yonny

This time of year temps are more important than food so for me it has to be a very bright, very colourful pop up on the deck, or a bit of black foam mid water. There's nothing wrong with super-charging you pop ups so you have the attraction to match the colour though.

I have heard of them fished off the lead but for me that accentuates all of the rigs many flaws. Over anything but the cleanest/hardest substrates you need a boom i.e the stiff hinge rig. I cannot think of a single advantage to fishing a chod off a clip/inline. I can think of loads of disadvantages though mate.

No you're not mate. You're speaking sense. A heli is a leader/lead set-up. A chod is a rig. A chod has to be fished on a heli set-up to make use of its limited advantages (those being presentation over substrates that cannot otherwise be fished). But any rig can be used on a heli.

Yes mate. It's the monster retrieve I'm after.

Yeah the Emblem spod and pro are 122. I didn't realise they did a 45 spod (do you have a link?). The 45 SCW QD I saw had 104. If you're talking about the Crosscast I'd rather avoid the budget models tbh. The 35 SCW QD spod is the one with 124 which is monstrous. They'll be used in place of a set of SS3000's so I'll get a huge improvement either way. I just need something that will make chucking/retrieving long easier.

I'm told it's the same reel with a different spool so am considering them too mate. Gearing/retrieval is the same. You can get the spod spools for 35 quid too which is chips nowadays. Thing is the Pro's go for 100 each second hand so there'd not be much difference in buying something new.

Maybe a bit of a long shot on here, but does anyone use these as standard carp reels? I'm looking for something with a silly retrieve and these seem to fit the bill. Are they reasonably usable? Struggling to find spare spools in the UK. Does anyone know if they take the standard Emblem S35 SCW 5000C QD spools? Was thinking about converting the old Emblem Spod but just seen these.

It already has. Highs of 6 here today. The long range forecast looks set for a cold snap at the end of the month and April isn't looking too rosy either ☹️

And the rest buddy. Last weekend ours climbed 2 degrees as air temps stabilised at double figures. Then the big winds and 16 degree air temps on Wednesday sent it up another 2 degrees. Then that amazing sunshine this weekend bought it up to 9!! It has to be the most rapid increase I've ever seen. I have no doubt we'll see more cold weather at some point in March but defo a promising sign.

I agree. Water temps have climbed from 4 degrees to 9.2 degrees in 9 days on the water I fish (crazy, crazy increase). Just like that it's done its first fish since December.

I looked into this a few years ago mate. We do actually have one that we use solely for composting (she wont let me nick the worms our of it lol). Be warned, they're pretty disgusting to work with. Harvesting the worms would be an awful job🤢 I chose not to pursue the idea after checking inside ours as the worms got established. It's rank in there.

How did you pay? By bank transfer? I think based on law your Oct holiday is a write off but if you've paid for a May tip and he's ignoring you then it's plain and simple theft and the bank would have to act no?

They're decent mate. Jason Haywards Muggas are better but also more expensive. No sure why Korda don't do a Kamakura version of their Kurv pattern. The Krank is the closest they currently do to a curve shank. Also decent. I used these extensively for a while. No good for a multi though imo. Handy for a ronnie/spinner type set up (replaces a 360 rig nicely). Have anther look at this if you're set on using pre-sharpened:

That depends on what your idea of sharp is. Imo chemically sharpened hooks are blunt. All of them.

The problem with the Kamakuras is they're only sharpened on one plane, opposite the barb, by machine. This gives them a sharp spade tip which is proper lethal but super fragile. The most fragile of the lot, but still awesome in terms of sharpness.

That's something I've never considered tbh. I've not struggled with it personally and I've used glugged baits/sharpened hooks extensively. I do know through experience that water bodies can change pH for periods of the year which is a strange one. I assume it's due to dying plant matter or some other biological event.

I've not used them mate. I get him to do my Atomic Choddas. I do use his Ultra-Sharp Wide Gapers and Wide Grippas for zigs though and they're great. Nah, he gets them in coated and then sharpens them. Coatings such as teflon would ruin the sharpness anyway mate. It's only a few microns but that is enough to take away that needle sharp point. If you're struggling with low pH silt corroding your hooks (a common occurrence) the best solution is to use a wax based coating. The expensive way to do this is to get Jason's anti rust compound (link below) which is absolutely brilliant. . It's only a fiver and will last you literally years so still cheap as chips tbh. The 'cheap' way to do it use a crayon. Give the hook point 3 or 4 strokes with the compound/crayon, then give it a quick lick with a lighter (DON'T hold the flame on the hook point). Hold the hook so any run-off during licking of the lighter will run away from the hook point, towards the barb. https://www.walkersoftrowell.com/carp-specialist-fishing-tackle-equipment/specialist-sharpened-hooks/specialist-sharpened-hooks-anti-rust-sticks.html

He stocks most brands and sharpens them to order. Alternatively you can send him yours and he'll do them for you: https://sshooks.co.uk/hooks.html He also does his own Ultra-Sharp brand. You can get the range from JR: https://johnsonrosstackle.co.uk/1640-hand-sharpened-hooks

That's tricky mate. What she needs to understand is that it's more than a hobby. It's a passion. Not something that can be given up just like that. But at the same time we all need to see things from their perspective. Carping is ultimately a selfish pastime. We disappear, and plough whatever we can into catching carp, at every opportunity we think we can get away with it. It's about balance and compromise. You need to work together because "fishing or me" is never going to end well.

Been doing it for years. There are occasions where I'll use an unsharpened hook for specific reasons but they are few and far between. Last couple of year I've been buying them pre-sharpened from Jason Haywood. I got so bored of doing it myself for 10 years + I decided I'd rather spend double to get them done for me by someone whose skills I trust.

I'd go for 12 lb in that situation mate.

They remind me of the old Chod Twisters which I didn't get on with at all. I really like the TrigHammers but I think I'll give the choddy version a miss tbh.

I'm planning on a cheeky sesh next week. These temps cannot be ignored.

No idea mate. At the time I thought it was my own little secret. When I came up with my little boomed chod I thought that was unique too. A month later it was publiced by Korda as the chod mkii lol.

Yeah it was like an anti eject chod type thing. I cant remember how I attached the bait, probs just on a rig ring mate.