chillfactor

When it comes to pop ups ... I don't go anywhere without a tub of scent from hell & heaven , & can I politely suggest that your all mad for not doing the same

Looking good BC 😎

100 % mate you need to know the water . I was doing it on a lake where you were fishing over the back of a big weed bed , pointless pulling them straight into the weed , if they were already heading away from it . So would just wait a little while before lifting into it .

I remember pointing out to a member on here , who couldn't see any reason for ever letting a fish run before lifting into it. This was my exact point mate . Unlucky kev ... I just did a two night blank on the syndi , my only excitement were a few line bites from spawning pike

Me too mate ... just goes to show under certain conditions it's still not enough. Tubing can really help too , I've had deep cuts into tubing before would of been a cutt off for sure without it.

Even fine grit / sand & gravel in the weed can be more than enough to cause cut offs & water snails . Must admit to being more than happy with the line yonny put me on to , it coped with those two unexpected catfish charging through lillie beds & that was a proper test for it . I always take two lines with me fishing... a casting line & a snag line , as you never know where you might find the fish .

Sunrise & sunset on the same lake different times of year

I agree with BC.... especially as it's tiger line your using, that's stuff very resilient in 16lb .

Be interested to see how it performs for you Dayvid.... need something new myself later in the year . Keep me posted if you would . The ridgemonkey one seems to be popular too ... with good reviews etc quite a bit more ££££ though .

Went to Cromer mate ..... nearly got blown off the pier Will definitely head back over that way again at some point .

Been in Norfolk all week Nick , little break with the family saying in Salthouse on the coast.

Gave up myself last year mate ... was really starting to notice the hill up to one of my waters was getting harder & was starting to need a stop on the way up So time to pack it in .

Crikey mate a saving of a 100 g ... your be giving up tobacco next , there's another 50g ....

The problem is the very venues some might think they will be left with, are the one's disapparing first ! BC wasn't having a pop either mate apologies if you thought I was .

Just a matter of time mate that's all.

What are you basing that argument on though BC? I can tell you now that one of the lakes I was fishing was lower stock than anything anyone else on here is or was fishing. Hasn't stopped the otter wiping it out . Bit like you can tell people who haven't fished at range .... you can also tell people who haven't had or seen the otters work close up .

No doubt Danny .... watched a program on Tele a few years back can't remember what world river it was but these were giant otters & they were defending there young from crocs & winning on that occaion. Think the reintroduction was a good thing but there needs to be control too . Another point to mention these otters we have now are the European otter & a fair bit bigger than are native otter was .

Dogs & Eagles ... can't think of much else?

Rats normally clean up after the otters & birds, sometimes Mr fox all depends what finds it first .... normally Rats though . Funny this subject came up. Just be on the phone with a good friend who has decided to pull the plug on his lake lost to many fish this year . Selling what he has left & calling it a day for now . It's very short sighted to think just target other species, what do you think they will eat next ?

Thing is Ian... once it's left out the water others clean the carcus until there's nothing left . So your never sure how much the original culprit took .

What you have to bare in mind is that the carp are a major problem in these areas you speak of cm . Because of the warm conditions they breed like you wouldn't believe... hence why there are plans to mass cull carp . We get a small breeding window & the % of them don't make it .... so that's why we have lakes & rivers being emptied & they don't. It all boils down to numbers at the end of the day + the sheer size of the countries . Horseshoe is still a great tench water.

This does seem to be the pattern on many lakes Vic. Get the odd visit over a period of time , can be months & months apart . Then bang get a big hit & lots of loses , my thinking is this is down to them emptying another lake somewhere else so the kills on your lake will increase . Not sure about carp being safe in snags / weed though Vic, but suppose they might think they are & hold up , even easier target for the otter, open water they stand a better chance but the otter is the apex preditor & nothing is safe tbh unfortunately they are incredibly good at catching fish .

Can you compare America with our tiny country ?.... the anglers over there are't fishing fisheries for starters & the rivers they are fishing are rammed with carp so they won't see a issue just the odd dead fish & also there supposed to knock carp on the head anyway , you can bow fish for them, completely different scenario. It really boils down to what sort of lakes your fishing, if it's very low stock like one of my lakes & your losing fish then yes it won't take long for it not to be worth fishing as otters need to eat there own body weight in food every day & considering the will take a 20lb + carp and only eat the offal you can lose a few big fish a day , like many others around the Cotswolds that have been hit hard & were tough waters anyway there now devoid of fish & anglers . There is a reason why so many lakes are having to fence & the more that do will obviously put the ones that don't or can't at bigger risk . If you search back years on here I had a similar view to cm's as I fished along side otters on the Wye for years , unfortunately there are to many people interfering with otters these days & numbers are getting silly . Eventually there will be a cull on them i reckon but it will be to late for many fisheries. The problem will be getting on lakes in the future that are fenced busy will be an understatement & certainly not what I look for in my fishing.

What you have to bare in mind is they are both cheap rods probably cost around 5£ to make & ship into the country ! So does the 50£ deal look so good now ? I see you mentioned the ctx range on the other thread .... much better to think down that road at least you know the rods have had some proper testing in there design & by all accounts a lot of rod for the money .