kevtaylor

Seen them in mint condition for around £2500 👀

My mates got a set of the big blues, might have to tell him to cash in 👍

No not another baitrunner, it's the old school big pit that the likes of Tom Stokes still uses, like a silver/light blue. Power Aero or somwething like that, still fetch top money - too much money for what they are tbh

My kind of spot

Massively: winter, small traps handful of bait plus washed out freebies, squashed. Spring, single brights, zigs, maybe a few freebies scattered about like 10 per rod, maybe a little corn to up the visual attraction. Summer: up the baiting, maybe fill it in if conditions look right. Autumn, maybe fill it in but more likely start scaling back towards small traps.

Jack likes the rear security window lol

Fab weekend on the syndi - chose the windward end on a easterly and felt confident but by dawn I'd only heard one fish crash through the night deep working the bay on my left. I sat it out until 9am but couldn't believe they weren't having it elsewhere so I reeled in and drove to the other end (back of the wind) to see if they had popped up on top after eating down there at first light. After a quick walk about and speaking to the one guy down there it seemed they weren't there so I hurried back vowing to make the most of the spot I had, they just had to be there at some point. Walking back in the swim late morning I see one straight away passing my rods along the margin going into the bay, then another going the other way, I'd made the right choice afterall. I shot up a climbing tree to be greeted by many fish - basking in the sun, some of them proper units - right down the end of the bay sitting in a 5 yard gap between overhanging trees. Over hours I fed mixers into the scum that had gathered up against the reeds and waiting for my chance to wade into the reeds and cast out my hookbaits but fake mixers and cut down boiles were either being rejected or just missed completely. At a loss I went back to the bivvy and got my bag of bagels, a size 4 hook and off for another go. The fish had all but gone by this point but I tried for one in the scum line but quickly lost sight of the bait and that fish drifted away, I felt gutted all those hours feeding and having little casts here and there have lead to nothing. I was about to get out the water when I see one more fish drift in and under the scum line so I put on some fresh bagel and make a cast a couple of feet from the scum. A head pops back out then moves at speed for the bait, smashes it so I guess he's got it, strike and hang on for dear life as it tries to power away but I can't let it go anywhere, it tore through the right tree line but thankfully I just pulled like a mad man and got it back somehow, was lucky as I could feel it crating on the branches several times, proper heart in mouth stuff. Epic battle 26.14 Common in the net, made up. The next day was a real slog waiting all day for that one chance, somehow after not getting it right several times I finally managed to hook one of the stragglers like the day before but sadly lost it to a hook pull just when I felt that I was getting on top of what had been an epic and scary battle. Gutting but loved the trip can't wait to get back - I'm having em FACT - so buzzing for it this year. Best thing of the trip I saw my target fish, must be 4ft long, jet black linear, old as the hills, he's alive and kicking, and he's got some very large friends, more than I knew about. 👀

Image above I've gone up into a plateau - boats currently sitting at 12ft, firm bottom, no weed. Image above I've just gone over a pack of fish, currently at 16ft - rock hard ground as a red crust with barely and yellow above. The thin yellow crust above the red in the past (middle of screen) is a thin layer of silt over rock hard ground.

Well you're either talking about a built in system like Raymarine or external like the Deeper with arm. Although I do know that Deeper also gets fitted internally now. This transmits a signal (chirp technology) back to the bank via wifi to a phone or tablet. You're looking at the sonar image of depth and bottom contours, yes fish do show up but it's not a fish finder just sonar, same as is used in the sea by trawlers and the like. I've got Raymarine on an ND4 boat. What you see on the right of the screen is what's under the boat now, everything left is the past.

Dog biscuits and black foam seems the winner right now

Spot on that 👆👀 The only way to find where the carp are naturally feeding is to be watching from before first light IMO, last 2 trips the feeding activity ended by 6am from first light. Miss it and you're clueless it happened. Effort = reward which is this case is understanding exactly whats going on whilst most others sleep.

Me too - once you start with the technique it's cemented in the brain. I started after trying to get it to drop in a thin gulley but the lead would either stick in the far bank clay or swing too far back.

