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A few divinng pics

Sun, 05 Feb 2012 18:33:11 +0000

After replying to the sailfish thread I thought I would post some of the better diving pics my cousin and I have taken. A few of you older Dorset boys might know or recognise my cousin, I know he knows at least one person on here.

Stingray, from memory around 6ft across the wings. This picture is a good example of how water filters out colour. Does bait colour really make a difference?

green turtle

Regal blue tang fish

Not sure what kind of shrimp this is

Lion fish

Stone fish

Puffer fish

Hawksbill turtle

Dusky bat fish

Titan trigger fish

Leadcore / Rig Tubing

Sun, 05 Feb 2012 15:51:43 +0000

Although ive never used it myself (experience & confidence being the reason) I understand why people use leadcore leaders but I have also seen people using about a metre of rig tubing above their hooklength & it confuses me if im honest.

Am I right in assuming that its more to do with the movement of the lead on the mainline that disguising the rig as surely it won’t hold bottom in the same way leadcore would? As such would it not just highlight the fish to its presence?

Snow pic Cometition 3rd,4th and 5th Feb Competition

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 10:42:01 +0000

With snow hitting the whole country this weekend, we've decided to do a fun competition celebrating the arrival of the white stuff!

All you have to do is get a snow pic with a lovely carp!

Size really doesn't matter, well not as much as the pic as a whole anyway... and to prove it's not one fromyour stock pile, only photos with a tongues out pose will qualify!!!

Prize is a large pack of Katch Karp PVA bags- the best value pva on the web! Good luck!

New CCMoore Products

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 21:42:40 +0000

Hey BOTLN members, I thought I would just let you all know that CCMoore have just released their new catalogue for 2012 with a whole host of new products, they are all worth checking out but what caught my eye was the complete new range of hellraisers with their own unique names and flavour receipes which all smell brilliant but the best one has got to be Silent Assassin ( tropical ) and accompanying it with something like the Milk N Nut Crush pva bag and stick mix with the Amino Blend 365 liquid just screams CARP! Also in the NEW range is 10mm Air Ball and Hardened Hookbaits to compliment the food boilies range, 2.5kg refill bags for the Instant Spod Mixes, Hi Viz Tigers Creamed (white), Tutti (orange) and Pineapple (yellow), All the liquids are now in 250ml instead of 500ml which are more handy and keeps your liquids fresh, Duo Floating Hookbaits black and cream ultra-buoyant dumbells, Halibut Stix in the range is the Stix pellets, liquid and hookbaits, the devasting Oily Bag Mix which has been catching fish all over the country, there is also Milk N Nut Crush and Magic Carpet in the bag and stick mix range and there is a specific mix ideal for bait boats called Depth Charge, there is 2 new attractor packs a Betaine Pack and a 365 Pack there is many more and I don't want to bore you anymore than I have so I hope this has interested you into trying some top edges before too many other anglers do.
Hopefully I might see you in the shop soon.
Tight Lines.

Highlands Dairy, Daves debut carp fishing, Winter carping

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:25:56 +0000

JRC 2 man Twin skin

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 22:02:16 +0000

Hey im selling my Jrc sti 2 man twin skin for £180 or nearest offer rrp is £260 it has been used once on a 48 hr session and is in awsome condition it mightas well be brand new it comes with everything you need for a night on the bank. The reason i am selling is because im a small guy and would like to get a brolly system. I am willing to swap also but it has to be right and a fair swap similar prices

kingfisher4522 youtube channel

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 22:08:33 +0000

Check out this short vid, shows where we are heading!!!
http://youtu.be/qw5k2GCu_rY

long shanks!

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 15:39:35 +0000

Speaking to a experienced carp angler i know ... he says long shanks gets him double the runs then using a normal pattern of hook ??? has anybody had this ive overlooked long shanks ... i have not ever thought of buying some and using them ... just wondering

Giant lake, 2012 goal.

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 14:40:00 +0000

Ok asking a general sort of question. I know our fishing is vastly different in many ways but, the principals remain the same. That said, My 2012 goal is to break the 40 lb mark in Massachusetts and 30 lb mark in Rhode Island. This is not one of those, it will consume me goals but, it is something that I want to put effort toward. My biggest in Massachusetts is 35 pounds, Rhode island is mid 20's. The main point of this post is, one of the lakes I feel I have the best bet at banking a large fish is extremely tough to fish. For various reasons, size being one of the biggest...

