cobleyn

Not sure if you're joking or not blanksalot Funnily enough I was looking at the Korda Krimps yesterday as tying neat knots in hinged stiff rigs is a ball ache (and as I found out later- quite dangerous ). On inspecting the packaging though- it says... "Not for use on Braid, coated braid or flourocarbon". So what's the flipping point of it then?

Yup - it was barbed. I gave it a good twist and a pull but it was in there very well. Mr . Gardener should be proud of how sharp they are! They x ray'd it before they started to extract it and commented that the barb didn't look too big- so they would just 'jiggle it out' rather than push it through and cut it- again well done Mr. G on putting micro barbs on. Yeah- I trimmed it up before I took it- I did get the hook back though. It was still sharp so I'll tie it back up.

So I was tying a few rigs up yesterday...tensioning a knot...slipped...whoops - off to a&e we go.

Looks a nice place. ...don't think I'd get away with another week away fishing this year.

Have you noticed that since they've done rig putty all the Korda chaps really rate "putting a massive blob of putty" on their hooklengths to "pull it down into the carps mouth". For me- Putty has always been about finesse and balance in a discrete way. If you want a massive blob- use a shot.

What brand was it? It's not supposed to do that...especially when the water is this cold.

...and adrenaline floats...making it the worst stuff ever for hook lengths.

Depends on the lake you are fishing. Lots of man made lakes or ponds hold their colour through the year so you don't need ot fine down. A lot of gravel pits and other lakes have every bit of colour fall out of them through the winter, with some mornings seeming to add extra feet of clarity just from the bank. Anything you can do in these lakes to fine down is a bonus. (except where there is weed or snags) Im on 10lb double strength mono at the minute.

For what's its worth...these are the two rigs I've been using this season. When I'm wading my baits out I use a running rig on a Flouro line. When I'm casting; Helicopter on normal mono. The lake I'm fishing has got some soft patches and a lot of the fish get caught at v. long range- I think a helicopter allows the lead to crash in to soft patches and still leave the hooklink in good shape. One of the reasons that they have gone out of fashion is that the firms can't make a lot of money from two rubber beads and a length of tubing.

Nick- what've you done??? You know that's going to cost you a few hook pulls

My own personal view is that pure braid with a pop up isn't the most effective material. Having watched fish deal with it and get away with it numerous times and with ease, I think the flexibility doesn't lend itself too well. My own preference is to use a hinged stiff link with pop ups. A mini swivel on the shank of the hook is a good alternative to tying a hair.

Yeah...it fought a bit 30lb line and 6lb test curve rod and it still took 25 mins to get in. It's 120lb Siamese from Thailand.

Probably 20kgs of boilies and 20kgs of particles/pellets.

There's a few chapters in bill cotthams book about it. I seem to remember he did all of his fish on trigga, pineapple, glm and n buryic.

Don't get confused by what flouro is. It's just slightly more advanced line than mono and won't make a great deal of difference to anything you are currently doing.

Carp r us long shank nailers ESP stiff riggers Garderner curved shanks edit- Nash x Curved for Big stuff.

I've used a variation of it in the past and would use it again on harder waters where necessary. I agree that there is a larger percentage chance of a double hook hold in the mouth. That said, when I've used barbed hooks with the rig- I've found it is substantially less likely to double hook (I don't think I ever had one whilst using the barbed version). I probably wouldn't use the non-barbed version of the rig in the future and would try and use something else.

I'll chuck a bit of money in for the ferry crossing.

Lol you youngsters It was a piece of flat plastic that fitted on a bank stick that you put in front of your quiver tip. So when you looked down your rod you had a black back ground with lines on it to help with bite registration. Type of thing that anglers mail used to put on the front of their mags.

I take into account all of the conditions and fish the tip that is appropriate to the weather, swim and target fish. So I will fish the lightest tip I can get away with. However the following factors affect my choice: The longer the chuck the heavier feeder; A heavier feeder allows me to fish a heavier tip as it won't dislodge the feeder when I tighten down to it. If I'm fishing a light feeder, I need to use a light tip to get a bend in it without moving the feeder. The longer the chuck the more line I will have out- so undertow can be a factor and pull the tip right around. Wind: on a windy day the tip can get pulled around when waves are lapping up- which makes a light tip difficult to read- so I'll go heavier then (on the feeder aswell). I understand absolutely the point that you are making. Carp on a commercial pool with little interference from silvers and using a self hooking rig (Method etc), will more than likely hook themselves and charge off. A heavy tip will register this as a full pull around. I grew up fishing for silvers on Lakes and rivers where a balanced approach was needed to maximise your swim. I think that background is still engrained in me and (as a personal choice), I still fish with balanced tackle. Thats not to say its right or wrong- I would be interested to see what the likes of Des Ship etc use and would bow down to their knowledge with no hesitation...

F1's are notoriously shy biters that wouldn't necessarily pull the tip round. The other benefit of a lighter tip is that it will show you what's happening in the swim- liners or smaller fish knocking into your feeder/ bait. A heavy tip will only show definite bites (probably where the fish has hooked itself), whereas a lighter tip will give you more information about what's happening in your swim; so you can adapt your approach (more bait/ less bait... shorter rig/ longer rig...bring your feeder back by a yard etc etc). It will also allow you the opportunity to strike at smaller indications that you may miss with a heavy tip.

The energy company has finished work on the barrage and last weeks rain has topped it back up to full now. A few fish are coming out here and there.

I tell a lie ...I went to milton keynes bowl the year before last. I saw pendulum, enter shakari, JZee and linkin park ( who did a few tracks from collision course when they had done their own sets). That was a frikkin awesome day. No signs of fern cotton... Which can only be a good thing.

I may be looking through Rose tinted glasses...but I think radio 1 has spoilt music. Things like reading and Glastonbury used to attract up and coming bands that wanted to showcase their talent and with the promise of some all time greats as headliners. In about 89 I saw inspiral carpets, the pogues, the wedding present, new order, the buzzcocks at reading as well as a load of others. Now it's all beyonce, tinchy stryder, jls and fern cottham (who I could kick straight in the ...). I've got nothing against today's music...but there just doesn't seem to be anything alternative left...everything has been highjacked by the corporate machine.

I can (vaguely) remember going to see napalm death, mud honey,but hole surfers and nirvana in Sheffield in around '88. Who'd have thought one of those bands would go on to be so influential in the 90's. Well done butt hole surfers- who knows what happened to the other nobody's.