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Blank night, new swim 3 islands and 4 channels to go at. Just one fizzer seen and closer than I was fishing. Back down Thursday 🤞

Managed to get out for storm Austen and it was great fun. I really enjoy being out in extreme conditions and while it was a bit sketchy at times, I came out the other side free of injury and/or death. I got myself right on the end of that massive wind so careful placement of the brolly was required to prevent losing it. The rain wasn't actually too bad where I was, but the wind was every bit as strong as forecast. Just as the storm hit, I managed a nice low/mid twenty common which made the trip worth it. I added another little one later that went back without a pic. Saturday morning was fantastic..... wandering around surveying the damage, branches all over the place. All in all, a fun little trip.

One from last week just prior to the storm and right on dusk at a days only water. A lovely half-lin at 21-8, one of the nicest looking fish I've ever caught.

Blank 3 nights last weekend, started on the spots i'd caught from, by the last night I had 2 up against the snags after seeing one saturday morning. Heard a lump bosh near there rods at 11pm but no takes. Frustrating but back again Thursday with a new baiting plan and lure rods after a pike grabbed the leading rod and felt decent!

A moody one after a busy night..

That's good, you know to ask the naming committee first - i.e. me and Elmo 🙃 and NO Dayvids Mirror/Common is not allowed!

Well I actually went back Tues to Thursday armed with particles including tigers, same swim, not a touch. Could see fish in the swim opposite, two anglers went in and both failed, watching them I figured I was pretty close and went long after them but same result. Was kicking myself for not getting maggots instead of the particle choice as they are clearly on naturals in the areas still containing surface weed or where that had recently cleared. Found 3 fish on the back of the wind on the 2nd afternoon and said to myself I'll move down here if no action for the 2nd night, with one being a good sized common, but the following day no fish in that area so a move turned into a go home early. Social at Bluebell this week but then back to the syndi end of Oct armed with maggots, worms and/or casters. Always disappointing to blank but have to remind myself it's 2 fish per acre at best so never easy.

Shame I didn't manage to include the carp that leapt just after I took the original picture.

Mrs bought me a Tamiya Lunchbox several years ago. Throwback to my youth..... loved building it. With my lad turning 7 it's recently made a come-back. Great fun.

Change of scenery, equally mega - got a rod on the spot I know does the biggun and one I've caught from before so fingers well and truly crossed with these poor conditions - still, easteries, high pressure and misty 👎 Still in it to win it, just fab being out and getting the swims I want for a change🤞😎

Well done mate - great stuff! I was on Bluebell Swan Thurs to Saturday with a mate, nothing came out despite the favourable conditions but good to get the feel for it ahead of the winter ticket I guess. Picked the shallower end after seeing some fizzing close in but could only get drops, no pull back so ended up swapping over to hinges for the 2nd night. Think I probably ended up fishing in eel grass and not presented well enough despite all rigs coming back clean every time, weird one!

I had a mozzie bite on my arm about 30 years ago and remember struggling to drive home as I could hardly change gear as it was so swollen and it lasted for a week. After that, nothing. I can't remember getting bitten in all that time. There are several threads on here about the merits of jungle formulae, Avon skin so soft and burning coils but didn't really need to act on it. Two weeks ago I got bitten, luckily just on my ear lobe and it was only a minor inconvenience. I decided to get some jungle formuale just in case and stuck it in my bag. Just got back from a Sunday to Tuesday session on another lake and on the Sunday, I had some buzzing around my ear and when I woke up the next morning I had been done with a series of bites across my forehead, neck and cheek. I try to avoid putting the door panel on my bivvy during the warmer months as I prefer to be able to look out and watch the water, even after dark. The second night I sprayed some jungle formulae on my chest and head and heard some mozzies approach during the night but they seemed to fly straight off again which was encouraging. I found one outside my bivvy the next morning and he got squashed into the chippings under my size 12! I've been up the chemist and got some Anthisan bite and sting cream which will go in my bag for future sessions. I wonder if the long hot summer we have had increased their numbers and activity time as conditions are still unseasonly warm.

