Following on from my 2014 overview I thought I would scribble down a few bits and bobs about my start to 2015. Well, I would like to say I set the angling world alight with hundreds of catches of earth shattering fish, but in reality is was a bit of a wash out. I had [...]
Deepest Winter. It can conjure up such romantic images such as walking over crisply frozen grass on a frosty winter’s morn’ with cute little robins and all that. In reality it can be a cold, windswept, frostbitten and somewhat arduous task to get the rods out for a few hours. My serious advice if you [...]
Perch were high on the agenda this month and I soon had the kit loaded in the van and was the long drive. Arriving at dawn I had a good look around to familiarise myself with the venue before settling into a peg with an inviting snaggy margin to my right. I was soon using [...]
This next session turned into a learning curve for me. After nearly 40 years of being out on the bank, there’s always a surprise or two that springs up and a new trick or two to be learnt! Frozen Lakes! I’d been busting a gut to get a couple of nights on the bank (I [...]
It’s been a busy month so far, but I have managed to wet a line on two separate occasions. After my last couple of sessions at my syndicate water, where they really gave me the run around, I was determined to get a step ahead of the carp. Well I couldn’t cope with moving every [...]
I was off shift from work and had decided to do a day session on a small estate lake that I know. The lake it is a small intimate venue of approximately five acres hidden in the beautiful Northants countryside, with a good stocking of fish that range from low doubles to thirties. All in [...]
So my first session on Orchid went with a bit of a bang! The weather was what none anglers would deem ‘horrendous’ - though to be honest for January it was really mild with strong south westerly winds with near constant rain. Lovely! Anyway, we all know that you’ll never catch anything sat at home [...]
Imagine we are now leaving the summer behind, the greens will be turning to golds, browns and oranges and the nights will be gradually getting longer. What does this mean for the nation’s barbel anglers? Well we certainly need to start thinking about what bait we are using and more importantly how it’s going to [...]
Well what a year I've had! If I'm honest I have been working far too much, with only a little fishing done due to family life; but I was fortunate enough to get among those crafty carp on the RK Leisure Complex when I did get out. Winning bites can be somewhat stressful at times [...]
I thought 2014 had been a terrible year in my angling until I sat down to write this piece and actually reflected back over the entire year. My first trip of the year was with fellow GT anglers Alan Stagg and Calum Kletta to the famous Abbey Lakes complex in France. We had a short [...]
The year blew in rainy and mild – Friday nights huddled under ‘the Beards’ little brolly talking utterly hysterical nonsense with Meeky, Marcus and anyone else unfortunate to be in ear shot. It was a lovely way to see the year in, if not a little selfish, as the prime motivation to get down to [...]
Following on from a fairly successful 2013 on Roach Pit, the 2014 season actually went better than I could have hoped; managing 22 bites and working my way through 'most' of the stock! It all started in early spring with my first and very welcome bite, a small common of around 23lb. I had decided [...]
Barbel fishing throughout the winter months can be a very hit and miss affair. If you get it right and fish when conditions are great then the results can be spectacular - but if the conditions are poor (which is the case more often than not) then unless you put your hookbait on the nose [...]
My very next session started off after a trip to the dentist. Luckily it was nothing serious, but after a few missed appointments due to last minute trips to France I daren’t miss another one! So after a very late start I pulled up to the lake in the dark; not ideal but I know [...]
Despite the unbelievable amount of rainfall we experienced early on in the year and the mayhem it caused, plus a disputable parking ticket I received, 2014 has been a phenomenal year. Many amazing things happened for me, like finding out my wife and I are expecting a baby girl in February 2015, buying and finally [...]
I have had a great years fishing this year catching ten thirties and my first UK forty. I have been concentrating on a syndicate water in Ringwood and this is currently my second year on there but this year I have managed a few special ones. My first memorable session was during the middle of [...]
I arrived at Anglers Paradise Kracking Carp lake at around 9am, to find a big 40mph South Westerly wind pushing down the lake into peg 4 as expected. With an empty lake it was obvious that's peg 4 was going to be the place to be with the mild conditions. On my walk around the [...]
This autumn and early part of the winter and I have been bang into my barbel fishing. After gaining a ticket to a rather special stretch of a Thames Tributary, I have dedicated a fair amount of my time trying to track down and catch some of its big, yet nomadic residents. I have fished [...]
With winter here and temperatures dropping rapidly, many anglers will be looking at their tactics and thinking about cold water baits and fining down their rigs ready for those tricky cold water carp. So, with thoughts of a winter jet black mirror in the folds of my landing net I thought I’d write a short [...]
As 2014 slowly draws to a close, and the festive period begins it is always a good time to take stock and reflect on how the year has gone. Overall, it has been a very varied year for me, as I have started to try and do a bit more specimen fishing, ending with a [...]
