greekskii

Either or. Depends on which pellet you use tbh. Coppens supreme or elite are good. Skretting premium is similar. The Aller Aqua pellets are good too now they are readily available. edit - salmon fry crumb is an incredible addition to bag mixes

🙋🏻‍♂️🙋🏻‍♂️ Me next. I went to uni to study aquaculture and carried out multiple research studies on feed for skretting and coppens. Plenty of scientific bait stuff over 3 years.

Looks like me before I got the manscaper out 😂😂

Yonny has photo albums full of fish to make you drool. I’m not reading the entire thread but my guess is another scientist has appeared that doesn’t fully understand that no matter how much science you throw at it, carp fishing isn’t that simple. otherwise all the self proclaimed science gods over the years would be stupidly rich and dominate the bait market…which they don’t at all. I’ve watched carp eat sweetcorn over trout pellet…one is significantly better on paper… maybe the scientists can tell us why that happened. each to their own, don’t force it on anyone though, after all 90% of carp anglers go on experience and observations. No point telling people that have experienced the total opposite as you believe that they are wrong or whatever. Makes you look a fool

all down to me giving you that fake run 😂

If boilie prices are going down whilst ingredient prices go up then it’s either selling off old stock or the quality is taking a hit.

I use an albright knot mate. Havent had one fail ever on me. Back to back grinner isnt a bad alternative either. I'm sure you know them but for any that don't https://fishingtackle.shop/blog/the-best-fluorocarbon-leader-knots/

For a leader I’ve used the avid outline. Very good IMO. Easy to straighten out with a quick tension of it. Very good abrasion wise and near as dammit invisible underwater.

A very very limited one. Deadman’s shoes scenario from what I’ve heard taking to a lad thats on there this year. Believe he said there’s a only a handful of known carp in there.

I will second the BAF mix. I used Polaris and ccmoore prior to using BAF. There’s on winner hands down. I have 14mm pop ups holding up big size 4 hooks for days on end out in the lake. It also hardens up nicely to create a hard bait whereas the ccmoore mix used to create a more spongy bait.

have a look at the fox splicing tool, not a needle, just twisted wire. works a treat and could probably make yourself at home for a quid.

fox edges drop off run rig system is nice and tidy, only drops the lead when you need it too.

River here has been coloured for the best part of the close. Difficult to see much and the rain is due all week to make it worse. First year for a while I’ve not done the start of the season on the river as I’m too focused on blanking on my chosen water for the year! I did eye up a nice area yesterday evening which the lake backs on to. There are fish in the marina and this offers a good look at the entrance cut as well as a shallow bar, loads of overhangs and some lilies too. I’m sure I will end up giving it a bit of time at some point this summer!!

A PDAA club ticket is like £35 or something last I checked. You’ll be covered for miles then. there’s carp in that stretch for sure. And huge shoals of bream. Fishing near the barge is tricky as opposite is the railings and elevated path and you won’t get next to it at all. The rail world bank has been fenced off I believe due to drug addicts and other undesirables. personally wouldn’t want to be doing a night there without a few mates!! You can sometimes get them going on the top but I’m sure Pre baiting and early morning, late evening trips for and few hours will pay off.

This is key, watch the birdlife carefully, they will show you all sorts of things, spooking from carp, natural food larders, where the new weed is growing, where the hatches are, etc. Never getting wedded to swims because you are prebaiting is my other biggest tip. It can ruin your fishing big time, I've done it before and I see it a lot too. I will try and find out any info I can from people that know the venue, spring/summer/autumn areas to have a look at. I try to really explore a few swims on the end of a SW, it's hard to ignore them on larger waters so it's worth being able to drop in when the conditions suit.

This is correct.

Have used the fox submerge for years now. Easy to splice and works brilliantly. Supple and sinks like a brick and doesnt stand out at all on darker/weedier bottoms. Over gravel its good too. Wouldnt be using it over sand though.

What closed for the entire year? Not being funny but a maximum of £45 for a year, which was reduced by a few months maximum, is hardly anything to be moaning about. Angling has been allowed and opportunity has been there to fish for all for extensive periods, more than any other sport/activity. if you’ve chosen not to then it’s on you. How would you even claim anything back? You’d have no way of putting a figure on what you’d be owed for a start.

Echo the lads already, getting them going this time of year is almost pointless. Only time I know of it being done to any effect is a mate that absolutely filled in a fairly high stocked water with about 20/30kg a week of boilie and managed to get them going big time. Not exactly the best use of your time or money though unless you can really commit to it or the lake has a good stock of big fish. spend your time trying to nick a bite as said above, have a lead about and get to know your features for the year ahead. Personally I start baiting in mid feb in preparation for March/April time of year. Start with smaller amounts and increase weekly as the water temps warm up. You can put out half a kilo of small particles and crushed boilie and a few handfuls of whole boilies in order to keep them rooting and active on the spots once the bulky food items are eaten. if you can find a spot that you can keep quiet and isn’t an obvious one that everyone fishes then bait it without fishing for as long as possible and get on it when the conditions are right. You can reap serious rewards this way as the fish will be very confident feeding without danger from the moment they start waking up!

Large camping hob. eBay for like £20. Just check the dimensions, mine is about 30cm x 30cm.

Fishing slack lines you should have high tips to aid with the sinking of the line. Gravity obviously at work. In regards to the wind thing, if you set your bite alarms up correctly you don’t have that issue. Simple as that really. I’ve fished mega high tips with slack lines in windy conditions and not had a single bleep (yes I blanked)

Firstly the misshapen baits, you're likely boiling on too fast a boil. It only needs to be on a light simmer. I do 14mm baits for 3 mins on a light simmer and it never damages them. Secondly the smell, it will wash out on cooking, maybe more so if I am correct with the above issue. (Too high and it also knocks out the dye a bit too FYI). 10ml per 1 egg is all I use and I can get it coming through after 24hrs in the lake still. I air dry for a week, put them in a bag, coat them with flavour, air dry again for a week and repeat once more. I'll then pot them up and add a couple sprays of flavour (or mix of flavours) and give them a shake. A few days and it should be absorbed and you'll have very over flavoured and smelly baits. It soon washes out to a good level though. Also remember some flavours will linger more than others, and quality will vary. I have found catchitlabs, AA baits and some of the CCMoore flavours to be good quality. Sometimes it's a bit hit and miss but if you can get samples sent out then it saves on buying a big batch of dud flavour.

In all honesty I don’t think you’re missing out. Plenty of bloodworm additives and baits out there and they aren’t the most popular or effective. Says a lot as you’d think they should be all anyone used if they were that good. Live bloodworm I think you’d fair better than any sort of product of bloodworm. Even then it’s not the same still. if you’re keen to try it though, gloves as above and you’ll be alright just be careful taking them off.

I order 200 press seal bags on eBay for just over a fiver. Big enough to take 2/3kg depending on bait size. I split in to 2kg normally. Handy grab bag in the morning for baiting up or when I go. I add glug from frozen so they defrost and draw it in so I like to have excess room for air so I can shake them. just make sure you squeeze all the air out the bags so you can store them using less space.

As the resident greek here I can safely say I’ve never heard of them being used as a carp bait. No reason not to give them a try but there are plenty of better options for baits available