mooseman

Carp are most certainly NOT vegetarian! They will make the most of the easiest available food source at any point in time. I'd suggest if you want to deepen your understanding of bait, do lots of reading about carp and their diet.

After preparing the maize as people have mentioned, hand pick the best grains, drill them all out and put in a small pot. There are endless liquids that you could use to soak the baits in, but to give you a few ideas; Soy sauce, Oyster sauce, fish sauce, fish oil, syrup, molasses, Vegemite/Marmite. Try to use "Natural" liquids rather than flavours. Play with combinations until you find one you like. Tinned chick peas are also a very good bait if you have those in your supermarkets.

Most UK syndicate lakes have a population of carp that are under pretty intense angling pressure, and this changes their feeding behaviour, so definitely not comparable to the much less fished lakes in the US. As for hook baits, get yourself some maize and leave it soaking in a pot in the liquid of your choice, this is far tougher to put on the hair and then you can feed sweet corn. I'd love to come fish in the US, those big, wild lakes are stunning. Trouble is I'd probably end up Predator fishing instead...

Very interesting thread lads, I'm committing myself to 1 rod at least on Zigs for the whole of this year, and more when appropriate. Slight difference, I'm tying bugs of all different shapes, colours and sizes, to see if I can produce some kind of reaction as the lake is clear weedy and fairly low stock with a huge variety of natural food. It's critter city down there! For interest, so far in the first 2 night session with the zig rod I've had 2 takes on the bugs, at above middle 3rd, one on a large bold Green one, middle of the day and one on a Day-Glo Yellow about an hour before dark. Bright warm weather, last weekend.

Adam, please don't take this as a personal attack in any way, that's not my style and definitely not my intention. However if you don't understand the danger to the fish in using leadcore, regardless of length or arrangement, in my opinion you shouldn't use it at all. I use it for some things, but only in the shortest length required for the rig, and I think very hard and very carefully about what could happen if:- The lead comes off? The line snaps? The leader kinks? A bit of weed gets in the loop? A bead jams on some silkweed? The fish swims into a snag trailing it? And so on and so on.

Adam, if you fish a rotary on tubing, there really is no way to leave a fish with the tubing if you get a snap up. Due to the nature of the material, which remember is running "On" the line not attached to it, the beads and hooklink will come off it, or it will simply part if put under any tension. Try it in your hands, And I'll assume you were generalising when you say a "Meter" of leader?

Adam I've successfully fished a rotary setup on tubing, the top bead being oversized with a short piece of dry spaghetti under it to keep in place. The bottom bead pushed down onto a long tail rubber to prevent it from snapping the tubing when playing a fish. Going back to something mentioned earlier in the thread (Can't remember who) my opinion is also that dropping the lead with rotary/chod setups on leadcore, will make the rig more dangerous.

Webpage blurb on the receiver looks the biz, but you never know I suppose... Got 2 mates who have recently started using the Nash R3, so I'm kind of waiting to see how they get on with them for a bit.

http://www.acecarp.com/products/bite-detection/ace-i-3-bite-alarm Bottom of the webpage it says Shimano Normark, so looks like they have been taken under the banner?

I'm pretty sure they've been taken under the shimano brand? I'll have a nose around now...

Yes you are right there chill, it would be the same I would imagine with any roller and mag alarm. Bring back Super XL and twitcher wheels eh! Ha ha! I know what you mean yes, we all get done without even realising, but when the pickups you are missing are from 40+ or potentially 50+ fish, (The fish I hooked while sat on the rods in my explanation above was 48lb) it's a bit harder to swallow... That's why I've been hovering over buying some other alarms mate, can't afford to get a set unless I sell the ATT, and I'm not willing to get lumped with a set of duffers! Anyone here have experience of the Ace alarms?

