escrimador

Pippa, I'm after a bit of a challenge as long as the potential rewards are there, no problem with blanking a few times for every catch. And it does sound like a well run water too. Thanks for the info. Alan, sorry mate, didn't see you were down in Warwickshire, but as you say defintely worth popping down the shop if you're up on a reccy trip

I'm also planning on starting on Moorgreen later this year. As you say, not an awful lot of info out there, though I have seen a few bits of info in the middle of some rambling threads on other forums. However, a couple of the guys at Planet Carp have fished there quite a lot. I'd recommend popping in there and having a chat with them. Hoefully catch up with you guys down there later in the year Pete

Hehe There are no magic bullets! Occasionally the mags give the impression that if you use THE rig and/or THE bait you'll crack whatever water you're fishing. As everyone has pointed out getting to know your water, thinking about where the fish patrol, how, when and where they feed, discovering features etc, are far more important than using the latest super-rig. And thank god too I reckon - there's a lifetime and more of learning and improving there which makes it fascinating and keeps your interest. How boring and unsatisfying would it be if all you had to do was take a rig off the shelf (so to speak) and you'd cracked it

That's a bit of a shame (both the floods and Raspberry). As you say Ian, it's the river carpers' gain though. Perhaps the odd one left in billing? Pete

Can't really help on the original question, cos I've never been there but I have read about it and Billing Aquadrome's got quite a special place in carp fishing history - Carp originally stocked by Donald Leney and some headline grabbing catches in the 60s, particularly by Bob Reynolds, when it was thought it could produce the next record - that history has got to add to the attraction of fishing there

The place Steve Renyard fished is called Combley Park. Got my mags at home Oh & the phone number according to the mag - 07982 796526 - Chris (Bailiff)

Hi mate, I fish a non-leadcore version of the chod rig too, but not using rig tubing - my feeling is that it would over complicate things. I fish the hooklink direct on the mainline - you can use putty on the swivel and/or korda sinkers to hold the rig beads, in order to hold the pop up down.

Cheers mate, it's an awesome fish isn't it! I caught it at my club water - 30lb 13oz, last summer, but that's its summer weight - it's been out at 35lb+ before.

Personally I'm not a fan of leadcore, so avoid using it, but am a fan of the chod rig. I've used it with some success in the last year with a set up pretty much as described by Seleb above - ie float stops (or Korda sinkers) on mainline stopping rubber beads with the hooklink between them and putty on the swivel. The stops secure the beads sufficiently firmly, allowing the hooklink whatever slide distance you set them for (typically 4-5 inches for me) yet will slide easily under minimal pressure. I can't see any reason to add rig tubing to this - it has never tangled on me - and doing so seems an unneccesary complication, not to mention a potential hazard if used with this set up.

I used to be a Notts AA member til about 9 years ago and fished both places. Assuming they haven't changed much in that time - I fished Oldmoor regularly for a while - it's highly stocked and the carp are mainly to low doubles but a few a bit bigger. The biggest was rumoured to be a low twenty when I used to fish it, but my pb from there was 16 and a half. As Nottscarper says, definitely a runs water - margins and island best. I also used to catch a lot off the top. I only fished Bestwood a couple of times, just before a time when I stopped fishing for about 5 years. Number 2 was the main carp lake (bivvies & buzzers allowed). Did 2 night sessions on there and had 6 fish each session, biggest 21lb, both times fishing near the island with PVA bags of whiskey boilies and pellets. At that time the carp supposedly went up to about mid 20s. I couldn't really comment authoritively on features on the basis of only a couple of sessions, but wasn't aware of any major underwater features on number 2. It's a nice looking place, but not really my type of thing now - mainly because (again assuming it's as it used to be back then) it's too busy for my tastes.