nigewoodcock

No, they certainly ain't!!! in the same breath though, I wouldn't want to carry 3 of them around with me either. Also, not many people would have access to them like we do. The nash one is accessable and easyier to carry around than a load of plastic mats to make the equivalent coverage. Each to their own I suppose. Like I say, I can see loads of these being sold on the continent and to the traveling, long stay angler. P.s as mentioned, the main reason for the matts at our place, is to save the swims. Not for the comfort of the anglers - although that's a nice bi product!!

That's the lake I run and I have these in every swim, along with a spare stash by my generator shed. Two at the front of the brolly and a strip up to the rods. Can make a massive difference in saving the swim from becoming a quagmire.

If you look at it in a bigger picture than just the uk scene, then I can see a lot of these being sold. just think of those long stay anglers who live on, or travel Europe. Some of those banks are like swamps to start with, never mind after two or more weeks walking back and two to the rods. Add that to the ressies that can drop in levels, leaving nothing but mud to fish from.

I've fished in some very cold, sub zero conditions. Never had the roller wheel freeze up. It may do in future but I can't see it if never happened in the conditions I've fished in. Fot the delkim to pick up a bite that wouldn't move the roller wheel the small amount needed to give a beep, it would have to be on a pretty high sensitivity? No good if there's a breath of wind or a drop of rain as I would guess you would be getting false bites. The way I have heard people get over this is by turning the sensitivity down, doing away with any improvement in indication over an atts.

I would also not hesitate to buy the new fox alarms. I've had two different models up until 2008 or 9 when I got the atts. Both sets behaved impeccably.

My atts alarms have never had any issues. That makes them reliable, along with the fact that if the line moves, the alarms beep. Unless it's rain or waves etc moving or 'rocking' the line. The atts recognises this and eliminates false beeps. Dunk them under water, they still work. Try that with a delkim! Lol

He's a beaut kev.

Vic, I used to use the arma points exclusively and never thought I would change. I then tried the esp cryogen range and they are special mate. Now the edges range has taken over from the armas, I'm glad I was given the nod on them just before release!!

If you had the full lake booked, I'm sure 8 wouldn't be an issue. 6 is for keeping the peace in genral booking terms. Same as churn. If it was a general day ticket, 4 would be a maximum but with the whole lake booked (the only way he books people on) you can get 6 on. However, it's much better with 4.

It's in the middle of nowhere and has no passing traffic etc so safe as your house to leave if you all wanted to go into town (3 miles) for a curry. The swims are all doubles really so if two rods each, shouldn't be too much of a squeeze. Probably better suited for 8 not 10 in all fairness. I think with the numbers, you will struggle to find something of perfect size for exclusive and accommodation.

It's my mates lake. I've not fished it but have been up there for walks etc. Some good mid thirties in there. Lovely posh cabins as well!

If your having trouble with the tubing staying in the buffer bead or tail rubber, I have a little tip. push the tubing through so the end comes out the bottom, then put a baiting needle or something similar in the end of the tubing. Get your lighter and blob the end that the needle is in (the needle helps to stop the hole closing up). Then simply pull it back into the bead. No need for glue or anything this way.

Blackthorn near oswestry??

You need to hope that pete reads this!

Clearwater isn't too far from you

Nothing come back mate. Sorry

I've just sent Oli a message asking what he and Alan did ticket wise. I'm pretty sure he is in Europe again this week but will let you know when he comes back to me.

Take a look at the latest NASH euro banx video on YouTube

Sinks better than any other mono I have tried.

