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Thanks BC, as you have rightly said not much can be added to what has already been said. Personally I have only used in line leads (both normal and drop off style) , lead clips and helicopter. I use in lines only when I'm stalking and lowering baits onto a spot and these will mainly be flat pear etc so as to not be to in your face on the lake bed. I used to use them for my everyday fishing when in first started carp fishing but did get a lot of tangles, but then I can tangle a choddy so it's not surprising. Lead clips I use for pretty much 95% of my fishing. This is whether I'm on a clean bottom or not. That said most of the lakes I fish are very weedy and dropping the lead is for me essential. Now I know mates who have fished lakes that allow boats have witnessed there rigs/leads being 30 or 40 yds away from there original spots due to fish picking up the rig and dropping it again. One mate stopped using lead clips altogether after seeing this but another mate just switched lead size. As he was rowing his baits out he went from your normal 3 - 4 Oz leads to 10oz leads and simply ripped his lake apart. On my old lake nearly everyone used 3 - 4 Oz leads and you was often being done. So I switched to 1oz leads and started turning the usual single / double bleep on the alarms to full blown runs. I belive this to be down to the fact that animals get used to or get round things by learning just like us. Nearly every man and his dog used 3 or 4 Oz leads on that lake and I firmly believe the carp got used to dealing with the weight of the lead and using it to eject the rig. Helicopter style I only use when chod fishing which I must admit is nowhere near as much as I used to. So for me it's not so much the lead system that can let you down but the weight of the lead. Always try and be that different person who uses a lighter or heavier lead than everyone else and you'll see an increase in takes. I won't nominate anyone but if anyone can offer more advice then im sure we would all like to hear.

Same as, reuben dials all day long

I thought it was absolutely brilliant. It's not about fishing. It's not a comedy (although they're funny guys). It's about 2 fellas that were staring death in the face coming to terms with their ordeal by sharing their experiences over a past-time therapeutic enough to literally drag one of them feet first from the depths of depression. If you were expecting rig talk and casting lessons you've really, really missed the point.

I love my Avons , getting exciting when the dial goes past the " white " and the colour changes in the little window . Yes I'm old and sad ! .

Well, finally got out for a couple of nights Thurs/Fri.... Got to the lake about 2pm Thurs and it was chucking down, fish were showing everywhere and there was no one fishing. Weird one this, as it actually made swim choice more difficult than you'd think. So after a couple of wet laps and numerous shows all over the lake I just decided that they were having it and no swim looked better or worse than the next, so opted for a central swim that I could back the van up to, to unload and keep an eye on most of the lake in case the shows became more localised...…. I'd also clocked a few bubblers that looked like they were on the seam of the dying weed beds and margin gravel about 3 rod lengths out in a couple of swims on my walk round. The water level had dropped about a foot since my last visit,.. Making it 3ft below bank level, so a little forward thinking was needed as playing and landing anything would involve stepping down from the safety of the sleeper in front of the swim onto some very hard and slippery gravel that shelved off at 45 degrees into 7ft of water, Not too much of a problem in daylight, but in the dark could prove tricky, and as I was on my own didn't want to take any silly risks, even though I was itching to get a baited rig out there.... I fished one rod close in on the hard gravel ,bottom bait slightly balanced with a cork stick hair stop that I'd had soaking in talin with a few other buoyant bits and the second rod was fished about a foot into the old weed bed, not far out , with a squid liver cork ball pop up...……. Turned out to be a pretty mental evening...… 2 takes on the bottom bait rod 23lb common and 16 lb mirror and 3 takes resulting in 3 lost fish on the pop up rig,(I later.. Over weighted this rig a bit more) one of which I'm sure was a cat as it steam rolled me with no head shakes and powered off into the middle of the lake before spitting me out...… By now it was 10pm and after a couple of 2lb kittens and a tench on the pop up rig to my right and not much happening on the margin rod to my left apart from loads of single bleeps caused by blobs of rain water dropping from the trees, and the odd liner, I decided to spread a kg of bait between the two spots, wind in, and get some kip...…. The next day was a bit slow, a few lads had started turning up for the weekend so the fish activity slowed down. I couldn't move swims now , even if I wanted too. But feeling confident , I stuck to my guns with the close, in tucked away approach, and hoped that the slight commotion from the other anglers would push a few fish my way...… I'd noticed that a couple of fish were just cruising the upper layers out front, at about 6pm on the Friday. I was just contemplating a switch to zigs, when, wallop, the margin rod was off , resulting in a really good scrap from another 23lb common, happy days...… Now, all 3 carp have come from a spot , quite literally 3ft from the bank and about 3mtres to my left , off a bush that has a nice , clear undercut. I don't think any fish congregate hear, more likely passing through, along the edge and being ambushed...….. Later that night around 11pm, the margin rod was off again, 1 toner, that I just couldn't turn, so let it run, being as the weed had died off..... This thing took me all over the lake, and I was convinced it was one of the lakes bigger carp...… Baring in mind I was using 9ft Dwarfs, I had literally no right to land the 33lb cat... Not what I was after, but what a scrap and I was happy to get a bite, since the lake had switched off with the arrival of yet more anglers and a barrage of bait going in...…. We talk of carp with big rudders putting up a scrap, well a catfish is 75% rudder and this one was over 4ft long...…. Again , I wound in at midnight and got some sleep...……. The following morning I had another cat of about 10lb on the pop up rod as I was packing up...…... It was good to get out for a chill out and a few bites. No pics, as I didn't take my phone with me, just wanted a bit of quiet time. It also gave me a chance to get some more of my bait in, ready for Autumn..... Really pleased with my new hookers, dusted with liver powder and squid extract powder, there was no surprise really that the cats took a liking to them...…. Something you have to take on the chin , if they are present. They should quieten down in a month or so and the carp will be on it hopefully, so I'll just keep a bit of bait going in , in readiness.... Starting my new water in the next few days. The first visit will probably be a reccy in one of the boats, followed by some, somewhat blind, tester sessions to get a feel for the place... I will deffo sneak the odd session in , on the local lake that I've just talked about..... It's not the most difficult of waters, and a good "confidence" water if things get tough elsewhere...…..🙂

