great post zander, but i personally feel i fall into the "noddy" category here used one for the first time to today but let me explain. there is a lake near me with a very large gravel bar running down the centre of the lake with two silt area's either side i recently fished a 24 hour carp match not normally my thing but the way i saw it was it was 24 hours fishing for 8 quid bargain!, now my favored set up was around 7-8 inches of 10lb esp ghost fluro fished straight through to a size 10 wide gape hook. now this lake is considered a runs water 5-6 fish in a day session and you have done well within the first two hours of the match i dropped two fish i then swapped to a coated hook link with the same hook and only dropped one. never the less i went on to win it and i am still buzzing from the result made a few new mates, and was good to chill with my old man for the night. and i intentionally fished in the silt although not to soft if left for a couple of hours the lead would plug in. the lead set-up i used was a lead clip. after the match i pondered my first choice a semi stiff hooklink fished on a lead clip in silt!? not the best choice good job i swapped to a softer hooklink, but the amount of fish i have dropped fishing in the silt is unreal i have tried solid bags which has been quite consistent, but at the back of my mind i always thought "perhaps a choddy" so today at the on site shop of a different lake i brought the bits some esp stiff bristle filament, some size 8 mk 2 stiff riggers some size 11 korda ring swivels, and some some small rig rings along with the thinking anglers 5mm beads to mount on the leadcore. now this particular lake is a clay pit (no need for a chod what so ever) i flicked my rods on to the spots inline running leads and my fluro hooklinks steady action through the day was really good fun during the quiet spells i thought sod it i will have a go at tieing up a couple of chods for maybe a mid week session on the silty lake. after much swearing and jabbing my fingers with the stiff riggers i had tied a chod rig, and i was pretty proud with it not bad for a first effort. this is how i go about fishing it two feet lead core leader at the end a 1.5 oz square pear lead covered with a heli sleeve then i put the chod on then a 5mm bead about 8 inches form the lead (room for improvement i know) , and i sat there, and it sat there, and temptation got the better of me so i wetted it all down, one shake boom the rig was off happy i tied it on couldn't quite get to grips with flossing the bait on so i copied a way of blobbing it on it sat okay chucked it out for the last hour, and dropped a fish on it now the going was tough at the time not a bite around the lake for a while to say i was gutted was an understatement, but i remembered i never bothered to check it in the side, and it held the leadcore up it was to late for another cast so i shrugged my shoulders, and thought well i can try it in the week. now i may have dropped the fish because of the way it was set up or the fact i hadn't weighted it down properly only time will tell i suppose this kind of my justification as well one thing i will add is it was quiet around the lake had it been weighted down properly i may have had a few, and it was over clay.
sorry for that mouthful, but i will explain why i think i may have been a "noddy" no need to use one, and i didn't bother to check it in the edge to test the buoyancy and the set-up may have been wrong you live and learn. however i have one gripe with your post zander, and this is in no way a dig you say you will condemn the "noddys" using it when they don't have to now i i took the time twice to make sure it was safe i know what you are going to say LEADCORE! but i made sure the bead traveled over the splice easily, and the chod got off, and used a light lead to make sure i didn't have an unnecessarily heavy lead close to its face. now being the stereotypical noddy i was fishing safely so does it really matter if i use a chod or not does it harm anybody does me using the most fashionable rig in fishing at the moment actually effect anyone! so why condemn them? it isnt harming anyone, and to be quite honest i couldn't care less if i follow every fashion currently in angling i still enjoy my fishing, and will do for a very long time so i will quite happily get branded a noddy i don't care i fully intend to make the chod a part of my fishing i have experiments to do on the silty lake , and i feel like using a choddy anytime i will so i also i feel i haven't been a "noddy". zander you are without doubt more experienced than me so please feel free correct any of my logic regarding rigs and when i intend to use a chod this is what this forum is about, but in my eyes i don't believe someone can be branded a noddy on this type of thing when they are fishing safely