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"Derek.Moody" wrote in message ... In article , david wrote: Slightly OT but there is a good deal of excellent freshwater fishing in your area - and one exciting (for a youngster) freshwater quarry is the signal crayfish. Like a mini lobster it will swarm over a bit of rotten meat in a dropnet after dark. The Kennet & Avon canal around Reading is swarming with them. They were protected (by a quirk of law - the native crayfish is still protected but there are none left near you.) until this year, you get a licence (free I think, but you must carry it) from the Post Office. Drop crayfish into fast boiling water, cook for 5 minutes, drain and serve with dill sauce. Nothing in dill sauce is OT Derek! I might go and try that. Does one leave the net for hours whilst in the pub, or minutes? At this time of year, two minutes. In really cold weather, 15. It is another method that works far better after dark. You need a heavy rim (wire or small bicycle wheel rim) so the net sits hard on the bottom and the crayfish climb over it rather than crawling underneath. Three strings from the rim to a cork (keeps them floating out of the way) and then a single string to the bank. Another string across the middle with the -smelly- bait tied in the centre. Wait quietly and listen to the night, then when ready pull the net in a single smooth movement - jerks let the catch escape. What kind of 'smelly' bate do you suggest? Have a large bucket ready for the catch. Cheerio, -- |
What kind of 'smelly' bate do you suggest? I'd have thought old fish heads and some manky chicken? You want juice...juice floats off downstream and attracts the blighters I suspect (like a 'normal' fish). Derek, thanks. That's a little treat for me and the boy next month! Mmmm david |
In article , Andy
wrote: What kind of 'smelly' bate do you suggest? Rotting fish, rotting chicken guts, two day dead worms - if you want the bait to last longer then get a dog-bone from the butcher, wrap it in plastic and leave in the sun for a couple of days. I have heard of blue-cheese scraps being used but I have never tried them. Soft baits are best wrapped in some onion netting. Cheerio, -- |
Derek, whats the name of the licence do you knoiw? My local PO didnt prove
very helpful. ()local as in salisbury, not reading) david "Derek.Moody" wrote in message ... In article , Andy wrote: "Derek.Moody" wrote in message ... In article , Andy wrote: I hope someone can help with my quest! I have a young son who is bursting to have a go at fishing. He is How old is he? One is 5, the other is 7. I think the 5 year old will have difficulty with the casting part, but should be fine with the rest. This is another reason for looking for a place where any fish caught would be small! Ah, rather younger than I thought. The 5 year old will have an attention span around an hour, the elder maybe twice as long. They will require considerable attention and I wouldn't take them together until they have enough experience to manage the basics for themselves - three or four sessions each in all probablility. You *could* take them together if you have another, patient and preferably experienced adult with you to take half the workload. Another - slightly risky ploy would be to make a day out of a split treat (Say you take #1 fishing while #2 goes to the pool with Mum then swap over for the afternoon.) re Crayfish This sound great for the kids. I actually live very close to the Kennet & Avon canal so I would like to give this a try. How do you do this? The fact See other post. the catch can be eaten is perfect - my kids have the idea that any fish caught are for eating, hence my initial thoughts about sea angling. With kids that age I would leave sea fishing until you are at a suitable seaside venue for at least a weekend. Try to get in one or two -short- sessions each per day a and they'll pick things up much faster. Tbh I would prefer to start them on a small, really small, stream. Otherwise a seaside pier -with railings- would let them dangle a small bait down the side with a good chance of a few tiddlers. They would have as much fun in rock pools with a hand net... Cheerio, -- |
"david" wrote in message ... Derek, whats the name of the licence do you knoiw? My local PO didnt prove very helpful. ()local as in salisbury, not reading) david Do you mean for the crayfish? If so, a chap at the environment Agency is emailing the details and a form to me in the next few days. Would you like me to pass on the details? Andy. |
As it happens I have discovered that the Environment Agency is holding a beginners taster session on a fairly local lake tomorrow. This should allow them to see if it is something they would like to do more of or not. I know it is bad form to reply to your own posts but I wanted to give an update to the above info. I took both my children to the session above this morning and they both had a great time. Both caught fish, thanks to the instructor that they were asigned to and are very keen to go fishing again. At the end of the session they were given a 'goody bag' that included a fishing pole! So thats Saturday taken care of... It was interesting for them both to handle a rod and a pole - it was clear quite quickly that for their age and experience that a pole is the better option, something that hadn't even occured to me. So as suggested by Derek.Moody, sea fishing is probably a little too much for them for the moment, although they both still seem very interested in trying it. I guess that using the poles on the local river will keep them distracted for the time being until they are more co-ordinated and skilled. Thanks to all who have contributed, Andy. |
In article , david
