I know a Pete Knight was was living in Oslo at the same time, He fished for an all English team called the Crafty Catchers . . . not sure if that is the same chap.
He did fish for a team out there,a very old friend of mine,about ten or twelve years ago,after not hearing from him for a long,long time,my mum rang and asked me what i'd been up to as the police had rang her asking for me,she had given this person my number and they would be ringing to help with their inquiries,that evening my phone rang,I answered and it was the police,as this man talked I vaguely recognised the voice,then it came to me Pete Knight,we were hellish pranksters when we were younger,he hadn't changed... 
If it is the same chap this Pete was married to a Danish girl for a while but moved to Norway on his divorce. He worked for a while on the Lillehammer Winter Olympic press office doing the electrical and IT wiring.
He was a pretty good angler but most of the English lads only went to the matches for the craic . . . and they were great pranksters . . . . often slipping rocks or bricks into other anglers carryalls or tackle boxes . . . . and if the fish were not playing ball then they'd often start a groundbait fight launching balls from their catty.
He was a pretty good angler but most of the English lads only went to the matches for the craic . . . and they were great pranksters . . . . often slipping rocks or bricks into other anglers carryalls or tackle boxes . . . . and if the fish were not playing ball then they'd often start a groundbait fight launching balls from their catty.
John Aston
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Anyone else remember Goldstrikes ? With less than 10minutes sharpening they were only slightly blunt ....
He did indeed. In fact we had a few visits to that area, as well as the Guden, for matches and the evening activities were legendary.
Myself and Pete burnt the candle big style on a two week binge,which cost us an arm and a leg in beer money,without anything else,another guy in the Kro we were staying heard of our evenings out and wanted to come with us,well me and Pete had an eventful evening,drinking lager by the stein,disappearing with ladies,then returning to swill till they called time,we being professional mickey takers had everyone in the bar in hysterics,as we fell out of the bar some German guys called us back and said though they had stopped selling beer,they still sold what I believe was called hoffmeister(a port like drink),they bought for the next hour or two and we were totally ratted,the other lad who came with us stayed well clear after that evening,lol....
I think someone else mentioned them but Drennan Super specialists have to be a contender for a classic hook. I had palputations when they changed the packaging a while back but thankfully they left the hook as it was (phew! ?)....Shame they stopped doing the little plastic boxes of 50 but they remain one oif the most afforable and reliable hooks around. Straight eye, straight point ...no mess no fuss they just work. I can only ever remeber maybe a couple opening out on me but that was due to me using too small a hook on silly strong tackle.
The Drennan specimens are another good pattern...exactly the same but a slightly lighter guage wire. Ideal for Chub and the like.
VMC hooks are still widely available across the channel...shops such as Terres & eaux & Pacific Peche often stock a resonable selection of them. They probably do mail order.
The Drennan specimens are another good pattern...exactly the same but a slightly lighter guage wire. Ideal for Chub and the like.
VMC hooks are still widely available across the channel...shops such as Terres & eaux & Pacific Peche often stock a resonable selection of them. They probably do mail order.
sam vimes
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Knowing the issues many are having buying from the continent post brexit, it's unlikely I'll be taking the gamble anytime soon.
John Aston
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I tend to belong to the 'if it's sharp and doesn't bend or snap , then it's fine by me ' school of hook purchase . Mainly because I grew up in an era of dreadful , coarse barbed and blunt horrors - so since the advent of chemically sharpened hooks they all seem pretty damn good to me. ( I assume it is chemical sharpening that has effected such improvement ?) . I like the Drennan Super Specialists but , for grayling , chub and tench especially , I prefer the Kamasan B983 , which I have convinced myself loses me fewer grayling when trotting . In the sizes I use them for grayling - 12-14 - the Drennans do seem to be a bit think in the wire for what I need , and the Kamasans seem even sharper.
The trouble with that philosophy Grayson is when fish are being finicky,a finer wired hook gets more bites,particularly so with shy biting fish,roach,crucians,F1's,along with others when conditions are poor,particularly with maggots,casters,pinkies,bread punch and the like,so a trade off has to be made,just to maximise success,however,we all know there are days you can catch these fish on a size 12 with a single maggot.
I don't do this,but I guarantee some match anglers do,they will have different hooks to go to if missing bites,particularly on the tip and i've no doubts that it does work,we must remember,just because we personally use certain preferred patterns,there will always be one that suits conditions better,it's called sods law....
I don't do this,but I guarantee some match anglers do,they will have different hooks to go to if missing bites,particularly on the tip and i've no doubts that it does work,we must remember,just because we personally use certain preferred patterns,there will always be one that suits conditions better,it's called sods law....
Mark Wintle
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Many people who fish for grayling don't realise that the best hooks are fine wire BARBLESS size 18s not thick wire barbed size 12 which fail to penetrate properly.
John Aston
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In answer to one generalisation I will give one of my own
Some people don't realise that some of us fish for grayling
- on rivers where maggots aren't allowed , hence size 18 barbless hooks being totally unsuitable for the only bait we can use - worm
- that fine wire hooks and grayling up to 3lbs and trout to 5 lbs aren't happy bedfellows in strong flows and snaggy pools
- that with the right gear , a 12 will penetrate just fine . Seen the size of some of the Czech nymphs and other flies used for grayling ?
Some people don't realise that some of us fish for grayling
- on rivers where maggots aren't allowed , hence size 18 barbless hooks being totally unsuitable for the only bait we can use - worm
- that fine wire hooks and grayling up to 3lbs and trout to 5 lbs aren't happy bedfellows in strong flows and snaggy pools
- that with the right gear , a 12 will penetrate just fine . Seen the size of some of the Czech nymphs and other flies used for grayling ?
Years ago Drennan produced a blue finished fine wire hook in sizes up to 4. They came in purple card coloured packet with a picture of a roach. They were brilliant for roach trotting big pieces of flake.
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Thanks for this information Peter. I now understand why hook sizes are all over the place.
It explains why anglers often these days use the terms “Big size 16” or “Small size 18”, etc.
Best Regards, Dave
Goes for chub as well in my experience.
A fine wire barbless 18 for Grayling would equal a load of lost fish where I fish for them, particularly with the better ones.
Same for Chub, but I'm sure they'd be ok if you didn't need to keep them out of snags from the off...
Same for Chub, but I'm sure they'd be ok if you didn't need to keep them out of snags from the off...
I've had many chub over five pounds on size 20's,and I had to stop them getting into snags(not fine wire however,lol),balanced tackle and confidence is key,big grayling are just beggars for twisting off the hook....
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Mark Wintle
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I'm willing to bet that those who are saying small barbless hooks are wrong for grayling haven't tried them. I spent one winter pretty much just fishing for grayling, mainly because the roach were thin on the ground, tried many hooks, and size 18 90340s beat everything else hands down in very fast water. They penetrate fully every time if you strike hard and play the grayling hard, with the added bonus of much easier unhooking, especially if the hook is in that hard piece of grisle at the scissors.