yonny

Probably buddy. Brown is the best all-rounder for blending in imo.

That's it right there. Confidence comes from experience; knowing what you are doing in a given situation will catch them. That is a hallmark of inexperience imo. A confident and experienced angler will determine why the chosen method isn't working as intended and fix it. I have no time for doubt. I am not prepared to sit behind rods that I'm not 100% happy with. Of course we all blank, it is part of carp fishing, but as long as you learn from it you confidence levels can continue to elevate. If you know why you blanked then you know how to adapt for next time.

I'm currently using the rather funky combination of Hydro Tuff in 12 lb with a 20/30 ft leader of the SLS Specimon Tough in 18 lb. The water I'm fishing is really, really weedy and the fish do sometimes hang out a very long range. This set up allows me to get the distance and still deal with the weed. I would happily use the Hydro Tuff in 20 lb as a leader too.

@crusian I've used it in 20 for weed and 12 for casting, both perform really well. It's the green I use but thats because I didn't know you could get it in brown!

Completely up to you mate. It's cheaper to do them yourself but ready made are good if you've not done it before. That's an even broader question lol. Different hooklinks/lines tend to be better for different rigs. Get on YouTube buddy, loads of info on there👍

Agree. But regardless of how many wrongs make a right if they dare ban booze I'm kicking off lol.

OK...... Not OK..... What a load of tosh. You should really be putting 'imo' at the end of comments like that so guys can see it's opinion and not fact Nick. Almost all lead systems have a place for certain angling situations imo. I use a number of systems depending on what's in front of me. I reckon I use lead clips for more than half of my fishing. It's not because I'm lazy and it's not due to fashion. It's because they do the job I intend them to do.

If the main line snaps the rig can come off a heli so the lead is not considered fixed mate. No need for a heli safe. The heli safe does have a place imo - fished naked (no leader) is very weedy conditions. The safest set up is the one the gets the fish on the banks safely imo. That is a very broad question buddy but a simple answer would be Proper Job Pop Ups. They're the most buoyant standard pop up out there and are available in loads of recipes/flavours. I prefer a cork ball pop up but for standard pop ups Proper Jobs are the ones👍 FTM

Agree, I'm no smoker but I know that booze is 10 times more damaging than a bit of weed. Good post @Carpbell_ll.

Nah.... with a stiff rig the in-line will nose dive into anything but the hardest gravel which will kick the rig up rendering it useless. Stiff rigs and in-lines are not the one imo buddy.

That's backwards. It's a corrective action. You need preventive action. Stop the crime in the first place. Not lock people up after they've already done it. It's a real challenge for sure.

I agree. I disagree, too much of a sweeping statement for me that is. Rig length should be chosen to perform on a given substrate - to suit the rig and the angling situation. For every known angler that tells us one thing there is another known angler telling us something completely different. I wouldn't take any of it as gospel mate. I try to let the carp teach me what I need to know. A few hours watching the fish you're trying to catch will tell you more than any known angler can.

I only use fluoro for weed-free waters, it's never going to be as strong and durable as a decent braid. For St Ives I'd not go near it elmo.

I always found IQ and IQ2 to be ok.

You can use them in deeper lakes (depending how deep 'deeper' is). Tight lines - indication is bad enough when using back leads so you don't want to make it any worse. Not good for use in weed - very bad in fact. Whack them at the bottom of the shelf - to keep the lines pinned down as intended. 👍

That made me chuckle 😂

That's key here. If you really want to use a stiff rig you'll need to use a bigger hook imo. I'd also ditch the kicker. Both of these changes intended to open the gape which at the moment is far too small imo. I'd also lengthen the rig - this will mean it has greater flexibility to be taken but retain that stiff springy quality once in the fish's mouth.

I agree, they are a very primitive design really. I'm sure they work to a degree but nowhere near as well as we think they do.

It's completely natural for carp to use the margins on most lakes bud.

To connect the stiff to the soft? I don't think it matters that much buddy. Both with and without a swivel will work well.

Exactly mate. I first read that phrase in Terry Hearns book many years ago. Me and a mate adopted it. It sounds best when you have the biggun in the net..... "see, it only takes one bite"!!!😃

Hi mate. It means the lead must be able to come off in the event of a snag (so drop off lead clip systems are perfect). By the way..... FTM🔴⚪🔴⚪💪

It's up to you mate. Do what you enjoy. I am also going through a lean spell on a hard water but I know that all I have to do is put a hookbait in front a feeding fish (trickier than it sounds sometimes) and I will catch. If I keep going it will happen. When it does I'll be buzzing. I've struggled before and I'll struggle again. It's just part of fishing for special fish. Earlier in the year I went on a social to a day ticket lake. I caught a bunch. Did I get the buzz? Of course not lol. It was fun but I was bored after the 2nd or third fish and was thinking about my hard water.

Have a go with 6s buddy. Good for smaller fish too mate and you tend not to lose them which is always a risk with zigs👍

Deep waters tend to shut up shop in winter, they hold those cold temps and even the best conditions cant warm them up. Shallower waters have the chance to respond to higher winter temps. Either way, I've spent many a winter on low stock pits. One fish a year is a mega result. Most years it's no fish. If you have the balls then go for it but nowadays I tend to go for higher stocked waters in winter. Any fish is a result when the temps drop imo. Good luck bud👍👍