B.C.

That made me laugh mate...…. My mates dad was an electrician, we were always nicking roles of leccy tape from his shed, he used to go nuts about it...…. Our kit was so bashed up, we would use it to tape our reels to the butts of our rods and tape the occasional eye back on the blank...… All different colours too, lol.....Whatever we could get our hands on from his shed...…. I can still picture us two denying this petty theft, his dad fuming and us two standing there, rods in hand, with different coloured leccy tape up and down the rods for our eyes and reels, ready for a session of minnow bashing...…...🤣.

Read a report earlier in the week about the decline in sales of EA licenses this year. Could be down to the new 3 rod license or could be down to fewer people actually buying one , and still fishing, who knows...… Also picked up on this from a group I follow (pictured below)……….. Do you think we are starting to see a decline in anglers?...… Can't say I've noticed on the banks yet, although the number of members at my old club were steadily falling , there were once 1800 odd members, now, more like 1200.... Can't say I'll be too sad to see a drop in numbers on the bank...……. But have we reached a point now where the huge growth in angling through the 90's and 00's is long past it's peak..? Are we about to witness a steady decline in numbers over the next decade or so? Seen a lot of tackle companies trying to diversify a bit over the last few seasons by selling products that they are not normally associated with.. Are they doing this in a bid to grow or just to stay afloat?...…..

Had some vicious takes with 3.5 - 4 inch hooklinks on clean gravel this year, after taking on board what Yonny mentioned about a friend of his using shorter hooklinks…….. Think sometimes they are so used to 7-8 inch and can get away with it...…. I imagine that as soon as they suck in the shorter hooklink, the weight of the lead is engaged instantly , and , bang, they are hooked. Haven't had the confidence to try this on anything other than clean bottom though.....

I've piddled about in the past and done my own head in.... For simplicity I just use a variation of the multi rig for pop ups (and occasionally bottom baits too)……. My go to bottom bait rig on clean bottoms is a simple stripped back a couple of inches from the hook, semi stiff coated braid...…. By sticking to two rigs for the most part, my tackle box isn't full of bits I rarely use any more...….. I'm more inclined to change the hair length/hook length or add/remove a bit of weight if I want to tweak my rig, rather than drift from the tried and tested...…. I've found, too, that by sticking to a couple of rigs, they just get easier and quicker to tie up and you don't get caught off guard at the tackle shop, as you know exactly the few components that you will be using each time...…. Hook wise I like the Gardener Mugga's for bottom baits and the ESP Cryogen stiff riggers for my multi rigs.

I'd take absolutely no notice whatsoever of what ever comes out of Ali H's mouth or any other commercial angler in regards to fish safety..... Seen a few and heard of many times where fish are retained for unnecessary lengths of time, whilst waiting for the Gimp, sorry, photographer, to arrive... Only for the poor stressed out creature to be then, kept out of the water for far too long a time, so the gimp can get enough shots off.. Followed by the immortal words on camera...… "Now let's get her back in the water as quick as we can"...…… .. 😀

You beat me to it bud.....

They're not sleeping bud...…. They are pointing and laughing...….😀

By the sounds of it, they are probably about the same..... The spomb isn't perfect, but then again, what is ?

BTW mate, why the change in spod?...… Is the Fox one a bit dodge?

I use the original Spombs , large and small,and they are "ok"...….. They do have to land nose first to get a good opening, so if you are hitting a clip quite hard they can sometimes land side on, and not open up. But I find that after a couple of casts to a spot, you can time it just right in most cases...… After watching a few vids, learned that you get a slightly better spread of bait with the Spomb,, compared to a spod, as it nose dives into the water and actually through the bait that just came out of it, the turbulence it causes just opens the pile of bait up a bit as it sinks...… The main problem I've had with the Spomb, is loading it. It's all too easy for a grain of hemp to slip in amongst the spring mechanism and jam it up, or leave it not quite locked up. and spill on the cast..... You just gotta make sure to be quite methodic when loading it, check the mechanism is working freely, and best to use a spoon or scoop and not dip it into a bucket of particle.. My other gripe with a Spomb, is that you can only half fill them, so if you are planning to put a bit of bait out, you could be spombing for quite a while. I'd have a spod on stand by if this was the case...…… I do like them though, they are more accurate imo than a spod, for me, at least and because they are never really full up, they are generally easier to handle, less spill, tidier swim, less rat food,that sort of thing....😊 Had my original spombs for 5 yrs plus, so yes , I'd say they are pretty reliable. There are a lot of cheaper versions out there 4 quid on the bay, not sure if they'd stand up to much abuse tbh, so could be a false economy imo.

