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My cane rods are approx 2.75lbs test curve at 9'3"... they handle 20's with little or no effort and I was in the process of playing one of Ashmead's 'A' team on one when the hook pulled... this little chap went 22lb 6 oz on a little 8 foot stalking rod

Morning anglers, I'm fairly new to the sport and have been fishing for carp sine 2018. One thing I have noticed is the pressure in the angling community applied by the big brands and manufacturers and sponsored anglers. The truth is other then your rods and reels and having your rig amongst hungry carp the rest is irrelevant. I been using cheap lines, home made rigs, variety of bait that some anglers wouldn't think to use and the results were the same as for those having to remortgage their house for a days fishing 😅. From personal experience and I'm no branded scientist who can speak carp if the fish are hungry they will eat. How often do you open your fridge and don't find what you like and you eat what's there anyway because you are hungry. Obviously the introduction of certain baits does make carp fussy but I found using what never works on a venue for most anglers keeps catching me fish. I fished for carp in the States I had no idea about boilies pellets etc and all we used was a tin of corn and I caught more then I do sometimes on the boilies pellets etc. It's all very well watching monster carp and seeing 70lbs being pulled in like there is no tomorrow, but what they don't show is all the sonars and fish finders they use prior to the amazing footage on TV. Carp fishing is meant to be a hobby, relaxing inexpensive way to forget about the world. Instead it's a expensive competition between anglers. Don't get me wrong it's all personal perception and each individual will feel different about it. In my personal opinion it all comes down to luck. You can have the most attractive bait, best rig in the world etc and you can blank or catch the same way I use whatever I can get my hands on (always safe for the fish) and catch or blank on my basic gear. Just yesterday I fished next to a nash angler who was sweating like mad trying all his tactics and god knows what whilst me and my pall had 5 kg of home made bait never used on the venue before and we were hauling carp in like there was no tomorrow. If you ask me, yes we probably were landing on a shole of fish but then why did t the expensive bait reel them in of our spot? I stand by luck on the day more then the bait and rigs and glugs etc. Ps. Feeding carp bait in a tank in a controlled environment doesn't determine success of the bait. Tight lines everyone. Stay safe out there.

They are spectacular mate. I can see why you use them.

Ive only done it once so far, Sleeping Bag- I open it up, soak in febreeze, wipe over with anti bac wipes, then let it air out. Bedchair - I wipe it all over, then use a steamer to wipe all down the bed, febreeze it all, then leave to air out. Then place all back together. Job done.

I stuck my cyprinus in the washing machine that part went fine, I also put it in the tumble dryer that didn't go so well 🙄 it dried it but it also melted the strap that holds it onto the middle of the bedchair 😢

Agreed mate - convenience and versatility. How else are you going to fish at distance? And don't you dare say bait boat 😂😂😂

Welcome in I feel no pressure by anyone except my mrs lol at the minute I can’t be bothered it’s too hot for me as I hate the summer most of my fishing is done in the winter when it’s harder but that said I haven’t been at all this year yet. however I hope to get the sea rods out this weekend

Exactly that, there is no right or wrong here. Thanks mate, it's all just an opinion. That's why we love it so much!!

I agree with many of your points but disagree about the luck aspect. A good angler will make sure he can find and fish for feeding fish. He'll not just hope that he's landing on a shoal of them. It doesn't matter how good your bait is if you're not on the fish. Regards tackle I agree that much of it is irrelevant unless you need it for a specific application (distance fishing for example). However, there are some thing that just shouldn't be skimped on and they are lines and hooks - the bits that catch the carp. Also not worth skimping on bait imo. I'm not sure about the States but here in the UK we have incredibly rich pits of various descriptions, most of which are heavily pressured. Therefore you tend to be competing with huge larders of natural food as well as numerous other anglers. There are plenty of cheap baits that will compete (corn and pellet for example) but if you need the advantages offered by boiled baits it's worth spending some money - cheapo boilies will not compete on anything other than overstocked commercials. Carp fishing is meant to be whatever the individual wants it to be. Some will happily set up in a nice spot and see what comes along. Others will go out there and make it happen. There is no right or wrong. Do what you enjoy 👍 Excellent first post btw mate.

I totally agree with the approach of testing the rig against another that you have confidence in. I am extremely lucky in that I have sole access to a locked, disused gravel pit where I can guarantee a few low doubles in a short day session. That is how I gradually built up the confidence in the rig. The rig I described in the post is the most basic form but there are a large number of variations I have tried. Slipping on the line is one problem. Firstly, I rarely cast out if I am using a ledger style set up. I always use a bait boat even if I am only fishing a pub chuck away. If that is not possible I put my rig in a PVA bag to be sure that the presentation is not compromised when I do cast. However, you can put a float stop either side of the boilie to hold it in place. I more often than not use a floating plastic maize to stop the boilie slipping up the line (and also to help it sit on the bottom nicely). Another thing I have done is, when tying the hook, instead of trimming off the line left hanging, is to use it to tie a series of overhand knots up the line so you have a very long and ugly looking knot to the hook, then I jam the boilie over that knot. The question I find most difficult to answer is what type of knot to use. My original approach was to try and get the hook to push away from the boilie as it turns. I used a spade end knot tied to the shank of a hook passing through an out turned eye. The last cm or two was a coated braid stripped back to the flexible braid for the rest of the link. The problem with this is the direction the hook points, as it rotates, depends on the tension in the braid. I wanted the hook to rotate with the hook always pointing forward to find a good hook hold and this method did not give me control over that. My knot skills are very limited so I am not sure what is the best to use but it needs to connect to the eye in a loop. I use a tucked half-blood knot which is not pulled tight to the eye but stops in a loop. It is then locked by tying another tucked half-blood above it. This makes a very flexible connection between hook and line. I then tie a piece of thread onto the bend of the hook. The idea is that, as the hooks swings through its arc, that piece of line puts a slight drag on the back of the hook and turns the hook so that it is always leading with the point. I have taken a photo to try and demonstrate what I mean. Although I said that the rig was incredibly simple, it has had a lot of thought put into it.

Not at all - I never got that impression. All new idea benefit from serious scrutiny. I am hoping to benefit from the ideas of others. Yes I understand your thinking. Personally I would make the baits as nearly neutrally buoyant as possible. I do this by cutting a bottom boilie and a pop up in half and then threading the two together with the pop up half on top. If you then add more buoyancy at the hook end it could float up spoiling the action of the rig. However, i will have to test that in the tank.