salokcinnodrog

Even on fenced lakes, if there is a break in the fence, or a tree falls over it, an otter can get in very quickly. One night and in the morning I found 2 dead carp, both doubles. This is in a lake with crayfish, which I would have thought would have offered an easier challenge. I know a lake near to RAF Fairford lost the majority of the carp stock, and some big tench as well. Andy52 is the one who got me up to date on the place when I mentioned I knew a very cheap fishery in that area.

After diving and collecting loads from the water...😉😅

I emptied a kilo of leads out of my box a few years ago! Now I carry a maximum of 10 leads with me.

Couple of ways I do it, but it does depend on the size of the eye of the hook, and what material you are using: Mono and dental floss, even whipping thread, I can tie to the eye, whipping it down the shank, and going through an overhand loop to hold it on the shank where I want the hair to leave the hook, usually half way between barb and point. I then fit a line aligner or kicker with shrink tube. It stops the hair moving, and protects the knots so they don't slip The other way is I often use a sliding rig ring on the shank of the hook, which I stop from sliding round the bend by a mini rig stop, or 2 sleeves of mini shrink tubing, one on top of the other. The advantage for me of the sliding ring, is I can change hair length, or material without cutting the rig down. I think you should be able to see both methods

Don't forget as well, you will attach that loop to your link, so it will sink. Never thought of oil from my hands changing the characteristics of the material that much! I do have very dry hands though, regularly having to use hand cream😘😳😖

Welcome to Carp.com. I must admit that while I appreciate your situation and location, I don't think you would necessarily need to go above 12ft rods, absolute max 3.5lb TC. I presume, but only because I don't know, a fair amount of your colleagues boat their baits out? If you cast with the 12ft 3.25 rods, I know you can get baits to 150metres. My advice look at Century rods if you can, SP's will definitely hit the distance, or even Rod Hutchinson rods.

I use a few hair materials, continuation of the hooklink, (braided), Kryston Samson, Merlin, dental floss (buy unflavoured from supermarket rather than tackle shop), mono or even (got to say it, though it pains me😳🙄😆) Korda Armacord. (Somebody dropped a pack on the bank, I was lucky enough to find it❗️😉) With mono, while I am happy with 4lb mono, I have found crayfish can cut through it with their pincers, so the others are crayfish proof. As I use PVA almost every cast I hold the hair in place on the cast with the stringer or mesh. If I don't use PVA then a dissolving corn nugget around the hook holds the hair in place.

Old line for me as well, although I sometimes do put a layer of insulation tape on top of the old line, more so I don't have to feel for knots next time I change it. Longest cast I made at Ardleigh was from Wick Lane end, bank to bank. If you know where the small stream inlet is, I was opposite that when I saw a fish roll in there. I guess about 125metres

It was years ago when I first played with fluoros myself, around 1995 when I first started in a tackle shop. Sufix brought a few breaking strains out, Carp-r-Us brought out theirs, and I was sticking with a blood knot, or a Uni knot and having problems. I think at the time Dave Chilton was saying the Uni knot was a no no with fluoro, and I know with the blood knot I was getting crinkles. Fluoro has improved no end since then, and what I use now seems a whole lot better, but that may just be I understand its use now, being more careful with all my knots.

I used to be very wary of any fluoro snapping on me, it did have a tendency to give way a lot, so I avoided it for years. I think a lot of the issues are with knots giving way, because the fluoro works best with a particular knot, or the knot has not been properly lubricated and wetted down. It is only recently I got back onto it, and have had no problems while using a Uni knot.

My worry is always they are going to take it off the market, or a new uprated version is coming out. I used to love Shimano Catana line, brilliant casting, and very tough.

I usually end up pulling an overhand loop through itself with a baiting needle. Not usually too worried about getting a really small loop unless I want the bait stop almost tied into the loop, which I sometimes do if small fish and Ronnie and Reggie are being a pain.

Its a running lead with tubing😉 Been using that set up for years

The old stuff is a white and green mix, and the white does get 'grubby'. I can see most hooklinks in the margins as well, soft braid doesn't worry me really, caught fish on it, so happy with it.

