salokcinnodrog

We use boilies as a practical and easy bait as standard, although as you mention, most other baits are not carp specific. I do love particles, especially maize and chick peas. Maize can be left quite hard after soaking and boiling, and chickpeas can be coloured and flavoured, but you also have maples, sweetcorn, the list is endless. If you buy sweetcorn from the freezer, I've found it best by adding two teaspoons of brown sugar, a grind of salt (rather than straight from the salt cellar), covered in boiling water and left to steep. That is for one bag. Tinned sweetcorn is good as it is, obviously put it in a suitable container, but also slightly 'stale'. As for other baits, luncheon meat, pepperami, various meat sausages, even chorizo, although I do struggle with that, it's known as Nick loves chorizo to eat...

From the crack-off with the swan, it went at the hooklink knot, as it does in the majority of cases. It is normally only if the line gets fragged by snags or detritus does it go anywhere else. The run ring can travel up the line and off. I think every trailer I have found, has been caught up with a semi-fixed lead, usually on a lead clip... I have removed and freed a couple from snags in the past! Yet never found one with a running lead on.

I can't remember where I first bought them, but I had to replace my dwindling stock of run rings and clips. https://www.korum.co.uk/en/products/rig-accessories/kp-00170 I've lost a couple or rigs recently, blooming swans, one swam through the line and tangled up, the other picked up the hookbait, both resulted in losing the lot. On the tangled up loss, it was just after the cast, so the line was still in the clip. The swan swam towards the splash of the PVA bag. I checked the line, and it had gone at the knot. As for the running leads, and slack lines, the two carp this week were absolute screamers. The second carp during the fight I could see the lead on the run ring, and as the fish kicked right, I could see the lead eject off the clip, not losing the run ring, just the standard type clip like the picture. I'm not sure but it may be because I cut the swivel off the leads, and the wire loop can slip between the prong.

I think that the stiff coated braid was wrong for the multi-rig over that area of lakebed, and the hook sits wrong. It might work in other spots, or maybe a standard braid would have been better, but a hookpull is a hookpull, and I analysed it thus. I thought that over particles the fish would pick everything up, but I think that the stiffness stopped it being taken in properly, whereas the braided reverse combi could be sucked in. The reverse combi rig I had one take today, and the hook was well in the mouth, so definitely was the right choice for that spot. Oh, and relevant to another thread, it was cast out in a PVA bag of mixed pellets and chops/crumbled boilies. It is weird that despite the right and middle rods being at the same distance how the lakebed is different within 10metres. I do check presentation for the rigs in the margins and at times on the spots.

I'm still using both the 360⁰rig and the reverse combi rig, and both still catching. I've tried a Multi-rig for the pop-up slivers over maize and birdfood, but did lose a fish to a hookpull, so went back to the other rigs, and specifically the reverse combi over the particles. I've shortened the fluorocarbon section over particles, to no more than 10mm.

How you doing? This session was a rather decent one, despite managing to leave my hookbait bucket at home with my medium Spomb in it. I spent an hour cursing and swearing as I used the small Spomb to put a bucket of maize and birdfood in. The first night produced a tench of around 6lb on a straight out of the bag bottom bait, which somehow managed to go across the middle rod. The 2nd night was quiet. Last night around 11pm I had a strange occurrence on the middle rod, it pulled to the right, with what appeared to be a run, but there was nothing there, so I recast with a fresh stringer. At 3am I had the same thing happen again. I think that it was a goose or swan swimming through the line just in front of my rod tips, or a swan picking the hookbait up. A couple of miscasts with stringers, but 3rd time lucky. I was sat drinking coffee and eating breakfast when the rod went with a 22lb mirror, one of last years stocking, and a 10lb weight gain. Caught on a 360 rig with a meshed 15mm Nutty Bait pop-up with a stringer of 6x 18mm Nutty Bait boilies. This morning I was starting to tidy up ready to pack up when the right hand rod went, which was the rod over the maize, and managed a rather nice 26lb mirror on the 'sliver' of Monster Crab pop-up on a reverse combi rig. This fish was from the 2021 stocking and went in at 11lb.

