cobleyn

All- a bit of advise please, as I have been playing around with end tackle all afternoon in the garage and I can't get a rig I am happy with. I have been using leadcore on my choddies for some time and have become uncomfortable over time using leadcore, so have decided to move away.- PS lets not open that debate again. Nic - I know you're a big fan of leadcore so I know you're itching to defend it I've also stepped up from my old 2 1/2 TC rods that have gone nice and soft to some 3 and 1/2's. On my third cast with the new rods I've cracked off, something I never really had to worry about with my old rods even fishing 12lb straight through. So I have tied some 45lb Seaguar Florou on with a Albright knot, which is casting well with a straight lead on test casts. However, I've been mucking around with different beads and thicknesses of tubing this afternoon and I haven't found anything that slides over the top leader knot easily, yet still holds everything in position. I've heard that the Avid beads don't sit well on 'naked' line. Has anyone got any thoughts on either a Chod or helicopter set- up that is safe, with a leader knot. (PS I'm fishing a silty lake with little or no hard patches)

Can't catch em on the setee! Sometimes it's just about being there.

You'd be surprised at the fish that have been caught over the years from rods thrown in the bushes and left out all night whilst their owners go home on day only waters; or go to the pub, or concerts. Got to catch the fish- if you're a big name! Back on topic...Might take a look at the book; I had been hanging my nose over it- some of the best articles and features I've ever read are by less known anglers.

Braid where its allowed. A splat of vaseline on mono works well

They actually took me to the cash machine. I claimed to have no money on me to see what would happen. They just said "follow us" and drove into the nearest town to a cash machine...waited till I'd drawn the money out and then took us back to the motorway. All very civil...none of the attitude you get from uk police.

This all sounds rather dodgy. British courts can't get the money that is owed to them by uk residents for uk crimes...let alone getting it on behalf of the French. Also cars are bought, sold, rented, borrowed all the time. The crime is perpetrated by an individual not a car.it is an individual that is prosecuted...driving a car that once went through France quite quickly is no evidence of guilt and is unenforceable.

The fines are good value for money though. I got a £80 fine for doing a speed that would get you a three year ban in this country. I joked with policeman as I paid the fine- "So you want me to slow down now?" he shrugged his shoulders smiled and said "Not really, next time I just fine you more", wished me a safe journey and took me back onto the motorway. For the most part you won't see a policeman on the roads. I did probably ten trips over a 5 or 6 years until I even saw a motorway copper. They seem to have a run on busy tourist times (like when the le mans is on) on Saturday mornings as all the english sprint up to the coast. If you see some coppers on the motorways- then you'll see them every 10 miles. If you speed on the toll roads- they can work out your ave. speed too and do you on the exit tolls. If you have a long stretch on a toll road; a ten minute stop at a motorway service station will bring your ave speed down. Allegedly.

I'm guessing south derby- willington/ burton way???

I'm there in three weeks...so will hopefully be able to shed some light when I get back.

If the lakes not snaggy, or there aren't fish over 60lb's; I would say there's no need to go above 15lb's. I'm going to Vallee in a couple of weeks (Carp to 65lb,cats over 100lb and sturgeon to 90lb) and I've only got 17lb tiger flouro on. I would still expect to cast 120 yards with that.

It really depends where you are going. If you're heading onto Chatecoq or Cassien and boating your rigs out to 250+ yards, you need to make sure you can put that amount of line + 50 yards for playing the fish (before you get in the boat) on your spools. if you are on a normal French lake- i.e. one that's similar to a UK lake (up to 120 acres) - then there's no issue with your normal UK gear.

