Fish theft and spread of disease have been the big issues for Britain’s anglers over the last two years. The Fish Welfare Group, a working committee of Fisheries and Angling Conservation Trust (FACT), today launches two posters carrying key messages for the health of our fisheries; “Don’t steal, cook or kill fish” and “Don’t kill […]
FACT Launches two posters to save Nation’s fisheries
Ouse The Daddy?
Gareth Purnell heads to the upper Great Ouse to try out a theory on targeting specimen perch with the pole. My affinity with big perch stretches back to my teenage days – maybe earlier than that. I used to go fishing all over the place with a school friend of mine – the wheels provided […]
Reading The Weather
The weather forecasters by no means always get is right, and as a boat angler you need to be ready with a good understanding of weather systems and terminology… with Jim O’Donnell IF you think that weather forecasting is an exact science in these high tech days, think again.Watch your local forecast’s 3-5 day out […]
Shore Fishing For Rays
There are many venues around the country where anglers can experience the thrills of landing many different species of ray. If you want to know how, then read on… RAYS are actually members of the shark family. They may not have the razor sharp teeth that are associated with their close relatives, but they do […]
Plotters 4: Fishing At Anchor
Jim O’Donnell, skipper of top Plymouth charter boat ‘Tiberon’, explains how to use a chart plotter to drift over marks with precision. BASICALLY there are two types of boat fishing, fishing done with the boat on the move, and fishing done whilst the boat is stationary. Unfortunately, most fishing marks lack lovely great buoys which […]
Plotters 3: Fishing On The Drift
Jim O’Donnell, skipper of top Plymouth charter boat ‘Tiberon’, explains how to use a chart plotter to drift over marks with precision. THE marine electronics industry moves so quickly with new and more accurate products, released on a regular basis, that it’s hard to keep up sometimes. Ask any long-time charter skipper and they will […]
Plotters 2: Accurately Plotting Bottom Features
Jim O’Donnell, skipper of top Plymouth charter boat ‘Tiberon’, reveals a few of his tricks for finding fish holding features. YOU can either have the fanciest plotter in the fleet but with no knowledge of what the unit was built to do, it will become nothing more than a pretty picture with an icon representing […]
Plotters 1: Buying A Plotter
Jim O’Donnell, skipper of top Plymouth charter boat ‘Tiberon’, explains what a boat angler needs from an effective chart plotter and how they can catch him more fish. WELCOME to the 21st century an age where computers drive trains and order milk automatically when the fridge runs low, an age where if you don’t keep […]
Safe Lead Core Clip Rig
Top carper Dave Lane’s step-by-step guide to tying his safe lead core clip rig… STEP OneHere are the basic components you will need, including lead, Korda clips, size 7 or 8 swivels, tail rubbers and lead core. STEP TwoBefore you even start tying the rig, remove half of the clip with a pair of scissors. […]
The Safe Lead Core Helicopter Rig
Top carper Dave Lane’s step-by-step guide to tying the leadcore helicopter rig… My own method of tying a lead core helicopter rig is about as safe as you can get. I am confident that the hook link can detach from the lead core every time, should I lose a fish.Before I go into detail about […]
Winter Zig Rig
Dave Lane’s step-by-step guide to tying one of his favoured winter set-ups… I HAVE often seen fish cruising in the upper layers of a lake during sunny days in January and February when the air pressure has been high. These are thought to be the hardest months of the year for angling, but maybe we […]
Fishing At Range
Top carp angler Dave Lane reveals how he fishes effectively at ranges of 100 yards plus… FISHING at long distance, and by that I mean distances in excess of 100 yards, is something that can be achieved by most people with the correct kit and a bit of practice.Obviously the correct kit is a vital […]
My Fourth UK Fifty
Dave Lane became the first angler to bank four UK carp over 50lb when he landed a 52lb 8oz mirror in 2003. This is the exclusive story in which he reveals how he did it…AFTER my results on a Cambridgeshire pit, when I caught the 36lb mirror, I decided it would be silly not to […]
The Klinkhammer
This is a fly that has to be in every angler’s kit. The Klinkhammer is one of the most-successful flies ever devised and like most effective patterns; its success comes from close study of trout feeding behaviour. Hans van Klinken from Holland created the Klinkhammer after much experience on the rivers of Scandinavia. His mentor […]
Teal, Blue and Silver
WHO can claim to have originated any pattern of fly? All have evolved from common experience and available materials, sometimes centuries old, have not always written about. The Teal Blue and Silver cannot have existed before the invention of chemical dyes in the 1830s. One hundred years ago, in the days of cane rods and […]
