yonny

What's your budget?

Fair enough that you're not a boilie fan CM, but for me that's simply not true. Sure boilies have their flaws, all baits do, but IMO it's a fact that a decent boiled bait is one of the best baits available to the carp angler.

I agree. I find if you keep the link taught during tying you'll not struggle with the hair creeping round the shank.

Think you've answered your own question bud! If it aint broke don't fix it! Welcome to the forum.

I agree.

I dunno Vik, I believe some are uncatchable. Look at the famous big leather in W1, the shovel headed common in the mere, the sandy fish etc, etc.... fished for (for years) by the greatest anglers of our time, never caught! Uncatchable! Hear, hear! Abso-bloomin-lutely!!!

Agree totally fella. There are fish that don't come out in all waters IMO. I heard someone (don't ask who, can't remember) say that the average stock can be split into thirds; a third get caught frequently, a third get caught infrequently, and a third don't get caught. Now I don't know if I agree with that totally but I definitely think there's some truth in it. There's loads of fish in my current water that are hardly ever caught, if at all. Sometimes when the conditions are absolutely perfect the carp will put on a show that makes me realise just how many there are in there! It's frustrating to say the least. A few months ago a handful of stockies were put in, never been fished for, hungry little doubles. Of those, 1 has been caught since! 1! The previous stocking was a few years ago and we're still seeing some of them being caught for the first time. They're all 30+ now so they've clearly been feeding (a lot), they just don't get caught! A couple of years ago a fish came out that hadn't been on the bank for 9 years. There's loads of these fish swimming about I reckon.

Well done lads, sounds like a productive night.

Good luck boys!

Yeah the wychwood has it on the ends, it's the same bed fella. You can just about see it here: http://www.bristolangling.com/wychwood-tactical-flatbed.html

Same here, brilliant bed, very light. It's been re-branded by Cyprynus, same bed for 80 quid. Absolute bargain. https://www.cyprinus.co.uk/collections/beds-seating/products/base-camp-flatbed-camouflage-bedchair-compact

I've fished several waters that could pass as my dream water, the only 'problem' being other anglers. Unfortunately none of us can moan about that as we are part of that problem.....

Depends on multiple factors. Given the choice I'd fish solely with boilie but there have been situations where I've fished with none at all. One thing I do think is that if you're lucky enough to have the time for a full on campaign, and you can get them feeding on the boilie, they will be more effective over longer periods than most particles. For session fishing particle is every bit as effective as boilie, probably more so as CM said.

I wont lie, I chase fish of various sizes but if there were no bigguns in the waters I fished I wouldn't be fishing them. I enjoy catching all carp but the challenge I set myself is catching bigger ones generally. It's great that you're happy chilling and catching some pretty, tough scrappy little carp, I have done that and will no doubt be doing it again when I'm older. But the fact remains it tends to be the challenge of catching the bigger ones that really drives me. I won't say it's all about size, it's not; the biggy in my current water wasn't a target for me, last years target was a mid 30 so in a water holding several mid 40s it aint massive. Am I chasing numbers? Probably, to an extent. There's an old saying; first you want to catch a carp, then you want to catch lots of carp, then you want to catch a big carp, then you want to catch the biggest carp. I think there's a lot of truth in that. There is for me anyway. Each to their own and all that. Nowt wrong with wanting a biggy in my book. One thing I do agree with is your comments about youngsters wanting it all from the off, it's been discussed one here before. I do think there is a lack of respect and appreciation for smaller fish ("ONLY had a couple of doubles....") that should be learned by fishing for them as part of ones initiation into the world of angling.

You did. As a fishing rod the XS is far more suitable.