maple
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maples mixed baggood morning chaps and chappets  
oh wel i'll have a go at this blog lark , why mixed bag ? well i wont just be fishing for carp this year ,barbel and chub will have to look out as i'm back 
three weeks of walking a new stretch of river morning and night , left me feeling knackered and geting really fed up with the sun hiding behind clouds and the wind getting up , putting a flipping ripple on the water making it hard to spot la carpe , but my superior fish spotting skills soon prevailed  ,ok i was standing on a bridge watching ducks charging into a loaf of bread that some one had chucked in , when this big pair of lips burst through the middle of them  ........game on !
anyway two swims were chosen one a classic type of river swim , one that had a carrier stream running into it and the other ,just looked right .
two weeks of prebaiting every three nights in both swims with vitalin laced with tigers (whole and crushed ) plus mixed particle ,plus two kg of corn, loose fed into each swim , on the last week i started adding a few boilies (moonfruit ),
come the last week i'm getting rather excited which normally only happens when i'm getting ready to go to france , but the only down side at the moment is , i can only do short sessions in the day as i'm still looking after my wife .
june 16th saw me quick marching my gear along the tow path at 3.30 am  and at my swim by 4 . first rod baited with two grains of corn and one fake was dropped into a nice little eddy in the mouth of the carrier and the second rod baited with tigers was just about to be dropped to the right hand bush close in , when the first rod screamed off down stream (very rare ) on a long run , then dropped of  hook checked , nothing wrong with it  but changed anyway, then all was quite for a couple of hours and yet i could see the odd patch of colored water showing in the swim , there feeding but not picking up my baits very odd , so up the tree i climb to see what i could see , after half an hour i noticed that the carp were comeing up the shelf seeing the line and dropping off of the baited rigs these fish dont get fished for , so to say i'm a tad socked is an understatement , tips are dropped to within an inch of the surface pinning the line tight to the shelf(to close in to use back leds imo ) after an hour still nothing and i'm running out of time ! then i decide to put a moonfruit pop up on , not sure why after a little while the pop up flys off and after a short scrap i land a baby common of 8lbs (oh well they all count ) not being that slow off the mark the other rod is changed to a pop up as well , half hour later that rod also rips off and after a nice scrap i net a really nice looking mirror of 12 lbs dead also in perfect condition 8) and then it was time to go , after i topped the swim up with a few more kg of grub .
17th june short session 5pm till 9.30 saw me back in the swim and pop ups dropped in there spots , all very quite till 7 then a flyer on the eddy rod , resulting in another cracking mirror of 12.6 .......there getting bigger  and then at 8.30 the eddy rod is off again , this time i know i'm into a real scrap , as the fish ploughs off in search of the far bank trees but after a couple more runs , she is mine and a mint common of 18.12 lays in the net 8) then all is quite untill i'm just about to go and the bush rod flys off then stops dead nothing on the end but a huge pile off bubbles where the carp done me .....oh well time to go but i'll be back on saturday morning .
these fish have turned out to be a bit more crafty than i thought they would be , but i like that !
untill the next blog , remember its not the size its the taking part
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Mac
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Cracking write up mate, well done
As for them spooking off your line, not sure if it applies to carp, but when after barbel I use a longer hooklink (2ft - 4ft) as I was told it's not the hooklink they are spooking off but the line going from the lead to the rod they can see. Maybe a flying backlead could help????
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NOSEY WIFE
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i really got glued reading your blog well done maple 
looking forward to the next write up
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Steve Howard
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Nice one Paul, cracking stuff mate!  
