yonny

The KLS? I've had them for a while, he was kind enough to chuck a tub in with an order before they were widely available last year. They look the nuts but I've just not had the chance to use them yet. Absolutely no doubt they'll be great.

My pop ups tend to be treated with a few bits so I can always keep adding to them to freshen them up and keep them pumping. Assuming you're not using anything that can go off, two years is nothing imo. It does pay to have a clear out every now and again though. It's too easy to end up with pots of unused pop ups everywhere.

None of this stuff matters if you're not on fish. Have you been on them? In my experience carp are not too hard to catch once you've found them. The tricky bit is finding them, especially on a canal. If I was you I'd not even be unzipping the rod bag until I'd seen carp.

Well you can't just tease us like that and hope to get away with it 🤣🤣 Is this top secret or are you willing to tell us more?

1- A decent pop up rig (I use spinners and hinges depending on the substrate). 2 - A decent bottom bait rig (I use a simple D rig). 3 - Zigs.

I think a lot of guys tried to replace angling with buying tackle during lockdown. It was the only fix we could get 🤣 So on a completely unrelated theme, when is someone gonna release a carbon barrow? It'd cost a fortune no doubt, but I'd be first in the queue to buy that one!

Funnily enough my only "big" purchase last year was to have my small water rods rebuilt. Water was starting to get in under the whipping resin. 180 quid all in and they'll last another 15 years easy. They're irreplaceable and the next best thing would cost north of £1500 so 180 notes very well spent.

Tbh I'm way past all this. It's why you don't see me on the Latest Purchase thread. I've been fishing way too long to see any need for short rods or buckets with trays. There really isn't that much tackle that genuinely influences your ability to catch carp imo. You need rods that can reach the area you want to fish, line that can deal with the topography of your chosen water, a very sharp hook, and a half decent bait. The rest is all just "stuff".... none of it really matters. The way I see it the cheapest way to set yourself up is do some research and get the ABSOLUTE BEST gear for your type of angling, regardless of cost, and stick with it for many years. That might sound silly to some but saving up and spending a fortune on the best gear once is cheaper than upgrading poorer gear over and over again for 10 or 15 or 20 years (I learned this the expensive way). You'll find if you have the absolute best gear, you very rarely come across anything that's a genuine upgrade. I'll often go 2 or 3 years without any significant purchases. A few quid here and there on hooks, line and bait. Job done. I'm genuinely not really tempted by all the gear sitting in tackle shops, it's just dross that will empty your bank account.

I didn't want to bring it up but you're dead right mate 👍

I agree the second hand market is a nightmare mate. As soon as COVID stopped those ships leaving China the used gear prices went through the roof MASSIVELY. That's not just fishing gear either. It's cars, bikes.... you name it. I bought a used mountain bike for £1000 back in 2018. I sold it for £1800 when the prices shot up in 2020. Work that one out. My mate sold a Fox Easy Mat, 2 years old, for 30 quid more than he paid for it new. Obviously we're coming out of COVID but the market is just not recovering. It's Madness.

Clearly a special place for you mate😀

That's proper unusual. Usually the light half is up front. You're tempted ain't ya 🤣

This is tackle firms in general nowadays mate. Bags within bags within bags. You end up with as much weight in luggage as you do in the tackle it hold!!

Nah. For the water bottle I just use on of these type thingys: https://johnsonrosstackle.co.uk/carp-porter-accessories/14069-water-bottle-bracket.html If you whack them on the front it helps balance the barrow out.

@elmoputney I got a Trakker after my mk2 and regretted it. It wasn't this one, it was the X-Trail Galaxy..... (I think).... either way it's just not as good as the Carp Porter.

I completely stopped using oils a fair few years ago now, A) because carp have no receptors to detect it and B) because it tells other anglers where my spots are when it's slicking up/being fed on. As far as I can tell my catch rate hasn't changed one bit. @bluelabel, when it comes to zigs don't think about how far off the deck you are, rather how far under the surface you are. This time of year you want the top third, 3 to 5 ft under the surface is a decent starting point.

Exactly my point sir!

Is this not a byproduct of fisheries banning the creative tactics that can by employed by using different tackle and baits? If we ban such tackle and baits because we can't be bothered to ensure our fishery members understand basic carp safety then of course we end up with non-thinking parrot/sheep. We're taking away the opportunity to think creatively and innovatively by banning everything, so what do we end up with.... anglers that do not think. Lead clips, braid, nuts, maggots, barbed hooks, lead core, home prepared particles, in-lines etc etc....... all fantastic and completely safe when used properly but no, lets just ban the lot so we can let any old idiot on the lake, charge them 25 quid and let them run rife. It makes no sense whatsoever. Ban the idiots, not the gear.

See for me the ability to adapt to various angling situations is what makes an angler an angler. Take this away and it's no longer angling. It's just guys queuing up to take their turn to chuck the same rig at the same piece of water. There is no challenge, skill or excitement in doing that. Although I agree that rig checks are acceptable. Rules should be policed or there's no point having them.

That's where vetting members, enforcing rules, and bailiffing effectively comes in to play. Tbh not knowing any better is no excuse for unsafe rigs these days imo. There has never been so much info relating to safety available, it's all right there at the tips of our fingers for anyone that can be bothered to look. But the fishery has to stand up and take some responsibility too. Banning everything so you don't have to look after the membership is not a healthy way to run a fishery.

It is not the only way to stop people fishing with inappropriate setups Nick. There are countless fisheries that allow clips etc without issues. It is counterproductive to ban decent tackle because idiots aint using it right. Ban the idiots, not the gear. We can ban whatever we want but that doesn't stop idiots from being idiots which is the root cause of the problem. It is this mentality of banning the use of tackle and baits to fix the problem of idiots that sees fisheries ruined imo. You end up with everyone queuing up fishing running rigs on tubing with boilies because every other set up and bait is banned. But an idiot can still cast his running rig/tubing/boilie into someone else's swim or into the snags. Ergo the tackle/bait bans solve nothing. Imo banning tackle/baits to account for idiots is just an excuse for running a lazy fishery that can't be bothered to vet members, enforce rules, or bailiff effectively.

Any fishery or bailiff that considers clips/in-lines/heli's to be examples of fixed lead set ups is just stupid imo. Anyone with any experience or sense knows that a fixed lead is simply a set up that cannot ditch the lead.

As much as I hate to say it I am at the age when I have to agree with this.

The spinner/ronnie is perfectly safe. Both a lead clip and a heli set-up are perfectly safe when set up correctly. They us the 35 Boom solely for it's stiff properties. You don't have to use such materials. You can use whatever you want.

You're supposed to do the research before you book fella 😅 Never been, but there used to be a thread on another forum I know that contained lots and lots of horror stories from customers☹️