Articles all about specimen fishing
I was really looking forward to getting back on some of my favourite waters, chasing Tench on big pits or mega hard pits. There were three main waters I had in mind, the largest one going up to 120 acres. All three of them have their own problems, i.e restricted areas, restricted fishing times...
Since targeting big fish became a large part of my life in the early 1980s, I have been on one long journey and have been fortunate to have landed plenty of personal bests and each one has been special.
Along with many other anglers I always look forward to the summer months, especially the traditional start of season, and when 16th June arrives rudd are normally uppermost in my thoughts. In the south of England the large gravel and sand pits produce some of the finest specimen rudd fishing the country has to offer...
During the last 7-8 seasons I’ve fell in love with a brilliant method, trotting for chub. Each winter my dad and I head down to the banks of the Dorset stour in search of its specimen chub. This river is by far my favourite for the species and I really couldn’t think of a better place to target a huge chub.
I had been trying to catch a 6lb+ chub, coming close on so many occasions. I think I have now had over 10 chub between 5lb 14oz and 5lb 15oz, but I could never get one with that extra magic ounce I needed. On this particular evening though, I finally cracked it, not once, but twice! Firstly, with an absolutely pristine chub of 6lb 4oz...
The year got off to a great start with a 2lb 13oz roach from Linch Hill, after which I decided to try my luck at Linear. I had been intending to have a go for the roach on Brasenose for a while and with the complex re-opening after extensive flooding...
At just after midnight the alarm sounded and I saw the bobbin rise slightly before dropping to the end of the chain – a good reason to use long chains when targeting bream as the vast majority of bites are drop backs...
When I first started using this method my catch rate went through the roof as this also allows me to drop into a swim in the dark and with one cast land directly on the hot spot with very little disturbance. Twice now, I have dropped into a swim, and within 20 minutes I have hooked into 15lb+ Barbel...
My real love in angling is Tench fishing, and it’s mainly on the big pits where all my serious tench fishing is done. I’ve been doing this since the mid-1970s, so I think it’s fair to say I’m addicted to big pit fishing, but most of the ideas and methods in this article will work on any water, of any size.
By the age of 5, I was bugging my dad every weekend to go fishing. Rain or shine, snow or hail, it didn’t matter to me I just wanted to be outside next to the water. I still remember what he used to say to me “when you can swim, then I’ll take you” so I learnt to swim pretty sharpish...
Lengthening and increasingly warm day and night time temperatures and the dawn chorus getting earlier each day can only mean one thing if you’re a specimen angler, it’s time for a spot of tench fishing!
An investigation into the risks surrounding discharging of anglers (legal sized) lead weights into freshwater. Sam Meeuwissen, BCSG. September 2017. Introduction: The common practise amongst anglers to either deposit, discharge or eject the lead weight, either during the take or during the fight, has become a topic of contention amongst [...]
2017 was the year that never got off the ground, well at least where my fishing was concerned anyway! Don’t get me wrong, I still managed a few sessions throughout the course of the year however they would have collectively totalled my usual monthly average time on the bank [...]
Fishing can be a funny old sport. As a multi species angler, it can be more on the side of ‘peculiar’ funny, rather than ‘ha-ha’ funny, as you find yourself flitting between venues and types of fishing. For example, all spring and summer I have been fixated on the [...]
I recently had a trip to France with some of the guys from work and some mutual friends, for a friends 50th birthday. The venue in question was Napoleon Lakes, just south of Reims. At 9 acres in size, it’s an intimate venue and ideal for the group of six [...]
It’s been a while since I last went crucian fishing. In fact, looking back I realised that I hadn’t fished for them since last season, so I thought I would go for a quick 48 hours chasing them at my favourite local venue, Enton Lake (aka Johnsons on the Godalming AS ticket). I love [...]
When Coarse Angling Today magazine announced it would no longer be running as a publication I made a mental note not to allow the fact I no longer had magazine deadlines to meet to stop me from writing regularly. Prior to this I had been writing articles and blogs almost monthly for the best [...]
If you’re a river predator angler, then the last few months have been pretty awful! With nothing but dirty brown floodwater filling our running waters for what has seemed like an eternity, with opportunities to do some pike fishing having been limited to say the very least. We have floods every year but I [...]
Over the last few years, I have always got out and fished over the New Year period, and this year was to be no different. However, my original venue of choice, the River Severn, was a whopping 6.7 metres up at the time and consequently flooded right across all the neighbouring fields. A far [...]
During the late autumn months I often find myself packing away my barbel and chub kit for the season as in recent years I have found myself spending most of the colder winter months in search of big pike. Pursuing big pike can become very addictive and when targeting any species to specimen sizes [...]
