dayvid

I see a lot of confusion over mainlines. Guys seem to compare lines that are intended for completely different uses. There are numerous different types of lines and each have different advantages/disadvantages, and I'm only referring to mono here.... not fluoro, braid etc.....
Pre-stretched lines:
These are your casting lines like Fox Exocet. They obviously have very low stretch and fine diameter vs. BS and they have a super smooth finish. The result is a line that casts really well. Unfortunately the abrasion resistance is what suffers. Hence in a weedy lake you want to avoid pre-stretched lines.
Semi-stretched lines (I made that name up, not sure what they're actually called):
These are the latest in line tech and include Gardner GT-HD and Shimano Technium. They are pre-stretched but to a lesser extent than the casting lines. This means they cast very well but maintain other qualities (so they can sink well for example). They beat the pre-stretched lines for abrasion resistance yet still cast a long way.
All-rounders:
These are the more traditional mono's, the meat-and-two-veg carp lines. they include stuff like Gardner Pro and ESP Synchro. Just because they're not high tech lines doesn't mean they're not very good indeed. They'll not cast as well as the stretched lines but they are hands-down stronger, with better abrasion resistance. If weed is an issue I'd not look past this group of lines.
Snag lines:
Brute lines, thick with immense strength and serious abrasion resistance. You'll struggle to cast these past 100 yards without casting lessons but if there's snags about this is what you want. Stuff like Gardner HydroTuff and Rig Marole SLS Specimon Tough. 
*****
Now I see guys comparing lines from different categories all the time. Just the other day I saw a thread on another forum asking if GT-HD or HydrTuff was best. They cannot be compared imo - the GT-HD would be best in a lightly weeded lake requiring big chucks, but with snags or heavy weed in the water the HydroTuff wins hands down. Therefore you can only decide what is best for your angling situation. You need to look at how far you need to cast and what kind of challenges your water presents (weed, bars etc) and choose a line to suit.
I always err on the side of caution i.e. STRENGTH. What I mean by that is I would rather be a few yards short of the carp and be in with a chance of landing them, than being able to cast on their heads but lose them all to snags/weed. I have used pre-stretched lines on French trips to huge silty waters with no weed/snags, waters where you need to cast 150, and they've been great. But there is no way I'd choose to use them on the weed choked waters I fish in the UK.
I think a lot of guys pay to much attention to castability.
 If you need to cast 150 then fair play, go for pre-stretched lines, if you don't (and most don't), go for a proper carp line, an all-rounder or semi-stretched line at least, one that will land you everything you hook.
So next time you see a "what's the best line?" thread we need to stop and think before we go shouting out the name of what we're currently using. What is best depends entirely on the individual and his/her angling situation. If the angling situation varies, then it is logical that the all-rounders are best (the best of which imo is Gardner Pro).
I'm currently suing HydroTuff due to a minimum diameter rule on my syndi, which is normally very weedy. It's been great, never let me down.

Personally I like the LED Lenser H7R , 
The beauty with this is that it has a sliding power control as opposed to most that have 2 or 3 brightness settings.

Buy the Radars and have £25 to spend on something else Highy. 
Good write up by smufter and he uses them .

Buy the Radars and have £25 to spend on something else Highy. 
Good write up by smufter and he uses them .

I've got the JRC Radars and cannot fault them at all.
A very useful set of features, I especially like the 3 way on/off toggle switch which makes things a doddle when setting bobbins etc. Switch to the right and they're on, in the middle they're off, and to the left they are on but with a neat little nightlight to show where they are in the dark. 
Battery life is superb, (I'm still on the originals with no sign of them giving up the ghost), and separate tone/volume/sensitivity controls.
The receiver is a little "plasticky" but that doesn't bother me as it is either on my bivvy table or hanging from the brolly. 
I would highly recommend these for the price.
Just under £95.00 on ebay for the all blue set (which I have because blue is cool!)...
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEW-JRC-Radar-CX-3-1-Carp-Fishing-Bite-Alarm-Set-Blue-With-Case-1411118/132764328259?epid=2255211171&hash=item1ee95ee143:g:1f8AAOSwA3dYHe4q

one was created by a bored angler
one was created to boost someones ego
one was created to rip the money out of tackle tarts pockets.
simples
 

Yep. Absolute rubbish. I think they'd last about 3 hours on a new battery before the light started dribbling out of the lens.....
"Ever Ready"... there's a larf. Ever Unready more like....
 
