tonybranno

Because i expect someone in a higher power at babycarphunters lake has heard bad things about braid, had a knee jerk reaction and banned it without looking into it more first.

Thats the way to go fella. By all means try different materials but get your confidence in one sort and stick with it. I use 5 different hooklength materials for different fishing scenarios and they are..... Stiff coated braid - Armaled Kik Bak Soft coated braid - ESP Striptease Braid - ESP Sinklink Flourocarbon (for my combi links only) - Korda IQ And for my choddys - ESP Stiff Bristle Filament And thats it, i wouldnt dream of using anything else.

No..... its because the weekends on the forum are notoriously slow, everyone either out fishing or doing other things. In answer to your question though, for me i think the only safe rig imaginable would be a simple running ledger (with quite a large bore on the swivel of the lead itself) sliding directly on your mainline.

Simple, use a small cylinder of zig foam (i Use the Gardner stuff) of around 5-10mm in length and just hair rig it as normal but use a very short hair so that the foam is touching the bend of the hook. I also use a small Choddy/Stiff Rigger type of hook in size 10 because it opens the gape of the hook out far better than a standard hook. Tie one up and you will see what i mean

I see your point but then you have the problem with the flouro not being supple enough for the hook to do its bit and hang very limp. There is no way on earth that a hook on a flouro hooklink can turn as well as a soft braid..... FACT! So that leaves you with only one option..... a combi link of braid and flourocarbon. Sorted!

Thats because the KD rig isnt designed to be used with a "standard" pop up bait..... is it?

Well thats the whole point of the KD rig isnt it? Use a pop up..... critically balance it with a shot on the hair so that it ensures that the hook will be heavier and hang down more aggressively thus giving it more chance of catching the bottom lip.

Gently steam it over a boiling kettle while holding it out straight On another note, i hate ESP Ghost. Its far to thick

You are only throwing your money away anyway. What ever happened to a simple figure of eight on the end of your hooklink and a quick link? You dont need link loops..... FACT!!!!!

Is the palomar knot suitable to be used with braid?

TBH mate i cant see why boilies are banned on so many venues when luncheon meat (or any meat for that matter) is allowed. After a time in the water, boilies break down. Due to the high fat content in meat, that doesnt break down at all and if left uneaten, just rots and goes rancid. The amount of arguments ive had trying to get that across on my old club forum is unbelievable. It just seems these Micky Mouse clubs have got it into their heads that if boilies are allowed, then the other fish stocks will be near on impossible to catch cos you will have to use nothing but boilies to catch them

Freelining it or under a float with it fished hard on the bottom, lift style in the margins would be my best bet. (Listen..... you can hear all the instant carp anglers whisper..... "Whats lift style mean"?) After all, its not going to stand any cast at all cos its too soft. Speaking of brands of cat food, i know that Coshida was really rated in the past and definately one to look out for

PMSL

Im gonna have a 4 eggs scrambled on toast with beans over the top for dinner before work. Lush!

Wouldnt it be easier to actually go out and BUY a suspender

I think anyone would, i know i do. It could be something so simple as a change in the hair or hooklink length that can turn a pick up into a positive take. I wouldnt go as far as to totally change the bait because i will be using a food source bait and alternative hookbaits over 3 rods which i have confidence in using anyway. But like Nigel rightly said, if you have total confidence in your rigs (and i do believe the more simple and less obtrusive they are the better), then there is no need to pull out a rig from your tackle box with all the whistles and bells attached to it that the monthly comics have tried to brainwash you into using cos "Mr Superstar Carper X" uses the same. Doing something so extreme as that will only hinder your chances further and you will end up fishing like a numpty

I cant see how changing the colour of your fake corn from yellow to pink made one jot of difference to you catching TBH. There are to many variables for anyone catching or not and here is a couple i can think of off the top of my head..... 1. You may have been on the fish but your end tackle maybe wasnt sitting right. After you changed the fake corn and given it a recast, your end tackle and baited hook may have been sitting perfectly for a carp to get nailed straight away as soon as he picked it up. Or..... 2. Your bait with the yellow corn may have been "sussed" and left well alone. One thing i will say though and this is just my opinion. There is absolutely no need to use a line aligner with shrink tube with IQ hooklengths. The stiffness of the hooklink naturally ensures a "line aligner" effect anyway

Personally i would avoid the beachcaster rig at all costs. It has been banned on quite a few waters (why i dont know, but it must be for safety reasons for the fish) and if you havent got the foggiest how to set one up, i would leave well alone. Its better to be safe than sorry.

Come on boys stop playing around with micky mouse hooklinks, try the best..... Armaled Kik Bak Clear and Green. I really rate this stuff and its never let me down.

Taken from Carp Talk online..... The highlighted sentence worries me. What kind of numptie does this pastime of ours now attract? Its pure lunacy if you ask me

I have total confidence in 2 types of hooklink. A coated braid which is Armaled Kik Bak Clear and Green and a normal braid of ESP Sink Link and thats all i use for 99% of my fishing. I cant see there being any harm whatsoever in trying different materials TBH until you find one thats suited to you and your fishing. Then and only then will you slim your tackle box down accordingly.

Cos my syndicate is silt bottomed and i like using balanced hookbaits with coated braid and light leads, i always use it on every cast.

Andy, why dont you want to use a coated braid in silt? Ive had some success using Kik Bak hooklengths about 11" in length with light 1oz leads on my syndicate and that is ALL silt bottomed.

A semi fixed inline still IS a bolt rig, but i wouldnt use them in weedy waters cos of the safety factor.

Sometimes you have to put situations down like this as "one of those things".