B.C.

If I'm honest Harpz, I don't like them at all...…. I've seen them used to good effect a couple of times where guys have emptied a lake in 6 months by finding tight little spots that might otherwise be missed with a marker float...….. I even considered one myself...……. for about 2 seconds...…. After witnessing a 40 on the bank through the use of one...….. There will always be a divided opinion on technology and angling...….. The guys using them and selling them, will tell you they are the best thing since sliced bread...…….. I suppose it depends what you want from your water and angling in general...….. You may learn the topography of a lake quicker, but are you learning to angle better?...….There's something about doing it the hard way, chucking a lead out, feeling for substrates and drop offs and giving it a sniff on retrieval, checking the age of any weed that comes back and looking for naturals within and using all that to catch a fish or gain an inch towards catching one imo…… Old fashioned view to some,. Is it a generation thing? Perhaps...…….. Some waters ban them and I've seen anglers being made less than welcome for using them. Mainly for chucking them out multiple times like a lure angler, while others are fishing...…….. There are a lot of time constraints on peoples everyday lives these days, so I can definitely see the timesaving benefits of using a deeper to map out a lake or an area of a lake...… Some anglers just want to see a fish in the net and get their fish pic, some anglers enjoy the long winding journey..... There in lies the divided opinion on any kind of short cuts...… As always, each to their own...

Couple of belters mate, but different fish imo, for the same reasons Nick mentions.

I have to say, that human error or not...… If I have a bad experience with a company, I tend not to use them unless I really have to... Over time and the odd bad experience I've whittled it down to a handful of places that I buy from, even if some of them are a couple of quid dearer on some things...…. I don't mind if it's a good reliable service... Hate waiting for deliveries that don't arrive on time...….. Good to know they sorted it fella. 🙂

Big fan of the Jelewyre too, but since I discovered the ESP tungsten loaded I've just gone with it for the last few seasons (semi stiff version) for boom sections on HSR with the coating entact, and also basic combi, "stripped back coating" rigs for bottom baits..... I do find that coated braids can make me a bit lazy and I'm never entirely satisfied with the braid inner and usually wiggle it about a little to loosen the weave and make it more supple...… I say lazy, simply because , with combi rigs I think you can achieve a better rig by using two separate materials, one being a designated braid... For braid sections or short braided rigs for bags, I've been using Korda supernatural for a few seasons now. It's very supple yet thick enough so that it doesn't feel like a razor blade when taught, like some of the on-line cheaper dynema braids..... The suppleness of the Super natural, imo, brings the weight of the hook into play a bit more, I just think the hook will drop down easier with a real supple braid..... I bought some RM Tech chod material a while back, just to have a play and I've been quite impressed, although I use it doubled up.... It's easy to shape and holds it's shape pretty well too...…

All depends what you are looking for...……. Some of the more luxurious types weigh a ton...… I would deffo check the weight..... I've been using a Wychwood Tactical, which came recommended on this forum, purely for it's light weight attributes.... The compact version weighs in at 6.5 kg, I'm 5ft 11" and 13st and it gives me plenty of room and is half the weight of some bed chairs...….. Bed chairs come in all shapes and sizes and weights these days.... I would start by narrowing things down at first, being as there is so much choice...….. How big are you? How big is your shelter? Do you want to be mobile or are you happy to make camp and stay put? Are you doing short sessions or are you a week at a time bank rat? I like JRC, I've mentioned on other threads about the durability of their shelters...…. That bed chair looks ok, but comes in a bit heavy for me personally, with the smallest size being 9.3kg...…… Check out "Cyprinus", they do carbon copies of some of the more expensive brand names at much cheaper prices. Another option, for a bit more comfort is to buy an affordable bed chair and then purchase a 1" thick single bed, memory foam mattress topper and trim it to size. It will fold up with the bed chair and only add about 1kg to the weight. costs about £20 and makes a hell of a difference, especially in winter and can be removed through the warmer months...…. Imo, most of the £200 plus bed chairs, just have a memory foam mattress incorporated...….. My basic Wychwood Tactical, with a home made mattress topper (currently in the shed), covers all bases for my fishing.... BTW, welcome to the forum bud..

