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Fishing is different to all people some may use their time to get away from the stresses of life and just be there catching is a bonus some want to work as hard in their fishing as they do in every other thing in life that’s what makes fishing so unique it has something for everyone. no wrong and no right

I’ve considered purchasing one but I think Yonny’s summation just about covers it. The question I’d ask myself is, what would catch me more fish, a £200 baiting pole or £200 more of the best bait I could buy? Now, I know that the pole could last me years (or not in my case ‘coz I’m clumsy) but it helps focus me one what’s really important.

I have an angling intelligence pole with extensions that I keep in the van all the time had it years used it a couple of times but if I need it I can walk back to the van and get it. they do get a bit unwieldy at longer ranges

Sorry if it seemed like I was aiming it at you, I was trying to generalize it. At the end of the day if the individual is happy in what they are doing then that is the main thing. I know I've gone fishing just to get away from the rat race for a day or 2. I just pitched up, went to a swim that I knew I'd get piece and quiet in and it was great. No fish, good food and a few drinks and i loved it. I did this another time on a lake I fish in the colne valley. I jumped in a swim on the shallows, I saw no fish and thought perfect. I'd just finished 15 days straight doing 16hr days and was absolutely shattered. I just wanted peace and quiet. What unfolded you couldn't make up. During the night the fish moved in to the shallows in huge numbers ready to spawn it turned out. I had 7 fish from 1am til 5am. I packed up after the 7th fish to go home and sleep 😂

I can totally relate to that mate. I spent years as a youth just chucking a bait at the water and sitting there waiting. It was only when I was in my mid 20s that I fished a "proper" i.e. low stock water that I realised I would never catch truly special fish by doing that. Looking back it's a wonder that I caught anything at all lol.

No disagreements bro, it's just a a heathy debate. It's good to be able to have these debates without someone kicking off which is what tends to happen on other forums👍 It's all in the wording mate. Neither money or time can make an angler better imo. I know full timers that are rubbish anglers, and I know guys that do hardly any time whose angling skills are nothing short of lethal. I think what you mean to say is that having time can make an angler (any angler) more successful (in terms of results).

What we need to bear in mind is that EVERYONE can do this if they choose. We all have choices in our life. To spend 4 days+ a week on the bank you have to make a sacrifice and those sacrifices include a well paid job and everything that comes with that (nice house/car etc). Those sacrifices also normally include a family too. I have known loads of anglers that do time like this and none of them have a mrs, or kids, and hardly any own a house. It's easy to feel jealous about the time they put in until you get home to your family, have a nice meal, and few drink in front of the fire. They don't get to do that. The list above contains 4 of the most gifted anglers in the country, and if we're talking about money I can tell you now that when they made the decision to follow their chosen path they had nothing. Tel would scrounge teabags at the gates of Yateley and Laney was using any old kit he could scrape together for years. Yes they are successful now but we are talking about the only 2/3 anglers to get paid to go fishing in the entire country. They cannot imo be used under normal context in discussion. Time and money are completely different factors for me, they cannot really be discussed hand in hand. I could EASILY quit my job and do 4/5 days a week but I'd lose the money/house/car/family etc. No thanks. Those who say they can't afford a 600 quid ticket; what you mean is you're not prepared to make the sacrifices to free up 600 quid for a fishing ticket (which is completely fair play imo). Anyone with a stable job can free up 50 quid a month if the decide they want it enough but only the individual can decide if they want it enough.

Agreed. It’s a lesson I learned relatively late in my fishing ‘career’. The absolutely most important thing is to watch, listen and then act.

I've still got some money from recent sellings, and I quite fancy a bushwhacker pole? I think I could do quite well using it on my lakes I could really see the benefit of being able to get onto those hard to reach areas currently only available to the bait boats but........ Can anyone tell me if I should or shouldn't buy one? All reviews I read and see seem positive tbh, I understand I would need extra sections but that is where the Bush whacker comes into its own for me you can go pretty long, I can see a world of opportunity and a lot less disturbance, Infact in my head I am taking the place apart already 😂😂 Help?

