salokcinnodrog

Mono is easy to tie, the uni knot loop at the end slides easily. Also I can put a bottom bait on the hair, then use a pop-up as the balancing bait and as a boilie stop. If I'm fishing Nazeing though I change it to dental floss or braid. Crayfish are good at snipping mono hairs, whereas the braid is more resistant. The main advantage of mono is I can tie it easily without 'fluffing' the hair, and it is easier to tie to the rig ring, just blob the tag end of the knot, as I do with my knots anyway

Specially for you then Oh look, the same, just freshly tied!

I am so sad, this little beauty is one of my favourite rigs, a presentation that can get used for pop-ups, snowman, and even bottom baits, although I do tend to fish mostly snowmen baits, a 18mm bottom topped with a 15mm. Another favourite is also adaptable for bottom bait or snowman, dependant on whether you have a fixed or sliding loop in the hair I can go back through the forum, years, and I'm willin to bet, whenever anyone asks about rigs, I use the same photographs, although, I reckon if I took up to date pics the rigs would look almost exactly the same. Really should change that hook...

Strangely enough I tried this years ago, when Ball Pellets first hit the market, with my base mix. I tried exactly the same mix using water as the liquid and egg. Once skinned I rolled them in beaten egg again, more base mix powder, or Betaine.

No worries, my thoughts were also added to because I think it is glycerol in bait soaks that hardens the boilies. So if you had that as a sugar syrup, you could make a hard skinned bait. As an aside I got some ginger beer flavoured syrup from work, that I have put some air dried boilies in to soak. I had planned to use them for chub on the opening night on the river with some sweet corn, but may well think about using them on Nazeing

Now from my thought, and what I've seen, a fixed fixed lead actually can snag, can catch up on any trailing weed etc. Trailing a lead around prevents a hook being ejected, the weight keeps pulling the hook into the lip. The hook can only be ejected with no weight, in the form of a splinter being pushed up to the surface of the skin. The left rig, I thought a joke. To be fair, I think neither are safe

Ok, what about a very short boil to harden the skin, then a dip in a glycerol solution, which stops enzymes denaturing, and prevents them from reacting with the water (hydrophobic?) Glycerol is also a by product of yeast fermentation, effectively part of brewing. Please note, I am just adding ideas in

Now this has really got me thinking, from CM's comments, some old Rod Hutchinson writings, Gary's playing around with yeast, thoughts on enzymes, my thinking and possibly why some Mainline baits could be so effective even though the main ingredients appear just to be a ball of breadcrumbs. I have known for years that baits that appear to be going off work very well, the sugars and enzymes creating a white fluff or pre- mould layer outside boilies, and smelly fermenting particles. Now Mainline are very very careful not to give away ingredients in their baits, but consider an active enzyme, a working yeast, and a base active liquid, be it corn steep, be it like Liquid Trigga, or even a Multimino type additive, you have what is essentially a bait that while apparently quite low in proteins, they are very easily processed and used. Grange CSL, Nutrabaits Trigga and some other baits do work best around 2 or 3 days out of the freezer, when that fluff is starting to appear, as far as I have ever thought, is that the enzymes were breaking it down, and effectively pre-digesting it.

Things I have been saying for a fair while myself. The leader is a weight in its own right, with the lead on, (helicopter) the rig can be ejected, without it, the Leadcore just 'folds' and trails. Rescued pendant Leadcore leaders I have found and recovered always seem to have lead still attached, the lead clip has not ejected the lead at all. I have also recovered a fair number of plastic baits overcast into trees, and also had the misfortune to find one where a bird had gotten hooked and died attached to plastic corn.

There are I think 70 swims on the lake, over 20 acres, weekdays are usually fairly quiet, although bank holiday weeks tend to be a bit busier, but you should be able to fit in somewhere. The facilities were kept clean, but if anyone has more up to date info...