wrote: re Signal Crayfish, strictly OT here but... Derek, whats the name of the licence do you knoiw? My local PO didnt prove very helpful. ()local as in salisbury, not reading) I too am now confused ;-) I can find loads of references to the change in regulations and the date (1st June) upon which they changed - but none to the actual regs... To be fair, as it's less than three months since the change it may just be an administrative delay. There -is- a reference to licences only being readily available in certain areas: "Permission to trap crayfish will be dependant on the local situation in particular the presence of the native white claw crayfish. Other determining factors include the reason for trapping, for instance in some parts of the country trapping can only take place for monitoring and conservation management purposes." Maybe Salisbury has a few natives left in odd corners? (In the 60's we used to catch native crays but that's out of the question now. They were never quite so common as the signals have become but they were first class chub bait.) It was always possible to get a licence in the Thames Water area. The chap I went with works for a boatyard outside Reading and has had a licence for a long time. He always used lobster-pot style traps but got indifferent results and we derived the method outlined earlier based on his knowledge of successful baits and mine of sal****er dropnetting. I'm sure he said he got his ticket from the PO. but he wasn't answering his 'phone this evening. I'll try him again over the w/e. There is an Environment Agency form FR2 which does include references to trapping for personal use but it's ridiculously complex and restrictive - intended for electrofishing, netting and other major fish-removal efforts like draining reservoirs... I don't think this can be the one the K&A narrowboat owners use. The quickest way to clear it up might be for someone in the area to nip down and ask. OB sea fishing: Bassing in the morning :-) Cheerio, -- |
Try float fishing off the Hasslar wall,2 hrs before high water & as long as
they are interested after HW, you can fish from the back of the car & there are plenty of small fish around close in to keep a couple of kids interested,I live in Salford,Lancs but always have a few hours here when down that way as it always produces & is completely different from my local beaches,its easy to reach & very relaxing as you can just sit down on the wall & let the water come to you. "Andy" wrote in message ... "malcolm" wrote in message news:AKTOe.273910$x96.52764@attbi_s72... Andy wrote: I hope someone can help with my quest! I have a young son who is bursting to have a go at fishing. He is particularly keen to eat anything that he might catch, so I thought sea fishing would be just the job. However I am no angler and have no idea where I should take him... I am based in the Reading area, so the obvious venues are either Southsea or Hayling Island. Are either of these suitable for a young lad with a rod, reel, spinners and a few feathers? As the rod is quite short, casting miles from the beach is not an option. What do the panel suggest, bearing in mind the priority is to have fun (this is a potential hobby so I don't want to put him off) and perhaps catch nothing more exotic than perhaps a mackerel? Thanks for any suggestions, Andy. what I would give for a couple of fresh Mackeral :( Mackeral are prob the best tasting fish you can catch anyway, peppered and fried mmmmmmm. Explain that fishing on the beach is an experience, like an expedition sand, sun, darkness, food and drink, seagulls, sand fleas etc etc. and maybe some fish too. people who just want to catch fish go boat fishing. Sounds like a day fishing trip, so take a camera and seashore wildlife book too, small children can get bored just fishing, wildlife exploration gives it a broader meaning. plus gloves and a few plastic bags to pick up some litter too. always helps keep the beach clean. regards malcolm This is my thinking exactly. Given that my son is very keen to try fishing and my daughter is fairly curious about it, I don't want the initial experience to put them off. My intention is to keep expectations low and emphasise the fun aspects. As you say, at their ages, there is so much more to a day trip that happens to include a bit of fishing rather than a fishing only trip that, at least initially, is very likely to yield no fish. I would like to say a big thank you to everyone for the replies so far, they have all been very informative and encouraging. Regards, Andy. |
Check out the Solent Fishing Guide web site
http://www.solent-fishing-guide.co.uk/ They seem to give out good info Dave "Cliff" wrote in message ... Try float fishing off the Hasslar wall,2 hrs before high water & as long as they are interested after HW, you can fish from the back of the car & there are plenty of small fish around close in to keep a couple of kids interested,I live in Salford,Lancs but always have a few hours here when down that way as it always produces & is completely different from my local beaches,its easy to reach & very relaxing as you can just sit down on the wall & let the water come to you. "Andy" wrote in message ... "malcolm" wrote in message news:AKTOe.273910$x96.52764@attbi_s72... Andy wrote: I hope someone can help with my quest! I have a young son who is bursting to have a go at fishing. He is particularly keen to eat anything that he might catch, so I thought sea fishing would be just the job. However I am no angler and have no idea where I should take him... I am based in the Reading area, so the obvious venues are either Southsea or Hayling Island. Are either of these suitable for a young lad with a rod, reel, spinners and a few feathers? As the rod is quite short, casting miles from the beach is not an option. What do the panel suggest, bearing in mind the priority is to have fun (this is a potential hobby so I don't want to put him off) and perhaps catch nothing more exotic than perhaps a mackerel? Thanks for any suggestions, Andy. what I would give for a couple of fresh Mackeral :( Mackeral are prob the best tasting fish you can catch anyway, peppered and fried mmmmmmm. Explain that fishing on the beach is an experience, like an expedition sand, sun, darkness, food and drink, seagulls, sand fleas etc etc. and maybe some fish too. people who just want to catch fish go boat fishing. Sounds like a day fishing trip, so take a camera and seashore wildlife book too, small children can get bored just fishing, wildlife exploration gives it a broader meaning. plus gloves and a few plastic bags to pick up some litter too. always helps keep the beach clean. regards malcolm This is my thinking exactly. Given that my son is very keen to try fishing and my daughter is fairly curious about it, I don't want the initial experience to put them off. My intention is to keep expectations low and emphasise the fun aspects. As you say, at their ages, there is so much more to a day trip that happens to include a bit of fishing rather than a fishing only trip that, at least initially, is very likely to yield no fish. I would like to say a big thank you to everyone for the replies so far, they have all been very informative and encouraging. Regards, Andy. |
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