yonny

I've also heard mixed opinions. In my experience it kills it. It's possible through baiting to have waters rocking right through winter but when it freezes even that's game over!

Lethal pesticides released by man that poisoned our rivers!

Pretty sure under current law it'd be like starting a petition to make robbery legal 😂

It's a European protected species so it's not up to our government (until Brexit anyway lol).

Dito!

That petition was a complete joke buddy, it was never going anywhere. It was for "For the introduction of non-lethal means of control of the Otter (Lutra- lutra)" when a license to trap and relocate (i.e. none lethal) otters is already available. They were petitioning for something that already exists! No one is going to change things for us in the short term, we need to do it ourselves. If the waters you fish aint being fenced you need to persuade them to fence it, and assist with the costs, or walk away. The time for shouting for change is way passed, it's too late already. There is no "if" buddy. The rivers are almost empty already.

The NS's have a proven track record over many years. Of the two I'd go for them.

Sounds like you had moisture in the tub mate. They're really sensitive to moisture, you have to be careful.

I agree mate, we were playing around with it wondering how the hell it opens. Those magnets are mega strong!

Unbelievably the very day I wrote that (yesterday) just so happened to be the day I saw my first otter on Grantham Canal! Last night I was on my usual mountain bike hoon along the canal and I spotted a pair of eyes in the torch light at water level on the far side. I assumed it was a fox drinking (there's loads of foxes round here) but as I got closer it became clear exactly what it was. It had already clocked me (I use 2 x very high power lights for night biking) and as I got nearer it turned, climbed the steep bank (giving me a crystal clear look at it), and did the off into the undergrowth. I was a bit taken aback tbh.... I've seen plenty of mustelids in my time including loads of mink but this thing was bloomin' massive. I've been spotting signs of otters all last year along that stretch and didn't spot one carp in 2018 where as previously I knew exactly where they could be found. I'm basically taking that sighting as confirmation those carp are gone.

Plenty of signs of otters up and down Grantham canal - and very few signs of carp as a result. I'd expect similar all around the country tbh.

Any time buddy. A funny story..... one year I was doing rather well on a syndicate near me. There were 2 other guys catching more than everyone else too. Three of us in total catching maybe 80% of the fish. It got to autumn and I was present for a capture with one of these guys - his hookbait was an S2. He was gutted I'd clocked it until I told him that the S2's are what I'd been catching on too (we'd both been keeping it quiet lol). As a result of this we then spoke with the third guy that was smashing it and guess what..... he was on the S2's as well. So the three top rods had all been using the same hookbaits completely independently of one another. Coincidence? Maybe. Personally that is enough evidence for me to indicate that those hookbaits are bit special.

Yeah, they're pricey but they're worth it. It's not the rolling that costs. It's the curing process. He might as well have. It's a mental process they go through. I've used: S2 - As an all-rounder this is probs one of the best hookbaits money can buy. Works all year. F1 - Brilliant in winter/early spring. A bit different to anything else you've tried. GLMF - Awesome dark spicy hookbaits. Best used over bait I've found. I've used the cork balls and the crushed cork options. Both awesome but I prefer the crushed cork - more versatile. They're not the kind of hookbaits you use on overstocked puddles/commercial lakes, it would cost you a fortune. For tricky lakes when you need something that little bit special to compete, these are the nuts. I completely understand those that aint prepared to pay that kind of money, it's fair play. I've caught a lot of big fish on these which justifies it for me.

Jesus. Not good.

Brutal @chillfactor. That's a real shame mate. Gutted for you.

Essential on any water that it dude..... but.... you can give yourself a head start here: https://www.cromwelllake.com/lake-and-contour-maps/

Exactly 👍

Any of the pre-stretched lines have low stretch but you sacrifice abrasion resistance. If you want better abrasion resistance you can go for a semi-stretched line like Technium Black or GT-HD. I have a mate that told me about a test he read in which Hydro Tuff came out with lower stretch than the semi-stretched lines. That really surprised me as Hydro Tuff is a full on snag line with amazing abrasion resistance. Worth checking out as that makes it a very special line indeed (it's what I use and have used since before I heard about this test). I use the .40 (20lb) and still get a banging drop so I can believe it.

I was a weekend angler so average sesh was 2 nights but I'd book Fridays off to make it 3 when I felt like I was close to a target. I'd fish 1 of every 3 weekends or similarly 1 every 2 weekends when I felt close. I'd also do work overnighters on Thursdays in between session just to keep in touch with the water. Going forward with the little'n on the way I'll happily take whatever session I can get regardless of length!

The weather this winter has been amazing (for fishing). Bloomin' typical as I had to stop angling in October! I have one night planned on the 18th, praying the temps hold out but I know that they wont☹️ I know of loads of big fish captures this past few weeks. It's killing me.

My mate has a couple. They are decent lads - open every time. A little heavy but that can help with light baits (pellets, maggots etc). You'll struggle at 120 mate. They don't cast very well at all. I loved the look of these when they came out but they're not all that.

Jesus!😳

All depends what you want to spend really. On the cheap, the ones Dayvid posted are hard to beat. Conversely, if you want to spend £££ the JAG Lockdowns are awesome (they come with different size inserts to fit your specific rods). Avoid the NGT stuff. Terrible quality. I had a set of their snag bars and they ripped out by the thread on the first take. Absolute tat.

Absolutely no holds barred BANGING @kevtaylor.

Did I see a shot of you with Nigel's from Sandhurst? That has to be up there somewhere? Proper minter. Awesome fish lads, keep them coming.