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salokcinnodrog

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Posts posted by salokcinnodrog

  2. Size 2 Korda Wide Gapes

    in UK Rig Tying

    Posted

    8 hours ago, LC1975 said:

     

    I used to fish Brackens, guessing it was about 2008 to 2011. I really struggled by mate had some real good ones including Rocky and Digit.

     

     

    I must have met you there!

    That's when I fished it. PigPen was probably my favourite swim, but I caught from most swims. I missed Sam's, Rocky and Digit, but had some of the other 30's. A lot of big fish from such a small water.

     

  3. Size 2 Korda Wide Gapes

    in UK Rig Tying

    Posted

    23 hours ago, LC1975 said:

    Hello,

    Has anyone had any success using size 2 Korda wide gapes on a Ronnie/Spinner rig?

    My 14mm pop ups have no issues holding up. 

    It looks deadly to me, is this a bit over the top?

    Thanks

     

    8 hours ago, LC1975 said:

    Thanks for the info, I had a size 4 standard gauge Korda Krank open up on me on Sunday, gutted because it felt like a good fish.

    I was using 15mm pop ups. I've got some size 2 wide gapes at home and some 14mm pop ups, these are more buoyant than the 15's I was using. 

    If 2's are ok i'll order some Korda basics Krank X's today as I prefer this patten.

    WhatsApp Image 2026-10-20 at 12.24.46.jpeg

    WhatsApp Image 2026-10-22 at 10.12.50.jpeg

     

    8 hours ago, commonly said:

    Korda basics Krank

    Can't go wrong with those,  perfect hookhold every time imo.

    Ive only ever had bends, or bluntness on the Kamakura versions.

    Standard ones, with a bit of honing have never let me down.

    I'm not a fan of the screws tbh, I'm afraid that could cause unnecessary tears in the fishes mouth & just wouldn't want to risk it.

    I prefer to use floss on a micro swivel, which has a lot more free movement than the screw set up.

    I am not a fan of Korda hooks!

     I found the standard Kranks were blunt compared to a Gardner Mugga.

    At Brackens Pool I had been using Muggas and an identical shaped Gamakatsu pattern with no problems, landing plenty of fish to over 30lb.

    One day I ran out of ready tied rigs so pinched one from a mate, identical to mine, but tied with a Krank. I kept on getting bleeps, but no proper runs. I reeled in and put on a freshly tied rig with a Mugga, recast to the same spot and had a proper run within minutes.

    When I got home I compared the hookpoints, sharpness.

    I balanced the hookoint on the ball of my thumb, with a 3oz lead I was able to lift the hooklink and lead off the desk.

    I tried the same with both the Gardner Mugga and the Gamakatsu's and could not even lift the weight of the lead.

    I did put pics on the site here!

     

    It may have been a bad batch, but it was not just one hook in the pack, every one was not as sharp. I have never bought another Korda hook since.

    Pretty much the only hook brands I trust now are Drennan/ESP, Gardner and my last few Solar 101's and Gamakatsu GP204's which went through a stage of not being available or in case of Gamakatsu no longer made.

  4. PVA Mesh bags with Ronnie Rig

    in UK Rig Tying

    Posted

    17 minutes ago, LC1975 said:

    After reading all the feedback, I think i'll just fish singles if I got to used barbed hooks.

     

    Thanks 

    Try attaching the PVA bag to the lead, basically moulding it around it, leaving the hooklink outside and nicking the hookpoint through the corner in and out. It stops or slows the lead sinking deeply into silt as well.

     

    12 hours ago, yonny said:

    I've had this before. Absolute nightmare. I tend to avoid PVA completely as we head towards winter.

    I do frequently test my PVA after the issue with the Nash PVA bags that didn't dissolve in the washing machine.

    Brands change suppliers, or I can't get hold of a brand so at least one bag from every batch I buy is tested. I do the same with mesh for the same reason although Gardner mesh is consistent.

     

  5. PVA Mesh bags with Ronnie Rig

    in UK Rig Tying

    Posted

    1 hour ago, kevtaylor said:

    I've reeled in my rigs in the morning and the funnel web bag was fully intact, complete waste of a nights fishing lol  Then it was winter and the bags had absorbed oil from halibut pellets doh 🤦‍♂️

    That is the reason I nearly always make mine fresh just before casting.

    I do use a mix of pellets for bagging and meshing; halibut, CSL, bloodworm, koi/coarse and GLM in various sizes.

    Note, the Crafty Catcher bloodworm and GLM seem to be oversprayed.

    I managed to leave some Nash bags in my trouser pocket once, I was quite surprised that they were still undissolved after an hours 40⁰ wash. The plastic bag they were in had allowed water in, but the bags themselves were still almost intact.

  6. PVA Mesh bags with Ronnie Rig

    in UK Rig Tying

    Posted

    20 hours ago, LC1975 said:

    Hi,

     

    I'm using small PVA mesh bags of boilie only, (2 x 15mm and 6 x 12mm baits ) with a match the hatch pop up on a Ronnie rig, barbless hook with a supple hook link on a lead clip.

     

    When using barbed hooks, does it matter if you have PVA residue on your hook where the barb is?

    I've tested the rig several times in a pan of water and most times there's a large visible amount of residue stuck on the underside of the barb that rarely completely melts.

     

    If I use barbless hooks the residue always slides off past the hook point. 

     

    I'd rather use barbed if possible.

    Thanks

    I use both PVA bags and meshes of boilies and 'bits', and I hate blobs of PVA on the hook. When I use bags, I push the hookpoint out of the bag in the corner so it doesn't catch on the contents.

    With mesh I often don't knot the end and use the hookpoint to close it and have noticed I don't get a blob of PVA as it was the knot that took longer to dissolve.

     

  7. Shimano Technium 14000 XTB's paired with Harrison Telos 3lb rods

    in Carp Fishing Tackle and Equipment

    Posted

    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.

  8. Shimano Technium 14000 XTB's paired with Harrison Telos 3lb rods

    in Carp Fishing Tackle and Equipment

    Posted

    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.

  10. Mosquito Bites

    in UK Carp Fishing

    Posted

    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.

    Screenshot_20261007_153118_Gallery.jpg

  11. Mosquito Bites

    in UK Carp Fishing

    Posted

    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. 

     

     

     

  13. Modelling

    in Non Carp Banter

    Posted

    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.

  14. Wychwood Rogue Rod

    in Carp Fishing Tackle and Equipment

    Posted

    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 Billyspacer.png

    Your best bet is probably a very good search through Ebay, hoping someone has obsolete stock, or is selling one.

  20. Silt

    in UK Carp Fishing

    Posted

    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.

  21. 10ft rods

    in Carp Fishing Tackle and Equipment

    Posted

    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.

  22. Silt

    in UK Carp Fishing

    Posted

    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).

     

     

  23. 10ft rods

    in Carp Fishing Tackle and Equipment

    Posted

    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.

  24. 10ft rods

    in Carp Fishing Tackle and Equipment

    Posted

    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.

  25. Carp Care Treatment

    in UK Carp Fishing

    Posted

    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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