steve17

rob, flicking off the bait runner and applying pressure to a fish is just the same as playing one normally, a strike (to me) is a jerky reaction, often at speed in which i have found to be more likely to dislodge a hookhold. by using a tighter clutch to the norm i find helps set the hook better before you pick up the rod. the only reason i am saying this that i used to strike even on screaming runs, and resulted in more lost fish than simply gently applying pressure. Each to their own i guess but thats what works for me......

just goes to show what scaling down can achieve, quite likely you wouldnt have hooked those fish on standard carp gear, only trouble is like you say loosing them through use of small hooks and weak hooklinks. awesome result though, gud luck with the ghostie

if you set the drag on your baitrunner to just a couple of pounds of pressure, and are fishing a bolt rig then theres no need to strike at all, the hook should already be well and truly set, striking only increases the chances of snapping your hooklink or causing a hook pull.

although iv not caught on them before id be confident using chod rigs in this situation, use a nice little lead 1 - 1 1/2 oz n feather it down to stop it plugging to deep. have a play around and see what suits you most. i have caught over thick silt on big pva bags, with the lead inside the bag just fishing a bottom bait as this should also stop the lead plugging the silt to deep, but if you want to fish singles or little bait quantities for this time of year id go with the choddies.

12mm pineapple pop-ups for me. love em.

very sorry to hear, he will be missed by all.

I believe its because its attached to the mainline and in really high breaking strains so if you snap off and your hooklink doesnt break, your mainline willl. There for possibly leaving a teathered fish on the other end with your rig and lead etc. If used correctly though the lead will be able to release if it gets snagged making it a safety rig. Rig tubing is just as good in my oppinion. What im not sure of though is if its possible to maybe fix rig tubing with some form of stopper to keep it from sliding up the mainline. Iv been unable to come up with a decent way to fish helicopter and chod rigs using tubing. Anyone any ideas?

buy ya self a bag of ready made boilies from a tackle shop, something like the source or spicy shrimp and prawn, possibly scale your hook down to a size 8 or 6, 4's are possibly abit large for a 14mm boilie. Then you can be confident in your bait and rigs. As the others say the most important part then is to find the fish. Once youv found a swim/swims with carp present, use your water knowledge and feed to the clear spots and features youv found and sit back and wait. All the best.

Sorry i have no pic, theyre only tiny lil things jus theres tonnes of them. Were running the tank down now anyway. thanks for the info all the same.

We only have artificial weed in at the moment, the snails have been in for years just sumtimes they come out in numbers and others they just seem to hide away. Were currently running the tank down to start a fresh sometime next year, the snails are just small cone shaped things in silvers and golds

An easy question perhaps, does anyone know what brings all the snails out in force all around my fishtank? Occasionally for no known reason to me we have hundreds all up the sides, looking at them now its mad.

Wish you could have helped me with my A-level physics coursework, id be top of the class

Iv slid down the bank before while putting in a bankstick. Ended up above my waist in water. Had to pull myself out by grabbing onto long grass cos my dad cudnt stop laughing long enough to help me.

My mates started uni at newcastle upon tyne and is struggling to find places to fish, hes tried the river at durham with little success, can anyone please reccomend other day ticket venues accessible via the metro or train thats not too far a journey? thanks in advance..

I understand & respect the need to keep it quiet, the rivers so busy these days. i have fished newark island few times in the winter, not had anything as yet. Perhaps see you down there one day. thanks for info. (just got back from a 2 hr sesh on collingham, only had 1 bite, a barbel of about 5lbs. Rivers well up at the moment and pushing through quite fast though). keep at em!

cracking fish, well done. Just out of interest which stretch of trent do you fish? i usually fish on the cromwell weir / collingham stretch.

Saw an episode of matt hayes i think it was on the ebro or something with a tour guide using one, had a couple of cats i think. They said the noise simulates another big catfish thrashing around on the surface and attracts them.

Similar things happened on a local lake near me reguarding real small carp, never seen them before untill recently. Strange how a 6" carp can take a 16mm boilie n size 8 hook...... and they managed to give screaming takes even using 2.5oz leads on semi-fixed rigs. just a suggestion phil but might be worth casting to showing carp with just a small pva bag rather than a feeder?

who thinks up these ideas? would you imagine the idea was found by accident?

Hi mat, iv fished taverham for long weekends 1ce or twice a year for the past 4 years now i think. The tench seem to like mini fruity boilies, fish to the pads generally though there are loads of them. The guys in the tackle shop are more than helpful and will most certianly direct you to good tench swims. As for the barbel im not to sure, the weir i would say is a good bet, or abit further downsteam in the deeper runs under the willows. From what i was told in the past pellet will work fine. Again ask in their tackle shop they really are keen to help you catch. Hoping to book a weekend there late september myself, its a real nice place and you should have a cracking time. Could do with abit more rain in the rivers at the moment though. Let us know how you get on, have a gooden.

i consider iv done well so far seeing as i havent fished that much really, (only 4 nights) and averaging day sessions once a week iv managed a few barbel upto 9.15lbs (p.b ) and broke my pb carp 4 times from 19.12 previous to 26.1 current, having 6 fish over 20lbs after over 4 years for trying for a 20. And the better fishing conditions are hopefully yet to come.

docklow pools is a nice holiday retreat, they allow dogs and the specemen lake hols carp and grassies to mid 20's and cats to over 60. very nice accomodation clean and friendly. about 9 lakes i think most of which are match / pleasure but the specimen lake is usually quiet, been there the last 2 years and thoroughly enjoying it, already pre-booked for next year. www.docklowpools.co.uk

suprised no-ones mentioned spodding, if its allowed on your water buy a gardner pocket rocket, your carp rod should be adequate and that way you should be able to deposit hemp and other particles as frequently as you like, quite accurately with abit of practise.

Thats good news Ant, let us know if you notice an improvement in your catch results when fishing close in then, certianly should decrease them unless the carp in your lake a shrink tube shy

All the way through reading your post i was thinking shrink tubing until i read just that. Id give it a go at home and see what you think to it, certainly nothing to lose by using some, should also protect your knots abit more. To be honest though i use rig tubing rather than leadcore