B.C.

Yeah, it's often a false economy buying the cheapest... Obviously budget comes into it for all of us. But an upgrade, should be exactly that. Save the pennies for batter rods if you can. Otherwise you are just buying like for like in most cases imo. Welcome to the forum.

50 yards?..... Are you sure it's just the rods that are letting you down on distance? Sounds quite a short distance imo. Could also be spool size, type of mainline, or the sort of weight and shape you are trying to cast..... .... Just a thought, and a few things that you could tweak to gain a bit more distance.... All the best

For the budget you mentioned, the Wychwood 101 or 201 range are worth a look. A friend has some 3.25 tc, for a couple of seasons and they do the job. Atm, over here , you can pick them up for around £40 with Duplon handles, slightly more for cork handles....(101's). The 201's come in a bit dearer at approx. £50 I can't vouch for any that you listed in the OP.... But I've used budget Fox in the past and found them to be ok too.....

I have a couple set up on buzzer bars and 1 on a single stick, like Greeksi... The buzzer bar is handy as some waters are 2 rod only. If I use a third rod, which isn't often, then the single is placed somewhere to the side, giving me a bit of room in the swim, and usually fished down the edge, out of the way of the other two rods. This works for me, helps when landing fish, and less likelihood of all 3 getting wiped out at once by a fish,swan etc It's always handy to own a pod of some sort for when the ground is rock hard in the summer months, or if your water will accommodate stage stands, they too , are a good option when the ground is hard........ Rods don't always need to be perfectly aligned like a mag shot, fish the situation that is in front of you. Singles are best imo, but you can't always get away with it depending on your swim and how hard the ground is. I think, in the main, it is largely a personal thing whilst the ground is soft.... Once it becomes rock hard, then the pod gets a run out for me.

Haven't had any probs using it (touch wood).... But did feel quite wirey/stiff whilst loading, even after a two day soak... The swims I've fished recently haven't required much of a chuck though.

Personally think 10lb is a bit on the low side. ...... Even some of the smaller, scatty, male fish give the run around under the tips sometimes. And any bankside snag, they'll look for .. If you are not going to fish at range, 100yds plus, where a smaller diameter line will help you gain a few yds on the cast. Then i'd up the bs to 12 or 14lb...... Some waters will insist on higher bs of 14lb and above. You may get away with the 10lb for the next month or so... But once any weed growth or bankside foliage takes hold, I'd be looking to up the bs... Welcome to the forum.

It's the tackle firms that are the middle men in most cases. There would be more room to play with their mark up, then the Tackle shop's mark up imo. Totally agree, always best to see something in the flesh before a purchase. If you've got a decent local, they will often give you some feed back too, on what other customers have said about certain items. The opening times of my local don't make it easy to fit too many visits in, but I absolutely love browsing in there. Probably take for granted that he will always be there (been a tackle shop on that site or the building next door since before I was born).... He retires in a year or two and has been able to run the place as almost a second interest for some time. A real aladdins cave of old and new bits. Not sure, these days, if it could be run as someone's sole business interest... If it does eventually close as a tackle shop, I'll definitely be having a good rummage about beforehand.

I wouldn't touch their bait and some of their comments on the use of salt, such as "Carp can't get enough of it" , are not the best thing to put in print either imo. I'd agree with what was said in the OP about mark ups on most terminal tackle being too high. But I suppose that, if you are careful with your angling, you won't lose much end tackle anyway. So paying the extra for something you trust in, isn't such a big deal...... I just get annoyed, when inferior tackle is sold at quality prices from some corners.

At least Cherry are being honest in this instance. They are saying what we've all been saying and thinking for years. I honestly don't mind paying extra for anything that is 90% manufactured in this country by British workers. But if tackle companies are just acting as middle men for Asian manufactured products, but still selling at the same prices as if they've actually created and made something themselves, eg 300 or 400% mark up. Then I'll happily spend half an hour to source the exact same product and cut out the middle man, if possible..... Imagine being sponsored.... You can see the look of distain on most of their faces in promo vids, when they are obligated to plug a 10p piece for a fiver...... embarrassing. Must really suck the self respect out of a man.

Always worth a look imo..... Especially for outdoor clothing.

