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couple of low double Christmas commons

Just scraping in the December report with a cheeky little 8lb mirror carp, caught it on a 12mm pink Mulbz pop up from club lake

Literally ,right in,amonst those dying reeds,i had placed my bait..you can see the line cutting down from the peg on the bankstick it was good knowing your freebie and rig were spot on

72hr blank 👍🤣

Winter sun found ❤️

Merry Christmas to to all of you guys. Hope you all have a great day and year. All the best Elmo

Well the end of the year has gone well. The koi are doing great and still feeding most days due to the elevated temps. The nets/covers are now off since the leaves are gone. The water clarity is insane.... you can see every little detail on the deck in 2m. The temporary floating skimmer has worked a treat. I picked up a pond vacuum a month ago and gave the bottom a good clean at the weekend which means there's no detritus for any nasties to hide in ready for the spring. It's a real shame I can't post vids on here as I have some great footage of the koi milling about. So now I need to plan for spring which apparently is the most tricky and dangerous time of year. Parasites wake up before the koi so it's essential I do everything I can to keep their immune systems working as well as possible. If you lose your water parameters early on, you're chasing your tail all year, so I have to be bang on it to stay a step ahead of any issues with algae, weed, DO, and ammonia, nitrite, pH etc. Really enjoyed the last few months and looking forward to my first full year with the pond. Looking to feed heavily next year to get some good growth, while maintaining the water quality. I'll keep this thread updated from time to time for anyone that's interested.

Across the field from our cottage are a couple of small pools ..its where I go in the colder months ,or should I say rain ,..I thought I'd try the washing line method as they seem to spook off the lines very easily...any way this fish was one of two I fluked out ..

out for a few hours to bag a December carp. Fishing locked up to the reed line

I've trained him to do it behind your bivvy, then we'll get you banned and stick rods in your vacant plot! Edgy! 👍

Right I've had it with this Kev's corner business - back off, I have a dog and not afraid to set him loose! So you better have some snacks or be pestered to death! 🤬

Soon to be know as Yonny's poaching corner..... 😉

Handy for not Kev's corner. 😂

I've gone a little bit nuts again but completed the production line 😂 Thanks to @greekskii for the tip off though. I am made up tonight. I now have all I need to start really making some boilies.

Not sure if this is the right section to add this but.... Many over a certain age will remember the original series, it's now on YouTube with a new series and they have their own channel. I have watched the first two episodes and have to say I really enjoyed it, so refreshing to not hear some bloke banging on about big carp captures, which in my opinion has been done to death. I am no way associated with the channel, but if you want a break from the usual stuff, maybe give it a try?

Did 4 nights on Bluebell's Kingy from Sunday 30th Nov, only 4 others on so got in the swim I wanted. First night 4am as the weather front came in I got a take on the middle rod and landed a nice linear. Same approach as last trip with pellet hookbaits and PVA funnel web bags. No more action for the remainder but cannot complain in Dec and nothing else came out. Hopefully back after x-mas for another go.

New pb from the syndicate will do😂 but looking forward to next year, onwards and upwards good luck next year. See you for the big one.

Thanks @elmoputney This years been one to forget. New year, new start! New PB on our social🤞 Best wishes to all

Althoigh it's not really cold at the moment, and to continue doing my winter sessions in some sort of comfort I always use base layering .. Anyway I thought to upgrade and have bought Zerofit 'heatrub' made in Japan....all I can say is get some !!!!

If you want to look like a complete plonker, go ahead and buy one!

Plenty of similar hookbaits out there apparently, without the constant rants that guy gets away with on one of the many forums available out there 😂

I will invent a poopult to deliver it back 😂 Either that or the lake owner wouldn't see it because I would have already trodden in it.

If its not Kev's corner, it will be Jacks poo patch 😂

Seriously though these are a great design, so simple 👌

Just fitted my new rod locks ready for spring - hopefully no more flying rods 😆

It's for washed out baits only.

Hope everyone is enjoying the Christmas period 👍

Funny you should say that, on my local park lake it was 3 grains of corn held up by a single piece of fake corn over Vitalin that produced the vast majority of the carp caught. It is a very silty lake and most people tended to fish boilies which sunk into the gunk. The Vitalin and sweetcorn sat on top. I had some very successful sessions, and watched many others fail to catch. Boilies did work, but only in specific places where the bottom is slightly harder. I think there were or are some specials that really work, but I think many have changed as flavours have been regulated. The Solar Squid and Octopus, original Scopex (not later copies), Monster Crab, Green Zing, or Pineapple really did have something about them, there are still others now that work, but is is finding them. Add to that, fishing over bait whether groundbait, particles or beds of boilies may make our 'non smelly' baits effective, or even the single bait that the carp think 'here's one I missed earlier'.

My mrs always moans that she’s cold I bought some of the uniquelo ultrawarm base layers for her as they are rated to about -25 doesn’t moan about cold when she’s wearing them

I've got 2 , and as you say they're very warm , although they don't seem to breath much and you can get a bit of a sweat on if you're not careful 😁 .