I've done that one, and required a hospital visit for a grass splinter in the eye. As for other stupid mistakes, leaving the tackle box at home a few times, requiring journeys home to pick it up from Weybread No.1, Suffolk Water Park and Earith. I've left my rucksack at home, and this trip my hookbait bucket which also contained my medium Spomb. Not checked a combi-rig knot after landing a fish, I just recast and on the next take the hooklink parted at the knot. I've forgotten how many times I've fallen in from leaning over too far, a couple of times from a tree, and the numbers of pairs of sunglasses I have watched go 'plop' from the top of a tree, although at Yew Tree I did manage to recover a pair that fell off. Oh yes, the wading one, I even had a wading stick in hand, but as I waded back to land a large pike decided I was invading it's territory and went for the stick and me. I fell backwards and over the top of my chesties in water up to my chest. Oh yes, and I think possibly the worst, leaving my insect repellant at home and getting a bite that caused the blood poisoning which despite not being a disease, caused the life threatening illness I had last year.

I have been seen up to my chest in the lake raking a swim to make it fishable, plain ordinary garden rake. I think we all go through 'the struggles' at times. I had a bad year on Nazeing on the Lagoons; I couldn't get onto fish with people in the swims as I was arriving late after work and there were full-time anglers on there as well. It made me more determined to catch. If I had not gotten a job locally I might well have stayed on there rather than fish Alton Water, but travel time put it into touch. Not nice finishing work at 11pm and then having a 2hour drive before setting up. I even struggled on this syndicate first year, not really getting a feel for the water, but I think that was the numbers of fish, or lack of, in 45acres. A 45minute drive is bearable, but it does mean that I can't spend time or a day watching and looking for fish. I even struggle doing a day's pike fishing as really hurt getting up at 6am and taking Sky for a walk before fishing. At least now I can spend a few days at the lake, and watch and walk Sky. I do tend to fish one rod over a bed of particles, one just off them and the third at another feature. Saying that, last year I did fish one on hemp around 10metres out, and the other two were on the edge of the weed where I was convinced that I had seen fish. All 3 rods produced! I've also caught fish within an hour of Spombing in a bucket of bird food, or a day later when they move in. We can be trying to compete with a lot of natural food, yet boilie only or over particles both produce at times.

When I was fishing Nazeing Meads and Bromeswell I landed a 10lb carp from Bromeswell, and was chuffed to bits so photographed it. The same week I landed a 10lb mirror from Nazeing and slipped it back unphotographed, disappointed. I did lose a fish 2weeks ago myself, the week my phone crashed, but got it right last week. I hope this week goes smoothly and the fish are over the bait I keep putting in.

I must admit that Ali Hamidi went down in my eyes when he wrote an article about extending a fishing session rather than go to a family function, a parents birthday. I also dislike his 'loudness' on camera and I did find him a difficult watch, and his attitude with Korda. OMC seemed to have missed the market with silly prices, although the 'Ali followers' will buy it. As, despite not watching it, the Dragons would say, I'm out.

Found this one from 2023. With the tips up, it looks like I was fishing over a bank of weed. The water tower in the background is the last remains from a WW2 prisoner of war camp.

I must admit I really don't like metal framed cradles, fish thrash and damage themselves, or thrash and get dropped onto metal. I have 2 unhooking mats, a big Rod Hutchinson Cabrio Unhooking Mat, and a Chub Xtra Protection Mat. I do struggle with a mat with deep sides due to a screwed back, lifting a fish can be painful, and having to bend over a walled cradle is a killer, so the majority of the time I use the Chub Mat. If I need to use the barrow to transport my gear I take the Cabrio mat as it makes a really handy barrow bag. The Chub mat folds in half and stores my pod bag and centre bar, my weigh sling and sack, and a spare pair of storm poles which double as distance sticks and camera phone mount.

I do frequently even in shallow margins. I've seen fish in the margins on my syndicate with their backs out of the water feeding. Bruce lowered a bait on a fishes nose in around 60centimetres. Two hours later he caught his first syndicate fish, followed by another that night.

I've just had to top mine up, squid, blueys, soft shell crab and black lug. I'm happy with shelf life boilies in my chosen food bait now. For years it had to be freezer baits, but after catching as many on decent shelfies, I was happy to switch. As for sea fishing, I do catch a fair few fish on squid and bluey or squid and crab. The thornbacks do like them!