She was nearly dead when my misses rescued her 2 yrs ago they saved each other the misses was in a bad place too we wasn’t together then just friends

I have to admit, I do like the idea of a bushwhacker pole, I can see where it would have provided an edge on several waters I fish/fished, but the price puts me off a bit. Usually when I’ve needed something like that, I’ve either used the “2 rod trick” or i bodged a similar arrangement using an old baiting spoon and poles from an old tent! I suppose if you can justify its use and can visualise scenarios where it will prove to be an edge then why not? It could help put a few more fish on the bank and it’s probably a lot less fiddly then gaffa taping old tent poles together!

Definitely not essential but it’s a nice thing to have in the armoury when required tipping up is not a problem that I have come across with mine it will actually sit there until I turn it over Makes me wonder if the nash boys use it so much as the short sawn offs they use can’t cast the 40 odd yards lol

If on the water you fish there are spots that the carp like to feed on that cannot be reached by casting then go for it mate. If there are no such spots then for me it's just another thing to spend money on, and carry around with you. I'd buy one in a second if I thought it would catch me more fish but I cannot recall wishing I had one on any water I've fished in the last few years.

No problem I don't take it personally, It was just difficult because I was agreeing with everyone, but possibly couldn't say what I meant properly 😂 Personally as long as I enjoy fishing that's what matters, now more than ever I can see the benefit of working harder at it, but sometimes it is nice just to be there relaxing with a tinny and listening to the silence and nature 😏

I totally get that and agree,👍 I used to have a really good shift pattern years ago that allowed me to finish a night shift on a Sunday get to the lake at 6am and fish til Thursday or Friday and still go on the lash all weekend before work Monday, if I had my head now on that younger body, I probably would be a lot more successful lol, but it was the 90s and 00's and I loved partying and fishing was a hobby, I was a fieldtester (team member😂😂) for the bait and feed company, along with Nick actually, we tested a good bait though and did I catch some nice fish, but actually looking back I probably didn't catch more back then, I still think last year was one of best years as I worked hard and actually think because it was time away from home I wanted to make it count, but I never progressed back then and never dared go on to the big boy lakes, St Ives had the Fat lady in at the time,I remember talk of Darrell peck being on there and I could never find the big boy pants to try and have a go, Infact I think then my shifts changed, life changed, and that was when I stopped That is exactly what I meant 👍 It was nice when I had no responsibility, I used to fish a lot more, I didn't realise at the time but I had totally sussed out feeding times on this farm pond, even learnt how to catch the big ones but I didn't realise what I had learnt lol 17lb pond record holder though for a long time 😁 And you 👍

I spent loads of time in my youth fishing and very little time learning... now the boot is on the other foot.. You get out what you put in... And to my mind rods reels and rigs matter less as much as location and watercraft... When my young padawan takes the pee out of my old gear, I think he's missing the point.. its where you put it and why, that matters... not what with... Elmo... not having a pop at all mate... tight lines...👍

I think people are trying to get across that these top anglers haven’t got where they are today because of money as the money they’ve earned has come after the success they made for themselves through hard work, dedication and natural ability. Probably when the majority of them didn’t have a penny to scratch there backsides with. Lol

I have previously mentioned the sacrifices these anglers make and have made in my previous posts, I am under no illusion they make sacrifices to do this, and If that is what they want fair play to them, I am not jealous of them having loads of time on the bank either good luck to anyone who can do it, I am merely stating that having money and time would make you a better angler, it would allow you fish to the best of your ability and give you more time, And those anglers I chose, I chose because I am aware of the time they commit and have done to get to where they are, bluelabel suggested to me that most top anglers fish less than I do, I have also said I think a syndicate ticket is a sacrifice worth making I'm really not disagreeing with anything anyone says but people seem to want to disagree with me 😭

It isn't about me though, I am in my situation because I have a family etc that comes first,I am happy with that too, family or fishing, family wins, fishing is a hobby a welcome break, the only person I care about being better than is me, I want to improve my skills, catch more and bigger fish but that's it,I have no desire to be the next Terry Hearn or whatever, I learn to do things better each time and always have watched the water constantly, I know I am far from the greatest angler not even the best on my syndicate, but I do what I can,with the time I have,I walk round when I can, find spots, bait up, de weed spots, sometimes when I get there i just go with my guts as I am too tired and just need a break, I think if I went 3 or 4 days a week I would be a better angler but I wouldn't enjoy it as I know my family would be missing their dad, and right now more money would be useful, my misses is on universal credit due to being made redundant after the impact of Covid and I could do with some overtime to make ends meet, we are getting by but it doesn't leave a lot spare for bait and tickets etc So money and time are important 😁

