yonny

I use these. I've used the same ones for 3 seasons now. They last longer than you need to worry about buddy.

A lot of it is water dependent but on the water I fish: Location is always the most important bit but in winter more so as they're far more tricky to find. As we head into Autumn and temps drop they'll stop showing in the day and start showing at night, this is normally near where they'll end up for winter. Areas near (not in) the deepest water and central areas are worth keeping an eye on. Do a couple of nights when the temps start to drop and you should see/hear them if you're prepared to stay up late (very late in some cases). As soon as you think you know where they'll end up start putting a bit of bait in. Don't leave it too late as once they shut up shop for winter there's no getting them going again unless you get some seriously good conditions. If you can get the bait in before they shut up shop you can keep them going right through winter with consistent light baiting. Tactics/rigs etc are not that important imo, just don't go crazy with bait. The important bit is being on them and keeping them going with a little bait in the right area. Don't ignore zigs. Even if you keep them going with bait they'll likely only feed for an hour a day so zigs can increase your chances, especially during the day, significantly. For clothing, the Snugpak stuff was a massive game changer for me. SJ6 or SJ9 jacket and Sleeka salopettes are the ones. It's like wearing a sleeping bag, you can get away with just a T-shirt underneath. That Quantum winter suit is no good, it'll protect you from the wind but that's about it. DO NOT skimp on the clothing, spend proper money on proper gear (most fishing branded stuff is not what I consider to be proper winter gear). A decent sleeping bag is obviously a must of you do decide to do nights. Take plenty of tea. Enjoy yourself.

Bravo sir! Well done mate.

Towards the end of the week particularly. There was a massive thunderstorm in the Midlands last night but today it's bright again. Temps drop to 20/21 on Wednesday and that'll be the time to be out imo.

Standard mate 😅

Based on the bulging tail rubber I'd say the user has jammed it on. User error imo. Absolutely agree with you that this set-up is no good for weedy situations. That lead should have been gone on the take.

The Linear waters aint hard if you can get on the fish. They are hungry carp. So it's all about the draw for you mate. Any decent tactics will work. Take plenty of bait because if you do get on a big group of fish you'll need it.

Well I was very happy when the Mrs let me out for a quick morning session at the weekend. It's only my second time this year on the bank so I was buzzing having had a bit of a result last time. Well no monsters this time but did manage to nab one of the VS stockies, this pretty little common. It'll do me.

If you're not feeling it you're not feeling it. Nothing wrong with that mate!

Same. A quiet night on the bank is better than a house full of screaming kids 😅

Wowzers. They are some serious hookbaits!

Imo, yes.

It depends on whether it's getting eaten. If you can see the spot and the bait is going then increase the qty. If you can't see it then have a lead around to see if the spot is being cleaned of any silt/debris. Start with a kilo a day and if it gets eaten I'd have no qualms upping the qty to 3 or 4 times that over a few weeks.

Just whack them in a tub with your chosen glug mate. The best method is to glug lightly on a regular basis rather than drown them once. Shake the tub once a day. They'll be ready to use after a couple of weeks but the longer you leave them the better they get. I have hookbaits that have been glugged for 2 years +. Eventually the glug will get through to the very middle. I also use unflavoured pop ups regularly. I use them to suspend alternative hookbaits such as naturals (maggots, worms etc) when I want absolutely no synthetic or processed attractors on the spot. Almost anything that gives off aminos (fishmeals etc) has an inherent flavour so I wouldn't consider any food bait to be unflavoured, even if there are no artificial flavors added. The OP refers to wafters so if he means an unflavoured food bait those aminos/attractors will be reduced by the inclusion of ingredients intended to provide the buoyancy. He might however be referring to a standard pop up mix wafter (none food-bait) which is what I would truly consider unflavoured. It will mate. But it takes a looooonnnggg time👍

That has to be an algae bloom which is mega dangerous in these conditions. All we need is a big pressure drop and the algae will die causing a massive oxygen crash which can wipe a water out. Good job they have the aerator going 👍

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.

Savage. The best/worst boat battle I ever had was on a syndi in Northants. Got the take and it weeded me up real bad. Did my best to free it but it just wasn't happening. Got the boat out and it took me through 2 anglers lines so had to get them both involved. Weed-bed to weed-bed, a right merry dance. Half hour later up popped...... an 8 lb common 🙈🤣

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

That's proper mint that Elmo. Well done.

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.