Where to fish?

"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.)

This is pretty much the strategy I had in mind. My thoughts were to make any
fishing a small part of a family day out.



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.

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.



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...

Thats what started all this! They have been going on about 'proper fishing'
for more than a year now, all because of those rock pools...


Cheerio,

--

"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.