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So the bread paid off. My eldest son & I, had a few fish off the top. Great fun. At one point it was like a jacuzzi in front of us. Biggest was about an 8lb common. No pics as not permitted I'm afraid. Also learnt that this venue, might not be the one for serious overnighters, due to the amount of little ones.

6 crusty rolls and a bloomer. Love a bit of surface fishing. First day of new season on club waters. So going to have a look about at the same time🤞

I had to Google this but you're right that will 100% be where they got it from!

Big Bad Barry from Ben and Holly!

The best stuff is called Saki Hikari and 2kg costs 45 quid or 50 quid for the all-seasons version! 😂😂😂 The Orchard Fisheries stuff you just bought is not a million miles away in quality but a fraction of the price. You should see great results.

A few hours with my youngest boy this afternoon, resulted in a little common and few grass carp to 15lb. Happy days

Just popped to another little lake nearby. My son had a nice little common, before we got washed out. Stalking around is great fun, love it

Ive got permission to show pictures of these ones

Golf gloves are brilliant for casting if you know anyone that has old ones (depending on which way you cast/they play golf) but generally can get cheap gloves for a tenner and they’ll last you years.

I put on the JOF last time I went fishing, once it settled down it was OK but it did crack off once, I got 26 wraps straight through though, but tried to get my rod that far hooked the bivvy and sliced my finger when it didn't start flying 😂 (yes I didn't use my special glove, health and safety have been notified ) Put 2 rods on the 18 wrap spot after that much more civilised 🧐🧐

Not a lot lately for me, but i did get another 2 kilo of NFusion 12mm dairy nut boilies, cheap but i get on well with these and very similar to my 15mm corus Nut cluster, also i scooped a Michigan 88" brolly with side panels to use as a wind break when me and Mrs H go for a day session, dropped a cheeky bid on it before going fishing sunday as it was ending soon winning bid £12.50, this is new end of line, will see what its like next time on the bank

Big Bad Barry, What a name. Glad @greekskii knew what it was from because i knew it was from something. That would have sent me round the twist trying to remember where I knew it, I can't wait for my ticket to come through now, the buzz is real.

Ordered, thanks buddy. Mine are only 6-8" so just went for the small ones. 2k. More expensive than my boilies

Most epic sight I've had in carp fishing was seeing the big girl down welly chasing spawning tench around the lake, she looked angry and stayed within feet of the tench they couldn't shake her off. If not the spawn she was eating the tench anyway lol

I had an angler mate round on Saturday. Probably the first other proper dedicated carp angler to have seen my koi. He put 33+ on Whopper (the big white one) and 30+ on Big Bad Barry (a big white mirror with plated black scales who, like Whopper, was named by the kids 🙈). I can't wait to get them all weighed next weekend to find out. There's a big common in there too which 2 local koi pond experts have told me is a chocolate coloured Chagoi. I'm not convinced.... I'm pretty sure it's just a dark coloured common carp (and a proper banger at that). Looking forward to finding out for sure.

This was driven by a certain Mr. Pomeroy! For anyone genuinely interested in lead-free weights, check these out: Weights – Evolve Tackle Not cheap at nearly 3 quid a pop but they do look decent.

Correct 👆 The guy is trying to get lead banned for one reason only $$$$$$$$$$$$ I disagree with the unnecessary dumping of leads. However, I believe the safest rig is the one that lands the fish safely and efficiently, and on many waters I've fished dumping the lead plays a part in that.

Very wise of you to ask mate. Don't get any feed from the local garden centre. Most of it is absolute rubbish. Naturally you can spend whatever you want on koi food.... some of it costs a fortune. I use the stuff below. The spec is right up there with the best feeds but it's a third of the price of the major Japanese brands. Koi Premium and Colour Food Pellet Mix -koi food - Orchard Fisheries

Lake gremlins, their nastiest trick yet. I got to the lake to discover that the stock fish were interested more in reproduction. I parked next to the cottage so I could see if I recognised any of the fish. It looked like the new stock rather than originals and the syndicate manager said we can fish, just nowhere near the shallows, so I went down towards the causeway and deeper water. After a quick play with the marker rod, the first two rods were easy to sort, at around 40metres. I got my 3rd rod out of the sling, the tip wrap caught up and snapped the tip eye of my RH Enduro rod. Not a happy bunny! On a postive note I have just spombed in a bucket of Vitacarp, mini maize, maples, 2pints of maggots and 2 tubs of worms up the opposite end of the lake I intended. I'd been bringing them specifically for BC, but with spawning in the shallows I had to use them elsewhere

During Lockdown in 2020 I started getting back into my model building again. The majority of the aircraft are in 1:48, with a few 1:72 on separate shelf, and the ships are 1:600. Got a few more to do

Thanks, I do have a couple. I've doubled up on HMS Belfast in 1/600. I bought it myself, then a friend stayed over after I took him for a days pike fishing on the reservoir and for thanks gave me another Belfast. I ordered Prinz Eugen, and unintentionally picked 1/740 instead of 1/600. Rather than send it back I just bought the 'right' scale.

they look awesome, i have to admit to getting back into making and painting 40k stuff about a year ago. it is suprisingly calming to lose a few hours surrounded by glue and paint. not sure if it's appropriate here but this is an excellent charity that uses model kits for veterans as it can help with PTSD and gives a sense of belonging to a community again, if you ever find you have a kit spare (can happen i have heard) they pass them on to others. https://www.modelsforheroes.org.uk/

Although I hve purchased and been given a few more I'm paused on Bismarck at the moment.

