On a mild Saturday early in the month, I decided to fish at Findern on the canal 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 moving my float around for a while, I still hadn't had a bite, even though I'd seen fish topping. A couple out walking their dog asked about the fish in the canal, if I had to put them back, and the tackle I was using. Following a coffee

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.

I managed a few days away again, camping this month. Back to Blackbrook Lodge campsite. The weather was good, as was the fishing. I took a cane rod, Ambidex 2 reel and a pint of maggots. Here's the video, and you can see some images by visiting theretroangler on Instagram. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVS2wGy6jEQ&t=2

Just one fishing session this month at Birch House Lakes, but a good result...

June started well with a test run of the roach pole I tidied up. It was rather cumbersome, and conditions were windy, so I'll try again another day. I did have another rod and reel with me, though, and this video shows the results... This video is my annual visit to Norfolk. It was a very hot week, and the oxygen levels in the dyke we stayed in were really low. However, it was a lovely, relaxing week away from the world, and fishing is never time wasted... https://www.youtube

The trees have their leaves, and the flowers are starting to bloom. For the first session this month, I wanted to get back to the cut and decided on the Trent & Mersey Canal at Swarkestone, with a Match 13 float rod and Kassnar PLS-300 reel. As I float-fished maggots, I remembered Swarkestone can be a bit hit-and-miss sometimes, and this time it was a miss with no bites on this short session. I returned to Heatherton for my next session. This time with my trusty Carp setup an

Spring is warming up, and my first session this month, I went back to Robin Wood and tried Lake 3 again, this time on the opposite bank. Fishing with a pair of 10-foot leger rods, I paired one rod with a Mitchell 300 and the other with an Intrepid Extra. With boilies for a hook bait and boilie crumb for freebies, I saw signs of fish as I set up. No fish on this session though, and as all piscators know, an afternoon fishing is never time wasted. Especially when the spring sun

At last, the rain clouds have cleared, the sun is shining, and the air pressure has dropped. Which means I could take my tackle to Robin Wood and finally wet a line. For the first session of the year I decided to use the first 'proper' rod I bought as a child - although this wasn't the actual rod, as that was stolen from the garage - a 10-foot Shakespeare Omni Match, which I paired with a Mitchell 206 S reel. The weather was unseasonably warm, 17 degrees, and I float-fished m

As the inclement weather continues this month, and access to the bank is difficult, I decided to stay in the warm, dry shed and work on a marquetry set I received for Christmas. It was more fiddly than I thought; however, I persevered, using all the patience I'd learnt fishing, and after several evenings and a few weekends, I'd finished. For a first attempt, I'm quite pleased with the result, and it looks good framed on the kitchen wall. Once again, my brother bought a job lo

Happy New Year, piscators. I hope you have recovered after the Christmas and New Year festivities. Well, the weather this month has either been too cold or mild and too wet to go fishing. I'm getting too old to fish in the cold and rain. On one of the cold days this month, I visited Kedleston Hall, a local National Trust property, and noticed this monster Pike in a glass case that was probably caught in the estate's lake. Due to the inclement weather this month, I've been lis