salokcinnodrog

There is no problem in this case
 
the gates there the fence is gone lol

OnE of the lakes on my club ticket was fenced off and had gates on it that were left unlocked so people could use it as it’s a public footpath.
the locals complained and the fence was taken down 
the gates are still there 🔔🔔
river flows next to it 

Coots, pike, swans, geese and ducks.
I've seen how otters will grab a swan by the neck, and bite in until it dies. 
I did see on on the lake going into a rabbit warren, rabbit numbers are very low around the lake this year. The roadside warren has been wiped out. It was 20metres from a copse alongside the lake, where the otter hid. The warren on the house side has less rabbits than usual, but that is right next to the main car park and track, so may get regularly disturbed.
 
 

I fished main lake Sunday and blanked again but i enjoyed every minute and im starting to get liners/false takes, had a few fish cruising over the area i had my baits in, now the weather has improved i dont really care if i catch or not, its just cracking place to be

The one thing that I do feel is that different anglers have different references on big or small waters, it may even be water shape. On Taverham Mills and Barham B-pit which are both around  20acres, I never thought of as big, whereas the 12acre Weybread Number 1 I did. Weybread was more an open water where the other lakes were totally irregularly shaped, bays, points and peninsulas with no real long casting.
I did really struggle on Weybread, it was the first water I was competing against other anglers including Jim Shelley, for a swim, and the 'team baiting'. Weekends were manic, and that at the time was my fishing time.
As @yonny puts it, I was out of my depth, but I did catch my first 20lb carp, a fully scaled. 
The next year I went back to Taverham Mills and started catching on a decent bait. I started walking and locating, watching and learning. While I was catching far more, I didn't have another 20lb carp until 1995. 
I definitely class Ardleigh Reservoir and Alton Water as big, 160 and 475 acres respectively, as I do Nazeing Meads Central 40acres and South at 20acres  which are connected by a bridged channel.

Not carp exactly but… 
 

 

Well done to everyone catching.
Too many posts to like them all, some of those fish are absolute crackers, beautiful!
 

I had 90% of my carp on the syndicate in the summer all on adjustable zigs using 12lb hook lengths and 10ft 3.5 rods , got to use tbe drag sensibly and with soft hands.  

 
But as Iv said elsewhere in hindsight they were to stiff and il be in the market for something slightly lighter 

Whatever floats your boat init lol, I love catching Carp on the ressies, fishing at distance. When you lift into something feeling solid 100 yards, just feels wicked 👌 then it starts stripping you when youve got it half way back🤣 I find they fight so well on the ressies, 100% my favourite way to target carp lol. @yonnyit was your advice years ago that helped me get some of my first captures on a 90 acre water, which is now my favourite place to fish 🤣
I do try to mix it up a bit though, I go to a 4 acre estate lake with my dad, it's pretty easy to get a bite once you've cracked it, but tbf it's more about spending some time with him 👍
This year I've joined a complex with some stunning fish, I've managed 3 20s this year on the 4.5 acre lake, but still struggling on the 9 acre, not a single fish yet lol, they are very weedy lakes and just learning how to fish on them has been a massive learning curve and that's just presenting a bait 🤣

That's my point, when it comes right it does mean so much.
The common went in in 2018 at 18lb, it's now over 30lb, the linear was a 2020 stocking that was double figures.
Last season I did have a very good year, although a 6 fish session really made my season

 
 

Struggles pah! 
If I don't catch the biggun after this , there is no carp god. 
Lost 2 to cut offs, bivvied up next to a rats nest, caught a 12oz rudd on a zig, managed to get the extra night, went to the shops, was having a look round the lake, when I came back thousands of wasps are flying round the same rat tree. I've taken a rod, net, mat and the hand of god baiting pole and I'm currently perched on a boat. If it wasn't fishing I would have quit, but it beats a day at work so I will enjoy it anyway. There is still time for my luck to change. 

I find smaller lakes harder than bigger less pressured waters.
The fish tend to be more wary, more rig aware, even more bait aware, so getting ahead of both the fish and other anglers.
It is so much harder getting rigs that the fish aren't 'used to', although current fashions can make things a little easier if everyone is on spinner or Ronnie rigs, and you can come up with something different.
When I first went onto Brackens Pool I knew it was heavily pressured, and nobody used much bait due to the rules of no catapulting or throwing bait in, everything had to be attached to PVA. I came up with my sliding revolving ring presentation (an adaptation of something I had seen Rob Maylin write about), and used plenty of big stringers, 30 boilies at a time, and would put in as many as 20casts of stringers before my hookbait cast.
The first fish I caught was in a swim that was often ignored and was 30lb. 

I find smaller lakes harder than bigger less pressured waters.
The fish tend to be more wary, more rig aware, even more bait aware, so getting ahead of both the fish and other anglers.
It is so much harder getting rigs that the fish aren't 'used to', although current fashions can make things a little easier if everyone is on spinner or Ronnie rigs, and you can come up with something different.
When I first went onto Brackens Pool I knew it was heavily pressured, and nobody used much bait due to the rules of no catapulting or throwing bait in, everything had to be attached to PVA. I came up with my sliding revolving ring presentation (an adaptation of something I had seen Rob Maylin write about), and used plenty of big stringers, 30 boilies at a time, and would put in as many as 20casts of stringers before my hookbait cast.
The first fish I caught was in a swim that was often ignored and was 30lb. 

