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The thing is the syndicate is normally very quiet, except between April and June, I can see no-one else in a week, with even no-one turning up on a Friday or Saturday. Nazeing Meads was busy compared to this lake, and even though Nazeing was season tickets there were less problems than the current 3month issue.

Not walking enough to locate fish, not moving on to fish & convincing myself I’m close enough!

They say that humans learn by making mistakes. Unfortunately some of us make the same mistakes over and over again and never learn! It's confession time, what stupid (fishing only!) mistakes have you made that cost you fish and you went home kicking yourself. About a month ago I was staring down the barrel of a 48 hour blank on a water I knew pretty well and had caught fairly consistently in the past. Fish were coming out but mainly at the top end of the lake and I was at the bottom. That said, the blokes either side of me had caught, so I can't use that as an excuse. At 3 a.m. on the final morning I had a bite and a chance to redeem myself. Struck into a good fish and played it for a good 10 seconds and then everything went limp. I did feel the fish rub on a bit of weed but when I inspected the line, I found it was shredded and even worse, I don't think it happened at that point. I used to place the hook into the zip on my haversack and walk off a good 20 yards of line and tighten the clutch and put the rod into it's full fighting curve to check the line but somewhere along the line, I got out of the habit of doing it. I'll certainly be doing it in the future. After that, I also started to put my finger and thumb on the line by the fist eye when reeling in and feel for any nicks or kinks. Line is cheap, don't risk it! Another time I had a pig-tail on my main line of about a rod length, so cut the line at the Korda Safezone leader and reattached it. The next bite I had, I struck and straight away lost the fish and reeled in just the knot. I had almost certainly cut a bit off the leader and seriously weakened it. It's no good writing a letter to Danny Fairbrass, it was 100% my fault. Now when I reattach a leader, I always grip the fused end with my finger and thumb to protect it and cut a few mm above the join and pull the loosened knot off with my teeth. As an aside, I highly rate Safezone leader, in fact I never cast out without one. Rob Hughes has said that when he goes diving and checking out rigs, he follows the line so far then on the bottom looks for the leadcore or tubing, I don't use either! When I watch some of the underwater video's, I can't believe the fish haven't sussed that the one with the hook is 6 inches past the obvious bit! So came on then, when stupid things have you done?

All of these stories are why I like to go where it’s quiet and I can do my own thing! Of late I have been pushed to fish busier waters due to lack of time but it’s done me in. I’d rather blank on a harder and quieter lake than put up with all that comes with busier waters! Had one matey turn up as I was setting up, saying how he had hoped to get in his favourite swim that I was in for the weekend. He lingered about until he realised I wasn’t going to give it up! He set up next door and watched me catch within 20mins. He was in a huff before he left my swim so can imagine he lost his head in the swim next door!

I had already found the artificial feeding bowl he dug in the margins, didn't fancy it much more a rocky trench than a slick feeding bowl type dip, they are a lot more subtle than you could dig with a shovel he had gone way too deep.

I turn up at the lake and p8ck a empty peg had it year before last, chap arrived mid sessions told me about his landscaping he had done in the peg then wobbled off in a huff, the whole lake was thick with pond weed all of three fishable swims until the wind changed blowing all the floating weed back my side, I was fishing a deep water winter peg and having large bream plus one carp.

Shhh, still a few about They used to do good water write ups, the guy who did Elsons at Stanwicks used to see him a lot and a few others it was one of there lads that put me onto carp fishing.

I thought it would be secret squirrel like the old BCSG or the freemasons 😂

@framey sorry, I've got to laugh as I know what you mean, and I might bring those posts over away from where they are. There are around 5 of us baiting swims, and we each leave the others swims alone, won't fish them. From one swim, one guy has had 4 fish, a 30lb common and 3 20lb mirrors, although it is close to where the fish were spawning the other week, so it might not just be bait holding them there as the easterly winds were also pushing towards the deeper water. I created and baited a swim, up to my chest clearing reeds and rushes, in a spot that no-one up to that point could fish. If I see or saw fish elsewhere I would set up on them, however as I hadn't I kept going to the same swim. Another chap has baited a spot halfway along the rushes which is only accessible from one swim, and it's not straight out in front of the swim. Dave fished his spot last night, and it was me and him who actually cleared it together last year. I told him where I had had fish, and he's kept it clear since. I actually left my rake under the boat for him. The majority of us on the syndicate will leave each other's spots alone, although other (single) syndicate members who fish infrequently we have no objection to someone else doing the do if they see fish there. I think etiquette is totally different to different lakes or syndicates. If angler 3 sees fish in a spot under the non-regular single syndicate member scenario, then the other two anglers should bite their tongues and keep quiet about it. If he genuinely does not know about the baiting he is going on his fish spotting and location, not their efforts. On Alton if someone fished where I had baited up, tough, it's 475acres, I can go find somewhere else to fish. Absolutely not much point really in regular baiting up on there as it's so large. And you definitely had swim jumpers going on other people's results.