Very true mate, that is

Needs to be stuck on with some BBQ Sauce bud...

My winter results are pretty dire tbh…… With the silt being quite deep, I'd probably do a mix of both dead and live maggots. Groats are a cheap particle that could be added, they kinda replicate maggots a bit, looks wise and will take on some liquid additives too... Good luck mate.

Wouldn't surprise me if it went again before the year was out. Don't think many people take a lot of notice of the actual record these days...… As anglers, I think the sight of a huge fish is always impressive, no matter what the species or where it came from... But imo, these sort of captures create a somewhat fabricated record. Good publicity for the fishery, who have probably done their bit to encourage a claim...… From a scientific point of view, it does give us an insight into how big these strains can grow in our waters, in certain conditions. But that's exactly how it comes across to me, one big, unfinished experiment...….. Having said that, all records aside, To see a creature of that size on my mat, would blow my mind..... I'm thinking , the sheer width of it, an impressive sight no doubt..... Good luck to the fella. There's no room for animosity imo, Just applaud him or take no notice.. One thing is for sure, we'd all like something of that size tugging our lines. How you go about achieving that is down to the individual...…...

yep... same as any tinned beans or pulses, they would have softened in the juice after being cooked in the can.....

But at the same time I don't want to ignore it in case either corn or pink is part of the key so I was thinking of going with a small pink pop up while he uses pink corn. But not sure how long should persevere before changing as you never know when your on the fish as they are quite shy and don't really show themself to much If you are going to put some time in, just get on a decent food bait and stick with it...… Be patient and it will all come together...… Asking for advice from those that have put the effort in already, might be a blind alley, most times they will say very little and what they tell you might be duff info, that is, until you have done a bit of time and you can exchange info, two way street in this case..... TBH, what I find, is that a lot of anglers come and go, they try a place , and a few blanks later they are off to the local runs water...… If you stick it out and become a regular, the barriers come down a bit, people open up a bit more, plus, just by spending time at the venue, you will learn the place, and a bit about where the fish will be...… No real short cuts imo, time and effort...… But bait wise, I find chopping and changing can just give you a head ache. Just stick to a proven bait..... Knowing where to put it, will come with time spent on the bank, not holed up in a bivvy, but walking and watching for signs, climbing the odd tree etc...... Not a fluke buddy...…… Right place, right time, that's what its all about... Make a note of the spot and the time of day and time of year and that's a tiny piece of the jig saw sorted..... Before you leave, bang a marker float over the spot, see if there's some kind of feature there. Chuck a few baits in on leaving...… All these little bits of effort will add up long term 😊

Did a quick visit to mine today, would you believe it, the one thing I needed , foam nuggets, were out of stock lol...……. But the Alladins cave struck rich again, was looking for mono leader material-, from the darkest recesses after some digging around, out comes a spool of Sundridge Sylcast 40lb pink mono shock leader, who remembers that stuff lol...…? 2 quid, that'll do, only need a couple of rod lengths off a 50yd spool, may need a steam/stretch.. Peeled off the first 10yrds, the spool looks and feels mint, if a bit coiled, should straighten out ok.. 😃

Fare enough...… social media eh.....

Read earlier that the fella isn't going to put a claim in, fair play to him, probably wants to avoid all the drama..... Some nasty stuff last time with that Big Rig...… I think a fish should be born in the lake for a claim to stand, stops all controversy.....

