Kevin Babij

I`ve been playing about casting lead free pewter carp weights in USA sourced moulds of 1/8oz to 4oz Findings are that - the molten metal casts well at low temps than with lead producing detailed finished weights Leads are hard and resist damage,approx 25% weight loss (ie.4oz mould needed for 3oz weight) Alloy can be either scrap metal or bought from model shops. It`ll be the sea and boat anglers i reckon who`ll suffer the most from any ban on lead derived weights.

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Couple of useful links for you http://www.percychapman.co.uk http://www.ccmoore.com Both sell bulk ingredients and additives and there`s plenty of alturnatives to be found in most agricultural feed suppliers. My local sells fishmeal(provomi66),pellets,dry dogfoods(both of these can be ground down),brewers yeast,kelp,garlic,molasses,cod liver oil,birdfoods and i`ll not even bother listing the particles they sell. Also have a look in your local asian/chinese supermarkets and pay and weigh shops for herbs and spices,polenta,yellow semolina amongst many others. If you gonna knock out baits in bulk then a move to compressed air baitguns www.pccox.co.uk and a small compressor is worth considering www.machinemart.co.uk www.aircompressorsonline.co.uk Also look in your local Cash Convertor Pawn shop as our local is doing 8 bar 25/50litre models for £80 and £120 respectively. And no it ain`t an oversized PVA stocking

Bait,yes. Premier`s new site http://www.premierbaits.net is a interesting read,again they come out with the story that more and more anglers are shifting to frozen readymades. What surprised me is that the price for 10kg of ready rolled is the same as for 10kg of base mix plus oil/flavour. Granted that you get some 40% more bait from the same weight of base but you`ve got to put the effort in it and buy the eggs so i would have expected at least a tenner off the base mix pricing per 10kg.

Definatly the confectionery,petfood, and pharmaceutical industries are the ones to closely scrutinise for custom built machinery. I`ve heard though that the mix is critical for use in these boilee machines which is probably why machine rolled baits tend to be more of a 50/50 nature.

If it`s the std AT boat,the hull has to be split to get to the battery so your down to bankside battery/car charger or solar chargers(try Maplins electronic stores) With the Micromog you can change the battery so it`s either AT`s or again try Maplins. The std boat needs particle curtains fitting to the doors for chops,larger particles and any seed baits like hemp,partiblend or wheat are best mixed up in a pellet paste/vitalin mix although there is the new particle dropper tubes available from AT(spod like tubes which fit in the load bays and are towed behind boat) Thinking of having the basic sounder (non graphic) fitted to my boat this winter.

Gold Label Tackle Eustace Terry 0121 373 4523 tackle manufacturer rob@progold.co.uk 378.Boldmere Road Sutton Coldfield B73 5EZ This should help you Frostie.

a set of full 50" stormsides with door from Gold Label will be better than an overwrap. You can leave them permanently on the brolly but you`ll need to sew on velcro first This set up is ideal for short overnighters and where you need to be mobile and will fold up and stash away in most standard carp quivers and holdalls very quickly. Go for swivel type storm rod attachments as you can leave the rods attached to the brolly. [ 21 July 2002, 07:51 AM: Message edited by: Kevin Babij ]

Jangar, Castaway Tackle of Lincoln do a basic no frills "roll off the back hopper" type model for £299.(pic:£399 Mark2 with particle hoppers for around extras 1kg capacity) [ 11 March 2002, 06:20 PM: Message edited by: Kevin Babij ]