Thanks mate!

I use braid too. I wonder if my difficulty is that I have not yet
encountered a gravel bar.

--
I smile and go off waving
(Amiably) - for that's my way

Baal

http://www.helden.co.uk
"Russell" wrote in message
...
Not sure I can help with the cold water etc. however note your comments
about not being able to interpret feature finding. I recently switched to
using braid on my marker/feature finding rod and the difference is
unbelievable.

Compared to mono, dragging a lead over gravel now feels like the rod is
going to be pulled out of my hands. The difference between weed and gravel
is now so obvious without the 25% plus strech that mono has.

Not sure I would use braid for actual fishing but for a marker rod it's a
huge benefit in finding those nice gavel patches.

Russell


"Baal" wrote in message
...
Only fished twice this year - today and about 3 weeks ago.

I have spent much of the winter reading and learning but as I am fishing
a
new water, I cannot see signs of fish (despite the local's advice - but
they
aren't catching much either). There are carp to 28lbs plus and numerous
other species in the 4 acre lake.

Is it just too early in the year - water cold, etc or am I doing
something
wrong?

I plumbed the lake about 6 weeks ago and apart from snags in the middle
it
shelves off quickly to 6-8 feet. The depth is fairly constant and it is
a
disused quarry but not a gravel pit. I have been attempting feature
finding
but find it difficult to interpret what is going on. There are no
islands
but overhanging trees in the margins but no fish movement in the margins
yet.

Today over 12 hours or so, I tried float, bottom using boilies and corn
(with a stench additive) over a bed of hemp and bags of trout and
halibut
pellets. It seemed pointless floating on the surface coz there was
nothing
moving on the top. I did try a zig-rig with a tutti frutti pop-up
boilie
at
varying depths. I fish 2 rods in the middle and one in the margins -
all
to
no avail.

Do I just need to wait until I can see signs of where the fish frequent,
or
are there any other tips?
--
I smile and go off waving
(Amiably) - for that's my way

Baal

http://www.helden.co.uk