salokcinnodrog

It sounds like bream are the predominant species! Thinking back to my previous post, I forgot to say on Alton in one particular swim I was fishing double 20mm baits on line aligners. It was the bridge swim where I was tipping Vitalin and boilies off the bridge and fishing on that bait. I never had a bream from there. In fact I never had a bream unless I was fishing for them when I dropped bait size to single 12mm baits or sweetcorn and used groundbait, but that was on bream specific gear. If bream are that big a problem I'd actually not cast in a swim unless I could see carp were present, a preference for margins. It might be you need to fish pop-ups off the bottom, above the bream and their feeding level.

I think that there is no such thing as a bream proof rig, but how you feed can be the trigger. Small silver fish and bream are attracted to heavy baiting, especially with particles, pellets and groundbait. The more you bait the more interested they are. Bream tend to be vacuum feeders, they get onto food and they clear it up, and that includes the hookbait, no matter how it's fished, bottom baits and low lying pop-ups are especially vulnerable. To avoid them feed less, or try boilies only. Don't put any free bait in, and fish just PVA bags or stringers, or fish boilies where although you may put 100 (example) in, they are not so close to invite or become a feeding trigger. The other thing is bream tend to avoid the margins, preferring to feed out in the main lake. They can have particular patrol routes! Now saying that, I used to fish Ardleigh reservoir and you could catch bream and then the carp would come before the bream pushed them out again. I caught both bream and carp on baited spots, yet on Alton, I never caught a bream despite using loads of particles. My rigs on Ardleigh and Alton were simply line aligned knotless knotted snowman baits on braid rigs, nothing special.

Either at the end as normal or out of the front. If I give a little bit of history, of one or two rigs, the Bent Hook Rig, and the Savay Loony Rig. The Bent Hook rig evolved on Fox Pool, (?) it was a longshank Hook (normally a fly hook, Kamasan B175) with a proper bend made in the shank, so the eye was inturned. On Fox Pool and everywhere else it was almost impossible for the fish to eject, however as it got into mainstream carp fishing, it was seen to be causing double hooking, causing mouth damage. Possibly around the same time on Savay, it was discovered that by lengthening the hook shank with (biro) tubing, it improved hooking of the rigs being used. I believe that there was also a sliding hair on a rig ring involved. Now with the mouth damage caused by the BHR, and being banned by most fisheries, the Savay Loony rig was not causing damage. The longer shank reduced chances of ejection, and it was noticed, combine a hook with a shank extension turned in, you have a Bent Hook effect, but with no damage. Then we have a 3rd rig, Jim Gibbinson discovered that protecting the hook knot with tubing, and bringing the line out of the front of the tubing, the line aligner, also gave the same effect as lengthening the hook shank and the Bent Hook effect.

Don't be worried by inturned kickers, 'closed' gape or line aligners, I think that has become a buzzword for missed indication or for using the wrong rig for the feeding situation. I.e. some carp suck and blow, others pick items up, it can be spot dependant in a water, or it can even be individual fish If you look at a Withy pool rig there is absolutely no 'open gape' at all, yet it is effective. The front of the hook, the eye, the inner of the tubing is what causes hooking or pri cks in the mouth. To have the line exiting the back flips the hook out bend and shank first. It will work with fish that pick up hookbaits and the hook pri cks the lip, but not suckers and blowers.

Just so people know, I do often do 2 and 1 on single sticks. I do like the stability of a goalpost setup, but if one rod is better placed in another direction. The one on single sticks is over a mix of mashed bread, particles, crushed boilies, worms and molehill soil, while the two are being fished with stringers over boilies.

I was using Amnesia in 25lb for a high pop-up version I was using with counterweight UNDER the swivel boom join. Produced one of the originals last year that had never slipped up before.

Personally I'd avoid Nash, go for the ESP. However throw into the mix the Solar A1 Bowlite or the RH DMX landing net. Solar, quite simply top tackle. Rod Hutchinson DMX, its what I use, but of course I'm going to say that I get discount: https://rodhutchinson.co.uk/product/dmx-fixed-landing-net/

I agree with @kevtaylor, it's advantages are in it can be used for bottom baits, pop-ups and snowman as well as critically balanced. If you use it for bottom baits, just tie the hair slightly longer with a bit of a gap between bait and hook.

I ended up with gremlins. Last night of that session I had a decent run on a pop-up, struck into it and reeled in a bit then had weed clog up the tip ring, so I had to clear it by hand. Started reeling in again and whatever was there had gone, along with the rig and lead. I think that playing a fish I then pulled the line in front of a pike which bit through the line above the lead. Or maybe even a pike took the lead as it 'flashed' past disturbing the bottom and bit me off. And don't talk to me about bivvies and wind, having to turn it round in the dark in a hurry while being battered by 70mph winds. Poor Sky was hiding under the bedchair outside while I was having to use Solar banksticks pushed all the way in to hold it down.

I really don't like the metal framed cradles. I set one up as a display item in the tackle shop and was forced to look at it. I honestly could not recommend one. I have two unhooking mats, one is a Chub Extra Protection Duo mat, which doubles up as a dog bed, and a Rod Hutchinson Cabrio Monster Unhooking mat which on the barrow doubles up as a barrow bag. The inner cushion of the RH is removable and the mesh base allows water to drain out quickly. Both are impressive, do exactly the job required, but I would say the plastic coating of the RH cushion could do with being better quality, it's starting to age perish on the curves. Of the 2, the Cabrio had plenty of room for a 30lb common last year, but equally the Chub was comfortable holding pike, chub and carp to 20lb. The chub mat is also handy when stalking. The higher walls for me, make fish handling difficult, especially lifting for pictures, but my health is not as important as fish safety. Big problem may be that good tackle items which work are often discontinued and replaced with an upgraded version which is sch..

