salokcinnodrog

I pretty much ignored chub last year, I think the carp syndicate had its claws into me, but the hot weather this year meant that I didn't want to be at the lake. I've been doing 2 trips a week overnight on the river for chub and maybe a barbel, not even casting in until after sunset, and packing up around 6am. This was my first fish from the stretch.

Been too hot and uncomfortable to fish the lake for a few weeks, so I've been spending some time on The River Wensum in Norfolk. Last night was proper chub time, a 5lb3oz beast caught on a 15mm Rod Hutchinson Monster Crab boilie over pellets. Despite the lack of smile I was chuffed with the fish as it is actually a new personal best by an ounce. For the rest of the night I was smiling as I replayed the fish in my head. It came from an area that has been ravaged by otters over the past few years so it is good to see some big fish still about

I had to buy some Kodex bags as I was running low, and first thing on test, they taste awful. Lick and stick is my preferred way of sealing them, but it will be lick finger and twist. Just hope they dissolve and don't leave taste residue... Dissolve wise they are ok in water at 10⁰, taking around a minute max, although the lick and stick took a bit longer.

Try these: https://eyelevel-uk.com/collections/eyelevel-polarized-overglasses/overglasses

I used to munch half of my home prepared tigers myself, love them, a good healthy snack. As long as they were properly prepared first, yes. Pour some boiling water over them to thaw them out, then check they are soft through. If they are still hard through they won't have been boiled, but if they are soft they will. If not, leave for 12hours then bring to boil and simmer for 10minutes. Love chickpeas as bait, they catapult nicely quite a distance.

I've been up in Norfolk pulling nights on The Wensum after seeing a couple of barbel just before I joined The Syndicate and while getting over the 'to-do' on Alton. Hard work although a friend has kept me in touch with the river, and had a couple to 9lb. That is small compared to the fish I saw in the area. Really hard fishing as there are so few fish left due to otters taking many of the fish, including barbel and chub.

I honestly don't want to fish the lake right now, there is very little shade. The mat even after soaking before putting a fish on it is still going to be warm. Sky would be miles too hot.

You will find that the glugged ones the flavour will likely only soak in so far, depending on hardness and time in soak. Easy to see if you got a pale colour and the glug is coloured and you are happy to cut one in half after a few days soaking. Glugging some in Rod Hutchinson Shellfish Extract, and garlic oil is a winner. Leave some unflavoured though.

I've avoided the syndicate lake, it's too too hot for Sky with very little shade. The only fishing I've been doing is nights on a river. 2 reasons for that, the area is paddleboarder and canoe heaven, and quite shallow the fish only move onto it at night. Its next to a mill pool so should I get what I'm after I do have well oxygenated water to return it to Sounds like it's stirring the bottom up as well.

Mix the Layers Mash in with Vitalin (or other groundbait) is good, or in with particles for the cloud.

It's 'alright', but I don't think it provides as much bits as Vitalin. Can I suggest you try these people, I screenshot the seller. They quoted 3 day delivery, so expected it Monday earliest, made it in 2, and delivered on Saturday

Goalpost sticks and buzzer bars can be more stable in the ground than a pod on it. The pod is obviously going to be better on Nazeing style hardcore banks or on a wooden platform, and with a guy rope, or bungee or even tie wrap to 'chicken wired' platform. The only thing better is a stage stand! Solar buzzer bars until recently had a weakness, the single central thread underneath, but they have now come in with drop-in adaptors. Oops, just conned myself out of more money...

I made sure every day during the hot weather she was able to be near shade and water so she could cool down. Sky has had moles out of the hole. She waits if a molehill starts moving as it digs out then shakes it. Young moles have been leaving the burrows or tunnels recently, even in daylight, I've seen barn owls in daylight picking them up for their young.

I'm sorry I am a Solar Stainless person through and through, complete with a rod pod...☺️😂 When I do use single sticks, it is Solar banksticks, some of which are over 20 years old. In fact I nearly always walk my lines out, so I do use a single stick every trip. The P1 stuff is pricey, but I have tried budget stainless, and yuck, it just didn't have the feel, no ground driver point. On occasion I need a pilot hole it is tent peg in the ground, then stir it round. My other suggestion if you want lighter would be the Solar A1 Aluminium sticks or RH Gunsmoke sticks, but I'm sure that the Rod Hutchinson ones are 19.5mm outside diameter, probably the same as your storm sticks.

Don't ever go with preconceived ideas, you'll ignore the best approach. In the margins, the carp are usually feeding on the bottom, a pop-up could be above them and ignored. One of the guys on on our syndicate has been quietly catching doubles when all else is quiet. Float fishing a couple of worms on a size 8 hook! His setup is basically for large tench. I used to fish a few busy day ticket waters, and on most margin fishing, a handful of hemp and pellets with a float fished hookbait over the top produced most fish.

