B.C.

I will look into it mate

Yeah....... Thanks for that......... It's a four man job lol

Thanks for the kind words mate. weather's been a wash out this week. Soon as I've caught up on a few non fishing bits I'll try and get my head round sorting this out..... There's a ToolStation near me that does 3mtre lengths quite cheap, about the same per mtr...... Might be worth buying these and chopping them in half, each length being 1.5 mtres instead of 2mtres, may make them easier to totally fill with the foam.... I think it would be difficult to make a dead straight one as the conduit , being black, absorbs the heat from the sun on the side facing up, and expands slightly, causing a slight buckle as the underside stays cooler...... I'm not too bothered if it looks a bit snakey, as long as it does the job.....

Well, I've got another shed to empty and shelve out. Probably find a few bits to get rid of ( although sentiment on some things makes it very very difficult to part with them)... I'll try and be a bit more savvy and look out for listing promo's next time lol....... Think the shift worker guy was just a bit unlucky for me

Good advice mate....... The last thing I sold on Ebay, the guy worked shifts, so the delivery (Royal Mail) left a slip through the door for him to collect at the sorting office, took him over a week and then another week to leave any feed back and then another 4 or 5 days for the funds to be released. In the mean time, I got charged 10% by Ebay, plus listing fees and lost another £8 for a handling fee by pay pal... I never bothered chasing this up, but I may have been overcharged somewhere along the line..... 2 x Att alarms plus receiver,plus spares kit decent condition.... Sold for £85 but cleared about £60 ish, plus I had to package and send..... I prob need to look into it a bit more to save money, but I hardly ever sell on Ebay, just buy, so don't really know the shortcuts........... Rods are the worst to send £20+ for postage, due to the length. Sometimes there's discount deals, but still £15

Hi mate.... The Ebay fees are a killer these days, plus you've got to pay postage and rely on them being delivered in one piece, and rely on the honesty of a total stranger to say that everything is ok when they arrive..... I have gotten rid of a few bits and bobs on Ebay, they take 10 perecent of anything sold plus charge for advertising it too...... Also, the cash isn't paid straight away, you may have to wait a couple of weeks before they release the funds........ A far better way , I've found, is too find a "used tackle group" on Face book, which is for your area. There are no fees involved, and people are local so they can collect or you can drop the bits off and the cash is straight in your hand.... Also, because there are no fees , you can price things slightly lower to help get rid....... For the sake of a couple of quid, I offer things dirt cheap, just to off load them... If there is no interest, then you could always pass them on for free to a youngster or someone who's a bit skint.

Rain has stopped play until the weekend..... Even gave the Sunday work party a swerve, did a bit on Friday for another lake, but this weather has put me back on a couple of other things, so I'll try and pick up where I left off in a few days once the weather brightens up a bit........ Hopefully

Greys tend to bring out a new range of rods every couple of seasons these days, or so it seems..... If I was buying rods for the long term, then Free Spirit, Century or Harrison, bit more expensive, but worth saving up for imo... British build and design and a far better chance of getting spares, should you need them in a few years time.........

No mate... Once cured, it's air tight and waterptoof.... Like a waterptoof honeycomb (if applied correctly) ...... To be fare I bought the cheapest one, I'm sure there are prob better quality versions with better expansion... It's used a lot in the window fitting trade to seal gaps when fitting..... So it's basically weatherproof... the bubbles are tiny and it would only be any broken bubbles on the surface of the foam that could hold a little bit of moisture. It needs a little thought, as once a can is opened and used, you really need to use it all at once, it sticks to anything and the nozzle will block up , as this too, will start to cure, there are cleaning agents sold separately to unblock the nozzle, but that's just more expense..... A decent sized can of the foam is around £5, and it did the 16mtres with a bit of waste...... I'm gonna mess about with the spare lengths over the weekend and another can of foam, try and work out a way of totally filling them....... There is a case to say that the foam may not have fully cured inside the poles I did, as I was a bit hasty to test it and only left it for 18hrs and not the 48 that I intended...... I think it's known as "learning on the job" lol

Totally agree mate... I rushed it a bit and there were deffo some air locks in their.... Might need a line of tiny holes along them to ensure the foam can expand fully inside and let the air out........ I'm open to suggestions lol

Anyway, I think there is some milage in this pole which works out at about £1 a metre all in...... I have some extra sections to make up, and I'll take a bit more care with applying the foam, possibly drilling a few small holes along each length to let the air escape as the foam expands........ It's not something I use that often, and it's very unforgiving stuff....... ATM, I'd say it was good for use as a margin baiting pole, wher it can be drifted into the bank, but like I say, in open wter it's a bit snakey, unless I can think of a way to stiffen things up a bit............

