http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/subjects/fish/.
A Standard licence will permit the use of 2 rods
Do you intend to fish all year, just for a couple of weeks or just for 1 or 2 days, you can purchase a licence accordingly.
Where do you want to fish:
Unless you have a particular water in mind, you will need to find out what’s available in you region. These are often listed in various magazines, but usually only one or two per week. Yellow pages may have details of large commercial waters, but by far the best source of information is a tackle shop in your chosen area, their details can be found in yellow pages, or if going away on holiday www.Yell.co.uk
Day Ticket Still Water Venue
Open to General Public & available to fish often with no close season. Day Ticket charges vary. The venues Rules & Regulations will also vary double check before you commence fishing
River
Fishing on ANY river is NOT allowed between 15 March to 15 June inclusive. The coarse fish Close Season applies to all rivers, streams and drains in England & Wales, but does not apply to some still waters. There are, however, some exceptions that retain the Close Season - the Broads always check first.
Large proportions of rivers are governed by Private clubs and non-members are not allowed to fish, unless the club operates a day ticket scheme.
Club Water
12 month Annual Subscription will be required. Club waters often incorporate a Close Season, however there are exceptions ALWAYS check dates with the Club Secretary if there is a Close Season.
If you have not fished before then I strongly recommend you do not go mad in your local angling shop and spend lots of money. Feeder fishing can be achieved by using a Waggler rod (to save on the expense for the moment of buying 2 rods)
Choose from the very basics you will need as mentioned later from the listed below:
LEDGER / FEEDER ROD
TELESCOPIC ROD
FIXED SPOOL REELA . 4 - 6lb - All fish up to 10lb.
B. 8 - 10lb - Suitable for specimen fish over 10lb.
When fishing the Feeder 4lb really is the minimum strength line to use.
Hook Length Line - this will usually be of a smaller diameter than the main line and usually slightly lighter in strength. This being for two reasons. A. The thickness of the line does not spook the fish & B. If you unfortunately get snagged on the bottom, it will snap and therefore you will only lose your hook. In other words
4 - 6lb main line use 3 - 5lb Hook Length
EYED HOOK
SPADE END HOOK
All are available Barbed or Barbless and in different size
Spade end & Barbless - You will need to purchase and learn to use a Hook Tie (a tricky, but clever device)
Spade end & Barbed - As above & again check if allowed.
The size of hooks again vary greatly, I would suggest as a beginner No.14 for larger baits, i.e. Luncheon Meat / Pellets/Bread. No.16 for Sweetcorn and a No.18 for Maggot / Worm.
I have never found barbed hooks to be any better, in fact the contrary, a Barbless hook is streamlined & sharper. If you always keep your mainline tight when playing a fish you will never allow a fish to become unhooked. The tying of your line to the hook is purely preference, I tend to use eyed for heavier line and spade when fishing 2 -3lb line.
SWIM FEEDERS
SHOT DISPENSER
TACKLE BOX
In the beginning you could survive with a carrier bag and a tin box, but there are now many inexpensive Tackle Boxes available approx. £20.00. Sturdy enough to use as a seat waterproof to store away all your equipment & complete with a shoulder strap for easy carrying.
BAITThe list for bait could be endless. There are no hard and fast rules, what will work one day, the next day will not. If you hate maggots, don't worry there's plenty of other baits, marshmallows are great in the summer for carp & angler or try some smelly cheese. Basically almost anything goes! You could spend a small fortune on bait, yet the best bread to use is supermarket value @ 20p! Pop about half a sliced loaf into a food processor to make great cheap ground bait crumb.
It is a rare thing to go fishing and run out of bait, usually at the end of the day it gets thrown in the bin, a bit of a costly waste when you think about it, so don't load up your box with too much bait. Even more important don't over feed your swim especially in the winter. Carp are about the only fish that will take a fair amount of bait, but even then usually only in the summer months if you’re fishing waters where you know there is an abundance of fish.
The BEST bit of advice regarding Bait I would offer is to take a walk around the water you want to fish & TALK to other anglers. Anglers LOVE to talk fishing. (a small word of warning here, NEVER attempt this if there is a competition taking place).
ALL waters are different and you need knowledge of what works where you want to go fishing. Books and Magazines are great sources of information, but an article on a specific way to fish, when applied, just may not bring results where you want to go.