Work party tomorrow morning on a club lake, then a good walk round the syndi late afternoon/evening. Supposed to be quite mild, so hopefully see something pop it's head out .Gonna use up the last 2kg of last years bait on a midweek session on my old club lake, hopefully 48hrs. There's a week left on the ticket My weekend is a bit staggered finishing off a job and doing a work party.... And what with the up and down weather we've had, The few walkabouts I've done have been pretty much fruitless. My season starts proper on Monday. By that, I mean, I can really start putting my head into my new waters..... Out with the old and in with the new.... Buzzing .

^^^^^^^^ What he said.. They work pretty well in the cold too. Not as good as a coleman in real cold temps, but better than any gas stove I've used.... The Coleman has been relegated to the shed since I bought the £20 version of the bulin.....

I like the ESP Cryogen range, haven't even considered looking at other hooks for a couple of seasons now... A lot is down to personal choice. Not used the barbless though..... Gardener Mugga's are highly thought of and I'd happily use them without flinching if my favoured hooks were out of stock..... Not much help really, but I try to stick to what I've all ready got confidence in..... Chopping and changing can be a long , dark, winding road...... Headaches and half used packets of this and that. If I was really in a dilemma over the two, I'd buy a packet of each and make a comparison, choose one, and stick with it.... Job done.

Same, surprisingly in weed too, where I can feel every bump or head shake, the softer rods behaving like a spring and I never feel like i'm going to get cut off, the rods absorb everything. The NG's 2.75, I haven't tried a long chuck with, but with some small shimmy 5500 xtc, they are nicely balanced and very accurate. Perfect little 2 rod set up for a 5 acre lake I've been invited back on to, which, if I'd known was going to happen, I would have held back on the CAA ticket..... Came completely out of the blue after an 8 year wait.... The Snoik S6 will get a good blasting on the SYndi I joined, by the time I've used them enough to give a solid review, they would have been discontinued (think they already are)...... That's another good reason to save for decent rods... Parts and repairs are easier to get done if needed..

I know what you mean Rob, it all adds up mate...... Depends whether you want your new rods long term or for a few seasons and then another change. Which means you'll be trawling the forums again looking for advice... As far as rods go, imo, there is budget and top end........ The marketing hype will try to convince you that certain budget rods are "mid range" and whack another £100 on top...... I've never been in the position to just go out just spend £1000 on a set of rods. But I did get my hands on some second hand NG's 2.75 tc at least a decade old but well looked after £100 each and they knock spots off any of my other newer rods....... Convinced me to save a while for some decent beefier rods... The Sonik s6 will fill the void for me until the pennies are saved. There's some good advice from the other lads on this thread who know their stuff on rods, through experience. You rarely find them asking for advice on kit, but they are happy to share their info. All the better for the rest of us.

Might tap you up on the nut prep (fermented) at some point Steve.

Not from me mate, got a staple boilie that I stick too.... Interestingly enough though CM (and I'm sorry to go off topic here).... The place I've joined is a real head banger, It's done two fish this week, the first to hit the bank since early November. It's not rare to blank a season, and some "names" have gone away with their tales between their legs after a two season blank. The place was left fallow for a decade, and has been fished for four years since. My reconning is that they got so used to surviving on naturals, that a bright, over flavoured boilie, just doesn't switch a lot of them on...... They do get caught, but not in numbers, so for me it's the perfect opportunity to fish at least one rod on alternative baits to boilies........ There are no silly bait bans, some more pots could be on order soon . Incidentally, I've heard that bait firm being referred to as CC Less, more than once, can't think why.

