salokcinnodrog

Saying that I did do a reccy last week to see if I could see any signs of the larger ones said to be in hiding I found this little tank mooching about, if you can make out the dark shape not a good pic.

Hate to say to Elmo but I was expecting this post!
There is no substitute for well engineered gear!
😔

One of the clubs I'm in have known 40's and a poss 50 in the water so pegs are at a premium on those waters, there are rules regarding stays, 48 on 24 off etc, but it still doesn't stop idiots taking the pee... and if there are swims available, better make sure you are a 100mt runner to get one, I've seen buckets chucked up the bank and fights break out. Hence my secession from the big carp hunt...
I'll be on a tiny water tomorrow where the fish don't get much over 10lb so nobody's interested, and I'll be fishing with cane and glass rods with small pins, and I won't get the bum ache if I blank and blame a moody water or the price of elephants for my own ineptitude...  tight lines

Went with the kids this weekend. Blanked the first 24hours. Then we got focused. Decided I wasn't happy with my main spot, so I put my big boy pants on and went for it 18.5 wraps, 2 rods or the horizon and one on the edge of some reeds where I had seen some bubbles, I had prebaited my daughters spot the night before with some boilies and left it, naturally that one was the first to go at 10pm, she cast it and felt for the drop herself and we baited it with 5 x spods and a few extra boilies she pulted into the zone, it ripped off when we were tucked in and listening to a book on audible. The summer I robbed a bank by David O'Doherty, if you have kids it's a great book. And naturally it decided to wipe out all my other rods, but we got it in and I cleared up the mess it made. 

(yes I was done in and a bit sun rouged) 
We lost her rod in the carnage and she wanted to sleep so one of mine went onto her spot, one to the long spot and one to the left. We were awoken to a savage take from the long rod. This came in like a ball of weed until it got in range of my other lines. Took the right one out. During the photos I had an out of body experience. 

Then I ditched the right hand rod spot and went long, so with 2 on the spot I whacked out another 10 X spods and had breakfast. Then the right hand long rod was away,we had spotted them all showing in the middle the evening before and this spot gave me the best shout not being able to move, this one came in well and we moved the other rods out of harms way, fought hard close in but without hassle, and although the smallest of the trio of commons but finished off the trip nicely. 

Lovely weekend with the kids, had lots of fun and caught 3 and lost none, we did some bird spotting, saw some fish on the other lake spawning and caught some fish 
Happy days. 

Easy enough to replace a tip ring. Gently melt the glue under the tip ring with a very hot hairdryer or a continually moving lighter flame and remove. You can hot melt or superglue a new ring on. 

In a bid to be taking less overnight kit ,bought this  Speedflex bivvy  it's got a nice bit of room in it sets up really fast ,got the wrap for it as well.

Rooblinos update.
It wasn't as good as the aerlex. Pretty quickly started sounding like a bag of spanners, And it broke my spod rod when I got a wind knot on the braid when giving it the biggun. I actually used the same braid on the aerlex and it didn't cause any issues and I was hitting 18.5 wraps like a boss, straight through with the trusty x spod and a whiny spod rod with no insert in the tip ring. 
 
 
 

I have really used and abused my Aerlex's, for fishing, spodding and marker float work. I know that the gearing is lower,  reel handle turns compared to bail arm rotation, but I actually feel that may be better in terms of the work they do. 
I think I got them around 2005, so to be still going with minimal care is some going, just the occasional drop of oil. They get covered in groundbait, occasionally soaked and still do Big Boy work. Not bad for an £89 reel. I preferred them over the £105 Biomaster I think it was then, although it might have been I didn't want to spend the extra £20 each on 5 reels...
I've said since that Shimano quality has dropped, reels were built to last, now they are built to be upgraded or fail...
I'm still using my 7000 Beastmaster XTA's for fishing, and still getting positive comments from other people on the syndicate.
The DL10000's I have just don't feel as robust.
Give me the original Seaspin Baitrunners, or the 4000/6010 Aero GTE Baitrunners and I would be happy with them on lighter rods.
 

These anglers from the other syndicate do go on where 'full-time' syndicate members are fishing, on the back of their results or work. This particular angler has not fished 'here' since last June when the other syndicate reopened after their close season. There are around 6 or 7 who only fish here between April and June.
It's created a bit of antagonism, not just for me, but others besides.
If it was an angler who fishes once or twice a month only on this lake I would not be so narked! 

All of these stories are why I like to go where it’s quiet and I can do my own thing! Of late I have been pushed to fish busier waters due to lack of time but it’s done me in. I’d rather blank on a harder and quieter lake than put up with all that comes with busier waters! 
 
Had one matey turn up as I was setting up, saying how he had hoped to get in his favourite swim that I was in for the weekend. He lingered about until he realised I wasn’t going to give it up! He set up next door and watched me catch within 20mins. He was in a huff before he left my swim so can imagine he lost his head in the swim next door! 

