salokcinnodrog

Plenty of good points in the thread, so I'll add my tuppence worth, probably going over some; I look at my hook holds, lost fish and play with hair length accordingly. A fish hooked at the very edge of the lip, or lost during playing, (especially early in the fight), I usually lengthen the hair. The bait is not usually being taken comfortably enough to 'pull' the hook far enough into the mouth to get a good hook-up. A fish hooked deeply, or the hook has scratched down the mouth from deep, the hair is usually too long. If the hook is dead centre of the bottom lip, perfectly hooked, perfect hair length. How or even what you feed can or could change the hooking potential, a large bed of groundbait or particles means if they are feeding comfortably you can shorten the hair (and/or rig) length. Your lead arrangement can also give you some different possibilities, semi-fixed leads may possibly give you worse hookholds than a running lead; not always, but tight lines and wary fish who are used to dealing with rigs in a very similar scenario can mean they can deal with the hook. Lead clips are not always the answer. Run rings sometimes are! Also small fish can disrupt what you think. If small fish are a pain, not just silvers, but smaller carp, you may find that with longer hairs the bait can be taken back and they are munching on the bait without the hook even going into the mouth. If it is silver fish, then stop feeding so much loose groundbait, or small particle, stop attracting them. If it is smaller carp, but with the chance of a larger fish, then think about a sliding or extending hair, which was actually one of the first developments from the original hair rig. The other was the D rig! A snowman with a single piece of fake corn as the topper :lol: It likely actually takes 4or5 pieces of fake corn to neutralise balance on a hook, so to add a boilie as said, however it lies, may well be on the tilt, or as local dialect, it's on the huh! Strangely I have never had a fish take a snowman bait when I have used an individual piece of corn as the topper bait over a boilie. Change to a pop-up over the same bottom bait, I'd lose count of the fish I have caught on it.

If I said what I know about Taswood, I could be upsetting a few people, but it is not all it is cracked up to be, as a result of what I know, I will never go there. If you look at Norfolk Lakes, there is a very detailed write up on Taverham Mills. Catch 22, after draining, clearing it was restocked with Dutch fish about 20 years ago, changing its name from Lyng Easthaugh in the process. Some big fish in there now, and has been written about by a lot of people. Recently in the last few years or so developed around Scole and Dickleburgh you have Airfield and Spitfire lakes. One I think is day ticket, the other syndicate, I know various publications have mentioned them

I have had issues with mono and fluorocarbon links being worn through when using a knotless knot, curved shank hooks like Muggas, Fangs etc being the worst. Here we go, I hate the word, but maybe look at a Chod style hook with an eye that pulls away from the shank, an out turned eye, as opposed to an inturned. The alternative, but quite fiddly method is to knot the hook on, and then tie on a D section.

A clear area, whether sand, gravel or clay, basically any hard area, I would avoid the bomb on the end of the line if I possibly could, much preferring my standard running or semi-fixed pendant leads. The helicopter set-ups do cast better for long distance fishing, so if I was casting maximum distance I may consider that lead arrangement. Even then, I am still convinced that you need a tight line.

Back to basics again today, free lining dog biscuits for three more chub, 2lb ish (which I didn't weigh), 3lb2oz, and 4lb2oz. I got stung to pieces, and wet feet, but when they look like this the biggest, who cares? Just noticed my unhooking mat,

Basic, simple and will work. It has caught fish for many years, and will continue to catch. There is only one thing I would change, either attaching the lead on a run ring, or instead of using a single rubber bead to protect the know I would use two. The reason for this is so the lead does not rub against the hook link, which may cause it to break over time

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.