Rich Habbershaw

My lovely wife has promised me a new carp rod for my birthday Question is, I've got between £70-£100 to splash on a nice new carp rod and I'm a bit stumped as to which one I'm currently drooling over a Greys Prodigy 2.5 - 2.75lb TC carp rod....to be matched up with my new shiny bait runner (see earlier post) and line of around 10lb on average. Rod is to be used on commercial lakes, no more than 150yds from bank to bank on the largest lake. Mainly for method, PVA bags and ledgering. I usually fish at a distance of no more than 20-60yds max for most features. Anyone got anything good to say about this rod or can you recommend a different option. Cheers Rich

Cheers all, I thought it would be something simple! Used the bait runner for the first time weekend before last and only had one decent run ... cold for d'em d'ere carp ... got overly excited and grabbed at the rod quickly hence the line spooling off and one lost fish. I shall remember the golden rule, of slowly slowly catchy fishy (!) and hold onto my rod of course. Rich

Morning all This is going to sound such a stupid question, how the heck do you strike when using a bait runner reel without ripping line off the spool?!?! Let me explain, bite runner is engaged and spooling freely, rod is on the rest with a bite indicator to keep tension. A carp walks (!) off with your bait. If I strike firmly with the bait runner engaged, it spools line off the reel a fair deal as the bait runner clutch is light. Obviously winding will disengage the bait runner to normal clutch mode ... surely you don't do this before removing your rod from the rest and bite indicator? Is there a sure fire method of using these things or am I just going loopy?

I've only used braid as my hook-length, and have to agree I got better bite indication than using mono. I'm not confident enough setting up my own hair rigs using braid yet, so I still tend to use mono unless I can get a prepacked rig. 2.5lb TC seems a bit heavy, what fish are you regularly pulling out?

I'm assuming you've already been for your 48 hour session as this post was raised nigh on a month ago, unusual for nobody to reply to a cry for help? Did you have any success? Method feeder is probably the easiest to use, as you've already partly suggested. As for the tackle side of things, I'm sure most ppl would suggest 10lb line regardless, with 15lb for weedier conditions, a strong size 10 hook (barbless) ....and vary the length of the hair rig, if fish are feeding then I would say a short hair of around 6 inches (15cm) going up to 12 inches for shy biters. In winter months, go for the double sweetcorn with the odd piece in your method mix. If your confident enough, try tieing your own hair rigs. A small palomar for the business end, knotless knot with 8+ winds up the shank leading to a swviel which will fit snugly into the method feeder. Hope that helps! Rich

I'm using ultima power-plus mono, 10lb for the winter months as it's a slightly smaller diameter and 15lb for summer. It sinks well, is pretty resiliant and not overly stretchy. Was tempted by the flouro until I realised the price difference for decent line. *ouch*

I've used numerous 'cheapo' foreign imports, usually fibre glass & found these to be reliable but extremely heavy to hold for a continuous amount of time. Looking in the range of £70-100, I swear by shimano rods as I find the quality, weight & play action to be very good at the price. Currently using a Nexave AX feeder and a Hyperloop float rod for silver fish.

I always seem to catch my biggest fish when it's absolutely belting it down, plus they're always the ones that want to go for a bit of a swim, so your there getting wetter & wetter *lol* There I am, sat beneath my brolly supping a hot cuppa, having blanked all day. Then all of a sudden ...... beep beep bbeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep!

Well it's come to that time of year when it's getting ever so slightly nippy in the air & the fish are biting less often. As such, I'm being a fair weather fisherman and winding down for this year But ... to end my first year of carping on a high note, my PB weight has gradually built from a 3lb ghost carp to the now proud owner of a 10lb PB mirror carp. Failed to beat my fishing buddy who ended the year on an 11lb ghost I would have sneaked it this weekend if I hadn't been snapped off, this time not due to my knot tying but a monster of a fish which I was completely unprepared for. Ah well...roll on 2007! Tight lines people

Sound not decidedly dissimilar from the shock-sticks that have recently been released....saw one in action the other day, handy for close margin fishing & strong as 'owt.

Have to agree with poledark on the feeding periods. My water can be hard to fish due to the number of anglers putting bait in. Theres a definate 'switch on' at sunrise & then mid afternoon to dusk, at other times you just need to hit the same spot continuously to catch out the odd one.... example was last weekend when the father-in-law was fishing late afternoon after a heavy spell of rain, yes he's a fair weather fisherman, nothing for hours but upped his rate of casting & bingo. Looking forward to some winter fishing, hopefully more fruitful than last years blank.

My swim is always left as found, minus other peoples discarded rubbish. I might be new to fishing ... but it's common courtesy and common sense.

If these are jelly-stops, then yes I do use them on some of my rigs. It just so happened the rig that broke off was one of my first attempts at rig tying! An earlier attempt saw one method feeder go sailing into the distance because the knot wasn't tied right & the whole kaboodle came off. I'm going to test the line strength as suggested above, other than that I think I need to practice those knots.

Budgie *Holds hands up* I have to admit that I read far too many of the carp rags, hence why I was swayed by the new lines. I'll give the current line until the end of the year & if I carry on with the same problems I'll make it the first thing I change. Thanks for all your advice guys, much appreciated.

