Browsing Posts published by samantha
I’ve been playing around with PVA for some time now, and here I’m going to show two different ways of making pva bags for use. The first method you will see is using a PVA tube, ideal for making a required bag size with little waste, tying both ends of the bag. The second method is still using the PVA tube but this time without any knots at all, instead I’ve been using a heat sealer to seal and cut the bag. Producing minimalistic waste and no reliance on knot strength. In both instances I am demonstrating the bags using maggots as my ground bait. continue reading…
When winter pays a visit to the lake I’m fishing, the water almost overnight becomes as clear as glass making me pay some thought to the line on my spools.
When choosing line I soon came to realise you have to have a good look around as there are so many to choose from.
I’ve been using Xline for some time now and I wanted a change so I decided to look at red mist line from TF Gear.
After a fair amount of research on the product and discovering that red is the first tone to disappear in the colour spectrum, making red mist almost invisible in water, I was more interested in giving it a chance and ordered my sample. 
When it turned up I was very impressed, a nice smooth silky feel to the line and a good knot hold I soon poured hot water into a bucket and dropped the spool of line in there for 10 minutes, getting rid of any memory in the line.
Red may not be the first of choices for a ‘serious’ carp angler and definitely goes against the norm but slowly it is tempting more and more of us into giving it a chance and why not?
After being convinced to put my waders on and half freeze to death, during a recent winter session, and stand in the lake for that prize picture I was intrigued as to what kind of temperature the water itself was.
This gave me the idea of pinching the ray temp gun out of my husband’s kitchen. It has a built in laser and has proven to be extremely accurate in the lake each time I go fishing and more importantly each time I have landed a fish.
This is beginning to help me build up a good picture of the year to come and hopefully in time to come help determine the ideal water temperature.
I’m sure each lake has its own characteristics and differing reactions to differing water temperatures but never the less spending short periods of time researching a water could pay off greatly in the long run.
Best wishes, Samantha
Next year is just around the corner, and it got me thinking New Year… new bait!
I started my pre-baiting last month introducing small amounts of bait in the areas I will be fishing. When baiting I will usually put a couple of handfuls of bait per swim, twice a week until it’s time to fish.
When choosing a new bait I always look for the ones that are of good quality and provide the fish with a good food source. This is essential when wanting to ensure carp get the right nutrients and continue to grow for many years angling to come. A poor food content in boiles could in turn have detrimental effects on both the carps health and angling quality of a lake in years to come. Carp are like humans in that they need an adequate supply of good nutrition, they require a whole host of nutrients. If your bait is nothing more than a 50/50 base mix then don’t expect to catch many carp on it.
The Chod Rig has to be one of my most my favoured rigs. I’ve opted to use it for the majority of my sessions lately, and with some personal touches I think it’s as perfect as I can get it.
Instead of using lead core I use a 48-inch Tungsten Ex-Heavy Leader from TFG and instead of using beads, due to a lack of them in my tackle box, I’ve replaced them with two 6mm boilies that have been air dried for a week. After looking into it I am confident they will stay hard in the water for up to 24 hours.
Before I cast out I like to put two foam nuggets on the hook to prevent any debris getting attached to it as it finds the bottom of the lake and attach a small PVA bag of my Quest favourite boilies.
Then I can wait for the action, but hopefully I’ll not be waiting too long!
It works for me so go out and give it a go.
Samantha Collins-Ratcliffe
My mirror fell to the new bait on test, Surf ‘n’ Turf which was attached to an unusual take on the chod which I have been playing around with.
Rather than using beads to hold the hook link in place, I have been experiencing a lot of success by using two air-dried 10mm hookbaits threaded on to a TF leader and a 3 oz distance lead.
Alongside this I presented a small PVA bags containing a dozen whole and broken freebies. I was the only one to catch during the trip and to do so during the snow make the experience even more special.
Samantha Collins-Ratcliffe
On one of the lakes I fish you need to place your baits out a good old distance and in a good size amount. But not having to worry too much about placing them exactly on the same spot every time but being able to create numerous feeding beds.
So my initial approach was to opt for a simple throwing stick, and dot boiles around a marker, but soon came to realise that it was an option that had serious disadvantages. On one hand there is the limit to the bait that can be used and on the other hand there is the annoyance of seagulls.
Many of you reading this most likely at some point have experienced seagulls picking up your boilies in mid air or as they hit the water. Gulls have come to recognise the sound of the boilie as it leaves the throwing stick and quickly gather in large flocks ready to pick up the bait in flight; those baits that escape are soon picked off as soon as they hit the surface of the water.
Therefore I decided to give myself more of a fighting chance and get the trusty spod out. On some lakes I have fished the sound of a spod crashing into the water can draw the carp’s attention to the baited area around your marker float.
