Bluemoon Angling Thread

[BlueMoonRisin’]

I dunno? a few hundred?

What do I need to spend to get good stuff?

£500?

Always buy the best you can afford and go for the decent brands. If you plan to fish rivers I'd buy a 13-ft match rod and and a medium too heavy quiver tip rod. I'm not well up on the latest gear but I'll have a look online for you.

 

[snorky]

By the way, I would suggest anyone coming to fish the Wye checks first at the mo.
Salmon fishing has totally stopped and I know some barbel beats like Aramstone have also packed in due to the high water temp.
The algae and colour (shit) is awful and there are dead salmon being seen on some beats. :(

 

[Newman Noggs]

Work has been interfering with my pleasure just recently so not been able to get out. I didn't mind much because of the shit conditions.

Anyway, I may have mentioned that I recently joined a pike syndicate who have just taken over the stretch of the Avon 5 minutes from home. They are overjoyed to have me, not least because I don't fish for pike.

The stretch is a great stretch except for one fatal flaw, it is people and dog City, particularly on hot days. As it happens, the girlfriend had a friend coming round for a few hours so I took the opportunity to nip down there for a quick session. The syndicate has fenced off some of the swims but you can still hear the people shouting, playing loud music and throwing sticks in for their dogs. I also had two groups of swimmers downstream. Whatever !

So I set up for my usual roach, dace, chublets etc which were so prolific I quickly got bored because my tip was flickering from the second it hit the water (should have float-fished really). After an hour or so of this, I decided to try a bigger bait which I had in my rucksack comprising 4mm spicy sausage pellet.

Much to my surprise, from the first cast I started getting slow tugs and the odd positive pull round very much like bream bites but couldn't hit them for the life of me. Then hooked something really big which shook the hook notwithstanding that I was using a hair. It felt like a very, very big bream but I convinced myself it was an eel.

Then I had a proper pull round and caught a bream of about 3.5lbs. The river is only narrow so I thought that would be it but as soon as I dropped it in the tugs and pulls started again. It was very frustrating but, on one strike, I pulled in a large bream scale. God knows what was going on down there.

Anyway, to cut a long story short, I switched to attaching the pellet to the hook with a bait-band which brought me two more bream in the same bracket. They were still biting when I packed up after 4 hours in the heat of the day with swimmers literally 20 yards downstream.

All of which leads me to believe, there must be a lot of bream there to be caught once the weather settles down into something more "English".

 

[Didsbury Dave]

Work has been interfering with my pleasure just recently so not been able to get out. I didn't mind much because of the shit conditions.

Anyway, I may have mentioned that I recently joined a pike syndicate who have just taken over the stretch of the Avon 5 minutes from home. They are overjoyed to have me, not least because I don't fish for pike.

The stretch is a great stretch except for one fatal flaw, it is people and dog City, particularly on hot days. As it happens, the girlfriend had a friend coming round for a few hours so I took the opportunity to nip down there for a quick session. The syndicate has fenced off some of the swims but you can still hear the people shouting, playing loud music and throwing sticks in for their dogs. I also had two groups of swimmers downstream. Whatever !

So I set up for my usual roach, dace, chublets etc which were so prolific I quickly got bored because my tip was flickering from the second it hit the water (should have float-fished really). After an hour or so of this, I decided to try a bigger bait which I had in my rucksack comprising 4mm spicy sausage pellet.

Much to my surprise, from the first cast I started getting slow tugs and the odd positive pull round very much like bream bites but couldn't hit them for the life of me. Then hooked something really big which shook the hook notwithstanding that I was using a hair. It felt like a very, very big bream but I convinced myself it was an eel.

Then I had a proper pull round and caught a bream of about 3.5lbs. The river is only narrow so I thought that would be it but as soon as I dropped it in the tugs and pulls started again. It was very frustrating but, on one strike, I pulled in a large bream scale. God knows what was going on down there.

Anyway, to cut a long story short, I switched to attaching the pellet to the hook with a bait-band which brought me two more bream in the same bracket. They were still biting when I packed up after 4 hours in the heat of the day with swimmers literally 20 yards downstream.

