salokcinnodrog
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Posts posted by salokcinnodrog
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26 minutes ago, yonny said:
There's a set of as-new SS2600s on FB Marketplace for 250 notes. Bargain. You could use them on this lake then sell them for 300 I bet. You'll probs save as much weight on the reels as you have on the rods too.
That's almost how I managed to pick up the second set of Beastmasters, although in my case it was Ebay.
Someone selling a set of 3 for around £50 each, when new they were £59.99. I knew that they were decent reels having used them for years.
Not that I am in a hurry to sell them, but I still wouldn't lose money if I did.
Possibly the best of the budget range Shimano reels, better than many more premium reels from them.
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2 minutes ago, LC1975 said:
Hi Yonny,
Thanks for the info,
I own a set of Aviators (12ft Flex). The rods were purchased because it's a proper hike fish to fish some of the best swims. (15 min walk with a barrow)
With smaller rods i'm hoping to get my kit there in one trip. I'm walking my rods there first and then returning with the barrow
It's a large estate lake that has a dam wall at one end a bottle necks. The top end is a long underhand chuck or a gentle overhead lob at best. I use 2oz leads exclusively for this.
I sold my SS2600's a few years back.
With the above info would you still purchase some new smaller ones or save some cash and make do with what i've got?
Cheers.
Big hike?
Not being funny, but a big water I'd stick with 12ft rods.
Ardleigh and Alton reservoir, 160 and 500 acres respectively, even Nazeing Meads Lagoons, around 65acres, could be some long walks to swims, and 12ft rods do give you better casting range.
Sounds simple, but co-ordinate your barrow and tackle you carry. Do the standard take out non essential stuff that 'I might need one day'.
I use a Carp Porter Porterlite (original), and I can take the gear for 3 days in one trip, and the 12ft rods and bivvy on top of the barrow.
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1 hour ago, LC1975 said:
These are XTD's, not XTB as in the title of the post.
Thanks
Fish with what suits you!
I have Shimano Beastmaster XTA 7000's on both my 12ft 3.25lb The Ones and my 12ft 2.75lb Sceptre's.
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4 hours ago, yonny said:
I've also read it's something to do with blood type. I'm the opposite of you, they love me. I react to the bites too. Still wont go near Jungle Formula/Lifesystems (DEET) though. Horrible stuff. Dyes your clothes and melts plastic. The Skin-So-Soft tends to work for me in the UK, as does Incognito. Abroad I really struggle.
I've defo had fewer mozzi problems this year. I think most insect species are down in numbers.
It's blood type O that is most susceptible to bites, I did have to check it up.
I did look at my Jungle Systems this morning and I know that they have moved away from DEET. It used to give me a real headache, and took print off t-shirts.
Skin-so-Soft was good, but apparently the amount of citronella has been reduced, and I could only get the original from Avon Poland.
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I have hardly even had to resort to the Jungle Formula or Lifesystems this year, but the majority of the swims I have fished are tree or bush free and quite open.
I do hardly get bitten though compared to other people, something to do with blood type apparently. Just my luck, I can't even pull a female mosquito 😒 😅
I have seen plenty of chironomid hatches, seeing and hearing massive clouds of them above my bivvy.
I'm wondering if the long dry warm weather possibly reduced numbers as boggy areas, streams and ponds have been dried out, and what has hatched recently on the occasional rainy day is facing increased competition to reproduce.
On the occasion of being bitten or stung, I do have Savlon antiseptic cream in my rucksack.
Stung: In June I was bivvy free opposite the island at the shallower end of the lake and woke up to something crawling just above my ear. Without thinking I attempted to grab it, it turned out to me a wasp and stung me on the head.
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Shame I didn't manage to include the carp that leapt just after I took the original picture.
- Golden Paws, kevtaylor, riks and 1 other
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2 hours ago, yonny said:
Mrs bought me a Tamiya Lunchbox several years ago. Throwback to my youth..... loved building it. With my lad turning 7 it's recently made a come-back. Great fun.
When my son Levi was around 10 we used to build 1:72 aeroplane kits together, me supervising unless he got a particularly fiddly bit, and he had them hanging from his bedroom ceiling.
On the modelling front, I normally avoid Airfix for WW2 German aircraft as they don't include the swastika tail plane decals. It's history, for right or wrong, but model kits are classed as toys, so apparently it's illegal to include them.
