Whilst not everyone will decry it’s passing, one of the most obvious casualties of the mass exodus of anglers from the banks of our rivers is the loss of skilful ledgering. Some anglers would laugh at the use of the words ledgering and skill in the same sentence, but for those who are not content…

I’ve always thought of chub as being something of an enigma. ….and another big fish to the fourteen year old maestro Proof that fishing “on the bounce” is child’s play. My son Joe with a super chub A good chub that fell to the “bounce” method On big, powerful rivers like the Ribble, the chub…

As it is so much lighter and stiffer than traditional rod making material, most modern fly rods are made from some form of carbon fibre. These are also much thinner and lighter than the older alternatives. This, coupled with the fact that they have in real terms fallen in price, makes carbon fibre the ideal…

Those of you who have been patient enough to have read through my tens of thousands of words on the subject, will know that Iím a bit of a centre-pin enthusiast. Aerial 4-5 – 1920 pattern Gough -There are only 5 Gough reels in the world Plowman #31 – Only about 35 Plowmans were made…

With so many of you readers now going abroad for a fishing holiday, I feel I have to start this months column with a warning. Remember what I said last month about losing baggage? Since September 11th everything has changed. On my last two flights I wasn’t allowed to take my rods as hand luggage…

It often amazes me how fishing can be stereotyped as “boring”. After a hard days fishing there is always the comfort of the Bella Vista Lodge to look forward to. View from a truck of the dirt track roads used to access the fishing. Notice the rods strapped on and ready to go ! The…

Arriving at Vancouver airport at 5pm was no great hardship. This one was six feet six inches long. On the weight-for-length scale that makes it 137lb but it’s a bit on the slender side so call it 120ish. Bill gets stuck into a dinosaur In Britain this would be a fish of a lifetime. Here,…

That has got to be hard work, although I have no doubt that he had pretty hefty tackle to cope with the beast. Looking at the television programme I was also looking at Kayís hammerhead shark, which I mentioned last month, as a photograph of it stares at me from atop the television set. As…

So came our last morning. Four of us elected to return to the Yetna river, and started fairly early, while a mist still hung over the water. Alan with a big silver Whoops! Way-Hey!! This is what it’s all about. one kind will eat you alive… …another will just eat you! We were soon into…

One way of finding good lakes in France is to take out a subscription to one of the French magazines such as Media-Carpe. These give lots of detailed information about lakes with good potential in all regions of France. In addition there are many angling magazines published on a monthly basis that can also provide…