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I’ve still got my JRC STI Rapid Erection... it’s ancient! I got it when they first came out. they could have thought of a name that doesn’t conjure up images of a VD clinic, but still...

I had a similar experience with a bailiff on my water, I was using a spod on a water with braided mainline and a tapered mono shockleader, the bailiff came wandering into the swim and asked me to pull my rods in for a rig check, (they were trying to stamp out dodgy rigs after a few had been found up trees etc - fair play in my book) after inspecting my rigs, (before asking me how it all worked - he admitted to not fishing for “silt pigs” (carp) as he loved his pike - begs the question why he’s inspecting carp rigs but still...) he then turned his eye on my spod rod and with a triumphant gleam in his eye pounced on my shockleader as all leaders are banned! I explained that a spod rod isn’t a “fishing” rod as such, so a carp can’t possibly be tethered by a spod, but he wasn’t having it. He took pictures of my spod rod, which I posed with rather fetchingly I felt, and reported me to the head bailiff, I was warned off for an instant lifetime ban... when the head bailiff saw the pics, he burst out laughing and told me I was in the clear, before explaining to the other bailiff exactly why someone would have a shockleader on a spod rod...

For Brackens I used 15lb Daiwa Sensor treated with Kryston Greased Lightning to help it float, fish up to 38lb, so that is not as over gunned as it sounds. Even on the park lake freelining near the rushes that is the gear as well. For clear water I tend to use 8 or 10lb Daiwa Sensor I prefer the brown Sensor, the white seemed stiffer and I could not get a decent knot with it.

https://www.carp.com/topic/20865-a-few-pike-including-a-new-pb-over-20lb/page/2/

I’ve got an old green army poncho, complete with hood in the middle! (You see them in old Vietnam films) its ideal as it scrunches up to nothing, you can wear it as a rain coat in showers, make a throw up shelter with a couple of tent pegs and a few bungees or use it as an adhoc groundsheet. It’s always thrown in the hold-all.

Thank you mucka same to you I’ve upgraded from a emergency blanket I’ve now got a piece of insulated underlay for my bivvy to go on ground can be as soggy as it likes it washes down so happy days hope whoever is wetting a line in the foreseeable may they have a carp on the end 🤞🤞

Cheers guys I doubt I will use it anyway tbh unless I get really hard up for ideas, I don't want to get into faffing with bait and rigs this year 😂 I AM keeping it simple 🤕

Nick, did you ever notice a difference in “stiffness” between the 15lb and 25lb amnesia? I didn’t really suffer hookpulls, only had one from memory - although that was the biggest carp in the pond, a 36lb mirror which spat the hook at the net! (Still mourn that loss even now 20yrs later!) the biggest drawback I found in using amnesia as a continuation into a hair was the size of the overhand knot forming the hair loop! It would tear into a bait something awful. I did tie up a fluro rig using ESP soft ghost, to a fox wide gape size 5 with the hair formed by continuing the ghost hooklink, it still looks crude! The hook and bait just didn’t “sit” right, so I would use a supple hair now. Yet years ago, it was my go to rig! Funny how things change.

Pike fishing right now. I had a walk around on Monday, half the lake was covered in ice, but I figured it was going to be free by today. Gives me a chance for carp spotting as I can see most of the lake from where I am now.

I've got nowhere to go carp fishing, everywhere is an hours drive minimum for me so too far unfortunately and most are closed anyway. A canal Perch if you're lucky - I should move down south tbh Good luck to those doing a bit 👍

I'm planning on a cheeky sesh next week. These temps cannot be ignored.

Pics up in the garden or it doesn't count 😁

Its arrived , certainly heavier than i expected , material feels excellent , thats as far as i have got LOL

Just wondering if anyone is doing a bit at the moment? I've got a day session at a small pond planned for tomorrow, had a walk around yesterday and the banks are so soft, my gear is gonna get caked in mud 😂 but the fish are coming out 👍

Heck yes! If it's a long day I do like a nap, and I can't sleep in a chair, lol

Most waters I fish have snags weed etc hence the 12 if I’m stalking with my pin an 6ft rod then I’m on 10 lb spider wire ouch

I’ve got 8lb dedicated floater line on my floater gear, but I don’t have any significant snags on my waters. I use it for both freelining and controller work. On my main reels, I’ve got diawa hyper sensor which in 12lb which is a nice thin diameter, although it’s in the dark brown diawa sensor is known for, 12lb is 0.28mm which may work for snaggy floater work, but it doesn’t come in clear and it’s reduced diameter might not withstand snaggy conditions.

I use 12 lb Berkeley and not had any problem

Just seen an advert on Instagram for the new ESP chod hammers, I will be interested in those I think, they would work nicely on my stiff bottom rig 🤔 They have a nice point like the trig hammer

I've packed everything including the kitchen sink pal 😂

lol no chair tomorrow lol bed chair for nighters lol not to self proofread with framey around 😂😂

Bed chair for a day session lol

There's a difference in stiffness between clear and black Amnesia as well as the 25 being a lot stiffer than the lower stains. Black is more supple. I would tie as big a loop as possible, so the knot was only just going onto the bait. The rig was tied with a boilie on already. Then I'd take the bait off to store the rigs. Even a large loop could tear soft baits.

