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The Middy "Big Gob" Camo Keepnet - courtesy of Middy Tackle

Description:
Middy "Big Gob" KeepnetThe Big Gob is a totally new concept in keepnets that incorporates the use of camouflaged netting, this is to stop the net spooking carp when fishing in the margins, as many anglers do these days.

The “Big Gob” name is derived from the uniquely shaped top ring which is designed to aid transfer of fish from landing net to keepnet.

Further features include:

  • Full 3m length.
  • Internal pull straps.
  • Top-notch push button angle lock adjustment.
  • Special strong joints on intermediate rings.
  • Cushioned rings towards top of keepnet to protect fish.

Review:
I have to admit that it is quite while since I have even used a keepnet let only a quality piece of gear such as the Big Gob Camo Keepnet from Middy.

I used to use small top ring keepnets that quite frankly weren't the most fish friendly in the world. Not any more !! The Big Gob has a huge top ring which means you can release your fish directly into the net without fear of damaging the fish, and at 3m long it is more than adequate for even the most prolific bagging waters, designed to keep the fish in top notch condition.

Camo eh !! Well I have to confess that I am not the world's biggest fan of camo gear but I will make an exception in this case ... seeing as I don't have to wear it! If it stops other fish from being spooked when fishing the margins I am all in favour of it, especially as I do a fait amount of margin fishing.

Other quality features of the Big Gob inlcude:

  • the push button angle adjuster that enables you to easily angle the keepnet whichever way you want
  • internal pull straps that make weighing in a doddle
  • the overall sturdy design of the keepnet that should make it last for years

All in all I give the Middy Big Gob Camo Keepnet a big thumbs up. This keepnet just screams "quality" at you and I am certain that it will fast become number one choice of keepnets for match fisherman in the coming months.

Score:

Where to buy The Big Gob Keepnet:
The Big Gob Keepnet is vailable from all good tackle suppliers or from Middy Tackle.

For more information or to order this excellent Keepnet, visit www.middytackle.com

A big thank you to Middy Tackle for supplying UK Fisherman with this Keepnet for review.

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Middy "Baggin" Wagglers - courtesy of Middy Tackle

Description:
The Middy Baggin wagglers come in two colours, white and camo. They are available in a variety of weights to suit all situations. Pre-loaded, they make casting and shotting a doddle.

  • the camo finish waggler is and ideal float for margin use or for up against reed beds
  • the white finish wagglers are great for attracting carp in open water.
  • interchangeable base weights ensure minimal extra shotting is required.
  • Each float is designed and tested for balance and flight in the air
  • An ideal float for commercial carp fisheries !

Review:
These baggin wagglers from Middy are amongst the best floats I have used at carp and general commercial fisheries.

Casting (even quite long range) is a doddle with the weighted base and with a range of weights available as well as the handy intechangeable base weights, you have a waggler suitable for all types of fishing. Available in straight and insert varieties, the Middy Baggin Waggler is suitable for all conditions.

Score:

Where to buy The Middy Baggin Waggler:
The Middy Baggin Waggler is available from all good tackle suppliers or from Middy Tackle.

For more information or to order these excellent wagglers, visit www.middytackle.com

A big thank you to Middy Tackle for supplying UK Fisherman with these floats for review.

Submit a Review: UK Fisherman would be delighted to here from you if you would like to comment on any of our reviews. To do so, use the comment box below.

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How to become the ‘luckiest fisherman on earth!’:

Source: Tim Richardson, author of Big Carp Bait Secrets

Have you ever wondered why one ‘lucky guy’ seems to catch the biggest fish again and again, while the majority of other fishermen just seem to get the average catches? Why is that?

Many of us would love to catch those big catfish, carp, bass, trout etc, every time we go fishing. It may just be that the guy is a genius angler, but real fishing success is often simply about using bait that is more effective than most other anglers baits at getting round fishes natural fears and resistance to eating it!...

But how can we achieve this? Well here’s a few of some of the best most proven methods of increasing your catches, especially for carp and catfish, but can be applied very effectively to many other species:

1. Try taking a look at the most popular baits where you fish and eliminate any similarity your homemade bait has with them. This especially applies to your own unique fishing bait recipe or formulas. This removes the fishes ‘danger reference points’. This gives your bait a massive ‘edge’ because the fish will not associate your bait with danger, anything like as much as with the baits everyone else are using - afterall , the whole point of a bait is simply to fool the fish into taking a hook into it’s mouth!

