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I've still got my biomaster xta 8000 reels, my dad bought them for me nearly 20 years ago as my first set of big pits, even though the bail arms have dropped slightly, they are still mechanically sound 👍 I retired them last year but got them back out recently for catfish and they're still going strong 💪

I've bought 2 shimano reels since my return to fishing and I've not been happy with either of them. Like you say the quality has dropped. I wouldn't buy another one tbh. I'm okuma all the way now tbh, great reels for the money the 8k is a great big pit reel, smooth, great line lay the drag is perfect and they handle anything I throw at them. They are the epitome of Elmo Proof. I was looking at the new versions of the big bomber spod reel last night the 8000 has a 128cm retrieve, if and when the rooblinos let's me down I will probably upgrade to one of these, then I can clean up the aerlex put the dodgy S clip back in and someone will still pay me loads for it, because it's shimano 😂

Yeast has been in plenty of baits; a very successful all fruit boilie, with added icing sugar, the original Nutrabaits Enervite, and Mainline got it very right with a number of baits. They also found or used the effective enzymes in pineapple to improve digestion of protein.

XTRB are fine, I didn’t like DL at range not enough feel too much flex in reel body but I have all DL for light fishing at close range I prefer DL 4000 for big fish on small venues They are damn robust I tested one to destruction and it was very strong, it’s the flex body which makes them feel not robust while they are in fact more than I think Baitrunners are still number one for a good reason, super reliable, line is hard to get under spool (unlike some copycat fairly expensive ones I had which I won’t name but I expected better) at £100.. it was bad, constant and extremely annoying As I say I just fish light with small weights up to 40 yards out on small lakes I don’t do big pit blasting

Your boilies sound too soft and inappropriate you need some specific hard hookbaits mate Hookbaits are purpose designed, Sticky Baits ones are good and come in generous big pots they are useful if in any doubt Coated braid will produce a thick knot but you can still use it but you need a big hard hook bait, and drill the hook bait as well which helps stop baits fracturing, a small selection of drills are cheap, just get small name branded ones rigging baits is faffy, takes time, you can experiment with different loop sizes use a ruler to measure out the loop and a gate latch needle to help tie them

I have really used and abused my Aerlex's, for fishing, spodding and marker float work. I know that the gearing is lower, reel handle turns compared to bail arm rotation, but I actually feel that may be better in terms of the work they do. I think I got them around 2005, so to be still going with minimal care is some going, just the occasional drop of oil. They get covered in groundbait, occasionally soaked and still do Big Boy work. Not bad for an £89 reel. I preferred them over the £105 Biomaster I think it was then, although it might have been I didn't want to spend the extra £20 each on 5 reels... I've said since that Shimano quality has dropped, reels were built to last, now they are built to be upgraded or fail... I'm still using my 7000 Beastmaster XTA's for fishing, and still getting positive comments from other people on the syndicate. The DL10000's I have just don't feel as robust. Give me the original Seaspin Baitrunners, or the 4000/6010 Aero GTE Baitrunners and I would be happy with them on lighter rods.

I think pet food is full of yeast mate.. it’s used cleverly for years by bait companies and was apparently a high percentage of a big name base mix of the noughties.. I think I know which one it was I ‘caught’ a massive bloodworm on my hook point at a very old silty sand pit, bailiff told me they can bite!? 😅

Ps,update ,now had some nice cyprinus in this now ,its very ,very good ..just make sure you peg it if windy it's very light but good light !

A original version two ,Solar Sod pod ,the exterior leg version so I can fish two plus one on mega slate quarries ,( can't get banksticks in,, ever )... Bit of autosol, elbow grease ,proper job ...totally against my minimalist principles, but ....needs must ... Should be good ..

