salokcinnodrog

I do try my pop-ups at various heights, says he who used to prefer keeping them as low as possible. I’ve caught fish on pop-ups close to the lakebed, the counterbalance being on the hook eye, to around 10centimetres above the lakebed, which to me seemed like a zig rig. I'm not sure that pop-ups are a big fish only setup, although I suppose that is relative. 23lb is a big fish, but when the lake has fish to 50, 23lb is 'small'. Going back through my captures, I've caught big fish on bottom and snowman baits as well, including 30lb carp.

I watch the videos and I always chuckle to myself. The swim being fished has so many things that can add to the already wary fishes 'stress'. Obviously first one is the camera, and any attachment to the bank, wires or cables, as it is unlikely underwater cameras will be wire free. Then we have feeding situation. The water may or may not be a boilie water, or a water where particles or groundbait are the best feeding stimulant. As for my fishing I tend not to be pedantic about camouflage, but I do try to minimise it being over conspicuous. There are times that I have seen fish spook off bright fluorescent baits, yet at other times they are the best way to catch. My hooklinks I prefer green or green, black and dirty white (Merlin). I think that matches the majority of lake bottoms. My mainline is usually clear in clear waters, and is as much as possible fished slack line and running leads, or rods low so the line is along the lakebed if possible, although I believe that at anything over 40metres, the line is along the lakebed anyway. I stopped using leaders unless I have to, and I still catch on straight through mainline, and with no anti-tangle tubing. Like @elmoputney I don't think that the fish can identify a hook, run ring, bead, lead or swivel, and that green hooklink looks like a strand of weed. Baitwise, I prefer an unobtrusive bait, for a couple of reasons, to try to stop swan life, but also to match my freebies which are normally brown. However, as said, there are times in late autumn, winter and early spring when I think that a fluorescent bait is better or will provoke takes.

My brother has a newer model CRV, and I have been in it on a decent journey when we came back from Tottenham Stadium when the Chicago Bears beat Jacksonville. It's nice, comfortable and on my list of 'possibles', as is the Nissan X-Trail. I've got a collection of books for my Dad, the type of things that interest him, the cracking of Enigma, Orford Island and it's uses in military research, The Channel Island and German Occupation and the development of the Spitfire amongst others. His problem with socialising is he gets an interest in something and doesn't understand that it is not always relevant, or that in the case of the charity work he used to do for Greenways that during school holidays children would be included so he needed a DBS.

Honda and VW are my two preferred manufacturers, and while Skoda is owned by VW, it just doesn't feel as comfortable and is slightly short of power. I've also found it slightly more difficult to balance the clutch and accelerator on starts. There is room for the gear, but not loads more as you would think. I'd happily go back to the new model Golf, although I am not sure on the liftback of the newer Civics. I did see my dad today, he was dressed but in his room as I think he finds daytime television and the lack of conversation in the lounge annoying. He doesn't understand that it's a rehab unit, and they've got various stages of dementia.

Hopefully now things should settle down, my dad has been transferred to a rehabilitation unit in a care home quite local to me. He is still confused and unable to make decisions for himself with his dementia so my brother and I have signed the contract for the free treatment for 2-6weeks. It does mean that Dom and I can do alternative day visits to him, which might mean I can actually get fishing in again on the syndicate. On a negative note I had to scrap my Honda Civic after a failed MOT, but have a hire car even if it is a Skoda Yeti.

Flaked maize itself is sticky when wet and works well in Method Mix, no major need to blitz it up.

yesterday's driving music

I got into discussions with someone about bait companies this year and I gave some figures for various bait companies. Dynamite baits (owned by Rapala), have less than 10 employees, and have a turnover of less than £1million.

I'm sure that I have done that for dumbell shapes, or a too large a sausage, say 14mm for ovaloids. In fact on a 'compatible' nozzle and rolling table, say 12mm, if the gun compresses the base mix, as they are extruded they will expand slightly and be slightly off shape as well. I used to air dry unboiled base mix balls totally, mixed with water and the other liquids, to get a fast breakdown, basically like the ball pellets that were available at the time.

I can remember when Taverham Mills was sold, a 25acre lake, stretch of river, a house and I think another 20acres of land. The Carp Society put in a bid, but were outbid by Anglian Water with a bid for £1,000,000. Anglian Water managed to fence the lake trapping otters inside the fence. What irritated me is I had built the fence around the roadside and the woods at the back when I ran it and had no problems. Anglian Water ripped the fence down to rebuild it leaving it down for weeks, allowing otters to get in. Those same otters were getting the barbel and carp in the river before they got into the lake, so AW would have known otters were in the area.

