What's your kit of choice for big fish..
In reply to Post #1
Personally go for a mat with sides like the JRC high care XL
Personally go for a mat with sides like the JRC high care XL
In reply to Post #1
Have the Nash deluxe cradle. Awesome cradle wouldn't swap it for anything
Have the Nash deluxe cradle. Awesome cradle wouldn't swap it for anything
In reply to Post #1
Another vote for the JRC hi care , my friend got them for his lake in France and despite constant abuse they're still good after 3 seasons. I would avoid the blow up cradles like the plague. Carp trampolines , seen so many fish with tail damage on lakes that use these. ☹️
Another vote for the JRC hi care , my friend got them for his lake in France and despite constant abuse they're still good after 3 seasons. I would avoid the blow up cradles like the plague. Carp trampolines , seen so many fish with tail damage on lakes that use these. ☹️
In reply to Post #3
I sold mine no where near enough padding for the fish and the bars around the edge are solid, if a fish falls or flaps about in one I personally reckon it's asking for trouble they have been banned on a few lakes I fish, there are a few more padded ones about though
I sold mine no where near enough padding for the fish and the bars around the edge are solid, if a fish falls or flaps about in one I personally reckon it's asking for trouble they have been banned on a few lakes I fish, there are a few more padded ones about though
In reply to Post #5
Strange I've never had a problem. Fish always handled inside cradle on retaining sling or velcro cover used when away from cradle so fail to see how the fish will flap on the frame?
Each to their own have caught many fish and released safely without any problem stand with my original statement
Strange I've never had a problem. Fish always handled inside cradle on retaining sling or velcro cover used when away from cradle so fail to see how the fish will flap on the frame?
Each to their own have caught many fish and released safely without any problem stand with my original statement
In reply to Post #4
The hi care is a great matt, I think if I went back to that style I'd pay the extra for the cotswold version, in the end my hi care weighed a ton when it soaked up water.
Using a thinking anglers matt now, it kind of forms itself into a walled mat with a fish on it, it's probably bulkier than the high care and you can't get as much in it if using as a carryall
The hi care is a great matt, I think if I went back to that style I'd pay the extra for the cotswold version, in the end my hi care weighed a ton when it soaked up water.
Using a thinking anglers matt now, it kind of forms itself into a walled mat with a fish on it, it's probably bulkier than the high care and you can't get as much in it if using as a carryall
In reply to Post #1
Mat.
Mat.
In reply to Post #1
Chub Xtra Protection Cradle
Best on the market in my opinion.
Is the best of both worlds, a good mat with sides like a cradle, also packs down very flat and neatly.
They do 2 sizes a stanard whis is ample for UK fish and the XL which is more suited to the continental carp fishing.
All in all, easily the best on the market
Chub Xtra Protection Cradle
Best on the market in my opinion.
Is the best of both worlds, a good mat with sides like a cradle, also packs down very flat and neatly.
They do 2 sizes a stanard whis is ample for UK fish and the XL which is more suited to the continental carp fishing.
All in all, easily the best on the market
In reply to Post #9
Same here.
Same here.
I have a Cotswold Matt for venues with bigger fish or an avid cradle for fish to 30. I do prefer a Mat
I have a nash cradle
Keeps the fish snug as a bug
Keeps the fish snug as a bug
My very first Nash cradle that I bought when they came out was the best unhooking mat I've had then
Got the Sonik SK-TEK framed cradle now, very satisfied with it
Got the Sonik SK-TEK framed cradle now, very satisfied with it
In reply to Post #7
What Cotswold Matt are you talking about?
Like you say the high care is heavy when wet but handy for storing things in for a day session.
What Cotswold Matt are you talking about?
Like you say the high care is heavy when wet but handy for storing things in for a day session.
In reply to Post #14
The les graviers (sp) one from cotswold, its pricey, but the high care seems expensive to me now. I paid £55 for my original one.
Someone described the hi care as a barrow skip on here and that summed it up perfectly
The les graviers (sp) one from cotswold, its pricey, but the high care seems expensive to me now. I paid £55 for my original one.
Someone described the hi care as a barrow skip on here and that summed it up perfectly
In reply to Post #14
http://www.cotswoldaquarius.co.uk/product/aquarius-mk2-unhooking-mat/
http://www.cotswoldaquarius.co.uk/product/aquarius-mk2-unhooking-mat/
In reply to Post #1
Beanie topper mat for me.
Whatched a guy the other side of the lake put his rested carp in a cradle after it had been in a landing net until morning. He dropped it x3 times, into the cradle, poseing for a picture, it must of felt like landing on concrete for the poor fish. No padding in the bottom of them cradles.
Beanie topper mat for me.
Whatched a guy the other side of the lake put his rested carp in a cradle after it had been in a landing net until morning. He dropped it x3 times, into the cradle, poseing for a picture, it must of felt like landing on concrete for the poor fish. No padding in the bottom of them cradles.
