Hi - may I join you?

[Janet S]

wait till you get so hooked on worm fishing that you build your own wormery

Too late. Already hooked. Wormery coming along nicely! Fridge & freezer is also full of worms, maggots & bait. My son's given up on me now!

 

 

I thought the fish was gorgeous and I don't like being told it's ugly

 

Can't understand anyone who could possibly call a pike ugly! Next to perch, it's one of the nicest looking fish.

 

I'm beginning to wonder what I would be missing by not being able to go through the 7ft bridges and locks

 

You'd miss some of the nicest canals in the country. I hope you're going to beg, borrow or hire a boat for a while before you decide on the specs for your own.

 

Janet

[Barry]

Ok I'll think on that one

 

watch this space

[Lesd]

Welcome aboard Bazza, the Pike's a cracker a really lean and mean preditor (part of their appeal to me is the mean look lol). Janet I'd like to see the pic of your perch, a fish of that size is something very special.

How about one of these ?

[Janet S]

Hi Les,

 

I've only got a pic that I took myself on my mobile phone. Not very good unfortunately! I fish alone, as I don't know anyone else who fishes, so didn't have anyone to take a shot for me. Still, I can see that fish every tiime I close my eyes!

 

That's a nice fish you've got there. Where did you catch it? Fish counter at Sainsbury's at Christmas?

 

Janet

[Barry]

hehehehehehehehehe

 

Janet you are a one

[Janet S]

I hope he realises that I'm only joking! That is a lovely fish.

 

Janet

[Lesd]

She's a 'one' alright !!!!

I guess if the Sainsbury store was in Poland you may have had a good point !! (I'm told the polish national Christmas dish is Carp, having spent literally thousands of hours over the last 25 years trying to catch the buggers I couldn't bring myself to knock one on the head to eat !!)

[Janet S]

Didn't need to go to Poland! Sainsbury's over here were selling them in the run-up to Christmas at several stores. Hopefully it'll stop the buggers nicking them from our fisheries! In all seriousness, it's becoming quite a problem, with them taking carp, netting canals and rivers and anything else they can try. They even had some "economic migrants" (I'm trying to be polite!) using a harpoon to catch them out of Stanley Park Lake in Blackpool!

 

I was sickened last year, not long after starting angling, to see a group of lads spinning on the canal, catching my favourite perch and pike, and just chucking them, still alive, into carrier bags. Being a woman, and on my own, I didn't dare say anything, but I'm sure you can imagine where I would've stuck my bank stick given half a chance!

 

Don't know what the solution is. Education on the angling etiquette in this country, or electrocution. I favour the latter....

 

Janet

[Janet S]

Bazza,

 

I'm very sorry - I'm in danger of hijacking your thread with all this fishing talk. I do apologise, but I'm afraid fishing is getting to be an obsession with me! If I want to post anything else on the subject, I'll do it in the Fishing, Cycling and Walking bit in future.

 

Incidentally, nice to discover some more anglers on here. I'm a member of a couple of angling forums, but they're a bit intimidating for a newbie to the sport. Nice to be able to chat on here about it.

 

Janet

[Barry]

S'ok Janet - I know how obsessive fishing can get

 

If you start a new thread on the other forum let me know and I'll join you

 

Lesd look away now Matey

 

Waitrose were selling Carp over Christmas - I bought one and had it New Year's day - just out of curiosity - it was quite nice

 

Tell you what though, when I get my boat I'm sorely tempted to get a licence to trap American Signal Crayfish - apparently they are a problem in a lot of waterways and are very very tasty - got to have a licence though to stop you inadvertantly trapping the indiginous species - if they are around you can't trap at all

[DHutch]

Crikey - look what I've started

I know, blimey! - Ive only been away for the weekend!

[wrigglefingers]

I know, blimey! - Ive only been away for the weekend!

 

I know Daniel - I've been away for a week or so and look what happens; perching on housew**k (or whateva), carping on about fishing, fantasising about wide-breams. I think the Fridaaay ASBO gang are dacing with death when they start broaching the fish subject.

 

Yours in deepest concern,

 

Shep

 

PS they'll be spiking our drinks next..........

Edited January 9, 2007 by wrigglefingers

[Barry]

Soooo - to return to my original post

 

Does anyone fancy having a crack at my original questions over and above what has already been contributed. Some of which, although genuinely very entertaining and generating a kind of warm cosy feeling inside, is actually not particularly relevent

 

I was considering subscribing to a few magazines to help in my research but it occurred to me this morning that if I just cruise the the various forums on this website there is a wealth of information here which is all hard won personal experience

 

It's a roller coaster ride for me though - I find myself, depending on what I'm reading, changing from "wanting to go for it" to "oh my God what am I even thinking of?"

 

Still it's an interesting (and entertaining) experience

[DHutch]

Right!

- Ive been meaning to post here for about the last week, and also sort of assumed someone else would too, but anyway, ill have a got at writing somthing!

 

First of, you proberbly have already, but i would get some paper and start scrawling plans for the boat layout. They dont have to anything more than a collection of loosely dimentioned boxes, but with your large crusierstern and spacious foredeck, i can visualise you coming up against 62ft (or what even lenght you choose) fairly soon! - Not that thats a bad thing, we have some early sketches of emilyanne showing her adding upto about 85ft in total! (shes 6'10" * 58ft btw).

