Leaderboard

Back on the res for a 48 hour, on the second night now and off the mark with this one 👍 Hovering just over 25lb 👍

I'm still fishing until Friday. Went quiet today, but had this one at 24lb, 5 rod lengths out this evening, they do like the Monster Crab.

Rod Hutchinson Monster Crab pop-up working again. Proper wake-up call this morning, an absolute screamer from around 40metres out and a clear spot in the weed, so I can fish my preferred running leads, 27lb 8oz

Gonna have to do this one in stages, but went for a 2 night trip with the kids and the dog, arrived at lunchtime after the usual struggle and then some, but luckily got in a lovely swim with plenty of space for our bivvies I had previous in this swim having fished it last time, although there were people fishing far side so I opted to come shorter, this was a good decision. And had 2 rods on it today. And one on my banker spot. Nothing happened the first night but I had done some good big baiting and had left some line free moments (mainly because I had forgotten cutlery and plates) got back from dog walking and shopping (dog friendly garden centre) and wanged in another 8 spods on each spot, and was quite surprised when it ripped off an hour Later in the afternoon, really scrapped hard this one due to its mega paddle. 22 1/2lb Tbc......

As many will have noticed I havnt been fishing in several months now and probably not more than 4 times in the last 18 months , but this Bank holiday I made the effort , and was truly rewarded. Started with a 33lb Mirror then a 14lb Mirror, followed by a 33lb Common then to finish off the Bank holiday a 44lb Common

I'm honestly blown away! I lost a fish after the 26, where the fish ran over the middle rod, when I recast I didn't check the line and got smashed. I recast it while Michael Hawes was down chatting and just after he left I had the dark 21lb mirror, on a different pop-up, a pink Nutty Bait. I hadn't even sorted that out and had another take, this was 29lb, back on the Monster Crab.

Off the mark with this14lb 12oz common 👍

I had one last weekend, 23lb, first time out with the new rods, and it was the rod with the new reel, (I have disproved the myth about blanking because of new tackle)

21lb common 👍 Done 9 nights in the last 2 weeks, had an amazing time and met some great people 🤙 lost 4 more carp and had a few more bream on the bank 🤣 Went thru 25kg of boilie and 10kg of tigers 🤣 I'm all out of bait now, need to order some more basemix ingredients and get rolling again 👍

25lb common

Whilst that one was awaiting processing in the retainer, I had another bite, this one off the rod I moved and the only one not on a match the hatch wafter. (MTH Pop up 😊) lovely fish, look at that tail 21lb 1/2lb Somewhere in all this lot I managed to lose 3 to hook pulls and one with a boulder of weed that acted as a pivot. And finally at just before lunch I had another run from the banker spot came in like a dog on a lead until it saw the net, then it took forever having seen it for quite a while I thought it was one of the bigguns. Turns out it was 27lb 12oz. but again what a creature all ancient looking and a real solid beast of a fish. I did lose one while this was in the retainer. But I'm not complaining. 5 fish in a session is mega and getting to share it with your kids and having a real good time too was awesome, I usually fish alone and while I love it, it is nice to share the special moments along the way. Also lucky to have a photographer as I had forgotten my camera 😁

Then I had to wait till 10:30pm for the next action, after some more spods and prepping as well as I could I felt confident, we had an all day breakfast for tea, I heard what could only be described as a pair of idiots walking around the far bank shouting stuff, luckily the girls were asleep, and then just as they were close enough on the far bank my alarm went into a one toner and I was battling with a demon fish and getting heckled at the same time, they run off after never to be heard again. But after thinking it was a catfish for a long time I finally got it in after an issue with my left hand rod, it had done a 50yd run and back before I gained any control, I only got control when it got weeded up but I had to bite the other rod line and reconnect it to get it in the net. Anyway it was a cool one, 27 1/2lb and i had to wake up my daughter for the pics. She loved seeing it though. Then all was quiet after a late night sorting and redoing and a couple of doubts I topped up with the rest of my spod mix and redid my banker rod and moved one back alongside the shorter rod as it was a nice clean channel. I had made the girls breakfast and just served my own sausage and egg sangers, one bite and the middle rod went into meltdown. My daughter netted it about the 3rd time of asking, 27 1/2lb again. Tbc....

Had a whale of a time down at Wraysbury on a social with @greekskiilast week. Between us we had 40 odd bites over 3 days. Conditions were PERFECT. Here's a couple of my faves:

13lb 12oz fully scalled 🤙

20lb 4oz mirror

The new bait doing justice 🤙 26lb 8oz common 18lb 12oz mirror

A somewhat different view from the bivvy for me been to a 4 day music festival just got back yesterday and I’m off for a 3 day fishing trip tomorrow somewhere in Somerset. 🤔 Had a great time with family and friends and drank very sensibly what with them charging £6 a pint 😳 so i took 3 hip flasks filled with dark Rum each afternoon and evening

17lb 38lb

Loving life right now, another fish at 26lb 10oz, you've guessed, Rod Hutchinson Monster Crab pop-up in a PVA bag of Monster Crab pellets only over a bed of hemp.

