salokcinnodrog

I use snowman baits on it almost all of the time. With a pop-up, I'm not sure how you would get your supple section to the exact height you needed it if you have to chop and change to get it exactly right. Be a lot of tied up rigs with different supple section lengths! I'm not saying this is the only knot to use with Combi-rigs, as the Albright knot works, but I can tie this up easily without thinking, and it works also as a good knot for shockleaders: Tie an overhand knot in the stiff material, but don't pull it tight Push the supple braid through the knot, and then tie a Uni knot Lubricate the 2 knots and gradually pull tight being careful not to pull the braid back through the overhand knot. For my own confidence I lighter blob the tag ends of the knots. It may be worth checking that this can can be used with a fluorocarbon if you use it for the stiff section.

I use both coated and uncoated braids. For years I used standard Silkworm, Merlin, SuperSilk, SuperNova or even Multistrand straight through, with few problems or little tangling (PVA reduces or nullifies that happening ), long or short and it produced fish from gravelly, weedy, silty, sand or clay bottom lakes. I'd quite happily use any of the Kryston hooklink braids as I have never had problems with them, other than the Multistrand, but that was more down to where I used it as opposed to tackle fault. Then in an attempt to "progress" I moved over to coated braids. The original Snakeskin I struggled with, but when Snakebite and Mantis came out I really got on with them, and again, it didn't matter what lakebed, I was comfortable using it everywhere. Even now if you go through my rig bin, and tackle box the rigs are made up with one of those mentioned, usually Merlin or Mantis, although now most of the Merlin rigs are fished as a Combi-rig and there are a few rigs made up from a spool of Jackal that I own. Even that Combi-rig I'm not that far advanced from the Harry Haskell original, still using Amnesia to the soft supple section. I'm not saying this is the only knot to use with Combi-rigs, as the Albright knot works, but I can tie this up easily without thinking, and it works also as a good knot for shockleaders: Tie an overhand knot in the stiff material, but don't pull it tight Push the supple braid through the knot, and then tie a Uni knot Lubricate the 2 knots and gradually pull tight being careful not to pull the braid back through the overhand knot. For my own confidence I lighter blob the tag ends of the knots. It may be worth checking that this can can be used with a fluorocarbon if you use it for the stiff section.

Sad News is that Brackens Pool has lost a lot of fish this year. A number of fish I think became spawnbound when the weather changed and this week a number of the 30's died

I'm not saying it is the only way to go, but I always use a Running lead set-up, and nearly always use a combi-rig at the moment. You may find my set-up on one of these threads below, plus a few more combi rig pics. http://www.carp.com/carp-forum/viewtopic.php?t=54131 http://www.carp.com/carp-forum/viewtopic.php?p=568035#568035

That not mixing components from different manufacturers SHOULDN'T matter, all should fit safely; its down to plastic pegs to make a lead clip safe or the Armaled style, not it locking onto a swivel by pulling down. Fox don't have a size 8 swivel in their range, and size 8's are different dependant on brand as pointed out. Even DF has admitted that point in his book from years ago, and said that some packs within the same manufacturer are different dependant on PACK SIZE of 10 or 50. I have rigs tied up in my rig bin, and should I need to change I will pull out a rig, and attach it to my mainline. I'll be a monkeys uncle if I can remember whose swivel is on every rig, and I've bought and used tackle by Solar, Gardner, Fox, Korum and others, and all should be compatible. Come to that, Fox and Solar Buffer/Bullet beads and Solar and Korda tail rubbers all fit over whatever swivel I use, whether a size 7, a 10 or an 8. A run ring from Avid, Enterprise, Korum, Fox or Solar are all safe, and all will slide off whoever's make tubing I have used. As it happens, I tend to use size 10 swivels for joining floater hooklink to mainline, with a tail rubber over the swivel and the controller "jammed" onto the tail rubber. It can break free should it break on the mainline. I also use size 10 swivels when lift float fishing sometimes when I attach a hooklink, its easy. However my main use for size 10 swivels is on the occasions I use a hinged rig, or as a sliding swivel on the hookshank in certain rigs to attach the bait to.

Extending the length of the shank of a longshank with a piece of tubing may well be part of the cause then. Go back to the shorter shanked hooks (which seem to be working), and stick with them. It may even be that the longshanked hook can't be taken in, or "turned" in the mouth of a smaller fish. I honestly don't like longshanked hooks with smaller fish, I don't think they work at all well, and may be partly responsible for mouth damage.

