charlieg

All got sent back to Shimano.

Yes I have the Mark 1s. Just before my local shut down I had a play with the Carbon versions and they were very nice.

I pair mine with some Pen Affinities. A couple of newer models have since come out but the reels are great and make for a balanced set up.

Elmo Hydrotuff is quite a thick mainline so I would go with the 12lb and a leader.

What an ending, I didn’t think they were going to do that when the top order got bowled out. Buttler is just brilliant.

I wouldn’t tie a loop knot to then tie another knot to that. I would join the 2 materials together using a leader knot. Either a back to back grinner or Mahin knot for Fluoro to mono.

Been Postponed.

Carpology seem to be advertising BMG tackle heavily at the moment and I’ve just checked their site and may be the one. Looks like they have just trimmed a bit off of the aligner bit.

Looking at the Gardner Tackle website HydroTuff is only available in Low Viz Green now. There is a note at the saying "*Limited stocks available of old style packaging of 10lb in Low-Viz Green and 12lb and 15lb in the superb Deep Brown." so you may struggle to find it in brown now.

Take a look at the Fox Easy Splice Needle. A bit different from the normal splicing needles as it doesn't have a hook but is twisted metal instead. Might just be what you are looking for.

Just to throw a spanner in the works, I would hold off as Penn are just about to release Carbon Affinities and see how much these cost.

Nick you managed to get your hands on the Korda Prototype?

What Hooks do you normally use? Are these available in Barbless? If so I would stick with what you are confident in and I just like to add a bit of shrink tube to help keep the hook in place.

I tried them for a water I was fishing with a barbless only rule. They were pretty good, found they came up a bit small for the size stated so that's something to bare in mind when buying them.

Take a look at the Wychwood dispatch spod reel. Similar price and comes loaded with 30lb braid.