hopefull

Coated braid?

I seem to remember a very well respected member on here using pheasant feeders to keep his spots topped up on a lake. Damn good idea. As for the lake, give it a go mate, you never know! Just don't go alone...

I think the length of the hooklink itself has more to do with hooking ability over particles, especially with regard to straightening and setting the hook against the lead. I keep my hairs the same length, normally around a 2cm separation of bait and hook, but I shorten the hooklinks themselves down from about 9-10" for a boilie approach to 4-5" at the most for particles.

Size 4 Stiff-Rigger with double 18's does the trick nicely

How big is the hook, and how much separation is there between the hook and the boilies? I ended up using double and triple-18s in France to get around the pasties, but with a 25mm separation between hook and bait. That way the bait was getting picked up by the little 'uns but not being taken back fully as it would with a bigger fish. Separating the baits on the hair helped too, with the double-baits next to each other, a 10mm gap then the third boilie, and finally a 25mm gap to the hook.

Are you hooking the bag through the knot, or through the mesh itself?

Try small float stops on the line with putty wrapped around them. It'll help stop it falling off.

Why not use a shockleader knot to attach the hooklink? http://www.btinternet.com/~kevin.l.j.knight/knot16.htm

I read The Hobbit when I was about 9 or 10yrs old and loved it, and progressed onto the Lord of the Rings trilogy. The films were good, but as is very often the case with films made from good novels, they cannot compare with the books at times. I love the depth they go into, the full immersion and imagery you acquire from reading them, and how some of the themes are still applicable nowadays. I've wanted to read The Silmarillion for some time now, and I think I will have to go and get a copy soon.

Try a small piece of shrink tube on the leader with a wide-bore bead pushed over it to keep the swivel in place on the cast (I use ESP shrink tube and Solar beads). It will pull off the shrink tube and the leader knot if you crack off then mate. As for attaching the leader to the mainline, I presume those leaders come with a loop in the end? If so, use a palomar knot or similar, but you MUST ensure the bead and hooklink swivel will slide over it in the event of a break-off. You may want to try a ring swivel for attaching the hooklink too, rather than the big-eye, as it will give you some more movement. If in doubt, don't cast out!!

It's a travel diary by Paul Theroux of his year-long adventure across China by train in the 1980's. The book is named after one of the many trains he travels on, and provides a very in-depth view of the consequences of the changes brought about by the Cultural Revolution, as well as a very good insight into the lives and attitudes of the Chinese people. He writes well, with a highly intelligent and literate style, but also with wit, humour, warmth and emotion. I highly recommend this book, I was unable to put it down and it provided me with a view into a world seldom seen or heard about from unbiased western eyes.

I agree with the anger, I despise litter. Its just laziness and disrespect for both the countryside and your fellow angler, and it does my head in. There's no harm in bagging it up and slinging it in the car or a bin nearby, and I've lost count of the times I've turned up to fish and ended up doing a good long litter-pick around my swim because someone else couldn't be bothered. Morons :evil:

I use it most of the time, as the water I've been fishing has a load of debris on the bottom. Just a nugget folded over the hook on the cast does the trick, and it stops the rig-ring on the hook shank slipping back round too

I use leadcore, mainly the Kryston Score stuff, in about 3' to 4' lengths that i splice myself. I've found it to be pukka so far - very heavy yet nice n supple too. I use running rigs 99% of the time, with just a buffer-bead pushed over the swivel spliced to the leadcore, and an inline lead running free on the leadcore. I then tie the leader onto the mainline with a palomar knot through a small spliced loop. This way, if i do snap off, the lead is guaranteed to slide free, and as my hooklink is 50% or so less of the breaking strain of my leadcore, it'll snap first anyway if a fish does get snagged.

Hi folks, Firstly, I apologise if I've put this in the wrong forum, but I wasn't entirely sure where to put it. Now..me and a couple of mates are considering going continental carping later in the year, around September time, but we want to avoid France and we are considering going to Holland. I've seen some cracking photos of Dutch carp before, but I can't seem to find any info on fishing there online. Don't spose anyone has anything that could help us out? Cheers fellas

i use a loop-to-loop method, with a spliced loop of about 2-3mm in the leadcore. I also use running rigs the vast majority of the time, apart from in very heavy weed or for long-distance stuff, so the lead can always slide over the top of the loops.

could a D-rig with a small bit of silicone holding it to the shank not work?

i give mine the thumbnail-test after each fish, as well as having a good look at the point to see if its turned over or blunted. If so, then change the rig, if not then whack it back out.

It can be a bit tricky, use a pair of forceps to hold the flourocarbon when tying the knot if it gets awkward. I'm using 25lb IQ and the Gardner D-Ceptor (i think that's how its spelt) stiff-rigger hooks, and it works a treat.

I've been tying mine using a Domhof whipping knot, that way the line only has to pass through the eye once when tying the hair-rig bit, then there's plenty of room for the tag bit of the line to be brought back through to form the D. Plus, it's a lot easier to tie very short hooklinks with that knot (1" chod rigs etc.)

As for a fake corn rig, i've been using 1 floating corn and 1 sinking maize, with the floating one on top on the hair. Combined with a size 8/10 hook (I use Iseama's with a bit of shrink-tube on the bend as a 'blow-back' and a little bit of tube on the eye to curve it in a little), it ends up critically balanced and fires back up into the carp's mouth, whilst sitting just above bottom debris whilst on the lakebed. Hope this helps edited to add...here's a pic of my rig

if the line snaps then i'd want the lead to run off the end of the leadcore, not leave the fish trailing 6ft of leadcore with a 3oz lead trapped running up and down it

surely it'd stop any leads running on the leadcore, or a discharged lead clip, from sliding off the end of the leadcore though mate? and Evans - i use Kryston Score leadcore

a clip between the mainline and leadcore mate? bit dangerous aint it?

its easy to loop-to-loop with a choddy mate. just pass the mainline loop (i use one about 2" long at the most) through your small leadcore loop, then bring the lead n hooklink through the mono and slide it all down nice n tight. should be sound