Nutcracker

Looking at spending abit of time on the back lake (faraway) this year not much in search on here ... the website has some info and pictures but cannot find anything on the actual lake itself. Hotspots if any ... depths etc etc I have google earthed the place and its surrounded by trees so its gonna be choddy come early spring ... whats it like in summer weedy ?? ... did a youtube search and see they had weed cutters in there 4/5 years ago. Also any recent info on the place how did it fish this past year ... fish numbers etc etc Just collecting all the info i can get to give me the best possable start from what i see is not an easy place. Thanx all

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

Some nice fish one thing i would suggest that is to keep the carp close to the ground and with a carp matt underneath them when taking photos i have see fish dropped from standing up position and its not a pretty sight ... the last photo of the fully scaled would of made for a much better picture if held in the correct way. But some nice fish sir well done.

Some really stunning fish chaps well done to all this page will get me throu the blanks and keep me going.

Sometimes little tweeks can be the difference mate ... one that comes to mind is an old park lake i spent quite a few sessions on blanking and one session i decided ill try summing different but not drastic as i didnt think at the time i was doing much wrong so i tipped my baits with small artificial corn a small tweek and it was like someone flicked a switch and i started catching ... i still try and get down there now and then and still to this day tip my baits with corn and it still works. Stranger things have happend i once hooked a jack pike that took my tutti frutti pop up after i just cast out on the drop

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.

3 seasons 2 fish it just had that look about it mabey next season ill give it a bash places like this is what i live for.

Thats key bud stick to what you no works ... many times changing things after a few blanks only gets more blanks in my experience. I have a couple of lakes that i no like the back of my hand and always good for a bite when things get tough elsewhere but them blanks for me is what keeps things intresting.

See im not the only one tiddler bashing then Well in mate good to have multis in one session shows you was on the fish and your rigs and bait are working a very positive session.

It just looked like that kind of water when i drove past ... can only fish a 3rd of the lake thoe as the rest is ringed off as nature reserve ... being 30 acres any preassure and they can just back off into it deffo a campain place.

Anyone have any info or fished it before looked stunning from above on the m25 as i went past did a little search gotta be a few uncaught monsters in there surely.

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

Told you peg 6 at 45 yards Well in smurf ... broke the duck more shall follow now mate.

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.