Woodzzz

When you see them rolling....fish there. Land a method feeder exactly where they rolled, right in their ripple. Don't be tempted to swap and change baits, sweetcorn catches everywhere, stick with it. If you're going to change anything, change your method mix. Mix up a really fishy mix and then quite a sweet mix. For the fishy mix try Dynamite Baits Meaty Marine groundbait [fast acting] Dynamite Baits Green Koi Feed Dynamite Baits Marine Pellet Groundbait That combination is simply awesome. For the sweet mix. Try Solar Growler Mix with the tiger slyme [tiger nut extract] or condensed milk/milk. Or Dynamite Baits Strawberry Booster crumb with a few sprays of scopex liquid.

"Check out my TFG website on http://www.totalfishinggear.co.uk there is a forum on the site and I regularly answer members' questions." Erm...no you don't Matt. You don't even call back your local paper [ME] so that we can do stories about what you're up to. Nevermind...

Surely, by using this set-up, the potential for damage to the carp is massively increased. The mainline becomes the weak link, infact, the leader knot is probably the weakest link, and if that snaps...the carp is left with 20 feet of your shockleader material! Terry [Wordbender] and I have discussed this at length, agreeing that using a lighter hooklink and heavier mainline is the solution, because if anything 'goes' it's going to be the 2-15 inches of hooklength. Which I'd prefer to be trailed around by a carp than 20 foot of Quicksilver! Matchmen have done it for years, and rightly so. I know that landing the fish is important, but as you have said in the quote below this, safety comes first. Not saying the advice is entirely wrong because you and many others have probably caught on the set up you've outlined [including me] but I just want to give a little food for thought before others from the forum go out and use the tactic you mentioned. When fishing locked up [no baitrunner AT ALL] single banksticks pointing at the target, sat next to the rods etc I have the drag set so tight that no line can give, the fish can't get into the pads. Not forgetting, mono stretches, fishing inches from the pads, on the take, results in the carp being around 2-4 feet into the pads before the stretch in most monos is taken up [at 50 yards range, even more at further range] I use the same method as Gaffer if i'm ever fishing pads, and literally run away from the pads with the rod to haul the fish away from them before they get chance to bolt. Pabulum....

Eels have been a bane of my carp angling on some venues, so much so that using anything with a slight whiff of fish or meat resulted in lots annoying eel takes. I recommend halibut pellets highly, and the dynamites meaty marine groundbait...they absolutely love it. It could prove a good base attractor to get them interested. As far as I know there are two types of eel, one is predatory, the other isnt, but they can change their minds at any time and it is dependant upon their environment. They are usually only predatory when there's not enough of anything else to sustain their diet. I would recommend a wire trace and as small a hook as you can get away with. Popped up worms are apparently very good.

Mix a cup of krill meal with three cups of fishmeal. Add a teaspoon of powdered betaine a heaped table spoon of Roin Red. 6-12 table spoons of oil [of your choice, I like Nutrabaits Complete Food Oil or Salmon Oil best] Two teaspoons of sweetener and I also like to add something like plum or cranberry flavour. You can add a fishy flavour if need be, maybe a little liquid food like Dynamite's Source Liquid, Nutrabaits Trigga Liquid, or something like squid, octopus, solars Smoked Salmon and so on. Some krill meals can be very bouyant, so you need a fair amount of fishmeal to weigh it down. Experiment, mix it with proven base mixes like those from Mainline and Nutrabaits and see how you get on.

Mealworms have been my own little edge for a whil [ ] On a busy day ticket lake they murder the place. I don't fish busy waters that often anymore, but when i did and would go home with the same stamp of fish as the lads who'd been there all week i started to think i was onto a winner with them I use them on a really long hair so they dont mask the hookpoint, always using a line aligner and a hook like the ESP G4 or Kamasan B175. Put them in a PVA bag with some mini pellets, salmon crumb or groundbait. The mealworms will try and feed on this, creating a lot of action in the swim. I get mine from birdfood.co.uk [.com?] As for peanuts...always soak for 24 hours then boil for 20 minutes. Why make a peanut paste? Peanuts are good enough on their own. PS. Don't use peanuts in vast quantities, it's unhealthy for the fish,

Yes but such a lowly predator such as the pike does not deserve to be caught on anything BUT cheaper gear. Apparently anyway... I'm only messing, I'm not saying Okuma make bad reels, not by any stretch of the imagination, what I'm saying is that IMO a Shimano is better, and to say both are made in the same factory is, at best, laughable. Well done on the big pike BTW, I don't fish for pike unless invited to do so by a friend, and I would have to say that a 20 is a big achievement!

