Golden Paws

I'm not a bait expert by a long way (I buy them) but to expect to get the same sort of kick from a bottle and the same from the boile is optimistic as you have diluted the flavour right down by adding the dry ingredients. What smells weak to you is probably still overpowering to a carp and I'd stick to the recommended doses. Existing bait manufacturers know their product and what works best and they want you to have success and buy again. As Elmo said, you can buy bait rolling tables, something like this; https://gardnertackle.co.uk/product/rolaball-baitmasters-giant-size/ that should take the strain out of it. Good luck.

You might want to try one of these on for size!

Sounds like my local pond. My favourite swim (yeah I know it's not trendy to have one and you've got to find the fish first!) is 6 wraps so 24 yards by my reckoning. I did consider some baiting poles but found that underarm casting a small korda spod; http://www.korda.co.uk/fishingtackle/baiting-up/mini-skyliner/ and stopping it dead as it hits the water means I can bait with barely a ripple. Using the larger size one was hit and miss and I ended up depth charging the swim too often. I have seen bait boats used and my mate put his to good use by catching the largest fish in one lake by placing his bait right under some trees at 60 yards on an Island and I have occasionally let him tow my rigs out but just can't see me buying one as it does feel like a cheat too far. Got to admit though that the feature finder sonar device he uses with it makes finding the bottom contours so much easier rather than thrashing the water to a foam.

Have a listen to this one (with the volume turned right up!) Diamond Head are regularly described as one of the greatest bands ever never to achieved greatness and bands like Metallica cite them as a major influence. This video just gives it a whole new lease of life and is a cinematic masterpiece. One of the greatness metal tracks of all time and given a whole new audience with this video. The "snake woman" at 3:20 is apparently the actress Salma Hayek.

I fished a lake in Somerset recently (Walton which is part of Festival Carp Fisheries) and found the following when checking the rules; We do not allow Pallatrax GRIP Hooks to be used Most of the other were fairly reasonable (other than not being able to use a leader) and the one about not touching the electric fence made me chuckle. I had to check the hooks out to see why they were banned but can't really see it (although there is a barbless rule.) Most Committees are full of people who think it their duty to impose rules on you but most rarely go fishing anyway! My fishing mate quite often suggests places to go and if the rules seem picky and dream't up by old men (who are troubled by wind!), I don't bother to go there. My local club had a barbless rule for years but the damage being done was dreadful. Luckily they have seen the light and allow micro barbs. At least once they go in, they tend to stay in and do not rotate with every twist and turn of the fish but the damage has already been done.

I thought it was only available on-line via the Website?

If they are feeding 6 hours after it gets dark, I think that means they are night feeding! I only normally gave it 2 or 3 hours after dark but did try the odd longer session but it wasn't overly productive. Fishing on the Somerset Drains, eels used to drive you mad and the experiment was dropped. Agree about the sentiment of being alert, alarms on and close to hand ensure that all runs are registered immediately and struck in good time.

Yes, it's been a bit of a fiasco. Just keep trying every day and they might have fixed it or else it could be a present for 2021!

A Covid vaccine so that all those "new" anglers who jammed the lakes this year can go to France or go to football matches again!

The size and coarseness of the ingredients that go into a boilie is quite a complex part of the overall picture. If it was as fine as flour, it would bind well but water wouldn't penetrate it easily and the flavours would be locked in. Think of a Victoria sponge (but obviously smaller) and the flavours and goodness are easier to leach out. Bait manufacturers will source the ingredients and the size that that think will provide optimum results.

Same applies, it'll still be giving off Carbon Monoxide.

Fishing a cabin with an electric heater isn't cricket! Richard Walker will be turning in his grave.

I don't know about generators, I take far too much stuff fishing as it is! Your body is a heat generator and the best bet is to harness that but using clothing that is appropriate. In the winter that means thermal underwater and layering. Bobble hats, scarves and gloves are also pretty essential to trap and retain the heat you generate. One tip that is worth mentioning is buying a thermal shirt that will tuck into the bottoms with plenty of room to keep it there. I've seen far too many "builders bums" in my time but aside from the unpleasant view, the heat you are releasing will cool you down pretty quick. A pair of the bib and brace type waterproof over-trousers will also help with the heat retention massively.

