greekskii

Bait wise - start adding it now to the fishmeals. slowly change the ratio. start with 20% and gradually get higher 40, 60, 80%. Either go fully on to the winter bait or personally I like to keep at least 10-15% fishmeal. They'll still eat them. Also I would recommend the baileys over the bait, I have used it for a good few years now whenever im using nut or birdfood based baits. It'll work all year round. Buy the cheap stuff from Aldi or Lidl, it works the same. Also great in coffee on a winters day! Tactics - remember the fish wont be slowing down anytime soon, the weather isnt cold enough yet. Normally looking at late october/early november when they start really slowing down. All depends on the weather, we had a mild winter last year and they never really stopped for long. They'll be looking to pack on weight before winter so heavy baiting could pay off at the moment. Gear - The gas sleeves are actually worse, they'll keep the gas cold! I normally take mine out and tuck it at the bottom of my sleeping bag overnight. It's usually warm enough to work properly come morning. I also would say a small hot water bottle is essential! it'll keep you warm for ages and handy for cold feet when tucked in the bottom of a sleeping bag! Clothing - plenty of socks, changing in to dry socks has a big effect on your body temp and mentally too. Feet sweat in the heavy boots and no matter how good the socks are meant to be at wicking away moisture they'll inevitably be damp to some degree. Use the layering system to keep warm. It really helps if you have to barrow to swims and when setting up. As soon as you sweat youll be cold and its hard to keep warm.

Did it Friday night. It does take some getting used too. Not as easy in this heat either as I was half in half out the bag, head exposed to keep cool. The full moon made it tricky to sleep too as it wasn’t that dark at all. Cooler nights you just tuck up under the bag and you feel more sheltered and it’s darker. it’s a strange feeling but also a really nice one.

I’m out tonight. May well be pointless but I’m hoping that they’ll have an early morning feed. Luckily the swim I have been baiting is pretty well shaded from 3pm onwards.

I always seem to have a lack of enthusiasm around July/August time, whether its because I know its generally a quieter time for bites or there's just a lot of other things going on I dont know. Seems to hit me every year. Like a little lul, excited through winter for the spring and then get excited for the autumn around about now.

I almost did yesterday. Spent the best part of 6 hours pushing a barrow around and over fences. Found a few fish on the river then got boated out where they were. Got frustrated and went to leave for home. Stopped off at another club lake to see some mates fishing. Saw a fish show and dropped in the general area. Rod was only out 5mins before it rattled off. I was on the verge of going home. I had no enthusiasm and was a sweaty mess after all the walking but forced myself to fish, luckily it paid off. I’m lucky to have all the club night permits available due to being a bailiff so I have back up options. Well worth having something else in your locker.

Have done the same mate, fall in to the routine and just go "it'll all be fine, no worries" and then it costs you. Always worth spending 5 mins checking everything

It's all round, you'll find the smaller the company the larger the price increase due to lack of buying power. Home rollers will be hit hard as they cant order in bulk. As with everything the prices will go up, same with dry particle prices too. Think we will see people using less bait for sure.

These

A village called Komorow in Southern Poland, just West of Tarnow. There's a huge pit on the opposite side of the road which looks incredible to fish. I have done once on a trip when I was younger, just for silvers but I know some big catfish have been caught from it and pike too. Catch and release is becoming ever popular in Poland I have been told, a few places we went which were catch to eat are now catch and release and busier than ever.

Poland has got some serious untapped potential. I’d love to go out there for a few weeks and spend some time fishing a big pit near a village my auntie and her family come from.

You won’t prove anything doing this as you’ll never be able to say whether it was the spot or the mix that made the difference. One spot may be silt and the other gravel or clay or sand.. fish each spot effectively as you can. Bait up suitably for the spot and use a suitable rig.

Can always use a bivvy peg to dig out a guide hole for banksticks.

First one of the year for me. Only small one at 17.04lb but most welcome. Rod was only in the water for 5 mins.

Yes but it's on you to provide the information. If you choose not to take your hard or soft copy for whatever reason they can search your name but you need to prove it's actually you to avoid a fine. SO you'd need some form of ID to match it up with, just like pretty much everything else in the country. Onus is on the holder to prove they have one, not the EA to prove they havent. I suspect your club book, showing them your facebook profile or anything to prove it's you will do though tbh. I'm saying photo ID because that is the usual thing you provide to prove identity isnt it. There are other forms of photo ID that arent driving license or passport that are legally accepted by government, bus passes, citizen cards, etc.

because they access the national database from their phone/pad so they only need your name and address to check you have one. This does mean you need to carry a form of photo ID though