ouchthathurt

I suppose its the way its going these days, everyone wants an instant result and are not willing or prepared to wait or put in the effort. I waited 8yrs for my 1st 20lber, and i can still remember the sense of achievement when i hooked it on freelined bread flake and landed it after stalking it from a pokey unfancied swim. He weighed a humungously massive 21lb and made my entire season. I caught my 1st 30 about 5-6yrs later, a 35lb common which was caught using the acclumative experiences of the preceding years. To think that i could replicate this in a far shorter period of time? Would i prefer it?? Definiatley not. Ive served my apprentiship and have the experience, success failures and scars to prove it. I watch an increasingly high number of anglers, "direct access carpers" who expect instant results and dont have any idea what to do when its time to ring the changes. I once watched a young lad who fished the exact same swim every weekend, using the exact same method (pellet/boilie in biggest pva bag he could find) he would fill a carrier bag (you get the idea, lol!) sized pva bag with pellet and boilie, bait it with a fishmeal bottom bait and turf the whole lot in the lake as far as his rods would cast. Then he would blank for the weekend then go home. He only knew this one method and it had once caught him a carp out of this swim so he returned time and again trying to replicate the situation convinced he'd replicate the result but he never did. I was standing in his swim teaching him some basic knots/rigs etc when he asked why i thought he hadnt caught anything (i had at least one fish a session during the same time period - which was real good going.) i pointed out that the carp in this lake were very cadgey, and fed a lot in the edge - also that they often spooked off the big pva bag approach in the 1st place. I got him to reel in and took him to each swim and pointed out what he should look for, following the wind, choosing a swim on the day rather than just heading to the same swim each time. carp rolling/bubbling/topping etc. He found a few carp grubbing in the margins of his swim when he returned, feeding on his old baits he threw in when rebaiting. So i told him to gently lower a baited rig (with an old bait on it)'into the water at his feet and wait. About 20mins later, he's smiling away with a nice upper double mirror. After that, he used to fish the near margins all over, as well as set up near me so he could get more "on the bank" lessons! I have started take a look at canals, around the frimley/aldershot area, seen some lovely fish but only done a few short sessions for a hookpull so far. Now its the close season... A lovely venue though with that all important magic to it.

Close up of my bottom bait rig, curve shank size 4 hook on braid hooklink using blowback principle. Note the darkness of the braid? This is lead putty rubbed into braid and excess removed. I like a pretty long hair. Bait is 15mm fishmeal/robin red boilie.

When i used to make my own cork pop ups, i would only make small batches of 10-20 at a time. I would take a length of shockleader line or a cocktail stick and score a shallow groove around the middle so once boiled and hardened off, i would have a groove to tie my floss in. Just be careful not to make a groove right through the boilie paste and expose the cork ball.

I prefer to tie my pop ups on as any piercing of the bait will affect its boyancy over a period of time. I also find that the boilie skin over the pop up integrety is damaged, then water ingress will soon soak and split the skin as well as leaving it open for small fish to have a peck at it.

Does this not work then??? Whats all this about changing hooks?? Seems a bit wasteful to me... Lol!

Guilty as charged... Im not as bad as getting the ruler out but i can happily measure by eye - the end presentation must be neat and tidy, if i'm not 100% happy, its binned immediatley. I have my favourite rigs, but also have those i dont like. The "chod" for instance, not a fan!!

I would like to have another session on wraysbury, to watch the sun set over dredger bay and the birds coming home to roost in their 100s while a boeing 777 comes into land... Just to see if the magic is still there.

Your right! Wraysbury was a tip! Scooters fridges etc adorned the margins, you only had a 50/50 chance of getting back to find your car in one peice, the pikeys boats and general locals were a nightmare so yeah, it was no picnic!! Lol!! What kept me going back was knowing you were on a slice of history, i loved the sound of the place too, it appealed to my nature. Yet if it was not as famous as it had been, would i have fished it?? I walked around kingsmead but didnt like it, too busy and quite over pressured, although the lads were sound, however one look at wraysbury and i was in love, warts (fridge!!!) and all... I moved onto it straight away without even knowing the stock at the time, i just loved being in wraysbury!! Would fish there tomorrow if i could.

