salokcinnodrog

Taverham Mills used to have some cracking fish in from singles up to 30lbs, although I know that at least one of the 30's got ottered Never forget your floaters in summer, in certain areas during the day or early evening they are extremely confident in taking them. Stalking can work well in certain swims as well. The lake has plenty of gravel bars, weed, lilies, silty patches for long and short range fishing. DON'T ignore the margins. Working from Peg1 round to the left. Peg1-3 itself, in between the trees and past the small islands, not a particularly good area in summer for some reason, the fish move past it, but don't feed confidently, yet in winter is one of the best areas on the lake. Peg 4/5 an area where the fish would cruise around the islands and in the island bay. Road Bank, plenty of gravel in front of you, and a couple of islands. If you cast to the islands around pegs9-10 be very careful, the branches come along way away from the island underwater, fish have been tethered by idiots casting or boating baits too close. The last swim on the road bank in the bay has a deep hole in which I'm pretty positive has a nice inlet spring in. The Point, between the 2 islands, can produce, but is patchy. From the next bay with the pipe connecting to Costessey, an area where the fish can hole up, but fishes best when water is beng pumped in. All the pegs along the bank can produce down to what is number 29 or 30, the last before an area we called "The Backwaters", and all have plenty of gravel or island features in front of them as well as loads of weed. The Backwaters themselves are good for stalking and floater fishing. By being really quiet, you can sneak up on the fish, and they do come in close, but when I say quiet, I mean silent, no vibration whatsoever Onto the Plateau Point, the swim to the right of the main Plateau swim has long produced fish from the far bank corner to the right or under the overhanging tree in front. The Plateau swim, a BIG double swim, but although the fish do go over the plateau, it can be difficult, and if the water level is low, you will be fishing in water which may only just cover your ankles. Carrying on round you have what are known as "The Tench Swims", the 3 or 4 swims with the last in the corner. The 2nd and 3rd from that corner have the remains of a WW2 Bomber in, so can be a bit snaggy as well as having loads of lilies in front. Onto the Cowtail you have the swims on the island, the fish actually are catchable between the island and the main bank, and towards the Plateau is a very big silt patch, that used to hold LARGE bream to over Double figures. Round the Cowtail you have the same water as the Back Bank, and is a shorter walk is worthwhile if no-one is fishing the back bank. Cowtail corner, to the tree in the water along the island to the left. To the right you have a large gravel bank along the island, but it doesn't produce much. The left side of the swim is the better option. To the left the next 3 swims all face to the island, as does CowTail point down the slope, but the point also has water to the left. All will produce at times. The other swim down the slope to the left of the point has a number of nice features. Round into the bay, a couple of swims on the high bank, don't ignore them and fish the margins. Hidden in that bay is a large rock standing proud of the lakebed, it will take a lot of finding (unless you can get a rowing boat out and actually see it). The swim at the back of the bay, margins and fallen tree to the right, lily pad in front. Swim in the corner is pretty much a cut-off. Round onto the meadow swims, all produce fish, and there is plenty of weed. I don't know the lake at all, not much anyway I used to fish (live on) there, but I haven't been back for 8years as I feel it couldn't live up to how I learnt to fish it I wrote the above post about 4 years ago The fish can really get onto a good bait, so prebaiting with a food source boilie can work very well for you. I used to absolutely load up with fishmeals, knowing that the carp were eating almost all of them (the tench and bream got a few), and since almost everyone at one time used the same baits who were fishing it, the fish loved them. When I moved back to Ipswich, I carried on feeding The Biollix for a number of years on my monthly trips and still caught, but my mate was fishing and feeding a Pellet based base mix bait, and was also catching as many fish

I never caused damage with The Bent Hook rig, yet I accept that mouth damage was caused by its use. I didn't use it for small fish, so maybe it wasn't an issue for me, yet I will no longer use it. The same goes for the 360 rig, it can potentially cause damage when used in the wrong situation, for the 'wrong' small fish, so therefore I will not use it. I spent a lot of time examining and experimenting the dangers of Leadcore; I wrote about it, I put the results up, yet others choose not to believe them, despite pictures of (what I think) are leadcore line damaged fish one with fresh marks along the flanks, so as with everything there are people who won't believe what is written unless they see it for themselves in reality, or will convince themselves it doesn't happen or will never happen to them, as in the case of the 360 rig. The simple answer is in many cases we confuse ourselves by fiddling and faffing looking at rigs when we should be looking at getting the fish feeding first

There are carp in the area, but fishing for them is difficult, (from my last memories) as the banks are so high with no riverside path access. You will have to get out there in a boat. Postwick/Bramerton Woods End, again, carp in the area, but they move around a lot. I've seen them between the city stretches back of the Law Courts (Norwich itself on the Wensum), to down as far as Surlingham. That is a lot of water to cover. You will be pretty much having to find them yourself each time. The only easy help I can give is that spawning time, the fish would often go into Pike Square at Thorpe

I'll try to keep you happy, Sorry Beza! no icons while on ipad

And had a good pike next cast?

