As I've said before, fishing sessions are like buses, and this month I managed three very enjoyable and productive sessions. For my first session, I went to Robin Wood Fishery, where I float-fished my Redmayne & Todd rod and Mitchell Match reel, with red maggots on a size 14 hook. Temperatures were in the low to mid-fifties with sunshine and showers. Carp were topping and rolling as I baited up swims in the margins and a few rod lengths out. Several Roach and Skimmers graced

After three months of 2019 without any fishing, I finally managed to get out, my New Year's resolution royally broken! During Easter weekend, I headed to Birch House Fishery. The day was bright, warm and sunny, one of the first this year. Temperatures reached 56 degrees around midday. As it was a Bank Holiday and quite busy, I headed for Teal Lake, the furthest from the entrance. I fished a 13' unnamed fibreglass 3-piece rod with an Intrepid Classic reel, 3lb line, a quill fl

I go through phases of reading books. If a book interests me in the first few chapters, I'll usually finish it. I read one of Dick Walker's books over Christmas, which I really enjoyed and definitely recommend. As I didn't go fishing this month, I went back to the bookshelf to read a book I've read a few times. Tales of a Derby Poacher by Tom Gwinnutt is locally written, with landmarks and places I know well. It's a fascinating look at the past through the eyes of a local man

If you're going to break your new year's resolution, January is the month to do it! I told myself I would go fishing every month in 2019. Unfortunately, not being well and bad weather, blah blah blah meant it didn't happen. On the bright side, another resolution for 2019 was to buy a vintage seat to replace the modern seat I've been using for the past few years. I regularly search for EFGEECO items, and I saw a Pakaseat for sale. I've occasionally seen these ruck-sack/seats

Another year has passed, and although I didn't wet a line as much as I'd have liked, I did make my first video. I also bought some very interesting vintage tackle, fished on the Norfolk Broads and once again took part in a charity fancy dress fishing match. Apart from fishing some venues I haven't had a chance to visit yet, my resolution for 2019 is to fish every month, and I'm planning a fishing and camping trip. In the meantime, I have Dick Walker's Angling Theories and Pr

This month was another month lacking in the fishing department, so I thought I'd share a restoration project I've been working on. I bought this very dishevelled-looking box online and thought it would make an ideal addition to my shed. It was advertised as a 'Vintage Fishing Tackle Box'. It was about an hour away, and I bought it for £12.71. The box sat in the corner of the shed for just over a year as I didn't really know where to start. Then, one day during the summer, I

This month I came across a huge job lot of vintage tackle on Facebook. Well, where to start? There's a wicker basket, a cantilever box containing loads of end tackle, a keep net and three umbrellas, one of which is cotton with a wooden shaft. There are two rod holdalls, a really old one which may be EFGEECO and a newer Keenets holdall. Three of the reels came in zip-up cases and included a Mitchell 300, Mordex Merlin, Shakespeare, Silstar and a multiplier reel on a solid fib

The last day of June was the Earl of Harrington's annual charity fancy dress match on Allestree Lake. This year I dressed as a Frenchman, complete with a string of garlic and as always there were some great outfits. After weeks of hot, dry weather, the fish weren't very active. A few nice Carp basked in the shallow water not far from my swim, but I couldn't tempt them away from their morning sunbathing. After coming 4th last year, helped by a nice Tench, I only caught a Roach