The Fortis Tundra salopettes are the best clothing item I've bought recently, waterproof and very warm indeed. I bought the matching coat but in hindsight I'g go for their marine jacket instead as I cannot see me using the Tundra coat as I'm already warm enough in the salopettes. Already got lightweight waterproof trousers and jacket but would look at the Fortis Marine stuff if I didn't 👍 Whilst the Catchdry coat may be good, for me personally it's too long and bulky - cant see that being suitable for days roving the river or carp stalking, but were all different. Fortis looked at the serious competition (Geoff Anderson) and made stuff that probably almost matches but at a much lower pricepoint, serious clothing for serious anglers I'd say so you get what you pay for, but the pricepoint of Fortis is much lower than Grundens and Geoff Anderson. Serious carp clothing was long overdue so well done Fortis I say.

Whilst I should play it down - last 3 trips were successful to a degree and all fish taken on Halibut Pellet wafters that barely smell of anything and very dull. Proves the point really, who are the special specials attractive to? US!

Sorry it has taken so long, but after we have managed to get server sorted there is now a section for videos: https://forum.carp.com/forum/51-fishing-videos/

Is Kev's corner! 🤪

I've somehow managed to lose 3 butt rests and banksticks from my pike gear so just had the joy of purchasing 3 more of each. As an edit, I just realised exactly where I lost them; I was fishing at Beccles on the quay, where there is no way of pushing sticks into the tarmac path, so I put them underneath the bench I was sitting on, and at the end of the day forgot to put them back into the unhooking mat as I folded it up.

I’ve got a cross cast handle on it at the moment, it just needed an extra washer to get it to work. It will do for now, might have to speak to Weston developments and get some hold up handles for them all…

I have watched some of this, and pretty much enjoyed it, like others i used to watch all the matt Hayes stuff on discovery channel

In the early days of streaming music, we used to snag blues bands travelling between dates on the west coast and Chicago or New York or Toronto, and they'd play our club on a Monday or Tuesday or Wednesday night, maybe to only a dozen people, then the next day they'd go to the song writing centre at Buffalo Pound Provincial Park and record a few sides for the internet, then get on a plane next morning and head to their next show. These guys left their CD. It's a love song.

Yeah I do think the one's I bought would have caught fish and maybe more than usual when they were fresh with active ingredients. I just tend to fish match the hatch more often that not and nothing more important than where you put it anyway.

Looks decent 👍

I knew I had it somewhere..

Hi Everyone I see Skeetex do their own version of a Catchdry , or should I just stick to a suit comprising of salopettes and a jacket ? . Your opinions please , ta . 😃

Thanks very much for your detailed reply , Kev. 😃

It's the mount. RF for mirrorless R mount, and EF for cameras with a mirror. If you got the 250D you need the EF one. For 200 yards I'd say 300mm is the bare minimum you need mate. 400+ would be better but you might want to consider 2nd hand to afford that. There is a 2nd hand EF 100-400mm L on the Wex website. Pricey, but a lot of lens for the money. Professional level. USED Canon EF 100-400mm f4.5-5.6 L IS USM Lens | Wex Photo Video

Hi mate, Looking at getting a longer lens for nature shots - are there any rules on this? Cheers

I bought some special cured special special pop-ups cost 20 quid a pot, bought 2 types - both are in the garage along with many other pots of retired baits. I now just go for Northern Specials for anything coloured or the matching brown baits for my freebies. The special specials may have worked but I didn't like the look when they arrived - felt like a mug for paying it tbh

Kingy 1st Point - December

Managed to get a night in on Thursday last week. The weather was truly horrible and by the time I'd dragged all my gear to the swim and got the rods sorted everything was soaked through. A very uncomfortable night indeed. I was rewarded for that horrible night by an absolutely gorgeous Friday morning... cold, but a a lovely bright sunny day. By 8AM I'd actually spotted some fizzing so was happy to spend a few hours scaring the carp off trying to find a spot in the area. Alas, it wasn't to be, so with the forecast telling me I'd be getting wet again I headed for home having originally planned to do 2 nights. Mrs looked worried about me having never seen me come home early in nearly 20 years of being together 🤣 Tbf as I listened to that rain on Friday night I knew I'd made the right decision. Must be getting soft in my old age.

This is a book that smashed the Carp fishing book mould! It documents his life addicted to carp fishing and the jobs he has done to fund it and the failed relationships that have accompanied it. Spug seems to be like a bull in a china shop and a larger than life character who creates chaos around him. Spug's best mate died tragically at an early age and his attitude after that was to live every day as though it was his last. Every session involves copious amounts of wine and a BBQ and lots of fun. His time on Conningbrook was interesting as it seems that the place was frequented by Kent's branch of Alcoholics Anonymous who had a fishing problem! That said, night bites were incredibly rare. It is probably the most honest book you will read. Every failure in his life is documented from "trouser accidents" to 5 knuckle shuffles in the bivvy. The rigs section takes up a whole 2 sentences which is refreshing. I found it an interesting and enjoyable read, the emphasis being on having fun and enjoying your fishing.

I think snail based boilies are a complete waste of time (in terms of trying to compete with natural snail consumption)... but if I was going to use a boiled bait with snail content I'd be using this: https://essentialbaits.co.uk/products/black-snail