Well im on the alternative rig, most anglers are like you say ronnie, spinner and slip D, i have gone back to full on Choddy, light lead with lead free leader and blatent pop up , i had a eureka moment and realised the lake is perfect for chod rig, and now im getting the odd take, plus im happy with my bait choice i think its a matter of time before i get a few out of main lake 

I find smaller lakes harder than bigger less pressured waters.
The fish tend to be more wary, more rig aware, even more bait aware, so getting ahead of both the fish and other anglers.
It is so much harder getting rigs that the fish aren't 'used to', although current fashions can make things a little easier if everyone is on spinner or Ronnie rigs, and you can come up with something different.
When I first went onto Brackens Pool I knew it was heavily pressured, and nobody used much bait due to the rules of no catapulting or throwing bait in, everything had to be attached to PVA. I came up with my sliding revolving ring presentation (an adaptation of something I had seen Rob Maylin write about), and used plenty of big stringers, 30 boilies at a time, and would put in as many as 20casts of stringers before my hookbait cast.
The first fish I caught was in a swim that was often ignored and was 30lb. 

I agree. Big waters are a case of find them, catch them. Small waters, anglers are on them all the time. You need a little time to figure it out.

That's my point, when it comes right it does mean so much.
The common went in in 2018 at 18lb, it's now over 30lb, the linear was a 2020 stocking that was double figures.
Last season I did have a very good year, although a 6 fish session really made my season

 
 

That's my point, when it comes right it does mean so much.
The common went in in 2018 at 18lb, it's now over 30lb, the linear was a 2020 stocking that was double figures.
Last season I did have a very good year, although a 6 fish session really made my season

 
 

I'm still amazed that this trend has taken off.
Don't get me wrong, I've no problem with high TC rods, but for me they exist to hit distance, and for that you need length too. If you don't need to hit distance then I cannot see why anyone would choose a higher TC. It's a compromise for casting because you don't have the length, and a compromise for playing fish because the TC is too high..... worst of both worlds!

I agree totally, blanking but learning is progress, knowing what you did wrong is as important as getting it right I guess - the bigger picture of understanding.
I think the pressure of catching spoils it for many or they allow it to, but I'm doing this for me no one else, so I set the bar!

I can relate to this massively. It was an 80 acre nature reserve with a very low stock that did it for me. I was nowhere near ready for it and blanked for a whole season before catching one right at the end (to this day one of the best I've ever caught). What a learning curve it was. The buzz from catching that carp set me on a path that I could never go back from.
There are very few blanks that wind me up. As long as I learn something (i.e. literally anything) about the lake or its inhabitants on a blank, I'm not bothered. Every now I'll have a blank session where nothing is learned and that's the only time I'll be a little peeved. Best thing for that is get back down there and bag one!

That's my point, when it comes right it does mean so much.
The common went in in 2018 at 18lb, it's now over 30lb, the linear was a 2020 stocking that was double figures.
Last season I did have a very good year, although a 6 fish session really made my season

 
 

I tend to fish harder lakes with very limited time so blanking is part of the furniture. Sure it can be frustrating, but it doesn't break me and I never question my tactics (unless I see something that tells my I'm using the wrong tactics which in itself I would consider to be a result.... critical info learned innit).
Ultimately, I'm not going to get the buzz I seek from easy, heavily stocked waters. If that means I have to go for longer periods without catching then so be it. I'd rather spend my one night a month doing everything in my power to find and catch something special than queuing up on a day ticket to catch a fish that comes out once a week.
Again - I don't get this. In years gone I've retreated to easier waters when it looks like a blank year is on the cards but the result is always the same - catch a few doubles or twenties that mean very little to me..... feel like I've wasted precious time that could've been spent chasing the proper ones...... go back to the hard lake and stay there until I've achieved what I wanted to achieve. Basically a pointless exercise. 
Of course it's all personal choice but for me: the harder the task, the bigger the buzz when it's job done. That's in all walks of life imo - not just fishing.

Lovely morning after a wet night.
I call the trees opposite Wile E Coyote and Scotty Dog.
I've had a few fish out of this swim in the past, but it is the area where I've seen the big uncaught common.

The funny thing is that the lake I'm on gives so many difficulties; 185 carp in 45acres, with loads of natural food, so not overstocked. It is very weedy, and has plenty of birdlife, which the swans can be a right pain as it is not particularly deep.
The carp aren't spread equally, the water can be devoid of fish in certain areas, and they don't show regularly. It has a pretty much East to West orientation and the east end is the shallowest, so a westerly wind doesn't push them all the way.
Then we have the syndicate, I can be the only person on there for a whole week, and see absolutely nobody. I walk Sky round almost every day I am there, as it's a 2mile circuit, a slow walk so I can watch the water and look for fish.
Then we have bait, the fish don't need it, but you might need to bait heavily to compete with naturals, or the hi-viz attractor bait. BUT, don't bait up on them as they are wary and will move away.
I should say that this is the hardest lake I have ever fished, but you know when it comes right.