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your prep sounds fine i.e soaking 24-48 hr them simmer for 30 mins , but do not let your particles dry out otherwise your undoing your prep which is done for the health of the fish . Leave the air drying for boilies if you need to .

@yonny but hes currently in the middle of an incredible session so probably too busy playing fish to read this!

Pink - that's irrelevant IMO, this is not 'The Key' as you put it. As others have said they will eat anything on the right spot at the right time. Its about knowing where they feed and why, where are the natural food beds, where do they go in certain weather conditions, wind directions, hot and cold temps, how do they respond to angling pressure, getting a clear understanding of your quarry in that particular lake. Then with appropriate baiting, hard work and determination you might find the key to consistent success on that venue. Its never about being on a certain bait, because without all of the above you're still likely to be in the wrong area to begin with - best bait in the world or not. 😉

So for me, Any fish in the first few sessions is a bonus. If your going to really attack this water and do a year or 2 on the lake then you might as well use the first few sessions to lead the lake to death. Know everything you can know about your swim and any other swim thats free. Make notes, Begin to build a picture of the lake (wheres shallow/Deepest, Wheres the bar or the weed etc). Get up before dawn and watch the water, Are they showing? Where are they showing? Are they always showing over the same area? Are they always following the wind? Pick a swim with a large view of the lake and the other swims, Can you see people catching, Does one section seem to get bites in the day whilst another section seems to get night bites? is there a certain time bites seem to happen? Theres 2 of you, so you can have the lake mapped out pretty quickly, Dont worry about your bait yet. Find the fish, Find where they patrol, Where they tend to be at certain times of the day (Night/Dawn) Then start to work on your choosen approach. Its not a bad thing or cheating to watch joe bloggs from across the lake hauling and learning from him. Its all learning. Effort = Reward.

Being in the right spot is more important than the bait , use a good fishmeal boilie and or corn or maize . Part of the fun is sussing a water out your self .

Until you catch on it! A carp will eat anything when it's in the right place!

I'm guessing Nash ....... .... ............

The bedchair is a fox r2 standard, I think it's 900mm wide, or there abouts,

yep... same as any tinned beans or pulses, they would have softened in the juice after being cooked in the can.....

Looks the nuts would be tight in there will my big bag but im sure it would fit is that a standard width bedchair you have? I really should invest in a smaller bag for 24 hour sessions but then id want to buy everything again I dont think i should worry about my food bag as if im doing longer sessions 2 or more nights i go to my lake that i can park near the car for thoose places i can just take my bivvy. Yeah thats what i want it for a lot of the time i dont even put a brolly up i just need it throw over myseld and my gear incase the heaven opens or keep me out of the wind. As annoying as the mozzies are im not a massive fan of shuting the lake out but for the 40 ill might ive it a go and forget about spending that money on a groundsheet

Anyone looking at preparing particles should look here for guidelines .

If you know your stuff you will know not all nuts are nuts 😉

I have the lo pro, I really like mine, It's not the biggest brolly on the market but it's light, easy to pit up and take down again, perfect for my over nighters. I use storm poles with mine although there's no real need to be honest I just like the extra stability they provide. If you can go and see one in the flesh, it's the only way you'll ever really know.

Ok ill wait for him to pop up then. If reads this in session take a photo of the brolly love to see how mich gear you got in it

But at the same time I don't want to ignore it in case either corn or pink is part of the key so I was thinking of going with a small pink pop up while he uses pink corn. But not sure how long should persevere before changing as you never know when your on the fish as they are quite shy and don't really show themself to much If you are going to put some time in, just get on a decent food bait and stick with it...… Be patient and it will all come together...… Asking for advice from those that have put the effort in already, might be a blind alley, most times they will say very little and what they tell you might be duff info, that is, until you have done a bit of time and you can exchange info, two way street in this case..... TBH, what I find, is that a lot of anglers come and go, they try a place , and a few blanks later they are off to the local runs water...… If you stick it out and become a regular, the barriers come down a bit, people open up a bit more, plus, just by spending time at the venue, you will learn the place, and a bit about where the fish will be...… No real short cuts imo, time and effort...… But bait wise, I find chopping and changing can just give you a head ache. Just stick to a proven bait..... Knowing where to put it, will come with time spent on the bank, not holed up in a bivvy, but walking and watching for signs, climbing the odd tree etc...... Not a fluke buddy...…… Right place, right time, that's what its all about... Make a note of the spot and the time of day and time of year and that's a tiny piece of the jig saw sorted..... Before you leave, bang a marker float over the spot, see if there's some kind of feature there. Chuck a few baits in on leaving...… All these little bits of effort will add up long term 😊