I have thought about going to 6 mag rollers snoozer, but I'm still not convinced that it would be as effective as a vibration system? I've looked at the Nash alarms and the Ace ones, but still undecided... Definitely not Delkim until they sort out the water in the vibration sensor problem. You may well be right though, the tiny amount of "Back and fore" line movement I saw could have been interpreted by the circuitry as wind etc? What does help massively with ATT's I've learned (The hard way!) is to use an indicator head that grips the line and does not let it run through, this effectively doubles the indication you get, for any given amount of line movement.

Yes mate of course, The easiest way for me is to explain the fishing situation. Fishing at 120-130yds with 15lb line straight through and 3.5oz leads, helicopter setup on tubing with 4" braid hooklinks. Line tight but not bowstring, using Solar Quiverlock indicators. I had already had one fish from the area and lost 2, the runs being a bit of a funny lift and drop, lift and drop, developing into a run by the time I got to the rod. I was stood next to my rods chatting with a mate who was fishing the next swim, and he looked down at my tip and said, "You have a take" so I looked at the indicator and it was juddering slightly while the line at the rod tip was lifting and dropping slightly. There were no bleeps from the alarm yet the indicator and the line was moving slightly and also vibrating and juddering. After watching for a few seconds I picked up the rod, wound down and struck, nothing. The next morning this happened again as I was sat over the rods watching, and I struck immediately and was into a fish. I'm convinced that had I been using vibration alarms I would have had an audible indication and I'm just as convinced that the fish was just sitting, trying to get rid of the hook. This was in France on a very pressured lake with big fish, I had 7 takes (That I knew about at least!) and landed 3 fish all over 40lb, so we are not talking about pasties that can't move a lead!

Guys I've had ATT's for a good few years now and really rate them for reliability and build, they are the best alarm I've used since my German Soundmasters, which I'd still be using now if they were wireless. The only concern I have is that, even with the wheels changed to 4 mags they can fail to show indications if not setup perfectly to the fishing situation. And I'm speaking from experience. Not slating them at all, as I'm still using them a full 2 years after finding out their failings, but there are more sensitive alarms out there. Maybe not better, but more sensitive. I've been hovering over buying a set of the new Nash R3 for ages actually.

Gags, try making up a thick paste from good natural attractors such as Pre-digested fishmeals, belachan, yeast, GLM powders and so on, and plug the hole with that. This tactic also works very well with drilled wooden balls as hookbaits, when fishing a lake with crays.

That's another really nice simple rig solution Gaz, you have obviously put some thought into these rigs to keep them clutter free. My style too. I'll be tying that up while I'm fishing at the weekend. My "Version" that I mocked up of your leadcore rig is exactly the same as yours, but with the lead on a 6" length of line below the quick clip so that it hangs under the fish during the fight. This lessens the chance of hookpulls from the lead being so close to the carps mouth, plus means less chance of it banging around it's head. This mono boom can then quickly be shortened/lengthened to effectively change the bottom "Stop" of the hooklink swivel, if that makes sense.

All good then. And the suggestions I have made are as you say from experience and use. I tied up a mock of it on the weekend actually, and I like it! A couple of tweaks for my own preference and it's a winner, thank you!

Gaz, I like the thinking behind this and as I'll be moving onto a very weedy water next season that "Asks" for leadcore (I know!) I will have to come up with some rig arrangements I am happy to use. My std will surely be a drop off inline, but I'm really not happy to drop a lead and leave leadcore behind, because as you say the lead makes it easier for the fish to shed the leadcore and lead in one. With the weed problems though, I will probably need to lose the lead to get fish to the bank! As for the comments about the lead banging around the fish's head on a heli type setup, I agree, and I would fish this rig with a short length of mono from the quick clip to the lead. This would have the added benefit of minimising fish losses/hook pulls. The other drawback I can see for this particular rig as it is pictured is, that the top bead position is now fixed, so if you want to fish the hooklink further up the leader you have to change it all, but my weak link option above actually solves that too. Not being critical Gaz, just giving an opinion.

Second suggestion is much, much better! Not a fan of lead clips myself. I see them as just another bit of plastic to sell carp anglers, unless they are in the rig for a purpose of course like needing to drop the lead.

