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Just had this one at 24lb 4oz 👍

26lb 8oz at first light this morning 👌

Just had an e-mail from a mate who has booked some trips on a new carp mecca water: We are pleased to announce that Britain's first indoor Carp arena will open in the autumn and we are taking bookings now.The venue is known as Mary’s Pool and the fish were stocked last week and are being fed with high protein boilies and pellets. The facilities will include a fully licenced cafe that offers deliveries and every swim has a cabin with an en-suite toilet and shower, kettle, microwave, air fryer, fridge, toaster and small oven with hobs. Other benefits include rear of swim parking with free EV charging points The 5 acre lake is inside a converted warehouse that has been insulated with thick layers of high efficiency rigid foam and is near Farkham Hall. The high-tech venue circulates the water using a bank of 150 metre ground source heat pumps incorporating oxygen saturation technology and will be kept at an optimum 24 Celsius, which will promote rapid growth of the fish. There will be 100,000 LED lights in the roof that are programmed to give 12 hours of day and night and are graduated to simulate dawn and dusk. There are also 200 wall mounted heated industrial wall fans that are strategically positioned to create an on-shore breeze and the strength of the fans are on a cyclic 360 degree power system so that it will encourage the fish to permanently move and so all swims should contain fish on a regular basis. The roof contains over 2,000 ten metre solar panels and the venue will be carbon neutral. “I’m incredibly excited about this new venture” enthused the owner, Rupert Chudley-Smith. “Thirty specially chosen fish with high growth potential are already in their new environment. They are all triploid fish as the eggs were subjected to heat and pressure shock on fertilisation and as such, they will not have the annual stress of spawning and associated weight loss. There are 10 forties and the rest are high 30’s and have a potential growth rate over 8lb a year and we are looking at UK 80’s within 5 years.” I know it won’t be cheap but after spending £400 on a winter ticket only using it 3 times and blanking every trip due to the weather, I’m sorely tempted.

50 belachan pop ups and 50 maple pop ups rolled onto 10mm cork balls. the belachan is evil smelling… the wife wouldn’t let me air dry them in the house!

And finally I get to join in a catch report. I've been trying to come to terms with zig fishing for the last few sessions, probably a bit late to the party but finally it's paid off, saw a showing fish at range and pinged one at it last ditch attempt, but as the lead hit the water a few seemed to be disturbed, so I chucked another one at them too, finally after a night of fishing like a bit of a noddy, I was in, i had tried fishing on the deck, spodding over zigs, and all I needed to do was put one in the right place, it was too close to hometime to really do much about it but finally I can catch em on zigs. strange fight on the zig as the lead didn't discharge, I was petrified lol but luckily my mates son came along at the right time to help me net it and photo it. But I've done it I've caught one on a zig,and a nice one too buzzing

Just ordered this for Jack, hopefully keep him comfortable at night when it's freezing cold in the bivvy.

Having just got back from a blank night on the park lake, the boy and I were unloading the car when a neighbour came up and asked me if I was interested in rehoming some “old” reels and bits that she was about to chuck in the bin. I said I’d have a look, after all, I could clean them up and find a home for them (or bin them myself!) so she soon returned with 3 diawa windcasts z5000 reels, spare spools still in their boxes! One has a bent handle, but they are otherwise pristine! she also gave me half a dozen fox single sticks and a pair of what appear to be fox micron M shaped (they’re copies) alarms! She wouldn’t accept a penny for them either. the alarms will be checked that they work and I’ll gift them on to a youngster in need of a first set, the single sticks have been snaffled by the boy and the reels already have a home on my spare carp rods… just need to repair the 3rd. anyone know much about the windcasts? They seem lovely reels from what I can see.

Agree. The proper ones are the nuts. Half the price of tackle brands, ten times as tough, and carpy as Terry Hearns nut sack.

I've got the kits because I have to with the club rules, do I use it NO, I might treat a bad hook hold coz I know the damage is fresh but as for treating existing wounds I don't really believe in it TBH you could easily be making it worse, trapping harmful bacteria in - we're not vets IMO Tin hat on - bring it 😂

The area I cleaned out and created and started prebaiting 2 weeks ago and now fishable.

