emmcee

Is your spod mix particle?

Is it any form of boilie that doesn't work? Maybe try chops, crumb, dumbells instead of round balls. Put that lot in with a bit of hemp to get them munching, you'll have them. Before you know it just boilie will work, nice little edge you've got then.

As for a minimum, some is better than none in opinion. In fact, Whatever you can afford is your answer on the minimum. I'd spend as much time looking as possible before applying bait. Get to know the carp's favoured areas and build up a pattern. Only then I personally would start to bait up. You may only find that 1 area or 2 are where the fish spend more time so instead of bsiting loads of spots you only bait a couple but its where the fish visit regularly. But on those kind of waters the carp are often missing for days so I'd be putting as much in as you can each time as by the time the carp come across it the birds, other fish could have wiped it out.

I've used the fox armour point range. They are good hooks and very sharp. Only beaked point one i used was the chod type hook from that range. All the rest I used were straight points but all very good hooks. Regarding the kranks, size 4 or 2's . Don't go any smaller, apparently they bend out. Never had this problem with the size 4's though.

Any hook pattern with a beaked point if you think you may have to slacken off, but then that still doesn't guarantee the hook won't get spat. My current lake is barbless. I had a fish last year and I went to unhook it in the net. Absolutely buried, I couldn't remove the hook no matter what. Went to get my forceps and returned to the net to find said hook and rig lying in the bottom of the net. I think what you need is to somehow shed the bait on s run as that's how I believe the fish rid the hook itself. By sucking and blowing the baited hair in and out of somehow dislodged the hook. Hook was a korda krank by the way.

I've never had a problem with it.

Exactly as yonny says. Also I wouldn't use them when fishing over bars, gullies, plateaus etc.

Absolutely spot on mate. 👍 Each to their own on how they fish, where they fish, what they fish for etc but like you @yonny, it's all about doing it for yourself and hearing that alarm sound . What a buzz. As for all this tech, so you find the spot ,you find the fish, it still doesn't mean you will catch.

I've got a custom built stevie Neville F/O stainless pod, weighs a ton. Though the stability is spot on. Can really put my drags on tight knowing the pod isn't moving. That said I rarely use the thing because it is so heavy, other than if I know I won't get bank sticks in. My preference is for cork screws bank sticks as they are so much lighter.

Cracking session so far, fair play. Nice looking lake.

I've no experience with those rods but all my rods are predominantly Harrison blanks and have nothing but praise for Harrison rods.

For me it's simple, its horses for courses. Any amount of accuracy is all down to the angler and their ability and what equipment they are more comfortable with. Someone will be more at home with a 10ft rod than a 12ft rod. I use 12ft rods for all my fishing. I did once buy a 13ft set but literally sold them in a month as I just didn't get on with them. I didn't feel I had balance etc and most certainly lost accuracy with them. Went back to my 12ft rods and could hit a tree line or marker with my usual accuracy. So I'd say its down to the individuals rather than the fact it's a 10ft or 13ft rod or whatever. This is also why I only ever buy custom built rods for my carp fishing. They are built to my specifications. The real seat is situated on the rod blank to suit the length of my arm/reach . This aids massively in getting the balance right. Infact as I started beach fishing last year I brought for the first time, off the shelf rods. I didn't like them but I needed them for my sea fishing so put up with them. I got chatting to my rod builder friend who told me to take them to him. I did this and he moved the reel seat, first cast with the rod and easily gained 30yds on my cast. So balance is a massive thing to aid with distance and accuracy in my opinion. The thing is, when I left his house I'd ordered a pair of custom built harrison beach casters.

In my opinion the arc of the rod has no bearing on it. When you let go of the lead will determine how high the lead goes, whether that's a 6 foot rod all the way up to a 13 foot rod. So casting under a tree canopy at 40yds is all down to the individuals casting technique, not the rod.

You ever used it mate? A mate of mine used it years ago and done really well.

Pretty sure its that one that's called that. My mate used that with another essential oil and I recall him saying devils dung . Obviously stinks something rotten

Asafoetida oil, is that known as the "devils dung"?

No I haven't used molasses. Stick with that recipe and you'll be just fine. Well you might need spare batteries for your alarms Haha

Add some marmite and premier baits fish goo to the belechan and you've got a flier mate. Put the marmite in the microwave for 20-30 seconds so it goes from a goo to a liquid, makes measuring it out easier. Also measure out your oil first (assuming you're using some, will help you rolling as the belechan can make the mix very sticky) then once oil is measured put the marmite and goo into the same measuring pot as it slides out easier with the pot having the oil in it first. Add this to the eggs and belechan in the blender and blitz. Yes its messy, yes it stinks but the fish love it. Been using that recipe for years now, me and my mates have rinced lakes with it. You'll also find a very similar recipe in Mike Wilmots first book. He rates it massively.

Put your eggs and flavours in a blender , then grate the amount you want in your mix and blitz. Simple.

Spot on. Find them, fish for them and catch them, Simple.

I know when I switched to just boilie, over the course of a season my results were better. I mean as weight of fish rather than numbers. Though the numbers were certainly there too.

Following on from a post I put on the "newest purchase " thread, which was 90kg of bait for pre-baiting, I was just curious as to how much people roughly spend a year/season on bait? Now last season and this season I hardly carp fish once the carp spawn til probably end of September. Even so I'll end up doing 200kg plus of boilie. If I was really going for it then that would be almost doubled. Now I know that amounts to a few quid and is a lot of bait but fishing is my only vice and because I get bait for a few mates as well I get a good deal. Over the course of a season I'll probably get between 700 and 1000kg , sometimes more than that of bait for me and my mates. Not being big headed but I've so far always got/had good results from this so I don't see it as a waste. So just wondered how much bait you use in a season? Or as the title says, what budget do you allow?

I tend not to continually bait a spot as like you say there is a chance someone might go in there. Though when I have done this, it is in the winter months when the lake is much quieter and the few of you left fishing tend to come to an agreement, well that's what has happened on the lakes I fished. That Is why I've only gone on baiting teams with people I trust 100%. We work for each other. My first year on my current lake, I fished it and baited it whilst my other mate fished out his last year on his lake. He still put in over 150kg that year, most of which he gave to me to put in. I was top rod by a mile. The following winter I was going down mid week putting in 5kg a week with my mate coming down on the weekends to fish, he rinsed the lake, catching more fish that winter than most caught in a season. And the good thing is no one knows about his catches to this day. I was going down in the middle of the night to do pics for him. When done right and with people you trust , pre-baiting can make your fishing very easy. As long as you fish properly yourself.

I've been on that particular bait for years now. It's a custom recipe rolled in the supaminos base mix. As for confidence in my bait, everytime I cast out my bait is the least of my worries, its whether I'm in the right place or not that's my only concern.

If I saw fish in an unfishable area on my baiting up trips then that's where I would feed them. A mate of mine has it in his head that where he baits on his Wednesday baiting up session is where he has to fish on the weekend. If the fish are there then fair enough. I've baited up on a Wednesday before with a bucket of particle and 6kg of Boilies only to fish the opposite end of the lake when I arrived on the friday. Proceeded to catch a fair few fish that weekend which a few of them were passing my bait/particle on the unhooking mat. Always a risk in baiting up that someone will be in the swim you have baited or they benefit from it.