kevtaylor

Ayup mate Whilst this is prob of no use to you I have found the Urban baits meshed cork ball pop-ups to be very good, they are expensive but they say you can re-dry, glug and re-use. I did a 3.5 day test on their 12ml normal pop-ups as well and stopped the test because I was more than satisfied with the reliability - in fact I was amazed. Used them for a good 6 months now and had no probs at depths to 12ft. Did Sat night down the lake and fished in prob 15 foot and bang the pop-ups became unreliable. Cant believe the difference as couple of feet makes. Well done on the big common btw

Dont overlook the Avid Ascent brolley system - IMO the best by a country mile. Its everything you liked about the Fox system but it's quality and there lies the difference.

Weird isn't it - you can loose a fish then land one but all you bang on about is the loss - they really hurt eh

I think I remember the losses much more than the ones landed. Strange really. Lost a fish I was targeting last year, epic fight in the middle of the night, wading out far further than I was comfortable with and I just couldn't stop it, it shot through a gap and dived into a reed bed and done the hook. Also had one I wanted jump out of the net before weighing and photos last year - that was really annoying. There's a few fish that I want to send strongly worded letters to.

It's a really nice fish Nige and the linear, but to me that one stands out big time, well in mate your seasons got off to a flyer - and a movie star! 😊 My season has got off like the usual massive let down, a 4 day blank put me firmly in my place - where's my mate big ears gone anyone seen him.

Steady on there Nige some belters there mate, what did the first one go if you don't me asking - cracking beast! Well done 😊

I'll big up the fox microns set. Had Micron MX's for many years 20 odd and never had a problem in all weathers and seasons, baked to frozen, brilliant

Well done mate some nice dark fish there - crackers

Pretty sure your Entohs will will still be doing the business when the wychwoods are paintless and going wrong all over the place.

When your popping the float up I use the quick drag to go from locked up to loose so I can pull line off, with just a half turn.

Once you get some Shimmy's you wont look at anything else. I know you said they performed well on their first outing, but you also said they were making not so good noises already- I hope you get your moneys worth out of them - not sounding great already. (Senior moment) Actually I was wrong before - I did own a pair of Diawa big pits which were my spod and marker reels, can't remember the name right now but within a year or so the clutch on one went wrong and the line clips were so poor they damaged the line, I went and bought a pair of Shimmy's which cost a bit more but are great, good as brand new still and with the addition of a QD drag, which is great for the job. The Diawa were so rubbish I must have blanked it out of my memory. Sorry I'm making it worse 😄

Because I've only had some cheap Diawa baitrunners many years ago I cannot really say whether they are good or bad. What I could say is that since owning shimano reels I would never buy another brand. Shimano are widely accepted as being the best reels by a long way, through all price ranges, no question. My big pits are probably 15 years old and have been serviced once in that time, not that they needed it, I just wanted to give them a treat because they have given me plenty of good memories. They are like new, no noise, no damage, a brilliant clutch and I could land anything on them and I mean anything, they will last me forever no doubt whatsoever. Sorry to burst your bubble somewhat but you should have bought some Shimmy's.

Try zig bugs either as a zig or a low pop-up. You can buy them ready made or do your own. Bit of hemp with a fake snail pop-up. Easy lol You're more than likely watching them on the first hatch of the year, which makes the above even more relevant.

It really depends from picture to picture, on some you can clearly see the depth variations from the different shades, bars might stand out like a sore thumb, weedy areas might be visible. Gotta say I've only fished one venue where the google maps image showed everything I've described - usually you can see naff all. Even so its still great for getting to know the compass points so you know the wind directions, the warmer west bank and measuring swims to features in yards so you know the rough distances.

It's difficult to find places eh - I was really surprised at how few venues allow dogs when I got my doggy. Nearly all of the places I'd considered fishing over the years actually didn't allow dogs when it came to joining. Bluebell Lakes (day ticket) is cool with dogs. I don't really know where you are or how far you want to travel. Most places have the rules on the internet nowdays Good luck 😌