Don't forget, to get involved and to take part in this feature, you can send your catch reports or questions for the team to: Mick Perry at: Mainline/Total Carp. 13 Tendring Court . Woodland Avenue . Hutton. Essex . CM13 1DF. Or by e-mail to: mainlinepanel@aol.com stating that your report or question is for Total Carp please.

If your question is chosen to be printed in this feature, you will win a full set of the new Mainline pva bags from Fox International. There are four varieties; Active-8, Active-Maple-8, Pro-Active Pineapple and Fusion and there are three different size bags in the range. So you could win the full set of twelve packs of the pva bags that are completely new and are bound to fool many fish.

This month's question:

From: Jay

When making home made baits do you use normal tap water or lake water to boil them in? Does it make any difference?

Although all water supplies found in the home will contain unwanted chemicals, as the water reaches boiling point most of these will then become negligible. What we would suggest is to boil the water for 3 or 4 minutes prior to putting baits in, this will help to ensure that any unwanted smells or chemicals do not affect the finished bait.

Some people do talk about using lake wate r for the preparation of their particles and this is entirely different as the baits are not only going to be prepared in this water but also stored in it until use. But in the case of just boiling baits, where our aim is to just harden the outer skin, tap water is fine.

Mick Perry