Friday 30 December 2011

Alternative Ebro Part 2 Article & Cyprinus Chair Review on FishingMagic

I trust everyone had an enjoyable Christmas time.  I certainly did but it's only involved one fishing session, which I'll mention in my next blog post.  Meanwhile, here's something I found in my drafts folder which I thought I'd posted this a couple of weeks ago.  Better late than never, as they say...
A quick message to inform you of two recent additions to www.fishingmagic.com; firstly part 2 of my "Alternative Ebro" article is online to read at:  http://www.fishingmagic.com/features/coarse_fishing/specimen_fishing/15601-alternative-ebro-part-two.html


Part 2 covers all of the catfish fishing we did with our guide, Carl of Rio Ebro Angling, during the week we spent boat & bank fishing with him at Riba Roja.  I'm told by Carl that since we were there, some of his guests have landed catfish to 164lb, including lure-caught catfish up to 148lb!!!
 http://www.fishingmagic.com/features/reviews/15584-cyprinus-stalk-lite-chair.html


Also, if anyone has a bit of Christmas money to spend on a little bankside/backside comfort for 2012, I recently reviewed the "Stalk-Lite Mk II" reclining chair by Cyprinus for FishingMagic, and rather liked it!  You can read my full review here:  http://www.fishingmagic.com/features/reviews/15584-cyprinus-stalk-lite-chair.html



If you're impressed, you can purchase this chair for less than £30 from Tackle Discounts Online Fishing Tackle Shop online fishing tackle store.

That's all for now but I have a bit of a summing-up of 2011 lined up for some point over the next few days.  Watch this space...

Sunday 4 December 2011

Angling Star December 2011 Issue Ebro Article part 1 on Front Cover

Just a quick update folks, to let any of you who are interested know that this months issue of Angling Star has hit the shelves and part 1 of my account of our Ebro trip in September has a double-page spread inside.


Not only that, but Shane's pose with his big roach has made it onto the front cover too!

Monday 28 November 2011

First River Ebro Catfish Video on YouTube

Last week Shane uploaded the first video of our exploits on the Ebro to YouTube.  There will be more to follow, but take a look now to see some of the action we had:


Monday 7 November 2011

Predator Fishing Article - Zander, Pike & Eel - on FishingMagic

Just posted on FishingMagic today is an article about my recent predator session, where I managed to bag a trio of Pike, Eel and Zander, all after dark:  http://www.fishingmagic.com/features/coarse_fishing/predator_fishing/15496-predator-fishing-%E2%80%93-andrew-kennedy-nets-a-hat-trick.html


I was testing out a new specimen unhooking mat from Cyprinus and the review of this well-made mat is also on FishingMagic here:  Cyprinus Beanie Mat Review

Wednesday 2 November 2011

Are you the next FishingMagic Writing Star?

Are you a budding Angling Writer?  I know most of us fishing bloggers have plenty to say!  Would you like to get your musings on fishing published and be in with the chance of winning some fishing bait or even landing a sponsorship from bait company Chapel Baits?  Head over to FishingMagic and take a look at their new competition, launched this week, where they aim to discover the angling writers of the future.  Take a look at the link below and get writing, you never know where it could lead!

FishingMagic.com & Chapel Baits Search for a (writing) Star Competition

Fair Play to Fox International Customer Service

I'm writing this post as a showing of gratitude to Fox customer services.  It's easy to criticise companies when they get it wrong, so I think when good service is received it's worth praising.


I had a major issues with a set of Fox Stalker digital scales (until the faults, I'd been very impressed with their quality and operation) which I'd bought back in January 2009.  They were technically out of their warranty period but these were not cheap scales and they had suffered what appeared to be a complete mechanical failure which rendered them useless.  Due to the nature of the fault I was requested to post the scales back to Fox for further investigation, last week.  Yesterday morning, I received a parcel in the post which contained a brand-new set of Stalker scales!  There were no quibbles whatsoever and I am very pleased with this outcome and the quality of customer service I received.  I think this offers peace of mind when looking for other big-ticket items in the future.

