Golden Paws

I never fuel up on a trip, I always do it a few days earlier especially since I bought the (clean!) modern diesel a couple of years ago. If I'm going later in the day and have a shower in the morning, I'll hold fire on the underarm spray. Can't swear it makes a difference but fishing is all about those 1%'s that add up.

I've had several fish on the same bait and will happily cast it out again as long as it looks as though it will survive the cast. I won't put a used bait back into the pot though. The issue about the smell of your hands is valid and I could argue that smokers should never catch a carp in their life but unfortunately I know a lot of good anglers that are addicted to the weed. I try to remember to wash my hands in lake water prior to casting out. I know some people use disposable gloves to put the bait on. It's easy to chase your tail so don't worry too much about it, Carp still pick up baits whatever.

When you re use, do you mean use them for the next session? Anything that gets cast out, never gets a second outing on another trip. If I'm say fishing for 24 hours, a fresh bait goes on first thing and then I'll probably change it just before it gets dark. All baits take on water and their ability to pop-up or waft is reduced. I can't understand some people who say they cast out once during a 48 hour session and leave it. The amount of times I've reeled in and some weed has tumbled down and masked the hook point would have me wondering all the time whether I was fishing effectively.

Here is my brolly that I bought in 2014. This photo was taken last year and I'd proofed it the previous year. Wash all the mud off with a hosepipe but don't use any soap. I think I used a rag to wipe off any sticky stuff. Allow to dry and then proof. I poured the Fabsil into a (clean) old margarine tub and rubbed it in with a cloth but you can use a brush. After the session, a flick of the brolly removed all the droplets. On another Carp Site, one bloke rants that you don't need to do it but I prefer to put my stuff away dry if possible. My brolly wasn't leaking before but was heavy with the wetness and it took an age to dry in my garage at home. I'll keep on proofing when I think it is necessary.

After 14 years, it was finally time to say goodbye to my Golden Retriever yesterday. We knew the time was coming but it doesn't make it any easier. My daughter got married on Thursday and it was genuinely one of the best days of my life. The day after was one of the worst. A friend had him for the night, only the second time we've ever left him, the first being my sons wedding. When we went to pick him up, he wasn't right and our friend just shook her head and gave us that look that said it all. She has lost 3 Goldies over her life and knows the signs. As part of my wedding speech, a lot of it was focused on how my daughter had begged me for a dog and I wasn't keen but she wore me down. When he came along it was the most natural thing in the world and we immediately bonded. My handle Golden Paws comes as a reference to him and a Beckham joke. Ironically me and missus used to argue about bringing up the kids but our dog brought us closer together. I'll miss his boundless energy, our long walks in the Countryside and his absolute love and devotion. Goodnight old friend.

The banks will be busier. A lot busier! A lot of fisheries are subjected to near non stop pressure, especially in the summer months and the fish will be a lot more switched on and harder to catch. More exclusive fishing is available but expect long term waiting lists and wallet busting fees when your name does come to the top. On the flip side, there are more bigger fish then ever and even small ponds will hold fish that 12 years ago you'd have given your left ******** to catch! Just go on your own terms enjoy the times you get out and put things in perspective.

I had not long started fishing a while back after a day at work and a chap walked past pushing his barrow and asked how I was getting on. I'd only been there about an hour so had nothing to report. He didn't seem in a hurry to set up and we had a good long chat and he asked if he could fish the next swim down as it was available and he had caught a few in there the last time he was down. Obviously I had no objection and he pushed his barrow down to the swim and came back to continue chatting. He seemed like a really nice bloke but was a bit full of "the carp gods" and seemed to be looking up for inspiration. After about 15 minutes he went to his swim which was partially hidden from mine by bushes but I spotted him kneel to the ground and pray after he'd cast out his 3rd rod which I thought was a bit funny. A couple of times during the night he came up and asked me to photograph some fish for him, although my rods remained motionless. The following morning after bite time had ended, he came up and asked if I would mind his rods as he was in desperate need of a trip to the port-a-loo and he handed me his receiver as he didn't want to reel in and cause a disturbance when he came back. I took a quick trip to his swim when he was gone and it all became clear when I looked at his bobbins. Do you think divine intervention had anything to do with his success or was I just in the wrong swim?