Not sure I'd pay the rrp for Sonik rods, before thoroughly checking them out in the flesh..... I bought some S6's reduced, which were previously their top end rod, before the Dominator X.... when they hit the shelves they were £200 a pop, not worth that imo, hell of a lot of glossy laquer over all the whippings, too much, looks as though they have tried to hide some dodgy whipping...... They do the job, but imo no better than a £70-£80 rod.... what I've noticed is that mid range rods are usually a price hike on budget rods and as such are eventually sold at a budget price when a newer model comes out........ Can't remember hearing anything bad about Greys rods (others may have)...... Given the choice, if I was buying , I would choose the G4's if I could get them at a decent price, or even G3's which are dirt cheap, this is based on the Sonik rods I have. But ideally I'd be saving for some decent rods, Century, Harrison, Free Spirit etc. Because in my mind, a mid range rod, is a budget rod with a higher price..... Just my op.... Good luck

Beat me to....... I've used it a lot at differing ranges in silt. Never been confident with bite indication, hooked a coot that came right into the bank fishing semi slack. Thought a pike was having a go at it, mainline got hung up in weed, didn't hear a bleep. This was with a lead drop off system...... I like the safety aspect of the heli, but would advocate a heavy fixed lead, something that can plug into the bottom and help with a "bolt effect". If it's a clean bottom, I'd use a shortish hook length with an anti tangle sleeve, about 6 inch hooklength, helps with casting imo Don't worry about it laying over the lead. If you set it right with the sleeve and add some weight near the sleeve end so it falls right,and a couple of tapered beads, it can only fall left or right to the lead, and there will still be an inch or two of debris on the bottom, even though it feels clean, unless the spot is literally glowing yellow. I would definitely give it a go at some point. You may come up against a situation where it is needed . Nothing wrong with a bit of practice... TBH, it's like any rig imo, the basics are there for everyone to see, but the more you use it, the more you will tweak it to suit you or your water.

Hi King Tench, been rereading this thread and there are so many conflicting views that your head must be spinning. Trouble is, there are so many shelters on offer these days and each person has their own preference and budget..... I had similar problems last season looking for an appropriate shelter to suit my own needs... From what I can gather, you are looking for a day shelter, than can provide adequate cover for the odd overnighter.... Well it's a no brainer to me..... A Brolly System with infill panel is perfect.... On days, you only need the brolly..no groundsheet or infill panel, so you are not carrying needless weight around. If you plan an overnighter, then take the infill panel and zip it on..... This will narrow your search down to just brolly systems, which you can then narrow down further to budget....... I'd be looking for a brolly system, with a rear vent for those really hot days and muggy nights....... Also, a mozzy mesh option on any openings on the infill panel makes life easier in mozzy season. Up to you how much you spend, but unless you are a bivvy rat and doing 4 or 5 nights a week, you don't need to go overboard, beware the marketing hype of some products. Plenty of decent shelters under £200. Some of the more expensive ones are sold on how light they are and as such are made from very thin material, which can leave you baking with no real shade in the warmer months.

The Fox Warriors are pretty good entry level rods, 1000's sold over the years, https://www.anglingdirect.co.uk/fox-warrior-s-rods Good luck on your search

I remember you recommending the Tigerline before Carpbell, haven't used it myself......... I wonder whether a few fish have been lost last year to snap offs, or maybe some trailers pulled in or found in snags that don't look up to the job. If so, then I can understand why they might want to put some kind of ground rule in place. As mentioned before though, difficult to police.

0.05 mm thicker, 5 hundredths of a mm. Which I don't think would make ant real difference (unless, like Dave mentioned you are casting to the horizon) Most of these sort of rules are to prevent anyone going in silly with 8lb or 10lb bs imo...... If they are sensible, then your original line would be ok in the 16lb........ My last club had a similar rule, impossible to police, especially when you take floater and zig fishing into account... I'd just stick with your old line, 16lb is plenty strong enough......

Doubt you'll find a bivvy that is as quick and easy to set up as a brolly or brolly system. Something like the Titan Hide which Nige posted above, or Trakker Tempest Brolly would bridge the gap. And as Nige said, you can buy the extras to create a full blown winter bivvy....... Some of the lightweight shelters are made from very thin materials and the sunlight can penetrate, which can cook you up a bit in the hottest weather if theres no shade in your swim............ Out of interest Nige, have you used your Titan Hide in rainy weather. If so, what's the run off like in the front area, I assume there is some kind of gutter? The design looks as though any water would drip in the doorway. Does it just run down the sides?

Not quite the same as the Lowpro, and tbh, imo, defeats the object of a super lightweight shelter... I suppose ditching the ground sheet would lose a couple of kg.... Lets face it Dan, to be mobile on that water you intend having a go at, you'll probably have to rough it a bit mate.