Golden Paws

My missus is always asking me what I want for Birthdays and Christmas and I never know so she surprised me with a stocking filler. (Well it was after!)

I went to see Motorhead in the early 80's and had tinnitus for 3 days! The Marshall stack was something to behold and I wondered why all the bouncers were walking around with ear plugs in. 'Elf and Safety these days probably wouldn't have it that loud but then your insides would have the full effect of Lemmy's bass vibrating it. That said, the below track is surprisingly reflective and the video really does it justice.

Another classic bit of story telling from the master!

Found this on YouTube. Really good stuff from Carl and Alex and explained in simple layman's terms how to get the best from phones and camera's.

Nightwish is also on my YouTube viewing. Floor Jansen has an amazing voice and leather has never looked so good! (And those thighs.........)

This one's worth a watch. The female lead singer looks like she's just come from an Anne Summers party! Not sure what party the male singers come from but I think a lot of drugs were taken! Metal that can melodic and sexy.

I haven't bought a comic for over 10 years after the scandalous reporting of the Joanna Yates murder in Bristol after they all did a hatchet job on her landlord. He was a tad eccentric but police finally arrested another tenant who fled back to Holland days after the murder. He successfully sued all of them for a shed-load of money but the damage done to his character warranted a large payout. If I ever do browse a paper lying about I find all of them annoying. The politic slant depends on who owns the paper and the news of so-called Celebs is designed to sell to the brain dead. Any TV program with the word Celebrity is to be avoided. They only exist to inflate the ego's of those involved or create a sob story so you feel sorry and vote for them. Unfortunately you can't avoid them as there so many about so when my missus is watching one, I'm normally on You Tube watching something of a fishing nature!

It's that time of the year when the family ask what you want for Christmas and you haven't got a clue! Sometimes it's not an obvious fishing item that really delivers, who would have thought that a fancy saucepan by Ridge Monkey would have scooped "Product of the Year" in the Carp comics several years ago. I recently bought a sleeping mat to go on my bedchair and it's been a revelation. For years I was never really comfy and would fidget all night. They also help to retain heat lost from under the bed by trapping that extra bit of warmth that is normally lost. https://www.cotswoldoutdoor.com/p/mountain-equipment-helium-3-8-warm-zone-sleeping-mat-D2424300.html%3Fchannable=00ff736964003230343434325f393886&colour=98&utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=shopping?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Best Sellers £4k High Priority tROAS-BOFU-PLA &cq_plac=&cq_net=g&cq_pos=&cq_med=pla&cq_plt=gp&gclid=CjwKCAjw2bmLBhBREiwAZ6ugo1tI2svykrueGTl9pSAkGFrC3Ea3oc2VYG1JFl9bLe7XMK5ya00rmBoCOR0QAvD_BwE I got one of these that was recommended on another fishing Site and would endorse it. To get the best out of them, leave the air valve open and let it inflate naturally and then just give it a couple of puffs. You don't want it hard as this makes it uncomfortable. At the end of a session, open the valve, roll it up and shut the valve again and it doesn't hinder shutting the bed with the mat left in place. On some extreme camping websites they recommend inflating with a small pump as your breathe contains water vapour that could result in cooling but I think that's a bit hypothetical. As for me, I bought a Mitchell Avospod reel about 7 years ago based on a Carpology review. It's a standing joke that Carpology never give a bad review and this was certainly the case. It sounds like a coffee grinder and the spool goes so far forward it exposes the under carriage and several times recently it's picked up the line and sheared it off. At £35, I shouldn't really complain as did the job for a while. I'm hoping Father Christmas brings me a Shimano XTD spod reel this year.

Just got back from a 24 hour blank. It was warm enough during the day but my mat was frozen in the morning. The lake did seem dead, I only saw 2 fish roll in all that time. At 1p.m. the bloke opposite had a run and his mate in the next swim was about to net it when he had a take. My mate who was 100 yards away 'phoned me to tell me he'd just caught one. As far as I could tell, that was it for the whole lake. I did have one aborted pull at 5a.m but that was it. Apparently the previous week they had a match on and only 6 fish were caught out of 17 swims. You can only conclude that there was a (very) short window in which they fed.

I found a half eaten Carp of about 4lb on my local club water a few years ago. I took a photo and sent it to the Club Chairman. He contacted me and told me that they had set some mink traps on a nearby private water which are basically cages filled with dead fish that they can get in easily but not out and they drown. I don't think otters would resist it either! I wouldn't rule out foxes, any dead fish that washes up in the margins would be easy pickings. Unfortunately otters tend to go for bigger fish and then often only eat the throat area and leave the rest. The fact that the silvers seem OK doesn't mean all is well. I would contact the Club and report what you found as you can legally trap and release otters if they are causing a problem.

