yonny

Funny you should say that, I was in there a few weeks ago getting some maggots and my mate asked me to pick up a few Korda bits for him - they had none of it. In fact most of the displays were half empty. Not tried any Kodex stuff I'm afraid. Is there something specific about their hooks that you're interested bud?

The golden rule on any water. Problem is when you're limited to a couple of 48s and the odd overnighter it's very easy to feel like you're wasting time without rods in the water but you're 100% right - the real waste is sitting there not knowing if there's a fish anywhere near you. With such a low stock all you need to see is a single carp to tell you where you need to be but I know only too well that finding that one carp can be easier said than done on the limited time available. In all honesty I am yet to find a bait that will draw carp into the swim on these really high pressure waters which makes it even more critical to ensure you're on the fish. Every one of those members will be using a great bait so the carp get to pick and choose wherever the go. If you can present worm/maggot without pushing the carp out of the swim though..... it's game on.

After about 6 months deliberating over the Tempest Brolly and the Lo Pro, this morning I finally ordered the ESP.

That's what I do lol..... it's easy to forget just what you're fishing for when you go long periods between bites, I love to admire a couple of pics and acknowledge the fact that fish is in front of me somewhere - can't fail to get the old juices flowing.

Stop going mate, I guarantee you the bug'll be back before you know it.

Does it begin with 'P' by any chance? I can relate entirely to your predicament - I too don't get the time to compete with the full timers on my water and it's not possible for me to establish a bait properly. I'm there for one weekend every three plus the odd work overnighter. IMO you should forget about rigs - you obviously know what you're doing and know what you're using catches carp. I would ignore this for starters. You can't fish the same spots as everyone else and expect better results. I'd go in completely blind if I were you, you might be surprised with what you find. The one thing that can make a huge difference in our situation is bait. It might pay to use something that is established on the water already (assuming you can find out what others use). When the going gets really tough there is not a carp that swims that can ignore chopped worms and maggots. They're a bit of a ball ache to use but if you can get them in position without scaring the carp away they're as close to a guaranteed bite as you can get. Many times have I resorted to this tactic and it always works eventually.

Because if they're not correctly prepared they're dangerous (not good for the carp).

My dedicated bait freezer doesn't hold much more than that at the mo tbf..... the last few months have seen the Mrs sneaking food and all sort in there..... bang out of order, at some point she'll get back from work to find it all defrosting on the floor after I've put in a huge bait order......

For sure bud, but if you put a kilo on one spot every couple of days you'd soon have them recognising it.

IMO you don't need to pile it in (but it helps), regular baiting in smaller qtys can do the same job.

I think if you had a water to yourself you could condition them pretty quickly. I do believe they can be 'trained' onto a bait, just look how effective a baiting team can be when they get it right. I did that with some pals on a water a few years ago, the bait was applied in qty, we all caught lots and lots of fish. Bigguns too.

If nuisance species allow have a go with solid bags full of maggots - probably the best instant-action tactic I've used. If you completely encase the hook in foam you'll protect the hook point and as the bag melts the hook bait will rise up/suspend itself above the maggots before sitting beautifully on top of them. Little popped up maggot rig to hook 'em. Proper deadly. If there's tench or bream about they'll slaughter you......

I see where you're coming from CM. I've already told the lads I go with that next year I'll be AWOL; while it's great fun in a theme park kinda way the sense of achievement in catching big fish just can't compare to the UK. I intend to spend the saved holiday allowance hitting my UK water hard next Spring; something I haven't done for a few years now.

Nightmare Smufter...... harsh luck mate.

It was Rod Hutchinson, and he used thick old black sea line. He caught loads......