The off topic thread

[mikench]

Have a great holiday Skip.


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[S-Kippy]

Thanks Mike. I've packed a rod and fully intend to use it.

 

[108831]

I popped round to see the BF earlier....his dog scratched me and with the meds I'm on I bleed like a stuck pig. I return home and the bloody cat gives me a playful swat on the nose and I'm now bleeding from two wounds. Little mare !

Sooooeeee....

 

[108831]

Can we put catch reports on here off off topic, just that I had four barbel today (biggest a whopping 12oz) and fished like a total wally losing three, the river was low and clear but the cloud cover put some fish on the feed, roach didn't really want to know and got plagued by gudgeon on maggot, about to cook dinner, but can't be bothered with any hoovering ?

Im so pleased someone else has these disasters Rob,especially top 'matchmen'...

 

[mikench]

Just picking up on a comment by PC about M25 blockades and I agree when the internet collapses and we have to revert to the old ways we are in trouble. The mention of the word Exodus merits a link to a great track. At least it's in the correct thread!!!

 

[Ray Roberts]

Excellent game of football tonight between Chelsea and Aston Villa. 1-1 and penalties. Chelsea won, but it was a really exciting game. Trevoh Chalobah who came through the academy looks a really good prospect.


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[sam vimes]

I have never tried that Rob but I will now. Does anyone use a Shimano Super GT in either 2500 or 4000 size for float fishing and what is your opinion?

It's essentially a cheaper version of the Stradic Ci4+ RA with fewer whistles and bells. The bulk of what's missing are pricey luxuries (Fewer bearings, quality of bearings, cheaper/heavier materials, different handles, different bail arms). Beyond cosmetics, the most obvious difference is weight.

 

[mikench]

Does anyone use a sonar fish detector like a Deeper and does it work. I don't want one and am very doubtful it would work on 90% of my waters where a phone signal is erratic at best and no wifi. I'm just curious. Gordon and I pondered their attributes or otherwise yesterday and we both commented that their cost had come down. Are they salt water resistant too?

 

[108831]

I used to have a Garmin fish finder thingy,great for finding depths on rivers,I used to trot it down and write depths,holes,bars etc,but they were useless at fish finding,apparently they pick up the fishes swim bladder,but when fish are on the bottom(a lot of the time)they dont show on the screen...

 

[mikench]

I ordered a replacement 1oz tip for the Silverlite late on Wednesday night and it arrived today. Excellent service from Billy Clarkes in Sheffield.

 

[mikench]

I have prepped some meat in the hope that the weather improves so I can venture forth and decided to make sure that the meat stops I like were in the tackle box. They come in packs of 10; I found one. Where the other 9 are is anybody's guess. I can't have lost 9.

 

[S-Kippy]

This is a tree ornament apparently though I am struggling to grasp wtf a beetroot has to do with Christmas

 

[silvers]

To stop HDYGO getting derailed ... i’m responding in here

I wonder how long the river there can take the constant pounding of matches Alex,with the weights of fish in keepnets,ive watched videos of these matches and cant imagine quite a few losses every match,pouring fish into weigh nets,waiting for first weighs laying nets on the path/grass etc,it isnt good for angling as a whole,funnily enough,it would be better if matches were won with say 25lbs,but the greed of what I class as the commie type match angler wants massive weights,not slating anyone,just the ideal as a whole....the thing is Hereford gets a big influx of fish every autumn/winter which must boost numbers incredibly,an amazing venue,especially when you think that you only need a coloured river and its bleak city,with collosal weights of those fragile fish,amazing...

In reality this won’t last long ... the colder weather will knock the monster weights on the head I suspect. This is the best it’s ever been for weight ... if anything Hereford has had a dip in form over the last decade ... previously the big weights were only on a few pegs.
There’s a peak of matches at the moment ... winter league, festival over three days, two qualifier matches on Wednesdays, the pairs match over the coming weekend and then the Wye champs on the last Sunday of the month ... but after that it will be less pressured.
anglers have been requested to use two nets with the current glut, and we really shouldn’t need telling how to empty keepnets these days should we? i was scales assist for the section yesterday and i Was happy with all the anglers (perhaps I have low standards) the biggest weight was 38:8 in one net. The fish spent the minimum time out of the water and transfer to weight net was NOT by pouring down the net.
The weights are called out really quickly and fish returned ... no faffing about.

When I lived in Chester in the 90's we'd make the long drive down to the Belmont stretch for the great winter roach fishing, so it's not that I don't get the appeal of it. And I use a keepnet myself. But I've been a bit dismayed to see the recent youtube videos of anglers tooled up, feeding £50 0f bait ,and swinging large roach to hand, any one of which would be a stand-out fish in catches on many rivers. The scenes at the weigh in were, as you say Alan, a bit grim and roach, dace and chub are not tough as old boots like carp. I don't want to moralise, but the fishing-on-steroids feel put me off a bit. And no disrespect to you, Silvers, I like to read your reports and I know the winter scene in Hereford is a kind of freak of nature.