It is a fair walk from the wooden lodges to the lake. The wooden lodge is fully functional, separate shower room from your room. Yes, if you stay in the lodges last time I checked, you could fish the river, which held big barbel, chub and occasional carp. The bridge across the mill is quite narrow, and the one across the meadow tributary last time I was there was quite steeply humpbacked. The barrow to getting gear to your swim is a must. Prebaiting can be a yes and a no. I would prebait, but don't forget other people may like to take advantage of your work. The swims are all available, so someone could be in the one you prebaited, albeit unintentionally. Walk, look, walk and look, always worked for me on there, nearly always with a stalking rod! I would take a bag of floating biscuits and bottom baits every walk, and depending on what they were taking... I did that write up a few years ago, it is a long time since I fished there!

Aside from the fact in the video it is shown as a chod rig, the original D rig was back down the hooklink, and not just the back through the eye as it seems to be fished now, so this enlarged version is nothing too major... Could probably tie it without needing crimps as well!

John, really good write up. Same here as Gary If a water existed with only weeds as a food source, then the carp would suffer as some of the essential amino acids have to be provided for by animal proteins. Yes, carp have lived for thousands of years long before our interference, but our interference has improved growth rates. The Romans were using carp as a food source, which makes feeding them likely to have been going on for 2000 years. Why does a fish get wary of a bait? Regular catching, learning by association. Why does a bait that does not fulfil all dietary needs catch? The first requirement that has to be fulfilled is that of energy. As it happens, bread is high in carbohydrates, which are an energy source, and also a fairly quick transfer from digestion to energy. They require the energy to break down the proteins. In addition, baits/food sources can work together, basically like the particle and food boilie approach, and it does not have to be an individual anglers baits. The particles are providing the carbohydrates, and some easily digested fat sources as energy, and the boilie provides the minerals and useable proteins. Add into that, the sweet on the table. I can be totally full up, stuffed to the gills (sic!), but put a chocolate mint by my coffee after dinner and I will. Your bread could be providing that sweetie, or high visibility attraction.

Well at least the Europa Cup Final between Dnieper and Sevilla is worthy!

Possibly the best person to ask about campsites with electrical hook-up etc is Ian, (Welder). He can probably point you in the right direction of a few fisheries with camping and caravan on site.

Tubing, it's full name Anti-Tangle tubing, designed to prevent tangles. I've never had a fish with a lifted scale from mono mainline, and I frequently fish without tubing. However I have had lifted scales and damaged flanks from leadcore. Mono slides over the fish, and its extremely rare to floater fish, or fish zig rigs with tubing. It is extremely rare that mono will damage fish like that. However tackle manufacturers have upped the claim of preventing damage, as they do with 'must drop the lead', in order to sell more tackle. I can also point you to fisheries where anglers fish miles to close to snags, where mono is used or maybe a Safezone type leader, but in such high strains that the fish are hauled through the snag damaging themselves in the process. Unless you are using tubing to protect the line with the end tackle fishing near weeds, rushes or gravel, I think there is no need to use tubing!

Like your thinking Suppose the fish are feeding on a bed of particles, and you put a pop-up out there. The pop-up level may actually be above the fishes feeding, and so ignored. The fish feeding in the silt, noses in, pop-up is above the carps feeding level, and again, ignored Or a pop-up at 2cms off the lakebed, a big fish approaching from above might not even recognise that the bait is off the bottom. My view with pop-ups, you need to know what type of silt, or lakebed you are fishing over, and to some extent, the depth of the silt. No point fishing a pop-up with the weight 2cms under the hook if the silt is 3cms deep, and smelly, thick and black. You need the pop-up to be above the silt and bottom debris. Also no good fishing a pop-up above the level the fish are feeding at.

