14th March last day on the river for a while
The weather was consistent, warm 14c but with bright conditions. I had arranged to meet Bob Gill and Paddy for a last bash on the river. I was only fishing the last few hrs of the day. Now it's unusual for these two Guy's to be fishing for chub as they are barbel fanatics, but with the bright weather and low →
13th March Lacock
Had to leave the house today. Me and the wife are not speaking again! She asked last night what was on TV, I said the same as last week, she said what do you mean, I said "dust". I pulled into the Red Lion car park in Lacock at 4pm for a 2hr go with the float rod. I had met Kevin →
12th March Gravel pits Somerfords
The weather had been mild since the frost of Tuesday morning, I thought that the tench might just start moving on the lakes at Great Somerford, and perhaps the perch would be big and fat ready to spawn. I had some terrible maggots that I needed to use before they all turned. It wasn't going to be a serious session →
11th March Bristol Avon Lacock
The weather was warm at about 12c which was fine for the end of the season. The river still low and clear which still suited the float fishing for chub approach. The wind from the previous day had calmed down a little. I arrived at about 1pm and settled in a swim on a large bend where there is a →
10th March Bristol Avon Lacock
Having a few of pints of maggots remaining from my trip to the Stour I decided to target an area of the Bristol Avon where there are some heafty chub. Although these are not comparable with the Stour chub in size they are never the less as good in terms of river size and fighting ability. I was only going to fish →
March 8th and 9th D. Stour Throop
I was up at 4am having packed the car with all the gear the previous night. I was down to Throop to see if I could catch a few chub before the season end. There had been a frost during the night and as I headed down through the roads of Wiltshire and Hampshire the dial on the car showed →
Willow Lake 28th Feb -2nd March
This was going to be my first visit from my holiday in Cape verde so I was really looking forward to fishing for the roach again. The forecast was for the warm weather to disappear and cold cloudy days to prevail, with a chilly N/E wind. Setting of from home at 5.30am I was soon parking up in the car park →
24th February Lacock Bristol Avon
Well here I was on my first visit back from two weeks holiday in the Cape Verde island of Sal. It was only a short session to see what was up on the the river. I arrived to find the river a little higher than normal and coloured since we had some rain on the Tuesday when I returned and →
Bristol Avon Lacock 6th Feb 2011
I had a window of opportunity to fish for a few hours today, and thought I might try for some pike. I had a few deadbaits of herrings and a few sprats in the freezer that needed clearing out before the season end and the tench bait fills the void. Although I have about 20 or so pints of frozen →
Willow lake February 1st to 3rd
Roach fishing tackle for sale. only joking. I arrived late on Tuesday 1st of Feb to find the lake completely frozen. I phoned my good Lady to curse and swear and take my frustrations on what I found not on her but boy oh boy I was angry. I had phoned a friend who said that all was good on the lake. But →
25-27th January Willow lake
Well this was my first visit to the lake since the thaw. After my blank on the Avon and Stour I wasn't looking forward to fishing the lake as I had 10 blanks. To be fair the lake doesn't fish well before December so I was hoping for a change of luck. The rigs I'm using are the same as others →
20th January Dorset Stour Throop
Believe it not the river levels on the Dorset Stour had been rising since the downpour of Monday. It had continued to rise until 6am on Thursday morning. I spoke to Brian Wilson one of the Throop bailiffs on the phone and asked how things had been. Gruelling was his answer, few fish caught of any note and the river brown! →
January 18th Hampshire Avon
I had arranged to have a couple of days fishing on the Avon. I thought there would be a drop in river level and clearing in colour which would be perfect for the chub. I set off from home with the 60 mile journey ahead with some light cloud cover and drizzle. As I drove down through Wiltshire countryside and Salisbury →
New tackle tip on short helicopter rigs for Willow lake
Have a look at my new article on tips, about the short helicopter rig. I hope you find it of interest. This is the rig I'm using in trying to tempt those large roach from Willow lake. You could if wanted use a double hooked rig with this. Presently I'm using only the one. Please click on the link below. http://www.kpanglingguide.com/articles/short-helicopter-rigs/
January 12th Bristol Avon and Great Somerfords
With rain rattling the windows I left the house heading for the river. After yesterdays total blank I thought that perhaps the river might just be a better option. However saying this it had rained practically from midnight onwards so the river will be pushing through at a pace. My thoughts were roach again and there are a few 2lbers to →
January 11th Great Somerfords
Fished on a small gravel pit of about 8 acres today. There was a strong northwest wind that would make float fishing very difficult, so it would be a ledgering day. I arrived at dawn to find the first gravel pit with an algae bloom. Which is strange with the coldness of the water, but sometimes this happens. There are →
January 4th Great Somerfords Bristol Avon
Full of a cold I had decided to meet my pal Ivor for a spot of fishing on the upper Bristol Avon. I thought that the grayling or perch might be feeding. I walked the 1 mile to the upper end of the fishery to find the perch and grayling however the river was low and clear. The slight snow →
December 29th Bristol Avon Great Somerfords
So I arranged this fishing meet over the festive season just to get out and stretch the legs a little on the Upper Bristol Avon. The membership of the association is mostly fluff chuckers which I include myself in at times!!! So I was not surprised at the turn out, five in total. It must have been the prize money of →
December 22nd Lacock Bristol Avon
The weather has been cruel for the last few weeks now. Daytime temperatures of between -2 to -4c, with the nights being much cooler. I've never experienced anything like this before Christmas. Sometimes in the New year we have a cold snap, but they are predicting that this cold spell will continue with nighttime temperatures down to -10 c around →
December 21st Interesting
Well with the fishing taking a bit of a back seat due to the terrible -4c daytime temperature, snow falling and blocking roads. It's unusual for the southwest to be hit so hard with the cold weather. Visits to the river have been few and the lakes well I would be better off taking my skates and taking to the →
December 19th
Well the Willow lake is frozen in Oxford , and the trips to the H.Avon and D.Stour are fraught with snow problems. The Bristol Avon may be the only option open this week. The temperature here has not got above -3c all day so the river water will be cooling down further 8-( Never mind they say absence makes the heart →
December 13th Bristol Avon Lacock
Here I was again trying to catch the chub on the Bristol Avon at Lacock. It's just a short 30min drive for me so I suppose it's local. The weather had warmed up, I say that but the temps were about 5c during the day and just below zero at night. The session was to be only for a few hours →
December 10th Bristol Avon
The week had been one of the coldest on record for this time of year with temperatures not getting above -3c around the Bath area even during the day. The forecast was for the weather to improve on Friday with a slight increase in air temperatures to a balmy 5c. I decided to try for some chub at Lacock with cheese →
December 6th River Itchen
Steve Innes of the Tench Fishers has set up the normal trip to the Itchen fishing for grayling. Slowly as the date drew nearer people dropped out due to work commitments and the bad weather forecast. There was some snow fall there the previous week and the signs were not good. I set off from home at 6.15am on a very →