Tbh, I'm generally a summer fisherman. I have avoided going when it gets below 6c at night. My bag is a big snooze+ 3 season jobby. I'm over 50 now and am fed up with being uncomfortably cold without good bl**dy reason. So, a heated blanket for a few hours with the bed cover so I'm not climbing into a freezer seems like a sensible idea and a weight sacrifice I'm willing yo make. It runs off my Ridge Monkey Vault 26000mah powerbank which I take anyway, so its a negligible change for me. I don't get the self flagellation at the altar of discomfort. If your doing something to save weight great you do you, but doing something just because it was done like that 30 years ago seems like madness to me. 20-30 years ago I smoked, mostly used a bike to get around and used to go raving. If I hadn't changed I'm not sure I would still be here, let alone have a decent job, house, be married with kids going to uni. If carp fishing had stayed the same we'd still be using argos sunbeds, optonics and cheap 50" brollies with a tarp over the top. Just look at your phone in your hand. How old is that and how old is the tech? The world changes, moves on and progresses. Embrace it where you want to/can justify it. I would ask, do you use a throwing stick/spomb/bait boat/baiting pole/sonar/gps? None of those were available 30 years ago, at least not in their current form. Back then, were there any carp reels, rods with the specialised ringing we now use?

I try not to worry too much about mosquito bites. All too often they're the only bites I get. Ian.

If I get stung/bitten I use after bite, the sting of it working is a relief itself

Blue Algea and low water levels have meant its closed until further notice (significant rainfall I guess) Shame as im told there's 8 nice 30's to go at😒 Plan B produced a 38 common 2 weekends ago, so hopefully its hungry again🤞

Not sure if this would be classed as a priceless moment 😂 I fished thorny Weir and the mets donkeys ago and had a mental take ! My left rod was cast about 50 yds out in line with a sunken barge they have in the lake and this torpedo came back at me the shot to the left into a overhanging bushes area of the margin where a few coots were hiding. Well I did manage to land the coot but the carp had got off the hook.

I stepped out from some reeds into what looked to be water of only a few inches deep, yet I disappeared over my chest waders and struggled badly to move and get back out. Silt is VERY dangerous! I always use a prodding stick now after that experience.

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

If it doesn’t hurt anyone else’s fishing and it is not against any rules then fill your boots with whatever makes your fishing more enjoyable. boat drone baiting pole hair rig nylon line or a bite alarm

My 2p for what it's worth..... The best and cheapest source of heat available to you at any time of year is the heat from your own body.... you just need to harness it. If you get a really good set of insulated togs (i.e. jacket and salopettes), they store the heat you produce. The trick, which most guys miss, is not to wear too much underneath. A decent base layer and micro fleece mid layer is all you need. Anything thicker than that (like a hoody) interferes with the system and prevents your body heat from heating the insulation. Same as a sleeping bag basically. It's why I'm happy in a brolly all year.... I've just learned how to use the heat my body produces. I'm with you on this. Not a big fan of technology in angling but when it comes to winter fishing and warmth, you fill your boots imo. Use whatever you want mate. The situations we'd put ourselves in back in the day were frankly stupid and certainly a little dangerous. It's easy now to look back with rose tinted specs but I think back to the completely inadequate gear I'd use in the depths of winter and I shudder. If I caught my lad heading out in minus 8 with the rubbish I used to use I'd go ballistic at him 😂

Np. I didn't mean to sound like I was having a go back if that's how it came across. I was just letting loose a little. And, again this isn't meant as a dig at you personally, but there does at times feel like theres a bit of hypocrisy from some people when it comes to comfort/more recent innovations. If there wasn't any progress, we'd all still be using split cane rods with 10+ rings all sat within a few mm of the rod blank and centerpin reels loaded with cat gut. As I said, you do you. Everyone's entitled to do what they want as long as it's within the rules and doesn't affect others. I've never fished through the winter before and have had previous few nights before, so a bit of comfort/warmth will be very welcome. Who knows how long any of us have left. If there's something you want to try, I say go do it.

I'm thinking maybe Interax doesn't want to end up crippled with arthritis in old age and unable to go fishing / enjoy his retirement ? .

That is the reason I nearly always make mine fresh just before casting. I do use a mix of pellets for bagging and meshing; halibut, CSL, bloodworm, koi/coarse and GLM in various sizes. Note, the Crafty Catcher bloodworm and GLM seem to be oversprayed. I managed to leave some Nash bags in my trouser pocket once, I was quite surprised that they were still undissolved after an hours 40⁰ wash. The plastic bag they were in had allowed water in, but the bags themselves were still almost intact.

I don't think it matters, but it also winds me up. I don't use bags a lot but when I do I protect the hook between a couple of little bits of corn starch packing peanuts (what most people call PVA nuggets). The corn starch is released more easily than PVA, and tends to keep the hook/barb free of debris. It also protects the hook point from penetrating the bait(s) in the bag.

Big hike? Not being funny, but a big water I'd stick with 12ft rods. Ardleigh and Alton reservoir, 160 and 500 acres respectively, even Nazeing Meads Lagoons, around 65acres, could be some long walks to swims, and 12ft rods do give you better casting range. Sounds simple, but co-ordinate your barrow and tackle you carry. Do the standard take out non essential stuff that 'I might need one day'. I use a Carp Porter Porterlite (original), and I can take the gear for 3 days in one trip, and the 12ft rods and bivvy on top of the barrow.

