barry211

hoping to get a day off on 18th for a cheeky day session, if i remember i will add some pics. mostly of an empty net but either way rods out and bankside is relaxing enough

i am a self confessed maggot drowner and still love chasing silvers, only started targetting carp in the last few years and spent quite a bit of time building up the gear. still have my float rods and set ups and occasionally will hit a day ticket with one rod set for carp and the other for silvers or tench/bream on a feeder or float. that way i can still enjoy both but have different rod/tackle bags for each just to make it easier when i go out, if only going for carp i have my 2 rod holdall but if i fancy a go on specimen as well then i take one rod out and stick it in my coarse set up. i see no need to get rid of gear i have spent time and money aquiring as will often go for both to break the monotony and have a break from blanking on a session as you can always guarentee silvers or tench with a coarse set up go for both and have fun as that is the way i approach my fishing and it keeps my skills and interest up in both disciplines as not a predator angler but might fancy that next time i want a change of scene

i have used the vader x alarms for about a year now as a 2 + receiver set up and in fairness have had no problems with them but intially i might have had something similar. to begin with when i got them i dont think the receiver was synced with the alarms although they are supposed to come paired from straight out of the box, i left it a while and just used the alarms as not fussed about a remote but the figured i've got them i might as well use them properly. followed the instructions on pairing and they now work fine although being mostly deaf i have the noise off and the receiver vibrates when the alarms are triggered also the lights help as it tells me which one is going off at the time. i don't find them a bad set of alarms but would agree with the others here if they are not paired then try that or if you believe they are paired properly then go back to the shop and get them changed, as it does sound like the receiver is looking for the alarms and if not paired to anything it auto shuts off to save battery, on the vibrate setting my unit buzzes when switching each alarm on and lights up with what colour alarm is in use.

so today i managed to get out and my excellent casting skills were on fine form as i managed to tangle everything up in the tree on the bank opposite as the bailiff was checking the neighbouring swim, a nice shout of leave my trees alone rang out and off i went to the other side to go climbing. interesting thing was as we were both sorting all of the tangle out and getting the rig out of the tree we were joking about how much harder it would have been if i had set up with a 'twig', normally i can just jiggle things about and get my line and rig back (happens alot) but if i did have the blooming thing attached i reckon i would have had to cut my losses and run (faster than bailiff obviously) but at least with a standard rig set up it took very little effort and dropped back in with only a few leaves attached. at least its banned where i fish but when most of us were worried about fish safety underwater i could potentially have left 100+ yards of line flying around for the local wildlife to garrote themselves on, i catch trees a few times and always manage to recover my stuff but reckon it would have been a different story, there will always be hapless amatuers like myself on a bank so look to the trees and see how many 'twigs' you can spot 🤣

being fairly new to carp fishing my old specimen scales reached a heady weight of 3lb, i did grab myself some bigger ones for this year as i am keeping a little diary each time i go so have started keeping a record. For me though i view a personal best as something i have caught using rigs i learnt to tie myself and with something i have done differently with my bait, i have had some really nice looking fish but still struggle to tell what is what from all the different types but a best for me is something simple like 'i really enjoyed landing that one' i just like the challenges of learning rigs and a new approach to fishing having been a maggot drowner for 30 odd years. i have had some lovely memories of different fish over the years and spent a time targetting perch which was fun but never really gone for pike and maybe that might be my next challenge.....

sorry i should have been a bit clearer, i meant i dont glue or wedge the sleeve on but if snagged the lead should drop. i dont have it set up to drop on every bite just if snagged and yes inline leads are good and i mostly use bags anyway. agree with the littering bit but i have a little magnet that i sometimes pop out as it picks up the swivel on most leads and i get a fair few from just in front of the bank as it seems most anglers lose them there, often come home with a few more than i took with me

my local water aldeby have banned it but even before then its not something i think i would have gone for, i have no problem dropping leads and make sure i have a decent supply in case i am lucky enough to have a good session. the twig is not for me and i have only been targetting carp for a few years and to begin with i picked up everything i saw advertised as i knew no different. at least now i can watch all the marketing and sit back thinking nope not for me. i think that shows me at least i am learning as i go, i wont buy it or use it but i imagine there is a market and water somewhere that will go for it, if anything it has sparked a rig/fish safety debate which is never a bad thing.