I've just had the best fight of my life, fish was kiting down the res from 100 yards out, it was a long slow plod towards me until about 40 yards, started going again, got it back to about 20 yards and it just went off, the rod went in half with it just charging off, it kept doing this for about 15 20 minutes, every time I gained some it just took off again, I didn't want to tighten the clutch anymore at risk of losing it and the rod was already going in half 🤣. I eventually got it into the net and straight away knew it was a chunk 🤣 33lb on the nose!!! Guys i am absolutely buzzing, my adrenaline is going and my hands are still shaking 👍🤣 I do have some photos on the dslr too, they came out acceptable to me but still can't get the focus correct. But it don't matter tbh I'm happy with my phone photos and can look back on them 👍👍👍👍 fish has destroyed me 🤣🤣🤣 In the middle of the fight my second rod went off, then the third at the same time. Once the fish was in the sling I lifted into the second rod and connected to a fish, starting getting it back but it Bumped off, so drops that rod and lifts into the 3rd rod and landed a little common about 10lb All rods are out the water and I feel done in🤣 might have a chill tonight then get rods back out early with a fresh lot of bait 👍

That's almost a new set up mrmud. I've got 10k cell 10k isopro sweet. Hydrotuff in 20lb (had this on since 2020, with no issues at all, just need to reload the spools), tungsten putty and a replacement fox silk swinger. Got 6-7 nights on the res this weekend. Full moon next week (I'm hoping that might give me an advantage??) Happy hunting.

Couple of shots from my recent 5 night blank on Swan Lake, Bluebell. A case of so near yet so far, the fish were smashing naturals in a tennis court sized area, moved to get the traps closer but chose a bad spot (felt feint gravel but the rods came back with a little silk weed on each) at ranges I shouldn't have been fishing so couldn't check the rods once in place - bad move in hindsight, thought I was being clever. 🤦‍♂️

Back on the res for a few nights 🤙

Good angling mate and what a stunning fish 👍 I've done one more at 14lb, I couldn't be bothered with a self take but had this one this morning just as it was getting light

Just had this beaut at 28lb 4oz 👍

Just got set up. Result with the weather. Just hoping I might bag one🤞

It's going off this morning, 3 fish on the bank already, two low doubles and this 24lb 8oz common 🤙 I've just took a screen shot of it cos the file is 10mb 👍

Over the moon lads 💪 gonna do another 24hr today, there's rain forecast and the bivvy is still wet, they give a sunny day tomorrow so makes sense to pack up then 🤣 dropped down to two rods, got 5kg of bait left so it's all good 👍

Got myself a few bits n bobs to keep me occupied since I've quit smoking. 2 weeks now. Got a set of sonik herox 12ft 3.25tc rods with matching 10000 reels and the spod rod n reel. New carplife rod bag to keep it all tucked away nicely. Also got some dot spods and a air spod, distance sticks, prologic finger stall, glow in the dark butt grips. Syncro xt 18lb, more bits like tungsten tubing, run ring kits, Nash longshank twisters. Blake's baits 5kg of hemp, 5kg of tigers, 10kg of maize and 20kg of pigeon conditioner. 20kg of outlaw pro boilies and pellets n match the hatch wafters n pop-ups and some of they're fluro pop-ups. Also grabbed some NS minis to give them a whirl. Off fishing on for the weekend. Not even checked the weather. Just want to fish since I've been ot of action for a bit

Wicked mate, It's took a lot of googling (don't have a manual) but got it set to your settings, I've had a little go but realised I had the single point to the bottom right instead of the middle 🤦‍♂️anyway it should be good to go, will test when it stops raining 👍 Wader shot using your settings Happy days 🤙

Off the mark with this one at 19lb 8oz. Wicked bite really, was having a brew watching some fish show to my right, 5 minutes later it went off 🤙

Hi mate I've got the temu version of the wolf spombs and they are wicked 👍 they open pretty much every cast, I've only broke one but that was down to hitting a duck lol.

Got here just as the rain finished. I haven't got long, but feeling hopeful.

A trip to local GO Outdoors to see what Stove and Kettle/Pan set wife can get me for my Birthday next week, walked out with....😬😬 Trakker 13ltr Bucket + Tray, 2kg Maniline Bag Mix, 1kg Manills Stik Mix, Manilla liquid Food, Pot of Sticky Pineapple (Bait spray too), Mulbz & Manilla all in 12mm, Few small (1oz) leads, Pva Bags (forgot the loader) Few bits of Terminal to top the Box up.... Will only be using 6ft Rods, so small intimate close in fishing will be done, Running Rigs on 4/5 inch hair rigs, all inside PVA Bags. This will be my go to method for a while now, Rucksack will have Food Bits, Cutlery, and some oddities, Rod Bag with Landi g Net, Banksticks with Alarms down side, Chair and Beamie Matt, also got the shelter if needed. The Landing net below has been put with the 6ft Jig Setup I've also got, and replaced with a Sonik 2pc Handle and Net. That now is ALL my Gear.

