Idler's Quest

Great post.

2012-05-22T20:58:21.764+01:00

Great post.

I enjoyed that Jeff i was there with you mate for ...

2012-05-22T16:15:08.944+01:00

I enjoyed that Jeff i was there with you mate for a few minutes ......I wish you had landed the swine ...

Baz

No problem Norm, just contact me by mail and we...

2012-05-21T08:52:01.920+01:00

No problem Norm, just contact me by mail and we'll arrange it. You'll find my address on my 'about' page.

Nice brace of fish Jeff. Would love to have a &quo...

2012-05-20T22:19:30.502+01:00

Nice brace of fish Jeff.
Would love to have a "silvers" session with you if your up for it ?I struggle to find time at the weekend,but i'm free most evenings midweek.Have 20 odd years knowledge of fishing Coventry Canal (the more urban parts)but i'm sure my methods would work further away from the city centre,even though the water is slightly shallower and much more

I knew they would come by. It was only a matter of...

2012-05-20T20:48:42.633+01:00

I knew they would come by. It was only a matter of time.

George, you had one. That fish of yours was an anomaly caught very early in the season!

To me that's very interesting, to others it might appear like some kind of madness...

Here's to madness!

Cheers

Yeah, I'm good at that! Always in use though,...

2012-05-20T20:43:33.379+01:00

Yeah, I'm good at that!

Always in use though, never in transit. That's what rods are for...

Breaking!

You had to find 'em in the end Jeff with the h...

2012-05-19T21:14:42.138+01:00

You had to find 'em in the end Jeff with the hours you have been putting in

A fine brace too

Great result...and quite an all-round catch by the sound of it!

GB

Ah that is a relief, another phantom rod breaker!

2012-05-19T11:40:00.227+01:00

Ah that is a relief, another phantom rod breaker!

It is exciting Ben, there's no boats! I always...

2012-05-18T08:57:45.945+01:00

It is exciting Ben, there's no boats! I always used to go early morning tench fishing when I was a kid. There's nothing in fishing so good as watching a float amongst bubbling tench with mist on the water, is there?

George, the most striking example of this I ever saw was a zander I caught on the Coventry. All the zander I, or any one else ever caught, were all a pale greenish

Ditched Apple and reverted to Microsoft in the hop...

2012-05-17T23:09:05.279+01:00

Ditched Apple and reverted to Microsoft in the hope of getting through...

Two Shakespearian months late to catch an ide methinks but it certainly looks like one!

Fish colour, and associated depth of colour, is apparently, I have noted over the years, a somewhat chameleon-esque trait in that canals with a fine milky-tea-like suspended silt content and heavy boat traffic like

Lovely piece Jeff. It sounds like an exciting few ...

2012-05-15T14:48:17.792+01:00

Lovely piece Jeff. It sounds like an exciting few hours. There's nothing quite like being by the water as the sun rises. It's a magical time of day. I'm not a particularly enthusiastic early morning person by any stretch of the imagination, but if it involves wetting a line and I force myself out of bed - it's always worth it!

I never made wagglers out of drinking straws! But ...

2012-05-15T12:08:43.504+01:00

I never made wagglers out of drinking straws! But I bet its where the crystal waggler idea came from...

Mark, I do have a pic of a stinky zander that might serve!

Very nice indeed Jeff. I think it may be time for ...

2012-05-15T07:28:39.575+01:00

Very nice indeed Jeff. I think it may be time for another competition.

V creative Jeff: they look great. Did anyone else...

2012-05-13T14:32:45.066+01:00

V creative Jeff: they look great.

Did anyone else make wagglers with drinking straws way back when? From recollection the key was to get hold of the 'right' straws (the wrong ones being all wrong as it were) - tips manufactured from plastic cotton buds, DIY adaptors (using the wire from bag tags!) and Airfix paints. I can't remember whether they were as good as imagined or

JAA, I have another batch in mind along the lines ...

2012-05-13T14:23:19.413+01:00

JAA, I have another batch in mind along the lines you suggest. These pair are for the Dorset Stour and shortish long trotting, far bank work, but for the Itchen and the like, when I trot for miles straight downstream (and around corners!) nearly emptying the spooI, I want to produce massive glowing red embers on top!

Paul, the finish is a closely guarded secret... I'll mail you

Very nice Jeff, You might, like me, find it pays ...

2012-05-13T13:42:33.617+01:00

Very nice Jeff,

You might, like me, find it pays not to follow the modern trend of a dab of colour on the tip, but to extend it down the shoulders. Even dotted down, the top of the body's colour does show and helps at long range.

Even so it vanishes quick enough...

Oooh... OK how do you do the swirls Jeff? I've...

2012-05-13T13:31:16.659+01:00

Oooh... OK how do you do the swirls Jeff? I've had a shot at a 'mottle' which looks like an Airfix Panther tank finish!!!I have a mounted drill at work which makes bodies a damn sight easier, yours are, as ever, to a high aesthetic standard that one would expect....!

Great stuff Jeff, they look very professional well...

2012-05-13T10:35:27.801+01:00

Great stuff Jeff, they look very professional well done!

Very nice colour effect there - now to catch some ...

2012-05-12T21:11:30.099+01:00

Very nice colour effect there - now to catch some fish with them once the rivers open again.

Nice Jeff, I like the ice version, most unusual

2012-05-12T19:16:44.497+01:00

Nice Jeff, I like the ice version, most unusual

They certainly look very good Jeff. All they need ...

2012-05-12T14:09:00.417+01:00

They certainly look very good Jeff.
All they need now is a nice watery inauguration.

They look great Jeff, top work

2012-05-12T13:49:52.089+01:00

They look great Jeff, top work

I have caught on bare hooks before. Women mostly, ...

2012-05-10T17:12:56.145+01:00

I have caught on bare hooks before. Women mostly, who are very much like carp when it comes to crashing your party...

I have never chosen a women, they alway keep that prerogative very much to themselves, I find, or 'have found' I should say, just in case Judy is looking in?

And she might be...

Jeff, your comment about anything on the hook woul...

2012-05-08T15:55:25.571+01:00

Jeff, your comment about anything on the hook would have caught reminds me of a comment from our local ballif. The only time he's fished a commercial he was using a gold-coloured hook as he was going to start with sweetcorn. Whilst getting the shotting right on his waggler, with no bait on the hook he started catching!! Says it all I guess.

You've hit the nail on the head with the word ...

2012-05-08T12:33:19.363+01:00

You've hit the nail on the head with the word 'balance'. Everything in moderation...

The trouble is not so much the fishery owners but their 'clientele'. Anglers visiting commercials demand carp. And lots of them. It is their inalienable right to "Bag Up". If a dozen or so of them can't each catch 40-60lb of carp they'll be off.

One of