yonny

Agree.

As said, bin them (or sharpen them) when they're no longer sharp.

Now that is a bargain in every sense of the word mate.

Be very careful there buddy. They increased their prices 3 weeks ago. The law says a price must be held for min 3 weeks before it can be called a reduction/sale. Essentially they increased the prices ready to make it look like a sale for BF when in fact it's the same price as before. WHICH? reckon 90 to 95 % of BF deals are done the same. For the most part it's all a big scam. You're better off waiting until January.

Spot on.

I wouldn't mate. However, if you see signs of activity I would defo keep some whole baits going in. Which ones? The Dynamite ones are just Skretting/Coppens (very high oil) rolled in RR. No good for cold water imo.

The Alivios and Black Widows look the business but they're low budget, low performance products. The shimmys and X3s might not look so good but they will perform. I think swapping looks for performance is a good call. Ultimately it doesn't matter what it looks like.

The Fox rods are better imo. The 10000XTEAs are a better reel but not big pits so worth swapping. The ATT's have a receiver so probs a better deal. The spods are similar. I don't think there's much in it tbh.

I get everything delivered to work @elmoputney....... then sneak it in when she's not looking. I often have a backlog of tackle in the car ready to be snuck in lol.

I follow the same strategy 😂

They don't make them like they used to mate. I don't like QD. My SS3's were QD''d when I got them. Only bought the 5000T's to tide me over when I got the SS3's un-QD'd lol. The standard tourny drag is brilliant imo, no need to mess with it. Nah, let them die so Mrs Putney has to let you get some tournies lol. So that's two of us that can't read then lol....... I can't recall seeing that either mate.

That's all you can ask mate. That's the strong point with the tournies too - they don't let you down. The're not balanced that well, they creak and squeek, they're heavy, clunky, noisy..... but they go on and on and on forever. A workhorse in every sense of the word. They're not that expensive either tbh. SS3's hold there value as they don't make them anymore but a decent set of 2nd hand 5000t's can be had for 350 quid odd. That's a hell of a lot of reel for the money. I have seen guys with tournies that are used week-in-week-out for literally 20 years and haven't been serviced. They're invincible. If you're happy with the Emcasts there's no need to change buddy. I've never used them so couldn't compare them to the tournies in terms of use.

Any time mate. I have the 5000T's and some SS3's so it's good info for me too👍

It is not published buddy but apparently 250m of 20 lb X Line fills a spool with reducer perfectly (I found a post on another forum where someone had just loaded the 20 lb!). So if you're using less than 20 lb you'll not have enough. Hope this helps.

I agree with you Elmo. I am more obsessed with carp than most but you wont find me kissing the them lol.

Agree, although most waters are hovering around 7-8 degrees now so it it's defo on its way. Once we're sub-7 it gets tricky imo.

Joking aside, it's tea all the way for me, although I sometimes take a hip flask of cognac if it's really cold.

Stella😂

I think anything less than 10 ft is shallow enough. Whatever you're confident in imo buddy. For me, there is no better winter bait than maggots.

The article says they add salt to the water on their farm. Either way, we're not spodding 24 tonnes lol. Were talking grams, which is completely negligible. We're not talking about a % worth discussing, we're talking in terms of PPM.

Always worth keeping an eye on them buddy. It's worth keeping an eye on anything and everything tbh, just the slightest sign can help. I completely agree mate. I did a winter on the Mill a while back. It was awful lol. Didn't see a carp for 3 months. Where as on Heron with it's shallower depths, I had real good results. Maggots!

For sure mate I know that. This is a debate, nothing more. Quite a good one imo. Good example, but for me we know salt is safe to use (within reason). We would need to spod 24 tonnes of salt into a one acre lake just to achieve the salinity koi enthusiasts desire of their ponds: https://www.carpology.net/article/features/the-truth-about-salt/ Edit: that's from Simon Scott, one the most respected fish farmers in the UK.

Good call mate. As water gets colder it gets denser so the coldest water will be on the deck, particularly in the deepest area. Some believe this is part of the reason the feeding spells are so short - because it's physically uncomfortable for them to feed on the deck due to temps. Obviously zigs can come into their own in this case.

Good info mate. In that case I'd recommend the Tempest or Hide lol.

You need to be looking now mate - they'll be starting to visit the winter areas already and those early signs can make or break a winter campaign. If you can, I'd be baiting those areas too (and keep that going all through winter). There is no point starting baiting in winter as you've already missed the boat and their metabolism will have slowed. If you keep it going in from autumn, they'll keep feeding. Regards fishing in winter itself, be ready for long periods of inactivity. They will show you where you need to be, but the levels of activity are very low, and it often comes in the dead of night (1 - 3 AM). When it gets dark at 4 or 5 PM that can seem like a very, very long wait (by 8 PM it feels like midnight!). Every pit is different but I've found areas of consistent depth near (not in) the deepest water can often serve as winter holding areas. Keep your eyes on shallower water when the sun comes out, especially if there are reed beds about. It's worth trying to find out about past winter captures as the holding areas usually stay the same year-on-year in my experience. Don't expect too much. Sometimes you can be bang on them but at the end of the day their metabolism slows so they simply don't need to eat much. That said, imo they will feed for a short period every day so if you can find where that is, you can sometimes set you watch by the takes. The hardest thing about winter is staying focused as the hours pass by with no signs whatsoever. Just one single sighting can make the difference between a great campaign and a whole winters blanking, so you absolutely need to keep those eyes open and just keep going. Good luck.