Golden Paws

The old saying "buy cheap, buy twice" is almost certainly true with bait boats. On the other hand £3.500 for an RT7 is probably a step too far! I still find my spots with a lead and clip up, so I'm not entirely relying on tech. I still fish a lot of margin spots and literally "place" a spod on it, which is even stealthier than a boat. I don't use a spomb as you have to smack the nose to open it, which defeats the object. On some waters they are banned but on others where the owners had to clear bushes of end tackle, I'm sure they are quietly encouraged.

"I am Noddy" (to quote Kirk Douglas!) I tutted a bit when bait boats first started to become common but when my mate had a 32lb'er within about an hour of dropping a rig and bait under a tree at about 70 yards that you dare not cast to, I started to see the potential. I've been having my best ever season and I'm sure a lot of it is down to the boat. The accuracy and stealth you can achieve is a huge edge. I'm only using a "basic" boat and no GPS or sonar. Obviously fishing to features is easy but for open water I'm still wrapping the rods out. When casting, I always hit the clip and take the sting out of the cast by holding the rod parallel to the bank and "placing" the lead down but it's still no match for a boat. You can't turn the clock back. Boats are here to stay and you can either embrace them or reject them but you are putting yourself at a disadvantage if everyone else is using them.

I've never got on with moudable putty. Either if falls off or I can't get it to sit straight. I thread on the largest size droppers as in Elmo's post above and never have any problem. I like a "heavy" weight close to the hook as I'm sure it aids hooking.

Took Elmo's advice and added some 2mm pellets to my mix and compared it against the powder only and it wasn't conclusive and they still take an age to break apart. I added some 6 and 8mm pellets and that didn't really improve matters. That said, the Baking Powder was doing a really good job and the water in my tub was very murky that was making it difficult to see the bottom. Several years ago I used to barbel fish a brilliant swim. There was a gravel hump about 15 foot from the bank and you could wade it with wellies. Just below the hump, the river shelved off steeply to form a hole. I used to stand on the hump and fish with the rod pointing directly downstream. If things were quiet, I would stub my toe into the gravel so it kicked off a stream of silt. The amount of times I had a bite shortly after couldn't have been a co-incidence and I caught many doubles to over 12lb. Sometimes it's just doing something different to the crowds that brings results.

That's a point Elmo. I use 2 teaspoons of powder and really whack the plunger on the stick down hard a couple of times so that the powder comes out of the tube as a solid lump, which makes tying it off easier. I used powders only as I wanted there to be plenty of smell and attraction in the area but no food, except my boilie. I will add some small pellets to see if that helps.

Had to do another post due to file size. The bag on the left is the side hooked version and the "fuse" on the right. Obviously the fuse wouldn't be any good for long casting.

For the last couple of seasons, I've put a small PVA mesh bag of powder on my hook before every cast. (Currently a mixture of CreAmino Bag and Stick Mix as I'm using the boilies and Sonubaits Krill Groundbait and also their Explosive Fishmeal Groundbait Mix.) Most of my fishing is done by dropping from a bait boat or on my local water, fishing in the margins. I make up about 30 bags at home and store them in an old ice cream tub to speed things up on the bank and to stop wet hands making holes in it. I was watching a video on YouTube the other day and there was a bag that was absolutely fizzing. To replicate it, I added a bit of baking powder to my mix and dropped a bag of with and without in a tub of water to see the difference. The baking powder bag definitely gave off a stream of bubbles but the most interesting part was just how long it took for the bags to breakdown, both at least 5 minutes. I made the bags up fresh so there was no oil rendering the PVA impervious to the water. A piece of the mesh only shrivelled up within seconds. I've always side hooked the bags and was confident I would be fishing within 30 seconds, not I'm not so sure. I always laughed at people who double bagged "because they were fishing in 10 foot of water", they could be delaying their next bite by half an hour! I prided myself that I could tie the 2 knots so close together, I could only just get the scissors through .(I know, tight!) Since watching the bags, I've include a "fuse" of about an inch and hook this on as I'm convinced it will be fishing properly within seconds. (Long enough to hit the bottom.) In the photo, the Baking Powder bag is on the right which is why it is a bit lighter.

Managed to catch a PB at 35lb 0oz during a 48 hour session. After a quiet first 24 hours, managed to move onto fish and also had a 26-0. Took a CreAmino wafter on a slip-D rig.

Surely you can't judge a rig by one lost fish???? I've had my best ever season, regularly catching 6 to 8 fish in 8 hour morning or afternoon sessions on a days only water. Although the water is prolific, I've been getting amongst the better fish and managed a brace of 20's a few weeks ago, not bad seeing as I had only caught 2 previously in the last 10 years. The slip D and the Ronnie aren't a mile apart but I prefer the more subtle way you can tweak it to make the last inch flexible and make a more balanced bait. To me, the Ronnie seems a bit too blatant. That said, confidence is key and if you're sat behind rods expecting to lose fish, it can be hard work.

Yes. It naturally bends a bit anyway to create the bent hook arrangement. If you use shrink tube, you wouldn't be able to change the hook at will.

I've been using this rig for the last few years and pretty happy with it. I have refined it a bit and use it Combi style with a bit of flourocarbon and a hybrid loop at the other end. I deliberately make the fluoro loop quite big so it really kicks the hook section away.

