Tim Kelly

Horrible to think you're going into the winter freeze already, especially after all that wind that has kept you off the water recently.

Buy some elasticated bungee cord and toggles off ebay and make you own. Super easy, cheap and easy to replace if they break or you lose them. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/10x-Shock-Cord-Bungee-Rope-Drawstring-Lanyard-Stopper-Lock-End-Toggle-Buckle/253402783901?hash=item3afffba09d:g:UoMAAOSw-HRb75pG

One size 27 battery to a 55lb TM on a 17' boat in current? Do you only fish a 3 hours at a time? I used to have a size 31 on a 55lb on my 12ft boat and fished a very slow moving river. I was really noticing the battery drop after 4 or 5 hours.

Unbelievable fishing. Just amazing how the big one's eyes are bulging out of their heads. Just a tinsy wincy wafer thin mint for sir? ?

Can't wait! In other news, I beat my PB zander from old father Thames today, and got soaked in torrential rain. LOL

Knipex pliers and Bahco adjustable spanners. Just worth the extra cost.

If the change of braid doesn't cure it for you, try throwing with a longer drop from your rod tip. I found that while you can cast very snatchily with centrefugal brakes and get away with it, magnetic brakes require less effort, but a smoother cast. The longer drop from the rod tip helps lengthen your power stroke to make it smoother.

I have the same problem. Have slightly modified how I hold the reel which helps, but it's annoying. If they made the side plates like the Steez the issue wouldn't exist. Daft. I believe some Shimanos have a similar problem with the side plate release button being exactly where your fingers want to be, so they can pop off when you're using them. Designers eh?

Can't help you really, but one of my most fun memories was of an afternoon I spent wet wading the schukill near Douglassville about 15 years ago. Absolutely brilliant fun catching dozens of little smallmouth. Just as well I live 3000+ miles away from it or I'd be spending more time than is healthy doing that. LOL

Outstanding. Unimaginable fishing.

Sorry it's over for another year, but looking forward to reliving it with you.

I have one of the futuristic looking Estwings with the blue and white handle. This is actually the second one, the first had a square head and I always thought it would be better with a round head. The van got broken into again and all my tools vanished, so when I went to replace the hammer I bought the same again, though this time they'd modified the design to have a round head. It's the perfect hammer for me. Doing a google search for this image it appears that they've discontinued the hammer. Hope nobody steals this one!

I have the Yasei perch in the spinning version and it's a nice rod at the price point. All the rods you listed are going to be of very similar blank quality, so choose the one you like the build of the components best. Very unlikely that any of the anglers on this site will have any opinion of the rods as they aren't sold in America. Have a look at the Lure Anglers Society forum, or some of the many UK based facebook groups to get people's impressions of the rods for sale in the UK. I picked up the Yasei perch spinning when I was in Holland in the spring and it was too windy to fish so we were killing time in tackle shops, which is an expensive way to kill time. It seemed to have a better action than others in the price range to me and I like it very much for perch and zander on the midlands canals.

I expect, going back to your original question, that if you asked John Cox where the fish were, he'd say on the bank, and have the stats to prove it, where if you asked someone like Aaron Martens he'd say out deep, and have the stats to prove it. So your livebait guys will say you need bait and the artificial guys will say lures. You need to work out what works for you. A friend of mine moved from the Philly area to Smith Mountain Lake in Virginia a few years ago. I would say the fishing there sucks compared to the Susky, but really it's just a different challenge. The satisfaction when you do put a bit of a pattern together is far greater where the fishing's more difficult, but it's more frustrating when you don't. We spent a week together fishing there a couple of springs ago and struggled most days, but finally found a little pattern which worked reasonably well. Fortunately, he also has a cottage in Canada and the fishing is spectacular there, so he can still get his fix of bites when it's hot and steamy in the south!

If it's only on the retrieve it's more likely the gears that need some grease. Dry spool bearings usually make a real racket when you cast. If you're not good at taking things apart and putting them back together (more important!) then probably best to let somebody else do it.

So, how many seconds sleep did you manage? ? Have a blast.

Yep, and if it still makes a noise then it's probably the spool bearings that either need oil or replacing.

I don't sleep before going out on a normal day fishing, if it's a trip it's a week of non sleeping building up. Like a 52 year old 5 year old waiting for Christmas. LOL

Good luck trying to sleep tonight. ? Looking forward to your daily reports. ??

Using line that thick on a 2500 sized reel is always going to be a challenge. Your larger Okuma handles it better because it has a bigger spool. That's my guess.

Garmin, and to a lesser extent Lowrance have very confusing ranges. The plethora of transducer options, which are often not packaged with the head units, serve to make comparisons and choices very difficult. If there were an educated sales team at each retailer it might be excusable, but leaving it to the consumer to wade through the options and understand the implications of each choice is likely to leave more than a few customers dissatisfied with the products they eventually own.

Fingers crossed for you. Our Dutch trip this spring was really compromised by high winds. Very little more frustrating than hanging around peering through the window for 3 days hoping the wind will ease. We ended up with only one day fishing, but at least we got that day.

Spinnerbaits don't skip well, so a chatterbait can get you much further into trouble, if you need to.

I'm in the UK and fish the canals with baitcasting gear. You're right it's less common, but there are plenty of people who do. Baitcasting gear doesn't give you any real advantages on canals, and with the fine braids usually used it can give significant disadvantages, but it's perfectly doable if you want to do it. You'll have a better selection of two piece baitcasting rods if you look on European websites or if you want to spend some money, Japanese ones. There are plenty of baitcasting reels available in the UK, but as it's a moderately specialist area you need to know where to look. Google Todber Manor and you should find everything you need.

From one sub par brand to another. Just goes to prove that it's not the equipment that makes these guys good.