It is a 772 acre lake..in fact it is 4 miles long...absolutely massive lake. The thing is that I have had big fish from it, and I know people who have had mid 40's..with the water very easily able to produce 50-60 pound fish..maybe even higher, though no one has ever caught one, the food sources and water is there for it. I digress though. There are a couple of swims I know about. One in particular I will hit I am sure..but, a neat thing is having a small boat myself I am able to hit a section not targeted by most. This lake has 8 islands, most of which are private owned, however one is state owned and it is there I have scouted and will be scouting as the ice thaws.

I have attached a small section of a map of the lake. There are 2 swims I am scouting out..the top section marked in red is on the far side of the island from civilization. I plan to fish the shelves rising up to the far island, which to be honest may be a bit out of casting range and I may canoe my baits across and drop them off. The second rod will be used to fish the margins of the island I will be staying on. I have seen very large fish crash in these areas in the past. I plan to start putting bait in once the ice is out and not fish any of these spots for at least 1-2 months. I want to instead come and look, cast a marker about etc and watch to see what the fish do, if they seem to be staying in the area and what sort of structure there is along the far island etc.

The second swim I am pondering is on the bottom of the island marked in yellow. I will be fishing this one to a shelf far off, where the water switches from 30-20 feet. I believe there is a gravel bar in the general area and wish to explore it more to see if fish feed there..I have seen signs of fish jumping occasionally over 100 yards out and I wonder if they are cruising through or feeding one some sort of rising structure. The second rod would again be focusing on the margins of the island because I have seen fish crash there, mainly very early morning.

I make my own boilies, and these would be the bulk of my feeding. I also plan to use a good spattering of particle in the form of soy beans, pigeon peas and chick peas. I will save the maize and sweet corn to chum on actual fishing days..

Now I am by no means a novice fishermen, but I'm not an expert either. I am always trying to learn and progress. The point of this post is nothing all that major other then I feel I have a good starting foundation to see this goal through and I am curious as to others thoughts and inputs on how they would proceed and things that I should keep in mind that I may not be thinking of at the moment.

BOTLN 85 Link

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 07:27:24 +0000

Here's a link to Episode 85;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9khAiP45T...ature=plcp

Carp-BanX

Sun, 29 Jan 2012 22:14:18 +0000

Well im starting my videos on youtube in a few months when i finish my coarse. Other wise id be on the bank now. Its going to be called Carp-BanX i would appreciate it if you rate comment and subscribe to my channel CarpfisherFlezer http://www.youtube.com/user/CarpFisherFl...ature=mhee

Off on me hols

Sat, 28 Jan 2012 21:58:08 +0000

Been off here for a while, need to have a good catch up with whats been happening, including all the vids.

Before all that though I'm planning on taking the wife on hols in June. I'm looking for a place that has lakeside lodges, a nice carp lake with a good chance of a 20 or more. Also a hot tub with the lodge is a must to keep the wife happy while I fish.

Any ideas or reccomandation welcome, as long as its not down south as we'r dropping the kids with the mother in-law in Staffordshire.

Cheers

48hrs on the Syndacite

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 18:42:02 +0000

Well at last I'm set up for 48hrs on the Syndacite. What a headache it has been. Arrived here late as the other halfs car had a problem I had to sort. Got the barrow loaded and the wheel decided to pack in. Set my rods up cast the second one only to find my alarm head battery died. Dug around and eventually found a screw driver. You know what it's like, put it in a safe place that you can never find again.

Any way, fingers crossed I can winkle one out. Will keep you posted

Ben

spatch v washingpool farm. http://www.washingpool.co.uk/farm.htm

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 16:07:46 +0000

Right then peeps,
I was going to wait till I got the issues with getting my photos from my phone to the computer sorted before starting this thing, but I've been inspired by everyone elses blogs so thought I'd just tell you a bit about the place now to set the scene..

I'm going to be doing my blog at washingpool farm (suprise suprise). A place i've been coming to regulary since I discovered it in late summer last year. The main lake is a bit less than an acre in size, and there are also two very small ponds. The smallest pond has a number of small carp, the middle a good amount of carp between 3 and 8lb and the majority of the carp in the main lake seem to be between 7 and 12lb, but with a fair amount of bigger fish, and there have been some 20lb+ reported (i've seen some that certainly look that big.) The numbers of fish and even the rough size of the biggest fish is totally unknown to me and the owners, which makes it pretty exciting. Especially soon as this is a rarely fished lake. I'm here most weeks and I don't think I've met another person fishing here since october. The main lake has common, ghost and mirror carp (and rumours of grass carp) as well as tench (someone apparentely had a 9lb tench out 2 years ago, but who knows), skimmers and a few bream, roach, rudd, eels and possibly a few perch.

