fantasticmrfox

I have a 2 12ft banshee feeders and a marker a spod, they're great, especially for the price, I think they were 2 for £60 when I got them. The only problem I had was one of the eyes on one of the quivertips was blocked, I emailed them, and got 2 replacements (one for each rod) the very next day. That was from fishtec all though I ordered from the TFG website. TFG does get a slating at times, but these I cannot fault and the companies I dealt with were awesome

There are plenty of places that sell a pop-up base mix, check the cc moore website. I've been told, but never tried myself yet, that microwaving boilie mix instead of boiling it will make it buoyant, but like I said, never tried so I don't know for certain. Give it a go and see what happens Worth a shot aint it. Hope this helps

It should be ok, try it in a bucket of water so you can see what happens, If after that you're in doubt, leave the hook and hookbait out of the bag and just put the lead in it, the pop up will float away from the lead and mainline on the way down and until the bag dissolves, hopefully eliminating the tangles. Hope that helps

Wow, I'm only half an hour away by car as well, damn sight cheaper than Drayton too! Thanks lad's, Will definitely have to give there a go soon!

Is it a day ticket mate? If so, how much is a 24hr stint? Been there to the fair loads of times, every time I go I wish I had my rods with me, but didn't know you could fish it lol!

Can you elaborate please on the things that would make you change your rig? Ok I'll try, I tend not to think about why I make the changes I do, I just do it instinctively I guess. If I'm getting bites but no takes, or poor hook holds, I'll change to a bolt rig with a long hooklink, because the extra resistance on the line helps set the hook, which helps when fish aren't feeding very confidently. If I'm struggling to bait up at a distance then I'll shorten the distance between the running lead and the hook, than add a PVA stick, this helps get bait to difficult areas (under overhanging trees etc) and goes a long way to helping eliminate tangles. If I'm fishing over weed or amongst lillypads, then I may use a braided hooklink for the added abrasion resistance, or use a buoyant bait and small blobs of putty rather than a ledger, which will allow the bait to sit on top of the weed rather than bed into it, this only really works short distance. If I want similar effects but at greater distance I tend to use a helicopter set up. Method of bite indication makes a difference to the type of set-up I use, When using my quivertip I like to keep it simple and use my "Default" setup for lack of a better word, then tweak it depending on the strength of the tip I'm using, wind conditions etc, but I mainly only change to a slightly heavier lead or feeder. When using bobbins I like to use a running rig with a fairly heavy lead, because regardless of the way the fish moves off, line will always be pulled so no drop backs, I allow my bobbin to sit on the ground with very slack lines and wait for the fish to lift the bobbin considerably before striking, I also set my bait runner so I can hear line being taken if I get a take when I'm not fully concentrating, but this is only really good to use mid water, as a fish can take line and be snagged up before I've even got to my rod if fishing tight to the margins. That's kind of all I can think of off the top of my head. As you can tell I tend to use the same old methods with slight variations depending on a certain situation, I hope this has helped Keenook.

Yup, I do, 90% of my fishing is mono straight through, with a running ledger (as light as I can get away with) a stop shot between the lead and the hook to stop the lead running right down the rig and a hook tied to the end, If I'm using a hair rig then its nearly identical except I tie my hooklink out of mono 1lb less than the mainline I'm using, tie a bead onto the mainline just below the lead, then loop to loop the hooklink on. Simple, easy and effective. If it aint broke, don't fix it! It's worked for me since I was 7 and is still working so why change it? Occasionally I'll use different or more complicated rigs, but only if I feel the occasion calls for it. sometimes I REALLY like to spice it up a little and use a cage feeder instead of a lead! It's fun taking risks

Looks great in theory, not sure how well it'll last though. Definitely something I'll consider getting as I tend to go fishing on my motorbike on day sessions, will make getting to the water a little bit easier. So what part is rubber, the mesh of the net? I love the picture of the pike, zander and perch at the beginning of the video, awesome drawing

OR disturbing, just more evidence of how over-stocked and under fed it is... BTW, I don't like the place

Seem's like you all ready have your mind made up mate, in which case why ask? Nick gave you a very useful piece of advice and an effective rig for the situation you gave mate yet you seemed to completely disregard it. If you come across with that demeanour when someone answers the question you ask with something other than what it is you want to hear no one will want to help in future. Try taking all the advice and use it constructively, not turn a deaf ear until you hear what you want.

I personally like the look of the gardner stalking bank sticks, nice and small, light and can be screwed together to make a larger bank stick if you need it, I personally like to keep my rods as low to the ground and lake as possible. I guess its down to preference though mate

Thanks mate, some good advice there, hadn't thought of the new potatoes I'm buying the particles loose from the pet shop and preparing them myself, its A LOT cheaper. I'll go with ten kilos, thought that might be a bit excessive at first but as you say the smaller fish will devour the lot lol! At the end of the day It'll teach me roughly how much I'd use on a session like that, and with the extra I can bait up a few swims and keep an eye on them as you say Ten kilos of the unprepared stuff is still a damn sight cheaper than a few jars of the tackle shop stuff so in that sense if I have some left at the end of the session I'm still quid's in Cheers for the advice matey! Has helped me make my mind up as to what I'm doing Hopefully I'll be back with a long catch report for you all to read

It's small, I'd guess less than an acre, but don't know for sure. There is quite a high stock of carp, bream and a few other species, even a few barbel as well and a rumour of a large cat. I've fished it a few times now and only ever seen one other angler there so I don't think it's fished a great deal so quite a few hungry mouths to feed and a lot of smaller fish like rudd and roach that'll have a munch on the particles too. I ask because as I've never fished particles before I'm unsure as to how much would be used on average, I don't want to take too much and have to throw a load away, but I don't want to run out either or feel I have to use it sparingly. Is 2kg each person a good starting point? like I say I'll be mixing up some with porridge oats to bulk it out and dry it for stick mixes as well. ( I find that a good way to keep topping bait up in the dark, spod it just before dusk and again in the morning, with the stringer every cast to top it up in between.) EDIT, just calculated it on google earth and its just over an acre

thought I'd revive this thread as I have a new question regarding particle mix. How much in kilo's do you guys normally use for a 24 hour session? Me and 2 mates are going for a night session next weekend, both my friends are very new to the sport so I've taken it on myself to sort out everything as cheaply as possible, then we're splitting it three ways. As money is tight for all three of us, I don't want to buy, prepare and take more than I need to to keep the cost and amount of stuff to carry down as much as possible. We'll each be fishing one rod over an individual baited area for that 24 hours (I may get my feeder out as well during the day) I was wondering if 5 kilos (Dry) will be enough for all three of us, with a few kilos of porridge oats to thicken it up for bag mixes, all though most will be spodded out. I'm going to get hemp and pigeon conditioner, the pigeon conditioner is much cheaper than the hemp I'm inclined to get more of this than the hemp, or would I be better off with more hemp? I figure I should have more of the smaller seeds than the larger stuff like split peas and maize so I'd be better off with a higher quantity of hemp than pigeon conditioner. The reason I ask is I've never used a particle approach before and have mainly stuck to boilie over groundbait rather than boilie over particle. Also should I bait a few areas to have the option of moving the rod or pick one each and stick to it? Any advice would be greatly appreciated

Never heard to the Theseus bivvy, just had a look and it looks like good value for money, which is the main thing I need in a bivvy. Do you know what the build quality is like? I like the look of the mossi panels on some of the more expensive bivvy's but its something I can live without for that price, as long as It'll last for a few years and stand up to some wear and tear.. Thanks for mentioning that mate, it looks like exactly the sort of thing I'm looking for within the price range I can afford