What gear for a specimen lake ?

B

bennygesserit

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 26, 2011
Messages
6,046
Reaction score
360
Location
.
A recent post by cg reminded me that I might give the specimen lake a go next time I go to whiteacres , I normally fish with 9lb line to a hook to nulon preston innovation pre banded hook , largest size 14 am I undergunned , especially in the hook size for carp that i think are over 20 lb ?

I also fish the canal quite a lot and am seriously thinking of trying a river after forty years , I understand my fishing might be easier than most etc etc many thanks
 
S-Kippy

S-Kippy

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 2, 2006
Messages
14,505
Reaction score
5,832
Location
Stuck on the chuffin M25 somewhere between Heathro
Depends.Not knowing the water or methods I wouldn't say 9lb is particularly undergunned but I always go with as strong a line and as big & strong a hook as I think I can get away with based on the bait & [of course] the fishes reaction.
 
Sean Meeghan

Sean Meeghan

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 11, 2001
Messages
3,471
Reaction score
6
Location
Bradford, West Yorkshire
On most commercial specimen lakes and most runs watersyou're expecting to catch carp up to mid doubles with the occasional 20. For this sort of fishing a barbel rod and 10lb line is perfectly adequate. Size 14 hooks are probably the smallest I'd go for this sort of fishing, but the stronger models will be fine with the above tackle.
 
B

bennygesserit

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 26, 2011
Messages
6,046
Reaction score
360
Location
.
thanks , I am fishing commercials and I usually choose a swim which gives the fish a chance to run i.e. no hit and hold.

As I mostly fished canals any hook larger than a 14 seems huge , but then again the largest fish I have caught , and not foul hooked , is just under 10 lb , then I suspect that if I get that "Barney Rubble" double then I might be wishing I had started with a larger hook. What would you recommend ?
 
C

cg74

Well-known member
Joined
May 28, 2010
Messages
3,165
Reaction score
8
Location
Cloud Cuckoo Land
Benny, there is a minimum line strength rule of 12lb bs, though at first this seems excessively high for small lake carrying carp averaging 17-18lb, with them topping out at mid/high 20's.
But the rule is really in place to protect the catfish, and after battling with one just shy of 20lb a few of years back on a 2lb test barbel rod coupled with 12lb line, take it from me; don't go undergunned!
And the cats go 40lb+ in Nelsons and 70lb+ in Pats.

Also bear in mind they have a fair number of snags in the specimen lakes; islands, lily pads, weed beds, overhanging trees and root structures.

I'll also say regards hook size; a size 6 or 8 carp hook, as apart from giving a firmer hold, you need big baits to avoid nuisance fish - I use 16-21mm baits for the carp and two 25mm pellets for the cats (on a size 4 Korda Wide Gape).
 
B

bennygesserit

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 26, 2011
Messages
6,046
Reaction score
360
Location
.
cg74 said:
Benny, there is a minimum line strength rule of 12lb bs, though at first this seems excessively high for small lake carrying carp averaging 17-18lb, with them topping out at mid/high 20's.
But the rule is really in place to protect the catfish, and after battling with one just shy of 20lb a few of years back on a 2lb test barbel rod coupled with 12lb line, take it from me; don't go undergunned!
And the cats go 40lb+ in Nelsons and 70lb+ in Pats.

Also bear in mind they have a fair number of snags in the specimen lakes; islands, lily pads, weed beds, overhanging trees and root structures.

I'll also say regards hook size; a size 6 or 8 carp hook, as apart from giving a firmer hold, you need big baits to avoid nuisance fish - I use 16-21mm baits for the carp and two 25mm pellets for the cats (on a size 4 Korda Wide Gape).
Click to expand...


Maybe I am too cautious and equate the larger hook to zero bites , instead maybe the larger hook would have resulted in less fish lost , though I don't lose too many , probably on reflection just the bigger ones !
 
B

bennygesserit

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 26, 2011
Messages
6,046
Reaction score
360
Location
.
noknot said:
All sound advic cg74 12lbs min in weed and snag fishing, size 6-4 hooks!
Click to expand...

I don't tie my own hooks , I can do the knotless knot , but I always use hooks to nylon , would you use that size hook ( depends on manufacturer as well ) with a banded pellet which is my usual bait.
 
noknot

noknot

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 28, 2009
Messages
2,014
Reaction score
4
Location
The Garden of England!
bennygesserit said:
I don't tie my own hooks , I can do the knotless knot , but I always use hooks to nylon , would you use that size hook ( depends on manufacturer as well ) with a banded pellet which is my usual bait.
Click to expand...
Never used pellets Benny, so I would use a KKnot tied with mono and boilie or particle as hookbaits, very effective indeed!
 
agamemnon

agamemnon

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 24, 2011
Messages
319
Reaction score
0
yesterday me and a friend fished a local ish specimen lake with a good head of 20's and the average fish would be around 18lbs. i fished with 10lbs main line and a vintage pair of 2lbs bruce and walker carp rods. hook links were 20 lbs braid with size 8 hooks. i landed 3 real nice high doubles and had some great sport on lightish tackle. if i was fishing a lake with lots of snags and weed then i would have got my 2.5 lbs rods out with 12 lbs main line. for carp fishing i never go over 12lbs main line and 2.5lbs rods. if i was targeting cats or pike then the gear would be beefed up a bit with 15lbs line and 3.5lbs rods. but i much pref the challenge of playing a fish rather than reeling a fish into the net so fish as light as resonable for the type of water your fishing
i would say a long shank size 10 or 8 would be fine with a banded pellet.
 
B

bennygesserit

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 26, 2011
Messages
6,046
Reaction score
360
Location
.
Many thanks NoKnot Agememnon !

I do have a specialist carp rod but catching 5lb carp on it was dissapointing , but If I do go to a speccy lake then I would probably use that rather than the feeder rod I use at the moment.

Time to invest in some new hooks I think !!
 
noknot

noknot

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 28, 2009
Messages
2,014
Reaction score
4
Location
The Garden of England!
agamemnon said:
yesterday me and a friend fished a local ish specimen lake with a good head of 20's and the average fish would be around 18lbs. i fished with 10lbs main line and a vintage pair of 2lbs bruce and walker carp rods. hook links were 20 lbs braid with size 8 hooks. i landed 3 real nice high doubles and had some great sport on lightish tackle. if i was fishing a lake with lots of snags and weed then i would have got my 2.5 lbs rods out with 12 lbs main line. for carp fishing i never go over 12lbs main line and 2.5lbs rods. if i was targeting cats or pike then the gear would be beefed up a bit with 15lbs line and 3.5lbs rods. but i much pref the challenge of playing a fish rather than reeling a fish into the net so fish as light as resonable for the type of water your fishing
i would say a long shank size 10 or 8 would be fine with a banded pellet.
Click to expand...
My old close range set-up consisted of 3*1.25 tc 11' Bruce & Walkers, matched with Cardinal 55's awesome and took fish over 20lbs from weedy waters, superb rods and would still use them today!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top