salokcinnodrog

Alfie Russell or Alan Blair? Kttfo The lamping of fish was actually banned in many places. I hate lights on the water at night, I even try not to shine my headlight out of the bivvy.

I aim to fish almost every week. (The joys of being separated and single) This week is currently up in the air as I had job interview yesterday and have trial shift tomorrow. If I can get the time on the bank for 3 nights I will be down the lake. It would be good to see the fish show again.

The difference is cost of the material. Polyester is cheaper than Oxford nylon, and not as 'stretchy', but is more water resistant, however both can be improved.

Despite that, there are some oils that do seem to make a difference. On Taverham back in the early 1990's, baits had to be soaked in Salmon Oil to get a take. I was using a birdfood bait, and against the dominant fishmeal, I could not get a take until I soaked the bait in Salmon Oil, even the fishmeals were dripping. Obviously this stopped (nationwide), with the articles on the deaths of fish with enlarged livers soaked in oils, and more sensible levels came back. I do mix oils in with my groundbaits and pellets, and with other liquids, and some do get an increased interest; garlic oil, peanut oil, rapeseed and sunflower oil.

The only BAF product I have used is the Fluoro pink pop-up mix, and so far it has made the baits for a year, still got plenty left. In fact I may actually make 2 lots for the year, some 50mm ones or larger for pike fishing, popping up deadbaits as I have a concern using foam or plastic, and my carp baits for the year.

I can let you into a very secret ingredient for bag mixes, Equivite pellets for horses. Mix with GLM and Betaine pellets you have a winner. I often add dry Vitalin as well.

I have just tied up a few Ronnie rigs myself, playing with the hooklink materials trying to match the weed colour on my syndicate, which did not die back over the winter. I also made sure that the pop-ups I used only just sunk the hook. Tested in the margins, the hook and Ronnie swivel only just sunk with the buoyancy of the pop-up. I found Kryston Jackal and Snakebite were the closest matching the colour of the weed. I have also had a play with the lead set-up, and inlines do work on the weed free spots, putting the whole lot in a PVA bag, pellets, dry Vitalin, hook and bait, and lead, but rig length can't be more than half the length of the bag, as I have the lead to go in as well. On a helicopter set-up, I have attached a PVA bag filled with the same, 'moulded' around the lead and hooked the hook in the outside corner. This set-up I can lengthen the hooklink, or even fish it hinged. Both were cast in, as well as checked in the margins. Believe it or not, the leads are not particularly obvious with the helicopter set-ups and hidden under a mound of goodies with the inlines. Blooming cold examining the lay in the water even with my chest waders on.

Fishing buddy's is a weird one. Like Newmarket says, if driving is the problem then its 'suck up to the Mrs', (that would be brownie points on its own...) If you get onto a good water, make friends, you might get yourself a really good like minded mate. That is how I made some of the fishing mates I have. Or as B B says ask around the tackle shop, although drivers always get to choose venues. It is not fun having to take gear on public transport, although if you can minimise it, cycling can be do-able for days only, or a cycle trailer. My fishing buddies have changed through the years; I've moved so don't fish with one of my mates, others have different lives, jobs and even different expectations from our fishing. Big Dave hardly fishes due to his life, and he would probably hate the blanks of a 50acre water with 100 fish. He wants to catch every trip! Bruce and I do fish together as much as possible, but my constant job hours when I'm working rarely match our time off together. I find myself that I often work harder for my fishing when I am on my own. I don't have to think about 'social swims' or spots that we can fish near to each other, just concentrate on the water, trying to find the fish. Mind you, knowing that you are on the canal, 2 of you might help locating them if you leapfrog along it.

I also found the pics of the first 20lb fish from Trimley top lake

In which case simply use a buffer or tulip bead😉

Bad batches! Bought from different sources, subject to standard Nick use. Hybrid Spod and Marker rod, 2 x Vader 12ft 3.00, used for pike fishing. All have had butt rings replaced. One cracked at the top (rod side) of the guide on the Hybrid S+M, and the other 2 inners popped out while in the holdall. No other manufacturers Rods have ever done the same, with the exception of an Abu Segra Spod Rod where braid cut grooves in the tip and butt ring. Century, Rod Hutchinson, Shimano, Avid all stood up to my use and abuse. I have looked at the Sonik guides and they have misshapen slightly from use while fishing.

Personally I would avoid Sonik rods, the 50mm guides are awful. I have broken a few on the rods I got to test.

