salokcinnodrog

Hi mate, I am using fake corn, the hooks and the weight of the link just about sink the bait, so i would of thought the carp will have taken it right back due to how light the bait is? Also, i am just using small pva bags on the hook for feed, any amount of bait in this lake kills it in my opinion, too much disturbance. Like the Korda dig as well Just because the bait is light and only just sinks the hook and link does not mean that the Carp aren't wary of it. If the Carp are only just sucking and blowing on a short link or short hair, then they can still only take it in as far as it will go, just because it is light does not mean that it will go all the way back. You say you are fishing withjust PVA bags, you may well have got Carp that are used to being fished for like that, and as a result are wary of the bait, and especially the hookbait, which is why you are getting hookpulls. Try on 1 rod a bed of bait, forget about the disturbance putting it in, sweetcorn doesn't make that much disturbing splash, even less if you can tip it into the margins by hand rather than cattie it out The Carp may actually think "dinner bell" when the splash comes anyway. If they are still scared of the disturbance, then the obvious answer is to lengthen your hair rig length: http://www.carp.com/carp-forum/viewtopic.php?t=37416

You can use a Coated Braid wherever you like, with any lead set-up, but I try to use it where it will be a benefit for a particular purpose. To totally camouflage the hooklink, or to prevent tangles. If you are using tubing and PVA then Coated braid may not be required for anti tangle purposes. Not sure how many manufacturers sell ready made coated braid rigs, but WHY? You need to be fully trusting your tackle; If a knot goes who is to blame, if it is your knot then you can only blame yourself. If it is down to a ready tied Rig, then who do you blame? It could be your fault, or it could be them, you won't know. Plus if you tie them yourself you can adjust each rig to suit the particualr circumstances, with a ready tied you can't Try these: http://www.carp.com/carp-forum/viewtopic.php?t=40225&highlight=ready+made+rigs http://www.carp.com/carp-forum/viewtopic.php?t=37416&highlight=ready+tied+rigs http://www.carp.com/carp-forum/viewtopic.php?t=26753&highlight=ready+tied+rigs

Josh, Think outside the box mate Don't necessarily blame the hook, when it may actually be a rig problem. If you are hooking at the very extreme of the lip, and/or getting hookpulls, then the fish may not be feeding comfortably, or the hook/bait may not be going in deep enough. It may be that you need to lengthen the hair, or feed more to get the fish pre-occupied again. Extremely unlikely to be because you are using a Running rig, because the rig is not fixed at a set length, but the line is running it will not be pulled back as such. Had a thought though, if you are fishing over LARGE beds of bait, pellets and particles etc, then you may need to provoke a run, so a Semi-fixed lead set-up may be in order. Think you may need to see how the fish feed without casting in on them, and then see if they behave the same if a baited rig is among them. As for particular hooks, I only use brands that I trust, and that does not include Korda (sorry to all you Korda lovers ). I'll stick to Nailers, Centurions, and ESP Raptors, the hooks I use most, although for pop-ups I get out the Kamasan B175's. I test all my tackle before it gets onto the fishing situation, and then if it passes that it gets used on a small fish water. As for 4 miles on a bike, flipping heck, I do that for fun

Mono was around long before Braid, and catching well, only our constant want to improve made braid available. Basically you can fish Mono rigs pretty much as you would braid, and there are various types of mono around. Some are softer than others, and obviously you have various diameters for various strains. My suggestion is that with Mono Hooklinks you tie the hook onto the Mono hooklink with a Uni or Clinch knot (or grinner), and tie on a separate hair. I don't know if this hair is allowed to be a braid? ESP do a hair braid as I imagine do other manufacturers, or unflavoured Dental Floss can be stripped down. If not you can use a lighter mono than your hooklink, I often use 4lb Maxima for hairs or even 7lb Trilene XL. To protect the knot and hold the hair into the right place I use a bit of shrink tubing over the eye and down the shank. With Pop-ups if you use them you may find a slight problem in that the hooklink curves up to the hook with no real spot that it hinges on J as opposed to L if you understand what I mean. You can tie the hook on with a knotless knot, but I think that the stiffness can work against you at times, especially with Heavier, stiffer breaking strains of mono

Try going back to Naturals I can think of a couple of waters where the larger Carp refuse boilies and only eat natural baits like maggots and worms.