Well I like ‘em Nick 😀

Not watching it as above, he’s just out to make his money mainly. Does he go in to how long it takes a coated lead, which most are nowadays, takes to actually leach toxic metals in to the water to the extent they have an effect on the environment? The process of how that works? Or anything like that? I’d be more worried about the microplastics than the lead.

Just remember ,Poms ,Pomeroy has a vested monetary interest in this .. Same or similar ethos to the Gripz hooks,what I'm saying is either he's got a valid point ,or slightly worrying other people / anglers..just like he did over the gripz hooks ,which I've used ,caught on them ,and binned .. I use lead clips ,I don't use heavy leads max 2oz most places I go ,I rarely,if ever drop a lead .. Also when the Korda vids came out ,showing or pushing dropping leads ,again ...who profited from that ..? Those Stonze,and I've used em are not the best ...however other companies are making inroads to non toxic leads ..due to environmental concerns .. Dropping the lead ,to land a fish in weedy situations I understand ,but some drop leads willy nilly and there is only one person to blame for that.. Would I use pallatrax stuff again ,ans is no !

So, i just brought 5 young ones for my sons pond. Im guessing that's me signed up for a lot more pond maintenance? @yonny would you be so kind as to send me a link for decent feed? Its interesting watching them settling in with the goldfish

My local park lake seems to be full of cricket bat commons when the sun shines hard and they are on top sunbathing. But by fishing on the bottom, I'm rarely troubled by them and the mid teen mirrors seem to be dominant. It might be worth a go, just don't do it if you are on a work overnighter!

I'm first on the waiting list 😬😳

I already have all mine and my brothers families asking to be present 😂

Where’s my invite?!

I was thinking about this yesterday and while I've never cracked off, I did lose a spomb on a pre-baiting trip a few years ago over at the a reservoir I was fishing. I was putting in 10k of bits at 100 odd yards and hit it just as a flock of geese came flying over. It went straight through the flock and got tangled on one of the geese. Bye bye spomb. I remember it was quite a violent event! I was fully wrapped up in advance for pre-baiting so had to borrow distance sticks and a spomb from a pal that was fishing just to finish the job 🙈

Quick update on the big brolly, for the price its bloomin ace, goes up in a minute and plenty large enough for me and Mrs H to shelter under and mad bargain price

A few new purchases for the new year.... NGT XPR Brolly System - I got my old Trakker brolly out to check it over and it was covered in mould. I've been trying to clean it, but can't seem to get rid of the acrid smell. 3 x Daiwa 22 Whisker 45 SCW QD OT reels - It's time to replace my old Shimano 5000 baitrunners that I've had for 18+ years. They are great reels, but I need something to pair better with my current rods and I felt they were starting to affect my casting distance, so some big pit style reels were called for. I've only had them out for a few test casts on a local pond and I'm definitely feel like I'm getting further. OMC 3 Rod Wide Elbowz in stainless. I've got the standard width version but they were a little bit narrow for my baitrunner reels and they won't sell just the longer cross bar to convert it, so had to go for a new full set. I'll probably sell the old set now....

Latest purchase this week was obviously the Trent Baits Shrimp, but a quick trip to Markham's tackle shop also found some original and possibly still the best, John Roberts run rings or ledger rings, Kodex PVA bags and a new Gardner Stringer needle to replace the one I broke my catching the tip in my chair. I was feeling it for Gary at the time, poor guy had 3 Eastern Europeans in who he had to keep an eye on the whole time. 'Want this, want that, and no idea'. I also need to replace my Bulin T4 which will hopefully just make it through 2 more nights, but the burner grill is rusting through after years of service on the bank and beach. The replacement is another already ordered.

I popped into a mates lake, thinking most of the carp were dead, only to find around 20 mid doubles all cruising around, occasionally breaking the surface and splashing their tales about. If I didn't know better, I'd have said they looked to be getting ready for it. We have had a fairly warm spring so far

Could be a heated lake, won't be long now 😂

It's completely temperature dependant. I'd be amazed if the carp were spawning as they need at least 17C water temps. Even my pond is only ~12.5C at this point. They could mean a different species perhaps?

This has to be one of my favourite rod shots, taken this week, with the sunset.

rods out on the park lake for the first night of the new season, shed load of bream, but no carp

Hate to say it but I'd be somewhat upset if someone set up floodlights in the swim next to me.