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It depends on the angling situation tbh. If I'm boilie fishing, or fishing to open water, I tend to go with 15 or 16 mm. If I'm fishing over bits, or in the margins/shallow water, I tend to drop to 13 mm. It'll also depend on what I'm fishing for. On a campaign for a biggun I like to use bigger baits. Nowadays it seems it's all overnighters so I just want a bite - for that I like smaller, brighter hookbaits. There's loas of reasons I might choose 13 over 16 and vice versa.... all depends on the specific situation. Same with colour.

Wicked post mate 👍 what size pop ups do you use? My mate uses hinges instead of Ronnie's due to the bait being higher, reckons its harder for smaller fish, nuisance species to get hooked on, swears by it lol. I've done really well using big snowman baits over the last couple years, with the bottom baits being between 18 - 24mm, and a pink pop up between 14 - 16mm. I would say my majority of captures were rarely under 20lb. I wonder if it's the size of the bait or the bait being sat up right topped off with a pink pop up is selecting the bigger carp for me? Why is when you think you've got things sussed out another rabbit hole opens 🤣🤣 For years I've mainly fished big open ressies, presenting a bait was fairly easy as the bed was mainly silt, with a few hard spots. As I was fishing mainly around 100 yards my thoughts behind it would be that the rig and and several yards of line would be flat on the deck and out the way of the Carp. Never really had an issue. When I started fishing the canal and complex this year it felt like a whole new type of fishing as I was dropping baits in holes of weed, having my line semi slack riding up out over the weed. My head was falling off as I couldn't see how it would it catch with line coming up off the spot, like surely its going to spook the fish off🤣 my mates take on it who's been fishing there for years was saying I'm over thinking things, the carp are coming out of dense weed, are they really gonna feel the difference between a semi slack line and a strand of weed lol. I still have my suspensions but tbh after I kinda just settled with the idea and continued to fish like that I've started to get through to them when fishing like that 👍

In my opinion you will absolutely increase your average weights by using pop ups. The higher you fish them off the deck, the higher your average weights will climb, and it's purely down to the mechanics of how fish of different sizes approach baits. If you whack a pop up 3 inches off the deck you'll hook fewer small carp as it just looks alien to them. Bigguns can't even tell as they're approaching from above due to their sheer size. Just my opinion of course..... I have a mate that fished the same waters as me for 5 years. Great angler. His average, every year, was significantly smaller than mine, and he caught just as many fish if not more. Only difference is he fished bottom baits where I used pop ups. Coincidence? Maybe. Maybe not..... During my most focussed campaign after 1 particular fish, I increased the height of my pop up rigs significantly to avoid smaller fish. I landed 16 fish after that modification with an average of over 30 lb, and then the biggun. Normal average on this water was mid 20, my smallest fish was 25. Coincidence? Maybe. Maybe not..... You might sacrifice bites with big blatant pop ups but when the bite comes it's normally one that matters. My first piece of advice to anyone looking to target big fish would be to use blatant pop up rigs. You'll still catch smaller carp, and you'll still catch tench/bream, but imo frequency will be reduced.

Yup conditions do dictate hence right place 😂 😂

As long as its pink 😉 One of the reasons I mainly use pop ups is because the lake is so weedy, I've pulled in too many bottom baits covered in slimy weed to think it's a waste of time. If I was fishing one of those clear bottomed lakes or one of the well worn spots I might reconsider, but for now they don't really suit the lake I fish and I would rather know I am fishing effectively.

Timed out trying to find something the only time I ever noticed was my largest fish out of local lake on an elite baits orange pop up either Xmas cracker or cream cracker the one that’s like a tutti frutti flavour.

If it’s in the right place and the signals given off is something they want to eat doesn’t matter if it’s a pink pop up or a pink bottom bait they will eat it.

To be honest Mate, I don't think so. I've probably caught far more smaller carp on pop-ups than bigger fish, although obviously big fish are fewer in number than smaller ones. 2x 18mm bottom baits is probably more big fish orientated than a 15mm pop-up, and catching 3 big fish over 25lb out of Alton in a night while the pop-up was ignored. Then catching 2 small 20's on the pop-up on another occasion. It's a case of finding the right method for the fish at the time. Of all the 30's I have had, snowman with an 18mm bottom and 15mm has produced a few, a 15mm pop-up has produced one and the double 18mm bottom bait a few more, and even a single 15mm bottom bait a couple.

I'm not saying you won't catch on bottom baits. I just feel pop ups are more selective and smaller fish tend to ignore them.