Rumour has it they call him Ghandi though

Changes to KHV disease controls in recreational fisheries - GOV.UK I don't know if this has been seen or commented on here, but I've just seen that KHV outbreaks are no longer requiring control measures. I'm split on this. We'll no longer know where has had an outbreak, but if it's as prevalent/endemic as they claim, what can really be done? What everyone's thoughts? ETA: There are currently no KHV control measures in place anywhere. Controls of fish and shellfish diseases in England and Wales - GOV.UK

I had no idea it's DEET free now. Cheers for the heads-up. Ill be trying that.

It's blood type O that is most susceptible to bites, I did have to check it up. I did look at my Jungle Systems this morning and I know that they have moved away from DEET. It used to give me a real headache, and took print off t-shirts. Skin-so-Soft was good, but apparently the amount of citronella has been reduced, and I could only get the original from Avon Poland.

Fished with a mate on Friday who was on the new DNA test bait. He caught and I blanked so take from that what you will.

Everyone I know within a 5 mile radius has been bitten in the past 5-6 weeks. I had jungle formula on, sprayed the sheets (mmm that sweet aroma), but still had about 5 bites. Thankfully none in the past week.

I just had one, no big surprise! I thought it might be nice to share some valuable, heart warming experiences. I just went with my son to get his first razor. Explaing the do's & dont's was very humbling for me.

when my son got his first it turned into a whole family event watching him shave as the kids had never seen me do it, for reference i have a full on beard and have only ever shaved my head

Just got back from a weekend on a water I thought I knew pretty well. I caught a 21-9 fully scaled mirror and 13-2 common on a water that is fished 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in the warmer months so almost catching is a bonus. I've got a newish bait boat (sorry Yonny!) and it's got all the bells and whistles, GPS and sonar. The lake is at least 2 foot down as you can see the tide line on all the islands. I was getting a pretty steady 3 to 3.2 foot after the marginal shelf and sent the boat out to an island. Unfortunately I must have got a bit too close and managed to ground it! Over a grands worth of tech beached 50 yards away and I couldn't get it back to deeper water. Nothing else for it, roped in the bloke in the swim next door to help and then stripped down to my under crackers and waded in. The marginal shelf was clear and then I hit the silt, probably up to my knee. It was so thick, I was having to breast stroke to get through it. Luckily the sonar was spot on and the water didn't go above my belly button. There was a clearish channel between 2 islands where the silt was a lot less but there are also some aeration pumps nearby which probably helped to keep it clear. Luckily I have always tended to fish close to the islands and just at the bottom of the marginal shelf so I was probably fishing the best areas anyway. I wasn't expecting the silt to be anywhere near that thick and the sonar was only showing a clear bottom. After I got it back, I got out the marker rod and cast out a heavy lead and dragged it through the area I had just waded through and although it did feel like silt, I would have guessed it at a couple of inches at most. My local water is brick hard at the inlet end where I do most of my fishing and so a 3.5 oz lead is my weapon of choice and that's all I had in my bag. I normally fish a helicopter rig rather than a lead clip which is fortunate but now wonder how many times I've been buried with no chance of a bite. Just dug out a load of 1oz leads and probably won't use back leads on there again despite liking the fact that there isn't any line cutting through the swim. I try fluorocarbon on my reels every couple of years and then pretty soon realise why I hate it as a main line! Many years ago I did a compromise and fished a 30 foot leader of 20lb fluorocarbon but hated the way the knot clattered through the rings when bringing a fish to the net and gave it up as a bad job. Anyone else had experiences with silt?

Jack found my old Scouts uniform, seems keen 🤣

We used to place baits by boat at Taverham Mills, and as @yonny says it can look totally different to how it feels. You could cast a marker float and lead out and get absolutely no feeling as the lilies would stop the float rising, yet look at the area from the boat and they were very thin and safe to fish to. The line would cut through them playing a fish. Other spots (as on the syndicate now) I have the float rise up, yet it is thick with weed. It's wading out that has shown how thick it is and a big bundle of weed can be down to a small root system. My marker float is normally used with a 3½ or 4oz lead. Today I waded out after casting out the marker rod, and I was showing 2½-3feet, yet I was up to my chest.

And finally finished Bismarck I think that the reason I left it so long was it got so fiddly to add in the smaller gun mounts and masts. This must be the closest HMS Hood and Bismarck have ever been... At 1/600, the range of the battle between them would work out at 23metres apart!

