yonny

Century, JAG and Cotswold Aquarius.... I can't think of anyone else apart from the bespoke bank-wear manufacturers that are still in the UK? ESP and Korda still make a couple of bits over here. You're Aqua's and Trakker's did the off some years ago. Still £££££££££££££ though.....

If you're keeping the 2.5's then I'd go with the 3.5's solely as a casting tool for distance work. I don't own Free Spirits but I've seen them all. They're all decent rods but the more you pay the better they'll get. The CTX are beasts but they're a little heavier than the E Class. If it's just for casting and you'll normally use the 2.5's elsewhere I'd stick with the cheaper CTX.

Imo the innovators such as Aqua set their price point so ridiculously high that I have zero sympathy for them when their tooling is used to manufacture for other organisations that are prepared to undercut them. After all, if the likes of Aqua's prices were reasonable there'd be less point in Cyprinus undercutting them. I've heard before that prices are high due to design/development costs - that's not right. In every other industry the manufacturers invest their own profits into R&D/product development to establish long term growth. Why is it acceptable for carp brands to hike the price up instead and pocket the profit? They chose not to invest as they do in other industries and ultimately they'll pay the price. All industries use price point as a marketing tool, I understand that, but when I see what is essentially a tent for 600 odd quid my sympathy goes out of the window. It can only benefit the angler imo. These big old brands are forces to be reckoned with nowadays and their marketing power will keep them going just fine, whereas anglers that aint bothered about an Aqua badge can get quality gear for half the price. Result.

I agree mate.

I hate to say I disagree Smufter. For me the reason anyone gets a brolly is to save weight. If it wasn't, we'd all be using brolly systems or bivvys imo. At 6 kg the new MHR is 25% heavier than the Tempest Brolly and almost twice the weight of a Lo Pro. In fact you can actually get a Tempest Composite Bivvy for the same weight as the MHR. It does look fantastic, I'll give you that, but the weight is just too much for a brolly imo. I'm hoping it hasn't been increased over the old MHR due to the addition of the rear events which, lets face it, on an open fronted brolly are almost pointless. Still looks cool though lol!

They are. If you go through Tackle Discounts (Cyprinus UK distribution) on Ebay you'll find the Cyprinus one for less than 50 quid when they have them in stock. Ridiculously cheap. Great bed.

My understanding is it is because the weight they put on is not the same as the weight we put on through eating. The extra weight is almost all eggs, it's not fat, and only partially due to natural increase in size with age. The food they eat during the build up to winter and the limited food they eat throughout allows for the eggs to be regenerated through the colder season. Hence winter/spring weights are banging.

I recommend these big time. Decent quality, ridiculously light and a great price.

I believe they are different hooks buddy.

They'll always go for the bigger i.e. slower fish cm.

I still have a set of the MK1's!

You're as bad as me Smufter. I always fit isotopes even though they do absolutely nothing other than look pretty lol. Complete waste of money but I still do it.

Both.

Completely down to personal preference buddy. I have been known not to strip any. A good starting point is 10 or 20 mm behind the hook.

Same here, tinned sweetcorn, perfect back-up bait. I also have a bucket of pellets handy in there.

I tend to carry about 6 and have a stash in the car.

I agree.

Why not 12 ft fella?

I've used all sorts as backing but imo a fishing line is always best, it lends itself to a consistent fill which aids line lay. Just leave a percentage of what you already have on and add another 200 yards of your new stuff buddy. Job done.

Has anyone used the Fox Coretex Tungsten?

What stuff? I found the ESP at a tenner.

It's actually more expensive @cloud9...... you only get 10m of the ESP vs. the 20m you get of the Fox stuff.... it's deceiving buddy. Still worth it though, you'll love it.

I found hook holds were all over the place on size 6's. When I upped to a size 4 they seemed to be much, much more consistent.

The Camotex offers really nice stiffness but once you've kinked it (very easy to do) you can't get rid of the kink. It also doesn't like sitting on the deck, you really need to weigh it down with blobs of putty. As said, The ESP Tungsten Loaded is the one. Miles better imo. No putty needed and pulls straight with no steaming. Banging stuff.

Not heard of that one buddy. You can add a little washing-up liquid if you choose, it lubricates the line making for better casting properties. I've not tried it myself (don't want my line smelling of soap lol). P.s. fluoro doesn't require soaking, just mono.