Jack81

Hi mate, Haven't tried it but I've heard a similar idea for boat fishing for mullet. Apparently if you put some holes in an old paint tin, fill it with maggots and hang it off the side of the boat the tide will take a steady stream of maggots down, which you can then fish a float rig in. Don't see why it wouldn't work in the margins of a stillwater, good luck with it!

"They have extraordinary ability in the way they dive and come to the surface again - so much better than human fishermen," she said. "Fishermen don't like them, but that's for obvious reasons - they feel inferior!" Oh dear, what a load of rubbish. No doubt our inferiority complex is why we need massive rods eh?

I would try the margins, and/or along the edges of any weed beds. Spotting the fish and working out where they patrol is the key. I fished an farm irrigation pond last week. Caught my first 20lb common from less than a rod's length out into the margins. I spent well over an hour looking round before I spotted a couple of carp really close in. After they had gone a bit further down the margin I put out half a tin of hemp and a few 14mm halibut pellets, then fished a pellet sized piece of Pepperami over the top.

Thanks for the tips, thats why I should have posted before getting stuck in! I did give it a good rub down with white spirit before painting and was careful not to handle it afterwards to stop oil from my hands getting on the surface. It's looking pretty good at the moment, we'll see how it turns out I guess.

I'll try etch primer next time myself if it starts to flake off. At least I know I can always strip it back and start again if it all goes wrong.....

Some really good advice there. If the water is very sparcely stocked it may be worth staying mobile and putting some bait into a few swims as you walk round looking for fish. If you then don't have any luck in your chosen spot you can look around the other areas you have baited for signs of feeding fish. In a silty estate lake the carp/bream will probably send up bubbles as they root around, or you may be able to see them if the water is clear. Location can be the key if your after a small population of carp. Like Dan said hemp, sweetcorn and polaroids are your best bet.

Next I used an old paintbrush to put a layer of paint stripper on the reel, inside a plastic bucket. Use rubber gloves and goggles if you try this at home, this stuff burns if you get it on your skin. After 10 minutes the paint just washed off. I finished up with a good scrub with a brillo pad (wire wool + soap) before using masking tape to cover the handles and cross struts(?) on the spool, and the drag switch and nut on the back plate. These are the bits I didn't want to paint. A final rub down with white spirit on some tissue paper and it was ready for painting: One thin coat later: I've just put another coat on, will keep you posted with how it's going.

Ok, so not sure if restoration is the right word here, maybe 'pimp my pin' would have been better! I have recently purchased an old Mordex Merlin centrepin, which is a wonderful reel. It works perfectly and spins like a dream. As you can see the paintwork was a bit tatty but I was undecided whether to try to tart it up. I know the value of the reel is not going to improve with the work I do, but then its my reel and I'm going to use it for fishing, I'm not looking to sell it on. So I finaly decided to bite the bullet and paint it black, as I was never very keen on the original gold/brown (and it is supposed to be an aerial copy). First I removed the cap by unscrewing the three screws, noting the position of the spool release spring. Then I unscrewed each spoke working clockwise round from the slightly wobbly handle, numbering them with masking tape as I went. Probably unnessesary but wanted them to all go back in the same place. Undoing the three screws at the back of the spool I removed the cog underneath and the spindle(?) down the middle. I carefully stored all the bits I removed in an old tobbaco tin, ready for a polish up later.

I would certainly love to read a history of the pin with pictures and as you say maintenance/restoration of some common old models. I'll stop hijacking this thread and start one with my merlin attemps on it.

Very nice job there chavender. I think I was inspired by your posting of that elsewhere. The spools do look nice shiny don't they? I've got a wide drum and I don't know if its colour faded over time but it was almost gold coloured. Mine has quite nice round handles so I was lucky there. Lovely reel which worked perfectly. Hope I can get it back together sucessfully, part of the beauty of them is their simplicity so surely I can't go to far wrong. Going to make mine look abit more like an aerial by painting it in black.

Funny, I started 'restoring' my Merlin yesterday and was thinking it would have been good if I could have found a 'How To' guide on stripping and repainting a reel. I've taken photos of each stage so was thinking of having a go at writing an article for AN. I wouldn't have known where to start if it hadn't been for the old post and help from members on here so really it would just be tying all the tips I have had together. May need a hand with some of the terminolgy as I'm experienced at DIY but a pin newbie. I think I know what all the parts are called but not sure on a couple.

Thanks for the info Chavender, its 3 1/2" and couldn't really be simpler in design. Not a trotting reel thats for sure but it will be perfect for stalking carp. I caught my first 20lb common from right under the rod tip last week. Unfortunately not on the pin, next time!

