finchey

Carpepecheur, I shall follow your threads with interest! 
My wife and I moved to France two years ago and are near the river Lot. We have had some good fish but only a couple of tiny carp, still have a lot to learn!
 

I had my first session there this week, which although I blanked, I did enjoy and learnt a bit about the water.
The session was a success in itself and while there I heard some good news about a job I had been interviewed for, start next week.
As soon as I got home I just wanted to get back. With my start date for work, I've managed to pencil in another trip from Saturday until Tuesday and then work the next day.

Don’t read too much into the written word,mate. Forums can sometimes come across as sometimes having a pop....... as you did with my Dole cheats post...... your a very active member and myself,personally think your input is ace and I’m probably just as excited about your return to carp fishing as you are ...... just need a pic with a big smile and a lump and you’ve cracked it...... your a Spurs fan,,,,,,,, you should be use to the disappointment 😉😬😎

Ding dong the witch is dead the wicked witch the wicked witch.....

the thing about rods and tackle its all down to personal choice so everyone uses what suits them and there fishing and there budget 

We need to bear in mind that many (most?) anglers will only have one set of rods and reels to cover all the waters they fish, small or massive.
So if we can have one reel that can fish under the tip and cast a million miles we need big pits. Same with the rods, a 12 footer can fish under the tip or at 150 yards. A 9 ft rod cannot do that.
I agree that in an ideal world we use the right tool for the job but not everyone has the luxury of owning several sets.
I have multiple sets but they're all 12 and 13 footers. I do have different size reels though.

Finding the opportunity to do a nighter we took to our club waters, pondering about which lake to go to, one lake stood out above the others with no opportunity to prebait and only 18hrs we chose it was the wheal rashleigh. Following our last nighter on a hard lake, around 20 acres with a low stock and depths to 70ft, we decided to go to one of the clubs 'easier' lakes. with fish to 25lb+ and a slightly bigger stock and a slightly smaller lake, we took to the lake with a van full of gear and on arrival it was clear which spot to fish, a double swim with fish leaping around it- the only downside was the trek- we did not have the barrow. We foolishly thought we would be at a 'car park swim'. What a mistake. After 4 trips between us we managed to trapse our gear up the path and down the steps to the swim. I would be fishing on the right hand side, fishing my two rods to the far margin. After casting a PVA bag of 2mm pellets out on one rod and a sringer of 20mm boilies on the other rod I commenced with setting up my brolly.
 
Once the brolly was setup and my gear was organised, I took to the chair and decided to watch for any signs of activity, annoyingly the only activity that could be seen was a carp repetitively mocking us by jumping out of the water at an unfishable area every ten minutes. Leaving the rods out for an hour it was clear that I was not using the right tactics, winding in both I took a gamble, putting both of my rods on a red dynamite baits wafter with 30-40 boilies pulted loosely around the spot. Another hour passed as biting time drew nearer, I slackened my line off on my rods as I had been fishing tight lines; there was an almost instant postitive reaction as my bobbin dropped and came back up, I instantly struck, but the fish had run into the middle of the lake and lost the hook. I had, almost instantly another repeat of this and as light drew to a close I  put out quarter of a kilo spread around my bait. sleeping through the night without a run (but loads of single beeps apparently- I was fast asleep) I was woken up at first light to a run, reeling this in it was clear it was not big but it was a fighter, struggling to keep this away from my other rod I managed to get it within a few foot of the bank only to have the hook pull. The landing net was to stay dry for the moment. Recasting and baiting with 10 freebies I dosed off for an hour, only to be waken up to a ferocious run, dragging the rig along the lake , as i started beggining the fight it was clear that it was bigger than the last, not too big but still a fighter. 
 
Reaching the net under the fish it was clear that this was a beautiful carp, a lovely dark mirror, a long and pristine fish was put onto the mat and transferred to the sling to reach a 13lb 14oz. Not a huge fish but a fighter and a good looking natural carp. 
 
It was clear that biting time was over in the morning as we started our tedious trips back to the car, sitting there with just a net, a mat, a sling, scales and the rods out, I wound in my first rod to find a stick snagged on it- no wonder that bite alarm had no action. As i put that rod back in the bag, my other rod screamed off at a rate of knots, taking the lead miles away from the peg, I struck- it felt unusual, like nothing I have ever had before, I thought that it was just a small carp with loads of energy - Or the dreaded bream- but it felt better then a bream. Popping it into the net, it was my first ever tench, coming out at 5lb on the dot.
 
Well I was the only one to have any action, and I landed two of the three fish so it was a succesfull session and with one of the best looking fish I have caught so far.
It was time to go as we said our goodbyes to the lake and drove home to breakfast and warm shower as we discussed about our next session...
 
 

That is an issue with technique mate. It is not possible to cast further with a 10 than it is a 12 ft rod bud. The blank simply cannot be compressed with the same load.

If your rods worked 10 years agao they will still work now , stick with what you know and have to start with . Carp fishing has its fashions .

For a small percentage of anglers it's because they fish small water with tight swims.
For others it's to save weight/space and to support the mobile angling approach.
For most it's a fashion statement imo. Sacrificing casting distance to sport the latest must-have kit.
I will always use 12 ft rods, they allow me to do everything.