Just to add to find the drops in weed you will only do this if you alter your leading technique or how you get the lead to drop down more vertically, it's no good going down in the usual arc you'll just hit the weed either side of the tiny gap, hang up in the weed and you'll think theres no gaps. Hit the clip, pull back instantly (rod up verticalish) so the lead is pulled back up towards the surface if you like or scimmed accross the surface, then follow it staight down, reducing the arc massively. If you can get a drop like that every time and whip the rig back out clean it's perfect. Hope that makes sense.

Thanks mate, I always laughed at the Diawa coffee grinders, now I am happily waiting on a set. The only other reels that do it for me other than my LC's are the old light blue Shimmy's but I cant remember the model and not paying over 2.5k for a set 2nd hand no matter how carpy they may be. I was thinking of rods that give me something different to the TE's but the Aviators just look like an upgrade of the same beast so happy days. I'm glad you like the spod rod that breeds confidence in my choice 👍

CcMoore do matching cork balls if available but their Air Ball Pop-ups last great, no complaints whatsoever and I've tested many brands and been disapointed over the years 👍

Thanks mate really cannot wait to receive these rods, not custom built as not got the time or desire tbh but the Black Raven edition. Despite always banging on about Shimano I've gone rogue with Diawa Tournament ST 6000's. Just wanted a lighter reel and not paying silly top end money, not that they were cheap as such, I kept to my Old Skool but Cool over latest silly money jobies and after the Shimmy spod being so unreliable I fancied a change. 👍

I'm not looking for big holes or clean spots as such, just a drop every time and a tiny amount of pull back and you're fishing. In my mind at the moment I'm not looking for clean spots anymore, if only to avoid and find the drops in weed nearby. Every venue is different but I think on lower stocked venues with wary fish clean spots are treated with extreme caution and hold little natural food e.g. gravel spots. How many people pick the same obvious far bank markers, find the obvious clear spot, pile bait on it and are surprised when nothing happens, wheres the natural food, wheres the thickest weed, what are they showing over? I'd rather set up and watch all day for them to show me where to put the traps than rush in crashing leads everywhere, not always possible I know but once you've seen them feeding in an area you dont have to wait next time as everything is written down and measured up.

Likewise but thankfully the need to spend fell on a sale weekend so I got some good deals. So the ceramic lining on one of the butt rings on my Torrix has cracked and fallen out - my fault rod not secured and fell on the barrow. I couldn't be without my babies for weeks in May/June so bought a new set of Aviators and Lighter reels than my Shimmy Big Pit LC's as much as I love them to bits. Line, back leads, floss, butt and tip protectors, 3 x Delkim line clips oh and 50k of Pro Stim Liver boilies. Oh and decided to get all 3 Torrix rebuilt instead of just a single eye replacement and the 3 Shimmy's serviced whilst I can be without them so to say it turned out to be an expensive weekend is an understatement. Thats gotta be me done spending now for the year!

Did Thursday to Saturday in one swim this weekend, had a stocky on the stiff hinge rig in the thickest weed bed in the area. Then back Sunday for the night as I was super keen having caught. This time chose a swim round the corner as all the fish were there on top but despite expecting a take come first light nothing materialised so back home tail between legs. Can't wait till Friday to get back down, but might have to fish a flooded swim just to get in the area if it's busy. Loving my fishing more than ever at the moment - gotta keep pushing on!

That retainer looks mint - not seen it before 😎👍

Well done mate 👍

blooming unlucky there mate, even the Undercover Pro sleep system which I got for £205 is a sound bed. Did you complain?

Which model did you manage to bend? The Solar beds are as good as they get IMO

Yeah got both as sleep systems, the undercover pro is the same type of system so shouldnt sag any more or less than the SP Tech - I love both and the undercover pro is lighter which is why I got it. My SP-Tech is the wide version so not suitable for a brolley which is why I got the other.

AVID Ascent Brolley System, MK1 - very good quality (Rip-stop fabric, heavy duty), full front system - can have letter box style or normal. The latest version looks sick to me - different fabric, has more headroom coz of the shortened internal spokes and a full inner lining to cure any condensation you might have got, I'd get one tomorrow if mine went missing. Pricey but well worth it, had the Mk1 over 10 years and no damage whatsoever 👍