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Specialized Hook Baits - Catch Reports Oct 2025
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Karlos

Posts: 13703

MODERATOR

#1 3 Oct 2025 at 11.49am

In order to keep the SHB thread nice and fast (to load) I'll create a new thread every now and again. All threads (new and old) will link to each other so that no information / photos are lost

Links to past SHB threads...
1 - Specialized Hook Baits - Catch Report and Q+A
2 - Specialized Hook Baits - Catch Reports Jul 2024
3 - Specialized Hook Baits - Catch Reports Oct 2024
4 - Specialized Hook Baits - Catch Reports Feb 2025
4 - Specialized Hook Baits - Catch Reports Oct 2025 (This thread)

SamBarley

Posts: 2206

#190 10 Jan 2026 at 10.34am

In reply to Post #188
Those kind of expenses are well out of budget unfortunately!

SamBarley

Posts: 2206

#189 10 Jan 2026 at 10.33am

In reply to Post #187
Hi Mark.
It would be great to have you on to chat about bait etc.
Absolutely no worries if you don’t fancy it though, I’m easy 👍

PS great to read that you’re making up with people 👌

Andy__C

Posts: 1829

#188 10 Jan 2026 at 10.23am

In reply to Post #183
If ever there was an opportunity to business expense a trip to Phuket Sam.... now might be the time to pack that microphone along with the speedos and sun cream

TCarper

Posts: 4319

#187 10 Jan 2026 at 5.33am

This is the very last time that this is getting mentioned. I found out who it was last night. I actually feel sorry for the poor fraggle. He’s clearly not at all well in the head. His pal who is a current member of this forum should know better. One sells (no) hook baits although he tries, the other tried to sell hook baits and failed. One has terrorised this forum for absolutely donkeys years, long, long before I was ever a member. Chatting with himself under various users he controlled and the like. Crazy stuff like that. I'm even told he actually hacked this place once. He’s clearly a bit obsessed about me now, as well as this forum.

I’m actually so glad this has happened now. Not only have I built bridges with Sam Barley, I’ve also had the most incredibly nice messages from so many other people who have tried to help, even people I did not think that would ever happen with. Honestly I thank you all. Some of you knew who it was long before me. Even me and Wayne have rebuilt bridges because of all this. I know my worst faults & can freely admit them, because I am not an absolute mentalist like the person doing this. I use the word mentalist to pay homage to Alan Partridge.... This idiot is a real life Alan Partridge. It’s about pure jealousy and nothing else why all this started. To anyone else I fell out with previously because of these idiots, get in touch, hand shakes are easy between real men. Life really is to short for this crap.

To The Shapeshifter With His Ticks And His Soppy Little Pal. Forget All The Other Sick Terrible Stuff You Have Been Up Too.... You Stepped Over A Monster Line With My Terminally Ill Mother. I Really Do Wish You Both The Best Of Luck In The Future. Take Care. XX

Sam, I am doing your bait podcast if that’s what you want. To talk about bait, not trolls or the idiots trying to rip us off like this sausage. Forget what was said yesterday. I’m also going to go out of my way to blow this forum right up as much as I possibly can & bring as many anglers as I can here in 2026. This forum is getting mentioned by me anywhere & everywhere.

I work the most stupid long hours in the UK. I'm not looking for any sympathy, I earn a lot of money from it, but I really need a break, not this crap. I am off to enjoy the rest of my holiday with my wife. No more attention for the absolute fraggles.

TCarper

Posts: 4319

#186 9 Jan 2026 at 8.30am

Do I look bothered? Honestly?

