ouchthathurt

So long as the rig comes apart 100% of the time then it should be ok, I’m wary of shrink tube on tubing as it can slip, another option for you mate would be the Nash heli kits, they are very simple to use and are designed for use with tubing.

I just have a normal pillow I nicked from home with a DPM camou pillow case swiped from an old cover set my son had... it’s thin enough to be left in the bed chair when folded up and just stays there to be honest!

I would like to think that we don’t get worse, but we can become complacent at times. After Monday, we can all dust off the bivvies and get nights in! Hopefully we can get back to normal and start getting some fish on the bank. besides, if I look back, I seem to remember catching a lot more fish than I do now, but there are various factors for this, with rose tinted specs on and the benefit of hindsight, you remember the good times and the blanks don’t seem so bad or numerous. I hark back to my first carp water where the sun was always shining, the reeds were thick and vibrant, the carp were dark mahogany commons and you caught every trip, I still fish this water occasionally, the reeds don’t look as vibrant as they do in my nostalgic minds eye, the carp are pale and it’s usually raining! The water has changed in 20yrs, it’s silted up, the stock is lower and the reeds have been cut back. I fish different waters then back then, my waters now are harder, lower stocked and this affects my catch rate, I may not catch the same numbers, but as the waters are a lot harder, I’m a better angler now then back then as I’ve had to learn and evolve as an angler to be be successful on difficult waters.

Whereas I haven’t used Abu reels since I replaced my (new version) cardinal 55 reels for baitrunners in 1999, I did have a set of 3 Abu 6500 open cage multipliers for beach casting. One bent the spindle trying to land a bass in the tide race in Poole harbour, it was its first outing so I wasn’t too impressed! I went to Afghan a few weeks later for 7 months then didn’t get to sorting it for over a year after getting home from Afghan. I sent it to Abu with a letter explaining the circumstances and asked for a repair, they sent me a brand new reel, free of charge, nearly 2yrs after I broke it! Excellent customer service, the reels were good as gold afterward. My first “proper” carp rods were Abu Delta carp rods, 11ft 2lb tc (loved them!) with Abu cardinal 55 reels, (my tackle dealer was an Abu dealer) but that was back in the mid 90s. They have a good reputation on the sea fishing scene, but for carp fishing, they seem to have slipped from view somewhat.

Totally agree mate, you’re better off getting the best quality bait you can afford and use less of it then fill it in with a bait that’s less expensive but with a lower nutritional profile. If it’s a high quality bait with a good nutritional value, the carp will recognise it as a decent food source with time and application and eat it over other less nutritional baits. It’s the old adage (I think it was Fred Wilton who said it) “carp will take advantage of the best available food source” and I’ve found it to be true, that a high quality nutritional bait will out fish a lesser quality bait over the course of a season. They can be slower to get going at times, but it pays off in the end. I’ve been using the same robin red/fish meal mix with oils, flavourings and additives now for well over a decade with few changes and it still does the job. Bait is so important and it’s essential that you have the upmost confidence in it or you’re beaten before you start!

I second that, I’ve been an avid premier baits user since the mid 90s. It’s brilliant stuff. The randoms as above is a good option, or if you wanted to go all out, buy a basemix off them and make your own bait!

If you want a decent, well priced tough line, then Berkeley big game or diawa sensor are both good ropes.

That’s a proper old school hair there nick! I do prefer longer hairs, but I’m not sure I would have the confidence to use one that long!

Those spots may well fish as the year progresses, I find it uncommon for certain hotspots to produce all year round. Often the hotspots change with the seasons.

The most important thing is being on active fish. Nothing will work if there's nothing catchable in front of you. It is very easy to waste a lot of time trying random methods and baits on "likely looking" spots. Imo your time is better spent walking and watching. One you've found where they like to feed regularly, go back to basics and the rest should slot into place pretty quickly. Very true mate, they are having to feed somewhere! Although it’s easy to chop and change rigs and methods in the hope of finding “the one” you can run the risk of losing sight and losing confidence. Have you caught carp from here before? Do you know of anyone who has? I’d get on my toes and start exploring and mapping the lake, especially at this time of year when they are starting to wake up and move about. Half the battle is trying to find the fish actually feeding and this will do your confidence a world of good, look into past captures, speak to people who have been successful, look over your own past successes and build up a picture of what’s happening. Find their feeding spots, lying up spots, where they go to spawn, learn their routines, so when you walk on the lake, you can base swim choice on an informed decision, if you can’t find them, you can use this other information to help choose a swim, rather than just choosing a likely spot on a wing and a prayer and blanking. When you find their feeding spots, then you can use a bait you have confidence in, rather than chopping and changing. Keep beavering on mate, when it clicks and you catch, the feeling of achievement will make all the blanks and effort worthwhile! I once did a 2yr blank... trying to learn a difficult lake, when that first carp hit the back of the net the release of adrenaline and euphoria was so immense I screamed with joy... at 1am... in a park lake... surrounded by houses... over an 11lb mirror...

