steve17

Spent a weeks angling for carp by day and cats by night and landed my 1st ever catfish, (more of a kitten really) on a chunk of squid freelined on a size 2 hook. Aint it cute??

thats a very lovely fish den, well done to you.

Yeah if your worried about spooking them just use 5 ft of leadcore should solve any problems. even with the clear water iv still not found the need though and have had reasonable success recently catching barbel up 9.15lbs.

i dont have a problem with paying for a rod licence each year and im sure that such work does go into the fisheries, although admittedly i havent actually seen much evidence where i live. What does annoy me abit though is having to pay for a second licence to fish with one extra rod. On some of the waters round here, especially in the winter having a 3rd rod to fish with is a real advantage. Im 19 yrs old n this year have found it hard to afford to buy my 2 licences, if i go without i feel i am not fishing to the best of my ability. Bear in mind i only fish with a 3rd rod perhaps 1 in 4 sessions.

I personally havent ever fished with them on rivers because iv never found the need. What are your reasons for wanting to use them?. Are you trying to avoid weed and debris on your lines or stopping fish spooking on your mainline? You could probabily use a flying backlead(one that you slide on your line before attaching your rig etc and flies back up the line pinning it to the bottom once youv cast) if you were avoiding spooking fish, probabily would want to fish rods tips in the air in this circumstance to avoid debris and weed risking moving your backlead, or if you fished a normal backlead (one you clip on and slide down your line after youv cast) then id say you would fish your rod tips flat like normal. I usually fish the river trent and only ever fish with my rod tips in the air to avoid too much line in the water because theres quite a current. Never found the need of using backleads to be honest. incidentally which river(S) do you intend on fishing?

Think its mentioned in Terry Hearn's book, havent got a local tescos so havent had chance to buy any yet but when im next in one il buy some and let you know how i get on.

iv had a few bream off the top on mixers, try pulting a few out see if you get any reaction.

17lb river witham pike.

probabily stick to what your doin then mate, good luck with your sesh.

if youv been told that works then go for it, i personally perfer to fish the same hook bait as my freebies but your tactic should still work

I used this insect repellant and it worked a treat for the mozzies, midges and horseflies but it attracted loads of wasps at the same time, ran to the nearest sink to wash the damn stuff off as i had about 6 wasps going mental all around me. Cant remember its name but will never use the damn stuff again!!

i personally wouldnt put alot in because with the heat i would imagine that most of the carp will be on the top or at least up in the water and youl probabily end up moving around abit with the fish. You dont want to feel tied down over aload of bait, if your staying the night then you could put abit more out.

if your fishing at close range and can see your bait quite clearly then strike as soon as you see the fishes mouth around the bait, if at distance or unsure wait untill the line or controller (if using one) moves then strike, if fishing with a fixed controller the carp will often hook them selves so youd certianly know about it then.

Scoop, i am told that richmond has got pretty tricky now as theyve blocked off the bayroot bank and is now out of bounds. Carp can be seen boshing and crashing about only a few feet from its bank all day long.

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not meaning to turn this into question time but im intrigued and will try it out next time im at my local 'runs' water, so last question for now, what weight of lead do you use with your free running rigs? thanks.

Scoop, 55.11lbs is that UK or abroad?

In which case how can you differenchiate between a line bite and a take? Do they still rip off with it or are takes much slower?

i always use semi - fixed rigs with a 2oz lead with no problems, i occasionally use backleads if i feel the need to pin the line down. Never tried free running rigs with slack line, surely youl get stitched up by the carp just as often as youl hook one? Rob, how does a carp hook its self on line reistance if your fishing slack lines?

Done my second 20 yesterday, cant believe it, im over the moon. Different venue, different tactics n all.... Been carping for 4 or 5 years now n all this time not had a 20 now 2 in as many weeks!! 25.02lbs

Well done rudd great result, especially for a short session. I am yet to catch a grassy.

i was under the impression waters ban the beachcaster method because of wildlife, wether because of the fixed line or with the bait on the surface im not sure.

Thanks, 1st fish from a new venue for me too, which is always a bonus. Will, not sure if its named i dont know if any of them are in there, can anyone think of a suitable name? lumpy linear perhaps?

cheers guys, yeah gets the adrenaline going il say.... scoop there are a few round here just most of em are no publicity venues so i cant exactly say where. when i say local its stil a good 30 mins drive away.

Stalked it off the top, using a single freelined mixer on my local club water, well chuffed. 21.09lbs.