yonny

Having used both I didn't find them to be similar at all. The Pros are more "floppy" for lack of a better word. The VASS sit up nicely when rolled down ready to be put on. The Pros don't, the boots aint stiff enough. The Ocean waders are very similar to the VASS and used to be available at a fraction of the price but they wised up and price point is similar now. I found the Pros to be poor compared to the VASS and the Ocean.

Less to carry, quicker to deal with. More stable (if you use the right ones). Just less faff all round imo.

Made me chuckle😅

Turning up with a preconceived idea of location/tactics is one of the biggest mistakes an angler can make imo. Clear your mind of expectation and fish where you see feeding activity. If you do find them in the margins then a pva bag is as good a tactic as any. Tiny qty's of bait, particularly pellets, are defo the one in the margins for me. I'd personally go for a bottom bait over a pop up though. You need that hook-bait/rig to be as inconspicuous as possible. Carp are naturally far more cautious in the margin in my experience and a pop up will often be ignored.

I totally agree👍. I am happy to fish through winter under a little brolly too. Decent clothes and sleeping bag are the most important things for winter imo.

A fair bit of rubbish spoken in the last few posts imho. Let's face it, no-one wants to sit on the bank looking at red, yellow and blue tents. It's bad enough with all the khaki/olive and camo shelters lined up along the bank. It's supposed to be a fishery, not a campsite. These places are so busy now we can at least do our tiny little bit to blend in to the countryside by purchasing a green shelter. You can pick them up for the same price as standard tent if you look around. They're not imo. In fact I'd say you'll find plenty of anglers that snigger at this camo revolution that seems to be happening this past few years. I am more than happy with my olive brolly but, if we talk logically, if anything should be camouflaged it should be the biggest/most obtrusive thing...... which is the shelter. Each to their own at the end of the day but I can think of nothing worse than sitting staring at brightly coloured tents all day.

That's Elsons. The one next to it, Mallard, doesn't take bookings, open to all and holds fish to 35+.

Leics is poor for big carp imo mate. Head half an hour South to Northants and there's loads of places. Stanwick Lakes is a good starting point. While Makins does hold big carp it's actually a match venue. Far removed from what most would consider a typical carp water.

You say that mate but I've genuinely struggled previously with beads moving at 100+ with foam. I've already got hold of some of these OMC jobbies and they're decent. Korda and Avid copied them within a couple of months which tells me that the old style (shorter) beads will be obsolete by this time next year. So while I appreciate they might not add value for you, I consider this to be a decent example of OMC being ahead of the curve in terms of development/innovation, no matter how minor that innovation might be. I had a problem and this product solved it so I have to give credit.

Premier Baits do 24 mm hard hookbaits and pop-ups off the shelf if it helps👍

This is great news mate. Six acres is big enough for you to feel under-gunned with short rods and fish showing long imo.

I agree. A trophy shot is a trophy shot but the bloopers really bring back the memories of a capture. Here's me getting a blistering take half way through a photo shoot 🤣🤣🤣

I'm no expert with phone shots (I use a proper camera) but try Googling "Whistle Camera". There's several apps which allow you to take the shot by whistling hence no need for the remote. There's even one that will take the shot when it detects a smile I believe.

Oddly I find it's more tricky when you get back. You really concentrate when you're over there but when I get back I relax a bit and start getting confused about being back on the right side lol.

If you're confident in it, stick with it mate. Honestly, I wouldn't bother. Stick to boiled baits and your average weight over the week will normally be higher.

If you buy their bait go with the CCM/Dynamite Elmo. European bait is rubbish.

My best tip would be to take the exact same approach you would in the UK tackle wise mate. If you need extendables then you need extendables but other than that just treat it the same. No need to spend big on tackle for French waters imo. They're just carp so no need to go mental. Yes you will. Big fish have big appetites. I'd take 20 kg min.

Yup! First time was awesome: Second time was really tricky:

🤣Made me chuckle!

Could be worse fella! There's some incredible carp in those waters. Good luck.

Well you certainly made the most of it buddy! I love a nice long catch report and really enjoyed reading this. It sounds like the sesh had its ups and downs but ultimately you made your time on the bank count. Well done.

I've seen this a few times. You cannot know until one of the known fish gets caught down in weight.

I agree with Elmo. While I'm a Daiwa man their lower end reels don't do it for me. You're better off with Okuma or Penn at that price point. Don't even bother mate. It's cheap Indian rubbish.

Yeah I know of loads of places that have started. Just keep an eye on the place you fish buddy. I always like to give them at least a couple of weeks rest after spawning personally.

Running out of time for the zigs imo mate. Once they've spawned it's time to get on the deck (on most waters anyway) until Dec/Jan depending on temps.