You may need to consider something else as well. It may be a completely unlikely possibility, but of those 3 takes that you "lost", was it possible that a line trailer went over your line and gave you a run. Or even that you had fish going over your line and giving you proper liners, especially if you are fishing over particles. The 4th fish that you landed was a "proper" take. It may be a total coincidence that it happened, it could be genuine lost fish, but I've given you another idea or 2. As for the original rigs, is the normal rig with or without rig tubing? (As opposed to the longshank rig) Is the longshank rig using any tubing? Line aligners on either etc? What size fish are you catching?

On the swivel packet it should have a breaking strain written on it Mustad for example are rated at 69lb, whereas ESP are rated at 50lb.

Well you can get at least 2 tins of sweetcorn into a kilo of Vitalin Also many mixed particles, pigeon conditioner, Red Band, Hemp. Half fill a 10kilo base mix bucket with Vitalin, a few pellets and then add a couple of kilos of prepped particles complete with juice, maybe even some CSL liquid or Molasses. As you say, a little spare groundbait in case you do over do it, but I do have a tendency to check it as I mix the whole lot in, and usually still end up with a "dry patch" of groundbait in the base/side wall join would you recommend groundbait used with vitalin as i tend to stay away from groundbait as it attracts the andys like locusts ? would the liquid leake out of the mesh during the cast unlike the bag sorry for any typos ive been in the pub for the last 5 hours lol I used to use loads of Vitalin with particles and pellets on the reservoir. I knew that bream were going to be attracted to it, but sometimes I piled it in and caught carp over the top instantly, and sometimes it was bream. You could also be catching slab after slab, and then get a pick up exactly the same to find a carp on the end. You could also have the occasional blank, but the attraction remained for a while as it almost "flavoured" the lakebed. Come to that, mix it stiff enough and you can even fish it "method style". Groundbait moulded around the lead, and no need for PVA

Well you can get at least 2 tins of sweetcorn into a kilo of Vitalin Also many mixed particles, pigeon conditioner, Red Band, Hemp. Half fill a 10kilo base mix bucket with Vitalin, a few pellets and then add a couple of kilos of prepped particles complete with juice, maybe even some CSL liquid or Molasses. As you say, a little spare groundbait in case you do over do it, but I do have a tendency to check it as I mix the whole lot in, and usually still end up with a "dry patch" of groundbait in the base/side wall join

You would be very surprised at how much water/particle juice groundbait will absorb before it starts to melt PVA. Salt, NOT needed in baits http://www.carp.com/carp-forum/viewtopic.php?t=53682&highlight=salt http://www.carp.com/carp-forum/viewtopic.php?t=48683&highlight=salt Those should cover the Salt question as well as groundbait and putting wet particles in bags

' Are thse any use? http://www.carp.com/carp-forum/viewtopic.php?t=27183http://www.carp.com/carp-forum/viewtopic.php?t=32920&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0 I sometimes use whole boilies in boilie sized mesh, and attach one to the hair after making the "bag" up. The other end is overhand knotted to the mainline near the lead. You can make up a groundbait stick, and I think that the groundbait stick will cover the hooklink even if you tie the mesh onto the lead/mainline swivel and the hook. Just push the hook through the end of the mesh next to the knot (avoiding going through the knot as it takes longer to dissolve). Be aware though a big PVA bag or mesh can weigh a fair bit, so you could be overloading your rods

Copied and pasted http://www.carp.com/carp-forum/viewtopic.php?p=571878#571878

I know that Rib Valley now have a website up and running, along with all their contact details. It may have changed from when I originally posted about the venue: http://www.ribvalleyfishinglakes.co.uk/Home

Simples Try this, it may help: Carp.com Guide to the Knotless Knot and Basic Rigs

i dont follow you??? may be someone that HASN'T had a brain tumor removed by a surgeon that just got back from a holiday in Dublin can understand........but i dont. some thing to think about......a lead tied on to the mainline then hooklink tied to the lead, fixed lead.( death rig ) would be fine while its still connected to the rod....its when its NOT connected and left live in the water that it kills Your not following me right I mean a swivel tied to the end of the mainline then a weaker mono link tied to that swivel then the lead tied to the weaker mono. The hook link is still running on the mainline so no need for starky comments lol I got what you meant, hence my reply. I know you were aiming your comments at Beanz, but I think he has the same misgivings as I do If the hooklink is running on the mainline, and a swivel at the bottom, there is not enough weight to pull the rig free off the top end of the line. If the hooklink is in the "middle" of that broken, cracked off line, how does it pull free? It would take one end snagging up for the rig to be able to be ejected, yet if the line has twisted around itself then that may not be able to happen. It amazes me how little effort it takes for line to knot around itself, an almost untieable knot with loops hanging around it, yet those loops may also be enough to trap the line on a snag. That means the fish is now not only trailing the line, but is potentially tethered. Yet if the lead was attached, then the rig would previously have been pulled free as the lead dragged behind.