Sliding pop up rig short shanked wide gape beaked hook size 4 with pop up mounted on sliding rig ring on shank stopped with float stop pop up on the left with cell boilie in situ - had 2 20's in the last two sessions. Rig on the right is my bottom bait rig - blowback rig with long hair and size 4 curve shank patterned hook. Both rigs tied on short braided hooklinks with lead putty to ensure it sinks. Happy to use this with inline lead arrangements or helicopter rigs (most common as i use leadcore regularly and helicopter rig allows hooklink and lead/leader to part company. never use leadcore with inlines)- will fish snowman rigs with same set up. photo below shows position of hair/bait (hopefully!!) when blown back by feeding carp. at least thats the plan... I like a slightly longer hooklink to my bottom bait/snowman rigs, my speccie water all fish come out to pop ups (bottom covered in thick stinking silt which taints and trashes bottombaits to the point that they can sit there until the cows come home) so the sliding pop up rig is the one i use, on my "big" water 37acres, there are many big bream which demolish pop ups and single bottom baits so i started using snowmans and caught a double figure common within 30mins of trying, so a good start! I have been known to reject rigs that look "untidy" or not as neat as i can get away with, i like a really subtle finnessed rig with small, neat rig componants. With bottom baits, i like a long hair. With pop ups i subscribe to the small pop up big hook approach, but it all has to be 100% perfect, putty, right swivel for the lead, right hooklink for the bottom substrate (how many anglers use the same hooklink regardless of the bottom fished over?) sharp hook etc the hardest part is to get the carp to pick up the bait in the first place, without losing it through complacency

I loved fishing wraysbury at the time, fired up by stories of old, but the target fish was king fungus, one of the old fungus mirrors that were considered stockies during "marys gang's"reign. The truth of the matter is that the old historic lakes with bazil have gone, the lake is there but the fish have gone, for now at least, we never know what the future will bring, the carp in wraysbury may grow to epic proportions and inspire the next generation, same as bazil and mary did for me. After all, mary started off as spawn didnt she?? The new wraysbury fish could grow on as well as she did. Look at conningbrook, it was "the" carp water, then two tone died and for some, the dream died with it. Yet now elphicks seems to be doing a big lump yet its sern by some as a wrong un... The wheel keeps turning and big carp come and go, the historic waters as we knew them have gone in terms of big famous carp but the waters themselves are still there and the carp may well grow on in years to come. If you keep looking back you cant see where your going!!

I heard that 500 carp had been stocked into wraysbury, for my part, wraysbury of old was what lit my carp fishing fire, if i ever losse some enthusiasm, i will read "an obsession with carp" by dave lane, the chapters on wraysbury are what inspired me to fish there. However, time marches on, mary and co are all dead, they need to keep the lake going and yes, bearing in mind its over 110 acres in size, 500 carp is not exactly heavily stocked!!

Unfortunatley our regt in the last few summers have done BATUS, HERRICK, BATUS, BATUS, BATUS now prepping for another BATUS again. The regt has not had a summertime at home in the last 5yrs!!

I used to hold a ticket and did a season on this fabulous water in 2006-2008 . i know the older bigger carp died out but im hearing that it has been fully restocked and is more of a runs water? Anyone know anything about it? Wouldnt mind getting back to wraysbury and getting a run would be novel!

We need them all, its each to their own but i dont like the korda films too much of an advert for my tastes. I love "a passion for angling" its the true essence of angling, that show. John Wilson is the king of fishing shows, he holds the crown for so many reasons. The carp crew with jan porter were watchable as it was so hippy and laidback, dont know why he was swapped with kev green halfway through (anyone know?) that ruined the series for me. The tips and tricks on the show were nothing groundbreaking or technical, but it was watchable.

As an ex A&E nurse, ex TA, current serving soldier and qualified ambulance personnel, im not sure im eligible...! Love to do this but Canada rears its ugly head again.

How is wylands now? I used to fish the kell lake all the time and hold (or held at least!) the main lake record common of over 26lb. Some from kell. Keith the baillif still there? I was a member of hastings and bexhill club, fished a lot on buckshole as well in the late 90's early 00's had a few out too. Always look back at buckshole with some affection.