Best wishes for a speedy recovery fella..

I am such a Tackle Tart id charge to view my set up .😂

I must have met you there! That's when I fished it. PigPen was probably my favourite swim, but I caught from most swims. I missed Sam's, Rocky and Digit, but had some of the other 30's. A lot of big fish from such a small water.

Still £337.50 over at Trent Baits.

I'll probably do just that, save a few quid.

Just had a nose at the blurb on Gov site, guessing now, no need for net dipping, not sure that was actually to effective tbh. We won't know what fisheries were affected and no need to worry about it now then, hopefully Angling clubs are aware of this?! Here is a sample of what is being said: Why the approach is changing Over time, Cefas scientists and epidemiologists have undertaken multiple reviews of KHV controls, drawing on more than 15 years of outbreak investigations and epidemiological analyses. These reviews consistently show that: KHV is endemic and widespread in recreational fisheries in England and Wales outbreaks occur regularly and are influenced primarily by environmental conditions and stress, with good fishery management and biosecurity practices helping to reduce likelihood and impact. affected fisheries present a low risk of onward spread, due to limited live fish movements statutory controls at these sites have not demonstrably reduced disease frequency or spread the virus persists in sub-clinically infected carp populations in recreational fisheries and wild populations, with carrier fish often showing no obvious signs of disease Taken together, this evidence shows that applying statutory disease controls at recreational fisheries does not materially affect the overall epidemiological situation and spread of KHV. On this basis, Defra has endorsed a revised, evidence-led and proportionate approach to statutory disease control in recreational fisheries.

Hey! Another American angler here. Old thread but I thought I would reply in case it helps someone. I am in the very bottom of America, and turtles in isolation are incredibly cool animals. However, in fishing context, I have become convinced they are relentless hell beasts that serve satan. That being said, there are some things you can do to slow them down. Do not use any marine proteins or any proteins at all for that matter. For flavors only use fruit,sweet things like caramel etc and grains. I use fermented feed corn with oats as a pack bait. I use fake sinking corn as the hook bait, as when they do find it they can’t chew it apart. I also use flavored tiger nuts I make (banana,anise,chili). They can crunch them but usually leave them alone. Good luck

Hard to believe she is 11 now

The other side

The fish do quite often come away from the islands where they spend most of their time and come in close, mainly early morning. You do get a lot of bubbling and I frequently chase the bubbles around but can't ever remember hooking one! I'm sure on reflection that the 3.5oz lead wasn't helping and a lighter one would improve the presentation. The bailiffs also frequently chuck out a load of pellets if a swim isn't being fished and that tends to land in the bowl area which was the deepest for silt. Good advice but luckily my sonar was spot on with the depth and there weren't any surprises. I am a pretty good swimmer and also I didn't find any trace of any weed. I learn't more about the lake in 5 minutes than I could have done for casting around or plumbing for hours on end and even then it would have given a false impression of what was really there. I used to know a top barbel angler years ago and on his first trip to a new stretch, he would "walk" the river to build up a better understanding of where the fish were likely to be.

