salokcinnodrog
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Posts posted by salokcinnodrog
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I don't know whether it is amusement or annoyance, but one of the fish in the syndicate has picked up the name of a Darwin Award winner to its name or features.
Last year in June I had a really nice linear at 33lb, part of a 2 fish catch, with an 18lb mirror on an overnight session. Really nice fish, beautiful, and while I enjoyed catching it, returned it unnamed, and put pictures on our FB page.
Going through the captures this year, that Linear has put on 4lb and been given the additional moniker.
One of the grievances I suppose for me is I know how much stroke pulling this person did in the background, yet despite being friends with the fishery manager kept it hidden from him.
No rule breaking as such, but just sneaky...
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1 hour ago, crusian said:
Ah , ran out of time editing ! .
Should I change from a Ridgemonkey Small Hook Ring Bait Screw as sometimes the screw seems to work its way through the hookhold and cause a bit of damage to the Carp's mouth ? .
I'm thinking of a plastic bait screw with no swivel .
😃
Like @InteraX I don't like them.
I would prefer a bit of nylon or bait floss on the D or rig ring as I have found that bait screws can work free and drop the bait, no matter how much a swelled bait is supposed to grip better.
It takes a big plastic one to grip properly!
Incidentally, I save cut down used rig materials for that specific reason, to use create a hair or for mounting pop-ups. It doesn't matter whether it is monofilament, coated or uncoated braid. The only thing that doesn't lighter blob nicely is fluorocarbon.
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I just walked Sky round the lake and to talk to the bailiff who was fishing.
As we walked round I was keeping Sky calm, she likes James, so bounces, and because I thought he was margin fishing I called out 'hello' well before I got to him so he could come back to the main track past his swim, rather than me walk along the bank and possibly disturb his fishing, especially as I could see fish in front of him.
We did stand talking fishery, syndicate and rules for around 30minutes, and the fish in front of him evading his baits.
He was no more than 5metres from his rods even on the path.
Hopefully it is respect.
- Golden Paws and crusian
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I felt the switch Sunday night.
After a few trips not using the bivvy it was put up as soon as the rods were in this trip.
As I was setting the rods up we had a light shower in North West Suffolk, and at 2.30am it rained properly for an hour, and fish started crashing.
Yesterday a massive difference, fish moving during the day. First time I have felt comfortable putting in any more than a PVA stringer or bag full for months.
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So this weeks find is a pair of Optix polarised sunglasses.
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1 hour ago, S34MH1 said:
I’ve been using this bite alarm for a long time. While its performance, functionality and wireless range leave much to be desired, I really appreciate its design concept. Numeric readouts are far more intuitive than LED indicator lights. What’s more, numerical displays have no upper limit, so you won’t run into the issue of repeated colour signals that you get with light indicators. I wonder if anyone agrees with me? Also, are there any mid-to-high-end brands manufacturing bite alarms adopting this same design idea?
I have a very simple system:
My indicators and alarms are red, white and green. The receiver bleeps and the led lights in those colours.
As I go to the rod I check the bleeping buzzer for the correct led, and look at the falling or rising indicator.
This works with anglers who have a choice to be like me with different colour leds on the alarms, or those who chose to have one alarm led colour. The receiver will bleep, an led will show.
Now in the UK, there is a legal maximum limit on the number of rods an angler can use, a maximum of 4, and clubs may limit anglers to 3 or even 2, so the numeric readout is not a particular need.
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10 hours ago, BackInTheGame said:
this is the main reason i prefer private club lakes.
Sadly Mate, my local club is 'overfilled', so I had to join a syndicate.
- BackInTheGame and crusian
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51 minutes ago, kevtaylor said:
This is something that bothers me always has and something that came up on a recent Korda Podcast where Dovey of all people admitted to doing it all the time. To me this is pure noddy!
Re-casting at dusk, what is that about?!?!
Was taught early on you get the rods set and leave them ready for the key bite times with no disturbance i.e dawn and evening into dusk.
So on what planet does it make sense to reel in during bite time, cause commotion and smash the lead back out for no reason whatsoever?
We find a spot were happy with, cast accurately, use rigs we know present and reliable bait that stays as it should, it washes out (ages) along with the freebies and can stay out for the duration of your trip, unless you suspect something has got away with it.
Why would anyone re-cast at key times when you should be sitting on your hands - it's beyond me tbh - smacks of not being confident with all of your previous steps so doubts have set in, if not that why would you want a fresh hookbait that now looks alien to the rest?
