salokcinnodrog

About 5minutes job, tops. Just unclip the o-ring, slide the old clip out, new one in and replace the o-ring. A small pair of tweezers and a very flat head small screwdriver helps.

I use a Drennan original Boiliepult with a smaller pouch than it comes with. I found a few in the tackle shop and bought them all, but am down to my last one. Think they were Middy pouches. I can get 3 20mm boilies in them. I can push 55metres with a single 20mm, but that is it. If there is any cross or head wind out comes the throwing stick (still got a Cobra Ace). I will use the stick for 4 or 5 baits around 50metres. @yonnymentioned 2 handed use, that is the only way I can use a Korda stick, whereas with the Cobra I can go one handed, and once I have worked/adjusted for the wind, accurately.

Big test curves are for casting, not playing. I've landed numerous carp over 20lb on 1.5lb, even Avon and Barbel rods. Many hooked under my feet on dog biscuits, or sweetcorn. The only reason my main rods are 3.25lb test curve is because I was casting to 150yards. My largest carp was landed on a 2.75 test curve from a venue where I may need to cast further.

I have plastic shark tooth clips on my old Aerlex reels, only broken one and that was when I caught it somehow transporting gear from swim to swim. The line on the rod got tangled up in a bramble and I just yanked it. I have replaced it with a Shimano spare for pennies, it still goes. I just use my thumbnail to put the line under the clip once when I have got the right distance. I actually don't like the round metal clips, the line seems to unclip itself quite easily. Shimano reels for me, although I blanche at the quality of the newer models. My Aerlex's are 15years old and still working

Lovely! Leads on a run ring, can be fished tight or slack line, tight is a bolt rig, totally slack is a running lead. Don't think about using a lead clip running, it will NOT drop the lead. If it is soft clay, find out how far the lead is sinking, and fish longer rigs to cater for it, preferably with a slow sinking hookbait so it doesn't sink in too far. Clay is often quite firm though, although carp can dig holes to get to food, which sometimes get filled in with soft sediment, leaves and silt.

Years ago back in the early 1990's it was known as Lyng Easthaugh pits and had a head of proper big old scaly carp over 30lb, real fish. When it was bought and stocked with the Dutch and Belgian commons I promised never to go back there. There were a number of Norfolk waters with those wary big old scaly's, Booton Clay Pit was another and Geens pit near Shropham. I believe they came from Redmire spawn and fry as in the 1970's some over spawning years saw Redmire fish come all the way over to Norfolk.

I haven't managed a fish out of the syndicate yet, although I'm learning the lake. Last trip I noticed a lovely spot between the trees, although it is only 4ft deep. I had a good check, and although a difficult cast it is manageable, and you have to be on the money not to be in the weed. It might be ignored by other members as the bank is high and precarious. Bream love pellets and groundbait, and I found even using tiger nuts, if you have any groundbait in the swim, they will take them. Just keep working and learning.

I should have mentioned on this, I do use strong braid mainline. Pike fishing you want your gear to be heavy enough to land every fish hooked, with absolutely no break-offs or fish trailing hook traces. Unlike carp, pike can't eject hook traces (but can some lures) if you get snapped off. Where I mention having a permanent sinker on the uptrace, it is because I will land what I hook.

I know you have stipulated Cambridgeshire area but is Norfolk out of the question, even Suffolk? I don't know much about Taverham Mills any more, fish wise, but I did breakdown almost every swim on there in a post on here. You paid your money, chose your swim, no swim booking and could move if need be. The other option I was thinking of is Suffolk Water Park Traditional lake. You may have to book an individual swim, I am not sure, but there are definitely some good fish in there. I hate being stuck in one swim, if the fish aren't there I do want to be able to move onto them

I used to do that on Brackens. The 3rd rod was already baited, with a stringer nearby, so I could quickly recast after a fish. It's one reason I don't always clip up, and go by 'cast memory'. Even so it is rare for me to overcast into a tree or onto the far bank, and I can feather it down if I feel it was too hard.

For a 3.25lb test curve rod, I use either 3 or 3.5 oz leads, and always the same on any trip. Basically I work out which one I need to get the distance I require on my furthest cast. At the moment the longest I can cast due to the weed is 50metres, so I'm using 3's. If I need to cast further, 3.5's cast maximum distance on my rods. If I'm fishing closer-in with my Specialist rods, maximum lead will be 2oz.

1, 2, or 3 One is sometimes enough, two might be water limit, or 3 if allowed and the swim is suitable

Potato salad... 😅 Try using a free running rig ring on the shank instead and tie the (pop-up) bait on. Thats pretty much my choice for snowman or pop up set-ups, and sometimes bottom baits. You get more freedom of movement, and to some extent, even with bottom baits, it resets, or can be taken, after a missed take.

Problem was match angler's don't always go with the same care train of thought as specimen hunters

Various! Past few years I have been fishing my big fish waters with double 20mm boilies or a 20 and a 15mm on a snowman on my bottom bait rigs. My pop-ups were, in fact are 20mm homemade specials. My runs water is boilies from 8-15mm. On Earith I used 12mm boilie sausage cut into discs as well as 15mm boilies.

