kevtaylor

Not caught one but did fish a lake with them in last year and had them in my water. From what I've heard you want to be on veg food i,.e. tigers and/or maize/corn. I avoided them with boilie hookbaits The other advise I was given was to draw them over the sling instead of netting them, they will destroy your net otherwise. Good luck

Yes if you get considerably higher temps after a period of sustained cold that's good. What you really want is for low pressure storms and milder temps to go with that - bingo! Good luck

I'm no boat expert but I'd be thinking whats the biggest boat I can use and get from venue to venue, safety first! Good luck

Here's my final entry - caught in Oct during a pretty tough week in Italy. I love the look of this fish and it came 30 mins after the most gut wrenching loss ever, so I went from devastated to elated on the next cast. Happy days! 😎

Ditto all of that - well said mate.

I like your way of thinking and if these otters were not illegally hand reared then maybe inner city areas would be safer for the fish, however these damn creatures are not scared of humans and have been known to take koi from gardens in housing estates. They are on busy day ticket lakes in daylight, they have no fear of us. IMO nowhere is safe for long, they have done lakes near me that are nowhere near a water course, on paper I would have said no way will they have otters!!!

14 hours is a typical session, preferred would be 36 hours, although I do like one night it is usually enough for me.

I was snag fishing locked up in Italy with these butt rests - no issue whatsoever, although I expected the rods to be pulled in they never moved.

This is another favourite of mine that changed my overnighter from nightmare to dreamland. I pulled up at my syndicate lake on the Saturday afternoon a bit early around 3pm but was gutted to find the fullest car park ever! No real surprise as it was May bank holiday if I remember right. Rather than look for one of the two remaining swims I decided to drive on to Bluebell for a look round before giving up for home. 30 mins later I'm in the shop asking for the numbers on Kingy and Swan, to my amazement I hear Kingy is fairly quiet by usual standards. I take the gamble - pay up and go for a walk bucket in hand. Approaching the first corner I can't see anyone on the far bank - central. I speed up not daring to believe the situation, glance up again and I'm right - my 2 favourite swims are free - result! 😊 The right of the 2 swims looks bang on for the conditions - right on the back of the wind - on the line where the chop starts. Down goes the bucket and I'm off for the barrow - semi running, yet trying to look carpy as you do. I had a lead about and found what I was looking for - clean and smooth as glass - just off the end of one of the bars. So little resistence that I stumbled backwards - that's the one! I put half a bucket of 3ml pellets and boilie crumb out and a few whole baits - tight with the spomb. 2 rods on that and a 3rd 2 rods lengths off the spot. I settle down cook dinner and chill - feeling strangely confident. At around 11pm I have the first take - a massive drop back, I'm on it fast and after a lot of fast reeling connect with a chunk that plays hardball. After a good battle out in the waders I net what is a monumental fish for me personally, a very rarely caught kingy 40+ common from the venue that had seemed impossible and awe inspiring when I had first visited some years before. At that time I felt so far away from the guys on there - so a real milestone. I had 2 more drop backs after that and missed both - those fish are so cute it's a brilliant water.

Very difficult this coz there are a few that come close for various reasons. This is a fish later named Arnie by friends that came from a Notts day only club water, it turned out to be the biggest and one I had only seen once in 3-4 years. I love this capture soley due to the effort involved and the small amount of time available due to family commitments, but a 2am start until 11am one Saturday morning and several moves eventually put me onto the big fish group after spotting the most elusive ghosty, again only my second sighting. 30 mins fishing with 2 rods in the margin saw 2 takes - the first being a gut wrenching loss - then to my amazement a 2nd take, plodding battle and unknown to me Italian blood line whacker! Get in 😊

Huge congrats!

Personally I think you miss out on a massive amount of knowledge, skills, experience and more importantly enjoyment if you go straight into carping without progressing towards it in some way. I loved my time match and pleasure fishing, pike fishing etc Every species and situation meant learning and practising skills that in some cases I still use to this day.

Always carry the catty, stick and spomb and more bait than I imagine I will use just coz you never know. My best sessions ever have all come to mass baiting tactics, here and abroad although its not always the one, sometimes however it is absolutely the way forward.

Well worth getting the bulk sacks, they all love the pellet and to me it's very good value and they keep for absolutely ages.

Good call Sir Skrettings and Coppens both do good pellets for similar cost: course, carp, trout and hallibut etc all good 👍

I use wafters, hardened bottom baits and pop-ups cork ball and normal. White features heavily for me but I also match the hatch and use dull yellow and bright pink on occasion.

I love plastic baits, zig bugs the lot, but our syndicate banned plastics for the reasons I've said. The reasoning is sound so I just have to accept it. My fish safety thing is to use 18 or 20lb line that way you very rarely get snapped or cut off, but owners decide the rules. You can get sweet corn shaped boilies for use as toppers so that s the alternative and I have to admit that's better. However I've just been abroad and used plastic toppers on every rod, they are banging! 👍

I'll pass on your thoughts Thanks 👍

Quite a lot of money though hey, 50 plus mats, 100 odd nets, 50 odd slings. All would need replacing after being left out for a year (pricey). At least the guy takes it seriously and is trying hey 👍

We had to buy this stuff as part of the rules, the owner has also left a bottle in every swim

No particle - why? because numpties turn up with un-soaked and boiled particles - chuck them in and the fish are either ill or die, look at Benson at Bluebell, unprepared tigers I believe, swelling in the stomach. Also why some say you can only use the particles in jars - its been done correctly so the owner has peace of mind. No artificial/plastic baits - why? because if snapped of/cut offf or whatever that's a permanently baited rig sitting pretty on the bottom waiting to be picked up time and time again, whereas boilies or other non plastic baits will come off the hair after a couple of days or so, therefore no longer being picked up. No homemade baits - why? well what have they got in? has it been tested for a good period of time? people use all sorts of stinky winky to save money and the products may not even be safe for consumption. ALL good rules those - very sensible

That happens on more venues than it doesnt lol Don't get me started 🤣

Most rules are set because the few spoil things for the rest - simple as that

I'd never lift a big fish out in the net, not now that I have floatation slings. The finer and stronger mesh, zips and handles make it much better for the angler and fish. Whether you use one or not you have to ensure that the fish is well placed centrally, the tail is not right up against the end of the net/ sling and that the fins are back and flush against the body. Any backward movement once the weight has been lifted out of the water can and will damage the tail. I lift smaller fish out in the net but do it very carefully doing all the fin and tail checks, ensuring no pressure is on the hook hold and roll the net right down trapping the fish to avoid horizontal movement in the net.

As far as I know the German is a very basic bottom bait rig, no breaks in the hooklink coating, just a knotless knot rig with a hook swivel and bead, worlds apart from the Ronnie or whatever its being called today, which is a pop-up rig