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alan
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superb write up. it made good reading
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maple
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THE BIRDS.....
thursday 21st june ...7.30--12.30 am .
nothing on the box tonight ,why dont you go fishing for a few hours say's the wife
err ok ! but where ? my swims are in the middle of prebait ,ready for the weekend ,
i know  i'll give the local bird feeding area a go , ive been meaning to check that out, this kind of area that see's lots of bread etc on lakes and rivers has alaways been quite kind to me ,
7.30 and i'm standing on a large lump of concrete leading around , spots chosen and a few handfulls of moonfruit chops and pellet are dropped just above my spots ,i wont cast in for half an hour so a nice slow set up is in order and a fag (sorry alan )
ok thats long enough me thinks ,time to drop the baits in to place ,and i'm fishing i had just sat down and beeeeeeeepppppppp , flipping eck , thats a bit quick , after a short fight a perfect linear lays in the net , not big but perfect , and then i hear it .......Mister what you got? ... i ignore the shout then again , but louder .MISTERRRRRRRR ! oh god ,i dont do shouting on the river bank , on bugger here they come all four of them what you got m8 , how long you been here ......thats tench says one of them no m8 thats a carp says i , one of the other lads starts to laugh , no he said hench , that means big oh right says i , kids dont you just luv em 
any way the fish went 13.7 and was slipped back in and after a few more word with the lads ,where i found my self saying if you buy an unhooking mat i will give you some help (well if there going to fish for carp they should at least know how to look after them )
so off they trott and i'm left alone to recast my rig and put some more bait in !time for a fag god this urban fishing is busy , an hour later and another belter to the right hand rod and i'm in , while playing this fish the other rod belts off blooming eck , nothing i can do for the moment and continue playing a smallish fish , once netted i put my foot on the pole and pick p the other rod , this is a better fish but after pumping it back up river it drops off .....my luck
the fish in the net is a small common 7/8 lbs maybe , oh well cant win em all and both ods are recast again and more bait dropped on there spots , they do like this moonfruit i'm running out dean after a quick tidy up , i'm in again and a nice leather lays in the net , while weighing it i notice it has no dorsal fin , but in perfect health and at 11lbs has plenty of growing to do .
half hour later and i drop another fish  after i replace the rig i'm all set and waiting again untill just after 12 when the close in rods rips off again and after a short scrap a perfect common of 14.8 lays in the net ,
time to go now
four fish and two dropped is very pleasing all though not big i'm not bothered as that will change ............i hope ?
FEEDING TIME .......
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JAFFA
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Good dangling Paul and you got to watch out for "them there HENCH" buddy
kind regards Jeff
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NOSEY WIFE
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nice one maple 
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Steve Howard
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Top stuff Paul... ya didn't fancy a bit of floater fishing then bud!
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bigkipper
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nice one maple, i enjoyed that, what you need is some swan shot
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neil_hubber
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we want more we want more
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Steve Howard
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lol ... yeah, c'mon paul, get yer finger out bud!
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maple
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thanks neil /steve .... just about to fish a new area i started to prebait two weeks ago , so i'll be back on the water saturday .........and i get to do a day and night 
so you will just have to wait ,oh loyal fans
anyway for those that have bothered to comment , thanks muchly
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JAFFA
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Get it sorted buddy, I am waiting with baited breath
kind regards Jeff
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PeteB
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You just know you are going to catch...
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NOSEY WIFE
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good luck maple
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neil_hubber
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so paul????
I've just started to bait a bit of river, inspired by you sir... yes thats right i'm blaming you for the upcoming pain and anguish!! on the flipside if it goes well its nowt to do with you ...lol
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Steve Howard
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Typical scouser, claim all the glory and never admit to doing any wrong
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maple
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DOES IT GET ANY BETTER .......
possibly
saturday 7th july ,
it was about 4.30 when i managed to find a safe parking spot for the van (dont you just luv urban fishing )
with a good mile walk ahead of me, i was glad to have the barrow !
loaded up and i was away at brisk pace, five hours later and i'm at my swim ...no no i'm joking lol 15 mins max,
the area i had chosen was one of the few that gave me just enough room to put the brolly up , after 20 mins with the shears
(god you should have seen the looks i got ) a nice little area was cut out .
by 6.30 everything was sorted and the rods were placed, one 30 yards to the right just on the edge of the shelf,
a couple of spoons of hemp/tigers on top ..yum yum and the other was placed on the far bank in a nice gap
between some trees in about three feet of water,
reet time for a cuppa.
