In reply to Post #1
I use BAF CLO a lot and its a great ingredient, but needs grinding down in the blender. However, Sluis CLO it aint! I used the original CLO a lot in the early 80's. It was fine in texture, pale in colour and had a sweetish smell about it. There is something in CeDe Red that smells similar. Used to use just 10oz CLO and 2oz casein, and it worked well even without flavours.

In reply to Post #22
I've got a pair of Accurix 2.75. They are pokers to me and I only use them at range on big waters. Playing fish on them isn't as nice as my others, which are Ballista Slims 2.75 and Baby Ballistas 2.5.
Built them myself and all of them have 30mm butt rings, then 20, 16, 12, 10, 10, 10 and a 10 tip. The Baby's have one less 10. They look and feel amazing with this ringing, even the Accurix. They also have handles, Duplon abbreviated and full cork on the Baby's. The duplon below the reel seat is 5.5", a short flare above the reel seat and a 4.5" flare at the butt end.
A few truths.
You don't 50mm, or even 40mm butt rings, with just 5 or 6 rings. On the field, it'll give you a few more yards but in a fishing situation there's little difference, apart from killing the feel and balance of the rod.
A handle is more comfortable than just a plain reel seat. The tackle companies created this fashion to get costs down - no handle, few rings, quicker to build and charge more = more profit.
Rods feel better with 4000 and 6000 size reels and there's little difference in casting in most fishing situations.
Half a ton of high build epoxy on the whippings isn't necessary and looks ugly.
You don't need heavy leads for most situations. My standard is 1.5oz, with 2 or 2.5oz on the Accurix at range. One water I fish has a lead limit of 1oz and needs to be fished at 40 to 70 yards. With 8lb line, a shock leader and a stringer they cast fine, the fish self-hook easily and bolt like crazy.
Blank action and material is often more important than test curve and slower rods will cast as far as fast rods in the right hands. Slower and softer rods cause less hook pulls and less damage to the carp's mouth. You can stop a fish in its tracks with a slower action rod and tire them out quicker. Glass rods work well for this.

In reply to Post #1
This takes me back.
Summer of 1983 at Llyswen, my mate John Williams "invented" the beachcaster rig.( Someone had probably tried it before, but must've kept it quiet). Anyway, we hammered Llyswen with it and then tried it on Llandrindod Wells and hammered that too. Whilst there, we showed it to some lads from Brum and they used it at Cuttle Mill. We also told Terry Eustace about it. From there it took off. I did very well with it at Linear Guys Lakes.
The problem was, and still, is fishing at longer range.We tried using a roach pole as an outrigger, (as used on a big-game boat), but it wasn't practical. John modified the handle of an 18ft salmon fly rod, which worked really well and was fine for playing fish on.
I don't see it as a lazy way to fish as it needs constant attention. You'll hook more fish if you give line as they suck the bait in, so you have to be watchful and be ready for it. Also, fishing it in a breeze requires constant adjustments. I experimented with a hooklink of nylon that had been wrapped around a pencil to make it like a spring. This would enable the bait to ride the waves and give when the fish took. It worked, but the nylon would lose its coils after a while.
My only regret is the effect it had on the fish once they'd wised up to it. After that, it was impossible to catch them on any floater method, as they'd suck at the bait from further away and many just wouldn't eat them, showing interest but turning away and even bolting.
I haven't used it for over 20 years.

In reply to Post #8
I grind up 5 kg of CLO at a time and store it in a sealed bag. Then add bit-by-bit enough powder to 6 eggs to get a soft paste. A dessertspoon of water is plenty to plasticise it. If it's a bit sticky at first, wait several minutes for it to firm-up. Boiling depends on the size. I make 14mm and boil for 1.5 minutes.

In reply to Post #1
I make my own and it's really simple. Just grind CLO, (British Aqua Feeds), in a blender to make it finer. Put your flavours in the eggs and mix. Add a little water to plasticise it to make rolling easier. It has a open texture which allows the flavours to come out. I've found that adding other binders eg semolina, albumen etc reduces it's effectiveness.