kevtaylor

I'll big up the fox microns set. Had Micron MX's for many years 20 odd and never had a problem in all weathers and seasons, baked to frozen, brilliant

Pretty sure your Entohs will will still be doing the business when the wychwoods are paintless and going wrong all over the place.

When your popping the float up I use the quick drag to go from locked up to loose so I can pull line off, with just a half turn.

Once you get some Shimmy's you wont look at anything else. I know you said they performed well on their first outing, but you also said they were making not so good noises already- I hope you get your moneys worth out of them - not sounding great already. (Senior moment) Actually I was wrong before - I did own a pair of Diawa big pits which were my spod and marker reels, can't remember the name right now but within a year or so the clutch on one went wrong and the line clips were so poor they damaged the line, I went and bought a pair of Shimmy's which cost a bit more but are great, good as brand new still and with the addition of a QD drag, which is great for the job. The Diawa were so rubbish I must have blanked it out of my memory. Sorry I'm making it worse 😄

Because I've only had some cheap Diawa baitrunners many years ago I cannot really say whether they are good or bad. What I could say is that since owning shimano reels I would never buy another brand. Shimano are widely accepted as being the best reels by a long way, through all price ranges, no question. My big pits are probably 15 years old and have been serviced once in that time, not that they needed it, I just wanted to give them a treat because they have given me plenty of good memories. They are like new, no noise, no damage, a brilliant clutch and I could land anything on them and I mean anything, they will last me forever no doubt whatsoever. Sorry to burst your bubble somewhat but you should have bought some Shimmy's.

Try zig bugs either as a zig or a low pop-up. You can buy them ready made or do your own. Bit of hemp with a fake snail pop-up. Easy lol You're more than likely watching them on the first hatch of the year, which makes the above even more relevant.

You have to set it to the conditions to avoid false bleeps and have the right kind of bobbin for the situation. Going down to 1-2 on the minus settings if it's very windy with weed gathering on the line - extreme conditions Whereas in normal conditions I might have it on 2-4 on the plus settings. It's good that you have the range to deal with all situations, when I first got them I was using them on high sensitivity but when what should have been a bleep sounds like a full blown run you soon learn to lower the sensitivity more in line with other alarms. Gets you going that's for sure 😃

I didn't see the point in these because I had always been Ok with a head torch. However, since being bought one I have found it to be an excellent additional to my kit and I would miss not having it. Well worth the money IMO

I'm not convinced they are any better than Fox alarms tbh Had fox for 20+ years really reliable had no issues with them at all, far from it. Wanted some new ones with the remote receiver a couple of years ago so got the delks I'd always admired. Yes they seem good, got no real complaints. For me they just seem overly sensitive and I cant see the point in plus and minus settings, just one range high to low would have been better. They are good, but pretty sure Fox are equal and also have vibration settings and receivers. Some people go back to Fox after Delks so it's not a one horse race.

Have you looked at the Trakker Level lighter - think you can buy that in a lumbar support version Looks tasty

ESP Syncro XT Loaded - no complaints, I liked the previous version as well.

I think experienced anglers will always look to do a bit of stalking when they can, be it floaters or on the deck. One thing I don't look at with rose tinted glasses is the rubbish tackle he uses, thank goodness that side has progressed, I'd give up if that was my set-up, useless.

So proud of my Leicester City team right now - been a nervous wreck for weeks, can finally relax phew! Champions, unreal achievement

Got the medium sized version, used it over xmas break - loaded with just corn, wouldn't open on a short 10 wrap cast and wouldn't open on the 16 wrap spot either. I'd say it opened on 2 out of 10 casts if I was lucky - to say I was annoyed is an understatement. Surely they have had more than enough time to get these things right. Really poor - supposed to open easier with the bigger button but it doesn't. Stick with the Spomb people. Don't like the way it comes back either on the rare occasions that it did open it came back jumping about - not smooth like the spomb, utter rubbish, very disappointed indeed!

Without reading all this stuff, to me it seems pretty obvious that it is due to the typical hook pattern used, when used on a 360 I would imagine that this exaggerates the bad properties of the hook more. Regardless of rig it is known fact that LS Nailers, Fox 5's or whatever version you use can cause nasty damage to the mouths of smaller fish. It is known that they are big fish hooks full stop - that's accepted by most people. I used LS Nailers for years with no problem until I landed a mid double one day, small for the venue - well the mouth and later body damage was shocking - like a can opener ripping through the mouth from side to side in a zig-zag. until it came out, went back in under the throat and continued to rip down the body. Now I will only use the pattern on proper specimen waters, where there are no soft mouthed stockies. Must you see that for yourself before you accept it?

I've got a pack - yes they are pretty sharp but I cannot say that they are any sharper than my other hooks - such as Mugga's, Nailers etc Feel I've been had by hype tbh

Not at all just bad writing on my part

There is a club in Derby 'Pride of Derby' I think. Was talking to a guy once who said the lakes held good numbers of 20's and chance of bigger. Willeslely has the sizes and stock your after - seems a good choice. Get on a club water if you can it's better value and can be more secure. Bluebell Lakes, Tansar - has several lakes, their runs water Mallard is now doing 20's with the odd 30 -that's going to be one hell of a lake with the way it's going - nice fish too.

How far do you want to travel, I'm east mids and might know a few places, how much are you willing to pay for the day or season - there's cheap day tickets from £5.00 to over 30 quid for 24 hours. Also what do you hope to catch in terms of numbers and size? Sorry mate questions not answers lol edit: Willesley sounds like a nice place, might be a good option

Use them always regardless of hooklink material, though I do cut them down by about a third. Anti tangle has to be first issue to sort out

I don't seem to see you mention whether your ditching the lead on the take or not - IMO the most obvious cause for loosing fish at the net.

Bought the Sunngas Alpine stove last year - was a little cheaper than the Trakker one, no complaints - used summer and winter no probs.

Or simply tied on a weak link at the bottom end, also stops the lead getting too close to the fish during battle.

Ditto - good line, was the first line I bought specifically for carping. Bought some recently as it goes - that will be going in a centrepin. Turns green or red depending on the water if I remember right and I think it sinks OK too.

a stiff bristle like material like IQ pushed through the line aligner The theory seems OK but i'm not won over on the prospect of the stiff bristle damaging the fish's mouth once hooked? Is there really any need to be going down the silly named super rig route? unless you have a specific reason to do so?