by 8.30 the last of the 50 mountain bikers and 100 dog walkers had faded along with the last rays of a welcome
bit of sunshine , and by nine it was just me and the wabbits that were getting ever closer ...
at around 10 oclock i get a screamer on the near side rod , nothing , not even a knock
this has happened a few times and i put it down to the vast crayfish population
, to be honest i have had to really play around with my rigs to come up with something that
withstands there at times constant pulls , and with that , at times messing up the presentaion, resulting in missed runs 
anyway enough of my moaning rod back out and all was quite untill the early hours,
when i get another screamer on the nearside rod , this time i'm in
and the fish feels a good un screaming off downstream and heading for the trees,
a quick cup of the spool and she is stopped and starts to plod around in the deep center channel,
and then she pops up and is ready for the net, another near perfect common lays on the mat,
in the sling she goes 19.15oz, right from the start of my little campaign on this river,
i had said i would be very happy with a 20 , but no matter how much i shake the scales
reweigh the fish 19.15oz it is , still what is size when you have a perfect condition fish .........imo nothing
i noticed that her vent was a tad swollen and red and that she still had a bit of spawn ,
had the last couple of warm days kicked them into sex machine mode , i reckon ,
the rest of the night was quite and by eight in the mornng i was packed up a happy chappy ,
and noting the odd fish splashing around a reed bed quite a bit further up , tink i was lucky to get the one
considering this stretch of river is quite urban, it really has something about it
and the pockets of wildlife are very pleasing on the eye.
untill the next time , keep your powder dry and your hooks sharp
this coot really had the hump ........
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NOSEY WIFE
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nice one maple well done that is a great write up and some real quality pics well done buddy
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JAFFA
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Got to agree with Nicky . Spot on and great pics bud.
kind regards Jeff
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bigkipper
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nuff said
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Steve Howard
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That is top stuff Paul... 'kin excellent m8.
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maple
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maples olidaymy long awaited first trip on the rivers this year was creeping up real fast , i had been making bait for the last month weekends and evenings and had, had enough by the 70kg mark plus 10 kg of air dryed moonfruit plus 20 kg of vitalin and 25 kg of a new pellet , i thought i was sort of ok on the bait front for ten days fishing ........well you never know
due to the wife's attenction seeking in the hospitals this year august it would have to be , i dont normally bother during this month , to many holiday makers and just tooooooo hot ......yeah right .
monday evening saw us plodding down to dover for the evening crossing , and this time kim remembered my passport yep back in april i hand over the passports only to ind i had my girls passport wifes , dont you just luv em anyway all was well this time and we arrived at the river at dawn as i had planned .phew now i'm like a kid again , this really is the only thing that gets me all silly in fishing now , i just love france by now i'm out of the car and the wife is out cold , after walking the area for half an hour or so ,i start to see the odd carp rolling in the river one place more than others , reet that will do , after retreiving the car and unpacking the car , i'm ready to set up camp ........
the wife ever busy and super keen to help .......
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have i forgot anything ?
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anyway camp was at last set up kettle on the go , blue skys and a nice south westerly ......proper nice , time to blow up the avon and have a good look round , (i might add that normally i would fish the rivers on my own , so the boat woould be up way before any setting up was considered , but with the wife still recovering ,this had to be a bit more relaxed .)
after an hour or so of searching i was building up a nice picture , to good margin areas , a drop off going down to 15ft with a sexy ledge at 12 ft (dribbling now ) and a very nice snag mid stream and 40 yards upstream of my swim ........lucky old me !