I can see where the EA are coming from, there are an alien invasion species. It's one thing stocking them in a contained lake but when they get into canals or river systems, they can end up anywhere. I suspect some catfish anglers deliberately "planted" fish over the years so they had waters closer to home. We already have pike and perch to predate and keep the ecosystem healthy and catfish are are an additional and unnecessary addition in my opinion.

I did consider getting a baiting pole a while back but to get any appreciable distance, you're going to need a lot of poles. For about £250 you can get a decent boat that will be lighter, more compact and versatile.

I'm not claiming to be an expert, but if it's only accessing about half the spool, adding or taking away washers probably isn't going to solve it. Sounds like a pin on the rotor may have come adrift, hence why you're not getting the full travel of the spool. If you're confident, take off the outer casing and reassemble and turn the handle to see what's happening inside. Best bet though is probably your local tackle shop.

About an hour is enough. Some people will tell you to wind it on with the spool the label side up but I have drilled a couple of holes in an old ice cream tube wide enough for a pencil to go through and wind it on that way and the water lubricates it on the way in and the friction slows it down a bit. That is the way the manufacteur spooled it on and so it makes sense to take it off that way as well. Used to get the missus to hold the pencil and apply a bit of pressure on the spool but gave it up a bad job as too much moaning about getting burnt thumbs!

The door releasing pins on bait boats can be probe to sticking, especially if not used for a long time. Try pressing the pin in repeatedly and add a few drops of machine to it. You say you have changed the battery, it could be the controller battery may be impaired and not giving a strong enough signal out so that could be worth looking at.

http://www.korda.co.uk/carpfishingvideos/underwater/underwater-the-test-tapes Another good offering that makes you wonder how we ever catch one! Several times the Big One literally skirted the bait and fed on freebies literally inches away.

I'd be wary of using either. Several years ago my mate had his garage done over despite having a decent alarm. He had sold some stuff on Facebook and on reflection he was pretty sure one bloke who he had invited into his garage to view the stuff had noted what was there and came back to ransack it. He reckons he lost about £8,000 worth of kit. A neighbours (poor quality!) camera picked up a van turning up, the alarm being smashed and they were in and out pretty quick and took the lot. Luckily his Insurance Company was really good and he managed to replace most of it but the thought of losing all your gear in one hit is a right kick in the nuts and he was in tears when he told me his tale. The morale of the story is don't bring attention to outsiders of exactly what you've got, you don't know who you are inviting round.

A thought for anyone with a bait boat. With the current temperatures below zero, snow on the ground and all my local lakes shut due to being frozen, bring the battery and handset inside the house - mine lives in my shed attached to the garage. Batteries hate being cold, especially for prolonged periods and they can completely discharge in these conditions and it can render them near useless. Bring them inside and fully charge them and they should be OK. Also going to disconnect the battery from my electric bike and bring it inside and charge it up, I won't be riding it anytime soon until the weather significantly changes. Some people also keep camera's in their fishing bags and the cold apart from killing the batteries they also may suffer from internal condensation. I keep my fragile stuff like the camera, spare batteries, binocular's and power pack in a separate small bag and always bring it in the house after a trip.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-derbyshire-63880157 Sorry it's another external link Nick but this is another example of dangerous practice and being recommended for use in bivvy's. I hope Nash Tackle take notice.

Most gas bottles are used for making a brew or cooking a dinner outside. Only a fairly small percentage end up being connected to a heater so I don't think it would make a big difference. Unfortunately if there's money to be made, some tackle companies will chase one it. One lot are selling tea lights and a glorified upside down ceramic plant pot. I'm sure you could buy something similar from a hardware store for heating greenhouses and a lot less than the £35 they want to rustle you! (The Carp Tax is compulsory.) A large tackle store that sells direct is flogging them. They are partly responsible for the increase in their use and ultimately the deaths that they cause. Companies hate bad publicity and if people shunned them due to their money grabbing ways, they would think twice.

