salokcinnodrog

Vitalin has gone, but Gladwells at Copdock Mill sell a very close equivalent called Vitacarp. They purchased the ingredients list and market it themselves. I don't think it contains quite as much flaked maize as it did, and it is not quite so 'sticky'. I know of a couple of 40's. It was @shakey on here who shared with me some pics of his dad with a decent 40 and a big heavily scaled fish he caught from there when I was fishing there. Dave Lane also did some time on there. The 3 biggest fish I had were all 24.12, a fully scaled, a proper leather and a prehistoric looking mirror. Ardleigh was the place I took B&F Co's Particle42 as my first field test bait, and caught from the off. Sadly Bait and Feed then decided to cut base mixes with extra semolina to customers on the baits they rolled. I stood up for them big time, and got my fingers burnt when they did it to a named angler and base mix manufacturer who tested it. They did make some very good baits that I was in on: Smokey Mackeral, Smokey Bacon (actually a ham flavour on a meat and birdfood base) and obviously the Particle42. They also rolled my Spiced Garlic pop-ups for me, which they hated as doing them everything stunk for ages of Megaspice and garlic oil. I still use them and roll them myself now. Now for some reason that Megaspice and Garlic oil does not seem to stop producing on various waters, although I've not had a repeat capture, its worked everywhere.

That's it, Addit Taste, Digest and Attract. I never liked milk protein baits unless The Addits (and/or Bengers) were in there as I didn't think that milk protein baits are easily digested by carp (or most humans!). Giving the additional protein breaking down enzyme helped with the digestion. There is a big theory that in some animals carbohydrate is unusable for energy, they can only utilise fats and protein, so balancing them is the important part of a bait. I mentioned that the 'prebaited food source' baits are not used like they used to be. I have seen a good bait dominate waters, Protavit Liver, Trigga, BFM, Premier, even Activ8. Not using them you may as well accept the occasional inquisitive fish rather than catching regularly. I know that numbers of anglers have written about it, with named waters, named anglers, and I have managed it myself, even a slightly tweaked bait being an improvement over the standard ready made (freezer or shelf life). The Method, underrated and now underused. It produced a number of decent carp for me on Ardleigh , where the size of the water made using a food source bait impractical. Baiting up with buckets of Vitalin and fishing balls of that moulded around the lead meant I had groundbait around the hookbait rather than casting 'blind'. I've never found a 'wonder' hookbait, or found plenty, but they only have a limited life; sweetcorn, or pop-ups, green zing, pineapple N-butyric, Monster Crab, Squid and Octopus, until the carp avoid them. It's that 'digesting a stone' point, sooner or later carp will discover it's going to result in a hook in the mouth, or it's not doing them any good. The carp rarely eat pop-ups! I think we do do sensory overload. In a water there is a natural pH, be it between 6 and 9, and attraction is a specific 'distance'. Too strong attractors, too high a level (say 5ml of flavour compared to 2ml) may create a feeding zone or acceptable level not at the bait itself, but metres away, or even become repellant.

Semolina I've always thought of as part of a balanced bait or as a binder. It's a decent source of carbohydrates and quite filling. I personally think that the days of the food bait are over as there are so few animal protein based baits around any more. What is around is, I think, often yeast based with nut meals and semolina as the binder. I put animal protein; fish meal cost became prohibitive, and few bait companies are making chicken or meat meal based baits, which I thought were as good, (The Biollix, Protavit Liver, DT did a chicken special as well). Almost every year I do liquidise my left over mackeral and herring deadbaits from pike fishing and mix them with semolina and chapatti flour and make boilies for my barbel and chub chasing on the Wensum and occasional trips to my syndicate as something different from my standard bait. Nutrition wise, if carp are eating boilies, a bed of various anglers baits, it can't identify one particular boilie as the high nutritional one and eat only that, it will likely eat a mix of them and 'notice' that the boilies are good for them full stop. It's only when a 'cr..' boilie is the only bait that they may start to avoid them. However fish in overstocked or waters with low natural food stocks will need to eat bait anyway.

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@yonny, I have never thought of myself as a big caster, to me it was practice to put a bait where I wanted it. In the early 1990's, 2¼lb TC Armalite mk.1's and an Ultracast Cardinal, or 4000 Aero GTE Baitrunner, 8lb line and shockleader and a 2.5 or 3oz lead I would spend an hour practicing over the field to get 100metres so I could fish the 3rd bar at Weybread No.1 Pit, without as 1 person was doing, going out on a lilo... (guess who). When I moved from Norwich to Suffolk, I switched to mk.2's in 2¾ and the same reels or 6010's and discovered a very nice feature under an island on B Pit, again, over 100metres. The extra test curve was a bit handy with 3oz leads and 10lb line to a leader. The 2¾lb SP's were paired with Aerlex reels, 3oz leads, and 15lb line and used on Ardleigh Reservoir with a 125metres cast from Wick Lane dam end side to a feeder stream on the other. I was using a laser finder so could be sure of the distance. Nazeing Meads lagoons were real long casting, that's where I got the cheaper The Ones, a deal admittedly, (£50 each) in 3.25lb. At one point casting distance reached 150metres, from the sailing banks to the Plateau or the Long Island bars. Believe me I much preferred not having to cast so far. I think Century were far ahead of other manufacturers for years, the carbon and resins, it seemed to be Harrison who got close, then other manufacturers, although there were the occasional specials. I do miss some of the old names though, North Western, Conoflex and more.

