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I do remove it usually but left it on in the picture by accident! I have removed it in the later shot. It can be useful to stick the putty onto for a pop-up but I tend to remove it.

I use hooks ranging from size 10 to size 2. It all depends on the situation that you are facing in terms of snags or weed present, whether you are fishing on the top or on the bottom, the size of your quarry and your bait size. Generally speaking I find it best to match your hook size to the size of bait that you are using rather than the size of the fish. For example a size 10 for small baits like single maize or a small tiger nut, size 8 for larger baits such as 14mm boilies and perhaps a size 6 or 4 for larger still baits such as 20mm boilies or a brazil nut. When floater fishing you may require a lighter hook in a smaller size such as size 10. I hope this helps a little...

Thanks Gaz... I'm quite pleased with how it came out.

I must admit that I use the exact rig shown above but with a small section of shrink tube as a line aligner. I find this superior to when fished KD style to achieve a more aggressive "kick-out" of the hook. I don't like the way the hook can be taken into the fished mouth "backwards" when using a KD type knot. It's just personal preference I suppose. I purposefully kept the rig as simple as possible to allow the total novice to tie up a very simple but effective rig that has great hooking potential.

Plastic coated braids are hugely popular amongst anglers who require a certain type of presentation - that is a combination of a stiff, tangle free section and a soft, supple section near the hook that allows free bait movement. The popularity of this type of rig is a consequence of the rig's effectiveness. It is one of the best all round, go anywhere rigs available to us and I use it in one form or another for the majority of my carp fishing. It's not difficult to tie if you follow these easy steps: Choose your preferred coated braid. Strip off a section of the coating at the end of the length of braid - about 5-6 inches. This length and the amount used to tie the hair loop will determine the length of the supple section at the hook. Use your finger nails to peel back the coating and strip the section off. The coating can be seen here being stripped off. Once you have stripped the section, tie a simple overhand loop in the end of the supple section. This will form the hair loop to keep the bait on. Trim off the tag from the loop. To tie the knotless knot, first pass the end of the hooklink (the coated end) through the hook eye by going from the back towards the point as shown. Lay the hooklink along the shank of the hook to form the hair. Start whipping around the hook shank, trapping the hair against the back of the hook. I like to go around 7 times but you should continue whipping until the hair exits the hook shank opposite the point. Finish the knot by keeping the whippings tight and passing the tag end back through the hook eye from the same direction as before, i.e. from the back towards the point and pull tight. At the other end of the rig tie on either a swivel or rig ring with a six or seven turn Grinner knot. So, there you have it. One of the most versatile and successful carp rigs that have ever been devised. Simple to tie, virtually tangle free, great for both bottom baits and pop-ups, difficult for the carp to eject and suitable for fishing over a variety of bottom types. Note the stiff "boom" section and the supple end section near the hook to allow the bait to move more naturally and the hook to turn and catch hold.

As already stated, the main advantage (and the reason for their conception) of a soft braid is the suppleness that they give to a rig. The bait behaves in a far more natural manner when approached by the carp. I have not used the braids you mentioned but I am sure they will be effective. My favourite supple braids are: Merlin, SuperSilk, Drennan Carp silk, and Supernova. They all have a very soft and supple "feel" to them. Go for the heavier strains such as 25lb as they are still extremely supple compared to mono (either flouro or nylon) but are a little thicker, this will help to negate the "cheese wire" effect of some very fine diameter braids. If I had to choose just one soft braid to use for the rest of my life it would be Kryston Merlin in 25lb...

I've heard from the secretary of my club that a legal cull of inland cormorants has finally been sanctioned due to lobbying by the Angling Trust. I too have noticed what seems to be a correlation between the spread of cormorants inland and the increase of KHV.

Also, any dip tanks must be maintained, cleaned out regularly and the concentration of disinfectant checked to ensure that it is still effective. I have seen some dips that are just bacteria soup due to not being looked after correctly. This type of dip can actively spread disease rather than prevent it.

If you are still not convinced about the merits of seaweed then let me try and persuade you further. I have plagiarised the following text from Ken Townley's The Beekay Guide to Carp Baits (1998). Ken states: "liquid kelp, powdered kelp and dried granules of seaweed may seem peculiar additions to carp baits but in the UK these products are highly rated. Carp are very aware of the need to maintain the right balance of these two vital nutritional materials (vitamins and minerals) and their food senses are highly tuned towards locating any source of vitamins and minerals. In other words they can smell these dietary requirements in your bait and seaweed is therefore a perfect additive. Powdered Kelp is yet another product that performs a similar function. It was on the 'secret' list in the UK for many years before becoming more widely available in 1996. One of the first bait companies to use powdered kelp in their mixes was the firm Premier baits. Their fish meal base mixes containing powdered kelp are some of the most successful of all time". So, there you have it; nothing at all strange or random about this "claim".

