bluelabel

Elmo... the guys who are in the forefront of the carping world are usually working in the trade and therefore have less time than we do to fish... this makes the gift of watercraft the deciding factor in their catch rates... yes good gear makes a difference too... but I know many anglers who are really good at their craft and they use old tatty gear and only ****** the odd hour on the waters and their catch rates are far better than mine... its the watercraft aspect that makes the difference...

Time spent watching the water for a few days without a rod will teach you more than sitting behind silent alarms day in day out... watercraft can be learned, but the best bits of tackle you have cost you nothing... eyes, ears and your brain... too many folks put their trust in the latest bait or rig, without looking at the water and having a clue where to put it or where the fish hold up... this is where to top lads excel...

You'll not catch owt on the sofa... don't matter the cost of the ticket... if yer not on it you'll not catch... anyone with a ticket stands a chance of bagging that fish... elite angler or not... if its hungry and yer baits in front of it you've got a chance

Yup... got a set of 3 rods, reels and Optonics... Old School = Old's Cool

This is how they look now...

Try "The Secret Carp" and "Casting At The Sun" by Chris Yates... utterly superb books... I have retired the MkIV now... for most of my carping I use Sharpe's 9', I have 3 of them now, they were Salmon Spinning rods so quite powerful, but have had them converted to carp spec (extra rings and had the winch fitting removed)

They are a pain in the bum to do but the rod certainly looks better for them.... My old MkIV is a kit rod, mullered and soft with a bit of delamination near the butt... retired now sadly...

You could try getting one made... Halkon Hunt do match fishing suits in goretex to measure, there should be no reason why they couldn't make you a carp suit

Give ArmyAndy a shout, he might be able to make one for you

Try em they might but my Dwarfs didn't fit properly in the scope bag... the ops might have a different reel seat position

The only rod/bag disparity I know of is that the Dwarf's don't fit in the Scope bags, as the reel seat is in a different place and moves the reel out of position in the Scope bags... Found this out when I bought my Dwarf's years ago... bought a Scope bag as I figured the padding would give better protection..... WRONG.....!!!!!

I'll have to get a "Tips Up" shot of the Cane rods and Mitchells next time out.... 🤣 I can remember when it was the old Gerry Savage SU's with Mitchell 300's pointing down at the water on LONG (3 foot) banksticks and Herons with a 2' drop to your squeezy bottle top with an isotope araldited into it... how times change.... yoof o' t'day mutter mutter when I were a lad... moan moan never in my day.... gripe gripe

Much Tartiness...🤣😎

what he said....👍😎

Looks plain daft on a weedless commy thats 4' deep with nary a snag

On three occasions I've fished under power lines and seen plenty of shows but not had a touch

One of my local commercials has a set of power lines running over the lake... the carp seem to congregate under them... can't get a bite mind you

Ooooh you little tempter you.... 🤣

Those aren't Delks, they are old Sundridge Hi/Lo Optonics.. I like my other alarms better they are ATTs, the little dinky ones... My optonics need a set of leads and a sounder box (always a recipe for disaster) to use overnight as they are VERY quiet, gotta say if I fish overnight the ATTs get the nod, but they are quick to swap out

I can go single stick and alarm. Single stick with buzz bars Goalpost with buzz bars And pod with goalposts.... My work here is done.... I have got the best of all worlds (in my opinion natch...😍😍🤣🤣🤣)

Got my new sticks and adapters from Interlok and they are a sweet fit on the Fox Pod....

I have the Fox Black Label Pod (the dinky one) and that's great, (christmas prezzy from the missus years ago) but only when coupled with my Interlok banksticks, buzz bars and goalpost adapters... Seriously... have a look at Interlok bankware... its really nice gear and VERY long lasting... I've had mine 15 years plus and I wouldn't change it Not cheap mind... but then quality rarely is

Tip.... don't leave your bag on the bedchair... I learned the hard way I left my Frostbite Sub Zero 5 season all singing, dancing and tea making bag on my Wideboy ( Fnaaaaar!!!!) and strapped it up to save a bit of time getting set up.... biiiiig mistake.... I froze me bits off... all this does is compact the fibres in the bag and essentially stop it working as it should.... I was told this by a duvet salesman.... he said before you put a bag on the bed chair give it a good shake out to open out the inner fibres and don't sit on the bed as this does the same thing as leaving it on the chair compacted... I have since bought one of the "across the bed chairs" and I give the bag a good shake out before putting it on the bedchair... as for night wear... I keep it down to light layers unless its going to get freezing cold, in which case I stay home... 62 years old & I need some comfort in me life🤣😎

Been using pins for carping for the last 8 years (as well as fixed spool reels,) the downside is casting any distance... 30 yards is pretty much at the limit and take a special technique which is hard to master (Wallis casting) One way of getting a rig out is to peel line off the spool onto the grass at your feet and underarm it out.... beware though this can lead to tangles... If stealth is required I use a baiting pole (6mts landing net handle) and put my rig into the spoon and ship it out and drop it into the required spot... this is a dead sneaky way of baiting up.... Most pins do not have an anti reverse but they do have a ratchet which can make an unholy shriek when you get a screamer of a run (you won't need an alarm) The rigs in the above pics are Sharpes 9' Scotties (approx 2.75lbsTC) with Mordex Merlin 4.5" pins with 12lb line