canontroop

Some sort of world record! That is one amazing stat! Wheres the Guinness book peoples number!

Rafa knows the score

Other than the hole all hooks cause! Barbless hooks were designed for speed of unhooking in matches. They have no place in carp fishing. You will find that a lot of the better clubs, syndicates or day ticket waters will not allow their use.

Why use braid on a spod rod? I use 12lb BigGame mainline and a very thick shock leader, cant remember the breaking strain of top of me head but must be 40lb! Never had it crack off ever!

Nothing constructive! The above was very helpful pointing out what kind of venue it may or may not be! We all draw our own lines in the sand where rules are concerned. I've seen barbless hooks make a mess of a large carps mouth and consequently would never use them meaning I would never fish a venue with such a stupid rule.

Both run to make lots and lots of money! Twits? Dont know but Barston does have a no surface fishing rule, thats a joke and could quite easily have been made up by a twit! The fact they both have barbless rules tells me a lot and i'd visit neither place, more room for guys like you who would!

Both point of view really. Barbless hooks were not invented for large fish. The match lads started using barbless in the name of speed. I think, as do others, that they cause more damage to a large carp than a barbed do and being as I dont particularly like sticking a hook in any animal I like to keep the damage to a minimum. Im also of the opinion that clubs/venues etc that strictly enforce a barbless rule are shortsighted and in the case of clubs usually run by matchmen, venues just by people in it for the money alone. The 'no nuts' rule doesnt sit well with me either. A blanket ban aimed at the percentage of anglers who'd be stupid enough to use too many or use them dry, if people are stupid enough to make such basic mistakes then that percentage shouldnt be fishing for carp. No shelf life baits either, dont get it, most shelf lifes are good baits just with a capfull of preservative. All these nonsense rules would really put me off a place, and if someone asked me to reel in to see my rigs??!! I go fishing to fish and relax, not be monitored like I was in school. Each to their own tho..

Rules-Barbless hooks....Always wary of places that have a barbless only rule. To me it shows they aint really got a clue and you dont want to travel so far only to find the place is run by a twit!

Late reply here but oh well! There are 7 Syndicate books. Read through them all 3 times now and I have to say not only are they the most enjoyable fishing related books ive ever read but the most enjoyable novel/fiction books ive ever read! Funny, charming, well written books which have had me belly laughing on many occasion, i'll just say when Rambo has the spat with Spunker it is one of the funniest things ive ever read! You wont learn much about angling so if thats your main reason for reading stay clear. If you want a great, hilarious, addictive read then look no further. a strong 10/10!

V1's, i'd sleep nearer the rods and toss 'em in the lake! Never much cop V1's.

I thought it was absolutely utterly rubbish! Totally un-entertaining! Just goes to show how opinions can vary. Hutchies 'Carp Along the Way' books which I read after Bill Cottams are a great read. There isnt a page goes by when you dont laugh!

Suncream, dont forget the suncream. Even tho its May, it could be roasting!

Yay! Mine'll be a fat one, boiled for 20 minutes!

Hemp, lots of hemp Carp love it!

Thats pretty much how I feel about zigs too. No doubt they catch fish but I just cant abide using them. They are an utter pain in the rear on the cast and then when playing fish its just a farce if you have a long hooklength. I can see the adjustable one with a pilot float being the one to use, only a 3-4ft hooklength has got to be easier to manage than a 12ft one. Anyway to quote the late Pete Broxup... Real men catch them on the bottom

Doesnt look much different to a 'standard' stiff rig made famous by Terry Hearn. Would have to say the fake bloodworm for me is just complicating the rig too much for me. The stiff rig is a good little rig on its own without adding more 'stuff' to it. Needs some putty at the base of the link to hold it all on the bottom tho

Firstly, i'm not your pal, secondly I was just adding something to the debate about using flying backleads. If you dont like it fair enough. I dont think it was to inappropriate a thing to mention using flying backleads in weed under the circumstances....

Erm...I did. Cant you not see it, its just above your post quoted above.... Do you have an issue with me mentioning it??

Why use them at all. They are to be honest just another gimic to make people spend money If you happen to be fishing a weedy water using flying backleads can be quite dangerous. They can get stuck in the weed and any fish you hook could be miles away from where your line enters the water! Better all round to just fish slacker lines to get said line on the bottom if needed.