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I've got a decent reel that is in very good condition other than the fact that the rubber handle has stiffened, such that it hardly turns when winding in. I doubt squeezing bicycle oil onto the handle will do anything as there is no visible gap between the rubber and what lies beneath, and I...

Hi. Can anyone save my bacon by confirming that you can hire tackle at Rutland Water? I don't really want to admit what I've left at home... :omg:

New Unused Flextec Speycaster Double Handed Salmon 14ft #9/10 I bought this after researching a good starter salmon rod. As things stand whenever I have the time I gravitate to trout fishing & I now don't think I'll get round to salmon fishing for the foreseeable future. £40 + £12 postage New...

It would be interesting to hear of other people's experiences. I have done very little spinning for trout – twice I think, on both occasions when I was teaching my lad to fish. (Oh, and once as a kid.) On both occasions as an adult I was quite surprised that it wasn't more effective. The fish...

If you've been fishing a while you're bound to have had some surprises. The biggest roach I ever caught took a buzzer. Last season a whopping great perch took my sedge nymph. A couple of years ago I landed an American signal crayfish and tried to unhook it. I got some truly odd looks when I...

I kid you not. It's real. It lives in the Balkans, and its habitat is under threat from dam-building. I'd seen pictures of taimen in Mongolia, and I suspect this may even be the same species. Full article I noted with interest this particular oddly familiar phrase: "This fish is a...

Appealing to the agressive nature of mature, overwintered rainbows that only live to torment their pursuers, this 21st-century pattern represents the latest thinking, yet also hearkens back to the days when a day on the bank was less to do with maxing out the catch and more to do with quiet calm...

I've gone along with the online shopping lark just like the rest. But boy, am I tired of receiving dodgy merchandise and the subsequent waste of time organising returns. I bought a rod a couple of years ago from Ireland (no jokes, please) - it was the most I'd ever paid for a rod & paid for...

Genetic hackles seem to be one of those items that are often exorbitantly priced, but you don't really want to go too far down market in case the product isn't up to scratch. Any recommendations (from experience) as to a good source that provides a good balance between the two? Many thanks.

Not one for the faint-hearted, this. Some years ago I was driving along a narrow country lane and there, fifty yards ahead, lay a peacock that had clearly just been struck by another car. Slowing to a halt, and seeing the creature was in a very sorry state, flailing around, my humane instincts...

I anticipate this will be controversial, but the following thoughts were stimulated following conversation with Steve Parton two or three years ago. Although I only had a couple of (reasonably lengthy) conversations with Steve on the phone, and never actually met him in person, I was left in no...

I thought I'd seen it all. Cigarette butts, stones, snails, a random assortment of feathers, bits of cork — the diet of the rainbow is admittedly eclectic. But when I slit open the contents of this stomach I was suddenly bemused; what kind of a fish has beady little black eyes that look like...

I have to admit to being somewhat bemused by the Tenkara fad. Losing the ability to play larger fish via the drag sounds like a backward step — literally going back to the dark ages to my mind. Yet coarse anglers in this country did just that a couple of decades ago, en masse. Again, I've never...

It seems urban fly fishing is really taking off. It now even merits a headline article in the mainstream media: Ever tried trout fishing at Manchester Airport? I have to admit my eyes nearly popped out when I saw the photo. Anyway, could this be the start of something big? At the very least...

While reading the heart-rending thread which related the recent tragedy in which a boat angler drowned, Lough Mask tragedy - I noted the remark about how those who were struggling to stay with the up-turned boat could not get the touch-screen mobile to work. It just so happened that while I...

This is not an attempt to put anyone down - just an attempt to get my own thoughts sorted. I feel so torn on this issue and I thought it would be fascinating to hear what others think. I'm basically a stillwater trout fisherman. One of the things that drives me is the insatiable hope of landing...