Beta Box for Couarse Fishing

Well, I finally got around to finding a Shakespeare Beta Box.  But I plan to use it for course fishing, not sea.
This was because I find I end up taking too much stuff like rucksack, chair, bait bucket and holdall, even for short afternoon fun general sessions on small pond and lakes.
With this seat box, I'll have the rucksack contents and seat all in one. It'll be transported on a trolley with the bait bucket on top.  Only the rod holdall will need carrying.

The Box....

It was new, but had been mis-cast in the mould, so got it cheap.
I took it into work, and made some mods for it.
Its very 'Sea fishing' in its look, also because its bright blue :-(     (I couldn't find a green one)  But it should work a treat for short carp and especially quiver tip and float sessions.

Large plastic conduit bolted and glued into the back for storage.

Copper Bar to keep lid open in windy weather.

Lid bar in down position

Lid bar in place

Scary moments cutting off the mis-cast latch !

New latch in place. I'll add an 'R' clip to the chain keeper to lock the latch in place.

Really happy with this now. Cant wait to add a seat cushion and fill it with my kit ready for the next session :-)
I might spray it green to tone it down a bit for the bankside.

Sad Face

wow. Its now past Xmas and a week into the new year, and I haven't been fishing since November the 7th !! :-(((((
My wife's been rather ill. Shes expecting our second child, and her morning sickness has been so bad shes ended up in hospital, so Ive been looking after number one child and doing all the usual housework and running around.
Its all worth it though :-)

Ive been reading about using soft plastics for lure fishing and LRF (light rock fishing) and HRF (Hard rock fishing) for many different species rather than just Bass. In fact just about anything that swims, with focus on Wrasse, Pollack and the various mini species.
There's a kind of mid range too. These, as far as my research and conversations have gone fall into three camps
LRF - 0.5g-5g on ultra light rods.
MRF - 2g-15g light rods (sometimes called MRF)
HRF - 15-50g on standard spinning rods.

LRF - uses the very lightest of light gear. 4lb line, a 0.5 to 5g jig and tiny worms. Mainly winter.
MRF isn't really discussed and tends to be thought of as just light HRF.
HRF is HARD rock fishing, and basically meant all types of rock fishing with lures, but its ended up being used to describe 'heavy' rock fishing.

Ive bought myself an HRF rod (Sakura Shinjinn 15-50g) and an MRF rod (Cormaron carbostar 2-15g.) Along with a smashing saltwater Sakura reel.
Ive also got all the relevant soft plastics for both styles.
Now all I need is a chance to get out and play!

I'm also planning to try this method for carp and maybe even Roach, as they are both somewhat predatory, and we already catch them on plastic baits, so.......

Trangia Mini

I picked this little fella up as it was cost effective.
I only wanted the fuel Burner, but that was £12 or so, plus postage, but for £20, I could have this whole pan set, with a burner included, so....
Cant wait to try it.

In a similar way, I got this fuel bottle. I only wanted the special tap that's on it, but its £5.99, plus postage, making it about £9. Well, this bottle with the tap on it was only £10, so again, easy choice.


The pan set is tiny, but big enough for one, and super light, and clicks together neatly. The fuel bottle is neat, but holds half a litre. More than enough for a weekend or even a week according to some claims.

I'll use the pans and burner with my Trangia Triangle though, as that's more stable and has better wind protection.

Waterproofing

I thought it was time to reproof all my waterproof clothing and my bivvy for the winter, so I took all my fishing kit to a mates garage last night, and hung it all up, then sprayed the lot.
I used 2 tins of this stuff...
Jack Pyke Waterproof Spray

It uses new nano-technology to proof fabric, so Im looking forward to seeing the results.

Bait Boat

Mike and I went to our pond the other day, and took Karls new (second hand) bait boat with us.
We tested it out for Karl as he was really busy and wanted to know how it performed.
It did well, with only a couple minor things that Karl intends to sort out, like balance and steering needing a little tweaking, but that wasn't the pinnacle of the test.
The real point that made the day, was getting it stuck under the branches of a tree on an island, and mike 'getting back to nature' to go swim and rescue it. :-)

Of course, as a good and supportive mate, I filmed it .....



:-)

Kit - Trangia Triangle

Ive been trying to get my kit weight down as much as possible, which has meant getting rid of some leads, not carrying stuff I don't use etc.
Also, Ive decided to get my brew kit down in weight, so I have got a Trangia Triangle, with a gas burner (instead of the usual Trangia alcohol burner)
Its incredibly lightweight, its design incorporates wind proofing, and is robust and small.
It boils fast and basically did me proud.

New Rod

Had a nice surprise this week. The other week I used Mikes feeder rod, and was very impressed with how light in the hand It was. Well mike must have made a note of that, and went and bought me one on ebay as a early birthday present. Very cool indeed :-)
Abu Conolon Premier 11ft8inch or 13ft. / 3 - 8 lbs Lines. / 5 Tips.

I've taken the quiver tips, two 1oz, two 2oz and one 3oz, and painted the tips, firstly to code them, but also to see them more clearly.


Its quite something. Cant wait to go have a play :-)

Rig & Fishing Tools

I was asked about my tool clip ring, so thought I'd share it here.

I was fed up with either losing baiting needles, disgorgers, or my scissors, or not being able to find them in my box fast enough, so I came up with this.
Now I never lose small tools, I always know where my tool ring is, I can add or remove tools as I like, and they still stow away nicely.
Its basically a stainless keyring, with good sized sea fishing clip/snap swivels threaded on.
The swivels mean I can still use the bait drill with a twisting motion without having to rotate the whole thing, and stops any tangles.