marker

sotas are putting a lot of work into astbury mere mate, there are some very decent fish in there these days

i'd choose warrington myself, there's nothing wrong with your choice of club mate

same rods I use

they are banned on nearly all my waters too mate, I had one specifically for a syndicate that had power lines running across it, I bought it when I joined because it was the best and safest way to get to the fish, when I left I sold it. no point in having one if the rules say you can't use it

up to £300 a rod i'd say harrisons, either the torrix or the newer aviators, both are high end carp rods, great for playing fish on but with the power to cast an awful long way

I used to own a viper icon, nice boat, it did what it was supposed too they are quite heavy on the batteries so it pays to have a few spares and a decent method of charging them, solar is ok when its sunny but I used to take a power unit that has a mains outlet on it, that way I could use my mains charger on the bank

currently i'm using gold labels pro clear in 16lb, apart from that i also rate big game in 15lb

first places I think of in north wales are buckley trap (drop into lionels tackle in buckley) and the mount (join warrington aa)

indeed i have, I'm Wirral based so i know the canal and the river well there are carp in the canal but not that many and location will be difficult in winter, its not a water I'd choose to fish but if you wanted to have a go the basin/telfords warehouse or down by the boat museum in ellesmere port and/or behind chester zoo would be good places to start, they are all areas carp have been caught from the dee has plenty of carp in but they've come under pressure in the last few years and they are very nomadic these days, add to that it's tidal and floods easy when it rains and again you're up against it i reckon both waters are best tackled in the summer, unless you can pin point them you'll be peeing in the wind and finding them at this time of year would be a very tall order

not fished there for many years mate, from memory, there is a swim on there called the 'pump house', that was always a favourite swim, there was a small bar on the right hand side of the swim that was very very consistent, last time i even saw the place was in the early 90's, i doubt much has changed though

if you mean the lake in arrowe park itself, there was a fishkill on there a year or two ago

wirral is very poor mate, the best water we have these days is moreton brickworks, i can't think of anywhere else

drennan double strength for me too

i just use the same rigs i use for lake fishing

personal choice really, i tried both and became more confident with my tigernut hookbaits sinking very very slowly with just the weight of the hook to take them down

last time i looked their address was on the shropshire county council website mate be prepared for a rather long wait, the waiting list is supposed to be around 15-20 years long

theres a tackle shop in buckley called 'lionels' mate, they will put you onto all the local waters, the only two i know up that way are buckley trap and a water called 'the mount' which belongs to warrington anglers i'd start researching cheshire too mate, its well within driving distance off the deeside area

theres always merrington http://www.merringtoncarpfishery.co.uk/

this place looks good http://www.blakemere-leisure.co.uk/ no night fishing though

i'd check with cemex mate, the lake is usually booked out by groups of anglers at the weekends and april/may are prime months, if you are just thinking about it now you may not get on

its been a long time since i fished there mate, not sure what methods are catching these days the spit where the weaver runs in was always a good area, you can put rods in the river and the flash to intercept carp as they move in and out beds of bolies always worked for me

not many non puddles to go at around the nw, bottom flash in winsford is ok and theres winterley pool in cheshire, neither are pushovers but they aren't hard either

i use it in the right circumstances, for me thats usually really close in floater fishing/stalking