I did hear that one fishery in the UK provided you with hand held scanners (in your comfy cabin!) and each fish was chipped so you could find out it's name and who caught it last and the weight! Modern Carp fishing can be pretty sterile if you let it and it's not a step I would like to take. If you photograph all the fish you catch, you should be able to tell if you are getting recaptures although Mirrors are normally easier to tell compared to Commons. Unfortunately in France some people clip the tails of Carp in a certain place so they can identify whether they had caught it before but don't recommend going down that route.

A pastie, steak slice or sausage roll cooks well in the monkey and only takes about 10 minutes - just pick it up or eat it out of the pan to save washing up. A chunky soup eaten out of the saucepan also fills a hole in the cold weather. For afters, pop some custard in the saucepan and when warm, add some apple pies. Breakfast is cereal in the summer in a small tupperware and just pour the milk on top, in winter add some boiling milk to some weetabix. A pack of chocolate digestives keeps me going during the day as the tea is too wet without one!

On my local lake there was a barbed ban for many years and some of the fish are a bit "gummy". A micro barb will go in and stay put during the fight and even the idiots on my local Committee seem to have got the message as they have revoked the barbless rule.

I've been using this rig for a while. You get the heaviness and stiffness of the fluorocarbon and the supple section at the end which you can regulate by adjusting the size of the loop. Easy to change hooks and also change between swivel, bait screw or rig ring.

I've got to agree Yonny. Despite being old enough and hopefully clever enough to see through advertising spiel, I bought some Boom and Krimps to make my Ronnies like a good Korda clone!

Yes, I watched it the other day. Typical no nonsense stuff from Adam and always makes me think. I tried the Ronnie when it first came out and was convinced I was going to bag up but still found that my favoured combi rigs outperformed them and don't use them any more.

That's the sort I use, the bigger the better. The first one is far too small. When I first started using the knot, I did have a couple of disasters and ended up cutting the braid and starting again. The trick is to slip the knot on and watch it and make sure you reverse the procedure when you go to undo it. On the second occasion I put the clip on and off about 20 times in a row and my brain "remembered" it. Probably OCD but I can always do it first time now without any problems. The clip stays on virtually all the time so just slip on a lead or spod at will, only taking it off for using a depth float.

https://www.carpfeed.com/fishing-advice/how-to/carp-hack-the-two-loop-trick I use this method (shamefully copied from Tom!) I normally leave a large American swivel on the braid as I can change from a lead to a spod or spomb of different sizes as required. If you want to use a marker float, a decent sized loop allows you to slip it on. I've had the same knot on for several years now. That little tag end is a huge edge and time saver.

Just checked out the club. They have 2 waters. A match lake of 0.75 acres with 17 swims and the main lake at a whopping 1.25 acres with 24 pegs! I hope the members are friendly because you'll be sitting very close to them!

Most Committees are run by old farts who don't have a clue! My local club are run by such a fine body of men. A couple of times I've attended an AGM with the intention of "putting something back" into the sport, both times I've left shaking my head in disbelief at what I'd witnessed. The proceedings were conducted with the efficiency of the Kremlin and it was a real old boy's network. Any suggestions from the floor were treated with disdain! Another local club that sells day tickets has a long list of silly rules. Despite other waters nearby being busy and theirs is always quiet, I've voted with my feet and given it a miss.

I think that Kev is on the right track, very seldom is braid banned as a hooklength. If it is, make a small hole at the bottom of the bag and thread the hooklink through, make the bag as per usual with the lead against the hole and then nick the hook back into the bag. (Whip the hole with a bit of PVA tape if it lets bait through.) By doing that, you have all the advantages and it should be tangle free and straighten as soon as the bag bursts.

It's finally out!

Coming soon!

I think they are incredibly clever because they have learnt how to read!

I have a love/hate relationship with fluoro! Love it's heaviness (twice that of water), love it's invisibility (similar to water) but hate it's stiffness and (lack of) casting and the fact it curls for a pastime and fraps up for no reason. If you want to use it, you have to learn to treat it different to mono's. Stretch it regularly and it should behave better. Also prone to picking up algae and rubbish so have to clean it by rubbing it through a wet wipe whilst winding onto the spool. I'm currently back on mono!