chillfactor

not the weather you thought Gary .good frost in the Cotswolds this morning & sunny blue skies. tight lines

perhaps start with lighter leads say 2 oz even miss timing one your 15lb line will take the strain . Your get used to leaning into the cast & getting your weight forward onto your front leg & then casting. as you get into a grove step the weight up . I really don't think you should need a leader for 120 & 15lb line especially sensor pretty tough so I here .

if you can, practice giving it some stick out of harms way .... miss timing the release will be the biggest cause of cracking off with us mere mortals... blokes like Terry are a whole different level .

watching back a Video of yourself casting is a great tip , slow motion is even better ( most phones have this function ) you can break down each individual part of the cast & really see what huge differences there are when you get it right & wrong & really see what your doing rather than what you think your doing . 150 - 160 should be achievable without a leader 15lb straight through. Just practice is the best advice & try a selection of leads some distance leads really wabble through the air , some are better for cross winds etc .

What sort of distance are you looking for Danny ? there may be no need for a leader

I use two rigs .... both very simple .

I have wraps for both my bivvy's & on the long winter sessions they definitely help keep the condensation down & ice out & warmth in .

Ate you planning on doing long winter sessions 2-3 days ?

I take it you've got a titan to be able to sit on top of it ..... show off

Yes that's it mate .... carp buda Followed by the rig epiphany

Cross legged by any chance ?

Likely story

Funny when ever you post pics of your rigs Nick I always think how untidy they look & I wouldn't be casting them out . Point being we all have different ideas on what a tidy rig looks like .

That's it mate .... learn as you go tweak here & there & your be sorted. Agree with Vic above it's the wrong hook pattern really .

Personally speaking I think you have decreased the hooking potential with the angled kicker. If you draw a line from the top of the kicker to the hook point your see how much you have closed off the hook & now have quite a narrow margin for the hook to grab .

Daiwa emblem spod reel . I use the free spirit spomb rod 13ft coupled with the reel above & can chuck a large spomb as far as I need. The speed of the reel getting that spomb back in with ease is a joy to use & you do feel the benefits if your baiting heavy at range .

The swim in my pic above gets very little sun even in the summer due to its position on the lake & tree cover, so doesn't get a chance to dry out. As Nige pointed out they really protect the ground more than anything.

They were a god send on that session Nige .... hammered it down 2 of the 3 days . The swim would of been in a terrible mess without them ,as would I . Just to add the ones on our syndicate are heavy duty jobs , non slip & also don't hold water & already in the swim. Would I want to carry one.. NO

Wouldn't go anywhere near delkims... everyone I have fished with who uses them always ends up turning the sensitivity right down to combat wind & rain / bird life / small species/ yeah great alarms ! And a privilege Which you have to pay way over the odds for .

Are you the geezer that does live raves from his bivvy I've heard about Welcome to the forum

Hi Richard.... the setup your describing is geared around speed , so lends itself to the match side of carp fishing . If speed isn't an important factor just go for inline & short rig straight through . Also I personally think loop to loop for any leader will definitely be the weakest point & 99 times out 100 the loop on the mono will give. Leaders when used especially longer lengths should be joined with the appropriate knot . Your always get different views on leaders so don't let that bother you ,but unless you really need one then it's safer not to use one . Big fan of tubing personally.

Could do Vic, but I would like it closer ... I pull the micro swivel up into the bait. Also that diameter might actually pass over the bead looking at it .

If you cut the ring off the hook swivel your be looking good fella... micro swivels rather than micro ring swivels. You can play around with the bead position as this will change the angle of the hook sitting below the pop up , mount one on & your see what I mean , personally I like mine back slightly so it's more opposite the point . Just to add depending on your pop ups you might need just a little putty on the shrink tube so it sits right .

I suffer with my back , & the best thing I've found is a bed buddy. I find most chairs start out ok but over time they sag , which plays my back up no end. Obviously no good if your on a day session ( with no bed ) but a day is not normally the issue it's the longer sessions.

If you look at my pic above .... the putty is formed around a figure of 8 knot . I use a semi stiff coated braid ... You don't want anything to rigid , as you say your fishing silt but a semi stiff fluoro will be fine . Silt is pretty forgiving with rig choice .