2. Make your bait different sizes, odd shapes, density, colors, flavors, with different attractors and additives, the more different to the usual bait the fish experience, the more effective your bait will be potentially be. Making your own bait puts the odds back in your favor and the power back into your hands - literally!

3. Absolutely pack your baits with “powerful ‘free amino acids’ (the type bodybuilders use as a liquid protein food supplement.) Even if you’re making a proprietary bait using a ‘commercial base mix’ that anyone can purchase, this will really set your bait apart and make it preferable to fish!

4. Pack bait with minerals, vitamins and trace elements - get a health tonic supplement from your local drug store. Very few people realize that these are in fact amazing attractors in their own right! An astounding edge is to massively increase the attractiveness and soluble nutritional message leaking from your bait, by soaking your hook bait in a mixture if fresh liquidized sweet corn, molasses and liquid protein food (so-called ‘free amino acids.)

5. It has been proven that when tested carp were provided with a number of complete foods providing all their nutritional requirements, preferred the food that had been sweetened. Eg, try sweetening honey and molasses , fruit sugar (fructose), or saccharin.

6. Add Sea salt to your bait - this is one of the most proven and unbelievable fish feeding triggers, and a great nutritional taste enhancer full of minerals. Nearly every animal and fish cannot live without salt!

7. For many fish including catfish and carp, pack your bait with fresh good quality digestible protein - it doesn’t need to be a large proportion, no more than a third of your bait. Ingredients such as trout pellet powder, meat and poultry meals, blood meal, fish meals and shellfish meals and liver powder are great. Add energy rich carbohydrates to provide balanced nutrition and binding. For example, soya flour, semolina, or even ordinary white or brown wheat flour. For carp try adding some wheat germ it has excellent properties!

8. Add a small amount of oil to your bait for a balanced nutritional value. For catfish this could be you favorite fish oil. For carp the best is probably pure cold pressed hemp oil -it’s natures ‘super food’ and is one of the richest and most healthy and nutritional oils known to man and fish!

9. Give your bait some protein that’s been ‘predigested’ or ‘hydrolyzed.’ This is easily achieved by adding a small amount of proprietary powder, like predigested liver, fish meal or shellfish extracts to your bait; available from bait companies all across the worldwide web. This method is incredibly effective, improving the fish attractive ‘amino acid profile of your bait. Fish are extremely efficient at detecting and utilizing amino acids, and you may well find that with the higher the rate of inclusion of these highly fish digestible ingredients, your catches and numbers of bigger fish soar too!

10. Allow your bait to ‘cure’ for 3-4 days prior to use; this allows your bait to start to ferment and lets bacterial enzymes release alcohols, sugars and increase the level of predigested proteins in your bait; all amazingly extremely good fish feeding triggers and attractors. See the difference this makes to your catches!

11. If you use ‘boilies’ rather than paste or dough baits, try chopping edges off your hook baits as if other fish have been ‘playing with your bait and taking small chunks out of it; this can really make the bigger fish ‘feel’ safer when they sample your hook baits - try piecing your hook baits right through to release the maximum attraction even from the center of your bait; it really works!

12. Try wrapping your bait and your hook (except the point) in a paste or dough. Try a mixture of ordinary flour, marmite, parmesan cheese, garlic granules, curry spices, sea salt, eggs and liquid amino acids - this mixture is pure ‘dynamite’ and really makes ‘em bite!

13. One of the most successful paste / dough baits of recent times is made from a mixture of fish meal and a couple of predigested ingredients like predigested fish meals, or predigested shellfish extracts. Try binding them together with just ordinary flour and loads of liquid amino acids / protein food supplement. ( But no eggs.) Experiment with different proportions to get your dough / pate to hold and last on your hook for different times. When you ‘bait up’ or ‘chum your swim with free baits like this, to attract the fish - hold on to your rod/s!!!