sorry but your point about not getting the same deal on a bulk buying bait manufacturers is a little off the mark im afraid . ive managed to source where a fair number of bait firms get their milk proteins and i can get a 20kg sack of casein for just over £200 and that includes postage. i think it works out about £8-70/kg, now when the bait firms are charging about £15-00/kg thats a very good deal. the more sacks you buy obviously the less it is. i had a price list sent through from them and if you buy a pallet of sacks then it works out to be £8-35/kg, no doubt this is how most bait manufacturers buy there ingredients. it took me a fair few hours of searching on the net and a few phone calls but all worth while in the end. well if you make alot of homemade bait that is. and at that price you can up the milk protein content of your bait and it wont break the bank Fair play to you for doing the research mate. Again, that's good price you've managed to get... My problem and probably a lot of others too, is that I don't want to buy in such bulk amounts. 10kg batches of basemix being about the most I can buy in at a time. I think the most I've ever had was only 20kg and that was Patshull Park basemix from Quality baits. I'm just resigned to the fact that good bait is expensive now no matter how it comes. I did see a better deal on Minamino today - Blake'sBaits, 500ml Minamino, £11.50. They do small amounts too, 250ml for £6. That's enough for at least ten 4 egg mixes. Anyone heard of them or used their products?

Elevated levels of Betaine HCl...

I take it from your post that you do not subscribe to the notion of "nutritional recognition". That's fair enough, but I for one most certainly do. A lot of the scientific research (published and peer reviewed journal articles and papers) carried out on bait additives - such as kelp powder, were conducted by Japanese scientists for the field of Koi Carp rearing. Much of the early work in this field was used to help develop a more attractive, nutritional bait for use in the UK carp fishing scene. So if Nutrabaits state that something is "rich in vitamins and minerals and trace elements that carp require for optimum digestion" then I for one, believe them! Yes, I know that carp would not encounter sea weed in their natural environment but they would and do actively seek out the same nutritional elements present in it from other sources that are available to them. You are quite correct however when you state that an effective bait does not have to cost the earth. I agree and have posted some other basemix recipes in the past that are far more economical. It's just that this particular mix (largely down to the cost of the milk protein products) happens to be quite expensive even if you buy all the ingredients yourself. As for the validity of bait field testing I will agree that this varies greatly between each bait company. Nutrabaits however, have a rigorous and robust field testing regime where a new additive or ingredient is tested by multiple people, in different countries for anything up to 3 years before it is included in any commercially available mix. The concept of providing a complete "food source" bait for carp that meets all the nutritional requirements (including essential vitamins and minerals) is one that is subscribed to by all the leading bait manufacturers in this country. I would say that upwards of 90% of serious carp anglers want a bait that provides an easily recognisable, good nutritional profile i.e. a "food bait". My opinions are entirely my own and I respect everyone's views on the subject even if they conflict with mine. My thoughts on the subject have been formed by reading comprehensively about bait theory (including some of the original Koi material) and also studying Biology, freshwater Ecology and nutrition at degree level. Please don't interpret this post as me coming across as a "know-all" as I am most certainly not (just ask my Mrs!) it's just that everything that I have ever posted on this forum has merit both in actual angling terms and in terms of scientific fact. Don't forget... What carp find attractive when first encountered and what carp like to eat long term (several seasons) can be two very different things...

That's a good deal emmcee. To be fair the cost of a lot of bait ingredients are ridiculously expensive now. As has already been mentioned, if you follow a good recipe exactly sometimes you can end up saving relatively little when compared to the cost of the proprietary basemix. It's annoying, as you say the wholesale price of a lot of ingredients must be nothing like the extortionate prices charged by most bait companies and tackle shops.

Putting a quality bait together is not cheap and the cost of the finished bait depends largely on the individual cost of each ingredient. The cost of the Acid Casein and the lactoglobulin milk proteins are the reason why BFM is so expensive but also a major contributing factor in what makes the bait so good. Good quality, nutritional bait at a cheap price just does not exist these days I'm afraid. Another big outlay is for all the additives such as liquid liver and amino blends - It now costs £16 for 500ml of Minamino! However, these will be enough for several mixes... The cost of this bait can be reduced dramatically by replacing the acid casein with something like Vitamelo (but you would no longer have BFM). The actual cost of 10kg of this mix as above is close to £100. Don't forget that you will get almost 14kg of rolled bait for this. Not cheap I know but it is a quality bait. Some of my other posts show cheaper base mixes (indeed one is titled "brilliant budget bait") if cost is your main concern.

