Bill and Dan (Son) fishing the river Wye
What a brilliant Xmas present to buy someone, a day on the river Wye. That's exactly what Dan bought his Dad Bill. To be fair they had fished with me before and enjoyed the session. So arrangements were made months in advance and all too soon the day comes around. We met at 7am, with me having made up base camp →
Still July and more chub and barbel.
Having just managed to land that good looking chub last week of 6lbs 13oz it was back on the H.Avon for more adventures. Again I picked up Andy (you should have been here yesterday) Cowley. The day was to be hot and sunny, and boy oh boy so it turned out. The drive down saw us deciding where to fish. Andy →
6lbs 13oz chub
I spoke to Andy (you should have been here yesterday) Cowley on Thursday afternoon and we decided to try a maggot approach to catch chub as the barbel were making it very difficult for most people on the river. I arranged to get a gallon of reds and pick him up at 6am in the morning. We arrived and walked to →
6hrs on the H.Avon and two chub to show for my efforts
I wanted to get back onto the Avon again to try for the barbel and chub. The weather forecast said heavy showers moving east. I was hoping to avoid them and went down there later than normal. I started fishing at 2pm in a swim that I didn't think had been fished before. Dropping some hemp and pellets into a deep →
Andrea is with us for the weekend and a big barbel for him.
Andrea was back in the UK for a short time and wanted to catch up with Mrs. P and me. Well to be a little more precise to do some fishing. He had been in Canada the previous few weeks catching some sturgeon up to 7ft long. He was fishing with me for a couple of days. The first was as →
Another double figured barbel and a 6lb plus chub
It was just a few days later that I made my way down to the H.Avon again looking for barbel and chub. I fished the same swim as before and guess what the 3 barbel were still there but boy oh boy were they cagey. I'm not too surprised as plenty of anglers fish for them as spotting other barbel →
Bingo first double of the season.
The barbel have been rather elusive for many on the H.Avon this year this includes me too. Poor visibility and not knowing where they were plus some had not spawned for sure. It was turning into a tench like season complex and unknowing. I was still hedging my bets and fishing West Country Bait pellets as both the chub and barbel →
Gareth and Dave fishing the Wye for barbel
Gareth and Dave had contacted me regarding catching some barbel and chub. Now normally people want to fish the H.Avon or the D.Stour. Both are difficult at the best of times so I try and steer people towards the Wye particularly if it's going to be their first barbel. You can have a great days sport there for sure, however →
More chub and first barbel of the season.
The rain has been falling steadily during the whole of June and I expect it to be the wettest on record certainly for the south east. Here in the southwest things have not been so bad we have missed most of the thunder and storms. I have fished a couple more times down on the H.Avon. The first time back after →
Heart break and elation and a roller coaster ride
The river season has quickly pounced on me this year. I believe it's partly due to the poor tench fishing season with results being nil. Having said that I had them worried at times. I couldn't wait for the season to open. I was going to fish the H.Avon for chub and barbel this summer and see what comes along. I →
Brown and Rainbow Trite (trout)
The spring of 2016 continued to blow hot and cold, mainly cold and wet. The tench fishing followed the similar cycle of the weather. I haven't seen such indifferent weather for late spring for many years. The perch fishing was still going well and some good fish coming out. All to soon enough after the Tench Fishers fish-in I was →
WOW pb perch 4lbs 2oz
Andy (you should have been here yesterday) Cowley and I agreed to fish the pond again. All of the perch had spawned and we hoped they might be feeding up. Andy was going to be late for day as he has a few things on his plate. I arrived at 6am to chilly cloudy morning. The wind was from the northeast →
It’s that time of year for the Tench Fishers National Fish-in on the Carp Societies Horseshoe lake
"Time waits for no man" it's says. Since December I had been organising this event tying things up with Miles at Horseshoe lake plus getting list of people coming to the event. My partner in crime is none other than John Osbourne who excels at keeping the Sponsors on board and generally being a dynamo. This year was no different! We decided →
More perch again
After the session and catching 4 3lbplus perch you could say I was champing at the bit to get back and try again. The pond is local to me so I can fish it at a drop of a hat more often than not. Andy (you should have been here yesterday) Cowley and I were going fish on the Friday, however →
A break from the river and “Boom 4x 3lb plus perch”
Hello again it's been about a month since my last post. I've been vigorously painting and decorating and working in the garden. Things have been busy for sure. You know I have loads of Brownie points to spend later. I visited the "BIG ONE" fishing show and it was truly wonderful to meet up with so many friends and make new →
March 14th Malcolm and his day out and a 6lb 2oz chub.
Malcolm and I had been trying to get out fishing for chub for about two years now. Him with various ailments and me being busy. Not only that the river conditions needed to be good. Bearing in mind Malcolm is very much a traditional angler, Our paths had crossed before while perch fishing in Somerset. Not only that, we have some →
A difficult day on the H.Avon, however a couple of 4’s and 5’s save the day.
I had almost forgot this post. Monday I arrived to strong winds and difficult conditions. The less to be said about the day the better. Two grayling was the end result. Tuesday wasn't going to be much better as the day saw plenty of other anglers on the water. I felt uncomfortable as it was impossible to move around the fishery. I →
H.Avon and a 6lbs 12oz chub on the float
The season was drawing to a close and I had just got back from Costa Rica where I hooked a few fish but land too few too. I arranged to go down to the H.Avon with Andy and Mark Woodage who like us enjoys fishing for big fish. To start with we went our different ways. Andy for pike me and →
Piking and perching on the Thames
The rivers were still in the fields in most places so my mate Andy (you should of been here yesterday) headed off to fish a part of the Thames where we knew some large perch would be hiding. We arrived to find the river fining down. I used worm and fished for perch. Andy on the other hand fished for →
Bristol Avon
Bad news, I'm in hospital... Whilst cooking at dinner time i accidentally chopped up a daffodil bulb...mistaking it for garlic... The doctors say I should be out in the spring... The rivers have been up and down with all the rain we had during December and January. I've been waiting for the river to come right which needs to be low and clear. I →
Mammoth blog of good and bad news
So where did December go. For me it was mostly holidays and more holidays. We didn’t return home until the 18th December so everything was left until late. Even the blog took a back seat. Fishing wise I tried on the H.Avon for chub however it was difficult going with plenty of rain and the river rising and colouring up big time. →
Hampshire Avon and a new PB chub 6lbs 14oz
Having not fished the H.Avon since the beginning of September due to guiding days plus a couple of holidays to Turkey and Boavista boy was I looking forward to fishing down there again. My mate Andy (you should have been here yesterday) Cowley had been fishing it and landing some cracking chub to 6lbs 5oz. So a quick phone call →
Boavista (Cape Verde fishing)
Cape Verde is situated just of the West African coast and consists of several islands. We were staying on an island called Boavista. It's the second time we stayed in this hotel. One hotel and 40km of sand with no other buildings. The fishing is cracking too. The first day I was soon handing 5 euro to one of the waitress →
Paul and Graig (Dad and Son) on the river Wye catching barbel
I have know Paul for years, we have fished the same syndicate stretch of the Bristol Avon. Now Paul and I used to catch plenty of barbel on the Bristol Avon for many of years. However after the introduction of Otters most have gone and you would not seriously fish for them on the stretch again. However he phoned me last year →