Roughtor

Ahh,yes the good ol Apotheosis, apparently meaning closer to God, or similar ..I never had one Nick ..,but many people I knew did ,I thought the fibre glass version was better than the aero grade alloy poles ,I well remember another chap virtually sweating trying to get those alloy poles to 'clip in ' .. Didn't get no Wrasse, big bull in field ,with attitude, so another time .. I did a list once of the ones I've had ,and thought what a waste of money chasing a rainbow 🌈.. I also use a 50 brolly and wrap .. Big pond ,just past those bovine..!

That sounds a fantastic experience Yonny.. And welcome to the forum to the Canadian chap. .

It definitely comes down to personal choice ..I'm not actually sure how many shelters or bivvys I've owned ,all I can say ,is its a lot !!,an ,embarrassing amount ,of money I've probably wasted looking for the 'one'... I've come down to this ,tempest 100t ,no frills ,groundsheet is homemade superlight, and infil door ,it's got a nice bit of height to it ,and a pair of whychwood mhr 50 brollies ,and the wrap for ,days ,carping ,perching or a cooking tent ,for camping/ outdoor stuff..and ideal for tight swims on some of the wheals I fish 'wheal means ,mine'clay pit.. I've also got a speedflex pop up bivvy ,but I'll probs move it on ,bit low,it is...all my kit is mega minimal,and hardly ever changed around ,it's just bivvys, that kind of disrupt the flo ...I've got to control it,ha,ha... I'm currently typing this on the edge of a cliff,'stealth camping' within 30 ft of a very long way down 👇..wrassing tomorrow..

I went somewhere backalong, that the porta loo was sooo bad I had to 'go' somewhere else ,but that's what inspired me if you will to get a folding toilet .. In past times,I use a folding bushcraft shovel to bury any doo,doo..and place a stick upright for future note..however most places I fish are quite remote ..but ,I've upped my game a bit ...in that department ..so I feel quite posh now ...

Also ,if you travel into the hallowed county/country on the old A30 ,that's along Jeff Rowes ,old night club ,you will see a string of deep quarries ,some of which were stocked by Peter Mohan ,CAA and Cypry the Carp Author ,some of those quarries held fish from his time distributing carp all around that area .. wether age and predation killed those remaining fish off,I don't know...however ,unbelievable as it is ,my long term fishing mate at the time ,bought and lives in ex quarry managers house,right next to a deep pit ,and that does hold decent History fish ,although its margins are steep and the depths still have remains of tools and crib hut.. It's fascinating history ,I can confirm also that there are still places around that hold those special Leneys ,100%...

Lidsters portable loo....!! Game changer ,as some places don't have a loo..!

I also used to make my own for a very long time ,I lost count of how many companies I used to use ,flavour ,dips etc .. It was good fun at the time,now I use a local bait firm ,I just phone them up ,and pick it up straight from the rollers/factory ...gave my bait making stuff to my son..! I still got a bag of 20mm citruz I use for hookbaits only in winter.. I reckon the whole carp industry could suffer a downturn ,I'm not being horrible but it's constant wheel reinvention and upping the tc of rods..unnecessarily..for example to make sales,for sales sake ..but Nash ,does have kudos for various trends or tackle innovation, like scope,oval brolly ,titans etc ...on past times But then Chris Manifold took the innovation a whole lot further..

I used to fish a fantastic little complex ,it was rumoured to have been stocked by Surrey trout farm /Donald leney.. Anyway I got in contact with Chris Ball ( RIP) ,who a member of my family got to know,and asked about this place ,'was there any recorded stocking from Mr Leney '..he couldn't help me ,and said Chris Yates might know as he had the stocking records ,turns out Mark Walsingham had them due to ,at the time the Bernithian Court was being sorted out ,Redmire..and there was no mention of that stocking ..The original owner was said to have mentioned that's where his Carp came from in the mid to lake 70s .. I was fortunate to have done very well on this place ,multiple captures and repeats,and kept lots of 35mm self takes. Now it's been sadly sold and turned into yet another grim tourist venue ,known as Stone Rush,if you look at the aerial view on maps ,the bigger first lake in the valley ,the last 'orrid'lodge by the inflo ,was my favourite swim ..all the fish did look like Redmire fish ...who knows..?

Apparently, as said above ,as Roman armies travelled they needed to be fed ,and brought carp with then to stock ,grow on and harvest .. The famous Pant y Lynn, lake high up in the mountains ,still have wild carp ,maybe with the significant danubian notch .. Here in the westcountry I found a small pool ,and caught a carp that had all the hereditary features of small wildies ,including that notch, it was unlike any feral carp I'd caught previously..it also fought like the devil incarnate !

It's sad ,I reckon when Gary Bayes was involved ,that's when it was at its best ,they reckon..

Gerry Savage ,also a noted winter pioneer ,his famous Carp in the snow pic ,and 100 doubles in a season on PYM,also a follower of the early HNV theory ,Fred Wilton etc. ( I fished a couple of times with Gerry ,he passed on the LP...B ,philosophy which I still use to this day )

I'm hungry now ...!

I'm really interested in the history of carp angling and angling in general .. One of the best books I have read regarding nostalgia is by Mike Winter ,who is Skeffs / Mark Walsinghams mentor, the book is called Along Fisherman's paths ,it's all about his ( mikes ) angling journey, and the beginning of the Devon Carp Catchers club ,and the Golden scale club..its one of my favourite books now,especially as I've fished some of these old pools ..

Do you mean Okuma Inc 6000 reels ? ,if so they have a great reputation ,except some of the first version ones which had a stretchy spring in the anti reverse ,switch / thingy ,not all but some ,this has now been resolved with latest incantation..

Bivvy fetishism struck again !

Thanks crusian,and yes to your question ...( a lot of generations esp in mining/ saddlers)

Then back on home territory and ,part of a 7 carp hit ,using single bottom baits over a scoop of dried maize

Then a night float fishing with prawns ,after eels ,not a carp I know !

Across the border, forgot my passport and facial recognition but made it...OK.. lol

If your after a well made,super light walled on the floor mat that's well padded ,folds up quick and is a realistic pack down look at the Carper tackle speedflex mat I like it...

One good thing about these jake rakes is that if you get snagged badly, the prongs are made to 'give ' a little ,so it's easier to get back ,and the prongs can be bent back into position easily .. It's part of the design..I use mine fair bit

Double old skool 2+1 on deep slate , opencast mine

Pin on the pod..

I got the 12incher,it's great for 'disturbing ' the margins and putting a bait on it Good choice ,and company

That's light isn't it for a large pit reel ,it's a bit lighter than my Ultegras as well.. I also like the 2nd version Inc's, especially now you can get spare spools from Johnson Ross for about 17 quid .. Okuma do some great stuff ,including the Sheffield centrepin which I use ..