Nutcracker

My last time out i had 2 double takes ... i had 4 runs that day 😑😑

I wouldnt say advantages is the right word ... every rig has its time and place to be used on any given day one will out fish the other and vice versa ... best bit of advice is find a rig you have confidence in and stick with it ... the main reason i use the hinged stiff rig is most of the places i fish are old silty lakes and i can use that rig for 90% of my fishing.

8s and 10s with 10 millers ... 6s and 8s with 15s and 4s with anything bigger. Its what works for you with the rig you are using that you have confidence in the above is a basic rule to thumb im sure the combinations have all been done at some point. Goodluck

Hi dave im after a match reel for my floater rod i dnt want a big heavy baitrunner when your holding a floater rod for a fews hours weight matters ... the 6lb and 10lb lines i use depend witch situation im in ... as for backwinding never got on with it i was in an age where the only reels we had where rear drag and thats what im use to.

Tbh if you want a cheap baiting pole/spoon ... get on ebay buy and old sectioned pole you can find all sizes on there and pick them up for peanuts ... you can buy net pole screw inserts off ebay aswell ... lose the very top section of the pole it will be to thin ... start with the 2nd section and cut if needed and slot the screw insert into it ... use some gorilla glue and it will never come out ... job done.

Check out tom doves bait spoon makes this one look short.

Im after a new match reel ... i have a shimano alivio thats about 7 years old now and while putting some new line on today i noticed that the shaft is slightly bent and when pulling line out the spool is off centre and spins all crooked so its time to retire the old girl. Im after a match reel not a baitrunner i want rear drag adjustment only and the option to hold 6 and 10lb lines so i also need 2 spools and a single handle cannot get on with a double one. And finally the reels nowadays just look a little whacky and space age the colours have got abit crazy looking and all abit ott ... so summin thats looks that it should be sold in a tackle shop and not a toy shop. Sorry if im asking abit much but im getting old and some of them reels hurt my eyes.

This is my hinged stiff rig that im fishing using an inline setup freshly tied.

No but abit off subject ... have you ever used a pop up as a marker/peace of mind that the bag has melted ... sometimes when im fishing within catupult range or when the water is abit low temp i will stick a bright pop up in the bag. When it pops up on the surface i no the bag has done its job ... thats the thing with a catty it has no line clip ... yes you can tell what line your bait has landed using a far bank marker like a tree etc etc but how far out you cast can sometimes be a pain if you take your eyes off the water for a minit or two sorting out stuff and then you go to put some freebies in then thinking im sure it was another 10 yards haha even more so when you have alot of water in front of you ... now i cast ... let the line settle ... then grab my catapult and wait as soon as that pop up hits the surface i fire away.

Both great rigs but for me the Hinged stiff rig is my preferred choice ... i just like the loops either end and the way it settles also the movement makes it harder for the fish to deal with the multi i find is a little bit one dimensional on the movement part over clay or gravel i would use the multi but silt and weed is deffo a job for the hinged.

Well i use the heli setup with pop ups so on the hook is no good for me i normally tie my stick to the lead loop and put 2/3 foam nuggets in the bottom of the stick to keep it suspended as it sinks take that with a pinch of salt yet to land anything so far this season .

I the only shimano rod i have owned was a hyperloop 13ft match 1 1/2 lb test was a great rod and playing carp upto 10lb on it was great fun ... i snapped the top section playing a 20lb+ on it not what it was intended for i dnt think . I replaced it with a john wilson masterline 13ft match not as good as the hyperloop and its getting abit battered now so i may be looking at a new match rod later this season.

What about replacing the tail with rig foam i no thats not how they should be and i wouldnt buy them but it might be a way of getting some use out of them dave.

Hahaha

I have a chub outkast spod and can only say good things about it. Around £90 new as its been around for a while now.

I have recently returned myself thoe i did have all my old gear stashed away in the loft ... So far i have brought Fox EOS 10000 reels x2 £50 each ... i dont think you will find a better reel on the market at this price ... not to be confuse with the Fox FS 10000s they were utter [censored]e. Mk2 esp floater rod ... £89 ... if you like surface fishing this rod at 2.5lb test is the mutts nutts the blank and balance of this rod is something else and its deffo the best rod i have ever used. Fox x-pod £ 120 ... goal post rod pod ... small light weight and setup up in secs abit short if im telling the truth but nice for tight swims the buzz bars are angled to kick the rods away from eachother not the cheapest bit of kit but can be found on ebay for £60-80. Fox range master throwing stick £20 ... can't rate it because i hate it and cannot for the life of me master a throwing stick some people have just got it but most of the time i might as well be fishing for the rats on the island. That leads me onto the korda katapult boilie pouch £17 ... i like it and im pretty accurate with it and its alot better than the fox powerguard that i recently threw in the bin. Korum 5 rod quiver ... £25-30 great if your on a budget and wanna travel light. TF gear ... check ebay they do everything from boilie glug pots ... scale covers to rig boxes they pretty much cover everything in the bits and bobs department and prices are very reasonable.

Forget the overwrap ... you can have a wash while your sleeping wich gives you more time on the bank

Tbh the buzz bars look way to close if your using big reels like the fox 11s no way will 3 of them sit side by side ... if you are using 2 rods it should be fine ... another tip if using 2 rods use the legs as the bank sticks ... if they are adjustable even better you can then set your rod up on uneven banks. Tbh i do preferr the goalpost type alot more stiffer in the past using a triangle pod in strong winds it was giving me false one noters out the alarms , mine was cheap thoe and i got it when i first started carping before golaposts come about. One thing was my buzz bars were twice the lenght of yours mabey the reason why they desinged them so short to stop them flapping about in the wind. Just use it mate and if your happy and it does you a season well then you saved some money that could go towards a nice stainless one in the future ... im still and always adding bits i need.

If anything the lead on a heli setup will plunge deep into the silt ... try the hinged stiff rig with an inline lead best over silt imo.

I supose being ceramic it dont take much to knock it and put a crack in the ring and then it just drops out ... i could probley do the repair but it would look like i had a few shandys along the way best left to the guys that no what they are doing i think.

Battle wear i have used it 3 frigging times i have had £50 rods that lasted a whole season not happy. Thanx for the help thoe.

Ohh joyyyy so the £120 esp rod that i have used 3 times and i gotta replace the whole shabang last time i buy any rod from that company.

Hi can anyone tell me the name for the ring that sits in the eye as today i got one of my rods out that i have owned for a while but has had very little use and the 2nd from top eye ring is missing like its just dropped out of the eye ... the eye is not damaged atall no bends or scratches like i caught it on summin. Can you replace the rings or do you have to change the whole eye ?. Thanx.

Its gonna be mainly used on canadian pond weed just to clear an area from the margin to about 8ft out and a couple of rake widths wide ... i find the screws better than a rake head as they are at all angles with the rake head i find it pulls throu without picking up the canadian pond weed up ... rake heads work better on silt weed i find. Im only doing it as the bars of soap will be on the munch soon and i have had some of my best days fishing for them over a freshly raked line ... chuck a can of corn over the top and fish the 2nd day after you raked it and when you arrive just as the suns coming up you can watch them rolling over the line you raked and the fizzing is unreal. I normally catch almost instantly ... double corn sorts them right out.

Dont waste 30 or even 40 quid on a weed rake make your own. You need ... 30 ... 2 and a 1/2 in screws One 18 inch pvc pipe thats 1 inch and a 1/4 width Around 2ft of Farmers Fence wire. And some Rope. Its pretty straight forward just copy the picture i did this in around 45 mins with some tweeking. Will come in handy and yes thats a palomar knot Dean.