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Hi guys. Has anyone had any experience with a Fox Halo Heated Blanket? How well do they work in the cold? Thanks.

The hook looks sharp enough, should be if it was done by Jason Hayward. If it was a one off, I shouldn't worry too much as stick to the size 4 although a smaller hook is more likely to penetrate to the bend and stay there.

Korda basics Krank Can't go wrong with those, perfect hookhold every time imo. Ive only ever had bends, or bluntness on the Kamakura versions. Standard ones, with a bit of honing have never let me down. I'm not a fan of the screws tbh, I'm afraid that could cause unnecessary tears in the fishes mouth & just wouldn't want to risk it. I prefer to use floss on a micro swivel, which has a lot more free movement than the screw set up.

Thanks for the info, I had a size 4 standard gauge Korda Krank open up on me on Sunday, gutted because it felt like a good fish. I was using 15mm pop ups. I've got some size 2 wide gapes at home and some 14mm pop ups, these are more buoyant than the 15's I was using. If 2's are ok i'll order some Korda basics Krank X's today as I prefer this patten.

The vast majority of rigs in my wallet are size 8's with a few 6's. As long as the hooks are sharp and penetrate well, I don't remember having a hook open up on me which would be the time to go up a size.

Try attaching the PVA bag to the lead, basically moulding it around it, leaving the hooklink outside and nicking the hookpoint through the corner in and out. It stops or slows the lead sinking deeply into silt as well. I do frequently test my PVA after the issue with the Nash PVA bags that didn't dissolve in the washing machine. Brands change suppliers, or I can't get hold of a brand so at least one bag from every batch I buy is tested. I do the same with mesh for the same reason although Gardner mesh is consistent.

Hello, Has anyone had any success using size 2 Korda wide gapes on a Ronnie/Spinner rig? My 14mm pop ups have no issues holding up. It looks deadly to me, is this a bit over the top? Thanks

After reading all the feedback, I think i'll just fish singles if I got to used barbed hooks. Thanks

For what it's worth, pva bags in colder weather probably not a good idea, also the preping them up with anything with oil in them does stop the breakdown. Just an alternative idea for winter, why not try the old idea of pva stringers? I used to do the 3 bait stringer thing many years ago, it actually did work back then but too old now to get on bank before next spring 😂

I've had this before. Absolute nightmare. I tend to avoid PVA completely as we head towards winter.

My summer bags have been in the bucket with spare mix for a couple of months, they are damp from liquids. Still melting after about 30 seconds to a minute, I know this from poor casts obvs. The winter mix for the November ticket is winter pellet and Live System crumb with corn steep liquor. Prob gonna have to make them fresh just to be sure. I've also had the nuggets still on in the morning so they were a bit old but it was December.

That is the reason I nearly always make mine fresh just before casting. I do use a mix of pellets for bagging and meshing; halibut, CSL, bloodworm, koi/coarse and GLM in various sizes. Note, the Crafty Catcher bloodworm and GLM seem to be oversprayed. I managed to leave some Nash bags in my trouser pocket once, I was quite surprised that they were still undissolved after an hours 40⁰ wash. The plastic bag they were in had allowed water in, but the bags themselves were still almost intact.

My funnel webs are pretty round like golf balls and I piece through the sides so I'm not going anywhere near the 2 knots, works well

I've reeled in my rigs in the morning and the funnel web bag was fully intact, complete waste of a nights fishing lol Then it was winter and the bags had absorbed oil from halibut pellets doh 🤦‍♂️

Tnank Thanks for the heads up, i'll give that a try.

I use both PVA bags and meshes of boilies and 'bits', and I hate blobs of PVA on the hook. When I use bags, I push the hookpoint out of the bag in the corner so it doesn't catch on the contents. With mesh I often don't knot the end and use the hookpoint to close it and have noticed I don't get a blob of PVA as it was the knot that took longer to dissolve.

Is it the GLM content then more than the fishmeal?

Bought a camping gas refill cylinder yesterday for cooking my particles - I'm banned from doing it in the kitchen because of the smell and an accident many years ago where the pressure valve on my pressure cooker came adrift and I managed to "paint" the ceiling! I haven't bought one for a few years but thought I paid about £35 last time, this time it was over £45. I put it down to the "Trump tax!" The price of diesel is going to have a massive impact on all prices and they are only going one way.

Thanks for the tip, It probably doesn't matter either way like you said.

Still £337.50 over at Trent Baits.

My bait company has put the price of my fishmeal and GLM bait up from £337.50 per 50k to £412.50, only that bait has gone up in price. Was a bit shocked to say the least 👀 Anyone else seen companies doing this?

I don't think it matters, but it also winds me up. I don't use bags a lot but when I do I protect the hook between a couple of little bits of corn starch packing peanuts (what most people call PVA nuggets). The corn starch is released more easily than PVA, and tends to keep the hook/barb free of debris. It also protects the hook point from penetrating the bait(s) in the bag.

Hi, I'm using small PVA mesh bags of boilie only, (2 x 15mm and 6 x 12mm baits ) with a match the hatch pop up on a Ronnie rig, barbless hook with a supple hook link on a lead clip. When using barbed hooks, does it matter if you have PVA residue on your hook where the barb is? I've tested the rig several times in a pan of water and most times there's a large visible amount of residue stuck on the underside of the barb that rarely completely melts. If I use barbless hooks the residue always slides off past the hook point. I'd rather use barbed if possible. Thanks

No worries mate, I was referring to the syndi on the naturals 👍 Bluebell is just bags of crumb and pellet with halibut pellet wafter hookbaits.

Maggots not allowed at Bluebell mate so keep them hidden if you do 😉