newmarket

So you’ll actually be living the dream at last Phil . Congrats and good luck with everything fella , I know how much you’ve wanted it over the years 👍🏻

Well although the weather has cooled considerably I’d tend to stick to my usual tactics until the first frost but that’s just me . Stock levels have to be taken into consideration too . Are they still hungry ? Is the venue still busy ? I’ve not been out for a few weeks myself but I would have thought the banks have started to get a bit quieter? Therefore how much bait has been going in ? Forecast suggests that this weekend will be as cold as it has been so far this autumn, lows of 4-5c overnight…. Next week nearer 1-2c . Anyway , I’m jealous , good luck 🤞🏻

Shame the forum seems to have died a death . It always did quieten down when the weather cooled which is to be expected but go back to 2010-2014/5 this community was rocking.

Actually whilst I’m on the thread , Essential have been doing their boilies , over the weekend, at £5.95 a kilo . I can’t understand why this company doesn’t appear more popular tbh than it undoubtedly is . proven bait over many years . genuinely puzzled

You’ll be spodding your life away mate

Welcome Ray

Sounds like quite a project for the right company…

It’s nothing special, we’ll it is to me , but it’s an old Ron Thompson Avon rod with Feeder attachments etc . I use it ( obviously) for feeder fishing , surface work and float fishing for whatever comes along . Dunno how much it cost at the time , it wasn’t expensive, but it’s a proper Jack of all trades and I love it . Used it recently with my well old Mitchell 320 reel and landed everything from small silvers through to upper double Carp . A great tool and goes to show that you don’t need to spend fortunes on all these specialist rods to enjoy a days fishing.

I’m in the Essential Baits users Facebook group mate and I noticed that James McQueen (the admin) is also sponsored by Cygnet . Now I appreciate he’s sponsored by them so isn’t going to slag it off even if it is carp but after a bit of digging I found his comments on the line you’re asking about @crusian . So here it is , hope it gives you some assistance 😉 https://www.total-fishing-tackle.com/blog/cygnet-terminal-tackle-range-a-total-fishing-tackle-review

Looks like you’ll have to review it for US mate 😊

Ffs mate , and I thought the water level on my water was low . personally I’ll be happy if this recent rain has filled it up a bit . Plenty more to come as well I think .

He’s a tremendous all round Angler working for a tremendous all round Angling tackle company . If he’s chosen to leave for another company I’d be surprised. He’s not as young as he used to be . He probably just wants to retire and enjoy his fishing . Good luck to him .

Yeah I’m torn between getting a snugpak silk liner for my existing sleeping bag (would that even work ???) or buying a special forces/Antarctic Snugpak bag . Although my old JRC bag still does the job it always did in conjunction with a cover/shroud , it’s bloodee bulky whereas a Snugpak would be minimal. just dunno whether I can justify the best part of £200 on something I may use 6 times max per winter ….

The only way to go imo

I went for the large in the end. There was 2 on eBay last night within an hour of each other so had to make a decision. I don’t particularly like well fitting clothes anyway and even my t-shirts are baggy so I went for the large when I could easily have gone for the medium . I read on another forum about a fella recommending the bigger size saying the more air in there the more warm air created . oh and the large was in DPM lol . Just need a light compact but warm sleeping bag now 🤣

Hello my friend . I’m using the already made up paste direct from Essential. Mike Wilmott told me it’s exactly the same as the stuff their boilies are made from so , to me , it’s the size relative to the consistency of the paste that is the problem . I added extra liquid food to the paste and kneaded it in thoroughly before rolling the baits by hand for the latest batch and the end result WAS an improvement albeit not much but what I’ve done with a few is make them using one of those Nash groundbait ball makers in 60mm . Now because the resulting Boilie was a bit bigger than what is required and because the cracks that appear are random and appeared at no particular place on the baits ( ie not always straight through the middle) I’ve been able to trim them down to the required size , and those that have cracked straight through the centre I’ve sliced straight through with the intention of mounting the 2 halves back to back on my blowback Combi rigs . After all who says hookbaits have to be spherical eh ?

Cheers fellas … so pretty much guesswork 🤣

Yon / Emcee , what’s the sizing like on those Snugpak jackets ? Do they come up big or small ? I don’t like anything really close fitting but then I don’t wanna LOOK like a Sasquatch either 🤣

That kilo & a half wouldn’t last 5 minutes on my water . Especially this time of year in this mild Autumn.

But does he look like this ?

Tell us about yourself and your fishing then ? I’m all 👂🏻‘S .

Nice old thread cunningly resurrected I see . just for the hell of it , I use a Saber cool bag for my weekend grub stash , drinks & ice pack . My cooker and griddle comes in its own carry case and I also have a recently donated NGT plates & cutlery set in its own little case . More individual items to worry about but they’re all pretty small no don’t really affect the overall load . As an aside , I’m quite impressed with the Saber luggage in general tbh their 3 rod hold-all , ruck sack and general tackle bags large and small are all pretty good for the money . Must be quite a new brand as I don’t recall them in 2016 when I went into Fishing retirement.

What do we feel the advantages are of solid bags over , say , funnel web/sticks/stringers that I tend to use ?

I know they can be a pain at times in their smaller form but if I knew a water held huge Bream I’d definitely try targeting them . i accidentally caught a big one whilst Carping many years ago whilst on Nazeing . was well proud of myself though and if I could catch a record fish it would be a Bream though I caught a 6lb Tinca when I was a kid when the record was 9lb and a 4lb Chub when the record was only 6lb so they would complete my top 3.

In my experience, what looks like a mid-double can actually only be a scraper . I always refused to weigh fish that visibly looked smaller than my pb but recent experience, and I mean this year after my sabbatical, has had me thinking about it a lot . Size and weight aren’t really that important to me but the 2 fine fish I caught first time up on a day ticket were estimated to be mid-double and because I didn’t think they approached the , magic for many , 20 mark I didn’t bother weighing . I now think at least one of them at least may have been a twenty . Because since then on my new water Ive over and under estimated many Carp . I’ve taken to weighing every second or third fish now , when I’m lucky enough to catch that many that is , as some I’ve estimated at 13-14lbers have only actually been 9-10lbers. My last fish I estimated at about 16 and was in fact nearer 18 & a half . im getting a better idea of the size shape and general stamp of fish in my syndicate now so I’ll know when I get a big un . Where it gets difficult I feel is when you fish many venues rather than a regular water.