tomst

Well I've been hammered by them today. Managed to pinch one cell popup but was constant plucking away on the line. Had to move in the end! One started to crawl out towards the waters edge so I tried to jab it with the landing net pole.. they're quick though! (Sorry, edited to remove censored NG)

Cheers buddy. I think there's weird rules with crays isn't there? Something like you're not allowed to remove them but not allowed to put them back..? Maybe an old can of dog meat in the margins might help...

Thanks for the advice Nick. I went out yesterday and didn't have anything off the area, however, literally right under my rod tip I noticed some reeds twitching so managed to sneak my bait in there and had one, only 12lb but something! I thought I would test out the KD rig on an uncoated braid with a balanced artificial chop. Turns out it hooked the fish in the top of the mouth so I'm going to try just a normal hair rig today, ditch the fancy stuff! I'm hoping this area will produce something bigger. One thing I notice is the crays get on the bait near enough as soon as I put the rig in. Do you think they would show themselves if the carp were in the swim?

thanks mate. Im going to head out in the rain this afternoon to test things out!

Some good advice there from Beanz... To answer your question: I am not a fan of the chod rig at the best of times due to the tendency for the mainline / leader to be lifted up off the bottom. This effect could be magnified fishing so close in on a slackish line. The fact that the bait is popped up is also perhaps something I would avoid when fishing over particles or chops. Just because it is choddy under the tree does not mean that you have to use a chod rig. Personally I would just swing out a little bag with a bottom bait (balanced if you like). If you are worried about the chod either drag a lead through it (you can get little "rake" leads with prongs on for this) a couple of times or give it a gentle rake - just not when you're fishing or the fish are there! The last time I fished under a margin tree, I just pulled a lead across the spot once to check for big snags and lowered a little mesh bag under it. It was away in an hour... Would you go running lead? And would that be inline or on a clip or not really fussed? Do you mean a small bag just for hook or a pva bag with lead and hook in?

Would you fish running rig to get some hints of bites?

Hi beanz, I can't see the bottom unfortunately as it's 6ft deep but i know that it's choddy where I have my bait not on actual weed. So I'm thinking a semi fixed rig with a 1oz weight, braided hook length then maybe tied KD style with a fake chop (one of the ones from Enterprise). That should stop crays pinching the bait. If I balance that so it sinks really slowly and cast it out with a small bag then I should be good? How would the fish feed if I am fishing chops and hemp? I am scattering the chops over a larger area to get them moving around, hopefully blending two styles of feed will mix it up a bit and get them off guard?

Yep, it's a short underarm flick out - about 2 rod lengths. Why would you ditch the chod rig? Because it's fished on a popup? The other thing to bare in mind is that crays can be a nuisance. Maybe a balanced fake chop on a semi fixed rig?

Hi Guys, I've started fishing a new spot under a tree. I have an area of chod under the tree of around 4ft then weed on the bottom. I have been chucking out chilli hemp and crushed boilies, then fishing a short hinged chod rig with a popup. I had a fish today but the hook was in the top of its mouth and right on the edge which makes me think it might be foul hooked. I did have another aborted take an hour after. Should I go over to a bolt rig with long hook length and a balanced bottom bait? I want to keep feeding the hemp and crushed boillies as I am confident they get the fish in. Cheers Tom