Spicey fish and liver boilies as a mainstay...… But leaning towards squid too, with the next lot...…. I find it difficult to leave out the liver, either in powder or liquid form, awesome bait ingredient..... I bought a load of particle this year, maples, hemp, buckwheat and tares, drew in a lot of tench…… So just using plain old maple peas now. They take on loads of liquid food and are easier to get out than the smaller particles if I'm fishing closer in..... I can launch prepped maples a good 30yrds plus with a baiting spoon on a landing pole, don't want to be spodding at that range (if at all)…. Messed up on the hemp seed, bought the huge hemp, takes ages to soak and sink and prep (up to 4 days)…… Love the buckwheat, cheaper than hemp, considered a whole protein, and replicates tiny snails and mussels really well and is really easy to prep...…… Keeping it all in a cool dry place, hoping it will still be ok for next year, as I'm not getting through it very quickly, been using mainly boilies on a water where you don't need to hold them..😊

Nice to have one if you have the space, mines full of everything, powders, ground bait, particle, boilies...… Bit like sweeping it all under the rug lol 😄

Don't apologise Finchey, it's not a stupid question mate...…… It's a good subject this with a few angles to consider imo…. Here's a few of my views, and they are just opinions based on a bit of reading, a bit of fishing and various comments from different people...… Glad you mentioned digestion. btw. Imo ( I will keep saying "imo", so as not to offend anyone)… The ability of a bait to be easily broken down, not just crushed, but dismantled , a molecule at a time, by natural enzymes, is everything imo. It not only allows the bait ingredients to by utilised by the fish,( As once broken down by enzymes into, amino acids,simple sugars and fatty acids, to name a few, these can be absorbed through the lining of the fishes digestive tract, and on into it's circulatory system and delivered to wherever they are needed, within the body, to promote, muscle growth, tissue repair, plain old energy, etc etc..) but it will also attract naturals onto the baits/baited area too, for the same reasons. Ie, the naturals, snails, bugs etc , will be looking for the same nourishment. So a good bait, imo, will be attracting naturals from the off, onto your baits and providing a veritable banquet for any fish, this, imo gives the added attraction of lots of tiny movement over the spot, which fish will home in on, imo, with their ability to detect such things , through "electro sensory" detection... So these, easily digestible baits, promote a whole cycle of events, a life cycle if you will. And even if you are fishing a vast water and have put some bait in a spot where they are difficult to find by the fish (carp)… They will still attract naturals and in turn silvers etc and be devoured by the lakes inhabitants...Worst scenario, because the enzyme activity produces gas, primarily CO2, if the baits are not completely eaten, they will gas up and float to the surface after about 3 days and be picked off by the bird life or blown into the edge where the birds, rats etc will get them...……… Basically, they will not be sitting on the bottom and rotting for weeks...…. The only time that could happen with a good bait, is when temperatures are at their very lowest, this will slow down the enzyme activity and therefore slow down a whole chain of events. So in cold conditions, it's very important to put any bait in the right place, where a degree or two of warmer temperature can make a huge difference, to the life cycle..... So there you go, a brief description of what a good food source can bring to water, plenty of life in a cycle that benefits everything that lives in it...….. Right, now shelfies, how can I put this?...……. " NONE OF THAT HAPPENS"........ They should be banned imo..... It's most likely some very clever attractor packages used in them, as to why they catch fish.. But the fact that they are stuffed with preservatives to stop the enzymes doing their thing, means they add nothing to the environment they are chucked into, with some reports suggesting that the preservatives leaking out, can actually be quite harmful to small creatures and actually kill off fish eggs...... Add to that, that the preservatives will also hinder the gut flora (enzymes found naturally in the gut) in our fish, so they cannot possibly break these baits down and utilise anything that is in them... You may as well be feeding them cardboard...... Bleached cardboard with a sugar coating imo......... When you catch a fish that is Emptying out loads of a particular bait, imo, it's a stinky winky bait that can't be digested and is just passed through, so please don't think they are thriving on it........ Right, getting back to the OP, soft baits, hard baits etc (again, just my op'). I'm going to dismiss hook baits, as I will always use a hard hook bait to get round the smaller species pecking at it , or coots etc picking up and dropping it......... That just leaves "feed baits", mine are always soft, boiled for about 20 seconds just to form a light skin that stops them sticking together in the bag. The plus side of this , is that very few of the goodies, liquids and soluble ingredients are boiled out of the baits and once they have been in the lake for a couple of hours, they will break apart when the coots try to pick them up, mostly............ And having done a few pint glass tests on them, they will literally disintergrate , after about 10hrs, if you touch one...... Whether the softness of a bit is more attractive to a carp, who knows, they pick up snails, mussels etc which are hard, but they also feed on, bloodworm etc, that are soft..... Being omnivorous scavangers I would think that the hardness/softness issue wouldn't really come into it, as long as the right food signals/attractors are being picked up on... Nuts are hard, worms are soft, they love both.... The problem I have with harder baits (boilies), it just says to me that there are fewer soluble ingredients in them and imo, will be mostly cheap ingredients held together with something like whey gel or egg albumin, and give me the feeling that they are slightly "locked up", which may take longer for any attractors to do their thing, not great if you are on a shorter sesh imo...... If I had some baits like this, I would probably try to boost them and soften them at the same time, by first air drying for 24hrs and then rehydrating them/soaking them, in something with a bit of pulling power, liver hydro, fish hydro, that sort of thing....... Even some plain old liquidised live, a quids worth of liver, liquidised and diluted with some lake water is all you will need for a few kg of bait.......

