emmcee

Well I've never listened to a single podcast in my life until now. Simon certainly knows his stuff and top bloke to boot. Some of what I mentions I was witness too, the floods being one of them. There was about 10- 15 of us down there on the sunday morning. It would have burst its banks sometime during the saturday night. Fish were indeed everywhere. I enjoyed it, cheers for pointing it out 👍

I'll look it up, cheers

So what's the best lens to use for fish spotting and sun protection mate? I need a new pair as my oakleys are scratched all over now.

It's about 10yrs I've been a member yes. I must being doing something right I guess. So have you been stalking this forum for 10yrs as well? "Live on here", not quite. I come on daily, sometimes every other day, sometimes I might not come on for a whole week, it's even been known for me to disappear for a month or more😱.

Thanks for the advice. Luckily for me I've just taken delivery of some korda helisafes and boom material. Spinner rigs will be tied with korda kranks, no carp will be safe once lockdown is over .Their stuff has never failed me in 30 yrs of fishing so if it ain't broke , don't fix it.

I've heard of the glasses but not used them or know anyone who has a pair, at least not for fishing. I've had optix polaroids, fox glasses and Fortis. Though I now have oakley Polaroid glasses and can say they are worth the extra money so I'm in no doubt the costa del mar will be worth it as well. My Oakley glasses have the "shallow blue" lens in them and are brilliant in my opinion.

That is a class over nighter indeed. The sun certainly brings out the stunning colours on that mirror. Top angling as always. 👍

Certainly was squeaky bum time, it wasn't the best looking fish by a long way but it was massive so on my wanted list at the time. I normally let it go over my head mate as it's the risk I take when pre-baiting, but this once annoyed me. Simply because it was someone who had always said he'd never step on "someone's toes" ,and he was told where i had been fishing and that I was due down to which he apparently replied "##c# him". He has been around years this angler and quite well known. He certainly went downhill in my estimations and went down even further when I saw him do something that was in my opinion not the done thing when on black swan. Still in the past now. Haha

So after catching paw print on my last session and word spreading like wild fire as it does, all the armchair anglers or as we called them "dial-a-bites" started to appear down the lake. From no one fishing midweek and the 6 of us at a weekend, it was now 5 or 6 every night during the week and 10 to 15 anglers at a weekend. I knew I'd struggle to bait up now as it was fully known now what I'd caught and where from. So to continue my baiting up on a Wednesday I decided I had to fish and hope no one would jump in the swim. Arrived down after work on the Wednesday to a busy car park, my heart sunk. Still I pushed the Barrow, passing 4 or 5 anglers in the middle area, I might be lucky I thought. Get to peg 8, this is about 200yds up the lake and find the bloke who took the pictures of paw print for me chatting with another angler. They both turned and said " sorry mate but we did tell him you'd be down". I was gutted, but as I looked through the trees the angler in question had actually set up in the swim next door. So I push my barrow round, getting more and more wound up. I get to mateys swim, " alright, scott you've done alright so i hear. Where you heading?" I said next door, " oh I didnt realise that's where you'd been fishing ". I told him the 2 lads up the bank had said to him I'd be down and where I'd been fishing, he looked sheepish and ducked back under his brolly. Now not that the swim was mine but on dinton there was an unwritten rule that you'd leave someone alone if they were baiting regularly and catching and this angler was always left alone so for him to do it I lost a fair bit of respect for him. Now with my back up I was a bit naughty and I literally spodded every half hour, all through the night. Suffice to say neither of us caught. Not my proudest moment and no excuse but I'd always left him alone and everyone else for that matter so just thought I'd get the same back. I return once again at my usual time on friday, rods out and settled in by dark. Now I recall struggling to hit my right hand spot, it was going down softer and I was pulling weed in. My only conclusion was the fish had been in and smashed it up. About 10PM and the liners started. Middle rod first, then left. Same as my midweek session. By midnight and all was quiet again. Doubt started setting in, had I been done? Was I tangled? With my bites being mainly during darkness or a couple of hours into first light I decided to leave them. I don't know why but I decided to put some more bait in, hopefully spook any fish that were present and go for a rechuck as I was convinced by now something was amiss. Left rod a pouch of boilies followed by another. Middle rod a pouch load, followed by another. Left rod, liners start again. What the ####? 15-20 mins and the liners transfer to the middle rod. Odd indeed. This went on for a couple of hours, liners would stop so I'd top up the spots and they would start again. I crashed out at god knows what time but in the morning I was going to recast. By 7-30 all rods were recast and topped up and all were fine on there retrieval. 10am and bite time had gone and no liners either. I scratched my head wondering what had gone on, fingers crossed they'd be back tonight. Midday and liners started again. I was trying to think what was going on and came to the conclusion that with the influx of anglers the fish were more active and visiting my spots more regularly, that's what I thought anyway. Looking at the spots and a fish known as "Sid" sticks its head out right on me, a 50lber, come on let's have it. 12-20 and the rod gives a slow take and I hit it expecting a heavy weight but not not be. A spirited fight, it felt decent and at times heavy, this is it I thought until a dark mirror rolled in front of me, gutted. I can honestly say that's the first and last time I've been gutted to see a 30lb mirror in my net. 32lb 08oz in fact and a nice one too. Once again this seemed to kill off the fishing for me for the remainder of the weekend. I continue baiting as and when I could but this was getting harder and harder and the following weekend there was someone left and right of the swim so I left it be. The following weekend was the last weekend of the season so I took half day on the Friday and it payed off as I got my swim. By the time evening arrived the lake was very busy, I didnt hold out much hope especially with someone to my right which meant my right hand rod would have to be moved. So 2 rods on the middle spot and left rod as it was. Due to the amount of liners I'd been having in the last few weeks I put 2kg in on the middle rod spot. I recall nothing happened until about 2am when the liners started. 4am and one of the rods on the same spot was away. I don't know how but I was lucky that it stayed clear of my other rod on that spot and netted the fish. Head torch on and nice chunky common lays in my net and at 36lb 02oz it certainly was chunky. By 10am and someone goes In the swim the other side of me, not even asking where I'm casting. After telling him that not only was he messing my chances up but more to the point his own. I walked away shaking my head but to hell with it, I'd had a stonker of a winter so spent the rest of the weekend socialising and suffice to say the 3 of us on my bank caught nothing. Now to upload some more pics ready for a few more dinton tales.