It varies. I fish a local pond that is narrow at the stream end and fish 2 spots (2 rod limit), one under the trees on the far bank and one on the bottom of the steep drop off a rod length out. The close rod I use the big Spod (not keen on spombs as you have to hit the nose cap quite hard to open them) and underarm and drop the bait with barely a ripple. If I use the big spod on the far bank (only about 6 wraps), it does tend to make too much of a splash so revert to a midi as I can stop it instantly and lay it down almost silently. That said, I have had bites when using the large spod on the far bank and "sploshed it" and caught with the spod rod still in my hand!

Alcohol spirit is still a hydrocarbon and will give off a percentage of Carbon Monoxide during combustion. Burning anything in a confined area (i.e. sealed up bivvy) is asking for trouble and lets be honest, if it's cold enough to need one, the bivvy will be zipped up. It's like playing Russian Roulette, 5 times out 6 you'll be fine!

Interesting piece as ever from Adam Penning. He is removing a lot of metal to make the hook "hyperdermically sharp". He describes it as his biggest edge and you can't argue with his results.

Probably one of the most complex questions in Carp Fishing! On YouTube I've seen one bloke state that 8kg of boilies even in the winter is his standard offering (that's about £80 to you and me but he is sponsored!) whereas others will go for singles or a PVA bag and fish for one bite at a time. When Carp are really on the munch, you can't feed them enough. I did read a few years back about one bloke who feed 5kg of boilies in an out of bounds area and 8 large Carp came in and cleaned him out in 5 minutes. Although he couldn't fish there, the confidence in his bait was off the scale and one thing less to worry about. Carp and cold blooded and their feeding and digestion rate are controlled by a large degree by the water temperature. Just to confuse matters, high temperatures result in a lower oxygen content and this will diminish feeding. The old adage of "when you've put it in, you can't take it out" is true and most anglers tend to put in an initial hit of bait, 10 spods is probably a good starting point and then add more if there get action or activity over the rods. A matchman will be feeding little and often to try to keep the fish competing and if you achieve that, you'll bag up. At this time of year, crumbed or halved boilies will encourage the fish to have to work harder for food and will keep them in the area longer and is well worth a try. Also try whittling down a pop up so that it only rises off the bottom and matches the freebies and is another good approach. Good luck.

https://calmproductions.com/through-the-mist-4 Link to the Website, £35 plus postage.

It's finally coming out, just in time for Christmas as well!

I've been using Gardner GT-HD and rate it. I used to use Pro Clear and still would but it seemed to fizzle out for some reason.

I don't have a definitive answer regarding the depth but I think Rob Hughes said that below 30 foot it gets so cold he has to come up pretty quick. Carp will seek out the warmest part of the lake as it is the most comfortable. I would be looking more at the inlet end of a reservoir.

They have just announced a full lock down. Unfortunately traveling to go fishing will be seen as an unnecessary journey! We'll have to go along with it but I'm not convinced that it will work. Predictions of 4,000 a day dying is a scary statistic and the Government had to act and I'm just glad it's a call I didn't have to make. The Spanish flu outbreak of 1918 killed more in the 2nd winter wave than the first and history does have a habit of repeating itself.

Alternatively add some table salt to a the sweetcorn and the PVA won't melt until the lake water dilutes it right down.

After lock down, the banks have been busier than ever as people made up for lost time. Chuck in the "French" brigade who couldn't go so stayed closer to home and those on furlough who have time on their hands and it's obvious why the banks are busier. Until recently Linear was fully occupied most days with only a few swims on Hardwick/Smiths going. https://www.linear-fisheries.co.uk/index.cfm?fuseaction=news.start The fish are being constantly fed and on their guard all the time and it's not too surprising that things are getting harder. The late autumn period should see most "fairweathers" hanging up the rods and so the lakes should get quieter but that coupled with decreasing temperatures will reduce the fishes appetite. Watching the weather forecast and getting out when their is a warm and wet spell after a colder period will always pay dividends. Back to your original question, I don't think you get worse (but I used to get more tangles on June the 16th than the rest of the season put together!) but I think the fish are definitely getting more wary.

A mate of mine caught a big pike on the steps of a large concrete domed reservoir a couple of foot out in about a foot of water. He had a theory that the pike patrolled the margins after dark looking for easy pickings as some anglers discarded any unused deadbaits in the margins. We did a whole night session on a Somerset Drain once and got smashed to pieces by eels, I think we had at least 15 runs each but did catch a pike just after midnight. We would regularly fish a couple of hours into darkness in the winter but it wasn't all that productive but did throw up the better specimens.