Been working away decorating a barn conversion, staying on the job for six days then home for the Sunday. I had a modern static caravan for digs it had all the mod cons but no tv which after 3 days I didn’t miss the Gogglebox at all, I had a radio and kindle. 👍 Just my own company and the wildlife which there was a lot of, the barn was set in 6 acres and two of them was wooded. Took me a couple of days to get used to the hustle and bustle of being back in the city, never realised how noisy and dirty it was. 🤔

Just sent my Torrix TE's to be re-built by the Tackle Box, not decided which handles to go with yet but think they'll come back looking stunning when finished ❤️

Very quiet on the fish front but the weather is lovely, really does feel like spring, all the birds are chirping. Good to be out 👌

Easily done, I must take 12 big leads and a few small ones and backleads with me, then there's at least 20 more in the car. I wont admit how many I've got at home - can barely move the box lol

the boys rods out, his first night done and dusted, he missed a drop back at 6am, no other action

enjoying a brew on the park lake watching the water. Alas a blank, but was a lovely dawn

Finally took the plunge and ordered a Trakker Tempest RS 150 bivvy and the skull cap to go with it. I've got an older trakker with the pram hood style and it's such a faff to get it up and down. I have preferred to use a brolly system for years but it was a bit cramped and it did suffer from condensation if I had to have it zipped up.

Moved 4 times today, first spot on the 9 acre lake got done by the birds so moved further down, so I've set up found a clear spot, some guy has set up opposite me so had to move as I was fishing into his water. The 3rd swim I got to didn't last long as I was getting the rods out and started moving my kit I started to find ticks on my rod sleeves and quiver? No idea where they came from but it spun me out so moved down to the 4 acre lake, I'm quite happy with the spot I'm in as it's the one I've been recently fishing. There's a lot of fizzing going on over the spot I baited previously and there's a few fish showing in this bay so I've stuck 3 singles out over the spot, if it doesn't produce tonight I'll put some more bait out but for now I just want to keep the disturbance to a minimum lol. What a day, feels good to have a beer 🤣

I ended up sending a message and they insisted on full refund so all good

Hi I'm 54 and got 2 sons and 5 grandkids . 1 son loves fishing and so does 3 grandkids. Got my 1st rod at 13 and fished local lake, learned by getting books out of the library and got help from a brilliant bailiff on the lake which cost 10p a day lol. Caught my first carp a few years later and that was it wanted bigger. Had to take about 10 yrs out when the kids came along and work took over. But got back into it about 5 years ago when the kids all left home. And loving it, Looking forward to learning and maybe ask a few questions thanks for reading

Lovely fresh spring morning. Nothing else to report, so far.....

Good luck all attending

Jack was soon back in the bivvy Sunday morning, heavy frost and ice in the edge, who can blame him.

I'm starting to like my non essential car bag idea tbh, i could leave my net, unhooking mat, scales, camera,rods & reels pretty much everything I don't need to not catch fish, might as well just park up and sleep in my bivvy, game changer 😂

Nah, you're doing it all wrong fella. The correct way is to clear it all out in spring, then slowly add it all back in, plus more, over the course of the year 😅 Yeah it's tricky to justify hauling stainless around nowadays with such decent ali, carbon and titanium stuff available. The obvious answer is your mrs buys you some new stuff 😅

I use propolis occasionally. Bit like Kev though, just let them heal themselves unless it’s really bad. I also have some korda stuff (very old though) in the side pocket of the mat. as said. Best course of action if you want to/have to use something is any of the anti septic stuff followed by propolis on the body. But tbh there’s every realistic chance that the fishes goes and rubs the propolis off once released anyway! Or thrashes on the mat or sling and knocks it off beforehand. if a fish is obvs suffering from some infection from a wound it’s best to give it a salt bath and quarantine it, any treatment an angler puts on won’t be of much use!

Thanks very much for all your answers , and I must change my fish care procedures . I started to read Yonny's 1st. post , and I thought " he's going to mention sealing nasties in " - oh poo I've been using MCP's Propolis . So reading all the replies I'll go back to my Gardner Intensive Care which is a few years old . I've also got some Kryston Klinik which is even older . Also I'll stick to treating just wounds where the flesh is broken and there is bleeding . 😃

For me IF the water quality is bang on they'll need no help healing. I was keeping an eye on a mates house when he went away on hols, during the week his biggest koi managed to trap itself between layers of the surface netting which I didn't see obvs. By the time he returned it was in a very bad way, fins and tail gone and skin red raw. He released it and it sank down not doing much at all. After a few days it was completely covered in white mould and he thought should I kill it for kindness, well he didn't and after a week or so the white slime vanished and the fish looked great with new fins growing and everything. It's still going now, maybe 10 years later. No treatments were given but the water quality was obviously very good.

