matt1984 Posted February 23, 2011 Report Posted February 23, 2011 Hi everyone, I'm very new to this place and this is my first ever post on here, so I hope some of you will be kind enough to help me out =) I've just started fishing a local specimen lake again after several failed visits in the past, the lake is currently well ahead and is beating me 8-0! The owner tells me that the bottom of the lake is made up mainly from silt, apparently there are also some not-so-silty areas out in the middle where it is mainly clay. Clay I'm ok with but I'm really looking for some help on what to use to present my bait well in the silty areas. The silt isn't that deep but it's there, says the owner! So, any rig recommendations at all? Also, pop ups or bottom baits? Hope to hear from people very soon =) All the best, Matt. Quote
Guest keenook Posted February 23, 2011 Report Posted February 23, 2011 Matt just cast around a 4oz lead, and let it fall on a tight line! You will feel the difference! look for the hard donk! Quote
nash_gadgeteer Posted February 23, 2011 Report Posted February 23, 2011 Welcome to the forum, and hopefully we can help... First off if you are looking at fishing this place a lot, It would be great to build up a underwater map in the place and this can be done quite easily over a few trips, and this time of year is best for that.... being quiet... Draw yourself a map from google maps etc and ensure you label it with a north heading (via google map or compass) Next you are going to need a marker rod, with a 3-4oz rough coated lead on it (no float), this can be cast around the venue to ascertain the exact make up of the bottom, soft shallow silt will register on the tip as pulling the lead through runny custard, deep heavy silt will register as pulling the lead through thick custard and may get stuck in... Dont forget to check your lead for signs of silt/clay.... Attach the marker float and do the same again as above, put periodically pop up the marker to check distance and depth, if you find a feature clip the line in the reel line clip then keep reeling in, once you reach the margin then you can use the various clipped up points to measure exactly the distance to the feature by putting two bank sticks at 12ft / 4yds (Rod length) and wrapping you line around them.... Once you know what is front of you, then you can build up this picture and mark it on a map.. Features, Depths & distances... Once you have a good idea of what you are fishing on, and distance and depth then you can choose a rig to match..... Personally if the silt is shallow then present a bait just into it (normal bottom bait), but use a lead clip system, not inline and keep a tight line on the lead as it hits the bottom so you can feel the lead down and stop it sinking to far into the silt... If the silt is deep and heavy then a choddy rig will work wonders, based on a helicopter rig, the rig can be fished as close or far from the lead and the popup will come to rest on the rig a few inches off bottom, giving a awesome presentation.. If you are unsure of anything i have covered look in the search facility on here, or look on some of the other websites like Korda, Gardner and they will show you the rigs and how to set them up... Hope that helps, land a few for me....!!! Quote
dougmoon Posted February 23, 2011 Report Posted February 23, 2011 hi matt where are you fishing? i may be able to help im just down the road in eastbourne doug Quote
splitter Posted February 23, 2011 Report Posted February 23, 2011 Once you have a good idea of what you are fishing on, and distance and depth then you can choose a rig to match..... Personally if the silt is shallow then present a bait just into it (normal bottom bait), but use a lead clip system, not inline and keep a tight line on the lead as it hits the bottom so you can feel the lead down and stop it sinking to far into the silt... If the silt is deep and heavy then a choddy rig will work wonders, based on a helicopter rig, the rig can be fished as close or far from the lead and the popup will come to rest on the rig a few inches off bottom, giving a awesome presentation.. Hope that helps, land a few for me....!!! Some good advice there, just to add that a helicopter rig is great for a bottom bait in silt if you can't find the harder spots. Just set the beads up the line so that the lead can penerate into the silt, leaving the hooklink lying nicely on top. Best of luck mate! Quote
matt1984 Posted February 24, 2011 Author Report Posted February 24, 2011 Just would like to thank everyone for taking the time to help me with my problem I've had a read through all of your replies and have learned a lot, can't thank you all enough! Will try my best to land you all a decent Carp! Doug, I'm fishing the specimen lake at the Falkenvil fishery down Saltmarsh Lane in Hailsham, and utterly determined to break my personal best which is only 21lb 4oz! Should be bigger considering the amount of time I've been Carp Fishing! Ah well, I'll do it! Thankyou all again Quote
dougmoon Posted February 24, 2011 Report Posted February 24, 2011 Just would like to thank everyone for taking the time to help me with my problem I've had a read through all of your replies and have learned a lot, can't thank you all enough! Will try my best to land you all a decent Carp! Doug, I'm fishing the specimen lake at the Falkenvil fishery down Saltmarsh Lane in Hailsham, and utterly determined to break my personal best which is only 21lb 4oz! Should be bigger considering the amount of time I've been Carp Fishing! Ah well, I'll do it! Thankyou all again let me know next time you are going. ill try and pop down doug Quote
bluebirdjones Posted February 24, 2011 Report Posted February 24, 2011 Doug, I'm fishing the specimen lake at the Falkenvil fishery down Saltmarsh Lane in Hailsham, and utterly determined to break my personal best which is only 21lb 4oz! That's a respectable PB, a lot of people would kill for a 20lber! (Not literally I hope) Quote
