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I already have all mine and my brothers families asking to be present 😂

Where’s my invite?!

I was thinking about this yesterday and while I've never cracked off, I did lose a spomb on a pre-baiting trip a few years ago over at the a reservoir I was fishing. I was putting in 10k of bits at 100 odd yards and hit it just as a flock of geese came flying over. It went straight through the flock and got tangled on one of the geese. Bye bye spomb. I remember it was quite a violent event! I was fully wrapped up in advance for pre-baiting so had to borrow distance sticks and a spomb from a pal that was fishing just to finish the job 🙈

So I have a day in the diary next month to measure, weigh and photograph all my koi to track their growth over the next year and beyond. I'll take the opportunity to post some pics of the good'ns on here. Water temps up to ~13.5C now so I'm slowly upping the feeding. A couple of them are looking mahoosive. 'Whopper', the big white one, is clearly pregnant so I have some spawning brushes on the way. I dread to think what spawning will look with 16 males smashing her to bits in a pond 🙈

I use Fabsil Universal cleaner on my bivvy and waterproof smock. Just reproof afterwards with Fabsil

Quick update on the big brolly, for the price its bloomin ace, goes up in a minute and plenty large enough for me and Mrs H to shelter under and mad bargain price

Just leave it set up somewhere to air it but keep it up. i did that with a pair of nylon waders that stunk to high heaven. Then Try Nikwax cleaner or some other cleaner And go over it a couple of times then air again losing the waterproof properties wouldn’t bother me per se as you can add that back on after.

AI Overview To clean a mouldy bivvy, pitch it on a sunny day and remove loose spores with a soft brush. Spray the affected areas with a mixture of one part white vinegar to ten parts water (or a specialized Canvas Magic mold cleaner), let it sit for 20 minutes, then gently scrub and rinse thoroughly, allowing it to dry completely. Never use detergents as they damage waterproofing; re-proof the fabric after cleaning. Facebook +4 Sounds like your best chance but it could be beyond repair.

I have a Trakker brolly system that's been stored in a shed for the past couple of years unused. I think it's got damp in storage at some point and now has an acrid smell to it with white patches all over it that I think is some kind of mould. I've tried washing it off with plain water and airing it for a few days and whilst it's a lot better, the marks and smell are still there. What's the best way to clean the whole lot and get rid of the smell?

A few new purchases for the new year.... NGT XPR Brolly System - I got my old Trakker brolly out to check it over and it was covered in mould. I've been trying to clean it, but can't seem to get rid of the acrid smell. 3 x Daiwa 22 Whisker 45 SCW QD OT reels - It's time to replace my old Shimano 5000 baitrunners that I've had for 18+ years. They are great reels, but I need something to pair better with my current rods and I felt they were starting to affect my casting distance, so some big pit style reels were called for. I've only had them out for a few test casts on a local pond and I'm definitely feel like I'm getting further. OMC 3 Rod Wide Elbowz in stainless. I've got the standard width version but they were a little bit narrow for my baitrunner reels and they won't sell just the longer cross bar to convert it, so had to go for a new full set. I'll probably sell the old set now....

Exactly what I use mate.

I love fishing at around 100metres. Despite what they think, few anglers still go beyond that. When I loaded my reel with braid I purposely only put 150metres on. Mine was an ebay special as well, AngryFish 0.36mm 4PE braid. 8PE is more supple, but does not have the same abrasion resistance as 4PE. Either way, braid does not have the resistance of mono.

Golf gloves are brilliant for casting if you know anyone that has old ones (depending on which way you cast/they play golf) but generally can get cheap gloves for a tenner and they’ll last you years.

