The day after Keith’s four 5lb chub on the Stour. More big chub today
What a great day I had yesterday with Keith with him landing those 5lbers. I was back on the H.Avon looking at catching some chub. My previous visit was with Simon. His 7lbs 13oz chub has been the highlight of this season so far. It's a funny old game, that's 4x 7lb plus chub I've had a hand in others →
A day on the Dorset Stour with Keith Snelgrove and four 5lb chub
Keith phoned me sometime ago to enquired about a days fishing on the Dorset Stour trying to catch some of the large chub that are in the river. I had guided Keith before on the Bristol Avon for chub however we only managed to catch some big brown trout. We decided to arrange a midweek day to avoid the crowds. We →
7lbs 13oz chub for Simon
I had met Simon about 5 years ago now fishing a bream water near Oxford. He is a quiet chap but a very able angler with some respectable pb's. Early in the year I had wanted a change of scenery and fancied some time on the upper Thames fishing for chub. I really wanted a 6lb chub from there. Simon →
Tench Fishers coaching session for Farnham AS
This is a short video of the coaching session that the Tench Fishers gave to a small group of anglers about tench fishing. It was a 24hr session over a hot weekend. https://youtu.be/MouR-oKGpg0 Tench Fishers coaching session July 2019
Chub rigs and 2 X 5lbers
I have been completing one or two video's on chub rigs. This one is for fishing area's that are more or less clear of weed. The hook length is about 5ft long so you don't want to many obstacles for it to hang up in. I've used this rig for about the last couple of seasons. It offers little resistance →
Hampshire Avon calling again
I had been so busy doing all the other projects I had been involved with that it seemed ages since I had fished the H.Avon. Andy (you should have been here yesterday) had been fishing it a few times and had caught some lovely chub, however the barbel were proving difficult to locate. Not only for Andy and myself but for →
Paul and Geoff on the river Wye
I had a 2 day session with Paul and Geoff. The river Wye had turned a horrible brown colour which was from an algae bloom. Now these gents have been guided by me for a good number of years. Paul brings all his own tackle as does Geoff. They tend to use their own baits which is fine but the pellet →
Guiding Gareth on the Wye
I have had a good few guiding days. Gareth had bid for a day guiding that I always offer up to the Carp Society and won. I have met and guided Gareth before and he is primary a carp angler however after this session on the river Wye he may be spending more time on there. We used the normal pellet and feeder approach →
Surface fishing for carp
Andy (you should have been here yesterday) Cowley last year took me floater fishing for carp. It was a local commercial fishery with plenty of doubles. I enjoyed myself so much I decided to have another attempt. I prepare the chum mixers the night before so that are soft enough to hook. I do this by adding some water to →
Video of tench rigs
https://youtu.be/o6m9Rg2hD3I https://youtu.be/gdJ26L3a7cc Worm feeder rigs https://youtu.be/_5CS1J2eLYA
Back on the rivers big chub and barbel
Well the tench season was OK other than catching the very big fish early on the very first session at 9lbs 14oz. Eventually she came out at weights of 11.7 and 11.8 to 2 different anglers. Then I went of to Cape Verde for a couple of weeks shark fishing only to find none there. They arrive in October, however me →
April 30th Tench fishing
After the last session where things improved I was feeling confident again at catching more tench. I arrived to find the swim I wanted taken by James a lovely fellow tench fisher. He was leaving in the evening so I wasn't in a hurry to set up anywhere else. So we chatted mostly about the Trent which will become apparent →
23rd April
So after the short session and the pain of having to get a new boiler I was back on the lake once more. I arrived to find that the algae had risen to the surface of the lake and it looked just like a lawn. In places it was so thick it was impossible to land any fish if it →
16th April Tench fishing (pike)
The weather hadn't cheered up too much over the last week. There were still cold nights with the occasional frosts at night. I arrived to find the summer bay area pretty quiet. I set up at 10am and was fishing one rod on worm the other on maggot. The bay seemed to be devoid of fish, no tench and no →
First tench fishing season 2019
With a big fat blank after big perch I couldn’t wait to start my tench fishing season. This normally starts around the beginning of April or thereabouts. It really depends on the weather and how warm it’s been. This year I’m back on familiar territory and fishing a large lake once again. The area I normally fish is fairly shallow at about 4 →
Trout fishing at Dever Springs
Once a year I normally have a day fishing on the Dever Springs Fishery. It stocks with extremely large brown trout and a good average size of rainbows. I was to fishing with Ross and Mike a couple of guys I had fished with before. Now I don't normally have the equipment for these fisheries so I had to borrow →
Perch fishing blank
The river season ended with a blank so hardly ideal, however I've enough big fish to satisfy my mind. it's this time of year where I start to think about perch fishing on some of the lakes around me. Normally these lakes are deep and very large large and the perch are late in spawning. Once the river season closes I →
Last day of the season and blanking
The wind and rain lashed down all morning. I fished so many swims from all around the fishery drawing a complete blank. The fishery was empty of anglers probably due to the river and weather conditions. It wasn't the best of sessions for both Andy and I. Still what a season I have had. Some highs and lows but enjoyed every →
Another 6lb 10oz chub
I was delighted at catching no 17 chub over 6lbs the previous day. I reflected on the fishing and decided to start very early today. The forecast was for very strong winds of 60mph and heavy rain from early morning. I was on the river at 7am thinkng that I would get a small window of opportunity on the river →
Monday 11th March and another 6lb chub
After returning to the river after going home for the weekend saw it dropping in height and colour. I was going to fish a swim that has been kind to me over the years. I had been fishing an area at the top of the swim where there was some slack water. I was using the feeder and short hooklink →
Another H.Avon double the very next day
Well after that huge barbel the previous day you could forgive me for fishing the same swim. I arrived at opening hour and moved straight to the swim. Using the same boilie and pva bag approach in the slightly deeper part of the swim. The river hadn't moved much in height and the colour had not improved. I cast out →
14lbs 13oz barbel 6th March
I had planned to fish 6th to 8th March with Andy ( you should have been here yesterday) Cowley. Andy couldn't make it early neither did I in the end. I had a few chores to resolve before I could set off on the 1hr 40 min journey time. Much rain had fallen over the previous day and the river →
David has been given the green light to join the Somerley Estate syndicate
I had guided David last summer on the Dorset Stour where he so much enjoyed the day. David phoned me to say that he was being given the chance to join Somerley fishing syndicate. I was so delighted for him as he is a true gent and loves and cherishes the days he gets a chance to fish. With this →
Anglers mail feature
Some time ago now I was asked by Duncan Charman to help him with a feature on grayling fishing on the river Itchen. I don't normally like these things as you expose venues and swims to others. It's the other anglers who fish the venues I feel for. Lots of publicity which is not welcome from their perspective. Anyhow this →