The lake I'm fishing is a mix of silt and weed, very few hard areas other than a Causeway through the middle of it. There are two types of silt, under the trees, (basically one end) there is black smelly silt, the rest is sandy coloured. I have waded out into it, (most of the lake is no deeper than chesties) you can see or step into, fish cleared deeper holes, they will dig into it for food. A day after wading out, you can see your trails from the previous walk. Hemp sits on top, or just slightly under the top, yet I think boilies can sink in. I have not yet seen a boilie the day after putting them in, even by hand. I do not know if this is fish (very few silvers) or sinking in, but I think it's them gradually sinking into silt. I have not found any problems with 3oz leads plugging, and sticking, you can reel in with no issues, unless you hit weed. I don't pull the lead back on any lakebed. I may feel it down, but never pull back.

Not sure if it goes back to the days of Relum, but Hutchy gear has had the reputation of being good gear. I have had various RH bits of tackle, bivvies, rods and reels and it is good stuff. I would say though, compared to modern unhooking mats that one does look a bit thin, with no sides. Mind you, the bubble foam balls in beanie mats get compressed and become useless. That one I think is sponge foam inner

I went through a series of hookpulls years ago on Fox Series 2's in size 6 and 8. During the fight the hook was opening out enough to pull free, and then springing back into shape. It was only when one stayed 'straight' that I figured what was happening. The fish were fighting very hard, in a silty water, from the off, normally hooked close to the rods. My usual course of action on hookpulls is to lengthen the hair, working on my theory; Hooked at the extreme edge of the mouth/lip, getting hookpulls then lengthen the hair. Hooked deep down in the mouth shorten the hair. Dead centre of the lip, perfick. While this is all well and good, sometimes simply increasing the amount of free bait around the hookbait can also improve your hookholds.

I eat plenty of garlic, and rarely notice getting bitten, only the occasional, but I do hate the buzz when the darn things are about. I have a mozzie front for my bivvies, and its not just a thin mesh, it is thick enough to prevent seeing through it, although the further away you are from it, inside, the better. I end up either with front section on or off. (I haven't put the front section on the Hybrid Cabrio yet), and just resort to the Skin so Soft.

Some makes are definitely more buoyant than others. Nutrabaits pop-ups used to be more critically balanced than pop-up, I have not used them recently so don't know if it is still an issue. Solar Pineapple and The Secret will pop-up a size 8 Solar101 hook nicely (largest hook size allowed on Bromeswell). Dynamite Monster Crab (orange) and Squid and Octopus were the same, although to go with Rod Hutchinson Monster Crab boilies I have been using their purple Monster Crab pop-ups. The Garlic and Spice is one of my own concoctions and is in a deep red.

Ziplock or plain freezer bags are perfect. I break mine down into 500gram or 1kg bags and store them like that in the freezer. Something else that works is supermarket ice cream tubs. Makes a 'single use' plastic tub multiple use, and they will stack tidily in a chest freezer. Just remember to eat the ice cream first and that once used triple chocolate ice tub is now fishmeal boilies... Thinking about it, don't wash the tub after use and you have ice-cream glazed boilies!

Sounds like what has become known as The Rapala knot. I use it on Amnesia and coated braid if I want a loop. With coated braid though the loop knot does become just a doubled length of line after playing a fish, so will likely need changing hooklink if you want the loop for the freedom of hooklink and movement.

Last year a mate had just landed a decent fish when he blacked out and fell into the lake. I jumped in and gave him CPR while he was in the lake, it took four people to lift him out, 20stone of wet (living) but unconscious angler. Scared? Hell I was. He was in hospital for a few days but is alive and well. It still gives me goosbumps thinking about it. Otherwise, the sounds of a hedgehog with his head stuck in a dropped tin can is quite spooky, banging against a tree trunk just off the path as you walk round the lake in the dark, as is waking up on The Meadow swim at Taverham with a horse halfway inside the bivvy; its head, breathing and snuffling right next to mine. A mate also got woken up there by a fox coming inside his bivvy at night. I've had the occasional 'ghostly' experience, but not really been scared by them. Dave Moxon and I back in the 1980's were night fishing for tench, carp and bream, our brollies pushed together and a plastic screen over the top to keep damp off, when around 1am a figure walked past us. The path had no access except at either end, river on one side, lake on the other so we looked all the way along and found no-one there. If it was human it must have run along the path in the dark with no torch!

Any elderberry branches hanging over the lake I would think would provide food for the fish. I have used them for roach on the river, started off fishing maggot, but feeding hemp and elderberry, then fishing hemp, then eventually switching to elderberries. I have had some nice nets of roach with the occasional chub doing that. Adding them to any loose feed, carp and other fish will eat them at the right time of the year, so potentially putting a hair of elderberries would work.

I've never used couscous, although I did read an article about using it to bait up with to prebait with to 'spread' the boilies smell around, mixing boilies and couscous together. To be honest it seems like extra effort that I can't be bothered with.