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Many thanks, glad the advice was helpful- and good luck with your next session!

Custard powder? Makes sense when you think about it- good protein source! Did you make a paste type bait out of it?

we did make a paste and the bait had to be very small on a size 16 thank for a reply

Thanks so much, Tom! Yes, I've been doing more film lately. Perhaps a sign of the times? Writing is very much my first love, but it's becoming harder and harder for print. Pleased you're enjoying the videos too- thanks for watching!

@@domgarnettfishing hopefully sense prevails and there's still a place for the written word. It's truly the best way. But film is good as well! And yours are superb mate. Thank you again for taking the time and effort to make them for us

That's great to hear! I'm so glad you had a breakthrough. For me, the key to playing this as a solo piece was establishing a simple, strong bass pattern. I hope you enjoy playing it and developing your ideas further! 🙂

Sounds brilliant! Might been in Looe part of September, but keep me posted because I'd love to return - great club and lovely waters.

Indeed, they are so cute- and so nostalgic for many of us! There's still hope though- and a bit of a revival in some areas. I guess the advantage of smallish lakes is that unlike our polluted rivers, it's less complicated to sort the habitat out. I also think there is a quiet appetite out there for more carp free lakes to keep that true strain of crucian we love to see. Folks like Portsmouth DAS and the Angling Trust's National Crucian Conservation project deserve a big pat on the back on this.

Many thanks- I'm glad you enjoyed it! It's a tough one, isn't it with today's media. So much of it is crash, bang, wallop or a very clickbait style approach. Good luck in your carp on fly fishing- it's such a lovely way to tempt them.

Glad you found it helpful, thanks for letting me know- and good luck this season!

Thanks, that's great to know.

Many thanks, glad you liked it

Thanks- glad you enjoyed it!

The rod is a Vision Daddy. I am not especially brand loyal with rods to be honest- the main reason I chose this one was because I got a good deal on it and I smashed up my last one (a Greys). So far so good after around 3 seasons of use. I am not a huge fan of cane. I love the aesthetic and the feel of it for playing fish- but I find it really heavy and poor performing for longer casts, just not a patch on carbon. Smaller cane rods, say 7ft, can be very nice to use, but for big flies and longer rods, I don't like cane. I've tried- but it's just not for me!

Thanks Tim- good to hear you allow it. We need more fisheries like yours to grow this approach! I must say, I like the way that any fly fishing develops a "bigger picture" approach- i.e. looking at habitat and fly life, not just fish sizes.

Many thanks Dave! I'm stoked that you enjoyed the book and this latest video, that's awesome.

Many thanks- great to hear you enjoyed the book and video! Sorry to hear you've struggled to find fish where you live. Conditions can be important- calm days with little wind will help, as will good quality polarising glasses! You may have tried these things already, of course! Are the lakes very deep? That could make spotting and fly fishing harder. It's rare that I fish "blind" for carp. Quite often they will follow they will follow the wind, especially if conditions are mild.

Hey @@domgarnettfishing thank you for the tips and for taking the time to reply. Today I've found a lake that has shallow water and caught my first two carp on the fly, super excited!

There are very few catfish in UK rivers (they are non-native here and even where illegally found, they don't breed very successfully). You could fish a month without a bite, even on the Thames or Trent. Different story in Europe though- perhaps a mission for the future?

Thanks, Paul. Glad you found the video useful. Good luck on your next session!

Hi Ian. I was using flies tied on hook sizes 10-12 mostly. You can buy existing flies and debarb, or tie your own on barbless carp hooks. This pattern works quite well (although usually without the bead and bigger for carp!) czcams.com/video/pDLk10dbMag/video.html

Definitely! Well, I'm never sniffy about angling methods- bait fishing has its place too. This tops it all for me though- it's hard to beat the challenge and the intimacy of fly fishing for these fish! Each to their own, but I do sometimes think with all the tech, self-hooking rigs and the rest it can become a bit impersonal. I think this way would really appeal to those who enjoy stalking, floater fishing etc. Again, almost fishing is good fishing in my book, but this style deserves wider recognition.

Many thanks! Might be worth joining the "Flyfishing for Coarse Fish" Facebook group to find venues. We have anglers all over the country who are very helpful. Some venues are more welcoming than others.

@@domgarnettfishing thanks Dom, I will have a look at that 👍

Thanks mate. Where are you based? Might be worth joining the Facebook group "Flyfishing for Coarse Fish"? Lots of folks from around the country who can advise on fisheries. Not all are obliging- but that's slowly changing! Always worth speaking directly with clubs or owners in person (as opposed to email or messenger!) and explaining what you're doing- in terms of sensible gear and following the usual rules. Good luck with it anyway and happy fishing!

Great minds and all that 🙂 Simple but effective

The rod is a 7ft 6 3 weight. A very basic model - fairly slow actioned compared to most modern rods.

Thanks mate! Still can't quite believe I didn't get a perch- had the odd little nip, so perhaps only tiny wasps were willing to move. It was a very cold morning- that chub was the only proper solid bite. Had I stayed into the afternoon I suspect it may have got better.

Cheers Geoff. Yes, correct on both counts- and glad this comes across. We get just a limited time to film with these shoots and that's it. Naturally, it's sod's law that I'll get a bigger fish the week after when not filming- but actually looking at a tough day is probably more instructive? As for fish care, I do worry a bit about social media. Fish care has to be a priority- not an extended photo shoot!

Thanks Peter. Well spotted! Not my dog, but the camera guy, John Deprieelle's. He's called "Badgermole" and is a bit of a legend! Has the perfect temperament for a fishing dog, just loves being outdoors but never gets in the way. I'm sure most of the time he'd rather I was throwing his favourite grotty tennis ball rather than flies, but there you go 😄

Thanks Andrew. The net is a Daiwa LRF. The reach on it is excellent- but to be quite honest, it's not the toughest for pike (mine has been repaired at least once). The Drennan 3m specimen twist lock is a tougher option.

I use the drennan twistlock, it`s well worth the money and strong 🙂@@domgarnettfishing

Many thanks! And yes, don't tell everyone, but you now know my true masters 😅

If it's not to your taste, you can always just turn the sound down or do subtitles? Not my final edit - but I felt it fitted the subject matter adequately enough?

Another thought, if the film is too OTT, you might enjoy the blog post more- I've written a full article on the experience with lots of info and photos: www.turrall.com/blog/jr-hartley-meets-the-texas-chainsaw-massacre-flyfishing-for-catfish/

@@domgarnettfishing its not even the taste in music, its just the sound level, if it was set to backround level instead of same level as them speaking it would be a great video

@@domgarnettfishing yes, i think this is more me, excellent article, thank you for the link

Many thanks, glad you enjoyed it. And amen, we could do with more waters of this class at such amazing value. A big part of my motivation to do this film and write about the location was the risk that it could be lost. It's important that tickets are sold and rents are paid- because if not, the fishery could become yet another private stitch-up in the hands of a tiny number of wealthy anglers, as is the case on so much of the River Exe.

@@domgarnettfishing I totally agree, although up here in the North we've a good number of recovering rivers that offer free or inexpensive fishing, for trout and coarse fish, much of it in public parks ! I can't imagine "posh" syndicate anglers wanting to pay much for that unless there's salmon in the picture. In more rural North Lancashire, however, its tighter, there's not much day ticket fishing on offer on the Ribble or Lune. Saying that, many of the club waters are affordable and waiting lists are short since the salmon runs have dwindled. I think the south east seems to be the tightest from what I can gather! Cheers, tight lines!👍 PS just published my latest vid, night-time fly fishing on my local stream.