Hi, first post, my apologies if it's a bit of a ramble.
To cut a long story short(ish) I used to be be a keen angler. By keen I mean, a member of three clubs, sat on one club committee, did working parties, match fishing one or both days of every weekend with short sessions in between. Weekend and occasional weeks away just fishing, the usual obsessive I guess. Then about 8 years my dad got dementia and, as he was the person I went fishing with mainly, I packed it all in, sold all of my gear and decided not to go again whilst he was stuck in a care home. The inevitable has happened of course, he's died and just as inevitably over the past few weeks I've got the bug back again and want to get out again.
Anyway, the post isn't about that that shitty disease or my decision, just wanted to explain why I have no clue about the current angling scene but that I should be capable of getting myself sorted after getting a few pointers. So I have a few questions please?
I used to live in Altrincham so the clubs I was in had waters centred around that area however now I live in Lancashire, few miles from Oldham, does anyone have any recommendations for places to go for a kick off nearer this end? Maybe a club or two to join with decent waters, are syndicate waters still a (rare) thing? I'm not interested in the match or social scene yet although that's a buzz I can see dragging me back in eventually.
To start at least I'd be happier sitting in a quiet place getting the odd bite on a float than I would be catching carp after carp out of a commercial but won't rule anywhere out and I don't mind travelling an hour or two to the right place. I've sat for days and nights for carp and pike but again, not for me just yet, I'd like to get the basics back first.
Where do people get gear and bait from these days? I used to go to Trafford Angling or the place that was at Stapeley Water Gardens but Trafford has been gone for a while now I believe and I'm not sure bout the other. I'll pick up some gear to get me started again from Ebay although, I can't lie, I'm a tackle whore so it'll take a while to get back to a similar set up to that I sold off a few years back. In hindsight, selling my tackle boxes full of terminal gear was a big mistake, easy enough to get new rods/reels etc. I guess but putting back together all the bits and bobs is going to be a royal pain in the a***.
Any current You-Tubers worth following? I think I 'm out of touch but I do like to watch decent content. I read earlier that that I lake I used to fish, with bread flake and caster, has recently banned the use of anything over 3oz leads. My first thought was "wtf, 3oz? on a lake? thats sea fishing gear" I know I'm out of touch and maybe missing something..
Is there a bigger problem with poachers, thieves and ****heads generally on waters nowadays? I know that it was always there but seem to have come across more posts about that than I thought I would. If so anywhere in particular to avoid or is it just to take the usual common sense approach?
Sorry, thats some text wall...
Cheers
Edited for shocking spelling...
To cut a long story short(ish) I used to be be a keen angler. By keen I mean, a member of three clubs, sat on one club committee, did working parties, match fishing one or both days of every weekend with short sessions in between. Weekend and occasional weeks away just fishing, the usual obsessive I guess. Then about 8 years my dad got dementia and, as he was the person I went fishing with mainly, I packed it all in, sold all of my gear and decided not to go again whilst he was stuck in a care home. The inevitable has happened of course, he's died and just as inevitably over the past few weeks I've got the bug back again and want to get out again.
Anyway, the post isn't about that that shitty disease or my decision, just wanted to explain why I have no clue about the current angling scene but that I should be capable of getting myself sorted after getting a few pointers. So I have a few questions please?
I used to live in Altrincham so the clubs I was in had waters centred around that area however now I live in Lancashire, few miles from Oldham, does anyone have any recommendations for places to go for a kick off nearer this end? Maybe a club or two to join with decent waters, are syndicate waters still a (rare) thing? I'm not interested in the match or social scene yet although that's a buzz I can see dragging me back in eventually.
To start at least I'd be happier sitting in a quiet place getting the odd bite on a float than I would be catching carp after carp out of a commercial but won't rule anywhere out and I don't mind travelling an hour or two to the right place. I've sat for days and nights for carp and pike but again, not for me just yet, I'd like to get the basics back first.
Where do people get gear and bait from these days? I used to go to Trafford Angling or the place that was at Stapeley Water Gardens but Trafford has been gone for a while now I believe and I'm not sure bout the other. I'll pick up some gear to get me started again from Ebay although, I can't lie, I'm a tackle whore so it'll take a while to get back to a similar set up to that I sold off a few years back. In hindsight, selling my tackle boxes full of terminal gear was a big mistake, easy enough to get new rods/reels etc. I guess but putting back together all the bits and bobs is going to be a royal pain in the a***.
Any current You-Tubers worth following? I think I 'm out of touch but I do like to watch decent content. I read earlier that that I lake I used to fish, with bread flake and caster, has recently banned the use of anything over 3oz leads. My first thought was "wtf, 3oz? on a lake? thats sea fishing gear" I know I'm out of touch and maybe missing something..
Is there a bigger problem with poachers, thieves and ****heads generally on waters nowadays? I know that it was always there but seem to have come across more posts about that than I thought I would. If so anywhere in particular to avoid or is it just to take the usual common sense approach?
Sorry, thats some text wall...
Cheers
Edited for shocking spelling...
. I took up fishing again about the time you packed in. Nothing has changed much in that time so you’ll soon get back into it. A lot of tackle shops have closed down and big stores with an online presence have taken over. I can also recommend Bobco and Angling Direct. I use both regularly, plus Willy Worms for bait. There are some good used prices around for poles and seatboxes, they always seem to sell fairly cheaply on eBay if you keep your eyes open. I have never found there to be any thugs or anti-social types where we live.