back at the swim and over a cuppa or two ,i got to thinking how best to bait ,
and then set about my plan , i knocked up five kg dry vitalin plus a few goodies and to this i added two kg of 16mm boiles all made into nice cannon balls , after dropping these down the line from the snag just to the edge of my swim , i then went over part of the baited area with five kg of 24s and 20 mm boilies forming a kinda cross shape , to this (yes theres more ) i dropped a weighted onion sack with five kg of pellets on the snag on a small marker so i could retrieve it when i wanted , the pellets being fast breakdown should send a constant food trail down stream ,, acouple of kg of mixed boilies on each margin spot saw me ready for a cuppa, gagging aint the word and now the hard bit , i never fish the swim untill the next day what ever (my rules ) being a great beleave in leaving the fish to feed in peace has seen me well over the years , after lunch everything was set up in readyness for dawn , this left us the evening to just sit and take it all in , by about nine oclock the sky starts to get a bit dark and by ten oclock we are in the bivvy sheltering from the first spits of rain  surely not ! yep it came down cats and dogs and flipping goldfish all night .......my luck , around half five in the morning it finally stops and by 6 i'm standing watching the swim with a cuppa and then it starts, bosh ,roll bosh (i cant mimmick the noise lol ) withing half an hour ive spotted five carp roll over the main area with others on the outskirts ...oh bloody ell , ever tried to use a baiting needle with shakey hands done in the end and two baited rods are dropped just off the snag and find there own settleing spots , third rod is dropped on the 15ft spot upstream and the fourth on the 12ft ledge down stream , just as i'm putting the bobbin on, the alarm seems to be making alot of noise , so i turn it off , still screaming ......oh poo its the center rod blasting off (i'm normally quite quick )after a rip roaring scrap a nice 20 lays in the net, weighed and put back ,the other center rod sreams off another great scrap and a scraper 16 is weighed and put back , then nothing for an hour , by this time i notice the water creeping up and the water starts to feel much cooler within another hour and its up a good 6/7 inch's and no fish are showing by lunch my 6oz leads wont hold bottom , ok break out the 8s(my poor rods ) first cast with the 8s , splosh and the current hits the lead and its at least 12ft downstream before it hits bottom (lots of fffing now ) why did i leave the tens at home by now the waters a good foot up , so thats it in the main part o the river , margins only till it drops back , which it did ........lunchtime the next day , like us the ground is so sodden , first bit of rain hits the river straight away , margin rods have been al but dead ,save one small 10lb common ?
so i repeat the baiting process on the snag line , not knowing how much is left as the pellet bag is all but empty , i guess not much , the swim was still quite dead untill the evening when i get a nice mental common that strips 80 yards of line as it hits the main flow ..............they dont arf pull
in the sling it goes 24+ ..nice , then around 11 oclock the center rod screams off again , this time i really cant do a thing and a 100 plus yards of line are gone in a flash if i try and tighten down the rod just hoops over even more , then after what i would guess is about 120+yards the fish stops dead and takes a sharp left turn for the margin trees , your pooing me , fish cant move like that up to my waiste in water and trying not to slide down the drop off i hang the rod out at full arms length and lock up , do or die stuff , after what seems an eternity i stop her and even start to get a bit of line just as i'm thinking i might get this beasty in , the hook pulls :? gutted aint the word and a new line of swering is introduced to the french countryside . hookpoint was well burred .oh buggerations i say after retreiving the rod from the next department i rebait and cast out , around 3 in the morning i get another screamer and after a fair old struggle a 27 common is returned ...nice .
all is quite again untill 10 in the mornig when i get another couple of quick fish , then quite again , i'm on the fish but there not getting there heads down properly since the cold flush through , and this is how the holiday went ,rain a slight rise in the water then sunny ,very patchy sport one more good common in the dark at 27+ followed by one more move to try and improve sport but the same thing , short feeding spells followed by lots of waiting , no big girls this time , but i really enjoyed my self as did the wife and she is well on the recovery now , i doubt i would have caught as many had i not had some moonfruit which i trckled in with my own bait and used only moonfruits as hookbaits , just to skint this time round to use it how i like to .
the end result ........
28 commons to 28+
12 20s ,
12 between 18 & 19+
and the rest low doubles ,
a few pescky roach ,one of which i weighed out of interest as it was soooooooo big .......4lb 4oz OMG oh for a tipping rod and a lump of flake .
oh well
with a bit of luck i get to go bck on my own in october and will be able to fish the river properly , baiting swims more and moving quick if needed , untill the next adventure ........get stuffed ythe lot of yer
here are a few more pics ........
the 28+
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the 27+
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time to rebait ?
