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Had this belter this morning 👍 27lb 14oz, first carp from a new complex👍

only a couple of little ones, but first one each of the new year

Embarrassed confession time buddy… it was on mute… 🫣

Had this 5lb 4oz Chub back in November from the Nene, lure caught on the ned rig 👍 Pretty sure i could get a 6+ here with a bit of luck 🤞

Pb tench for me at 6lb 6oz 👌

Some Reuben Heatons that go up to 120lb, and a weigh bar handle Off with some chaps monster hunting soon 🎣😉

New bait done well, multiple tench and my first carp from the complex at 27lb 14oz 👍

When I was on dinton one particular angler wanted to name every fish it seemed and some of the names were ludicrous. An example of some of the names, Rudd mouthed linear, two sides (all Carp have 2 sides🙄), the bay fish (because he caught it from the car park bay), heart tail (haven't they nearly all got tails that are heart shaped in some way). Then he would add extra names to already named fish. On dinton if you caught a new 40lber you got to name it. A mate of mine caught one but he wasn't fussed about naming it but it ended up being named after his nickname which was sid. Sid was then called sid the pig by this other angler as it put on 1lb by its next capture, it's a carp for god sake. He wasn't the first angler to add extra names to already named fish mind. A fish called The long linear became Bernies linear, astra became astra max, not that I called them that, I stuck to their original names. I think half of it is to name a carp for the sake of it as that angler wants to be known for naming a carp 🙄. There's never going to be another Mary, Black mirror, shoulders, Heather, bazil etc , just stick to mirror, common and leather. Though now I do sea fishing I get to name a fair few of my fish , they are either called lunch or dinner .

To be fair, my water fishes so damn slowly through the winter that it could have been muted for months and I wouldn’t have noticed 🙄

Been a long 24hrs. Both my daughter-in-laws in hospital giving birth. 1 granddaughter not long born. Praying they're not both born on same day. They live 200 miles apart but still managed to go into labour on same day

not about vintage tackle. However...for those of us who started 40+ years ago will remember this famous shot when it was published in KM's Book, reading Pete's story & seeing that photo made me MEGA KEEN! Sir Pete Springate's Yeoveney Brace caught in October 1978 - 38lb 8oz and 36lb 8oz

Well... considering that Richard Walker's 44lber from Redmire kicked off the carping craze in the UK, I think its only fair we take note of the fact that he landed a 44lb Common on a 10 foot cane rod of approx 1.5lbs Test Curve... and not a spod rod Us vintage lads have seen everything in the carp world more or less, and we're still pulling 20's out on our bits o' cane...😉😛😎👍 That said, Walker was an innovator and I'm sure he would have embraced the modern methods had he been alive today

All set 🤙

Ive got at least 10 buckets but my mate must have nearer to 30. When we went Italy because I wasnt smoking I struggled to sleep and had weird dreams every night with at least 2 of which centered around a massive wall of buckets in someones swim it was like bait wars, woke up stressed out 🤣🤦‍♂️ The mans got 100 buckets, we're screwed! 🤣

8075g of bait 👍 got 7633 in boilie, 442 in paste 👍 Gone for 18mm dumbells 👍 even though it rolled well, I'm wondering if I added a little too much basemix, next time I'm thinking I might add like 100 - 200g less and let it rest a bit longer 👍

Tel uses hand rolled cork ball pop ups (he rolls them himsel). You can buy hand rolled pop ups.... they cost a fortune. I use different hookbaits for different applications. Some are expensive (e.g. cork ball pop ups). Some cost pennies (tigers). Use what you have confidence in.

It's no good being daft if you don't show it. 😄 Ian.

Personal gripe of mine that seems to be getting popular is venues allowing the angler to name the fish. Absolutely would not happen if it were my water, they pick the worst names, zero imagination, 'Suzie' - my wifes name', 'Brian' - my favourite neighbour- it's a joke, what happened to the creative names from the past that reference something about the actual fish. I'd maybe let them suggest a name - then reject if it's poor, give them one more go and that's it - maybe ban the plonker 🤣 I was looking at a picture of a cracking mid 30 German fish that was obviously the son of a famous mirror in Bluebell (almost identical), and it was given a terrible name that meant nothing whatsoever 'Kev's Mirror' or something equally poor, done my head in. Rant over - do better lol

Like f"……….. I just turned over and put my deaf up up and went back to sleep. didn’t have to be in London until 10 lol wake me up scraping the windscreen at 7 o clock how very dare she..

Went to essex carp show today, I was pretty restrained tbh 5kg pineapple spice pellets. 6 pots of tails up cornz Thinking anglers Oz Holness special zig bundle PB hit n run lead clips, (these are a bit special I think) A kilo of trigga Ice solubles for @dalej2014 And my daughter got a Navitas cap.

So this morning, I went down to christen my new Fox Horizon X3s rods at the local pond, first cast with the new toy and… not what you want with a new rod!! quick call to Poingdestres to explain the situation, and after taking my name and order details, tell me they will call me back as soon as possible. 10mins later and true to their word, they call me to let me know that having found my order number and details, a new tip section is already being packed and posted and should be with me mid week. for after sales service, I can’t fault them, excellent service! as for the rods, I own 10 fox rods (well 9 and a 1/2 right now!) 3 fox warriors, 4 fox torque and these 3(ish) horizons, so I reckon I was just unlucky with a dodgy blank this time round

No mud that’s a result in its self. Great pic and best of luck…just don’t trip 😉

Where it is in the lake 👍

overall opinion seems to be i just dont need the 6ft so for once i will heed the good advice and give it a miss, the 9ft rods will do just fine

6footers are like using a tea spoon for eating your breakfast. they serve a purpose but it’s hard work..

