salokcinnodrog

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.

We are long past the days of blunt hooks in the pack. I have the view that now they should be sharp enough to use straight out of the packet. If they are not sharp enough, find another manufacturer that does produce good hooks. I have used various makes over the years, Partridge, Owner, Drennan/ESP/Kamasan (Kamatsu), Gardner, Solar and Gamakatsu. Back in the 1990's Partridge were my standard hook, Piggybacks, I had no problems, nor with Drennan Super Specialists, and the Super Specialist's were chemically sharpened back then. I then made A switch to mega sharp Owner FLB's, they were scary sharp, as were Gamakatsu. Shame the GP204's aren't still about! I'm currently using Kamasan B175's, Solar 101's, Gardner Muggas, and Mystic VMC's. The VMC's hold their points and are very sharp as are the other hooks I use. Of all the hooks, I will not use Korda, I found they didn't hold a point, and the Kurv's were not sharp enough. If a manufacturer's product isn't good enough I won't use them.

Been there, done that, went back to it, tried to make the relationship work, and failed. Liz actually used to enjoy fishing together, us and the children. Come to that I know my son was conceived in a bivvy... She just couldn't understand fishing was important for me to unwind.

The original improvement, hair made from braid

I get 3-10 or 11 then 8-4. I did ask if I can have an early before my 2 days off, so partly my own fault, but it's a wrench, although it feels like I get 3 days off as my next shift is a late. In hospitality and catering those shifts are regular!

I believe so. Black Amnesia is softer than clear, and I think that the brown Sensor is more supple than the clear. That could explain why I find knotting coloured lines easier than the same line in clear. I also think that a number of lines from different tackle brands are actually produced in the same factory, some are even the same line just in different packaging. I haven't looked at Tackle Box's line tests for a few years now to compare them.

On my day off I'm often so tired, especially after doing an early after a late, that I will often fall asleep during the day.

Heck yes! If it's a long day I do like a nap, and I can't sleep in a chair, lol

For Brackens I used 15lb Daiwa Sensor treated with Kryston Greased Lightning to help it float, fish up to 38lb, so that is not as over gunned as it sounds. Even on the park lake freelining near the rushes that is the gear as well. For clear water I tend to use 8 or 10lb Daiwa Sensor I prefer the brown Sensor, the white seemed stiffer and I could not get a decent knot with it.

There's a difference in stiffness between clear and black Amnesia as well as the 25 being a lot stiffer than the lower stains. Black is more supple. I would tie as big a loop as possible, so the knot was only just going onto the bait. The rig was tied with a boilie on already. Then I'd take the bait off to store the rigs. Even a large loop could tear soft baits.

https://www.carp.com/topic/20865-a-few-pike-including-a-new-pb-over-20lb/page/2/

3 today, biggest probably 7lb, all on float paternostered deadbaits

I lost a couple of fish to hook pulls on Ardleigh of all places using a stiff hair, so went back to more supple materials. Both fish were on stiff rigs made from 25lb Clear Amnesia continued through to form the hair. One of the fish I had played for around 10minutes, then it just 'let go'. Annoyingly I never had another take from that spot. I think a stiffer hair has it's place, but it does need freedom of movement, a pivot point or able to slide up and down the D or hookshank in the first place

I did, or even still do the same with shrink tube. I heard that longshank hooks with an inturned eye like the Fox and Nailer equivalent could do as much damage as the BHR. The Partridge piggyback were a nicely curved shank as well. Personally, possibly because I was not fishing for single figure fish and rather than use forceps with deep or well hooked fish, just cut the eye of the hook off with wire cutters and pushed it through point first, I never noticed any mouth damage. I did use the Fox D hooks, but after the Series 2's I think it was let me down started doing my own, making a tidy D on the shank. Think I still have a couple of my own in the pop up rig wallet, although now I do tend to use Amnesia with a knotless knot and lighter tag the end through the hook eye

Pike fishing right now. I had a walk around on Monday, half the lake was covered in ice, but I figured it was going to be free by today. Gives me a chance for carp spotting as I can see most of the lake from where I am now.

Wasn't the extended D back down the hook link Roger Smith's original Savay version? I recall a carefully whipped D attached to the hook link in Tim Paisley's Big Carp

I've used zigs occasionally, catching a few fish, more often though when I couldn't fish a floater as it was drifting too fast through the swim or the line and controller got dragged off course. Had a few fish with the bait or zig bug just touching surface tight to lily pads or margins where the freebies ended up. Pop-ups fished around a foot up straight off the lead also produced numbers of carp at Bromeswell. Maybe not strict zig fishing, but it worked. Chods I used before they got named 'chods', again catching fish, but I didn't like them in weed. They were OK over silt and bottom weed, but not in 'total weed'.

I think a few of us have done the same thing, worked hard all week, got away to fish, arrived at the lake and just jumped in any swim. I did it at Nazeing, I've done it elsewhere, and quite probably not caught because of it. At Earith I was 'lucky', the research or previous prebaiting before fishing or at the end of the previous session kept me catching, if I did have to jump in 'any swim'. Arriving at 11 or 12 at night and casting out knowing the swim often caught me fish before having set the bivvy up. When I walked around Nazeing Lagoons looking first before setting up, even in winter, I tended to catch. Just turning up and jumping in didn't. I guess I can be lucky, but I grew up looking for fish be it tench, bream or carp, on 25acre and 7 acre lakes. Without realising it, I was learning. Fishing Taverham I did the same, looked for fish, and twigged that the fish loved fish meals, comparing result of my bird food bait to fish meals. The addition of salmon oil... Even Alton, I would say my fishing was pretty successful. At least twice every week I walked Sky around it, I had mental pictures of many areas, I had put bait in a few. I went through spells of relationships cutting fishing time. At Earith or at Ardleigh it didn't cut down the numbers of fish caught, previous research again. Now being single I only have work and money to consider to limit my fishing.