salokcinnodrog

I know in the past it has seen plenty of Trigga and Tails Up Protavit Liver. May be worth pre-baiting with them again as the carp really do get onto them. Suggestion to use BIG baits as the tench as nice as they are can be a pain, even then, you may still pick up BIG tench, to over double figures

I'd say Heartsmere, Marsh or Yew Tree on the Waveney complex. Burgh Castle is good for a few fish. Airfield is probably the highest profile and advertised at the moment. Thinking about it, Taverham Mills might also be worth a punt

Long time since I've fished in Norfolk being as I moved away 18years ago, but how about Shallowbrook, just in Costessey, on the funny bend from the Dereham Road. Cranworth/Woodrising near Watton. I think Cranworth will probably show up on here in past threads, and also there is this with a few places: http://www.carp.com/carp-forum/viewtopic.php?t=46858 It may be since I wrote it that some numbers or details have changed, so if they have, I apologise, but if anyone has current info I'd be happy to change it

Not sure you quite got the reason for the elastic right, you may be right, but I always thought it was used as a "smack back", to stretch and then hook the fish itself. I think you've hit the nail on the head in terms of risk though; an elasticated feeder is a potential risk. In the event of a mainline snap-off a fish is trailing a feeder. If that feeder snags up, then the fish could potentially be tethered. OK elastic usually has a lesser breaking strain than your mainline, but if the feeder is tethered, a carp will have to accelerate from zero to break the elastic to break free.

No a bolt rig is running until it hit's the stop, by then it's too late! Probably also termed "shocka" rig. The lead is free running until it hits the top stop.

Somewhere in my tackle box I have a Fox Submerged Pike Fishing float which I found , which does exactly the same job as the Carp Adjustable Zig rig. The line goes through the middle of the float, same as a Drennan Zeppelin or other float in the range, so is easy enough to use. Thread a run ring on the line, then a rubber bead, then the float or whatever kind to your hooklink swivel. For the hooklink I use a length of about 30-60cm. Cast it out, but instead of having a slack line as you would with a running lead, keep the line tight, as with zigs you may need to strike at any indication. You can either have the bait close to the lakbed to start and work it upwards, or go the other way around, from the surface downwards.

You need a baiting needle big enough to "grab" the swivel, and it can be a pain to pull through the stick. I used to cut down a mesh boilie or wide loader and cut a slit in it. I could then put the hooklink in the mesh without much faffing about, and then simply tie the top end and tie the hooklink on Just a suggestion for you though, even though you're using a "stick mix", you can still use pva bags, and although I've not tried it, the Fox Easy loader should work quite nicely.

A few ways to get hooklinks into PVA bags, and the length can be pretty much anything you want with a braided hooklink. Although an Inline lead goes in easier and more tidily, it is still possible to use Pendant leads. I think everyone on here knows I use Pendant Running leads and what is probably compared to many long hooklinks at about 20-30cms. Put the hookbait in the bottom of the bag, and then fill a little bit, put the hooklink in and keep filling up around it until 3/4 full. Either lick and stick or cut the bag so that you can use the tag ends to knot up around the lead or tubing above the lead. This will close the bag as well as fixing it to the lead for good casting.

A whole thread on the Barbed vs Barbless debate: http://www.carp.com/carp-forum/viewtopic.php?t=19019 This thread is asking about whether crimped barb is allowed on a particular water

I have a feeling that on some waters pop-ups themselves may have blown, or in particular spots may well not work. That "bright yellow different flavoured" pop-up not used before or a food bait fished with a food bait pop-up could work. How the pop-up is mounted may have some relevance as well. A bait that is a long way from the hook may behave very weirdly in contrast to the free bottom baits. If this bait is able to wave around in front of the fish then it may be left as being unnatural, although Brian Garner years ago did have some good results on long haired pop-ups on The Mangrove Swamp. Go back to the wrong spot, if the fish are feeding hard on the lakebed, a bait presented more than (for example) 5 cms off the lakebed may well be ignored. Not even intentionally, but simply because the fish don't come up to feed at that height. Feeding heavily with particles, pellets or groundbait and a pop-up may well be the wrong choice of hookbait. Yet a bottom bait may likely work.

