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Just had this one at 24lb 4oz 👍

26lb 8oz at first light this morning 👌

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.

Never any pressure, just go to enjoy, if you catch you catch, if not so what - you've had a nice time with good people and learnt something. If blanking mattered I'd never choose the venues I do. Catching is for noddies 😂

The last cast @ Bury Hill (Temple Lake). I'm supposed to be out of here in 5 minutes, but I think as today is the last days fishing here no one will mind. I never caught here, but it's one of the nicest and safest fisheries I've ever come across.

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 ❤️

Another night, oposite end - seen a dorsal waving around close in my water, then it lazily shuffled out 3 times. Whilst packing up it came past again to say goodbye or haha you blanked you nod. Freezing cold overnight. Good frost and ice in the edge.

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.

Start or you'll never find those spots 🤣

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 😏

The boys swim

Back for a night or two 👌

I probably wouldn't bother, I have a deeper pro+ and I hardly use it. I find it annoying tbh it connects for a bit and then disconnects itself, I then had to get a WiFi extender to make it work over 50yds and I just found it a complete faff. I prefer my eyes and a lead these days.

Exactly this. I often find the younger ones just have more drive and freetime on their hands so they fish harder and better than I do,good on them, most of the time they are respectful and will have a chat and pass the time of day,and when they catch I am always the first to congratulate them because they've earned it.

I don't suppose you have a copy of Carp Fishing By JR Hartley do you? 😂😂

Also depends on how hard you hit the clip with stretch in mono you can end up feet off the spot. I had a similar thing with using 4oz leads on a session and caught a few fish and only had 3oz leads left. Could I find the spot again, could I heck.

Feeling a bit defeated this morning, no fish and got absolutely done by bird life yesterday, had swans, coots and ducks smashing my spot, they kept picking up my rigs and dropping them off the spot, pulling pop offs etc. Probably redone each rod about 10 times yesterday I couldn't keep one in the water 🤣 Packed up this morning and drove round to the other lake, just having a look now, the spot I normally fish is free, i could jump in there but I really cba 🤣🤣🤣

Nah.... if anything, your hooking potential is amplified on the zigs imo. Your hook length/link is already tight to the lead i.e. there is no slack to take up. If/when Mr Carp takes the hookbait, it's immediately under tension unless he dives down which is extremely unlikely given what we know from the numerous underwater vids in circulation. Ergo, the likelihood is a hooked carp. Zigs can give odd bites - sometimes screamers, sometime massive drop-backs, and sometimes those odd bouncing tips that you describe (which tbf you can visualise if you imagine Mr Carp flapping when he realises he's now attached to a lead system 6 ft below him), but I can almost guarantee you that changing to a 6 magnet roller will do absolutely nothing in terms of telling you if a carp is attached. They are either hooked or they are not.... I certainly wouldn't go hitting single bleeps without a visual indication that you've hooked one. I would certainly change this before I changed the roller on the alarms buddy.

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 🤣

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.

Just brought 2kg of Robin red direct from Haiths, 100 10mm cork balls, some belachan flavour and maple flavour time to start knocking up the pop ups and bait for the next few months 👍🏻

I didn't realise B B stood for Bjorn Borg, I knew you liked to make a racket, but now you've got his jacket 😂

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.

I've tackled up my fave rods for this one. A set of X-Lite's I had built by Nick Buss back in the day and rebuilt last year by Roger Hurst. Only used them once since the re-build. Lovely rods and perfect for small waters such as the one we're on. They actually caught my current PB back in 2017..... which you were there for! I'm hoping you bring me luck once again😉

The Aviator Plus 12.6 have accepted the challenge 😂

Traps set for another night 🤞 Might have to try a zig soon, they seem to be up on the surface cruising around at first light 🤔

I don't they work with well with modern phones let alone one of these 😂

We have a fence on Bromeswell, including the stock ponds and a branch fell across it one night. Within 24hours we found a carp that had evaded the nets in the stock pond dead on the bank with the tell tale gut damage. The otter had worked its way up the feeder stream to the River Deben. We removed it by the simple measure of letting Sky off lead into the stock pond enclosure and opening the gate. She chased it out and off. It was actually the only place I would let her off lead on the fishery anyway when I was there so she could get a run around. I've seen a few 'run over' on the roads in my area. I'm not sure all were actual traffic hits.

I agree. I've been carp fishing for more than 30 years now (which probs sounds like nothing compared to some on here). Yes, of course it's changed in that time. The biggest change I've seen is the disconnect between young and old. Back in the day, it was the love of carp fishing (which included all the blanks, rubbish bivvies/bedchairs etc) that bought everyone together - a common love/obsession of this fantastic sport we all live for. You'd have youngsters, old boys, cops, criminals, brickies, students, lawyers and god knows what else on the bank - all getting on like a house on fire because we shared this bizarre infatuation with a fish. That togetherness is still there for those that seek it and most of the youngsters I meet on "proper" carp lakes are as driven by this love of fishing as anyone was back in the day. I see very few with a "catch at any costs" attitude tbh - they're just keen as mustard, as we all are or have been at some point. In fact, the guys I see ruining this comradery are generally the old boys, rejecting the youth (as is unfortunately so common for any generation), because they talk funny and push boundaries in their pursuit of carp. Tolerance is a virtue. Younger generations owe nothing to older generations. They are a product of a society that WE have all influenced in some way. They cannot choose when they were born. Next time you're out, have a chat with that spotty teenager who's up and down trees and moving swims 3 times a day before settling down to smoke a joint in the evening. Once you get past that ridiculous way they talk (😂) you might find he's an ok guy.

It was £10 a day when I fished it lol

If it works, I'll have to nick a bit of that😉

Got my bait prepped for the social next week. Big fish crumb mix 😱😬😍

You can use an alternative centrepin cast with a fixed spool reel pull line of the eyes and hold in one hand swing rod out let line go good for under trees

Not telling 😂

I think I will have to try if I go any shorter mate, I've sort of found the sweet spot for it now, if not on the first cast I'm getting it on the second attempt 👌 No carp on this trip, did a 6lb tench this morning that ripped off like a carp 🤣 I'm off there now until Sunday, so baited the spot with half a bucket of particle which will hopefully keep it clean lol. Got so much to learn on this complex, I'm currently on a lake of 4 acres with 150 carp and only fished one swim so far lol. The next lake I wanna get on is just under 9 with about 150 - 180 carp they reckon. But it has more weedbeds, lilies and snags lol.

Sat 22nd Feb - First night on the syndi, nothing seen or heard except the thousands of birds roosting - what a place, love it, fingers crossed for a good year! 🤞

2 on the zigs and one in the stink. Currently probing 4ft and 6ft after 7ft and 8ft proved fruitless. Depth is about 10ft, come on the carps.