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Good morning to you all, so as I defrost in front of the fire i shall regale you with a tale of carp, rain and mud! (I’m like a cut price Terry Hearn!) This tale has its foundation in last week, when I found myself once again ensconced in a stuffy hotel room for a “preparation course” ahead of my final exams next week. Chatting to wifey on the phone, she asked why I didn’t take any fishing gear with me, I explained how there wasn’t any time to disappear to a lake for a few hours, so wifey suggested that I get an overnight trip in as she is working and daughter is at nursery and I probably won’t be missed! Still, as the wifey and I have another baby on the way, due in the summer, opportunities to get the rods out are going to become few and far between, so I prepped the gear, my daughter and I rolled some bait and on yesterdays dawn I was gone, heading for zombie sheep lake. In arriving, I found the lake looking grey, sullen and foreboding. The water level was up by a good 2ft, meaning one of the islands had disappeared completely, and the other, only a few sorry looking branches poked above the water! As I was alone, and the wind was piling in, with this being a rather barren landscape, with little to stop the howling wind between the Russian Steppes and my bivvy, I chose to set up on the back of the wind, tucked in behind a sorry line of bushes that did at least act as a wind break. It wasn’t raining, so I took the time to have a lead about to find my usual spot albeit from a different angle. Happy with my spots, HMS Jenny (my bait boat) was launched into the chop, where she gamely battled the waves to deposit two pva bags of boilie crumb, pellet and maggots onto the spots. With that, I was fishing. Both rods being Fox Horizon X3S’s to Fox EOS 12000 reels, to lead core leaders, 3 1/2 oz leads fished as helicopter rigs to fox cortex braid, ESP Clawhammer hooks barbless size 6 fished slip D style. Bait was my usual Premier Superaminos with belachan, shellfish and salmon oil with added robin red, I tend to just keep feeding the same bait all year through here and still keep having bites, plus it helps keep it established for next year. A good quality bait gets better with application in my eyes. With the rods out, it was time to set up house and have a cup of tea. As I was crouching down by the rods, watching the water for any subtle show that there may be fish about, my right hand rod tightened up, so the tea was flung to one side and I snatched up the offending rod, on hitting it, the rod took on its battle curve as the battle was joined. After a spirited 20min scrap, where it bored remorselessly around the flooded margins, it finally rolled over and hit the net. I checked all the fins were flat, popped the hook out and rolled it up in the mesh for the short walk up the bank. As it is rather steep on this side, with all the rain, it was like an ice rink, and I managed to slip over, landing on my bum with a carp in my lap! Still, the fish was undamaged so I laid it on the unhooking mat and unfurled the net. I was faced with another rig in its mouth! Hanging from the scissors was a pink boilie, attached to a rig, safezone leader and a 4oz lead that had no chance of discharging from the lead clip as the tail rubber was jammed on tight! So I unhooked it for the second time and held it up for the happy snaps at 28lb exactly, he was in rude health, I don’t think the other rig had been there long as the mouth was not torn, but I treated both hook holds and let him go, a 4oz lead lighter! I felt that he could be the start of a few, to get a bite so quickly, but alas, it wasn’t to be. HMS Jenny continued to battle the waves to deposit my baits back out there, the rain closed in and started hammering it down, I discovered a few leaks in my bivvy that will now need attention, the bank became a quagmire and it soon became a challenge to stand upright without slipping, let alone walk anywhere! So diving into the stand of trees, I picked up a carrier bag full of pine needles, pine cones and twigs, which I made a path from my brolly to my rods, now I had a grippy surface again, I got my head down and had a peaceful nights rest! This morning, I awoke and redid the rods, or at least tried to! HMS Jenny, my indefatigable little Amazon special bait boat, finally gave in. Her props still spin, she splashed bravely through the waves, but when it came to drop the baits, the hoppers refused to release, the motor working the release mechanism had given up the ghost. HMS Jenny was like a WW2 Escort Corvette who’s used its last depth charge, it can sail gamely on, but not a lot else! I chose to stick on a stringer on each rod and cast them out for the last hour or two, whilst I slowly packed up. Sat on my bedchair, looking at the bags that needed packing away, whilst trying to drum up the enthusiasm to make a start, my left hand rod registered a rapid drop back! I leapt off my backside and promptly landed back on it again as my feet shot out from under me in the slimy muddy bank, and I landed flat on my back, picking my self up I watched the embryonic take fizzle out, I’d missed it! This proved to be the motivation I needed to pack away and go home. With the barrow loaded, I slip and slide my way back to the car park, load the car and head for home. This proved to be a more mentally challenging session due to the conditions, and it did cross my mind to pack up and go home, but I gave my head a wobble and stuck it out. Besides, a 28lb common in February isn’t a bad reward! Now time for a hot bath, get HMS Jenny in dry dock and see if I can get her back to her little bobbing best!

out for 4hrs today, just to enjoy the sunshine! Had this 15lb common on a single NS orange pop up

This bad boy! Does nearly 60 lb now this one!

out for a few hours enjoying the sunshine 😎

It's been a long hard 6 months of Autmn & Winter. I haven't been able to get out since last August. Glad to finally be back at it again. Its a rock hard water, but today's not about catching. It's about being out and enjoying life for a few hours. Tight lines anyone else out there today. I hope this isn't a false spring......