14. Add natural ingredients to your bait, for example, bird foods contain all kinds of fantastic foods fish love, like insects, seeds, grubs and worms. Many times, these encourage smaller fish to find your bait, and these can lead the bigger ones to your hook...

15. Add a ‘crunch factor’ to your bait - many fish have food detectors inside their gills, and allowing fish to experience eating your bait like it was natural food, eg, like shrimps or snails or mussels, is a great way to ‘turn them on’ and get more confident feeding and more bites!

16. If you use ‘boilies for carp catfish, etc there is a simple method of improving them: If you buy your baits frozen in a bag, then open them up and let them defrost and ‘warm up for 3-4 days in advance of fishing. This gives bacterial enzymes the time to start breaking down your baits and releasing very attractive alcohols, sugars and amino acids for example. It really works well for better catches and can even promote quicker bites!

Making and adapting your own and readymade shop - bought baits to make them different to the rest, and far more effective than normal is a science, and a very satisfying 'art'. When you have armed yourself with a range of great baits, the confidence you feel is awesome, and especially satisfying when you’ve ‘designed them and make them yourself!

I could show you many real life examples of how using edges like these and others, have resulted in fantastic big fish catches.

I love researching and writing about fishing bait because it is one of the fastest short-cuts to success! I am into bait in a big way, having even researched the subject with a PhD biochemist to reveal the reasons why and how baits really work to catch fish. I’ve found that a little bait knowledge can catch you more fish, but the more you know - the more consistent your catches can become - and the more big fish you catch!

The truly amazing thing is, ANY angler can achieve truly amazing catches with just enough of the right bait knowledge!.. Then other anglers will wonder what his ‘secret to success’ is...

Want to learn more about the "secrets" of caching big fish,
check out Tim's website at:
www.baitbigfish.com

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Published in Carp Fishing Articles
The Deadliest Catch DVD

Think you’ve got a raw deal? Just wait until you hear about these guys. Battling against forty-foot waves and freezing temperatures is all a part of the daily routine for the Alaskan crab fishermen in Deadliest Catch – Series 2.

Routine brushes with death are all in a days work.

The Deadliest Catch Series 2The hugely successful Discovery Channel series was nominated for seven primetime Emmys, and series 1 garnered a huge following with in excess of 3 million UK viewers. Deadliest Catch Series 2 will be released as a lavishly packaged five DVD set, featuring over 500 minutes of fantastic footage, on 28 January 2008 courtesy of Demand DVD.

This amazing documentary examines the fascinating lives of Alaskan crab fishermen as they struggle to survive in one of the most deadly vocations around. With an injury rate of almost 100%, this adventure is not for the faint-hearted. The Discovery Channel crew take us across the Bering Sea in search of the highly lucrative crab. With just a few weeks to reach their quota, these men must find what they so desperately seek, or risk going hungry the rest of the year. For this, they willingly jeopardise everything.

Competing against Mother Nature is a struggle, but with mounting pressure from regulatory institutions, these men must battle to keep their lives and income; as well as their heritage.

Follow the compelling lives of these blue-collar men as they encounter the perils of the Bering Sea. Discover the ups and downs and near death experiences all from the comfort and safety of your own armchair. Catch reality TV at its exciting best.

Extras: Second Deadliest Job In The World, Life On A Boat

Title: The Deadliest Catch - Series 2
Release date: 28th January 2008
Running time: 510 mins
RRP: £29.99
Certificate: Exempt


Further Information:

For further information, to discuss competitions, clips or any other press materials please contact Debbie Murray at Aim Publicity on 020 8292 2818 or email debbie@aimpublicity.com

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Published in Various

Endangered Species: The Bart & The Bounder's Countryside Year

The hidden voice of the countryside in all its beauty

“This lovely book chronicles the rustic ramblings of two extraordinary characters through a Britain that has all but disappeared, where there is still a real quality of life and man is altogether kinder to his fellow man”
Chris Tarrant

Sir Richard Heygate and Michael Daunt, cousins and best friends, have shared a consuming passion for the British countryside ever since they sat on adjacent potties . In a quest to find out what is really happening to the fabric of our land, and the remarkable people that make up its unique heritage, the ‘Bart’ and the ‘Bounder’, as they are affectionately known, set out on a year-long journey that has taken them the length and breadth of the British Isles, from the River Towy in Wales to the Inner Hebrides, the mighty Tweed on the Scottish borders, Yorkshire, Norfolk, Ireland, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Sussex, the Midlands and places in-between. The result is a compellingly readable book, full of colourful, quirky, funny and moving stories.

