kevtaylor

It's the huge chunks for me, found them difficult to screw on without feeling that they were going to split, too inconsistent. Odd shapes are the best - when we got the rolling wrong we ended up with pillow shapes - these were the best IMO

Worth doing if it gives you extra confidence, granules will give a better and more consistent result 😎👍

All hookbaits work, but are they better than other hookbaits and worth a premium price? Impossible to say isn't it, I felt I believed the hype as usual and felt foolish after. 🤷‍♂️ Almost £20 for some chunks of cork and paste, not convinced.

Thought I recognised some of the bait names in this thread. Got sucked in by the hype around these baits, bought some and instantly thought they looked rubbish - haven't given them the time of day tbh and won't be, massive chunks of cork, badly hand rolled, just over hyped, over priced. Would I have caught more on these than my bait matching pop-ups and NS1's, can't see it.

Sell stuff we no longer need - crazy talk! Dont know anything about the reels but sounds important, to be filed under angling archive items/spares, coz you never know and can justify it to anyone who asks 😁

I hope so the lake is 4ft up at least on last years drought level, the lowest swim is still over a foot under water and no overflow to speed things up a bit. 👎 I was seriously worried about the lack of rain last summer as all the ressies etc were incredibly low, now they're overflowing, happy days!

Ordered a power barrow conversion kit for my Mk2 wide boy, might keel over long before it arrives (10-12 weeks), pushing through sodden ground getting stuck, unloading/re-loading - going again is about killing me off, although each week seems a little easier.

Current multi version, 25lb stiff end section to semi stiff braid.

Well if we do meet and you seen me catch, it was a Tench that got weeded up for 10 mins, so exciting looked 10lb but went 9.14lb - buzzing mate, get on the multi, spinner, up and down rigs 👍🤣

Whilst I cant deny it's a great rig, all that extra metalwork and sleeve put me right off, My multi uses none of it, just a hook screw and putty and stripped braid turns as good as any swivel for the joint part IMO. I've taken to using 25lb stiff material for the hook loop keeps the hook in place and as doubled over acts like a hook extension. You've also got to consider the ptfe coated swivels coz normal ones rust and dont turn great after a while. The mechanics and shape of the rig are exactly the same, but if anything you can get a multi even lower.

Multi - used nothing else for 5 years - IMO better than a spinner in several ways 👍

My mate has proper told me off for giving everything away to people who wouldn't give info back the other way, and he is right. I just want to share the joy help them have a good trip too but it comes back to bite you. I've hade some mega trips over the years, gave it all away then couldn't get back in the swim again all year and noticed everyone suddenly baiting on mass - so I'm being watched and copied and the tactic stops working. I kept the sling hidden in the water all trip, dried through the last night, put the mat upside down behind the bivvy like it was drying from the rain, banks sticks straight out the water from holding the net, tripod and scales away, it's a proper job that I'm not used too - bit stressful too, not me at all, but gotta do what I've gotta do - we're chasing the same targets at the end of the day! I got point blank lied to last spring where captures were all Tench aparently, so they can expect me to be catching the odd Tench too. Got one saved on my phone for quick access just in case they ask to see a pic of said Tench. 🤣

Never thought they looked safe so didnt fall for it, I've got a normal mat with high sides much safer IMO

Best tackle item I've ever bought, actually sorts my shoulder out sleeping on that after a load of casting. Brilliant! 👍

True - all my May trips (x3) are booked - Thursday - Sunday so I have a better chance of getting in good areas than those arriving Friday. I used to only fish a Saturday night, now the kids have flown the nest I can do what I want - and will be! 😎👍

Got a cracking 30 common first morning then the crowds arrived and pressured the area and they did the off. Kept it secret squirrel so no pics till I report it to the syndi, sorry 🐳😎👍 Get in 🙂

Back down for another 3-4 nights potentially, picked back of the wind based on what I saw last trip and after setting up I saw several shows to my surprise, showing me where to put the rods, fingers crossed might get lucky - think I've dropped right on them unless they're passing through, some chunks to - fingers crossed 🤞

Great advice that 👆 do your own thing

I still use the same tool box I found 30 odd years ago coz it fits in my rucksack and seems to be the right size. I also carry a zig disc (fox) - thats good because it's 1ft round so use as a measure and rig storage. Theres lots of stuff I rarely use which lives in a big rig wallet - only goes in the car on big trips where I dont know what might happen, multiple zig lines, bait drills and corks, various leaders, tubing sets, spares on top of spares. I used to carry a big float tube full of spods, marker floats, floater floats - again only on big trips - but left in car. For normal fishing trips (95%) of the time I carry just one spare spod, one floater/zig line, one marker float, PVA funnel web all in the lid of my rucksack, one tackle box FULL of rig making essentials, rig box (Korda) and the zig disc (Fox). Spare leads can stay in the car, I carry some in a lead pouch - enough for a few fish, back to the car if I run out. You could spend a fortune buying all new stuff that goes together perfectly or just make what you've got work - I'm kind of reviewing what I need on a venue to venue basis.

I don't take an extra groundsheet, just by keeping the groundsheet and bivvy separate - the groundsheet is handy to chuck over if it rains whilst barrowing back and forth, I don't cover it once fishing - everything goes inside the shelter 👍

Groundsheet from bivvy - store separate 👍 Why buy something extra?

Got the Solar SP-Tech wide sleep system and more recently the Undercover Pro sleep system (lighter). Both really good for lumbar support, got the Undercover Pro for £205 should have been a lot more. Best beds I've ever had, they actually sort my shoulder out, not make it worse - Solar for me! 👍

Just the hook baits 👍

Carp Porter have been making them the longest - had mine many years Mk2 Wideboy, cant see me changing it, the Nash and Fox ones look just as good, whether they are I wouldn't know tbh You should get a decent Mk2 Standard 2nd hand I'd imagine - maybe a new one for that money. I'm thinking about a barrow conversion kit for mine rather than buying a whole new barrow, but then I need the exercise - but it's nearly killing me off lol

Dynamite Fresh Fish Pop-Ups look a very good match to dog biscuits, cut it into a square and it's pretty bang on. The fake weighted floaters are good as the hook sits on top, out of the water, you can literally bounce them over weed to get it into little clearings where the fish are sitting. Zigs work whilst feeding mixers over the top, especially if they are rejecting the hookbait. My mate is a good floater angler, he uses the dog biscuits on the hook, but prepares them in a bottle of water and adds pressure to get them to take in the water to what he finds the right amount, I've only seen this once so can't remember the fine details - but that really works well.