I usually cast out just a lead and pull it back slowly across the bottom. If it pulls back smoothly then you probably have a silt or clay bottom. If you can feel little taps as you bring it back then it will be stony gravel. If it is weed then it will catch and be hard to pull free. Judging the depth of weed is just a case of experience for me. If you can see weed in the margins then try pulling a lead through that to give you an indication of what it feels like.

, tell me about it. Gotta stop searching for them on ebay. Nearly bought a match aerial for £85 'buy it now' the other day. Just needed a bit of touch up on the paintwork...... Only used one of the three pins I've bought so far!

Thanks guys, don't know if this link will work but here's the one I'm talking about: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...e=STRK:MEWAX:IT

Well, I think it's as finished as it's ever going to be now. After stripping Repainted, I scuffed it a couple of times when sanding the paint off the brass bits but I'm sure I'll do much worse when I take it fishing! Pleased with the shiny strip in the end Seen one of these reels stripped on 'a popular auction site' with an 'Allcocks Made In England' sticker on the back. Can anyone confirm if this is an Allcocks reel? I know it won't be worth much anyway, but it's always nice to know a bit about it. Thanks again for the advice, couldn't have done it without you.

I have a Masterline Toothy Critter (LHW!) that has always done the job for me. They're around £35-£40 I believe. Really good fun once you get the hang of them.

You probably want different rods for float fishing than you do for legering or feeder fishing. What kind of places are you fishing? Are the rods you have float/match rods? One of the most exciting ways of legering/feeder fishing is using a quivertip. I've used carp rods with bite alarms and bobbins for years, but unless you fish big waters and need to cast a long way they are useless. You're better off with a quivertip/feeder rod as they are softer for playing fish, so you can use lighter line and are less likely to pull the hook out. They are also more fun. I have just bought a £20 shakespeare omni quivertip rod that I am happy to use for carp into double figures on a fairly snag free water. It's not the best rod I've ever owned and if I could have justified spending £40 on a better one I probably would have. However, it does the job and is great fun, which is what its all about.

I've not tried it for perch but a spinner/spinnerbait is the perfect lure for cloudy water as they give off so much vibration. I've caught jacks in chocolate brown rivers and after dark on spinner type lures. I'd rather the water had a touch of colour rather than gin clear, otherwise I think they might get too good a look at it and suss somethings wrong. Have you given it a go in the green water? They sense a lot of vibrations through their lateral lines and obviously have to find their prey in the poor visibility. Good luck!

IMO, If the air temperature is warmer than the water, carp will 'follow' the wind. Wind creates a current in a still water, with the surface water moving in the direction of the wind, and the undertow going back in the opposite direction. This means that the warmer surface water getting blown into the bank on the end of the wind will be drawn back along the bottom by the undertow. This is going to be a favourite spot for the carp to feed as they are cold blooded. If the air temperature is colder than the water temperature then the opposite is true and you will most likely find the carp on the 'back' of the wind. So as a rule of thumb if the weather is getting warmer (often a new SW wind, as renrag says) then the carp will follow it. If it's getting colder (often SE), then they will be on the back of it. However, if temperature has been stable for some time then wind will have little influence. There are also many other factors that influence the movement of carp, availability of food, oxygen levels, safety from predators/anglers, etc. So I find the wind a good indicator of where to start looking for carp, but you can't rely on the theory working for you every time.

Got to be for the big carp at redmire. Fighting drag to save getting your thumbs burnt, and the large diameter for fast retrieval when a fish runs towards you.

I'd agree with that, fishing for big carp I always look out for coots diving and then spooking off an area "pipping" an alarm call. They seen to be more scared of big fish than the other way round. Maybe they've had an experience with a big pike at some point.

Thanks Alan, that's what I want to hear!

One of the first places I fished as a kid only allowed bread, worms and maggots! No loose feed!

Took my new Merlin centrepin down to the local park lake for a couple of hours this afternoon. Didn't get a chance to try wallis casting as the bivvy boys had taken up all the open swims. Fished it with a 12ft float rod and 6lb line straight through to a size 10 hook. Bait was a single large grain of sweetcorn float fished on 'the lift'. The first swim I looked at a couple of 5-6lb carp came waddling along the margin. They'd gone by the time I set up but there were few reed stems twitching so I swung the float out, and threw a few grains around it. After a few missed bites I hooked a bream of about 2 and half pounds. Result! The hoped for carp didn't make an appearance by I was really pleased with the merlin, very fast retreive batting the spool and nice playing the fish on the ratchet. Also secured a syndicate place for the rest of the season on a little 2 acre lake I used to fish. Its a bit of a 'redmire pool', full of snags and some crafty old carp. I used to catch most of my fish from under the rod tip so I'm really looking forward to taking the pin down there for a bit of stalking. Am I likely to damage the Merlin if I have to hit and hold a 20+ carp on 12-15lb line? I'm new to these things, could I bend the pin or something?