jameshodkin

You're missing the point of what i was saying in my post entirely. You made a comment basically stating that anyone who's fished and had success with Fluorocarbon line main line has only used it because they've fallen for the marketing hype which is a bit of a generalisation don't you think? If you read my post you'll see i reverted back to a form of Mono in the end, i just prefer to try all the options available to me for myself and come to a conclusion myself regarding whether or not it's the right path to take rather than sticking with the same tactics and tackle i've not had success with. Surely this is applicable to most forms of angling? Such as a hooklength diameter change when pole fishing for bits on a Canal? Or changing the float when trotting to one which provides better control in a fast flow? Sometimes a change can bring success, sometimes not but you certainly won't find out if you don't try for yourself

Not everyone who fishes for Carp at some point during their fishing year is a Korda loving idiot who just buys whats "trendy" gear you know Last year I fished a gin clear ex iron ore pit where the water is about 10-12ft straight off the rod tip, the Carp & Tench come in close within a foot of the bank and i found with mono i was constantly spooking them and getting liners. I didn't want to use backleads as there is a lot of weed and i thought this would be dangerous and could lead to snagging up should i get a take I needed a heavy line that sank like a stone and was less visible than the mono i was using. I switched to X-line which fit the bill perfectly and ended my run of blanks on the water, however after a hook pull after trying to bully a fish away from snags as i was worried about the fluorocarbon's knot strength and abrasion qualities i went back to mono, all be it a coated hybrid with the properties of both I wouldn't describe that as "falling for the marketing hype" i was merely adapting to the situation James

B*gger, hadn't checked the forecast for the weekend yet, heavy rain forecast oop north as well Had got enough brownie points in to get two sessions this weekend as well, best break out the goretex ready for a soaking! Piking both days for me, Saturday on a big pit and Sunday on a canal, the canal isn't usually my kind of venue but i nipped out for a few hours at dusk last weekend and had a 4lb jack grabbed by a very large pike whilst playing it, the power of the unseen monster was unreal it left my legs shaking! Needless to say i will be returning to the same swim, at dusk!

That's a proper Carp, lovely and dark

Great bait for Carp, especially in winter and on a water where everyone else is using boilies

X-line without a doubt is the best pure fluorocarbon i've used Tiger Line is supposed to be quite good as well I've got Ultima Power Carp on my Carp reels at the minute, used it last season on a clear but snaggy pit as i was worried about a pure fluorocarbons abrasion resistance, it's only fluorocarbon coated but seems to sink quite well but at the same time is very tough and breaks at much more than the stated BS

Certainly wearing it's winter colours

Pigeon Conditioner is well worth a go, use it myself when i'm particle fishing

It's a great magazine, I find the adverts less full of blatant product plugs than the ones in similar mags that were previously available Worth buying for Miles & Smith's articles, two of my absolute heroes

Absolutely whoppers those Chub are! On my main river a 4 is a very good fish indeed i think i'd have a heart attack if i caught a 6, cracking angling Anderoo!

Think alot can depend on the water being fished, on some venues deadbaits take the better fish and lives attract mainly jacks and on others lives can take the greater share of the better fish It can depend on circumstances too, if a large pike is used to feeding on fry & small roach in a bay swim all winter then i'd feel much more confident using a little free roaming livebait under a float than a whopping great deadbait fished hard on the deck Deadbaits are certainly more convenient though that's for sure

Thanks chaps! Roll on next weekend!

2011 has been a bit of a struggle for me so far, January was a complete blank for me with only a lost fish when out Chubbing to show for my efforts. Nipped out Piking yesterday for the morning to a pit that had just thawed out due to the mild spell we've had up here the last few days, managed 3 fish, a jack, a 10lb 1oz and this 16lb 3oz fish Crap photo as i'd gashed my hand open on the flying treble during unhooking and wanted to get the fish back asap Very happy to be off the mark!

diagrams of a standard Chod Rig here.... http://www.carp-fishing.org/Carp-Rigs/Chod...arp-Fishing.htm http://www.gofishing.co.uk/Angling-Times/S...carp-over-silt/

Hi mate, most of the time a leadcore leader is used which lays it all down on the bottom, if leadcore is banned i use some weighted rig tubing and some putty round the hooklink swivel as shown here: http://www.carpcatchers.biz/carpcatchersblog/?p=1316 People have also started using the Korda sinkers and a fluorocarbon mainline for what's being called a "Naked Chod" which doesn't feature leadcore or weighted tubing I wouldn't use a flying backlead with it myself, it's mostly fished with slack lines and the backlead will impair bite detection a bit. Bites don't tend to be screaming one-toners they tend to be twitching, stuttering affairs you see as the carp trys to shake the hook out but can't due to the aggressive curve in the hooklink Hope this helps James

I've found braid a godsend for legering as due to the lack of stretch setting the hooks is so much easier, especially at range I fish a pit which is very snaggy, has a 20ft deep end with a couple of cars dumped by joyriders and god knows what else, since switching over to braid i've been able to fish this area safely as when i've gotten snagged the hooks open out due to the strength of the braid - so no traces are ever left in snags As everyone else has mentioned it's fantastic for lure fishing, you really can feel the lures movement transmitted through the rod, especially with large spinners/spinnerbaits! I use Power Pro for both lure fishing and bait fishing, can't fault it James

Out in the morning Piking on a local pit that has produced for me before, hoping to break my 2011 duck!

For wobbling i just pinch on a few SSG and hook the bait heads up on the trace Majority of the time that i'm float fishing i hook the bait that way as well as i like to twitch it back to me with a couple of turns of the reel handle, takes can often come right after doing this Have to wait for Saturday to get out myself again, blanked last week on the River but hitting a pit which is usually good for a few this week (hopefully!)

Sounds like a proper beast!

A second hand Trakker Armo or Specimen Armo is a good choice The Chub bivvies are also reasonably priced and i have a 2 man Discovery i use when the mrs comes with me which has stood the test of time very well over the 8 years i've had it Personally i'd stay away from any of the cheap JRC ones as they are known for having issues with condensation (which i found out to my own discomfort in 2009) James

A float legered Smelt on or just past the marginal shelf always seems to produce for me Further out into the main flow the paternoster is a great rig to use so that the deadbait wafts around in the current like a wounded fish It's best to use floats where the line goes through the middle as opposed to bottom end only and use banksticks to keep the rod elevated and line off the water just as you would when legering on a river Hope this helps James

Pretty sure SBS baits do both Lobworm extract and Lobworm boilies, have a search for them on google

The only good thing about the "commercials" in my area is that a couple of them have produced some whopping great big Perch! Pity they tend to be pale in colour due to the heavily coloured water What winds me up is the clubs that take over traditional little overgrown ponds and turn them into commercials, the venue i caught my pb Perch from is a prime example, it used to have overhanging bushes and trees with branches trailing under the water - perfect for Perch location until a local club took it over, ripped every bush or snag out of the margins and places wooden platforms all around the lake

Nice catch mate

Yeah thats the one Steve! There's a chapter on Bream from TC pit in "Chasing Dreams" too