Tim Kelly

Just watched the second one. Fantastic. Wasn't sure I'd ever see the MLF events won anywhere but on the bank, but they did a great job with the drop shots out deep. Aaron Marten's referee hated him, not often you see personality clashes like that. Quite funny, made Aaron act up even more.

I think fluoro is more prone to damage from backlashes than mono, so if you've had a good birdsnest the line can be significantly weakened where the loop has caught itself.

Yes, like a clear coat. I think most blanks are either painted or clear coated, no doubt some are completely raw, but I think most are coated.

Looks fine to me. I think the blemishes you highlighted are just where the blank has probably been given a coat of varnish when it was finished at the factory, and it's slightly lifted. Me, I'd just fish it as it is. Think of it as you "rat rod". No reel with it?

Just watched the extended cast. Love that show! It's great to have Marty Stone and the MLF back on, the other shows that they weren't on weren't as good. KVD made me laugh. Not only were the fish killing his bait, but they hung there calmly to be unhooked, the fish the others were catching were flipping about all over the place. He is the fish wizard.

Then crimp it and super glue it. Or use a knot that works with the line you're using....

The new versions of the merc 4 stroke 115 are said to be a great improvement over the previous models, so the SHO isn't your only 4 stroke option.

I use it, though tie it a little differently. If you hold the tag in your teeth and have the standing line under a little tension from you rod tip, you can weave the fc over the braid. That makes it much quicker and easier to do the weaving part. Amazing knot. The leader never breaks at the knot and it goes through and sized guide really easily.

Thanks guys, frustrating isn't it! I think the carolina rig suggestion was probably a good one I could have used if I'd thought of it. Will give it a go next time. Unfortunately no trolling motor, just drifting with drift socks out

What do you do when it's really windy and the fish only want finesse presentations? We were out today and faced with exactly that problem. Had a few on drop shot and tubes over 20+ft early on before the wind really got going. They wouldn't have a go at anything fished faster or more aggressively, that we could fish effectively, but we struggled to boat a few more before the day was out on finessy things, but were never really fishing well once it got too windy. It was impossible to fish with the rod high, as the wind just blew it all over the place and the boat was drifting too fast to really be able to do much more than drag it as slowly as we could with the rod tips on the water. Any tricks, or is it just a case of suffering it and hoping for the wind to drop?

I guess you're right. I absolutely love fishing, it's a huge part of my life, but if that was the only way of fishing I wouldn't be an angler. The findamental difference between carp fishing and fishing with flies or lures is the same as hunting versus trapping. Except you carp traps require you to be there when they're tripped. A lot of tedious waiting.

Chair! Amateurs! LOL You should see some of the guys who are into big carp fishing. The pride themselves on fishing huge lakes with a known head of carp in, usually about a dozen total, and spend weeks at a time camped out there in their carp "bivvies" (overpriced tents). They have "carp beds" which are very extravagant camp beds, "bivvie tables" "bivvie slippers" etc the list goes on. Special wheelbarrows to cart all the gear to the spot their going to set up in. Once they're there they typically cast out to the other side of the lake, or sometimes drive their bait out on special remote controlled "bait boats", then spend time making sure their three or four rods are perfectly lined up next to each other, with the handles all in the same position, and wait, for days, weeks, sometimes months for a bite. Apparently that's fishing?

Casters are maggots (fly larvae) in their chrysalis stage when they transform into flies. That form of fishing is stupifyingly dull and contrived. The ponds tend to be dug so that everyone has a similar bit of water in front of them, then filled with stunted carp that are hungry all the time, so relatively easy to catch. The winner is the one who's managed to catch the biggest weight in the period of the match. The guys that do it are very skilled at feeding the fish enough to keep them in front of them and to catch them as quickly as possible, but it's a long way from the wild water hunting that most people enjoy when they go fishing. The trouble with the UK is that it's a small island with a lot of people and very limited resources. Almost all land and lakes are owned by somebody, so access is by arrangement and fee by the day or season or year. Teddy Roosevelt should be the most celebrated man in the US for his far sighted and revolutionary (not to mention a tiny bit socialist ) actions when he created the national parks and the access to waters that you guys enjoy.

Get a blank and build the rod how you'd like it. St Croix factory builds are challenging at best. The handle configuration on all of their ranges is a way away from what I like, but the blanks are superb. Never owned a Loomis because I hate their factory builds too, but they're not smart enough to sell blanks, so they'll never see my money. Either blank would be an excellent basis for a home or custom builder project. The SCV blanks are fantastic.

Lol. If those idiots at the lottery would stop picking all the wrong numbers I could fish full time!

My leatherman charge ti lives in my pocket. Gets used umpteen times a day fixing boilers (I'm a plumber) unscrewing things, cutting stuff etc. The saw is really handy for little cutting jobs too. The file is great for many things, but for fishing the fine diamond side is a great hook sharpener. I'd feel naked without it!

The FLW guys fish in boats provided for them, like the Major league guys do? I didn't realize that.

Looks fantastic which ever type it is. Fished Cayuga a couple of years ago with JFrancho and the gar seemed to be spawning. There was a lot of surface activity from them rolling and crashing all over the place, over quite deep water though. They wouldn't take a lure whatever they were doing!

What sort of gar is that?

OK, that makes sense. I thought you weren't supposed to have any input into where the boater went and all that side of it was down to the boater.

I know nothing about co-angler competitions, but am slightly surprised that you would practice for an event. As you have no control over your tournament I'm intrigued to know why or what you would practice? Genuine question. Good luck with your year. Hope you get to fish with plenty of interesting guys and win your side of the deal too.

Beg your pardon, so they are.

You don't have any livewell, lights or bilge pump wiring on your diagram. Are they being taken care of separately?

That's what a dremmel is for!

Thanks guys.