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Yeh I’ll respool it with the braided marker line I have I’m sure the line that comes with it is useless - cheers for the reply 👍

You may find that on some lakes if the bars are flat, is that fish will feed on bait on top of them. They may be wary (hence the 'need' to change rigs), but because so much bait goes on top they will eat it. The same lake may also have fish that are caught from the bottom of the bars, as natural food, and short or long fall baits that don't land on the flat will fall into the troughs. Some more food for thought though: How many people think that they are fishing on top, but are actually dropping short with the swing of the lead? Reeling in 'excess' line should tell you if you are hitting the clip and tightening up, by 1 or 2 reel handle turns as opposed to 10...

The lake I'm on is real tricky found a hard spot in the middle that they will take a bait off, got it on there last weekend lost one on the take and couldn't get back on that hard spot with the recast I was close real close but no beans for the rest of the session. Will be back out this week Captain Ahab went and bought me a freezer full of bait and bits for helping him out. I was chuffed I could still do a round hard work window cleaning really do need every muscle you got everything gets a workout think its down to doing at a young age, got little muscles popping up in places they ain't been seen in years.

I personally wouldn't assume they follow it at all, I'd only place a bait there if I actually saw them patrolling it or signs they patrol it. If you do decide to fish it then if its like lakes that I've fished before there may well be certain pick up points along it and not just cast on it and catch. One of the lakes the bars were mainly made up of large stones (the size of your fist or slightly bigger) and a bite cast on this was very hard to come by but by leading about you could find areas that were made up of much smaller gravel and this is where your bites came from. Just a bit of food for thought.

Rod Hutchinson in The Carp Strikes Back reckoned the carp would use the top of the gravel bar during the day, hanging around and moving along, then would feed at the base of the bar. I've had fish from the top of gravel bars, Brackens Pool especially, where the bars could be 15ft above the lakebed, but on other lakes as well. I've also done well on either side at the base of the bars. Pretty much the only way is to fish both and see which the fish prefer.

My suggestion would be to put a rod on top and a rod on the base. See where the bites come from. Temperature will have an effect as in the hotter months you’d assume they’d follow the top in the shallower water. They probably do both in all honesty.

You're all quite , quite mad enjoying the wild weather when you could be nice and dry and warm at home like me ; but do you think that's why I don't catch much ? -doh ! . 🙄