ouchthathurt

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.

In John Wilson’s carp fishing guide, (available on kindle) he describes F1’s as being a cross between crucians and king carp, the end result apparently produces a fully scaled fish with smaller barbules and a deeper body shape. They are also resistant to KHV and feed all year round.

My waders are extremely well hidden... there’s a wading ban on my water!!

We all have our own preferences mate, I love my fox torque rods and EOS 12000 reels, I can’t fault them, yesterday I managed to accidentally stick a 3oz on the far bank at 115yrds - I was looking at putting it at 90yrds but overcooked it somewhat!! Yet I’m not a fan of the fox alarms... except the micron minis, it’s purely a looks thing, I don’t like their shape!! As for the Exocet braid... I really couldn’t comment... I’ve never used it! I tend to buy braid that’s not “carpified” as it’s cheaper! I’ve got some nondescript black braid in 40lb on both spod and marker rod and it is pretty bulletproof, even if the black dye comes out all over my fingers when it’s wet 🙄RM gear I’ve not used, so no comment. Nash stuff, I’ve got one of their pods which is pretty good, their fang hooks are decent, Korda - I love their leadcore, especially the gravel one... I’m not so much a slave to a particular brand, I just buy what I need from whatever stable offers it, then I continue with whatever brand offers the best version of that product that suits my need best. I guess we are all like that really.

Of course they will need spraying them a nice carpy green/black...

I use fox torques and did think about corking the handles, you can buy DIY kits online where you slide the individual cork rings on and then sand them down.

Well the EOS 12000 from your favourite makers of fine quality Exocet braid 😁 are a brilliant reel, I’ve got a set and they are the best reels I’ve ever used. Otherwise I doubt there will be much in the way of differences with the sea model you’ve posted above, is the retrieve rate the same etc? They may be more resistant to salt corrosion and designed to cope with the harsher conditions of beach casting, but so long as the drag etc is still smooth and positive, they should be ok. I used to use Shakespeare and Ryobi “beach reels” for carping as they were generally cheaper! They did the job ok.

Some brilliant flavours there, I’d forgotten the maplecreme, secret agent and plum royale! 3 flavours I had real confidence in years ago. The zing flavours I’ve read a lot about and heard how good they were but I never had the chance to use them myself. I had to go to richworth then nutrabaits to get a ham flavour I was happy with, the premier one was ace, but All of these ham flavours are discontinued now. I managed to get a bottle from nutrabaits in their discontinued line.

I still have a bottle of richworth blue cheese flavour that dates back to 1997... it’s like old smelly feet! ive made baits without any flavours at all and have had results on it, I think the smells and tastes inherent in the base mixes and oils etc are strong enough for a carps taste or “smell” receptors to detect. Although an addition of flavour made me more confident. I usually cut the dosages of the flavour right down though these days, the recommended dosage of my current flavour is up to 5ml per 6 eggs, I use between 1.5-2ml per 6 eggs (dependant on egg size)

I used to drive my local tackle dealer mad by opening and smelling everything! “Matt! You’ve opened that damn monster crab again!!” god bless you Al! He’s still going strong after 25+yrs