From the website... Season Tickets for the Pride of Derby for Adults and OAPs may be obtained from the Ticket secretary – Ian Hole Tel 07966 544104 The types of Tickets available are noted in the “How to Become a Member” section of this site and should be selected from those listed. According to the type of ticket required the remittance noted should be sent to the Ticket secretary at 9 Draycott Road, Sawley, Long Eaton, Notts NG10 3BA – the cheque should be made payable to the “Pride of Derby” and a stamped Addressed envelope should be enclosed for the return of the ticket and key as required. Season Ticket prices Season Tickets: - 2009 - 2010 Adult - £50 plus £20 Joining Fee Plus Gate key £10 = £80 OAP - £25 plus £10 Joining Fee Plus Gate key £10 = £45 Disabled - £25 Plus £10 Joining Fee Plus Gate key £10 = £45( only available from Alan Gough, details below ) Junior Canal Ticket - £5 from Natherns - Mackworth- Pride Lake and Olvers – Premium Tickets = £200 Further details of Pride of Derby Membership: -Registration Fee Introduced in the year 2002 is a registration fee for new members, this is a one off payment of £20 for Full Adult ( Daytime )Tickets and £100 for the new members premium Ticket, £10 for OAPs and Disabled anglers. . Premium Tickets - must be renewed by 31st May - any premium ticket not renewed by this date will be offered to the next person on the waiting list. Tickets in Detail Full Adult Membership - Price £50 year 2010-2011 This ticket is designed for all members over the age of 15 and under the age of 65, it entitles the member full access to all our waters (other than Pride Lake and Olver Lake) from March 15th to June15th the following year. ( 3 month overlap period for renewal of season ticket ) This ticket is available from the Ticket secretary only, details below of how to apply. Premium Ticket – Olvers and Pride Lake Price £200 This ticket gives exclusive use of the Pride Lake and Olvers Lake, plus all the fishing enjoyed on the "Full Adult Membership" ticket. Junior Ticket - Price £5 year for 2010-2011 This tickets is designed for young persons under the age of 16 years, it gives access to all of the club’s canal which is leased from the British Waterways. It excludes the sections of canal which open out into the River Trent ( Sawley Cut and Trent & Mersey from Derwent Locks ) This ticket should only be purchased with the permission of the parent or guardian of the young person. The tickets are available from Natherns - Mackworth Juniors and Match Information Gate keys - The majority of our fishing rights have access through locked gates into car parking areas, if a key is required for the gates please add £10 to any application and make note of your requirements. Note the height barrier lock is this same as the ones for all other access points. Pride of Derby Affiliated Clubs

@Carpfisherlee. - I agree with your sentiment. There are other good baits out there. But where do you start when you are just beginning. There are 20 different companies each with 10 different varieties that all seem plausible. Every company calls their bait "tutti trifle fish splat" and all young anglers do is say"is this any good" on the forum and there will always be an angler who will say something good about any bait. Very confusing for the new angler. There isn't a carp that swims that won't eat Nutrabaits Pineapple and banana boilies. Its been around for 10+ years and has caught a million carp. Not cheap I know - but if you want a bait that you can 'take anywhere' and know it will work- it ticks the boxes. I haven't used Richworth or mainline- but know by reputation and longevity that they are proven carp catchers. I'm just trying to make life easier for newcomers until they have dialed in the rest of their game.

Hey Ross -Best advice is to go to a high stocked water- with some smaller fish and just learn how the rigs work. Don't worry too much about 'getting done' at this stage and being paranoid about not getting good bite indication. Most anglers sit in the backs of their bivvys and attribute odd bleeps to the wind without even looking up from their magazines. Sorry- a bit off topic. If you go to a runs water or match type lake such as drayton or earlswood and learn to sit on your rods - watch the water and just enjoy catching fish. Your knowledge of rigs will improve over time. One is pretty much as good as the other for 70% of the waters you will fish. Old, wily, pressured fish that have natural food at their disposal can get 'riggy' or at least we convince ourselves that they do after our 10th blank on the bounce. But I would avoid those waters like a plague for at least 5 years. Just enjoy your angling and try and take a few seasons to learn your trade- most of all fish safe ie. Keep your rigs safe for the fish. On the topic of bait- Boilies are there to make money out of anglers who don't know any better. If its taking you hours to get your rods in position and you are leaving them out for hours/ days at a time- use them by all means- stick with Nutrabaits, Richworth or mainline in flavours that have been around for 3 years+ and you won't go far wrong. If your rigs are getting tangled, or your casting isn't accurate, or you think you may have dropped into weed- take the opportunity to re-cast after half an hour or an hour. If you are doing this there is no reason why you cant use maize, maggot or worms (unless you are surrounded by nuisance fish- in which case stick to maize as its a bit more resilient). Having a rubbish boilie on will diminish your chances, rather than a single piece of artificial maize or some jolly green giant which will catch literally ANY freshwater fish that swims. Seeing 'Named' anglers on tele dropping 3 kilos of boilies on each rod out everytime they fish- make anglers think that this the way forwards. Remember- you are there to catch them- not feed them. Most angling programs are there to sell you products- not to teach you how to fish.