Stupidity IMO
At Brackens I knew everyone else was going to recast around 6pm at night, so I would make sure I had my baits in place long before that, and use their disturbance to move the fish out of their areas.
Quite frequently I would get fish about 8 o-clock at night while they blanked.
I also try not to change hookbaits, even after a fish. The smell of 'me' is gone, the first fish found it acceptable, so changing it might upset that.
That attitude also comes with me now at the end of a session. My pop-ups are already counterbalanced, on floss and lighter blobbed, so don't come off unless pulled. I can quite easily just attach a fresh bag or stringer without actually touching the bait.
The only time Sky goes silly, talking and jumping, when someone comes to visit, and most people she loves, but there are one or two who she is not keen on for some reason, possibly because they are nervous about her.
On 24/07/2026 at 11:54, yonny said:Tbf I'm not bothered if someone moves in next door and they're quiet and show etiquette. If I see fish in an empty swim I'll move in there regardless of who else is about, but I'd be mindful of the situation.
I don't mind the majority of people if they move in next door, but sometimes there are some you wish hadn't. I make sure Sky is on bark mode, lol.
I try to spot fish, and if I do have to move in next to someone I will just stringer and one cast rather than make a massive disturbance.
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On 23/07/2026 at 15:44, framey said:
Sad news any independent shop closes.
They all need to club together to make some sort of association for themselves to make better buying power.
In the 1990's Daiwa and Shimano came up with the idea of one major tackle shop in the region supplying the rest. That major tackle shop got the biggest discount, who then sold on at a reduced discount to 'local' tackle shops.
The smaller tackle shops did not want to buy from the biggest shop.
Local shops preferred to buy stock out of the region.
It partly caused the rise of the mail order shops being able to sell cheaper than the local shops, and created the argument about retail recommended price to the mainstream.
Then you had the rise Fishing Republic and Angling Direct who were tackle shop groups that got big quick
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Another independent tackle shop in Norfolk is closing down
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On 04/05/2026 at 11:30, barry211 said:
they look awesome, i have to admit to getting back into making and painting 40k stuff about a year ago. it is suprisingly calming to lose a few hours surrounded by glue and paint.
not sure if it's appropriate here but this is an excellent charity that uses model kits for veterans as it can help with PTSD and gives a sense of belonging to a community again, if you ever find you have a kit spare (can happen i have heard) they pass them on to others.
https://www.modelsforheroes.org.uk/
A couple of weeks ago I sent a couple of models to Help for Heroes, a 1/740 Prinz Eugen which I had ordered in the wrong scale ( I build ships in 1/600) and an HMS Belfast I had duplicated.
Really pleased to receive this today and that it is handwritten makes it such a nice reply.
- yonny, Golden Paws, kevtaylor and 1 other
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On 21/07/2026 at 21:23, framey said:
Wish I took more photos from those days.
I fished there in the early 90's when it was one of the few places that allowed close season fishing.
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On 08/07/2026 at 04:57, S34MH1 said:
I plan to buy a fishing vest recently, and I’ve found some merchants that offer custom logo printing services. I’m looking for highly distinctive and representative images of carp fishing. Most of the pictures I’ve come across are paid materials, so I’m wondering if there are any free options available. I won’t use them for commercial purposes. Paid ones are also acceptable as long as the quality is great.
A lot of tackle companies use a basic depiction of a carp with their logo or brand superimposed across the flank of the fish.
You might be able to 'borrow' legitimately the fish image and simply add your own name
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On 08/07/2026 at 11:50, crusian said:
Hello Everyone .
I hate this hot weather , but if I did try and go fishing , hiding in a shady spot would it be worth all the effort ? .
The water temperature readings I have been getting are in the 20's C .
So I'm guessing go for deep , but how deep ? , water ; aerated , and try to avoid the bright sun ? .
What are people doing please ? .
😃
I tried that last weekend, setting up in the shade of a big elm tree, and blanked.
Last year I created a bivvy spot right under the willows and again, the fish seemed to avoid the area.
On both occasions the fish caught were in the brightest and sunniest spots.
I would say that I should have moved, but with Sky I refused as I would much rather she was comfortable as possible, and unless I tell her will lay in the sun all day and overheat.
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On 23/06/2026 at 18:51, KarpfenMag said:
Just got permission from the farmer while i was looking round the lake, 80 euros for a year! he said no body has ever asked him before
I am buzzing
Brilliant news.
