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The funny thing is that the lake I'm on gives so many difficulties; 185 carp in 45acres, with loads of natural food, so not overstocked. It is very weedy, and has plenty of birdlife, which the swans can be a right pain as it is not particularly deep. The carp aren't spread equally, the water can be devoid of fish in certain areas, and they don't show regularly. It has a pretty much East to West orientation and the east end is the shallowest, so a westerly wind doesn't push them all the way. Then we have the syndicate, I can be the only person on there for a whole week, and see absolutely nobody. I walk Sky round almost every day I am there, as it's a 2mile circuit, a slow walk so I can watch the water and look for fish. Then we have bait, the fish don't need it, but you might need to bait heavily to compete with naturals, or the hi-viz attractor bait. BUT, don't bait up on them as they are wary and will move away. I should say that this is the hardest lake I have ever fished, but you know when it comes right.

Fair play Im not really into bait making I just get excited by ideas sometime carp adore dog biscuits so there must be something in their makeup which switches them on they are high tech and very scientific serious money and research goes into petfood, I think you dumb them down a little more than what they are really about/deserve.. closely guarded secrets and good stuff.. subtle feeding triggers which are needed to get fussy or I’ll pets to eat properly carbs.. well some old fishing gurus reckon some lakes are carb deficient and high carb baits can score Its not my area The rods are out and I sadly spooked a big fish when I cast out I had no idea he was there but I have the whole night and am sitting up through all of it

My new Rod Hutchinson Sceptre 10ft 3.5lb rods arrived today lovely looking bit of kit but maybe a bit to stiff for my fishing needs, would of been better if they did them in 10ft 3lb option, will just have to see how i get on with them, google image as i have put them away

I just bought some of the latest small Abu cardinals to see what they are like loaded up with braid for chucking lures after the bass of the back of the boat. for 20£ each can’t complain if they are plastic then at least they can’t rust lol Dam rod the kids are currently chucking the older version of this around the rod is fully orange that were bought from AD and they get sling in the bilge when we leave the boat. the only problem so far on one reel the handle rusted so didn’t spin properly wd40 sorted that out

My latest rooblinos arrived today it's a 2000 sized reel that I bought to go on my old browning match rod, cos t me a small fortune £7 smooth as anything though lovely little reel.

Was a time when you could get lower poundage rods, now 3lb seems the minimum and to be honest for a lot of waters it just isn't needed... My 9' Dwarfs are 2.75lb through action, lovely playing rods for small waters, and I think they are a bit heavy... But the "Stars" as you rightly say advocate heavy rods to cast big weights a long way... for goodness sake a 3.75lb rod (4lb Kaizens... really...????) They are beachcasters or light spod rods fer crying out loud... these rods have no business on a carp pool in the UK... and I don't care what others think, these rods in the wrong hands are prime suspects in mouth damage...

old school Pay the lake … 👍👍

The problem is the “distributors” (I use that word as most are made by someone else anyway) are telling us that’s what we need so the lower test curve rods are just not available anymore because the “celebs/stars” are using heavy rods whether that be 6 footers 10 footers or 13 footers. I don’t have a problem with higher tc rods per se but the action isn’t kind on them as most are fast to enable distance casting. Couple that with the modern reels that the clutch is either tight or loose because everyone of the “stars/celebs” and their dog are using quick clutch reels.