I tied a few rigs up with it for displays when I was in the tackle shop. I can't say I was too impressed to be honest, so I stuck with what I have from Kryston; Merlin, Snakeskin, Snakebite, Mantis. Merlin is my goto braided hooklink, either as part of a combi link, or on its own, and I have caught on it in weed, over gravel or silt. I will say as I bought so many packs of Kryston a few years ago, if it has changed since Kryston was sold into a tackle wholesale group, and rebought, I have not used any newer versions. Pictured are rigs tied with it, one on a plain KK and one on combi-rig. If you use it on a combi-rig, I would recommend checking and changing hooklink after every fish. As it pulls tight on Amnesia, the Amnesia knot can be pulled down. Not changing has cost me fish, but I have not lost a fish with it giving way during the first fish hooked on it.

A couple of minutes before I put it on the reel. Mono takes on a bit of water, so can expand if left to soak. If you put it on the reel after soaking as it dries it can tighten and shrink away from the spool lip, leaving the spool underfilled.

Sky has her moments! Like when a muntjac comes past. She is out after it like a shot. She ran out of the bivvy so fast she managed to bend a storm pole, as the long lead was attached to my bedchair, which also got moved towards the bivvy door. Siberian Huskies are a breed that aren't usually able to be let off the lead at all. They get something into their head and just run, their recall is also terrible. They only follow or behave to a dominant owner, so although people may think I am overly strict with her, she respects that. I have managed to get her to behave when she is off lead in the swim, the camou screen now serves another purpose, although she has managed to go over it, but a very sharp shout made her realise not to go anywhere. Huskies as well as being able to jump a 6feet fence, can dig very quickly. I have seen her dig a hole to her back legs in soft soil in 2minutes. While most people think of huskies being sledge dogs, they are also hunting dogs for the Siberian Chuchki people. The heterochromia, one blue and one brown eye is a husky trait as well. They can have either blue or brown eyes, unlike most breeds who have brown eyes, but they can have one of each. Even on a walk at home I don't let her off the lead unless in a fenced enclosure!

Years ago I used to work with fibreglass laminates, cloth and resin. No matter how carefully you did things exactly the same, you could not line up the cloths on the mould the same.

They look very close to the curved and bent hook patterns that have been banned for serious mouth damage. A few fisheries have started totally banning any curved shank hooks totally as they have found mouth damage being caused. To be honest, silicon or shrink tubing, either line aligned or with a 'kicker' or kink for the straight talking. Just by extending the shank length can make ejection more difficult, with a line aligner...

What I mean is while they may fit together its not a perfect match. Like buying a pair of socks, losing one, so buying a single sock of the same pattern to replace the one you lost. The colour is not likely to be exactly the same, so while they are now a pair, they are not matching. A rod is built on a mandrel, carbon cloth and resin rolled around a centre piece of metal, then dried. It is then sawn in half. You break a section of a rod you will not get another section that is a perfect fit, exactly as the original one was. The different sawn sections will not fit together as perfectly as the original twp did. You may not notice the action, but I can guarantee, I have tried mixing and matching sections of my Armalites in the past, and rods I have built from Pacific Bay blanks. There is most definitely a difference. On my Armalites, there was a distinct looseness and wobble in the joint when I put an incorrect tip to a rod butt, even though I had just rebuilt them!

Welcome to Carp.com I'm with B.C. in that my biggest gripe with Greys is new ranges every few years. I also don't believe that if a rod snaps that there is another top section for it. A rod is built from carbon cloth and resin on a mandrel, it is then basically sawn in half and either an overfit joint or spigot is made to connect the section together again. If you have picked up a £100 rod or two for £70 each then you have gotten yourself a decent discount.

Bet you've heard me recommend one P-line Floroclear is a co-polymer line with a fluorocarbon coating, and comes in clear or mist green. It is not the best casting line, slightly stiff. I find knots need to be regularly checked, and the mainline to hooklink swivel knot cut and retied frequently. Big advantage is it is almost invisible underwater, when I first (didn't) saw it years ago at 5 Lakes, a hooklink was in a tank of water with a gravel bed. The line was invisible, but I could see the hook and swivel.

No problem in sorting it out I had a play on Google: https://www.live4fishing.com/horton-lake/ click 'contact info'

I fished a few years ago on an open water in this country under a 50inch Nu-brolli for a few rain free days. One day it was so hot I ended up dehydrated with serious heat stroke. On summer trips I regularly find it unbearable in the bivvy compared to being outside, often trying to find shade in the trees.