Any German aircraft I tend to get are Tamiya models kits which do include the correct swastika decals, and there is sometimes 2 spare, so I might occasionally get an Airfix model as I can get the markings right.
Every model I end up researching for correct markings, camouflage and the like as box art or instructions are sometimes incorrect.
I did spend a lot of time researching HMS Hood and the Battle between Bismarck and Prinz Eugen.
Airfix and the scale models built which were photographed on Hood, all had red anti-fouling paint on the hull. Research showed she actually had grey anti-fouling.
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16 hours ago, Passionforangling said:
Hello there I'm after one of these rods I have one I just want a matching pair for barbel fishing any one know of one going anywhere cheers Billy
Your best bet is probably a very good search through Ebay, hoping someone has obsolete stock, or is selling one.
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Welcome to carp.com
We do have a specific section of the forum devoted to American Carp fishing, although it has been quiet (https://forum.carp.com/forum/16-north-american-carp-fishing/)
and a moderator who actually lives and fishes there. I know North America is big, but hopefully he can point you in the right direction.
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This was a May session
17lb. Despite the grimace, it made me smile, and laugh.
I'd only just cast the rod in after getting back with Sky after a walk round the lake when it went off, I was sorting out the next rod, mid PVA bag making. Bait was in the water 2minutes, not sure the PVA on the first rod had even dissolved.
First fish on the Shrimp!
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1 hour ago, BackInTheGame said:
So i am looking for some new rods. Looking at 2nd hand.
Looking at the following. What would be your choice?
Harrison torrix
Harrison cerbera
Free spirit e class
Century FG
I do have a soft spot for Century rods, although I have not used the FG's
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6 hours ago, OldBoy said:
🙄 😂
I did only just refrain from a lewd comment 😉
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3 hours ago, yonny said:
This can work against you too though. I remember fishing an area a long time ago now and getting plenty of bites. But when I saw the area from the boat it looked nothing like it felt with a lead. In fact to look at I wondered how the heck I was getting bites from there due to the weed! Had I seen it before I fished it, I'd have not bothered, and not caught all those carp!
17 minutes ago, Golden Paws said:??????????? Brain doesn't compute! How can you be so against bait boats but go out in a boat? I have never fished a lake that allows boats but I can see how they can advance your knowledge of a lake either by prodding or using a scope.
We used to place baits by boat at Taverham Mills, and as @yonny says it can look totally different to how it feels.
You could cast a marker float and lead out and get absolutely no feeling as the lilies would stop the float rising, yet look at the area from the boat and they were very thin and safe to fish to. The line would cut through them playing a fish.
Other spots (as on the syndicate now) I have the float rise up, yet it is thick with weed.
It's wading out that has shown how thick it is and a big bundle of weed can be down to a small root system.
My marker float is normally used with a 3½ or 4oz lead.
Today I waded out after casting out the marker rod, and I was showing 2½-3feet, yet I was up to my chest.
- Golden Paws, crusian and kevtaylor
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1 hour ago, yonny said:
It wasn't that long ago (early 80s) that 10ft was pretty standard. It was Rod H that pioneered the 12ft carp rod by fitting a 2ft parallel butt onto some 10's. It was done solely to get distance on the likes of Savay.
In the simplest terms, longer/stiffer is better for distance.
If you can afford to have multiple sets of rods I think it's nice to have a shorter set for the right water. If you have just one set, you'd be mad to go shorter that 12 (imo).
1 hour ago, yonny said:That moment of realisation that this was nearly half a century ago and I'm an old git!😭
I don't know if you have read Carp Now and Then and Hutchy's Golden Years?
He was a 'beast' of a caster as he had spent time sea fishing from the beach.
I think your
1 hour ago, yonny said:In the simplest terms, longer/stiffer is better for distance.
is saying exactly as I do in that in the case of the shorter rods, stiffer is being used to make up for length.
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8 hours ago, Golden Paws said:
Just got back from a weekend on a water I thought I knew pretty well. I caught a 21-9 fully scaled mirror and 13-2 common on a water that is fished 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in the warmer months so almost catching is a bonus.