Sam, thanks honestly, but it's likely for the best for you if you are not involved. It was you who showed me this stuff for the very first time. Karl & DNA Jason both did not want to ruin my holiday by even mentioning it. Because it's just so pathetic on another level. This always happens when I'm away now, for my attention. I don't need to do the podcast mate. I have many ways of getting the message out there that don't involve other people selling carp bait. You sell ingredients to some of my ex customers who now suddenly have hook bait companies blatantly trying to rip off our garlics. That's not your fault whatsoever. But it's likely for the best that you are not involved for that reason. I am not looking to cause problems for you, or anyone. These people are, out of pure & utter jealousy. It reeks from every word that they ever say. Always banging on every time about the 'good' & the 'knowledgable' members who have been banned or 'dumped' from here. Boo hoo. "Dry your eyes mate".... That's them chatting about themselves. It goes from 'I', to 'we', it's clearly someone who is not very stable in the head & full of conspiracy theories about everything as Karl pointed out. Signing as "A" is them trying to be 'Anonymous' for carp fishing. The ones everybody has seen for years on this very forum with the mad/crazy conspiracy theories about EVERYTHING. Now it's about this forum & why they are not allowed to post here, like it's my fault they all went out of business. They have no other platforms or reach. That's why they are all over your podcast stuff. That's why they are all over this forum & can NEVER leave. It's their only outlet to the carp world really. They are as obsessive about this place, as they are about me for those reasons. They were long obsessed with this place before I was ever here. It's all good. We built our bridges Sam, which is great mate. I am not looking to mediate with these people whatsoever. They have been stalking/terrorising me for years online now, only via this forum. It's likely best I walk away. As mentioned earlier, Karl can't even let new members in now. They are now having an effect on him too. I'm so glad his numbers are well up, all I have ever tried to do is bring anglers to this forum for him & the forum. Nothing else. We have a stupid reach on other social media platforms where these blokes can't do what they do. I just like the forum, that's all.

I did not ever turn up here with groups of my pals to terrorise anyone. It was slightly offensive to me personally when the folks doing this and telling me that I did not know what I'm talking about fished for 10lbers. The reality is these blokes have been trying to have businesses in fishing bait for absolutely donkeys years, but it's never worked for them. To a man. Some even wanted me to make hook baits for their first bait company. How that then turned into them coming here en masse from that 'black forum' to start as much trouble as possible when we released the garlics is beyond me. They were telling everyone that the garlics we were releasing were a load of rubbish. That's their 'opposing' opinions they chat about. While at the same time wanting to start a second bait firm. The sands of time have proved how wrong that they were about our garlics. You know very personally how wrong they are too regarding those. Every time people on this forum big up our garlics.... Imagine how that makes these blokes who are constantly watching feel? Bottom line is... These people are upset that so many people on this forum use my hook baits. They are upset by the members of this forum catching so many fish on them. That's the bottom line. This forum is a much loved drop in the ocean, they just cannot comprehend that. It's the people saying nice things to me which kills them. They crave that for themselves. But people laughed at them when the bottles were all blowing up in folks faces. People who purchased the stuff mugged them off. So when they see the same people all making lovely comments to me, it literally fries these blokes brains.

Anyway, sod all that. It's boring and so pathetic.

I managed to pick up 12 of these trays up in the UK two years ago. They fit into our driers so perfectly. To the cm. They just fit & work so perfectly. I could not source anymore in the UK, even via Temu etc, slightly different sizes which would not work for us in the driers. 32 have just been delivered here to our hotel, 4 packs of what you see here below. I’m paying for an extra 25kg suitcase to get them back to the UK.

808

Posts: 140

#185 9 Jan 2026 at 5.06am

In reply to Post #183
Just see Mark's post on Facebook. I am looking forward to the podcast!. Will be a gooden, ps excellent job on the Marcus ones.

Karlos

Posts: 13703

MODERATOR

#184 8 Jan 2026 at 10.49pm

In reply to Post #183
It is petty mate.

Apologies you got involved in the email Sam, but as I pointed out I wasn’t starting any of the posts/emails/whatever. I just replied that once to set the record straight.

I shouldn’t be churlish, but when I’m being accused of things I haven’t done I think it’s a minor retaliation….ill go back to ignoring it all

Just to bring things back on track (bait / SHB) I went fishing Boxing Day evening and the next day. Lake was still fishing hard but I managed to get in the swim where I hoped the fish would be and managed 3 to everyone else’s zero.
First fish I never weighed, an upper double I’d guess, came on a cork chip GPB1/Curry.

Next fish 30lb 15oz Common (PPPP cork chip) and then a few hours after that as I packed up I had a 31lb 14oz Common (GPB1/Curry cork chip on a Ronnie again)

My mate says it’s the first brace of 30+ Commons from the syndicate, hence still bragging

Ronnie’s were fished over a sprinkling of 12mm DNA Bug freezer bait.