When it comes down to pop-up rigs I often go back to basics. I don't often play around with rigs much anyway, preferring to get location and feeding right over piddling about confusing myself and having the fish laugh at my overcomplicated rigs. Yes I do sometimes go more advanced, but most of the time, there really is no need For pop-ups I seem to go back to either braid or coated braid rigs. Tie a Uni knot loop at the end of the (stripped) braid hooklink and then attach the knot with a knotless knot. I then put putty over a stop (knot) or on the end of the stripped coating, or sometimes if I have already checked the buoyancy of my pop-ups at home, use an olivette. (I'm not paying silly money for Korda Sinkers ) I do sometimes head for D-rigs as I feel that they often sit right, but as far as I'm concerned the simpler the better.

There you have it then. The basic knotless knotted rig can be tied with Braid (as pictured), coated braid, mono or fluoro (just be aware that fluoro and mono can be rubbed through on the eye of the hook). The hair length is easily changed, can be used for pop-ups by adding a stop (knot, shot) and putty and can be fished over pretty much anything by changing the rig length to cater for different lakebeds, can be fished as a single bait, with PVA bags, stringers or mesh. It can be used with Helicopter set-ups, semi-fixed or running leads.

No, SuperSilk isn't "finger sticky" , that's Multistrand It is a braided hooklink, and is very thin for its breaking strain, actually the reason I don't use it now as I feel that it may be able to cut the fishes cheeks. Not proved, but just a slight concern I have, so won't take the chance. Although it is white it does take on the colour of the lakebed, or can be stained by soaking overnight in coffee or tea (without milk )

Rigs don't make you a better angler Developing your skills comes from watching how fish behave, how and where they feed. What makes you a better angler is putting your basic rig in the place where the fish feed and understanding them. That rig you can use many different baits on is the basic knotless knotted rig. I use it as my first point of call on almost every water I fish. It gets used for sweetcorn and other particles, boilies, luncheon meat etc. It works almost everywhere, on a float set-up as well as on the lead, and still catches fish. It can be used for pop-ups bottom baits and snowman set-ups. From that basic rig you can develop your fishing, change the hair and rig length when you see where the fish is hooked when you are landing them, or lengthen the hair if you are losing fish to hookpulls. It has been said that there is no more advance in carp fishing than the hair rig, and nothing has superceded it since.

Discussed it, laughed at, probably sworn at each other and I still use Merlin, as part of my combi links and as a hooklink material straight at times, for the odd occasions I use Pop-ups and for bottom baits and snowman set-ups. I don't have a problem with it floating, but that may be down to how I tend to use it, with a large stringer so it all lays down flat. It may also be that when wet it does sink down. Its rare that I cast out a dry hooklink when I arrive at the lake, usually getting a couple of casts to get it right, ranging towards the clip, or putting a few stringers worth of bait in. My other hooklinks are Mantis Gold and Jackal, and I don't have any problem just grabbing a ready tied rig out the rig bin and tying it on. Even then, I still go through a couple of "stringer" casts.

Don't confuse yourself with rigs. A simple knotless knotted rig will work almost everywhere, easiest to tie, no faffing about, will work over gravel, silt, clay, sand, you name it it will work. It is easy enough to change to suit, lengthen the hair or rig length. Many people confuse themselves with rigs, and for NO reason other than the magazines insist we have to be more complicated using 360, KD, Withy etc. This may give you some interesting reading: http://www.carp.com/carp-forum/viewtopic.php?t=9536&highlight=complicated+rigs

I'm easy to please, its known as Kryston. The only manufacturer I use for hooklink materials, with the excepion of Amnesia for Combi-rigs and mono for surface fishing. They are 100% reliable, never given any problems and so I see no reason to change

I must admit that the only hooks I have sharpened have been those on Pike Trebles since the days of Chemical Sharpening came to be standard. I have a couple of worries in sharpening the point of a hook; First one is removing the protective outer layer, be that Teflon, or even the outer layer of metal which may provide the hardness of the hook. Then I worry rather than making it any sharper I'm going to blunt it down. I'm pretty good with a file, steel, sharpeners, oilstone etc, my knives are "slice first notice later" sharp, but a very fine pointed hook is a whole lot harder. Add to that, by making the point thinner I am opening it up for more damage on the lakebed, or if I pick up a twig or other rubbish on the retrieve. I don't lose many fish down to hookpulls, and I'm happy with 99% of hooks I get out the packet, but that is down to choosing and using good quality hooks from decent manufacturers or brands. They are sharp enough for my fishing, whereas even if some good manufacturer produces Korda hooks, they are NOT the same as the hooks from the factory owners. Incidentally Kamasan and Drennan/ESP, I think all come from the same factory, being as Drennan own it, and those are fairly good brands. And don't forget I'm thick skinned

