yonny

Absolutely next level mate! Awesome! Edit: what a shot too. Fantastic photo of a fantastic carp.

Hoping @Pete Springate's Guns gives us the low down on his latest result!

Never had an issue with the figure of eight. I'd be looking at the boilie or maybe the hooklink if I were you. Assuming the link isn't too thick, the boilie must be too hard/brittle?

So was Barney2. It's a difference in opinion. Get over it.

No doubt you will fella 👌

Give it a rest lads. Barney2 has said he's used it for years without issues. You say you've not used it for years without issues. Just agree to disagree. No-one cares.

Just had a read back through this thread and one thing that's not mentioned (unless I missed it) is the size of the carp being caught. Catching small carp on big carp tackle is imo a prime cause of mouth damage. Even with lighter gear, care needs to be taken so as not to damage the mouth of smaller carp. I don't bother with superglue personally. Not sure why folks are getting wound up about the should/shouldn't of it. Most of my fishing is done with pop ups although I have experimented with very fine braids in bags. Never had an issue with mouth damage. I always use shrink tube to extend the hook shank which I think helps. I'm normally fishing for bigger carp anyway so mouth damage tends not to be a problem.

I bought something similar about 15 years ago. Problem is you use them, dry them, use them, dry them and after a week or two they absolutely stink of silt and god knows what else. I binned mine after a month. They were rank!

Tbf I'd support a ban on carrying them in public or even needing a license to have one. Although you'd not see me signing any petition!

Starts fishing for cats...... catches carp. I think it's clear if you want a cat you need to get the carp gear back out 😅

Both.... I still look at my gear and think "how have I got so much stuff with me?"!

Me too.... I bought a Pioneer Ultralight last year.... not used it once.... it's just sitting there. Like you I chase the weight. I'm always looking to save a few grams here or there (in fact I just bought a titanium cup for silly money (🤦‍♂️).... that's how anal about weight I am). I have several shelters but I always use either the mk1 Tempest Brolly or mk1 Lo Pro.. just because they're light. I still have an original Supa Brolly kicking about somewhere... also mega light. One thing that winds me up.... as new versions are released (Tempest mk2 and RS, Lo Pro mk2 etc etc) they ALWAYS put on weight. Thicker material etc. I hate that!

Not sure it's worth it mate. The Speedflex is 4.5 KG vs the 3.75 KG of the MHR. Might save you 30 seconds set-up time but not sure that's worth the extra kilo.

Caught my first carp of the year this weekend after a winter in which I did next to no angling for one reason or another. The weekend started well with 3 carp and a tench. Another bite resulted in a loss on Saturday morning but it was enough to have me blagging another night. Unfortunately, despite that warm sunshine, that cold easterly had them backing off and without a move on the cards I was stuck camping for the night. Still, a lovely weekend and I just hope I can get back out at some point soon. Here's the best of them. The linear is I think an original, typified by the little melted heart-shaped tail that most of the OG's in this water have. The common is I think a stock fish but no less welcome for it. Clearly one on it's way to being a real biggun.

Yeah. Not what I expected!

Scared the hell out of him!

When I say spotted one I mean nearly collided with it! Clear as day.

My twin brother spotted one in Fineshade Woods a few years ago - he's a mountain biker and regularly is out and about exploring hidden trails in the wilderness. If you google it you'll find reports of one spotted quite regularly in that area. My brother knows what he's on about so I'm sold.

Same.

Standard operating procedure innit......

Nah, you're doing it all wrong fella. The correct way is to clear it all out in spring, then slowly add it all back in, plus more, over the course of the year 😅 Yeah it's tricky to justify hauling stainless around nowadays with such decent ali, carbon and titanium stuff available. The obvious answer is your mrs buys you some new stuff 😅

I think they're quite similar. Both take a bit of playing with to get them formed perfectly.

Agree. The proper ones are the nuts. Half the price of tackle brands, ten times as tough, and carpy as Terry Hearns nut sack.

British Army NI Patrol Pack. These are getting tricky to find in good condition. Most of the surplus stores now show as sold-out. I used my old one for 15 years+ until the foam padding in the straps and back plate became brittle and it became uncomfortable to wear. I managed to find a dealer on e-bay so messaged him and he went through his stash and found an absolute corker..... almost looks new which is mad since they've not made the DPM one for almost 20 years. That's me sorted until 2040 now 😁

I was in that swim in 2007 when the big floods hit. Me and my mate were chilling having had a couple when the most intense rain arrived. We were bivvied up maybe 15 yards back from the water and in the space of an hour the water had come up so much it reached the bivvies. We had to pull everything out of the ground and dump it in the van to get out. Very nearly got flooded in. It was crazy. Sorry to hear you've had problems. Don't let it ruin your session. Enjoy yourself 👍👍👍