yonny

To clarify, when I say they were v poor, I mean compared to what you can do yourself. They were usable. Agree, all the Dynamite Frenzied range is great. But it wants to be - it costs 5 to 10 times more than most prepared particle suppliers.

Worth a go I guess elmo. I bought some from Monster last year. They were really poor. You're better off doing them yourself imo mate. Same with all particles.

That's really interesting. I can only think that relates to the substrate AND the feeding situation (as the bridge area switched from BB's to PU's)?

1,000,000%

The cool box method is pants compared to proper prep mate. Soak, boil, simmer. You'll be able to turn the pan on it's side and it'll not fall out it's so gloopy👍

It should gloop up itself during cooking if prepared correctly. Soak for 24, boil, then simmer for half an hour👍

This is more important than any hypothetical stuff imo. Logic and fact beats theory all day👍

Did you catch on all 3 (pop-up, snowman, double bottom bait) over the course of the campaign Nick?

Not used one in years! On the rare occasion I need to use a bottom bait I'll use a hardened hook bait. Likewise. I can almost guarantee the length of the rig has nothing to do with your catching/not catching buddy. This is not a problem imo. The rig (assuming it is capable of presenting effectively) is not as important as many think imo.

It'll not be cheap mate. You'd be wiser buying better rods than getting cheaper rods and spending money tarting them up imo.

No it's fine mate. Tbh even fishmeal baits are OK in my experience. It's just high oil pellet you want to avoid. They key to winter baiting is timing imo. Any old decent bait will work. The trick is to start before winter and keep it going in. If you start in winter it's generally too late and you've missed the boat. But if you start early you can keep them visiting right through the colder months.

I just carry on with whatever I'm using in summer/autumn tbh. I guess I cut down down on pellet and boilie but apart from that I just carry on.

Gutted! That's the problem with mono, it's fine until you get a frap up or something like that, then you're guaranteed to lose whatever it is you're casting out. As in Spider Wire? I struggled with that stuff, it has a waxy coating, doesn't behave too well.

Snap. I've used every combo of materials you can imagine and braid straight through is the least hassle by miles imo.

4 turns for me.

Galician. It is the strain that started it all for us. Donald Leney imported a bunch and the rest is history.

Not heard that in a while. You not using a spomb?

Council run so it's their call. Ultimately they'll lose the revenue stream when there's nothing left in it. I see it's SSSI so they might not be able to fence it even if they wanted to.

Absolutely mate. Knowing what you're trying to achieve👍

I think if you can get them feeding while you bait it's the holy grail. But at the same time there is something to be said for letting them clear me out. I am only doing day sessions at the mo so I'm trying to maximise that morning bite time. I'll try to get the bait in late (say 7 or 8 pm) for an early start (say 4 or 5 am the next morning). I tend to get takes very quickly (which makes sense as they've polished off most of the bait) and then just top up with the stick after each bite. Seems to work ok.

I normally try for the day before. I worry that spodding for an hour will kill it for the night so much prefer to give it 12 hrs + free of lines ready for my arrival.

@elmoputney I'd not chop and change throughout the week, it'll take longer to establish the spot. Rather I'd start with bits (a vitalin or pigeon conditioner base with pellets etc is very cheap and clears it up in no time) before moving onto boilies supplemented with nuts (solely for the carp). Once the spot is being visited you don't need to put that much out. Get it established with loads of cheap stuff then cut down and just use the good stuff.

I've been telling myself for more than 20 years not to go with any preconceived ideas and I still sometimes make that mistake. It doesn't matter how confident you are in an area, it always pays to have a good look round before committing.

The problem is not the set-up or the flash/light buddy. It is the phone. Phone cameras have very tiny sensors which means they cannot harness enough light to get a decent image at night. Instead the phone will increase ISO (sensitivity to light) in an attempt to obtain a decent image. The byproduct of this is a grainy, messy image. You could spend 2 grand on professional quality flash/lighting and you'd still not get the shot you are after. You really need a camera to get good night shots. Some of these modern phone cameras are great in the day (they use multiple cameras and clever trickery to replicate the image characteristics produced by a proper camera) but at night they are just nowhere near capable unfortunately.

I try not to. If you target one fish then almost every session is a fail. But I normally end up focusing on one anyway doh!