Heads appeared from bivvies all around the lakeall intent on watching the ensuing battle. The luckyangler raced from his bivvy, disengaged the baitrunnerand tightened into the fish. Almost in a singleaction, the rod first bucked over and then sprangback. The fish was off. At this turn of events, mostof the anglers went back to bed,…

When fishing popular public and club venues, it is highly probable that the resident fish populations have experienced a substantial array of techniques, strategies, and baits. In such situations, it is the anglers who go that little bit further in their preparations, who succeed most often. This requirement is further emphasised when fishing some commercial…

If you are putting long lengths of heavy monofilament lineon a centrepin, it is possible with some of the lighter and more finelybalanced reels for that line to contract and completely ruin the reel. The forces generated can be surprising – I’ve had a plastic Abu spool from aCardinal 55 completely crushed under the pressure…

The lateral line is also extremely well developed.Pike can pick up vibrations from tens of meters awayand home in to the source with great accuracy. The one sense which is often not appreciated in pikeis their acute sense of smell. All pike, butespecially those which grow large, feed to a largeextent on dead fish. If…

In most of the network of channels of Lincolnshire and Cambridgeshire can be found innumerable zander. Although this is the best place to catch your first zander, fishing conditions during the winter months can be pretty inhospitable. Not only do you have to put up with poor access to many fisheries, but as the main…

This can happen with all fish, but it’s more likely with some fish than others. Roach are a common culprit, as are the subject of this weeks column, chub. While chub will feed in almost all conditions, hooking them can be a real nightmare. The stimulus for this article came from a recent session on…

Winter barbel fishing can also be fast and furious, if only for short periods. On many rivers stretches which are filled with anglers all summer long suddenly become deserted after the first frosts. All of these factors have meant that my barbel fishing year has rarely begun before September over the last few years. Apart…

John is probably the only manufacturer I know who actually tries to put the usefulness of the product first and the profit motive second. Hence he is unlikely to ever get very rich but he is going to continue to be held in the highest esteem by thinking anglers. When John designs a product it…

We arrived in Montreal after finishing our meetings late Friday afternoon and transformed ourselves from city suited businessmen to fully garbed fishermen within five minutes in the men’s toilets in the airport. We were ready to tackle the mighty St Lawrence river carp.Joe Babbitt met us at the luggage carousel and soon we were in…

The IAC mailing lists are one of the top resources for anglers on the net. There are now several lists, each supporting different disciplines. The lists cover game, sea carp and coarse fishing. As and when more demand arises there will be extra lists added – match, pike etc. In the meantime it is a…