Barney2

XTRB are fine, I didn’t like DL at range not enough feel too much flex in reel body but I have all DL for light fishing at close range I prefer DL 4000 for big fish on small venues They are damn robust I tested one to destruction and it was very strong, it’s the flex body which makes them feel not robust while they are in fact more than I think Baitrunners are still number one for a good reason, super reliable, line is hard to get under spool (unlike some copycat fairly expensive ones I had which I won’t name but I expected better) at £100.. it was bad, constant and extremely annoying As I say I just fish light with small weights up to 40 yards out on small lakes I don’t do big pit blasting

Your boilies sound too soft and inappropriate you need some specific hard hookbaits mate Hookbaits are purpose designed, Sticky Baits ones are good and come in generous big pots they are useful if in any doubt Coated braid will produce a thick knot but you can still use it but you need a big hard hook bait, and drill the hook bait as well which helps stop baits fracturing, a small selection of drills are cheap, just get small name branded ones rigging baits is faffy, takes time, you can experiment with different loop sizes use a ruler to measure out the loop and a gate latch needle to help tie them

I think pet food is full of yeast mate.. it’s used cleverly for years by bait companies and was apparently a high percentage of a big name base mix of the noughties.. I think I know which one it was I ‘caught’ a massive bloodworm on my hook point at a very old silty sand pit, bailiff told me they can bite!? 😅

I dunno I think you might underrate the power of them in a bait, others talking about eggs sealing up flavours etc, carp can smell a bloodworm under the silt Im sure they can get a hint of a good hydro leaking out of a ball of boiled cake lol

40 butt thru 12mm tip

I see you didn’t get much response carp rods vary a lot I prefer six or seven guides on 12ft Im not sure about spacings I just do rebuilds so I can get the spine where I want it, and I much prefer butt guide at 40mm for smaller reels did the blank not come with spacing info?

Pasta

My old Wizard carp magnet mate reckons semolina with eggs is good, just that nothing else, both high quality proper grass fed eggs and pure organic semolina.. so you’re basically giving them past which is as we all know completely delicious he uses it as tough hookbaits over mixed beans and seeds such as cooked spelt, he hates boilies in gen and thinks they’re too rich, he has a point, to a point, he caught on strawberries and stuff and is a proper Walrus character who can literally charm carp into his waiting arms

First batch I put in 20g Oyster sauce and 20g Calanus, it rolls and binds beautifully.. four posh eggs, (blitzed fine, twice, in Ninja F.P) organic dog biscuits, 22% organic semolina to dry ings.. I’m a hippy I rate organic but what do you think of the Oyster sauce mate it is not a strong liquid but contains msg and msg enhancing guanylate stuff

Did matey mention what main line he is using? I went back to an old reliable stretchy line I’m not going to open that can and name it light tackle is murky water I think far too much is made of test curves and not enough about line stretch cheers all a little tussle of opinions is healthy enough

I didn’t want to get into a nerdy spin off sorry I do have sound experience of VERY soft mouthed carp on a silty as hell ancient sand pit avoid curve shank hooks and use a very smooth material link.. none of this rough surface thin rubbish the honcho was right a lot of braids including coated are built on mainline braid vile mass produced overpriced and all wrong as a hook link Better off using Amnesia if any doubt, see how you get on.. ESP loaded (use the SOFT) makes a very good link UNSTRIPPED; as well.. I found the black one best, green and brown a bit too thick and delicate coating dont be afraid to keep things simple, ESPECIALLY on hard lakes!! I never have anything on hooklink just a very minimal helicopter with NON LEAD weight

There will be little subtleties which will quickly annoy you badly That’s my experience of cheap and/or copycat reels I prefer to stick to proven big names but I’m not a mug for latest and greatest - mid(ish) range does me proud

I went 40g/ml on a mix yet to try mate calanus has a gentle taste (quite nice) Im not sure 50ml either way will make much difference.. someone else in the trade a bait guy at a major tackle shop said to go very high but it gets silly trying to bind eggs and messing around with albumen, whey gel, wpc etc lol

Millions of people have been using superglue on knots for decades.. it’s been tested and retested since the 50s and 60s and is absolutely more than fine fine in the right place lit does nothing whatsoever to harm lines, make them brittle or weaken them as for ‘putting carp off’ Id say the 10K carp my 77 year old lake complex builder, aquaculturist and tackle shop owner would disagree with that he always glued his links on rather than swivels, and even glued baits together

Maybe I’ve tried more hooklinks than you mate (like literally everything on the market far and wide for 35 years).. some hooklinks with knotless definitely slip around, especially if the eye is big.. the simple test is to put some tension in and watch how the hook behaves/ moves out of line.. superglue (the right proper pure cyanoacrylate) doesn’t cause materials to fracture, it improves knots but it must be a pure superglue not a cheap one.. Gorilla and Zap are the ones. As I said most coated braids have a horrible rough thin braid core, and that is always asking for trouble with soft mouthed carp try the PB Jellywire it’s your best hope in 35lb