Blogs

Variety is the Spice of Life

Having landed the largest carp in one of the syndicates I’m a member of,  among a few other fish last week-end, I decided upon a change of scenery and a change of county this last week-end, so headed to Paradise Pit.

This is what happened, another successful weekend in poor moon phase conditions

The Largest in the Lake

Once in a while we all get lucky and hook into a fish we really wanted to catch. Occasionally someone has the presence of mind to grab a camera and rush round to take a few action shots. Rarely do the two situations join together. Thanks Dave for capturing those exciting moments for me.

Which Bait for June?

Extracts from my September Diary

My first Mangrove dawn after almost 10 years. Just how it always was.

After my six month obsession with Paradise Pit which had culminated in me landing another lake record from there, I felt I was ready for a bit of a change of scenery and fresh challenges.

March 2016 End of Season Barbel and Spring Carp

A month that started on the rivers with prototype rods that needed putting through their paces and ended up on the still waters. Both running and still water were rather kind to me yet again.

Autumn Harvest of Golden Barbel

I was up and about this morning far earlier than I needed or indeed, wanted to be. I had awoken in that comfortable snuggled state when you know you still have a good hour or so lounging time before the alarm clock will sound. But then my brain kicked in thinking back over this last week-end, for the gods of Sir Izaak had done so much more than smile upon me. They had rewarded me richly with a bumper crop of golden autumn barbel. I couldn’t turn my brain off so it was to be an early rise and soon the tea pot was mashing my favourite Assam/Earl Grey blend. I glanced at the pictures again and really couldn’t believe how incredibly fortunate I had been with my timing. If the truth be told it wasn’t really any sort of judged timing, it was pure fate and poor carp catching conditions mixed with a bit of idleness and lack of motivation that had me fishing for the barbel this weekend.

Traditional Angling on a Glorious Autumn Day

It is nice once in a while to be able to angle with people we haven’t or rarely get to fish with.

I guess I must have known Bob Brookes for 30 odd years now after swapping many a brown paper bag of fishing tackle for his hard earned, for many years before his retirement. I guess a lot of the Nottinghamshire/Derbyshire based anglers used the tackle shop for a little lunchtime therapy after a gruelling morning at work.

I always enjoyed serving Bob, his cheerful face would brighten many a day and one of the minority you could enjoy a sensible relaxed conversation with.

Hang on a minute, time to change tract, it’s starting to sound like a obituary and after watch Bob stomp across the fields the other day with a full pack, shortly after a session in the gym, this is far from being a obituary.

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.

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.