All of which leads me to believe, there must be a lot of bream there to be caught once the weather settles down into something more "English".

Very similar to my day, swimmers included!

 

[Didsbury Dave]

I dunno? a few hundred?

What do I need to spend to get good stuff?

My advice would be not to buy online or listen to us.

GEt down to your local tackle shop with a set budget and let him look after you. £200 would be enough for reasonable quality gear and all the bits. The tackle shops need the business, they are being squeezed by online shopping, and that's what they are there for. They'll even put you onto a swim or a stretch and sell you a licence.

 

[ShedDweller]

£500?

Always buy the best you can afford and go for the decent brands. If you plan to fish rivers I'd buy a 13-ft match rod and and a medium too heavy quiver tip rod. I'm not well up on the latest gear but I'll have a look online for you.

Thanks for the reply, is it possible to get a single rod setup that covers both float and maybe a bit of light ledger fishing? I don't really want 2 rods as I'm aiming for a simple setup.

I remember years back having something like an 11 ft rod that I used for everything. Is there a kind of general purpose rod?

 

[BlueMoonRisin’]

Thanks for the reply, is it possible to get a single rod setup that covers both float and maybe a bit of light ledger fishing? I don't really want 2 rods as I'm aiming for a simple setup.

I remember years back having something like an 11 ft rod that I used for everything. Is there a kind of general purpose rod?

When you say float do you mean trotting a stick float through a river? If yes then i think you need two rods because a stick float rod is not meant for casting a feeder or a lead.

I think you could buy a reasonably decent rod for float and feeder fishing for about £50 each. Same amount for a decent reel. It really does matter how serious you are considering the amount you spend. But, if you buy cheap gear and get the angling bug you'll you'll soon want a rod with a better action for playing fish. It's a case of you get(mostly) what you pay for. But tackle is a lot better quality nowadays and better value than it most probably was when you last went fishing.

 

[BlueMoonRisin’]

My advice would be not to buy online or listen to us.

GEt down to your local tackle shop with a set budget and let him look after you. £200 would be enough for reasonable quality gear and all the bits. The tackle shops need the business, they are being squeezed by online shopping, and that's what they are there for. They'll even put you onto a swim or a stretch and sell you a licence.

I largely agree with this as long as he goes to a reputable tackle dealer. Some tackle dealers can't wait to get rid of shit gear that's been stuck on the shelf ages waiting for someone naive to come along to buy it. I've seen this happen and had a quiet word to not buy what's been offered.

Best to go along to a tackle dealer with an angler who's familiar with tackle quality and value i think.

 

[Didsbury Dave]

I largely agree with this as long as he goes to a reputable tackle dealer. Some tackle dealers can't wait to get rid of shit gear that's been stuck on the shelf ages waiting for someone naive to come along to buy it. I've seen this happen and had a quiet word to not buy what's been offered.

Best to go along to a tackle dealer with an angler who's familiar with tackle quality and value i think.

Jesus. Never heard of that before. They won't be a tackle dealer long with that attitude.

 

[Mazzarelli's Swiss Cheese]

Thanks for the reply, is it possible to get a single rod setup that covers both float and maybe a bit of light ledger fishing? I don't really want 2 rods as I'm aiming for a simple setup.

I remember years back having something like an 11 ft rod that I used for everything. Is there a kind of general purpose rod?

Haha, those were the days. I had a 13 ft glass float rod with a threaded top ring for quiver/swingtips. It's a different rod and reel for every species and every method now mate - I suspect many designed to catch anglers as much as fish. For versatility maybe an Avon type feeder rod with 2-3 tips and a beefed up specimen/pellet waggler should cover most stuff, but it all depends where you are fishing and what for. Tackle shop (local) your best bet ass DD said. Second hand from eBay also good if you are after something specific.

