buzzbomb

Well in the catcher!

Keep it civil please gentlemen.

Feel free to switch opinions, or change according to venue, weather or time of day, as (at least in the 10 years I've been here) we fight out barbed v barbless about every 6 months. [emoji2] I sometimes fish in Manitoba or British Columbia where barbless is law so I carefully comply, and will use either when in my home province depending on situation. I believe mouth damage is often caused by anglers' poor technique and will occur with barbed hooks as well as barbless based on what I've seen. Once in a blue moon you just hook a berzerker fish and there's going to be no way to keep even pressure on while they jerk around.

Or tie another rig.

I didn't know exactly what a lurcher was, always thought they were border collie/greyhound crosses or very similar dogs so I have some learning to do. The greyhound for pursuit and the border to cut them off at the pass. I've always admired that with a lurcher you can go hunting with just a dog and a sack to put game in and possibly a club to dispatch it with. Not a practical dog in my climate though. Chillfactor I'm sure your honey harvest will be great. What do they feed on, alfalfa, clover? Honey (to my knowledge) is the only food that never spoils.

Very nice! How much honey do you think they produce and is it a long wait?

1/2 tsp catnip.

Sorry to hear that Andy, it can be tough to save them when they aren't weaned and that young.

I use only running rigs and 3oz leads now. I used to vary weights to have the lightest possible while still holding in the current but have since decided it doesn't matter and bought bulk 3oz bell sinkers from the US to save money. Even if 3oz doesn't help hooking when the fish first starts moving it probably does when you lock down on it. Naturally I still carry a good selection of lighter weights in case I want to do something else, but they don't see much use.

40 years ago I shot an enormous jack-rabbit and when I brought it back to my sister's I told these 2 little kids I'd killed the Easter Bunny. I didn't think they'd take it so hard.....

Love to do this but Canada rears its ugly head again. A-hem! Suffield and most other military preserves in Canada were chosen because they have sandy soil that makes poor farmland but is good for digging trenches and staging tank battles/artillery shoots. It's Godforsaken looking and pool-table flat and can be incredibly hot in summer but driving past on the highway I often see herds of antelope, which is nice. Just taking a dig, Canada is not all ugly. My car broke down in southern Alberta on a hot day once but it didn't matter, I already had a prejudice against the place. Met some nice helpful people though so there was a saving grace.

Good one!

Not for the tattoo!

Oh that's sad Andy, time will heal though.

Nancy Boy is a good petting cat, but not what you'd call a 'great thinker'. He weighs ounces, but can destroy furniture weighing hundreds of pounds. Although he is my sister's cat she says he claims me exclusively.

Lolz

It's a great story - I always wondered if the song Wondering Where the Lions Are is about the old man's dream.

Nice!

I had a Lab that was an ace hunting dog and we hunted ducks for many years, sorely missed.

Yeah right, welcome to the forum!

There must be 5 miles of barbed vs barbless on here if anyone wanted to print it out! I often pinch the barbs back with my pliers, I suppose that would be like a 'micro baeb'. Anyone who has run a barbed hook into their finger can attest to the ease of removing barbless in contrast, (at least on humans).

If it's that bad maybe carp fishing really isn't for you. It's a lot cheaper than golf though, so give it another shot. Look up Socal Carpers and see where they go - seeing how it's done should give you some confidence. Some anglers luck into a fish the first time out and are hooked for good, some have to plug away at it. Sometimes boilies can be an instant bait on wild carp that have never seen them before (was my experience) but all the factors that cause a fish to bite or not are still in play so it is never a given. I'd be inclined to open the field a bit and try other things. If you fish 2 rods put a piece of sausage, or potato, or half a rubber earplug soaked in clam juice..... and a boilie on the other if you like. If you still want to give your gear away pm me!

Cobleyn, it's in the news this morning - someone from Kamloops has bagged one near Chilliwack, 3.5m long, estimated 500 kilos, could be as much as 400 years old. That's the second biggie this year to come out of there. I still think you did alright with those in the pictures.

Well done the catchers! It looks like there may be some 5 or 6 footers in there.

Dung, cows‘ blood and bits of cat; mmmmmm. I think Compleat Angler as period literature is important historicaly and commend you for mentioning it Gary.