elmoputney

They can't be fully serviced as they are too old it would seem, he told me that the drag issue may be down to water and grit getting there, so I may just take the drag apart myself and see if I can't improve them 😂

I've enquired with future reel servicing about the cost of it

Just been cleaning up my old diawa emcast evos, with a view to maybe sell/use on some other rods I haven't bought yet but may in the future, On two of them as you fully lock the drag it makes it hard to turn the handle, therefore you can only wind it nicely with a semi slackened clutch, is this due to drag washers being 20 years old and possibly knackered or something else? They've never been serviced or that well looked after and they also sound a bit diawa noisy Any ideas please? Is it worth doing anything with them?

Aldi do a knock off version my kids can't tell the difference 😂

Hope you are writing her a list mate

Did she get Nick Knowles in? That sounds impossible without DIY sos

I love it, I just wish I had as much time to do it as think about it 😊

There is loads of stuff you can use and do to prep your bait, I'll warn you now it can get intense 😂

https://purebaitconcepts.com/bait-prep-liquid-loading/ This is worth a read about liquid loading your baits, you don't have to use the same liquids but it's a good guide, Or you could use a little bit of bottled water and the crave liquid and soak them for 24 hours before you go that would soften them up and stop them soaking up too much grot

What bait are you using?

Another thing to try if fishing in silt is use a mesh bag attached to the hook and put a couple of floaters in it with some normal pellets, this will make your rig land slower as it won't settle til the bag melts, meaning it should sit on top of the silt, I would also use liquids to stop your baits taking on the silty odours as fast

This one is a good liquid based on yeast extract, https://britishaquafeeds.com/product/super-boost/

https://britishaquafeeds.com/product/active-hydro-wheat-syrup/ Not sure if this is any good but it mentions enzymes 😂

Perhaps delkim could invent an mini umbrella attachment that sits on top of the snag ears 😂☔

I test every knot and every hooklink to my satisfaction and I've not had one fail me yet, so I must be doing something right, like I said I test it to the point where if it was going to fail it would, but through experimentation I've learnt which materials I have faith in and which I don't, I would only crimp Gardner stiff link and mouthtrap, and if they have passed my test I am confident they won't fail, Also I think there will be less pressure with a rod and line than 2 puller tools, as the line will stretch and the rod and clutch will also take some of the pressure out of any sudden lunges

I can snap most normal hooklink fluorocarbon if I try hard enough, I would put it under a lot more tension than most carp, I do still test them and they reach a point where I think if something was going to fail it would, but I don't see the point of testing it to near destruction as you are weakening the material before it even sees a fish

I remember pulling some rigs apart before and saying I didn't like the material, can't remember what it was now, but I was basically pulling it way too hard 😂 In the early stages I crimped a couple wrong and they slipped or snapped but since I worked that out they have been fine, although I try not to rip them apart these days, The gemini tidy booms and leaders look pretty good BTW could be another alternative to look at,

Been to the quacks today, well phone consultancy, getting drugged right up now diazepam, tramadol, naproxen, this is the return of the space cowboy 🤠 Might start listening to Bob marley and cypress Hill again later

I got them so I could make low Chods and HSR with mouth trap, they are good for that as its quite tricky to knot them as short but it's easy with the krimps, but they do make a nice tidy stiff Ronnie boom section which is handy 👍

I only crimp the stiff link one, I don't think crimping trick link will work that well, I know korda don't recommend crimping fluoros only hybrid stiff and boom, gardner stiff link is the same as boom

Gardner also do some nice hooklinks though Trick link is quite nice to use, and if you want a boom stiff link is good and works with korda krimps and is cheaper than boom

I'll second that outline is nice to use 👍

I could pretend I was singing in front of the mirror but Was going to brush the kids hair 😂 Thanks mine goes too often as well, it's usually worse when it's something stupid that caused it,

I will have to see about that, the pups have now had there vaccine so they can get out walking this week, I may try but I'm not going to push it too hard we are all pretty done in at the moment 😂 They are growing up so fast 😭

It's not luck it's good angling, If you think about it how do you improve as an angler if everytime you catch of don't catch its down to luck, good or bad, it isn't it is down to what you have done well or badly, I do think there are elements of good fortune, that can help you but ultimately they are things you learn or have learnt to use to your advantage when you see them, I think there are shortcuts nowadays that make it easier to level up though, everyone now has access to the best baits, sharpest hooks,even decent ready tied rigs, big fish in loads of waters all over the place some more accessible than others, best of everything if you can afford it, I could book a week on Holme Fen or somewhere and maybe obliterate my PB but it wouldn't mean that much to me, I earnt my PB and that's all that matters to me, hopefully I will have earnt the next one too 😁 But we live in a much more instant disposable world nowadays, I still think a 20lber is a big fish, and long may that continue 👍