Endangered Species brings together the unique voices of over 100 unforgettable characters – poachers, gypsies, rat catchers, gillies, spud-pickers, art dealers, fishermen, dukes and earls – they met on the way. It gives voice to a wide range of views to reveal a fast-vanishing, secret world in all its glory throughout a countryside year.

There is no doubt: our countryside is under threat. But after eating hedgehog with the Romany, tickling trout, meeting the White Witch of Cornwall, rat-catching in Yorkshire, wildfowling in Norfolk, boar-hunting on Paul McCartney’s land in Sussex, joining innovative poachers in East Anglia, mackerel fishing in Lyme Regis with Deep Purple’s lead singer Mike Curle, finding out why Queen Victoria took up her knitting needles for the gypsies and celebrating an uproarious Christmas in Ireland, the Bart and the Bounder find much to celebrate in their tall tales of a largely unheard, yet still-vibrant community.

The Bart and the Bounder first came to prominence in a critically acclaimed BBC2 TV special of that name shown in spring 2006. It drew an audience of nearly 3 million. This, their new book has been equally warmly received:

"Like a pair of disreputable Victorian villains [the Bart and the Bounder] have confessed their sins in a wonderful book… What makes the tales in their book such a treat is that the pair not only ransacked their long memories and old game books for anecdotes but actually went out on the road together… travelling Britain , ferreting out old acquaintances - gamekeepers, gypsies, coal miners - and quizzing them about their secrets of the countryside.”
Daily Telegraph

“Learn from their mistakes (such as eating hedgehog) and laugh with them over a pint of real ale. Their tales provide a fascinating insight into country ways of life that are more usually hidden. You should be left feeling, as Daunt and Heygate do, that you have been privileged to discover such a rapidly fading aspect of the world.”
The Field

“ To read the hilarious tales of the Bart (Sir Richard Heygate) and the Bounder (Mike Daunt) is to meet them. That they are equally at home on bar stools or with barmaids – busty or blonde – is a double joy … They understand [the real countryside’s] camaraderie between mammals, the elements, the pub fireside and each other… The Bart and the Bounder have produced a five-star book which is a blazing beacon on a distant hillside.”
Country Life

Endangered Species [is] a book in which the duo record their colourful encounters with numerous horny-handed sons of toil – poachers, rat-catchers, gillies, game-keepers, spud-pickers, fisherman – and present readers with glimpses of a vanishing but still vibrant rural community… There are some fine descriptive passages and many amusing anecdotes.”
Daily Mail

“Their year is spent travelling month by month… to these intriguing areas of our land, meeting old friends and making new ones – poachers, gamekeepers, dukes and estate owners – winning over even the most wary… The Bart and the Bounder’s sincerity, integrity and love for the countryside and its laws are always evident… This book is huge fun, written with vivacity and peopled by characters whom politicians and political correctness would rather airbrush out of modern life. I’d recommend this as an ideal gift for the cantankerous, the inquisitive and the open-minded — teetotallers and vegetarians excepted.”
Daily Express

The Bart: Sir Richard Heygate is descended on the paternal side from the personal banker to the Grand Old Duke of York, and on the maternal, from a long line of Celtic Kings and Queens – as well as from the leading collector of Georgian pornography in Victorian England. He started his career selling used cars in a seamy East End showroom, but eventually got a ‘proper job’ joining first IBM and then management consultancy McKinsey. The death of his equally eccentric father (chiefly known for running off with Evelyn Waugh’s wife) gave him the family rundown estates in Northern Ireland , where he built a full scale fish smoking factory. When not fishing with his cousin, the Bounder, the Bart runs a software company. Richard has been married three times and has fathered three children.

