yonny

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!

Yeah I do that. My "little black book" is my phone nowadays. I have a file of carp I'd like to catch and sit there psyching them out. Doesn't seem to work as well as it does for Tel though lol.

🤣😂😂Exactly this ^^^^^^

Imo its a combination of this, and the fact that so many guys are furloughed and can spend all week on the bank. I'm happy, but I can understand lots of people are struggling. Humans are sociable creatures and when the ability to socialise is taken away by lock-down or distancing it's not good for our heads. Wont lie, it's doing my head in lol. Imo this toxicity is fostered by the powers that be. A conflicted populous is easier to control and lie to, than a united one. It is why I refuse to acknowledge any of it.

I don't disagree mate: I think your active lead solution very much counts as something far-out and completely unique👍

I think this subject is being completely over-thought. If your hooks are razor sharp and your rig can reset you're worrying about nothing imo buddy. You have to bear in mind that the tighter you fix that lead, the easier it is for carp to use that lead to throw the hook. If it's that weedy just fish bowstring tight lines. The lines will be hidden in the weed and a single beep equals a bite. Dead easy mate. There are numerous inline set-ups available, and heli set ups, and lead clips, and they all work as intended out of the packet. You don't need to be butchering them unless you're looking to create something really far-out or completely unique. Jamming the lead on is just not the one mate. If you truly believe that this issue is costing you fish then you need to be thinking about the feeding situation imo. If they are feeding that gingerly that the lead systems that work for everyone else are not working for you then there is something fundamentally wrong with feeding situation. If it were me I'd be chucking a lead clip out there with a very sharp hook knowing full well it'll empty the place if put in the right spot.

All part of the journey buddy. When you get to this point (when you know all the spots so you can just cast out when you find the kippers) it tends to become much easier, you catch what you're after, and it's time to move on to start the learning process all over again on some other water lol.

Yup. If you get a rig presented perfectly on a spot where the fish are prepared to feed then sooner or later you're going to catch one. Simple as that buddy.👍

So a drop-off inline?

Spot on mate. Like you, I have don't get to pick and choose when I go so I'll go regardless of what the weather is doing. It'll be hard going mate, but not impossible.👍

I've had similar situations. One water I was catching on the deck getting good drops but to look at from above you'd not even consider putting a rig there. Sometimes you're better off not knowing imo.