As the title suggests this book is very much a memoir type of book. Indeed the sub-heading of the book is "The chronicle of fifteen years of fishing for carp" and is largely written about waters in the north west although does include some southern water chapters such as Harefield and Darenth Tip Lake. It is a lovely, well written book by an author who is very underrated in my opinion. The book is full of humorous anecdotes and descriptions of fellow anglers that Paul meets along the way (the "stroke pulling" chapter had me in fits of laughter). There are also some really good technical pieces and though a bit "old hat" now (it is a memoir, after all) a lot of the methods described are still valid today. The illustrations in the book are top-drawer - really good. Especially those depicting the lakes being fished and some of the funnier bank-side episodes that Paul has witnessed. If you like reading this sort of "memory lane" carp fishing book, as I do, then this is the book for you. An excellent and compelling read that is really funny at times. Highly recommended.

I was a little disappointed with this book I must admit. Perhaps Neil should be credited as being the editor rather than the author (he writes a couple of chapters but the book is largely a compilation of guest chapters by other authors / anglers). I have done a bit of river carping myself so I was expecting a really in-depth, technical "how to" type of book that would go into detail about specific river methods and techniques. What I actually got was more of an anecdotal memoir sort of book with each contributor detailing their own favourite stretch of river or big fish, river capture. The writing skill of each contributor varies somewhat (as you would expect) with some of the chapters lacking in any real substance apart from "look what I caught". Two notable exceptions are Mark Law's chapter on the Severn and Shaun Harrison's one on the Trent - both well written. Although not quite what I was expecting it is still worth reading and does make a useful addition to the carp library. There are a few decent bait recipes to be found within it's pages (and a couple of dodgy ones!). Perhaps the most disappointing aspect of the book for me is that the River Wye (it used to be my local and holds some monstrous carp and is probably one of best "carp" rivers in the country) is not mentioned at all. On the whole an "OK" carp fishing book but a little disappointing due the lack of technical detail. Neil himself mentions in the preface that "very little has been written about river carp fishing in the past". Well, I'm sorry to say but this statement still holds true despite the publication of this book! Recommended only for the most avid carp angling reader or somebody heavily into river carping.

Although not one of the more well know "carp stars", Jim Gibbinson is perhaps one of the more knowledgeable and respected carp fishing authors. He can be credited with the invention of the line aligner (that little bit of shrink tube we all stick on our rigs) and also with the ingenious use of PVA products to achieve unique presentations. He is a school teacher by trade and as such his use of the English language is a pleasure to read and full of humour too, I might add. Gravel Pit Carp is very much a technical instruction type of book with detailed sections on different types of pit (and how to tackle them), suitable long range tackle and techniques, bait and bait making, feature and depth finding (some of Jim's experiments with finding "comfortable feeding zones" in deep pits are fascinating), influence of wind and weather patterns, etc. It is a great read and a credit to both the author and the publisher as the layout is excellent - a good balance of well written prose with clear line drawings and diagrams interspersed with lots of high quality photographs in both black & white and colour. If you fish large gravel pits (or are thinking about doing so) this book can only help to improve your existing knowledge and throw up some things that you never really thought about before. An excellent addition to any carp anglers library, novice and experienced alike - highly recommended.

I agree with you to some extent. Reading about an angler's failures as well as their triumphs is more interesting for me personally than just a list of monumental achievements. "A merry old dance", Hmm... That sounds an interesting read. I will keep an eye out for it. I'm addicted to Amazon of late and now have a carpy wish list almost as long as some of the titles I'm after!

I agree... It must be one of the most successful carp baits ever devised. A fantastic bait that is catching just as well today as it was the best part of 20 years ago. Although it utilises some old fashioned, basic fishmeals it can be brought right up to date by exchanging a proportion of the "bog standard" meals with some low-temperature extracted ones (such as LT-94) and pre-digested fishmeal. Even though I feel a little uncomfortable in altering such a classic and proven recipe I think these small changes can only add to an already great bait.

If making your own batch of boilies you can easily make a small, separate batch of hookbaits with elevated levels of certain attractors. Take a small portion of basemix and sieve it to remove any larger particles or seeds that are present. Make a 1 egg mix but add say half of the attractors and liquid foods for a 4 egg mix. So for example: 1 egg, 10ml Minamino, 5-10ml salmon oil, 2ml caviare flavour, 1g Betaine, 3 drops black pepper oil. Add sieved base mix and either roll as normal or mould around cork balls for pop-ups. If you require a harder hookbait (the sieving will help this) then the boiling times can be increased for these hookbaits by up to twice the normal time, largely due to the elevated levels of attractors. They sound excessive but don't forget, these are hookers only and will not be eaten. You should now have a small batch of highly attractive, slightly hard hookbaits that are carrying the same smells as your free offerings... Happy days!

