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Plus you can feel ,the regrowth as well.. Your so right ,the scale of denial is unreal ....there is a reason for that as well...

Yep the regrowth is always a different colour, you can see the original curved bite mark there, we've looked at 1000s of fish pics - sometimes you point it out and the denial is unreal, makes you laugh! 🤷‍♂️

Thanks for that - would 10lb line and size8/10 hook be ok

@kevtaylor that's a great skill your mate has,knowing about scar tissue and regeneration ..I have that skill ,hence I can tell whether a venue has been predated or not This is a pic of my little club lake ,manager insists this was caused by angler ,they need to wake up and fast ,especially when the feeder streams go into spate I started to write a book on it ..essentially the truth about rewilding and its impact on fisheries,nature and the mental health upon the owners etc

So it was the Nikon's fault was it ? , not the creaky old bloke holding the camera who was not able to pan quick enough ? . 😁

There's a guy on youtube recent Yonny ,over in France called fenesmere fishery or similar ,he's been posting about the issue.. ( when my uncle/aunt owned Sky lakes in France, they had the issue then as well,and that was a while ago I think the predation has always been there,only its been under the radar ..

Been watching the vids from Fenesmere (something like that), guy has had them on his proper lake and more so the stock ponds last 2 winters so I gather. My mate also spots tail damage from otters like his specialist skill, he points out damage or where it's grown back on many catch pics. Pretty sure Samir pointed out the urgency of catching certain fish in Spain due to otters too very recently.

Found ,from my notes approx 6 dead fish all in a significant area ,known as 'kill platform' No history of otters ever being present in the past ,despite the land being farmed ,managed for generations

Small lake ,not the nicest sight to be greeted with ...only this sight is common

Interesting. I knew that the otter decline in France had slowed, but wasn't aware it was becoming a problem for fisheries?

Seeing it more and more in France now too

It was a Bird of Prey Photography workshop ran by professional Photographer Daniel Bridge and a Bird of Prey business... cracking day out... tons of static shots as well as some flight shots. Turns out my 17 year old Nikon's not up to fast moving Kestrels Harris Hawks and Owls and I'm well out of practice...🤣 Atticus didn't fly as he was too hot

He is striking . Was this a special event ? .

At Hanningfield reservoir today... took this of a lovely Great Grey Owl (had to use the phone camera for this shot) His name is Atticus...

Fished late afternoon for 4hrs, had so many dogfish stoped counting after 10 no over species could get a look in 🙄

Put the word bass after it and it’s almost as expensive as the word carp lol in the 00’s the word barbel was more expensive lol

Sorry to hear it hasn’t arrived yet If the box had a carpy name it would cost a £10 er more in the shop 🙄 talking of costing more, Nx to the carp gear is the sea gear in my local and I was comparing prices of size 8 swivels and packets of beads and as you guessed the sea prices was half of the price of the carp gear and you got more, that carp tax is shameful 😡

Like Kev was rightly saying you have to check the fence regularly, I mean I'm down there virtually everyday ,those fences especially the ones with electric, or in my case a big solar panel, plus battery ,if the geese hit the wires,causing it to short one dark night its game over..or the local hunt get a whiff of ol foxy 🦊, they damage it as well It's a constant battle ,I have to be honest ,I've nearly packed it in because of predation ,especially as my mate did . But why should I, angling is what I do ...!! I lived with it over 30 yrs plus I'm, sadly used to it ,so many venues ruined .. We fight on ..also ,venues live or die by the attitude of the owner,or anglers, live in denial, bye bye venue... Famous local saying No fence ,no fish, no future ..

I will say my local lake is well fenced, we do have to keep an eye for Badgers digging under and we did have a disgruntled member cut the fence close to the river, but all is good now and we have CCTV and trail cams monitoring the complex

We went to Ashmire Fishery Cambs last year, place was fenced, main gate looked very low on arrival like 2.6 - 3ft max - I started in peg one by the gate, 2nd night my dog went out to something that scuttled past the back of my bivvy and vanished. Hour later we've got an otter swimming around chasing the swans all night - poor things were so stressed. Before leaving 2 of us went to see the owner, I told him the gate was too low and that was the entry route but he wouldn't have it, it must be a badger hole in the out of bounds he says, very little we can do about badgers. Guy had his head in the sand - crazy man will lose them all over time, was nowhere near bothered enough. My last syndicate was fenced but the initial/emergency fence was chicken wire, over time the wire weakened in the wet areas and a small hole was forced and one got in. Killed my target fish (two tone), nothing was said and I wasted 5 years chasing a ghost! Owner there is well on it, fencing is all improved and has additional electric wires yet he reliably informs that they (otters) still check for weaknesses every night (trail cam) - it never stops - any storm damage and they will be straight back in!

Best ,non fence I've seen is only half the lake being fenced ,and it's electrified ,honestly you couldn't make it up.. Apparently the 'expert' in attendance said it'd keep the pred out...I shook my head ,muttering things like move on,move on,to myself ,shaking my head in disbelief.. They lost a lot of lovely fish

Just get. Bit of tape cover over the Sea and write carpdra, nobody would notice mate 👍 My temu one hasn't arrived yet

Had to get a cool box for sea fishing £25 could use it for carping 🤔…just don’t tell Kev 🫢

Hi Mantion, Thanks for nice reply 👍 Have to say I am not a 'split cane and centre pin' angler, tbh not my cup of tea, however do use a pin and float rod for crucian fishing. Sadly I suspect most new carp anglers now are followers on social media, in my day only media was Carp Talk once a week and Carpworld every month, then Big Carp mag joined in. Obviously times move on, still remember when carp anglers were actually a minority on most waters I fished! How is this going to effect mouth damage? As I say, 3.5lb TC rods, big pit reels on small lakes I am afraid will never change now, when you hear about some youngster saying his first fish was a 20, so sad they never got chance to start out with respect for fish by catching small stuff and learning how to play fish on light tackle and have the experience of it. Anyway, tight lines to all

Just got back from a 24 with my dad, we had a wicked session 👌 he had a 21 and two doubles 👍I did 25lb 8oz, 21lb 4oz and a mid double 👍 I think they are getting ready to spawn, they were all really plump and as we were leaving there were a few crashing around the back of one of the islands so that's gonna probably be it for a couple weeks now. Maybe have a dabble at some sea fishing 👍