SamBarley

Posts: 2206

#183 8 Jan 2026 at 10.19pm

In reply to Post #182
I did email him asking him to remove my stuff from Substack as I didn’t want to get dragged in to it, I think that’s why he emailed you and said to leave me out of it.
At the time I thought you thought it was me as you sent the email to me! I now realise it was just because I was CC’d in to it.

Jeez, as I type this I am cringing. This is all so petty.
Come on fellas, we are all anglers and should be on the same team.

Karlos

Posts: 13703

MODERATOR

#182 8 Jan 2026 at 10.14pm

In reply to Post #180
The hilarious thing about this (to me) is that Timmy Troll (working title) emailed Sam and cc’d me in on it.

I then replied-to-all so that Sam would see me debunk the BS that Timmy Troll was claiming.

Then Timmy nice but Dimmy emailed me saying to leave Sam out of it!
Absolute retard, he didn’t realise it was him who involved Sam with his spamming emails (which 2 other bait companies forwarded to me to let me know they had an idiot spamming them)

I didn’t bother replying as I still waiting for a legal letter for the BS he claims is going on.

He can read it here now…I know the wannabes are all watching, because I’m watching them watching

So to summarise:
The troll’s ego is writing cheques their brain can’t cash…
Sam is a decent bloke and always has been…
I’m just stuck in the middle ignoring all the BS as there is no proof of any supposed wrong doing — because I haven’t done anything wrong!

Oh and Google Analytics reports page and user stats up 19% and 18% respectively, so thanks for the traffic!

SamBarley

Posts: 2206

#181 8 Jan 2026 at 10.11pm

In reply to Post #180
Well I was really hoping I wouldn’t get dragged in to all this, but here I am! Probably due to my own naivety.

I am all for free speech but I think it this conflict needs to either be forgotten about by everyone or talked out properly and put to bed. Either way it’s not good for anyone for it to continue.

I think it’s worth saying that Mark came to me and apologised before this all kicked off, and has seemed extremely sincere in doing so. He has shown me a few things since apologising to me that have genuinely opened my eyes to the hassle he has had over the years, a lot of it is quite unbelievable. I have to be honest, and I know Mark won’t want me to say this, but I do feel sorry for him. That being said, he definitely has his moments and we all know he can fly off the handle unexpectedly 😂, and I’m sure he would agree with that.

In the interest of balance and transparency I will post my reply to email Mark shared with you below-

Good evening “A”.

I appreciate your concerns and what you’re trying to do. I felt a similar way when I had the friction with Mark.
If I were to do a podcast I would ideally want it to be purely about Marks angling stories and maybe his ideas on bait if he’s open to talking about them.
However, I am a big believer in free, non-edited speech. I imagine he wants to come on and get some things off of his chest. I am open to that too, as long as no specific names are mentioned as it’s not fair if they aren’t there to defend themselves.
If Mark does want to go down the route of talking about his conflicts then I think it’s only right I take the role of mediator (for want of a better phrase) and try to balance things up with apposing views and playing devils advocate.
Maybe I’m naive, but maybe talking it through would help all party’s see things in a better light and ease the tension.

In the interests of transparency and keeping in-line with my idea of having everything balanced and even I will send Mark a copy of this email. I have also sent him a copy of the initial email you sent me so he can see the concerns. I assume you’re all ok with that as you’ve remained anonymous.

Thanks for reaching out,

Sam Barley
OptiBaits

TCarper

Posts: 4319

#180 8 Jan 2026 at 8.05pm

If I am forced to walk away from this place, this email below sent to Sam Barley today & what these blokes are doing will be exactly the reason why.

Me & Sam Barley resolved our issues with no mention from Karl of emails, or what was going on regarding here with these trolls. These people created this between me & Sam in the first place on this forum. They were here under fake profiles for over a year, first making out they were unhappy customers until they finally went crazy. All about my mum. That was four years ago or more now. Real nasty stuff. I have no power to ban anyone. Never have had that power or influence, never want it either. You lot got banned for whatever it is you all do, over & over again. Long before I was ever here. I've been on holiday in paradise. I've not looked at any of it whatsoever.