In reply to Post #6
Same as no problems whatsoever 👍
But better than grass what we used pre 80,s and dropping them on gravel , it used to happen and they are still swimming today .
Another myth put to shame 🤔
Honestly any protection is better than no protection , mat or cradle damage is caused by the holder trying to get a picture of a lively fish , but then most wouldn't bother and just slip it back .
Same as no problems whatsoever 👍
But better than grass what we used pre 80,s and dropping them on gravel , it used to happen and they are still swimming today .
Another myth put to shame 🤔
Honestly any protection is better than no protection , mat or cradle damage is caused by the holder trying to get a picture of a lively fish , but then most wouldn't bother and just slip it back .
In reply to Post #18
Agreed.
Agreed.
In reply to Post #10
3rd vote for the Chub. Was recommended to me on here and I have been extremely happy with it. Offers plenty of protection and whilst not small to carry it is not as bulky as some of the others I looked at. Not a fan of cradles
3rd vote for the Chub. Was recommended to me on here and I have been extremely happy with it. Offers plenty of protection and whilst not small to carry it is not as bulky as some of the others I looked at. Not a fan of cradles
In reply to Post #1
High quality mat with retaining flap, e.g. Aqua Combimat. Cradles should be banned - seen far to many carp jump out of them and onto the ground. Not good.
High quality mat with retaining flap, e.g. Aqua Combimat. Cradles should be banned - seen far to many carp jump out of them and onto the ground. Not good.
In reply to Post #21
All carp cradles comes with retaining flaps. If you have seen fish jump out of cradles thats due to poor basic fish care by angler. Hardly the cradles fault
All carp cradles comes with retaining flaps. If you have seen fish jump out of cradles thats due to poor basic fish care by angler. Hardly the cradles fault
In reply to Post #22
No they don't
No they don't
In reply to Post #21
Mat for me as well. Makes you wonder if cradles were invented just to be something extra you have to buy.
Mat for me as well. Makes you wonder if cradles were invented just to be something extra you have to buy.
In reply to Post #21
That's the anglers fault, not the cradle
That's the anglers fault, not the cradle
In reply to Post #23
Apologies I just had a look and you do get some cheap junk cradles with no retaining flaps. But you can then say a lot of mats arent fit for purpose either so depends on the gear.
Either way a fish jumping out of a cradle is purely down to the angler. Anyone say any different clearly doesnt know what they are talking about
Apologies I just had a look and you do get some cheap junk cradles with no retaining flaps. But you can then say a lot of mats arent fit for purpose either so depends on the gear.
Either way a fish jumping out of a cradle is purely down to the angler. Anyone say any different clearly doesnt know what they are talking about
Jrc high care mat, nothing else needed
In reply to Post #26
Well, experience does teach you or at least should.
The Avid cradle doesn't have feet as such and it's made up of three u shaped
bars. Place on to wet boards and it's easy for you to loose control as I found out much to mine and a fishes distress. Never before or since have I had it happen when a fish escaped my grip. Utterly embarrassing and upsetting. I nail it down now but a lesson one may not know until to late, hence why I share my experience I had a few years ago when I went from a mat to a cradle.
Well, experience does teach you or at least should.
The Avid cradle doesn't have feet as such and it's made up of three u shaped
bars. Place on to wet boards and it's easy for you to loose control as I found out much to mine and a fishes distress. Never before or since have I had it happen when a fish escaped my grip. Utterly embarrassing and upsetting. I nail it down now but a lesson one may not know until to late, hence why I share my experience I had a few years ago when I went from a mat to a cradle.
If a carp can jump out of your cradle you're just a **** fisher
i'm sure the carps i caught and unhooked in my cradle are better protected than most who use a regular unhooking mat
i'm sure the carps i caught and unhooked in my cradle are better protected than most who use a regular unhooking mat
In reply to Post #29
🤐
🤐
In reply to Post #29
What a load of ********
What a load of ********
What ever way you look at it I don't think there is a cradle on the market that is as padded as a decent mat or high sided mat, like I said many lakes have now banned cradles because there isn't much protection on the metal frame. Everyone had fish flap on them when trying to take a picture of them get dropped on the metal frame it can be deadly. Plus the actual fabric of a cradle it's no where near as padded as a decent mat. Not saying I wouldn't use one if I had to I'm just saying why I personally sold mine or the places I no that have banned them
My Cradle is fully padded so no metal that can damage a fish, it even is padded on the bottom (I had an extra mat in my old Cradle, but the Sonik one is fully padded), and when you get it done that a carp gets on the metal of your cradle you're stupid
In reply to Post #32
Which metal?
Which metal?
mat for me.
i use the TA one and its massive.
i use the TA one and its massive.