Have you got a carp cradle mate? They may be higher off the ground than an unhooking mat?

I’d probably go in with the mag-aligner, I’ve got so much confidence in it after stumbling on it and having a red letter session. I doubt there’s a fish in the UK that won’t be tempted by the humble maggot!

What a stunning swim!

Well I could do with a new right shoulder if there’s one going spare...

Ever looked at billing aquadrome?

I prefer using a rig ring mate, I had a few hook pulls when using silicone tubing which put me off somewhat. I’m happier with using rings.

The blowback rig has been my bottom bait rig of choice for a few years and I’ve always stripped back the last centimetre by the hook to give it that flexibility, combined with shrink tube or a kicker of some sort. I want the hook to be able to drop and take hold quickly and find that it’s best to have the coated braid stripped just before the hook to provide this hinge.

I was just wondering about approaching the local fishing clubs and speaking to them. I’m not registered disabled, but I do carry injuries from afghan, specifically my shoulder. My club issue me a disabled ticket which gives me access to the disabled pegs which are very close to the car park. I only use this privilege when my shoulder is actively playing up, but it’s a godsend when I can’t take the barrow journey to the further pegs. I was wondering if a chat to the bailiffs at your local could work something out, they may be able to come up with some arrangement that could make life easier?

@Sparky1964 just out of interest, are you a member of a club or syndicate? Do they have disabled swims?

I found the Nash bullet was really tough, I had to use it in 20lb strength as it was a minimum line strength rule as it had big cats stocked. It was proper rope, I damn near killed myself when I pulled for a break and the lead came wanging out of the tree like a rocket and hit the tree trunk just beside me. Took some effort to pull the lead out, shook me up a bit!

Watching bird life can be a good aid when working out various waters. On deeper venues, you can use tufties diving to work out the clear areas as well as the depth as each species has a maximum diving depth. Swans only feed to a certain depth, if they can’t reach, that can give you an idea of depth. You can see birds stood or wade on shallow bars and sunken islands. On one water, if I see coots diving on my spot, then I usually know that there are no carp down there, when the coots stop or spook off, then I’ve usually had a take soon after. Geese and swans sometimes suddenly alter course when swimming from point A to B if they come across a carp basking in the upper layers. I’ve seen coots and moorhens become territorial and call out or stamp their feet when carp come near to their nests. There are lots of subtle signs everywhere when you take the time to look, if nothing else, watching the wildlife makes the sport so aesthetically pleasing.

I’ve got 12lb diawa hypersensor on my 12000 reels, it’s thin diameter makes it a great distance and open water or snag free water line and I’ve used it for about 8months with only one cut off, but I’d be wary of using it around snags/bars etc, I’d want proper rope on for snag fishing, running over gravel bars or hit and hold situations. I’ve had this line cut off on a gravel shelf once before, the 15lb big game and shimano technium I used before didn’t have this problem bringing fish over the same gravel shelf.

I can’t comment on the wychwood reels as I’ve not used them, but I have a set of fox EOS12000 reels coupled to 12ft 3lb fox torque rods and I really can’t fault them, the reels feel solid, the drag is smooth and the build quality seem too notch. I can’t fault the rods or reels, they get some fair abuse and have held up extremely well.

I’ve used leadcore almost exclusively for over 20yrs and I’m with Nick on this one, if you’re not sure about it, give it a miss, it can be dangerous if not set up correctly. I only use helicopter rigs as the hooklink can separate from the leadcore completely in the event of a snap off. Besides, modern tubing and other rigs are just as effective nowadays. With modern fluro mainlines, you can achieve very good rig concealment fishing mainline straight through to the lead. Check out the vids posted above, chat to your tackle dealer when they reopen, ask them to explain basic carp rigs to you, any tackle shop employee worth his salt will take the time to educate you, (then you buy what you need from them and everyone’s a winner) do you have any mates that carp fish? Otherwise, buy some basic bits, ready tied rigs, tubing, inline leads, lead clips etc and have a play putting it all together, I learnt through experimentation, you also have the bonus of being able to post your results on here so you can have the confidence that they are safe and right. When a ready tied rig reaches the end of its natural life, don’t bin it, take it apart and work out how it was tied so you can emulate it. Don’t be afraid to ask for help, I learnt through asking anglers what they were doing.

Your answer in a nutshell (pardon the pun) all I would add is to ensure they are well prepared correctly or use ready prepared nuts, use sparingly and use simple rigs that you already have confidence in.