salokcinnodrog

I've given a name as a conversation joke to my mate reference one particular fish, 'BC'. It's the old prehistoric uncaught big common. If it does get caught by me, I will be officially naming it that. I'm trying to work out a plan how to catch it. Not every member of the syndicate has seen it, but those who have agree it is a big fish. I've been working out where, and how it feeds, but it is difficult. I've seen it feeding, even put a hookbait in front of it, and it doesn't appear to pick up bait. I've waded out where it has fed in a line about 5metres from the bank, the groundbait, boilies etc were untouched, yet the bottom was turfed up as it mooched along feeding on naturals. You can't miss it feeding, it's tail and base of the dorsal is sticking out of the water, yet so many people haven't seen it. I think it stays in one area of the lake, and doesn't mix with the other fish, even in winter.

It's probably true. There are some flavours that really are out and out smells rather anything else and to the carp are all the same. I've never done really well on strawberry, I don't like the taste or smell, it tastes and smells artificial to me, as a result I've rarely used it, so self perpetuating. A mate of mine did do really well on the old Strawberry, cream and bergamot mix. I used to go through the flavour shelf at work, mostly Nutrabaits, and many tasted the same, raspberry, strawberry, cranberry. Then we have others I have done really well on, Megaspice, Ultraspice by Hutchy, Peach Nutrafruit, Liver Elite, and a few more. They look good.

Opti-polos by Solar if I remember correctly prevented the tilting Optonics. I did have the Dellareed sounder box, a multi-pin plug in lead to the box as well, and made sure I fitted owl ears rather than the standard ears, so I could keep them in the box. Somewhere I have a picture of my 2 rod set up in front of the Fox Jekk shelter overwrap and the kettle on, some things never change... Bitech Viper alarms were awesome, if you wanted a 10minute warning before the next train went past on the railway bank at Barham A pit... I kid you not they would pick up and bleep from the vibration of trains long before we could hear them. Supposedly the vibration sensor sensitivity could be varied by the angle of the buzzer head. The Super XL Optonic was the supposed answer to Delkims conversions, or was it the Magnetonic? I avoided the XL and went straight to Delkim ST's, would be around 1993 I guess.

The birds are feeding up, especially the females who will be egg sitting soon with not much food. I did walk the 2miles around the 45acre lake each day, and saw no signs, but did hear a few splashes at dusk just to my right which I think were fish. I'd love Chestnut and I'm trying to come up with a plan for the bigger common which seems to avoid bait. A few members have seen him, and he does look a lot bigger than Chestnut. A working quarry lake not far from Bury St Edmonds had the fish removed and sold to the syndicate, we thought the big common was one of them until the biggie from the stock was caught spawned out. So the big common is an uncaught original! I think that we have around 185 fish, that is known originals and the progressive stockings we have made since 2018.

Years ago with original Optonics you had 2 or 4 vane roller wheels, and some of us created some 12 vane wheels out of milk bottle tops or film canister tops or bases until Dellareed started making them themselves. The honest answer is I went back to 4 vanes, any more really was not worth the effort to break the light beam inside. The benefit was actually for pike fishing where tiny movements were rolling the wheel slightly. When it came to roller wheel alarms, I started playing with lead setups to create runs that took line, as quite simply a semi-fixed set-up could see the carp sit still hooked with no indication or worse move in a perfect arc with no line taken or dropping back. Obviously the slack line and running lead is not suitable for every situation, like Delkims are not suitable for everyone (I still have not had many of the problems described by many), but the vibration sensing feature is handy. With zigs, and I will admit I am not very good with them, you have to have a tight line to the lead. The best indicator I found is a very heavy bobbin, springer or loaded quiverloc, which gives you the dropback or run indication. @yonny explains it far better than I can, and has far more experience I'm sure.

There really is no hard and fast rule with flavours, sweet or fruit flavours work with fishmeal, birdfoods or meat, but to 'our' mind they smell wrong, so squid and octopus, shrimp or monster crab will work. The other thing with flavours is the solvent base, some are on glycerine (glycerol), ethyl alcohol, diacetin or propylene glycol, and each one reacts slightly differently in water. Propylene glycol is a flavour base used normally in cake flavours, so suited for high temperature. Ethyl alcohol is more soluble in water, so 'spreads' through the water. Glycerine is the usual flavour base for cake icing, but I think is an attractor in its own right, and a preservative. Diacetin is actually synthesised from glycerine and quite possibly the most acceptable to fish.

25% LT94 20% Acid Casein 40% CLO 5% Liver Powder 10% Semolina Mix them at those ratios. Then once mixed for 6 eggs add 5ml of your flavour, 15ml of hemp oil. Add base mix slowly gradually adding until it is right texture to roll. Boil for 1minute 30 seconds, allow to dry. That mix should work, no need for other ingredients.

That's how I feel. I've been swanned out. The first 2 nights I kept them off the spot by giving them half a bucket of maize each day. Last night they moved into the swim when they saw me putting in a bucket of crumbed boilie and breadcrumb. My own fault I guess, but Chestnut normally makes her first appearance each year in the shallows around March to April so I was in the area she shows. She also gets caught frequently near the swans!

And toads!

Always about! I used to set traps in my garage when I lived on Old Norwich Road between Ipswich and Claydon, the darn things would get into the dog and bird food bins even in summer. Maybe it was because we were on the edge of the country, but they could be a pain. I've had traps go off within 5minutes of setting them.

I promised myself that I would stick with just a couple of tubs of pop-ups to match bottom baits, so now I have The Nutty Bait pop-ups in yellow, pink, original, my Spice Garlic pop-ups in pink, Monster Crab in purple and original, KMG in original. So far I've avoided the pineapple yellow fad again... Glad you got that sorted. Better to give constructive complaint and get it refunded than fester in your mind.

10 seconds of Google found this: https://valefishery.wixsite.com/vale-fishery/venue

Too complicated! Just stick with CLO, liver powder, acid casein, LT94, and add some semolina, (10%), maybe 2grammes of each GLM and krill meal. Any flavour you use, no more than 5ml in 6eggs, and 25millilitres of hemp oil.

I've got a spool of fluorocarbon that has been in my tackle box since Nazeing days, so at least 6 years old. I check it before I tie up any hooklinks, check knots etc, and change the hooklink after every couple of fish.

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