bluelabel

One of the probs I have is that I don't have access to some of the high profile waters the top lads do... sour grapes...?? bang on...🤣🤣 as a retired bloke I can't afford syndi tickets, or long stay sessions and my clubs hold fish to about 30lbs max but are few and far between... again its about what you put into your fishing... I've fished a few high profile, open access waters with mixed success... the highlight for me was catching from Redmire in 2018 and oddly enough losing one of the Ashmead A team in 2019... I'd loved to have caught it, but I don't dwell on it (much)... if it mattered that much I'd be back at every opportunity to bank one of Skeff's big girls... but I can't afford it sadly... although I'll be back at some time in the future... but if my name was Terry Hearn I'd have been back till I'd banked every one of the bigguns... I suppose its a matter of what you want or can afford to put into your sport that will dictate what you get out of it

To a certain extent its about being in the right place at the right time... the difference between us and the likes of Lord Tel... is he knows the time and the place already...😛🤣

The division ( for me anyway) between a REALLY talented angler and an average one like me is the need to deconstruct every session and look into the minutiae of how and why I did or didn't catch... I don't feel the need, for the simple reason that I go fishing for my own enjoyment... and to take my sessions to that point where I have to examine every facet of the outing means my enjoyment of my sport diminishes.... In short do what you want, but be aware that you'll get out what you put in

It depends on a lot of factors... are you driven enough to chase the fish...? Have you got the patience to learn a waters moods by watching it for weeks without a rod...? Does your level of watercraft enable you to predict where the fish can be found...? for the majority of us the answer (if you answer truthfully) is no... otherwise there'd be tons of pics of us lot in the press holding 50's 60's every week... No... the majority of us love our fishing, but have very little spare time to pursue carping the way the top lads do... therefore we do our best and catch the odd lump (not often in my case) and we aspire to get better... sometimes it pays off... more often than not it doesn't...... but we keep trying do we not...?

There are those who are in tune with a water... bit like Chris Yates and Redmire... he fished it for years and got to know its moods... then guys like Dave Lane or Adam Penning who will move onto any showing fish, some folks are seen patrolling the water for weeks before a cast is made, getting to know patrol routes, feeding times and feeding spots... they are the ones who take waters to bits... in short... they put in hard work

Looks like an ATTS copy with a few more farkles added... like the wristband though

Shot knees (6 arthroscopies) and 4 collapsed discs in my back... (3 operations) I still manage to cart me toys about without a barrow... as long as I keep moving I can still keep moving... if you get me drift

For a day session there really should be no need for a barrow... it tickles me rigid when you see all the YouTube vids about keeping mobile and theres a barrow piled high for a 10 or 12 hour session sitting behind the presemter... my young apprentice is always moaning that I get to the water before him... I'm usually setting up bankside while he's still loading his barrow... ruckie, chair, rodbag, bait bag, thats all I take for a day session... only use a barrow for 24 hours or longer and even then the only addition is bedchair and bivvy... the carping media has brainwashed folks into taking all bar the kitchen sink... sometimes a rod reel net loaf of bread and mat are all that's needed for a days fishing... I despair I really do

Give it a year, furlough finishes, folks get back to work, time starts to become short and little johnny will be back playing footie instead of pestering dad to go fishing... mum will want more decorating done and slowly the upsurge in anglers will fall away

Actually yes, you can leave the lead out it's just another variation of freelining... the downside (if you can call it that) is that in the event of a run you have to strike to set the hook, rather than letting the lead hook the fish for you.... its a method that I use on occasion at close range (margin fishing) give it a go... do summat different from the norm it often pays off

And do the clutch up rock solid...