For me watercraft comes with time learning on the bank. You can't learn watercraft at home so any time you spend at the lake , no matter how short amount of time you are learning or at least you should be. Its seeing the small things that improve you as an angler. A showing fish, a fish sheeting up are the 2 big signs. Without these 2 signs a lot of anglers are stumped. Of course some are naturally better at watercraft than others but you have that in all walks of life, kids who are naturally intelligent, one is better at football than others etc etc.

Time is only any good if you use it wisely, so making the most of your time is essential. The saying "1hr in the right place is better than 24hrs in the wrong place ", rings very true. How long do you spend walking your lake on arrival for a 24hr session say? Do you or rather would you walk it for 23hrs to guarantee you had 1hr in the right place? Let's be honest ,most people would like to say yes but in reality 90% wouldn't do it. A lot of it boils down to how much effort you're willing to put in. I know and admit that my last few seasons on dinton I caught next to nothing and that was because I couldn't be bothered to do the work, I needed a new challenge. I join a new lake and I'm there the first day I'm allowed plumbing swims, baiting up, watching the water as much as possible. I learned the fishes habits very quickly. Winds and air pressures in my opinion are massive influences on fish, well they certainly have been on the lakes I've fished but they were different from lake to lake. Do you keep notes, a diary from each session? The weather conditions, fish caught and from where on the lake, the date, moon phase, air pressure etc. I had loads of info written down from all the lakes I've fished. It helps so much. All this is done whilst I'm at the lake so it's not extra time needed to do it. Luckily I've got a good memory but if I didn't it was all there in black and white. As for needing time to learn watercraft, yes I get that. For me though the signs you look for to find fish are the same for every lake. The difference being on each lake is the fish routes , where they are in what conditions etc. That takes time obviously.

Exactly that mate, exactly that. She needs love, time, reassurance and positive reinforcement. Oh and a few treats along the way!

I decided to take your advice and leave the pole, 12kg of Retrobaits Shropshire Gold ordered (already got some and don't want to overload the freezer) along with a kilo of matching stick mix some liquid and some of these wafters couldn't resist they look smart 😍 I will be ready once we get the green light 😂

From what i have seen of some of these poles {dont know the makes} they are quite bendy and fiddly to get in the right position at range. I have a Maver 16M competition pole ,and if needed i could use this as its straight as an arrow when shipping out with the cupping kit , so this type of pole may be an option bought second hand

I take mine out for miles just not by sheep or ducks etc but I’m up the Bally’s so encounters are the norm she’s much better now she listens I love my dog best friend you’ll have in a way I’m glad she’s not a good fishing dog as I know my misses is safe when I’m away

Brilliant 😂 Well it looks like she's struck gold now mate such a happy looking dog and fair play to your missus! I think dogs make awesome companions, mine comes pretty much everywhere with me... I pick up the keys and she'll be waiting by the front door wanting to come with 😂

Yep she’s got a rubber fetish her nickname is the GIMP 😂😂

This is my Misses’s rescue now

Nice staff. Haven’t been to Dartmoor since I’ve been a good boy 😊😊

Ha I am also quite clumsy, I think you may be right, Maybe more bait would be a better call 😂

Stop press... the reservoir in the reservoir diaries 1&2 is Weirwood reservoir. There’s a syndicate there that’s currently full. May have to go on the waiting list. It’s an hour from me.