There are plenty of hard baits that don't use eggs as a binder, and there is a very simple basic addition that is used in many pellet manufacturing processes, and has been known for years, gelatine. There is a big point being missed, although @nutty squid and @hutch did mention it. Dry dog foods contain less protein than wet dog foods, typically around 18% compared to 30% +, and animal protein is better able to be utilised for growth than vegetable proteins, due to the amino acids. Not every essential amino acid is available in vegetable protein, leading to a shortfall of growth rate. Have a high protein rate of vegetable ingredients with limited amino acids and the bait may be totally wasted. If you are blitzing an already 'low' protein content to add other ingredients you are lowering the protein content even more. Dry dog foods are already a mix of grain, rice and beet pulp, then processed meat, or fish. That processing takes the protein content from 65% down to 20's, then add the binders and ingredients you are around 18%. Adding extra semolina and other wheat products and it could drop to a couple of percent. If it doesn't give off 'eat me' signals, not enough valid food attraction and is basically just a ball of carbohydrates it may need extra attractors, be that a flavour or the soaking in of hydrolysates. Carbohydrates are of limited use to carp, their natural food contains very little. The main foods are just protein and fat, and the main protein source is animal, presuming snails, bloodworm, flies and mussels are animal, although they will eat some weed. The baits I made using a dash of garlic oil, liquidised mackeral, herring and chapatti flour were rock hard, with no eggs. The chapatti flour was a maize and wheat flour mix. Boiling time 1minute and 30seconds, and a 24hour drying time. The other thing is mixing, mix ingredients together properly, it can take a while for dry ingredients to take on liquids. Gradually add powder to the mix, not add liquid to the powder, keep working it until it is only just too wet to roll and then allow to stand for probably 5minutes, then roll into sausages. Through a bait gun gives a totally different texture to a rolling table!

Your right to a degree, some baits are probably to high in protien, although there isnt massive amounts of information out there regarding carp and protein utilisation its more widely known tha the magic number is around 38% protein in a bait/mix other ings are more functional eg.. binding, texture etc.., the dark rabbit hole is the conception that because an ingredient is high in protien that protien's AA make up may well not be suitable for a bait.

Its not going to be the best carp nutition, although quinoa is very high in protein I did say I was maybe using it very sparingly indeed mate - like a third of a kilo over 72-96 hours sparingly If I use it which is a doubt I don't know much about carp nutrition mate, but do know that a lot of pritein in baits is wasted on them and posh HP baits are too rich and overrated (no I don't mean brown sauce : )

Im interested in what you think your providing Mr Carp nutritionally with something like the above, part of making your own for me is not always about cost but providing a good nutritional bait that can be utlised by the fish, the above is very carb heavy and seeing as Mr Carp has limited ability biologically to break down or utilise carbs to any great effect unless i have missed something

Thanks for reply

One of my pet peeves is anglers using rods far too heavy for a water... I was on a small clubbie a wee while ago, and a lad was using a pair of 3.5lb rods and big pit reels on a small water with fish of less than 30lbs... probably using 15-18lb line where you can quite happily land a 20 on a light 1.5lb/1.75lb rod and 8-10lb line... balanced tackle is far better than overgunned rods... I appreciate that it may have been that he can only afford one set of rods, but I think a chunk of the blame has to be laid at the feet of the media for advocating heavy gear on their videos, and not making a point in telling folks the heavy gear isn't required for a large majority of UK carping. Unforgiving, heavy poundage rods are just not required and in the hands of the inexperienced can and will cause mouth damage, especially in conjunction with a tight clutch...

fair play - we are all proud of our edges I have a terrific one or three, my pop ups are absolutely savage I use a very long winded process and a secret unusual oil I developed a process with tiger nuts as well which is fabulous they are organic, both extra well cooked and nearly soft(ish) but also naturally preserved almost shelf life with zero chemical preservatives - they can hang around in the fridge for about a year and are fine to take on long sessions then go back in the fridge I might start selling a few on Ebay

I have a couple of angling gear regrets, i owned a pair of Leeda Marvic pike rods with full cork handles, they made for a lovely pair of carp rods, sold them and now you just cant find them any more, also i had a TFG Matt hayes X1 river and stream 1lb 2oz Avon rod that i sold thinking i was done with fishing, but happy to say replaced that with a hand built cane Avon that is even nicer

If you like a wide gape have a look at the ESP Claw Hammer, lovely hooks and sharp out the packet too.

The Dark Matter 30lb is a good hooklink Try Armourlink as well Some good choices there I'm afraid 10 footers are not for me - too much torque and power going into hookhold - 11ft are great, as are 12, if I had to use 10ft I would want them at maximum 2.5lb test curve

I no longer use shelfies, a look at the ingredients tends to put me off. I've been making my own for a few years now. I got lucky with a spice blend, that suits both fishmeals and bird food baits. I have noticed a reduction in flavours for cat/ dog biscuits lately. I used Aldi chicken and liver in a mix for barbel, but 100 mile round trip to unfishable small river put paid to that. Must haves imo are milk powder, yeast and seaweed/ spirulina.