Keep things as simple as possible, why confuse yourself? A plain basic rig, short hair, with the pop up tight to the hook shank, either knotless knotted or line aligned will work. If you make it from coated braid, and strip a section back the putty can be attached to the end of the strip, if you use plain braid, then a small power gum stop knot will hold the putty Or go to a D rig, both simple, the D being slightly harder to tie Or you can use pole anglers olivettes as your counterweight. This one, straight off my rods ages ago has some wire wrapped around it, just to make sure the hooklink doesn't loop up. If you do decide to go to that horrible 'chod rig', then remember that the lead can be well into the weed, while the hookbait is well outside it. Also it can give funny bites in weedy areas, possible hook pulls and occasional line breaks if naked

A lot of venues (mostly lakes) ban pike fishing between March and October with live or dead baiting, but you can lure fish. The reasoning behind this is that pike can suffer from low oxygen levels after a prolonged fight, and the stress can cause them to belly up and die. Rivers the pike tend to be returned into higher oxygenated water, due to the flow. Personally I save my piking from September onwards, unless I grab a lure session, which is not often. I do occasionally hook pike accidentally in the summer, usually when after perch where I may have been using a small livie for perch, or occasionally one snaffles a boilie or slug or a fish I'm retrieving. On returning I am as careful as I can possibly be, holding onto the fish until it has recovered properly and swims away of its own accord.

Easiest, and best! Only reason I use tubing is to protect the line, if I can get away without out tubing I will.

Ooh err Mrs.I hate leadcore and don't use the stuff except as a lead link. My helicopter rigs are a kind of naked set-up albeit with a bit of tubing and beads, and I prefer not to use bomb on end of line as I think you get funny bites, less indication and more hook pulls. Strangely enough I do prefer a high pop-up over smelly black weed laden rotten silt. Black sulphurous stuff I think the fish won't dig in to feed, but occasionally they may live or patrol around it, so this is where I use a bait that is high above the lakebed. The pop-up is fished as an attractor, provoke a take, and well above the smell. I reckon a specimen bream is anything above 9lb, but a double is the benchmark. Nazeing can do anyone's head in! Large water, can be noisy, sailing clubs, crayfish, a few fish and a number of pikies, foreigners who love their alcohol (on lagoons it is not often the anglers who leave empty cans and vodka bottles in the swim) and even dog walkers can be a pain in the butt.

Dacron does slip after getting wet, but I share your concern, hence my edit. Most braided material stop knots do in fact slip, whether it is the casting or getting wet.

Or try a lead link, basically a paternoster set-up where the lead is going to sink into the silt, but the hooklink with a light balanced bait is going to sit up. You can fish this with your choice of hooklink, mono, fluoro, braid, coated or uncoated, whichever you prefer. I would recommend a bottom bait that almost floats, I.e drilled out and foamed up in the hole, or even a wafter that only just sinks. The same lead set up works very well in weed You may want to play around with the hooklink and lead link length to get it right for your water. Also, it may be that the carp feed in the silt, not on it, you may need to find a way to get the hookbait at the level they feed at... Oh, and a quick edit, you may find a simple run ring works as well, and you wouldn't need to use the stop knot shown as per Del Ritchies original pic.

Norfolk Suffolk area, I would say Suffolk Water Park, but getting onto fish can be very frustrating, as people move very quickly onto them, or be lodged in the swim you want for days. Also, I believe the shower at the cafe is currently unavailable as it is being refurbished. However, if you get it right, and get lucky then you could have a few fish, they go high 30's, or 40 if you have JS scales... Other waters, Waveney Valley, Heartsmere, Yew Tree, Marsh, on the Two counties border. Just Google Waveney Valley and you will get the details and web page appear. Some nice fish, some good facilities etc. Taverham Mills up near Norwich, again has a website, but I know the phone number is 01603 861014. Fish do go to 30+. If you have a look through Norfolk waters I know there is a very very detailed breakdown of the lake, complete with some of the features to aim for! I wrote it after fishing there from 1992 until 2002 Camelot, another water in the same area as Waveney Valley, or Burgh Castle near Great Yarmouth. These last two I haven't fished however so can't give any more on them. An alternative is Lee Valley Fisheries, look at either Banjo Lake, or Stock pit https://www.visitleevalley.org.uk/go/fisheries/ Not too far to go, and you may find these peepul can un'stand wot you talkin'bout.

Welcome to Carp.com. I've been debating to move this into New to the Forum or Where to fish, and Where to fish eventually won over. What was the lake Mark Pidgely ran? I'm sure it was in that area... Crayfish paradise it was, mentioned in some of Bill Cottams writings, and I believe in his book. Could be worth trying for some info!