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

Mr Crabtree fishing without Peter The only session in June - which is why I have added it to July’s post - was on 6 June at a stretch of canal in Findern, which I’d not fished before. I had a great day under clear blue skies with temperatures in the low twenties. I caught plenty of Perch, Roach, and Skimmer Bream. I’d definitely go back there as it was nice and quiet, and maybe next time I’ll go down where there are more overhanging trees and features to find fish. It may al

Fishing the Earl of Harrington 5th Annual Facebook Match. The first session of the month was on 6 May, and I was back at Woodrows for a good day's fishing. Unfortunately, none of my baits tempted the Carp just under the surface. However, I didn’t feel too frustrated, as I was in a peaceful spot under a hazy sky with temperatures around 20 degrees, and only one other angler caught a fish. The fish did start to feed in the evening, apparently - after I’d gone - and several nic

On 5 April, I was at Beechwood Fisheries fishing on mixed maggots and bread, catching plenty of Roach. A really nice, sunny spring day, with some cloud and light winds, with temperatures reaching 14 degrees, and the last cast of the day resulted in a nice, fat Carp of around 5 pounds. On 19 April, with my Earl annual ticket in hand, I was back at Mill Dam for the first time this year, and blanked! However, I didn’t feel too bad, as the other angler on the water, who'd been t

I went back to Willington on 8 March for a few hours of drop-shot fishing, but the water was very cloudy, and it had been cold the night before, so I didn't even get a nibble! On 16 March I was at Springwood Fishery on a sunny Spring day, 9 degrees, and I had a relaxing day catching loads of Roach and Ide. I blanked on the canal on 23 March, but on 29 March I took my nephew to Longford, where we had a great day catching Roach and Skimmers in the margins, and he managed a sm

Three Perch, one about a pound, and a skimmer Bream graced my landing net on 9 February on a sunny, chilly, windy afternoon at Willington, where temperatures reached about 6°C. On 17 February I was back at Willington; it had been -4°C overnight, and when I arrived there was ice on the water, and although the sun was shining, it was only a few degrees above freezing with a slight breeze. My first cast landed on the ice, but the temperatures reached about 7°C by early afternoo

It was my birthday this month, and my partner made me some gingerbread fish! Happy New Year, fellow piscators; temperatures have really dropped now. On 7 January, I was at Swarkstone Lock, where I fished last year and blanked a few times. I was disappointed when the initially calm winds and light rain quickly turned into driving rain and 20m/ph winds. After only three unfruitful casts, I sought shelter under the railway bridge and, after chatting with an angler lure fishing,

On 7 December, I was back at Mill Dam for a few hours in the afternoon and lost a few what felt like Bream. Another day when the fish just weren’t interested; next time they might be jumping on my hook! There's building work taking place nearby, and some branches that had come down in the recent heavy winds were being cut up with a chainsaw. On 14 December, back at Willington in very mild conditions for this time of year, 9 degrees. I had a nice mixed bag of Perch, Bream, Gu

A vintage ad for Lucky Lures, also used by Pacific Alaska Airways. On 3 November I blanked at Springwood, but I had a nice few hours at Mill Dam on 6 November and caught Perch, one of which was nearly a pound, the biggest I’ve landed there. It rained, but it was very mild. At Beechwood on 10 November I did pretty well in very mild conditions and caught several Perch, a few Roach and two Carp of about 4lb each. A friend of a friend took me to fish the Bridge Inn Pond on 19

Back at Woodrows on 1 October, although it was a nice few hours, I didn’t catch any fish. On 9 October at Willington, the temperatures were in the mid-teens. It was a really nice afternoon catching Perch, one of which was 11 inches long and a Bream on red maggot and worm. Back at Willington on 14 October, I’m really enjoying the canal and getting the hang of the different depths and managing to find the fish. Plenty of Perch on this occasion, again on worms. I fished The Co