In reply to Post #1
Mat all day long - the TA mat is ideal.
The main aim when handling a lump on the bank is to always keep the fish as low to the ground as possible.
Big fish should always (when possible) have 2 x experienced goalkeepers each side of the fish just out of shot. Everyone turning up to photo the fish or have a look should bring their mat with them just in case it's needed to create a bigger safe zone.
Not a convert of cradles having seen fish whack the metal bars (I know not all of them have these bars) and high elevation off the ground.
Each to their own though.
Mat all day long - the TA mat is ideal.
The main aim when handling a lump on the bank is to always keep the fish as low to the ground as possible.
Big fish should always (when possible) have 2 x experienced goalkeepers each side of the fish just out of shot. Everyone turning up to photo the fish or have a look should bring their mat with them just in case it's needed to create a bigger safe zone.
Not a convert of cradles having seen fish whack the metal bars (I know not all of them have these bars) and high elevation off the ground.
Each to their own though.
In reply to Post #34
Ok so it's padded but what advantage does it have over a high sided mat?
Advantage of a mat is the fish is always lower to the ground, safer if something unexpected happens.
Ok so it's padded but what advantage does it have over a high sided mat?
Advantage of a mat is the fish is always lower to the ground, safer if something unexpected happens.
In reply to Post #37
I can sit with my knees under the cradle that way I don't have to bend over unnecessarily to unhook / care for a carp
And Something unexpected? well you should always be prepared for the unexpected (taking care of a carp is not that hard work), in all those years (+10) I have never seen 1 carp that jumped out my cradle, but I have seen many whose carp jumped off a standaard unhooking mat...
I can sit with my knees under the cradle that way I don't have to bend over unnecessarily to unhook / care for a carp
And Something unexpected? well you should always be prepared for the unexpected (taking care of a carp is not that hard work), in all those years (+10) I have never seen 1 carp that jumped out my cradle, but I have seen many whose carp jumped off a standaard unhooking mat...
IMO to much metal work on a cradle so a mat with walls for me
My syndi has steep banks, if a fish flips on a flat or beanie mat there's potential for a "bouncing bomb" scenario down to the water, at least with a mat with sides those chances are a lot less.
Nash Monster Carp Coral is my mat of choice at the moment...
My syndi has steep banks, if a fish flips on a flat or beanie mat there's potential for a "bouncing bomb" scenario down to the water, at least with a mat with sides those chances are a lot less.
Nash Monster Carp Coral is my mat of choice at the moment...
In reply to Post #34
All the way around the edges there might be a little padding but it's still solid if a fish hit it, no where near as much padding as a good mat/ high sided mat. If a fish hit the edges/ frame that padding wouldn't do nothing it would be like a carp landing on a concrete with a quilt on top no protection
All the way around the edges there might be a little padding but it's still solid if a fish hit it, no where near as much padding as a good mat/ high sided mat. If a fish hit the edges/ frame that padding wouldn't do nothing it would be like a carp landing on a concrete with a quilt on top no protection
In reply to Post #40
If a carp can hit that metal then you are stupid and better stop carp fishing.
If a carp can hit that metal then you are stupid and better stop carp fishing.
In reply to Post #41
I didn't mean the metal itself I just meant the metal under the very small amount of padding, we have all held fish for a photo and they have flapped about a bit, like I've said lots of lakes have banned these for that exact reason and a lot of other members below clearly can see the problem obviously not just me, for some reason you can't understand what we mean
I didn't mean the metal itself I just meant the metal under the very small amount of padding, we have all held fish for a photo and they have flapped about a bit, like I've said lots of lakes have banned these for that exact reason and a lot of other members below clearly can see the problem obviously not just me, for some reason you can't understand what we mean
In reply to Post #42
Wonder who is the stupid one here.....
Wonder who is the stupid one here.....
In reply to Post #43
When you find out let me no mate 🤣 I've been stupid in the past but thought I was being very straight forward with my explanation of why certain places have banned them or just my opinion on why I prefer a high sided mat or a decent padded mat
When you find out let me no mate 🤣 I've been stupid in the past but thought I was being very straight forward with my explanation of why certain places have banned them or just my opinion on why I prefer a high sided mat or a decent padded mat
In reply to Post #42
I understand what you mean but I disagree, I've never dropped a fish from my arms on the padded metal and it will never happen with me
I understand what you mean but I disagree, I've never dropped a fish from my arms on the padded metal and it will never happen with me
In reply to Post #44
The way any angler should use a cradle would be to put retaining flap over fish when not present or zipped in weigh/retaining sling to make sure the fish does not flap about. When handled for picture the angler should be on his knees, use the cradle bar for arm support holding the fish in the air so if he flaps he falls back towards the angler or worse case scenario in the suspended cradle. As his arms are on the bar the fish can fall nowhere else.
