bluelabel

On the bank tea (Yorkshire)or soup... in the pub or at home... any decent ale (no lagers) Adnams Broadside Hobgoblin Whitstable Bay Proper Job And shorts... Vodka (natch) A good single malt Southern Comfort JD Single Barrel....

Given the lack of bailiff attendance on some waters I have to question any rules on some of these commercials... one venue I used to use the bloke came round took the money and wobbled off... no rig checks at all and it seems that a lot of waters are the same... just what is the point in having a nicely painted board with a carefully drawn up list of rules designed to protect the fish's welfare when the bailiff chuggs round on a quad and can't even be bothered to get off the quad to take your cash let alone check your rigs

Saved hundreds.... thousands even.... bought nowt....! saw a pole that was £2,000 last month get upped to £2,699 the week before Black Friday and then reduced to to £2,399 for the sale... so with that in mind all I can suggest is do your homework a month or so before and plan your purchases accordingly

Not with tongues anyway... that's plain perverted😉😋

Lost my parents years ago... my Dad in 2011 & my Mum went a few years back on 31st Nov so we are coming up to the anniversary of her passing... its always a hard time, doesn't matter how tough you think you are, but the passing of a loved one is a hard thing to face up to.... especially Fathers.... as young lads we always think our Dads are tough, invincible, superheroes, who can shrug off anything and come back for more... it kinda stays with us, he fought cancer bravely and with dignity, until that fateful day.... When I lost my parents I was lucky, with a loving, supportive wife and family and a hobby I could immerse myself into, things were hard, but I got on with it and got through it relatively well... some don't fare so well... Yonny and Emmcee and Snowmanstevo, my deepest condolences... take care lads, if you need to talk just drop me a PM

Mitchell 400's hit 60 70 yards without trouble (clutches set light (runner stylee) tweed hat not engaged

I'm not saying you should... just that you can... and if you think about it, if you use the tactic on a weedy water with a lighter stone, the bait is held up by the weed and the lead (or absence of) is not a hinderance IN the weed... a viable method There's a lot of poo-pooing of a method that it seems a lot of folks haven't explored fully to be able to form a full opinion of... it's a method that DOES catch fish... I think a lot of carpers are too set in their ways, (myself included) or think that their way is right when ALL possibilities have not been tried.... all I'm saying is that trying summat different may get you a result when all else fails...👍😎 Never forget the old adage... The Unorthodox Plus Perseverance Equals Results... (@ Oscha) Put a pair of Mitchells on those rods and I can hit 60-70 yards and land a 30' (hopefully I'll catch one one day) which is comfortable for me.... 120-130 is the most I've ever hit with carbon and wasn't comfortable doing so, so I'll stick to what works for me ta... as for carbon... just cos you can chuck it a long way... doesn't mean you have to😉 Finis

Actually you can freeline for quite a distance if you know how... A lad I know showed me how to fish at 50 yards freelining using fluoro mainline, a lead clip, PVA stocking and a large stone.... I think you can work out the details... and yes he caught well on it

ODAS and BDAC... yes freelining has it's place.... but as for trad gear being restrictive.... the rods in the picture were powerful enough to cast from one side of Redmire to the other (far enough for me) and have landed a 25lb 10oz Common, 26lb 3oz Mirror and a 20lb 1 oz mirror this year... they are 9'3" impregnated split cane Salmon spinning rods... more than capable of landing most carp, T/C approx 2.75-3.0lb I'd say they are beefier than my 2.75lb Nash Dwarf's

actually the opposite... fish on my waters are getting clued up to the boilie/lead clip/runner approach and different methods and baits are working more and more....

and therein lies missed opportunities... your having a bad day on lead clip/runner combo's, so you go home and have whinge to yourself when a change of approach may have changed your fortunes... in my kit I have a tube of floats... just in case... if summat's not working change it... and my club waters have a lovely head of wildies.. perhaps I'm fortunate and most of my club water fishing is done by freelining or with a single swanshot... but and here's the kicker when a lot of the lads on our waters are packing up and moaning about the water not fishing, I've usually had a bit of sport.... And old gear is my thing... Proper Old School and Old School methods... they still work...

If you freeline you watch the line... try it.... watch the dimple where the line enters the water... you'll learn a lot, you'll see loads of indications that won't register on an alarm (even a Delkim)... as for using a lead to pull the hook home, that's a lazy way of fishing... being a traditionalist I abhor the use of leads as bolt rigs (all my carping is done on a running line), heaviest lead is what I need to get the bait to the spot I want, usually no more than an ounce... sometimes as little as a single swanshot and very often freelined... Yonny... I'm not having a go, but to me a lot of skills have been lost with the development of carp fishing in this country... nowadays you set a trap with a lead clip and the fish hooks itself on a lead/baitrunner combo and hopefully you play in your prize... maybe I'm out of step with modern ways but I wouldn't have it any other way... I learned my craft like the old lads I mentioned... I'm 61 years old and came up through the ranks as it were... learned to fish for other species before moving onto carp.... that way you learn watercraft and skills that nowadays just go by the by... and to be honest that makes me rather sad, as I feel that kids who find carping hard, have nowhere to go if they get disillusioned... As for Yates not freelining... well yes, he still does, maybe not at 30 yards, but he mainly fishes rivers and small pools... freelining for chub barbel and perch... and the odd wildie... try it... all you gotta do is watch the line.... it's all you need to do.... when it starts to form an arrow on the water, a gentle lift is all you need...

