travisbickle

Im in cheshire....I love small stream fishing...I do a little on the upper areas of the Tern and upper weaver too, plenty of little brookies and the occasional surprise. Del

Stripeys have never really taken my fancy....not yet at least....this winter in portugal it will be a major go at the barbel along with the carp obviously....really keen on getting into some heavy bream fishing at the min though....next year for certain...and early tincas too

got a fair few rainbows and blue trout in my pool....not spent much time scanning for them but fairly certain there will be some little brookies in there too....never tried for pike on the fly....prefer my lure fishing for them....but maybe a summer pike on the fly would hit the spot ...I think the best one was watching a programme with that Aussie Rex Hunt taking a sizeable lemon shark on the fly...brilliant

In a few backwaters on the Zezere in Portugal I have mate..had a couple but nothing of any size...as yet...I actually prefer fly fishing to carping thesedays..have done for a year or two now...a more mobile hunting approach satisfies me more

a good 99% of the hooks used in carping are based on salmon or trout hooks....Have mentioned before about using long shank salmon hooks in the 80s for the bent hook rig....and to this day I still use Tiemco shrimp hooks for surface work as well as for my fly fishing obviously

the name rings a bell mate but not sure....never got out on the quads....was clay shooting up the hill at the traps in every and every bit of down time....its a lovely spot isnt it.

Its a lovely big old sheet isnt it mate...was there in 01/02....then went and set up the kitchens etc for Peckforton castle as they were converting into a hotel.. was a busy old time

Its an amazing water Ian....was a valley that was flooded back in the early 1900s........worked overlooking it for a good while...some very funny stories from there....a chef wandering round in a four acre forest fire... naked... with a sausage on a fork etc ...but i digress....brilliant body of water that I have heard is throwing some surprises up.....location would be a major job on here

Hearing a few bits back on the grapevine of some decent fish popping up in here...to mid thirty...and for wales thats a monster....Its a massive water(was exec chef at the hotel overlooking it for a while but never had time)......anybody else heard anything????.....

Gary....similar to the original sliding hair but two crucial differences that make the original rig a winner hands down in my opinion....a perfect rig for wary/riggy carp...almost impossible to eject....coupled with a seriously good HNV.....its deadly(not literally) And as a footnote....Im no follower of fad or fashion over rigs...this one came along 25plus years back and still outscores for me.....when I cant keep it simple

its just the new name for the old "sliding hair" from mid 80s Kev...but without as much finesse

I still use the original 80s version of what is now called a D rig......far more effective

lovely stuff...sounds like my normal kind of water

look for "boils" on the surface...and stirred up sediment....this is a good starter to look for a hard spot...but also...dont be afraid to fish into the silt...they will actively feed upto the back of the gill plate in silt....I fish meres etc that are devoid of hard spots and still catch.....basically...have a play around and lead about a bit

a one and half ounce trilobe lead will get you there comfortably and wont nose into the silt too bad

...quite.....I need the tackle to do a job...not look nice whilst its sat inactive....and since having cancer I cant work at the level I used to...so funds are very limited.....besides...isnt it about the fish anyway??......cant quote that to many anymore

wont fault that....my problem is I need to buy another set up for over here to do exactly that....have my main tackle at what I class as home in central portugal....and then I come back to work to top the koffers up and miss out on it ...or at least cant fish to any degree I would love to...but a big unknown english fish.....hey...thats going to float my boat over any euro...wild or not

thats me from september through till march or early april mate....and for good next year......proper unknown territory on a lot of the rivers....and its devoid of anglers.....bliss

well Im not so rude as to refuse that kind of offer mate....will happily return the favour on one or two I fish..inc a very nice river system in portugal.....the sun is just about right at this time of year....makes the red wine go down far nicer...or a cold beer

Just had a nosey at some shots of it now Kev....what a water..nice size too...not too small so plenty to keep you occupied with hunting them out..and uncaught too...its like the estate lakes I go for....backwaters...bays..reed fringes....jealous....and the right way to view it too...one or two fish out a year is worth every minute on the bank...real classic carping...very nicely done sir

Lucky sod Kev...nice little spot to recooperate in ....is it still on a mid kent ticket??.....

never fished it Kev but its a stunning water....did consider it at one point due to rumours of some right donkey sized eels...(my second love)

bang on....like most things thesedays it is overthought...but also....its not a case of the fish being pricked with the hook...its how long the hook is in its mouth BEFORE it gets pricked, with a fair degree of certainty in that particular circumstance I can say that a bolt will outfish...simply down to the fact that it is self pricking....the fish hooks itself "properly" on the first run.....but as said....I agree...most issues are so over complicated now...and no need to be

Kev is right...a good old fashioned bolt rig will do the trick...when theyre feeding over particles ..inc hemp, they dont hoover up in perfect symmetry...they do actively move around on the baited area...hence clear indication ..up until the stop knot...and then BINGO....worked for me for decades and have no complaints or need for change

Id much rather be fishing a suspect rig in the right patch ..than a complicated one in the wrong one mate....