chillfactor

My main reason for not prebaiting through winter was this was always the flood times when I fished the rivers , absolute waste of time & money on the rivers I fished . Admittedly winters don't seem so wet these days & the floods seem more spread out across the year but when I was hitting the rivers hard that wasn't the case . Still personally think a good run of flood water in winter & a bit of colour is far more effective especially if the rivers been low & clear & that will turn the big fish on more than any prebait from my experience & definitely somethi g to keep an eye out for if you want a winter banger

I was going to say .... sounds like a job for early spring though .

Really depends on the type of river your fishing. The faster shallow & more natural rivers can be easier to work out where a good plsce to start is . As you might have a field or two of shallow fast moving water which then slows & deepens for a bit , always a good place to start for any specimen river fish where it first deepens after a shallow run , also on these rivers quite often there will only be one possible route for big fish to use in the shallower sections again another good place to set traps. On the deep slow coloured rivers it can be tricky like your finding spotting fish day to day , you might get lucky & one crashed out while on a wonder or you get to spot a couple in the margins but in my experience that's not that common , so it's more about picking somewhere out the way features or not & start baiting if there in the area there get on it . But wier pools old snags overhanging trees, undercut banks etc are all worth a bit of bait . At work now so got to log out

Don't rush into buying a spod rod just because it's 5lb "so must do the job" . The best spod rods use the whole rod ie the Butt section where all the power is . From my experience the budget spod rods around this test curve are very tippy rods the Butt section really doesn't come into it . I recommend a rod to BC recently which I think he purchased ... he was worried that the test curve seemed on the low side , But like I said to him it's far better at casting large spombs than my previous rod which was over 5 1/4 lb test curve .

Yes muft very true .

Gutting, nothing better than surface fishing . I've never tried it in the depths of winter , but remember you talking about it with some results . I suppose if you spot one in the margin give it a go ? Just a single bait if needs be could do it .

Fed one of the lakes yesterday with pellet & flaked maze, the fish were hitting the little bits of maze that floated. They definitely could of been caught off the top. Cold snap coming end of the week so that may well change.

I can imagine Muft ... see clips on the Tele etc eyes in the back & side of ya head eh

That's one thing I do have to deal with at weekends mate.... the tour da France brigade , you can end up stuck behind them for miles on our narrow country roads & like you say show little thanks for being patient & not deciding to mow them all down 😄

I dont have to battle wuth much traffic day to day work wise , but when i have to crickey i dont know how peopke do it every day .

You seem to have shifted your thoughts on hnv a fair bit mate . Wasn't that long ago you were banging the hnv drum. What's changed ?

Probably all fishing my old water with him 😁

He knows mate lol

Another load of cack 😂

Like you said yourself... soya & semolina Lol ... I think Nash bait is pants too

Yes mate but I've left it at the lab . Haven't quoted you out of context , just that I can see why you like sticky that's all . I am allowed to think sticky is poor you know 😉

Can see why your so fond of sticky now fella .

Not at all , pretty common knowledge in the trade, no different to bait & feed all those years ago . I think sticky spend more on advertising & shop space than ingredients lol

I personally think sticky is poor quality & wouldn't waste my time using it or my hard earned , but thats me we all have different opinions. I'm sure it all came out again in the wash just recently, with people in the trade not wanting there name associated with there bait & these are people behind the recipes. I'd rather take a bag of sweetcorn & flaked maze than a round ball of bulker .

Nothing better for the job mate, & one I've recommended a few times on here now.

No mate , 12 ft zig in 18ft of water. Just using my eyes, watching the swallows hitting a hatch & getting the zigs out amougst it .

Various avid zig lights cut up , black & white has to be my favourite, although I was playing about that day trying to work out what was going to get a take & that little slice of orange did the trick .

Same, absolutely banging hook holds & no need for any terminal extras that are on offer .

No doubt there won't be 1 single reason Gaz , safety on the banks like you mention is probably adding to it . Maybe just like I have found the last year & more " finding the time " , then add in all the different factors mentioned on this thread & you can easily see big fluctuations year to year. But like mentioned it's been in decline since we were kids .

Otters, could well be a reason for a drop in sales . When we have discussed the subject on here quite a few of you could see a future with far less anglers on the banks due to the impact there having.