I think a few of us have done the same thing, worked hard all week, got away to fish, arrived at the lake and just jumped in any swim. I did it at Nazeing, I've done it elsewhere, and quite probably not caught because of it. At Earith I was 'lucky', the research or previous prebaiting before fishing or at the end of the previous session kept me catching, if I did have to jump in 'any swim'. Arriving at 11 or 12 at night and casting out knowing the swim often caught me fish before having set the bivvy up. When I walked around Nazeing Lagoons looking first before setting up, even in winter, I tended to catch. Just turning up and jumping in didn't. I guess I can be lucky, but I grew up looking for fish be it tench, bream or carp, on 25acre and 7 acre lakes. Without realising it, I was learning. Fishing Taverham I did the same, looked for fish, and twigged that the fish loved fish meals, comparing result of my bird food bait to fish meals. The addition of salmon oil... Even Alton, I would say my fishing was pretty successful. At least twice every week I walked Sky around it, I had mental pictures of many areas, I had put bait in a few. I went through spells of relationships cutting fishing time. At Earith or at Ardleigh it didn't cut down the numbers of fish caught, previous research again. Now being single I only have work and money to consider to limit my fishing.

So you aren't classing it as an essential item then really, maybe I'll resist for now and see if I end up absolutely needing one 😁 I think that is one of the reasons they use the double float on the Nash one to stop it tipping up before it gets to the target but I could see it being tricky to get used to it does look bendy

Same as and many more did the same no doubt.

A very interesting debate here lads, I’ve enjoyed reading it. I can only go from my personal experiences, in my mind, I have to husband my funds carefully, I know I’m not the only person here who has to do that! When I was in the army, I was extremely fortunate, well paid, cheap rent, food covered, taxes etc... all came out of the pay packet before it hit my account. I would usually have weekends free, I was single and able to hit the roads and afford the wraysbury one ticket. It was under Cemex at the time and wasn’t extortionate, a couple of hundred, which i could afford by a bit of saving. So I went for it and fished the place every weekend. My results were pretty rubbish to be fair! But I loved the place. I looked last week at getting a wraysbury ticket again, it’s several grand now (and the waiting list)so it been priced well out of my price range... my wife is very supportive of my carp angling (which I’m very lucky about) but I think if I spent that, divorce would be a very real possibility! Now I work as an ambulance pilot, the wages aren’t brilliant, the hours are long, my days off are sporadic, I might not get consecutive days off and any trip is a quick overnighter, so my fishing is restricted to local waters. I can get a syndicate ticket for £350 which gives me up to 9 lakes so I start saving in the months leading up to the ticket renewal so I could afford it. I didn’t have the time to commit to lots of sessions, so any time I did have needed to be spent wisely, I would keep tabs on the place by keeping in touch with the bailiff, I’d pop in and wander about, I would walk the lake on arrival, see what’s been caught recently and from where, I’d keep my bait trickling in as much as I was able, I may only have 12-24hrs at my disposal, but if I spend 3hrs walking the water, this is time very well spent. It would be very easy to drop into the first swim, but i could wind up wasting a session, I fish light, so I can up sticks and move if need be. I spent 4yrs chasing one particular carp, which I never felt I was close, I could get carp most sessions, the bait was going well, yet I couldn’t close the deal with this one carp. Then one winter, I leave my bait at home by mistake, so pop into the nearest tackle shop, none of the boilies on offer take my fancy, so I buy a few pints of maggots. Quick lap in the pouring rain of the lake didn’t tell me much, so I went on previous experience of the lake and dropped into a swim. Flicked out a couple of magaliners with pva bags of maggots, and caught the target carp. Time on the bank is what i rely on, I can’t afford very expensive syndicate tickets, I can’t justify hitting the banks every free hour I have, I love my fishing, yet I love my wife and family too! The trick is to strike that balance! Nothing is more precious than time, you can’t buy it, you have to sacrifice to make it (quoting Dave Lane) yes, it’s a fact of life that some of the big ticket waters are pricey, they may have been priced out of the range of some anglers, but there are lots of waters “under the radar” that can be tracked down. In my circumstances, money is irrelevant, I can’t justify travelling long distance to fish new waters, I can’t justify the time, the local syndies in my area are closed shops. My fishing is done on club waters, park lakes and rivers. My park lake/river/canal ticket costs £30 a year, plus £2 a night, or £90 for the “gold card” (nights are free) yet they are tricky waters, I have to work for my fish, watercraft and experience puts my fish on the bank, I could go “full time” and fish it hard, but my house, wife, kids etc will all suffer. But it probably wouldn’t improve my catch rate significantly, one full timer is on a run of 44 blank nights... fishing overnighters, I’ve got a higher catch rate per rod hours fished. I’m happy with the balance I had, although covid has screwed up the plans for a lot of us. So long as you can sit on your chosen water and chill out, you come away at the end of the session looking forward to the next session, the stresses of the day melts away and you enjoy what you’re doing, that’s the main thing! Yes if I was to win the lottery, I could fish more, I would even dig my own lake! But millions in the bank wouldn’t change my outlook on fishing, I’d still want to spend time at home, I’d still have a wife, I’d still have children and time with them is priceless. Right now, I sit at home balancing my income and outgoings, I have to be careful, (a £560 bill for car repairs last month made me weep!) but that’s the same for most of us! Millions in the bank wouldn’t make me a better angler, experience of fishing different waters, watercraft learnt through carping for over 24yrs all over the place and using what time I have on the bank wisely, quality bait and location are more important in my eyes.