Welcome to the forum Welcome to the forum Welcome to the forum Honestly, there is no need to start the same thread 3 times I've moved this into the correct section of the forum for you, so hopefully you should get some more help

Nope! The point only just nicked into the skin with that 3oz lead.

Here is a scary one for you, I use Gardner Muggas for most of my fishing (and catch a fair number of fish on them), and with a size 4 Mugga hook in my thumb and a 3oz lead I was able to lift it completely off the desk and reach out to grab my camera to take pictures. Sorry this 2nd picture should actually be rotated 90degrees clockwise, but even in this, you can still see the whole lead is off the desk. I thought Muggas were some of the sharpest hooks around! I went out and purchased some Korda Kurvs, and Gamakatsu G-points to do the same thing. The Korda hooks did not even leave a hookpoint mark on my thumb, whereas the G-Points did. Not particularly scientific, but I found that the only way to increase hook penetration was to increase the weight on a semi-fixed lead and speed of applied tension, so the faster line tightened on the using up of slack when using running leads the further in the hookpoint went. Also during a fight, (with the right patterns, NOT out-turned eyes) the hook works in further. So fishing slack lines with semi-fixed set-ups may not pull the hook into the fishes lip, and the lead may be moved a long way with no indication. As a slack line is taken up on a running lead, the tension increases to the rod tip/reel and so the hook is pulled in to gain some penetration.

A PVA bag often slows down the "sinking" into silt of the end tackle as it slows down the impact on the lakebed, a stick mix will work as well. Just a thought though; if you bag up the hookbait it may actually stop the lead sinking as far into the silt as it is help up by the PVA bag

Could I ask a question about the "hand test"? I have seen the videos where various rigs are dragged over the heel of the palm to demonstrate how the hook will behave. It would seem to me that this only demonstrates what is happening when the line is being pulled i.e. when there is tension in the line. This will happen when the boilie is being sucked in or if the carp is backing away. If the carp is just mouthing the bait or is blowing it out, the feature demonstrated by the hand test is surely irrelevant? Ideally you want the point to turn over and prick the bottom lip of the fish, whether that is done using a taut hooklink or the carp blowing the bait out. So draging it across your palm and getting the hook towards the edge just before you pull it off the edge the hook cocks and pricks the palm on the edge... I very rarely loose any carp, cant remember the last, if i get a run its on, and well nailed in the centre of the bottom lip.. Results speak.. I must admit I find the Hand test as described, and even the "over the thumb" test misleading as I can think of a number of rigs which will fail both of them are actually very efficient fish hooking rigs. A carp can only suck and blow the bait (and hook) in and out in its "natural" feeding, so almost every rig is failing at some point and not hooking every time. The most important thing is getting the feeding situation right, so that if a rig does fail first time, it is continually picked up as the carp is feeding naturally or comfortably. The more times or the longer the hook is in the mouth, the more chance it has of hooking the fish.

No, the lead pulls everything behind it. A method I do to make doubly sure is make up a PVA bag, put the hook into the bottom corner, and lick and stick the top of the bag around the lead link.

I'd actually avoid Inline Leads for running rigs. The nose of the lead may dive into the silt and prevent the lead from running anyway, plus if it hits a harder patch may damage the hooklink. I'd stick with the running set-up, and even use Leadcore, but NOT in the way you'd think, instead making a lead link, so that the run ring is attached to the lead by a length of leadcore: While Chod/Helicopter set-ups have been advocated for using in Silty waters, it has actually been pointed out by people like Tim Paisley in his book Big Carp that bomb-on-the-end-of-the line set-ups can produce a number of hookpulls due to the angle of pull being across the hook, leading to the possibility of hooks opening out, or even levering themselves out under pressure.