The Bounder: “With a voice like damson jam” (The Guardian) Mike Daunt currently runs the Hugh Falkus School of Spey Casting, the best known casting school in Britain , teaching the rich and famous this beautiful art. Among his clientele are Jeremy Paxman, Chris Tarrant, Ronnie Corbett, Fiona Armstrong and rock legend Eric Clapton. He was educated at Rugby and – very reluctantly as he would far rather have been an actor – Sandhurst , where his commanding officer wrote: “Men will follow this officer anywhere – if only out of a sense of curiosity.” Mike too is on his third marriage and has three sons and a daughter.



Where to Buy:

WWW.BARTANDBOUNDER.COM FOR THE LATEST NEWS UPDATES, TO DOWNLOAD VIDEO CLIPS AND ORDER THE BOOK ON LINE

For further information please contact:

Anya Noakes / Rebecca Dix

020 7483 2005

rebecca@prmatters.biz

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Published in Various
Unbeatable offers on fly fishing tackle and accessories from Sportfish

Sportfish have been operating since 1982 and have developed into one of the UK's leading suppliers of fly fishing tackle and equipment.

Sportfish, leading suppliers of fly fishing tackle and equipment

Uk Fisherman take a peak at the special offers they have on fly fishing tackle and accessories this month


Wychwood GT Grande Tourer RodsWychwood GT Grande Tourer Rods

An amazing fly rod for the overseas holiday angler. Packs down to only 15 inches!

Save Up to 50% off.
RRP was £219.50 now only £109.50


Wychwood Wildrun Fishing ReelsWychwood Wildrun Fishing Reels!!

High performance reel for the most demanding situations
Suitable for Salmon, Sea Trout and Bonefish
Available in four sizes.

Save Up to 50% off.
RRP was £129.00 now only £59.99


Costa Del Mar Hammerhead Sunglasses with Wave 580 lensesCosta Del Mar Hammerhead Sunglasses with Wave 580 lenses.

When you wear sunglasses all day, you want them to perform. Costa's high performance glasses dont just sit there, their frames grip with nose pads and temples that sculpt to your head for maximum comfort. They are also so light youll forget your wearing them.

You will see more fish & protect your eyes with the Wave 580 lenses.

Save 20%. Was £229.00 now only £179.95.

Save over £49.00

 


 

UK FISHERMAN'S VERDICT

As usual Sportfish have come up trumps with these excellent fly fishing deals. What are you waiting for - click the links above to get buying right now !!

To browse all the fly fishing tackle at Sportfish, visit their website at: www.sportfish.co.uk

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Published in Various
10% off Grey's Marker and Spod Rods from Trev's Tackle 10% of Greys marker Rod

This week Trev's Tackle have a fantastic offer to share on Greys Spod & Marker Rods - Not only have we knocked 10% off the RRP on both rods, but we’ll also be giving away a fantastic Fox Horizon Marker Float with each Grey’s Marker Rod sold, or a fantastic Korda Skyliner Spod with each Grey’s Spod Rod sold!

Greys marker RodIn the modern carping age a marker rod is now an essential piece of kit. Using a marker rod will help give you a better understanding of the lake bed and enable you to find features such as depressions, gravel bars, weed beds and silt gullies. The rod tip is ground down for increased responsiveness making it ideal for finding those underwater features and contours such as gravel bars- silt areas and weed beds that are not visible to the eye.

The Marker rod features a powerful butt section which is able to cope with casting a 4oz lead attached to a marker float and achieve distances over 100 yards. The distance Marker rod- at 12' 6" - is designed for you to feature-find at distances over 100 yards with ease. It can cope with leads up to 5oz with a marker float but it can still be used at short range without any problem.

Both Rods Feature:

  • Depth markers at 6" and 12" for accurate depth measurement
  • SIC rings for use with braid or mono
  • Fuji NPS 20mm reel seat
  • Laser etched butt cap

Standard at £89.99
Distance at £107.99

Click here to buy Trev’s Combination Carp Kit DealPLUS FREE FOX HORIZON MARKER FLOAT!

Yep, buy any Grey’s Marker rod and get a versatile Fox Horizon Marker Float completely free of charge!

10% off Grey’s Spod Rod

Grey’s Spod RodThe two option Greys' Spod rod has become a common part in a carp angler's armoury and enables the angler to bait up well beyond catapult range. Neither rod features a test curve due to both rods ability to cast all spods on the market. This is achieved by each rod having a progressive power build-up within the blank. A lot of spod rods are so stiff it's virtually impossible to pull the tip round 90 degrees yet they are still rated with test curves! It's vital that the blank is progressively compressed by the spod in order for the rod to work properly and propel the spod into the distance.

