salokcinnodrog

Strange. My fishing tackle appears to have gotten itself ready for fishing. So it looks like finish work at 7pm, get back feed Sky, put rods in car and drive to Nazeing for 3 nights...

I think using a Deeper Pro does take away to some extent from natural ability. I can use a marker float to map a swim, and see the fish, that is my ability. I could cast out a Deeper and get the lake mapped in half the time, but it just doesn't get me 'the feel'. Technology has supposed to be an advancement, and make life easier for us, but at the same time I think it also kills or dulls the natural touch.

I have a local water that the majority of swims are on jetties, and you have to bivvy back off them. If the water level is up, you could be wading through a couple of yards of soft mud before reaching the jetty. I have seen anglers sit waiting on the jetties, and the disturbance they create. Every movement, every bottom roll as they shift on the chair, all create waves, vibration and noise. Brackens has a swim called Boards, I have blanked when bivvied up in there, it is big enough for a bivvy. Back to the video, awesome. Long distance from the rods? I think my comments above sum that up. We are commenting about him bivvying up, and his 2/3 hours, but a simple question has been missed. Is he sleeping with his rod out? Or is he casting at first light? If casting at first light then he is not sleeping, but sitting where he creates least disturbance.

The lowest row of scales look different and the scale count and pattern just above the ventral fin is different, so in my opinion they are different fish. I would love to see those fish in daylight side on pics, you'd only get accurate identification that way.

I used to dry them overnight on an air drying tray, then freeze them. If I wanted them air dried, after the overnight tray dry, I would put them into wine press bags as I used back then, although now proper air dry bags are available. If you use Betaine HCl on or in your baits, as they come out of the pan, shake some Betaine over them, they take it nicely into the skin. Another alternative is roll them in beaten egg, then in base mix and freeze. You get a base mix skin which gradually breaks down around the boilie. I was doing that long before any major bait company! This can also be done to air dried baits with the egg dip. I never used to bother rehydrating totally air dried baits, and would use them dry. You do have to be aware that air dried baits take on water and soften faster than frozen. This may go against those who think mega dried baits are crayfish resistant, I never found them so. The other thing with air dried baits, they do not catapult or throwing stick as far as frozen or shelf life. Rehydrating them with liquids does work, I used to drop them in prepared particle liquid, take them out after a couple of hours, or spod them in with the particles and groundbait.

I split some of the Stanwick Lakes posts off into their own thread (https://www.carp.com/topic/24684-stanwick-lake-from-bedchairs/?tab=comments#comment-326884), so sorry if this is now a little disjointed. That is my biggest gripe about the 'top range' bedchairs, a lot of money for the foam mattress. Quality is not necessarily any better than some of the budget ranges. Stick a £20 mattress on a £90 TFG Deluxe bedchair and you have the comfort of a Nash or Fox top price sleep system. Not being funny, but I do like being able to take the sleeping bag off, and this summer sleeping in just shorts and t-shirt. A sleeping bag underneath leaves me dripping with sweat. I mentioned earlier that I have looked at various bedchairs over the years, and none of the bedchairs I have owned have cost more than £130. I had a Badget bedchair that cost me £50, and that lasted for around 6 years. Only fault is elastic springing dies, and it gets easier to buy a new bedchair; Bison was its replacement, and again, that lasted 6 years or so. I think that cost £80. The most expensive was one of the original Fox bedchairs, a simple centre elasticated section, with the canvas cover going around the frame at head and feet, and back in the 1990's that cost £129.99!

Been through a few makes over the years and checked and tested them in tackle shops I worked in. Strangely none were better than the original Fox bedchairs I had around 20+ years ago, and I am not made of money, no way can I afford current Nash or Fox prices. My current bedchair is a few years old now, the Chub Vantage 6 leg Flatbed. It is comfortable and wide enough and at open, 2.15m long. I may only be 75kilos when wet (11 1/2 stone I guess), but there is room. Do not get the Outkast version, it is around 18centimetres shorter head to toe, and not as wide. The central padded mattress keeps you warm and because it is not elasticated round the outer frame, it does not sag. Proper mudfeet, and non slipping extendable legs. It also folds up with my sleeping bag inside. Shop around, prices vary down as low as £125 comparred to the £185 rrp.

