salokcinnodrog

Definitely in the carassius family, but could be hybrids between crucian and goldfish. Not sure that they are f1 hybrids as Kevtaylor suggests, it would depend on whether there are carp in the water. The other thing is f1's do have barbules, albeit tiny Lateral line scales for crucian is 32-34, for goldfish 29 so anything different should identify them https://www.crucians.org/html/crucian_hybrids.php#:~:text=(1) The Crucian × Common Carp Hybrid or "F1"&text=It occurs naturally in the,on quite a large scale.&text=In this hybrid the lateral,to a crucian's 32 - 34.

On a serious note, shop around and have a look at Shimano Beastmasters. I love mine although they are 5 or 6 years old now. A baitrunner spool doesn't take much to get used to, I found it pretty easy. I honestly think that they are a better buy than the latest £100 plus Shimmy's. As I say shop around, but here is AD link https://www.anglingdirect.co.uk/shimano-beastmaster-xb-reel

Struggled with motivation for the last few weeks since that decent pike trip. I think the pike will spawn early, and I've actually nearly run out of deadbaits, got 5 blueys left. Don't fancy purchasing a freezer full to keep almost a year for next season. I'd planned on a few river roach trips, looking for big fish. Each day, trip planned, then when it comes to it, 'nah can't be bovvered'. I think some of the problem is pushing the overnight fishing as I would be fishing into dark. Don't want any grief, but also I'm constantly so tired, not sleeping at night, then falling asleep during the day exhausted. Must do better!

I've posted in the past about fishing reservoirs on here: Obviously as @yonny has said, find them. Even though you have a nature reserve, that may not always be the best spot. I found that reservoir fish can really follow a good wind, and a big wind coming into my face is usually when I had my best catches. A good shelter is a MUST; across a 100acres plus of water that wind can really blow, with big spray. I have had nights when rain and spray blew into my bivvy even well up the bank. Those were often the nights I caught most. Reservoir fish can move very quickly. Baiting up on top of the fish can be enough to move them, but equally it could be enough to hold them if you bait up when they are not feeding. Also if they are not there, then you are giving them something to hold them if they move in while you are there. My baiting to hold them tended to be Vitalin, mixed in with plenty of hemp, tigers and boilies. Bream attractor at times, but hookbaits were big, a 2x 20mm boilies, 20mm bottom and a 15mm pop-up as a snowman or a 20mm pop-up to reduce bream taking hookbaits. I found that my catching depths were between 6 and 15feet deep, usually on a ledge rather than right out in the middle. The exceptions to fishing ledges were when I fished shallower bays, the shallower Dam at Wick Lane at Ardleigh and Alton Water culvert area, but they were still in those depth ranges. The culvert at Alton was very snaggy, you could not fish directly onto it. It ate tackle, fragged mainline and hooklinks, blunted or broke hooks. You had to fish the swim to the left. Feature finding is simple, but unless you have a brilliant memory, write it down; forget wraps as distances you write down, because water depth can change as water levels rise and fall. Simply get your marker rod, cast out and check depths, features, feel the lead back. When I say feel the lead back, feel it at all times as you reel in. You might feel it lock up as you come back to the base of a ledge, or you might find blocks or other lumps on the bottom. If you count and let the float up, be aware that there may be undertow, so you could be a few metres away from the actual lead. Check each swim like a clock. Alton between highest and lowest level was a 4metre straight vertical height on the bridge supports at Lemons Hill. That could equate to water level being 10metres (!) down the bank.

I'd much rather not wear them all day, although pike fishing 2 weeks ago I had to. They normally stay by the chair, rolled down so I can step in and pull them up and then do a strap up.

I did go through a stage of touching up hooks, and honestly found it made no difference. Now I don't even touch up pike singles or treble hooks, blunt or turned point on hook change trace or hook link. Waters I fish I seem to turn points over on underwater features, branches, mussels, concrete. Nothing more annoying than feeling a freshly sharpened hook down, knowing it has not gone right and reeling in a turned over hook. I've mentioned it in the past about one rig catching a 26 at Merrington during a carp.com social. That same rig caught more fish, think it was another 5 at Hintlesham, until I turned the point overcasting and finding a tree. The strange thing, if you get the same pattern in barbed and barbless, the barbed appears to the naked eye, more blunt than barbless. It is normally an illusion. What stops hooks penetrating is the barb, exactly what holds it in place. Take the barb down and penetration is improved. That is something I used to do on many Owner FLB's, the barb on some was brutal.

If you can source it from a flavourist then yes. Bait companies always recommended top level, because we boil a lot of the flavour out, in human levels it is normally used in baking so 'intensifies'. I seem to remember Rod Hutchinson quoting about a flavour he used in a bait and sent the finished bait off for analysis, it was around 1000 times stronger than we recommended for human use. If the recommendation is to go 1ml, then I would only go 2ml as maximum in a bait. I always used lowest recommended flavour level, so if bait company said use 2-5ml, I would use 2ml in 4eggs.

