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Ha,no 8 is lightweight I don't just polish my stainless ,I take two sod pods ...think I'm.joking pic to follow To be fair though ,those gravel banks are rock hard ... Thats my excuse..! 2+1 solar porn

Note to self, don't use a bait boat on a weedy canal 🤣 man what a nightmare, so last night we thought we should send the baits/particle out with the boat. 3 rods went out sweet, dropped the 4th, turned the boat right when I should of went left and it into that scummy weed that sits on top the water. Wrapped around the propellers and stopped the boat in its tracks. We had no way of getting the boat back so had to do 4 mile trip to get to the other side, safe to say the travel was the easiest part, I then had to go through about 5ft of nettles in the dark to get to the waters edge and still couldn't reach the boat, so I tried with my net handle, which had nothing on the end so I couldn't even hook it out 🤦‍♂️🤣 in the end I just slid down the bank hanging onto brambles and managed to grab it with my other hand and launch in back up into the hedge 🤣 I got stung all up my hip, back and arm and hands lol and to make it even worse, the whole time I was over there trying to get it out all I could hear is my mate roaring like a child 🤣🤣

There you go that was the thread.

Sounds like a productive trip! You’ve got a solid haul of tackle there, and it’s good to hear you’re actually using everything rather than just impulse buying. Looking forward to seeing your DIY Deeper WiFi booster thread — always nice to see practical builds and how they perform in real setups.

I get most of my kit second hand, never had any issues 👌 got my hide about 3 4 years ago second hand and it's still going strong 🤣

The other one (white with light orange - a Kohaku??) aint as big as it looks in the photo, maybe 20 lb at a push. Still, a great fish. It's a Doitsu which for those who don't know means leather/lightly scaled mirror. They sound like bangers mate, especially the zip karashigoi... looking forward to seeing them.

Thats a proper unit, though so is the one in the picture with it if the grassie is a metre long roughly. It's surprising how big they can grow in a pond. My two koi i currently have are both knocking 50cm to 60cm. One is a Sanke and the other a perfect zip linear karashigoi, I'll try and get pics but my water clarity isn't to good as I've just not had the time this year to keep on top of it.

Popped out to get a photo last night. It's the one fish in the pond that's not a koi. It's an albino grass carp. Despite its mental golden colour, this one was always going to be tricky to get a shot of as it tends not to come up for food, preferring to mooch around about a meter under the surface like a massive orange submarine. It has to be nearly a meter long but v tricky to put a weight on. It's certainly the longest fish in the pond but not the biggest. Maybe 26-27 lb? This is the fish that's had all our visitors giving it "oooooh" and "aaaaah" which is silly because there's 2 or 3 that are a fair bit bigger, but the length just blows people way. I just call it The Big Grassie. Again, apologies for the poor pic quality.

Funny, I was looking at these online yesterday! Glad to hear they work!

I put a pergola over mine and then brought a uv rated sun shade/sail. Does the job, I've hardly had any silk weed since doing this a few summers ago.

Whopper told me wants ice creams and pina coladas to stay cool not a lily pad.

I've got a universal mozzi mesh that fits on most brolly /bivvies cost me about 10 quid I think. It was a jrc one I think, thermocell backpacker and an open front is more effective though I think. Rarely get bit with the backpacker.

A LOT of very good kit sells second hand I'm told, I wouldn't exclude that route for some bulky items, some guys don't even use it then sell half price it's a bit mad really!

I would always go for a system whether brolley or bivvy style, the front always has mozzy mesh for summer nights and full front cover for wet and cold trips. I dont want the trip ruined because my shelter is limited I guess - and obviously you can remove it completely if you want it open.

Destructive creatures aint they?!! I think I'll just take the lily out. I'll want to give them some shade come spring/summer, I'll figure out how in due course.

Most definitely I am guilty of number 3 and number 8. I took out loads of pop-ups and the ones left appear to have reproduced in a Heinz 57 babies... As for the rod pod, I must admit to owning a Solar P1 but it has been abused a bit

Most venues do have a no tent rule tbh, If you are mainly only going out in the summer just get a brolly, I have a sonik axs shelter that I mainly use,I did get a front for it, but rarely use it, these can sometimes be found for a decent price and it's a great shelter. Again beds don't have to cost the earth, if you look about there are some decent bargains to be found. But to me it's an essential bit of kit. If you can wait til carp show season, there were some good deals at the Essex one also keep an eye on certain online shops, they do some good deals from time to time.

When i had the 6 carp in my pond I put a lily in the pond. Next morning the water was like a cup of tea. The carp had literally smashed the clay to bits that the lily was planted in. Even despite the pot being covered in pond grit and then larger pebbles. They just smash all plants to bits given the chance.

I'd planned to introduce another kipper today but was busy as owt last night and didn't get the chance for photos. I did manage a quick filter clean on dark and grabbed a shot of how the pond's looking now. You'll notice I've removed most of the plants, basically taking it back to a blank canvas to help me visualise what I want to do with it. The water still isn't quite as clear as I'd like, probably due to the fact the UV filter hadn't been changed in ages. This was done last week so hoping to see an improvement for the weekend. Although I don't want to, I may have to remove the water lily too. The carp are smashing it to bits as it dies back for winter which really isn't helping the clarity. Not sure which would keep the carp happier tbh... keep the lily at the expense of water quality or get rid at the expense of the carps favourite 'toy'!

After a bit of googling yes it seems most fisheries wont allow tents, good job i have not bought one yet, so looks like a bivvy or just forget the idea glad jh92 pointed this out at this stage i can get a wrap skin for my westlake day shelter or get an NGT XPR brolly system

I'm guilty of: 7, 12, 15, as for 19, I have quite a nice dslr camera that lives in my rucksack but never set it up to take shots, always use my phone instead 🤣

If I remember correctly, isn't there a rule for most fisheries that a tent can't be used? It has to be something that doesn't have a fixed groundsheet? Something to do with insurances I believe? Or is it just to stop people turning up with blue tents etc? Lol I've given up trying to beat the carp tax, end up buying something [censored]e then buying something decent afterwards anyway 🤣

I would like to know people’s opinions on rod license cards is it something people still want ?? as I myself would love one but I don’t know if it’s a good idea to start a side hustle making them

Suit yourself. I still think you will end up needing a bivvy and bedchair. We've all been there trying to beat the old "carp tax" lol , then realising actually we need certain things because they are built for that purpose and work better.

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