That makes me laugh too [ ] On a canal, unless extremely snaggy indeed, surely a softer rod is better? I am also certain that the infinity baitrunners would suffer massive line overspill on short underarm flicks. I use 8010's or 6010's for anything on a river or canal [unless on a very wide river] and they perform fine. Arent the original shimano baitrunners 3500...2500 and 1500 small and light? Not many of them around now...

It's not a good thing at all. I nearly bought the Daiwa longcast baitrunner instead because it was a lot lot lighter than the longcast. I bought the longcast because I had a tinkle with Richard Lee's at Rob Hales Monument Lake [i popped down to take a few photo's for my local newspaper where i work and Angling Times were down there for a feature] Rob had the Daiwa's and the clutch on the Longcasts was FAR superior. Cheaper reel too! I like having chimp-esque type arms, I'm a born climber and getting up a tree saves hours of work thrashing the water to a froth with a marker rod.

Best technically engineered bits of kit. Of course, aesthetics come into it. I'm an angler who doesn't feel he is fishing efficiently unless all the rods are set up symmetrically. But I used three different test curve/length carp rods for a good year and half without really giving a monkeys. After struggling with larger carp on the gear I had, i stepped up the tackle and kitted out a bit. I agree that the best bits of kit arent always the most expensive, but they're usually more expensive than the 'lower end of the market' aren't they? I know I'm not getting ripped off, because I use the gear and it's awesome. I wouldn't buy it if i didnt think it would be so. I took a gamble spending £99.99 each on Matt Hayes's TFG Whisper carp rods, but having spoken to Matt, I know he wouldn't market any old crap and know how long he spent putting the final touches to the rod with guys from Free Spirit. Shimano Longcast reels...for explanation, see the name and note how many top name anglers prefer them to anything else to target large carp. Baitboats...don't get me started. Good for the disabled or the unabled and that's about it.

I have the Trakker Big Z Snooze. £39.99. MEGA bit of kit, huge thing, fleece lined and everything. Keeps me toasty when it's cold and when it's warm i could wear shorts and tshirts. OR, jumper and tshirt and use it as a comfy mattress

I think there are two kinds of tackle tarts. There are some, who want the best, and wont be happy fishing without it. They will spend £180 on a reel because they believe they can't find a better one. It's not the best cos of it's price, it just is, simply, the best they can buy. Same with rods. I wanted a certain kind of rod and would not buy one until I found it. I didn't want to skip on the price because I knew if I did eventually I'd buy other ones and that wastes money. Same with the reels infact, the Shimano LC'S having a clutch I am happy to play huge fish off [unlike any other reel i picked up] These anglers also want the rods with lifetime guarantees, bivvys that are huge and top of the range [pioneering almost] they want the best available and those who arent able to afford it, will save like billy-o so that they can. [like i did for the rods and the reels] However, Some tackle tarts are 'fisherman' because they can buy lots of shiney gadgets and realtree bits and pieces. The same blokes you'll find with 12 DVD super mega charged PC's and cinema screen tellys, cars they cant afford and lots of gadgets. Sh*t, they simply, don't need. Baitboat users spring to mind Toys for boys and all that.

You wanna feel the weight of my Shimano Longcasts [ ] If a 5000re is heavy, you wanna get down the gym ya softy

******** lake eh? Nice **** fish in there,

Contact Kryston, Wychwood, Big Fish Adventure or any of the other companies that sell carp care products and see if they will donate 25 bottles for you. I'm sure if you offer to call it the Kids Kryston Fish-In they would gladly oblige, as they so often have done for other well run fish-ins in the past. Make sure you outline how to use the stuff to them as well, show them, we dont want the kids pouring it down the carps throats now do we :confused:

"The Anti-Anglers prepare their latest weapon"

Lots of bream, some mega slabs as well, some topping double figures now I believe. Wanna catch carp and bream? [probably will mostly be bream] use trout pellets and halibut pellets. Catch 22 is a very 'pellety' water, the fish love them. Glow tip floats? Not necessarily. Try the deeper water though, 12-18 foot, fishing the lift method off the bottom by the reeds. All the best.

