salokcinnodrog

Mixed measurements 😂 I use feet for rod lengths and depths, pounds and ounces for fish weights, metres for distances, my weight in kilograms, and when I played American football, pounds, oh and for my passport 1.81m, yet 5ft 11in. All over the place, like my spodding..

Mate, I'm not arguing distance sticks believe me, they really do have a use, whether it's a pair of storm poles, or proper distance sticks, although I can't convince myself that I need to buy specific distance sticks, using my bivvy storm poles. It's the distance element of a 'wrap' that makes me laugh. I've pinpointed a few feeding spots on the lake, and one I found I couldn't reach from the bank when the water is up, I need to be on the margin due to a tree and 12ft rods, or cast from the next swim either side. At the moment that spot is 40metres out, yet in a few weeks, from the margin might be 38. My baited area I've been priming is 32m out from the casting point, which is 9wraps just for the record, yet in terms of from the waters edge is only 28m, or 8wraps.

I had a chuckle to myself this week as someone on the lake was referring to distances in wraps, and the gradually lowering water level due to evaporation has kind of put it out of kilter. On the swims I fish, I have a 'casting spot' for the features, all memorised, but at the high water level. This week in all innocence, someone asked how many wraps I was fishing, to which the answer would be 9, but from the top of the bank, not the 7 if I was casting from the current water level. I always cast from the top spot! I was kind enough to mention that the spot I have baited up to was around 36metres, simply because I hate the wrap reference, it means nothing. Put your sticks out, and wrap, yes OK, but I frequently walk my lines out, so I'm not going to get wraps, to me it is a proper distance of metres or yards if you haven't gotten metric yet

If you look at the pic, the long red bits, are actually bloodworm. They came to the surface as I dropped in a dash of cooking oil. I'm continually baiting the same spot where I had the big common from last week. It was baited every day while I was here, and got loaded up again when I arrived today. The Spomb mix for today was plenty of hemp, birdfood, some red maggots, boilies and mollassed rabbit mix, along with the chilli 🌶 flakes to try to deter the swans. Tomorrow's Rabbit mix is already soaking in the bucket with water, chilli flakes and sunflower oil.

A 15kg bag of Mollassed Rabbit mix for groundbait. Gladwell's had no Vitalin in stock on Sunday, so I got my back-up. To this I add some ground complete dry dog food (sorry Sky), and pour boiling water over it in the morning before using it in the afternoon.

Back onto this, and I'm still convinced that at times the carp won't take bigger baits, unless it is over loads of bits. I've been spending (far too much) time on the lake, and sometimes as per my picture earlier in the thread, a flat spot appears. I was talking to another member and he was telling me that he had baited that spot 2 days previously. My baiting loads of bits has started to produce on day two or three of my Tuesday to Saturday sessions. The difference is that I'm putting bait in every night, so when I arrive mid morning its cast out, wait until evening, put in a bucket of hemp and birdfood, Vitalin and boilies. Every day I reel in, walk Sky, recast, wait until evening and Spomb another bucket of bait on the spot, although that bucket is Vitalin, bloodworm, snails and marginal silt. It's produced a few fish, although the syndicate lake is hard work, because it has so much natural food. Stocked carp are growing bigger on natural food, not on bait. In fact some haven't been caught since being stocked! As @kevtaylor says, carp can demolish loads of bits very quickly. Im convinced that 3kilos of crushed bits, flaked maize etc are munched within an hour when 3 or 4 fish are present. I'm lucky in that there are few other anglers present, I'm frequently the only angler on the lake for my whole trip. Most of my fish have come over that baiting, although there are a couple that didn't, one of which took a bright pink pop-up and the other an Infusion Naturalz wafter. Both of them, although caught from different swims came from the same area.

Exactly. Long time ago, back in 2000 I had just finished my degree as a mature student, with Liz and she had a baby who was 6months old, but born 12weeks early and I was working pretty much non-stop. I'd been working most evenings doing hospitality work, sorting the Ipswich Regent Theatre Town Hall and Corn Exchange bars, cellars and stock levels and had a late Thursday night. Instead of fishing as planned Thursday I had to go Friday morning on the river for a 4hour session. That 4hour session produced, what is still one of my favourite captures, a river 28lb mirror carp! I also get occasional chub fishing trips, a few hours here and there, usually with floating baits. The other time I could frequently wangle when Levi was about 4 or 5 years old was after Sunday dinner. I'd cook dinner, we'd eat and Liz would wash-up and I'd take Levi out for a couple of hours on the pole and float to either Akenham or Thwaite.

Mate, I had that for so many years, quite frequently too much work or family or both. In the end I started putting myself first, although I never expected fishing to be all I can do. I know it looks like I fish all the time, but it took a lot of juggling to make it so. I used to work 6 or 7 days a week, so fishing had to be an evening trip or an overnight if I was lucky. Not having my family or partner is not always happy though, even if I do go fishing. I would much rather have grown old disgracefully with Liz...

