coops_northants

I like the Fox hooks too. the old Nash fangs used to be the best curve shank on the market but now all of them from all companies have too much of an angle put in on the eye for my liking so dont bother any more. I used to like some owner hook as they were ultra durable especially on gravel pits. On barbless waters the gamagatsu g-hards were the dogs nackers but i think the quality has gone down hill in the last few years.

You know that Sam. I did have to replace the receiver batteries funnily enough. I had 28 runs (fish on) in total on my rods. 18 of them off the baited spot. Blooming right shoulder is swollen One fish that Lewis played gave him a dead arm.... one i played gave me pins and needles in my hand. Proper scrappers.

Gazza the pictures were on a cheapy Kodak C875 To be honest it always takes good pictures great value piece of gear. Lewis that picture of some feature finding would be giving the game away.... I didnt know you did that. My rods look like they were set with a spitit level in that pic too. Nige, It was a shame that you were not there mate. If anything could have made the week better it would have been your company. We missed you mate. Anyway if you have any free time early next year then let me know as i want to go back early either april 10th or may 15th. Might even go for my birthday too if i can. I have a couple of mates who fancy it for april/ may time 7 of us makes it £430 for the week and i have room in the van.

I dont know how to edit the vid into 2 halves. its on a quick time player on the pc but i dont have the first idea about editing it other tan trimming it on the camara but that will only do a 10 mins secion in the middle with the space i have. Any ideas??

Dam it that only does 10 mins worth. anyone know a hosting site that will to 20 mins video?

here is the video, i cannot cut the video down so just skip to 8 mins in unless you want to take in the whole experience.

Come on Lewis get them piccies up mate. Nice new avator pic by the way

Cheers guys, "Only 22lb" was meant in a good way as that fish had the lot, best fight of the week and what a scale pattern. the results were good Lewis had 3 doubles, 2 20s 2 30s and a cat i had 3 doubles, 7 20s, 7 30s, 3 40s. the other three had i think (hope they forgive me if its wrong) Colin 6 fish, 2 doubles, 3 20s, 1 40, Trevor had 4 fish 1 double, 1 20, 1 30, 1 40 miles had 5 all 20s to 29lb.