New cult starting if you get them in blue😉😊

Followed by "oh no, not the Peanut Elite"

Not the only one. We had Nash rods come into the shop straight from the port, the rep used to get regular phone calls to replace rods that were already damaged.

Since Bill Cottam sold Nutrabaits I really don't know whether the quality is the same. If you make it to the BFM recipe, you might wish to make the base mix yourself. If not look at an equivalent fishmeal base mix from another company. Guava is not in the list now, in fact there seem to be very few of my favourites still available.

Water is densest at 4degrees Celsius, so water warmer or colder than this will be above it. Even in the middle of winter the coldest water is usually above the bottom. It is this reason, really the same as when you run a bath, that you can feel different temperature 'streams'; as the water mixes the temperature levels out all over, however there can be warmer or colder patches in a lake. Bear in mind deeper lakes can take longer to warm up. It really depends on where I am fishing, how well I know the lake, and even whether I have been baiting up regularly, (all the way through the winter season). If I have been baiting up continually, then whatever colour my food source bait is. If I haven't then it gets interesting, and complicated! My usual start on these lakes is a popped up yellow pineapple bait on one rod. The other rod is a bright pink Spiced Garlic pop-up. One or the other tends to be most productive. I use that one until it stops working. Strangely I have never done particularly well on washed out or white baits, with 1 exception, Ballistic B.

I know it sounds like a stupid question, but you are 100% it is a leak, and not condensation? Brollies with overwraps do get condensation as the overwrap is still touching the brolly almost all over. Pioneer or Pramhood bivvies with overwraps tend to have a gap between the bivvy and wrap, which reduces condensation. If you wish to reseal it, I would personally go with Fabsil. A 5litre tin will give you a few coverings. In the stitch holes I would put a dab of seam sealer, probably available from Go Outdoors, Millets or Black, and other camping stores. Once the stitch holes are dried, then a brush or sponge all over with Fabsil. A Fabsil coat will make the brolly and wrap a darker colour, and as with all materials will gradually fade over time.

I actually don't like helicopter set-ups near weed. I found I got a high number of lost fish to hook pulls. I prefer a run ring with a lead link attached to the lead as per

I believe it can. It is a 3.5mm jack plug so should be able to plug it in.

The helicopter name comes from the rig being able to spin around the mainline, like a helicopter. The chod as said is a form of helicopter, but with a short stiff hooklink, and usually a pop-up bait

There is your starting bait: sweetcorn. Personally, I go against the grain (sorry😖) and fish a run ring, but with a lead link; a length of 8-10lb mono with the lead attached to the end. Normal hook length attached. Put the lead in the PVA bag, along with some pellets, and a few grains of sweetcorn, and keep the hooklink outside with the hook stuck in the corner of the bag. Be gentle casting, it doesn't need a hard whack, be smooth.

For some reason I have never done as well on skimmer deads as I have on roach. Probably the main reason is because I get takes on roach, so regularly use them, whereas don't get takes on skimmers on the occasions I try, so don't often use or even get them. Best deadbaits for me are smelt and roach, then mackeral and herrings.

Think I just managed to upload and merge posts, so may be out of sync post wise. I ended up running out of deadbaits as first thing I had a load of dropped runs, and lost a few deads on the take. Ended up packing up in the dark, got to the stage as soon as I cast out, had another take within minutes.

He had a damaged jaw, quite possibly snapped at as they group up for spawning

9 pike today, 2 at 13lb, a 12, an 11, and the rest singles. One I estimated at 8 I decided to weigh, was actually 9lb. One feisty little jack caught me on the finger so didn't have his picture taken. Not the most comfortable swim, had to sit in chest waders all day

Every water is different. Deeper waters may take longer for the fish to start moving, or waters with low food stocks. No point in wasting energy looking for food if there is little about.... Or conversely the fish might be looking for food and constantly moving. Some waters will fish all the way through. Pretty much any water above 4degrees and somewhere a take is possible, be it on a zig, (hurgh, spit) or on a float fished or ledgered bait. Lengthening days might get them moving, but on some waters there is another factor. As the water warms up, the bottom 'turns over'. A layer of algae silty stuff floats up from the lakebed, hits the surface. You will see what looks like little patches of a thin layer of floating lichen covered in tiny bubbles. This can be the time carp start moving. The best way to find out, is to spend time watching and fishing.

Aargh! Schoolboy error: Get a pike close to double figures in the landing net, as I released the tension the hooks fell out, dip landing net as I lifted and pike swims out....😳🙄 Who wants dirty wet smelly hands anyway? 😂😉 Ended up with 5 in the end, nothing massive. I might have to start comparing pics for more recaptures

Yeast extract, or even more specifically Marmite

Get a Spong 301 https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VINTAGE-SPONG-MINCER-301-MADE-IN-ENGLAND-/265035227100 Try that, it won't break. Fix it to a board you can use it at home or on the bank.