Friday 21 October 2011

Ebro Article Part 1 - Alternative Ebro on FishingMagic Now! Zander, Roach & Carp

Part 1 of my writings about my recent trip to the River Ebro in Spain is now live on FishingMagic.com!

Alternative Ebro Part 1 Article on FishingMagic.com

You can see some of the "sneak peek" photos from my previous post in all their glory, such as this one:


Alternative Ebro Part 1 Article on FishingMagic.com

A slightly different version of this article should be featuring in December's Angling Star magazine too.

Keep an eye out for the concluding part 2, which details all of the catfish fishing we did, in the near future.  I'll be posting that link here as soon as it's live.

I hope you enjoy the article, please feel free to come back here and post any comments.  If you're a member of FishingMagic (if not, why not sign up?), then please post any comments or questions below the article, I'd be delighted to read & reply to them.

Andrew.

Saturday 8 October 2011

Catfish, Zander and Roach Fishing on the River Ebro at Riba Roja d'Ebre

So, you knew I was going, but how did I get on, over on the Ebro?  Well, I'm going to keep a little bit back for articles (which I'll post the links to as soon as they're online), but we had a brilliant week with Carl of Rio Ebro Angling and we did catch plenty of fish!  Although the catfish took a lot of convincing to feed though and the "Charlie Boorman" tactics were almost resorted to!  But, as with all the best stories, it all came good in the end...

Between us we caught 11 catfish, several zander and - in just one afternoon - over 50 quality roach to specimen proportions.  We fished for 6 days using baits & lures from boat & bank, so all in all there's a lot for me to write about! 

The related articles will be in two parts, the first covering the zander, roach and carp fishing and the second covering all things catfish-related.  The articles should be appearing in the December 2011 & January 2012 issues of Angling Star, with "director's cut" extended versions appearing on FishingMagic soon.  We also took a bit of video footage, including some underwater video, which I still need to edit together before putting it on my YouTube channel.  Once they're up I'll post the links on here. 

For now, below are a few "teaser" photos of the action and the fish, just to prove we didn't blank! ;)

One last thing, I happened to notice last week that the total visitors to this blog had topped 15,000 in less than two years, which I think is pretty good going considering I don't have anything even approaching profound to say!  Good work folks, I hope you enjoy what you see here.
























You can find out further information about fishing the River Ebro at Riba Roja on the Riba Roja Tourism Agency website: http://www.riba-rojatourismagency.com/

Wednesday 7 September 2011

Countdown to the Ebro... Catfish & Zander Fishing in Spain

It's now just two days until I head off with Shane and Dave for a week-long fishing trip to Spain's River Ebro.  We're going to be fishing with Carl & Angie of Rio Ebro Angling.  I know, lucky barstools the lot of us!  We booked the trip way back in February so there's been plenty of time for the excitement to build on this way overdue installment of my specimen hunting roadshow!

Between us we'll be fishing for Wels Catfish, Zander, Carp and Roach but my personal goals are mainly the catfish and zeds.  I'd like to join the Ebro "Ton Club" or better, preferably caught on a lure, although if it gets to the last day and I'm struggling I may have to resort to plan B, or as I like to refer to it, the "Charlie Boorman Plan", (to catch one "by any means"!).  Hopefully that won't mean going quite this far, but if my neck gets sunburnt and red and I pick up a bit of a Southern drawl, who knows!...


Having never fished the Ebro before, I'd be happy to catch any zander from there.  So far, this is my UK PB fish and if I could manage a double from Spain on a lure, I'll be over the moon.


I think if I can land any catfish from the Ebro I would have to be really unlucky for it not to beat my UK-best which is this kitten:


So, fingers crossed the fish gods are smiling down on us next week.  I'll be filling you in on here and on FishingMagic once we return.  'Til then, wish me luck!

Friday 2 September 2011

Carp Surface Fishing Rig - Make your Korda Kruiser Controllers "Quick-Change" Using KOP Swivels

I know the weather's about to turn chillier for a few months, so surface fishing for carp won't be high on many anglers' agendas, but I'm going to share a rig with you which enables great flexibility when using Korda Kruiser surface controller floats.  The great thing about blogs is that they're on here indefinitely, so come next spring anglers will be searching for surface rigs and ideas and this may just help them out.

