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Hey guys, just signed up to be able to post this, i've read this forum for a few years seeing how you guys go abaout your carp fishing and techniques that might work over here. I'm not here to try and change your minds but just thought an Australian perspective may give some balance. I'm mid 30's have grown up fishing inland in the murray darling basin. Caught more carp than i could ever count, occasionally a golden perch (also known as yellowbellly or callop) never caught a Murray cod in my 25 years of fishing and native catfish (tandanus tandanus) are extinct in this part of the world now. I enjoy catching carp, however it is sad to see the river in it's current state. Murray Cod, a species who grow to well over a metre are scare. Golden perch are surviving but by no means thriving. Carp are believed to be 80 - 90% of the total biomass in the river, that's a huge amount in 40 odd years. Carp have been here a lot longer but flooding in the 70's is what led to their massive spread in range. As much as i enjoy catching carp, seeing their numbers being significantly reduced by this virus would be a huge positive for australia. restocking the catfish and allowing golden perch and Murray cod to recover to me is a great outcome. Carp will still be around, there will never be 100% wipe out, i assume those fish that are resistant to the virus would be more likely to grow larger, however i expect the laws regarding returning them to the water alive will remain in place. I note that Aussie fisherman have got a bad name in this forum, it's to be expected with Aussie attitudes to carp on a carp forum, but to my mind w're being short changed. Catch and release fishing has grown remarkably, very few murray cod are taken for the plate now with most being treated as well as you guys treat your carp. Perch are still often taken for the table but not in the quantities they once were, greed has diminished and sustainability is more prescient in the minds of our fisherman than ever before. Personally I agree with the carp herpes virus being released in australia. I'd love to see the day when Aussies are travelling to the UK for that trophy shot with a 30+ carp, and uk fisherman go home with stopries of the 110cm+ cod that weighed as much as their wife. I also note our countries responsibility to keep the virus contained to our shores, a responsibility somewhat shared with foreign travellers heading home. If any country can manage this it's australia with our relative isolation. In closing, i guess if anything don't just see this a carp issue, see it as an environmental issue. If you end up on the other side of the argument to me thats fine, i just think it's important to see it through the right lense. and as an aside the earlier post about Australia'a record with introduced species is a touch misleading. Many of those species were released before Australian federation by British citizens in British colonies (including rabbits, foxes and carp). I'm not looking to start a big argument here as we have a ;largely shared history and ahve made probably just as many huge mistakes ourselves. For those interested in successful biological controls in Australia, myxomatosis, calicivirus and the prickly pear moth are the success stories we've had. The Cane Toad probably the most disastrous. sorry for the long winded post, just hoping to add to the discussion from what I imagine is a very different perspective to most on this site

Neal . I reckon that if the only chance you get to fish at Bayeswater is day sessions at Weekends then you are going to be continuously banging your head against a brick wall and therefore up against it all the time . Maybe it's not like it Tuesday-Wednesday time but I bet it is . Its regional popularity puts it on a par with The linears & yateleys of this world Essex style . And when I say that I'm referring to the fact that it's always banged out especially Spring-Autumn as I know nothing about the stock . Not bad mouthing the place , just commenting on its busyness shall we say , but when you are only there for the day you need so much to go in your favour . If the place wasn't owned by Nash's bait guru then you might stand half a chance as it wouldn't be so busy . If you could fish longer sessions and arrive on a Thursday or a Monday/Tuesday you not only would have more options with regards location you may also be in with a chance of benefitting from any significant change in the weather ie setting up where a new wind is forecast tomorrow for example . Nobody wants you to succeed there more than I do mate , you know that , but I think there have to be better options for YOU at the present time in Suffolk/Essex. But then what do I know , I don't even go fishing

Are you off to Bayeswater this weekend Spr ? . I need my weekly Bayeswater update ! .

So,after years of telling us everything needs to be camoed and blend in,the lads at Korda have now changed there minds with these little beauties....... Make ya mind up chaps

I agree Beanz...... It's just if you watch the thinking tackle of 6/7 years ago EVERYTHING had to be invisible....... Now it's going full circle...... Anglers(some) are a lot easier to catch than carp.

Maybe this is the opportunity you have been waiting for Neal ? . A midweek trip when families may have gone away on holiday , perhaps you will get a choice of swims ? . Would you be fishing off your barrow , so you can move onto fish quickly ? - or get your lad to charge down to a newly vacated swim to " baggsie " it ! .

This is the reason I shy away from busy waters, it comes at the expense that i don't get to fish fro the bigger fish in the area but nothing winds me up more than knowing where the fish are, paying good money and being able to get nowhere near them. Sounds like a pretty good back up plan to me

I think from what you have been describing and how busy the lake is you need to move on any opportunities you get, just think of it as learning rather than a blank as I am sure if that happens again you will be packed up and round to the vacated swim if it gives you an advantage

So its clear from what you have posted they seem to like a fresh SW wind, im guessing those swims around the point are the most popular

I went over to Shimano Technium Black a few years ago and will never use anything else. A bit more expensive than others, but it's performance makes it worth it. Spools up well, sinks well, and is as tough as old boots. I have my "everyday" spools loaded with 12lb, and my spare spools loaded with 15 if I'm fishing snaggier waters or fishing in France where theoretically I am going to come into contact with bigger lumps.

Yeah ok I asked for that lol

Hopefully!!!!