I used to fish wylands regularly, I hold the main lake record, (well did anyway!) I caught it under the rod tips using richworth banana ester readymades. I fished Kell lake Mainly, fishing singe hook baits in the near margins about 1/4-1/2 a rod length out, choosing to instal myself in a swim about 1-2 swims down from my chosen spot so i'm not fishing right over my baited area. Any decent frozen boilie will do, I used premier aminos base with blue cheese flavour, which you could buy from AR tackle in Hastings. Keep the noise down as the carp get right into the edge and will spook easily. I found that simple rigs with a good quality bait score well. I would often fish down the furthest end of the lake the widest end, right to the trees on the no fishing bank, or along the tree bank from the no fishing end to the large oak. Don't over feed, PVA bags and pellets never worked for me, just a single hook bait with half a dozen whole and broken boilies scattered around the lead by hand, in the near margins. Backleading is a good idea. I averaged at least one double a trip from the kell, my average session lasting about 24hours. I've fished most lakes on the complex, but mainly house lake, main lake, where I had the 26lb+ lake record, (then) and my favourite lake, kell lake. much trickier than the other lakes but far prettier and rewarding. Especially if like me, you love quiet under the rod tips fishing. Most of my takes late at night or early hours. PM me if you like mate

you can use a whipping knot to tie hair rigs - the same knot you would use to tie a spade end hook on, just adding a loop to the tag end. i wouldnt be happy using washing up liquid as its smell and chemical make up may be off putting, there are better flouros to use as they are designed especially for hooklinks, using tiny amounts of rig putty can also help.

the helicopter rig is probably the best rig to use with leadcore, especially if you splice a loop in the end you attach your main line to. leadcore should NEVER be knotted to the mainline, unless you are using a needle knot which is small enough to allow the hooklink swivel to pass over safely. the hooklink swivel needs to be a "big bore" variety, preferably one with a large ring on it which you pass down the leadcore. there was a "fashion" for a time, to thread the top bead onto the leadcore sideways using a baiting needle, now THIS IS dangerous as it cannot pass freely up the line. which will tether the hooklink to the leadcore. i use leadcore often, always with a helicopter rig, i dont agree with leadclips and leadcore, as i dont think this is safe, as regardless of whether the lead has ejected or not, the carp is still attached to a length of hooklink and a length of leadcore. when you consider the average hooklink breaking strain for braided hooklinks is about 20lb, and the average leadcore leader breaking strain is double that, at about 40lb, (ESP being 45lb) this is quite a substantial strength "tether" should a trailing carp become snagged - yet the lead may have ejected as designed. the most common length for leadcore is usually several feet, so if you picture the scene, you have a leadcore leader of several feet with a leadclip and a coated braided hooklink, a common enough rig i'm sure you will agree. you get a take, you snap off, the lead ejects as designed, the carp heads for the safety of the snags, as they do, (the leads gone, remember) the carp makes it inot the snag, thick branches, weeds etc, trailing a 20lb hooklink and several feet of leadcore, which snares on the snag as it passes, (no lead remember!) the fish panics, becomes tangled and is now stuck. with a "fish safe" leadclip... with the helicopter rig, the line snaps, the lead, securely tied to the end of the leadcore, snags up, the top bead pops off under the pressure and the hooklink slides up the tethered leadcore and slides off the end, now the carp swims off with just a hooklink to get rid of. - provided the helicopter rig is tied properly to begin with. when i tie mine, i get a length of leadcore, tie on a lead to one end, splice a loop in the oter end. i then slide a helicopter buffer bead down over the lead followed by my rig, tied to a ring swivel, but the hooklink NOT tied to the ring, but to the other end. as the ring will be going down the leadcore leader. once the hooklink is threaded on the leader, i then thread on a 1cm length of shrink tube, and shrink it down about 1-2" above the top of the buffer bead. once this is shrunk down, i slip another 1cm length of shrink tube over the 1st, and shrink that down too. then finally, i slide the top bead down it sits on the shrink tube. the safety test is simple. hold your hooklink in one hand and your lead in the other. drop the lead and if the bead pops off and the hooklink travels up the leadcore leader and over the top, then its ok to use. if the hooklink hits the top bead and does not move, then find a top bead with a larger bore, until the merest jarring of the hooklink causes the top bead to pop off. then if/when you snap off, when the carp picks up the bait and shakes its head, the top bead pops off and leaves the hooklink to travel freely up the line. there is one very simple rule, if you are in ANY doubt, dont use the rig, if you are not used to leadcore or are in any doubting your rig, use tubing. there are many varieties of tubing that is as good as leadcore, anchor rigtube being one. never put the fish at risk because you are unsure to the rigs "safetiness"

