buzzbomb

Nothing wrong with making your own and there are many things right with it. A few simple guidelines and you're in. When I made my first ones they were some crude crude stuff and I hauled on it.

I made my sisters drag 3oz bell sinkers back from the US (a hundred at a time - twice!) and they were 50 - 60 cents ea so about half price. They'll never do that again! I liked those because I could hammer them a bit like the commercial flat pear leads that don't roll as much. Big inline 3, 4, and 5 oz that I bought for catfishing in the Red River are handy where the current is too fast for anything smaller.

Casting pyramid sinkers isn't hard and doesn't cost much, my friend and I used to make 60 or 70 in one go using a self-made mould and cast off wheel weights or old weights from commercial fishing nets. If you want pears or other carping-purpose shapes you need a mould for it but the pyramids work and cost next to nothing if you can make them. Don't poison yourself (voice of experience here). [emoji12]

In Canada I've gotten away with buying new reels from England sent by post and no duty or tax and VAT discounted from purchase but 2nd hand rods from the US sent by post held up by customs and sales tax and a collection fee charged on delivery. It's a bit of a crap shoot here. Using mail instead of courier service generally gets me out of paying any duty or fees to custom houses so I always use the mail when buying anything from outside tbe country. Conversly I know owners of a tackle shop who have an account with a courier company through necessity for the business and they have no trouble with them. Oz is further away (from anywhere, ha ha) so likely very different. When I ordered my reels from Billy Clarke in Sheffield they quoted me way more for postage than I thought it would be and I said why? They said well they weigh x which is more than Royal Mail's cutoff for the lower tier price. I said but the specs say they weigh Y! He said yes but with the boxes, spare spools etc it's over, let me weigh again and I'll get back. He comes back and says without either the boxea or the spare spools I can mail them for the lower cost. I said wonderful, keep the boxes. A week later I had my reels and spare spools. Really got to hand it to the guy, between that and patience confirming my credit card I'd say they went the extra mile to get my gear to me, and that's why I always name them.

Glad I could help!

Received this from Attila the Stockbroker yesterday. He said "Liverpool's open top bus has gone back into storage."

Gaz is getting an Arsenal tattoo on his arsenal. [emoji11]

I'm not really familiar with it but I have some of their sauce. [emoji11]

Welcome to the forum the both of you. [emoji3]

They look like real sweethearts! I saw this pic the other day and thought of some of you on this forum.

I have successfully moved a topic! [emoji110]

I have little blue Shimano ones from a set of pliers and holster. Prizes from a tournament about 10 years ago.

Sorry, a few have left for other forums and one member may be on a last deployment before leaving the services but please.continue to notify us of these events.

Oz is hard on guns I think, I heard they don't even allow pump action shotguns which are omnipresent in Canada.

I have a 4' piece of 1 1/2" abs pipe that I stop up about 1' from the bottom with a piece of pool noodle foam a few inches long I've trimmed to fit snugly and held in place with a thin stove bolt. I drilled a few sets of holes for adjustment and to aid drainage. I load that up (big end).and unload with a casting motion; it throws out a nice line of groundbait that fans out a bit at the end. If I could find it I'd show you.

One thing that's changed in the last 6 or 7 years is that more people are taking carp. It used to be just a few groups of Ivans doing a few week-ends a year but now we have the United Nations out there and they all take 20's as quick as 7's and there's no limit on them. The carp took a real hit from several years of flooding that stranded many in fields so the strength of the fishery is being tested. My main complaint is I find people fishing for carp for the table in my old favourite swims so I move on.

I like a nice feed of fresh fish, been eating it all my life. Fried fish, fish chowder, pickled fish, smoked fish, I make it all. We have possession limits, upper size limits, some places with special limits or designated c+r only, and we still manage to produce world record fish in several species.

If you're ever curious about who loves you more, your dog or your wife just lock them both in the trunk of the car for a few hours then open it up and see who's glad to see you.

'Warm fuzzy feeling' [emoji4] until you find one improvising an unhooking mat is easy; piece of 3" foam in a heavy duty trash bag. I use several padded mats made for crib matresses and changing diapers and have gone through a few different incarnations of that in the last 10 years. A leaky air-bed that would otherwise be thrown out, over some padding is perfect ; you want protection for the fish from banging around and a wet smooth surface to save the slime. The CAG trading board has used unhooking mats from time to time as well as the US carp tackle dealers so keep an eye out if you decide to get one. It's one of the things hard to import because of the size. Weigh slings are easy to import or buy here, carp-safe nets are also an issue but are available and some domestic types are ok.

I doubt that would fly, it's still introducing something regardless of delivery system.

Depending on the size of the water he can probably catch on single baits anyway CM, North American carp aren't too elusive as a rule. A little change up is nice and won't hurt but unless he's fishing a big lake campaigning isn't always a necessity.

You could check Billy Clarke Tackle in Sheffield, they were great shipping to me in Canada and the website says they do Aus - doesn't cost anything to shoot them an email.