brighton_carper

What happend to my reply? So where do you fish? I'm off Mon to Wed next week. My carping plans have gone out of the window with all the spawning, so it looks like I'll turn it into a Tenching session, or go after bit Cats somewhee.

No worries, and I know exactly what you mean. The only two "latest things" that I've ever bought, that lived up to expectations are this PVA system and The Spomb.

Ok Woodchester, here goes. Well, basically, unlike so much stuff that's flogged to us poor tackle sluts, it works exactly the way it's supposed to, pretty much every time. I stopped using the old solid pva bags because I couldn't get then tightly packed and sealed, so they would sometimes unglue, and come off during the cast. This has never happened with the Rapide system. It's just so simple. First you attach a bag to the scoop, then you add your rig and fiil the bag. Once you've done that, you give the whole thing a good twist, to make it solid. Then you lick or dampen the outside edge of the bag, where it is held by the scoop. Once you've done that you just fold it back on itself, by sliding the scoop down over the filled bag, then press the dampened edge against the bag. Solid every time.

If you're getting into solid PVA you should check out the Fox Rapide PVA system. It's brilliant, and so much easier to get a solid, secure bag for casting.

If the unlikely worst does happen, and you do actually find you're being robbed on the bank, then the best thing to do is just shout for help. If I was tucked up in my bivvy and I heard someone shouting that they were being robbed, I'd be round like a shot, and I'm sure everyone else would as well. Even if there isn't anyone else on the lake, the robbers probably won't know that. But remember, drowning, being struck by lightening, having a car accident on the way to the lake are all probably more likely than actually being robbed on the bank.

Top angling mate. I'm doing my first france trip in September, and I'll already getting excited about it.

I think we've all got to take these tackle theft rumours with a pinch of salt. I'm sure there have actually been tackle thefts from anglers on the bank, but whenever I'm told about an incident, it's always happened to a friend or a friend, or some other third hand story. I've never actually met anyone who's been robbed on the bank. We're all far more likely to get mugged at a cash point, or have our tackle stolen from our sheds while we're at work. Obviously we all need to look out for each other on the bank, but I don’t think we should let this affect our enjoyment of fishing in any way. And I know of a few lakes near me where the rumours of bankside tackle thefts have been deliberately spread by a few anglers trying deter others from fishing there.

Apparently Funtley has got some cracking Tench, and I heard a whisper of a 30lb Mirror.

Went somewhere else in the end, but definitely going to give it a crack. Where do you normally fish in PDAS then?

Getting back from holiday on Thursday and thinking of giving Funtley Pond, on the Portsmouth ticket, a go on Friday night. Just wondered if anyone had fished it, and had any info/tips to share? Cheers T

Definitely sounds like the venue could be worth a go. I could do it in under an hour and a half from Brighton, and I've never caught a Sturgeon either.

They've also got Clayton res, which is absolutely beautiful.

Yeah, I've heard that. They really don't like us Carpers, which is ashame, seeing as they've got some of the best carp waters in the south of England.

I've heard of that one, but I don't know where it is? They've got a water near Burgess Hill that holds two 50s. Apparently you can only fish it from punts. Did your mate get banned for breaking the strict no publicity rules?

Yes . . . . and no. No one get's in without being proposed by an existing member. I've got a mate who's been trying to get in for years.

If you are losing fish to hookpulls, then the first thing I would change is the rig and hair length, they probably aren't long enough. Also an Inline lead fishing running, may well not be running at all. The nose of the lead may have pushed the hooklink swivel into the lakebed, or even the lead had dug in far enough so that it couldn't run on a take. edited for typo I try to avoid that happening by putting little beads inbetween the lead and the swivel.

Spare batteries for everything. The last thing you want is for your head torch to fail in the midle of the night, or your scales to die when you're about to weigh a biggie. Now, I'm sure you can get batteries in France, but who wants to be searching round for a shop when you could be fishing.

Personally, I’d recommend Linear fisheries near Oxford. Lovely surroundings and superb fish, spread over a number of lakes of varying difficulty. I’d be amazed if you didn’t break your pb at least twice in a week there.

A 30, yup, I'm hoping for one of those this year, but I guess breaking a pb with a high 20 wouldn't be too bad. What's your current pb?

I think they've taken all the fish out of Waveney. You should have gone to somewhere like Wildmoor.

43lb 9oz, off the coast of Pevensey, caught by a chap out on his first ever boat trip!

Did you see someone broke the rod/line caught record for English Channel Cod last week?

Do you do a lot of boat/sea fishing then?

They can both swim backwards, so it might be a similar fight. If you fancy another go at Cats when you get back from your trip, you should have a look at Monk lakes, in kent. I had a 33 and a 49 out of there in one session last summer, and it's only 50 minute from Brighton.