i'm assuming that this lake is owned/bailliffed by someone? that you have had to make contact with someone linked with said lake and hand over the readies? your best bet is to emails or call the lake owners/baillifs and ask them, they will know what to expect and will (should anyway) want you to get the best out of your trip, the best advice is local advice mate. you see, i could tell you to tip n 50Kg straight off, yet the carp might spook off 1kg of bait over the spot, wihout speaking to people who know the place, you really cant guess. make the wrong decision and its a lot of wasted bait/money/time/trip for poor rewards. remember the old saying, you can put more in, but you cant take it out again.

no dramas mate, what we are all here for after all. i know different anglers have different opinions on the palm test, but it gives me confidence and its not doing any harm, so where is the problem there? i have read from some "big name" anglers in magazines that the palm test is irrelevant but it makes me happy so thats that. regardless of hook or rig choice, you are looking for that "flipability" so it spins and finds a hookhold as soon as the carp takes the bait.

to be honest, you dont really need the tubing with kurv shanked hooks. the concept behind the curv-shanx was that the hook flipped over as the hooklink tightened in the carps mouth finding a hookhold, which was the reason why shrink tubing was used over the eye of the hook on long shanks/other patterns, for this "hook flipping" it all stems from the original idea behind the "bent hook" rg which was used a lot in the 80s-90s which was a long shanked hook, like an aberdeen pattern or o'shaunessy bent at a 45 degree angle about 1/2 way up the hookshank, then tied in a knotless knot and hair rig arrangement presented a really agressive angle, but did cause some serious mouth damage and is now since banned on many (if not all) waters. you can use a tiny section to pin the hair to the hookshank,like i do. the way i fish them is to choose my chosen braided hooklink, - they are not as good with mono hooklinks - but thats just me, tie a loop in the braid for your hair loop, thread my chosen bottom bait/boilie onto it - so i can accuratley measure the hair. then i get a small piece of shrink tube, thread this onto the braided link, then thread the hook through this tubing, hookpoint 1st. so this leaves you with a length of braid with a boilie attached and and a hook attached to the braid by a length of shrink tube, but not yet tied on. i like relatively long hair lengths, so i measure out my chosen length and place the rig tube so it sits on the bend of the hook, i want the tubing to sit oppasite the eye, if that makes sense, then i tie the knotless knot as normal with the braid coming out through the front of the eye. if you imagine the eye of the kurv-shanx hook as the top and the gape of the hook as the bottom, then the shrink tube sits at the gape of the hook directly below the eye of the hook. does this make sense? then i have a hair length of 0.5" from gape of hook to top of bait. then once everything is set, i steam the shrink tube down into place and its job done. as you drag the rig over the palm of your hand, or dangle it over your finger and pull it back, you will see that as soon as the hook encounters resistance, it flips over and digs in. i find having the hair in this arrangement makes it more "flippable" as it works best when the hook encounters resistance, a semifixed/helicopter rig arrangement works best. ouch.

esp raptors for my bottom bait presentations. the short shanked, beaked point inturned eye type - with rig tubing, curved slightly inwards, they can be used on braided hooklinks for small pop ups too. JRC do a pattern that is a long shank, inturned eye with a slight Kurv-shank appearance, they are good for pop ups but make really good universal hooks. kamasan B175 heavy pattern fly hooks were my favourite for a very long time, but cannot find a stockist of them at the moment. ESP do a Kurv-shank pattern that i use for pop ups and snowman rigs, but i love the use of shrink tubing, where as curv-shanks do not really require shrink tube. as a footnote, none of these are barbless as i prefer barbed hooks. i do have one pack of barbless ESP curv-shanks for waters that insist on their use, i find a curved shank presentation is the best barbless pattern as they tend not to move about or pull out as much as other barbless patterns tend to.

i'd love to take you up on the offer, but i'm in afghanistan then on tour... ouch

i'm in dorset - what are you looking for? where in dorset? ouchthathurt