Out of curiosity if the angler drops the fish will the fish pick up more damage from the suspended cradle or the mat which will be a good 12 inches plus further drop? At the end of the day neither the mat or a cradle will help the fish from an irresponsible angler
Either way calling people stupid on a forum is just plain pathetic no matter which side of the argument you sit on
EDIT:
Can someone tell me some of these fisheries that has banned cradles? I like to go different places and would hate to get somewhere and turned away due to my tackle. All the decent lakes I fish regularly ie Bluebell lakes, Linear fisheries, Farlows, Sandhurst to name a few all happy with cradles. Just wondering why they have not banned them if so dangerous
The way any angler should use a cradle would be to put retaining flap over fish when not present or zipped in weigh/retaining sling to make sure the fish does not flap about. When handled for picture the angler should be on his knees, use the cradle bar for arm support holding the fish in the air so if he flaps he falls back towards the angler or worse case scenario in the suspended cradle. As his arms are on the bar the fish can fall nowhere else.
Out of curiosity if the angler drops the fish will the fish pick up more damage from the suspended cradle or the mat which will be a good 12 inches plus further drop? At the end of the day neither the mat or a cradle will help the fish from an irresponsible angler
Either way calling people stupid on a forum is just plain pathetic no matter which side of the argument you sit on
EDIT:
Can someone tell me some of these fisheries that has banned cradles? I like to go different places and would hate to get somewhere and turned away due to my tackle. All the decent lakes I fish regularly ie Bluebell lakes, Linear fisheries, Farlows, Sandhurst to name a few all happy with cradles. Just wondering why they have not banned them if so dangerous
In reply to Post #46
Thanks for your explanation, a bit difficult for me to explain it like this: English is not my language
And you're right, no need to call someone stupid but I've seen a lot of stupid actions when handling a fish, and these had nothing to do with the cradle but with the wrong actions of that fisherman.
Out of curiosity if the angler drops the fish will the fish pick up more damage from the suspended cradle or the mat which will be a good 12 inches plus further drop? At the end of the day neither the mat or a cradle will help the fish from an irresponsible angler
If a carp falls away from me, it will not fall directly into the cradle but onto my arms, it is a small quick act to put your hands/arms in the cradle if you notice that you can no longer hold the fish and start falling over, with a normal mat you are way too high off the ground to be able to catch a fish with your hands/arms as safely as you can with a Cradle,
I am not a fan of a fish that I can not hold longer to drop it on a mat or cradle, I want it to fall safely into my arms at all times
Thanks for your explanation, a bit difficult for me to explain it like this: English is not my language
And you're right, no need to call someone stupid but I've seen a lot of stupid actions when handling a fish, and these had nothing to do with the cradle but with the wrong actions of that fisherman.
Out of curiosity if the angler drops the fish will the fish pick up more damage from the suspended cradle or the mat which will be a good 12 inches plus further drop? At the end of the day neither the mat or a cradle will help the fish from an irresponsible angler
If a carp falls away from me, it will not fall directly into the cradle but onto my arms, it is a small quick act to put your hands/arms in the cradle if you notice that you can no longer hold the fish and start falling over, with a normal mat you are way too high off the ground to be able to catch a fish with your hands/arms as safely as you can with a Cradle,
I am not a fan of a fish that I can not hold longer to drop it on a mat or cradle, I want it to fall safely into my arms at all times
i really dont understand the arguments with regards framed cradles .... For me they are head and shoulders above a flat mat or mat with sides, but lets be honest whatever we use is offeres excellent protection ... Fishing is dangerous for the fish, we do our best once they are on the bank, but there is always a small chance harm may come from something unexpected .... and regardless of your preference nothing is fool proof
Having purchased my first unhooking mat at the age of 15 and being taught how to handle fish from the age of 8 by my grandfather I do find its somewhat up setting that you accuse me of being a **** angler. So that you can put that into perspective I'm 48.
The fish I had a few years back was a 31lb mental mirror, literally water and fishies and hands are just lubricants waiting to happen.
This year I had a 26lb Mirror that went AWOL i grabbed a photo on the Mat and put it back, no selfie as it was a potential hazard. Nowadays if I can I unhook at the net and let the fish go and don't bother to photograph.
If I was to grab the moral high ground I'd question me fishing, always have done, and for that i have a set of guidelines that justify my camping/fishing. That's me I've tried to help.
The fish I had a few years back was a 31lb mental mirror, literally water and fishies and hands are just lubricants waiting to happen.
This year I had a 26lb Mirror that went AWOL i grabbed a photo on the Mat and put it back, no selfie as it was a potential hazard. Nowadays if I can I unhook at the net and let the fish go and don't bother to photograph.
If I was to grab the moral high ground I'd question me fishing, always have done, and for that i have a set of guidelines that justify my camping/fishing. That's me I've tried to help.
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