not much joy

went fishing for the last 2 week ends,i was useing the feeder.8lb line,hook stright true,size 16 hook everybody round me was catching carp bream.caught just 2 skimers 1 carp.i was getting bites on the drop,but thats all,i normely use the pole,just started to use the feeder,is it me or what,your help would be most greatfull

I reckon the thing that stands out is that your hook (16) and line strength (8LB) aren't balanced Tony, ie your hook is too small for the strength of line you are using.

What species are you targetting mate?

If it is skimmers and bream you are after, and they aren't too big, try say 4LB mainline and a hooklength of between 1.5 and 3lb. Hooks say from a 16-20.

If you are after carp, assuming its a fishery where there are plenty of them, I am going to assume they aren't too big, say in the 1-7lb range. If that is the case just step it up some, say 5-8LB mainline and a lighter hooklength say 3-6lb, hooks say 10-16s.

If you are fishing for whatever comes along I might use something about halfway between the two, depending how many carp there were. If there are more skimmers go for the lighter set up, if there are lots of carp go towards the heavier end of the 2 set ups.

Hope that helps, any other questions, fire away!