Took a piece down the lake to test it for buoyancy, and it floated no problem..... So went back and got the rest, screwed all 16 metres together and pushed it out onto the surface....... It floats like a dream and turns over really easily , albeit with no pot attached........ It was a bit "snakey" at 16mtres, but I applied the foam really quickly and I'm pretty sure there were some air locks inside some of the lengths, which wouldn't of helped...

Next day cleaned them off and used solvent cement to attach the male and female connectors.......... This took about 45 mins as I was a bit sloppy when applying the foam....

Home made pole so far....... Screwed down some 2mtr lengths of conduit to keep them straight and squirted in some expanding foam at a few places along their length......... This took about 20mins for 8 lengths..... Had to drill out a few larger holes to accommodate the nozzle hose for the foam.

Yeah, it's a nightmare choosing, given the choice these days..... hopefully someone who uses one will comment.

I can see you point, although they don't bother me too much. Wasn't trying to put you off, just mentioning what could imo cause the odd pain in the butt. Some things you never really find out until you've already shelled out. The promo vids help with all the plus side of things, the negs, you learn on the bank..... Go for it, if you like the look of it...... Happy hauling...

Here's a decent review of it Chippie, albeit fresh out the bag..... Haven't used one or even seen one.... The overall weight of 13kg plus would put me off tbh. And I'm not too sure about a zip in ground sheet either, zips could get clogged with dirt easily. And it looks like you can't really peg it out properly unless the ground sheet is already zipped in (if you are going to use the ground sheet, that is), which could give you a few probs if you are setting up in wind and rain..... I could also see the zips going if you moved your bed chair for instance to get at something, and put any pressure on them....... Just my thoughts. I've also owned a brolly system of similar shape and design and although the central spoke above the door way offer better rain run off, the distance between the storm poles offers little stability and will have the whole of the front panel flapping about in the wind, which eventually pulls the pegs out, especially if there are gravel banks on your lake..... Like I say, it's just an opinion and I'm a big fan of brolly systems over a bivvy, but I'm not too sure about this one based on weight and the zip in ground sheet.

Well, the good thing is, having done a little test today.. The whole thing floats like a cork..... I put 16mtrs out and it floats fine with the expanding foam inside, another 2 sections will give you 20mtres.... The down side, even with the foam inside, it's still a bit bendy... pics soon.. left my phone usb in the shed..

Stage 1 complete mate...... got 8 lengths foamed up last night that's 16mtres.... gonna leave them a couple of days just to make sure they cure properly.. In the mean time I'll get a little pot soted... Was thinking of using a "clip lid " pot....... Put some holes in the lid, which can be used to create a bit more of a spread of bait with particle , say 1mtre squared, instead of a little pile, just gives options , that way, especially when prepping a spot before fishing it. I've not made one before, so least ways we can learn a few does and don'ts from this one.... I'll pick away at getting it done through the week, I've taken a few picks of stage 1 and I'll post pic's and info once it's finished and tested, hopefully by Sunday night To be fair mate, you prob could use one at 25mtres plus, I'd like mine to go to 40mtres eventually, to get up the margin in an area where there are no swims cut out. Just depends on any cross winds, but I doubt a shop bought one would cope anyway at that range in wind.

That's exactly the way to do it, only in 2mtre lengths and a small piece of pipe lagging every now and then to help with buoyancy......

They are probably too heavy mate and will sink without loads of floats.

Sorry for the delay on this one fella's, been utterly flat out on other things...... Family dog's body I'm afraid... Will post up something as soon as I can..

Didn't know anyone else did a scull cap apart from Trakker.... So with that in mind and considering they clip onto the brolly spokes, I doubt you'll find one that fits a bivvy..... Have you tried messaging the vloggers?

Hi Crusian, glad you are finding them ok... I gave mine some serious abuse last year removing snags for most of the season. I've been told it's best to hang them, up or down, but TBH mine live, folded in half inside my unhooking cradle. I think as long as you use them regularly, you shouldn't have any probs. If I thought I wouldn't be needing them for a few weeks or more, then I would hang them up in a shed, away from any windows/daylight....... I've never had that much moisture that they needed tipping upside down. Usually , no matter how warm the weather, the cold water I'm wading in will stop things getting too sweaty. If I'm in a situation in session where they will be needed, then they are sitting right next to the bed chair, upright and folded down for ease of access. Standing like this, will help dry any moisture out, if there is any......