I only saw a bit of the first episode and switched it off, perhaps I should of given it more of a chance. I'll see if I can get through a whole episode of the second series. Your comments were interesting @The Compleat Angler, glad to hear that the therapy of fishing has helped poor old Bob out...… I always find it a pleasant distraction from any woes and I'm sure a lot of others do to......🙂

No I haven't personally, but to be honest, a few ounces here or there wouldn't bother me . It would be difficult to put one set of scales against another, unless one set had been recently calibrated. I will try and compare when I'm next out, if there is someone about with some dial scales...... Did they come with the T-Bar David, or was that an extra?

I ran out of talin a while back and wanted a sweet soak. My local AD suggested the CC Moore stuff, Aqua Sweet, a talin based liquid food. I've been using it to soak buoyant toppers in...… I know CC get a bit of stick for their products, but this was the only Talin based product the AD branch had in at the time, so I went for it... It's potent stuff and ultra sweet a couple of squirts into a small bag with a few bits in is enough to coat everything., so even at £10 plus it should last a while...….. I used these toppers on my last session and got a consistent result. Too early to tell if it was soley down to the sweet toppers, but certainly a confidence boost and a sweet option compared to my usual fishy/spicy baits...…….. I have little faith in flavours, but liquid foods are a different thing altogether. If I were to use a spray of any kind, I'd like to know what's in it, if it's just a thinned out flavour then I wouldn't bother...… You can buy a litre of hydro for a tenner and probably dilute it at 10 to one with water to give a decent foody soak or coating. I'm more confident with these sort of additives.... Each to their own though, some people swear by flavours......https://www.anglingdirect.co.uk/cc-moore-talin

Well, some good posts from all and I'm not too sure I can add much to what's been said already...….. The very first set up I used was a running rig, it was the only lead arrangement I knew of,, until sometime in the early eighties someone showed me both the hair rig and the bolt rig arrangement, The bolt rig consisted of adding a split shot on the mainline just above the lead by a few inches, so the fish could take a few inches of line before the resistance of the lead would prick the hook home and hopefully cause the fish to bolt and a full blown run occur. Can't say it made much difference to mine or my mates catch rates, the leads we used were so small at the time, no more than half ounce. But we carried on catching pasties and thought we were carp anglers...… However, the concept of the bolt rig, aiding hooking with a larger weight, definitely stuck, and influences my fishing in a big way to this day... Which is possibly why, I have less confidence in running rigs,...… Basically, in my head, if there is little or no resistance once a fish picks up my rig, then I just think I'm getting done at the slightest bleep. And assume that a fish will just spit me out, without the weight of the lead to hold the rig in place until I pull into the fish.... For the same reason, hooking potential, I prefer to use a dumpy shaped lead, either a square pear or dumpy pear...……... I've been using a lead clip arrangement while the weed has been up. I'm not a fan of lead clips, they are easily misused and can become death rigs when they are pushed up tight with pins through the swivel. There's no chance of the lead dropping...… The Kodex clips and tail rubbers that I've been using have a bump on the clip as a guide. Push the rubber up to the bump and the lead drops easily, push it over the bump and the tail rubber is on much firmer. It's idiot proof and the lead has dropped on every take so far...…. The only other thing I'll add is my marker lead is different to my main leads, it will be bobbly shaped to help pick up any bobbles on the bottom, indicating gravel. I will keep it the same weight as my main leads so that if theres a few inches of silt on top of gravel, I should get a similar drop on my rods, the same as the marker lead. As I said earlier, there isn't much I can add to previous posts..... I'll nominate @emmcee, if there's anything you can add to this thread mate, then fire away..🙂

They These have served me well for 3 yrs with the same battery. They will automatically shut down after about 1 min of inactivity, and being backlit is a real bonus. The one and only flaw is purely cosmetic, after about a year, the colour dye from the neoprene case has leeched onto the rubber casing on the actual scales, looks a bit like felt pen has been wiped in, but they are blinding little scales for the price...……. I used to use Avon dial scales, but found that they could mist up in cold conditions, I never trusted dial scales after this as the condensation can leave limescale once dried up in side the casing...

