yonny

I thought it was free nowadays?

I used to use log books with little diagrams and catch reports and spots etc etc. Now I just log markers/wraps on my phone. It's a pretty soulless way of doing it tbh but hey it works.

It's tricky innit. All my biggest hits have come to very heavily spodded areas but you always run the risk of spooking them out of the area. They'll come back but it's no good them coming back 24 hrs later if your session is only 24 hrs long lol! It's not a problem for longer sessions, and sometimes they'll be back very quickly, but it does do my swede in for short sessions. I've taken to baiting up the day before I fish which is fine on the quiet syndis or clubs but not possible on pressured circuit waters!

I hardly ever use a marker float now. I just use a bare lead and guesstimate the depth. I tend to fish where I see signs of feeding activity and don't really care about depth with any accuracy. I'll get the marker out if I'm zigging but that's about it.

I read that too. It's a little misleading imo as it's only a 3 season bag so you'd need other layers when it gets cold. A 5 season Snugpak Techlite coupled with one of the lightest beds would weigh the same or less so it can be beaten.

They are supposed to be mega comfy but weight a tonne. Only you can answer if they are worth the money mate.

I don't think it's possible to effectively simulate undertow with this set up. I certainly don't think a couple of blasts through a blow pipe can replicate the effects of undertow. I'm also not convinced that the little paddle jobby gives an accurate representation of the water displacement caused by a carp. They are pretty big and very powerful.

Lol. He's right though innit!

Cyprinus don't design or manufacture anything. They re-brand other gear. If you look closely at the images on their website you should be able to work out what each one is with a little research.

It worries me that he's quoted as an authority. He's without doubt a decent angler and I do enjoy listening to him but I find he can be prone to contradicting himself now and again.

To totally change the subject (temporarily), can you expand on this bit Vik? I always thought that an undertow basically travelled the full length of a water, in the opposite direction to the winds. Is that not the case?

I don't know it, but I do believe it, for the simple reason that I know of several rich waters that've been subject to salt hits for years and continue to flourish with almost impenetrable weed and associated naturals year on year. The spots do not stay there year after year (I wish they did, it'd make them a hell of a lot easier to fish lol). New spots are created each year and old ones grow over (this can happen in weeks or even days when the conditions are right). Given that your 0.1 square meter tank contains no undertow, no currents and no fish I can't see how your experiment suggests anything other than what we already know regards density. That would be interesting to see what would happen over the course of a season. Make sure the water contains carp though lol.

Just because others sacrifice their sense of achievement doesn't mean you should forgo your own mate! It is not all about the end result. It is about the journey there. Do it the hard way, it's MUCH more satisfying.

🤦‍♂️Don't do it elmo!

Yeah that theory came from Mark Holmes I believe. Yeah I've known of this too which may add weight to my theory that salt generally does not sit on the bottom and kill everything.

My MK2 failed mid session, the forks somehow bent out of shape, nightmare. It had lasted a good few years though in fairness. I had to nip to the tackle shop and buy the only barrow they had (Trakker X0-Trail Galaxy). The Trakker is awful, I hate it. The Fox Explorer is supposed to be brilliant. Don't skimp on the barrow, it takes some abuse so you need a decent one.

We need to bear in mind that a carp lake is not a stagnant hole in the ground. It is a dynamic environment with undertows that change with the direction of the winds. You also have the fish themselves that disrupt the bottom of the water column as they swim around and hopefully feed, kicking up the silty sediment.

That's interesting. It be interesting to see how it looks with a rig in there too. Pretty awful I'd guess lol.

Did you try this buddy?

I will admit that is less than I expected you had used. I would say that without our knowing these micro organisms specific resistance to salt that doesn't mean much to us though. The red layer at the bottom of your tank looks savage, but if salt concentration is not high enough to make any difference then it matters not. Agreed, in the long term that's the last thing we want. But knowing some of the weedy waters I fish in the UK have been subject to salt hits for many, many years, I don't think it happens. They're still weedy and rich as hell! I didn't say they need extra salt. I just said they need salt. And if we offer it to them though a source that is easier to access than the very scarce natural sources it stands to reason that they will take advantage in the same way that when food is in short supply we tend to have it off over bait.

It's more a case of them needing it than liking it. It's a mineral that is very difficult for them to obtain in a freshwater environment and carp need it to function. A pH change cannot entice a carp to feed. It is merely an investigation trigger. It is the food signals from the bait you use on that spot that triggers feeding. But I do not believe that is how salt works either way. Carp need salt, it's as simple as that, and if we introduce an easily accessible source they will come. I agree with you that anglers should be aware of possible dangers but imo that "oh well" decision couldn't possibly result in the hundreds of tonnes of salt it would take to even match the salinity levels preferred of their tanks by koi keepers.

The video says you were very surprised but the result of this experiment but I think the result was exactly what you and I expected buddy. We already know that a salt water solution is denser than water and the volumes you use in the vid are very effective in demonstrating that. To replicate those volumes in a water body of any significance would take many thousands of tonnes of salt at a guess. What happens if you pop your hand in that tank and waft it across the bottom to replicate the activity of a swimming/feeding carp (or any fish for that matter)? I'm surprised you didn't do that as part of the experiment tbh. Or maybe you did but it was not featured in the vid? If we imagined that the salt did stay in a concentrated area when introduced to a large body of water it could certainly go some way to explaining why "salting a spot" can be so effective, particularly on rich, weedy waters. It'd clear the spot nicely ready for perfect presentation. I think the statement that still waters have no natural mechanism by which salt can be removed is misleading. Salt is water soluble and the water in lakes is constantly recycled through natural water cycles (rain vs. dispersal through groundwater). In the concentrations used for carp fishing this has a negligible effect (imo) on a water body.

I am all about weight reduction mate, pretty much all my gear (other than rods/reels) is purchased as it's the lightest on the market. Weight is my top priority when it comes to kit, I tend to move around a fair bit so it's essential that it's a quick and easy job. Price wise light stuff can be a double edged sword. For example, the lightest shelters (Lo Pro, V1 T/Brolly, Groundhog Brolly) are amongst the cheapest but the lightest landing net (Dymag) costs an absolute fortune!! Another good weight saver is the bedchair - the Wychwood Tactical, JRC Stealth X-Lite, Avid Benchmark Lite and the Trakker RLX Flat-6 Superlite are the ones to check out, all under 7kg in weight, and some of them are cheap too.

I don't use it myself but i have mates with it and it's pukka stuff. You can buy with confidence. It'll make a huge difference weight wise mate. I use the MPE stuff which is v similar hard anodised ali, much lighter than stainless. If you're really worried about longevity you can look at titanium but it costs a lot more and is heavier than ali (but lighter than stainless). I have ali and titanium and I think I prefer the ali.

I just bought this back end of last year, it's decent. 😂😂😂I can imagine mate.