Hints and Tips
Tony King is an angler who needs little introduction, an established specimen angler with an enviable list of PB’s to his credit. With years of experience under his belt, he is an angler who really knows what he is talking about. Recently Tony got in touch to tell me he had been slaying the tench [...]
Despite good intentions to fish throughout the winter, I just didn’t have the desire to put myself through the weather we just had so instead, decided to keep an eye on the lake over the cold months and see if it was worth doing a bit. Before the cold snap kicked in at the back [...]
Well, where do I start? I suppose with my desire to break my crucian carp pb, which from last year stood at 3lb 7oz. A good fish in it’s own right, but I knew the lake in question held bigger and I was confident if I caught them at the right time, I would be [...]
Long range angling can certainly be a demanding task often pushing the tackle to its limits. Added to this the need to keep the end tackle as inconspicuous as possible it is certainly pretty challenging. For many years now I have been searching for the ultimate shock leader. For several years I used the trusty [...]
Bit and particle fishing is a successful summer method and whether incorporating it as a short session stalking method or part of session fishing, it’s a tactic that should never be ignored. My favourite ‘bit fishing’ rig is one that was shown to me by edge fishing supremo ‘Little Jon’ Coxhead and it is a [...]
For my own style of short ‘hit & run’ sessions, with little or no preparation prior to the day, I favour a ‘chuck it anywhere’ pop up rig! My favourite rig uses our 25Ib Vigilante as the hook link combined with the awesome Covert Longshank Mugga hook. Recently I have been using this combination successfully [...]
The simple approach will nearly always catch you fish, but now and again we may come up against particularly tricky fish. In reality they aren’t hard to hook because they are super intelligent - far from it in fact! Normally it’s just because of the way the fish are feeding on the bait. Quite often [...]
The development of specialist high memory hooklink materials like ‘Trip Wire’ revolutionised the use of early stiff rigs, and enabled the Hinged Stiff Rig to evolve from being a good rig into an AWESOME one! Using Trip Wire enables a curve to be set into the hook section - meaning it will always aggressively twist [...]
Carp are a bit like people in a great many senses. You get all types of shapes and sizes, with different characters, appetites and feeding habits. What this means is there isn’t a single magical rig that will trip up every carp, in the same way as there isn’t single wonder bait that every carp [...]
Throughout the year carp spend a lot of time away from the lake bed, either swimming around sunbathing, or searching out mid water sources of natural food. They will happily feast on emerging insects like Caddis and May Fly or filter feed in clouds of daphnia. These invertebrates make up a large proportion of the [...]
1. Snags and reed beds are always worth checking as carp will be visiting these areas once they wake up so always keep a close eye on these areas of the lake. 2. Temperature plays a huge part at this time of year as the weather can be somewhat inconsistent. Even short spells of high [...]
I first came about this little number a couple of years ago whilst reading an article featuring Gardner Tackle’s Lewis Read. After sitting down with the relevant components and taking the time to complete a few practice trials I soon mastered tying it. From that day it has proven to be a deadly rig as [...]
Winter and early spring can be a very difficult time to catch consistently, the fish are either lethargic or just beginning to wake up and a big bed of bait is the sure fire way to destroy your chances of catching. I prefer a single bright pop up positioned in the right place that will [...]
I’ve been playing around with this variation of a snowman presentation for a few years and along the way have made small adjustments too fine tune it. Although it’s not a new rig, in fact it’s been about for ages – it’s still very much underused, which is surprising really due to its versatility and [...]
With spring approaching more quickly than expected I thought I would share a few things that I feel help me put a few carp on the bank during this period. The first thing on my list is tackle maintenance. Whether you are a seasoned all weather angler who still goes in search of carp during [...]
Several years ago I was sat up a tree watching carp feeding on the Cell boilies that I was flicking into the lake one at a time. It was very relaxing just sat there swaying backwards and forwards in the branches in the light breeze on a warm sunny spring day. I watched as these [...]
Available for free from your local tackle shop... This is an essential guide to getting the most out of Gardner Tackle’s terminal tackle ranges. ‘The Ultimate Rig Guide’ includes loads of helpful hints that will help you to fine tune your own favourite set ups, as well as step by step instructions on putting together [...]
To me, productive fishing trips are all about making the right decisions when you arrive at your chosen venue. You maybe lucky enough to find some fish in an area that is uninhabited by other anglers, you may have a bait that those carp will find irresistible but how much thought has gone into your [...]
These days fishing can be frustrating! Sometimes you see the fish jumping and crashing on the baitedspots, but the expected bites don't occur . This can be hard to accept, but it can also be a chance to adapt your “end tackle” and amend the way you are baiting up your swim or hot spots. [...]
With the colder weather soon to be upon us I thought I would write a short piece about a method that can put one or two bonus fish on the bank during the winter months. Back in the 1980’s when my love affair with carp began it was deemed difficult enough to catch carp in [...]
