smufter

Very nice rods as I say. Had a 33lb out in France in July on one. No problems at all.

I don't own the Dwarfs, but recently purchased three of these as "back ups" to my Chub Outkasts.. https://www.tackleuk.co.uk/Shop/RodsCarpRods/Korum-Carp-Rod-250lb-10ft.htm I have owned Korum rods in the past, and enjoyed using them. When I saw these fairly new models introduced, personally preferring a shorter rod, I was drawn to them. They are great value for money, and are well put together. Also, at 2.5lb they have a little more "backbone" than my usual rods.

I can't remember one instance where I've lost a fish and thought "the baitrunner caused that". I use baitrunners, wouldn't have it any other way. I sit on my rods all the time, never leave them. The baitrunner, to me, is one of the best innovations in fishing,

That's why I'm thinking of shifting over to Shelfies. I can get Sticky Baits Krill as a shelf life, and I think they do Freshwater Shrimp in shelfies too.

Some consider that Freezer baits are a better quality than Shelf life due to the preservatives that are put in Shelfies. I have used shelfies in the past that have been like bullets, made of what appears to be chalk!! I wouldn't touch them with a barge pole now. But shelf life have come on in leaps and bounds in recent years with many reporting no difference in catch rates between the two if you buy from one of the "better" and more established firms. I tend to use fresh/freezer baits but am seriously looking at taking shelfies to France next year.

I kept being mugged in France by nuisance fish as the two baits I was using (SB Krill and Trents Freshwater Shrimp) were both quite soft. I air dried a few purely to use as hookbaits. It was the only way I felt confident that my bait was still going to be on the hook after an hour or two in the water. And they were.....

I've been using 3 of these for the past 3 or 4 years and never had a problem with them. Completely reliable, have never let me down come rain or shine. Two stage sensitivity, a simple toggle on/off switch (which is great when setting up your bobbins so you don't annoy your neighbours), and the blue warning light is super bright. Blindingly bright!! You could turn your volume right down but won't miss anything cos you can see those lights from 100 yards away. The other good thing about them is that they operate on 2 "cheap as chips buy anywhere" AAA batteries. So no trawling the shops looking for specialist ones. You can add a transmitter to them and buy the receiver to match, but I have never bothered as I never move away from my rods far enough to have needed one. My daughter has been so impressed with mine over the years that she has just bought 3 of her own, passing on her previous Chub ones to her boyfriend. She much preferred the simple toggle on/off switch on mine, her old ones, (like a lot of others), had a push button switch and she was never sure if they were on or off. You can tell when the Micron's are on just by glancing at them. Recommended... highly.

Finally got a chance to use it yesterday and very impressed. Casts really well, and sinks very quickly (quicker than my usually preferred Technium Black). I did notice I had quite a few liners, but whether this was just coincidence or not, I don't know. The only reservation I have with it is the aforementioned diameter (or lack of it!). For 18lb line it appears very thin, much thinner than my usual 15lb line, almost like using a 10 or 12. The proof of the pudding is going to be if I hook into a massive great lump or get caught in a tree/bush/reeds and how much effort it takes to break free. The latter is more likely...

It looked reasonable though and I've heard good things about it. Sent from my EVA-L09 using Tapatalk

I went once. Couldn't get on, it was packed out....

I was stationed in Oswestry when I was in the army. Park Hall camp. 1971. My how time flies.

But you're going to have to put more washers on there for it to load more towards the bottom of the spool??? Removing any of the 5 will taper it more to the front.

I've got Fox Micron MX+ alarms and for the price they are spot on. You can pick them up for just over thirty quid each and they have never let me down despite having been soaked at times. Delks are good but not £350.00 gooder Sent from my EVA-L09 using Tapatalk

Very informative, but my favourites not there! The tried and tested "tucked half blood knot". My go to knot for tying swivels and hooks on. Very rarely have a problem with them Made me laugh in France when my Daughters boyfriend was trying to tie one. He was holding the hook and carefully wrapping the tag end around the mainline. I said to him "just hold the hook and rotate it 5 or 6 times, it has the same effect and it's a lot, lot quicker" He'll learn

I remember my now wife saying this to me on our first date........

I was absolutely devastated in France a few weeks ago. Got to the Gite, unpacked my gear, and found that the insert had broken out of the bottom eye of one of my rods. I had taken some spare rods with me, and had my two 11' Outkasts in positions 1 & 3 on my pod, with my spare Korum 10 footer in the middle position. It looked awful!! It sat up higher due to the slightly thicker handle, and it was a helluva job setting the bobbins perfectly because the eye spacing of it was totally different. Completely ruined my holiday. Well not quite, but you get what I mean....

At the Gite we visit in France, there is no hard and fast rule on barbed or barbless hooks. I have always used barbless hooks for my carping, as most fisheries over here insist that you do and I personally felt that they did less harm to the fish. Whilst over there last year I was using barbless and lost a couple of fish. The bailiff, a really nice guy, suggested I used barbed hooks. I didn't have any in my bag but thought I would use them this year for a change. I felt much more confident using them and only lost one fish, a really big one, right old scrapper that slipped the hook on the way to the net. I was gutted, but feel quite sure had I been using a barbless hook, the fight would have been over long before it actually was. I didn't have any forceps with me, but the bailiff lent me a pair, and these made removing the hooks a doddle, so much so that I purchased a pair of my own as soon as I returned. Trying to remove the hook, even a large size 4, with wet hands can be hard work. Forceps make it so much easier. I am definitely in the barbed camp now, just as long as you have the necessary tools to remove them properly. I have read all the arguments regarding barbed and barbless. I'm a firm believer that all of the damage to a fish's mouth is done by the anglers ham fisted attempts to remove the hook, rather than the actual hook hold during the fight

It's not always easy in daylight either.

There is that of course!!

A lot depends on how you are going to be fishing..... If you were surface fishing, freelining, or using a very light lead, then you are going to notice more of an effect than if you were lobbing a heavy lead, PVA bag etc. some distance. Obviously it's all about friction, and the heavier rig is going to help overcome that to a certain extent. But, not being funny, if it bothers you too much I'd be inclined to buy a bulk spool (1,000m) and re-spool? Daiwa Sensor is one of the cheapest lines around, you can pick up a bulk spool on the bay for under £8.00. For peace of mind I'd buy one and re-spool.

I have mine on maximum volume and love it when I am adjusting my bobbins.

I do all of those things, apart from sleep in a bivvy with a door. I just turn mine up a bit.

You can buy a receiver for the MX+ alarms. You buy the plug in transmitter as an optional accessory and then the receiver. I've thought about buying one in the past but never find myself far enough away from the rods to justify the outlay

There's no need to go into so much detail.....