I wonder how much mouth damage from some of these rigs is down to bad unhooking? I have no problems in cutting the hook, on the shank, just below the eye or as low as I can get, and then feeding the point through. The cut eye section will fall away with no problems. It is fiddling and faffing and forcing the hook free (with any rig) that can cause (additional) damage. Then dose up the hookmark, or marks with Klinik or similar hookpoint antiseptic treatment I would much rather tie on a fresh hooklink, rig or hook, than expect to re-use the same one each time. Please don't get me wrong, I am very tight on hooks, and materials, if it is sharp enough, then to me it is good enough, but for the sake of NOT damaging a fish, I would far rather cut the hook or hooklink than be responsible for mouth damage. A good pair of wire/side cutters is an important item to have in the tackle box for that very reason. I think that it is long shank hooks that can be the cause of much mouth damage, especially in small fish, whatever pattern, Carp-R-Us Longshank Nailer, Fox Series 5, Ritchie MacDonald Z13 or PiggyBacks, whenever there is a chance of double hooking, and I think that many anglers are using fashionable rigs, without necessarily knowing or being able to think out the potential risks. It is not even their fault, but since Rob Maylin first published the Bent Hook Rig, it got used everywhere, and the same is true of the 360 rig.

Ok, there are some things that should be considered. The 360 rig has caused damage to fish, but it is in many cases that what is a big fish rig is used for small carp. An example of this is the Bent hook rig, widely advocated for big fish, and I used it for a few years. I don't remember causing any damage to fish, yet many did, but it was used almost everywhere, and some fishery managers and owners did see damage, and widespread publicity saw the long shank bent hooks banned. The 360 rig may be the same. As it potentially damages fish my concern means I will not use it. All of us should consider fish welfare, if you are an angler who just follows fashion, or articles, and don't actually think or concern yourself with trying to reduce risks and damage, then you shouldn't be fishing, Be that leaders, lead core, bent hooks, 360 or even fixed leads, you need to think and work out the safety aspects; don't follow fashion, or a famous angler just because he says what he uses, not all are safe.

In fact this may also help:

I had an issue with the Albright knot, and knots are something I practise and practise until I get right, so for more than one to fail, meant that something wasn't right. It may have been the 2 hooklink materials not matching, as knots have different material preferences I use a pretty lazy knot for my Combi-rigs, an overhand in the stiff material, and then with the braided material going through the overhand knot, I tie a Uni knot up the stiff material. This is the knot I use for shockleaders as well, so i know that they don't give. I will say however, after every fish, check your knots on a combi-link. I have lost fish when I was too lazy (stupid) to do do, and the hooklink knot gave way after the pressure of landing a 20lb+ fish on it previous cast. I've pinched this from the Spod and Marker Set-up thread in Past Hot Topics (my own post): There is a Sticky in Rig Tying about tying various knots for Shockleaders, but I still recommend this knot for Braid to Mono: Tie an Overhand knot in the Shockleader and then thread the braid through it, then do the loops around the Leader, wet and pull tight.

Rushes Lake 10 April at 21:51 · Bloody hell.... hearing that Freedom Lakes have gone bust? Group of 8 due on a week Saturday have lost their holiday and £2000. Its absolutely appalling .... https://www.facebook.com/rushes.lake/posts/10152308622766140?comment_id=32637457&notif_t=like

Looks like the original hair concept, only with a braided hair instead of the original mono methinks. A method that is now relatively unused, and I know of very few people who tie on their hairs now, although I do have a few secret edges for that. Light mono, Cotton, excellent hair material, as is dental floss, but the secret is rod whipping thread I just used to use a blood knot and lighter tag the end or actually *** tag (Don't think about it) so I didn't melt the hair material down past the knot as I was prone to do Advantages, you can play around with hair length without needing to tie up a whole new rig. Disadvantage over knotless knot, fiddly to tie if you are all fingers and thumbs. Another method I would use was to tie the hair material into the eye of the hook, and then whip down the hookshank to just above the bend, fix with half hitch and then tie the loop at the end of the hair. It camouflages the hook, the theory of mine being that a matt finish is not so shiny as the bright hook.

