In reply to Post #20
Pretty sure I saw a documentary on gambling in the UK and the reason for the easy question is something like. If you charge to buy a ticket and then pick a winner at random it is classed as a lottery and you need to have a lottery license to trade in this way. Which I believe is expensive and regulated.

However if you ask a question it becomes a game of skill, or knowledge and is therefore not a lottery and you don't need to have the lottery license.

There was a grey area around what is a sufficiently difficult question and it was all very subjective. The only bit I can remember was something like, if the question can easily be "googled" and the answer found easily that would probably not be deemed as sufficiently difficult. Or if the question was just obvious.

Does anyone know if the Shimano Technium Line is the same as the old Technium Black Line that was discontinued a few years ago?

In reply to Post #18
I literally saw the proof with my own eyes, fishing a double swim with her, netting the fish and helping her out all week. Somehow though I still struggle to accept it, I guess it's years of conditioning on my part.

Notably she also caught using the same leads on UK waters too. Which rules out my theory of it being a one off anomaly.

In reply to Post #11
I wouldn't buy anything other than a standard lead with a coating to match the bottom I am fishing, and what I am about to say still hasn't managed to get me to change my mind, its to engrained into my way of thinking.

There is a local guy to who makes leads, I was off to France with the other half and some of our friends. I done a bulk order for the whole group including some neon pink coated backleads. When I picked them up, the other half was with me, and asked the guy if he could make her normal fishing leads in neon pink. He had some made, which just needed to be coated, so he whipped a handful up there and then on the spot. She walked out chuffed to bits with her new leads. No matter how much I tried to convince her that she should use standard leads, she wouldn't be swayed.

Through the course of the week she caught as many carp as the rest of us, including 2x50+ and 1x60+ The 60+ was the biggest fish caught that week and happened to be the lake record, which stood for a year until it came out at 70lb+.

We are off to France later this year and she has been banging on at me to get some more Pink Leads made up for her. Even though I know it doesn't make a difference and she has proven it to me, I am still trying to talk her out of it... weird isn't it.

In reply to Post #1
I am in the market for a new unhooking mat and looked at the CA Les Graviers mat, but also was a bit worried about the size and pack down size. Have you looked at these as another option?

http://www.cotswoldaquarius.co.uk/product/flat-pack-cradle-mat-rigid-mk2/

In reply to Post #28
I was looking at new rods in Dec but didn't know what to go for. I went to a local rod builder, who made some suggestions based on what I was looking for. I already had treb lites and trebs in 13ft in mind anyway. I had taken a couple of my reels with me, he lent me a handful of rods including both the trebs and treb lites, I took the rods to a lake about 10 minutes away and had a play for a few hours. I took my marker sticks so I could get a feel for the rods and get and confirm which I could cast further.

I ordered the Treb lites in 13ft.

Give some local rod builders a call and see if they could do something like this for you - then you can order from them or elsewhere.

In reply to Post #1523
Didn't know you could fish it, a few years ago I had to accompany my Mrs for a ghost hunt there as she doesn't drive, if I had known I would have chucked the rods in the car and asked her to wake me up in the morning.

In reply to Post #15
Where is that Bristol?

Any info by pm would be appreciated, currently on two near to Bristol but one cannot be otter fenced so is only a matter of time!!

I like to have two ticking over at any one time to switch things up now and then.

In reply to Post #1424
Sounds like I do the complete opposite to you lot. I actually want paranormal activity to happen whilst I am fishing my current syndicate (or any others for that matter) - we often ask for things will happen for us if we hear strange noises and sometimes just to see if we can get something to happen. Let me explain.

Around 12 years ago my other half got into watching "Most Haunted" on TV, she then deemed that she would love to go on a ghost hunt. I organised it for her and as she doesn't drive accompanied her. We ended up joining the team and go quite regularly to various supposedly haunted places. Before anyone asks no - not a lot happens that I don't think can be explained, although I do have more of a belief in that sort of thing now than when I first went. I/We have spent hours sat in various pitch black castles/prisons/stately homes all alone waiting for something to happen.

During the winter I take her to loads of these things and in the summer/spring she comes fishing with me - so it seems like a fair deal

Anyway Last year I joined a new syndicate - incidentally the old neo-gothic mansion on the estate is also reputedly very haunted and we have done 5 paranormal investigations there. A couple of the lads decided to give me the low down on the various rumours of monks and ghost dogs etc to wind me up. One of them said he didn't sleep a wink on any night session during his first season due to various happenings. They were really upset when I told them what we do during the winter as clearly their windup wasn't going to work on the new bloke.

I am a lot more worried about the living than the dead. Especially if they are creeping around late at night