Got you. If you want to pursue the yeast experiments a little further, I'd suggest you start looking at dedicated lager yeast. This strain of yeast (They are all, even bakers yeast, just different strains of Saccaromyces cerivisae, which is where the word for beer "Cervesa" comes from) will ferment right down to low temperatures (Lagering temps) so suits what you/we are looking to do really well. It does prefer to ferment true malt sugars that have been converted by amylase, but will ferment pretty much any sugars with a little help. A very good nutrient for all yeasts is tomato puree, or even dead yeast cells (Marmite) so if you find it sluggish, or want things to get really interesting, give that a try and stand back! By the way just to clarify, you can't truly "Ferment" something that has no sugar in it, as that is what yeast consume, and the particles we use for example will have very little available sugar until they have been cooked and the enzymes have consequently had chance to convert some of the starch.

Been reading this whole thread with much interest. I've done loads and loads of experiments over the years on "Activating" baits and got some wild reactions by fish, but found it impossible to replicate the conditions each time. Best performing was to coat the baits after boiling, couldn't come up with an alternative solution for skinning that worked well enough. nm, can I ask what yeast you are using for your experiments?

Had a fish on a "Helicopter" over soft silt (In 3ft of water at around 80yds so very difficult to stop the lead plugging) in the early hours of Sunday, very nice too! I should clarify there is no leadcore involved in this rig (Banned on the water I fish anyway!) just a length of tubing, a pair of beads and a ring swivel. The lead is on a 6" length of line for the reasons I stated before.

Bottom bait on a Chod rig? Ha ha yes, I have to describe it that way as everyone these days knows what a Chod rig is. What I was describing used to be called a helicopter rig of course. Ideal for the situation that the OP described especially at distance, but a more natural presentation than a 2" popup like the traditional Chod. And different to what most if not all others on the lake will be fishing. Even if you're being watched closely because you are catching, no one will know that you are fishing a bottom bait... Bream? Slimy 'orrible things... Never had my longed for double out of Horseshoe despite trying at least once every season. What are we talking "Specimen sized" here then?

Joe I'd be very happy fishing into normal brown silt so go for it. You might have to think a bit more about the end tackle for the distance rod to ensure you are happy with the way it is fishing, but all things being equal if you feather/stop the lead well as it hits, and apply a few of the tricks, you should be fine. Maybe try a chod type setup with the lead on an extension and the top bead well back, but with a bottom bait? Regarding the Black, rotting type silt my experiences are very different to some of you guys. I'll confidently fish into pretty much any silty area but I can't recall ever having a fish from an area where the silt was sludgy Black and smells strongly of decay. I'm not talking just your normal smelly mud here that is often alive with goodies, but the stuff that smells of sewerage. Places like right under overhanging hardwood trees where the leaf matter is really thick. Worst I ever encountered was when there was an algal bloom, and all the weed died in the lake and rotted on the bottom to a Black slimy layer. No one took a fish off the bottom for weeks/months.

Hi Joe. I've fished very old silty waters and there are several things that you can do to help yourself. Providing distance is not an issue, go with as light a lead as you can. Put a 5/6 bait stringer around the lead in a necklace, this will slow the lead down (On one very silty area I used to put a polo type cat biscuit in between each bait for even more effect) a huge amount when it hits the surface. Fish your hooklink in a PVA bag of whatever you like plus a foam nugget or two, purely for the same reason, this will really slow down the descent of the end tackle to the lakebed. I've never had a problem with inlines, and just tend to extend the hooklink (Always really soft braid) length to suit. If you are worried about the hooklink sitting up unnaturally because the lead has buried, then you need to do more to prevent that happening as per the above. One thing you can do is make a rig with soft braid at the lead end and a section of leadcore (Or alternative) at the hook end, this WILL NOT sit up off the bottom, try it for yourself. Last thing, try not to worry about it, so long as you are not fishing into Black silt that smells strongly of decay, the fish will be happy to bury their heads up to the gill covers. Think bloodworm.