I notice That Mrs_Rusheslake, Kim, has put a note on Facebook that Freedom Lakes has gone bust. A group of 8 anglers have just been caught out losing a lot of money in the process, for a week on Saturday. Now please check any bookings carefully, and be aware of this fishery. I checked this morning, and the Freedom lakes website is still up

Years ago I bought a set of Century Armalites, hand built by John Wilson when he had his shop in Norwich, John's Tackle Den it was. I eventually replaced them with a set of standard Armalite mk ll's. The ring spacing was slightly different, and the handle wasn't quite the right length for me, so I stripped down the blanks and rebuilt them, to my own specifications. The SP's I bought around 2003 were off the shelf, and seemed right anyway. As for my NG's, custom built. However these are not cheapo budget range rods at all anyway Now I'm not sure, but I think that cheaper standard range rods are not likely to be as well built as more 'luxury' up market tackle ranges. I noticed someone mentioned the spline of a rod not always being lined up on a factory built spec, and I have seen this in action, in fact if I remember rightly, Sharpy86 may even have something to say abut Free Spirit rods not always being lined up properly. Some of it is undoubtedly snobbishness, yet some of it is getting it right for you.

I can think of another water that was a part of history of carp fishing, Fingringhoe, better known as Snake Pit. Another water that was history, because of a certain 40lb common, yet that is also a snag filled hole, next to a 'loonatic' house, actually a psychiatric care home. Washing machines, cars, bikes, trees and the like were all part of the lakes margins. Strictly speaking, if we want to quote 'wrong'uns', then Redmire was stocked with foreign fish, albeit fish that were stocked at 2 or 3 years old, and grew to record weights, so where do we split the level? Was Two Tone a UK bred fish, or Elphicks? Or were the fish grown on from imported stock. I totally agree though that stocking fish at large weights is not any way to remember a record. Frensham, Burton on Sea as it was nicknamed, many lakes had imported fish put into their hallowed waters, yet because we are talking Leney/Galicians, scaly beasts with massive mirror scales, perfect zip linears or commons we are going to allow them. Carp fishing has changed, with fish farms in the UK we have no real need to import fish from abroad, yet some do so legally or illegally, forgetting the risks that this may put on home bred fish, even by accident. (Parasite, diseases can be spread by a wet net or unhooking mat).

I have found that by putting a needle through a cork ball pop-up not only changes its buoyancy, the paste or boilie skin can actually fall off the cork ball. Like Ouch, I prefer to tie my pop-ups on, although I nearly always use specific pop-up mix pop-ups now. If I was using cork ball pop-ups, I would also use a braided loop/dental floss loop as opposed to mono, which may cut into the boilie skin as well

I have been very interested in the history of fishing, and how waters change over time. Redmire, Yateley; Car Park, North, Pads etc, will be to me waters that were once the best, but time has moved on and other lakes have come to the fore, and then they have been replaced in time. I have fished Redmire, back in the 1990's, and saw fish, a fish crashed out in the middle of February. Yateley lakes I aspired or wanted to be fishing, but couldn't justify travelling down to fish from East Anglia to find a busy lake, not when I had a lake that had some Redmire progeny in it as my local. wraysbury became famous because of Mary, Mary's Mate, Mallins etc, but as they passed on, then others have come to the fore, King Fungus, one of the stockies(!), yet it now doesn't seem to inspire me as it did, maybe the numbers of fish has increased, or maybe it lost its charm with the death of those old warriors.

I actually have a use for leadcore with this type of set-up, it is the lead link. I also use a standard run ring, in fact The leadcore can be spliced on, but I decided that for this length I would whip and brace (what is the correct name?) and then lighter tag the ends so they won't pull through the whipping. The run ring on this means that should it get snagged it will pull free, and the fish will not be trailing any nasties other than the rig.