Have you got a budget in mind Chris?..... I know a lot of lads like the Ruebens……….. For me they are a bit bulky and need protection in transit, but they are ever reliable. Here's what I use, compact and light weight, back lit so no probs in the dark and they are small enough to fit in my cradle pocket. Good price too imo….. Come with case and weigh up to 80kg, in lbs oz, or kg....

Well, finally got out for a couple of nights Thurs/Fri.... Got to the lake about 2pm Thurs and it was chucking down, fish were showing everywhere and there was no one fishing. Weird one this, as it actually made swim choice more difficult than you'd think. So after a couple of wet laps and numerous shows all over the lake I just decided that they were having it and no swim looked better or worse than the next, so opted for a central swim that I could back the van up to, to unload and keep an eye on most of the lake in case the shows became more localised...…. I'd also clocked a few bubblers that looked like they were on the seam of the dying weed beds and margin gravel about 3 rod lengths out in a couple of swims on my walk round. The water level had dropped about a foot since my last visit,.. Making it 3ft below bank level, so a little forward thinking was needed as playing and landing anything would involve stepping down from the safety of the sleeper in front of the swim onto some very hard and slippery gravel that shelved off at 45 degrees into 7ft of water, Not too much of a problem in daylight, but in the dark could prove tricky, and as I was on my own didn't want to take any silly risks, even though I was itching to get a baited rig out there.... I fished one rod close in on the hard gravel ,bottom bait slightly balanced with a cork stick hair stop that I'd had soaking in talin with a few other buoyant bits and the second rod was fished about a foot into the old weed bed, not far out , with a squid liver cork ball pop up...……. Turned out to be a pretty mental evening...… 2 takes on the bottom bait rod 23lb common and 16 lb mirror and 3 takes resulting in 3 lost fish on the pop up rig,(I later.. Over weighted this rig a bit more) one of which I'm sure was a cat as it steam rolled me with no head shakes and powered off into the middle of the lake before spitting me out...… By now it was 10pm and after a couple of 2lb kittens and a tench on the pop up rig to my right and not much happening on the margin rod to my left apart from loads of single bleeps caused by blobs of rain water dropping from the trees, and the odd liner, I decided to spread a kg of bait between the two spots, wind in, and get some kip...…. The next day was a bit slow, a few lads had started turning up for the weekend so the fish activity slowed down. I couldn't move swims now , even if I wanted too. But feeling confident , I stuck to my guns with the close, in tucked away approach, and hoped that the slight commotion from the other anglers would push a few fish my way...… I'd noticed that a couple of fish were just cruising the upper layers out front, at about 6pm on the Friday. I was just contemplating a switch to zigs, when, wallop, the margin rod was off , resulting in a really good scrap from another 23lb common, happy days...… Now, all 3 carp have come from a spot , quite literally 3ft from the bank and about 3mtres to my left , off a bush that has a nice , clear undercut. I don't think any fish congregate hear, more likely passing through, along the edge and being ambushed...….. Later that night around 11pm, the margin rod was off again, 1 toner, that I just couldn't turn, so let it run, being as the weed had died off..... This thing took me all over the lake, and I was convinced it was one of the lakes bigger carp...… Baring in mind I was using 9ft Dwarfs, I had literally no right to land the 33lb cat... Not what I was after, but what a scrap and I was happy to get a bite, since the lake had switched off with the arrival of yet more anglers and a barrage of bait going in...…. We talk of carp with big rudders putting up a scrap, well a catfish is 75% rudder and this one was over 4ft long...…. Again , I wound in at midnight and got some sleep...……. The following morning I had another cat of about 10lb on the pop up rod as I was packing up...…... It was good to get out for a chill out and a few bites. No pics, as I didn't take my phone with me, just wanted a bit of quiet time. It also gave me a chance to get some more of my bait in, ready for Autumn..... Really pleased with my new hookers, dusted with liver powder and squid extract powder, there was no surprise really that the cats took a liking to them...…. Something you have to take on the chin , if they are present. They should quieten down in a month or so and the carp will be on it hopefully, so I'll just keep a bit of bait going in , in readiness.... Starting my new water in the next few days. The first visit will probably be a reccy in one of the boats, followed by some, somewhat blind, tester sessions to get a feel for the place... I will deffo sneak the odd session in , on the local lake that I've just talked about..... It's not the most difficult of waters, and a good "confidence" water if things get tough elsewhere...…..🙂

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Cheers Greeksi, nice piece mate, you clearly put a lot of thought into your lead arrangement. To be honest, something I'm quite lazy with...……. I'll have to get back in a few days as I'm off out fishing...… Feel free to nominate someone else and I'll jump in later...