I do try my pop-ups at various heights, says he who used to prefer keeping them as low as possible. I’ve caught fish on pop-ups close to the lakebed, the counterbalance being on the hook eye, to around 10centimetres above the lakebed, which to me seemed like a zig rig. I'm not sure that pop-ups are a big fish only setup, although I suppose that is relative. 23lb is a big fish, but when the lake has fish to 50, 23lb is 'small'. Going back through my captures, I've caught big fish on bottom and snowman baits as well, including 30lb carp.

Absolutely awesome kipper Kev. People underestimate how hard it can be getting everything right on that place. What a result. Buzzing for you mate.

Pop ups are a big fish rig. Pretty much all I use these days because I want to hook the big ones 😎

the pop up was very blatent, when i fish pop up i tend to put the shot a couple of mm behind the hook eye keeping it as low as possible..........................still dont catch though

Glad I re-read this coz the answer is use my pen to break up the flouro a bit, always had the pen in the tackle box but not the brain power to remember to do it - now on a post-it note in the living room 🤦😆

Isn’t that the standard time for moves to happen I remember my daughters moving in day for her first house was like that

Whilst this is mainly true some of the trickiest carp to catch can be those that have seen it all on a daily basis on a busy commercial, I reeled in a bent hookpoint after one bleep last trip so deffo been done. 95% of bites are dropbacks and you rarely connect, that is NOT normal - this is my finding on Bluebell's Kingfisher anyway - cute as anything. On my big, low stock lake I think they are scared of baited patches which again seems pretty rare, they usually say find them and you'll catch, here it's find them - cast out and they're gone lol This lake is so clear I've been looking at my flouro leaders thinking well they're easy to see - should I go back to leadcore. Minefield!

4 day blank on the canal for me 🤣 back to the complex for a couple nights 👍

It's a mine field ,is tackle even for experienced fisherthems lol ..

I think nick has/had a set of the NGT ones you can feel the Cork flexing in the butt on the greys with fish of about mid teens. i also Chuckeda small spomb out with them if I was fishing with 2 rods. to be honest I did abuse them and they took it all.

Thanks for info ,that's part of what I'm after,a short rod that actually bends ,I tried a ESP ,3lb stalker in a shop, it was proper stiff ,that was a 10ft tho Those NGT ,look good for the money ...its hard finding gear to look at before I buy as most places I fish are very quiet

Greys stalkers are bout 2.75 as are the esp stalker I like both of them the greys are 3 piece and the esp are 2 the esp don’t bend as well as the greys

One of my favourite pools ,is gradually being dominated by trees ,I can't cast overhead anymore .. I don't want to spend a lot of money ,so ..does anyone have any experience of NGT 9ft 2.5tc rods ,or can recommend any other 9ft rod ,I don't want anything over 3lb tc.. Cheers 🥂

I'm not going to get all technical ,here's what I've learnt over time .. I had an old friend 'Egloskerry Tom' Tom had a massive influence on me as a youngster ,as far as carping went he was God.. I used to watch him set up a rod ,cast his latest rig out ,with the latest homemade RH recipe, Partridge hook ,then came attaching backleads ,sinking the line ,....you get the picture !...a right kerfuffle!.. He didn't catch many ,but I loved him as a friend .. Anyway I used to turn up with a bag of Richwoth tutti, some not looking to good ,just found some ,spots that I felt held fish ...one Sunday I turned up he'd been there hours same routine etc ....and nowt ...by lunch time fishing simple running rigs and so on I had 7 nice carp...what that taught me is over complication looses against simplicity .. I fish similar even today, simple is best ,no gadgets or gimmicks ,just a sharp hook in the right place carp are simple creatures...if they don't feed there is nothing you can do about it...and boy ,don't those tackle manufacturers know it they play on people's insecurity..

No I didnt say anything, probably just threw my arms about at the time lol You see some stuff there my word, swim boundaries are seemingly optional if you're catching, and every swim has a max distance but little notice is taken once they get desperate to catch. I watched 2 guys arrive taking the windward corner to my left, fair play I tought they're on them. Well both must have leaded about on their heads whilst they were showing for an hour or more - I wanted to scream at them but just thought well they've pushed them back out onto me. Honestly clueless - all that casting then they put the rod out with a boat - unreal stupidity on their overnighter 😆🤦

I've actually made my MO to be largely yellow beds of bait, I've used maize flake, sweetcorn and yellow pellets, all doused in yellow smart liquid,