elmoputney

Suit yourself. I still think you will end up needing a bivvy and bedchair. We've all been there trying to beat the old "carp tax" lol , then realising actually we need certain things because they are built for that purpose and work better.

You will end up buying a proper bedchair and bivvy after one night, No way I would be sleeping on an airbed these days, by morning I wouldn't be able to move. Some things are a good investment I see a bedchair, sleeping bag and bivvy quite essential, there are some good deals about if you know where too look.

Ignore your Dad kids "Whopper" is a great name for a fish. And it is a whopper too mega, Sounds like you have found a great way to scratch the itch, such a great project, I'll put my name on the waiting list 👍

Wow that's mega.Will look forward to seeing the updates, Why does no one ever build a bream pond, 😂 Also why doesn't Rob Hales try and grow the world's biggest bream in his swimming pool? That would be quite interesting to see.

That's kind of what I read was just a coat of glycerin to soak into the bait then leave to dry, was just thinking I could add some flavour (low level) and liquid to boost it at the same time. I'm now thinking of just making sausages and boiling them and chopping post boil, I also don't want to air dry and make them rock hard as that doesn't lend itself to short session fishing. Thanks , I just like the idea of them being a shortish shelf life and If the glycerin makes them more instant like you say that will suit my fishing. That's also why I've settled more on the chops as I think they will breakdown and give off quicker signals into the water. That's the plan anyway 😂

Guys I read about how glycerine is used to preserve some baits, I am looking into making my own boilie chops and was thinking I could make a cheeky glycerine liquid using the same flavours and liquids that will be going into my baits. If I was to use a 50/50 mix of glycerine and the extract I am planning to use and some flavour to give it the same label as the bait and boost it post boiling. Is this a good idea and will it work still as a preservative (just a bit not enough to smother it just a coating) will it also slightly harden the baits? Also I would like to make a hookbait spray to match but not sure where to start with this if anyone has any pointers would be appreciated Thanks. Elmo

Wow that is insane, he's caught a lifetimes worth of fish in a week, mega result. He must be superhuman.

If you were to use a curry powder mix as your spices, are there any spices within that, thinking stuff like nutmeg, ginger, fennel etc that might have a negative impact on your bait? Also I want to make some pop ups matching and maybe coloured? What % of cork dust would I need for matching roughly? And what could you do to make the hookbaits stand out more than the base mix? And if I was to use a coloured pop up mix what ingredients should I add to make it similar and what kind of % please ? Thanks in advance

I can remember most of the captures just about, not sure about all the rigs and hookbaits now though,maybe a p42 pop up for some though, too much life in between and I've always been bad at keeping notes.

I only went back 3 years because that's how long I've been pretty much exclusively using pop ups and my version of the spinner rig with the avid kicker. I just penned those figures to highlight that really 😉

If I get more of the good ones it will be a good decision though. I don't catch that many anyway lol.

I think I've already started using soft hinge rigs in my head now. Going to go longer and towards the sky with them, even with a hit and run leadclip they should fish on most substrates bar thick weed.

Maybe next year I'll go higher than the old faithful spinner to get the job done, I definately agree though, I've held that view since I saw elliot grays rig on the korda underwater vids, when everyone thought it was being ignored and ripping him a new one until it caught the biggun. My average fish size has also increased Infact looking back my average is way over 20lb in the last 3 years. And a lot less tench too which is always nice.

As long as its pink 😉 One of the reasons I mainly use pop ups is because the lake is so weedy, I've pulled in too many bottom baits covered in slimy weed to think it's a waste of time. If I was fishing one of those clear bottomed lakes or one of the well worn spots I might reconsider, but for now they don't really suit the lake I fish and I would rather know I am fishing effectively.

I'm not saying you won't catch on bottom baits. I just feel pop ups are more selective and smaller fish tend to ignore them.

Pop ups are a big fish rig. Pretty much all I use these days because I want to hook the big ones 😎

I've actually made my MO to be largely yellow beds of bait, I've used maize flake, sweetcorn and yellow pellets, all doused in yellow smart liquid,

Interestingly I've been using this bait all year, and I don't recall being plagued by wildfowl at all,I've had grebes diving but they tended to quit quite quickly.

That's why I do fish a fluoro, I want my hookbait to stand out, I want my hookbait to be the most attractive bait in the area. The main thing I look at in the edge is contrast, you have to think fish don't see the same things we do. I just think if it contrasts the bottom then they will be more likely to see it. My faves are yellow and washed out pink. I can totally see why you do what you do though, makes perfect sense,there are no right and wrongs though, if it works it works.

Things I forgot this time Thermocell pads Camera Micro hook ring swivels. And how to catch a fish. My dinner and breakfast were lardon omelettes with rocket, cos I'm on a health kick presently. I did have a savage take and before I had even got off the chair it had yanked the rod so hard my buzzer bars were all over the place and somehow my line snapped, it was either, clutch too tight, I had forgotten to take it out the clip or when it jolted the line got caught on something. Needless to say I didn't get another chance and blanked.

That is a mega fish Kev. World class 😍

I tend to not be so paranoid tbh, I prefer a fluoro boom on my spinner rig, I nearly always fish a pop up. Mainly bright yellow pineapple this season. I use an unleaded leader (whatever colour I have) knowing it will sink well and it works well with my chosen lead set up (PB Hit n run) And I never back lead or pin the line down. Most people on my lake use a bait boat, so I try to spread the baits out, so the fish have to move between mouthfuls. I like to think they don't really know what rig components are and just see them as detritus but I will slacken my line and get it to sink properly if I can. Although if I need to fish with a bow tight line, I have no issues doing that either. We are all different though and I'm not saying I am right, anything that makes you more confident is a good thing it's just not something I worry about too much, I did use coloured kickers for a while on my spinner rigs and I still caught fish,

Thanks The most stressful thing is PFT (PRE FISHING TENSION) Will it be busy? Will I get a decent swim? Will I find some fish? Will I get stuck in traffic? Will I remember everything? No 12:15 I leave work and then it's full on PFT. I've smashed the work out this morning to make sure I can chill though so come on the carps.

Don't want to rub it in but I'm doing a half day today and then I'm going home and packing for a overnighter. Come on the carps.