I try to keep it as simple as possible with my pop-up rigs on pendant or inline leads. I don't think that on most occasions a pop-up rig is actually sucked in at all, I think most pop-up baits are picked up, so with that in mind I keep the bait as tight as I can to the hookshank. A "standard" hooklink, with at least part of it being supple (and braided), or hinged. My "lazy" method is to tie a uni knot loop at the end of the hooklink, put the pop-up in, pull loop tight, and then attach hook by the knotless knot with the bait tight to the shank, maybe a small piece of silicon holding it in place. I also prefer "overweighting" the pop-up so that there is no way that it can be wafted about and risk foul hooking, although critically balancing it with only just enough weight to sink it can help at times. Other than that, I do sometimes use a D-rig

I don't think that fishing a weak link will increase the safety for fish! It will mean that should the lead be ejected, the rig is not "pulled off" the leader or mainline, and the fish will be trailing 2 lengths of line attached to the rig, with the rig in the middle, until one end is snagged up and pulls the hooklink free of the other. Strangely enough the comment about a lead whacking across the carp's head is pertinent though, and another reason for me not using helicopter set-ups unless I absolutely have to, which is usually long distance, and not as a Chod set-up. At range fishing the lead is going to be in front of the fish; the fish will be coming towards you or scrapping side to side, so the lead is not whacking the fish. However when the fish is going away from you in the fight it is possibly going to cause damage.

Years ago long before "Chods" were the fashionable name for Silt rigs I came up with a set-up that works with the beads fixed on a piece of sliding tubing. The whole length of tubing is able to slide up the line, so that the bait and hooklink settles on top of the silt, yet when you play a fish, it will slide down to the lead. I actually worry about a set-up where the lead is trailing a long way behind the fish if the rig is fixed say 30centimetres up the line, and I also don't think that it is best fished with a slack line. My reason for this is that at times the fish can easily eject (any) the hook/rig set up. If the line is slack you may not know that you have been done, whereas with a tight line you should at least get a bleep or 2 when you get done, and can deal with it.

Welcome to Carp.com Try these people: http://www.visitleevalley.org.uk/go/fisheries/

Aye, I am Have a read of this link , maybe some other interesting links in the linked thread as well

Part of your comment is one reason I don't like Helicopter set-ups, especially with a "naked" line section of light breaking strain mainline. You should be using a line strength of at least 15lb to my mind. Have a read of these, some good pics and ideas here: http://www.carp.com/carp-forum/viewtopic.php?t=51296 http://www.carp.com/carp-forum/viewtopic.php?t=36456 http://www.carp.com/carp-forum/viewtopic.php?p=519408#519408 http://www.carp.com/carp-forum/viewtopic.php?t=37603 Thanks for your patience. That last thread had a brilliant picture in it and would be my preferred set up. The only thing is, if the beads can release then how do you prevent them sliding down the line on the cast or when playing a fish? This is probably obvious but not to me I currently use Daiwa sensor brown 15lb. I don't want to use a leader so should I go for a higher breaking strain line? The new lake I am fishing has some nice twenties and probably thirties too by now. What size beads should I use and which of the two sizes of sinker? The beads I used on that set-up were 8mm Rubber beads. A small PVA string loop or foam nugget will stop the beads sliding down on the cast, but it honestly doesn't matter that much, as you want them to slide up the line on impact with the water, so that the rig itself settles on the silt. As for playing fish, it doesn't matter if they slide down to the lead attachment, in fact it is more likely to help avoid the trailing lead getting snagged or stuck in anything. I've landed a fair number of fish to over 30lb on 15lb Daiwa Sensor, its a pretty good line, and years ago I did use it with Helicopter set-ups.

Part of your comment is one reason I don't like Helicopter set-ups, especially with a "naked" line section of light breaking strain mainline. You should be using a line strength of at least 15lb to my mind. Have a read of these, some good pics and ideas here: http://www.carp.com/carp-forum/viewtopic.php?t=51296 http://www.carp.com/carp-forum/viewtopic.php?t=36456 http://www.carp.com/carp-forum/viewtopic.php?p=519408#519408 http://www.carp.com/carp-forum/viewtopic.php?t=37603

If you include Combi rigs, braid to stiff section, then yes, for a lot of years