Crockerton, the (Wet) Sequel

[Greenheart]

Another early finish at work yesterday. Decisions, decisions, it was pouring with rain. My head said no, stay at home with a bottle or two of beer. My heart said, go for it, you've got a 50" brolly. (A Keenets one ) So I did the sensible thing, grabbed the Carp gear from the Garage & legged it to Crockerton before the Wife came home.... 15 minutes I was sploshing through the mud to peg 8 at Crockerton & watching a rapidly rising lake. Conditions looked perfect (For Ducks )

I was glad to see that I was'nt the only lunatic on the bankside. There was a guy a couple of pegs away who was attempting to Pole fish & another guy hiding in his Bivvy on the far bank. I cast out a couple of boilies & sat back to enjoy the sensation of the rain pouring through a very porus brolly, running down my neck & accumulating in my JRC Coccoon Carp seat, which holds water very well...
However the peace of my idyllic reverie was soon shattered as one of my carp alarms screamed into life. After a feisty little scrap, I soon had my net under this podgy little carp of about 8lb.

I wa still lifting it out of the water, when my other rod screamed off. Still holding my net it one hand I grabbed the rod with the other hand, only to find myself attached to a much larger & carp. I played it for a couple of minutes, then it shook it's head & I thought the hook had pulled out. However, on closer inspection I found that the 12lb braid hooklength had snapped. I released the first fish & tied up a new hooklength. Rebaited both rods & cast out. Soon I was into another good fish & once again the braid snapped... So I upped the braid breaking strain to 15lb & tried again. This happened four more times & i'm totally mystified as to why. The fish did not go into snags & the hooklength was just snapping when the carp shook their heads. The braid I was using was fairly new Drennan Carp silk tied to the hook using a knotless knot & using a figure of eight knot to attach to the swivel. Has anybody else had this problem with Drennan line? Anyway to cut a long story I did manage one more carp of about 6-7lb & a tench of around 3lb, then the rain got the better of me & I headed for home. If the fish in the photo's look small in comparison to the net, I would add that it's a 42" Carp net.

[pingu]

good effort there ian

crockerton the wet eeehh
and his mate kenneets the pourous
braid the brittlest

sounds like the knights who say

stay at home you silly bugger when its raining like that


dave

[Catfish Virgin (Still!)]

I have no experience of using braid at all but encountered a similar issue with fluoro. Now, depending on who you talk to, knots are a funny subject when applying them to mono, fluoro &/or braid. It gets even more complicated when dealing with different thicknesses and strengths of each.

Depending on where the breaks are happening, you may just have a dodgy batch. If it's breaking near the hook or swivel, you may have damaged the "line" when forming the knot.

My issue was with the knotless knot and tucked bloodknot with fluoro (6lb/8lb). I've always used 9 or 11 turns when tying these knots (don't ask - but it's a confidence thing! ) and I found I was snapping the fluoro just above the hook and/or swivel. After speaking to several people, I now use a maximum of 5 turns for these knots and don't tuck the bloodknot, always lubricate well when tightening and so far all is well!

Anyway, well done for getting out in the summer weather and congrats on some fine carp (but the ones that got away were.........)

[fullcreel]

Good old crockerton eh? I stayed in, my few brain cells worked for once. I plan on popping down sat pm for an hour or 4 in the eve.
I once had a problem with braid, I think that on that day the carp were taking the bait down deep and the paragyneal (spelt wrong) teeth were biting throughj it. I did some home tests on the braid and it was fine.

[Norfolkboy]

Nice one Ian. Sounds a strange one for it to be snapping so often

[perch_king]

well done there great effort in the rain i would off stayed in lol

[Twiddler]

Well done Ian, only comes to show that carp DO feed in the rain.........you might consider another brolly though, didn't you have bad experience with 'keenet' before?

[Greenheart]

Originally Posted by Twiddler

Well done Ian, only comes to show that carp DO feed in the rain.........you might consider another brolly though, didn't you have bad experience with 'keenet' before?

I have yet to find anything from Keenets that works as it should...

[Banana Steve]

Originally Posted by Greenheart

I have yet to find anything from Keenets that works as it should...

Even the factory didn't work

[Greenheart]

Never ever buy anything with a Keenets label on it. It's crap. If Keenets wish to sue me for slander, please feel free. I have all the evidence I need....