Question from Bev;

We are off to Lords lake in May, and was hoping for some advice on what bait to use and the size you think best ?

Also I am looking to re-line my reels – have you any recommendations on the best line to use.

All help greatfully received, many thanks, Bev

I caught this one on Ghurkka Spice in Slovenia. I’d use it anywhere in the world.
Hi Bev,
It’s a refreshing change to receive a question from a female angler.
I’m afraid I haven’t fished Lords Lake but if I were visiting it in May I would take a couple of baits with me so that I could ring the changes. Almost certainly in May I would have a  fish based bait with me. Something like Special Crab or the new Squid Berry which will be released in March.
As an alternative bait the two most instant ones on waters where they are used for the first time seem to be Rahja Spice and Ghurkka Spice. Both are very different to each other. The Rahja utilises human grade spices and smells like an Indian Curry whilst the Ghurkka Spice is more coca nutty with a more gentle spice blend. I would be happy to use either of these spice baits anywhere in the world at any time of the year. Here is a link telling you a little more about the boilies. http://www.questbaits.com/results.php?category=1
Here is a video link of how I tackle new (to me) waters in France which is still very relevant to my fishing now. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TsdWCc-fRSU&feature=player_embedded
Regarding line I have bench tested literally 100′s of different lines over the years as I had 25 years working in a busy fishing tackle shop so was sent lots of different things for assessment. Rarely did manufacturers claims match up to the tests I did with the lines. All the lines would be tested fairly the same way. I had to test lines that I certainly had no intention of using but still needed an unbiased opinion when asked about them.
The one carp fishing line that has stood head and shoulders above all others that I have tested has been the P-Line Extrusion (also called Evolution in some countries). I have used this myself for several years now. It lasts on the spool for a very long while, casts nice and has incredible abrasion resistance and superb  ’actual diameter’/’actual breaking strain’ ratio.
After deciding a few years back that this was the best line I could find I have continued to use it and mention to people about it. Line is a personal thing though and most will tell you such and such is better. Interesting though and refreshing assurance for my personal line testing methods is that Terry Eustace (Gold Label) invited various British Carp Study Group members to take their favoured lines with them one night to a B.C.S.G. meeting and he put them all on his line testing machine.
Nothing compared to P-Line Extrusion.
Never pay a lot of attention to what line says on the label as it is rarely accurate.
P-Line 0.34/0.35mm breaks consistently over 20lb knotted. 0.34mm is the sort of diameter you buy when purchasing most 12 and 15lb labelled spools and is my standard carp fishing line.
I hope the two bits above are of help.
Best wishes, Shaun Harrison.
This post first appeared on the Quest Baits Blog & is reproduced with kind permission.
French Carp at Lords Lake