 

[remember arthur mann]

Haha, those were the days. I had a 13 ft glass float rod with a threaded top ring for quiver/swingtips. It's a different rod and reel for every species and every method now mate - I suspect many designed to catch anglers as much as fish. For versatility maybe an Avon type feeder rod with 2-3 tips and a beefed up specimen/pellet waggler should cover most stuff, but it all depends where you are fishing and what for. Tackle shop (local) your best bet ass DD said. Second hand from eBay also good if you are after something specific.

Yep, only a few years ago ditched my old 9' Shakespeare fibreglass all-rounder, swing tip, quiver, float rod. Cost me just a few shillings in the early sixties. Not sure if Arthur Negus would be interested !!

 

[ShedDweller]

A lot of good advice there fellas, I'll get down the tackle shop with an open mind and see how it feels. Hopefully savvy enough to spot any sales BS.

 

[idahoblues]

 

[idahoblues]

 

[BlueMoonRisin’]

Good pics mate. Do you fish for anything else apart from trout, like bass carp or snakeheads?

 

[idahoblues]

Good pics mate. Do you fish for anything else apart from trout, like bass carp or snakeheads?

Pretty much just trout. I know you can catch bass and the like in some of the lakes around here and I’ve heard of some carp down river a ways but don’t see them here. I wish we had Walleye locally, great eating fish

 

[its grim up north]

My advice would be not to buy online or listen to us.

GEt down to your local tackle shop with a set budget and let him look after you. £200 would be enough for reasonable quality gear and all the bits. The tackle shops need the business, they are being squeezed by online shopping, and that's what they are there for. They'll even put you onto a swim or a stretch and sell you a licence.

Hi DD, just an observstion, hope you dont mind. I've been using an ancient ABU 505 for light trotting for so many years but last Autum it packed up. I wanted something similar so researched the 507. Made my mind up and off down to local tackle shop, Angling Direct in Swinton. Non in stock, but worse the lad there said all their stock of ABU's had been recalled to sell on line. Not very good. Anyway back home, online and got one 17 quid cheaper with free delivery and it arrived in two days from Glasgow Angling Centre. I know Angling Direct is not exactly a local dealer, but the lads that work there are locals and I would have liked to buy off them. Sad really.

 

[PragueBlue]

Hi DD, just an observstion, hope you dont mind. I've been using an ancient ABU 505 for light trotting for so many years but last Autum it packed up. I wanted something similar so researched the 507. Made my mind up and off down to local tackle shop, Angling Direct in Swinton. Non in stock, but worse the lad there said all their stock of ABU's had been recalled to sell on line. Not very good. Anyway back home, online and got one 17 quid cheaper with free delivery and it arrived in two days from Glasgow Angling Centre. I know Angling Direct is not exactly a local dealer, but the lads that work there are locals and I would have liked to buy off them. Sad really.

How do you find the new 507? I had read that they aren't the same quality as the originals but never had the chance to try one yet and am sorely tempted. I used to love the 501 back in the day. Fantastic reel for trotting.

 

[its grim up north]

Not used it too much to be honest , and not had anything over a couple of pounds, but it has worked fine. Line lay OK and its nice and smooth coming off the spool ,even first chuck after catching. There's an anti backwind aswell, drag nice and smooth. But somehow I dont feel like it will last the test time that the old one did. Suppose you get what you pay for and just over 60 quid is not alot nowadays. PS cheaper on line now at Angling Direct than Glasgow.

 

[Didsbury Dave]

Hi DD, just an observstion, hope you dont mind. I've been using an ancient ABU 505 for light trotting for so many years but last Autum it packed up. I wanted something similar so researched the 507. Made my mind up and off down to local tackle shop, Angling Direct in Swinton. Non in stock, but worse the lad there said all their stock of ABU's had been recalled to sell on line. Not very good. Anyway back home, online and got one 17 quid cheaper with free delivery and it arrived in two days from Glasgow Angling Centre. I know Angling Direct is not exactly a local dealer, but the lads that work there are locals and I would have liked to buy off them. Sad really.

I’m the same mate. I buy everything but my bits and bait on-line!