Last night Spomb mix was the silt with bloodworm and snails, a pint of maggots, a bit of molehill soil, Vitalin and boilies crushed and whole. Reckon that works!

Could you all please all remember that Buying or Selling of Fishing Tackle is not allowed on the Forum. This includes advertising your trading site or shop. If any member of carp.com is contacted via pm by a trader, please report this to a moderator or admin If as a user you recommend an item of fishing tackle to others, a link to that shop item is acceptable, however please be aware that the Carp.com shop is onsite.

Could you all please all remember that Buying or Selling of Fishing Tackle is not allowed on the Forum. This includes advertising your trading site or shop. If any member of carp.com is contacted via pm by a trader, please report this to a moderator or admin If as a user you recommend an item of fishing tackle to others, a link to that shop item is acceptable, however please be aware that the Carp.com shop is onsite.

Do any of the Solar bivvies fit the bill? https://www.solartackle.co.uk/products/bivvies-shelters/new-south-westerly-pro-uni-spider-bivvy-(bivvy-onl

I realised this week that I Solar do goalpost buzzer bar converters. It means I don't always have to use the pod now and can go goalpost and 2 and 1 rather than 3 singles. No local tackle shop had them so Tackle Box Dartford got a bit of an online order. Very fast service.

Tonights Spomb mix for the carp, silt from the margins, complete with bloodworm and snails, Rod Hutchinson KMG and Infusion boilies whole and crushed, Vitalin, and kidney beans, along with some chilli flakes to try to deter the swans. I did top up with some more Vitalin before Spombing it in to soak up the extra liquid.

I used Lifesystems 50% Deet for years, but boy does it give me a headache, and it eats plastic. It is the only stuff that works when mosquitoes are the size of a sparrow though...

Not everyone gets on with it, and some places it just doesn't work but try Original Avon Skin So Soft.https://avon.uk.com/collections/skin-so-soft-collectionEven the Royal Marines use it:https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-4809726/Avon-2-25-moisturiser-Royal-Marines-swear-by.html

Not sure if it can, but look up CPTangling. They have lakes in Wivenhoe. https://cptanglingclub.co.uk/

Avon changed the makeup of Skin So Soft, so if it does work for you, look for the original. If Skin So Soft isn't the right stuff for you, and some places I know it isn't, then Lifesystems 50 or 25 is good, just be careful with it. There is an alternative, Pyrethrin treated clothing. Might be worth a look, although I'm sure British MTP combats are already treated. Other clothing can be sprayed. My choice, with the repellant is one of these: https://ultimateangling.com/en/fishing-sleeping-bags/ultimate-night-fleece-cover

I was a Lifesystems 50 user for years, although it could give me a poxy headache, as well as removing plastics and logos off clothing. I've switched over to ORIGINAL Avon Skin So Soft, and not had any problems with the buzzy things.

Snake Pit on the CAPS ticket originally had just 3 fish in 12 acres! The big 40lb Common, the Tadpole Common and the Mirror. I can't remember whether it was Sudbury Angling Club or CAPS who added extra stock, I think it was the former (but I know who it was on the club), the extra stock created the problems. (Followed by a bit of hoi polloi...) @kevtaylor mentions depth, the deeper water can hold a lower temperature in summer, and as a result more (dissolved) oxygen, although tree lined or clear will also make some difference.

I had to set up 2 swims down to the right under the trees on Wednesday, no shade where I had been prebaiting with Vitalin and KMG, and I was not going to let Sky overheat. Still in the same area, just the opposite end of the rushes, and out of the swan's fighting area...

Earith or somewhere else? I had to up the bait size on Virginia when rudd were about, and avoid using particles and pellets. I don't mind catching 2lb rudd when I'm fishing for them, but they could be a pain over the particle. I had to go to 2x 15mm boilies on the hair, and resort to stringers.

Welcome to Carp.com. Nash Monster Squid Purple went the same way as a lot of other boilies and base mixes. Ingredients became difficult or too expensive to get hold of so the range has changed. Very few baits are the same as even 5 years ago, some discontinued, some changed. The other thing that happened is that various additives, flavours, even colourings became illegal under Food Health regulations in UK and EU (not so USA), due to health risks.

How much water is it frozen with? If there is little water with yours, I'd pour in some boiling water with some vegetable oil, some liquid yeast or liquid food that compliments your boilies. I usually freeze mine in a catering stock bucket, so probably about 3litres complete with water I reckon, or 900ml ice cream tubs, which are perfect for stacking in the freezer, and dividing into amounts for fishing.

Bag of each, hemp, Vitalin, GLM pellets when I bought Sky a sack of Armitages working Dog complete. Her food is VAT free, well the dog food, she does get my meat and vegetable trimmings (except onions and garlic) added to her food. Got plenty of hemp and a kilo of Birdfood prepared in a bucket ready to be used tomorrow, sack of Vitalin is still in the car