I've been watching lots on YouTube about the New York crime families. I've watched ones with john alite (one of Gotti's hitmen) , sammy the bull another of Gotti's hitmen and a few with Michael Franzese from the columbo crime family. I find it fascinating if I'm honest. I also saw one with Gianni Russo in it, an actor in the Godfather who also had ties with the mob. His stories are quite something as are the rest.

They certainly are stunning colours on those fish. Quality angling as always and nice to see what I guess are different strains of carp. Top result. 👍

It certainly had my heart pumping as I'd seen how big it was when I lost it. And yes all in winter, a winter I know I will find near on impossible to match let alone better.

So after losing that fish at the net and fishing every weekend of that season to that point I kind of felt deflated. Daft really as I'd have taken anything as a bonus after the very slow summer early autumn. So with Christmas approaching I decided to have a break for the rest of December. As usual though I kept the bait going in no matter what. I recall no more captures to anyone for the rest of December though the weekend of the 12th and 13th of January 2 of my mates both caught. I went down to help with the photos. One mate was fishing the opposite end of the lake to where I had been fishing. So I got to his swim and the sack came out the water. Undo the zip and there was a nice 32lb mirror but what made it even better for me was that the bottom of his sack was full of my red milk protein bait. Pictures done and off down the end where I'd been fishing/baiting. My other mate was fishing about 150yds up the bank from my main baited swim. He gets his fish out and once again his sack was full of my bait. Seen enough so the next weekend I obviously started fishing again and had my good session. After that good session the next weekend just turned into a bit of beer up if im honest. The previous weekend had been amazing for a few of us so a bit of trotting and socialising was done. Nothing was caught this particular weekend mind, though we did try, kind of haha. Now the following weekend and it was my usual arrival on a Friday about 3/ 3-30. Rods out, sit back and chill. It was a big full moon that weekend as it was shining down lighting up the lake one of my had a slow take on it. I instantly thought chunk, but it turned out to be a 27lb common, my smallest fish that winter. The rest of the weekend past without anything doing but a fish was a result. I didn't fish the following weekend as I was out celebrating my birthday which was on the Wednesday coming up and I'd booked it off along with the Thursday and friday. So with my baiting up all through the season, I was baiting on a Wednesday and a Friday. So this was to be the first time I'd fish a Wednesday. I got down and one other angler on and he was fishing about 100yds round the bank from me. Sadly by this time the half dozen of us who had fished all winter had been dropped in it so to speak by someone letting on what we had been catching that winter. Still to this day I'm not sure who let it slip, but up until that point no one else had fished that winter. Still I was plotted in my swim and bang on the spots. Sadly no birthday fish for me and nothing seen by myself or the other angler. That changed around first light of the Thursday morning. About 200yds up the lake a right kipper stuck its head out, that was all I needed to see. I just sat on my bed thinking he's coming down for his breakfast. 7-00 and a couple of liners on my middle rod had me set and ready for a bite any moment. 7-10, no bite but still liners. 7- 20 and left rod starts having liners, my god they are on me big time. The next thing I know my right hand rod is melting, the last rod I thought would go due to the liners. A proper battle ensued, the fish finding every rotten weed bed it could but fortunately it was dead and steady pressure had it out of one and into another. I get the fish about 20 yes out and it rolls, a proper lump. I instantly recognized the shape of the fish and the top lobe of its tail not being rounded, it could only be "paw print", the same fish I'd lost in December. This time though I had the happy ending. My suspicions from that loss in December were right though, it did look big and at 44lb 06oz it was at its biggest weight having never been 40lb before. So my birthday present was only a few hours late. The rest of the session saw no more action. After the fish all my liners stopped and everything, nevermind, there was always the next session.

