Barnsfold Water near Chipping, in the shadow of Beacon Fell. Fishing well now the water has cooled down, several double figure bags taken mostly by anglers fishing slime line with several fish in the 5-8lb bracket. Buzzers still taking fish but most fish on small fry patterns; try a small rudd fry or polystickle. Safe…

As I write this on Wednesday morning 24th July the rivers Ribble Calder and Hodder are carrying extra water, in fact conditions couldn’t be better for coarse and game anglers. Fly fishers on the rivers Ribble and Hodder are catching some nice seatrout, most are being returned but I was saddened to see a five…

I am not too sure when this fly acquired its name, but I am indebted to my friend Lee Sennington for sharing it with me, and the rest of the Bristol Reservoirs team, back in the days when we used to fish the old “Benson and Hedges” competition on Wimbleball. Over the years this fly…

You could do much worse than spend a little time exploring the numerous backwaters that line our larger rivers. With river fishing in the doldrums at the moment it doesn’t surprise me that backwaters have been forgotten about. Yet whilst you might struggle for a couple of bites on a cold carp puddle, you could…

The fishery in question was Barford Lakes, near Norwich. A well known, busy commercial fishery that has been around for quite a number of years now. Not the kind of place I would normally fish, as I prefer the pursuit of specimens rather than catching a bag of fish. But we needed a venue where…

Grass carp [Species Menu] [Grass carp articles] Common name: Grass carp Latin name: Ctenopharygodon idella Record weight: In recent years no other record has been in as much danger as the grass carp. With several huge fish dotted around the country, the record has been broken on several occasions in recent seasons. The latest angler…

Rudd [Species Menu] [Rudd articles] Common name: Rudd Latin name: Scardinius erythrophthalmus Record weight: The oldest coarse fish record on the books. Currently held by a fish of 4lb 8oz taken in 1933 by Rev. E. C. Alston from a Norfolk Mere. Distribution: Found throughout Europe, but absent from Iberia. Extends into Northern Asia. Found…

Pike [Species Menu] [Pike articles] Common name: Pike Latin name: Esox lucius Record weight: 46lb 13 oz caught from Llandegfedd Reservoir in Wales by R. Lewis in 1992. Distribution: One of the most widespread of all freshwater fish. Found throughout Northern Europe and North America, the pike is a fish of the temperate waters of…

Articles by John Bailey John Bailey John Bailey is one of Europes best known fishermen. Hes a columnist for Coarse Fisherman, Trout Fisherman, Improve Your Coarse Fishing, The Fly Fishers Journal, Waterlog and Blinker and Carp Hunters Magazine in Europe. He also contributes to The Field, The Independent and The Daily Mail. His pioneering features…

This process is cheap and relatively easy. All you need do is to follow my step by step guide. To aid photography and to add clarity, we have used clear containers but in practice ordinary bait containers are perfect. Step 1 Collect all the materials. I like chick peas as, properly prepared, they are a…