At the beginning of the month, I headed to the Trent & Mersey Canal at Stenson Bubble to a nice, quiet spot below the lock and had a really nice session. I got chatting to a boater moored nearby who also fished, and he gave me a float he'd made. I made a video which you can see below. A few weeks later I went to Woodrows Pond on the Earl of Harrington ticket, where I'd not been for a long while. It was my day off during the week, so I expected to have the place to myself. How

At the end of May/beginning of June, we went on my annual fishing holiday, and this time we went somewhere different. A little village called Madley, near Hereford, at Canon Bridge Fishery. The lake had some good-sized carp, so I took a 10’ split cane Army & Navy rod along with a fibreglass Golden Green rod, paired with a Mitchell 300 and a 410. I also took a 10’6 Milbro rod and a Strike Right centre-pin reel for float fishing. There were plenty of small carp on the float rod

Back at Robin Wood for the third time this year. A sunny 18 April, on Lake 3 again. This time with my Match 13 rod and Mitchell 300. The first items in my vintage fishing journey. After several roach taking the float-fished maggots, I landed a chunky carp—a nice start to Spring.

Well, it's been a while since I wet a line, and it felt good to be back on the bank on 9 March, even though I blanked! Oh well, things can only get better. On 22 March, I was back at Robin Wood to have another go. This time, the weather had improved and I was wearing my new EFGEECO, lucky t-shirt? I caught plenty of roach on maggots with a Shakespeare Omni rod and Omni 040 reel, which was the first proper rod I had as a teenager, back in the 80's. At the end of the month, on

Well, we're into February now, and I haven't been able to go fishing yet this year. I have, however, spent some time in my shed. I was lucky enough to be given an Amidex No. 1, which was in a bit of a mess when I received it through the post late last year. I wasn't sure what to do with the reel at first, so I spent some time stripping the old paint off and cleaning the inside. At first, I was going to hand paint it, as I'm not good at spraying. Then I decided to clean up the

Happy New Year, piscators, I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and New Year, and you've recovered from any over indulgences. I had a quiet, cosy Christmas and spent some time planning my fishing for 2026, which I'll write about over the coming months. I treated myself to something nostalgic and retro for Christmas, an Action Man! I had several as a youngster, along with lots of accessories, all of which were sold at a local Jumble Sale when I got "too old". After buying

I thought I'd end this year's blogging with a good news story. The world definitely needs more good news stories. Anyway, a few months ago, I listed this 6'5 "split cane rod online, and it was sold after a few messages back and forth about the type of rod it could be. After dispatching the rod, I didn't expect to hear any more. Then, out of the blue, I got a message along with the image below of the rod after being restored. Bought as part of a job lot, I didn't intend to k

November 2023 was the last time I went to the National Vintage Fishing Tackle Fair, and it was good to be back. I didn't really have any tackle in mind, so after the customary first look round, I carried out a more detailed look and bought a few books. I have been thinking about replacing my Mitchell 410, and I spotted a few nice-looking 410s and ended up buying one. After a cuppa I went for another look with money still burning a hole in my pocket! I spotted some plastic box

On a mild Saturday early in the month, I decided to fish at Findern on the canal as I hadn't been there for a while. With my A Carter split cane rod and Hardy Altex reel, I made my way along the towpath and found a nice spot and threw in some maggots before tackling up. After fishing for a while and moving my float around, I still hadn't had a bite, even though I'd seen fish topping. A couple out dog walking stopped and asked about the types of fish in the canal, if I had to

Well, I didn't get a chance to wet a line until late September, and it's starting to feel autumnal, which is my favourite time of year to go fishing. Here I’m back on the Trent & Mersey Canal at Willington, float fishing with an old wooden reel. I don’t know anything about this reel, but I thought I’d give it a try.