In article , Terence Lynock
wrote:

Just returning to course fishing after a ten year lay off and have an
aweful lot to catch up on, replacing otdated tackle and so on comes
first but also a lot of methods have been developed since I last took

Welcome back. Don't worry about it. The fish haven't changed and all the
old methods work just as well as they ever did.

Carry on exactly where you left off with the same old tackle (better replace
the line) and regain the feel.

improvements are bearing fruit with some massive fish coming out of
lakes and rivers alike especially Carp, on thing I want to ask is I keep

You've hit on a one of the more contentious areas. Quite a few of those
monsters are (usually illegal) imports and many of the others have grown on
only because huge quantities of highly nutritious baits have been dumped in
the waters concerned. These are polluting and accellerate eutropification.
Many of these waters are designed to appeal to either novices or those
anglers who have never really mastered the art and so want a short
(expensive) cut to a chance of a big 'un. Eschew.

seeing references to a bait boat, so what is it and why are they so
damned expensive?,

99.9% of the time they are unneccessary. Some of the anglers mentioned
above have never grasped the fact that fish can hear. They bang around so
much that nothing will feed under their own bank and so the only remaining
option is to fish at such extreme range that a radio controlled boat is the
only way to get bait out there. Travel light, creep round and fish directly
under the bank. If you need to ask what it is you don't need one.

They are expensive because they are designed to catch anglers rather than
fish. I imagine most of the cost is the manufacturer's logo on the side.

Stick with the angling you already know. After a few sessions you will
begin to identify/remember limitations in your kit/technique. Only when
you have identified the limitation(s) do you need to go looking for a
solution.

Cheerio,

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