robtherake

Hi mate and welcome, Are you fishing carp style with baitrunner, bite alarm and indicator or on the quivertip ? How big do the fish go to ? Big or small water ? Depth, features to fish to ? Have you asked any of the guys who fish the same waters ? You can't beat local advice; whilst we can advise you on rig details and bait choice, the men on the spot will know what works best on your chosen venue(s). A bit of detail about the kit you're using would be handy too. Regards, Rob.

Peeing around the perimeter of my allotment (discreetly, of course) deters rabbits. Must be the same principle.

Well done, young man! Beats my best by 2oz - a Swale fish from Cundall (not a stretch noted for grayling; in fact, the only grayling I've ever caught there). Thought it was a small barbel until the dorsal broke surface. Also thought I would lose some fingers after 25 minutes nursing it back to health in a freezing river. Turned an otherwise blank day into an unforgettable one.

Well done, young man! Beats my best by 2oz - a Swale fish from Cundall (not a stretch noted for grayling; in fact, the only grayling I've ever caught there). Thought it was a small barbel until the dorsal broke surface. Also thought I would lose some fingers after 25 minutes nursing it back to health in a freezing river. Turned an otherwise blank day into an unforgettable one.

Check out these bad boy realtree wellies http://www.easy-wellies.co.uk They're under Superlite sport camo.

I've just googled the article and it's a very similar technique to the one I use. The only difference is the "cap", which is a great idea.. My baits are also made with a 12mm lunch punch. The only real difference is that I like to "butter" some or all of the bread slices with various additives before putting several slices together like a sandwich and punching them all out at once. By additives, what I really mean is stuff that I find in the kitchen or supermarket. Anchovy paste, potted meat and fish pastes, jam, peanut butter, marmite. I love it when we get to the supermarket checkout, and the missus is standing with a random jar in hand and a "what's this for, then ?" expression on her face. They all work, but the savoury ones like anchovy and marmite are my own faves. The oily ones, like peanut butter, seem to be better when the water has warmed up a bit. If you're using groundbait or pellets, put some of your additive in there too to give it the same taste signature as your hookbait. Works for me! Rob. BTW, i use quickstops with my baits too. Any hair stop will work, but the quickstops are faster and less fiddly.

I agree. Probably a concise description for the worst types of idiot. It's a peach of a phrase though, which will be finding it's way into my own vocabulary soonest. Thanks, Denzil, for a little ray of brightness in what has been a fairly dull day. Rob.

Very interesting, Phone. Especially that the Anti Bald Knobbers, who were on the opposing side, sprang up to oppose them. I don't know whether you understand the English use of the word "knob" as a smutty but socially acceptable substitute for the word "penis". The mere mention of the word in the correct circumstances can reduce the average Englishman to convulsions of laughter. Hence the interest in the word "nobbers", which can clearly mean something very different to what Denzil is referring. However, being typical English working class I cannot resist the opportunity to apply some low humour. Rob.

Well done mate. Sounds like my advice was a little late in coming, but you fished that way anyhow and did OK by the sound of it which kind of vindicates what I wrote. Nice one. Rob.

Pardon my ignorance Denzil, but could you define "nobber". It may have a different meaning in my neck of the woods...

Got to watch out for those pharyngeal teeth though, Phone.

For the carp, a chopped-down brightly coloured pop up would be my first choice; on a running rig with a short hooklink. With a balanced corn/fake corn or popped-up punched bread bait as stand by (10 or 12mm punch/2 or 3 pieces). Personally, I wouldn't bother with feed on this rod; just recast now and then until you find the fish. You can always put some bait in later if they seem up for it, or add a pva stick to the hooklink. On your other rod/pole a slow drip feed of maggots - 3 or 4 maggots every few minutes - should see the silvers lining up. Again, you can step up the feed if they seem hungry. Try corn or worm every so often to see if there are any bonus fish present. I've not fished that particular pond (if it's the one I'm thinking of, at the roadside with a car park in front) but there are always cars parked up there whatever the weather, so it must fish in the colder months. The water's still very cold. I fished Hemlington earlier this week. No carp, but the roach felt like bars of ice so you're right to be wary about putting too much feed in. Rob.