I would add shooting clothing brands to good bad weather gear, along with some military clothing. I use Hoggs of Fife trousers and jacket Try this https://www.hoggs.co.uk/mens/trousers/flexothane-4600-grn-bib-brace

@framey It's horrible, and NOT safe. A lead clip should never be used running. It totally negates the lead being able to come off the line if it breaks. The small inner bore will also jam up with any rubbish.

Sorry I split the topic as Yonny and I got into a bit of a discussion 😅 (If you are interested I will go through the rig pics in the Sticky, I just retrieved some back from photo bucket (hard work that!)

@yonny I think I'm going to split our discussion from this Ronnie rig thread, it's become an interesting topic in its own right. I do agree with you, but sadly it seems we are bringing up a generation of non thinking, parrot fashion learning, even sheep. That is not just fishing, but all over. Anglers copy Korda (choose any tackle brand) vids, rigs, rods, reels, even baiting up with spod mix etc, but there is no thinking behind it. You can see the queue for swims, "that swim produced, I'll fish there", the swim saving for mates, the identical angling from water to water. I keep going back to Brackens, but almost everyone fishing it fished the same; rigs, (lack of) baiting (a sneaky catty pouch), semi fixed leads on leadclips. It took a different approach to catch consistently and regularly. I do prefer to keep it simple, why tie a super complicated rig when something basic and simple will work? Why fish the same spots as everyone else? Most of us, I guess, probably fish high stock waters, where that fashionable rig will catch anyway. It catches, (for now) why change? 3months later the next fashionable rig is publicised in Carpology, everyone turns to the Far side and uses that. Baiting up is the same, in with DF's Spod mix, chuck 2 or 3 rods on top of it, fish queuing up to be caught on that high stock lake. Have baits progressed or regressed? Particles, OK, can't change them, but boilies? I know fishmeal is in short supply, or high priced, yet we have come away from food source baits back to instant attraction, dosed up to the nines in hydrolysates. There are alternatives to fishmeal that provide all the required nutritional amino acids. I miss the DT baits, his chicken meal was a very good alternative. Tails up, Liver Meal mixed with birdfood, semolina and maize meal. The Biollix, beef meal. Everyone is chucking in the same bait, just mixed with a different soak to the same spot.

Statement from PAC General Secretary, **** Culpin: THE PIKE ANGLERS CLUB AND THE ENVIRONMENT AGENCY STANCE ON WARM WATER PIKING IN THE NORFOLK BROADS After many years of lobbying by the PAC we at last have the support of the Environment Agency in relation to preventing pike fishing in warm water conditions. Attempts to introduce a Bye Law prohibiting such fishing have not yet materialised but a campaign to draw the attention of anglers to the real danger to pike when caught in warm water conditions is being launched in the Norfolk Broads and hopefully elsewhere. This will include posters that will be distributed throughout East Anglia in tackle shops, boatyards and in public places. Fact sheets are also being made available to anglers and the general public alike. None of this would have been possible without the tenacity and determination of the former PAC General Secretary John Currie and the input of the Norwich and District Pike Club and we should all be grateful that their efforts have resulted in this positive development. We hope that with the endorsement of the Environmental Agency anglers will take a responsible and sensible approach to fishing for pike in unsuitable water conditions. The reality is that many pike that are caught in warm water suffer and die as a result and we at the Pike Anglers Club will, with the support of other organisations, always look to welfare of the pike as a priority. We are grateful to the Environment Agency for their support on this very important issue. **** Culpin General Secretary of the Pike Anglers Club of Great Britain

That works! Levi when he was young kept wanting to go fishing, so I bought him the gear. His first trip, just a couple of hours on a Sunday afternoon after dinner, I asked him how many fish he would catch. "10". He had a little roach after a few casts, caught a few more, then it went quiet, kept feeding, couple more, then got to 9 fish and went dead. I thought what the heck, got elastic in the pole, so put sweetcorn on, nothing, back to red maggot, and caught a lovely little linear, just as we were due to pack up. Perfect 10!

Monster is lethal! My daughter was told not to drink them as the sheer amount of sugar screwed up her diabetes and blood sugar. Big Dave was drinking cans of Monster and started suffering fit's, seizures and his blood sugar levels have lead to diabetes. In fact he is the person I had to jump in the lake to save and prevent drowning, holding him afloat and giving CPR for 45minutes until Emergency Services arrived. I bought my youngest two children whips to start, until I was sure they were ready to deal with a reel. Full kit, I think they were both by Middy who do do a complete kit. https://www.middytackle.com/product.php?ProductID=1112 The advantage of a short whip is that they or you, can underarm flick it out, no big worry for casting. Both Lily and Levi started off like that catching small roach and perch. What we used to do was take the fishing gear down to the park lake, with them on their bikes. They would fish for a while, get bored, go for a bike around, fish some more. While they were cycling I was testing the gear to name sure it was good. Great fun catching a few fish with no pressure, then they'd see and want to catch, so you end up teaching them feeding and catching unhooking etc.