It's not the easiest of lakes to fish. Through the summer a lily-like weed covers a lot of the lake and makes a lot of spots unfishable. A lot of the carp just sit in this stuff all day long out of reach. Even though next to noone fishes this place the carp still seem pretty clever and wary, probs because there aren't a huge amount of them in there and there is quite a bit of their natural food so they don't need to be competing over my bait, or taking it full stop.

So far, I have only caught fish in that average bracket, the biggest of which have been:
12lb2oz ghost,

11lb15oz mirror,

10lb15oz common,

12lb common, 11lb 6oz mirror. Last summer/autumn though, i lost two commons which were quite a bit bigger than these fish. Both of the top, I'd been watching them cruise round taking my freebies for a while, hence why I know they were common, and big.

So, this year the plan is to get a few of these bigger carp on the bank. I'm thinking/hoping this spring should be good, before the weed grows back and just as it starts warming up. I'm there most weeks so will probs update this thing every week or two. Fingers crossed then peeps.

I'm off down there tomorrow so will let you know what happens...although I'm not hugely confident that much will happen...

Blackstone Carp ,Massachusetts carp angler

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 20:49:44 +0000

Headed off for a 12 hour session on January 24th. Weather was looking good, a nice mild day following a couple warm rainy/foggy days. I got to the banks around 6 am and Nate pulled up the side of the road and I quickly started dumping my gear over the rail. It always seems like no one is on this road till we stop and suddenly there was a small traffic jam behind us. Dirty looks all around as they honked and drove round our car, though to be honest it took me no more then a minute to unload.

It was a bit chilled, around the mid 30's F and there was a fog clinging to everything. I packed the barrow up, secured it and I was off down the hill. It is only about a 1/4 mile walk but it is windy, and bumpy and just tiring to carry all my gear by hadn. Really happy I bought the barrow this Christmas.

As I arrived at the swim I was unloading when I noticed a person walking along the roadway where I had just been. It was still mopstly dark and I thought, well maybe it was a fellow fishermen I had beat here. There are only a handful of us that fish this spot in the winter and many times we will pop by to say hello if someon else is fishing. Then a car came across the bridge and I noticed the badge and uniform in the light..it was a state police officer. He was looking up and down the bank where I had unloaded..then he noticed me unloading my gear. He seemed to make the connection and started back toward his car. I am guessing one of the people in the "traffic jam" called him and reported somone dumping. No complaints from me, I would rather be suspect then have people ignore when that kind of thing was happening.

By 700 am I was all set up with tea on, chumm out and rods wet. I started the day with the very effective Mistral Baits flouro pop-up on my right hand rod. This small yellow pop-up flavored with scopex has been simply knocking them out here. To fish without it right now would just be asking for a blank. My second rod I kicked it off with my own DAT Food boilies, a slight vanilla but more of an HNV boilie. I topped that with a piece of giant artifical sweet corn from Enterprise to balance it out a bit and add a splash of color. I was using a particle mix of various peas like chick and pigeon peas, maize and sweet corn, and some smaller particle like barley and a bit of seed. Mainly millet with a bit of hemp. After I prepare all of the particles seperate, the night before I head out I gather what I need from each into a bucket, minus any of the juice they are in and coat them lightly with hemp oil then season them with sea salt and a mix of hot peppers. This creates an amazing slick in the water that really has drawn some great fish activity.

720, I recast my mistral rod after a false take and make a very amatuer mistake. As I bring the rod over head I huck my lead square into the tree above me. My ground bait rains down on me and I think , just for a moment, why did I not stay in bed today? Luckily it isn't stuck and a slight tug gets me my whole set up back...second cast is spot on, now that I am paying attention again.

It isn't long until the Mistral rod bleeps again, this time for real..although the fish was small it is good to get the first fish out of the way.

