yonny

I use pop ups for 95% of my fishing. Not really buddy. There are pro's and cons for over-weighting pop ups and likewise for balancing baits. I tend to lean towards a balanced approach although I'll not balance it too well - I think a weightless tethered pop up wafting around feeding carp will look worse than one that's nailed to the deck. To be honest I fish pop ups so frequently because I tend to fish spots which would be difficult to present a bottom bait on. I don't want the bait wafting about in any weed but at the same time I don't want it dragged down into said weed so I'll balance somewhere in the middle.

Agree.

Both Sensor and Big Game are reliable lines but they've both been round for 20+ years. There are lines available now that out-perform them in every way possible. They might cost an extra fiver/tenner but if there's one thing you shouldn't skimp on it's line. Depends what you want it for buddy. Different mono's do different things better than others. - For distance casting go for a pre-stretched line (e.g. Fox Exocet etc.). They cast fantastically but aint so good where abrasion resistance is required. - For general angling without too much weed go for one of the new low stretch/partially pre-stretched lines (e.g. Shimano Technium, Gardner GT-HD etc.) These cast well and have half decent abrasions resistance. - General angling in weedy situations go for an all-rounder (ESP Synchro, Gardner Pro etc.). Cast OK, nice and strong. - Heavy weed go for a heavy line (Gardner hydroTuff, Rig Marole SLS etc.). Not so good for casting but you'd land a bus in a forest. There's no such thing as a line that will do everything perfectly (although the low stretch options are getting there). Think about what's important to you and go for the most suitable.

It's what I use. Awesome stuff fella.

100%

Nah mate.sometimes it doesn't matter what you do, it' against you. Letting it run would just result in a load of line lost with it. We just have to accept that In weedy waters you lose the odd fish. Just got to lose them as safely as possible!!

Yup.... you just had to look at what the fully was passing through to understand why those cut-offs were happening!

In some cases maybe. I use a 0.40 dia. snag mono as I'm not allowed to use braid on my syndi and guys are getting cut off in the weed using even 15 lb line..... and when a forty pounder heads for the weed there's not much stopping it..... It has nowt to do with the size of the lead for me. It relates entirely to the environment and the carps ability to exploit it.

What's up with it Smufter?

I think fishing for carp around lilies and weed with 8lb line is verging on irresponsible Nick, no disrespect you understand buddy. For me the safest rig/set-up is the one that lands the fish - hence I always use a higher BS line. I agree.

I certainly wont say that other firms don't rip customers off buddy - let's face it the whole carp game is one big rip-off!!!!

Cherry Carp are not ex- Solar, they are ex- Solar-Carp (a different entity to Solar). This is the company that used the Solar name to sell cheap bait rolled in Europe and shipped to the UK where it was crumbling to bits when it got to the customer (Martin Locke of Solar hadn't been prepared to do this which is why SolarCarp was created as separate entity as personnel split from Solar). When questioned the various members of the SolarCarp team gave conflicting information as to the content - some said it contained no preservatives, other said it did..... who knows what was in it...... There was also a massive hoo-har about the Directors trying to stitch up Lockey if I remember rightly but all trace of this has been removed from the net for legal reasons I assume..... So it makes me chuckle when they talk other firms about ripping anglers off. I wouldn't buy anything from them.

Wychwood do some very good lower budget rods buddy. Those reels you have will be absolutely fine. https://www.wychwoodcarp.co.uk/

The extra 0.05 will make no difference visually imo. It'll not behave as well though. I can't stand fluoro in higher diameters. The min diameter has been bought in due to the heavy weed growth. I agree with emmcee, the last thing you need is all that fluoro sinking into the weed - you're halfway to getting fish weeded up before you even have the take imo buddy!

Yeah I would imagine that'll be the case. Shouldn't be long before I see one on the bank I reckon.

D'you know what Nige, when they announced this I couldn't see any benefit over the Tempest Brolly. I honestly though it was doomed to failure. BUT..... the Tempest Brolly V2 has now been announced with an increase in weight to 5 kg meaning, for me, the Hide is now the better option. It'll be a tricky decision for those looking at the two. I'm quite looking forward to seeing one on the bank. p.s. The Hide is a similar weight to the Hideout, not the Lo Pro (Lo Pro is way down at 3.5 kg!).

It's called the ESP Hideout. Looks great, lightest system on the market: http://www.esp-carpgear.com/viewProduct.php?id=338

For sure. It's cheaper to have a new rod built in most cases nowadays. The builders can't be bothered with the clean up job associated with re-build. Most of them no-qoute this kind of thing.

It's water under the resin. Have you dried the rod out? It might just disappear.... but it will come back every time it rains. Makes no difference to the rod tbh. Not sure if there's anything that can be done about it I'm afraid bud. Someone on here will know though.

If I was loaded I'd buy one and take it down my syndi just for a wind up. Plot up 20 yards in front of my mates swims lol.

I have been that guy.... it's a nightmare. There is nothing worse then being on fish then all chance ruined (for you AND him) by some bloke smashing pegs into the bank. A few years ago I packed up and went home at ~ 9 pm after some geezer showed up with one of these super powered head torches and set his bivvy up with a mallet on the other side of this tiny bay. Game over. I've never used a mallet, don't carry one, and I've fished on some terrible ground. Where there's a will there's a way I've found. Honestly, rain permitting, I'd choose to sleep under the stars over using a mallet.

For sure buddy. Would be nice disappearing over the horizon for a week or so though eh.

I think it's for your big European waters buddy. Chantyqoc type venues.

And they have metal all the way through.

It's a bit of cheap steel with a plastic cap mate. They're all cheapo. Only difference is these are blue.