nash_gadgeteer

Mallard is full of single figured stockies. Best bet is either Sandmartin or Bluebell. Neither are real runs waters but if you hit it right you will be happy. Steer clear of swan or kingfisher as you will have to put some time in to pull one out.

Have a look at these: Aylsham Blickling Lake 01263734181 Norfolk Aylsham Felmingham Mill Lakes 01263735106 Norfolk Aylsham Gunton Park Lake 01263768284 Norfolk Beccles Aldeby Hall Pits 01502677648 Norfolk Billingford Billingford Pit 01362694428 Norfolk Broome Broome Pits 01986895188 Norfolk Cranworth Cranworth Carp Lake 01362820702 Norfolk Cromer Felbrigg Hall Lake 01692403162 Norfolk Cromer Gimmingham Lakes 01263720432 Norfolk Diss Diss Mere 01379640430 Norfolk Elsing Bartles Lodge 01362637177 Norfolk Great Yarmouth Fritton Lake 01493488288 Norfolk Hevingham Cobbleacres Park Lake 01603754305 Norfolk Holt Felgrigg Lake 01263712366 Norfolk Horning Barton Broad 01692630740 Norfolk Ickburgh Buckenham Pits 01842878400 Norfolk Itteringham Bure Valley Lakes 01263587666 Norfolk Kings Lynn Fosters End Pit 01553671545 Norfolk Lenwade Bridge Lake 01603426834 Norfolk Lyng Eastough Catch 22 Lakes 01603872948 Norfolk Melton Constable Gunthorpe Hall Lake 01263861373 Norfolk Neatishead Beeston Lake 01692630688 Norfolk Necton Dunham Carp Lake 01760725286 Norfolk Norwich Bawburgh Lakes 01603630187/01263732752 Norfolk Norwich Colton Lakes 01603432327 Norfolk Norwich Felthorpe Lake 01603754408 Norfolk Roughton Chapel Road Lake 01263761369 Norfolk Stow Chiswick Pit 01366383194

Try Bluebells Lakes at Tansor, Oundle which is near Peterborough. They have five lakes and personally i would try either Bluebell or sandmartin, steer clear of Mallard. If you are feeling really lucky then go on Swam or Kingfisher for a biggie. Check out there website for more info.

If you willing to travel a bit try Todber Manor down Dorset way have a look at there website - Big Hayes lakes is very good and the accomodation is top notch too. It is a bit off the beaten track but the venue has other lakes to have a go at, and the fish are doing well too.

We fished Todber Big Hayes last year, and will be fishing it again this year. Top Tips. The Fish do follow the wind, buy a bag of their own Red Factor bollies which they do in barrels and 12 mm, because they feed them on them. Tip your baits with a bit of fake corn, always work well. Take some other baits maggots, sweetcorn etc. Take some toilet roll as sometimes the loo runs out if it is busy. Get some extra long bivvi peg as the ground can be a little soft,and when the wind blows it blows (lake a bit open) one advantage is you can drive round most of the lake. Have a look at there website and give them a ring to find out what is happening nearer the time, they are very informative. There tackle shop is superb if you forget anything. One last thing is the size of your mat is fine. If you want more gen them PM me..

Check the Xmas edition of Carp Talk, the BCAC team was on Fox, and if i find out any more info, i will PM you chap...

There are quite a few lakes run by the CFPAS (Cambridge Fish Preservation Angling Society) around Cambs, one being at Block Fen, Mepal. There is also another lake also at Mepal near the bridge that goes over the twin rivers, that is fairly cheap. There is a bit of a carp puddle at Fields end nr Doddington, Cambs (they have a website) and the fish go up to around 22 -23lbs but they other do scrap well. If you want to go even further then there is Willowcroft at Wisbech. Hope that gives you a few to look at, but keep you eyes peeled, many farmers have reservoirs that hold few big lumps too, and only a select few are able to fish them.

Jay are you limited to just Huntingdon Area, or can you travel around the area a bit ??

Where is the NW. There is Wyreside Fishery near Lancaster. Fantastic places with a good team of people, deliver piping hot food to your swim if required, and has a cracking toilet/shower block.

Korda IQ certainly works for me, because most others are fishing braid or coated braid, and by changing to mono can make it harder for the fish to get rid of a rig, and hence more fish on the bank.

Somebody must have fished this recently, all good gen greatly recieved.