Most bottled gas is a mixture of Propane (C3H8) and Butane (C4H10). Butane is longer chain alkane and boils at a higher temperature and gives out more output due to the fact that there are more Carbon to Carbon bonds. It doesn't matter what percentage you add to a bottle as the end result is the same, you burn a hydrocarbon in air (the Oxygen part) and it produces Carbon Dioxide and water and a percentage of Carbon Monoxide which is dependent on how efficient the burn is. A bluer flame is best as it gives a more complete burn and hence lower Carbon Monoxide whereas a yellow flame gives a lower heat output and a higher concentration of Carbon Monoxide. It probably wouldn't have mattered if the poor bloke had used a USA cylinder, the result would almost certainly have been the same.

Sorry but I disagree. There is no such thing as safe burning in an enclosed area. Not too sure what regulations you mean and don't think his family will be able to sue anyone. I don't really like banning things because it smacks of the nanny state and it's pretty easy to build your own heater without too much trouble. I would like to think that any responsible manufacteur or tackle dealers would voluntarily not make or sell items that have the potential to cause death.

Cheers for that Nick. Wouldn't normally promote external links but thought that this one was too important not to highlight.

http://www.carpforum.co.uk/Shared/Messages.asp?TopicID=436401 Found this today on another Carp Forum today and thought I'd bump it up again. With day time temperatures peaking around 5 Celsius and the predicted Northern Blast/Beast From the East forecast for the coming week, it's going to get a lot colder. Don't be tempted, it's not worth the risk. Even some of the tea light style heaters that one big tackle manufacteur is peddling are dangerous. Wax is a hydrocarbon and when you burn it, it produces Carbon Dioxide and water and a percentage of Carbon Monoxide. If fact, the more yellow the flame, the higher percentage of CO is produced. It might be alright in a greenhouse but not in an occupied zipped up bivvy!

I can see your point but with a decent head torch and towel to dry yours hands, it's not too much of a faff. I did try the loop to loop method but the way the mono gripped the leader just didn't look right to me and I soon ditched it as I didn't have full confidence in it. Once that happens, your mind plays tricks and you are almost expecting it to fail.

It only takes about 2 minutes to make up a new bag so I don't bother making up fresh ones. Reel in, wrap around the sticks and clip up, dry the lead and rig with a towel, place rig in bag, add bag mix, lead in bag, final top up, lick and stick, cast out. Leaving PVA exposed to air weakens them as the moisture in the air gets to them, although keeping them buried in pellets or groundbait will extend that time but why take the risk?

Lead Core is banned on my local waters and so I've never used, even when fishing other waters. I use the Korda Safezone leaders, the lead clip version for using normal leads or the swivel end version if using in-lines in a PVA bag. The stuff is pretty invisible, thick and tough and shouldn't lift any scales off the carp. I did start off using tubing when I first started but it just seemed too obvious to me. If the line snaps above the leader, there is potential for problems whatever you use. Even if you have 20 foot of normal mono, the problem would still be there.

A topic that you can easily go round in circles and you end up confusing yourself! I started off Carp fishing using Mainline's Cell and caught from the off but it was pricier than other shelf lives. Went over to CC Moore and used both the Live System and Pacific Tuna and would happily use it again. My mate I go with seems to catch on Sticky's Krill. Recently I started using Baitworks Creamino after watching some of the video's on You Tube. (Yes I know, an advertisers dream!) I've only used it a couple of times so still early days yet. If you have a couple of local makers and can collect and chat to the owners, that would probably be a good route to go down. Also it would cut down on postage costs and if you wanted freezer baits, wouldn't have to worry about stuff going off (especially with postal strikes at the moment.) Go a good runs water with a new bait and get the rod bent a good few times and you won't have to worry about the bait, the rest is down to you.