Most of the roach are up to 10oz and theg are netted (at least by me) ... not seen any videos of people swinging large roach personally (did see Rory swinging some chub about that weight ... which feel “safer” to me)
the dog roach of a pound or bigger are not in the river at the moment ... or at least not being caught ... perhaps they’ve passed on to the great river in the sky?

I get the appeal,and I loved my match fishing,add to the bonus that match anglers only fish 5hrs,so unlike pleasure anglers or who could have these fish in nets for 12hrs,Alex will have seen the weigh ins,I remember weigh ins on the Severn in its hay day,barbel bashing around in nets,laying on the sandy banks,no wonder a steady drop in numbers occured from those days,I watch weigh ins on commercial carp fisheries where fish are poured into rubberised animal feed buckets,bloody disgusting,we will never stop fish being damaged as we are putting hooks in fish and taking them out of their environment,but what I would call obvious problematic issues need thinking about at best,for the betterment of all....

agreed ... most of the anglers have got decent fish welfare standards ... but you can’t cure stupid! Perhaps the only answer is to ban miscreants ... but then is the scales man going to dob in another angler? Most would probably decide to keep their heads down!

 

[108831]

Im not suggesting you would pour the fish down your net,but many do,watch the videos on you tube from the Wye,a pretty high profiled(in his underpants anyway) is filmed by the sponsors of the festival I think swinging good roach out from what looks like 6-8m out,regularly,im not saying too much,ive done it sometimes,but filming it so it is in a public domain doesnt help the the situation,when you watch Woody filming catching roach he nets all but perhaps 4-5oz fish,would he do it in an open,I dont know,im not a match angler these days as you know,but I still often fish in the manner of a match angler,because it is a way life now....

I had better get off this thread as I might upset Mike being off topic on the off topic thread...??????

 

[nottskev]

Just to stress I wanted to comment in a way not personal to you. I checked back - I've watched a few vid's from Hereford lately - and I do think the new one featuring Matt Derry shows some chunky fish flying through the air that made me raise my eyebrows. I take your point about the biggest stamp of Wye roach, but for me suspending a 10 oz roach by the hook is questionable - but maybe that's partly because fish like that would merit VIP treatment on my local Derwent where it would be a welcome tourist. There's a kind of edited highlight vid out there too that has, not surprisingly a "hauling " vibe, and I watched a Clive Branson vlog where, as he set up, he said (I think) 90lb+ came off the peg the day before. Anyway, I can't blame anglers for wanting to fill their boots in the almost freakishly good conditions, and I accept that lots of match anglers have high standards and well-practised fish handling skills.

 

[silvers]

No worries Kev ... I never catch enough to worry anyway!

The biggest roach I’ve ever witnessed being swung was Nigel Baxter on the Nene in about 1988 ... must have been 12oz plus ... I was flabbergasted ... but he did weight in 38 pounds that day!

I’ve not seen the video(s) ... but can believe that
a) some anglers are going right up to and beyond what is really acceptable (contrast that with Lindholme, where there is a rule on one lake that ALL fish must be netted)
b) a significant minority of anglers (match and pleasure) still can’t work out how to use a keepnet. Some of them are very experienced but still haven’t grasped the basics.

one aspect that “might” influence swinging vs netting are the pike ... I remember a pound roach being grabbed off the hook on one match on the Tennis courts by an estimated twenty pound pike. And I’ve done a fair bit of winching dace in very quickly to avoid the maw of mister pike On that river and others.

 

[mikench]

All very vald points and some, ( pike) I hadn't considered. In truth I would be utterly useless at match fishing which is a valid if not pre-eminent reason.

Anyway getting back on thread who likes Hagen Das vanilla ice cream?

 

[108831]

Pike are a major reason I swung/swing big roach,and hoss em in,losing nice roach to pike is a pet hate of mine.
Matt Derry is the guy I saw in the video Kev,these guys are good anglers but if they arent careful the matches will be reduced to three hours to lessen stress...

 

[108831]

Dont know Mike,but I like peach crumble....?

 

[silvers]

All very vald points and some, ( pike) I hadn't considered. In truth I would be utterly useless at match fishing which is a valid if not pre-eminent reason.

Anyway getting back on thread who likes Hagen Das vanilla ice cream?

I like Mackie’s myself ... have Haagen Dazs when it’s on offer for Belgian chocolate and Pralines & Cream