buzzbomb

I've never been to the UK, but I've seen some match fishing on television and I think paylakes may be closer to coarse match fishing than specimen carp fishing or runs waters, despite the difference in fish size. The lack of concern for natural surroundings, crowded arrangement of pegs, and competitive atmosphere all seem to be common traits. On paylakes the serious players are there to enter for cash prizes, and at night the water, sectioned off by ropes so everyone knows their fish-able space, is illuminated by floodlights. I found this site to give our UK brothers an idea of what they do

Fact is, they're smart and they know where the weed beds are and they'll go right in there and try to break off. We used to fish near a bouy on a cable about 100 yds out and the first order of business when getting a fish was to steer them away before they could wrap around it, and then try to keep them over top of 50 yards of weeds. At one river swim there was a submerged tree stump near the bank, and almost every carp headed for it when hooked. When it isn't all open spaces and clean water it helps to know what your tackle can handle, and fight them. This is where a sticking drag will lo

In the fall when we're drifting for walleye we even get the odd carp on big diving rapalas. They're opportunistic like every other fish; if they can catch it and expend less energy than they gain, they'll go for it. Re: sweet vs savoury, in my groundbait I like to put something sweet (or sweet-ish) like a fruit drink or soft drink, ice tea powder, kool aid or syrups (I get expired stuff from the bar where I work), something hot like chili flake or sriracha or other hot sauce for the capcasin element, and something fishy. I have old cans of Red Bull I've been waiting to use for years. I use

Well done the catchers!

Dale Hollow Lake is a nice looking water; do you know where you'll be fishing from or are you going to have to search for a spot once you get there? Is it legal to put in ground bait? The lake I fish most often is quite a bit bigger, but on yours at almost 28,000 acres the same technique of baiting a spot (usually trying to get past the weeds to keep out of trouble) and hoping to interdict the carp as they cruise around the shore, should work as well. I've always considered river fishing more challenging than the lake, just because current adds another dimension to baiting strategy, but I g

Years ago when I first went catfishing on the Red I picked up a few 9' Shimano FX rods for my friends and I. They proved strong enough for the sumo cats and short enough to use out of the boat, and were only about $20. One fellow who didn't get one of those rods went to the same store and bought an FX 8' (I'd taken all the 9'), and he broke it in half bringing in a big fish. All the 9' rods handled channel cats to 35 lb in strong current. I still have mine with a big D.A.M. Quick baitrunner on it, and used it last on Sunday float fishing for perch and for pitching big pike lures. Med-heav

It could be the drum, I've only caught them on the Red River to use for cut bait for channel cats but I seem to recall they had kind of a goofy bite. Since you were connecting before I wouldn't change anything radically. What I've done in the past to save money is go to the inland terminals where they load rail cars, ask at the office, then look around for spilled grain or pulses, and fill my own sacks. You can really pad out a sack of whole corn with free chick peas or lentils, or oats or wheat for that matter. I had a friend who tested everything the Wheat Pool here bought, from flax to

I vaguely recall a girlfriend saying "You're just a big kid, aren't you?" about 40 years ago. Not sure I'd want to change.

Hi Gaffa, welcome to the forum. I remember Sweetcorn and the gang from the black forum.

Welcome to the forum. Wait until you get a screamer of 12 or 15 lb on; the needle goes into the red. 😄

The signature of the great IanD: The first rule of Bait Boat Club is don't talk about Bait Boat Club. Over the years we've seen quite a few fish pics with the background blacked out or cropped to hide the venue. I've even done it. Imo we don't need a 'pro' sub-forum; if you have info you only wish to share with certain members, the pm function is always there. The old Carp Anglers Group in North America charged membership and non-paying users didn't have access to some of the boards, but I think despite the work of some great guys on the site it's shrunk a lot from what it was 20

Welcome to the forum.

For a wasp or bee sting a handful of mud off the bank, and just slap it on. Unless you're anaphylactic, then you'd better use your epipen.

Reviews on Skin So Soft as insect repellent have always been mixed, (like those for fabric softener sheets). If you have faith in it maybe that helps. https://www.consumerreports.org/insect-repellents/avon-skin-so-soft-review-bug-spray/ Borrowing a trick from natives on our northern First Nations reserves I've used 3 parts white vinegar mixed with 1 part lemon dish soap with pretty good results.

Well done again. 👍