Frank Warwick was a fan of the pendulum cast which would go a long way to explaining his preference for high rod poundages for a big chuck... by his own admission though, at huge distances a pendulum cast is wildly inaccurate and to be honest for someone not used to it its a bit of a faff to get right let alone find any accuracy... maybe some casting lessons from guys like Terry Edmonds would be better than trying to hoof out a big lead in a chuckitanchansit approach pendulum stylee

Mate that really is overkill for a day session.... get yerself an oval brolly for day sessions... tons lighter and waaaaaay quicker to put up

After getting the edge of my bechair wet under a brolly at Ashmead and my two man JRC STi being too big a beast for short stays... I blagged a Nash Titan Hide with all the bits, ground sheet, infill panel, and overwrap for less than £200 off Faeces berk market place... goes up in less than 3 mins and back down again just as quickly... lovely bit of kit, more room than a brolly and lighter than my JRC by a long way

There is a vintage tackle group on Facebook they regularly have posts from folks selling gear... might be worth looking them up and joining to sell them there

Sorry, but I think Mr Warwick is at odds with other anglers, inasmuch guys like Ali Hamidi advocate a 2.75lb rod as a good starting point... his comment on the different actions is valid though... there is a world of difference between actions... I once had 2 sets of 2.75lb rods, one for close in (Fox Warriors) and one for punching a bait out (Shimano Hyperloop FA'S) the letters FA stood for fast action which meant they were a casting tool. The Hyperloops could certainly outcast the Warriors, but I preferred the Warriors for playing fish on, as the Hyperloops felt poker stiff in the middle, with only the last 3rd of the rod having any playing action... All this said my Dwarfs are 9' 2.75lb and are a delight to play fish on, but are limited to about 70-80 yards max with me casting them... My 9'6" Sharpe cane rods are only approx 2lb to 2.5lb but have a much faster taper and easily hit the same distance due to the extra 6" and the stiffer mid section

I used to match fish quite seriously... captained my club match team, fished in the Nationals for Chelmsford and at club level for quite a few years... I fished at Armigers lake on Billericay's club book and caught 103 carp in an afternoon... after that I was sated... had enough of it... I went back to carping albeit with different gear, but I took a lot of match knowledge and applied it to my carping, sometimes it works... sometimes not... Match fishing is fun... but now my interests have changed and I no longer feel the need to compete... that said if I go out with a buddy there's usually a quid on the day...😛🤣

To be honest for just a day session any brolly or day shelter will suit... for the odd day session I just take my old flatback match brolly ( its lighter than my Nash Scope oval) and quicker to put up and down... a full bivvy for a day session is overkill

I'd drop the mainline to 15lb too... too thick a line diameter will certainly hinder casting distance

For a long stay... more than 48 hours a big bivvy is (to my mind is essential... ) up to 48 hours and I'll use a smaller 1 man Titan Hide... on a long stay I like to spread out, take more gear and be comfortable... a smaller bivvy makes me feel cramped on a long stay... that's my preference anyway... everyone's different I did a week on redmire in a JRC 2 man bivvy and that was fine... did a week on Les Quis in a 1 man and hated it....

Given he's British, a solicitors letter and small claims court... failing that slag him off mightily on every place he advertises... make his life hell

The Shimano 5500's are perfect...

A lot of the big commercials are banged out solid at the mo... with 2 of you, I think you'd be hard pushed to get 2 swims together... A mate went up there a last year pre lockdown and every lake was rammed midweek... The problem is, the big fish waters attract time bandits and hot swim merchants... TBH I tend to avoid them nowadays... Sorry if thats not what you wanted to hear, but its an honest appraisal...

As a general rule of thumb, if the fish only run to doubles, I use stepped up match gear... over 20lb I use proper carp gear... fishing a lighter softer rod will alleviate any damage in smaller fish... plenty of stepped up match rods, float or feeder, that are perfectly capable of landing doubles.... 3000 for float and 4000 size reels for feeder is plenty for carp up to mid doubles

Have a look at the Daiwa SS2600, not a baitrunner but a lovely stalking reel... the 4000 baitrunner is a good one too (especially the 4000 Aero X)