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I've messed up a couple so far but I am fairly practical and have worked in an engineering type environment for a number of years dealing with steel and more recently carbon fibre, so I am quite comfortable doing them really, and actually I used to restore alloy wheels to a mirror finish when I used to mess around with cars so I just take my time and they seem to get sharper 👍

Good man. Did you struggle at first? I remember when I first started (a long time ago now lol), I must have wasted nearly a whole pack of hooks before I had one I was happy with - I found it tricky to get them pin sharp without shortening the point i.e. I was taking too much off. Practice makes perfect - the more you do the better (sharper) you get, and the quicker the process becomes.

I did make quite a nice rig with the loaded this morning simple and effective,but looks like it would work and be reliable, I am now very much on board with the hook sharpening btw, my hooks are always sharp before they enter the water

I agree too. Difficult to bait up with 10kg of boilie every couple of days though unfortunately unless you get loads for free or you're rich! I like to have 5-10 spots on the go at any one time spread over the lake so I can feel confident when I arrive regardless of the conditions.

mark bryant rig Here is the video that shows the rig. I've used 15lb Korda IQ for years without any mishap but noticed that Mark uses 20lb. The Silicon Tube is 1.5mm and I use some from ESP. It really is a versatile rig and you can also adjust the length of the slip-D at will. Try the IQ again following the tips in the video and you shouldn't have any problems,

Stick with the Tungsten Loaded mate, I've had some very big fish from very weedy waters on that, it's really good stuff.

Lemons Hill on Alton today, Big Dave managed to find a couple of large skimmer bream, I ended up with 7 small roach

Ive never felt the need to "fill it in" and found a little and often approach suits me fine and get through the year on 50kg a year taking about a kilo per 24 hours and only use all that if its kickin off.

I know when I switched to just boilie, over the course of a season my results were better. I mean as weight of fish rather than numbers. Though the numbers were certainly there too.

It was out in open water not far off the surface at the time so I don't think it cut off on anything in the water definately seems like a rig failure to me , I really want to use the fluorocarbon if I can as it looks lovely underwater but I can't have it failing on me as what's the point , I would've been gutted if it was st Ives, I will try and make a similar rig using tungsten loaded tonight and see what I can create, it was 20lb korda IQ fluorocarbon I was using btw

The Tackle Box in Kent do a test of different lines each year (diameter vs. BS). It's a real help in determining what line you might need for a given water. You can find it here: http://www.tacklebox.co.uk/tackle-box-line-test.html

Some things, you just can't buy...……… Good to have a few lads on here willing to share their knowledge for the benefit of everyone...……..

I see a lot of confusion over mainlines. Guys seem to compare lines that are intended for completely different uses. There are numerous different types of lines and each have different advantages/disadvantages, and I'm only referring to mono here.... not fluoro, braid etc..... Pre-stretched lines: These are your casting lines like Fox Exocet. They obviously have very low stretch and fine diameter vs. BS and they have a super smooth finish. The result is a line that casts really well. Unfortunately the abrasion resistance is what suffers. Hence in a weedy lake you want to avoid pre-stretched lines. Semi-stretched lines (I made that name up, not sure what they're actually called): These are the latest in line tech and include Gardner GT-HD and Shimano Technium. They are pre-stretched but to a lesser extent than the casting lines. This means they cast very well but maintain other qualities (so they can sink well for example). They beat the pre-stretched lines for abrasion resistance yet still cast a long way. All-rounders: These are the more traditional mono's, the meat-and-two-veg carp lines. they include stuff like Gardner Pro and ESP Synchro. Just because they're not high tech lines doesn't mean they're not very good indeed. They'll not cast as well as the stretched lines but they are hands-down stronger, with better abrasion resistance. If weed is an issue I'd not look past this group of lines. Snag lines: Brute lines, thick with immense strength and serious abrasion resistance. You'll struggle to cast these past 100 yards without casting lessons but if there's snags about this is what you want. Stuff like Gardner HydroTuff and Rig Marole SLS Specimon Tough. ***** Now I see guys comparing lines from different categories all the time. Just the other day I saw a thread on another forum asking if GT-HD or HydrTuff was best. They cannot be compared imo - the GT-HD would be best in a lightly weeded lake requiring big chucks, but with snags or heavy weed in the water the HydroTuff wins hands down. Therefore you can only decide what is best for your angling situation. You need to look at how far you need to cast and what kind of challenges your water presents (weed, bars etc) and choose a line to suit. I always err on the side of caution i.e. STRENGTH. What I mean by that is I would rather be a few yards short of the carp and be in with a chance of landing them, than being able to cast on their heads but lose them all to snags/weed. I have used pre-stretched lines on French trips to huge silty waters with no weed/snags, waters where you need to cast 150, and they've been great. But there is no way I'd choose to use them on the weed choked waters I fish in the UK. I think a lot of guys pay to much attention to castability. If you need to cast 150 then fair play, go for pre-stretched lines, if you don't (and most don't), go for a proper carp line, an all-rounder or semi-stretched line at least, one that will land you everything you hook. So next time you see a "what's the best line?" thread we need to stop and think before we go shouting out the name of what we're currently using. What is best depends entirely on the individual and his/her angling situation. If the angling situation varies, then it is logical that the all-rounders are best (the best of which imo is Gardner Pro). I'm currently suing HydroTuff due to a minimum diameter rule on my syndi, which is normally very weedy. It's been great, never let me down.

Following on from a post I put on the "newest purchase " thread, which was 90kg of bait for pre-baiting, I was just curious as to how much people roughly spend a year/season on bait? Now last season and this season I hardly carp fish once the carp spawn til probably end of September. Even so I'll end up doing 200kg plus of boilie. If I was really going for it then that would be almost doubled. Now I know that amounts to a few quid and is a lot of bait but fishing is my only vice and because I get bait for a few mates as well I get a good deal. Over the course of a season I'll probably get between 700 and 1000kg , sometimes more than that of bait for me and my mates. Not being big headed but I've so far always got/had good results from this so I don't see it as a waste. So just wondered how much bait you use in a season? Or as the title says, what budget do you allow?