Little bits and pieces to restock at the end of the session, rig rings, swivels, hookstops, and bait for sea fishing, squid, blueys, black lug and soft shell crab, soon made light work of £45

J̌This is the version from this mornings fish, Gardner Mugga, 15mm meshed Nutty Bait pop-up and tungsten weight on the loop.

I did switch to a Gardner Mugga this session and adapted the rig slightly, a loop knot to the swivel, and a sliding pop-up counterweight on the loop. Properly nailed in the mouth.

First thing this morning on a Nutty Bait pop-up: 29lb @crusian 40metres, towards Scotty dog I've just been through my pics and our Facebook group. I have caught it before at the same weight last year. It was one of the 2020 stocking

Years ago on Taverham, a mate and I were told that it was not fishing and just a few freebies would be the best way to catch. Dave and I had taken up a 10kg base mix bucket full of hemp. We put the lot in the plateau swim to the astonishment of other anglers. In the morning I think we had 10 carp between us, all over the hemp. All night there was rarely a quiet hour, the carp really got on it. You can fish one rod on limited bait and one on the heavily baited spot. Personally I prefer fishing over bait, you get the bottom constantly being stirred up when the fish are on it, and that can disguise the rigs.

Are you going in with preconceived ideas of what worked in the past will work now? Lakes can change over time, from being a boilie only water to a particle water, or vice versa. It's just a case of watching and location. Not the easiest thing to do, but instead of fishing spend a day looking. Even 'waste' a show if you see something by casting a marker float and lead at the spot and finding what they are on. You had the liners, that's a start; were they liners or dropped takes? Investigate the area between the bank and where you were fishing, out with the lead and marker. Maybe they were liners and you missed or overcast the feature they were on. If you were using a Chod rig, maybe you were done, something (not so nice) to think about, but I have found helicopter set-ups really reduce indication at the rod end. A single bleep and I was done, or an absolute screamer when the fish couldn't get rid of the hook. I have also had long range helicopter rigs moved over 30metres with just a couple of bleeps and a shake of the indicator. The last time I used an 'unejectable' rig on a helicopter setup was when Bent hook rigs were allowed!

I use the Hemp ones on a multi-rig over hemp and in the bag of pellets https://rodhutchinson.co.uk/product/naturalz-wafters/ I'm just as happy with the 360 rig and a sliver of pop-up or a Nutty Bait pop-up over the bag as well. With the 15mm Nutty bait pop-up I have put in 3 or 4 whole boilies in the bag. The sliver of pop-up is usually fished over spodded maize and birdfood when I want a small hookbait. I say sliver, I've trimmed it to the shape and size of something in the spod mix, either maize, maple pea or whatever.

Sonik Tackle has a bad reputation with me!

I use PVA almost every cast, either over spodded bait or 'empty' areas. I've had a fair few fish from the syndicate on patrol routes with just a bag that has been cast in for about 5 hours. I don't have much rudd trouble though, there are not that many silvers. The big rudd tend to stay down by the western end, and rarely go up to the shallows at the east end. I did say I get silvered, but I also think that the pellets break down. My bag mix is mixed sizes of pellets with some crumbled boilies added in.

On Ardleigh I tended to recast The Method every 5minutes for the first 30minutes then leave the last cast before hitting the sack. That way I had a decent bed of bait in the swim. I didn't always spod bait in, sometimes just relying on the recasts. I'd usually prebaited the area a day or so previously. As for PVA bags, stringers or mesh, I could just cast the once and leave it for the next day if I know it's on spot. If I'm not happy it is reeled in and recast. I'm not too worried about the occasional patch of bait elsewhere. A bag or mesh of pellets and crumbed boilies will get silverered. A few loose boilies in the area won't do much harm.

Watching for the mouse or whatever that surfaced and dived back down. Something like that, although I don't actually write it down. I remember every swim and the distance from the original high water casting spot. I did message a mate this week after I got home: "After last night's phone dilemma, it crashed, I lost a carp this morning, hook pulled. Monster crab pop-up sliver on a coated braid Multi-rig. I'd played it from aiming at sneaky squirrel around 40metres. It ran right, so I waded out with my net, got it to go left, and it went past middle rod and hook just popped out. Not a good session. So upset I packed up a day early".