I've also heard maggots do well on there.

Thule do a huge roof box that will swallow all of your rods, which is a good start. Most waters respond to bait due to the high stock levels, so be prepared to take a lot of bait. Bulk sacks of 22mm halibuts work out well.

First piece of advice I can give you is wait till the spring. You may end up reeling back in a soggy bag in the current water temps!

Sorry- not been for 7 years.

Odd post Pippa; you seem to suggest that just about everyone is wrong apart from you?

I've looked at Vallee at few times for me and the family. Not been myself but seems to tick most of the boxes. Further South there is Les Fortnierres. I stayed there three years ago with the family and it was a XXXX hole. However, there's some new owners and it looks well nice now- nice lake, with some good fish in it.

On the hinged 360 rig I have been using latterly this year; I've been tying the pop-up onto a mini swivel that is threaded onto the shank of a longshank nailer. This is then held in place by two float stops. So the hair (ie. the swivel) is only a 5mm long,but it has the ability to move 15mm as the carp blows out,as its not anchored in place on the shank. I can't say I fully understand the physics of how it works- but it seems to be doing the business. NB. Whilst I haven't noticed mouth damage whilst using these hooks- I do understand the issues with them and wouldn't recommend them to anyone fishing for fish that will get caught more than a couple of times a season.

Its that big area after Watford Gap on the M1.

I seem to recall a thread like this a few weeks back entitled KISS (not the rock band). My views are much the same as that topic. Keep it as simple as you can- but only if circumstances allow. If you need to go complicated- keep those rigs and rig tying materials in your back pocket (not literally) if you need them. I've seen one or two high profile fisherman saying ' this is all you will EVER need' a smiple knotless knot using a combi link material with some shrink tubing and a bottom bait with some plastic corn. ......WRONG..... You throw that into a lot of lakes and you'll never get a bite. Its just an indication that a lot of 'names' fish flat bedded pits and ponds with no weed, snags or silt that are well stocked. Unfortunately they need to catch fish for magazines so have to fish easy waters and just assume that their simple wonder rig works everywhere. Kevin Nash has released a DVD about rigs and rig evolution that gives a really good insight into a thinking mans approach to rigs and how and why he's used the rigs where he has over the years. I've personally started to use more 'complicated' rigs again this season after watching the DVD and thinking more about application,as I got into a rut of using the same things. I've added a combi rig using stiff flouro and supple braid (hinged on a loop and a swivel)- instead of shop bought combi material and a hinged stiff rig using a 360 style arrangement to my armourey this year. The combi link has seen moderately more success, but the otehr rig has smashed one water in particular, that was proving to be tough. So I think it does make a difference.

If you have soft rods and the water is snag free- you could go as low as 8lb. 10 or 12 is about right with 15 if its snaggy.

Carp adapt their feeding habits dependnat on the ir environment- not the country. Lots of fish at caught at casien between 30 and 45ft. On the st. lawrence a simliar occurence happens (30-40ft)- although I know a diver who's been in the main boat channel and seen v.v. large carp at 60ft plus (but not feeding).