Gazlaaar

Vitalin is a great bulker I used to mix mine with the mainline activator and water, make hundreds of golf size balls, leave them in the sun to dry a little and catapult the lot out. I also used to blend it up into a finer powder, it's particularly good for creating new feeding spots.

I've got the 50 Compact MK1 Great piece of kit mate, I honestly wouldn't want any other shelter. I only use the front in bad weather or if the mozzies are going out for lunch. I like the vents in the back in warm weather and I like the two infill panels you get, plus I think you can now buy an over wrap for them. But for the short sessions I do I won't bother. It goes up really quick and packs down really quickly.

Doesn't anyone realise this may well be down to how fish are feeding. A group of fish feed a lot more vigorously than maybe a singular to two fish. Bigger fish tend to either swim alone or with one maybe two other fish. If you watch how they feed they are a lot more cautious. What I'm trying to say, maybe this has nothing to do with the lead set up, maybe it's more to do with the hook end. Try a pop up, an instant grab rig rather than a balanced or bottom bait, it might just be the little tweak that changes everything. It's very rarely lead set ups that cause losses, it's more down to presentation, ie, bottom, balanced or pop up and hook sharpness.

Nige does have a special affinity for Tench though

Just Tench at the minute, to be honest I've written off the first few sessions to try and get myself absorbed, doing little tweas here little tweaks there. Today I finally feel like I'm fishing, got both rods into the out of bounds, difficult cast with the cross wind but I've managed them both

I'd never heard of them until you mentioned them here, I'll take a good look tomorrow when I'm back

Again It's another reason why I use this set up when ever I'm using leaders. I think I mentioned before, it depends which camp your from, either dump the lead or not, I choose not too. The bottom section is a 2 inch loop, the tube is shrunk over the knot forming the loop, then a bead is placed neatly over the tube. The tube has no chance of moving, only the bead. The swivel is an ESP big eye swivel so it will pass easily over any knots. This system also serves a couple of other purposes. I can take off the rig and lead, and attach a lead for leading around, a spomb or spod for getting a little bait in, plus a little break away lead for clearing little spots or seeing which kind of weed your fishing over. I only have two rods, it's all I can afford, so they have to cover a multitude of tasks.

Keeno I'd just like to point out, You'll never exert more than 5lbs of pressure through a rod, unless your pulling for a break. Try it yourself, get a pair of scales and put a full bend in your rod, I'd be very surprised if you got over 3.5lbs of pressure. I like stronger braids, because they are usually thicker in construction, some of the braids these days are so thin they are like cheese wire. Supple hooklinks, I'm still using dacron because it's thicker than most others, it's another reason I always like using kickers or shrink tube, not only does it give your hook the position you want but it keeps a potential cheese wire away from a fishy's mouth.

Phil I would mate but I'm very rusty at the moment, I do have the intention of coming off leaders as soon as I feel comfortable Half of the pit is out of bounds, some of the cast's I need are 130 to 140 yards, as I say I'm a little rusty, it's just a confidence thing, unless im using solid bags

I've just moved to a bigger lake where I feel it necessary to use a leader because I haven't done any distance casting for some years now and I'm a little rusty. Because of this, I've felt better using a 45 to 50lb leader straight through. I'm not a fan of using shockleaders then a leadcore or whatever leader at the end, I just think there's to many knots. However for solid pva bags I feel it's a necessary evil, especially when your trying to reach distances of 80 yards plus.

Have a look at Chilham Mill, I think mist of the waters are syndicated now, but they have some stunning gravel pits in the heart of canterbury. I fished The Mill, The Pan, Swan, Tonford and The Handle a number of years ago before I moved back to the Midlands, great waters with some great fish. Fordwich Lake in Canterbury is also worth a look, Wingham, if its still around, lots of water down that way mate, im envious of your potential move

You can both of these rigs drop off style, the advantage being, that the lead only comes off if, it itself gets caught up, not on every take. As stated though, I wouldn't do this using a leader, but the naked version would be fine, as if it did snap, the break will almost certainly be at the back of the knot. I do believe in simplifying things, theres a lot of unnecessary items out, that just aren't needed.

A very simple way to tie, firstly make sure your line is strong, Tie an overhand loop, make sure its big enough to pass through the lead ring and over the lead. Then just add a big eye swivel, shrink tube and bead. The good thing about these rigs, is you can take off the hooklink and lead and attach a spod or spomb, should you need to put any bait out, and the swivel is now running up and down two pieces of line instead of one, making it more durable

There is another "naked" version if you like, one I have used a number of times over much more clear waters, its stronger than most types, still the same principle, ill put a couple of pictures up later Id be interested to actually see your version

I don't take anything as a criticism, we all have our own belief's, derived from our own experiences, experiments and thoughts

I do try Otherwise, it does do some decent shots when I get it right

The paper over the flash does work Plus ive switched the phone from 16.9 which uses 6mps to 4.3 which uses 8mps gives a better quality photo, cheers chaps. I totally agree about a bridge camera, ive been looking at the Fujifilm, but its just out of my reach for now, but it is down on my christmas list

Cheers chaps, Ill give it a go when I can

I can change Exposer Value from 2.0- to 2.0+ ISO from 100 to 800 Do I use flash both day and night, or just at night? I have no idea lol

Its my phone nige, ive just found out I can adjust the iso and a few other bits, but have no idea, they might as well be talking in latin lol

The camera is no more than 3 feet away for these pictures, I might try at 6 feet, just trial and error I suppose

These are the typical pictures I know the first thing would be to buy a decent camera, but its just out of my range for now, I just wondered if you had any tips

I could really do with some help chaps, im having real trouble with self takes, not the self taking itself, but the quality of pictures, im using my phone as I just can't afford a camera. Ive got the galaxy s4 mini, ive tried the camera no more than a couple of feet away, and the flash is just bouncing off the fish. Should I move the camera back and zoom in?

You should see what he looks like now, still just as messy with his food lol

Beanz, im having a thick moment, could you explain your rig, im having a little difficulty visualising it. My hook lengths are roughly 8 to 9 inches long, I don't use chods, more the traditional rigs.