You mean something like this? Can be fished without the stop knot above the bead, although the version above is one Derek Ritchie used on a weedy water, but it will work equally as well on silt (and in some cases better than a Silt/chod set-up. I would also play around with the hooklink and lead link lengths to get it right for you

And with leadcore and pendant or inline set-ups, it only takes a tiny kink and the fish could now be trailing a death rig. If you have to use leadcore, then only ever with a helicopter set-up, but my advice, is ditch the leadcore totally. I know about inline running leads, and yes, they can work, but are they working as we think they are? I came to the conclusion, if I want a running lead, use a run ring. If I want to fish in weed with an inline, then use a straight semi-fixed inline

I've moved this into UK Where to fish section This thread may also help: http://www.carp.com/topic/19088-lake-to-hire/ I would also suggest Taverham Mills in Norfolk, may be a fair drive to you though. http://www.taverham-mill.com/ Other places I can think of, quite difficult with very few carp, but some cracking tench (I believe it had otter problems in the past, but none there at present), Horcott near RAF Fairford. Season Ticket costs the whole sum of £16 last season, and the bailiff is on the bank almost all the time. (http://www.spotfish.co.uk/fishery/horcott-angling-club)

Just reading this and realised I didn't make it particularly clear. I make the hair from the mono, by tying a uni knot loop at the end, and putting pop-up in to get the hair length right. With the pop-up in place, I then attach the hair to the ring allowing enough space for a bottom bait as well. I then remove the pop-up, and put bottom bait on the hair with baiting needle, the pop-up then gets put back into the loop. The pop-up effectively becomes the bait stop.

I leave the tag end of the knot at the top of the bag nice and large, so that I can use the tags to knot around the lead clip or mainline just above the run ring. I then put the hook through the bottom corner of the bag. This method also works with mesh bags as well as solid PVA. I must admit though, I do prefer to make them up on the bank for each cast rather than have ready made bags. It may cost me a bit of time, but when I'm fishing, I have plenty of time spare. I don't like hooking them straight to the hook on its own, I worry about a wind-milling cast tangling up. I also like the hooklink not being straightened out, and having to feather a cast will straighten a hooklink if the PVA is on the hook alone.

Sorry, I am sure that leadcore does damage fish as it rubs over them, and I don't think that mono line does. Do you use a leader when floater fishing? When stalking or when zig rigging? All methods that are likely to be mainline through to a hooklink. Frank, (Levigsp) and I are convinced that leadcore rubs, and can friction burn, even if the scar doesn't show up instantly. I used to use leadcore (exclusively), and have caught fish that have long marks down their flanks from what I'm sure is leadcore rub. Add to that, a 40lb leacore or to some extent any leader is used by some to haul fish from areas where they simply shouldn't be fishing anyway simply because it is snaggy or weedy etc. Now I'm certain that the leadcore argument will go on and on, simply because some people don't care, some because that is what is published, and some who don't feel swayed by argument or debate. I have the view that I will not use a leader at all, unless I need to cast long distances, when a mono leader (Amnesia or Greased Weasel) is used to take the shock of casting. If there is weed or snags, tough, I have to accept I can't cast as far. I make sure that my lead can be ejected; a run ring will slide over most leader/mainline knots, or I have a Heath Robinson homemade bead set-up for silt/helicopter or that dreaded chod word should I ever need to use them. A piece of stiff tubing, a rubber bead at each end, with a ring swivel for the rig in between. The rubber bead will pop off the end of the tubing, the ring swivel and rig can come off the tubing, and up over the line or any knot. This homemade set-up can be fished as a semi-fixed arrangement when I need the rig near the lead (long casting), or as a free running silt set-up by athe addition of a tail rubber in place of bottom bead to 'fix' it to the lead attachment.

If you do decide on Lee valley, it's likely I'll be back on Nazeing. I've got withdrawal symptoms for the lagoons, and I'll happily put kettle on for you, if you can handle black coffee, and chat if you ever wander round when I'm there

No worries, I didn't want you jumping in at the deep end, fishing for fish you weren't ready for, either not knowing the effort required or the skill ability. A bit of a difference between an overstocked day ticket water with a couple of easy 30's or the more natural balanced fishery. I believe that Carthagena has taken this years membership on, but you'd be looking at around £400 if you went for that lake syndicate, although one of the 2 has 40's as well. It is actually not that far from Nazeing Meads, on the road from Broxbourne station towards Nazeing. Also come to mind is Kelvedon and District, Silver End, some old fish, very weedy, but I know quite difficult. Anyway if you follow the previous link I gave to Lee Valley there are a few in there, although North Met and Bowyers I think have a waiting list