The Kruiser, which is a very robust, solid plastic controller, creates a semi-fixed "bolt-effect" due to having a rubber insert which the hooklength swivel lodges into.  I do have a few issues with this controller design - it's off-centre shape can be tangle prone on casting (despite what the packaging states) and it also makes much more of a splash than I'd like upon landing - however, it offers brilliant presentation, casts easily when coupled with a light, through-action rod and is very unobtrusive once the float has settled.


The Kruiser is available in 3 sizes and if you're travelling light around a venue, trying to locate different pockets of feeding carp, you can never say 100% which size you'll need, as you may find fish further out than you anticipated or be faced with a head-wind, etc.  So, it makes sense to carry at least one of each size Kruzer with you, but do you really want to waste time re-tying swivels if you happen upon some feeding fish?  I've come up with a solution, which involves the awesome little size 12 King of the Pond Micro Quick-Link Swivels which I mentioned a few months ago.  I've really been won over by the benefits of quick-change swivels and I'm finding ways of sneaking them into more and more of my rigs.


My little idea which puts these two products together is as follows:

  1. Thread on your Kruiser, in through the top, out through the silicone sleeve.
  2. Tie a small overhand loop on the end of your mainline.
  3. Tie your hook onto hooklength as usual (I tend to use minimum 3 feet of low-diameter floating line, to a short-shank barbless hook between size 12 and 6), and tie the tag end to the "standard" loop of the KOP mini quick-link swivel.
  4. Thread the mainline loop onto the "quick-change" hook on the swivel.
  5. Pull controller float downwards until the swivel safely lodges into the silicone sleeve.
  6. Attach a bait and get catching some carp!


Now each time you need to change the size of your controller, simply pop the swivel out of the silicone sleeve, unclip the loop, slide off your float then thread on your new one (a baiting needle can help here) and reverse the process.

Surface fishing is by far my favourite way of fishing for carp, so I hope this inspires a few people to either give it a try or tweak their rigs for improved flexibility.

I wrote an article about surface fishing for carp a couple of years back, on my website http://www.just-fish.co.uk/.  In the article I describe another, alternative, very vesatile rig for surface fishing.  It allows you to quickly change between controller, floating putty and freeline (well, almost freeline).  You might enjoy reading it here: Surface Fishing for Carp at Sutton Lawn Dam on www.Just-Fish.co.uk

May 2012 Update

I landed a few decent carp on this rig a couple of days ago, including this mid-double common:


Sunday 28 August 2011

Odds, sods and a quick rant...

This is another quick post from an internet café.  I'm on holiday, you see, until tomorrow, so burglars you've got one last chance!  The house is actually the reason for both my blog-slackness and my wider angling-slackness for almost the entirity of the river closed season and beyond.  I finally took the plunge and bought my first place with my girlfriend, Jen.  Needless to say, there was a lot more to the whole process than I'd anticipated...

Still, I've finally started to get a few sessions in, which I'm pleased to say have yielded very few blanks.  So far I've had barbel to around 9lb off the rivers and a good few carp off the surface on some local lakes too.  I also took my 13 year-old cousin Fraser for his first-ever river session a week or so ago, where under my guidance he managed to land a clonking new PB chub of 4lb 5oz to simple groundbait feeder techniques. Not a bad first river fish at all; I reckon I was 19 before I'd caught a chub of that size.  The only thing was the pesky chub was very lively on the bank and every time I pressed the trigger for a photo, it jumped out of Fraser's hands onto the unhooking mat!  Below is the best shot; I wish I'd managed to get him a better trophy shot, but in the interests of the fish we returned it after a couple of far-from-satisfactory efforts.


In a very uncharacteristic way, that - along with the Fishing Magic news from my previous post - brings you all quite up-to-date with what I've been up to, in remarkably few words!  So, I've a little bit of time left to share a couple of thingsa I thought you should see.  The first is an item I could have done with during my unintentional angling hiatus, when I was being driven potty by not having the time to fish.  It's available from those always-enthusiastic geeks over at iwantoneofthose.com (or "IWOOT"), it's called the "Potty Fisher, the game for the avid fisherman". ...I'm sure you can figure out the rest!