People who don't follow the (short length) extreme high 3.5oz test curve rods to cast 100metres set by tackle brands. A 12ft 2.75lb rod is capable of that distance, and more, but because fashion is dictating higher test curves are getting harder to get hold of. With 2.75lb Century NG's I was putting baits at around 125metres, and up to 90metres with 30boilie stringers or PVA bags, and with SP's even further. Even with my RH 2.75lb Enduro rods I am currently using, 100metres is no problem with 15lb line and a 3oz lead.

As @Pete Springate's Guns says, modern mono and our use of 15 to 18lb line gives far more capabilities without needing a leader, compared to the 1980's and 90's when you were only using 8 or 9lb line as standard. The days of 10lb of breaking strain for each ounce of lead with long distance casting are mostly over as 15-18lb line can handle 3oz leads due to stretch in the line. As I mentioned or alluded, 100metres is not a big cast (!), and I can do that with 15lb line. If I can avoid using a shockleader I prefer it, any snags or heavy weed can jam up on the knot, and prevent the run ring, or tail rubber on a lead clip, stopping the lead being ejected. A carp can eject even a barbed hook with no weight on it, like a splinter in the skin being pushed out from inside.

Back in the early 2000's a mate* and I used to build rods, mostly fly and sea rods, although some of the blanks we got for bass were good for carp fishing. We'd order what we needed blank wise for 6 or 7 rods at a time, really only keeping guides and thread in stock. I know a few people who build now only keep a maximum of 12 blanks in stock as it does take a fair while to build a rod nicely and with 'non-fashionable' anglers avoiding the overgunned tackle brand rods, it is almost specific builds. Sure I can do the guides in a day, but it is the lacquer, hi-build over the threads and the varnish that take the time. *Allen did used to have an account on here.

7HT'S, beautiful reels, what I use myself on my Sandstorm and Sea Hunter. Unchanged since their release back in the 1990's, although there is now a Mag version. Nice guy, used to fish around Norfolk and Suffolk quite a bit.

You lucky so and so!

Welcome to Carp.com. You might find that your water has rules on line diameters and breaking strains for carp fishing, possibly a minimum of 15lb or 0.35mm diameter. The honest answer is that carp fishing wise, you should make well over 100metres, I'd be hitting closer to 150 with the test curve of that rod, what may stop you is reel size, so a big pit reel is needed for 15lb which is my minimum for long distance casting on most waters with carp around 20lb or (just under) 10kg. 100grams is 3.5oz (give or take) so should be right for the rod. Personally I prefer a 30lb (Amnesia) shockleader with 3 or 3.5oz, and it is around 4metres long, at least my casting drop, the lead at the join, and 4 or more turns on the reel. Make sure you position the shockleader knot at the back of the spool. Cracking off when the line has frapped round the knot is not fun. I tie my leader with a simple overhand loop in the leader, and a single uni knot up the leader going through the overhand loop, wet, pull tight and lighter tag both ends of the knot. I do exactly the same sea fishing and with 5 or 6oz leads, and haven't cracked off for a lot of years. I can't see the reason for a lighter rod set-up unless you are targeting other species. Distance fishing, and long casting is practice. I usually need a couple of warm up casts until it is 'right' and I am back in the swing of things.

I wonder if I draw the idiots then? Nazeing being the exception. I must admit that I didn't like the club waters, not because of the idiots, but because I don't like crowds. On Alton I found on 2 occasions that someone had followed me into the swim I was fishing, although to be honest I don't think that they were catching. I did found out someone spent a month(!) in the bridge swim I'd been fishing and caught nothing, where I had had 8 fish over 3x 2night sessions.

Elitist?

I used to love Bromeswell for that. I'd frequently get the fish feeding under the rod tip with dog biscuits and freeline a surface bait just touching the water with the screech of the centrepin acting as the bite indicator. I think that sums up a lot of anglers now. Years ago in the 1980's and 90's, anglers were far more genteel, then came magazines and onto social media and carp and even barbel fishing went downhill.

Easy enough to replace a tip ring. Gently melt the glue under the tip ring with a very hot hairdryer or a continually moving lighter flame and remove. You can hot melt or superglue a new ring on.