These people do not want me to speak to you lot in public. Ask yourself why that is. They are also very long obsessed with this forum. Clearly involved in bait. What upsets these blokes more than anything, is you all saying nice things to me. It's always been the same. You lot saying what you have below in the last 24 hours, has prompted this email below. Every time I start to leave this thread to speak to the normal forum members in other threads when it all dies down, they will appear like flies. It's now been going on for a few years. But since things have really blown up for us regarding the shops, it's just got out of hand to a whole new level. This is only being driven by pure jealousy. It's the worst human trait that there is. We actually launched our Garlics when i was a member of this forum. I was absolutely terrorised by groups of blokes trying to sell enzyme liquid. Groups of them. I responded by posting more photos of big carp caught by anglers on our hook baits than any of them could ever even contemplate. From the best venues in the UK. They all got banned, came back under numerous fake profiles saying they were going to destroy me & my business. The better we are seen to be doing, the more they all get upset now. Only on this forum, where they can remain anonymous. That alone speaks volumes.

You lot were NEVER any threat to us whatsoever. Only inside your own heads. You're just a small pain in arris who looks at everyone else, everyone except themselves for their own failings. It's always someone else's fault. If you have the time to be going to all this effort, over so many years now.... What exactly does this say about you? I wish I had your time. I could do productive things with that time. What exactly are you upset with anyway? The constant photos of forum members with big carp? Is that what makes me a 'messiah persona' in your words? It always seems to be people saying nice things to me that irks you so much. I do not court publicity. I never have. If I thought of myself as some 'messiah', I would court publicity. I am the complete opposite to that. I would not be doing these podcasts or this film if it was not for you lot. That's a fact. Man up girls ffs. This is absolutely pathetic. Making fake profiles over and over again to create as much trouble as you can constantly on this forum, speaks so much about your mental health. It's clearly not good, is it?

To everyone else. The forum can't even take new members on because of what this bloke/blokes are now doing. That's where they have now got it too. Very early last year I offered Karl to pay for banner adverts, monthly.... Without having the actual banner adverts. Just to help with this place. The forum boss did not need it. But the offer was there. He gets a few tubs of pop ups off me whenever he needs them. That brings me absolutely zero influence. DNA are doing something similar, out of a love for the forum and nothing else. Other people can only take, take, take.

I will walk away from this place in a flash, no problem if it means that you will not destroy Karls forum for him. You can all come back, no skin off my nose... But the reality is it has zero to do with me & you would not be welcome. It was not me who banned you all numerous times. You were all being banned long before I ever joined this place. This bait section has always been this way, because of you lot, no one else. You are the ones constantly engineering trouble. It's always been that way.

TCarper

Posts: 4319

#179 8 Jan 2026 at 7.23pm

Some bridges have started to be rebuilt recently. Life is to short. This is me with a very special carp for me from the Ocean, Larkfield 1 in Kent, getting on for twenty years ago now. My good mate back then Terry came to take the photos for me. That’s a very young Daniel Dempsey in the photo with me, it's the very first carp that he ever saw. I only saw this photo for the very first time today. It's quite special to me personally. That young lad is well on his way to be a professional footballer now & catches big carp for fun.

frothey

Posts: 3545

#178 8 Jan 2026 at 12.20pm

In reply to Post #177
I was listening to the baitworks podcast when I was out in my bike, they were talking about carp fishing history. Mike made the point that some of the young anglers might not even know who Terry is! That’s the problem, the ones that think the twig gob***** is some sort of angling god, and what he says is worth listening to. Unfortunately social media is the only way of going out there and showing them the light.

Look forward to hearing the podcast with Sam 🥳

TCarper

Posts: 4319

#177 8 Jan 2026 at 11.47am

It gets better for those interested.... The trolls who are trying so hard to shut me up on here... Whilst at the exact same time we are literally getting ripped off by all & sundry... They have had the complete opposite effect on me.

Today I've also told Gary Peet that the TackleBox media cameras can come into our bait work shop this year. I've spent the past decade keeping the secrets of SHB, very secret from anyone whatsoever within carp fishing. But that is now just allowing a load of very unscrupulous people within the trade to rip off novice carp anglers en masse. Not off my back anymore.

It's really time to open up about what we do, because this hopefully discredits those who do that crap above. We are hopefully well beyond the point where this will hurt us anymore. You are not going to see it all, that would be very stupid. But you will see a hell of a lot. If you have an interest in bait, Sam's podcast or the TackleBox media film when it comes should interest you.

All of this can only happen if I can say what I want. Time for me to have my say, very publicly.


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