Just got back from the Magnificent Moorlands fishery in France. I would first like to say a massive thank you for the great hospitality for the week, Thanks to the Girls for the fantastic food and to Keith for being an awesome host. Me and Lewis turned up early to scout the place out on the friday. Leaving my house at 330 on the friday morning we were like 2 very excited kids waking up on christmas day. The drive in france was so easy, for 400 miles the roads were flat and clear and we made it to the fishery in very good time. When we arrived we was not disapointed with what we found, the lake was stunning and so quiet. 2 fish were caught the second we drove through the gates and the sun was blazing. A couple of ice cold beers were offered and the relaxing began. The week started off fairly slowly with heavy rain showers for the first night and a changable wind made the fishing difficult and me and lewis both lost fish on the fist night. Lewis lost another fish first thing in the morning before breakfast. It wasnt long though before we got the rewards and we had runs within seconds of each other. The result was 2 fine Moorlands fish on the mats. The sunday was to be productive for myself and i soon landed my first 30lb carp of the week. After a quick re cast and t shirt change i was into fish number 3 in within an hour, nice. Pretty mirror into the 20s I thought it was going to number 4 when the alarm burst into life again, well it was but not what we was expecting, 15 month old fry.... The future looks good. The nights were prooving busy for lewis who managed a lovely New PB common at 36lb. After seeing this i decided that fishing the nights would be worthwhile and re baited the rigs and turfed them out, good job too as i had a runs shortly after.... Banana fish Then it was away again after a couple more hours, another common. It was then in the morning that the rods went off again, i had pulled the rod back off the spot ion the hope of picking up a better fish and it seemed i had done so but that was one that got away, lewis got a picture of the fight though. Sticking with the tactic and baiting meant i was kept busy and was soon battling my second 30 of the week, cracking fish. even the pasties were getting in on the act by now, all wanting to have their picutres taken with the best looking angler on the lake...... Next up was a middle of the night battler at 330am on the 22nd, a nice upper 20 mirror (28lb) followed at dawn with a common which escaped at the net after a good battle. Then the lake decided enough was enough and went rather difficult. I tried a few different tactics and baiting applications and lewis by now was pulling his hair out as he worked extremely hard but for no reward. Me and Lewis and the other 3 lads on decided we would be better off reeling in and having a few beers and a social. we decided to either not fish the night or fish one or 2 rods to take the pressure off. I opted for the no rods in option and had some much needed sleep having only had a few hours for the first 3 days fishing. I was rewarded first thing in the morning on the 23rd, 30 mins after re casting to the spots and Lewis done the honours with the early morning water shot. It was my 3rd 30 of the week at 33lb. The day was going great, i had a right battle with the next fish lasting over 20 mins but no wonder.... My first ever 40lb carp the Pipe Smoker. Keith Moors showed us all how its done in the afternoon, after only 20 mins fishing he lands a right monster, Great angler showing why he is one of the best. 47lb well done. Inspired by the sight of that awesome fish i went back to my swim to take it all in when my alarm roared off and it was my 4th 30 of the week 2nd of the day. I opted not fish the full night but to get up at 4am bait up and re cast then after some rest, the rod was away instantly, the baiting strategy was definatly working. I waited untill dawn to re cast and glad i did, i found a patch of 8 or 9 sets of bubbles coming up so moved one rod round to them (right in the middle of my 2 spots) i put the other back where i had the last fish from. then the breakfast bell rang..... i couldnt get back fishing quick enough. I re cast to the spots and set my video up, the bubblers were still there and it was only a matter of time. I will post the video up shortly. i had a nice common straight away at 11.30. It was the afternoon of the 24th, the week was flying by. I had been feeding little and often and now was getting signs all the time, the rod was away again at 2pm this time to my 5th 30 of the week what a fish. I quickly re cast and then the other rod went.... What a battle this was, the fish fought for about 35mins maybe longer. I was sure it was a good fish untill it rolled close in.... i was amazed at the power from this fish and is one of the highlights of the week at only 22lb The 2 rods were re baited and re cast, about 100 baits went out of the stick between the 2 spots. at 430 i had a slow pick up, i knew this was a good one straight away, the fish held its ground and i got all jelly legged when i saw the back hit the water in the fight. The fish absolutly blew me away, trully stunning and i was the happiest man on earth, 2nd 40 of the week just shy of 42lb the half linear.... There is more to life at Moorlands than just the great fishing, the food and gathering with Keiths Wit and stories make this a truely memorable holiday. After the fun, we went back to the fishing, i set the alarm for 1am to re bait bu was no need this fish, my 6th 30 of the week had me up at just after 12am, I decided that was it for the night and opted for a late start, at 6 the alarm went off, i re steamed all my rigs and took off the twisted line ready for a last push for the friday. At 7 am i baited the spot with about 200 boilies and re cast the rods. At 8am my coffee was interupted and after a good early morning tussell the 3rd 40 of my week was in the net, The magnificent Clover at 43lb and loads of ounces.... (just shy of 44lb) After breakfast me and lewis decided to double up in the corner fishing one take each. I went stalking as lewis was up first but was running back to the swim after about 15 mins as lewis had hooked a lump. The fight went on for 55mins before the hook popped out just inches from the waiting net, it was quite obvioulsy one of the biggies and lewis was gutted, this week his luck really was out. The rod was away soon after and i said to lewis to have it, he did and landed his first catfish The rods were back out in minutes and next up was this propper linear Lewis then lost another heavy fish after 20 minutes fight and the strain was starting to tell. He decided to fish a swim that one of the lads vacated for the last night. and within an hour of fishing was into a fish, a nice fully scaled was soon on the mat. I went sleep to get ready for the drive in the morning but lewis kept pluggling away and had 2 more mirrors though the night biggest at 26lb. At 5am i woke up to bait up the spots for one last fish in the morning to take me to 20 fish for the week, i that done when i heard lewis' alarm and he was again into a fish just as the light was comming up, this was again a 26lb mirror. Lewis re cast his rod to the spot and about 20 mins later at 7.30 i had a flyer, and what a fight this fish put up. i was over the moon when this one went into the net and capped a great week for myself and at 37lb 8oz was a fine finish to a great weeks fishing. Lewis was not done there and with less than an hour to go his right hand rod roared off, i ran round to see him and got some great pictures, Best of all was the one as the big girl slipped over the net cord. The carp was lewis' 2nd 30 of the week and a great looking fish. We said our goodbyes but not before Keith played some guitar for lewis, i was singing away in the shower at the time and so there started out 12 hour drive home..... Once again, a big thank you to the Moorlands Crew and see you in a few months time for round 2. The memories will stay with me for a lifetime and i know the same can be said for lewis. The best weeks fishing i have ever had!!!!!!

sounds good, i will have a look.

I think the reason people use this set up is it is conveniant. you can change lead quick for different situations, you can take your lead off when carrying your rods so they dont get damaged, you have a host of other componants available to you that fit and change the set up a little bit and if fine tuned you can have a rig with multi uses. The main reason i use the system is for changing leads. I use long hooklinks most of the time and this set up suits that also as the bait is generally away from the clip anyway. I move alot in my fishing, this means i can move on fish and just select a lead to suit..... 100 yards, zip lead, 20 yards a 1/2 oz arelsey bomb etc?

I fish mine the same way Vikingboy is surgesting. My set up is an ovesized ring on my lead, i use a 6-7 foot 15lb flurocarbon leader which is tied on via a leeder knot which has critical mass putty wrapped around it, this does 2 things, works as a stopper and also protects the knot. Alos for those who have problems with the putty sliding change to critical mass, boil the kettle then just put the pack on the top to warm it gen goes gooey and very sticky and wil not move on the line. After the leader i use a mini rubber bead and backlead (korda flying backlead) At the business end i use a longer than normal hooklink with a boom to help it fly apart. If you are worried about safety then think about this, a run ring is what 5mm plus in diameter the knot withthe putty and the small bead are what 3mm........ you only have issues if your not setting a runing system up properly in the first place......

