Golden Paws

When Rob Hughes dives down to check on rigs for filming, he gets close and then looks for the leadcore or tubing to see where the rig is. I use Korda Safezone leaders and think it's £6 well spent. I also pinched an idea from Martin Bowler and use some lead olivettes on rubber caps that pins the extra metre above the leader for good measure as well.

I've got some PVA string that withers within a second on contact with water and pulls the baits together tightly and they take an age to come free. Instead of using it with baits an inch apart, I've had to give them at least 3 inches apart which makes it more expensive.

I bought all the first 7 about 3 months ago and have nearly finished them and can't recommend them enough. Plenty of good fishing stories with the authors spin on topical subjects that inject a real sense of humour. I don't think that wokeism is coming to the Cunnington household any time soon! The only problem is that to get my Matt and Rambo fix, I'm going to have to buy the sequel book The Black Mirror Cult as well.

14lb rod??? Rods are rated as test curves and are calculated by clamping the butt section vertically and then pulling the line with a spring balance until the tip is horizontal. https://www.anglingtimes.co.uk/tackle-reviews/accessories/how-to-start-carp-fishing/ This is a good starting point.

Carp are more predatory than most people think. At frog spawning time they soon switch on to mopping them up. I chatted to a pike angler on my local water and he caught the big common on a plug fair hooked in the mouth. I've heard of quite a few carp being caught on sprats. Carp have to chew their food to make it small enough to pass into it's digestive system and that would limit the size of fish it would take. Crayfish are also fair game and I've caught a few chub on freelined crays. They have to be crushed and spat out and then taken in smaller chunks. Linear has it's fair share of crayfish and I'm sure the carp harvest them. One night on B1 they drove me mad and I was getting pulls all night and didn't hardly get a wink. I suspect the carp weren't in the swim and I should have moved but was too tired and didn't think about it at the time. The Cotswolds Water Park also have plenty, in fact one bloke makes a living by harvesting them.

Most bigger cyprinids are female. Think Mary, Heather the Leather, Sally the Common. I've watched barbel spawning in shallow water and typically you get the big girl in the middle and the smaller males are positioned around her and are rubbing her flanks encouraging her to release the eggs. At spawning time, female fish also develop a "peashooter" that looks like it might belong on a male where the eggs are released from whereas the males milt opening looks like a little girls part!

https://www.carpology.net/article/columnists/lago-di-bolsena/ Found this if it helps.

I've put some paprika in my PVA mix before now but during the "licking and sticking" process, it always sets my tongue on fire! Tuna is a great additive and I normally use a tin in my groundbait mix used for plugging my spod. They also like bread with jam on it as I got caught out one day when it was sunny and hot and had to press my sandwiches into play for floaters!

My PVA bag mix always has some crushed elips pellets that I put through a grinder. The smell is amazingly "fishy". Also add a bit of fishmeal ground bait, explosive hemp and some panko breadcrumb to make it swell up and burst out. You can put almost anything in, even hemp and sweetcorn if you drain it and add a bit of salt. I also like to inject the bag with a liquid flavour immediately prior to casting out.

Possibly due to bird life but it does restrict responsible anglers from doing what conditions dictate. I would give it a miss but unfortunately virtually all lakes are going to be rammed this year, they probably won't struggle to attract membership.

I've always liked Carl and Alex and admire their pursuit of their dream and the brave decision to pack in their jobs and follow their dream. Worth spending 10 minutes watching.

Partially agree. The Russians and Chinese are both trying to getting a toehold into Western Democracies so they can neuter a Goverment of any colour by funding or helping with election expenses. MI5 have just released a warning of the threat and told all politicians to beware of Greeks bearing gifts, Or Russian or Chinese, Of the big 2 parties, I suspect that they would favour one on the left wing. Especially if it was led by serial pacifist Jeremy Corbyn. Stand well back. Light touch paper. Enjoy the fireworks!

What?????? I know that you're no fan of Boris but it has been pretty clear from the West and NATO nations that there will be no direct involvement with troops on the ground. There will be tougher regulations on the Russian machine and individuals that have profited from being close to Putin may find their wings clipped. Bad news if you are a Chelsea footballer and having to struggle on £250,000 a week!

Sorry to change from the original poster a little but I never joined or particularly wanted to join the Carp Society. I suppose I've been put off by when they issued the 10 year tickets for Horseshoe and then the classified sections of the angling comics were full of people selling Horseshoe membership with 9 years remaining! A few years back there was some serious discussions regarding the (then) Directors and their plans for the future of the Society (leave it at the that as I didn't get the full story and don't want to get sued!) A quick look at the Website shows that apart from a President, they have 4 Vice Presidents and 9 people identifying as Directors! I don't know if it is a paid position or otherwise but it does seem a bit top heavy. Horseshoe, Farriers, Little Farriers and Ashmead aren't that far from me and are places that I would like to fish (especially Ashmead) but it would mean joining. Farriers is a Syndicate and Little Farriers is only available for 3.4 or 7 day bookings. So my question is to people who might be (or have been members), is it worth joining?

I've read about reeling the line in label side up to prevent twist but when I tried it, it did twist! Not surprising really because at the factory it would have been loaded onto the spool by rotating it so it make sense to let the spool rotate in a bucket. I found Matthew Collins channel on YouTube a while back and there is a lot of good stuff on there, here's the video Crusian mentions;

https://www.waitrose.com/ecom/products/cooks-ingredients-nam-pla-fish-sauce/419876-59072-59073 This is good stuff I use to flavour my pop-up's/wafters and also add it to groundbait I use to plug my spod. If someone dropped a bottle in the warehouse, it stunk for a week!

Just watched it and really enjoyed it. Danny always talks you through the session and explains his reasoning behind his thinking and this one is no different. He has curbed his "get in the net" drama's that made it more watchable as well!

Most shop bought sticks come with cord preset at 12 foot, or 4 yards if you prefer. It's easy to convert wraps to yards and you shouldn't need to worry about what length rod you are using.

That is true and I do use plastic corn! I have this imaginary Greta Thunburg sat on my shoulder and she tuts every time I do something questionable! I cycle to work most days (weather permitting) and so I offset any carbon I use to go fishing against that. Anglers are the original conservationist and I do try to think about the impact that what we do has on the environment, hence why I think that polystyrene in fishing is highly questionable.

When you say poly balls, I'm assuming that's as in polystyrene? Probably frowned upon nowadays and I'd stick to cork. Cork dust is probably better as you don't the hard centre compared to using a ball.

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.........)