kevtaylor

Pink - that's irrelevant IMO, this is not 'The Key' as you put it. As others have said they will eat anything on the right spot at the right time. Its about knowing where they feed and why, where are the natural food beds, where do they go in certain weather conditions, wind directions, hot and cold temps, how do they respond to angling pressure, getting a clear understanding of your quarry in that particular lake. Then with appropriate baiting, hard work and determination you might find the key to consistent success on that venue. Its never about being on a certain bait, because without all of the above you're still likely to be in the wrong area to begin with - best bait in the world or not. 😉

Its a tough call, but I'm only re-casting around morning bite time if I feel I have been done or should have had a take because fish were on me for a significant amount of time. If I have other rods on the spot I might not recast the done rod in case it ruins the chance for the other 2 rods. I think the biggest issue here is stock density and how spooky the fish are generally, there are waters where it would be a no no and others where it wouldn't matter or could even be beneficial to re-bait. You hadn't mentioned the rod knocks before and that shows that you have fish at least checking the area out and quite possibly feeding. You say you fish short sessions and also like to put a decent amount of bait out, results not great. On short sessions I'm fishing for a bite not a red letter day, maybe you'd do better, catch more quickly if you fished far less bait to begin with. 😉

Why do you assume you've been done? I've said this before and my views haven't changed, it seems absolute madness to me for you to get up nice and early before you're perceived bite time, only to get impatient and let doubt creep In, should I check my rigs, have I been done, is there any bait left? Then you proceed to pull the rigs up, most likely spooking anything creeping into your area, then smashing them back out - definitely spooking any not spooked first time. Better still I'll bait up messing it up for anyone nearby too. Why make and check rigs that are, anti tangle, re-setting, tried and tested, spots good enough to present on, bait up carefully - then just when you need to sit on your hands and do nothing......... You know the rest, and you said the results ain't great! Stick to plan A and be confident 😊

Floating bread is very likely to get taken even if they are cagey about mixers and surface feeding. Also slow sinking flake is an absolute winner on the right water, cast a few yards in front of cruisers and they will often follow it down and take it. My first carp came on ledgered bread, nearly pulled the rod in - epic!

I don't know much about Willesley but my gut feeling is that its a bit over priced, its nowhere near the standard of other similar priced venues I can think of, based on stock sizes and bank maintenance, however its supposed to be a lovely lake to look at.

I'm told these do an exact copy of the Rod Hutchinson cooking shelter at much lower cost. Good for the long session anglers.

I've still got mine lol - blue leatherette. Stop its getting arousing!!! 😍

Unreal Davey - you just do your own thing - a true pioneer!!!

and in a blue hat....... Crazy times

As a teenager all my match luggage was blue and I still caught, I didn't even hide it, just left it on show on the bank. Looking back now its no wonder I didn't win them all - noddy 😊

Not really Andy - its like saying they are £2.99 in fishing shops, hardly worth the bother of looking for alternatives, not for me anyway.

Support your local tackle shop - hardly breaking the bank at £2.99 👍

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Looks pretty bloated to say the least, probably more chance of it going belly up than recovering imo. You say it's come out a couple if times which isn't good either. I had one like this a couple of years back and it went belly up some time later that year. I think that if it was retained and a koi expert telephoned, maybe they could inject a hormone and strip the eggs out, never heard of this happening but can't see why not if it's a prized asset to the venue - maybe not possible. Fingers crossed mate

http://www.fisheries4sale.com/

I think you need to do some proper homework on this buddy, I cant see anyone being able to help you with something like this but could be wrong. You need to get out there and look, speak to people and the local land agents, you wouldn't get to lease a house through a DIY forum would you? Have you done any research into possible lakes yet?

If the sprays do nothing I'd be surprised, one of the Nash bug spray smells just like squid boilie flavour, I'd confidently say it is just that, but could be wrong. Nah Does it do anything, well the zigs still stink when they come back in maybe 12 hours later and all my zig bugs still stink years later. Squid's a strong smell it lingers fact. I'm more confident on a sprayed zig than I would be using plain unflavoured foam.

Thecarpcatcher - Steve Whitby, the original blogger and probably the best.

Best of luck Chill - hope you have a great time 🙂 Lake looks very nice

http://www.olivemeadlake.co.uk/ I found this last year when my mate was looking for a little social venue, we didn't go in the end but it looks good to me.

I think this is the same issue as people just dropping rigs from a bait boat on a slack line, not knowing what they landed on or how it landed and thinking that's OK, which it isn't. A skilled angler like Mr Hearn tightens up before releasing the hopper and feels the lead down and will not leave it if he didn't get a good drop, to me the same applies here, tighten up before turning the spoon over and feel the rig down. Bait up with the spoon afterwards IF you got a good drop.

This is nice - Avid make great kit https://www.avidcarp.com/Products/Luggage/Ruckbag Also I'd back up the Aqua @sharpy86 suggested 😊

Look at Cotswold Aquarius - not sure if they have a rucksack that suits your needs but still - nothing is carpier!

I've used their Equinox boilies last spring, coated them in the glug, bit like cola. I found them to be great, caught some belters on them - I'd use any of the baits on offer. Reliable pop-ups too