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Back down for another 3-4 nights potentially, picked back of the wind based on what I saw last trip and after setting up I saw several shows to my surprise, showing me where to put the rods, fingers crossed might get lucky - think I've dropped right on them unless they're passing through, some chunks to - fingers crossed 🤞

4 night blank to get me into the swing of things, lots to learn and a new playing field as the water is up 4ft on last year's drought level. Great trip loved it - spring is in the air, the birds are at it, frogs in the margins being hunted by pike and masses of bugs crawling out the lake especially during rain - so many caddis or whatever they were that it freaked me out - all coming under my door by the dozen. Can't wait to get back down asap.

I’ve always used floss as the “hair” on the slip d, then tied the hair stop on with a couple of granny knots then blobbed with a lighter. I then remove that bait and hair stop and discard it, then turn the floss loop so the blob is half way down the loop, then rebait, so the blob ends up in the centre of the boilie, then hair stop as normal. I do this because when I bait up, then give the bait a quick sniff, I can smell the melting/burning smell left from the blobbing process, but by replacing the bait and positioning the blob in the middle of the bait, this is eradicated. Extremely fussy I know! But it makes me feel happier! yet when I lasso and blob a pop up using floss, I can’t do that, and catch perfectly well, so the “blobbing burnt smell” can’t be that off putting… 🙄

Welcome to the forum buddy 👍

Not just your problem, in the wind lighter blobbing the end can be a nightmare. Even worse for me, is this trip I managed to leave my lighter and spare at home. 2 days of lighting cigarettes from a gas stove until I went to the local village to get some supplies... The pop-ups had been tied on with dental floss on one, Merlin on the other (to compare). They both lasted 48hours no problems.

Lovely looking lake that Kev, and really nice choice of spot. The weather conditions feel ripe for some fish, let us know how you go mate.

Good luck

I usually blob the braid but couldn't this session(didn't think of that causing such a issue 🤷🏽‍♂️), couldn't get the lighter working in the lovely weather we was having. 40mph winds with a bit of rain thrown in for good measures.

I've been tying hairs onto rig rings (or swivels) for years for snowman rigs and pop-ups, and because I had to deal with crayfish which can cut dental floss, mono or fluorocarbon, settled on Kryston Merlin braid. I found hair braid is too 'slippy'. Any brand uncoated hooklink braid should work, but I bought loads of Kryston stuff when Dave Chilton sold the company. I even go old school and have a loop at the end for a boilie stop for snowman rigs. So I tie the loop at the end of the braid, and normally using a plain simple blood knot tie the hair to the rig ring. There are occasional alternatives if I've been using single bottom baits or even wooden balls on the rig and they are tight to the loop and bait stop; I'll tie a dental floss or braid loop a pop-up onto the original hair loop. Uni knot a loop, put your pop-up in it, and pull the loop tight. With the two tag ends tie them into the original hair loop with 4 overhand or granny knots, then lighter blob the ends to stop any pulling free. A faff certainly, but it doesn't put fish off. I've found overhand knots or granny knots can slip, but lighter blobbing the ends stops them pulling back through.

I just use floss and blob it with a lighter..... unless birds are a problem in which case I use floss and a hair stop with 4 overhand knots! Not sure why yours will be coming undone. Try floss instead of the hair braid. The braid could be slipping.

All of my fish at Ardleigh Reservoir were caught at around 40-50metres maximum. One was caught at about 20metres when I saw fish moving around an inlet so cast a bait where I saw them. Even on Alton I don't think I cast more than 70metres.

Been 4 months since I've been able to get onto the syndicate, but even in the wet weather I still love it here.