Any of these any use? Essex: http://www.carp.com/carp-forum/viewtopic.php?t=34826&highlight=essex http://www.carp.com/carp-forum/viewtopic.php?t=36661&highlight=essex http://www.carp.com/carp-forum/viewtopic.php?t=33343&highlight=essex http://www.carp.com/carp-forum/viewtopic.php?t=32333&highlight=essex

This is where a lot of us switch off And you will sit there for hours and hours, even days, waiting for a run that may not happen and you cannot be bothered to do a 2 minute mathematical calculation. Shame on you Tony:oops: PMSL I do NOT do Maths unless I specifically have to. I get lost with Pi, only do 3.142 , although I can add up my shopping as I go round Sainsburys without using a Calculator , and know exactly how much a round of drinks is before the till has worked it out Now THAT little piece of information has caused a few Barman/BarMaids to have Heart Attacks and utter extremely quick apologies:twisted:

Ive seen this diagram in a book fella, im now racking my brains to think of which one Frank, As regards to the 360. Ive heard nothing but bad points on this due to the hook, double hooking fish. I think its something to do with cos the angle that the swivel creates on the hook eye. Have you had any experience of this yourself? Now i do admit i dont know the ins and outs of this rig at all cos im not sure of what situation it would be needed in my fishing. Can you shed any light on this at all? Original Korda Rig Guide Daleg, In that situation the hair was too long, so yes shorten it, yet in the future you may need to go back to a longer hair. I don't normally fish pressured waters, but I do try to match my rigs to the lakes being fished, even if it means I have to play with things occasionally to get it right on whatever bottom is there. Last season I went through a couple of hookpulls in early April, and had to switch back to a combi link, the patchy weed on the lakebed was messin the presentation up with a standard braid. I've got a possible reason why, in that the braid was falling into the weed, and it was being grown over (yes in a day!). Then on the lake in August I again had a couple of hookpulls where the fish hook had been into the weed or bottom detritus. Unfortunately the particular fish that I'm after only really stays in 1 area with a couple of different types of lakebed, one area is very clean fine gravel/clay, and the other is fairly weedy, with silt all around. Now my usual rigs for Pop-ups or Snowman rigs are D-rigs with an Amnesia hooklink, with no separation between the bait and the ring, so it is very close, and I have yet to miss a fish on my waters, or more correctly I have yet to lose a fish when I get an indication. The 2 are not the same and I don't for one minute think that I hook every fish that picks up the rig. Yet for whatever reason the Carp that I'm after refuses to take Pop-ups of any sort, and very few Carp in the lake do, definitely not the larger fish. I have sat and watched Carp feeding, often with them (and other anglers) unaware of my presence. The other anglers would be horrified if they knew as on 1 occasion at least I was about 3metres from where he cast his pop-up. (I was already hidden in the rushes when he arrived ) The Carp came into the swim, swam up to the bait that was popped up a few centimetres and just fed carefully all around it. The bottom baits that had fallen into the detritus were all taken. It may be that he had "overweighted" the bait, but every fish Picked up the freebies as opposed to sucking and blowing. Yet in another area of the lake the (same) Carp will suck and blow. The 2 areas from the bank look identical, both are adjacent to rushes, yet it is not until you get right above the area that you can see the difference in the lakebed. Don't forget that although I do try to keep my rigs simple, at times I do experiment to get what I need to achieve, hence my using my version of the 1up 1Down rig, in response to a particular problem that I have on a particular lake.

