nash_gadgeteer

Fished there when i lived there, plenty of lumps in Southmere not seen many in Birchmere but have heard they is some good ones in there... Thamesmere has got some big lumps too... But as you said can be dodgy fishing. There is lots of information on the Cemex Angling Forum, just type in Thamesmead in the search part.

Why change what you are doing at the moment, you have confidence in the rig, and it is putting carp on the bank. As mentioned on here, trial and error is the way to go. Me and others from the Fox RAF Carp team will be at the Fox Fishing show at Farnborough on the 1st and 2nd August. And would certainly help showing you how to tie a few different rigs.

Why do you want a shock leader on a marker rod !!! You're best bet is to tackle up with braid straight through.

Sorry to be picky, can we have a close up of the lead and clip...

BlowBack Rig !!!!

If you want to see, and try tying knots, I and some others from the team will be at the Fox Fishing Experience 2009: See Thread: http://www.carp.com/carp-forum/viewtopic.php?t=40782&highlight= and we are more than happy to help anyone out.

Although a well tied and lubricated blood knot will be fine, it tightens against itself then damages the line. At the recent five lakes show, a testing rig was used to test knot strength by joining two piece of mono together. A blood knot failed well below the strength of the fine, where a palamar knot faired quite well, and the best by far was a loop to loop. Therfore i mostly use a knot less knot for the hook end and wrap two extra loops over the knot to avoid movement together with a small piece of tubing and at the swivel end a figure of eight knot loop. This setup has never let me down and the test rig proved that rig failed at well over double the line strength.

Thanks Richard but i looked there weeks ago, i need to get info from people that has fished it, even better if someone has fished it recently.

Had a look through the search facilty for any info on Pine Pool at Kingsbury Water Park, if anybody has any up to date info on the place then please PM me, Fishing it this weekend...

Wyreside Lakes in Lancashire any good for you???

I agree, you are not going to get good hook holds with this one, and i think it might tangle because of the protrusion.. but the rest looks great... But give it a try and see what happens, that is what it is all about, ringing the changes, and putting extra fish on the bank.. Keep trying..

If you open to suggestion change your hooklink material to Fox Coretex to give you a stiff combi link and supple tip (comes in various colours) and use a Fox or Korda quick change sleeve to push over the hooklink and swivel to push the hooklink away from the lead. Give it a try..... Plus feather you cast down or clip up and follow through with the rod, this will push out the hookbait away from the lead and then you lay the rig down on the surface of the water and not have it diving away and tangling.

Not always, some fish move with the wind and some sit on the back of it, depending if it is a new wind/old wind and direction and temperature, but this is going off topic have a look in the search facilty about wind.

Have a look on there own CEMEX Forum lots of advice on there too...

Don't know a great deal about the place, but see a slideshow at a ECHO function recently and the fish are fantastic, but it is a syndicate and the waiting list is extremly long, almost dead man shoes.

There is Catch22 over at Lyng in Norfolk that is not only a day ticket water but also has a syndicate lake on the property.

Learn to fish without it, bait boats aren't the only way to present a bait !!!! I have a boat and probably use it about one or twice a year. Where it sounds like you use them every time. Hopefully this won't turn into another bait boat debate, but limiting your fishing to only places that don't ban bait boats is going to leave you missing out many excellent waters...

Sounds like a reasonable price, but can you turn the caps off, as it is classed a shouting in a forum..ta....

I won't be fishing this match, but i will find out from the team what goes and will be in contact with you via a PM. If you can get down there whilst the RAF Carp Team are there, then we are a good bunch of lads that will give you lots info and tips to hopefully make your stay a good one.

What days you fishing there as we are due to be there from the 1-3 April and i believe we have the whole lake booked.

I disagree, a bloodknot is not the best knot for the majority of lines due to it causing damage as it tightens. I recommend the palomar knot is much better. The other knots have already been mentioned - Figure of eight / Knotless Knot etc. Top tip - Make sure you always lubricate you knot with saliva before pulling fully tight to ensure no friction damage is caused to the line.

They do various size and i found the 12mm round and the barrels work very well, and i had a better run of fish when you tip them with fake corn. They also do the glug, pop ups and even pellets in the same flavour. And they do work well elsewhere too...

Mate check out the other Horseshoe thread that is currently active, plus use the search facility to help you further.

If you are talking about the Carp Society Horseshoe, then get youself a copy of the DVD they produce called "Horseshoe Dreams" which comes at a reduced price for members. Which explains most of the swims and the hotspots and techniques required to fish them. (Hope you are confident in fishing in heavy weed as it does have a bit) The DVD also comes with colour map that shows all the swim's and their nicknames. Plus they have the own forum where you can pick up tips etc, and it is always worth having a word with the team down there to get up to date info.

I haven't fished paddock, but the guys at Todber are very helpful and will tell you what goes and what doesn't. Have a look at their website and give them a ring.