A lot of the French waters hold sturgeon; I have caught several from different waters up to 64 lb. The biggest I have come across where ant angling lines Etang de Laroussi. I have fished Laroussi for 3 times, and caught sturgeon on 2 trips. On my 1st trip I caught one that came out 3 times between the anglers that week. My 2nd visit I was able to hook 3…and landed 2 of them. Both weighing over 60 lb.
The strange thing is that my friend that was fishing with me on both trips only landed one. I my view these fish love fishmeal based boilies and pellets. He was using scopex on his 1st trip, where I was on fishmeal based baits. Often I could see them feeding over my baits, they tails would come out of the water. Revealing that they where present. After he switched on to fishmeal he landed one within 1 hour after casting his rigs out. Another important thing with sturgeon is the way to handle them. They need to be landed by hand…not in a landing net. If you would try to land them in a landing net then the sturgeon could get damaged petty badly. Their back could break, and the fish would not survive a capture. The best way to land them is when are ready for landing, put the unhooking mat in the water and try to get hold of them by the tale pull the sturgeon on to the mat and take it carefully on to the bank. (more…)
There are many options for accurate baiting and bait presentation. Probably one of the most neglected is wading out your baits to give you that perfect presentation. On 90% of waters this will not be possible, due to depth, silt or wading restrictions, but if it is possible then why not give it a try.
On a local lake that I fish the depths of the waters quantify the use of chest waders. With depths of around 3 to 3 ½ feet, getting in the water in chesties is not a problem.
Prior to this I would have already have done my plumbing work with a marker float to ensure that wading is possible.
Care still has to be taken as there a some large areas of deep silt and weed. I initially take out my landing net handle to use as a prod to ensure that I am not walking into a silt hole or walking off or onto a ledge..
Now there may be some of you that are horrified that that I am disturbing the carp from the margins and scattering them to the far end of the lake. Most estate lakes, as with the one that I am talking about, are used to graze cattle etc.
by Elie Godsi If I were to ask you to come up with the ‘ultimate’ test for a new carpbait - like Shaun’s Liver B8 - what would it look like? Maybe you would fish that bait on one rod alongside your other baits and compare your captures? Maybe you could compare your results with other anglers using other brands of boilies on the lakes you fish? Maybe you could fish it on a lake that had never seen that particular bait and see what your catch rate was like. All well and good but what about the ultimate test? (more…)
by Pat Gillett
In today’s modern day fishing (especially carp and barbel fishing) there seems to be an ever-growing acceptance that ‘biggest is best’. By this I mean that everything seems to be measured purely by how heavy a fish weighs and the heavier a fish weighs the more meritorious the capture is deemed to be. It is human nature that we all want to catch the biggest fish we can but I believe that you should try and put all your fishing into context and not necessarily believe that ‘the biggest is the best’. By doing this you will continue to get more from your fishing and not get blinded by ‘numbers on a scale’. (more…)
It has been known for some time now that leadweights are detrimental to the environment, effecting our waters, fish and bird life. We don’t know for sure what the future consequences of this will be. Lead is a toxic metal that, in sufficient quantities, has adverse effects on the nervous and reproductive systems of animals. Found in most weights, this metal is poisoning wildlife. In addition to its impact on water, lost leads and the use of drop off rigs can create a burden on the environment. In Denmark, companies are now prohibited from inporting and marketing any product containing lead for commercial fishingequipment, this went in to effect in 2002. How long is it before it hits the UK?