Apparently, as they’ve been friends a while, and both had heart issues, Bob’s ordeal affected him quite badly mentally, so Paul being a friend, was concerned. So he got Bob out of the house encouraging him to do things including fishing. As Paul is very passionate about fishing, I’d imagine he spent a lot of time trying to teach Bob, and also cheer things up, and as the fishing seemed to have done the trick, the idea of a series was hatched. It does have certain Mr Crabtree elements about it, Paul being Mr Crabtree, and Bob like a learning Peter, albeit not quite as enthusiastic! Lol! Anyway, I thought it was pretty good but, each to their iwn.

Something on the lines of this

I bought the T bar as an extra , for those thinking of buying a T bar , always buy one that Clips on to the scales , Not just hooks on .

Reuben Heaton dial scales. All day.

thank you all for all your help I went with the fox ones in the end just need a fish or two now to weigh

If you watch it in the hope of learning anything about fishing, you are going to be disappointed. If you watch it for what it is, two mates sharing a pastime and talking rollocks, then you'll enjoy it. Especially if you are a fan of Paul & Bob. I personally enjoy it, so does the wife. It's light entertainment. It lets her see a side of fishing that she doesn't normally see........... the camaraderie between two mates. Glad to hear that there's going to be a second series. I'd love them to go to France for a weeks carping, and be filmed. Now that would be fun!! It's a "Yes" from us.

Well, some good posts from all and I'm not too sure I can add much to what's been said already...….. The very first set up I used was a running rig, it was the only lead arrangement I knew of,, until sometime in the early eighties someone showed me both the hair rig and the bolt rig arrangement, The bolt rig consisted of adding a split shot on the mainline just above the lead by a few inches, so the fish could take a few inches of line before the resistance of the lead would prick the hook home and hopefully cause the fish to bolt and a full blown run occur. Can't say it made much difference to mine or my mates catch rates, the leads we used were so small at the time, no more than half ounce. But we carried on catching pasties and thought we were carp anglers...… However, the concept of the bolt rig, aiding hooking with a larger weight, definitely stuck, and influences my fishing in a big way to this day... Which is possibly why, I have less confidence in running rigs,...… Basically, in my head, if there is little or no resistance once a fish picks up my rig, then I just think I'm getting done at the slightest bleep. And assume that a fish will just spit me out, without the weight of the lead to hold the rig in place until I pull into the fish.... For the same reason, hooking potential, I prefer to use a dumpy shaped lead, either a square pear or dumpy pear...……... I've been using a lead clip arrangement while the weed has been up. I'm not a fan of lead clips, they are easily misused and can become death rigs when they are pushed up tight with pins through the swivel. There's no chance of the lead dropping...… The Kodex clips and tail rubbers that I've been using have a bump on the clip as a guide. Push the rubber up to the bump and the lead drops easily, push it over the bump and the tail rubber is on much firmer. It's idiot proof and the lead has dropped on every take so far...…. The only other thing I'll add is my marker lead is different to my main leads, it will be bobbly shaped to help pick up any bobbles on the bottom, indicating gravel. I will keep it the same weight as my main leads so that if theres a few inches of silt on top of gravel, I should get a similar drop on my rods, the same as the marker lead. As I said earlier, there isn't much I can add to previous posts..... I'll nominate @emmcee, if there's anything you can add to this thread mate, then fire away..🙂

I also had two sets of the old Avon scales with the window that changes colour but they became unreliable very hard to zero/ not able to zero so bit the bullet and bought whychwood digital t bar scales a couple of months back......in true spr fashion I’ve not had a fish to test them yet 🤣😂

I've got two sets of RH dials and three of their 9000 digitals. I honestly haven't taken the dials out of the garage for years. If you wanted you could carry three sets of the digitals and they'd still be lighter and take up less space than the dials. I don't know about the current Fox digitals but I did hear that an awful lot of people upped their personal bests while using the Mk1's.