And thats the joys of fishing Nige. Everyone has their own ideas on how to tackle a certain situation The reason i said use a longer hair is for confidence reasons on the carps part. Im not sure what book it was but i read that a certain angler knew that carp mouthed the bait before confidently taking it. So my thoughts where to do the same. Let the fish mouth the bait which would act the same, and feel the same as the freebies (with no hook close to it) then let it take the bait back once it thought it was ok. I feel that once a bait has been 'mouthed' and it spells danger, then it is left alone. That is why you hear of so many anglers saying "I had fish all over me, but i couldnt get a take. And when i checked my baited area all that was left was my hookbait". I think thats the reason why. But hey, i maybe talking cobblers as well But to be honest, something as simple as the fish not approaching the rig the right way could give it cause to not take the bait perfectly to give a strikable run. Ive said it before..... there are so many variables in fishing that im amazed we catch at all. I know that there are pics of the Scorpion, and Snake Rig on the forum http://www.carp.com/carp-forum/viewtopic.php?t=22185 Don't forget that these rigs were designed for particular situations and how particular fish fed, as really should all rigs be. Hutchy, Tim Paisley and Ken Townley have made that point in print a number of times about fish mouthing the bait. By moving it you are doing 1 of 2 things, moving it away from the sign that says "Danger do NOT pick up", or by making it appear unsafe by moving it from where it could be just a bait that has fallen free, because absolutely nobody leaves a bait in position for 3 days without moving it Now go back to what thedddjjj says, my rigs are very basic, but I make sure that I get the feeding situation right when I can see the fish. On the fish I experimented with Lead set-ups, (which I do think make a difference), I also played around with Rigs. The Hair length played a part in how I would get takes, as did the Lead set-up and the rig material. Believe it or not, on the water I fished Mono or fluoro hooklinks were getting more ejections than those on braid, and this is on a water where the Carp are used to being fished for by Pole/Match Anglers with the hook set at "dead" depth and a mono hooklink. The hooklink I don't think "behaved", it didn't move or stretch, although it could only move in an arc, whereas the braided hooklinks could extend from how they fell; as long as they hadn't been straightened at which point ejection increased, or the fish could move in an arc. Those fish that did give a run on Mono/fluoro hooklinks were only as the fish got the hook going into the lip, at ANY forward away from the Lead movement at which point with a running lead I sometimes got a run, yet on a Semi-Fixed I would get a bleep, and then mostly ejected. The braided hooklinks the Carp couldn't feel the line or maybe they couldn't feel for the length and the (running) lead. Notice above, it may not be relevant, or it may have some difference, but try a piece of mono/fluoro over YOUR lip, and then try with a braid. You may find (at least I do) that I can feel the stiffer ones and it does not feel natural, yet the braid is not so "electric". Certain rigs were better for fish that picked up the bait as opposed to those that sucked the baits in, but those that were used for fish that picked up had to turn and spin ( I didn't play and get too complicated, I was already in danger of going up my own backside with confusion). Thedddjjj, note I'm not disagreeing with all of what you are saying, but the hooklink material may add to the debate as I did find that they made a difference to my fishing. I think that I have said in the past that many braided hooklinks are possibly more visible than fluoro's, and so may cause some "scare factor" during the day, whereas an "invisible" fluoro may not be seen ( ), but at night the stiffness may prevent takes that you would have had on a braided "extending" hooklink where the Carp aren't feeding by sight. Because of the Daytime invisibility you need an Instant Indication of a pick-up with a Stiffer hooklink. To further confuse, I often get daytime pick-ups with Braided hooklinks, BUT, I have a tendency to camouflage the hooklink, cover it with a load of PVA Bag bits of food, or even Spod over the top of the hooklink after I have cast. (Edit) I don't use a Stick mix, that may well camouflage the rig, but if everyone and his dog, is doing the same thing, and I intend to be different. So basically what I'm saying is that it is not JUST down to the rig, although you want as effective rigs as you can get, but down to how Carp feed, what they are feeding on, and the rig location. A rig fished on gravel may need to be different to that fished on or in silt. How the baiting situation is will also affect the rig and its effectiveness. , flipping annoying and true, and we create many of the variables, some on our favour, although many AGAINST us