Round 830 am, bit after the first fish, another angler shows up. Sadly this isn't your average angler, he is a guy that commercially fishes bait along the river. I've talked with him in the past and while he is a very kind and respectful person, I cannot stand the practice of what he does. I am all for taking bait for your own use, but some of these guys come here near every day and brag about how they bucket 20+ pounds of roach, fallfish and chub to sell. These are the same fish that are slowly decreasing in stock and, at this rate will some day cease to be. As part of the food chain this has a big effect on Bass, Pike, Perch and so on. I speak with him on the subject over a cup of tea while waiting for a run..he kindly listens but it is obvious my words are not having any impact.

Next hour stays quiet. The sun is coming up and burns the blanket of fog off the world. temps are rising and it should top the mid 40's F today. So far though the fish don't seem to care. A small common and a couple of bleeps are all I have to show for the morning. That is ok though, I am here for one or two fish anyway, specifically the two twenties that have I have caught here in years past. One a low twenty, the second may well be close to, if not, thirty pounds now. Assuming they still exist and have not left the area, during the floods, or been captured and eaten by some of the locals. I can't think that way though, they are here, I can feel it. Doubt will only keep me indoors where it is warm and cozy...I must have a goal.

920 it starts to pick up. My right rod goes bleeping off and I quickly bank a nice 5-8 pound mirror on the Mistrals pop up.

I snap a quick photo, release and get my rod back in. Not 10 minutes later it goes off again. Another similar mirror. That 5-11 pounds seems to be the average in this spot, with a few wary giants lurking. This was a very quick take though, I must have dropped it on his nose.

I quickly get another run, but as soon as I dig in it is gone. May have been a smaller fish or my hook may have been dull. I check it and it feels fine, but I sharpen it just to be sure. I am using these Owner hooks, this one a size 6 wide gape, very stumpy shank with an almost square design. They are made for Wacky Rigging rubber worms for bass but they lend very well to carp fishing. The shape and design give very quick, secure hook holds. The only draw back is they do not come any smaller then 4's or 6's.

I take the next 20 minutes or so to catch up on my journal. I really think it is important to keep track of fish, weather, water features etc. I try to keep it simple but detailed. I tend to sketch out small maps of currents, deeper holes, structure as well as record wind directions and times that fish are feeding, what baits and so on. There is no better tool in my opinion to becoming a better angler then your past experiences, recording them seems only smart.

1030 Mistral pop ups producing another great mirror for me, same average size but great looking fish, and welcome in the winter.

The hour is quiet aside from a few bleeps and line bites on both rods. Perfect time to fire up the grill and get the sausages on, as well as another cup of tea. Found these chicken sausages with aged provolone the other day and am really excited about having them drenched with some HP.

1230 They turn out just as good as I thought they were gonna be and after eating I decide to settle in for a small nap in the warm mid day sun.

1245 As I was writing that last bit into the notebook my left rod, the one with my DAT Food boilie on it goes for a screaming run. It is a crazy little fight and I soon bank a very nice roughly 10 pound mirror. I take a few ohotos and as I am oposing my Mistral rod shoots off as well. There is a brief struggle, long enough for me to feel the fish then it is gone. Second one to spit the hook on that rod, time to change the rig as I do not trust it right now.

BOTLN Episode 84 Link

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 07:46:21 +0000

Hi Guys,

Episdoe 84 is live on youtube - check it our here;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERWMks6bw...ature=plcp

Cheers,

Jay

Sonik sks rods

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 13:41:25 +0000

Im looking into buying the sonik sks carp rods in 2.75lb, does anyone own these rods and what do they think of them

Making rigs

Sun, 22 Jan 2012 20:16:39 +0000

After spending loads on rigs I have decided to make my own. I would like to know the things I need to make them and advice on how I should make them. It would save me a lot of money. Thank you bcfcjk

BOTLN Match Tickets Link

Sun, 22 Jan 2012 16:57:25 +0000

Buy your BOTLN Match Ticket for Wadmill Lake at Todber Manor on the 22nd April 2012 here;

http://a1karaokenights.com/other-bits/le...gs-115100w

Good Luck!

Match Tickets!!!

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 14:49:49 +0000

Right then guys, the link to the match ticket shop will be put on here at 4.30pm Sunday afternoon.

Just click on the link and it will take you to the listing. We are expecting them to go very fast, so please get them quickly to avoid dissapointment

Price is £27.50, and payable by debit card, credit card or paypal, please view the vid coming out tonight (friday) to see more details

its going to be on the extra channel:

http://www.youtube.com/backofthelandingnet

Cheers dears, hopefully see you at the match

ps this is the first place the link will be listed (b4 facebook, youtube etc)