The standard rod is ideal for mini rockets to large spods and is able to cast distances up to 80+ yards. The distance version is ideal for large heavy spods or when you're wanting to fish at distances of 90+ yards. Wet baits, big distances and large s! pods are what this rod is all about. There is a huge amount of power - compress the tip and release the power!

Both Rods Feature:

  • SIC rings for use with braid or mono
  • Fuji NPS 20mm reel seat capable of taking all big pit reels
  • Laser etched butt cap

Standard at £89.99
Distance at £107.99

PLUS FREE KORDA SKYLINER SPOD!

Yep, buy any Grey’s Spod rod and get a fantastic Korda Skyliner Spod completely free of charge!

UK FISHERMAN'S VERDICT

As usual Trev's Tackle have come up trumps with some excellent deals on Marker and Spod Rods. What are you waiting for - click the links above to get buying right now !!

To sign up for the newsletter and to browse all the tackle and bait on sale at Trev's Tackle, visit their website at: www.trevstackle.com

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Published in Various
I had heard on the fishing grapevine that Lizard Fisheries in West Drayton, Middlesex had been fishing well of late, presumably due to the mild late winter weather we have been having. I decided therefore that my first visit of 2007 to Lizard was in order !!

I arranged to meet by buddy Steve there and decided to start on lake 1 and see how the fishing was, before possibly moving on to Lake 2 later on. For those of you who have not fished Lizard Fisheries before, Lake 1 is the "match" lake and holds huge stocks of fish with carp to 10lb+, tench, bream, perch and huge shoals of roach and rudd. Lake 2 is primarily a carp fishing lake, much harder to fish but with carp to 20lb+ being the reward for those who like their fishing a little more challenging.

The conditions were bright and definitely "gusty" to say the least. When I pulled into the carpark after a "leisurely" start to the day, it was clear that the choppy conditions were not going to make fishing especially easy.

Depsite this I adopted my usual tactic at Lizard, waggler fishing, this time slightly overdepth, to try and hold the waggler in place against the stong wind. Unlike my usual summer tactics of using pellets or meat, I thought conditions favoured the good old maggot, so I loaded my size 16 hook with four maggots and loose fed a small handful of maggots every third cast of so.

No sooner had my float hit the water for the first time, it dipped boldy under the surface and I was soon into my first fish of the day, a hard fighting mirror carp around 4-5lb. What a great start !! To be honest I was expecting a tough day and was delighted to catch on my first cast.

The afternoon continued very much in the same vein and I ended the day with 9 carp, the best topping the scales at just under 11lb, plenty of small roach and rudd and a bonus perch late on. As the sun went down behind the trees around 5pm, the weather reminded me that we were still in fact in the winter, and I dediced that having had a great day it was time for home.

Lizard rarely disappoints - fishing is relatively easy on Lake 1 and the fish will take most baits. Bear in mind that it can get very busy at weekends, escpecially in the summer, so get there early. There are quite a few bait bans on Lake 1, so don't take groundbait, boilies (ok on lake 2), oily pellets (such as halibut pellets) or sweetcorn with you. If you are caught using any of these banned baits, expect to be thrown off the fishery. Don't let this put you off however, as Lizard is a great no frills fishery where you are sure to catch.

Lizard Fishery is loacted on Trout Road, Yiewsley, West Drayton, Greater London, England

Til next time, happy fishing!! Paul @ UK Fisherman

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Published in Diary
Grey Skies at Wood Lane Farm Fishery, Iver, Bucks

After all the excesses of Christmas and New Year, Jim, Connor and I decided to clear our heads and get in an afternoons fishing at Wood Lane Farm Fishery, situated in Iver, Buckinghamshire.

As we turned into the car park it became apparent that no one shared our thoughts on this grey, blustery day. At least we had first pick of swims as no one else had ventured out to try and tempt the match lakes large population of skimmers and carp. We chose our swim for comfort rather than one which may produce better fishing and set up with the wind at our backs in a sheltered corner of the match lake.