It's a great book but now out of print and very expensive second hand. I recommend that you pop down to your local library and get them to order it in for you. You may have to wait a while but at least you get to read it for free!

Surely we have all heard of the Big Fish Mix from Nutrabaits? Although an old recipe now, it is still a fantastic fishmeal bait with an excellent nutritional profile that is also instantly attractive to carp. I have "lifted" this recipe directly from the Nutrabaits 1996/97 bait catalogue and as it has been in the public domain for years now (if you know where to look!) I don't think Bill will mind it being reproduced here. I have given the recipe and a breif description of each ingredient. BFM recipe - To make 16oz of base mix: 2 oz Capelin meal 3 oz Sardine & Anchovy meal 3 oz White fishmeal 3 oz Sluis CLO 2 oz Acid Casein 1/2 oz Kelp powder 1/2 oz Robin Red 1 oz Nutrapro 1 oz Nutralac Description of ingredients: Capelin meal - oily fishmeal, 70% protein content. Sardine & Anchovy meal - blend of two oily fishmeals, 60% protein content. White fishmeal - (Provimi 66), heavy fishmeal, high in amino acid Lysine, 66% protein content. Sluis CLO - high quality egg biscuit bird food, contains cod liver oil, helps with binding and rolling. Acid casein - Pure milk protein, 90%+ protein content. Kelp powder - pure dried seaweed, rich in vitamins and minerals and trace elements that carp require for optimum digestion. Robin Red - bird food used to feed show birds such as red factor canaries, full of attractors that carp love including Carophyl Red. Nutrapro - Nutrabaits own branded milk protein mixture, contains lactoglobulin (approx. 50%) and lactalbumin (approx. 20%) and whey protein, 80% overall protein content, also helps with binding and hardening of baits. Nutralac - slightly sweet, high fat milk supplement powder for rearing lambs (other milk replacerments are available such as Vitamelo, a calf rearing product). So, there you have it. One of the best all-time carp catching fishmeals laid bare... Some classic attractor packages for this bait are: 16oz BFM 2g green lipped mussel extract 20 ml Nutramino (or equivalent such as minamino) 20 ml salmon oil 4ml green lipped mussel UTCS flavour 16oz BFM 2g betaine HCl 20 ml Nutramino 15 ml salmon oil 3 ml Caviar UTCS flavour 6 drops of black pepper oil

Probably Dave Lane's "An obsession with carp". A fantastic book that goes into so much detail about the waters and the fish. A great read and perhaps my favourite.

A truly inspirational book that gives an insight into fishing for some of the most sought after UK carp from some of the country's most difficult waters. The narrative reads well (there are a few grammatical errors but on the whole is quite well written) and considering the book was written long-hand using pen and paper is testament to Terry's patience and attention to detail. One or two of the guest chapters do leave a lot to be desired however, with one in particular that perhaps should not have made the final print (at least without a total re-write) as it reads terribly. Rather like an abbreviated list of angling actions. Thankfully this chapter is quite short! The book covers Terry's exploits from his early Yateley days, Wraysbury and a new British record, the "secret" mere, right up until his capture of "two tone" from Conningbrook at over fifty pounds. Some of the Yateley chapters I found fascinating with detailed descriptions of both the historic waters and the equally historic carp that reside within (or at least used to - even rare, historic carp do not live forever!). The chapters describing the fishing on the Mere (aka: Secret mere, Black mere, Colne mere) are excellent and really compelling reading. The lengths that Terry and Co. went to in order to catch the carp from this awesome venue are quite astounding culminating in Terry's capture of the "black mirror" a rarely caught, beautiful English carp of monstrous proportions. On the whole, a good carp book and interesting read. Recommended for any "dyed in the wool" carp angler.

I got this book for Christmas and read it cover to cover in three sittings! A fantastic read and truly inspirational. The chapters on Colnemere and the black mirror are absolutely gripping, you know what's coming due to Dave's published results but that doesn't spoil the excitement as you read into the world of these large, daunting venues that are sprinkled with a few historic carp. Dave Lane's writing is littered with humour and a great sense of the tragedy that some times arises in carp fishing. The effort that he puts into his fishing is astounding and a lesson to all. I did really love the book but there are a few "niggles". It has to be said, I am not a fan of the font/typeface used although I did get used to it eventually. Also, the book lacked detail in places, particularly with regard to describing some of the other waters as opposed to the Mere (when compared to the level of detail used in "an obsession with carp"). The photographs used (many as full-page plates) are also stunning throughout the book. On the whole, a great book. Highly recommended.