It's 12lb ultima at 0.30mm diameter, the line is pretty strong and has a high breaking strain. I knew it was the knot that gave way due to the curly pigs tail at the end. Aye, my 1st target is beating the 8lb carp my father-in-law caught at the same lake ... nothing like a bit of one up manship is there! Perhaps thats why the swine wouldn't move his rod

Fishing a 1.5oz inline method feeder with 12lb mono, I think the grinner knot gave way on the swivel. I tend to use a standard grinner with 7 turns, wetted before tightening, had been using the same rig most of the day and caught 6-7lb with ease, checking the knot at each recast. I'm not too hot on knot tying, so would appreciate any help on a more reliable knot! Now I know the doubles are there, I'm even keener than before

Had a brilliant weekend carping, after 4 weeks of virtually blanking, with a new PB of 7lb (yes I know it's small, we all have to start somewhere) for a mirror carp. However..... I hooked into what I can only assume would have been my first double figure carp, clutch was screaming like a wailing banshee as the carp tried everything it could to throw me. I played it for a few minutes, as it hurtled around the lake, before it dived beneath the line of a rod sat not more than couple of meters away from me. Now, due to my inexperience, I thought it best to apply a bit more pressure to get it under control again. Next thing I know, the line gives way and the fish vanishes into the distance. I can only assume I had a badly tied knot, as the line was 12lb and didn't break. Whilst I beat my PB, how do you ever get over 'the one that got away'? Hindsight says I should have screamed at my fishing buddy to get his rod out of the way

A) How long have you been fishing after the age of 12? 4 years as a "holiday" fisherman, but seriously for past 6 months How many days a year do you fish? At the minute it's 2/3 weekends. C) How many times have you had your Rod Licence checked (by official WA/NRA/EA baillif as opposed to club baillif or fishery owner)? Three times in 6 months ... I must look dodgy!

Seeing the odd story of Argos messing up the rods given to people ... I bought two of the hyperloops & discovered one of them was a Catana Match AX...c'est la vie! Argos is stating line strengths of 2-6lb on the hyperloop, and 2-5lb on the Catana. I'm quite content fishing with 6lb line ... the father in law seems to think he's going to catch Moby Dick!?!?!? Has anybody got any experience of using heavier line on these rods? And finally ..... I'm a fan of the Shimano reels .. which is best for light float work, the hyperloop or catana reel?

None left in Hull, my very kind wife drove the 35 miles to Grimsby to collect one for myself & the father in law. Don't think there were many left in Grimsby either .... so a big thank you for highlighting these guys! Didn't need a new float rod, but £22 for a Shimano carbon rod is a bit of a bargain & they're a beutiful looking piece of equipment. Will use it at bank holiday weekend at a pond I haven't float fished yet. Recently bought a shimano medium feeder & they're brilliantly manufactured & great fun to use.

Spent a couple of weeks there myself this year, right at the start of the season. Best places I found to fish where around the Waverney Centre (sorry if it's mis-spelt) & around Potter Higham boat yard. Rivers seemed a bit quiet, but that may have been due to the time of year. Best bait, often overlooked, was Kingsmill bread on a float rod .... just be careful of your bread not sinking as the ducks, swans, geese, coot etc etc all go mad for a bit of bread. Didn't have any bites on sweetcorn, or using the method. Second best bait for the week was definately maggots. Only problem I had was the multitude of eels I caught ... got beyond the joke catching half a dozen in a row at one point. Nb. Caught my PB Bream of 5.5lb at Potter Higham boat yard.

Spent a couple of weeks there myself this year, right at the start of the season. Best places I found to fish where around the Waverney Centre (sorry if it's mis-spelt) & around Potter Higham boat yard. Rivers seemed a bit quiet, but that may have been due to the time of year. Best bait, often overlooked, was Kingsmill bread on a float rod .... just be careful of your bread not sinking as the ducks, swans, geese, coot etc etc all go mad for a bit of bread. Didn't have any bites on sweetcorn, or using the method. Second best bait for the week was definately maggots. Only problem I had was the multitude of eels I caught ... got beyond the joke catching half a dozen in a row at one point. Nb. Caught my PB Bream of 5.5lb at Potter Higham boat yard.

Well guys n gals.... I tried a rough mix of 30% crumb (reddened with paprika), 30% crushed hemp & 30% halibut pellet, with a handful of sweetcorn & hemp seed thrown in, sweetened with tutti-frutti. Caught my PB of a 6.5lb common carp, well chuffed! What made it better was that I caught all of my fish on a hair rig, which is the first time I'd tried it properly with results. All in all, this weekend resulted in 8 carp, mixture of ghost/common/mirror, ranging in weight from 2lb thru' 6.5lb, and a bagful of bream. A conservative catch, but I still out caught most of the people on the lake. The 6.5lb carp was a weird catch. It latched onto my hook, took the bait & spat it out. The hook caught on a submerged branch & I still managed to bring the fish in as somebody elses tackle was wrapped round said branch, attached to the same fish!?!?!?! Obviously they were fishing too light, very light line, and had attached a 200g lead weight & 30cm of leadcore to their tackle. The poor fish was obviously towing this tackle & the branch when I caught it. Needless to say I took the whole lot off the fish before putting it back.

Hadn't thought of that, I did think it wasn't food colouring ... but you never know if you don't ask!

Vitalin is on my list to try next .. once I find who sells it in the Hull area.