Fluoro mainlines actually stretch less than Mono. I think that the stretch in fluoro is between 10-15% as opposed to the 20% (ish) of mono, so it should actually feel more direct

yeah i have shimano super ultegra in the larger spool version. they come with 3 spools so i have 2 spare. Load up your 300m of Xline on a spool then attach a cheep mono line as a backing and wind that on until the spool is full. Next, take the spool off, put on an empty spool and fill from the preloaded one you just removed - this should leave you with a fill to the brim reel with exactly 300m of Xline and the remainder in a non expensive backing. Back to his original question. How does he know he is loading 300 mtrs in the first instance? By simply counting the turns of his handle Roughly The lower the level on the spool, then the less will go on per turn of the rotor, as it fills it will be more per turn. There are also some Line Counters available that fit to the butt of the rod and measure the line as you retrieve. I'm not one for wasting money on line as I have Big Pit's, but I do have a backing line on each reel, and know that a new spool of 0.35mm line now fills the spool to the brim of each. Far better to have more line than you need, if you have a fish that really takes off on the run, and is still taking line against you playing it, then you may be in serious trouble. Say for example that you are casting to 150 metres (figure plucked from the air, not factual), and you get a fish that rips line off another 50metres, great in theory you would only need 200 metres of line, then take that to you get a bit of line twist, or a bit of line gets fragged against a snag, so you cast that 150 metres, the fish rips off another 50, and you on landing it have to cut away say 20metres of line so that it is still safe, you now only have 180 metres of line. Put on more than you need, have the spools just overfilled. I'd far rather have a Fluoro Mainline than attach a Fluoro Leader, to be honest. I have used P-line Floroclear, and it is good stuff, not a true Fluoro, but a Mono with a Fluoro coating. (I have reviewed it on here, so a search may be worth while). With the cost of P-line at the moment I think that it is comparable to many of the monos sold anyway I don't like leaders unless I am going for the "big chuck". At any range above about 40metres the line I think is going to be running along the bottom to your lead anyway, even with a tight line (understand about the arc, pretty much like telegraph wires)

If you are catching then what you are doing is working It is when your results start to drop that you may need to change, although it may be worth experimenting with loads of bait over 1 rod to see if it makes any difference to a rod fished over no bait. If you are catching Tench, then you are definitely doing things right as they are a lot harder to convince than Carp. The only other thing I would do is to increase time watching and experimenting with various set-ups with 1 rod fished as you are as a control to see if anything can be adapted or improved

A fair number of valid points in this thread, and for example I know that Tony and Frank have said some very good and certain points that have definitely been missed. Firstly I'm of the view that some fish "Suck and blow" and some fish "pick" their food. Those that suck and blow, in my view will need a longer hair than those that Pick their food up, where as above then the bait may need to be tight to the shank. How a rig behaves may also contribute to how quickly it gets ejected as well. If you have a nice rig made from Fluorocarbon or Mono that is nice and straight (as it cannot move any further), then it may often be ejected very quickly, whereas a rig that is on a braided hooklink may be taken in further. The lead attachment may then also add to this. A Semi-Fixed lead may then allow the fish to feel the lead and cause it to "know" that something is wrong. Yet with a Running Lead the fish has no stopping of movement as the line is not tight and the fish CAN NOT feel the lead. I have sat and watched fish in clear water in an area that I knew that I could get them feeding and seen them differentiate and "feel" for the lead (Complicated rigs thread ) My starting point with anything is a basic Knotless knot rig and then play around with the Hair and rig length, but work on getting them to feed comfortably in the first place can mean that my rig which is very basic is very efficient [edited for typo]

I know that there are a couple of threads about Taswood on the forum, but nothing about the Grove Lake in particular. I believe Taswood you are looking at £26 for 24 hours per person, so it may work out a bit expensive. To be honest I can think of a few better waters around, less expensive than that and in that area, between Diss and Norwich. Also from what I can make out Grove lake, was last I heard anything about it very weedy. You may be better of having a look at Taverham Mills, Waveney Valley or Weybread fisheries where you are more likely to get a better bend in the rod, although Weybread is not Night Fishable from memory. I think all of them there are threads on the forum if you go to the search facility

what round the shank of thehook YES Or I know that there is a pic here, just be using the Knotless knot pic it can be adapted for counterbalancing. Plus also some of my rigs get very finely counterbalanced (or overweighted)

