kevtaylor

Well they seem pretty smart for pea brains at times, doing the one thing you don't want them to. 😊

Letting them run depends on the swim, closeness to snag/weed and the angle being fished from. In this case I got it wrong - knowing that is half the battle. In hindsight letting it run along the clear gulley could have given me the chance to get it up off the bottom, whereas in this case it did the opposite. Choosing the right setup for the scenario is key. I got that one wrong, was in the habit of locking up and didn't listen to my own doubts and reasoning. Better luck next time 😊

Was using tubing mate and the fish only moved a couple of yards but it was stuck fast. If I had let it run I probably would have landed it but because I was locked up it just dived into the weed to the right of the spot. Noddy mistake imo 😣

I thought 20lb sensor was snag line - tough as old boots, but still not enough, can't use snag leaders.

Yes and if you take that further you can see that those baby mussels that are hiding in the weed through summer, cutting us off, drop into the silt gullies in the main bowl in autumn and get feasted on, which IMO is the main food source when we struggle Sept/Oct.

I was cut off whilst using 20lb Sensor. There's plenty of sharp mussels in that weed. Still gutted - know it was a beast!!!

Simply because it's un-carpy!!! You said it yourself 😊

Get the T4, I bought the double the price Trakker version and can therefore recommend the T4. Doubt you'll have any complaints - and only around £20 odd

Catfish and the Bottlemen - best band I've heard tbh truly rocking!!!

Or Harrison Toŕrix TE Special 😊

I get that and the same applies to me, travel, food, bait, tackle, syndicate fees its a very expensive game. However, when I needed extra yards on my casting and wasn't happy with the overall accuracy of my casting when giving it some, I realised my old rods just didn't have the backbone required and needed replacing. I could have bought some Grays or Soniks but with custom built Torrix TEs available at £280 each I saved up and got them instead of buying budget rods. Have I made the right choice, hell yes - TE's are right up there and for the money, represent good value IMO compared to other inferior rods at a much higher price. Depends how you look at it, my mate bought a £700+pod and would never spend decent money on rods coz he doesn't see the point, whereas I would never spend that money on a pod that does nothing more than look a bit better than its cheaper rivals. Good rods actually give you something tangible for the extra money and you can feel it, see it, benefit from it I'm not saying your choices are bad, far from it, but just making the point about aiming higher with such an important purchase if you can.

Neither! Gotta be Harrison so get saving lol

I bought a set of Chub long pegs for wet winter ground. I thought they were expensive at about £18 or thereabouts. They aint blue and that's a good thing IMO

They look good and the sales speak sounds good, I was considering them but went for Delks instead at the time. Are the user reviews any good?

I think they just sound a bit naff lol when your used to hearing a screaming Fox alarm. No idea on Delk reliability - not had them long enough, feel a bit flimsy if you know what I mean but no probs yet. Me and my mate were on the mill with new Delks, he gets a take and doesn't recognise the sound so we are saying, go on then someone hit it!!! By the time he realised it was him, ran to his rods and lifted into the fish it fell off - unlucky for your first take from a venue - we'd only been there a couple of hours lol I did the same in France, didn't recognise the sound as being anything to do with me.

Wish I'd have got the NTXRs instead of Delks in hindsight.

I've got 4 x MXs and an M some going back 20 odd years and it's a fact they all work like new. Old fox alarms have to be the best all round surely, I'd go back to them without hesitation and they have been battered in all weather's- never missed a beat!

What he said!!!

Probably because they haven't even started scratching at the surface of what carp might be in Cananda and America. Sure there is a little bit of carp fishing going on but compared to the opportunities available in terms of water volume and sheer carp numbers I cant imagine they have got anywhere near to catching their biggest fish. Most of the countries listed have been extensively carp fished (pressured) for decades. Just my take on it

Hey don't diss my Mk2's there Nick The gate design is banging and they can be zeroed - there's a cut in the weight that allows it to be pushed back further. It's a bit advanced for you MK1 boys to work out lol

Retro!!!

If I'm honest for me you cant beat the Mk2 Fox swingers, totally adjustable in weight and stable in any winds. I've tried various bobbins since and tbh nothing is as good all round as swingers, they do everything, slack, tight and everything in between and no false bleeps from sideways movement. If I hadn't lost a tiny part from my old set they would have been back on long ago.

At the end of the day mate there are still going to be special fish in all the waters your concerned about for sure. I've seen pictures of incredible fish from canals, rivers and unknown waters that shows there's still hope. I guess you've got a really good chance to go out there and catch these fish whilst everyone else has gone onto new waters because of these concerns. I'm a bit doom and gloom just because I don't want waters all fencing it looks pretty ugly but it's necessary. My mate showed me canal carp that we fed like pets last year so of which I would love to catch so give it a go I say 😊 If I wasn't in a syndicate I would see this as poop or bust time go catch them sharpish before the numbers dwindle more.

You put a positive spin on the issue and that's great because most other people like me are a bit doom and gloom, I'm a big fish angler so me and the otters are after the same fish unfortunately. You can have a special 40 in a lake full of 20's and doubles and I will fish it, loose the 40 and I'm gone full stop. If there's no chance of beating a PB of some kind or getting the killer trophy shot of an absolute stunner why am I there, yes I enjoy fishing and catching any size carp but there HAS to be the potential to make my year worthwhile with that one target fish. I know you'll hate that but it is what it is, when I started a 20 was massive and where I live they were very few and far between, times have changed and I now have different expectations. If I'm going to blank it will be fishing for dream fish not run of the mill that I've done a thousand times before.

OK CM I hear what you're saying and thats true they don't eat every fish necessarily so the lakes may well hold fish and find a balance of some sort, HOWEVER they usually take the biggest fish which in business terms is immediately enough to kill their business or clear their waiting lists. Once the main target fish are gone the lake is dead anyway IMO, and we all know they are usually the first to go!!!