sir axeman

The DL range is the more expensive though right?

Cheers guys! Sounds like the DL's might need a swerve... My mate has 3 of the 12000 baitrunners...he's restarted carp fishing last year, he likes them a lot. My logic is these will be both carp and pike reels for me...if I keep my windcasts and get the pro10000's ...or do I flog the windcasts and get the 1200's. Edging towards the 10000 pro at the moment. Ta for that guys! Summat to think on.

Hi i'm looking to get a new set of reels - with the baitrunner feature, i have 3 Windcast Z5500 big pit reels with the quick front drag, sold my old Shimano 8080's 2yrs ago n wish i'd have kept 'em now. My budget rules out the expensive stuff so no point suggesting the £150+ reels like the Shimano XTB Longcast - medium in those would be great, but a bit too expensive at the moment. So i'm looking at the Fox EOS 10000 and EOS 10000 Pro, Sonic Vader X FRS 10000 pro or the Shimano DL's in 10000 size...or are there others i don't know about ? Any of you guys got experience of these reels to give an opinion based upon experienece? appreciated thanks!

14/16/18mm or other ? What i'm driving at really is size vs effectiveness. Are smaller baits more like naturals and more what the carp are inclined to? Do big baits (20mm +) put them off ? Of course they have certain advantages in that they're going to be able to catapult or stick further out, but the downside is they will fill the fish quicker...but then they might be a problem for smaller fish ie bream n tench - which in my book is a good thing. So what are your thoughts in regard to bait size....do you even consider it beyond how far you can get them out ? Do ya think size matters not in terms of their appeal to a hungry carp ? Discuss!! 1x18mm boilie is almost 3x14mm boilies in terms of weight amount of mix to roll. So in theory imagine the amount of baits you could scatter in a swim and get the fish rooting around for compared to 18mm. Even more with say 10 or 12mm's but of course the smaller you go the more of a free for all it becomes with nuisance fish.....

Good bait the old bacon grill....not cheap these days though!

no, and they're not for me so i'd not have one even if they were allowed.

What to get small particles out? 🤪 catapults and throwing sticks are allowed thankfully!

Yes indeedy - tis what I've been thinking of. My coarse fishing bandmate is always raving about "the method" as he tends to fish a lot of commercials catching smaller pasties but in numbers. Must admit when I saw the prices of method mix and even breadcrumb groundbaits they're a lot more expensive than umpteen years ago when I last used 'em. I used to make my own baits - from scratch so i'll have to buy in some fishmeals n stuff and knock up my own as I aint paying those rip off prices.

The spod is banned, I just edited my post to clarify - we can use corn and pellets, hemp maggots and casters and groundbait but not much else besides those and boilies. I think balling some groundbait out is something I've not done in a long time that will have some positive effect as a lot of smell/attraction in the water will draw 'em in n get them searching for food. I think if we could spod on there it'd be deadly - but we can't. A rule says we can spod boilies only from October onwards. But who needs to spod boilies? Some pegs are not bad close in but a lot its more midrange distances - too far to catty small particle type baits.

I don't see my result as "a result" I'm just me average really....and as once upon a time this was a runs water and now it's not (for everybody) tells me we're all in the same boat - often struggling. This lakes well stocked if these were all stockies that have never seen a line before I think everyone would be hauling 'em out. So I and others are experiencing the results if angling pressure. But all that said in such instances your suggestion of the baiting situation is still a good answer....get the fish feeding hard and competing with each other to scoff the next boilie. If only we could spod (banned) pellets n corn out there that'd help to achieve a feeding frenzy situation. I used to read Tim Paisley's writings on this tactic on pressured waters and think it us one of the answers. Yes we're still going to continue to get done but the more pickups you get the more chance of one hanging itself n running.

Yeah I meant leadclip my bad. Bottom baits - mostly with a piece of fake corn to tip it off. Occasionally I'll do it with a small pop up n putty or a snowman. Very standard carp rig nothing fancy. The bottom of this lake is relatively clean sand....its a lake that was dug for sand fi r the m6 motorway - Dovemere (cheshire) on the Prince Albert card.. a water that once upon a time was a runs water but not anymore....plenty people do 48hr blanks on there these days or if they catch it's 1 or 2. Occasionally someone will have a bag up session when they're really having it and they're on em. Me...just returned from 2 nights for 2 fish...nothing till 11pm last night n 11.10am this morning. Yet there was quite a lot of shows in my swim mostly from cruising fish on top but a few rolls, boils n swirls and a few "boshes" yet only a measly 2 runs...methinks I'd have been done a number of times n never knew it....welcome to modern day carp fishing on pressured waters.

I use a multi tangle rig. Just kidding lol...just a simple 10" coated braid with the last 2" peeled off by the hook with a 6 hook with a bit of shrink tubing to give a "bent hook" effect. Short hair from the braid knotless knot. 2oz lead (max on this water) with a safety bead on to give a semi fixed effect and about 12" of quick sink rig tubing behind the lead...pretty standard rig I guess. I used to use mono hooklengths...ESP Soft Ghost (flourocarbon) but it still feels pretty stiff n wirey to me so haven't used it in a while. Got some drennan half strength (double strength 😉) that I might use for hooklink soon tis much thinner than a regular 10lb mono.