If you're so addicted to fishing that you can't resist any opportunity, you can buy one ofor about a tenner from http://www.iwantoneofthose.com/10427363.html

The next object is a very handy-looking gadget for any angler.  I know I've come home from sessions with pockets full of coiled, discarded line which I've either had to cut from my own rigs or found thrown on the bank near a peg.  It generally tries top climb back out of your pocket, as if a living organism whose natural habitat does not extend to the inside of a pocket.  Well now there is a very simple, but at the same time ingenious solution called the "Litter Buggy".  It's a small repository which fits in a pocket, but it has built-in brushes at the top which prevents anything shoved inside from "climbing" back out again. 



You can buy them direct from Litter Buggy Website and I've ordered a pair, one for my tackle box and one for my fishing van.  I also have a tip for disposing of line in a manner which poses least threat to wildlife (all sorts of anaimals from seagulls to swans to foxes to fish can become snared in knotted loops of line) and that is to first wrap the line around four of your fingers, so it is wound into about 5" circumference loops.  Then cut the loops in half with some good scissors or braid blades, them trim the now straight bunch of line into 1-2cm lengths and throw in the bin.  This will pose minimal threat to all and any animals, except those with a penchant for eating 1cm nylon spaghetti.

Lastly my mini rant/idea for the fishing tackle industry.   Every year thousands of us spool up with new line which comes on rather over-engineered, heavy plastic spools which are only used once and then have to be sent to landfill.  As far as I'm aware they cannot be recycled (and if they can, no fishing line packaging I've ever seen states so) and they're made from a grade of plastic which would easily withstand repeated use.  This to me seems a massive waste of resources.  Why then, do the line manufacturers not operate a spool-return service through tackle retailers, where you can drop-off or post-back your empty spools once you've filled your reels, much like the battery recycling boxes at all battery retailers?  If cost or user-participation was an issue, why not operate a deposit system, where there is an additional charge of maybe 50p to a pound for each spool of line sold, but when you take your used spool back in you get that amount refunded?  All manufacturers of goods which are highly damaging to the environment, such as electrical appliances and motor vehicles are legally bound to take the goods off your hands and recycle all possible components when their serviceable life comes to an end; surely in this day and age we should expect more responsibility from our tackle manufacturers?

Wednesday 24 August 2011

Andrew Joins Fishing Magic as a Contributor!

"Do you remember that fishing blog we used to read?  It was alright, you know; nowt special but he could waffle..."
"Yeah, I know the one, but he's been a bit quiet of late..."

Okay, so this blog has started to gather cobwebs in recent months, but I'm back with a bit of news and plenty of waffle as usual.  I'm in an internet café at the moment (yes they still exist!), so time is short, but I have plenty to write about as soon as I'm back at my own PC.  However, I thought this news was too good to hold back, so I'm sharing it now.  I've agreed to become a regular contributor of articles to Eurpoe's largest angling website, http://www.fishingmagic.com/!  So far I've only written an introductory piece, which went live this week.  You can read it (and if you're an FM forum member, post your comments) at Andrew Kennedy's Intro on www.fishingmagic.com

Big thanks go out to Will Barnard and Ian Welch for having a bit of faith in me; I won't let you down fellas!

More from me soon, but for now, please head over to Fishing Magic and take a look at my intro, which details my life in angling so far.  While you're there, take a look at some of the other excellent new contributors, including Welchy himself, Steve Pope and Mark Barrett.

You can also now go straight to all of the articles & features I've done on fishing magic by following this link: http://www.fishingmagic.com/keywords/andrew-kennedy


Are you a budding Angling Writer?  Do you have an article or two in you?  Would you like to get your work out there in front of the angling public and maybe win some free bait or even sponsorship from a fishing bait company?  If so, take a look at this great competition running now on FishingMagic:  FishingMagic's Search for a (Writing) Star Competition

Monday 30 May 2011

Fly Fishing for Trout at Errwood Reservoir, Buxton

This post has been an awful long time coming, but finally - on a train on my way to a stag weekend in Liverpool - I've found time to patch together my account of a terrific day I had, doing something I do too little of these days; fly fishing.


