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This was a Brackens setup! Snowman hookbait on a combi-rig with a 3oz lead hidden in there, stringer attached to the hook and the mainline above the lead.

Gary and Chris are two I can remember, Chris caught Digit from Boards. I think that I can remember a Steve. I don't think that I ever fished the Reeds or Rushes swim, although I did spend a lot of time in the 'aquarium' to the right, and to the left of Ski-slope. It wasn't a swim, but overhanging trees and snags that fish loved getting into. I would test baits in there, if they took them in there I knew it would work in the main lake.

When I fished Brackens the people I can remember are.. Jimmy, Scott, Darren & Steve, all local ,Chris and my mate Phil (who caught Rocky & Digit) Good times fishing there.

Np. I didn't mean to sound like I was having a go back if that's how it came across. I was just letting loose a little. And, again this isn't meant as a dig at you personally, but there does at times feel like theres a bit of hypocrisy from some people when it comes to comfort/more recent innovations. If there wasn't any progress, we'd all still be using split cane rods with 10+ rings all sat within a few mm of the rod blank and centerpin reels loaded with cat gut. As I said, you do you. Everyone's entitled to do what they want as long as it's within the rules and doesn't affect others. I've never fished through the winter before and have had previous few nights before, so a bit of comfort/warmth will be very welcome. Who knows how long any of us have left. If there's something you want to try, I say go do it.

Sorry mate if it sounded like a dig at you, it deff wasn't intended. Just seems to me that if people feel the need to buy this stuff, shouldn't they question if they should be fishing in colder weather at all? As for a Throwing stick, used to use an origanal Cobra one, long sinced binned, flying rats soon put pay to that, and where I fish now not needed at all. I still use a spomb on occasions to get particles out.... actually made 'spods' out of gardner boilie gun tubes and shampoo bottles back in the day. Bait boats not relevent for me as they are banned on the lakes I fish, if they were allowed, would I spend money on them? I think not. Carp reels, yes Shimano bait runners, rapidly found at the time before 'big pit' reels were 'invented' that a change to sea fishing reels - Ryobi Project - I think were a vast improvement on anything 'carpy' at the time. Not sure about 'specialised' ringing thet we now use? Hutchy horizons didn't seem to have them, oh I obviously don't use them now, long gone. Just use a fairly cheap pair of Korum 2.5 test curve rods, I love them. Anyway, take care in your fishing and stay safe in the cold weather, at my age I just don't do it anymore, not my idea of enjoying my time on the bank anymore 👍

That looks like someone's patched the website against the new PHP bug tgats been in the news and their website was using an ancient version with unsupported commands in the patched version. Just a guess though.

Has Tackle Trader ceased , i just get lines of rubbish .

Tbh, I'm generally a summer fisherman. I have avoided going when it gets below 6c at night. My bag is a big snooze+ 3 season jobby. I'm over 50 now and am fed up with being uncomfortably cold without good bl**dy reason. So, a heated blanket for a few hours with the bed cover so I'm not climbing into a freezer seems like a sensible idea and a weight sacrifice I'm willing yo make. It runs off my Ridge Monkey Vault 26000mah powerbank which I take anyway, so its a negligible change for me. I don't get the self flagellation at the altar of discomfort. If your doing something to save weight great you do you, but doing something just because it was done like that 30 years ago seems like madness to me. 20-30 years ago I smoked, mostly used a bike to get around and used to go raving. If I hadn't changed I'm not sure I would still be here, let alone have a decent job, house, be married with kids going to uni. If carp fishing had stayed the same we'd still be using argos sunbeds, optonics and cheap 50" brollies with a tarp over the top. Just look at your phone in your hand. How old is that and how old is the tech? The world changes, moves on and progresses. Embrace it where you want to/can justify it. I would ask, do you use a throwing stick/spomb/bait boat/baiting pole/sonar/gps? None of those were available 30 years ago, at least not in their current form. Back then, were there any carp reels, rods with the specialised ringing we now use?

So do I, but I would admit to two!

The syndicate im in allows you to name a new Thirty ,

I am such a Tackle Tart id charge to view my set up .😂

Not the best advice but worked for me , When i use to smoke ,if ever i got bitten by a Mozzy , i would dab the hot end of the cigarette on the bite briefly , worked every time , no itching just a little burn but no different to the mark youll end up leaving after scratching at it for hours.

Maybe something id consider to be honest ,

I'm thinking maybe Interax doesn't want to end up crippled with arthritis in old age and unable to go fishing / enjoy his retirement ? .

Whatever next..... oh maybe heated bivvie slippers!!! 😂 Probably WiFi controlled from a massive power bank with iPhone and iPad connected too? Really, if you want to get out in winter, which I never do anymore why buy this rubbish?? Just man up! If anyone doubts my winter fishing credentials, i did post a few pics of me at Horseshoe lake with snow on bivvie, a fox bed chair, argos sleeping bag and blanket over the top.Sometimes I do despair about the modern generation of 'Carp Anglers'. Good luck with you Halo heated blanket tho! 😀 Oh and don't forget some heated gloves if you actually get out of the bivvie to land a fish? Sorry to be so cynical but......

I must have met you there! That's when I fished it. PigPen was probably my favourite swim, but I caught from most swims. I missed Sam's, Rocky and Digit, but had some of the other 30's. A lot of big fish from such a small water.

I used to fish Brackens, guessing it was about 2008 to 2011. I really struggled by mate had some real good ones including Rocky and Digit.

I am not a fan of Korda hooks! I found the standard Kranks were blunt compared to a Gardner Mugga. At Brackens Pool I had been using Muggas and an identical shaped Gamakatsu pattern with no problems, landing plenty of fish to over 30lb. One day I ran out of ready tied rigs so pinched one from a mate, identical to mine, but tied with a Krank. I kept on getting bleeps, but no proper runs. I reeled in and put on a freshly tied rig with a Mugga, recast to the same spot and had a proper run within minutes. When I got home I compared the hookpoints, sharpness. I balanced the hookoint on the ball of my thumb, with a 3oz lead I was able to lift the hooklink and lead off the desk. I tried the same with both the Gardner Mugga and the Gamakatsu's and could not even lift the weight of the lead. I did put pics on the site here! It may have been a bad batch, but it was not just one hook in the pack, every one was not as sharp. I have never bought another Korda hook since. Pretty much the only hook brands I trust now are Drennan/ESP, Gardner and my last few Solar 101's and Gamakatsu GP204's which went through a stage of not being available or in case of Gamakatsu no longer made.

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.