Jun 7, 2013 Re-spooling reels- By Nige Woodcock I was re-spooling my reels the other night and thought I would take a few pictures to show you how I try to make things a bit less time consuming whilst also having a decent line lay with no twist etc. I’m not sure how much difference the brand of line would make to the process. Maybe more the type but as I use one brand for all my fishing, I can’t guarantee that this method would work for say, fluorocarbon or fluro coated mono. The mono I use is Suffix Synergy, mainly in 12lb. It has all the properties that I require from a mainline; good knot strength, high abrasion resistance, sinks like a stone, casts well with a good line lay on the spool. Those last two qualities though, depend a lot on how the line is loaded onto the spools. You could have the best line out there but spool it up with a bad lay or put twist in it, and you may as well have saved your money and gone for a cheap option. I like to change my line at least once a season but tend to do it on average twice, sometimes three times. It all depends on what lake I’m fishing and also the amount of sport I have been lucky enough to have had. The first thing to do is, obviously, strip back the old line. This can be time the most ball breaking part of the process. Wrapping a full big pit spool around your hands is a mare. You also have to think about how you are going to dispose of the old line. A big albatross nest of line is going to be dangerous to wildlife if not dealt with in a safe way. To help with these two problems faced. I incorporate the use of my drill and the inner of a bog roll! First off I take out any bits that are in the drill and place the roll over the chuck and tape it in place just at the bottom of the roll. Open up the bail arm and tie the line to the cardboard spool as you would your reel spool. All that’s left to do now is pull the trigger whilst holding the drill at 90º to the reel. I guide the line back and forth along the length of the roll leaving around an inch at each end. It takes very little time to empty a spool and one thing to watch is when you get to the end, the force of the stop can cut the line into your finger that’s guiding it onto the roll. I got cocky the other night and didn’t put a glove on. I now have a very deep, clean cut on my index finger! Once the reel is stripped, I take some of the tape and wrap it around the old line to hold it on the cardboard roll. This leaves you a nice neat package to dispose of or even keep to use for mono hooklinks and the like. Then simply take it off the drill and you’re done. The photos don’t show it as I was keeping this line but if chucking it away, I would tape all the line up before putting in the bin or burn it in the incinerator if I have other stuff to burn. I’m now ready to start re-spooling proper. Before I started stripping back the old line, I filled a bowl with warm water and soaked the line. I place a 4oz distance lead in the top of the spool to hold it down. This is enough to keep the new spool of line steady whilst filling the reel. The spool needs to be the correct way up for loading. This is with the line leaving the top of the spool in an anticlockwise rotation. This will eliminate the line being loaded in twist onto the reel. With the Synergy, this has always been with the label facing up with every new spool I have used. If this is the case with other brands, I can’t be sure. You can see in the picture below the way the line unloads. With the reel on the butt section of the rod, I take line through the butt eye and tie it onto the reel with a slip knot. On my reels, there is a recess for the knot and loop of line but if there wasn’t, I would place this first loop around four 5ths of the way down the spool. When loading the line, I like it to be under a touch of tension so that it is bedded down throughout the depth of the spool. I used to place a book along the length of the line and close the line in the book at different pages depending on how much tension was needed. I found the line used to skip around too much doing it this way so needed a better option. I now use a rod band around the line and the rod. This can be set to give a wide range of tension strength and seems to be a much better and consistent way to add the required amount to get a decent lay and bed of line. It was always my practice to overfill the spool to allow for the line to bed in once in use. By adding the tension to the line during loading, I can now pretty much fill the spool to a ‘working’ height from the start. I went out for an evening session on the mere the last night and, as always, it cast perfect first time with no slipping or coiling off the spool. It also sank beautifully with no twist. The finished spool:

Love this rig. Along with a hinge stiff and a zig, I very, very rarely use anything else.

I have had my diawa infinities for around 13 years now. Never been serviced, other than a clean down and oil every couple or three years by myself. I would never change them. I've never even been tempted to 'upgrade' them as I don't think they can be! I also have a pair of emblem spod reels for my spod and marker rods. These are also bullet proof but do need a bit more of a regular oil to keep them in top nick. I know coops uses these reels for his 'fishing' rods and loves them. There is is no doubt that there are some decent shimmy reels about though. Just that I wouldn't change mine to them, doesn't mean that someone else wouldn't.

Could have something to do with Korda having the distributed rights for trakker, delkim and I think maybe diawa in a lot of countries.

I'm the same kev. Didn't feel I needed one but since having it, I would be lost without it now.

The fox flatlighter is a fantastic bed. Used and abused mine since they came out. Not quite as comfy than an indulgence but far far lighter and not too much of a difference in comfort levels.