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There is also stevie Neville, though he isn't that cheap. I've had loads of stuff from him in the past, f his alarms and a lot of his stainless F/O range.

Is this an on the bank drink or a drink you just have in general in winter? If I'm on the bank in winter then I have been known to like the occasional coffee made with baileys or whiskey. That said once I've had one the kettle is always on after that Haha. If you mean in winter in general, then I'll drink anything. Just like I do in the summer.

Looks like you might need a washer under the spool. Are there any spare washers in the box that the reel came in?

as an ex-serviceman does "help for hero's" not offer any councelling etc for you or any other service men/women?

who says rancid particle doesnt work? a well regarded angler i spoke to at a show once told me how he leaves his maize for up to and over 10 months at a time. that must smell disgusting, but he swore by it.

Just seen this steveo, really sorry to read this. You just don't realise how many people are going through personal battles. And very wise words, you are never alone, although you may feel like it's just you, it never is. Help is out there, you just got to reach for it. Stay safe mate.

I was pre-baiting one close season with my chosen particle mix and boilie in a marginal snag and could clearly see the bottom. Well after a few weeks it was clear for anyone to see that this spot was being baited (glowing like a beacon). Well I turned up one day to see the spot covered in chopped boilie(not mine). I decided to still bait this spot and on my next visit to inspect the spot, it looked just like it did before I put my bait over the spot. They, in my opinion and because i could clearly see the spot had literally sieved everyone of my boilies and all the particle and once again left all the chops. If i recall this bait was there for a few more baiting sessions and only got mopped up once the bream had found the bait. I also knew that my bait, if not eaten would pop up after between 3 and 7 days , depending on water temperature. So if a Carp doesn't want to eat something then it won't, regardless it being a feeding spot or not. I dread to think how many times you go into a swim , find a spot and fish over someone else's bait without knowing.

Totally agree but You also need the fish to want to eat it and find it an acceptable food source. After all you can put any bait you like on a spot but If the fish don't want it then they won't eat it, simple.

One of Mike's recipes is in my current bait. Been using it for over 15yrs now and it's still as good now as when I first used it. And yes a very good chapter indeed on bait.

Maybe the finding's didn't warrant writing about, I don't know. but I'd be quite confident it's been done and if it worked the carpvine would have been buzzing as nothing stays quiet for long in the carp world. On my old syndicate, one of the members had a bait brain second to none and was a regular contributor to big carp magazine years back. I tried reading it and it fried my brain. I used to say that he knew too much as he was always concocting this or that and on paper he had or should have had the best bait in the world but he used to blank his butt off. I've also read an E book by Tim Richardson (think that's his name) and that will fry your brain too. And if I'm honest I put a few things into practice and it didn't make a blind bit of difference.

This ph lowering or highering has probably been flogged to death. And if it had worked ,then some clever so and so would have marketed it by now. Sometimes you can look/try too hard when just keeping things simple and going fishing is all it needs. Good luck in your quest but when I go next I'll take my trusted bag of boilies and be 100% confident.

I lost my best mate when we were at the age of 16, in the following 6 yrs I lost 2 more mates, all 4 grand parents, 2 aunties and 2 uncles. And like you say us men are deemed insensitive and I did indeed hit drink and drugs hard. It was fishing that ultimately took me away from all that which is why I owe a lot to fishing and i hope and like trying to give something back, be that with advice on here, helping mates you meet on the bank etc. And totally agree, a permanent thread like this could be invaluable. Just knowing you're not the only one suffering, going through things that others have or are enduring can help massively.

Fishing certainly helped me I'd say. Like you say learning to deal with things in your own time in your own way is a good thing. But there were many occasions I went fishing because I told mates I'd be there and it's the last place I wanted be due to my anxiety, which they didn't really understand (not many people do). So I've learned to do things for me, don't please other people because you feel you have to but because you want to. I found out who my true friends were in my dark days, they gave me all the space and time in the world if I wanted to be alone but also straight there if I wanted a chat. A few mates I didn't see for over 3yrs but when we did meet up they acted like it was only yesterday.

Sorry for your loss mate. And yes it sure does put things into perspective. True words spoken yonny.

I feel for you mate. From my late teens til well into my 30's I suffered from severe anxiety. I still get it now but I'm in control of it much better now. It stopped me doing untold things in the past but with the help from counselling, amazing family and friends I've all but conquered it. On Wednesday my dad passed away after a long battle with cancer, years ago this would have had me going into complete meltdown and having all kinds of negative thoughts and dare I say doing some stupid things. But through the counselling its taught me so much about coping strategies etc .I was holding my dads hand as he passed, something that would have been impossible in the past. My mum said I've been her rock throughout my dads illness but especially in my dads last weeks, days. Hope you conquer whatever you're dealing with.

1egg , 3ml Geoff Kemp's green zing. Once air dried or panned then squirt 1ml into zip seal bag. Scrunch up so inside of bag is coated in the flavour. Then add pop ups and shake vigorously. This is my go to single hookbait in the winter months. Done very well on 2ml john bakers strawberry and 6 drops nutrabaits bergamot oil in winter. Another is mainline juicy fruit at 2ml in 1egg. And finally premier baits tropical fruit flavour. Very good the colder it gets. The last 2 flavours are very thin liquids which is what's needed in winter. They leak out better in colder water. Some essential oils will need an emulsified.

I'd say some of the fish are deformed because some of the people fishing the lake have no idea about fish care. The other reason is I expect the owner brought a job lot of stunted fish.

Like I would do in any other pond weed, find a clear spot and fish into that. I've found of all the pond weeds , elodea (Canadian pond weed) is the one that will uproot/break up when fish get into it. As long as your tackle /line etc is upto the job of course .

Do you have any flavours already? Or are you starting from scratch?

Never be afraid to move. Numerous times I've moved after catching fish. Most times its paid off but there will always be that time when you should have stayed. I recall one time on my old syndicate and I'd had 3 fish one morning. The wind turned and as soon as it did I was packing away. Another member questioned why move after 3 fish and I just said i know the fish will move. He wanted to know where I was going as his gear was on his Barrow, naturally I said nothing. He said, well I'll jump in here then when you move, I just laughed and moved. I got to the swim I wanted, cast my 3 rods. Half hour later I saw the first fish show about 70/80 yds away to my right. I had 3 fish in the following 2hrs. The other bloke set up in my swim and blanked. You can't catch if the fish arent in front of you, it's that simple.

Can't beat a few extra bits and bobs, got a few in mine. Infact I've been piling the bait in my current lake and my mate who is on the bait with me has had 2 40's in the last 2 weekend's. Both fish at their highest recorded weights. Well chuffed for him. They certainly know there stuff at prem '

The 'G' seems to be doing a lot fish, tony told me he's had lots and lots of feed back from anglers with 'G' in their bait and it's doing the business. Actually had my bait made with some in it, sadly not going to get to use it for a while due to family circumstances.

Same as mate. Been using them about 20yrs myself and not a single negative against them. I know when I'm on the lake if I'm not catching then the chances are it's my fault and the bait will be the last reason I'm not catching.

I've got the straight harrison stick and the diem stick. Harrison one is naff in my opinion (not sure if they do a curved one now?). As for the diem one, I found mine to have ridges internally which in my opinion lead to baits splitting. If you want a carbon stick then my mate has the century one and swears by it. He fished a lake in france and was getting 20mm baits 140yds to an Island (it was still most of the time with occasional light winds aiding him). He also has I think a Frank Warwick stick (ACA stick) which he also rates highly.

I used to fish with john on my old syndicate, nice fella. His bait is more orientated towards the European market, don't hear much about it over here, well at least I certainly haven't.