random question but my lad is looking at colchester uni for this year and on a recent visit i see a lovely looking lake on campus, can it be fished or is it a definate no no.....

this is a bit of an out there reply but is it about losing focus when not catching? i know from experience that sometines the waiting and patience for "regular" fishing is what can turn kids off but with my daughter i found another way to keep her occupied and busy without catching constantly it may seem odd but worked when she was younger and has fizzled out abit now but did the job then. red maggots and a whip always kept her catching on my day ticket but she wanted to start with a rod and line but didn't have the patience to wait for bites and became very disinterested, so i started getting her to still use the whip but put a second line out with a rod and reel using diferrent types of feeder. to begin with i got her using a basic maggot feeder and having to recast every 15 mins to keep her focus as she liked filling it and watching them wriggle out. i progressed to getting her to mix up 'potions' or concoctions of groundbait, glugs, sprays or whatever i had in the shed to start using a method or tri-feeder and recasting every 20 - 30 ins and having to either get her hands in and mould it (tri-feeder) or use the method moulds and get it shaped perfectly. i know from experience that sometimes kids wont get their hands dirty but if that is the case with your lad then get some latex gloves or stuff a handful in your pockect when you next fill up the car or bike. this became a challenge in its own right and led to a few tense moments but also some nice sized fish as although feeders are not seen as great if targetting just carp they work wonders for good sized bream and tench especially if using up all the random pellets and goo in your shed the side whip would get bites but she became focussed on the method feeders and getting the line back in the right place, casts were flinging everywhere but it became a focus orientated thing if you know what i mean and practising casting technique would also keep her busy for a while. she now prefers coming with me on sessions as my cook which i appreciate more but for a while i was able to spend time with her fishing and got to chuck my own rods out with a few carp of my own, no record breakers but you choose the waters you fish with your kids duroing the day if you know what i mean. keep going with your lad and try different things but feeders can be fun sometimes and good luck, my son (18 now) was never interested once he started school but my daughter (13) still joins me once in a while and remembers her early days and still makes up my groundbait and solid bags although the throwing stick is her latest interest and we seem to be baithing alot of other peoples swims..................

i agree with you mate, i always get a pint of reds when i take my daughter out as she loves to sit there with a whip and lift out silvers all day, sometimes i will put a light pole rig on one of my rods and we run a competition. i started on course and switched to carp much later in life and remeber the old magit (maggot) vending machines near our local park

i feel your pain as i found it to be one of the hardest things saying goodbye to my old dog Cadmus, he was with me from a pup and lived rough with me and was part of our family when things were better, 14 years he lasted before the dreaded C caught up with him, spaniel lab cross and mad as a box of frogs in his youth but mellowed with age. hardest thing i have ever done was say goodbye. 12 years ago and i still miss him,

dont worry too much, i love a cold weather day session but don't always catch. i sometimes will go out with an aim to try a different rig or bait and see what happens, spring is nearly here and things may change for you but i have always found fishing in winter is like marmite you either love it or hate it. for me its more about being out and trying than always catching as i know from experience there are some waters you can hit easily and others where it takes a different approach, keep at it but pick your swims as the others have said

my daughter has a pole roller and sock thing for hers when she comes with me, i would look at using the excuse of upgrading hers so i can butcher the one she has but its only 8m so too short for what i need wondering though if i can convince my wife that she needs a larger one and then just convert it and say daughter didn't get on with it but that could be skating on thin ice as trying to avoid getting told off for spending more money on fishing gear

i think that was part of my plan as part of me just fancied another project instead of constantly repairing my lads moped, the idea of an old match pole sounds good and adapting a top kit can be easy enough.👍

i know most folks use either a bait boat or spomb but as a complete leisure/pleasure angler i fish a small local water that has some good margins with a few decent sized carp coming from them and have been thinking of a baiting pole for targetting these properly. looking at the prices has put me off a bit of taking the plunge but wondered about going down the whole home made shed project route as far cheaper and will be a bit of fun trying to get it right. i just wondered if any of you wonderfully helpful lot have had any experience using one and if they are worth the effort as would only be looking at around 12 meters to get things where i want them to be and tubing and connectors including a bit of expanding foam are not a great stretch on a budget?

