yonny

I must admit I do like a stiffer hooklink material, so switch to Amnesia in clear. It ties a lovely D-rig

I never alter the length of my hairs. I'll change the length of a rig to suit the substrate but never the length of the hair, I just stick to what I know works with my chosen rig.
In fairness I hardly ever use hairs nowadays, I usually present on D or micro swivel of some kind.

Well I've just tied my first German rig... everything went ok. Funny thing was that when I held it over my steaming kettle to shrink the tubing, I'm sure I heard a little voice squealing "nein, nein, nein". It then went very quiet.

When the going gets really, really tough I turn to bog standard off-the-reel mono. Super supple, super subtle, no one else doing it. What more could you ask for?

If you have a rig that works why would you want to change it bud?
 
Stick to what catches you fish fella. If you start changing things for the sake of it you can end up ruining your chances and not knowing why.

If you have a rig that works why would you want to change it bud?
 
Stick to what catches you fish fella. If you start changing things for the sake of it you can end up ruining your chances and not knowing why.

Sure is  
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Yeah, probably mate! Love the angle it gives on my multi rigs 
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Chodda, Sabre and Trappa for me. Between them they do the lot.
 
I'm not aware of the Grippa... do you mean the Grabba?

If it's something you can afford chest waders should be part of your kit .... can make the difference between landing a fish or not/ having to pull for a break or not / & just landing fish in deeper water on some lakes ie good fish care . Obviously care must be taken when wading.

That's the way to do it; if you like the blank get them sorted by someone that justifies the price.

Please do BC. I'm a VASS man but if I can get something of similar quality at half the price I know where my next pair will be coming from.

Please do BC. I'm a VASS man but if I can get something of similar quality at half the price I know where my next pair will be coming from.

Please do BC. I'm a VASS man but if I can get something of similar quality at half the price I know where my next pair will be coming from.

Have been back from our annual trip France (Moulin De Bley) for about a week and just had a chance sort the pics outs. So thought I would share a bit of a catch report on here with pics as my waters over here have strict publicity bans.
 
My mate Justin and I have been going to Bley for about 16 years, so know what to expect. Over the years we have seen the lake turn from a prolific runs water, to a water where the fish have wised up big time but if luck is with you big hits are still possible.
Over the years we have been every month from April to early October but this year we thought we would give the last week in October a bash for a change.
We arrived at the lake around around midnight on Friday night, having been going for years the bedchairs were the last items of tackle to be loaded, so we could easily get to them to set up in the communal barn area for a few hours kip before the owner Tony turned up at around 8 in the morning.
Tony turned up and woke us up, told us we were the only ones on the lake for the week and that the previous group had left late Friday evening so the lake was free whenever we wanted to get on there.
 
When we first started going our kids were young so these French trips have always been more of a social than anything else as Justin lives in Dorset and me in the Colne Valley. Being as it is a social thing we decided to both fish swim 4 that is a large double at the deeper, far end of the lake.
We always fish as a team when fishing a double, so we each had a rod to the normally prolific tree line, one each on a baited spot in open water and our third rods were fished to some willows on the far bank.
 
The fishing was certainly not the easiest week we have had on there, the weather was very inconsistent, heavy rain for a couple of days, a couple of sunny days, a couple of overcast days and the odd frost at night. The fish seemed to come onto the feed for a few hours every couple of days, so we tended to catch 2 or 3 fish in quick succession then it would go quiet for 36-48 hours. So not the most  prolific of the weeks but we still up ended up with a total of 16 carp between us, 8 each which included 2x50's, 5x40's, 9x30's and 1x20. I also had Barry the black sturgeon at 44lb, 3 times during the week.
 
53lb 5oz
 

 
 
43lb 10oz
 

 
43lb 1oz
 

 
42lb 15oz
 

 
 
39lb 15oz
 

 
37lb 9oz
 

 
35lb 4oz
 

 
29lb 5oz
 

Thinking about it I don't think I'd buy much at all.
All my kit is bought because I believe it to be the best on the market to suit my specific requirements.
I'm definitely getting one of those ESP Lo Pro Brollys when they're released but at £150 I don't need to win the lottery for that.
Maybe I'd upgrade a couple of bits of luggage to some posh Cotswold Aquarius gear for tart factor, but that's about it I reckon.

I also use pva foam all year, regardless of weed levels, leaves, whatever; even if I'm fishing on hard gravel. It helps separate the hook bait from the lead on the cast, improves presentation for any rigs with a degree of stiffness, just helps in every department IMO. I will adjust the way I attach the foam in cold water (I've seen the foam stay on all night before!).
 
Once it's on the deck I actually agree with Phil - Dead leaves are so forgiving as a substrate, same as silt; we worry about presentation but the carp will find a way if they're feeding. I'd happily fish a bottom bait over leaves if forced to (normally use pop ups anyway though).
 
Useless fact time: the foam stuff is actually not pva, it's corn starch based, just called pva so anglers get the point of what it is.

I also use pva foam all year, regardless of weed levels, leaves, whatever; even if I'm fishing on hard gravel. It helps separate the hook bait from the lead on the cast, improves presentation for any rigs with a degree of stiffness, just helps in every department IMO. I will adjust the way I attach the foam in cold water (I've seen the foam stay on all night before!).
 
Once it's on the deck I actually agree with Phil - Dead leaves are so forgiving as a substrate, same as silt; we worry about presentation but the carp will find a way if they're feeding. I'd happily fish a bottom bait over leaves if forced to (normally use pop ups anyway though).
 
Useless fact time: the foam stuff is actually not pva, it's corn starch based, just called pva so anglers get the point of what it is.

Take a look at ESP Tungsten Loaded Phil, no steaming required, pulls straight, and stays straight.
For fluro, check Rig Marole CAMH20, same, no steaming required.

Avoid fishing brands fella. The carp brands don't make clothing. They re-brand cheap Chinese clothing.
Think Army gear or one of the big hiking/camping manufacturers.

For sure David, layer systems are way more effective for warmth. There's no stand-alone jacket out there that'll keep you warm at -5.
Base layer, long sleeve T-shirt, micro fleece, fleece, jacket - you'll be toasty at any temperature the UK can throw at you.

I use the US Army ECWS jacket, brilliant as part of a layer system.

Myself its military as its designed for extreme cold weather if you dont mind second hand.
But look for ecw military.
Ginger some do as squadies dont put hands in pockets ..
 
 
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I also use pva foam all year, regardless of weed levels, leaves, whatever; even if I'm fishing on hard gravel. It helps separate the hook bait from the lead on the cast, improves presentation for any rigs with a degree of stiffness, just helps in every department IMO. I will adjust the way I attach the foam in cold water (I've seen the foam stay on all night before!).
 
Once it's on the deck I actually agree with Phil - Dead leaves are so forgiving as a substrate, same as silt; we worry about presentation but the carp will find a way if they're feeding. I'd happily fish a bottom bait over leaves if forced to (normally use pop ups anyway though).
 
Useless fact time: the foam stuff is actually not pva, it's corn starch based, just called pva so anglers get the point of what it is.

Avoid fishing brands fella. The carp brands don't make clothing. They re-brand cheap Chinese clothing.
Think Army gear or one of the big hiking/camping manufacturers.