I put on the JOF last time I went fishing, once it settled down it was OK but it did crack off once, I got 26 wraps straight through though, but tried to get my rod that far hooked the bivvy and sliced my finger when it didn't start flying 😂 (yes I didn't use my special glove, health and safety have been notified ) Put 2 rods on the 18 wrap spot after that much more civilised 🧐🧐

Not a lot lately for me, but i did get another 2 kilo of NFusion 12mm dairy nut boilies, cheap but i get on well with these and very similar to my 15mm corus Nut cluster, also i scooped a Michigan 88" brolly with side panels to use as a wind break when me and Mrs H go for a day session, dropped a cheeky bid on it before going fishing sunday as it was ending soon winning bid £12.50, this is new end of line, will see what its like next time on the bank

Nah. It was some cheapo stuff re-branded by a small UK tackle shop. I'll have a look later.

Latest purchase this week was obviously the Trent Baits Shrimp, but a quick trip to Markham's tackle shop also found some original and possibly still the best, John Roberts run rings or ledger rings, Kodex PVA bags and a new Gardner Stringer needle to replace the one I broke my catching the tip in my chair. I was feeling it for Gary at the time, poor guy had 3 Eastern Europeans in who he had to keep an eye on the whole time. 'Want this, want that, and no idea'. I also need to replace my Bulin T4 which will hopefully just make it through 2 more nights, but the burner grill is rusting through after years of service on the bank and beach. The replacement is another already ordered.

Spectra ?

I just got some cheapo stuff on ebay. It must have been on the spod reel 9 or 10 years now. I remember I was so impressed I bought another spool so have one ready to go when the time comes. I should probably dig the spool out so I can link it on here. Can't remember what it is but it's been brilliant.

@yonny I did try braid straight through and did crack-off, I think it was Berkeley Gorilla line, so ever since then I have used a leader. I did also skin my finger badly with a miscast. While I would love to say 'it's safe', the amount of marker floats, spods and Spombs attached to the broken braid knot convince me otherwise. I have also retrieved a whole length of braid, around 40metres attached to a Spomb, that I presume cracked off at the line clip.

I use 40 or 50 straight through (can't actually remember, it's been on the reel that long). I don't think I could crack it off if I tried to. You'd be fine with the 50 mate.

I think that it may be an idea to go through my marker float and spod set-up again. For years I used a specific spod rod, and a specific marker rod, however plenty of bankside features have meant that I can now use one rod and spod rod for both. My standard marker rod set-up is 50lb 0.36mm braided line, with a 30lb Amnesia leader, a run ring and an Amnesia lead link of around 150mm, or 6inches, and the leader going to a ball bearing swivel and a Breakaway spinlink clip to take the float. Don't forget a buffer bead or couple of large beads. I vary the float size on distance needed to cast, visibility etc, so I would use the ESP Mini Marker for close in with a 2.5 or 3oz lead, going to a big (both found) Korda or MCF float for longer distance with a 4 or even 5oz lead. If I switch to Spombing or spodding then I attach that to the end of the line spinlink clip, and clip the lead link clip through the spod swivel and the other spin link. The leader gives enough elasticity not to crack off the spod, and at 4turns on the reel and casting drop does not reduce the sensitivity of the marker float set-up. The lead link I think also allows the float to come up most of the time, it is down to feel whether you can put a bait in it. I have found numerous spods and marker floats, and every single one was attached straight through to braid, so the mono leader, I think is important, unless you go to silly braid strength, like 80lb!

Nice result. The seals on stoves can be a pain. A mate had exactly the same issue last week in his back garden, I think it was also a Webtex, but his involved a flame-out and having to dowse everything with water as it actually caught fire. I'm glad you found it before it became dangerous!

Had a good half day down at Brookfoot lakes Aireys pond today 2 Bream then 3 carp 2 were commons around the 10lb and the nice mirror was a tad over 12lb, i took brew making gear for me and mrs to have a decent brew and my trusty ancient Webtex stove was leaking gas big time stripped it when we got home and now ordered a set of seals so it will give me another 15 years lol

I used to add molasses to my Vitalin, (now Vitacarp from Gladwells) which is a large quantity of flaked maize. Condensed milk is one of my favourite liquids in my particles and breadcrumb, it clouds up the water and does a good job at confusing swans on introduction in the Spomb.