salokcinnodrog

That's been much of my fishing since last October. I hate being ill, so I'd go fishing rather than being sat in the flat. The fresh air seems to brighten you up. I do know though, when you have sepsis any session is hard work and I end up sleeping all day when I get home.

I am also that old, that it was on my stalking and floater rod as well as on my static rods, North Western 12ft 2¼ and Century Armalite 2¼'s. I still end up fishing 5 rod lengths out quite frequently. I used to spend a lot of time fishing at long distances, but now normally fish a lot less, although there are a couple of swims on the syndicate where a long cast is handy at certain times of the year.

I've been using Rod Hutchinson The Nutty Bait in mostly shelf life, a freezer version is also available but I simply don't have the space. There is a new bait coming out soon LT, although I am not sure if it will be in a shelf life version. The Nutty Bait has been doing me well this year.

For years I've used 30lb Amnesia in black or clear or 40lb Drennan Grey Greased Weasel. The clear Amnesia is not as supple as the dyed versions. Like @yonny I'm a dinosaur, if it works stick with it, although I have tried using tapered leaders, for carp and sea fishing and for some reason I kept on cracking off, so went back to the straight leaders. I would say that it might have been my knots, but my mate Allan tied a few up for me, but I had the same issue, while he had no problems with long casting. The other advantage is that I can go longer than the 4 turns on the reel and casting drop, I normally have around 5 or 6. I also use them on my Spod/marker rod to braid. Point to note, as I have mentioned to Yonny in the past, if there are snags or weed I won't use a leader as I don't like the risk of leaving a leader that the lead and rig can't be ejected if you crack-off. With weed caught around the knot even a run ring can't come off over it. Again like Yonny I've gone finer than 12lb; for years we used 8lb line (Sylcast or Maxima) with leaders on 2¼ or 2¾lb test curve rods. It's probably only since the 1990's that lines rated 15lb or more got used for carp fishing.

I can honestly say I've never used it.

Test it on gravel, not Rocky bottoms...

Oh it doesn't take bad angling to leave a rig in the lake, annoying pike can do it for you... I've retrieved mine and other anglers rigs from the syndicate lake this year and before, some with bait and leads still attached on helicopter, lead clip and other pendant set-ups. The only thing I haven't retrieved is a lead on a run ring... Pike biting the line as they swim past it chasing fish and the whole lot is gone. I switch between knotted booms on combi-rigs with and without swivels, both braided on reverse combi's, and coated braid and mono (usually) Amnesia. The swivel is a benefit for changing just the hook 'linklet' compared to the whole rig, although Jackal as a boom does tend to get stripped. My booms also last multiple captures.

Does a fish know not to pull too hard? Fluorocarbon loses 5% strength with any knot, and any kink can cause it to break. Fracturing it with a crimp... I've never had a problem with the blood knot or Clinch knot with fluorocarbon.

It was Rod Hutchinson who said "test a knot by hammering it". I presume he meant give it a good pull, yank it, put it under pressure. Every knot I tie, I test it, every crimp trace, whether for pike or sea fishing I test it. I don't like crimped rigs for carp fishing.

The 2 bottom fish were the same night, 22nd October 2019. I had a few nights with multiple catches, and mostly 20lb plus fish, I think that I only had one fish below 20lb. As I said, I was walking around almost every day before work, picking a section so over 5 days I would pretty much cover the whole way round, including the bays. Definitely Holbrook fish, that common above; the 'owner' of the Holbrook syndicate took out some of the slow growth fish and put them in Alton, you also have some escaped pike live baits, there is or was a big common with a nick front of the dorsal fin from a treble hook I think. There are no originals left from when the reservoir was formed, somewhere at the bottom is a road, some houses, and the farm pond that had Alton Waters original carp and rudd.

I'm sure that none of them are quite as good, and I am positive that you don't need them as the phone camera already has a voice app. I was goggling around when I found this, it's not explained in my Samsung 'destructions', but after a couple of colour differences between Selfie voice app and self timer with flash I started to look further.

Pictures of carp from Alton Water? I can also give a bit of info, but it does involve a lot of walking. I live on the edge of the town, about 10mins away, so before work I would take my dog for a walk around a section. As for syndicates around Holbrook, one person seems to have his finger in every pie.

Hmm! A 'soft' through action rod can put more pressure on than a high test curve rod. As for pulling for a break or retrieving gear on snagged rigs, I frequently wrap a towel around my hand and pull the line, quite often you can pull it out of the weed without breaking. If it's a snag, then not so easy, although I have pulled in many a branch festooned with rigs and leads with the wrapped towel.

It always happens, just when you think you are sorted. The folding camping chairs are pretty handy, I use one on the beach rather than my Solar chair.

The syndicates around there are all pretty tied in together, along with Alton Water. The only difference is that Alton you can get day tickets for.

Fluorocarbon is funny stuff. On the stuff i have tested it has around the same stretch as mono, but as it gets to the stretch 'point' it doesn't go back, it breaks, it is not elastic like mono. It is also different for knots. I have had uni knots give way, but never a blood knot.

No, that's where he puts his ink to dip his feather quill...

Seriously I find taking line off relaxing, I can slow down and actually watch something on television, usually natural history or a documentary, or even Whitehouse and Mortimer. I must admit I do try to put the job off for as long as possible but partly because I know that I've got 300metres on each spool... With my health problems maybe I have learnt to enjoy everything that I can do.

I remember using SBS Ace Worm Extract and the smell of that was foul. I can't really smell cut up worms as anything other than mud, but this liquid was like that and rotten compost heap mould a million times over.

Don't forget you will have to seal the bottom yourself, either a knot or heat treatment. You could well be better going to a PVA mesh. If you put everything inside, then you will need a rigid filler, but with a split down the length of the tube. Even then you will be cutting the length you want, putting onto the split tube, and then putting rig and line in etc.

Cheeky, he's on it...

Taking it off by hand is therapeutic. Old line spool and put it on that, and easy to return to Tackle shops in Anglers National Line Recycling Scheme. https://www.anglers-nlrs.co.uk/ I tried using a drill, and various ways and things to wind it onto, and with the stop start and constant having to untangle or untwist it went back to by hand

I was mooching and found this: https://www.facebook.com/share/r/CtSFibru45ifMqBD/

Years ago Gardner Tackle did PVA mesh bags, I think 10 in a pack. They were joined together top to bottom, the tying handles being joined to the base of the bag above. I presume as @yonny says the forming was done in a continuous press and cut.

12ft rods can do it, so no 13ft is not an essential. A lot of 15lb lines rated at 15lb have a diameter of 0.38-0.40mm, in reality they are actually 18 or even 20lb lines. Look at lines with a 0.35mm diameter or finer. I'm comfortable giving Gardner Pro 15lb the big chuck as it stands, whereas with 15lb Daiwa Sensor I have a shockleader, it doesn't take a big chuck as well, however to get 110metres I would look and practice with and without a shockleader until you are comfortable knowing whether you need it or not. As much as I prefer the local Tackle shops, I had to get Gardner Pro online a few weeks ago, with carriage I paid £13.50