Maybe you could show him what rig he should use instead of berating him. You've been fishing for 20yrs plus you say , so you should have plenty to bring to the table. Like I said in another thread, maybe you can educate us and not just say this is wrong or that is wrong.

We all have opinions, that is what makes a great forum. No ones opinion is correct over someone else's. Just because one person likes one thing it doesn't mean that someone else should or will like it as well. They are only opinions and someone's opinion is worth the same as someone else's. We all like different things, luckily, as if we all like the same things it would be a boring world. I've got to ask, what is it about terry that these people don't like? I've personally never met or fished with a more quiet or placid a person. In my 30 years of carp fishing I've got to say I've never heard a bad word said against him.

I must admit I've not read hutchies books but I prefer to read a book that is written how it happened with No airs or Graces . For me the, the best book I've read is Micky gray's book "a merry olde dance" because it is written as it happened. Looks like I must have to try and get a couple of Rod's books.

When you say poor writing quality, is that the way the story has been penned or the way it's written as in poor grammar etc?

He is Dirty Harry's younger brother 😉

The only thing I soak my cork balls in is egg white. It will help the paste stick to the cork ball. Your paste will need to have the right level of egg albumin in to harden the bait up. Once dried for 4 or 5 days roughly after you've boiled them then you can add flavours, dips etc of your choice. That's what I do anyway when I've made them and it's always worked. I've got a pot in my garage that well over 10yrs old and still going strong.

I've used some DT products in the past when I've rolled my own bait. Milk B , green beast and sweet damson flavours was what I used in conjunction with a mates base mix. As for you combining baits, I've been going to the same bait company for 20yrs now and they sell bags of randoms. A mixture of all the over rolled baits that were rolled and mixed together with all different sizes and combinations of base mixes/ flavours etc. They are cheap as chips and work a dream, no doubt confusing the carp with the different tastes, scents, sizes and textures etc. Though i do primarily stick to one bait and have done for the past 10,12 or 14yrs now. Been that long I've forgotten. But it's what I'm confident in and due to the amounts I've been known to use im convinced the fish see it as part of their diet .

Agree totally. People that chop and change are in my opinion not confident in their approach and confidence is key. You turn up at your chosen lake already doomed and chances are you won't catch.

Well sounds like you've been there, done it and got the t-shirt, fair play. Your experience will help us all I'm sure 👍

And And what's wrong with roach? Carp are inquisitive and will often seek out what's going on in my opinion. So you never use maggots for carp fishing then?

not being picky but just maybe because your chosen baits have a proven track record on there, maybe something different might give you more of an edge. don't get me wrong if the fish see it all the time and are confident on it then fair enough, but if thats all that goes in they might also know it as danger. just thinking outside the box like. i know i always try being different to the other anglers on the syndicates that i fish

make a boilie or homemade paste as normal or buy a readymade paste but don't boil it. it will breakdown then.