Good evening all, so this trip came about after my sons have come to visit for the last few days and my younger son wanted to get the rods out at the park lake. So last night found us winding our way down to see what was occurring. we were trying to get on the night before, but the available swims were all taken, so the following morning saw the boy and I hurriedly chucking the gear into the motor and driving, whilst becoming increasingly frustrated, through the school run traffic to the park lake. Now the night before, I hadn’t slept well, the baby has his first sniffle, and every time I closed my eyes, I could see serried ranks of carp anglers lining the banks, with no room for the boy and I, which would have been a bitter disappointment for him as he only had limited time before he needed to travel back for work - hence the rushed and stressful arrival at the park lake! Before the car had even stopped rolling, the boy was kicked out the door like a paratrooper jumping from a plane with a couple of buckets and my voice shouting “run!” ringing in his ears as he scarpered down the path and through the fishery gates to secure a couple of swims before the dreamed of carpy hoards arrived. I started unloading the car as the boy came sauntering back up the path, “I don’t know what the rush was dad, every swim is empty!” Still, the swim he loves was bucketed, as was the swim next door. (One, coincidentally, I hate!) but this trip was about him, so as long as he was happy, I’d make it work. As we set up, the hurried bomb-burst from the house soon proved to have been unwise, as I had left my spod and marker rods, as well as the water container and food bags behind! Now the boy went into his favourite (and mine) swim, where he has had 95% of his captures from and where my 3 fish hit from last week was from and was soon wrapping up, prepping his gear and chucking up his brolly, whereas I sat scowling at the swim my boy had bucketed for me, the bucket looking forlorn in the corner. I really didn’t like this swim, I’ve never found any spot that do bites with any regularity and I always feel as though I may as well close my eyes and pub chuck the rods any old where. Having a quick wander up the bank found me in a swim that always looks good, I know the spots that produce, I’ve seen them there, but my luck never runs, the fish either get caught just before or after I’m there! In fact, since 1997 fishing the lake on and off, I’ve never caught from this swim, although I know it can do the biz. The barrow was moved into the new swim, rods and home set up and before I could get them out, it was back to the car to drive the 10min drive home to collect the stuff I’d left behind. Once back on the lake, the X4 Horizons were soon sending the 3.5oz lead to the overhanging bushes on the far margin where they thudded down onto firm clay/pebble/concrete (this is a disused man made reservoir with a concrete “ring” jutting 2-3 rod lengths out before giving way to silt - the years have mellowed the concrete and a layer of clay and gravel now cover most of it) the newly collected marker rod showed 8ft of water level with the overhanging bushes, distance 18.5 wraps @12ft (no idea how many yards that is) I opted to initially bang a 7 bait stringer on each rod, rigs being fox cortex coated braid to size 6 esp barbless claw hammer hooks slip D style. My boy was nicely set up on the hard patch that weeks of prebaiting, spodding hemp/pellet and fishing over has improved nicely. Distance was a lovely 8.5 wraps with 14ft over it. Three (not immediately obvious) landmarks on the far horizon made recasts easy, the firm crack as the lead sank marked the spot. with the rods out, I set about wrapping up the spod to 18 wraps (taking into account swing back of the lead at this range) and tried to put out a bed of hemp, pellet, sweetcorn and whole/halved/crumbed homemade boilies onto a spot, but whether it was the blustery wind, the tackle or (most likely) my utter ineptitude on the day, I don’t know, but I think only 60-70% landed on target! On other occasions, in this swim, to this spot, I’ve not had this problem. I found I really had to “step into” the cast to get it flying. As the spod crashed into the surface over the left hand rod, this same rod started trickling off, “damn it!” I’ve picked up the line with the spod! Then the middle rod started going too! Realising that I’d had a take, which had kited and picked up my middle rod, I struck and was soon bent into a carp. The fight was fraught with issues, as at one point I had the spod, middle rod and a long length of unidentified line trailing all over the shop! My boy came to my aid by carefully retrieving each rod in turn before slipping the net under a lovely common, where the unidentified line was, well, identified! Nestled in the bottom corner of the fishes mouth, near to my size six embedded in the bottom centre of the lip was another rig! It had a fused leader, a lead clip with the tail rubber pushed on so tight that the 4oz lead hadn’t discharged! There was about 30yrds of thick, 20-25lb mono attached. Once that rubbish had been removed and bagged up, he was hoisted up for a happy snap. scraping 21lb, I was well made up! I’d finally caught one from this swim!! A day bite too, which is a rarity. My son was muttering something about me making a hard lake look easy, but it’s been 25+yrs of learning the place that had led to this string of captures, knowledge that he is reaping the benefits of too. As the day wore on, what came apparent was that the number of anglers who had booked on for the night hadn’t bothered to show up, so as it drew on to early evening, the spod was wrapped to 8 wraps and the boy soon had a nice bed of bait out, ready for the late evening/early hours bite window. The carp drop away from the shady margins and into open water spots at night to feed up. My son’s swim was soon fizzing like a jacuzzi, fish evident by topping and subtle head shows in the moonlight. My boy was being pestered by bream, but was rewrapping and restringering after every one, although he did swap the usual 12mm hook baits for “mega-baits” boilies of 30-40mm (and larger) that my daughter rolls from the scag ends. Some of them are like ping pong balls, but they do deter the slabs! He got his head down at about midnight after swapping his beloved mini microns for my spare delkims as they were low on battery. I too, was soon in the land of nod. At 2am, the shrill warbling tone of a delk split the night, my boy was into a carp! It soon went boring down the margins, but he had the better of it and it rolled into the net without too much problem. it was a gnarley old beast, weighing in at a respectable 26lb. That was the last of the action for each of us, although we couldn’t complain. We had both had a fish. It was an early wrap up on the dawn of a busy day, so by 8am, the lake saw only our backsides as we headed up the path and back to the car. caught on the astronomical start of Autumn, my favourite time of year!

A couple of weeks ago I sent a couple of models to Help for Heroes, a 1/740 Prinz Eugen which I had ordered in the wrong scale ( I build ships in 1/600) and an HMS Belfast I had duplicated. Really pleased to receive this today and that it is handwritten makes it such a nice reply.