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My first indicators were monkey climbers made from disposable fag lighters and my mum's knitting needles!

Hinder's of Swindon used to market elipse pellets. They are just an oily trout pellet that has an elliptical (oval) shape rather than round. I'm not sure if the shape helped (they were supposed to flutter down gently and not roll so much in running water) but I have used them and they were a good pellet.

I have some of those exact same reels and I love them.

I'm a big fan of birdfood based baits all year round but especially in winter. They are so easily digestible, are very porous so leak attractors well, are a great source of energy that carp crave in cold water and break down relatively quickly if left uneaten. Having Said all that, this winter I will be using a milk protein based bait for the first time in years. It has some bird food too as well as a peanut derived protein, but is mostly milk protein.

Hi mate, With half-and-half soya and semolina you basically have the old fashioned 50:50 mix. They can be notoriously difficult to roll and can be either sticky or dry, depending on the quality and age of the soya flour. De-fatted soya is 'iffy', so use full fat. Although nutritionally poor, it will still catch carp if used correctly and in the right context. It is a pure attractor bait so should be attractive. Try this: 500g soya 500g semolina 10g icing sugar 5ml vanilla extract (from supermarket) 10g allspice powder 10ml olive oil Pinch of salt and pepper

The wind will help you to find the fish. According to the well respected carp angler Jim Gibbinson, the carp in wild, windswept coastal pits tend to follow or move on the wind even more so than other types of water. Especially a new, fresh wind. He fished pretty much exclusively on windy coastal pits around Kent for years. The chapters in his books "big water carp" and "gravel pit carp" on wind and weather are awesome reading. Well worth getting a second hand copy from Amazon. So, fish the bank that has waves crashing on it!

I did a little experiment once. I found a group of fish milling about at very close range (2 feet from bank). I shouted at them, no movement. I then screamed at the top of my voice (no one on the lake and I wasn't fishing), no response. I then lightly tapped the ground with the toe of my boot and they erupted and shot off in all directions. Sounds don't travel easily from air to water but vibrations in the ground are easily detected as they transfer into the water. A fishes lateral line organ is highly sensitive and is used to detect vibrations. A carp' s lateral line is highly developed, odd for a largely non-predatory species.

Big Fish Mix with cranberry Nutrafruit! Some great fruit flavours I've used in the past are: Nutrabaits cranberry, guava, pineapple and tutti. John Baker plum. Richworth plum royale. Rod Hutchinson mulberry Florentine to name a few. If you can find any of these in local tackle shop, buy them! If it's a fruity readymade boilie you want then try Nashbait tutti fruity, I love their tutti and rate over all others including the old Richworth ones.

If it's bream you want I'd use groundbait with some hemp and small pellet in the feeder. Areas is a tough one as the shoals move around a lot. I didn't fish it that much, just several weekend sessions through the summer. I did catch trench and bream at close range (20-40 yards) from the long "field" bank opposite the gravel workings. I was using pellets and tiny (homemade 8mm) boilies (high krill meal content fishmeal). Fish that bank when the wind is in your face and you'll have 'em... Pile a dozen tangerine sized balls in and stick your feeder in the middle of it.

Yeah, I thought so too. It's just that the cost of a ticket will go up 10 fold...

Whitefriars is a big, challenging water. Most people are scared by its size and it doesn't get that much attention. I'm not surprised that the replys are few and far between as most on here will not have fished it. It's a nice water... all the best.

Hello mate. Replied to your intro post... Plenty of large bream in that pit!

Thamesmead A,B&C and manorbrook have been sold. I heard the buyer was Boyer leisure.

I've never used Daiwa bait but their tackle is superb. Especially rods and reels...

Ok mate. Will do when I get home. To be fair, I've been avoiding most of the obvious, polished spots if I'm honest. The bird life clean them off...