I use swan shot... you are always going to lose weights in snaggy areas... another wrinkle is to use plasticine as a weight... far cheaper and easier to use and looks like a stone if you mix up the colours

Elmo... the guys who are in the forefront of the carping world are usually working in the trade and therefore have less time than we do to fish... this makes the gift of watercraft the deciding factor in their catch rates... yes good gear makes a difference too... but I know many anglers who are really good at their craft and they use old tatty gear and only ****** the odd hour on the waters and their catch rates are far better than mine... its the watercraft aspect that makes the difference...

Time spent watching the water for a few days without a rod will teach you more than sitting behind silent alarms day in day out... watercraft can be learned, but the best bits of tackle you have cost you nothing... eyes, ears and your brain... too many folks put their trust in the latest bait or rig, without looking at the water and having a clue where to put it or where the fish hold up... this is where to top lads excel...

In my bag, I’ve got... iq fluro iq2 fluro esp ghost esp bristle filament korda mouthtrap korda boom fox illusion fluro korda camo, esp sink link ridgemonkey RM-tec soft korda hybrid stiff green esp tungsten soft green esp tungsten soft brown esp tungsten semi stiff green esp tungsten semi stiff brown esp striptease (original) esp striptease two tone brown esp striptease two tone green Korda supernatural brown Korda heavy metal Korda dark matter Korda n-trap soft brown Korda n-trap soft green korda n-trap semi stiff brown Korda n-trap semi stiff green fox reflex fox camotex light soft fox camotex light stiff gardener ultra skin stiff brown Thinking anglers micro strip stiff green drennan gravel braid brown amnesia clear I think I may have a problem...

Another fan of the tungsten loaded semi stiff, if i have to use a braid for say like a PVA bag Kryston Super Nova (I still have the original).

I am a massive fan of the esp tungsten loaded, I moved onto that when the striptease proved hard to get hold of.

ESP Tungsten Loaded. Best I've used by a mile.

I've been trying a bit of drop shotting for Perch in the local canal, it's quite snaggy +been losing a few leads+ rigs . Which shape leads do people think snag least? I've been using the standard column shaped drop shot weights, would round ones be better?

She’s 11 months old and far too intelligent for me! Lol! She had a bad start in life and has a fear of men, loud noises, cars, the list goes on! She loves children and has a pathological hatred of cats! She needs at least two good walks a day and she goes to doggy day care when my wife and I are both working so she isn’t left for hours on end. She’s not my first rescue, but she needs the most work and effort to train her. It’s going to be a long road as she has real deep seated anxieties from her past life which need gently correcting, but she improves steadily, she’s so loving and protective of us, (my wife especially) it’s worth the input! I would like her to become a carp dog, but we are a long way from that yet, she’s intelligent though, she learns quickly, which is both a blessing and a curse as if she has a bad experience, she doesn’t forget!

Nice dog ouch

Don’t turn your back on a Collie could end up like mine 🙄

I’m in the process of training my collie/carpathian shepherd cross, we rescued her from Romania. She’s 10 months old and a little character! Just got off the phone with a dog trainer. She’s been on one carp fishing trip with me and she dug holes everywhere and barker at all the other dogs!

That 10lb pike from the double take has put on weight, I had it again today at 12lb. The twisted mouth and scar on the back was the give away. Caught this time on a dead roach. I also had another Jack. The jack was lightly hooked and the hooks fell out in the net. Mackeral tail for that

What did you think of the lures jh ?