Hope you have a good one or two
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49 minutes ago, InteraX said:
Hi all,
Locally (SW London & Surrey), I have 1 club that's closed all fishing until 24 hours after the heat alerts have been cleared (currently means late Sunday), I have another that's closed fishing due to low oxygen and a local day ticket shut up shop last weekend due to the weather.
Whilst I fully understand low oxygen resulting in fish welfare concerns, I don't understand the club closing all fishing. Apparently it's for the member's safety and fish welfare. Fish welfare, OK maybe if the water has low oxygen, but as for member's safety, we're adults.
Is this a widespread issue?
If we are to start getting this type of weather going forward, what will it mean for us? I've been starting work early and doing some extra hours this week with the hope that I'll be able to get out tomorrow PM for a session. It doesn't look like I'll be able to now or if I can, the venue will probably be rammed.
How do they manage it on the continent? Surely they have worse issues, but they don't seem to have to shut down because of it.
Water depth and oxygen levels in relation to stress will be an issue in shallow lakes.
The mostly deeper lakes on the main continent are not as likely to cause as much stress. Oxygen is not as big an issue in the depths of lakes as it is in shallow waters.
Fish can fight themselves almost to death in warm water, and take ages to recover.
54 minutes ago, InteraX said:but as for member's safety, we're adults.
In theory, yes. Yet every year adults as well as children die in lakes and rivers. A no swimming lake just outside Norwich, a number of deaths related to swimming in hot weather.
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19 minutes ago, BackInTheGame said:
i know i will get shot down for this but i am not a fan of dropping the lead every time.
yes there is a cost implication here as they are not cheap but most importantly for me it cant be great leaving all these leads behind on the lake beds. Yes i know they are made of safe materials these days but every angler dropping a lead on every take just sounds overkill to me.
4 hours ago, jules007 said:last of the big spenders here just got a bag of 20 lead clips so the lead will dump, i never use these but yet another rule on specimen lake due to weed NO inline or running lead
I absolutely hate dropping the lead.
Despite the theories of reducing the risk of picking up weed, and empty lead clips catches up weed. An zipp or distance inline lead will actually travel through picking up less weed than a lead clip.
Again, littering is an issue, just because you can't see it does not mean it is acceptable.
I know, stand on the bank of his lake, just throwing leads in. That is exactly what you are doing dropping the lead on every take.
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2 hours ago, greekskii said:
30 day battery life isn’t bad tbh. Assuming you did 4 full 24hrs a month you’d only recharge a few times a year.
For me though carrying a spare battery or two is easier than having to recharge an alarm on the bank if you forget to recharge at home. Or it drains quicker than expected or something.That's me as well, it is easier to change batteries than recharge them on the bank. I already carry 3 powerbanks as low phone signal kills battery life faster. At the worst I can pop to the local shops and buy a set of square batteries to get me through.
Rechargeable batteries have a limited life, heat destroys them, cold they don't work so well, and don't charge either. Hot weather can literally cook them off.
23 hours ago, BackInTheGame said:Just bought a set of Bitekeeper Cube alarms. I am not so bothered about how customisable they are as most is just gimmicks but I honestly think rechargeable alarms should have been done a long time ago. Arriving tomorrow so will see how they get on. I did search the forum but didn't see anything on here about them.
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2 hours ago, KarpfenMag said:
When I did my exam, the trainer — who’s in his late 60s — said, “If any of you catch a big carp, please put it back. You can’t eat one that size anyway.”
A friend of mine travels to Hungary regularly, where if carp are caught below a certain weight in kilograms are allowed to be despatched for food, above it have to be returned.
12 hours ago, KarpfenMag said:for me the language, but i remember the first week of the test 11 people failed out of about 50. and they were ofcourse native germans
Cheers, I speak some German enough to get around, but that's my limit.
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Welcome to Carp.com.
Difficult due to language or due to the questions and competence test itself?
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8 hours ago, Asterman said:
Great post. I completely agree. So what is it about this Garlic, spice honey combination? Synergy? Allicin? Higher receptor for certain ingredients?
I was very interested in Rod Hutchinson's writings on flavours, and his Ultraspice and Megaspice regularly appeared (along with Chocolate Malt) and someone else mentioned Garlic oil as an attractor so I combined the spice flavours with a Garlic and soya bean oil used in bird feeds as it was supposedly an appetite stimulant.
It was not for allicin, but simply because they were good attractors in their own right and work well combined.
The additional benefits regarding digestion and health were a beneficial 'side effect'.