The thing is the syndicate is normally very quiet, except between April and June, I can see no-one else in a week, with even no-one turning up on a Friday or Saturday. Nazeing Meads was busy compared to this lake, and even though Nazeing was season tickets there were less problems than the current 3month issue. On one trip I had walked round the whole 60 acres before seeing fish in Pylons, so set up in there. As I finished setting up the bailiff turned up, to fish and check tickets, and during conversation admitted he had been baiting up where I had seen fish, so I offered to move, he declined the offer and told me to stay put as I wasn't aware of his baiting. He even asked if I would mind him setting up next swim along, which despite being around 20metres away faced away at about 45⁰ so only just onto the end of the same gravel bar. No problem. We both caught, I think he had a couple of 20's and I had just the 1 fish at 32lb.

@framey sorry, I've got to laugh as I know what you mean, and I might bring those posts over away from where they are. There are around 5 of us baiting swims, and we each leave the others swims alone, won't fish them. From one swim, one guy has had 4 fish, a 30lb common and 3 20lb mirrors, although it is close to where the fish were spawning the other week, so it might not just be bait holding them there as the easterly winds were also pushing towards the deeper water. I created and baited a swim, up to my chest clearing reeds and rushes, in a spot that no-one up to that point could fish. If I see or saw fish elsewhere I would set up on them, however as I hadn't I kept going to the same swim. Another chap has baited a spot halfway along the rushes which is only accessible from one swim, and it's not straight out in front of the swim. Dave fished his spot last night, and it was me and him who actually cleared it together last year. I told him where I had had fish, and he's kept it clear since. I actually left my rake under the boat for him. The majority of us on the syndicate will leave each other's spots alone, although other (single) syndicate members who fish infrequently we have no objection to someone else doing the do if they see fish there. I think etiquette is totally different to different lakes or syndicates. If angler 3 sees fish in a spot under the non-regular single syndicate member scenario, then the other two anglers should bite their tongues and keep quiet about it. If he genuinely does not know about the baiting he is going on his fish spotting and location, not their efforts. On Alton if someone fished where I had baited up, tough, it's 475acres, I can go find somewhere else to fish. Absolutely not much point really in regular baiting up on there as it's so large. And you definitely had swim jumpers going on other people's results.

Coloured mainline might have advantages, a bright orange Sensor or purple Wychwood (?) line might keep swans from hitting it... Personally I use Gardner Pro light (clear) in the clean clear water of my syndicate. Even where it is clear you still get suspended particles of silt sticking to the line, so my clear line is a khaki colour unless I wipe it clean every time I reel in. I don't think that stops me catching as I think that I caught the most fish of all the members last year. I think that at anything above around 40metres, the last bit of line to the end tackle is laying on the lakebed anyway with a tight line, it arcs down. I suppose in theory that is where fluorocarbon is better as it is invisible in water, but fluorocarbon seems to attract more silt particles than nylon monofilament. Even a clean, tight fluorocarbon casts a shadow though, same as mono.

I do confess to a can of cider at lunchtime with a bacon sandwich or two the past few trips. It's been too cold for me to sup a beer at night! I've been resorting to lemon and ginger or orange and peach tea in the evening after dinner.

These anglers from the other syndicate do go on where 'full-time' syndicate members are fishing, on the back of their results or work. This particular angler has not fished 'here' since last June when the other syndicate reopened after their close season. There are around 6 or 7 who only fish here between April and June. It's created a bit of antagonism, not just for me, but others besides. If it was an angler who fishes once or twice a month only on this lake I would not be so narked!

We have a problem in that 1 member was the membership 'secretary' for two syndicates, and one of them has a April to June close season. The secretary would 'recommend' members to this syndicate from the other so they would be members of both, but only fish here during the others close season. That then creates @elmoputney 's problem and freshly cut, prepared or baited swims are suddenly taken by people who only fish the lake for 3 months without doing any work themselves. I was gutted this year to cut and dig out a new swim, keeping it in keeping with the rest of the lake, prebaited it, gotten fish feeding and then finding someone else fishing it and catching one of the fish I was after. His publicised 'campaign' for a bait company was actually fish for 2nights where someone else had been baiting and dive in when they had gone, not as it was published. It's not the first time it has happened to me or another couple of mates on the lake. It's these other syndicate members who don't do any work themselves who wind me up.

It was just enough to allow the fish to slip the hook, not total opening and rebending. Elastic springback is I think it's name. From memory it is where the outer layers stretch and the middle is compressed. Once the force is removed it returns to shape

Tuesday was a Co-op chocolate cookie day.

It is if you don't bring it with you😉 My overnight kit is in a rucksack, and the receiver lives in a pocket in that, my day kit is my tackle box, so I don't bring it with me. On a day session it is not like I am miles away from the rods, or deep asleep.

It has been a while since our bankside cuisine has been on show so as Google does not like old threads, I'll start afresh. Last night I had rump steak, so tonight's dinner was the steak trimmings turned into a curry with a diced potato, baby corn, chopped mangetout, fine green beans and half a tin of chopped tomatoes and Garam Masala and a dash of chilli powder.