kevtaylor

Cant explain how it works so well - but it does, follow the instructions to the letter and it will be sound. No need for glue - it can also interfere with attaching things loop to loop style, coz it creates a stiff bit - not what you want.

I'd demand my money back if I was you - you cant just add another tenner for nights when you've got a weekend ticket, takes the absolute wee wee! Or just take it on the chin and dont go back, in which case what a waste of money! You'd be better off down Beedles - £10 per 24hr, nice swims and a club house. Maybe not enough fish but its a good learning water. Hell anywheres better than being fleeced by an ignorant twit - by the sounds of him!

Try much heavier leads or really light ones. Get some blobs of putty on the hooklink it helps the hook turn. Why not try a 'Triger Link' combi - that'll give them something dificult to deal with. What we dont know from your post is whether they are wise old fish getting away with it - or whether they could have been liners?? Use a piece of silicon on the hook shank - if they are getting away with it (blowing the bait) the silicon will be pushed to the hook eye when you retrieve. Then you will know for sure and can formulate an alternative attack. I couldn't just put it down to 'one of those things' you have to adapt to win the battle. If something picks up my bait I want the fish on the bank - end of

Many thanks - I'll be in touch

Thats an invitation water, you need a reference from an existing member! I'm pretty sure thats right I should be on there within the next couple of years Regarding Bluebell - you get what you pay for, quality fishing Kev, you can apply for Bainton off the website as of today, not guaranteed a place, but worth a shot ... Being nominated doesnt guarantee a place also !! Cheers - theres something about needing a reference from an existing member? Maybe that just helps a lot! My mate joined last year with no intention of fishing it, and again this year that should help me join next year - fingers crossed! I aint got time for it at the mo - too many lakes with unfished business. Probably like lots of people

Wow an 8lb Roach how interesting I bet theres a slight chance this was in fact a Chub

Thats an invitation water, you need a reference from an existing member! I'm pretty sure thats right I should be on there within the next couple of years Regarding Bluebell - you get what you pay for, quality fishing

Thurlaston have another go. My mates mentioned it - but unfortnately i wasn't interested so switched off as you do! sorry dayticket sounds familiar ? why not just go look round - do a day lake viewing someone will be on soon who can help i'm sure

Tie a grinner knot around your pop-up, then tie that knotless knot style to the hook. The grinner knot round the pop-up will pull back open like a slip knot allowing you to change the bait. Its like a noose round the bait. Hope you understand this its not easy to describe You could find pictures on the web somewhere. I would call it a grinner loop.

mine My trigger link and dynamite rig!

I normally use the grinner but found that it came undone under pressure when using floro. The palomar knot works wonders though.

let me know when i'll join you I never got a piccy of the 21 that you want, its interesting to see it again.

Lost mary twice, once at the net because i hooked her in the digey side of her mouth. Which linear? the ghostie one from the top lake? The 16th pic down - I'd imagine that the pale flanks above the linear scales could look white from above. I used to see a fish like that going in and out of the island bay, but never managed to hook it. It was so pale it looked white in sunlight compared to all the other dark fish - I did think at the time though that it was more like 18-20. Have you seen any like it! My mate had a 20 that was short fat and tall (ball shaped), that went off like a rocket, I'd never seen any like that in there before, a bit like one you had pictured above.

ha ha I've had that one you want, 21lb! oh and mary. I'll shut up now coz you had the big common and I reckon that linear is the white fish I always wanted?

Glad you said that - I couldn't trust it without the putty, you cant trust anything to sit exactly right.

I take it you put blobs of putty or something above the leader to make sure its sitting flat on the bottom? How does it sit in the margins when just plopped in?

Doesn't class reflect light - I cant see me buying into this idea?

I'm going to go back to the withy rig for pop-up fake corn/maize this winter, coz its worked well for me in the past. Balanced baits though do work very well also, especially if the hook sits eye end on the lakebed. Or a nice balanced snowman with the bottom bait touching the deck! Only trouble with using the real corn under the fake as a balance is if it comes off during flight or whatever, then you could be left with a pop-up way off the deck, the benefit though is some smell attraction.

I suppose all rigs can spin and twist mate I really dont think that is the problem? When you look at the rig the angle that the hook point would be pulled from will be slightly different due to the angle of hook through the swivel if you know what I mean, I dont know but maybe the point doesn't bury as deep and is therefore more able to slip, particularly when coupled with an bent shank hook???? Who knows I've only used it once and caught a fish on it with no damage caused, but overall it seems that everyone agrees that its not for use where small fish are present. Personnaly I've got doubts about bent shank hooks such as nailers due to limited experiences using them, but a mate swears by them?

No worries mate. I've just edited my above post re hook styles which may be something to consider. Note: fancy rigs work like the withy rig but I think its better overall to fish with simple rigs with the fish feeding hard on a bait that you've established over time. Effort = results, not fancy rigs.