You mad fool ,Roughtor . 🙄

Well done Jules 👍 Forgot to say I put a fine dap of clear nail polish over the repair 👍

B B many thanks for the great "Tip" i decided to have a go and it worked, if wychwood do send a new top section i will keep the repaired section as spare

I'm not sure that they 'smell' bloodworm until the released aminos are at the 'right' level. There may not be enough bloodworm in the silt to trigger feeding. If you have watched carp patrolling and feeding they visit the food spots, but might not stop, yet a couple of days later they will gorge on that spot, quite frequently as the larvae turn or hatch. I've turned over bloodworm in the margins, finding a few, yet they are ignored, maybe not enough to stimulate feeding. Many small particles work on 'saturation'. Throw in say 6 grains of prepared hemp, and the carp will ignore them. Make it a pint and they are attracted to feed. A couple of grains of corn, nothing, make it a bucket of corn and they will eat it. There are exceptions, sometimes on visibility, sweetcorn or maize. When it comes to hydrolysate, there is a very big ingredient that I have found improved attraction with almost every liquid, and I keep referring to it, it is the only complete amino acid profile that is not meat based, liquid yeast.

I nearly always use a hydro these days, I started thinking about viscosity earlier and soaking with a 2 step approach you could try soaking in a thinned liquid first and then just glazing with a thicker hydro to coat the surface of the bait. But you could also just add it when mixing and I'm sure it will work 😂

I dunno I think you might underrate the power of them in a bait, others talking about eggs sealing up flavours etc, carp can smell a bloodworm under the silt Im sure they can get a hint of a good hydro leaking out of a ball of boiled cake lol

That’s a bit of bad luck Easy fix if they don’t, grip the broken piece with grips heat below the eye then slide the eye away. Try it for size if it fits bit of super glue job done if it don’t a light sanding to it till it fits then glue. Iv done the same fix to a quiver tip and a sea rod 👍

40 butt thru 12mm tip

I see you didn’t get much response carp rods vary a lot I prefer six or seven guides on 12ft Im not sure about spacings I just do rebuilds so I can get the spine where I want it, and I much prefer butt guide at 40mm for smaller reels did the blank not come with spacing info?

Check out temu, I just picked up this bad boy for £22.96 I've been waiting for the right deal on this for ages and they knocked off £11 for me. And it's got lid ice packs.

Not the pic i wanted to post went fishing today and managed to snap the tip on one of my Wychwood 9ft rods, it was in the velcro rod retainer on front of shelter and i went to rebait, hook caught my fleece as i turned and snapped tip, clutch on reel was set really light, i am now sort of out of action as i have emailed wychwood to see if they can provide a new tip section

Pasta

My old Wizard carp magnet mate reckons semolina with eggs is good, just that nothing else, both high quality proper grass fed eggs and pure organic semolina.. so you’re basically giving them past which is as we all know completely delicious he uses it as tough hookbaits over mixed beans and seeds such as cooked spelt, he hates boilies in gen and thinks they’re too rich, he has a point, to a point, he caught on strawberries and stuff and is a proper Walrus character who can literally charm carp into his waiting arms

First batch I put in 20g Oyster sauce and 20g Calanus, it rolls and binds beautifully.. four posh eggs, (blitzed fine, twice, in Ninja F.P) organic dog biscuits, 22% organic semolina to dry ings.. I’m a hippy I rate organic but what do you think of the Oyster sauce mate it is not a strong liquid but contains msg and msg enhancing guanylate stuff

Years ago I think Jim Gibbinson did the experiment of soaking plain unflavoured boilies in a coloured bait soak. It only coloured a millimetre skin around the boilies. The middle was total untouched. It may go further in on a longer soak, but that 1mm would possibly have used up all the liquid he soaked them in. Anytime you use eggs you are binding the bait, creating a 'curtain' that substances can't get through easily. Strangely enough I have been reading up on this in Rod Hutchinson's Carp: Now and Then. The bait chapters are very interesting on this and from his writings, it seems that the eggs are the main problem. If you could remove the eggs from the mix maybe the soak would go further in faster. Nutrabaits did The Fishfood Mix, which rolled without eggs. Boilies have been made without eggs, using other liquid ingredients, but those boilies tend not to have a long shelf life unfrozen.