I received an email from Secretary of Errwood Fly Fishing Club, Ian Gould, offering the chance of "smashing your trout PB on fly gear", if I joined him in the Spring for a day on the club's venue, Errwood Reservoir.  After taking a quick look on their website www.effc.co.uk/errwood.html at the quality of the scenery and the fishing on offer in the hills above Buxton in Derbyshire's Peak District, I could not resist a visit!

Ian emailed me again towards the end of March, informing me that the season had kicked off well, with some very large fish coming out, so I got down there as soon as I could.  The week previous, Ian - who I believe still holds the venue record with a trout of over 14lb - had caught 3 double-figure trout the week prior to my visit.   It turned out that I managed to pick the hottest, sunniest April day I can ever remember.  I met up with Ian near Buxton so that I could follow him to the water; he pulled up with The Wildhearts blasting from his speakers and I knew we'd get on.  We both remarked on the clear skies, which remained clear all day.  It was to be unseasonably sunny and I don't think either of us could have predicted quite how hot it would be!

So, we arrived at the venue; which I must say, having seen photos of the water on the internet, more than lived up to my expectations!  Being an upland reservoir, surrounded by wildlife-rich moorland (we heard grouse and curlews calling throughout the day), Errwood evokes parallels to the Lake District or the Highlands of Scotland in both looks and atmosphere.  It really is a beautiful place, but there was no time to contemplate the view when we arrived, because the sun was gradually creeping above the Eastern hills, illuminating the reservoir more by the minute.  Our best chance to start off would definitely be in the corner close to the dam wall (known as "The Tower"), where the sun was yet to hit and the only slight ripples on the entire reservoir were there.  As we walked from the cars we could see a few fish rising, so despite the weather, there were at least a few fish confident enough to feed.


We set up our 6 weight fly rods with several feet of 6lb fluorocarbon as leader.  I started off fishing Goldhead Montanas.  I say Montanas plurally because for the first hour of the day I proceeded to decorate my immediate vicinity with several of Ian's finest.  Various rocks, both in the water and on the bankside, now display flashes of colour thanks to my initial inept casting attempts, which thankfully improved before I had completely exhausted Ian's fly box!  While I was having my problems, Ian was duly hooking fish, making the whole thing look way too easy; including landing a two-pounder first cast!  Fearing that my casting predicament may last for a while, I made the most, photographically, of the fish Ian was landing.


Ian added another fish before the sun rose and the action dried up somewhat, so we decided upon a move to the sailing club area of the reservoir, which is much deeper than where we had started.  After half an hour or so without a sign of a fish, it was clear that another move was called for.  After resting the corner for a short while, we decided it was worth another try before venturing further round the reservoir.  This turned out to be a good decision for me, because I hooked into my first fish of the day!  It was an invigorating fight which reminded me just how much patience and skill is required in landing a trout on fly gear.  It was a while since I'd done it and it is a completely different experience to playing a fish on coarse gear.  As Ian netted the fish for me a bit of relief kicked in, but what struck me most was how immersed in the fishing I'd become, and how much I'd enjoyed the day so far as a result.  Time was flying by and I was definitely having fun.  First trout on the bank, 2lb 7oz...



After this fish was returned (as all of the fish we caught were), both Ian and I missed takes and despite Ian's insistence that this was a slow day at Errwood, I couldn't believe quite how much action we were getting.  We must have "pricked" a few of the missed takes and spooked the fish, because things quietened down once more, so we headed to the opposite corner of the reservoir to have lunch, regroup and hopefully find some more fish.  This place is called "Duffer's Bank", so Ian had obviously realised my skill level by now!

There was a slight breeze blowing towards us now, so there was a large accumulation of suspended matter which absolutely must have contained food; we just had to find a fish which longed for something a bit fluffier and sharper!  Ian did just this, and landed yet another rainbow.  There were quite a few small fish rising here, which Ian affirmed were the wild brownies which abound in the water, but seldom see the bank.  They tend to require finer tactics and smaller flies to tempt them, than the rainbows do.