 

Prior to the Starlites coming out, we used to take the front lights off of our bikes and with the aid of small stones position them so that they lit up our floats in the dark. A yellow quill was the best float for this. It used to make us jump when the float just disappeared from sight!! Tench on lol!! Batteries never seemed to last all night though.....
 

And the winner is you sir! 
Now to let you into a little secret. I entered a raffle and won 2nd prize........ 48hrs for me and a guest on the day ticket lake 😁 so it won’t cost you a penny mate (well apart from bait/food/ drink etc) we can have a chat at some point and get a date set for it I’m not in any rush to use it so autum/winter would be fine with me. 
 
Although if you was looking at membership i believe its £25 for lifetime membership of the dayticket (you get an I’d and a key) 

I tend to consider our Winters as an extended Autumn , so nothing really changes . maybe less bait , but my decisions to alter things are made at the time and venue.

Anyone who knows me knows I love a bargain ..always wanted one of these years ago but could never afford one ...looking  though eBay the other day and seen this ...they didn't do it much  justice by the pictire lol ..I was only bid and won it for 45 ..paid a courier 12 quid to get it from Surrey  to bolton  have already bought some seam sealer for 7 quid which I will apply next weekend when I have more time  ...so 64 quid all in and a couple of hrs of my time  and hey presto a cracking shelter ..I'm more than happy with that...ps any tips on re sealing the tapes would be usefull have watched a few vids on YouTube  buy can never have enoigh onfo can you ..tight lines 

I have an SS4 Wideboy with the sleep system, I really do love it mainly for the comfort alone, plus I don’t like sleeping bags, the down side is, it’s a heavy son of a gun.
I have heard nothing but praise for the Trakker ELS, which I’d consider if I were looking for a new bed.

I can see the cheating argument and somewhat agree with it, however on the other hand, i have always believed in using the best kit and technology i can for the job at hand.
Personally the way i would look at it is its just another tool which we could have at our disposable. Its a choice if we use it or not and i don't necessarily think it makes anyone a less of an angler for it as using one won't catch you more fish, you still have to angle correctly, it gives you an advantage sure but we would always take every advantage we can get? It's just an advanced version of going out in a boat with a bucket with a clear bottom and using that to look below the surface. 
And remember, predator and sea anglers have been using sonar for years and no one questions their ability! 
I do think everyone should learn the classic ways first, learn the vital skills of watercraft and feature finding with a lead/marker and then if you wanted to, use a deeper pro or a device similar, you'll understand a lot more of what your'e looking at if you learn the old way first imo. 

If you have plenty of time use a marker ,if time is limited use a sonar, in dont hold faith in the fish finding ability's but for depth excellent , you will still need a marker though after to tell you what the make up of the bottom is .
Just another tool to help you fish better.

If you have plenty of time use a marker ,if time is limited use a sonar, in dont hold faith in the fish finding ability's but for depth excellent , you will still need a marker though after to tell you what the make up of the bottom is .
Just another tool to help you fish better.

If you have plenty of time use a marker ,if time is limited use a sonar, in dont hold faith in the fish finding ability's but for depth excellent , you will still need a marker though after to tell you what the make up of the bottom is .
Just another tool to help you fish better.

Something on the lines of this

I bought the T bar as an extra , for those thinking of buying a T bar , always buy one that Clips on to the scales , Not just hooks on .

Don't worry, I will be in your neck of the woods in a few days, you can tell me how you feel then!lol

