Lee dropped out of the rate race over ten years ago to take up residence in a cottage in rural Berkshire. Naturally his home is near the River Kennet and its equally productive tributaries. He regularly fishes these rivers as well as many still water venues, making his living as a professional fly tier.My wife,…

The blue-green algae now had a firm grip on the water, and had reduced visibility from around ten feet, to just two or three inches. It looked as if someone had tipped hundreds of gallons of turquoise paint into the water, and with no signs of fish anywhere, I began to think it a waste…

I did do one session but there were three members down for the day fishing various swims and making far too much noise and when they had finally had gone two more guys turned up for the night. I settled for a swim near the car for convenience, rather than anything else, and not surprisingly…

As I drove through the gate a few of the guys were there and before long the car park was full. After a quick stroll round the lake the draw was made, I drew 9th out of 11 so my choice of swim was made out of guesswork of where the carp may end up…

We hadn’t been able to muster a decent torch between us, so our erratic journey through the darkened wood was preceded by the flickering beam of an old lamp which had once belonged to Wince’s father. It threw a small circle of light before us which climbed silently over brambles and fallen branches like a…

One venue I love is Painshill Park. The carp go to around high 20lb and the best bit is that very few have been caught before. The lake gets very weedy, I have never seen such a weedy lake but it is ideal for me. Most anglers are put off by heavy weed yet the…

Having said that, using a little bit of watercraft learnt from fishing for other species in rivers or from carp fishing in stillwaters, the likely location of river carp becomes no more than common sense. Carp are carp no matter where they are so river carp will be located near snags and shelter. So look…

The news was predictable, only two carp out just before the temperatures soared but nothing since. There was little showing until I found a few carp meandering about in front of my winter swim. Lee had turned up half-hour before me so it was his choice first; not surprisingly he plumped for that swim. I…

There are various reasons why a lake might move. Perhaps the lake is stream fed and water enters at one end and leaves at the other. More likely is that the effect of the wind on the surface creates movement. Wind induced movement is particularly common on the larger more open lakes, such as the…

You may recall that last month I told you about a couple of successful practise sessions I’d had on the Severn at Shrewsbury. After doing so well in practise, I couldn’t wait to get back on the venue on the regular winter matches held there from October onwards. Before I get onto the recent matches…