I usually sit and tie rigs when watching you tube on the telly, it's probably not as proactive and probably a lot slower but it's an enjoyable way to make them in advance of my sessions 

Must admit as Danny says, pre-tied rigs made by tackle companies do make me wince, but if the need is there...
My reasons for disliking them are multiple. Biggest worry is what if I lose a fish on them due to a bad knot or hook? Who do I blame? If I have tied the rig it is my own fault, whereas if it is tackle manufacturer it may not be my fault.
Next thing, what happens if the rig is not quite right? I can shorten rigs, cut them at the swivel end, and reknot it to the mainline swivel. However I can't lengthen them. I can add an extension to the hair for the bait, an additional loop for a snowman, adding a pop-up, but often can't shorten it
 
I do have around 25 ready made rigs, that I have tied myself, in rig bins. I tend to design my rigs for the water I am fishing, so one rig bin contains Bromeswell rigs, one contains Nazeing rigs, and one will be Alton rigs. 
The fact that I use a revolving ring on the shank means I can change hair length, lengthen or shorten it.
I do have rig tying nights at home; every hook is checked, every knot is tested. I found tying at home means I can do things at my leisure. I found tying on the bank means I may make short cuts, not check something properly.

The story continues if anyone is interested?
The mayor is on holiday so I have been asking, unsuccessfully, around the village to see if anyone knows the owner of the lakes. I did come across one interesting story.
Apparently some 50 years ago the lakes formed part of an estate owned by a Swiss couple. The husband died and the wife wanted him buried on the far bank of the lake. The mayor of the time, who was a rather rotund individual, was summoned to officiate at the brief ceremony. Halfway across, the boat overturned tipping the coffin and mayor into the water. The narrator of this story was unsure of the final resting place of the corpse.
Now this IS France and every place has a little story owing more to imagination than historical fact. Nevertheless, if I am doing any clearing to find a swim, I will tread carefully and respectfully.
What the story does tell me is that the lakes are probably at least 50 years old.
I have located a spot from which fishing is just possible and have been doing some pre baiting. Encouragingly, this seems to generate small patches of bubbles indicating individual feeding fish (as appose to the sheets of bubbles you sometimes get when bream move in).
I took my Deeper today to check out the depths. Where I intend to fish, the banks slope away gently down to a general depth of 3.5 metres. However, I have located a large depression which is 4.2 metres deep.
I was only using a light lined spinning rod which was unsuitable for the purpose. At one point I got a crack off and saw my £200 Deeper sail into the middle of the lake. Here is a handy hint for you. I had foreseen this eventuality and I tied an orange float to the Deeper via a sort length of line. (See photo) This make it far easier to search for and recover. A short swim was required, which in the current heat was not a problem but at the age of 72 years old I should know better than to go swimming in an unknown lake with margins lined with fallen tree and roots.
It is quite an expedition for me to get to the water and I have already learned not to wear shorts. Will all this effort be worth it? All I need is for this heatwave to end. I refuse to fish in temperatures over 100 deg F.
 
 
 
 

Boot was on the other foot today at Lemon's Hill on Alton. Dave had 2 roach, I ended up with 12 roach, 1 skimmer and 1 ruffe which took double red maggot and a dendrobena

Big Dave and I were at Alton Water today, he had the lions share of the skimmer bream while I was catching mostly roach.
30 fish between us 50/50 skimmers and roach. Best skimmer 2lb and some larger roach of about half pound. Most bream coming less than 10 feet out.
Lots of good bites from the start but couldnt hook them. Changed tactics and left the bites to go until almost pull round and we were hooking skimmers, although the roach were still giving tip taps. 
2 red maggots best bait fished over a vitalin mix groundbait.

The Wife dropped at Airport...gear is all out and ready to be loaded at 4am in the Morning for a 48hr session...

Lemons Hill on Alton today, Big Dave managed to find a couple of large skimmer bream, I ended up with 7 small roach

Alton Water today, and my biggest fish from a catch of 40 odd roach. Dave in the next swim had a total of 3.
 
All fish came to an open ended groundbait feeder, with red maggots on the hook. I played around and went to a 16 with double red maggot, where Dave stuck with a 14.
I stil had a number of sucked maggots, lost fish and missed bites, even on the smaller hook.
 
 

'General' fishing  do you mean coarse fishing 🤔
 

Well I was supposed to be taking my 14 year old daughter coarse fishing today. So I sorted all the gear out, tip rod for her, float rod for me, I went and bought all the bait yesterday, just some father and daughter chill out time. 
Anyway last night she says too me do you mind if I go out with my mates instead of fishing, well I couldn't say no could I. 😀
So it was a chill out day for me doing a bit of float fishing on my local pond, I couldn't waste the bait. 😀. 
I had a good day lost count of the fish roach perch gudgeon bream rudd and crusian carp. 
This perch had eyes bigger than his belly. 

Should try Fir Tree Fishery on the Nooky Hollow or Bensons Creek...£7 for day but fish all day..

Yes, it is. However, it's all too easy to become obsessed with the idea that bigger fish are better fish. There is nothing more pleasant than going back to our roots and fishing for whatever takes the bait. Sitting, chilling with no pressure just watching the float and wondering what will pull it under. Love it!
Ian.

I have been hearing a lot about low oxygen levels through out Essex over the weekend with a lot of anglers blanking on multiple lakes / days 
i went to a new day ticket lake for me and really struggled with no one on the lake catching all day. Literally one run one the whole lake (which was lost) by a different fisherman 
I tried many methods baits styles everything in my arsenal, and only at the last knockings did I get a run ending up in a nice 20lb common 
just wondering has anyone else heard or noticed a recent drop off in fish???

Couple of hours chub fishing with Dave, all on floating dog biscuits

Tough going in the heat, but a new pb for me....  40lb 2oz Mirror!!....