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Well the end of the year has gone well. The koi are doing great and still feeding most days due to the elevated temps. The nets/covers are now off since the leaves are gone. The water clarity is insane.... you can see every little detail on the deck in 2m. The temporary floating skimmer has worked a treat. I picked up a pond vacuum a month ago and gave the bottom a good clean at the weekend which means there's no detritus for any nasties to hide in ready for the spring. It's a real shame I can't post vids on here as I have some great footage of the koi milling about. So now I need to plan for spring which apparently is the most tricky and dangerous time of year. Parasites wake up before the koi so it's essential I do everything I can to keep their immune systems working as well as possible. If you lose your water parameters early on, you're chasing your tail all year, so I have to be bang on it to stay a step ahead of any issues with algae, weed, DO, and ammonia, nitrite, pH etc. Really enjoyed the last few months and looking forward to my first full year with the pond. Looking to feed heavily next year to get some good growth, while maintaining the water quality. I'll keep this thread updated from time to time for anyone that's interested.

I know those supersonic baits you speak of ...I tried them ,had more on two plastic fake corn critically balanced and a few crumbled freebies in a mesh bag ...

Literally ,right in,amonst those dying reeds,i had placed my bait..you can see the line cutting down from the peg on the bankstick it was good knowing your freebie and rig were spot on

Across the field from our cottage are a couple of small pools ..its where I go in the colder months ,or should I say rain ,..I thought I'd try the washing line method as they seem to spook off the lines very easily...any way this fish was one of two I fluked out ..

Thanks very much for your detailed reply , Kev. 😃

The Fortis Tundra salopettes are the best clothing item I've bought recently, waterproof and very warm indeed. I bought the matching coat but in hindsight I'g go for their marine jacket instead as I cannot see me using the Tundra coat as I'm already warm enough in the salopettes. Already got lightweight waterproof trousers and jacket but would look at the Fortis Marine stuff if I didn't 👍 Whilst the Catchdry coat may be good, for me personally it's too long and bulky - cant see that being suitable for days roving the river or carp stalking, but were all different. Fortis looked at the serious competition (Geoff Anderson) and made stuff that probably almost matches but at a much lower pricepoint, serious clothing for serious anglers I'd say so you get what you pay for, but the pricepoint of Fortis is much lower than Grundens and Geoff Anderson. Serious carp clothing was long overdue so well done Fortis I say.

Whilst I should play it down - last 3 trips were successful to a degree and all fish taken on Halibut Pellet wafters that barely smell of anything and very dull. Proves the point really, who are the special specials attractive to? US!

You've just sold it to me , Golden Paws ! 😁

If you want to look like a complete plonker, go ahead and buy one!

Hi Everyone I see Skeetex do their own version of a Catchdry , or should I just stick to a suit comprising of salopettes and a jacket ? . Your opinions please , ta . 😃

Super special mega expensive hookbaits, I wonder how gullible we are? I used to keep on buying tubs of pop-ups; strawberry ice cream, cranberry, dairy cream, squid and octopus, tutti-frutti, monster crab, pineapple, and goodness knows how many others. The honest answer is I found that the majority of the time that I got takes on 3 of them: squid and octopus, monster crab and my own spiced garlic. Those 3 produced fish as single hookbaits or as the topper on a snowman setup, with other baits like the pineapple and the green zing, tutti-frutti producing occasionally. I can't forget one session over winter, for two days 4 takes came on high attract pop-ups, after that the bait that produced was only the food bait tipped with the spiced garlic, and I constantly kept a high attract bait on one rod.

72hr blank 👍🤣

couple of low double Christmas commons

out for a few hours to bag a December carp. Fishing locked up to the reed line

Plenty of similar hookbaits out there apparently, without the constant rants that guy gets away with on one of the many forums available out there 😂

Brill thanks mate 👍

It's the mount. RF for mirrorless R mount, and EF for cameras with a mirror. If you got the 250D you need the EF one. For 200 yards I'd say 300mm is the bare minimum you need mate. 400+ would be better but you might want to consider 2nd hand to afford that. There is a 2nd hand EF 100-400mm L on the Wex website. Pricey, but a lot of lens for the money. Professional level. USED Canon EF 100-400mm f4.5-5.6 L IS USM Lens | Wex Photo Video

I'm not looking at something for pro's zooming long distances - just to be able to zoom in on something 100-200 yards away or maybe a bit further but not crazy. We get deer on the islands so would like to be able to get those for instance. How's this? https://www.jessops.com/p/canon/ef-75-300mm-f-4-5-6-iii-lens-12276?gclsrc=aw.ds&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=20671165581&gbraid=0AAAAADhMnhBy5GT6_c3ZRyuE3x6AjFafP&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI46a3lfO_kQMV3K6DBx0cfxt-EAQYCyABEgJ7W_D_BwE or this https://www.cameraworld.co.uk/canon-rf-75-300mm-f4-5-6.html?utm_source=google&utm_medium=paid&utm_campaign=17988974325&utm_term=&utm_content=&matchtype=&network=x&utm_id=&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI46a3lfO_kQMV3K6DBx0cfxt-EAQYDyABEgLOUfD_BwE&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=17996003651&gbraid=0AAAAAD_Hja3n_xjS1Dlzrn9kpHI4EqgM1 No idea what the difference is EF and RF

No particular rules other than the more you spend the better you get! How long you talking? Most of the proper long wildlife lenses cost a fortune. If you have a budget in mind I might be able to make a recommendation.

Hi mate, Looking at getting a longer lens for nature shots - are there any rules on this? Cheers

I bought some special cured special special pop-ups cost 20 quid a pot, bought 2 types - both are in the garage along with many other pots of retired baits. I now just go for Northern Specials for anything coloured or the matching brown baits for my freebies. The special specials may have worked but I didn't like the look when they arrived - felt like a mug for paying it tbh

Are they his from the other forum ?

A mate of mine suggested I might like a pot of some 'wonder hookbaits' for a pressie. When it turned out they were at least £20 a pot I had to say, are you joking, save your money, apparently they are 'cured' not in salt as I understand that is what used to be meant, but no they have gone through some sort of 'mystic process'. Oh but they have been backed up by loads of big carp captures, well that's as maybe but I had to say save your money, get me something else instead. Obviously a bit provocative, but what a waste of money for 99% of normal anglers? Anyway, Happy Xmas to all 👍

Winter sun found ❤️

I always think I am going to catch the biggun, so we are both possibly a little misguided 😂