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Imo lots of guys think they're doing something different when they're not. It's a fact that on most waters you have guys spombing, guys using sticks, and guys using cattys etc etc, every single day of the week. To be truly different you need to get funky, do something that genuinely isn't being done by anyone else. If you're lucky enough to figure something out and it works you need to keep it VERY quiet i.e. tell no-one. And certainly not post about it on an open forum lol. Exactly mate. Every man and his dog is using glugs and liquids, it's no edge. Imo there is almost nothing you can buy from a bait firm that can give you a genuine edge over most other anglers. You need to look past the bait firms, past the angling firms altogether - because there are things out there that will give you that edge. He's still my hero lol.

That is always happening. I've seen numerous "sponsored " anglers catch fish on a certain bait only to put in the mags' it was caught on his sponsored bait. I kind of expect it from some of them but one of them I couldn't believe had done it as I held him in high regard and thought everything he said was always accurate. In fact this one particular angler also represents a tackle manufacturer (esp,ecially end tackle, you might guess who from this) but his hooks were from a totally different company stating that they were much sharper than the ones he was sponsored by. I stopped buying magazines from then on.

Yeah I recall that. Doing things differently is always good, no doubt, but doing it well is more important imo. An angler doing something very simple really well will out-fish an angler doing something very funky badly. If you keep an eye on the top rod on your water I can almost guarantee they're not doing anything ground breaking. Rather they're just doing what they do really well. If I'm fishing a pressured water i.e. a proper circuit water I do have a couple of tricks up my sleeve to keep things different but nine times out of 10 if you can get on the fish the simplest tactics will do the job imo.

I don't watch many youtube vids , most are sponsored in one way or another so need to use the latest spomb, glug , bucket etc etc.You also never know how many unsuccessful footage they are binning . I know a few sponsored anglers one of them had two big commons off the top on chum within 45 mins of turning up one session this was on a well known water . Roll on several months when he does an article for a magazine the two fish came out on his sponsored bait using rig bits from another of his sponsors ,like he told me how could he write a lengthy article and please his sponsors if he told the truth . I did watch that Karl & Alex one you mentioned , not a bad watch . When they mentioned do something different they had already hooked two of the big lumps tried bullying them to much IMO which is why they lost them ,still it sounds good when they say these things . Nice to see the enthusiasm from them and to see the younger generation coming through which we defo need more of .

I think doing things your way and being different are almost the same thing really and most will be using there own ideas, for me it comes down to trends if you see a lot of people spombing then use a different method if everyone is using a throwing stick then a Spomb may be the answer,just the simple things really, I watch a lot of YouTube vids and most of the time they are all using heavily glugged spod mixes and I've no doubt this works because you also see the proof, but is the method diluted by everyone else doing similar things? This is why I raised the question really, For me this year SHOULD be better I am going back to a lake I fished before for a season and caught quite well from so I know a few swims already, I have rigs I am confident in, I actually think I am a more advanced angler than when I fished it before and can hopefully do OK, naturally it will have changed but hopefully I can coax a few whackers out and pick up from where I left off, I caught my biggest fish from there a 27lb common, it was my target then to get a 30+ and that's still the target but also to be more consistent and go in with a plan and see it through

Depends what the others are doing , again I don't always get the idea you need to do something different to everyone else . You are right though stick to YOUR approach not someone elses , decent bait , rigs your confident in , maybe tweak or change if your the only one not getting results but this all depends on the water your fishing .

I've got a lot of time for Carl and Alex they seem like genuine guys and they seem to be in it for a genuine Love of the Sport and also to help the kids learn, and from a slightly different perspective, they have also set up another channel which has instructional videos to teach newcomers how to do things,

Don't get me wrong, amongst the "known" anglers he's still very much at or near the top.

Very interesting Nick , so are you saying the carp left the glugged baits alone but ate the unglugged ones in the same area ? Whats your thinking behind adding glycerine to the natural liquids was it to preserve the baits . Its odd how your experience is that all glugged baits are having a negative effective , I find this surprising with the natural ones .

I think North Face are overpriced. I had some of their lined trousers, they were decent but cost a fortune, more than $100 from the States (and this was several years ago when it was still cheap to buy in the US). I replaced them last year with some Craghopper Kiwi's which cost 25 quid and they're actually better imo. Smufter, the SJ3 will do everything you want and more. I see the Sleeka Elite is on sale at the moment if you want to save a few £££E£.

I don't glug baits if I am prebaiting. I want the bait to stand on its own. I found glugged baits, when prebaiting, even in natural liquids like liquid liver, molasses, or liquid yeast were sometimes left over the 'natural' bait. I'm not sure 'find the bait' is quite right, especially after fishing large reservoirs where it can take the carp a couple of days to move into the area. All of my fish have come to baits out of the bag. Same with prebaiting on Earith, even though I knew about glugged baits, every fish came on a plain straight ordinary boilie, and I did try both high attract pop-ups and glugged baits. However I do think a glugged bait can create a feeding trigger or inquisitive take if the carp find one 'on its own'. My largest or personal best river carp of 28lb did take a bait soaked in Nutrabaits Bait Soak Complex, which was I think a mix of Multimino, Nutramino. The session was only 2 1/2hours long. I was using a soaked bait over pellets to try to get a feeding or pick up reaction. From that bait soak I did start playing with natural liquids, occasional natural flavours and glycerine. Liquid Yeast and Liver with glycerine worked best, but even with glycerine as a preservative had a shelf life.

I sometimes put some hydro in when pre baiting , not much just to give that extra little attraction .

I watched Carl and Alex on the Park lake campaign again last night brilliant video, one thing that seems to have stuck with me from it was there dad saying "you can't do the same as everyone else and expect better results" it's not a new saying but seeing them executed it was really inspiring, I just think start with the basics and build it up to MY approach to the water at my own pace, also I think I've spent the last few months thinking about what I need to add be it tackle, bait, knowledge etc, when in reality I have enough to start with, if I can get the basics working well, then with fine tuning who knows where I might end up, hopefully the hippodrome 😏 That's good I was thinking the same chucking out a couple of kilos of glugged baits on the way to work doesn't appeal that much 😁

I've got a 72 hour sesh booked (with the missus) late April at Linear. Looked on their website, Oxlease closed due to flooding, some of the lads are absolutely smashing st johns🤯. I wish I could get there now!! I've not been there for the last 2 years, so really looking forward to it🤞 My mates, making noises about a new prototype Bait from A2, to take with us. I've been using their Bait the last few times out and seems to work better than the last few brands I have used.

One of my club lakes has a pole to show you where the shopping trolleys are 😂

You need one of those bin lids in there to be able to present your 3 rods on 😁