Check with the fishery. If the weather is dry enough, maybe no need for a tent for an overnight session, so nobody is any the worse off. As @newmarket puts it, I'm a lunatic, but sleeping under the stars is fine. In terms of the tents, olive green is more country coloured over the blue. Come to that though, ridge tents or dome style? That in itself is a fun one as if you have a low green dome tent you could 'get away with it'.

On a hot summers day... A husky water dog.

I know this has been discussed in the long ago past. It's something I do now as a matter of course as I have to reel in every day to take Sky for a walk, so the swim gets a couple of hours with no lines in. I've had fish in the past where I had to leave the hookbait in the same spot untouched for 48hours. Fish that I was able to watch hanging around the area after I originally put my hookbait in. I think that a fair few people also reel in every day to check or change hookbaits, but how much difference do you think it makes?

Years ago, pictured in Tim Paisley's To Catch a Carp was a rig with the line just going through the eye of the hook, as the hair with bait on that. At the end of the hair was a bead or rig ring tied on in case of the boilie collapsing. Fiddly to tie, and a fresh hooklink for every fish. Like you I would worry about losing fish to an end of line knot or loop giving way. I don't get enough pick ups to lose fish! I'm always wary of ready made shop bought rigs, but for those with difficulties tying rigs I can understand the need. Any tackle brand that sells bits and pieces of end tackle is surely a good thing, but as with every one, tackle must be suitable for purpose and 'fish safe', as in we should not be leaving tackle out for potential tethering etc.

I'm nearly always rods out first, then bivvy. Finally after coffee I'll put some bait in. Sometimes it's coffee before bivvy, and that my friend is why.... Basically I bait up after fishing over a PVA bag or so and giving it a couple of hours. The ONLY exception of the bivvy going up first is if it's raining. Boiling times for 40mm baits, 2minutes tops, but dry for 24hours before freezing, or putting into dip. You might get away with 2mins 30 seconds, but I never found any longer made them any harder. I do have some mega hard hookbaits myself. I drill them before sticking bait needle through them. Mike Wilmott might say different times but he knows his mixes.

Yes I did merge the posts, the joys of phone upload limits. I do like the bivvy, at least you have room around it now. Do you use the inner rib liner? I was struggling with mine this week, cramp in my fingers and I couldn't pop the clips onto the ribs. The other good thing is that you don't need to put the front arch poles in place as just a Brolly and can get away with them or Storm sticks. After the times you've had, I'm glad you're catching, but like you, those little fellas do get a bit much after a while. 2x 24mm baits... The other options I would have thought of both Elmo and Crusian have come up with. Are there any particular spots the larger fish come out of? May not be fashionable but the corner swims might be an option.

Hmm! Gas and electricity has doubled in cost. My grocery shopping started going up in 2020, from £30 a week to around £50 now, that is at the supermarkets. Dog food, still around £12 for 15kilos, which is a months complete dry food for Sky. My greengrocer and local butchers prices are the same, where I get my vegetables and meat from, as much as possible locally grown. Quality is SO MUCH BETTER. Tackle shop prices on gas canisters have gone up by £1 to £1.50, yet the Camping and Caravan stores price is the same. To be honest, it looks like supermarkets are raising prices, yet local shops aren't yet. I'm going to be checking prices carefully for PVA products as that is my usual need to restock. I did a large bait order a couple of months ago so aren't panicking yet.

After dealing with Nash Tackle while in a tackle shop, avoid, sorry @nigewoodcock, too many breakages on delivery, and returns after sale. After personal views on Sonik, rod rings, chair their build is not the best. Your choice, there can be only one...

I've still got Solar Lockey Stainless rests. Refoamed a few times! Think I could sell them and my Quiverlocs for more than I paid for them! My Century NG's actually had a 'ball' on the butt section behind the reel seat, to stop the rod being pulled forward off the rest. I discovered it meant that I didn't actually need to use a rear rest.

Years ago we had a thread going called 'Complicated rigs', it covered a session I had on Ardleigh, then broke into a long discussion on lead set-ups, various rigs, and whether we made things more complicated than they need to be. While I do play around with rigs, I do catch more on a bog standard line aligner usually knotless knotted rig. I may have a sliding ring on the hookshank and tie the hook on with a line aligner, this is more often so I can change the hair length to suit the feeding and hooking of the fish, but this also means I can use a pop-up or bottom bait on exactly the same rig without much faffing. Too many carp anglers forget that getting the carp to feed is more important than the rig is. If the carp are feeding comfortably what is an 'ineffective' rig according to experts, fails the palm or thumb test, can actually be effective hooking the fish. Equally if a super effective rig is in the wrong place and the carp aren't feeding then it will not work. My personal view is that 'effective' rigs are needed when we aren't feeding properly to get the fish comfortable on our spot, or aren't baiting (maybe prebaiting) enough of our bait.