The new range is just about to be or just has been released. I do know that very little of the original versions were left on shop floors, Solar sold that much. Try going to Solar tackle (https://www.solartackle.co.uk/products/chairs-bedchairs) and look for stockists

I was absolutely shattered yesterday, 4 hours sleep on Saturday night so just added the link rather than give a full and proper answer, however the link does contain some of my sneaks. I use a bog standard coated braid, with the hook tied on, and a rig ring sliding on the shank or knotless knotted with the rig ring tied on, and both weighted with olivettes. I'd best give construction details for both: The first is obviously a rig ring sliding on the hook shank stopped opposite the barb by a hook bead. I tie the hook on. The olivette is the smallest required to 'sink' the pop-up, and is held in place by the shrink tube over the eye of the hook and silicon tubing, or totally inside the shrink tube. The second rig is a rig ring tied to the end of the coated braid, and the hook knotless knotted on. Position the rig ring in best position, I find so the bait is tight to the bend. I then hold olivette in place exactly the same as previous rig. Most of my pop-ups, the hooks are fished resting on the lakebed, but if you need to fish higher in the water, the silicon tubing will allow that, and a line aligner is perfect. https://www.tackle-up.co.uk/drennan-polemaster-lock-slide-olivettes-full-range.ir I also play with multi-rigs, but my pop-ups are trimmed so the weight of the hook is enough to hold them down, usually when I'm fishing over a bed of particles.

Is this any use? https://forum.carp.com/topic/23908-a-rig-guide-thread-including-knotless-knot/

For that I'd go back to a normal hair loop and boilie stop, or go 'backwards': put the hair through the rig ring or swivel, leaving 2 long tag ends and pull them through the bait, 4 times overhand knot your boilie stop in place and lighter tag the 2 ends.

Same swim, 2 weeks later. I've been putting bait in when I leave, and although I had a walk around didn't see anything to make me want to go anywhere else. Last week I did have 2 tench over the bait, biggest an estimated 5lb

Welcome to carp.com. I forgot the last time I was actually sane, must be something like 15years ago... Sadly being off work with mobility problems, needing a back operation and hip replacement means I spend far too much time fishing, but I'd rather that than be stuck in a 1bedroom flat all day.

It's ongoing just. I had to reposition the RH Hybrid Brolly last night in the middle of gale force winds after nearly being blown out. This morning I'll turn it at least so I can see the lake. I've thought about that but have caught fish on it for years so it's no longer a worry. It's one of those 'overthink' things, but if I could see signs of fish rejecting blobbed floss compared to tied on I'd go back to tied on 100%. It doesn't bother coots, tufties or swans...

Not just your problem, in the wind lighter blobbing the end can be a nightmare. Even worse for me, is this trip I managed to leave my lighter and spare at home. 2 days of lighting cigarettes from a gas stove until I went to the local village to get some supplies... The pop-ups had been tied on with dental floss on one, Merlin on the other (to compare). They both lasted 48hours no problems.

I've been tying hairs onto rig rings (or swivels) for years for snowman rigs and pop-ups, and because I had to deal with crayfish which can cut dental floss, mono or fluorocarbon, settled on Kryston Merlin braid. I found hair braid is too 'slippy'. Any brand uncoated hooklink braid should work, but I bought loads of Kryston stuff when Dave Chilton sold the company. I even go old school and have a loop at the end for a boilie stop for snowman rigs. So I tie the loop at the end of the braid, and normally using a plain simple blood knot tie the hair to the rig ring. There are occasional alternatives if I've been using single bottom baits or even wooden balls on the rig and they are tight to the loop and bait stop; I'll tie a dental floss or braid loop a pop-up onto the original hair loop. Uni knot a loop, put your pop-up in it, and pull the loop tight. With the two tag ends tie them into the original hair loop with 4 overhand or granny knots, then lighter blob the ends to stop any pulling free. A faff certainly, but it doesn't put fish off. I've found overhand knots or granny knots can slip, but lighter blobbing the ends stops them pulling back through.

All of my fish at Ardleigh Reservoir were caught at around 40-50metres maximum. One was caught at about 20metres when I saw fish moving around an inlet so cast a bait where I saw them. Even on Alton I don't think I cast more than 70metres.

The bottle of scotch is because you are a good ghillie, always providing for your guests...

Scaling back? I tried that and struggled, simply because it wasn't where I had gotten used to it over 30years of fishing. @elmoputney has a fit as my Plano tackle box ends up like a bombsite, just after the explosion... The top level tray is full of hooklink materials, leads, my hygiene stuff, pocket knife forceps, Klinik etc. I do have 2 rig bins for bottom bait or snowman rigs and a rig wallet for pop-up rigs, although one rod is my helicopter setup for big chucks, and stays setup for that. I simply tie the linklet onto a boom, basically hinge rig style. If I need a pop-up rig on one of the other rods I can grab a whole rig out of the wallet and fish that with run ring pendant lead.

Correct.

As @yonny says a knot below the chod will keep the lead clear. In fact, with a chod (or helicopter) setup should you unfortunately have a crack-off, you need the lead to allow the rig to come off the top end past the beads.

There is nothing to stop you putting a stringer on the hook or on the lead.