trevor2003

Another option is goal post converters for a goal post set up or cross bars to convert to a pod set up, get the best of all worlds in set up combinations.

Thanks Elton Forgot to mention, despite all my efforts and my wifes second place, I BLANKED, so all I can say is "I taught her well" Cheers Trevor

Hi All and Elton Havn't been on the forum much recently, but just wanted to draw your attention to the article on Anglersnet about the Godenboll***s charity match for Cancer Research UK. It was an amazing weekend and raising £21,400 + for Cancer Research UK and the newly wed couple of whom the bride took second place against 20 guys was me and my new wife Karen. Please take time to read the write up and maybe some of you might like to join in next year, which is being held over 3 venue's rather than 1. Cheers Trevor

Hi Kestrel If you want any info on Monks, Have a chat with Lee and Ian that own Cambridge Carp Cabin at Sawston, they have been members for a few years and will tell you all about the place.

I can second that Elton,I got one back in the summer and I had the latest one come in the post a couple of weeks back. Excellent quality video and footage and information on the venues. It really does get you thinking that if you have never been to France before, maybe it's time to try it out. I have never had a mad desire to fish the big French venues, but after the DVD me and my other half are seriously thinking of trying it out in the future, as they are all not 20-40 acre mahusive pits,we liked the look of Hideaway lake on there, small, very mature and quiet, so it gives you a broader prospective on some of the venues out there and the fact that you don't have to have 3.5 tc rods, with Daiwa Basia's or boats baits, sky pods etc to fish some of the venues.

I have just changed from Dynamite Halibut pellets in favour of the Bait Tech 16mm pre drilled, as the Dynamite seem to be falling apart more, lately when drilling them yourself, have heard this also from other people. I use Betaine green groundbait and mixed pellet sizes in a half and half stick mix more these days, making sure your hook point is pulled into the ground bait end, rather then the pellet end, so as not to mask the hook point with a pellet stuck on it, works great. Had loads of carp and 4 nice cat's on the 16mm Bait techs the other month. Tried them last week end though in another venue and they didn't do much, as I was trying for one of the 3 sturgeon in the lake, but got the middle sized sturgeon out over the week end on a single marmite flavoured chick pea I had prepared, with a lump of Edam cheese, never expected to get one on chick pea and Edam snowman, but thats fishing.

ESP or Gadner etc braid scissors all work well, I have used both with no problems, got ESP at the moment. As for loosing them, I got a cambo sunglass case from Peacocks for about £2 and keep all my bating tools, boilie stops and scissors etc in it, and just make sure I put things back in after use and put it in your pocket, have never lost anything since, untill the day I put the case down in the grass and being camo can't find it.

They get my vote aswell Gav and also Maple 8

Have you considered ESP Raptors or Korda wide gapes, if you fancy a change, but the hooks your using are normaly ok, could as with all hooks, be a bad batch, but normaly if it's that, tends to be the hook point being blunt or the edge coming off easly, but it could be possible they can be straightning if a dodgy batch.

Your supposed to do your bait in the microwave Den, not coat your leads.

The owner is Jerry Hammond and yes the back lake is brooke lake, I had a 17 1/2 lb mirror out the last time I fished it, it is a day ticket and you can pay an extra anual joining fee, which gives you a key to the gate, so you can drive right down to it, to save humping all your gear over the river lea etc and then treck down to the lake.It is a bit weedy in places and has been cleared alot and stocked, but some great spota and features to fish, a stuning old lake. The other lake there is a syndicate and has some stunning fish in there, but there is a waiting list. Give Jerry a call or pop in and see him, he is a great guy, you might have seen him in a few films as he is an actor.

Funny how it goes Budgie, I have never caught a thing on Strawberry/cream and monster crab only tutti, all though monster crab has had some excellent catch results, but never worked on any waters I fished.

Depends where your fishing or time of year, what works at one place, doesn't in another and vice verser, but some seem to be good all rounders, as some will work better in winter or summer. Can also be problem's with certain baits on waters that have a lot of silver fish or crayfish, at the end of the day the bait that I have caught best all round with is 15mm Nash Scopex.

Thanks for that Den

Nice fish and pic Den, where was it you was fishing, anywhere near Canterbury?? looks a nice mature lake,I have been looking around the area for some nice quiet spots, since I moved down from Essex.

I know of one fish at my local club a few years back, was caught 4 times in less than 3 days by a couple of us, it had a realy bad parrot mouth, known as the parrot funny enough,I have seen this fish caught loads of times in the summer. It was one of the original stock fish and the only one of it's kind it the lake, so no chance of it being a different fish, due to how ugly it was and yes it was a mug fish. This fish could be caught off the bottom, but more so of the top or on a zig on a hot summers day, it seemed to love being caught and has spent many many hours on the bank and come to no apparent harm, apart from bad hooking in the past leading to a deformed mouth.

I've had good results on both halibut boilies and pellets, top bait

Good luck Rob, you lucky so and so, Enjoy and my your alarms never be silent

In theory if 6 foot + carp exist, but the record caught in Rainbow lake, France a few months back was 86lb and the UK record is 65lb out of Conningbrooke, so why is the record not twice the weight or near it??? if 6 foot 160lb+ realy are out there lurking about.

I won't be changing from Greys rods and Shimano reels,I just have a few spools of different line and you can Carp fish, fish for cats and dead bait for pike, float for carp on the surface and even scale down when quiet in the day and float fish for a few coarse/silver fish, tench, perch etc, have even used them for lures, though not the best rod for it, but it works. So all in all why have a pole??? seems like a lot of work for little gain and very restricting on the way you fish and for the type of fish. Had to be polite and constructive here on my oppinion of poles, for fear of being banned from the forum, sorry they just don't rock ma boat.

Though it is possible that such size fish could exist, I find it very very unlikely and hard to believe this in the UK. Catch records of most species of course fish have grown a lot over the years. I can go back about 35 years and remember catching a just over 2lb roach, not far off the record at the time, but how ever about half the size of todays records, as with most other species, eg: tench, perch etc. I think a lot to do with bigger growth, is the abundant amount of modern baits, like pellets, boilies etc and the amount of nutriants etc in them, that has accounted for such rises in sizes/weights. As the UK record carp is only about 65lb now (I think thats around the latest figure) even if the biggest of these 195lb monsters had never been caught, surely the record should stand at over a 100lb or at least far higher than it is, in comparison with other fish catch records. Might be wrong on this, so what do all you other guys think????

So working by that article, does that mean a six foot carp would be 135-195lb then??? if a four foot is estimated at 90- 130lb.

Carp of the 15lb to 20lb stamp are not going to be 5 or 6 feet long, could they be Cats or even eels or as mentioned sturgeon, but even seem a bit long for sturgeon, not that I have caught any large sturgeon.

Nice to watch and them comment on their enviromentally friendly weight and even to catch a fish for the camera's to see and loads of people to watch and all be it a small fish, JUST DUMP IT ON THE DECK,with no unhooking mat, shows how much they realy care about the enviroment and fish safety.

I usualy super glue the mixer to the shank of the hook, if your not using a hair, another tip if fishing at a distance with mixers, is put your hook bait (mixer) into a pva bag of mixers and when you cast out, the pva melts and you have your mixer/bait in amongst the mixers as free offerings. Works great when they are grouped up feeding on the top and realy going at the mixers