Curve shanks are a bit notorious - I think the general consensus is they're dodgy on smaller carp which tend to turn quickly and dart about a lot at the net area I don't get on with barbless, I'm very fussy with hooks and use fine wire, widegape only, with a tiny whisker barb - size 6 Korda widegape (normal not X or ka(k)makura) is the biggest hook and chunkiest wire I use (its quite fine wire in that size but never fails) I'm trying those gripz I just invested in a whole load of size 8s - haven't seen for myself what they're like yet but I need them for barbless only old favourite classic dayticket venues It sounds like you haven't encountered soft mouthed carp yet mate - they are a problem which thankfully you only get on the odd lake - I looked it up its quite a complex problem

We've all been there over the years, trading tackle in, chopping and changing - often too cheap by mistake as you can't sell it on Ebay (courier fees have gone mad; its the full insurance that's the issue on flash rods) Collection puts you a bit on edge, its easy for a dodgy stranger to dash off in the darkness without putting the code in for you to confirm the sale I had a stupid thing for pairs of flash beach casters before I realised I don't like using two rods from the beach anyway as its hard work and faffy rebaiting etc. and moving up and down with the tide on shingle Long story short I deeply regretted selling a pair of Bruce Ashby Mirage over a decade ago, they're a timeless classic fish playing, small water big fish carp rod - even nicer to play fish on than Ballistas - Romantically I found a set again recently, these will not be sold, I use Ballistas as well and was very happy to find some excellent cheap fibreglass rods which have fabulous actions - they aren't dirt cheap, about £40 each - they're called 'Freshwater Carp' - made by WSB Tackle and I can't recommend them highly enough as the PERFECT beginner rod for a youngster - I use them very happily at a rough park lake where I don't want my shiny best reels and Harrisons on show while I'm snoring off the whiskey!

I've never been happy with braid hooklinks, or inline leads. I nearly always use a lead clip set up. I use 1 to 1.5 oz leads on silty venues, going up to 4 oz on hard bottomed lakes. I use size 6 or 4 hooks. The only mouth damage I recall was slippage from a curve shank kd rig, an 11lb common, 3 oz leads at distance. I think the hook didn't set properly. I tend to use barbless hooks.

I have cork handle rods which are classy rods but I hate cork anyway and simply covered it up in Winn rod wrap Its fabulous stuff, fairly expensive to do a set, depending on the job you need a roll per rod (roughly) Don't use the finishing tape, its ok but Vinyl tape is much better The handles end up a bit thick but I don't care I just use the old large ESP rubber grip rests - you may get the odd issue with lifting banksticks out of the ground with the rod - some tape can be wrapped tight on an area of handle to compress it, its not a big issue - most carp rod handles are slim anyway, a single layer of wrap and you're still slim enough handles The grey wrap looks classy, so does the blue on my bass rods - don't get the red as its actually dark shocking pink! - sorry I haven't got time to dig out rods from boiler room and take photos, you can find photos of it all over the net - its a little tricky to master the tapered cut at first but you don't need to be very accurate just cover up any mistakes with vinyl tape (vinyl tape has a super tough glue, is quite expensive, highly weather resistant and durable, and never comes undone - in fact its hard to even pick it apart again - don't get 3mm its too fiddly, stick with 5 and 10mm

freezer baits are easy to preserve mate just dry and salt them - fair enough there are restrictions on amounts, drying space and time to do it, freezer space, (wives and revolting boilie smells etc) - I just dry boilies spread out on an old bait towel in my living room in half kilos but I'm on my own and have a box freezer which does me perfectly for me and my bait about two thirds full at any time I'm not a big fan of shelf life they seem a bit sort of plasticcy and sterile to me

Depends how you fish, I don't do spods or particles I prefer a variety of (catapult only) small amounts of boilies, fine pellets etc They shouldn't be mixed as they have different glugs on and I don't want them all to smell the same in case something isn't working - I also wouldn't want pellets drawing the moisture out of thawing boilies and getting soggy I keep everything neat and compact, some people are funny like that I hate bulk, slow setup, clutter and confusion and never rated heavy baiting anyway (especially on tough to rock hard venues)