Well my current bait choice is a custom rolled bait by premier baits. I've been using it now for well over 10 yrs , more like 15yrs but I have also rolled a bit of my own in that time. Mainly milk protein for winter fishing when I do it or a nut bait that my mate designed that was and is doing very very well. I've rolled these different baits not because I felt that the premier bait wasn't good enough but because I knew the other baits were being used to good effect on the waters I was fishing so if it ain't broke don't fix it. As for particle, I do use it but only when I feel I need to. This will mainly be after spawning and if I'm on a new water. The particle mix I use had once again been designed by a mate. When I first got told about it he told me to bait up with it in advance as the fish take a while to get on it. I thought he was full of nonsense so started baiting a snag tree on a new water so I could see the reaction. He wasn't wrong. First bucket load took 4 days to be eaten, could clearly see it hadn't been touched until the 4th day. This went on until after a couple of weeks they were smashing it up as soon as it went in. It's a simple mix pretty much with only 3 particles, ooops I meant 4 and the 4th one is the one that does the business. Works extremely well where nuts are banned, and yet you won't find a single nut in the mix. I've had bailiffs root through the bucket before now and they don't find a single nut either and yet over a quarter of the bucket is nut. A very clever mix but sadly can't say what it is or I'll have to k**l you 😂

I'm not sure I'd air dry , you need particles to fully absorb water before using hence the soaking & cooking . Freezing them is fine . I remember pre baiting chick peas every night for a week before fishing a water and having a cracking 24hrs .

I’m solely in the Active Bait Solutions (ABS) camp. Been using there bait for 6 years now and unless something drastic happens will probably stay with them forever. A great company and an amazing bait...... the only problem I have is there so much to choose from 😩😩😬 Did 4 years on there plan b done the last few on there i bait. My catch rate always holds it own on my water that sees quite a bit of mainline/sticky baits going in. I buy chick peas unprepared and will usually have them in some shape or from in my particle mix but I’ll be honest I’ve never used em has a hookbait as all of my fishing nowadays is pop ups or zigs 🙄😆😆😬

I'm quite happy using them out the tin, mixed with a kg of frozen sweetcorn it's a great bait 😁

Keep an eye on them mate as I have had them split before 48 hours in the past. Also when cooking I boil until I can crush them into a mush between my thumb and forefinger. If they bounce out they are not ready.

It did used to be day ticket years ago when I lived in Norfolk. There is a waiting list for membership, and the website gives you joining instructions, I think starting and fishing usually June to June. http://charitylakes.co.uk/ Wamps on here I think is a member, but I haven't seen him online for a while.

You’re right. And each to their own. He wants 5 minutes of fame, let him have it. I’d be a bit unsure of having 5 minutes of bad fame though. But no one will remember his name in 6 months, same as the guy that caught big rig. Thry should abolish the carp record. Technically it’s classed as a non-native, the exact reason they abolished the weld catfish record. It would stop a lot of the bitterness in carp fishing.

I can only recommend the Tracker Big Snooze coupled with the Tracker Thermal cover for when its really cold .

Not a fan of this being a record fish. May have been in the lake almost a decade (sure I read that last time it was caught at a record weight) but it’s one of the Israeli super strains like big rig and the rest of them. In a lake that’s basically run for the ‘must catch huge fish’ brigade. I think most of the carp world doesn’t acknowledge these type of fish, or capture of them as being skilful at all.

Read earlier that the fella isn't going to put a claim in, fair play to him, probably wants to avoid all the drama..... Some nasty stuff last time with that Big Rig...… I think a fish should be born in the lake for a claim to stand, stops all controversy.....

Easy...... Rig Marole Freefall Micro Braided Rig Tubing in brown. It has stainless steel woven into it so it's pretty much as heavy as lead core. The brown blends into absolutely everything, as it's braided it takes on water and even silt, it just disappears. It comes in pre-cut lengths which sound expensive at first but as long as you don't crack off each length lasts around 18 months I've found, so it works out cheap. It's important to get the pre-cut lengths, they have a sheathe over each end to prevent fraying. Like you I've been a leadcore man all my life. I started using this tubing due to a leader ban and even though the ban has been lifted now I'm not going back. It is that good!