Not knowing anything about this lake I would apply simple winter fishing logic. The sun has the biggest effect on fish so with it rising in the East and warming the West bank shallows first I'd be sure to look there or expect them to turn up there as it warms up through the day. They should follow the sun possibly ending up in the North/East corner - that shallow bay by late afternoon. Wind also plays a part so they could feel warmer on the back of a cold wind OR just follow it for food, can never really say on that one so have to check both end of the pond for signs. They could sit in the deepest hole or completely the opposite, you cannot predict 100% so eyes on the water as much as possible and be prepared to move should you see them.

It's not even cold really is it, not even frosts most mornings - deffo a chance of a fish or two. I have caught what was a lake record at the time during a very cold January night probably -5 it was a surprise for sure, came at about midnight not long after smashing the rods out on singles. I have an old friend who only really carp fishes May - Oct but that's not enough for me. If your comfortable get out there I say, enjoy the quieter banks, any sightings now could lead you to a bumper spring and you could catch a whopper looking prime right now. 👍

I've managed to scale it back to point where I can move without issue, I've gone from 5 rods to 3, dropped the pod for bank sticks, camera bag, two bait buckets, hold all and cooler bag to just the holdall, cooler bag and 1 bucket, ditched the chair, just gone back to sitting on the bed lol. I got to the lake earlier and there was someone in the swim I wanted so setup somewhere else, they ended pulling off so quickly packed down and moved lol 👍all fits on one load and feels much lighter lol.

The other problem with taking too much gear is the length of time it takes to move if the fish show at the other end of the lake then you just can’t be bothered to move. theres a fine line between not taking enough and enough to cover everything. i also carried a bucket of spare bits in the van for that very reason. Mini weed rake, spomb, bank saw, gravel eater, even the gardener multi rake silly bits that could stuff you up if you didn’t have them

I’m gonna pop it in there tonight and see how we get on. I’ve had lots of water ingress issues with delks in the past so it probably has something to do with it

It's got to that point again where its starting to take me two barrow trips to get all my gear to the swim, to many "just in case" items that never get used 🤣 I've managed to thin my gear out a bit hopefully only one trip next time lol. Also took a laptop with me for the last 10 sessions or so to watch films on but haven't once took it out the holdall 🤷‍♂️🤣 Back to the bare essentials for me 👌

Have used it and will continue to do so. Very meaty and pungent. I dose my boilies with it and then the following day add garlic powder, caught a few this way. Have previously used their ocean+ which is a mix of hydros and I like that. Used a few others, mainly the fishy/savoury ones and all great quality. Buy with confidence.

Perfect idea, we are obviously key members of the board. 2 strikes and you're out 🤣

The best baits are nearly always the ones that are a nightmare to roll and generally have a bit more going on attraction wise, baits that go through machines normally have had to take a hit somewhere on ingredients to get them to roll nicely

Just spent £3.63 on on a band xpander off ebay. I think it will be useful. I spent a bit of time looking at the different zig bits and just liked the look of the thinking anglers ones, and being served by Oz was a treat, he picked me the best ones 👍

The bills in the post 😂

I really need to get my eyes retested Every time I open this page I see it as "New section for village people" 😳😳😳😳

Thinking of the classic carp from years past ravioli/Clarissa heather mary marys mate Bazil Jack and some others measles toadless arthur

You wouldn't tell anyone that part if you caught it hey - I've just had Nuggies, they'd think you just got over a condition lol

No I mean these guys 😂

Phwoooar it's a thing of beauty 😍

After a few hand me down kitchen blenders and most of them burning out, I took the plunge and got a dedicated manual version! Just the job, a nice combination of part baits and fine crumb that should the carp grubbing around for quite a while.

If I didn't need too I wouldn't spomb, catapult wins everytime. My rule of thumb for should I recast or not is just trust my gut, if I feel I should have had a bite or have doubts I rechuck it, I've had many quick bites from a recast to the same spot for it to worry me these days. You need to feel confident and if you think your rig isn't working for whatever reason best to check. I don't have confidence in plastic baits, which goes back to confidence. I would go where I think they were and fish for liners. Also somewhere I could see a lot of water so I can look for signs. Just enjoy it and don't worry if you don't catch, it's the blanks that make the captures more worthwhile.

Yeah mate tbf I'm on the one that is further out, the others are cut off with snags etc so each one has its own area to fish 👍 I'll get some pictures when I leave mate there's snags everywhere to the right of me 🤣

I don't possess a carp rod over 9'6" can honestly say I don't miss the length of the 12 footers, my shortest (8') is great for getting into little nooks and crannies and winkling the odd fish out... I love the portability, and the easy handling of the short rods... to be fair though, I've borrowed a pair of 6' 3lb Scopes paired with my shimmy Aero 400X runners and hated them... too short, too stiff not nice at all... my Dwarf 9 foot 2.75lbers are a nice playing rod, but sit idle these days... My Sharpe 8 footer see's more use, with a pin they're superb for margin work

I have a greys 7ft stalker rod it's pretty decent tbh my daughter uses it mainly though, if you want a cheap, cheap one the ngt profiler ones are about as good as any of the cheaper ones, I had some but sold them, I find short rods feel a bit weird tbh.

Managed to get setup just before the rain 🤙 I'm on a new water so just waiting for it to get light so I can try and find a bar thats out there. The wind should be pushing into this bay later so hopefully I've made the right decision going into this swim 🤣

Just to throw a spanner into the works I'd start in 5, 6, 10 or 11. Basically the central area, all on zigs, with at least one fished into the deeper hole with a zig at 5 or 6 ft. I'd set the alarm for midnight then stay up for a couple of hours which is your best chance of spotting them this time of year imo.

Another nice mirror for January 21lbs Could've had a few more if the misses would've swapped swims. They were showing on her swim all day