Before I start let me just say this blog may differ a little from my regular blog, more of a travelogue perhaps, but things will probably be back to normal next time. I made my first trip to the Derbyshire Derwent in two years and it was easy to recall why I like this river so much. Small enough t...

What a hectic time of year this is! Since returning from Cyprus I’ve appeared on Tight Lines, spent five days in the Wye Valley, miraculously met five magazine and newspaper article deadlines, dealt with a mountain of visitor emails to the site and as I write I’m making arrangements to v...

Here are my thoughts about some of the books I’ve managed to find the time to finish… Carp Along The Way – Volume Two Rod Hutchinson     Insights range from one extreme, where we learn how he was driven to chase carp all over the UK and beyond, to the other where he develops his...

I’ll be brief. You’ve had four blogs already this month. Five’s just showing off! Back in my Trent match days August was frequently a dour month with very little getting caught unless you were a wasp grub man. The grubbers bagged up whatever the weather or river conditions were. C...

Welcome back to part deux of what must be the longest angling blog in the world. Mind you, no-one’s exactly complaining, are they? Well, that’s not exactly true. There is the occasional knob head who’s presumably fuelled by jealousy but I rather like that. Shows I’m doing som...

Not so much a blog this time as practically an entire magazine’s worth of ramblings. This is the longest blog I’ve ever written but you’ve got to admit, says he smugly, it’s a bloody good read - and it’s free! If anything’s out of date already I do apologise but ...

            Since launching this site I’ve had lots of help and kind comments from other anglers, web site owners and so on. It would be really nice to thank them in a simple way by adding their links to this page. It’s not my intention to simply list a million and one fishing sit...

The boys from Pallatrax are pretty good at the old Micky taking, too, so even when the crowds disappeared off into the other hall to watch the speakers we managed to keep ourselves amused in the trade hall. Arriving early, we hadn’t even unloaded out gear from the car when Trefor West shouted...

Carbology Explained - by Lee Swords. Part 1… (of several…) Carbelling: The fusing of barbel fishing and carp fishing Carbology: The science of catching barbel using techniques evolved from those used in the carp fishing fraternity. Carbologist: One who involves themselves in the science ...

I’ve gone mad, it’s official. A year ago I gave up the day job and put together the kind of early retirement plan I’d been dreaming about for more than a decade. It was going to be a life full of indulgence with three days fishing in the week and lots of weekends away with the better half. A y...