I’ve been back to the Trent but like everyone around me I blanked. Maybe if I stuck it out into the dark hours things would change but right now I really don’t fancy that. Perhaps the mood will grab me later but for the time being I rather like to be home in time for my evening meal. Pe...

Can you believe it’s autumn already? It seemed as though the summer would just go on forever but a glance along the hedgerows tells me otherwise. Take a look at these images I snapped on October 1st. Who needs to visit New England in the Fall? I guess ‘old’ England will do us fine ...

  It’s no reflection on the abilities of our guests, but between them they’ve suffered eight blank days while the cameras rolled. As the UK river levels fall the water gets clearer by the day and catching fish becomes a problem, especially as it has to be done in broad daylight with an an...

Making sense of it all… In Part One I said that I would talk about triggers and by that I mean the events that trigger a reaction from our quarry, the magnificent Barbel. As I see it our overall success within angling, regardless of what type of fishing we do, is built on one foundation - ...

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 ...

Fellow Don Valley Specimen Group member, Lee Swords entertains us with another epic tale as he and Mike Townsend head south to go-a-plundering stillwaters in search of specimen crucian carp …   In Search Of Gold     For anyone that hasn’t caught a very large crucian carp…and by that...

Some Like It Hot… Work on the next volume of Barbel Days And Ways continues apace and the schedule is becoming demanding. It’s also pretty punishing in the heat. Stu and I slipped down to the Welsh borders hoping to fill our boots on the Wye but to say the conditions were against us woul...

By way of a change, here’s a guest article by my good friend, top bloke, brilliant chef and ace angler, Lee Swords….   In search of Emeralds……Big fat slime covered green ones!   By Big Swordsey     My trips out for big bronze flanked bream have found me more absorbed in the wild...

Barbel Days And Ways DVDs cost £14.99 each (UK), £15.99 (Rest Of World), including package and posting.   BARBEL DAYS & WAYS VOLUME TWO Barbel Days and Ways Volume Two delves deeper into barbel behaviour, giving the viewer a unique insight into the feeding habits of barbel. Using state ...

Read the inside story… It’s barely a year since Stu (Walker) announced that he was going to film our sturgeon adventure. He’d bought a camcorder, read the instruction manual and was raring to go. We thought he was slightly mad. Surely you had to have some talent to make a movie?   The pl...