“SPRING IS THE TIME OF YEAR I, LIKE MOST CARP ANGLERS, LOOK FORWARD TO THE MOST. NOT ONLY ARE THE LONGER DAYS AND EVENINGS SO MUCH MORE PLEASANT, BUT ALSO BIG FISHING REWARDS ARE THERE TO BE HAD, WHEN THE FISH ARE OFTEN AT THEIR EASIEST TO CATCH.” That said it’s easy to become blasé and think that it’s going to be far simpler to land a string of whackers than it actually is. Angling pressure is another significant factor, as the banks will always be far busier, after the lull of winter. Although the carp are much more visible and generally show themselves that much more than any other ti ..read more

WES COGGESHALL TALKS THROUGH HIS MEMORIES OF AN EVENTUFL SEASON FISHING GOLDEN GATES A few years ago, my friend  Jonny Miller got me a ticket for a lake in Essex called Golden Gates. It’s a long lake with a long island in the middle, I believe it was dug for jet skiing and around 7 acres in size with a good head of carp.  The ones I wanted the most were the Gratwick strains, nice scaly old ones. But the one I was really after was a mid-40 common called Bulldozer a well know Essex carp. The ticket started in July, and I headed down there to meet the new members and pay for my ti ..read more

ANDY GRENFELL TALKS THROUGH HIS FAVOURITE CARP FISHING RIG FOR THE AUTUMN AND WINTER MONTHS If you have grown up or been around carp fishing as long as I have then, the Hinge Stiff rig surely must need no introduction. Its popularity shot to fame after its use by the likes of Terry Hearn and Lewis Read over Yateley, and other notoriously difficult waters, to fool the rig wary carp those living in those waters. Whilst its popularity might have been overshadowed recently by the Spinner or Ronnie rig, the Hinge Stiff is still as effective today and it certainly makes up a large part of my r ..read more

IN MY OPINION FLOATER FISHING HAS GOT TO BE THE MOST EXCITING WAY OF FISHING FOR CARP, BUT, ON OCCASSIONS IT CAN ALSO BE A STRESSFUL SESSION.  IT’S ONE OF THEM THINGS THAT NOT MANY ANGLERS HAVE THE ENERGY OR ENTHUSIASM TO DO, THIS IS WHERE EFFORT REALLY DOES EQUAL REWARD. It’s not only a summer tactic it can be effective throughout the seasons, if it’s in your armoury  you’re already a few steps ahead of many other anglers, personally I never leave home without a bucket of floaters now. Preparing your floaters is the first thing to do either when you arrive at the lake or before ..read more

“GOING BACK TO WELLINGTON COUNTRY PARK FOR ONE MORE YEAR AFTER A TWO-YEAR ABSENSE WAS MAINLY ABOUT ONE THING. THE WINTER! OH, AND TWO OF THE A TEAM CARP I STILL NEEDED.” Being locked inside a 400-acre country park with 35 acres of water to play with is not everyone’s idea of fun. But it’s majestic! Yes, angling in the winter is hard going but if the rewards are their then it’s all worth it right? With the original historic stock depleted since my last stint on this majestic venue, clearly statistically the winter would prove to me more of a challenge than previous winters. Sadly, covid im ..read more

“IN THE SPRING I LIKE TO FOCUS THE MAIN PART OF MY ENERGY ON LOCATION, BECAUSE WE ALL KNOW, IF THEY AREN'T THERE YOU WONT CATCH THEM” I tend to stay up late and wake up extra early as this gives me the extra hours of listening and watching time that could nail down the location and leads to that end goal of a capture. This particular session I was on Redmire pool for the first time, so I read the book in the lodge to see what had been going on and if any activity had been noted. I always take others information with a pinch of salt because I believe seeing is believing. The book wasn’t ve ..read more

“I HAVE ALWAYS ENJOYED THE CHALLENGE OF FISHING WEEDY WATERS, BUT IT CAN BE TRICKY TO MASTER THEM SOMETIMES, ALTHOUGH WHEN YOU DO, IT CAN BE A CONFIDENCE TO BE TAKEN FORWARD TO MANY PLACES AFTERWARDS.” I think the most important aspects of fishing them are, firstly finding spots in heavy weed, and the concealing your mainline and end tackle when fishing to these areas. Looking at finding spots, this can be quite daunting when you arrive at a lake to find it seemingly solid with weed. Sometimes you can be lucky, before going straight in with a marker rod, as occasionally the actual weed ca ..read more

The Hampshire Avon has always been a magical river and I think it’s fair to say, that when it comes to barbel fishing, this river is commonly thought of as one of the most iconic waterways in the country. The Hampshire Avon is a river that has been on my wish list to give some serious attention to, and this desire was intensified when Pete Reading appeared in the Angling Times with a colossal barbel from the river in March 2019 weighing 19lb 11oz! Trips to Chew during the autumn & winter, Covid and a minor obsession with the Old Father Thames meant that any planned trips were always p ..read more

The Hampshire Avon has always been a magical river and I think it’s fair to say, that when it comes to barbel fishing, this river is commonly thought of as one of the most iconic waterways in the country. The Hampshire Avon is a river that has been on my wish list to give some serious attention to, and this desire was intensified when Pete Reading appeared in the Angling Times with a colossal barbel from the river in March 2019 weighing 19lb 11oz! Trips to Chew during the autumn & winter, Covid and a minor obsession with the Old Father Thames meant that any planned trips were always p ..read more

Recently I received a message on Facebook from a young lad who wanted to pick my brains about tench fishing, which led to a long chat about tackle, rigs and the like. Towards the end of our conversation I asked him if he had any particular venues in mind and he told me that he was primarily going to fish locally as his biggest tench to date was only 6lb and he was happy to push his personal best up in ounces rather than try and go for the biggest he could straight away. I was really pleased to hear that he was taking this approach and it contrasted massively with a conversation I had a co ..read more