I use balenced baits very regularly, I mainly use cork balls or plugs for bouyancy rather than the typical snowman. The main reason is a pricked popup will only be critical for so long where as the cork keeps almost the same no matter how long you leave (or have to leave) your baits out. One other thing you can do to help is if you use a line aligner you can push in some lead wire into this to weight down the back of the hook, this gives enough to sink the bait and also aids turning once picked up. Just thread it in then with nail clippers just clip away until its just sinking, perfect for wafters.

I stil think its Gay.......

Sounds really Gay to me

Fair play to them. As for spot checks, they never work. The main reason is once the rig is in place you would not get a good reaction from guys if your asking them to crank in. Some carping situations mean winding in and re chucking could spoil your chances and those of people next door to you. On the lake i fish one of the lads had the biggest fish in the lake...... well it was before it was tethered up and has now dropped a massive amount of weight.... infact 25% of its body weight and now has an enormas scare for its troubles. This fish was over 40lb, luckily its still swimming, it could have been a whole lot worse.

I did not see the one i use but this is how you tie it. Overhand knot in the leader (dont pull tight) thread your mainline through it then coil around the leader 7 times up then 4 times on the way bac and put this through the loop created between knot and the 2 pieces of line. wet and pull up slowly. as the knot forms wet again then holding all tag ends pull up tight. perfect knot and very reliable.

In dense weed i would be using a clip, just purely for if you crack off or the line parts leaving a length behind it an in line or running rig needs to pass over all this line before its off the line and not being towed around. Its all too easy for the line to twist and clog so that the lead will not pass over it. However i am sure there are inline leads with a groove cut out of them (like the korda flying back leads) and these would pull up out of the weed better than a pendulem set up and would also fall off the line should it part.

Some of the pike ones can be a little coarse, you need to go vertical or the ridges stop the hook going in too far.

Tony they can be quite safe mate, they come out of the weed easier than a pendulem lead, just be mindfull the lead comes off the swivel. I personally wouldn't use in dense weed though. just incase you crack off.

I do a double loop, like the guys say with a larger loop it works the same. Another thingf i think i will try is the korda stops, those extending jobbies as that gives you a few options too.

Personally i dont think you need to do too much with the hooks. I used to have a hook sharpener in my box, you just dip it in water then when the tip of the hook goes you just give it a couple of rubs not sand it right back. I used this alot when match carp fishing on castle ashby and drayton where you would catch 20-30 fish a session and rig tying was time consuming, just a qick rub once the hook point dulled down. I would say have one, but only use it if you can notice a blunting of the hook. Dont forget you can knock the top off the hook with a finger nail if your not carefull and the hook sharpener would save you a couple quid in the long run. Where do you get them from?? i need a new one as mine is near dead and i like it for my pike hooks too.

Just out of interest are you still using a hanger/indicator withthe slack line??? reason i ask is if you have a slack line the indicator gives enough resistance to the alarm to spin the wheel. If you have no hanger on then the line is sitting above the wheel and it will not spin as easily. With a slack line you register the bite earlier, reason is the line pulls tight and moves easier, a tight line needs the stretch of the line first before it takes line from the reel and so make the alarm beep. One thing, if you set your rods up on the bank correctly for running rigs you will get better indication and also be able to use lighter leads. The tighter your line the heavier the lead needed because underpressure the lead is a pivot point, slack it is not. The best way is tyo create as few angles in the line from reel to lead. meaning point the rod at the lead, and also angle the tip of the rod and butt of the rod so that the line comes direct from the line roller on the bail arm to the lead. All you then want to do is strip a couple yards of line off the spool, wait for it to settle and rest the hanger on the ground. Once picked up the hanger creates the pressure and the alarm beeps.

One thing that i do with any coated braid or fluro is do the knot which ever you find best, but before you tighten it right down just dap a little spit on it then tighten it up over your boiling kettle, the heat makes it more supple when pulling tight and so get a tighter knot and one that wont flex when you hook a fish, result- less crack offs with fluro and less coiling up. i personally use either a figure 8 loop or 3-4 turn uni for my fluro.

Never watched a Korda vid in full, watched about 30 mins at the lake with a friend and decided i caught enough fish without confusing myself on that make believe suposedly real bit of film........ Of course the fish acted cautiously.... there was a dirty great CAMARA in the blooming swim....... forget consealing the rig what about that camara...... maybe it had a camo leader on it in place of its cord. The Rig is not ideal, that much is true. However once a bait is on the hair it would not come undone too easily. The tube with hinder the hook penetrating deep so will bend out easier and also change the point of pressure and pop it out. I made a rig for pop ups that had not rings and such like on it. just make a loop in the fluro, tie it up knotless leaving a small loop, to this tie on some braid for a hair and because its supple against a stiff link it works like a hinge and the bait moves and the hook stays put, like a rig ring..... you can then lengthen the hair for bottom rigs etc and the fluro creates the turn effect at the hook eye.