@yonny I would love to agree with you, but sometimes you have to remove the idiot factor, if this means roping off the snags or banning the lead clip and having rig checks... Personally I don't like lead clips, but that is me. They jam up with weed, which itself can stop the tail rubber coming off. Despite having to use helicopter setups at times, I don't like them either, much preferring to use run rings or inline leads. I do fish to snags at times, and try to consider even the hooklink. I want a hooklink that won't stretch and abrade like mono or fluorocarbon, preferring coated braid, and I sit on my rods, figuratively, not literally, 😆. @Bruce Many anglers get confused and kerfuffled in the world of rigs and bait, with both, try to keep it simple, find the fish first, put your rig where they will take your bait. Rigs get fashionable, get forgotten, then make a rebirth with a rebranding, yet while that rig catches fish, normally so will any other, in the right place. Years ago I fished Trimley lakes near Felixstowe, the lake had never produced a 'big' fish, biggest caught being 16lbs. I cast out a simple braided pop-up rig, on Merlin braid, Trigga pop-up, the pop-up height being the height just above the leaf litter, a piece of putty moulded around a power gum stop knot. . I caught 2 fish in the 'quiet time', middle of the day, a cracking 16lb mirror and even better the lakes first 20lb carp. Even betterer than that, it was from Welders favourite feature, the margin corner to my right. Simple rig! Simple fishing! I really must find those pics to look at those fish again!

@yonny it was done because lead clip tail rubbers, inline leads being pushed on so tight, or even glued in place and the bad indication of helicopter rigs near snags, that the only way to stop people fishing with inappropriate setups was to make it a rule.

Strange you mention that, Ultimate Bedchair cover comes with a mosquito screen. After this week, 2 barrow loads hurt! Like you I had gotten used to unloading the car in the swim then putting it in car park.

I dislike the helicopter setup as bite indication can be compromised. The number of times I have watched fish move with no or minimal indication at the buzzer and indicator. I have seen a fish take, and the indicator did not move, the buzzer did not sound, it was only seeing the line arcing through the water that gave away that a fish was on, at only around 40metres. (Pre Delkim). Even with Delkims, at around 120metres in the middle of the night, I had a 24lb mirror that bleeped a few times, which I hit. I recast, same spot, same distance, a couple of hours later had 1 bleep, no movement. In the morning the line was in a totally different angle to where I had cast it, and was running into a snag on the island. The fish had moved some 50metres. Regarding your fishery rules and 'no fixed leads', I would suggest you check exactly the meaning with the bailiffs, as I do know some where no fixed leads does include lead clips, inline leads, and helicopter leads. I.e they do insist on a run ring or totally running lead.

My rigs have barely changed in 30 years of fishing. For bottom baits a basic simple knotless knotted rig with a line aligner. For pop-ups a sliding ring on the hookshank stopped by a hook bead, and a coated braid hooklink stripped from the hook to the height I want the bait popped up. Either putty or a match anglers olivette is the counter weight. This works with pop-ups and snowman baits. Choose your hooklink material for the bottom you are fishing over. In weed I prefer braid as it lays better than stiffer materials like mono or fluorocarbon. The running lead can be fished with a tight line or a slack line. If there is no undertow, fish it with a slack line and your indicator fished at maximum drop only just providing weight. Whichever way the fish goes you will get a run, any bleep is notification of interest. If you fish a running lead it is a Bolt rig, the fish will run, but can run towards you so you need your indicator tight.

A fixed lead is basically any set-up where the lead cannot come off the line in the event of a break-off. A lead clip or helicopter setup could be construed as a fixed lead, the lead clip if the tail rubber is pushed on tightly. Heli safe clips are NOT safe, the lead needs to stay on to allow the rig to come off the broken line, a heli clip does not allow that to happen. The answer is to use a running lead, kits are available from Korum, Fox and other brands. As for Ronnie rigs, you can use them on running leads, but I would suggest you make the hooklink long enough to allow the hook and bait to slowly sink down on the lakebed. In other words use a pop-up hookbait that only just sinks the hook and swivel. It may not offer any advantage over other pop-up rigs.