I know one venue that's up for sale for less than £300,000

As @framey says the only reason for round is they catapult or go out in the stick straight. Boiling the sausages and then cutting does allow a bit of extra attraction as the cut edges aren't 'sealed' skin. I used to use a knife years ago to cut my sausages to roll between my palms, but the Gardner rolling table stopped the need to do that. There is nothing wrong with 'pillows', rolling sausages and using the table to cut the sausages without rolling them, if anything its easy to do.

Our lake has had them on, and in winter coots were the main diet. We rarely lost swans, but did find occasional pike were on the diet. There were a couple of carp with damaged tails. Again the lake is open access, and unable to be fenced.

A granddaughter who pinched and ate a couple of chunks of luncheon meat dusted in turmeric and garam masala... Bromeswell is on a few estate agents and as much as I would love it...

😆no worries Mate, I know what you meant. Believe me if the syndicate was close enough to the hospital I would fish and visit him as well, but a 60mile drive from North Suffolk to Aldeburgh is not a possibility. I've had some 'Nick time', even if it involved a blank chub chase and two lost end tackles in a snag, and daughter and Granddaughter time with a trip to Norfolk

No chance of getting to the syndicate while he is in hospital, even if he goes to Aldeburgh. He needs the social time with my brother and myself so every other day I will have to visit him until he can get into a full time care home.

Hopefully my dad should be going back to the community hospital for rehabilitation tomorrow. He has managed to get around using a walking frame with the physio.

There are few tackle brands I trust totally, knowing that it is right first time, but Gardner are one of those that I have not ever had a dodgy item. In the 1990's I bought a Gardner Landing Net. It lasted until 2004 when it was stolen, I don't recall even replacing the mesh. Gardner hooks I have found blooming (as in to make bleed figuratively and literally) pinprick sharp straight out of the packet. I used their PVA mesh bags for years, and I haven't changed from Gardner Pro line other than a brief flirtation when no-one had any in stock after Richard Gardner sent me the sample batch to test myself before its release. If I ever contemplate moving away from my Delkim loyalty (I've never had any problems) the only alarm I would switch to would be Gardner. I did play with the original TLB's and the wired sounder, they were nice and did look good.

I really don't know where to start! It's been a difficult few weeks with my dad in hospital since a fall at his flat in August. Just when we thought he was recovering, he had a chest infection turn into pneumonia while in the rehab community hospital at Aldeburgh, so got rushed back to Ipswich Hospital A&E on Saturday night, where he has been ever since. Back in August I made a long Facebook post https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1JEEY9X2sB/

Hemp quality has definitely dropped. It is smaller, harder to split and just doesn't seem as effective. I love standard birdfoods, although the additional aniseed ones are even better. Buckwheat is a good choice mixed with crushed maize and birdfoods.

I had a good look through settings and couldn't find anything to turn it off on my Samsung phone and tablet. Ai notes on Facebook posts have gotten ridiculous as well; asking what my dogs temperament is, how do you look after Sky, really bugs me.

Oh grief! I am so wound up. My father is 84, and has dementia so my brother and I split visits with him a few times a week each as he is still independent and living on his own. Today was my day, and I had to be there from 10am until his normal medication delivery arrived, but immediately after had to go pick up his antibiotics prescription from Boots and do him some shopping, which involved a trip into town. So one of the 'homeless' trying to 'help' at the car park ticket machine, in other words beg. This idiot chose to give me verbals in Ipswich town centre, and then decided to try to push me when I refused his assistance as I paid on my card. I put him down and left him tangled up in the post at the car park. Got back to my car and he was taking photos of my car. He then tried to carry on with the mouth and wanting to fight. I just picked his bike up and moved it and him out of the way. You can see what happened to his trousers when I left him attached to the post by the waistband

Are you happy with Ai listening in? I get so many adverts after checking links on here and not all are the good type... I have flicked the search on fleabay: https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_nkw=bivvy+pegs&_sacat=0&_from=R40&_trksid=p4432023.m570.l1313 I don't mind ebay adverts, I use it anyway.

I beg to differ, I'm an old school Chicago Bears fan, and played for 20years. Terry Hearn is one of the few people I can watch.

I'm one of those who uses standard strong bivvy pegs. I've looked at mine and they are the screw in pegs provided by Rod Hutchinson with the brolly system, or some screw in pegs I bought for another bivvy. I did also have a quick look at Johnson Ross (https://johnsonrosstackle.co.uk/1477-bivvy-pegs) and Tackle Box and to be honest in terms of tent/bivvy pegs carp tax is actually low. I've not found ground I can't get that type of peg in, and I have always screwed them in rather than used a mallet, and at Nazeing I did take one just in case for the sailing bank which was hardcore, but was always able to screw them in. If I have any complaint it is that in soft ground in windy weather pegs pull loose. I have got one bent RH bivvy peg, but that is actually down to Sky catching her lead around it as she went for something. It was deep in hard ground, and she pulled and bent it out. Saying that, she has also bent thick banksticks, storm poles and storm sticks, and blooming dog spikes.