yonny

Although I would add that it is inevitable.

That's not accurate Nick, the EU regulations (RoSH and REACH) restrict the use of lead and it's compounds in the manufacture of commercial products. There's one geared towards the automotive industry too. None of them ban lead, they restrict it's use (i.e. you can use it with customer approval, or under certain exemptions). I work in manufacturing so am familiar with all this guff. It'll be ages before lead is banned imo.

I will normally go with the shortest rig I think I can get away with to suit the spot/substrate, which isn't always that short as I prefer to fish just off the cleanest spots.

The 4.5 oz ones are £2.95😮 I can't see any distance leads on the site.

Got a link Vik?

A debate is a discussion buddy, exchanging ideas and opinions. What forums are for. Your posts cite your opinion as gospel and take offence to anyone that attempts to question your beliefs. It's about as far from a debate as you can get imo. Further to that, you really need to keep any hypocrisy in check (that's not intended as an insult buddy, just an observation); that last post accuses Nick of being rude for assuming where you fish/what you catch, and then goes on to do just that in return. Think of this as constructive criticism, it's not intended as an insult. You've popped up on various forums and it seldom lasts more than a few days before you get banned. At some point you have to acknowledge it's you at fault and not the rest of the online community. You need to adapt buddy because it looks to me like it's heading that way already.

As in same price as lead suppliers online (50-60p each) or same price as Korda leads in the tackle shop (£1.50-£2.00 each)?? Big difference.

And do you think Gardener designed the curve shank hook bud?

Agree, BAF do really good gear. I also agree that it's a labour of love. Once you've factored in the cost of your time it's not that much cheaper than some of the decent off-the-shelf baits nowadays imo.

Biggin is more of a match lake, or used to be anyway. I remember going with my brother years ago, fished it on the quiver tip with corn and pellet. Had a rake of fish, also from close in.

Sticks for me, just for versatility.

That.

What I do when fishing silty waters is saturate my freebies in a mixture of water and liquid food i.e a hydroslate, this stops them taking on the silt. With those freebies comes the feeding situation (assuming they're put in the right place) which allows you to fish pretty much anything over the top. Regards shallow/deep water and pop ups/bottom baits, I don't think it makes a difference. The buoyancy of a bait (be that highly buoyant or not buoyant at all) should imo be chosen the suit the rig that will present effectively in the given substrate i.e. bottom baits on a clean deck and pop ups over weed or chod with wafters somewhere in between. I use pop ups for 99% of my fishing as I prefer the mechanics of pop up rigs and tend to fish weedy waters.

Interesting. What are your thoughts behind that buddy? I am of the opinion that if you can create a feeding situation effectively the hookbait isn't that important. As long as it's presented you'll get takes. It's creating that feeding situation that's the challenge.

In the UK there really is no need to tailor your hookbaits to specific depths imo. There are a few waters that might warrant it (Bundy's etc). But it's good to understand the principles all the same.

Good info ref depth/water pressure here too: https://www.properjobpopups.co.uk/water_pressure.php

The Ridgemnokey is overkill for UK angling imo. Decent for a week in France I guess (although the ANKER will do a phone for a week).

It'll work but you'll need some pretty poor pop ups for it to work in the next 12 months bud. You're better off getting some big wafters (20 mm or so), glugging them up and cutting them down to suit imo. Wafters are so variable I don't think you can plan for the correct buoyancy without adjusting to suit the specific rig/hook etc.

I use the ANKER jobbies, really good kit.

Also have them. Yup, nice and loose, easy to get on, great waders.

Absolutely agree bud, re-branding is ripping people off, fact, but Korda don't do that (or if they do I can't think of an example). They appear to me to have principles which is why I find it odd that they are a target for so many outspoken anglers. Trakker, Aqua, Nash, all guilty of ripping people off..... Nash recently obtained the old Taska tungsten range of products. On the chod beads they halved the qty in the pack and nigh-on doubled the price. Now I understand the purpose of any business is ultimately to yield profit but that is taking the mick imo.

It's a tricky one; I think developing ideas (copying and improving) is progress. Different to blatantly ripping off the exact same design.

That's not really fair lads. Korda designed both products, came up with the materials, determined how they could be made, designed tooling, and went through all the prototype phases. That is a process that takes many, many months and costs a hell of a lot. I know that because the company I work for design and manufacture products. NGT then essentially steal the designs (they can't be patented) and have them made for as cheap as possible to undercut them. So it's not really a case of NGT simply buying from the same factory, they are taking advantage of others hard work to make a quick buck for themselves.

With that budget I would actively seek a heavier reel buddy. At 50 quid a pop the only reason they'd be light is plastic components, you'll not find advanced composites etc for that kind of money. A heavier reel will last longer.

😲 Lucky boy!!