marty_h

Combi rig for me as well that all i ever use

I was fishing over gravel about 5ft from opposite bank. I used both the stow bobbins I have and even tried putting the solar ones I have on. I also turned the sensitivity up on the Delkim TXi's out of the 6 fish I had only 2 ran the other 4 gave 3 or 4 bleeps and bobbin hardly moved but rod tip was twitching. I dont run slack lines and bobbins where set high. Ive seen that happen quite a few times on there its as though they just sat there trying to shake the hook

I would not feel comfortable using a size 10 hook with a 20mm bait a 6 I would. My setup is 20lb Xline mainline. Rig. combi rig 20lb stiff link 15lb braid on end. Or a basic rig that consists of 15lb braid. Everyone does things differently I always do things my way that I have confidence in. Typical example was a water I fished recently everyone else says only put out 3 or 4 freebies with a hook bait they pick the odd fish of I done it my way and had 6 out to 27lb im that session. The best advice I can give you is dont be a sheep and follow everyone else it takes the fun out of angling then keep trying things till you find something YOU are happy with with

I tend to hover around a size 8 or 6. Thing is you can tie all your rigs at home and you get to lake and presented with a scenario where you need something different depending on what swim you get and what you fishing over and where the fish are. I have had carp into late 20's on a size 10 so big hook big fish is not correct in my opinion. I tend to have a small selection of rigs im confident with tied up. I use shrink tube on my hook to hold hair up shank this helps with the blow back effect of self hooking and is also a good indication if you have been done or not. If for any reason the rigs I have are not doing the job ill simply tie some rigs on the bank With rigs keep it simple dont complicate it for yourself. You can have the so called best rig and bait in the world but if you not on fish you wont catch them. I tend to spend a lot of time at my waters wondering around and watching the fish and try and learn some of there movement patterns. If you fish 3 rods try only fishing 2 that may sound stupid but better having 2 well presented rods on spots then 3 rods not in the right place.

I would say birds and wildlife spread more diseases then an angler's net. I personally dont use the dips at any lakes and the reason for that is my net and weigh sling is always washed out and left soaking in bath for a short while at home with disinfectant and then is hung up in shed to thoroughly dry before next session it stops them stinking and i very much doubt anyone can find any bacteria on my net and weigh sling.

I would say birds and wildlife spread more diseases then an angler's net. I personally dont use the dips at any lakes and the reason for that is my net and weigh sling is always washed out and left soaking in bath for a short while at home with disinfectant and then is hung up in shed to thoroughly dry before next session it stops them stinking and i very much doubt anyone can find any bacteria on my net and weigh sling.

I would never run anymore then a 2.5 oz myself. The rig ive been using a lot recently is the combi rig you know it always has good presentation and it does not give the fish much room to do you as the main part of the rig is stiff link. Its basically similar to the rig you mentioned I was on a water recently and the fish where only giving a few bleeps and the bobbin hardly moved and looking at the rod tip it was bouncing ever so slightly so every bite like that i pulled into and the fish was on. They did not run but simply sat there trying to shake the hook out the older fish are clued up. Here is the rig i use i have since took the braid down to around 1" at end and has produced more. I also now either put some putty or a Korda sinka over the knot

The last 2 waters I have fished have been compulsory barbed hooks only. In my opinion they give a better hook hold and less likely to damage the fish ( as long as they are unhooked correctly ) you should also be able to buy barbless rigs I would be looking at making your own rigs you will find they are better then of the shelf rigs as you can then adjust them yourself

Yes they not what there where as you have said ESP have been there long before the others and I would not use anything else now have tried other makes but always gone back to them so will now just stick with them they don't let me down the point is spot on digs in my nail nicely and nails the fish what more could you ask for from a hook

Korda I found shocking some out of the pack where not even sharp. I went back to using the ESP D7's and the Big T's from ESP and will stick with ESP in my opinion they the best hooks out there. I also have some Nash Fang hooks and they have a good point to them.

I had similar thing on the last water I fished I found the below nailed them Rig length around 5" Hair length around 1.5" ESP big T size 6 Using 18 mm bait Shrink tuning slid up the hook and slightly down the rig from the eye so once steamed you can put a kick in it. I'm presently fishing a new water and have so far had 7 fish fall foul to that rig on the new water so will be keeping it like that until I have any problems. Its also important you check your hook point before every cast to make sure its as it should be I always add a bit of rig foam over the hook point to protect it on the cast and when it pops up it gives you a good marker as where to scatter your freebies. I have always done better on a large scatter of bait opposed to tight baiting up also worth you mixing it up with 10mm , 15mm , 18 mm boilies then it leaves you a nice choice as to what size you want the hookbait and using different sizes and scattering them keeps them occupied looking around Hope that helps Best of luck next session

If you are going to be making chod rigs you will need some dental floss to tie the bait onto the ring