Part two.
The following summer I got some tackle ready and headed for the lake, first it was at unearthly hours of the morning, then at night on the full moon and again on the new moon. 
However, no matter what I tried no sooner would I get myself comfortable, and then I would have company of the wrong type, no matter what I did it was not long before the guards turned up,  clearly it was not to be. 
This was the only time in my life when my feet weren't firmly planted and pointing in the right direction, I had been tempted by that fish to behave in error.
Luckily for me, at about the same time I started seeing the estate mentioned in the news papers for various court hearings, for poaching etc and the fines for catching a couple of rabbits were so severe I realized I was best out of it and over the next few years I did my thing and slowly forgot about Yeld. 
Although I say, I forgot about Yeld; that was not strictly true. 
You see, I do not know about you, but I liken carp and dogs to some of the females of our species, I best explain what I mean. 
When I first spy a big carp, I cannot get her out of my head, I eat, sleep and dream about the fish, to the point of it making me unwell, until the day I get her, then just like the young blond at the bar the besotted feeling just leaves me.                                                                                                                                 Whereas when I first see a puppy I want I eat, sleep and think about the pup until its mine, but then just like the brunette I met at a dinner party, I begin a courtship that lasts until death does us part. 
So you can see I never forget a dog or a fish but my relationship is just a little different with each and seeing that big fish was like seeing a gorgeous blond woman for the first time. 
In my late teens I started courting a young Lady, Heather, who was instrumental in my introduction to various things! Some off which would best be placed in a different category of literature to this!, however some of the people she introduced me to where rather influential to say the least. 
One such introduction was to a certain couple; the Strutts, now Lady Strutt for some strange reason took a shine to me, this got my foot into many a proverbial door. 
So, it came to be that one Saturday morning all dressed up in my Sunday best, I was at the door of the big house at Yeld where I got a fantastic view of the lake and its true reason for being became obvious. 
I was day dreaming when the door opened, I soon came to and I introduced myself and asked if it would be possible to speak to the owner. 
My introduction to the owners was all very pleasant and polite but in the end all to no avail and I left Yeld very disappointed, I had tried everything and still had no joy. 
Again, I had to forget about the place, but this time for some years, not completely but just enough, that was until now; it was now 2002 and I was here on holiday having moved away some years earlier. 
That night after my quick departure and whilst lying there in bed not sleeping, I came to the conclusion that I had nothing to lose by asking again, I have found that with age come some concessions and benefits that are often refused at younger age. 
In the morning I found myself there again, at the door of the big house all smartly dressed and looking at the lake down below and day dreaming yet again. 
It really did feel like deja-vu as I was invited into the lobby, where I introduced myself and explained why I was there. 
I was met with a different attitude this time almost like a long lost friend and I had quite a long and pleasant morning chatting over coffee. 
I was informed that the estate had changed hands since I was last there, but that the place was still used for important governmental meetings and symposiums. 
I also discovered that the place was riddled in live cameras and alarms and had been so for many years, this explained the sudden appearance of guards every visit. 
I also found out what the James Bond link was, an odd one and not really meaningful, but if I were to state what the link was, I would give the place away, something I am not prepared to do. 
The estate still had permanent dog handlers as guards and at certain times, they even had armed response guards in place; it was not looking good! 
Something else I learned from my visit was that since their take over I was the first to ask about the fishing! although people had asked about the shooting, now this really surprised me as it was only a few miles from the city and is easily be found on a map. 
Now for the real surprise, I could fish providing I obeyed the following rules. 
One- I had to leave the place as found. 
Two- I could only visit on my own. 
Three- remove nothing. 
Four- I had to pre arrange the dates with them so they did not clash with their meetings etc. 
Five- I was never to divulge the details of the place. 
I left on cloud nine and never stopped thinking about the place, just thinking about the big fish I had seen, the solitude etc. 
It was now the summer of 2003 and despite me trying my hardest to arrange fishing on the lake on a few occasions, I had still not fished it and I was getting more apprehensive by the day, it was as if the owners and the gods were trying to keep me away. 
Well nothing was going to stop me and I just kept trying, I phoned once again to ask if I could fish for one week starting on the 16 June, the answer this time was yes! 
 

I'm sure I've posted it before, the pic of when I was doing sneaky nights on the park lake and didn't want to draw attention to myself doing overnighters. It was gravel rash in my case.
 
Not the nicest shelter to get caught out in a thunderstorm!

Not worried where it is ,  Just dont leave us hanging for the next instalment , its been 47 mins since you edited , 😩

Not worried where it is ,  Just dont leave us hanging for the next instalment , its been 47 mins since you edited , 😩

Not worried where it is ,  Just dont leave us hanging for the next instalment , its been 47 mins since you edited , 😩

Not worried where it is ,  Just dont leave us hanging for the next instalment , its been 47 mins since you edited , 😩