The best advice I can give you is to find a friend who fishes and to tag along for a couple of sessions to get a feel for the sport. I can't imagine that they won't have a spare outfit that you can have a dabble with, if they're anything like the rest of us. Failing that, have a walk round a couple of your local venues and chat to the anglers there. Most are only too happy to help a novice. This will also give you an idea of which species you'll be targeting and how big they grow in those waters. Once you have an idea what you'll be fishing for it will be easier to advise you on which kit to choose within your budget and how to use it.

Phone, Never really been confident using plastic baits, but have found rubber maggots really useful where bites from small "nuisance" fish are common, particularly for chub. Although it's not a problem in my own area, a lot of anglers will use them to defeat the attentions of signal crayfish, which rip normal baits to shreds. Signals have become a real problem in some areas, but that's a subject for a whole other thread (I'm reasonably sure it's already been covered elsewhere on the forum). I Also use them regularly as a buoyancy aid for balanced hookbaits , especially when float fishing. On the subject of fake baits, Enterprise Tackle do a mini version of their plastic corn with a small split on one side in which the line from the hair can be inserted, thus providing a hair stop with a little buoyancy. A little wrinkle which works for me when using worms is to tie a longish hair which is then pulled from the centre of the worm's body to exit close to the head using a baiting needle. The line is trapped in the mini plastic corn and the hook then passed through the worm as normal, keeping the hair tight. It seems to reduce tangles and is much safer than injecting the worm's head with air using a syringe. More obviously, by holding the head clear of the bottom it makes the bait much more conspicuous to a passing fish. Again, the brightly coloured plastic corn adds visual appeal. Have you ever come across the Korda maggot klip? It's like a round safety pin with an eye attached, used to hair rig big bunches of maggots. A couple of buoyant rubber maggots added to the klip balances or pops up the bait (depending on how many you add). It's possible to get 20 or more maggots on the large version, making it a proper mouthful of bait which resists the attentions of smaller fish. Rob.

Makes you wonder how some people manage to cross the road on their own

Prawns are freely available in the fresh and frozen food sections of every supermarket over here, Phone. For shrimps you really need to visit the fishmonger. I have used shrimp and they're equally as good as prawns, just less freely available. I'm going to let folks in on a secret now One of the big supermarket chains ( I think it's Tesco ) sell tinned BABY CLAMS, which are a truly AWESOME hookbait.

Over the years I've had more big fish on prawn than any other bait barring lobworms. What's weird, though is when someone comes over to find out what you're bagging up on, most of them end up walking off shaking their head like you've told them porkies and the real bait's hidden away somewhere. Whizzed-up prawns in a method mix (with a spoonful of curry powder) work really well, with a full 'un on the hair. Half inch bits are a superlative bait for big roach, over loose fed hemp.

Sounds like a no-brainer to me Chris. Thanks, mate .I'll pm you my address.

So hard to tell without physical or genetic evidence, isn't it? Hybrid or not, that fish will live in my memory for a long, long time. It took me back to the thrill of catching my first fish (a rather surprised-looking perch) all those years ago. You can't buy moments like that.

I'm not a camo pervert, but I know blokes who'd fight each other over some of this kit. Camo doormats and flasks, priceless

Carp go mad for maggots, Phone. On a water where the majority are using boilie-based methods a PVA bag of maggots in conjunction with a maggot hookbait can empty the place. Nice heads-up about formula btw. Rob.

I agree it can be a bit of a faff on, but even clean maggots are coated with a layer of dust, colourings and so on which can prevent good adhesion. Whatever you're trying to stick together should be only just damp and reasonably clean. I've used it to good effect with things like casters, hemp and pellets. No doubt there are loads of others. Horlick's is also a good additive for method-fished groundbait or pellets if you happen to be suffering with poor adhesion, or if you want a slower breakdown time.

Interesting site Jeff, thanks. Significantly though, my fish looked every ounce of the current record claimant shown on the site. Absolutely no bullshit. Going on appearance alone it could have been the same fish. The only thing that caused me any element of doubt was that my fish seemed to have little shoulders, but so does that 5 pounder and perhaps crucians of that size all do.

Oops! That should be the Ted Carter/Guru pellet cones vid from youtube. Can anyone fix it, please?

Youtube Video ->Original Video Video of pellet cone in use. They're brilliant little devices. If you happen to be fishing overdepth they can be used with float tactics too - useful at range and don't draw fish up in the water like loose feed does. Alternatively, all sorts of particle baits (not just maggots) can be coated with sticky mag so they can be thrown or pulted out as little balls of feed. Horlicks powder is a great (and way cheaper) alternative to sticky mag.