But the plain truth is, no, I’m not holding anything back. There is no Holy Grail out there; there is no top secret rig that only the most successful anglers use. What I described is exactly what I used for the vast majority of last summer and very effective it was, too, although it is not th...

Happy New Year Everyone! Belated New Year greetings to everyone who enjoys this blog, and I even include Whiskerton, who finished the old year with another threat to sue me. Mike, talk’s cheap. Put up, or shut up. Otherwise go away and play on the dark side! I came back from London on the tra...

Can it really be Christmas again? Well, considering the local shopping centre has been piping the sounds of Slade, Mud and Greg Lake into the ether for at least two months it must be getting pretty close! Anyway, please allow me to wish all you regular blog visitors a truly memorable Christmas. ...

Hey ho, but if you’re a barbel fanatic and no-one sends you a fishing calender then feel free to print off this one:   2010 Calendar Each page is in a seperate PDF file so you can adjust the size to suit. For best results just click through the link above each page or from the summary at th...

The following article was published in David Hall’s Coarse Fishing magazine back in January 1992. At the time there was no such thing as an in-line feeder so you could say this was quite a revolutionary piece. You might also recognise  the phrase‘Days And Ways’ which is used in ...

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...

  During the programme some footage from the next Barbel Days and Ways DVD was shown and before anyone goes, ‘Oh, hello. He’s plugging the new release…’ let me say that it isn’t going to be available for quite a while yet, certainly not this side of Christmas and probably not before ...

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 ...

Isn’t it great to be back on the rivers again? Right now I’m filling my boots with barbel and chub, just because the novelty hasn’t quite worn off yet. I’m also inspired by the fact that they’re just so obliging and happy to feed in what some would have you believe are ...

At last the ’real’ fishing season is in full swing again so here’s a bumper edition of the blog for all who love their fishing…     Either that or someone’s bought a voodoo doll and these twinges have absolutely nothing to do with my pole fishing and everything to do...