Hope it goes well Nick and it cures your problem. My daughter was getting tonsillitis about 4 times a year and it was really dragging her down. In frustration, she asked why she was getting it so often and heartless father chipped it that it was because she works in a germ factory (Nursery!) Luckily she does seem a bit more immune to it recently but it was pretty bad and frequent and I have an understanding of what you've been going through.

https://www.carpology.net/ology-tv/reviews/tbuyaJlqpGw/ To be fair, it looks like they have taken it down. Hope you get your monkey refunded soon Kev. I remember watching the video and did I imagine that the Carpololgy guy who did the video has some sort of vested interest? Got to admit that I was tempted (my local lake has a "cardiac hill!") but after losing my dog last year, decided that I really did need a bit more exercise to shift some weight that I'd put on and the cost was a bit eye watering.

https://www.petsathome.com/product/happy-little-bird-wild-bird-seed/7135960P?productId=7135960&purchaseType=one-time&weight=12.55kg Just bought 25kg of spod mix which should give me 50kg of cooked bait for less than £13, result! No Carp tax for me!

I know that feeling! I rarely drink these days and then it's only a small one. During my teenage and early 20's years, I went out most nights, nowadays I've had a minor hangover after 1 pint! I like to think that it's wisdom but probably means I'm getting old! Saying that, don't miss the following mornings when I remember how stupid I was or what I said. If I could turn back the clock, I would definitely fast forward and give it a miss.

Just done 48 hours and struggled. The high temperature on Wednesday made them spawn again. Most of Thursday they were "sunning" in the shallows and not interested. I did catch one during the night. I did have a bit of excitement when I sent the boat out and dropped the rig. I started bringing the boat bait and noticed that line was still coming off the spool. Sometimes the rig gets caught up and thought that was what had happened but the line was coming off the spool at twice the rate of the boat! I struck and was in, one of the fastest bites ever. The fight was pretty strong and though I'd got one of the really big lumps but just before it went into the net, I noticed it was hooked in the tail! I did weigh it at 23-13 and did a mat photo but not claiming it.

Went to a local days only park lake yesterday and in 8 hours had 7 fish including 2 x 18lb'ers and a PB common from that lake of 19lb. It really was a case of "buying your fish" as I used about 8 litres of spod mix and about 2kg of boilies. Every time I topped up the swim, the bites would immediately start and then go quiet about 15 minutes, which was the cue to top up. I had to ease up about half way through as I was starting to run out! I'm sure I would have caught more if I had knocked up another pressure cooker load. I chatted to a couple of blokes on the way out and they had struggled but they did say they didn't put in many freebies. This time of year, the fish really are up for a good feed. I'm sure that if I had gone down the "PVA bag and one bite at a time", I would have struggled.

I had my garage done a few years ago and they took my fishing bag and a rusty drill I was glad to see the back of. I 'phoned my Insurance Company (can't remember their name unfortunately) and they tried to fob me off with "equivalents", like replacing my Avon Scales with a set of Little Sampsons. I had my name and 'phone on the inside flap of the bag and I got a call to say that it had been dumped and all my gear was still in it, the only thing missing was my £20 emergency fund, My mate is always selling on Facebook Market Place and not long after showing a shifty looking character around, he got done big time and in a professional hit, they made off with £8,000 of quality gear. He was with Lloyd's and couldn't fault them for the way they dealt with the claim. I got a heavy duty padlock bolted to the ground and an internal Yale alarm - my mate's alarm did go off but they filled it with expanding foam. I don't really trust Insurance Companies, they are normally quick to take your money and slow to pay out and even then, the bare minimum. Beef up your security as much as possible without drawing too much attention to the shed. If the worst does happen, don't expect the Police to come rushing round, they will only want to give you a crime number!

If it's not been subjected to light, it should be fine. If you are worried, walk it off and reattach it so the inner line is now the outer. I've kept lines in an old biscuit tin for years without any worry. As Yonny says, give it a good test.

I use a Slip D combi rig made from fluoro with a loop of hybrid to make a rig. I've also got a couple of rigs in my wallet made from heavy coated braid with a stripped loop. I prefer the fluoro version because it is stiffer and more invisible. I tie a large loop of about 2 inches at the other end to attach it to quick change swivel and this doubling up really helps to reset the rig. We get "done" far more than we think and I have more confidence in the fluoro resetting but it's probably only marginal. Tie the fluro rig with the albright knot and test it thoroughly with a couple of line pullers to ensure it doesn't slip.

A Green Party policy that actively encourages the burning of carbon based products??? The world is going mad!

All anglers are "Green" by definition but that doesn't mean the Green Party is on our side. In Germany where they have coalition Governments almost by default, the Green Party had enormous power a few years ago and wanted to ban angling but rather than do it outright, they decreed that all fish caught were to be killed. Very green. We all want to see greener energy and all the major parties are too slow to act. The damage to the environment by burning fossil fuels is getting more undeniable and the folly of relying on cheap Russian gas has been exposed. Unfortunately the Green Party dream means that we will have to revert to horse and carts again!

I think it's down to who you ask! One man's large is another's jumbo (Ooooohhhhhh, matron!) https://hinders.co.uk/search?type=product&q=tiger nuts*

Do you normally talk to yourself?

Fishing can be an all consuming hobby and it can take over your life. When my kids were young I used to get away at every opportunity and I do regret it now. I don't get out as much these days but feel I have a better family/fishing balance. You were a prolific and interesting poster and we'll all miss your contributions but if you need to completely step away, then that's what you must do. I worked for the same Company for 30 years after leaving school and felt "tied" to the job despite the signs it was going downhill rapidly, the redundancy package was what kept me going until the end when it closed down. In the 15 years since, I must have had about 20 jobs but it was liberating because if I wasn't happy, I left. I had 2 jobs when I told them to stick it and left the same day. You don't know how good that feels! Hopefully after a while, you'll come to realise what it was you enjoyed about fishing and hopefully it will outweigh the negatives you are feeling at the moment. Good luck for the future.