newmarket

How about a nice bed & breakfast with a couple of days fishing on the beautiful river Avon ?

I always wondered why that was , thanks Nick .

Strange though but now you mention it , who else uses the powder ? Mr Emcee , i know you are a bit of a bait guru ?

Not when you have a garden full of chickens it aint

Cant say i've ever used 'em but by reputation alone i wouldnt chance wasting my money . I invest in what i KNOW work . Muggas Gamakatsu 204 Fox arma's Kamasan 175's

Genuine question : why not fresh eggs ?

Spot on again Dal mate . Its what i meant

Thats the way philip though i've never had a pinger yet I've actually just had another look and admired how neat it looks . I , and this is just me , would be using a smaller pop up .

[quote name="mooseman" post="228035" timestamp=" IMHO its not just colour/texture or the lack of artificial flavours that needs to be considered... Its all about opinion . Mine is that it IS just about colour and texture Thats a good one stephen . Stands to reason that spring water is going to be more " neutral" than tap water what with no chlorine etc but i honestly believe the carp would rather your bait take on the silt after a while .... Its where they feed naturally and though silt may smell repulsive to us , its their natural environment .

I think , not certain , that hooklink braid is specifically designed for hooklinks . Maybe you can use braided mainline as a hooklink , i dont see why not , but would it have all the ideal properties you require ? I use sufix hooklink braids and there are about 10 different ones . Now i may have been "caught" instead of the fish here , but i reckon there are that many different ones for a reason .

Good luck in your quest mate ...

Hi . Cant help you with the venue problem matey but you might want to drop snowmanstevo a message . I know he's from/lives up your way ?

I have but the stocking to size means I can't understand why more people don't catch more, more often. - Dont worry about more people - you are on your way to cracking it because you are doing the time and effort

Hawk , you sound like a very knowledgable gentleman , helped by years of experience no doubt . Can i take it by "general rule of thumb" with regards to hair length , you mean as a starting point and then shorten or lengthen the hair accordingly accordingly to how your session is going etc ? Or do you stick to your guidelines rigidly come what may ? Reason i ask is that , in my relatively limited experience , no two carp feed the same way and i certainly couldnt predict it . Unless of course i'd been stalking the same target fish for a considerable period of time of course in which case i may have caught on

Seems like you've been really working at it Andy , and beginning to reap the rewards too by the sounds of it . Miles better than drifting from venue to venue wondering why your not catching ... A few could do with taking a leaf out of YOUR book mate

Thought so

Gardner muggas for bottom baits , kamasan b175's for pop ups ( bait closer to hookshank ) Easy

I dont agree that tubing is pointless with a size 8 hook i believe it is down to the hook pattern . I'd use it on a size 12 if i thought it might improve the hooking potential . Also , for what its worth , i dont believe in that palm test ( or thumbnail test for that matter ) . Hooklength behavior underwater cannot be the same as on your hand . Mind you thats what forums are for , to air differing opinions . Lets see how the thread develops si . Cant understand why your mate would say your hairs are too short and yet offer no explanation or solution ?

Great book title for sure . Andy , is springate the fella with the beard a la Yates ?

Morning si , i tend to use 1.2 mm shrink tube and only use it if i feel the hooking potential can be improved by turning it " inwards". Many hook patterns these days have that already-turned angle anyway so dont need it imo . As for length of the hair ,i usually start with having about 3/4 of an inch between top of the bait and the hook and then shorten or lengthen it during the session depending on hookholds ( like Nick , if the hookholds are in the scissors or not great it gets lengthened or shortened if the hookholds are too far back) and whether i feel the fish are "getting away with it". Have you ever seen a KD rig si ? No shrink tube and the hair virtually comes off the eye of the hook . Flapping like a good 'un :)

Cor Yeah !

How close to the reeds are you ? Might be worth freelining the worms if you're close enough ?

Try mono Andy , probably allow the worms more natural movenent ???

my turn for a little joke