salokcinnodrog

To be honest, I couldn't just pick one, there are too many with memories: 28lb, from a river, at the time a pb, caught in a 3 hour trip. My first 30, or the 3 biggest 20's from the reservoir, all weighing 24.12

Doesn't always work that way though.😉 On Earith, with one exception, over a gravel bar with big depth changes, putting particles in on a flatter area of lakebed attracted tench and bream and they would not move away, or the carp would not come in. On Ardleigh, usually loads of groundbait and particles was bream, with maybe a carp if you were lucky, although if carp got there first you could catch one or two. Saying that 12 bream in a 'work overnighter' hoping for a carp was not fun. I did only once have a double figure carp when bream were feeding, although John Wilson (RIP) managed bream with a decent carp in a Go Fishing episode from there. Even on the river, I found carp would leave sweetcorn alone for a few days, until it started to go dirty grey. Tench and bream would munch it on introduction if in the area, but carp (whose patrol route I had noted) would ignore it at first until it was dirty. To be honest, a lot of it is knowing the water, and how the fish react.

Almost every lake sees particles, hemp, tigers and maize, which to be fair are brilliant baits. They catch fish, but can attract silvers, even the supposedly bream proof tigers. I have lost count of the tench and bream I have caught on tigers! Particle beds are good for attracting fish full stop, but on occasions, I have found bream and tench get onto them so heavily that carp can't get a look in to feed themselves. I have caught more big fish over just boilies.

I know Gladwell's did Crafty Catcher overruns or mishapes, the freezer bait is exactly the same as the shelf life. I would get a bag or box of 'mixed' come up to the shop then either bag them into kilo or 2kg bags, or stand separating them into whichever they were, King Prawn, Black Cherry, Sea Salt and Crab Meat, or even the Ringers hookers, then bag and sell them. You may find the occasional different bait in there as we weren't perfect at sorting them, especially standing while serving customers. (Crafty Catcher factory make the Ringers Match boilies, as well as a few other shops own baits)

Glycerine, glycerol is a preservative used in loads of bait soaks and glugs to stop them going off. It is, I think an attractor in its own right, which is why I prefer glycerol based flavours. Tigers I save a few in glass 'sample bottles', with RH Megaspice and brown sugar dissolved in glycerol, glycerol in a shot of coca cola, or glycerol with any other thick dip. I actually struggle using tigers and peanuts as bait, I have a tendency to eat them after soaking and boiling...😱😖😉😆

I wish I could manage a pic of a kingfisher! On the river last week I had a kingfisher perched in the tree above my rods, reach for camera and it was gone. I think carp fishing was the top of fishing when they were few and far between. Now they are 'just another'. I think we have had the discussion before about what tackle is available, it is mostly carp gear. It is often harder and more expensive to buy other coarse gear, and at the same time from clubs, to day tickets, most waters are stocked with carp. Obviously because of that people will start carp fishing.

I must admit I think that an 'apprenticeship' in other species is useful before moving into carp. I fished (and fish for) for silver fish, chub, bream, tench, roach and pike as well as carp. As Kev says, some of what I learnt about feeding for other species is relevant to carp fishing, even if it helps me avoid other species! If you can feed effectively then you are likely to catch more. @Dannygooner, my local rivers have also been empty, although I think there are additional reasons, otters, EE's and the ability to get to them. The access for the spots I have been fishing is a mile away from the villages, yet the EE's have been there, least I think that from the beer cans that have been left... I absolutely love a lot of being outside, sunrises, sunsets, the kingfishers, which I often see, even though apparently there aren't many around according to Countryfile after they tried spotting them in the Lea Valley. Today was this, no more than an arms length away. I reached for my camera and he came closer.

At night I normally slip into my trainers, or in winter, often my combat boots, it is easier than trying to get my feet into fishing boots, having feet stuck halfway down the boot as I try to get to a take, or even somehow managing to get them on the wrong feet.😖 During the day though I wear a pair of TFG Extreme boots, somehow TFG ran out of stock of the plain green ones, so for the same price sent me the Realtree or camouflage pattern. https://www.totalfishinggear.co.uk/shop.cfm/tfg-clothing/boots/39/4528 When I walk to the swim or around the lake I will wear my trainers or combat boots, depending on how wet it is. Trainers ok in summer, but rainy autumn and winters can be a bit cold and muddy around the lake, so on go the combat boots. Mine have a lace up front, but also a zip down side, so at night I can slide into them easily. The worst thing for getting cold feet is them getting sweaty and wet. If they sweat, then the damp gets into your socks, making them cold later. So my advice is when you get to your swim, change your socks, even your boots, especially if the weather is cold.

You are welcome. Something for you, the float can be quite handy as rowing, sailing or even barges and general motorboats try to avoid the float, however racing canoeists go over the darn things, no care or looking where they are going. If it is up to halfway over you push them away to the far side on a canal.