Me too. Yes and no. The use of propolis originates in koi keeping. It creates a barrier on the wound to lock out any nasties. This is fine when a koi is living in a posh pond with clean, filtered water with controlled salinity. Not so fine for a carp lake - you risk locking nasties IN to any wound. Best bet is to use a proper antibacterial/antifungal treatment (like the Gardner stuff), and then use propolis afterwards👍

Hi mate I use Gardner intensive care for hookholds, it's just a spray, just be mindful it sorta dyes your fingers blue 👍🤣 I use prolopis for damage/wounds, it creates like a scab over the wound. I think prolopis if sealed properly has a shelf life of around 10 years 👍

You can get various devices. I got some pest plug in things from Amazon for this winter. I still left the poison traps out but only had one dead. Previous years it has been 6+! I do back on to fields though so have a steady population nearby. the plug in pest thing seems to have worked for all manner of creepy crawlies and mice. Worth a look

Ha ha, the kids call it a victory flag I believe 😎😱😅

There has been an increased quantity of spam recently so for new members I have often been putting post moderation on. This is not because I don't want you posting, but sadly because I don't like having to deal with 30 posts advertising or linking to unsafe sites. Please feel free to introduce yourself in the New to Carp.com section https://forum.carp.com/forum/40-new-to-carpcom-new-to-carp-fishing/ and as soon as we can we'll approve the post so you can get a good welcome. To those members who have been reporting spam posts, many thanks, it really helps and to the other moderators, thank you for your help with this.

Waiting on 3 purchases woohoo! Aqua Black front barrow bag - replacing my old Carp Porter front food bag, not totally sure on this one coz not a food bag as such, but should do the job. 🤞 Power barrow wheel bag, existing is too small. Cotswold Wader bag - ready for Fortis Waders, out end of March apparently - like the look of this bag - like a bucket with lid so you can set waders up ready and keep in the bag/bucket with lid on to keep them dry and ready next to the rods, no more faffing about when the rain starts or forgetting and having wet waders 😎

Bought the 8ft fox baiting pole and also some fox spomb shock leader for my spod rod.

Finally got a power barrow after over a years wait between BCUK and eventually Carp Porter. First impression it's the nuts (CarpPorter Fat Boy Mk2), looking forward to putting it through its' paces from next weekend onwards 👍

No sadly not, just looking back to better times 😏

30 years ago I got the feeling that me and my mate were being watched/stalked by a big cat, but we didn't actually see it. Round the back of the big ski lake at Grenville we found about 4-5 fresh swan kills, together in a corner. Walking past and up the far bank we could hear something following us within the bushes, snapping the odd twig. We fished a few hours and I just got feeling it was level with us and still watching. Fair to say I was nervous but no proof just a feeling. No idea if there have been any sightings in Northants tbh

I was fishing last weekend when a mother and her son he must have been 12 ish turned up to fish the nx swim the wind had got up and they were struggling to hold onto the bivvy and put the pegs in, the ground was solid I popped over and between the 3 of us got it pegged down I mentioned bringing a mallet nx time, the granddad turned up late afternoon and brought them a pizza and gave me one as a thank you The gesture made up for a iffy trip 👍

British Army NI Patrol Pack. These are getting tricky to find in good condition. Most of the surplus stores now show as sold-out. I used my old one for 15 years+ until the foam padding in the straps and back plate became brittle and it became uncomfortable to wear. I managed to find a dealer on e-bay so messaged him and he went through his stash and found an absolute corker..... almost looks new which is mad since they've not made the DPM one for almost 20 years. That's me sorted until 2040 now 😁

It's the Propolis thing for me, obviously good, but not if your sealing in bad germs. Like you say antiseptic first then seal but it does seem a bit risky to me. There's also the treatments getting on the gills themselves, this is shocking and needs to be avoided at all costs the risks are obvious.

Same stuff as the Gardner with a different label as I understand it. Decent.

I made it, but I also added pop powder wafter I made it

Hand of god arrived, just fired some imaginary baits in the garden they went miles tbh. I definately don't think I'll regret getting the 8ft, you can feel the flex pushing the fictional baits further.

Yeah mate they don't seem to be as bad on this lake, I've had a few coots pick up the odd boilie but ain't being done by them yet. I've just had a tench about 3 - 4lb so atleast there's something grubbing around there, hopefully the carp ain't far behind 👍

Not gonna catch them at home lol, done a lap of the lake and haven't seen anything so jumped in the swim I know the layout of, I'm fishing into an open spot of 6ft -7ft of water, a little bit of silt with weed surrounding it👍 I'm getting a nice donk with the leads so baits should be presented nicely 👍

Got a light for my camera from amazon, £5 👍 it comes with a battery and charger and also has the option to use AA batteries instead 👍 It seems really bright but will test it tonight when it's dark, maybe the dog is up for some night shots in the garden 🤷‍♂️🤣

Well the sun is shining, and it is a beautiful venue. The birds and crays are proving a challenge, and so far the fish aren't munching either. It's still great to be here, hanging out on a social and 🎣😁. The pizza was good once the driver found us. Even better cold for breakfast (and lunch). Now if the carp would start munching that would top it off nicely.