Guest keenook Posted February 24, 2011 Report Posted February 24, 2011 Just would like to thank everyone for taking the time to help me with my problem I've had a read through all of your replies and have learned a lot, can't thank you all enough! Will try my best to land you all a decent Carp! Doug, I'm fishing the specimen lake at the Falkenvil fishery down Saltmarsh Lane in Hailsham, and utterly determined to break my personal best which is only 21lb 4oz! Should be bigger considering the amount of time I've been Carp Fishing! Ah well, I'll do it! Thankyou all again Matt, Thats' the whole point of the forum, and you are very welcome Sir! Quote
matt1984 Posted February 27, 2011 Author Report Posted February 27, 2011 Sorry for the delay in posting a reply. been very busy the past few days. Thankyou to all people who have posted since my last reply, I think it's great everyone is being so friendly and helpful =) Can't express enough gratitude. I have taken on board everyone's suggestions, taking the time to sit and tie up some choddys and a few little ideas I think may work that I'd like to try. I like your idea Harry and will certainly try it out, thankyou =) I do like to use Korda products when I can but I don't ignore other companies either. Nash, Fox and Korum products (to name a few) I really like as well and I use them with complete confidence. Going to head back to the venue in question on Monday (28th Feb) for another go, will post my results afterwards. Hope to speak with you all then =) Take care everyone and tight lines =) Quote
ouchthathurt Posted February 27, 2011 Report Posted February 27, 2011 i used to tie a length of dental floss to the eye of the lead and then the other end of the floss about 3ft up the line, so i had a length of dental floss running tight parralell to the line for the last few feet, then cast on tight line so when the lead sank into the silt, it would stain the dental floss so i could see the depth of the silt and make sure my hook links were long enough... i find that the problem with fishing over silt is that it has to be the right silt, not the thick black stinking rotting stuff as the carp do tend to avoid this as it does not hold any foodstuffs the light, fluffy "ouderless" silt is what your aiming for - looking for carp fizzing over it will give the game away, particles like hemp and pellet are good for silt as it has the carp rooting for hours looking for the particles, with dry boilies, when they adsorb the water when immersed, they can take on the flavour of the silt, which can make them unnattractive - so if you soak them in a booster, or better still the lake water or the water you used to boil the hemp, until they cannot adsorb anymore water, then they will hold their flavour better and resist the taste and smell of silt better as the baits cannot adsorb anymore water - plus they appear washed out which for pressured carp can be a real edge. shaun harrison called them "rehrydrates" and used them to good effect at the mangrove, a lake with metres of silt in places! the use of PVA nuggets on the hooklink to suspend the hook is a good idea, i used to buy old 1-2oz (lead) sea leads and lead sarsely bombs and hammer my leads flat, then rough the edges up so they sank slower, so they were less likely to bury deep into the silt, then by using the pva nuggets, the hookbait would remain suspended until the pva dissolved, then the hookbait would gently sink and rest on the silt, especially if using critically balanced baits. naturals such as maggots are good over bloodworm beds found in silt, i find braided hooklinks such as silkworm the best for use in silt, with running leds, but not inlines as they bury nose first inot the silt and drag the hooklink in with it. also dont forget the margins! i often find it easier to find clear, hard spots in the margins, and all carp love to explore and feed in the margins. also an edge if everybody else is casing out to the clay spots in the middle..., hope this helps. ouchthathurt Quote
cobleyn Posted February 28, 2011 Report Posted February 28, 2011 Good post ouchthathurt -lots of good stuff in there. Quote
bwfrancis Posted March 7, 2011 Report Posted March 7, 2011 i am currently fishing a deep silty spot and picking up lots of fish using a supernatural hookink and a light lead combined with the mainline cell, had a beaut yesterday at 12 lb Quote
nickfishing Posted March 10, 2011 Report Posted March 10, 2011 Hi there I use mainline 12lb onto a safety clip with a 2oz lead,then joined onto a braided hooklink (around about 6inch)onto a size 12 hook, and to finish it off with monster crab boiles anywhere from 12mm to 20mm to keep the bream away ! hope this helps Quote
toftman Posted March 13, 2011 Report Posted March 13, 2011 hi all , silt is the home of all those lovely grubs bloodworm ect ect. when i fish in silty areas i tend to incresses the lenght of my rig to about 12 ", to avoid the lead pulling your rig in to the silt, some riser fome to slowdown the decent of the bait. you coud try one of those flat style leads . try using a chod rig with the bead further up the leader. Quote
ouchthathurt Posted March 27, 2011 Report Posted March 27, 2011 the lead that is good to use is a "tri-lobe" lead - they do not sink as fast due to their shape, and "plane" down to rest on the silt. pop up foam is a good addition, as it will suspend the hookbait above the silt for the length of time it takes for the foam to dissolve - where it will sink gently to rest on the silt rather than be pulled in deep behind a deep diving lead. - longer hooklinks are important in silt to preven the ame thing happening. ouchthathurt Quote
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