3 today, biggest probably 7lb, all on float paternostered deadbaits

I'm packing a bag for life for the ground sheet and another for the barrow wheel 👍😂 good luck for tomorrow mate 👍 The only thing I'm not looking forward to is I have to get the bedchair that has a sleeping bag folded up in it down from the shed and shake it out. It's hasn't been used for about a year and I can guarantee there's some monsters hiding it in. Last thing I want is one of them creeping out on me when I'm chilling on it 😂😂😂

The only extra i bought was the Vapour Shield ( Skull Cap ), really cant see the point in the full Mozzie front as it comes with a Mozzie door and Mozzie front s ,as for the overwrap almost pointless if you have the Skull cap IMO

Same!

I’m off tomorrow and I learnt to put an emergency blanket under my bivvy or brolly keeps the cold from rising out the ground into your bivvy plus cleaner and you can just hose it down fold it up an reuse for a few times the Little pond I’m fishing tomorrow they’re not big but supposedly a good winter water 🤞🤞

Nice, I’m in East Sussex and we’ve had a few days when they iced over... the day I planned to fish in fact! 🙄

Going back to 99/00 I used to use short stiff rigs of about 4-5” made of 15lb clear amnesia, to a size 6 wide gape style hook (I forget what I was using back then - fox series 2 maybe??) fishing bottom baits, the whole rig was made from amnesia, including the hair, it looked (and was) crude, but it worked, it never occurred to me at the time to use a supple hair, I just switched to amnesia from braid (silkworm or merlin at the time) because everyone else was using braid, and my braided rigs would tangle - a hang up I still have today (thoroughly soaking a soft braid hooklink and using larger baits and/or stringers helps tangles though) then I discovered snakeskin! Nowadays, if I use a fluro hooklink, I tie it with a supple braided hair.

I lost a couple of fish to hook pulls on Ardleigh of all places using a stiff hair, so went back to more supple materials. Both fish were on stiff rigs made from 25lb Clear Amnesia continued through to form the hair. One of the fish I had played for around 10minutes, then it just 'let go'. Annoyingly I never had another take from that spot. I think a stiffer hair has it's place, but it does need freedom of movement, a pivot point or able to slide up and down the D or hookshank in the first place

She’s all good thanks mate, a taxi ran into the back of her, so the insurance company is sorting it all out. You’ve not had any major freezes, what area are you in?

I did, or even still do the same with shrink tube. I heard that longshank hooks with an inturned eye like the Fox and Nailer equivalent could do as much damage as the BHR. The Partridge piggyback were a nicely curved shank as well. Personally, possibly because I was not fishing for single figure fish and rather than use forceps with deep or well hooked fish, just cut the eye of the hook off with wire cutters and pushed it through point first, I never noticed any mouth damage. I did use the Fox D hooks, but after the Series 2's I think it was let me down started doing my own, making a tidy D on the shank. Think I still have a couple of my own in the pop up rig wallet, although now I do tend to use Amnesia with a knotless knot and lighter tag the end through the hook eye

I’ve got the bait rolled and the gear all prepped, I’ve done a total of about 10hrs since New Year’s Eve, no fish though. It’s more mild now, so I want to get on the bank ASAP, but my wife was in a minor car accident, she’s fine, but her car is in the repair shop so I’m having to act as chauffeur for the moment, usually when she’s at work and I’m off, then I’ll hit the bank. Fingers crossed though and good luck to all hitting the bank.

Nice mate hopefully you bag one at the weekend 👍 the weather's warming up a bit now so hopefully it will pick up a bit.

They do look the business, but the prices are unreel, all new bivvys now look around £500/£600 + Mark. £589 for Bivvy, £689 incl Inner Dome, £200 for wrap. But still... Wouldn't say no if I was bought 1 😁

I've done 3 sessions, all blanked, 1 occasion the lake had flooded and risen 6ft...out this weekend, mates have all tried and only heard of 1 of em catching, only 1 fish.

I used to use these many years ago. I used to pull a 1.5 inch piece of shrink tube down the rig that I'd pull over the eye and then steam. Can't for the life of me recall what the make of shrink tube was but it was very stiff. I basically made the bent hook rig, which was banned pretty much everywhere by then. I smashed the lake up I was on at the time for a short while until a bailiff clocked my rig when I was unhooking a fish. Told me the bent hook rig was banned to which I argued that it was shrink tube and not a bent hook. I was told to stop using it or I'd be banned. I wouldn't have minded if the carp had mouth damage etc but it was nailed bang centre. So I then went onto the long shank nailer hook 😂

No idea mate. At the time I thought it was my own little secret. When I came up with my little boomed chod I thought that was unique too. A month later it was publiced by Korda as the chod mkii lol.

There is a back door entry (ooh err missus) that allows you to night it for £15 a night, by joining one of the local clubs that gives access, might need to do some research!

Got to be one of the best bivvies on the market today

Looks great I like the wrap that gives it a peak 👍