kevtaylor

You could try less maggots? Its a bit in your face if they are wary I tied a sick maggot rig last night, will look bob on with about 4 maggots on it.

He looks ace - sad that he's gone, you must have given him a good life, that's all you can do

Good luck fella

Why don't you ask the lads in Banks and Burr Tackle, Rugby I'm sure they will help out. They are knowledgeable and friendly.

Beast - love it, what a fish!

The JRC STi 2 man is very good for the price, it will do everything that a more expensive Trakker shelter will and they do last and condensation is vastly reduced through the venting. I've more recently bought the AVID HQ mk2 2 Man - bigger inside than a standard pram hood design and good quality - no complaints.

Like his funky fringe - quite the man about town!

It's next to your baccy pouch under the swim runner mat!

Yeah you can't see them obviously but they are there believe me

Yonny's got special carpy eyes!

So this is why I blank - gotta get one! and the toilet roll holder I saw in a tackle shop one day - still laugh at that 5 years on

Thanks buddy - he's better known around the lakes than me!

George is a cocker cross cavalier so he loves sniffing about in the bushes chasing birds and stuff, however the cavalier side means it doesn't last long before he is laying down on my bed trying to get fussed. On our first trip fishing he fell in stepping on weed instead of land and that put him off water ever since which is great because you don't want a wet dog jumping all over the bed.

My best mate George - looking out for fish in the bushes 😂 It wouldn't be the same without him

They are the same size as the fox mk2 broĺley? You looked at the trakker tempest

AVID Ascent Brolley System - Nuff said!!! Quality far above everything else I've seen - everyone who see's it says so.

I'll big up the fox microns set. Had Micron MX's for many years 20 odd and never had a problem in all weathers and seasons, baked to frozen, brilliant

Pretty sure your Entohs will will still be doing the business when the wychwoods are paintless and going wrong all over the place.

When your popping the float up I use the quick drag to go from locked up to loose so I can pull line off, with just a half turn.

Once you get some Shimmy's you wont look at anything else. I know you said they performed well on their first outing, but you also said they were making not so good noises already- I hope you get your moneys worth out of them - not sounding great already. (Senior moment) Actually I was wrong before - I did own a pair of Diawa big pits which were my spod and marker reels, can't remember the name right now but within a year or so the clutch on one went wrong and the line clips were so poor they damaged the line, I went and bought a pair of Shimmy's which cost a bit more but are great, good as brand new still and with the addition of a QD drag, which is great for the job. The Diawa were so rubbish I must have blanked it out of my memory. Sorry I'm making it worse 😄

Because I've only had some cheap Diawa baitrunners many years ago I cannot really say whether they are good or bad. What I could say is that since owning shimano reels I would never buy another brand. Shimano are widely accepted as being the best reels by a long way, through all price ranges, no question. My big pits are probably 15 years old and have been serviced once in that time, not that they needed it, I just wanted to give them a treat because they have given me plenty of good memories. They are like new, no noise, no damage, a brilliant clutch and I could land anything on them and I mean anything, they will last me forever no doubt whatsoever. Sorry to burst your bubble somewhat but you should have bought some Shimmy's.

Try zig bugs either as a zig or a low pop-up. You can buy them ready made or do your own. Bit of hemp with a fake snail pop-up. Easy lol You're more than likely watching them on the first hatch of the year, which makes the above even more relevant.

It's difficult to find places eh - I was really surprised at how few venues allow dogs when I got my doggy. Nearly all of the places I'd considered fishing over the years actually didn't allow dogs when it came to joining. Bluebell Lakes (day ticket) is cool with dogs. I don't really know where you are or how far you want to travel. Most places have the rules on the internet nowdays Good luck 😌

You have to set it to the conditions to avoid false bleeps and have the right kind of bobbin for the situation. Going down to 1-2 on the minus settings if it's very windy with weed gathering on the line - extreme conditions Whereas in normal conditions I might have it on 2-4 on the plus settings. It's good that you have the range to deal with all situations, when I first got them I was using them on high sensitivity but when what should have been a bleep sounds like a full blown run you soon learn to lower the sensitivity more in line with other alarms. Gets you going that's for sure 😃

I didn't see the point in these because I had always been Ok with a head torch. However, since being bought one I have found it to be an excellent additional to my kit and I would miss not having it. Well worth the money IMO