To a certain extent this is true for many anglers must specialise in what is logistically the nearest form of angling to their home. Cost and ease of access often deter us from roving further afield and it is only when we venture off on holiday that we get the chance to experience something different….

The bonus is that tope grow big. It’s not unusual to get tope in the 20lbs to 40lbs weight range when shore fishing and you are in with a realistic chance of fish to 60lbs at certain times of the year. Cod and conger aside, no other fish reach these weights that a shore angler…

Boat fishing is something of a mystery to many anglers. Most would agree that the ability to get afloat can pay dividends and yet very few anglers actually take the plunge and give it a go. Those that do fall mainly into two categories; the experienced boater who’s learned the art of boat fishing the…

I hadn’t heard anything like this since I was hitch-hiking across Australia on the big Mac trucks, back in the early CB radio days of the 70’s. Fascinating, but this was no truck, this was a Lake Erie muskie boat and the radio was just one of it’s built-in toys.The radios on the Lake Erie…

Some people in the Walton PAC region may remember a small (but perfectly formed) friend that used to attend meetings and functions with Brian and I some ten or so years back. His name was Tony ‘Stumpy’ Smith and he was a major part of ‘Fishing with the Family’, as we call our piking adventures…

Standard techniques such as early striking, minimum handling and correct unhooking procedure are well documented and passed on to others at RA meetings or on-the-bank fish-ins. Sadly, like most things in life, these conservation measures have been learned the hard way and a lot of fish have suffered due to bad practice which in turn…

I attended their latest event at Wraysbury Two and was very pleased with the organisation and support that they had received. This was a pike fish-in which is not every anglers cup of tea. However there were over eighty participants on the day which I thought was excellent. The venue had been donated completely free…

We do know a good deal about mahseer fishing because of both the past and the present. During the time that the British occupied India, the golden Raj, a great many English sportsmen in the army and civil service fished for mahseer in their vacation periods. Denied the salmon fishing of home, the Ďsahibsí travelled…

There are two versions of the Butcher. The original form which used to be called “Moon’s Fly” is now called the “Butcher” whilst the equally good red bearded version is called the “Bloody Butcher”. Materials Hooks: down eye size 14 to size 8. The largest size is used mainly for sea trout or lure fishing…

Tungsten, for it’s size, is much heavier than the more common brass type alloys used in gold bead patterns. This makes this pattern very useful, particularly when fishing fast flowing river for grayling. The nymph sinks virtually straight to the bottom where it lands.MaterialsHooks: short shank size 10 to 16. I have tied some on…