Number of possibilities... The carp may well be spooking off the tight line created by the method feeder, and all the guys on bite alarms are using leadcore or tubing to pin 'the end zone' to the lake bed. Having caught 1-4lb carp on 25lb snakebite hooklengths [like tow rope] I can vouch for stepping up your hooklength. Smaller hooks arent too handy at hooking carp, and if you're not using a hair rig then this problem can be even worse. Use a size 8 with a hair. Two grains of corn will balance well with it, and you'll get better hookholds, as well as being able to fool the carp much better. Use a braided hooklength for strength, and to retain the diameter of line you're using now. If you can't tie a hair rig, learn, or buy some ready made ones and copy them. Matchmen have learned on many venues that the hair rig gives them a lot more options and less 'bumped off' fish. Presentation is much improved, and hookholds, much better. Drop the feeder rod, and get yourself somethin in 1.75-2.25lb test curve. They should be good enough for these carp and still give you lots of 'play' and feel.

You can get withy pool hooks, they extend all the way around, saving the use of tubing. They look dodgy, and in the hand they feel dodgy [most manufactured ones are unreliable] I dont use longshank hooks like the series 5 or longshank nailor, but will use straight long shanked hooks with no problems. The majority of problems with these hooks, incidentally, come from the barbless version. I've never hooked a carp on either hook, despite using them, and have declined to use them since because I dont want to have even the possibility of hurting a smaller fish. Whether it's a tench, bream, roach or a goldfish, i dont want to risk double hooking it and causing damage. Smaller carp are our future carp, and I personaly wont take the risk, although I dont think they should be banned or any such nonsense.

PM me if you're down one of the weekends and I'll pop along to say hello if you like. I might be down one of the lakes myself so I can help if the need arises. All the best.

I must admit to owning realtree and being a big fan of it. I refer you to http://www.realtree.com look at the field pictures...can you see em? One thing to mention is that unless you're fully glammed up in the stuff, there's not much point. For the most part I wear chesties and whatever top underneath suits the weather conditions, royal blue for the most part for advertising [ooh err] Camo makes a difference if you're already a good stalker, if you're not, it wont.

I always put my line on the same way. Put the spool in a bucket of warm water, reel on the rod, line through the first ring, and a wet flannel halfway between the reel and first ring to add tension. Never had a twist problem with Daiwa Sensor, Maxima Chameleon, X-Line, Fox Soft Steel or Bayer Perlon. Friends have also had no problems with Berkley Ironsilk, Terry Eustace Pro Gold and Gardner's GR60.

Hi Ziffy. Lakes with good disabled access are the Withy Pool in Telford Town Park, and to some extent, the Blue Pool next door to it. Both hold carp to 25lb, with a few upper doubles. Not many of them, but they're nice fish. Both pools contain some clonking bream and tench, up to 9lb. There are catfish to 24lbs, which tend to move around from one pool to the other, so be prepared for them because you might get winched in! Other pools, that hold lots of carp, with good disabled access are the Dandy, Widewaters, and Castle Pools in Little Dawley. I had a 20lber out of the Dandy Pool,although they average between 4-10lbs. Get on there in the winter for bigger catches than you'd get on there in the summer. Early spring can be mega if you get the place to yourself. Any tactics will work, but method feeders are best. Other waters with good disabled access are the Stirchley Pools, or Hinkshay Pools. There is a top and bottom pool, both holding some good carp. The bottom pool is my 'study water' the water is gin clear and you can find the fish all year around. I catch well on sweetcorn when stalking, just one or two feet from the bank with a very slack line. Keep quiet and fish close in and you will catch. The fish in both pools average around 8lb, but there are some 20lb surprises in both. Up to 28lb in the bottom pool, a fish i have seen and had my rig spat out by on various occasions. Both pools contain lots of other species, including the blackest bream you'll ever witness. Fish are also susceptible to pop-ups fished on zig rigs, and I even caught a 2lb tench on a 5 foot zig in the depths of winter!

Find them! Fishing for 2 hours in the right place is more productive than fishing two nights in the wrong place. Once you've found the carp, all you have to do is get your presentation correct. Sometimes carp can be very rig clever, but you can ask us those questions once you've found the carp, had them showing in your swim, but still not caught them. Bait matters very little sometimes, good application and a good food source is often good enough to tempt the carp. Don't think that changing your bait will immediately bring a response, a bait in the wrong place wont bring any response, no matter how often you change it. Limit your options baitwise, use a good food source boilie and pellets in PVA bags, carp love them. The more options you have, the more inclined you are to keep changing, which can ruin your swim completely. So basically...track the carp down first, hone your location skills, once you can guarantee you're on the fish, if the action still isn't coming them come back and ask us some more questions.

Indeed Monsiuer Ziff. What do you want to know [ ]