However a week away from fishing would not be a bad thing as I had been fishing at least once a week for 50 out of the last 52 weeks and to tell you the truth the fishing tackle was in a serious need of an overhaul. Therefore I took the opportunity to give it…

Imagine my surprise when he asked Ron Barnet to stand up. I was thinking that my secret was out and that he was referring to me. It bought the events that had taken place that day back to me. The following is an account of what happened, before Jack arrived. When I told him this…

A lot of it can be put down to lack of time. My last two efforts at catching a big fish have both occurred when outside pressures have limited my fishing time. There is no doubting though that big tench can be a law unto themselves and can be a real devil to catch. The…

There are various reasons as to why this is happening in my opinion. Firstly poles have got better, lighter and cheaper in recent years. An angler can now buy a really good quality pole for a fairly modest outlay compared to a few years ago. Commercial carp fisheries have also helped to accelerate the growth…

Because of the terrible weed conditions and clear water I chose a swim that commanded some areas that I knew had clear bottom surrounding the weed. Both casts would be quite long but one was to the edge of an overhanging tree on the adjacent bank that always has a lovely clear area of gravel…

All I can tell you is what works for me. A big part of this comes down to confidence in each pattern, rather than any hard facts, so a good many of you may disagree with my findings. What are the general criteria I look for in all hooks? Well, the hook should be strong…

Look at the way tackle has developed over the last 20 years, the whole fishing tackle market keeps reinventing the wheel year after year and we keep upgrading our rods and terminal tackle to keep up with the Jonesís. I suppose that we are quite lucky in the Groundbait market because we are dealing with…

I have fished it on and off over the years and have caught some good carp out of it. The tench fishing is also good there but like on a lot of gravel pits, they are caught mainly by carp anglers, those fishing purely for the tench seem to struggle. The lake also holds a…

It was with great relief that Bill and I drove round the M25 to join the A1 on a very early musty morning at the advent of the school holidays. Our destination – Willow Waters at Pocklington near York. My customary needlework and holiday reading material was neatly packed alongside Bill’s fishing tackle which as…

The trouble is, they are just so cheap and tiny that often little thought goes into their purchase. Let me ask you this question? How many different hook patterns do you own? Obviously, the answer will depend on the species you pursue, but in most cases, the range of hooks I carry is more extensive…