MISCELLANEOUS ITEMSCatapult
Swivels
Scissors
Disgorger - Used to take out the hook from the fish, if not hooked in the lip. Towel
Bait Boxes
Hook Tie if using spade hooks
Can Opener
It is important to note the above equipment is for general-purpose coarse fishing. All waters are different and it is recommended that you learn in clear open water and avoid snags. Lilies etc. Which will require knowledge and skill to negotiate the safe landing of a fish.
As with all sporting equipment there will be choices galore, however this is a beginner’s list as you progress and become more confident so will your choice of tackle.
Unless you have purchased a rod already set-up with reel & line, you will need to firstly purchase mainline. I have chosen for now 5lb Main Line. Take your reel and attach to a fully extended rod. With the Main Line feed it through the eyes on your rod working from the top of the rod down to the reel. Lift back the bale arm, make a loop in the line large & fit over the spool on the reel. Tighten this loop and trim off any excess line, return the bale arm back into position. To wind the line on to your reel ask a friend to hold the spool, with the line slightly taught, (little tip, place a pen through the spool, this helps the line come off more smoothly) whilst you slowly reel in the line onto the spool. Now all that is required it to attach a weight to the end of your line.
CASTINGOK here goes, lets assume you have NEVER held a fishing rod before, the first thing you will need to learn is to cast.
Do you have a large garden or QUIET open area near you? There is no need to pay to go on a lake to practise your casting. Having got your rod, reel and line, you will need to attach a small weight about 1oz.(NEVER put on a hook). Then away you go. It is VITAL before you swing the rod behind you to ALWAYS look behind to double check there is no one standing there, or a bush you could snag on.
Pick a target feature in front of you at some distance and use this as your marker for direction not your distance. For the moment don't worry too much about how far you can cast, more important is to keep your cast in a straight line out in front of you. If you imagine a 180-degree arc, you are aiming for 90-degrees. This does not happen overnight and can take many months to fine tune, all you are doing at the moment is learning how the rod, line & weight react when you cast. After an hour or so you should feel confident to start fishing.
Hook length x 4lb.
Packet of Eyed Barbless Hooks x size 16 Split Shot Weight Dispenser
Disgorger
Scissors
Can Opener (if tins of bait have no ring pull) Feeders
Ledger Weights
Swivels
Catapult
Tin of Sweetcorn
1/4 loaf of white sliced bread
Chopped Luncheon Meat
(The above are cheaper from your local supermarket) The following is not essential, but useful:
Bait Box for ½ pint Maggots Red & White Small tub of worms & 4ml pellets
Brown Crumb or
Manufactured Packet Ground Bait or
Home Made Bread Crumb
Ground Bait must be mixed with water on the bank 10 - 15 mins. before fishing
Be sensible, check out the weather, even in the middle of summer, if your sitting in the shade (which could happen at some point during the day) it gets COLD. I always say the best way to warm up is to catch fish. Why? Because you are moving. Sitting or standing for long periods in one-place stops your circulation and you will feel cold. So take that extra jumper/coat/socks/ hat, chances are you may need them. Likewise on hot sunny days take plenty of water and Sun Cream, it’s easy to get badly burnt from the sun & the reflection off the water.
I have not mentioned umbrellas yet, as they are a little expensive, but do protect you from the rain/sun and wind, again it’s possible to pick one up second hand if you feel you will need one. Word of caution, don’t try to cast whilst sitting underneath one, you’ll end up in an awful muddle!
FOODThis has to be purely a personal choice. Often on Commercial waters there will be a small cafe, but I do suggest this is confirmed together with their opening times. I have known certain cafes only to be open at the weekend. You could get mighty thirsty & hungry should this be the case.
When you arrive at your chosen water take a walk round, don’t sit down in the nearest swim. You need to take a good LOOK AROUND & check for overhanging trees, access to the water, are there any snags or plant growth out in front of you what direction is the wind blowing. If you are with a friend, it will usually be necessary for you to have a swim each, double swims are not that common and if you try to squeeze in together, you will not be able to fish correctly and may be told off by the local land owner.
The next thing to do is unpack and get comfortable, your going to be they’re for quite some time. You will need to be a little organised. Get into a routine when you fish, i.e. landing net to your left, bait to your right, lunch behind you etc. that way you will be able to put your hand on any piece of equipment you may need at short notice. A fish could be lost whilst you are scrambling around trying to reach your landing net. Worse a fish will suffer unnecessarily if you don’t know where you put your Disgorger. GET ORGANISED, you will catch more.