We moved down to the other corner on the West bank, known as "The Memorial" but nothing was moving there at all.  We'd been out in the sun for a good few hours by now and were well beyond "sun-kissed".  I had unwittingly become a redneck - in appearance rather than attitude - but I was having such a good day and I was determined that more and bigger fish would start showing once the sun was less intense.  So, we decided to fish on and for the last couple of hours of the day we ended up back where we had started, near the dam tower.

A couple of Ian's mates and fishery regulars turned up, but still Ian managed to show everyone how it was done, as he caught another two trout of a larger stamp than earlier in the day.  The largest was this fish of around 4lb:


Finally my persistence began to pay off.  I was fishing closest to the dam and as the sun began to sink the trout began to rise; nowhere more so than directly in front of me.  I began trying to cast to rises, but they all seemed to be a few frustrating feet beyond my casting range.  Finally I hooked into something which was no doubt larger than the fish I'd caught earlier.  A lively and exciting fight ensued.  I was further rewarded as the victor with a new PB trout of 3lb 3oz!


It would have been easy to have packed up after that fish, seeing it as a high point on which to bow out; but ever the fishing optimist, I saw more fish rising and thought there might yet be another with my name on it.  As the last part of the sun was sinking from view over the western hills, I got another take from a fish which hung deep.  Ian had explained earlier that this is a fighting trait of the double-figure trout in Errwood, so I began to fantasise about just what I might be attached to!  Maybe I fantasised a little too much, or gave the fish slightly too much respect, because before I knew it Ian was giving me some gentle ribbing about how long I was taking to land it!  I had yet to lose a fish I'd hooked and I wasn't about to start, so I gave the fish a bit more pressure and gained the upper hand as a result.  Soon the fish was being guided towards the waiting net and it was clearly another PB.  Both Ian and myself had put the fish at heavier, but at 4lb 7oz, I'm really pleased with my respectable new personal best fish:


I was completely won over by Errwood.  It seems like the perfect fly fishing venue to me: Relatively easy to fish (but challenging if you want it to be - think wild browns!), stocked with large, fit fish, set in the most impressive surroundings and of a size that can be comfortably explored in a day.  Seriously, what more could one ask of a trout venue?  The river coarse fishing season is almost upon us, so I doubt I'll be heading back to Errwood any time soon, but a return trip next spring will give me something to really look forward to during next year's closed season.  I would urge all coarse anglers or lapsed fly fishermen to make plans to do the same!

If you're interested in sampling a bit of the action for yourself, there is plenty more information on the Errwood Website.  You can fish on a day ticket, which needs to be purchased beforehand from one of many outlets, or you can become a member, for which there may be a waiting list.

Ian also writes his own blog, the aptly titled "One More Cast", which you can find at http://www.glow777.blogspot.com/

Keep an eye out for the July issue of Angling Star.  There will be an all-new, more in-depth article about my day at Errwood, including some different photographs.

As for my next few weeks, I should really be concentrating on my plans for the early season, but I'm in the throes of buying my first house, so this has been taking precedence over pretty much everything else!  I'll be sneaking in a couple of sessions as and when I can, but nothing's set in stone.  The blog shall be updated when I do go!

Tuesday 10 May 2011

Lobby your local MP now! To help protect UK sea fish stocks - Fish Fight

Firstly big apologies, I have a post about a brilliant fishing trip in April which I've been struggling time-wise to finish, but it'll be on here ASAP.


For now though, I think it's important to bring to your attention the fact that the "Fish Fight Early Day Motion" (yes, that of Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's TV programme fame) is going to be debated in the House of Commons THIS THURSDAY AFTERNOON!  So, to ensure the issue gets the amount of attention and thought it deserves, we all need to make sure our MPs know that their constituents consider it to be a very important issue.  Click on the link below, which will take you to the Fish Fight website.  Follow the instructions and within 2 minutes you will have emailed your MP with a basic message, urging them to give the issue their support:

http://fishfightnews.net/interface/external_view_email.php?P898860083645777142114542318&utm_campaign=Fish%2BFight%2BNewsletter%2B-%2BMay%2B2011&utm_source=emailCampaign&utm_medium=email

Personally, I think that overfishing in general has/is raping our sea fish stocks, so over-quota discard is only a small part of the overall problem, but this motion getting seen in the Commons is a start.  If it grabs the nation's attention and can start to change attitudes of both politicians and the fish-buying public then our seas might just have a chance at some day recovering to their former glories, so I'm all for it.  Emailing your local MP is free and only takes a minute or two with the pre-formatted message (or you can write your own).

