yonny

@Lumeymorris, how/where are you cracking off? On the initial cast? How much line are you losing? Tell us more. Is it wind knots or just hitting it hard? A leader should do the job or at that distance 40 or 50 lb straight through could be better.

It's known as Blacky. That's its normal colour. Insane isn't it mate.

So now we're into October and after horrible, windy, wet, blank overnighter (to make up for the brilliant overnighter last time) I got a weekend back on the proper lake. I have a trip planned to the States this month so fishing time is running out as we head slowly towards winter. Sitting here waiting for a taxi to the airport so thought I'd pop this up quickly. Good sesh this week. Turned up Friday and spent eons looking for them. About 4 hours it took but it turned out they were stacked up in a little swim I had a bite or 2 from earlier in the year. I knew that spodding would push them out so I did so from left to right, Hoping it would push them into shallower water rather than out into the main body of water to my left. It worked, and they drifted off to the right. I knew they'd be back. 04:30 I had a brutal take, a real violent one. It took my 5 seconds to get to the rod, too late, solid in weed. I tried everything to extract it, everything, but nothing worked. It was solid. Five hours later (!) we took to the boat. Lost it, GUTTED! So I'm sulking, dreaming of what could have been, when the other rod rips off. Hit it, feels like a good'n. Play it out for 5 mins and it surfaces some way out, i recognise it straight away, one on my list, a very special one, a torpedo shaped male with a pointy head, the colour of coal, and I'm buzzing when it goes in the net. 31 lb 6 oz and I forget about the lost fish. I get some kip after my busy morning and redo the rods early afternoon. Looks good and by darkness I'm seeing loads of carp. They're all over my right hand rod and I'm thinking I'll not have to wait for the normal early morning bite time. I'm right and at 9pm I get a screamer and land an awesome chunky common of 29 lb 6 oz. Very nice. Next morning I swear I'm at a loss to explain why I didn't have another. They were smashing out over the right hand rod and then later there was fizzing over my left hand spot for 4 hours. No more bites, weird. Packed up and home, happy with the sesh. Sorted. Now as you guys have seen I've had pretty good year by this point, blanks have been rare, I've caught the big common, and a bunch of the low to mid 30's including many of the real lookers and rare ones. The one I really want is especially unfriendly, a massive fully scaled mirror (one of the biggest fully's in the country), and it's still not been out. My confidence is sky high, everything is working, and I'm starting to think the fully has my name on it. At this point I'm off to the States with work for a week or 2 leaving me just one more session at the end of the month to make the impossible happen. Couldn't possibly happen though, could it?

Fox sell spare MXR receivers. Product code: CEI142/R £116.70 RRP

Molecules that align 😮 That is some serious tech there. I best they cost a fair bit.

Well found! I stand corrected lol.

As an all-rounder the copper/green mirror are the ones mate. Have a look on the Costa website, there is some great lens info with a funky comparison thingy: https://www.costadelmar.com/us/en/performance-technology/580-lenses

No mate. Polarising tints lenses so this is not possible. But there is similar tech that allows for a light tint to got to a dark tint (Fortis Switch lenses for example).

Yup. Sunnies are imo one of those few pieces of tackle that will actually lead to more fish on the bank (you can't catch them if you can't find them innit). Therefore I have less problem spending hundreds on them than I do a bivvy for example.

You will not see anything with Costas that you cannot see with 20 quid Fortis, but what you can see will have A LOT more clarity. Hope this helps.

I have had 3 pairs of Costas now. They're amazing. You can get a decent set of sunnies for next to nothing (the Fortis Essentials are the one if you're looking to save money). Minor improvements over the cheaper options cost big bucks. There is no such thing as better or worse polarising, it is what it is, but there is such a thing as better or worse lenses that can be polarised. You'll find the pricey versions have multiple layers to the lenses (so top of the range Costas have 6 layers each serving a different purpose where cheaper options might just have a polarised plastic lens). If money is no object the Costas are the one imo, the 580G (glass) lenses. If they're solely for fish spotting then you need the silver sunrise lens (basically amber). If you'll be wearing them all day to protect from the sun then the copper/green mirror lens is the one. If you're serious about getting some there is currently a sale on (link below, see half way down the page). This is as cheap as you'll find them in the UK mate. https://www.fly-fishing-tackle.co.uk/acatalog/polarised_sunglasses.html

Size 2 and 4 shark hooks for me too 🎣

So having had 3 weeks off I was gagging too get back down to the lake. I managed to find time for an overnighter but was gutted to find the lake was rammed. So, a quick change of plan....... enjoy. So I managed to get an overnighter in last Thursday. The lake I've been targeting was absolutely rammed, had a wander round but found nothing of interest so decided to take a quick look at the other waters on the complex. It was quiet over there and I managed to find a bunch of carp in a shallow bay. The swim that controls the water there is probably my fave on the lake so I plotted up there for the night. The weed in there is savage and I could only find enough room for 2 rods on the deck. The other was chucked out on a zig. Baited up with a couple of kilos, job done. Plenty of fish kicking about as it got dark and I saw lots of activity over my areas before I went to bed. I get a take on the zig rod at 3 am but it's straight into the weed and tbh I didn't actually realise I'd lost it until I netted a massive ball of weed with no fish in it. The rod is left out of the water and back to bed. As it was getting light the middle rod buzzed off and I had great fight with a very pretty common. As I'm resting it in the net the last rod rips off and I land a veiny, leathery mirror. I didn't weigh either of them but they're both around the high double/low 20 mark. I take some snaps, send them back, and since I can stay until 8 or 9 am I decide to chuck the rods back out while the mat and nets dry out a bit. Just before it's time to bring the rods in the middle one screams off as I'm chatting to another member who's popped in for a cuppa. Another great fight and I have a running commentary from my mate who can see the fish from an elevated position. Great fun! When it rolls over the cord I recognise it straight away, it's an absolutely mint half linear that normally goes scraper 30's. So it proves when we hoist her up at 30.04. We take some pics with the sun, get her back, and I pack up. What an absolutely class overnighter! Four takes, three fish, and a thirty! If only they all went so well eh.......