I think with the backlead thing you might have a point!!

Does anybody fish the hair rig? By that I mean the original concept...1lb line 2" hair to give your bait a chance of behaving more like a freebie? I'm starting to think of using it again after many years of short hairs of the same material as the hooklink ie a continuation of (usually via a knotless knot). I need to start doing something different as I'm blanking when I have fish all around me and I cover a couple of feeding spells in my session time on the bank. I often backlead as much to pin the lines down close in so as not to be in the way of the other rod when playing a fish in the margins....as well for the line being pinned down round the baited areas. Sometimes I'll get 2 bleeps and I think is that a liner between my tip and the backlead or have I just been done. (I often fear the latter is the case!).

I used to use it quite a few years ago on a water where boilies were banned....and it worked very well. I also used cheese to similar effect. I used it recently on a couple of occasions but to no success...but I do have a lot of confidence in it from the past where it worked very well. I used the regular green packet version...used to get the wideboy version it not seen that or know if they still even do it anymore...was just a thicker version of the same stuff. Of coarse you can't put a lot of it in due to cost...so I used to use it on stringers and was a boilies in when nobody was near or looking. One time on said bookie banned water some matchman type came running round n said "hey what was you firing in there? " pepperami I said showing him my opened packet. 😁😉later on once they knew I was the carp man with the pepperami i went onto cylinder shaped fishmeals boilies. And pushed the boilie sausages into used pepperami packets....and would cut it off as if it was pepperami from a pepperami packet. To anti carp anglers aka matchmen it was very easy to fool them. Oh the find memories I have if that water.... 😂🤣

In the end I just took back the A Pod Plus" this morning and got my refund from angling direct ( my local Wigan branch)...and ordered a Stalker Plus Pod from Angling direct online as their warehouse shows 10+ in stock. Weird the shop couldnt order one in just said go online n get direct from their warehouse...so that's what I did. Better bag(padded), adjustable legs(banksticks) and 2 rod buzz bars as well as 3. Makes more sense for an extra £35...as to buy those upgrades would cost a lot more if I was to buy them as I planned to. Oh well got their in the end.

says out of stock? https://dansononline.co.uk/product/fox-stalker-plus-pod/

nobody seems to have stock! And fox haven't replied for over a week now....just trying to find out. I only need a person that has the stalker plus pod to measure theirs if it matches mine I know its going to be a fit and can order confidently!

I'm the opposite - I have 2x 2.75 rods and my 3rd is 3lb. Same rods (Greys Prodigy) but the 3lb'er definitely makes a bit of difference when it comes to chucking a lead at range. I got 2 rods @ 2.75 because I figured they'd feel a bit better playing a fish. The taper on all 3 rods being the same model is the same, not tip only but say the last 6ft will have an healthy bend when playing a fish. I see so many folks though on the lakes I fish using 3+ plus rods (often 3.5lb) and they also seem to be fast tapered rods and as a consequence I watch people playing fish on 'em sometimes and the rod is barely bending. Like sea fishing boat rods! I prefer a rod that has a more compound taper and bends a lot, rather than an out and out casting stick. I do agree for certain places where you are usually fishing at long range then these casting sticks are necessary...but so far I've mangaged to do without them and I like the way my rods feel and bend when I have a carp lunging in the margins or at close range.

Years ago when swingers came in everybody was using them. They worked great (I still use 'em now) They stay still in the wind and you can add extra weight - varying it by its position on the swinger....now most seem to be using hangers. So....here I am scratching my head as to why the change over - hangers that seem to like swaying in the wind and causing false bleeps etc. How is that a forward progression? Am I missing something? Is it just a fashion thing - like snag ears seem to have become?

See the plastic end piece that holds the goal posts ?? Are they the same size???

I know this isn't going to be an interesting thread(sorry!), but if any of you have the Stalker Plus pod you could possibly help! I have an "A Pod Plus" Pod, now it comes with 3 rod buzz bars as standard, and I notice the Stalker Plus has both 2 and 3 rod buzz bars supplied as standard...its a more expensive pod so has adjustable legs (banksticks), 2&3 rod buzz bars and a better quality case. But as far as I can see looking at the pics its essentially the same pod minus those upgrades I've just mentioned. Now, getting to my point. I'm fishing a club where its 2 rods and a lot of their waters the pegs are stages, so I want to get the 2 rod buzz bars from Fox, which you can buy as spares for the Stalker + pod. I basically want to know if the plastic end block that holds the goal posts at either end of the pod is the same width measurement - it sure looks identical. I don't wanna order some and then get them only to find they don't fit. So if any of you could spare a minute to measure the width of the goal post holders ie that plastic moulding at either end of the Stalker + I can then see if its a match for mine. I'm 90% certain the EOS, A Pod + and Stalker Pod + all share the same body and end moulding...if this is correct I can get the 2 rod goal post buzz bars and know its not a waste of time and money!