I think that 'pile it in' approach is used by a lot of anglers everywhere, no matter what type of lake they are fishing. Not every angler looks at the situation they are fishing in, it seems many follow the media advertised method rather than think about how a lake needs to be approached.

That is why you put the lock part of the cable tie facing up away from your hand. Drennan Boilie pult with smaller pouch

That first paragraph sounds like 'The Korda approach'...😖😅😆

Same for me. From Taverham, Thwaite, Earith, Brackens at Nazeing all have produced best over plenty of bait for me. The plenty of bait approach does not always produce on day one, but over the session it comes on. Saying that, on Taverham, Brackens and even Ardleigh I have had fish within hours or even minutes of the 'fishing' cast going over the top of the bait. I mentioned in the past about having the 'two tone' at 28 from Brackens within 10 minutes of casting a load of BIG stringers in. That session I also had 3 other 20's after it from the same spot, each time casting another few of 'those' things onto the same gravel bar. If I fished a day ticket commercial like Suffolk Water Park, Orchid etc, I would start off by holding back and going stringer or single bait until I knew what the fish wanted. Putting loads of fresh bait in you could be blowing your chances before you start fishing.

@yonny and I have had this discussion before over a big bucket of hemp and bits that a mate and I spodded in, with the original Gardner (*) spod, on an overnight session. By morning we had caught a number of decent fish, had very little sleep but amazed the other anglers on the lake who though putting in so much bait would kill it dead. I tried it on subsequent occasions but the tactic rarely worked again immediately. The fish would take a few days to move onto beds of bait. It was right place, right time. At Earith I regularly caught over amounts of spodded in pellets, chops and whole boilies, even in midwinter. Single hookbaits failed big time. On Ardleigh both heavy baiting and sparse baiting worked at various times. I caught carp over a bed of spodded in bait on the first night, yet on other occasions I caught on minimal baiting (Method Ball of groundbait with a few freebies, no stringer). Brackens I found responded to heavy baiting with big stringers or PVA meshes full of groundbait, due to rules the catty, spod and throwing stick were banned. Even during a session fish preferences can change! From single (high attract) hookbaits at the start of a 4 or 5 day winter session they can suddenly switch onto bait. It is not any way an exact science, and strangely as the week wore on the weather got colder, but the carp wanted some of my food bait around the hookbait, stringers with a few loose boilies cattied into the area. A local day ticket water I fished a number of years ago on one day in winter, I caught 4 carp to double figures all on a hookbait with 1 free boilie on a stringer. The next day doing exactly the same, not a touch from the same area. The only carp caught that day came to maggots on a size 14 to my mate. * The not particularly aerodynamic black thing

A couple of things on these quoted posts: Using a throwing stick accurately takes practice, don't expect to be able to be hit distance or one spot accurately first time. The type of throwing stick you use can make a difference. I was awful with a Korda throwing stick, until I discovered I needed 2 hands to use it accurately, an overhead throw, whereas with my Cobra Ace stick (for 20mm baits) I can use 18's and 20's accurately with a 1 handed action, like a dog ball throw stick. I also struggle with accuracy with straight stem sticks, yet a swan neck curve as in the Cobra I am pretty good. Then you have baits needing to be perfectly round. Any misshape flies off at a lovely curve. Splitting baits can also be reduced by wetting the throwing stick, it reduces the spin forces. Some waters do respond to loads of bait, and others best with minimal freebies. On some day ticket lakes or heavily stocked fisheries, there may be no point in piling it in, a single hookbait may be best. I have used the method of single hookbait, but baiting up heavily when I leave. Prebaiting as it were, then when I fish next time with a single or just a stringer.

Try and get an original Drennan Boiliepult, far better than most other catapults, however you do also have to get a smaller pouch to fit as I find the pouch on when purchased is too big.

You'd be surprised by how much spread you do get from a spod or spomb. It doesn't go straight down in one pile. As it drops through the water lighter particles get pushed by current and they spread in quite an area. I don't spod or Spomb on every water, but it definitely speeds baiting up at range. I can put 15-20 14mm boilies and some particles in a large Spomb, which by stick would be a few minutes, and I would still have to Spomb the particles. Add to that smaller boilies don't travel so far by stick, the spod or Spomb is very handy.

Each gives a different spread of bait, and different ways of baiting up. When seagulls are being a pain, then it has to be spod or Spomb. If you want free bait close to your hookbait, then PVA string, bag or mesh. Incidentally I tend to cast out plenty of stringers or meshes full of bait, but rarely loads of PVA bags full of bait, however, it is possible to catapult them out. As for catapult, you can use it for single or multiple baits, or even firing out small PVA bags or meshes as well as groundbait. Throwing stick, a good way to get single baits out long distance, or multiple baits shorter distances, but if seagulls are about when only firing out say 1-4 boilies, may be worth forgetting.