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and dont come back .........huh !
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god i love it .
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to new friends ......next year you nutty dutch boys .
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NOSEY WIFE
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i really good read there maple brillant
love the pics well done on your catches
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Mac
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Fantastic write up mate, and a huge well done on the fish
Ain't it cheating using a bait boat and echo sounder though 
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maple
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| Quote: | | Ain't it cheating using a bait boat and echo sounder though |
[quote]
cheaky
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Steve Howard
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Top drawer stuff yet again Paul, nice one buddy
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neil_hubber
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a great account paul, one day that monster will find the bottom of your net mate
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bigkipper
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great read paul, and some stunning pic`s to mate,
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Mrmoo
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Oooh,now this is good reading Mr Tant,will be sending you some more base after the weekend matey.I wonder if Mr Howard will publish some of this in an article for the mag??????You definately need a U.C.N Top of some description mate
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maple
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thanks for your comments guys
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Steve Howard
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| Mrmoo wrote: | | Oooh,now this is good reading Mr Tant,will be sending you some more base after the weekend matey.I wonder if Mr Howard will publish some of this in an article for the mag??????You definately need a U.C.N Top of some description mate |
If Paul would like to do a 'rough guide' piece for us, I'm sure it has every chance of making print
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maple
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not long back from ten days fising on a new stretch of very large french river plus a few days on a lake , in what can only be called a "tad cold at times "
managed 42 fish ,40 commons and two mirrors lost a very big fish after 40 mins of titanic battle in the boat ,
other than that best was 29.14 with three other 29s plus loads of 28s 27s etc ,
i feel a bit robbed over the mirrors as they are like rocking horse poo and when you get one there always big , i have had them further down the stretch to 37 , a m8 of mine had one at 43 plus i know of a 50 ....
the two mirrors i had went ........
20lb
19.8oz ........
all on the MOONFRUIT as usual .
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NOSEY WIFE
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nice one maple
well done any pics ???
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maple
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cheers nw plenty of pics , but there real fish from wild waters and apart from your better half and your self and a small handfull of people , no ones interested in wild fish when so many have 40s etc from plastic waters .
some of us know the difference though 
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Mac
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| maple wrote: | cheers nw plenty of pics , but there real fish from wild waters and apart from your better half and your self and a small handfull of people , no ones interested in wild fish when so many have 40s etc from plastic waters .
some of us know the difference though |
Oi ya pompus git...............we want to see your pics
Sounds like a good trip mate, anymore planned this year?
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maple
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ello gimp might do cassien at xmas m8 , i have been threatening it for a few years now
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bigkipper
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well in maple, yes i would love to see your pics mate put um up so i can drool over them
all them common`s im well jealous
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maple
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ello kipper i'll sort some out for you after the weekend , i'm down your way tomorrow , sold the house only took 24 hours lol
if you can get your good lady to let you go , i have a spare seat for you in the spring mate (i know its still 6 ish month away ) i'll show you more commons than you can shake a throwing stick at
but you need large amounts of BOILIES
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bigkipper
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large amounts of boilies are not a prob
what time you down, and how long are you staying. pop up for a coffee mate.
mind i dont get home from work till 5.30.
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maple
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we are down about lunchtime and staying in some hotel (the wife booked ) till sunday morning , yeah a coffe would be good
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bigkipper
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you have pm mate
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Steve Howard
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C'mon Paul, we're gagging to hear what you've been up to for the past month or two... get those fingers busy buddy
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JAFFA
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Wild fish I love Paul, so how about some pics
kind regards Jeff
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maple
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i have not fished once since i came back from france steve moving to a new house has taken all my time up , i dd plan to go this week , but i have a bad back my luck here are a few pics from my last trip though .
i had a job weighing this first fish
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NOSEY WIFE
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nice one maple well done
you have some really great photos there
i hope your backs better and you get to go soon
well done again buddy
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Steve Howard
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Great pics Paul... thanks for sharing them with us... but what's the story behing the pics m8?
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bigkipper
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cracking pic`s mate
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