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4 hours ago, framey said:
Put this post on the “ other “ forum haha
dare ya…
Only heard of them through another forum.
its easy to produce a bait that fish will pick up as carp will put anything in their mouth to try it.
watch them in a tank.
its marketing that sells now..
2 hours ago, Asterman said:I would hazard a guess that this above may be met with as much venom from some too? I double dare you. lol
Rod Hutchinson and Ken Townley have both made the point, coat a stone in a sweet flavour and it will be picked up, it is down to the rig whether you hook it or not.
Carp don't have hands, to inspect an item physically they have to take it into their mouth.
An item may taste like food, that can possibly be tested before they eat it, but to physically check hardness, they have to suck it in, or pick it up.
A hard food item has to be taken to the back of the mouth to be crushed by the pharyngeal teeth, where smaller or softer items are often passed straight through the mouth, no additional crushing; although how a carp can consume a whole swan mussel and pass it through and out, and the flesh in the shell is eaten I don't know.
Constant sucking and blowing, intake and ejection whether the food is attached to hook or not. No end of videos on YouTube or whatever channel you watch on showing that, be it boilies, maggots, sweetcorn or other particles.
I have mentioned the 'super' high attract pop-ups, there are some attractors or flavours that almost force the take; N-butyric acid was one, Bromelain, (look up pineapple-n-butyric as a pop-up), but there are other attractors that at higher than standard levels will work in attractor baits, or in low levels in food baits. Incidentally, the high attractor level may cause the low level food bait to fail or blow. The attractor becomes a source of danger, and while carp don't think, continued hooking on the same flavour will get them to avoid it, for a period of time or permanently, or to inspect it carefully, at which point we have to look at the rigs again.
Other attractors, may be a mix of enzymes or amino acids, could be flavours, chemical or natural, could even be something as simple as sweeteners like sacharrin. Sacharrin did cause cancers in tests on animals, but in the low levels we use, have not been considered a risk in humans.
I have mentioned an attractor blend I love, Garlic Spice. Stinks, but catches.
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1 hour ago, Asterman said:
Are we ok to mention bait companies? I guess it is a busy market out there. Gone are the days when it was only half a dozen bait companies to choose from. Every man and his dog seems to be producing something bait related.
And therein lies much of the problem.
Big bait companies have had an advantage; if I buy a kilo of semolina it's around £1.80, if a big bait company buys a tonne of semolina it will work out at a lot less per kilo, around £920 per tonne, so £0.90 per kilo. Do the same with every bait ingredient and my homemade bait costs double the price to produce.
Billy one man bait company in his garage or shed, won't be buying fishmeal, semolina, liver powder or maize by the tonne! As a result his prices will be more than a big company.
The days of Bill Cottam expanding from his (parents) garage to a large industrial unit are long gone.
Bait and boilies specifically is a 'busy' market, and it seems anglers don't necessarily understand it, from the bait itself, to using it, and even the difference in cost of buying it from tackle shops or direct.
Nutrabaits, Mainline, Nash Baits, CC Moore and others had a recommendation on food baits, and a recommendation on attractor baits (originally shelf lifes).
Feed the food bait, continuously, prebait, and the carp will accept it and take it comfortably. Good results will follow.
Attractor baits, use as that, don't fire in loads, maybe a few freebies around the hookbait, use the few to attract the carp to try the hookbait.
Then along came the published 'Korda' method, (used earlier but Danny Fairbrass did well writing about it), put in plenty of pellets, and spod mix and get the carp feeding on that.
At the same time we had the mega high attract hookbait, the single pop-up that got a take, or not.
Fishing moves on and backwards, now we are using high attract baits, maybe with added hydrolysates, liquid glugs over spod mix in the hope that the fish pick it up first.
The food bait is 'gone' for various reasons, cost of ingredients rising, becoming harder or impossible to get hold of and even big bait companies changing direction or disappearing.
Lots of little bait companies pop-up, disappoint or disappear. They are able to charge silly money for baits because fewer anglers have loyalty to a company anymore.
Bait Screws
in UK Rig Tying
Posted
A fair few ways to use rig rings on pop-up rigs:
Tie a rig ring onto the end of the hooklink material and then do basic knotless knot. You have the pop-up close to the shank and bend of the hook.
Again, a knotless knot leaving your tag end, but thread the rig ring, tag end through the eye, and you have a basic D-rig.
I frequently slide a rig ring onto the shank, hookbead fixed on the shank opposite the barb to point. That can be used on various rigs; Ronnie's and Spinners, Reverse combi-rigs or plain and basic straight on the hooklink and counterbalance.