Yeah, I love that pic...… Hobo fishing lol..... Just needs a "homeless and hungry " sign and a skinny dog...…. Hope you caught 🙂 Can't stop chuckling, can imagine you busking out of shot...…

Believe it or not, when I first started night fishing with my mate aged 13, we had a 45" brolly between us, no such thing as storm sides...…… If we got caught in a thunderstorm, we would take the pole out and lay the brolly flat and curl up under it with a woolen blanket each...….. Alarming to think how fussy I've become as each one of those shelters I rejected in my earlier post was quite adequate really and an absolute palace compared to back then...…. Although it's nice to wake up without nettle rash on the side of my face nowadays 🙂

Banged a couple of kg in last night on the local small water, the dogs have worked out that the boilies are like sweets to them. No more chasing after a Jack Russel when it's time to go home lol..... Looks like we've got a break in this hot weather coming in a day or two, for a couple of days, so I'm aiming to go on Wed/Thurs when some rain is expected...…. No one on the main lake, must have spooked at least 3 fish right in the edge as I walked round, wouldn't say they were feeding, just milling around, none the less a good sign as they were areas I'd been sprinkling a few handfuls in...….. Fingers crossed I can get back on track 😀

Good luck Gaz, hope it works out...…. 🙂

I agree with you on this mate, your TFG brolly is very similar to my old stealth system and gives you a bit of both worlds without breaking the bank...…….. … Let's be honest, we are outdoors in all weathers, that's part of the game... So a little condensation or the odd drip blowing in shouldn't bother anyone really imo……. Whatever any promo's say, you cant beat a traditional brolly design for speed of put up and pack down imo….. I find too many companies try to reinvent the wheel when it comes to shelters, instead of just tweaking what they've already got, by way of feed back from customers.....