I don't know what it was supposed to be because it wasn't a fishing show and it wasn't funny (which is what I expected about a show were 2 comedians go fishing)

I've tried digitals and couldn't get on with them. Been using RH dials for the past 3 years or more and had no problem with them whatsoever. OK they're bigger than digi's but they sit at the bottom of my bag, don't weigh too much and read perfectly every time.

I’m still in France at the minute but I will try and get something together when I get back. If anyone else wants to continue it for now, go ahead x

Part two. The following summer I got some tackle ready and headed for the lake, first it was at unearthly hours of the morning, then at night on the full moon and again on the new moon. However, no matter what I tried no sooner would I get myself comfortable, and then I would have company of the wrong type, no matter what I did it was not long before the guards turned up, clearly it was not to be. This was the only time in my life when my feet weren't firmly planted and pointing in the right direction, I had been tempted by that fish to behave in error. Luckily for me, at about the same time I started seeing the estate mentioned in the news papers for various court hearings, for poaching etc and the fines for catching a couple of rabbits were so severe I realized I was best out of it and over the next few years I did my thing and slowly forgot about Yeld. Although I say, I forgot about Yeld; that was not strictly true. You see, I do not know about you, but I liken carp and dogs to some of the females of our species, I best explain what I mean. When I first spy a big carp, I cannot get her out of my head, I eat, sleep and dream about the fish, to the point of it making me unwell, until the day I get her, then just like the young blond at the bar the besotted feeling just leaves me. Whereas when I first see a puppy I want I eat, sleep and think about the pup until its mine, but then just like the brunette I met at a dinner party, I begin a courtship that lasts until death does us part. So you can see I never forget a dog or a fish but my relationship is just a little different with each and seeing that big fish was like seeing a gorgeous blond woman for the first time. In my late teens I started courting a young Lady, Heather, who was instrumental in my introduction to various things! Some off which would best be placed in a different category of literature to this!, however some of the people she introduced me to where rather influential to say the least. One such introduction was to a certain couple; the Strutts, now Lady Strutt for some strange reason took a shine to me, this got my foot into many a proverbial door. So, it came to be that one Saturday morning all dressed up in my Sunday best, I was at the door of the big house at Yeld where I got a fantastic view of the lake and its true reason for being became obvious. I was day dreaming when the door opened, I soon came to and I introduced myself and asked if it would be possible to speak to the owner. My introduction to the owners was all very pleasant and polite but in the end all to no avail and I left Yeld very disappointed, I had tried everything and still had no joy. Again, I had to forget about the place, but this time for some years, not completely but just enough, that was until now; it was now 2002 and I was here on holiday having moved away some years earlier. That night after my quick departure and whilst lying there in bed not sleeping, I came to the conclusion that I had nothing to lose by asking again, I have found that with age come some concessions and benefits that are often refused at younger age. In the morning I found myself there again, at the door of the big house all smartly dressed and looking at the lake down below and day dreaming yet again. It really did feel like deja-vu as I was invited into the lobby, where I introduced myself and explained why I was there. I was met with a different attitude this time almost like a long lost friend and I had quite a long and pleasant morning chatting over coffee. I was informed that the estate had changed hands since I was last there, but that the place was still used for important governmental meetings and symposiums. I also discovered that the place was riddled in live cameras and alarms and had been so for many years, this explained the sudden appearance of guards every visit. I also found out what the James Bond link was, an odd one and not really meaningful, but if I were to state what the link was, I would give the place away, something I am not prepared to do. The estate still had permanent dog handlers as guards and at certain times, they even had armed response guards in place; it was not looking good! Something else I learned from my visit was that since their take over I was the first to ask about the fishing! although people had asked about the shooting, now this really surprised me as it was only a few miles from the city and is easily be found on a map. Now for the real surprise, I could fish providing I obeyed the following rules. One- I had to leave the place as found. Two- I could only visit on my own. Three- remove nothing. Four- I had to pre arrange the dates with them so they did not clash with their meetings etc. Five- I was never to divulge the details of the place. I left on cloud nine and never stopped thinking about the place, just thinking about the big fish I had seen, the solitude etc. It was now the summer of 2003 and despite me trying my hardest to arrange fishing on the lake on a few occasions, I had still not fished it and I was getting more apprehensive by the day, it was as if the owners and the gods were trying to keep me away. Well nothing was going to stop me and I just kept trying, I phoned once again to ask if I could fish for one week starting on the 16 June, the answer this time was yes!

Decided to drop in for my first night on the new place. I think I’ve sweat my body weight, my legs are totally numb from stinging nettles but the rods are out. Not sure if my plan on how to land fish will work out, but I’ve got to hook one first!