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 pr

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 on the internet, and I saw a Pakaseat for sale. I've occasionally seen these

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. Also, I 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 also planning a fishing and camping trip. In the meantime, I have Dick Walker's Angling Theories

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 date for 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 sun bathe. After coming 4th last year, helped by a nice Tench, I only ca

With all the hot weather this summer I started looking online for a tent and thought about a camping and fishing trip. First, I bought this two-person tent, and spent the night in the tent the first weekend after it was delivered, the first night I'd spent under canvas for years. After buying the tent online, I saw this vintage British-made 'Safari' canvas camp bed for sale locally and paid a fiver for it. I've seen them online for sale for between £40 and £60. These camp bed

Alas, no fishing this month, however, I have been looking at vintage tackle for sale on the internet and saw this beauty! These Efgeeco float tubes appear for sale on the internet quite regularly, and I've wanted one for a while. I've procrastinated, waiting for one at the 'right price', and when this one came up for sale, I thought the 20-plus quill floats were a nice bonus. A great addition to my vintage tackle.