So far my plans have gone totally the wrong way, trying to complete a side job through March - April with fishing in May at the forefront of my mind, it's turned out I should have fished then and put the job off till May - June with the hot-still weather and now new members and other lake members on top it feels like a bit of a disaster at such an early stage.
Really think the bulk of my syndi fishing has to be Sept - April, hardcore through early spring when it's nice and quiet.
This place is busy May until whenever the weed gets up lol

We have a problem in that 1 member was the membership 'secretary' for two syndicates, and one of them has a April to June close season. The secretary would 'recommend' members to this syndicate from the other so they would be members of both, but only fish here during the others close season. 
That then creates @elmoputney 's problem and freshly cut, prepared or baited swims are suddenly taken by people who only fish the lake for 3 months without doing any work themselves. 
I was gutted this year to cut and dig out a new swim, keeping it in keeping with the rest of the lake, prebaited it, gotten fish feeding and then finding someone else fishing it and catching one of the fish I was after. His publicised 'campaign' for a bait company was actually fish for 2nights where someone else had been baiting and dive in when they had gone, not as it was published.
It's not the first time it has happened to me or another couple of mates on the lake.
It's these other syndicate members who don't do any work themselves who wind me up.

It was just enough to allow the fish to slip the hook, not total opening and rebending.
 
Elastic springback is I think it's name. From memory it is where the outer layers stretch and the middle is compressed. Once the force is removed it returns to shape 

You won't catch if you ain't got a pastry selection. 

I'll take it 🙃😎👍

I loved the Emblem 'baboons' and the gold 5000's they did. I was seriously considering them years ago. They were fetching big money secondhand.

@yonny I did have a problem with a particular brand of hooks (model no longer available) that were opening out enough under pressure to straighten and spring back into shape. Maybe it was a particular batch of the Series 2 being faulty, but I did lose a couple of fish before I tested and changed from them, and have not used the brand since.
I have also had a few from other manufacturers that did just snap after snagging, at the point of the bend, or straighten out.

One of last years stocking, I think went in at 11.12, now 19lb.

I loved the Emblem 'baboons' and the gold 5000's they did. I was seriously considering them years ago. They were fetching big money secondhand.

The Nicks Pedant medal for correction and research...🤪🤣

Sorry it's Fatboy isn't it not wideboy so it's a (Mk2 Fatboy Version 1) - final answer!
What do I win? 😎

I have never bought a ready tied rig, other than hooks to nylon for smaller species, although mates and I have 'pinched' each other's rigs. 
There is a 'but' in there; at Nazeing I pinched one of Big Daves rigs after I had landed a fish and for some reason hadn't got another tied up. I cast it to where I had caught from, and within minutes started getting a series of bleeps on the buzzer which then stopped. Around 4 in the afternoon every day I would reel in, check hook and bait and recast, so at 4 I reeled in, replaced the rig with one of my own, freshly tied and recast the same bait out. Within minutes I had a take and landed a decent fish. When I got home I did a hook point comparison of my Gardner Muggas, Gamskatsu curve, whatever the number was and the Korda Kurv's Dave was using, by attempting to lift a 3oz inline lead off the desk with the hookpoint on the ball of my thumb. The Gardner and Gamakatsu hooks were sharp enough to draw blood without the full weight of the lead. The Kurv, I could lift the lead off the desk! 
Not long after Korda released their 'hand sharpened' hooks...
I prefer to play around with my rigs, working on thoughts and theories in my head, and the experimentations and experiences in the water. 
I said years ago I don't think of Rig Mechanics of say the KD rig, Spinner rig or even the Chod rig as a rig that passes the palm or thumb test may still be a blank rig but the basic rig that is put in the right situation will catch.
 

I did used to tie some up in Viscount Tackle back in the 1990's for a few people who had arthritis in the fingers, and struggled to tie their own. Not a big money maker as for 10 rigs we'd just charge for the tubing, hooks and swivels we'd used, but it kept customers coming back in each week for other bits like boilies, pellets and other tackle they needed.
I had to laugh when someone commented "you wouldn't use that yourself", then when they saw me on Barham and my rigs were identical and I was catching.

I did used to tie some up in Viscount Tackle back in the 1990's for a few people who had arthritis in the fingers, and struggled to tie their own. Not a big money maker as for 10 rigs we'd just charge for the tubing, hooks and swivels we'd used, but it kept customers coming back in each week for other bits like boilies, pellets and other tackle they needed.
I had to laugh when someone commented "you wouldn't use that yourself", then when they saw me on Barham and my rigs were identical and I was catching.

I couldn't bring myself to use a ready tied rig. Hooks aint sharp enough for my liking but more to the point, imagine losing a special one if the knot went.... you'd never forgive yourself.