Coloured mainline might have advantages, a bright orange Sensor or purple Wychwood (?) line might keep swans from hitting it... Personally I use Gardner Pro light (clear) in the clean clear water of my syndicate. Even where it is clear you still get suspended particles of silt sticking to the line, so my clear line is a khaki colour unless I wipe it clean every time I reel in. I don't think that stops me catching as I think that I caught the most fish of all the members last year. I think that at anything above around 40metres, the last bit of line to the end tackle is laying on the lakebed anyway with a tight line, it arcs down. I suppose in theory that is where fluorocarbon is better as it is invisible in water, but fluorocarbon seems to attract more silt particles than nylon monofilament. Even a clean, tight fluorocarbon casts a shadow though, same as mono.

I do confess to a can of cider at lunchtime with a bacon sandwich or two the past few trips. It's been too cold for me to sup a beer at night! I've been resorting to lemon and ginger or orange and peach tea in the evening after dinner.

These anglers from the other syndicate do go on where 'full-time' syndicate members are fishing, on the back of their results or work. This particular angler has not fished 'here' since last June when the other syndicate reopened after their close season. There are around 6 or 7 who only fish here between April and June. It's created a bit of antagonism, not just for me, but others besides. If it was an angler who fishes once or twice a month only on this lake I would not be so narked!

One from last Friday. Goujons and microwave chips (that cook a treat in the Ridgemonkey) and a bottle of Asahi. I don't normally ever take alcohol when fishing but made an exception this time and might make it a feature in the future.

Fly dressers guild lol tie fishing flies open to everyone bud .👍👍

In most dirty pond puddles I would say no on gin clear waters then possibly

Do you really wanna waste money throwing your bait on top of some one else’s stuff ?? best sticking to zigs or chucking singles around me thinks.

Following. On from the other thread imagine if you will 3 acre swim with 32 swims angler1 has been baiting say 3 swims angler 2 has been baiting 3 angler 3 turns up and does the walk and finds fish crashing about in a swim so sets up and fishes the area angler 2 turns up and says I’ve been baiting that swim for a month what does angler 3 do ?? does he leave or does he stay ? let’s just say he decides to leave and goes and finds a fish elsewhere so resets up and starts fishing angler 1 comes up and says I’ve got something going in this swim mate what would he do then ?? When does etiquette stop and mickey taking start?

Agree. Pre-baiting is a thing of the past on many waters nowadays. Certainly on busier ones.

if an angler who only fishes once or twice a month as that’s all his time allows turns up at a lake and proceeds to do what the “stars” say and finds the fish how is he doing anything wrong he doesn’t know anyone has baited that area. if you have baited an area and the fish are on it that’s not really his fault. unless he’s in with the clique which most of these type of anglers are not he will never know on a club water it’s “lottery fishing” trying to get anything going you have to pray no one is in there when you come back.

What is the fly anglers guild that sounds pretty exclusive?

Hello, I was wondering does coloured mainline have any effect on catching carp ?

So far my plans have gone totally the wrong way, trying to complete a side job through March - April with fishing in May at the forefront of my mind, it's turned out I should have fished then and put the job off till May - June with the hot-still weather and now new members and other lake members on top it feels like a bit of a disaster at such an early stage. Really think the bulk of my syndi fishing has to be Sept - April, hardcore through early spring when it's nice and quiet. This place is busy May until whenever the weed gets up lol

We have a problem in that 1 member was the membership 'secretary' for two syndicates, and one of them has a April to June close season. The secretary would 'recommend' members to this syndicate from the other so they would be members of both, but only fish here during the others close season. That then creates @elmoputney 's problem and freshly cut, prepared or baited swims are suddenly taken by people who only fish the lake for 3 months without doing any work themselves. I was gutted this year to cut and dig out a new swim, keeping it in keeping with the rest of the lake, prebaited it, gotten fish feeding and then finding someone else fishing it and catching one of the fish I was after. His publicised 'campaign' for a bait company was actually fish for 2nights where someone else had been baiting and dive in when they had gone, not as it was published. It's not the first time it has happened to me or another couple of mates on the lake. It's these other syndicate members who don't do any work themselves who wind me up.

I feel the same about winter tickets. You get something going the normal anglers are fading a bit then they all turn up and start taking over like they own the place.

I always keep mine with the alarms, banksticks and buzz bars. I haven't forgotten it yet. It's not an issue really