Hi Folks Going down to Horseshoe Lake in Lechlade, Gloucs. In October and Info would be greatly recieved in a PM. I have trawled the search facility already, and i am after some more up to date stuff. Cheers for any response......

No i don't know the owner and have never fished it before, the reason i posted is because of the damage people can do by not engaging brain before typing. I fish alot of different venue's up and down the country, and yes i have fished bad and good waters, but if i have a remark about the fishery then i approach the owner / bailiff's and let them know, if they don't listen write to them, if that still doesn't work, then contact the Enviroment Agency and they we send somebody out to have a look. There is owners out there that are after a quick buck, but Cuttle Mill's owners is not one of them. Please keep to the rules of this forum a don't put people or places etc down it can do untold damage.

10 out of 10 for the drawing !!!

You cannot compare a product you buy as new from a shop, to catching old Carp in a lake, nor is a forum a place to raise the issue of poor quality of fish. If a owner / baliff is not willing to take a note of your comments verbally, then put pen to paper and keep it in house until a satisfatory outcome is reach, don't just broadcast it worldwide. Anti fishing / hunting protesters jump at the chance for ammo to support their cause against fishing, don't help them on the way. Another question to ask, are we slightly to blame for fish quality !!!! Do we completely disinfect all our tackle, before fishing another venue !!!!

I think the soft is slightly better than the original.

For the majority of my fishing i use 12lbs Fox Soft Steel, with 10lbs Korda Soft IQ Hookink which is approx 12" long tied to the hook with a knotless knot. Every Hookhold i recieve is always in the bottom lip and the majority is bang in the middle. Your question about IQ soft is the mono is softer - more supple where the original is slight stiffer and ideal for stiff rig, even chod rigs.

Guys I totally agree with Ian, the fish in some of the lakes i have seen this year including my own have had a hard run this year, and even to the point of death, lots of named fish have come to harm this year too. There is nothing a owner can do to prevent this, all they hope is the spawning will bring off a new era of carp, to replace the ones lost. With all the problems everyone is having with the credit crunch, and i would expect places like Cuttle Mill are just keeping there heads above water at the moment, we are all allowed to have a opinion, that's what this forum is all about, but to knock one place as Ian say's "Can be Damaging to business", and we certainly don't want to lose fisheries like Cuttle Mill.

Todber Manor is approx 45 miles away if that is close enough, have a look at their website, top place , well run fishery,

They should bring the same policy in over here. The amount of RTC's my wife (a paramedic) goes to where people have been hit after breaking down, begs belief.

What is your thinking behind that It sounds like quitre a long hair which I can imagine offers good seperation, however, isn't there the danger of lots of 'single beeps' as the smarter fish simply mouth the bait and avoid the hook? As i mentioned i use alot of PVA sticks which i slide over the hooklink and down over the hook shank, this hides the hook in a small dusting of stick mix, plus i find the longer hair is harder to deal with from a carp's point of view. Best thing to do is try it various lengths where you fish and see which ones work, worth investing in a small tank for testing at home with, like the shows. But don’t put in with your angelfish or you will hook one And if you put bait with small fish they just round it around the bottom of the tank 3-4 inch fish. Don't have fish in you test tank

What is your thinking behind that It sounds like quitre a long hair which I can imagine offers good seperation, however, isn't there the danger of lots of 'single beeps' as the smarter fish simply mouth the bait and avoid the hook? As i mentioned i use alot of PVA sticks which i slide over the hooklink and down over the hook shank, this hides the hook in a small dusting of stick mix, plus i find the longer hair is harder to deal with from a carp's point of view. Best thing to do is try it various lengths where you fish and see which ones work, worth investing in a small tank for testing at home with, like the shows.

I always prefer a hair that is approx twice the diameter of the bait, from the silicone rubber.. I always use a tiny piece of tubing to change the angle of the hair, which aids hooking capabilities. Plus when using a PVA stick then the hook hopefully lays flat on the bottom and then is hidden from view by the groundbait.

Never had a problem when fish get weed up, Fox weight just falls off without any damge to the line, the lake i fish the biggy's are wise to neutrals and therefore i nail the bait down. So crafty44carp use what ever you feel confident in !!!!

I personally choose a clip on weight that Fox make that comes in various sizes, the bonus of this is it doesn't damage the line, and can be moved easily.