Could be handy to know how far down the boilie pellet only rule they will go. It may be that groundbait is allowed, in which case liquidised particles in 'powder' or even whole particles in groundbait could be acceptable. I have fished waters where boilie and pellet are the way forward, but I do like some particles in the mix, although bream and tench can get there first and stop the carp coming in to feed.

To be honest that was my view on the first two programmes, however it did grow on me😉

Welcome to Carp.com😀 Plenty of information around here, always worth a browse, but any help, opinions or advice hopefully get them on a new thread you start. Have fun finding your way around

I have posted above, but I use these. https://www.anglingdirect.co.uk/grandeslam-fishing-scales-50kg Think they are about 5 years old now, been abused and used. The bottom hook I have bent round so do not come off the scales, and removed the top hook and replaced it with a T bar weigh handle. Easy to zero with a standard weigh sling, although I use either a TFG Compact weigh sling or a CarpZone weigh sling.

I must admit I found the first episode or two painful to watch; Bob Mortimer was trying to hard to be funny, and I found it annoying. However as the series went on I started enjoying it. A second series has now been confirmed:

I use a small set of luggage digital scales for my roach and chub fishing. They fit into a small pocket in my stalking bag. They can honestly be a pain, but the small size is the only thing that makes them a positive. Hard to reset to zero sometimes, getting correct measurement between pounds and ounces and kilos is not always clear. Digital scales are heavy, not necessarily the equipment inside, but actually the protection around the sensitive electronics. My dial scales live in my rucksack top pocket, and I know that they are safe. If you do insist on digital scales, I do not know why you would pay: a) carp taxed scales b) inflated Fox prices Fox scales are around £63, yet Korum digitals (another good brand) are around £30. Even Reuben Heaton digitals can cost less than the Fox ones (https://www.ebay.co.uk/i/401577802821?chn=ps&ul_ref=https%3A%2F%2Frover.ebay.com%2Frover%2F1%2F710-134428-41853-0%2F2%3Fmpre%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fwww.ebay.co.uk%252Fi%252F401577802821%253Fchn%253Dps%26itemid%3D401577802821%26targetid%3D475190403299%26device%3Dt%26adtype%3Dpla%26googleloc%3D1006826%26poi%3D%26campaignid%3D1486633653%26adgroupid%3D58571237198%26rlsatarget%3Dpla-475190403299%26abcId%3D1139346%26merchantid%3D116312939%26gclid%3DEAIaIQobChMIsIv2zYLn3AIVh7TtCh0b2gu0EAQYEyABEgKZMvD_BwE%26srcrot%3D710-134428-41853-0%26rvr_id%3D1629155146873%26rvr_ts%3D2d1b52c51650ac1fed251e2dffee545bhttps://www.ebay.co.uk/i/401577802821?chn=ps&ul_ref=https%3A%2F%2Frover.ebay.com%2Frover%2F1%2F710-134428-41853-0%2F2%3Fmpre%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fwww.ebay.co.uk%252Fi%252F401577802821%253Fchn%253Dps%26itemid%3D401577802821%26targetid%3D475190403299%26device%3Dt%26adtype%3Dpla%26googleloc%3D1006826%26poi%3D%26campaignid%3D1486633653%26adgroupid%3D58571237198%26rlsatarget%3Dpla-475190403299%26abcId%3D1139346%26merchantid%3D116312939%26gclid%3DEAIaIQobChMIsIv2zYLn3AIVh7TtCh0b2gu0EAQYEyABEgKZMvD_BwE%26srcrot%3D710-134428-41853-0%26rvr_id%3D1629155146873%26rvr_ts%3D2d1b52c51650ac1fed251e2dffee545b)

Dial scales for me every day of the week. The least electronic kit I can carry the better. They have a tendency to go wrong or misbehave just when you need them. On top of that, I believe Fox digi's don't have an off switch. For dial scales, Reuben Heaton are the ultimate, but Salters (used and tested in a lot of grocers and supermarkets) are also good.

