Being able to find fish on a lake before you even put your boat in the water is key to a successful day on the water. Looking at a map and being able to read the bottom of the lake and determine the migration route the fish will follow to and from the feeding grounds…

Approximately 20 anglers in the UK drown each year. Lifesavers, The Royal Life Saving Society UK, the countrys leading water safety body, has issued advice to anglers who continue to fish throughout autumn and winter. Di Standley, Chief Executive at Lifesavers, a West Midlands-based organisation, commented: “There are risks to anglers year-round, but in late…

Pike fly leaders can be from two up to nine feet. Fishing a floating line, I use a leader between seven and nine feet which includes a foot of twenty pound wire. Some pike fly fishers have written in the press, You don’t need tapered leaders, others state you don’t need wire. I disagree on…

I moved slowly upstream peering intently into the gin clear water, the bright sunshine allowed me to see every pebble, stick and even the minnows in the bottom of the pool. No breeze ruffled the surface. A shoal of bait fish hung close to a weed bed. Nothing moved as I peered intently into the…

Whilst the weather is still pretty changeable, most parts of the country have had a few days of warm temperatures and light Westerly winds – ideal conditions to get the carp moving. Whilst you can stalk carp on some waters most of the time, these conditions really make life a lot easier. Firstly, the air…

During my first four days back home I was kept very busy working on programmes and my new book. Come Tuesday I was back on the river Ribble with Stephen Ainscow to record some material for my At The Waters Edge programme – BBC Radio Lancashire Thursday evenings at 7-30pm Saturday mornings at 6-00 am…

The days before Easter saw urgent consultation of Lefty Krehs book Fly Fishing in Saltwater, much thought, many adjustments to fishing tackle, and a rush to tie some new flies all somewhat hampered by an urgent mission to Malawi, which meant I was not as prepared, once again, as I would have liked. The weather…

The river Aire is an excellent coarse and trout fishing water, in the upper reaches of the river from Skipton upstream it’s fly fishing for brown trout and grayling. Bradford City AA own some two miles of double bank fly fishing where grayling have been caught to 3lbs. The fishing starts from the A59 and…

Basically, this is a lightweight fishing shelter which works in a similar way to a fan: it opens in just the same way, except that the two “edges” – aluminium tubes – come together, and are locked in place. (You might be able to make out these two “edges” in the picture). Then it’s a…

At Christmas time I usually get a few books from my friends, this Christmas was no different from other years. I was lucky to get several books on travel, photography, birds and fishing which included books on saltwater fly fishing and trout fishing, the latter a very interesting book all about midge fishing. Page 2…