Plasterers hands? After I went through a stage of losing fish on a particular pattern of Fox hooks that opened out and would spring back in most cases, I started testing hooks. The Korda post comment above was an 'aberration' moment, I forgot Dave had started using them. The hook looked like one of my Muggas, even to the braid hooklink, but Dave had taken one of my rigs (and hooklink making gear) and copied it. Bruce and I could go through our tackle boxes and use any of each others gear with no qualms, the only thing we didn't agree on was mainline choice. Our hooks I have a feeling I was buying from work and then selling to him at my staff price.

I hate to say it, but when I was playing with Korda hooks, these were the only hooks I could do as in the pictures, and that is a 3oz lead hanging. ESP, Gardner Mugga's, Kamasan B175's, Gamakatsu GP204, I could not hold the hook on my finger or thumb, yet Korda I could, so I would say they are not nearly as sharp as other makes. An ESP hook, think it was a G4, can't remember, I landed a 26 from Merrington, then until I snagged or put it over a branch, another 9 or so fish. At Brackens I pinched a rig from Big Dave, tied with a Korda hook, with fish showing yet got no indication, despite him seeing a fish pick my bait up. I retied a rig and I changed back to my favoured Gardner Mugga, within minutes I was playing a fish. I still use B175's, Gardner Mugga's and also Solar 101's. I am happy to use any of them out of the pack, and I do keep an eye on the hookpoint, or actually a finger or thumb every cast as well as looking carefully at them. I think Nige Woodcock was very happy with the latest ESP Cryogen hooks until he switched to Nash. Incidentally it was Kevin Nash who recommended his own companies hooks could be sharper and sharpened. Why? They should be sharp enough for anglers to use straight away.

Not for pike fishing. You need instant indication, and backleads reduce that. You are better off float paternostering, having a float than ledgering. I fish a tidal river with regular boats going across to and from the island. If I ledger a bait I get the rod tip underwater and under the boats, or ledger almost along the bank.

You can see the rear indicator on the second picture. The first picture is a float paternoster with a bored bullet on the uptrace and the Stonze on the paternoster link.

I nearly always fish one rod on the float, enough weight on an uptrace to sink the bait, (frozen baits and pollan often float), a changeable sinker held on by a short length of rubber tubing over a central slot, basically the same as a sliding backlead, so that the bait, either livebait (rarely) or deadbait can drift, or add a mono paternoster link to hold it in place. On the reservoir in midwinter, fishing for pike will take place midwater where the pike tend to stay close to the roach shoals. Any ledgered bait will be underneath them, and a paternostered float will be needing a long paternoster link. I also normally use a vaned pike float fished bottom end only, although you can use an inline float if you fish both running and still waters. While the vanes don't catch the wind like a proper drifter float 'sail', they do go with the wind, so a deadbait can cover a fair bit of water. If the pike are in shallower water, fairly close to the bank say around 30metres, then the paternoster float is better. The other rod is fished with a ledgered bait, which again I add a paternoster link to, tied on the bottom swivel or quicklink of the uptrace. I personally don't like using heavy leads (or Stonze), preferring to stick to a maximum of 2.5oz. The deadbait will usually take the force of the cast, so can be ripped off the hooks with a big chuck. Essentially the only difference between the two rods is one has a float on the mainline With whole sea deadbaits I usually use a single upper hook in the tail, and the bottom treble in the flank, so it is easy enough to tie the deadbait tail to the trace swivel. If you get a fish take the deadbait, the bait tied on means you often get it back if the pike knocks it off the trace in the fight. With coarse fish and smelt or head end halves of sea deadbaits I usually single hook in the mouth so I am retrieving head first, these do have to be cast a little more carefully. I seem to catch more on the float than I do on the lead, on both running and still water. It is possibly I see indications on the float, so strike earlier, but I rarely get deep hooked pike on the ledgered baits, so that would put that out. Indication wise on the lead, I always use a drop-off rear indicator rather than front indicators as in carp fishing. I mentioned an uptrace, with livebaits this is an essential, a livie tangling up in the mainline as a pike takes will see you bitten off. Even deadbaits can curl back up the line on the cast, so an uptrace will stop you being bitten off and the dead pike that can lead to. Unlike carp fishing, the only excuse for not landing a pike is a hookpull. Tackle MUST be strong enough to land them, and the only tackle ever acceptable to lose is the ledger weight.

I don't like stink nets, for the simple reason that they can keep the net wet while in storage, and water (and other dirt) can accumulate at the bottom. They are ok for transporting gear home at the end of the day, but the net then needs a good clean and dry at home. Putting the cleaned net back into a stink bag then risks taking nasties onto a fishery. A new landing net mesh was around £18 last time I got one, and I got a Tackle Box EZ net mesh http://www.tacklebox.co.uk/landing-equipment/landing-nets/tb-replacement-ez-mesh-42-inch-olive-green.html I actually think a lot of anglers buy a whole new landing net rather than just replace the mesh when small holes join and become a bigger whole that it is no longer possible to repair. (Mine has been 'sewn' back together a few times)

There are some good books by Tim Paisley, some educational like To Catch a Carp and Big Carp, but with some session chapters, as well as his Tales From the Bivvy, and More from the Bivvy.