moorsey

I know this is going to sound like "blowing my own trumpet" but I can't resist adding this post. [and I have paid for the advertising lol] With 7 anglers set up on our lake we had nobody fishing the Southern Arm. With some patches of weed showing and red hot, still conditions I was convinced that the fish would be "drinking in" the oxygen being given off by the weed. By Monday, still no-one wanted to move so I decided to do a short session half way down the arm. I set up in "Leaning Tree" and cast over the weed to fish in the far bank clearings under the forest trees. I fished 1.5 ounce running rigs with no tubing nor leaders and used Tiger Line fluoro main line with a Ghost/braid combi hook link. My bait was Infinity Baits Caviar and Black Pepper and I put about 100 freebies over each rod. To cut a long story short, in 42 hours I managed to land 10 carp weighing:- 31.03 lb, 31.12 lb, 33.15 lb, 34.00 lb, 35.01 lb, 35.08 lb, 36.10 lb, 37.05 lb, 37.08 lb [all mirrors] and one common of 51.02 lb. [new PB common]

You need high-viz vests for every passenger and they must be able to be worn before anyone leaves the vehicle. Carrying them in the boot of a car is not acceptable.

Combi with a very short hinge section tied in very supple material.

Take your time and remember to breath. Seriously, make sure your fighting [not bait-runner] clutch is set properly before you place the rod in the alarms. I have seen too many "experience" anglers lose fish by being straight-rodded as soon as they pick up the rod simply because the clutch is set too tight. Remember that you have plenty of time to tighten it but very little time to loosen it off.

We all have to accept what we want out of our carping and it can be a very complicated wish list. Personally i want pleasant surroundings with carp that are kept in good condition but, and it's a big but, I no longer want to catch doubles nor numbers of twenties. I have been carp angling for 43 years and my days of playing the numbers game are long over and I now love to settle back and wait for those big carp to come along. There is a special buzz to sitting behind rods knowing that there are, potentially, fifty pound plus carp examining your rigs.

Sorry to jump in here late but none of the leaders [leadcore nor safe zone] follow the lake bed as the sales blurb suggests. They are simply not heavy enough and are too stiff. The other misleading thing is the name. "Safezone" is named as it was suggested that it makes an area close to the bait which appears safe to the fish. It doesn't mean that it protects the fish by making the rig safe.

It's good to be able to say well done again fellas. Good pic's

If we at Moorland Fisheries can help let me know. The lake is 15 acres and has a stock of 286 carp and 49 catfish. The cats range from upper doubles to 100 lb plus and the carp are made up of at least 140 thirties and 40 forties with a lakes record so far of 56.07 lb. We are draining down again this year with the plan to remove all carp under 25 lb so that the bigger fish can grow even faster so next years stock levels will be about 225 to 250 carp with all of them over 25.00 lb. Hope that helps. Keith

Where are you going? Too many anglers expect to go to France, fire out a boilie and wind in a fifty pound carp. The fact of the matter is that the anglers who work hardest at their fishing will be the anglers who are most succesful. You need to be watching the lake for signs of feeding carp from first light until it's too dark to see and you need to keep feeding the swim regularly. Having a lie in until breakfast will possibly mean that you miss the signs that you need to see if your trip is going to be a success. Keith

I'm fairly certain that you have to leave the lake and use the local camp sites.

Hi Taylor. Our lake is bigger than you are looking for but this week we only have 4 anglers and they have so far (4 nights) managed 43 fish with 10 of them catfish and of the 33 carp they have landed 12 thirties and 4 forties which were; 43.02 lb common 44.03 lb mirror 47.12 lb mirror 48.07 lb mirror On top of all that they get a cooked English breakfast and a 2-course evening meal included. If I can help have a look at "www.moorlandfisheries.co.uk" Keith

Whatever you do don't get him onto lead core rigs.

Basically it's had its day and it is now a toilet.

Hello mate. If you google "keith moors knot" you will find diagrams of how to tie it. Keith

Right let me add my fourpennorth. I use main line straight through with a light lead on a running rig and that system has been very succesful for me and will continue to trip up fish on most waters. When fishing over a steep bar which has sharp objects over it I would still advise some kind of rubbing leader to enable you to land the fish without putting them at risk. You need to think about exactly what you need and if you can use tubing succesfully then why not? however if your tubing isn't producing the fish then by all means use lead core but use it properly. My advice (which also applies to the other types of snag leaders) is firstly to ensure that your mainline is strong enough so that you are not liable to leave a fish towing the leadcore. Probably 15 lb main line is ideal. Secondly use the lead core or other leader tied "helicopter" style so that the hook link can slide off if you do suffer a break and also make sure that any beads above the hook link swivel can also slide off easily. Thirdly use my own knot (Keith Moors Knot) to fix the lead core to the main line. I speciffically designed the knot to ensure that there are no tag ends left showing to pick up even the smallest piece of weed. Be safe and be lucky. Keith

There are plenty of carp in the canals. You will need a license for each area. You are unlikely to be able to nightfish legally.

Try Bath Road Piscatorials.

You are absolutely spot on Fenboy, a man after my own heart. As far as I'm concerned there is no advantage to having, and therefore no need to have, any kind of stop up the line. I have fished light leads on running rigs for many years now and have caught stacks of big carp without the need for any additional "self hooking" aids. With a sharp hook and slack, heavy lines the bites are invariably fliers and don't need striking.

Hi Dave We're over half way down through France and within 20 mins of the main A6 autoroute to Spain so if we can help let me know. We can easily accomodate your party and will happily give you an exclusive week if that helps. The stock is currently 286 carp and 49 cats The cats range from high doubles to 110 lb plus with a lot of fifties and sixties. The carp stock includes at least 130 thirties and at least 31 forties. As an example, this week, 9 anglers have so far landed 55 fish including 20 thirty pound carp, 5 forty pound carp, 4 fifty pound cats and 2 sixty pound cats. The lake record carp is 56.07 and the biggest this season is 49.00 lb so far. All of the stock is growing very fast (3 new forties already this year) so I don't know when you are planning your trip but we certainl;y can offer the chance of some good fish. On top of all that our dining lodge is built as a small English pub. Hope that has whetted your appetite. Keith Moors

That looks good Tony. If you hold the "stiff" section horizontally you will see what I mean about the way the hook drops on the hinge mate. Keith

Hi Tony The trick that I use is to tie the braid to the fluoro first and then tie the hook using a "snell" knot. If you start the snell knot with the fluor/braid knot against the eye of the hook when you finally pull it all tight you end up with a very short hinge. It has been nailing some very big carp for me already this season so it's well worth trying mate. Keith

why's that Keith? Im stumped as well. When i tie my own, true, combi rigs out of 2 different materials, the braided section can be as little as half an inch, upto two thirds of the entire length of the hooklink. For e.g. If my hooklink is 9 inches, then the braided section will be 3 inches in length. It works for me. Two reasons that have been discovered after doing many many tests. 1. The shorter the length of braid the less prone to tangles. 2. The closer the actual "hinge" (ie the connection between braid and mono) to the hook the more of an angle the hook makes when it "drops" down into the carp's mouth. This angle is the edge for getting a good hook hold.

The albright knot to join the braid to the mono and make sure that the length of braid is shorter than the length of the hook shank. Keith

I don't think that any size of lead will be allowed within the next five years. The problems may be that the replacement materials may need to be much larger for a similar weight.

It's a running rig for me too without any type of leader nor tubing and to make it just that little bit safer I use the Enterprise snag-safe run rings which shed the lead with a pull of 5 or 12 pounds (depending which one you choose)