I'm in the mud tonight.

You need a Korda Krash Helmet , in camo. of course ! .

Twice! 🙄

Hi Yonny, Thanks for the positive comments regarding Trent Shrimp. I've decided to go for it. I only hear praise for Trent and they've got those white cork balls back in stock at last Cheers for also sharing your common capture, what a creature!! Luke

Yup! Been using it for 10 years+. I don't use a lot of boiled bait but when I do it's always the Shrimp. I had just dropped a bait deal back in ~2015 and was looking for something new. I'd bought 20kg of Essential B5 and was really struggling. Literally couldn't catch a cold. Given the track-record of the B5 I was reluctant to believe the bait was the problem but a pal of mine put me onto the Shrimp. On my first session with the Shrimp, 4 hours after casting out, I caught the big common I was after. It was like flicking a switch.... just started getting loads of bites. Just yesterday afternoon, with the temps in my koi pond rocketing, I decided to see if the fish would eat boilies. I chopped up a handful of Shrimp and plonked it in each corner of the pond. Given my koi have never seen a boilie I expected they'd take a while clear it up. Wrong. It was gone in about 1 minute! They absolutely love the stuff. I can't help here I'm afraid mate. The Shrimp is that good I'll not try anything else. I have 100% confidence in the stuff.

Yes , they do come big sizes. I told my mate about them and he uses the 6's. He absolutely loves them. And the bonus being, no carp tax.

That worked wonders for council housing stock and affordable housing. What happened to the cash they raised?? I struggle to see much in the way of reinvestment. As I heard the other day, it's not a cost of living crisis, it's a cost of profits crisis

I bought a second hand 12ft daiwa super spod rod the other week. I used it for the first time this weekend. Was nice to go back to an anti frap tip again. That was really bugging me on my old chub spod rod. Seems a nice sturdy beast too 17 wraps seemed like a flick. Very happy with that purchase for £45.

They don't call me the stringer flinger for nothing 😂

Maybe try using a stringer, no problem

Tight lines , Elmo . Don't fall on your bum like Ouch . 😁

Since before Jesus was resurrected I heard.

Think Yonny is a Trent baits user

Get yourself some "Varivas Chinu" hooks from Veals Mail order. They are a sea fishing hook, Sizes 8's and bigger. They are choddy style hooks, super sharp and half the price of carp hooks. If i was still carp fishing I'd 100% be using them.

If anyone’s interested, I’ve edited my catch pic above with a full catch report.

I don't know enough to get into, nor support, any particular party. The tories have just raped and pillaged our economy, (despite imposing austerity???) Whilst allowing their billionaire buddies to continual increase their profits at our expense. We need a complete clear out and start again with laws and legislation that try to keep up with the technological revolution we are all living in. Renationalise all of our services to non profit organisations and see where we are in a decade or two? Although I'll probably have departed by then. Sorry guys, not trying to get all political & that, but I don't use other media outlets.

Hopefully this topic won't turn as 'sour' as a certain bait thread seemed too? Let me just state I am old enough to remember: 3 day week 1974. Thatcher the milk snatcher Hillsbourgh cover up Tony Blair - 'Things can only get better' New Labour - oh weapons of mass distruction lie brought him down Soo many more, one thing I have learnt is DON'T worry, just do what you do and don't trust any politicians now, there were a few in the past but can't be bothered anymore with all stuff appearing on media. As for greens, they will never be in power so don't sweat about them. On a lighter note, are any 'older' anglers getting on the bank yet?

I support small scale nuclear, it's good enough for our submarines and net zero is suicide. Thus, Conservative or Restore. Restore also address the idiocy of hosepipe bans and shortages in an island with 6 months rain annually. Build more reservoirs on flood plains, not houses.

Now I know why old men wear flat caps. Perhaps it's that time already.

And I thought that I was mad with some of my sessions😅 Proper result that Mate, lovely looking fish, and the weight is just a bonus.