A thinking Novice obviously You have the slack line, then as the line hits the clip (on rod) or the reel stop/baitrunner then the theory that the hook will be forced into the bottom lip (if you believe in that theory). Don't think that the lead has that much to do with it to be sure, but you've got the right idea

It may be worth defining what you mean by good, numbers of Carp etc, and also a little bit about your experience fishing, so somebody could recommend something suitable

It may be worth defining what you mean by good, numbers of Carp etc, and also a little bit about your experience fishing, so somebody could recommend something suitable

I think that the Blood knot was failing as low as 45% of the Mainline strength. So using an 8lb line, it will break as low as 3.5lbs. It is because as you have said, it strangulates itself and cuts through the line used to form the knot. If you rub 2 pieces of mono together while both are kept tight, 1 piece of line can cut the other, this is basically happening with a Blood knot when it is under pressure. Fine if you are catching smaller Carp where the fish are small and at most 50% of the mainline BS, but with a Big Fish, I would never trust a Blood knot. If you ever get occasional crack-offs, or snap-ups that curly piece of line at the end is usually where the knot has gone.

No Problem Just realised something strange, when I'm Chub Fishing I tend to use a Blood knot with Mono as I very rarely Hair rig a bait. I also remember as a Youth with Mono Lines I used to use a Blood knot all the time, although Mono's have seemed to have changed over the past 20years, getting thinner (I seem to remember that 100lb Mono was 1mm according to the Sylcast packaging with all the line diameters on the back). For Carp fishing I Uni knot every join that I need to do to swivel or to hook (Knotless knot being the exception, although I've gone back to Line Aligned with a separate hair in many cases)

Urgh! The Blood knot is the most unreliable knot for many Lines, especially Braid! These links give you access to animated knots, rig pics, and how to tie the Knotless knot. http://www.carp.com/carp-forum/viewtopic.php?t=22185 http://www.carp.com/carp-forum/viewtopic.php?t=32236 http://www.carp.com/carp-forum/viewtopic.php?t=25551 The most reliable knot for almost any material is the Palomar, although my choice for just about everything is the Clinch or Uni knot, exception being when I need a loop knot in which case I do go to the knot on Kryston packaging. The exception for Blood knots is with Amnesia Hooklinks, where 4 turn blood knot has never let me down, although I do blob the end with a Cigarette lighter. Whatever knot you use, lubricate it (spit or lipsyl) before tightening down

The Carp lake has gone back to Day Ticket, although you do still get the chance to be a "member" Below is the link to Carp Lake section the updated website http://www.foxearth-leisure.co.uk/carp_fishing_angling_lake.html

I just cannot catch on Zigs, no matter what I do. It may be me or it may be the waters I fish, whatever, when I try it I have absolutely no joy. It is not even used as a last resort as I often think, "ah hah, fish moving about, either mid depth or near surface, so on with the zig", yet I get no joy. I've tried various baits, bright pop-ups, dark baits with no additional flavour, black foam, cork balls etc. I can catch on surface baits, reasonably well (usually freelined) and bottom baits, but the zig just doesn't work

You can do that, although I would check very carefully the breaking/bending point of them. Snap links do have an occasional tendency to open out and the clip pull free. Also remember as with Quick links the Lead is further away from the hooklink, and there is a "slight" additional pivot point that may provide a little extra movement before the lead is hit on a take.

i use a rubber bead on the tubing mate bill I would be a bit careful if using a bead on the tubing. When trying to pull one off have you ever noticed the tubing tends to 'scrunch' up? This is one of the reasons why I won't set a helicopter rig up with tubing I actually stopped using a Shocker set-up with Bead on the tubing. Even though Solar make or made them with their soft rubber beads that do normally slide, as their Running rigs, I got a little worried that the bead may hold the Lead on the tubing and create a potential rig that couldn't eject the lead. I don't know whether there are new snags in my lake from trip to trip, and don't want to be attaching a lead via Paper clip everytime, as in most cases I have no need to lose it.