scootar

I know! Oh well, there is a pond with koi in the back garden, I guess I'll give that a whirl! Before I ruid the prize stock though, there must be somewhere!?

Hi, I'm moving from the rich carp pickings around Norwich (22, waveney etc)to Bakewell in the Peak District. Can anyone offer any advice to me on carp lakes (or even lakes with carp!) in the area?! I will be working in Leicester a fair bit, so I am also interested in lakes between the two. I am interested in both "runs" waters as well as ones with bigger fish. OK, so I fear I will just be looking for a water with carp in it - but can it be that bad in 2005?! If anyone else fishes in the area, I'd be interested in joint trips as well! Cheers, Scott

shattersford - though watch out for the deer cos they nick you bait! http://www.shatterford.com/ sion farm is a stockie water, but has real some monsters too (upto around 37) - well worth a try if you dont mind smaller ones... This is very popular - book in advance: http://www.themonumentcarpfishery.com/

Hi Simon, you do not need a fancy rod pod. They actually have positives and negatives as implied by Budgie. If the ground is rock hard a pod is great. However, if your baits are all in different directions then the extra resistance caused by this ruins bite indication... Again as budgie intimated, for feeding it depends on the context. What do you want to achieve? Spread of bait or a focussed spot? It is quite easy to do either... get some monthlies or head down to the library and have a look at the carp books... Rig-wise, I would recommend you go for some pre-tied end rigs and 10lb straight through to this as a start... Where are you fishing and what are your aims? Good Luck.

I got two 8000GTEs from angling direct in norwich for £75 each last year, and it probably goes with out saying but they rock! And I doubt you will get a better deal new... However, I was walking past cash converters shortly after and they had two at 40 each... bugger! Well, they may have been nicked, but if there is one near you and you don't mind that risk it is well worth a look.

You probably won't believe this, but I had a barbel off the surface once at Makins (what was lake 5) - they were spawning in the bay near lake 4 and I had the shock of my life.... I've also had tench off the surface too in a similar situation at makins.... that was in the old days when there were only 5 lakes! At Sheepy Mill I had left my landing net in the water and when I lifted it out I had a crucian carp in it! Now that is easy fishing!

From what your target was I would recommend: (* = easy) Cuttle Mill nuff said.... Riddings Specimen Pool (nr. Atherstone) if you are less fussy about the size the main lake* has lots of 10-16lbers Kingsbury (not been for a while but the day ticket carp lake was quite easy) Sheepy Mill (nr. Atherstone) used to be very good as well - not been for a few years but I know it has a new owner so not sure if it changed much... there are loads of waters in the area.... Shattersford is very nice though getting out of the way (Shropshire) Psion farm (shropshire) (I think that is how you spell it) is a very heavily stocked water - with lots of fish in the 6-15 range and they got to well over 30.... it is one of Des Taylor's hidden secrets.* I recommend stalking in the small lake too - I had em over 20 from there and it is hardly fished.... but beware it is not your typical carp water!

Catch 22 is a nice place - though I did have a bad experience there... This was the venue I went to first to try "proper" carp fishing (I hate this logic....) and although I had 8000 baitrunners and so on two other anglers were really bitchy - asking if I'd come to do some noddying.... and when I asked them why they were having a go at my tackle..... hmmmmm.... not the kind of welcome I would have hoped for. That really put me off "proper" carp-fishing for some time.... Oh and I got to the gate 10 minutes before they locked up only to find that I was locked in! DOH! It took an hour of running around to get it sorted.... I saw huge shoals of carp spawning there last year - and it was an awesome sight... Catch 22 is certainly worth a visit....

If they are taking close in - try and feed them so close in that you can just dip your crust in with no line on the water. Is this cheating?! It certainly works.... If they are further out how about the cigarette roll rig? Take 1/3 to 1/2 a slice of bread in a strip shape put the hook line over and roll the bread up so the line is in the middle of the roll.... then make a loop with your line and place over the roll and tighten.... that sounds complicated but it isn't... you can cast it miles.... and if you attach a lead you can fish at distance in windy conditions and keep it still... and if (when) the ducks come you can tighten up so that sinks and then slacken down and it rises back up... downside is that you get lots of missed takes cos the hooking arrangement isn't great...

Dear All, I am new to this site, so first off - hello! I am writing to ask for advice about the fishing in the lake(s?) at the University of York. Does anyone know about the rules, stocking and so on? My missus is going there is September and I hear the carp/bream fishing is excellent. I'm particularly interested in the carp. Thanks for your help in advance! Scott