I've got a newish bait boat (sorry Yonny!) and it's got all the bells and whistles, GPS and sonar. The lake is at least 2 foot down as you can see the tide line on all the islands. I was getting a pretty steady 3 to 3.2 foot after the marginal shelf and sent the boat out to an island. Unfortunately I must have got a bit too close and managed to ground it! Over a grands worth of tech beached 50 yards away and I couldn't get it back to deeper water. Nothing else for it, roped in the bloke in the swim next door to help and then stripped down to my under crackers and waded in. The marginal shelf was clear and then I hit the silt, probably up to my knee. It was so thick, I was having to breast stroke to get through it. Luckily the sonar was spot on and the water didn't go above my belly button. There was a clearish channel between 2 islands where the silt was a lot less but there are also some aeration pumps nearby which probably helped to keep it clear.
Luckily I have always tended to fish close to the islands and just at the bottom of the marginal shelf so I was probably fishing the best areas anyway.
I wasn't expecting the silt to be anywhere near that thick and the sonar was only showing a clear bottom. After I got it back, I got out the marker rod and cast out a heavy lead and dragged it through the area I had just waded through and although it did feel like silt, I would have guessed it at a couple of inches at most.
My local water is brick hard at the inlet end where I do most of my fishing and so a 3.5 oz lead is my weapon of choice and that's all I had in my bag. I normally fish a helicopter rig rather than a lead clip which is fortunate but now wonder how many times I've been buried with no chance of a bite.
Just dug out a load of 1oz leads and probably won't use back leads on there again despite liking the fact that there isn't any line cutting through the swim. I try fluorocarbon on my reels every couple of years and then pretty soon realise why I hate it as a main line! Many years ago I did a compromise and fished a 30 foot leader of 20lb fluorocarbon but hated the way the knot clattered through the rings when bringing a fish to the net and gave it up as a bad job.
Anyone else had experiences with silt?
Very much.
Word of advice, never wade in without a wading pole; it can help you keep your balance as well as bottom prodding.
The silt on my current lake is probably up to welly boot height, and then water up to my waist, so pretty similar, although the stream bed you can add a bit more to the depth.
There are also feeding holes which can put you chest deep, and I have been known to occasionally go fractionally over the top of my chest waders, hence the advice on a solid wading pole.
The honest answer is the carp feed in the silt. I have found massive bloodworm in the deepest thickest silt, along with massive swan mussels, bigger than my hands.
I still use run rings and standard rig set-ups, hooklinks around 20-30centimetres in an attempt to put the bait at the level the fish are feeding at.
Lead size I normally stick with 2.5-3oz, but use flattened leads to hopefully reduce sinking in too far, but even dropping a lead in the margins can see it disappear.
Funnily enough, in May I cast out a 3oz lead, PVA stringer and snowman bait and I am positive that crashed quite deep into the silt. I had a take within a couple of minutes, and I think that the lead had sunk so far, complete with run ring it jammed as the buzzer was bleeping (Delkims vibration).
- Golden Paws and crusian
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8 hours ago, BackInTheGame said:
Thanks for the response gents.
I don't particularly want a 10ft rod and as an oldie is not a size I have ever used before. The reason I asked was I am seeing an increasing number for sale, maybe others are not getting used to them.
Most of the 12ft rods I am seeing for sale 2nd hand are 3.5 or 3.25 TC. I usually go for a 2.75 and maybe push to a 3lb TC. This is mainly because I have this feeling a 3.25 or 3.5lb TC rods are a bit overkill for me.
My fishing is not often on large venues where I need to cast 60-70 yards. And fish are generally up to about 30lb.
Am I wrong in thinking 3.25 or 3.5lb TC is too high for mid size venues where you are only really needing to cast 30-40 yards on average.
I fancy a set of Free Spirit rods (I have a 9ft stalking rod that is great). Possibly e class in 12ft.
I have a feeling that higher test curve rods are needed in shorter rods as the 'standard' lower test curves won't cast as far; using weight instead of length to create the same casting force, just a theory mind, but seems right in my head.
Then we have the 'Korda' theory, that they needed higher test curves even in 12ft rods to make up for lack of skill/practice to get distance. I've said it many times in the past that with 2¼lb North Western and Armalites I could get over 100metres, but I spent many hours across the field practicing. Even my 2.75lb SP's I could get over 120metres.
My normal casting distance on the syndicate is no more than 40metres, and my 12ft 2.75lb Enduro and Sceptre rods do that and more, to 100metres easily.