Most definitely not, 😖😅 I'm sorry if this seems disjointed, it is my head running at breakneck speed again to get everything down. Vik has probably described his thoughts exactly as mine are regarding leads. I have been through loads of lead set-ups in my time, from semi-fixed leads, as helicopter, inline and pendant ( lead hanging from the line) to bolt rigs and running leads, run rings and inline running leads. Leadcore fished with helicopters, inline and pendant leads. Leadcore originally as leadcore flyline to the current braided leadcore. In that 30 odd years I have noticed how fish can use the lead in their favour to eject the rig, how twitchy takes, even indication are effected by the lead and how tight or slack the line is. I used to fish a small water called Thwaite where I could experiment with various set-ups as I wasn't happy with indication on tight lines. I was able to get the fish feeding in close in my margins, or far bank and could lower my rigs in, with someone on my rod as I lowered it in on the far bank. Straight off I found helicopter set-ups gave reduced indication, whether with a tight or slack line. The fish could move a long way, up and down the line, as well as around the area that the chod style fished rig could reach. Pendant or inline semi-fixed leads also gave reduced indication, and at 50metres range that lack of indication could see the lead moved 5metres with no rise or fall or sound, unless you had Monsieur Delkim at maximum sensitivity. At Even longer ranges like 150metres, Le Delkim could be silent as vibration is absorbed along the line. The answer was to switch to running leads and preferably slack lines. Indication was vastly improved. The problem was with any water movement, undertow or currents, you could find the line being moved, being pulled off the reel and a constantly rising indicator. To counter this you had to go back to tight lines, and depending on how much current, increase lead size. Imagine a 2acre water with floodwater coming in, and an outflow into a stream, even on Thwaite going up to 3oz leads from the 1.5oz I preferred to use on there. Lead set-ups are a compromise, misunderstood and misused. To get the furthest distance casting, helicopter leads work best, with pendant leads a few metres behind, and inlines a couple of wobbly metres behind that. Yet those set-ups fished semi-fixed give reduced indication. I have had, and seen other people get takes, where that semi-fixed lead has been moved as far as 20metres with no indication. I moved onto Brackens at Nazeing and stuck almost exclusively with running leads and slack lines. Most other anglers fished tight semi-fixed. Whether my baiting or slack lines were the main contributor, I landed a higher percentage of carp to rod hours than most other anglers on there. No undertow, lines mostly along the lakebed, even if you did have to allow as much as another 10metres of slack as the gravel features could be so high off the lakebed. Imagine fishing a 7feet deep gravel feature, in 20feet of water! Playing around at Thwaite came up with something else on the occasional broken line. A helicopter lead set-up, if you cracked off or snapped the lead must not come off the line. It was the lead still being in place that enabled the rig to be ejected off the line if a fish took. If the lead was ejected the line basically folded in half and the rig could not come off either end. Unless somebody can come up with a way of attaching a lead with no link clip or swivel, a helicopter must have the lead stay on if the mainline breaks, unless it breaks directly above the lead, and everything can slide off the lead end. My next pet hate is the misused lead clip. It's original use was so the lead could be taken off the rods at the end of the trip. I don't know what was wrong with link clips which were available long before the lead clip, those link clips obviously didn't work properly on either pendant or helicopter set-ups😖😮😆 The lead clip has become to be all and end all. Lets dump the lead if the fish gets snagged, lets dump the lead on a take, not hang on I shouldn't really be fishing here it is a bit too close to the snag, or, in a weedy lake an inline lead is actually best to reduce the weed hanging around the line. The lead clip catches weed, tubing catches weed, leader knots catch weed, and hooks catch weed. Even more amazing, a fish with its head and eyes covered in weed often just gives up. @spr1985 think we'll have to start getting your thoughts that are developing. I reckon it could be an interesting post as you put your analysis and ideas down.