 

But yeah, if you play your cards right, i cant see why it shouldnt go basicaly to plan. Narrowboat hold there value very well, certanly for the 5/10years as far as i can see.

 

I dont know really anything about RCD Cat's, or coastal hopping. Other than a trip up the ribble, a time out on the thames at linehouse, that sort of thing. And the fact my grandad always fancyed going out over the dee wier and off to france in emilyanne!

 

Motorbikes on narrowboats has happened before, as has even small cars (think robbin relient) and theres no reason it cant be done. Its certainly a very much more attactive idea that some of the "car-shuffling" we do around emilyanne.

- Also, if your having davits, they will basticaly have to remain within the profile of the boat, even if its not full-lenght. Occationaly ive seen pushbikes hanging over sterns. But its a bit like dangling your leg outside a dodgem car!

 

 

Well yeah, just to finish that off then,

- The whole 'not having an address' thing does same to cause far more problems that you intially think off. And we do seam to be fairly poorly setup for it as a country.

- For instance, most insurence companys wont insure your car (bike) without a postcode of residence. And banks dont like you opening/change accounts without a postal address eather it seams.

- Dont know about voting eather. I think that has been mentioned breifly on here before, but dont recall the outcome, postal votes are proberbly out tho!

 

Internet. Have a look around at past threads, this does actually come up quite often, infact, theres a thread running about it right now.

- Basicaly, there are two ways of conecting. G3 or GPRS. Eather using a (usally pcima) datacard pluged into you computer (laptop), or using using a mobile phone as a modem, conected to your PC by infared/bluetooth/usb or whatever.

- G3 is much faster, but has much less wide coverage than GRRS, which is avalabe basicaly anywhere you can get a half decent mobile signal. However, most (all?) G3 deviced will drop down the GPRS when they need to.

- Tmobile seam to be quite favrite at the moment, and also vodaphone. You have to be a little carefull, as a lot of phone-based deals dont tecnicaly allow use to use the phone as a modem. Although most seam to get aways with it.

 

Doctors/Dentists should still work ok. Certinaly i beleave doctors have no ground to refuse to take you on for not having a fixed address, or any other reason. However they do somtimes seam to try it on.

- According to my mum (a partnership GP) they are allowed to point you in the direction of other practices if there books are full, however, if the other places are also full and/or dont accept you, they eventually obliged to take you on, i think.

 

Registering boats.

- This depends where you are. On bw waters, this is done with BW, and there are no rules on boatnames etc. You can then get shorterm leicences for other bits of water, the thames, etc. And i think the bridgwater is in with anyway, or somthing.

- I think the EA (envoment agentcey) require you to have a unique name, but you can always just add somthing on the end ot make it unique. And theres a list of all registered names on Jim Sheads website as well.

- Eatherway round, the obligatory bottle of champagne cracked over the bow is always a good start to the day (with a second bottle for drinking!). Or for the more tight fisted, just shake it up and spray a bit over the boat, and then drink whats left of that! Depends how many of you there are, and how trolleyed you want to be i guess?

 

Hope that helps further.

 

 

Daniel

Edited January 21, 2007 by DHutch
To add more spelling mistakes.

[Barry]

Right!

- Ive been meaning to post here for about the last week, and also sort of assumed someone else would too, but anyway, ill have a got at writing somthing!

 

First of, you proberbly have already, but i would get some paper and start scrawling plans for the boat layout. They dont have to anything more than a collection of loosely dimentioned boxes, but with your large crusierstern and spacious foredeck, i can visualise you coming up against 62ft (or what even lenght you choose) fairly soon! - Not that thats a bad thing, we have some early sketches of emilyanne showing her adding upto about 85ft in total! (shes 6'10" * 58ft btw).

 

But yeah, if you play your cards right, i cant see why it shouldnt go basicaly to plan. Narrowboat hold there value very well, certanly for the 5/10years as far as i can see.

 

I dont know really anything about RCD Cat's, or coastal hopping. Other than a trip up the ribble, a time out on the thames at linehouse, that sort of thing. And the fact my grandad always fancyed going out over the dee wier and off to france in emilyanne!

 

Motorbikes on narrowboats has happened before, as has even small cars (think robbin relient) and theres no reason it cant be done. Its certainly a very much more attactive idea that some of the "car-shuffling" we do around emilyanne.

- Also, if your having davits, they will basticaly have to remain within the profile of the boat, even if its not full-lenght. Occationaly ive seen pushbikes hanging over sterns. But its a bit like dangling your leg outside a dodgem car!

 

- Right, must go to lunch, will and some more soon!

Daniel

 

hooray thanks Dan

 

yep I've got several plans sketched in my head. I'd got to 65 ft so far but I'm wondering if I can cut that down

 

Somebody suggested that it would be cheaper to have a Cat D and truck the boat over to the continong where there is a huge canal system - having had a look I've found a route to the Black Sea through the canals and rivers but I'm not sure about going north yet - It's very tempting

[DHutch]

hooray thanks Dan

Yeah. No problem!

- Ive added some more on now as well, as promised.

 

Hopefully one of the other grumpy buggers will come out of the woodwork and add there 2pennys worth of wittering as well?

 

 

Daniel

[Barry]

Yeah. No problem!

- Ive added some more on now as well, as promised.

 

Hopefully one of the other grumpy buggers will come out of the woodwork and add there 2pennys worth of wittering as well?

Daniel

 

Excellent stuff - thank you