2 waters I looked at turned out to be a no go today..... Too close to the River Cam with no Otter fencing, bit of a risk imo, especially as water levels were well down too, be like shooting fish in a barrel for Mr Otter, who has visited before, I was told...…… Add to that, the water I'd planned on leaving threw up a mint 38lb Common yesterday...….. Dilema 🙄

Short sessions = less bait imo…….. Even better if you can put some in a day or two before (without encroaching on anyone else) and flick a single or stringer out on the spot when you do your overnighter.... As @Pete Springate's Guns mentioned, the guy piling it in opposite him is going to sit on that for a few days. (bit out of order considering by 4/5pm on a Sunday, most anglers will be packing up, so he could have waited til then)... Over nighters, for me (I don't do that many), consist of about 10-12 baits flicked around my rig, looking for a bite at a time with as least disturbance as possible and a quick set up time, especially as the light is drawing in now and I don't want to be waiting for my swim to settle down after a barrage of baiting as the twilight witching hour approaches...… Nice little trap set. If I get anything, it's an easy re-set, flick it back out with a few more baits over the top...……. I've been baiting a couple of waters this year, but actual fishing has been done over very little bait, just to try and get a quicker pick up and a more covert set up and rods out... Steady results, but feel that I'm doing something right...… Having said that, they have seen a bit of my bait over the last 6-8 months, which definately helps. A mate of mine does the opposite, turns up at midday, sorts his rods out and clips them up, bangs a bit of bait out.... Then says his hello's round the lake, drinking all our tea lol...… Casts out at midnight ready for a morning bite.... He does alright too.. The theory being, let a few fish come in and out of the baited areas with no lines cutting through the swim, before chucking a rig out...….. He jokingly says " get yer camra ready geezer' As he wanders back to his swim at 11pm...…. Proper annoying when you get the wake up call at 3am, I have to wind my rods in, that have been out for 8hrs, to take a pic for someone who's been fishing for a couple of hours...…. Doesn't always go like that, but he does alright...….☺️

Good shout that...... TBH mate, I think there is only "so much" you can do, especially with time restraints etc...….. As you know mate, the hardest thing can be finding and getting on some fish that are willing to feed..... We are playing with nature for the most part and even the very best of anglers will blank, even if everything is set perfectly...….. For me, that percentage of unpredictability is what makes it all such a special past- time, in an age where we are normally in complete control of most things with the push of a button. Angling takes me away from that, there's always a little that is left to chance...….. Keeps the Carp Gods in employment 😊