll pass on it

I paid £50 for my 9' dwarf spod rod tis a nice little rod... oh and it's a 4.5lb rod, it hurls fully loaded large size Spombs very accurately and without fuss... I have a pair of Dwarf 9' 2.75lb and the Spod rod.... it all fits in the boot with the scope ops brolly, chair, tackle bag and bait bucket.... sorted...