There you go Mate, I know it's an old thread, but a bit of thingy on gas brands

Bringing this up again, as I have found a couple more decent brands of canister: Taylor and Brown. These were an eBay search after I got annoyed at Coleman going from £20 for a 6pack to over £30. They were priced at £21.99 including carriage. Admittedly I have not used them carp fishing, but I think cold, wet, windy days and nights under a Beach Buddy or umbrella while pike or sea fishing might be a serious test. The canisters ran until empty with only a little reduction in flame due to low pressure. This one was a surprise to me, NGT canisters! My mate Will mentioned them last summer after we had sworn at the Coleman canisters together previously. He picked up a bargain through Ebay and again, pike fishing mornings were the test. While I have not seen the canister run low, Will praised them for not being a problem when low.

I do like my 12 footers, I find the eyes a bit flimsy though. One of my butt rings is quite bent already.

Times like that, I bet you wish you'd kept the boat?

Thinking of going to the BIG ONE at the weekend. Not sure, but thinking about getting 9-10FT Helicals, the 13's are bit too big fo the estate campaign.

Great write up and pic 👍

When you realise you don't even need to change your line yet 😂

Pretty sure Yonny has used the shrimp for as long as I can remember

It doesn't empty properly, even when put upside down when nearly empty. Always have to heat a bit of water up in a pan, then put the gas canister in the warm water in pan to get a decent burn, otherwise the flame is too low.

I love a varivas hook 👍

Beautiful fish, well earned buddy👍

Great find mate. They look like just like the Drennan Continental Boilie hooks.... except massive😅

You're the epitome of " you have to be in it to win it " , Ouch , but I'll leave the heroics to you 😁 . Well done on the big Common you thoroughly deserved it . 😃

Thank you

I like the go gas ones but they do seem to empty quickly.

😱

The NGT canisters if you are talking about the 500's are actually some of the best gas canisters out there. The ones to avoid if possible are Coleman!

Funny thing is that many freezer baits become bio-active by a simple process called efflorescence, where salts and sugars come to the surface of the boilie. It is why some baits are more effective after a couple of days out of the freezer. There were a number of bio-active ingredients, from meat meals to milk products, to pineapple juice (bromelain).

That’s barren lol congrats on the fish

It is a tad open, the rains hammering down now and I’m under a brolly and storm sides! The hot water bottle is working overtime tonight!

You're a hard man ,Ouch . No natural cover in view , and the wind wipping across . I'll just stay indoors , and cheer you on . 😁

Is this the right room for an arguement? LOL

Dark moody and damp February session

Thanks Kev. 👍 Thanks Kev 👍

I'm not offended, but I'm offended by our leaders. George Bush and Tony Blair wanted to be remembered as great leaders, instead they created ISIS, and a series of failed states. Iraq and Iran have gone to hell in a handbasket, Syria, Afghanistan, all from going back into Iraq. Thing is we can call fascism for being on the right, but equally we have our Karen's and woke brigade calling fascism just for disagreeing. At some point we do need to stop incoming boats, that is not fascism. Not all of these refugees are refugees, some are economic migrants. This may be worth a read, long winded I know: I bought a bird feeder. I hung it on my back porch and filled it with seed. What a beauty of a bird feeder it was, as I filled it lovingly with seed. Within a week we had hundreds of birds taking advantage of the continuous flow of free and easily accessible food. But then the birds started building nests in the boards of the patio, above the table, and next to the barbecue. Then came the stinky winky. It was everywhere: on the patio tile, the chairs, the table ... everywhere! Then some of the birds turned mean. They would dive bomb me and try to peck me even though I had fed them out of my own pocket. And others birds were boisterous and loud. They sat on the feeder and squawked and screamed at all hours of the day and night and demanded that I fill it when it got low on food. After a while, I couldn't even sit on my own back porch anymore. So I took down the bird feeder and in three days the birds were gone. I cleaned up their mess and took down the many nests they had built all over the patio. Soon, the back yard was like it used to be ..... quiet, serene.... and no one demanding their rights to a free meal. Now let's see...... Our government gives out free food, subsidized housing, free medical care and free education, and allows anyone born here to be an automatic citizen. Then the illegals came by the tens of thousands. Suddenly our taxes went up to pay for free services; small apartments are housing 5 families; you have to wait 6 hours to be seen by an a&e doctor; Your child's class is behind other schools because over half the class doesn't speak English. Corn Flakes now come in a bilingual box; I have to 'press one ' to hear my bank talk to me in English, and people waving flags other than ”ours” are squawking and screaming in the streets, demanding more rights and free liberties. Just my opinion, but maybe it's time for the government to take down the bird feeder. 🤷🤷 I'm going back to them. I do as little supermarket shopping as I can, I buy my meat and veg from local stores, loose.