10 hours ago, OldBoy said:In perspective, I still have a 9 foot Wychwood extractor, I used it at a small Dorset lake years ago for margin fishing with a centre pin, probably the most enjoyable carp fishing I have had for years, but on everyday carp fishing I do now, just not an option and can't see the point really? 👍
That's funny, that is quite literally all I do use shorter rods for, along with jungle stalking. Even my clearwater floater fishing rod is 11ft.
@crusian if you can get the carp feeding right under the rod tip on floaters, a freelined dog biscuit, or lump of crust just touching the surface on the centre pin is great fun.
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5 hours ago, BackInTheGame said:
So I am looking around for some decent 2nd hand rods. Looking at free spirit e class possibly.
However I have seen that there are now a lot of 10ft rods, carp rods have always been 12ft to me unless they are for stalking.
Apart from the obvious advantages in smaller venues/swims, are they any other advantages or disadvantages of 10ft rods.
My view is that the 10ft rods do not cast as far as a 12ft or even longer rod, even in the higher modern test curves.
Much of my fishing is on larger waters (above 20acres), with open banks, and at times I need to cast long distances.
Even my lighter rods for smaller fish are 12ft, albeit 2lb test curve.
I think that the smaller rods to some extent are tackle manufacturers pushing a new item to sell a new item, create a new market.
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3 hours ago, kevtaylor said:
I wanted to buy some locally produced honey as it can help with hay fever apparently, getting you used to the local pollens. Sadly the FB seller didn't send me the link I needed to pay - but interesting all the same.
I found Baz's Bees honey by 'accident'. I used to fish Alton Water and as I drove through Tattingstone noticed the honesty box next to the bus stop. At the time there was a QR code for direct payments.
If I can buy surplus eggs or fresh fruit direct I am happy to support. Anyway this honesty box had jars of honey in, so out came my £5 into the tin. Since then whenever I drive through Tattingstone I have a look see if he has any for sale, and return the cleaned jars.
Otherwise I buy honey from my greengrocers or Jimmy's Farm.
If you have a local farm shop or garden centre or nursery they might have a supplier who is local.
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12 hours ago, kevtaylor said:
I did think that maybe the propolis may be good, being as it's made from honey and used by koi keepers I believe but even that sounds un-proven in the report.
2 hours ago, yonny said:I don't think that's 100% accurate. I had a look at the report that this article is based on when it was first published and (I think*) I recall it was looking strictly at propolis products rather than all carp care treatments.
I have mentioned several times on here, way before this stuff was published, that I question the use of propolis in angling. The use of propolis originates in koi keeping. It creates a barrier on the wound to lock out any nasties rather than act as an antibacterial/antifungal solution (although dodgy marketing from the tackle firms would have you believe otherwise). This barrier effect is fine when a koi is living in a posh pond with clean, filtered water with controlled salinity. Not so fine for a carp lake - my opinion is that you risk locking nasties IN to any wound.
There are other (non-propolis) carp care treatments options available that are genuine antibacterial/antifungal treatments. How effective they are is open to debate but one thing is for sure - they cannot do any harm to the fish. Even if it washes off straight away you can be safe in the knowledge that the hook-hold or wound was completely free of anything that could result in infection when you send mr carp home.
My overall opinion is: we don't really need to use treatments, but if the right treatment is used, it cannot be a bad thing.
Propolis is actually the "mortar" that bees use to build there hives! I think it's a mix of beeswax, bees spit, and plant resin. Clever little [censored]s aint they!
I know honey itself is one of the healthiest substances available.
There are a few c&p's coming:
Due to honey's high sugar concentration and acidic pH level many microorganisms cannot grow in it
Honey is a folk treatment for burns and other skin injuries. Preliminary evidence suggests that it aids in the healing of partial thickness burns 4–5 days faster than other dressings, and moderate evidence suggests that post-operative infections treated with honey heal faster and with fewer adverse events than with antiseptic and gauze.[103] The evidence for the use of honey in various other wound treatments is of low quality, and firm conclusions cannot be drawn.
Antibiotic
Honey has long been used as a topical antibiotic by practitioners of traditional and herbal medicine.[108][109] Honey's antibacterial effects were first demonstrated by the Dutch scientist Bernardus Adrianus van Ketel in 1892.[110][111] Since then, numerous studies have shown that honey has broad-spectrum antibacterial activity against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria, although potency varies widely between different honeys.
Sorry about the Wikipedia numeric references left in place, but Wikipedia was the easiest place to confirm my own understanding.
