Catfish are more accessible than most anglers ever imagine. And you don’t need a bivvy, bedchair or deep pockets, as Tom Legge discovered on a trip to Berkshire’s Pondwood Fisheries… Mention catfish and most readers will conjure up visions of wet, slimy but happy anglers displaying huge 100lb-plus specimens with help from holiday pals and guides beside the Rio Ebro in sun-drenched Spain. But...
Like most guys at the hardcore end of the specimen carp scene, Mitch Smith used to stack up the hours, days, even weeks in pursuit of a single huge fish. But nowadays it’s regular action that he craves, and as head honcho at Sensas Carp he’s on a mission to ensure that others – especially newcomers – do likewise. The boundaries between ‘pleasure’, ‘match’ and ‘specimen’ angling...
Crossing the Old Course of the River Nene at Outwell on my winding journey to the lower reaches of the Great Ouse brought back a thousand memories. I hadn’t been this way since 1989 but it seemed like yesterday. Some things are never forgotten, like the flashing of the violent electrical storm that reflected in the large silver rose bowl on my companion’s lap. Or the two newly minted gold...
During the final weeks of the season it is probably easier to catch a big river perch than at any other time. Why? Because location is easier and feeding times are predictable. Big perch are nomadic in summer, as eager to swim in the fastest current as haunt the deepest eddy as they seek out shoals of prey fish. In winter they will invariably be found in quieter water and this means swim choice is...
My love affair with tench probably began nearly forty years ago when I witnessed the capture of a four-pounder from Arksey Railway Pond. I’d never actually seen one in the flesh, nor had I ever been close to a fish of such immense proportions. It was huge! Looking back, that one fish planted a seed in me that still flourishes today. It inspired me above all else to stop just reading the writings...
I’ve been a regular visitor to Anglers Paradise in Devon for more years than I care to remember. Although it’s 300 miles away I try and get down there at least two or three times a year. The New Year’s Eve parties in the bar are legendary and everyone has great fun at the netting parties around bonfire night. I’m even an honorary member of the 5C’s syndicate - that’s...
Twin rods point skywards, silhouetted against a setting sun. I’m relaxing on a bed chair, inches from the rod butts, but I’m not expecting to get much sleep. Earlier I spent ages setting my trap. A gallon of hemp and mixed pellets was introduced along with a kilo of boilies into an area perhaps four or five yards square. It was a chub that found the bait first, as always, a succession of...
Time for a cuppa! I’ve just spent two hours choosing half a dozen swims and carefully baiting them. The heat of the day has gone but the evening ahead should still be warm enough for me not to need a coat. The river here varies between 15 and 25 yards wide at a guess and I’m pretty much spoilt for choice when it comes to swims. The overhanging bushes are obvious starting points as is the...
I lay on my belly, peering through the foliage into two feet of crystal clear water. Fronds of streamer weed waft sideways in the flow, occasionally revealing a glimpse of golden gravel. Ten minutes pass and the sun burns into my shirt, a skylark hovers high above, heard but lost in the glare of the sun. Insects irritate me but I still maintain my concentration. And then I see what I’ve been...
Go back ten years and the River Don wouldn’t exactly have sprung to mind if you were talking about Yorkshire barbel rivers. A decade ago barbel were an aspiration or maybe even a fluke capture rather than something you might expect to specifically target. But what a change we’ve seen.Ironically, the prime barbel stretches are not exactly typical of other great barbel rivers. Often they’re...
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