I heard about Robin Wood Fishery from a friend of a friend of a friend, went to have a look and thought it looked a nice, quiet, accessible place to fish. On 1 May I returned and fished Lake 1, which I was told held plenty of Silvers. I hadn't had time to go to the tackle shop to buy maggots on the Saturday, and 1 May was a Bank Holiday. Instead, I had prawns and a tin of sweetcorn, neither of which tempted any fish I saw topping. After some head-scratching, I moved to Lake 2

Below the lock at Stenson Bubble. Encouraged by my visit to Stenson Bubble the week before, with all the fish activity during a Pike fishing session, I went back on 2 April with a pint of maggots. After setting up my Redmayne & Todd rod, Ambidex 2 reel and a waggler. I loose-fed mixed maggots and noticed fish activity straight away. A Perch was the first fish of the session, followed by plenty of Roach and Skimmers. The best session of the year so far. A flask of tea, sunshin

A Mill Dam Bream just under 3lb. Well it's turning out to be fishing sessions of firsts. Last month, my first Brown Trout and this month my PB Bream, just shy of 3lb. I went to Mill Dam on 6 March, and although the sky was clear, the water was very cloudy and higher than usual. After just a few casts with good old reds, my float moved slowly across the water and then disappeared, and I was into a fish which turned out to be my only bite of the session. It didn't take long to

Fishing began early this month on 3 February at Findern, with my Mitchell 300 reel and Daiwa Matchman MKII rod. I fished the waggler with a size 16 hook on the deck. The weather felt almost spring-like, with temperatures around nine degrees. However, as the cloud and wind increased, the day felt more like winter again. Bait was hemp, red maggots and some worms. I was into the Perch quickly and regularly, along with one Skimmer. On 17 February I was on the River Derwent, with

Happy New Year, one and all; tight lines for 2017. My first session of the year was on 7 January on the canal at Willington. I fished a waggler with my Redmayne & Todd cane rod and Ambidex 2 reel. It was quite a mild day, around 9 degrees with hardly any wind, and after a slow start, the Perch started feeding on maggots and worms over maggots and hemp. I also slipped my landing net under several Bream and small Chub during a pleasant session, with just a few passing boats and

The first session this month was on 2 December at Findern. Temperatures were around 6 degrees after a few frosty nights. I caught a few Perch during a short session on worms. I blanked on the River Derwent at Darley Abbey on 8 December using cheese paste for Chub and worms. Cheese isn't a method I've used before, and although the weather was really mild, I didn't see any signs of fish. It was a really nice, peaceful afternoon. On 18 December I was at Stenson Bubble on a ver

My first session of the month wasn't until 14 November. After watching the weather for a few days and having some time one afternoon, I went back to the canal at Findern where I hadn't been since the summer. I had a good few hours and caught Roach and loads of Perch. I blanked at Mill Dam during a short session on 18 November and thought I should have gone Pike fishing due to the Jacks chasing the coarse fish. Then, on 25 November, I went to Stenson Bubble for the first time

This month's fishing began on 3 October on the canal at Willington, with my Redmayne & Todd cane rod, paired with my Mitchell 300. It was another pleasant session - even though temperatures had dropped about 10 degrees since my previous session - and I landed some good-sized Roach Skimmers and Perch. On 10 October I had a day off work and felt like a change. I hadn't been Carp fishing for a while, so I went to Markeaton Park Lake and set up in the hope of an Autumn Carp or a

On the first day of September, I was on the River Derwent, this time at Darley Abbey, to put into practice some of the lessons I learned at Borrowash a few weeks ago. I had a good session catching plenty of Minnows and Roach. I also saw a Kingfisher and Water Vole at a lovely spot on the river. On 7 September, feeling a bit adventurous, I tried legering boilies on the canal at Willington, attempting to catch something bigger. Unfortunately, nothing took my bait, but I also

Kev Hales is showing me how it's done. August 4 at Beechwood with a mate, who was after the Carp on his hair-rigged Polish sausage, which worked well and saw him catch some nice fish. I caught plenty of Roach, Rudd and a few Carp up to about 4lb. On the evening of 10 August, I fished on the River Derwent, having a lesson with Kev Hales, Clive and John from Alfreton Angling, along with fellow Earl member, Tim Baker. We learned some great tips and caught Dace, Roach, and smal