cobleyn

That looks nice mate. Like the idea that fishing is in. I'd sooner just pay that bit more and then just fish when I fancied it rather than having someone coming and bugging you over a fiver. I might give anglers paradise another blast. I've not been for years. I've always enjoyed whiteacres but I've never had good weather down there. Newquay Is just weird...the rest of the country can have 25 degree sunshine and Newquay will be under thick rain clouds.

Thanks for the info guys. It looked ok on paper for a week away with the family...reckon I'll give it a miss. I hate penny pinching...it's things like that fiver (which lets face it is no big deal) really boil my water...miserable git charging you a fiver to chuck a rod out for an hour. The joys of forums though. ...just need to find somewhere else now.

Just looking around for a week away with the wife and kids and this place seems to come up a fair bit. Just wondered if anyone had been recently or could recomend it?

I tend to use 2-3inch hook links with solid bags. Usually with supple braid.

It's not that it wouldn't work with a bottom bait. I used it a lot in the past with critically balanced/ snowman rigs....its just that's it's widely regarded as a good pop up rig.

I have no valid retort. My name is Cob...and I like long hairy bottoms.

I always like a long hair for bottom baits.

Congrats on 100 posts! I used to work in Hungerford. If you have a walk down the canal early in the morning- you may be surprised by what you have on your doorstep.

A few comments: A ring swivel (as previously mentioned) will be better on the hook. See Nige's recent photo tutorial for a cracking way to fix the swivel and bait on. Maybe try a size 6 or slightly thicker shank hook for more weight. I personally like the carp r us long shank nailers. The tubing on the left hand side (ie on the swivel) will inhibit the pivot into the fishes mouth. Whilst not a pure 360 rig (more of a hinged stiff rig), you could consider a length of mono in between the hook and the swivel. This allows you to vary the distance between the deck and the pop up and if you crimp it on adds weight. A loop knot to the ring swivel (Rather than the fixed one you use) will add potentially add more movement to the rig.

Hooklink or mainline?

Fleabay gives you a full choice of sizes. I've carried one for years for worms and to inject pva bags with flavour.

Red wine and Camembert.

As Mick says- don't worry about driving in France it's a piece of cake and you can consume hundreds of miles easily on their road networks. With modern sat nav it's just so easy- the French used to change their road names all the time, which could catch you out. But with sat nav there's no need to worry. Just make sure you put a tank of fuel in before you get on your ferry. The roads out there will usher you out of the port and on your way very quickly (ie avoiding the town centre) and it may be 50 miles before a fuel station. You may have left it a bit late for most of the popular lakes as they get booked up. If you are serious...you need to get phoning around now. I did review on lac de premiere a few months back. As its a new lake you might be able to get on there and it will tick all of your boxes (easy to get to, good facilities, lots of fish). There are quite a few lakes that do uk pick ups, like dream lakes (I think). Not sure how they all fish though as they get pressure all the time. Try and work out how good you think your angling is...don't assume that France is always easier. A lot of them see as much pressure as the lakes at linear so they aren't the bite a chuck lakes they once were

I use the solar stuff in 80lb for hooklengths for arapiama. Awesome stuff. Nash armour braid is good stuff. Not the most flexible braid on the market, but sinks like a stone and is really abrasion resistant.

Blanksalot beat me to fortinerres ...I fished there about 5 years ago and it was a bit run down. Since the new owners have took over it looks a load better.

Luke Moffat has just joined the forum. He used to do guided river trips in France...maybe worth dropping him a PM to see if he still does them...or knows someone who still does.

My rig board is a bit of a mess. But generally I have the following tied up: Short braid rigs for bag work. Hinged stiff rigs for pop ups. Combi links for general use (boilie/ maggot). I have a variety of hook sizes in there as I match my hook to my bait size. In the summer I was using a size 2 with a 35mm bait. My hinged pop-ups are between an 8 and a 12 as I tend to use them in winter as singles. If the hook is still sharp- it goes on the rig board and I'll use it again if the need arises. After about 6-9 months I'll empty it and bin everything (except swivels).

Few advantages- firstly is the non-tangle aspect, secondly is the ability for fish to deal with it- ie if they have been used to dealing with Braid, it can present them with a different presentation to deal with. third- its a material that re-sets itself when coupled with a more buoyant hook-bait.

I would agree with you usually kev if you were using a standard leader knot. The beauty of the albright is that you can trim the tags down to nothing as it won't unravel.

Fair play to him- nice fish. ...TBH I've had most of my UK fish this season on 30mm+ baits.

Google 'albrite knot'. Brilliant knot. A bit tricky the first few times you tie it...but perfect for what you are looking for

Love this...

Yeah...I know that...that's not what you said in your original post. Re read you own

Not sure that Cassien, chanty etc have SIRET numbers...or any of the rivers.

Thanks Ross (and everyone) for the kind words. I wish I'd had more time to edit it and write it a little better...but time constraints meant I could just about get this write up done. It does make you appreciate the work that goes into a proper book and the hours of work that authors put into them. I'm fortunate in that I spend most of life on a keyboard so I can type reasonably quickly. For the anglers who decide to write a book who never type or use a computer it must be a real labour of love to get it out.