tomeluk

In some places it may be possible for your end rigs to be inspected before you are allowed to put them in the water. You set up and then ring the bailiff who comes round and inspects the rigs. (we all have mobile phones surely)

I use tubing and totally free running lead. The reasoning behind the tubing for me is that when we hook a fish it sets off in the opposite direction to our strike or tension, thus the line is scraping down the fishes body. Some protection is given to the fish by having a short hooklength plus lead then tubing . My fishing friend has a set up which has a breakaway lead on impact so only a short length of line comes into contact with the fish on impact the rest is a length of tubing which can roll across the body of the fish so causing as little damage as possible. He has the best method from the breakaway point of view but if we hit a runs water he can drop off £35+ of leads in a 24 hr session. Nicks view that it is a distraction "across the dinner plate" I cannot see, as it is a swivel and hooklength away from the dinner plate and I cannot see carp as being that discerning as to leave the table because they do not like the look of a piece of something alongside it and probably a foot away. I think we can over elaborate at times and give fish more credit than they are entitled to. If I can protect the fish and prevent harm coming to them and it results in less fish coming to my net as a result then I for one am prepared to do so. I would love to do it my mates way and set my leads to break off on strike but at £35 per session plus the cost of the session, bait, petrol etc we have to work within our budgets.

100% in agreement. We cannot be sure about what happens down there in the water all we can do is try to think of the welfare of the fish as often as possible within the scenario that we get our leisure from. Failure to do so not only strengthens the case of those who wish to ban what we do but is also not in the best interests of the fish.

As I said. Think about it. If a carp runs me around a snag all it will be left with, at worst. is one hook, barbless, in its mouth and one short length of 10 lb max line and one split link and swivel. Your rig and line leaves what? You say a carp will never break a 12 lb to 15lb braid. So why use it if it is over specified for its usage?

[quote="johnplumb" I have to say i can't think of a situation where i want anything to break nor why it would. With all due respect. It depends on how you proritise fishing for carp. If you do not care that a fish kites on you and subsequently is hooked up on snags and you have to break off leaving that fish still unable to free itself and subsequently dying. Then ask yourself why you are doing what you do and empowering the lobby who believe that fishing is cruel and should be banned. We have a duty of care to the fish. That duty of care means that we should do things as safely and responsibly as possible in the best interests of the fish. It is not just a matter of catching for catchings sake with no regard or thought to the rigs or line we use. I always use totally free running rigs with the hook length of a lesser breaking strain to my main line. I can thus go to sleep at night thinking of my catch and release successes and not wake up sweating with the nightmare of leaving a fish to die in a snag or towing leads and long lengths of line around a pond or lake for God knows how long. But then: I think, care and wish to retain and hopefully improve on what we currently have. Think about it!

Re threading tubing. I find that if you warm the tubing so that it lies straight then thread the line through by first clipping the line with nail clippers then when it catches inside ,as it will, twisting or rolling the tube one way with your fingers and the line the opposite way, it is like drilling the line through the tube. A real easy way is to get some line through some tubing at home then pinch a shot on the line a few inches either end of the tubing. If you then need to re rig on the bank after a break off then you simply remove one of the shot, attach your mainline to that end and pull through the tube and put your (hoped for) running system together again.

Copied and Pasted from a venues website. PLEASE NOTE due to the near death of a fine 18lb mirror carp having been tethered by length of lead core for several days and luckily spotted by Tony and released, we have decided to BAN LEAD CORE Tony will be making some random rig checks and will advise on improvements and alternatives as we have discovered some very dangerous rigs. Anglers who continue to put our fish at risk will be asked to leave with no refund.

Fluoro mainlines actually stretch less than Mono. I think that the stretch in fluoro is between 10-15% as opposed to the 20% (ish) of mono, so it should actually feel more direct It didn`t seem to be the case for me. Mind you it was years ago and I tried a Fluorocrystal by Middy. Perhaps that stretched more than the current Flourocarbon ?

This is where a lot of us switch off And you will sit there for hours and hours, even days, waiting for a run that may not happen and you cannot be bothered to do a 2 minute mathematical calculation. Shame on you Tony:oops:

Hi Nick It could be worked out fairly accurately using the mathematical calculation of Pi (3.14159) This would involve finding out the circumferance of the spool by finding the diameter at the half full stage then multiplying by 3,14159 which would give you the exact length of one turn of line onto the spool. You then calculate how many turns of the handle are required to add a further 150 mtrs and Roberts your Mums brother. Simple eh? Re Fluro mainline. Doesn`t it stretch too much leaving you without a direct reel to fish feel on both strike and play. It seemed to do when I once tried it.

yeah i have shimano super ultegra in the larger spool version. they come with 3 spools so i have 2 spare. Load up your 300m of Xline on a spool then attach a cheep mono line as a backing and wind that on until the spool is full. Next, take the spool off, put on an empty spool and fill from the preloaded one you just removed - this should leave you with a fill to the brim reel with exactly 300m of Xline and the remainder in a non expensive backing. Back to his original question. How does he know he is loading 300 mtrs in the first instance?

I am currently using Adrena Line 12lb rated. Its actual BS is listed as 13.4lb. This is marked by Korda at 250, 500 and 750 mtrs so you can put 250 mtrs on each of three spools and have 250 left for a spare spool. I currently use Stroft leader at 4.2 kilos which makes it about 9.25 lb BS actual being just under 11lb BS so if I break off the theory is that it will be at the leader or the knot to the swivel. (I only have 1 direct swivel between reel and bait and the lead weight and all its attachments are free running) Someone may say that I have got it wrong but I am happy with the performance I achieve and have only been broken off by a fish once in the last 3 of 4 years and that was down to the fish ramming me into a snag and leaving me hooked up on it. I tie on via loop to swivel rather than Palomar, though Palomar knot is recommended. It is just my preferred way. At the end of the day, it`s about having confidence in your reel to bait set up. I am probably going to cause some controversy and debate here now as I do not use any drop back indicators. Why? Because the line is free to run and because the lead is stationary whichever way the fish runs it will take line thus activating the alarm.