Blogs

Braddock’s Sugar and Spice for Tench

Targeting a silty gulley on 15 acre lake over three separate two night sessions spread over a six week period the approach was to use maggots enhanced with Braddock’s Sugar Spice additive over a bed of scalded pellet and hemp. Action was not necessarily instant as the fish generally took a few hours to home in on the bait, but once they arrived they stayed. I don’t like to be shy with bait at this time of year and typically use 7 pints of maggots and 4 kilos of spod mix over the 48 hour session.

Shaun’s Diary April 2011 – Part 1

I thought it an idea to start a Blog Diary in here and starting off with last month run through how I have approached my fishing through the different venues I have visited and how I adapt to differing weather conditions through the season.

It has only just occurred to me how many different tactics I have used this past month alone to keep those bobbins moving. So, hopefully there will be points of interest in here and possible little tips you may pick up on to start getting those bobbins moving on a regular basis. So, with no further ado, let us start off with my first trip in April…

Save on Gas - Free Brew Ups!

Having been a Kelly Kettle user for some years now, I really like the scenario of being able to create heat and boil water with natures waste, rather than the umpteen gas cartridges I used to get through in a typical year.

Chub, barbel, carp and things you forget about – as well as my money saving blog of the day.

I was sorting my gear out last night for a spot of chub fishing and found the block of Plasticine I used to use and to be honest I had forgotten how useful it is and for how many different jobs I used to use it for.

Snow Carp and consistent festive action

Well, it was a rather mixed period for me whilst away from the office for the annual festive break. I started off fishing for the barbel in the mild conditions leading to Christmas day and was fortunate enough to net myself a couple of nice fish but these faded into insignificance by Ron Key’s 14.06 as reported in the last of the 2014 reports. It truly was a pleasure to see and photograph this fish, which fell to the Questrami.

Making your own 'Special Hook Baits'

Here is a little tip for those of you wishing to produce something unique to you and customise your hook baits, plus a real quick and easy way of preparing ‘wafters’ (slow sinking hook baits) or pop-ups.

It is a method I first used on the bank when I felt I needed a hook bait acting differently to what I had at my disposal and since then I have found myself using the method more and more.

Obviously you are also able to add your own little extras this way too.

The Week-End Dilemma of an All Round Angler

Most will know me as a carp angler, but in reality I see myself very much as an all rounder. There are few weeks that pass by where I can’t be found at some stage of the week fishing for something other than carp. I might have slipped out after dark in pursuit of chub or barbel, I might have decided to grab a couple of hours to trot a float down a river or I may have decided to spend the last few moments of daylight trying to entice a perch.

Simple Barbel Feeder Mix

Spurred on by watching Ron Key catching barbel on the Questrami I thought it about time I prised myself away from my two favourite barbel baits Rahja Spice and Absolute Seafood.

Something for the week end Sir? (more rehydrating)

I have written at length in the past regarding re-hydrating boilies, giving them a drink, softening boilies and so on. In fact it is very rare for me to feed dry boilies on any water that has seen any amount of pressure as I know I can improve their effectiveness with just a little bit of extra effort.

Extra Care When Handling Cold Water Carp

This is a subject I never see covered anywhere despite mentioning it in several of my articles in the past, but it is a vitally important issue which can’t in my mind be repeated often enough.

Carp are cold blooded. This means that the carp is the same temperature as the water it is living in. This affects the carp’s metabolism greatly and is the reason your bait choice is so crucial during the winter months but this is another subject for another place. Humans are warm blooded which  means we are warmer than our winter surroundings.