Elvis Juice and a big fat vape mod. Looks like my house!

Squeaky bum time lol. I'm primarily a weekend angler so understand the struggles that come with other anglers. You just have to deal with it mate. Take your chances when they come, which you clearly do 🐋 Fantastic tale as usual mate.

That is brilliant!

If you take a look back at the last fish in the first post on this thread you'll see it's actually a recapture. In 2016 there was no weed and the fish were looking a bit rubbish, very pale. Just a year later with loads of weed keeping the water quality tip top, the fish were looking amazing. Just goes to show what a difference weed can make to a healthy stock.

Indeed. I believe that lin is one of Simon's fish. I like an odd one too lol. Believe it or not that fish is 35+ nowadays.

So we're now at the start of September and after the results on the last session I head straight back to the same spot. Enjoy: Another decent weekend for me down on the syndicate water. I basically headed for the same area that I fished last time, fished the same spots and used the same tactics. I actually set up without seeing any signs which is often a huge mistake (in fact it' something I advocate against) but luckily it paid off for once. The action started with a take just before first light on Saturday morning. The fish weeded me up briefly but I got it moving and thought it was a tench; the fight was almost non-existent. I netted it without using the head torch and only put the torch on to release this 'tench' from the net. I was a little surprised to see an ugly little mid 20 common staring back at me. I recognised it as a fish my mate had last year, a deep fish with a small kinky tail (it's spine is deformed which probs has something to do with the tenchy fight) but almost no width to it. It looks like a bent bream but I quite like catching the characters so I'm pleased with it. Daylight comes, self takes done, it weighs 26.02 lb. Back she goes. Bite time over I spend the day wandering about and witness my mate have a mint common off the top. Good angling. Another mate's had a good'n too and between us we celebrate with a couple of beers. Rods out for the night and I'm supremely confident; I'm convinced I have the spots rocking now and I'd have bet money that I was having a fish or two. Up at 5 am and I can see the fish are spread out but see enough near my spots to keep me happy. I have to wait a little longer this morning but at 07:30 the left hand rod goes into melt down and I'm into the waders and enjoying a great fight from a fish that clearly has some weight to it. I end up way down the margin up to my chest in the drink attempting to keep it out of a weedbed. It works and I net a very dark looking mirror. I secure the net and have a closer look; it's mint, huge set of shoulders on it, jet black. The colour of these fish this year is mental, they've darkened up no end due to all this weed yielding exceptional water quality; gin clear all year with zero algae blooming of any kind. On the scales the mirror goes 31.15 lb and the photos turn out beautiful in the morning sun, it really brings the colours out. Back she goes, happy days. I reckon I might be in with a chance of another and it proves so when the right hand rod absolutely screams off at around 10 am. The fight that follows is the best fight I've had this year; it starts off in the weed (they all do lol), then kites maybe 150 yards to the left into a shallow bay, it's like playing a rotweiler, proper rucking. Again the waders come in very handy and I'm miles away from my swim when I finally net it. It's clear the fish aint massive but my God is it a looker; a linear with the biggest golden scales you could hope to see. Absolutely beautiful. It just so happens that my Mrs is coming to visit (she was nearby anyway so thought she'd pop in) so I rest the fish in the net for 15 mins until she arrives. She hardly ever comes to see me fishing and she's never witnessed a proper carp on the bank so she's absolutely mid blown to see this wicked looking linear. Those bright golden scales mesmerise her and for just one second she almost understands why we do this..... almost. She helps out with the weighing and she does the photos for me which is an experience I really enjoy, I'm mega happy that she got to see one of these creatures I'm so obsessed with. The fish goes 25.02, it's a stocked fish that was put in some years ago now, a slow grower which given the size of those scales is understandable. Proper minter. In all a great weekend with plenty of action. I'm a little gutted I have maybe 3 weeks off fishing now which is a shame as it seems to be coming together for me recently. I just hope I can pick up where I left off at the end of the month.

Fantastic mate, what a way to settle the score😎

You keep forgetting your "imo" mate. With all due respect, the statement above is imo completely inaccurate. i have caught countless carp on size 4 hooks (and size 2 for that matter). They just need to be used on the right rig for the right angling situation.

No it's not. Imo.

This^^^^ Writing skills don't bother me in the slightest. As long as it's written with passion. I'll read Steven King if I want a well written book. I'll read Terry Hearn if I want some angling inspiration.

You can't get much simpler mate. Really effective for bag work.

As in solid bags Elmo? I think in solid bags simpler is better, particularly with bottom baits/wafters. I'd avoid tungsten and swivels (when mr carp sucks up that feed you want as little weight in the hookbait/rig as possible). Have you considered the KD? A curve is perfect for that.