Open your tins and sort out your bait. PLEASE be careful & put away empty tins & lids.Tackling up the Ledger or Feeder:
If you need distance to reach either an island, far bank or feature, then its a Feeder or Straight Lead. Fundamentally the Ledger is a simple 1oz. weight the easiest way to fish. Slip a swivel through the main line, form a large loop approx. 12", trim off excess line, pull the loop straight and make another small loop at the end, attach ledger to the swivel and that’s it!
Cut approx 12” hook length make a small loop at one end place the loop through the end loop you made on the mainline, pull tight and trim off excess line. Tie on a hook choose your bait and away you go.
That’s the easy bit, you will need unless there is an abundance of fish to get some extra bait out where your hook has settled. For this you will need a catapult to fire out additional particle bait.
The Feeder, set-up is basically the same, however you will need to mix up some ground bait if not using a maggot feeder. Take a container or bucket pour in your ground bait and slowly add a little water, mix well until it becomes nice & moist, but NOT runny. You may also add additional particle bait then place to one side.
Now instead of attaching a lead weight, a small open ended or cage feeder is used, which prior to casting is filled with the pre prepared ground bait.Remember to ALWAYS put your hook bait on prior to filling the maggot feeder.(A good tip if using a maggot feeder, to stop the maggots wriggling out and landing on your head when you raise your rod, quickly dip the feeder & maggots in the water prior to casting).
Unlike the Ledger you will not need to use a catapult to fire out extra bait, but suggest recasting with filled feeders approx. every 5-min.NEVER, NEVER, NEVER leave your rod unattached to either your box or your hand, I have seen TOO MANY rods lost when an unexpected large fish has taken the bait/hook/line & ROD
LINE CLIP UP
The distance you choose to fish can be set on your reel. Just make a couple of casts, when you feel you have cast at a comfortable distance, before you start to reel in, take the line and place it round the Line Clip Up on the reel.
This means that every time you cast it will be at the same distance. A word of caution, if you are fishing where there are large carp i.e. over 8lb, this is not always recommended as when the fish runs the tension on the line could snap your hook length.
CATAPULTOnce you have cast out, with practice you will learn to sink your line. This is necessary for still waters as any tow on the water or wind will drag your line and float. Simply place the tip of your rod a couple of inches under water and flick the tip sharply up.
Unlike float fishing you do not have a float to watch, instead once the feeder has sunk to the bottom, you will need to tighten the line until the tip of your rod which usually lies towards one side is just a little bent. When a fish takes the bait your rod tip will bend even more. It is not necessary to strike as in float fishing, usually just picking up the rod provides enough tension on the line to hook a fish.
Feeder fishing can be achieved by using a Waggler rod (to save on the expense for the moment of buying 2 rods), but you will have to keep a VERY close eye on the tip, as the bend will not be as noticeable as when using a feeder rod.
NEVER, NEVER, NEVER leave your rod unattached to either your box or your hand, I have seen TOO MANY rods lost when an unexpected large fish has taken the bait/hook/line & ROD.
Once you can feel the fish you will need to make sure your line remains taught. If the line becomes slack the fish can unhook itself. Slowly start to reel the fish in, take your time, especially if it feels like a large fish. Once your fish nears the bank approx. 12’ away reach for your landing net. Make sure it is in and under the water BEFORE you bring the fish in too close. The disturbance of lowering your net in can seriously spook the fish and your line may snap with the fish’s sudden jerks. Slowly manoeuvre the fish to the landing net making sure not to allow it to get too close to the bank, you need room to manoeuvre the net & fish.
ANTI-REVERSE
DISGORGER
With most Barbless hooks you should be able to just pluck out the hook from the mouth, however if it has swallowed the hook you must use a Disgorger to release the hook.(Very difficult in word form to explain how to do this, any reputable tackle shop will show you how, when you buy one).
Now carefully lower the fish back into the water.Often people like to take photos of their fish, if you had previously thought about this, you will have your camera close to hand. If you are on your own and need to place the fish down to photograph NEVER lay the fish on hard ground or a dry towel, as this can damage the delicate scales. Be as quick as possible, remember the fish needs water, imagine if it were in reverse and the fish had you underwater taking a Picture of you! Just one more IMPORTANT point REMEMBER to push back the anti reverse button, before you cast out again.
That’s about it, it only leaves me to say ALWAYS at the end of the day check you have left nothing behind (it can be an expensive mistake) remove all rubbish especially open cans and old hooks.