i tie my bags seperately with a bit of PVA tape as although i have the loaders i could never get it right no matter how hard i tried, i find that they stay on fine for the cast and pierce them first so they sink with the hooklength. find it quite relaxing making a few up whilst having a brew and it also helps add a bit of variety around my bait as fish a small water and don't use a spomb or boat but thinking of trying to make a baiting pole this year as a shed project. but do like solid bags i must admit

i love it when my daughter (13) comes with me on a day session as she is now an expert as filling my solid bags with goo and when bored has been known to add some to her maggots when she is pole fishing for silvers i get her to make up the bags now and then she sits there squeezing away, like you say teenagers can be trained just takes time 🤣

google blocks it on my phone, but will try duck duck go as a fix, thought it was just me being a plank

i loved growing up in and around barracks especially in Germany, nothing quite like crawling over tanks and 4 tonners at break time in a service school, you never know the fella could have been up Gt Yarmouth way last week messing about with the bomb they dug up my Dad was Royal Signals and Catterick was the training barracks back then

my little brother (now 46) was born at Richmond Hospital when my Dad was a drill pig at Catterick in the 70's, we have never been back but i still remember the outside toilets in the quarters and nothing but snow in the winter.......

only been targeting carp for around a year after a lifetime of course fishing, never really weighed my catches as was just pleased i caught something and could never stop smiling long enough to get a set of scales that topped more than my mighty 3lb specimen set i really only fish one local day ticket water as that is all i can find the time for and to be fair the battle and joy of landing one is enough for me, i know i will never be able to hit some of the renowned waters or venues so for me a PB is about if i caught it using one of my own rigs or tried something new and it worked. i did once weigh a catch as needed the weight for something and a lad near me let me use his scales and it came in at a mighty 11lb 7oz so in theory that is my only recorded weight. i think i have caught bigger but then again i am still to excited when i actually land something to notice. during the hot summer i was releasing direct from the net in the water and not landing anything but do admit i would lift it quickly out to have a look then plonk it back in rest and release, it was just too damn hot to put on a mat no matter how cool i tried to get it so wouldn't have known any weights of those anyway.

welcome to the forum

welcome to forum, for some reason i had never considered fishing on IOW but you learn something new everyday

i have to admit i have mainly been a maggot drowner for most of my angling life and only started targetting carp since last Oct after catching one on a feeder rig by accident. it wasn't the biggest but it was a [censored] to land and caught it on a feeder rig by chance. i only fish day ticket as commitments keep me from the sessions most serious carpers do and i have since caught a fair few, my scales reached to a mighty 3lb so have never properly weighed my catches but a lad fishing near me helped land one once and weighed it so my PB is apparently 11lb 7oz i have had great fun and found a new lease of pleasure in fishing again learning new rigs and trying to move away from my course approach to fishing, have built up a decent bit of kit a little bit at a time here and there and find this forum to be a treasure trove of knowledge and experience. i started with some ready made set ups until i learnt to tie my own rigs and have never looked back from there, my first purchases were things for carp care such as a decent cradle and treatments and then progressed to a mid budget rod but still use some of my barbel gear like the baitrunners and nets. i hope you enjoy a change of species as much as i have had and this forum is full of all the things you may need advice with and i still target my specimen silvers when i go with my daughter to a local lake as i put one rod out for the carp and one rod on te float to have a competition with her on most caught. good luck and i look forward to your catch reports

on a slightly lighter note for this thread my old next door neighbour was ex-BBC and worked in the costume department and would regale us with tales of working on this show. we would rib the hell out of him for this and not because of the politics but because trying to claim fame as wolfie smiths dresser did not really require much effort in the outfit choice. he sadly passed in 2004 (my neighbour not wolfie) but will forever be remembered as the man that suggested jeans and a t-shirt as the uniform of choice for Tooting Popular Front.... politics and religion are never dull subjects and all seriousness aside having worked in a closed shop and also non union places i support everyones right to either strike or not but thats why we have this system whether broken or not. i for one will always support power for the people and freedom for tooting in loving memory of Roger Reece the costume designer extraordinaire