Mind you I WILL NOT be covering hookholds in honey, I love it too much on toast or with peanut butter in sandwiches, (blame my daughter Lily for that one).
The other thing with honey is that supermarket honey has been found to be 'fake', so I always get mine from a local supplier; an honesty box in Tattingstone (Baz's Bees) or greengrocers who have another local supplier.
Would set or runny be better for hookholds?
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I was reading through the thread that I think Andy ( @crusian ) started on Carp care treatment and recalled the advice not to use them from a scientific perspective. If anyone is interested here is a link to the webpage:
https://www.ukfishingschool.co.uk/post/carp-care-liquids
I must confess, I did stop using Kryston every time as I was wondering about whether it worked as 'it says on the tin'.
I have had a couple of recaptures, and spoken to other anglers who have caught fish I had caught and I can honestly say of those fish there is no apparent mouth damage, and a few of them have been out regularly.
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2 hours ago, yonny said:
Call me crazy, but I think you guys are looking back with rose tinted glasses. Imo you always had guys that lacked etiquette. I don't think that's changed at all. Obviously it depends on the waters you fish, with day tickets tending to attract such characters (as they always have done). On every single decent syndicate I've been on, kn*b heads have been few and far between. Yes you always find the odd one, but most are sound. I personally find it refreshing to find that most youngsters are a pleasure to bump into on the bank. They remind me of me when I was there age.
The lack of etiquette now does seem to be more commonplace on all waters.
I grew up fishing a club venue in Suffolk, as kids we knew the serious carp anglers, or were social specimen anglers ourselves and everyone gave each other respect. It may be that the club rules were strict enough to avoid conflict, although match anglers ruled the roost.
The early 1990's I fished Taverham and although day ticket there was no major trouble. I didn't notice any problems until I fished Weybread and first met a particular person who still has a reputation even today, despite his big fish record.
In the 'That Guy' thread I mention the courtesy that is on my syndicate now that someone is no longer a member. The 'swim jumping' has pretty much stopped, and there is less back biting than when that person was a part of the syndicate, and the occasional numpty gets nurtured.
It may be that as I tend to fish weekdays I avoid those numpties, but when I have done weekends, 5 anglers on 40odd acres with spread out fish mean there are few conflicts.
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On 18/09/2026 at 14:12, salokcinnodrog said:
Clothing, life was cold in winter, although most of my winter fishing was for roach and pike. A tanksuit, that if you were lucky was actually waterproof.
I said if you were lucky!
It rained heavily all day, and I had to resort to putting my ski jacket over the top. That pike was 18lb and was caught on 12ft North Western 2¼lb rods. I think that the smile says everything for a wet day in the late 1980's.
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I've moved this into UK Carp fishing as I think it's worth more than NCB.
I can go back to carp fishing in the 1980's when 'the rise' was on it's way.
From Mitchell reels that were easy to clean and re-oil, to Daiwa Ab1350's which I won and used for float and tench fishing, and onto Abu Cardinal Ultracasts, the rear drag made fishing 'spool runner' possible, then the Shimano Baitrunners.
North Western rods, which I would prefer over many more modern available brands, Century Armalites, mk.l and ll.
As for brollies, making your own overwrap from a tarpaulin and then being able to get a proper branded overwrap to go over a 50inch umbrella.
Clothing, life was cold in winter, although most of my winter fishing was for roach and pike. A tanksuit, that if you were lucky was actually waterproof.
What irritates me is the lack of courtesy and etiquette in fishing now, and it has become a 'sit behind the rods' at all costs, often missing out on stalking and floater fishing.
A rise in commercialism, waters and media I think have killed the mystery.
As for tackle shops, as much as possible I prefer to go into the shop, although if I do have to order tackle online I prefer to use Tackle Box in Kent and Johnson Ross in Hoddesdon, both of which I have been in. I am lucky though, I do have 3 very good tackle shops within 5miles of my flat.
- ouchthathurt, OldBoy and crusian
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Freelance Carp Angling Tutors Wanted
in UK Carp Fishing
Posted
Not being funny, but I don't think that it is worth the effort.
Various anglers have been offering this type of guidance for years.
As someone who has given talks and tuitions for pike fishing, and taken mates on one-on-one pike trips specifically and for other species, I know how tough it is.
That's a joke right?
Sorry not many people can afford that, and I would not charge that. One on one myself, my expertise, or my location is worth no more than £150 a day.