Leaderboard

See that makes sense to me. I don't believe for a second that mirrors/commons prefer particular baits but I have no doubt that individual fish show preference for a particular bait or baits.

I have been using ABS for 15 years and can never see me changing to be honest. All of Geoffs bait is quality, very reasonably priced and customer service is 2nd to none in my opinion. The only downside is ringing to order bait and getting caught in a time tunnel, where what should be a 5 min call turns in to an hour plus!

I had an interesting catch last year, that nice common I had which was thought to of been lost to the otters , some will remember on here . Not been caught or seen in over two years before I landed it last year . Anyway to my point lol .... I'm convinced I caught it again because I started baiting a few weeks before with a bait I hadn't used for the couple of years it went uncaught .

You have to be careful what you believe for that very reason lol.

Going again tonight after work. Haven't been this exited about fishing in ages.

Agree. There is a period every year (around now) where a multitude of naturals become available as the weed drops. If that is the case then sometimes you can really struggle to compete with it (can be bloomin' frustrating), but, those bloodworm beds can be used to your advantage if you think about it.

I think, even on a commercial, you still need to try and find where the fish will be...….. If they've been getting hammered on certain spots through the summer, they may shy away from these spots to actually feed..... As we move into Autumn their habits will change a bit too. With weed dropping (if there is any present), the channels that funnelled fish into certain areas earlier in the year will disappear making the fish a bit more nomadic imo, giving them the opportunity to find fresh, natural, feeding spots...….. It's easy to turn up and go through the motions of previous sessions, especially when you've had a result beforehand...… Imo, as the seasons change, the fish behaviour/movement will change..... If you've had fish on your current bait then I wouldn't be pointing the finger straight at that. I'd probably work a bit on locating them in numbers. And not turn up with a swim or area in mind...….. Don't worry about the blanks, it happens..... Couple of laps with a keen eye, should put you on some fish.....

It takes more energy (for lack of a better word) to grow scales than it does the softer flesh therefore commons and heavily scaled mirrors tend to grow much more slowly than sparsely scaled fish, and why mirrors tend to be bigger in general. No difference in metabolic rate etc. I can catch big mirrors for fun but really struggle with commons. Conversely I have a mate that always gets on the big commons but struggles to bag the mirrors. We fish the same waters. It's purely down to chance imo.

If it’s any help marriages in Essex do 25kg for around the £40 mark. Not sure on postage etc though sorry

Someone on here pointed me in the direction of barley malt extract....and then was far from surprised when I told him I’d caught my pb (at the time) on it. A beautiful common of 27lb 8oz if memory serves me correctly(the fish below) read into that what you will....... someone mentioned julian cundif using scopex squid....I also use it and had my new pb on it 29lb common

my mate buys from ian carter and rates him highly😉 there is also mh leads based in warrington, they are on facebook, also Liverpool carp leads, they are on Instagram a lot, no idea if they have a facebook page but the leads look as good as anyone elses, lets be honest it's not easy to cock them up🙂lol

I think it would be mad to think that different fish (common to common, common to mirror) didnt have different preferences in food. I also think it would also be mad to think that this might be the reason your not catching your targets then not acting on it. Are the fish publicised at all? Get posted on FB etc? people often post what they caught them on now...maybe in hope of a bait deal! but yeah do a bit of research if you can, See if you can find a pattern, Maybe fish 2 different baits, A nutty bait and a fishmeal maybe, Record what your catching, see if there are any patterns in what your catching. Theres also an argument to say that certain fish patrol certain areas....Again hit social media see if you can build up a pattern. Its all learning, And it will differ from lake to lake.

That's what I was thinking. Really, I think he's just been where a lot of mirrors are around.

Looks very promising muft , cracking common 😎

Finally managed a spot of fishing.... shame it's been in my septic tank with a net !!! My hat goes off to anyone who works up close & personal with sewage!!!! Lol As a side note I don't suppose there are any aerobic septic tank experts on here ? The system has failed & I need to reinstate the bactirial chamber . Thanks in advance 😎

Thought I'd give you an update on this, we've done about 5 successful sessions so far, it's been an absolute pleasure. No problems at all really, she will sit and watch the birds on the lake without giving chase or barking at them, she loves meeting other anglers and always gives them a nice greeting when they come into the swim. Once the rods are out we do a lot of training on the bank followed by a some play time (no swimming or being noisy) she's a bit jumpy around catapults and still hasn't seen a fish on the bank yet, so will have to see how it goes lol. All together though, taking her fishing is the best thing I've ever done, it's completely changed her behaviour. She used to have a few bad habits at home (nipping/biting, thought she was boss basically lol) but after a fishing session she is that wiped out she gets in the door, has some food and heads straight for the bed without being a little [censored] lol.

Julian Cundiff catch’s 100,s of commons compared to mirrors. Obviously some of the waters he fishes must be dominated by commons but I read this wk he’s been fishing park lakes with mixed carp in and still hauling in the commons. He’s on scopex squid I think so maybe that has something to do with it 🤔🤔🤔 who knows. Not bait related but I have found Our commons in our local water wake up from there winter slumber a few wks before the mirrors do. In summer 4 out of every 5 fish landed are mirrors. From January to March 2 out of every 3 are commons 🤔🤔😆😆😬