I used a jrc stealth brolly system for about 10 yrs before I had a break from fishing, it never got re coated and it never let me down. I absolutely loved it...… Small and compact on the out side, but somehow, loads of space inside, before that, always had a brolly ranging from 45" canvas type until sometime in the early 90's I bought a wavelock nubrolly it had a rubbery material and was like lugging an anvil around...….. Tbh, I've never been able to achieve the same level of "I don't know what", call it comfort, but that doesn't really explain it, since I ditched the Stealth system. Yes it was a bit on the heavy side, and it used to get a puddle above the doorway in heavy rain (I used to rub a candle on the stitching now and then above the doorway, just in case it leaked, but it never did).. It was rock solid once pegged and storm poled, and so many door and window options as well as a zip in/out panel, I have to say , that even to this day it is the most versatile shelter I have ever owned..... It's still being used by the lad I gave it to and is at least 15yrs old...…. Since getting back into it all, finding the right shelter has been the biggest pain in the backside for me..... Started with a budget brolly system, Carp zone , Similar in design to the JRC Stealth and not bad for £130... But as soon as I put it through some serious weather, realised it wasn't really up to it..... So, after deliberating, went for a used Tempest Brolly, have to say, I hated it. It's not a brolly, it's a bivvy and takes a lot longer than a brolly to set up and I didn't like the thin material, and in true Trakker style, you have to spend extra on other bits in order to have a complete set up... Once you add that lot up, I feel it's a bit overpriced for what it is... Luckily got what I paid for it and the wrap.... Next up was a used mk1 fox supa,50" really liked it and used it in conjunction with a mk2 cammo wrap.... Perfect combo for my kind of fishing, tiny shelter cammo'd up , close in, like being in a bird hide...… However, the wrap was a really tight fit and to get it all spot on was a bit of a fiddle about and had to be on the lowest peg setting...… I've got to say though, that the wrap is brilliant, really lightweight and a blackout coating on the inside to block out the sunlight and any bivvy lights from the inside totally blocked out...……. I outed it before it sprung a leak and also because it wasn't perfect and I was having a clear out (bloke got a bargain £50 all in)……. This brings me to my current brolly set up, Which is the Cyprinus version of the Aqua fast and light 55"..... Really like it, extended storm sides, magnet sticks and an extra rib above the doorway to allow better run off and forms a tiny peak. Think it ways in at 4.5 kg without the extras. And for £95 a steal. Although light in weight, the material is quite thick and has a blackout effect too. I bought a wrap for it, which meant buying some extra sticks for the front (side sticks came with it). The wrap is lightweight at 2kg...…… I haven't used this set up much as it's fairly new, but so far so good. I had it all set up in the garden with the wrap and extra poles ( like you do), and it's rock solid with the extra poles, so I'm pretty sure it'll be ok in severe conditions...... I also own a Trakker Cayman bivvy with wrap, which served me really well a couple of winters back. Being quite small, easy to keep warm inside with a large peak that helps create an extra porch area when the wrap is on, for mucky boots and buckets etc...… The Cayman is a brilliant little bivvy imo and at £250 with wrap (at the time), I thought was good value from Trakker, they put some nice little touches on their shelters that make life easier, especially the elasticated pegging points and on both of their shelters I've owned, the wraps are actually held off the main shelter by spokes or frame bars, which virtually eliminates condensation and gives a more thermal effect, I just think their price points are a bit out of reach for a lot of anglers...…. The Cayman price was pretty good, I doubt I'll part with it, even though I don't use it much, it definitely has a place for winter sessions , when I can blank in comfort , should I wish...…….. Ok, so there is a familiar theme to my shelters...…. Compact and with an infill or wrap, whatever time of year...…. I just try not to be there, when I'm there, I like close in fishing and want to be hidden away, like I mentioned before, almost like being in a bird hide. If I light a smoke or stove I don't want to spook a sparrow, that might spook a moorhen etc, I don't need to see the entire lake, or any of it really, my traps are set in places I know the fish visit, so being tucked away is important to me...…….. The larger place I'm starting on this month will be different at times, so I'm hoping that the Fast and Light will prove it's worth if I need to be mobile, the wrap , all 2kg of it, will be stowed in an under barrow bag...... So after much trial and error, buying and trying and clearing out I'm finally settled on a couple of shelters that cover every situation for me. My advice to anyone is, that if you currently own a shelter (or any kit) you really like, then take especially good care of it, because these days, products are discontinued as soon as they hit the shelves, you may never be able to buy a replica. 🙂

No I haven't mate, it's on my list, I noticed you mentioned it a little while back...…. He comes across as pretty down to earth and I like that..... There's another book in front of the queue atm on chemoreception... Knowing my luck Oz's book will be sold out and worth a mint by the time I start looking lol

Some recent Sticky Baits vids have been pretty good...…. Anything with Oz Holness has me glued.... Here's one to kick you off.... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3GLIe5COuM

Ever feel like you need a "fresh page" to start on???...…. Well tomorrow is just that for me...…. Had a right dodgy few weeks, no matter what I've tried to do lately, something has popped up and kicked me in the nads……. Only mentioning it as I'm out the other side of it now, touch wood...…… Done a few bob on the van which passed the MOT last month, but a few advisories escalated into a couple of expensive jobs once the mechanic got under the bonnet.... New ignition barrel, new exhaust section, new starter motor, new tracking rods and rod ends plus tracking done..... Great, I thought as I whizzed over the lake last night for a walk( the van was off road for a couple of days and it felt like weeks)…. Everything working and feeling all good and driving and starting well...….. So, gets up this morning to attend a work party, guess what?... Flat trye….. I just laughed, it was that or pull my hair out.... So, roll on Monday..... Fresh start, new week and all that...🙂….

There's a few out there buddy, Gardner do a little thing called a hook doctor I think, but if you search hook sharpener on the bay, I'm sure a few will show up...….

Yeah, they sound like a rocket...………. How much gas did it eat up?