Errrrm... surely you shouldn't need a heavy lead to get a bite...? the whole point of fishing (for me anyway) is timing the strike to hook ones fish and land it... I'm not a fan of using a heavy lead to facilitate hooking... and anyway... how would you hook a fish if you were float fishing...? Back in the days of Walker, Yates, Mohan, Mintram, Hutchinson, Hilton.... etc.... they never used heavy leads or baitrunners to hook their fish, it was watching the line, or float fishing, or using a silver paper tube on the line as a bobbin.... @Chucky10 As an aside.... I use quite light gear when carping (10-12lb HyperSensor which is very low diameter) and without a lead I can just about chuck a boilie 30 yards freelined... they don't have much weight.... did you use a stringer for the freebies...??? otherwise I can't see how you'd get a boilie out 30 yards with 15lb line...

Actually it's not strictly true that the fish's mouth issues are caused by anglers... a member of our family has a large Koi pool and he got some fish from a local fish farm for the pool as fingerlings, they have never seen a hook in their lives, but a couple of them have deformed mouths... it's a genetic thing caused by selective breeding for size and growth rates... using a small gene pool often throws up mutations and this is why you'll often see young fish with deformed mouths.... yes I do agree that bad unhooking, using overgunned rods, too large or too small a hook, and overstriking can cause damage... but it's not always the case

it does become an issue on long sessions, especially if the water is prone to algae blooms, one cure is to cast out as normal, but when you wind in do so with the line in a cloth or sponge... I think Thinking Anglers had a circular sponge that could be placed into the butt ring for the retrieve, thus cleaning off the worst of the cack

I was just using the figures for illustration... in reality all those scenarios add up to a small increase in confidence, but any increase in ones confidence on a water is to be grabbed with both hands, even just a single percent... I took that ethic from my old match days where any edge over ones opponent is an edge to ones advantage

for me confidence is all about percentages... let me explain New bait that's cleaning up everywhere + 20% New sneaky rig they've (hopefully) not seen + 30% New swim where you've seen em feeding + 10% All your gear and rigs sorted ready to go + 10% Catch reports are saying its fishing well + 20% Got the water to yourself + 10% it all adds up to total confidence.... don't mean you'll catch mind😎👍🤣

I tried organising a social on the now defunct (s'why I'm here) Crafty Carper forum.... it's like herding cats... I gave up in the end... go out and do what you want yerself... that said an old workmate got in touch earlier on this week and we are going to have a day on Ashlyns in North Weald... chew the fat... have a rap and see if we can winkle one out... done 4 trips there blanked every time... turns out its a 365 day a year maggot water... couple of pints o' grubs... and some pva and maggot clips... even if I blank... we'll be 'avin' a social.... wish me luck👍😎

I prefer running lines... in fact all my bottom fishing is done with a running line... I also don't subscribe to using really heavy leads for running line work either.. preferring to use only just enough lead to get my rig into position

if you really have to fish this water I'd target the shallower parts as they warm up the quickest on a cold but sunny day.... otherwise go with Yonny's advice👍

One of the things I found out yesterday was that top sponsored anglers (in whatever field of their sport) are expected to publish results in soshul meeja to publicise that sponsors products... I suppose when you get down to it, there really isn't such a thing as a free lunch.... but it adds to the workload, when you get in from a hard days fishing, be it match, carp, fly, or sea and you have to write up the events of the day, not forgetting to mention the sponsor's products every few lines... That said, for a while I was sponsored by a local tackle shop as an NFA/AT coach, and although social media wasn't as prevalent then as now, there was an expectation that recommendations be made and results published in the angling press... it all adds to the pressure that you put yourself under and since packing in coaching and match fishing I have found my catch rates have gone up, as I do not feel the need or be pressured to try every trick in the book to get that bite or weight... now I just enjoy the day for what it is... and if I blank my bottom off in the process...? so what...? it's been a day out in the fresh air with flora and fauna to look at... tight lines👍

My Optonics are circa 1981... still going strong🤣😎

Mine are fine.... after 7 years I'd have expected problems but non have surfaced so far.... still on the original batteries.... "Bad-um-tish" (where's the little drummer smiley when you need him...🤣)

ATTs work under water... couldn't afford the top flight Delkims and heard they take a fair bit of setting up, so went with the Gardner ATTS... £250 for 3 alarms and receiver had them 7 years now, nary a glitch... having said that they'll go pear shaped next time out... My old Optonics are still going strong too... although they don't fare so well if it pee's down

I saw the light after I lost my parents.... time to slow down and enjoy what's around you, whether it be the bankside, wildlife, just being out in the fresh air, or your loved ones.... life's too short to worry about how big the next fish is going to be... just enjoy your sport for what it is