Sorry mate but I cant see a real point to your thread as the picture provided clearly shows a rig ring placed between the two stop beads, most people choose to tie the bait directly to the ring using floss, but contrary to your fears a hair can be tied directly to the ring, which has no detrimental effect to the spinning of the rig. These rigs do work, but as has been said you really need to be absolutely sure of the stock sizes of the lake your going to use it on - big fish rig only. Incidentally - I dont think its the rig that causes damage, I reckon its the hook style i.e. curved shank like that of a LS nailer. My mate uses these hooks for 20+ fish, and swears by them, I've used them 3 times and lost 2 good fish to hook pulls which may or may not have been the cause? At present I'm not confident enough to try the pattern again. I would be willing though to try the rig again with a different hook e.g. Longshank x which has no curve in the shank

From whats been said it sounds awful, paying good money to share the lake with french holiday caravaners, a circus near by, poor facilities? I dont see why people see the need to travel overseas to experience good fishing in the first place certainly not to put up with venues like this one sounds? Mind boggling

I have just had the experience of fishing next to someone who used a bait boat to drop bait/rig over showing fish, no surprise when he reeled in he was tangled coz he just dropped the rig in a heap. My main point though is that the boat had to scare the fish off - I felt he spoilt the chances for both of us at times TBH, far better to cushion a nice cast towards them whilst their showing than drive a boat over their heads? On some waters that might be fine on others I dont think it is. I've never used a boat but if I did I'm pretty sure you would need to take the rod and tighten up before dropping the rig to feel what you are landing on and help the rig straighten up? Regarding hooklink material for clay, I'd be happy to use suffix heavy skin in brown, but you'd have to check it in the margins. Uncoated braids can also be excellent as they take in the colours of the lakebed. Always check your rig in the margins coz you would be surprised how sometimes the rigs doesn't sit like you think it is, even if its one you trust totally, it might just need a tiny tweek, bit of putty or whatever. Good luck

Thats fine sharpy - but if you were at a water where you had to go max distance on your casting it would be irresponsible not to use a shock leader.

not sure what lakes you fish on kev but round here the majority of carp anglers wouldn't know a safe rig if it jumped up and bit them on the nose We obviously fish very different waters mate – I have to say that the young anglers on the lakes I fish are excellent and a credit to the water as are the older members, who gladly help anyone out. my point is tethering known to happen and these products (leaders) are usually to blame, whats wrong with making every effort to avoid them? Even without a leader the mainline is just as able to tether a fish as you well know, as I said before leaders more often than not are the difference between safely landing a fish and not i.e protecting the mainline from abrasion – I would suggest that a lot more trailers would be in waters if leaders were not used. Granted a 15lb mainline is easier to break than a 25lb hooklink, which is why I point out lighter hooklinks. Its also worth pointing out that I would only use short leadcore leaders 1.5 – 2 ft instead of the 6ft+ ones that I have seen used, for safety and concealment reasons. With a few blobs of putty on the mainline above that to pin the line down further. I appreciate what your saying but don’t feel that those who make and test their rigs with safety in mind should be punished with a product ban because of those who need some more guidance. If this was the way to go we would have no sacks, which are very beneficial in the right circumstances, bait boats, keep nets etc etc etc. IMO banning is a cop out from the work of educating. weedy lakes are a nightmare, not the place for any kind of leader really, even if its tied helicopter style. Helicopter style rigs in weed can be the worst types for fish safety, if the lead cant discharge your fish gets well and truly stuck in the weed, the weedclog can also make this setup ineffective, unable to shed the rig. Surely its far better to have a leadclip arrangement so the lead comes free and the fish can be brought to the surface out of harms way. barbless hooks, they may be easier to get rid of but then again i've caught fish trailing barbless rigs on more than one occaision, just how easy are they to get rid of? i can't say....can you? No I cant say how many but its not insignificant to state that last year I had a fish make it to an anchor rope around a floating island which transferred the hook into the snag immediately. I also saw a guy snag a low double on a marginal branch and saw it transfer the hook into the branch. I’m not saying that there aren’t unsafe rigs out there and that fish don’t occasionally fall foul to them, but your painting a picture that this is common place whereas I think its very rare. The only fish I have caught trailing tackle have been on rigs with no leader – yards of thick mono. Overall we wont agree because of your outright banning stance which I cant go along with – but its been fun discussing it. IMO it’s the job of the tackle manufacturer, mag editors, fishery owners, bailiffs and fellow anglers to educate people in how to use products safely! Why should we loose out due to the actions of a small minority – I know that if I didn’t use a leader I would loose more fish through abrasion which equals more chances of tethering and that leaders are perfectly safe if used correctly.