Wood Lane Farm Fishery on a slightly warmer day !!

We all set up waggler rigs fished slightly over depth with double red maggot as hook bait. Small amounts of loose fed maggots and casters completed our plan of attack. It took quite a while to tempt the fish into feeding but after about an hour we stated to pick up the odd skimmer as bites started to come more frequently. Upping the feed rate a bit tempted the fish into feeding pretty well and amongst the regular skimmers we caught quite a few of the fast growing F1s in the lake.

Wood Lane Farm Fishery only opened to anglers around 6 months ago and already the F1s we caught in the summer have packed on a fair amount of weight. Fish we were catching around the 8oz - 1lb mark are now tipping the scales at around 2-4lb. Talking to Danny the owner (who I think was quite surprosed to see anyone fishing on this dreary winter day) he explained that the carp in the second lake are now nudging the lower double mark.

Around mid-afternoon the leaden skies opened and a steady drizzle soon got the better of Jimmy "Tangles" and Connor who had unfortunately forgotten their umbrella and they were soon heading for the car for some shelter. Bites dried up soon after as we approached dusk and we decided to call it a day. I caught around 20 fish in all including around 4 or 5 carp in under 3 hours which was pretty good. Apparently recent winter matches (one which even included Keith Arthur) have been won with well over 100lb. Not bad at all.

Give Wood Lane a try....I think you'll find its worth it.

Til next time, happy fishing!! Paul @ UK Fisherman

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Published in Diary

Regular readers of the fishing forum here at UK Fisherman and Fish South East will know that for some weeks now we have been planning a pike fishing trip to farlows Lake in Iver, Buckinghamshire - the first UK Fisherman "social" if you like.

Predicted numbers were anywhere between 3-10 and not surprisingly the number who actually turned up was 3 (myself, Nigel Laughton and Luke "crazy carper" Thomas. Undaunted we met in the carp park at 9am. The weather seemed ideal for a spot of winter pike action: clear skies overnight had left a touch of frost on the ground, whilst the morning saw still, glouriously sunny conditions. We were in confident mood as we chose our swims and set up our rods.

Not a monster pike but welcome nevertheless on cold day at FarlowsNigel had done a fair amount of pike fishing at Farlows and we followed his advice to live bait on the match lake. After a quick trip to the tackle shop on site we all set up a float rig with a free-roving trout livebait set around 3-4 feet under the water. As the floats bobbed and moved around we felt sure it wouldn't be long before the hungry winter pike gobbled up one of our offerings. It was just a case of waiting !!

Well, we waited and waited, and then we waited some more and after that we waited a little bit longer and nothing happened. Several hours went by and despite one run on Nigel's rod which, despite a firm strike, failed to lead to a fish, there was no action at all. By early afternoon, the bright sunny skies had given way to grey, rain filled clouds and a cold wind had sprung up leaving the lake choppy and making it difficult to control our floats effectively. After a brief discussion we decided to move to a more sheltered corner of the lake, which looked much more inviting for the fish.... and us in terms of keeping warm !!

As it turned out, this happended to be the best decision we made all day. After only about 15 minutes in our new swims, my float which I had been fishing in the margins, dipped once and then disappeared under the surface. Slightly surprised, I grabbed the rod and low and behold, I was in !! Now before you get too excited, the fish I landed will not break any records for weight - in fact It was probably the smallest pike caught at Farlows so far this winter. As you can see from the photo, it probably was around 1lb or so. Not a monster, but so, so welcome on an otherwise unproductive day.

Luke looks pleased enough with one of only two fish on the daySomeone must have rung the dinner gong because as soon as I had slipped my capture safely back into the depths of the lake, Lukes pike float boobed and dipped under. He too was soon into a monster pike (again around the 1lb mark). He and I, as novices to the art of pike fishing, were delighted to have actually caught something.

That was unfortunately the beginning and the end of the action for the day. Nigel sadly failed to catch although he is experienced enough at this fishing lark to except that's how fishing is sometimes. I big thanks to Nigel for showing Luke and I the ropes. I thoroughly enjoyed his and Luke's company and I'm sure this will be the first of many enjoyable fishing trips together.

Til next time, happy fishing!! Paul @ UK Fisherman

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