On Tuesday I fished the match at Woodland View and drew peg 21 on the front Deans pool. A combination of chopped worm, caster and sweetcorn pole-fished on the bottom and in the margin brought me a 36.10.0 return and a section win. The match was won by team mate Norman Carpenter on the back…

During that period all I’d managed to put in the net was one bream of around two pounds. Then a shoal moved in and I managed to get another seven, giving me a 26.14.0 total and fourth place in the match. By the end of the competition I was wanting another couple of hours as…

A couple of days ago I had a long conversation with Dick Derrington on the telephone about the August Bank Holiday angling festival at Evesham. For many years John Smiths Brewery has sponsored the event. Last year saw the last ‘John Smiths’ as the company decided to withdraw it’s sponsorship and many anglers wondered whether…

So, this week, instead of being stuck under a brolly struggling for bites I’ve put the time to good use by getting my new MAP Matchtek pole ready for action. I’m really pleased with the final production model having worked on the pole for almost a year now. The poles have been in the shops…

I’ve had enough of just walking the river, now it’s time to get the gear out and start doing battle with one of my favourite species, barbel!This week I will take you through my thoughts on tackle for barbel fishing on rivers like the Severn. If you’ve never sampled the delights of the Severn Valley…

Judging from response so far there are already a lot of anglers using the new floats as we completely sold out of the first production batch within a week! Looking firstly at the Carptek range there are six different floats in the family:CARPTEK 1This is a popular carp float ideal for use with meat, corn…

It was Mark’s first time on the stretch and with the river very low and clear we decided to go all out on a floatfishing attack. We set up two float rods, one with 3lb Maxima direct to a size 16 hook and the other with 5lb Maxima direct to a size 14. Feeding with…

There are nine new patterns in the Matchtek range to cover a wide range of fishing disciplines. The floats are now available through leading tackle shops and since they went into the shops in January they are gaining popularity with a lot of anglers. MATCHTEK 1-RIVER This pattern is ideal for slow moving rivers and…

It’s a swim that has thrown up a few good catches recently and when I got to it I could see why. The swim in question is only around three and a half feet deep, running over gravel, and quite pacy. This time of year I hate drawing sluggish river swims, as all the fish…

Until recently, little was known of the Lake of Menteith as a pike fishery. Fred Buller in the Domesday Book reports a pike of 35 lb being taken in 1965 by Charles Cowan, but no further details are given. Most people will have heard of the lake because of its fame for being the only…