Through the years from 2016/17 Our last session together was about 13/14months ago in the Tempest 200 on the local club water.

9 This one was my daughters first 20lber, she cast the rod herself and dropped it just off some pads, I had gone up the track a bit to clip up my rod and it screamed off and she was playing it and shouting for me, was a fraught battle on the old trusty 7ft greys, she did really well and eventually I netted it for her, she took the photos to school and everyone was really impressed. She's not really fished since but has worked on her casting. She did try playing one on my rods last week but they are too big and heavy for her.

My last trip was a bit of a social with my maté’s grandson and son-in-law coming along The lad who is 11 started when he was 9 using a whip then progressed to a float rod and feeder rod …but he never has had a fish pull back till he gave me a hand reeling in and netting a carp, was great to see the shock on his face and he went on to catch carp to 9lb…Iv masked his face in the pic wasn’t sure to show it The guy opposite us had his daughter who was 10 years old fishing I had a chat to them and complimented her on her casting and catching her carp

quick overnighter the other night.

10 and 8 going on 14 i think 😬 It's worth starting off small, rods were tricky to use, a 3m whip is a good tool to start with and plenty of action, my youngest thinks fishing is boring but we convinced her to come. She claimed to not enjoy it but had loads of fun camping and messing with her sister,tablets and audiobooks are good tools for the times when you need to get stuff done, but my eldest seems to want to learn more, she now uses my baitrunner and 7ft greys rod sometimes, she gets it I think and always wants to come, she's happy just being there, I think what I am trying to say is try it and I don't think it's a bad thing, but they will either love it or not you can't force that. Good luck, Also when you really want to go but know your misses won't allow it having a kid onside is a good tool in your armoury 😎😉

Big south westerly blowing across the res 🤙lost one at the net, they are still showing though 👍

I'm in this month, a lot of hard work for the result so far. 4 hours of raking and baiting with hemp, sweetcorn and boilies on Thursday, this morning I had one of this years stock fish at 15lb on sweetcorn. It went in in January at 11lb 4oz. I knew there were fish in the area, the young coot that was diving on my baits kept on coming up looking panicked, running away then return to dive again, so the run was not a surprise.

24lb 12oz, first time using my dslr, image quality is so clean lol

We're loving this bivvy (Aqua Ultralite) - good headroom for sitting inside, bigger than my brolley and quality. We broke one of the side sticks so replaced the 4 wiv Prolite obvs 🤣 Taking it France for a week - already done a 5 nighter in there so not feeling like I need to go to my bigger one. No complaints yet and bought in the bundle deal which seems great value IMO

Imo the visual aspect of hookbaits is massively overlooked. Carp can see more than 4 times as many colours as humans, and can see in the UV and infrared spectrums - so basically their detection of colour is miles better than ours and they can see at night (explains how the black foam zigs work at night eh, lads). One thing I've taken from every underwater vid I've ever seen (going right back to the first Korda one in the late 90's) is that they see the hookbaits clear as day and are often drawn towards something a little different.... something that sticks out. I used to spend hours/days/weeks/months preparing and glugging special hookbaits. Over the years I've stopped doing it as I now believe colour or visual appearance is way more important than food content or flavour (when used over bait anyway). I even have a stash of Proper Job Pop Ups with zero flavour that I prefer to fish over certain groundbaits. Worth also mentioning that given their UV/IR vision, we're probably wasting our time trying to camouflage our end tackle. What's green or brown to us might look bright purple to them! You can see this on the underwater films too - sometime they just know something's not right. Luckily, they're not smart enough to know what a hook, lead, or leader is, so we catch in spite of it! Anyway I digress....... shot on the hook rig? Been around for years as mentioned. I personally haven't fished a spot clean enough for that rig in years so I have no interest. Also have to agree with @kevtaylor that there's nothing in the newer vid to suggest it's the shot making the difference rather than the very short hooklink!

I bought 50m of PVA mesh earlier.25mm and 38mm, I've just been clipping on small bags of pellets or 4 or 5 boilies to the hook, I've got a really thick matching glug I've never used so I'm going to tie a load up and just dip em before casting. I've also got some stick mix I could roll em in that after lol, be like casting out a KFC chicken leg 😂

Little mix for 24hrs 🤙 already lost one at the net, rod was only out for 30 minutes 🤣

Well I've been busy buying stuff recently I now own 3 free spirit helicals,a new okuma 8k, a new atts bite alarm, 20kg of the usual innovate boilies reaper nut mix , match the hatch pop ups and wafters and some RNM 4 colour pastel pop ups, matching pellets, glug, 3 more esp mini butt grips (I now own all 3 sizes 😳) tubing, run rig bits, esp d rig kickers, 6 cans of go gas, korda kickers, oh and 20kg of flaked maize for a cunning plan 🌽 I have sold the xtractors, the crosscast rods and a rod bag, so you can't say I haven't tried to balance it out 😂