That's all for now but you'll be hearing from me very soon regarding my exploits at a certain trout reservoir near Buxton, called Errwood...

Monday 4 April 2011

The Most Popular Fishing Articles on www.Just-Fish.co.uk - March 2010 through March 2011

I've now posted more than 40 articles to my fishing website, www.just-fish.co.uk over the past six years!  This I find quite hard to believe, but this blog seems to have added to the popularity of my website, so as long as people keep reading 'em, I'll keep writing 'em! 

Now, because I may be a little short of fishing trips to write about in the near future (though I have a fly fishing trip to Errwood Reservoir at Buxton in thepipeline), I thought it would be interesting to check through Google Analytics, to see which of my articles have proven to be the most popular over the past year. 

The results were quite surprising.  My most popular article over the past 12 months, with over 6,500 views, is the one I wrote a few years ago about fishing the "Lift Method" for carp & tench. 

"Lift Method" Rig Diagram from http://www.just-fish.co.uk/
Top 20 Countdown

Okay, pop-pickers, here is the full run-down of the top 20 of my fishing articles, viewed over the last 12 months on www.just-fish.co.uk voted for by you, the angling public!  ...Nod 'arf!
  1. Fishing the Lift Method for Carp & Tench
  2. Sturgeon Fishing on the Fraser River, BC, Canada
  3. Catching my first 3lb+ Perch (lure fishing)
  4. Fishing for my first double-figure Zander
  5. Barbel, Chub, Carp and Bream from the Trent
  6. Surface Fishing for Carp, inc. Grass Carp
  7. Pike Fishing on Ladybower Reservoir
  8. Catfish fishing at Willowcroft Fisheries, Cambridgeshire
  9. Travel Tackle Review - Part 1 (Quite out-dated now)
  10. Travel Tackle Review - Part 2 (Quite out-dated now)
  11. Pike Fishing on the Norfolk Broads
  12. Roach Fishing with Maggot Feeder (aiming for a 2lb+ specimen)
  13. Using "Chum" to attract Big Pike
  14. Himalayan Golden Mahseer Fishing in India
  15. Hunting a 3lb+ Perch
  16. Trotting for Grayling on the Derbyshire Derwent
  17. My first pair of 20lb+ Pike
  18. Canal Specimen Fishing
  19. Boat Fishing for Tope off the West coast of Scotland
  20. Travel Tackle Review - Part 3 (Quite out-dated now)


I was having a bit of a browse through Blogger the other day and stumbled across some quite astounding fishing-related artwork.  Check out some of these "flies" tied by someone with a huge amount of skill and an equally huge imagination: http://www.vksteelworks.com/VKS/Piscivore.html
These flies truly are works of art. 
They're not for catching fish, so they certainly don't count as "fishing flies" per se, but I'd suggest more "inspired by fishing flies".  Like some kind of post-modern robo-flies!  Very impressive indeed.

Finally, I have a few reviews coming up, which I haven't quite got round to finishing off yet, but at some point I'll find the time.  These include "Billy's Backbiter" pike fishing bite alarms, "Laserlure" crankbaits & jigs featuring flashing laser lights; both of which I've briefly mentioned before; and lastly, I shall also be reviewing a brilliant little innovation from King Of The Pond, which I've ever-so-slightly pestered them to release... Quick-Change Micro Swivels.  These allow you to fish with the benefits of a quick-change swivel, but when using lighter, finer tackle to target specimens of smaller species such as Roach & Perch, or when you need to fish fine to fool finicky Carp & Barbel.  They're a rare item of terminal tackle and they fill a definite gap in the market.  I'll be using these swivels in the vast majority of my rigs!