Winter 2020 Part 1

Battered and Bruised

It was a spur of the moment trip to the river Bain late one afternoon in November. I'd only been there a short time when Ken (I only know he's called Ken because he has a personalised number plate on his Range Rover) the local farmer and land owner came by....."Now then, have you got something for me?" He asked sternly. Despite there only being an hour or so of daylight left he demanded a fiver. I had to wind in and run back the not inconsiderable distance to my car and rummage around for some change, just scraping together the required amount. Regulars will be aware of Ken and I's somewhat fractious relationship over the years, he's not an easy man to deal with. I fully expected him to wait by my gear but he had followed me upstream. I met him at the entrance gate, his arm outstretched eager for payment. "Your rod is floating down the river," he said, chuckling to himself as he walked off with my money. When I finally got back, it was just where I'd left it, safely in the rest, the bastard.

A fiver lighter I decided to make the most of it and strapped a starlight on my tip with a couple of float rubbers, intending to fish for as long as possible. After a previous disastrous trip with some recalcitrant cheesepaste that refused to stay on the hook I knew from the one cast I was able to make where I was likely to get a bite. The chub though had different ideas, maybe due to someone tending to an enormous fire on the far bank, the smoke from which was slowly choking me. I moved down in to a gulley and over Ken's newly installed barbed wire fence, ripping the crotch of my trousers while doing so. It seemed nobody had fished the gulley all year and as such the going was tough. Waist high vegetation and the worlds most painful stingers, those little tiny innocuous ones that you accidently touch and numb your hands for a week. I settled a few yards in, flattening a small space with my chair which snapped again and it started to rain. Marvellous.

The first fish made the conditions just about bearable, although at a round four pounds not quite what I was after. With the light rapidly fading I knew I'd get another chance, which I did. An absolutely savage bite that I completely missed. It was now fully dark and with no more bites forthcoming I needed to move further down the gulley to try and find them again. After no more than three yards I slipped over, tackle going in all directions. I gathered it all together and set off again. The second fall was like something off Home Alone, a proper feet from under me affair and I landed almost horizontally with a heavy, bone shaking thud, scaring every fish for thirty yards.  

Completely saturated, covered in mud and every bit of exposed skin numb from either the cold or the stinging nettles I made my way back to the car. I stopped off at the weir pool on the way and decided to have one last try. The new fence was a real pain though and I had to shorten my hooklength and thread it through the lower wire before attempting to cast. I took a few attempts to get the bait where I was happy with it but I was worth the effort as I got taken almost instantly. Without a head torch netting was fairly tricky. I had to lie on my front and poke my head under the barbed wire while simultaniously playing the fish and holding the net. More by luck than judgement I managed to get the fish in my net and shuffled backwards. I remember being slightly paranoid about the fish touching the stone wall I was on top of so I angled the handle slightly as I drew it up. It snapped almost straight away. 

You've had enough detail already suffice to say, another fall, barbed wire episode and a wet foot later I managed to  carefully hand the fish out a bit further downstream. My Acolyte net and rest of the handle was never to be seen again. 

5lb 9oz of Chub and a crazed me.

Feels like good perch

Over to a drain now and one I'd seen some predator strikes a few days before. Two were definitely pike but I had a suspicion the others could have been caused by big perch. They certainly weren't in the area I have encountered them on that venue in the past which further added to the intrigue. 

I arrived early and chucked a lobworm in the general area of activity I'd seen before. Sure enough a bite was soon forthcoming and I was connected to a very heavy feeling perch. Don't you just love it when a plan comes together? I knew some of those strikes I had seen were perch and here I was, connected to a real beauty. Something didn't feel quite right though and all became slightly surreal when a bream popped up. I ended up with five before giving in and moving. The best two were six pounders, fine fish, when you're actually fishing for them.... 

Staying still

When I encountered some big pike in the autumn on the Witham on my boat even though I had lots to just under twenty pounds I was kicking myself that I hadn't fished from the bank for them. It was really shallow and the boat kept moving them. Indeed I saw a really big fish that would have been well worth catching but I was seriously under gunned that day with only my light perch gear to hand. Unfortunately the majority of the fish moved and I couldn't locate them again. 

So it was further upstream to a different stretch I decided to fish. I'd been out on the boat and seen plenty of pike strikes. Again I was perch fishing and had quite a few to just over two pounds but after several trip over the years I just don't get the feeling there are any really big ones there. A few days later I went back with the chaos twins and the dead bait rods. I was a bit rusty and missed more runs than I hit but managed a couple of modest doubles and the girls enjoyed themselves.

A few weeks later I went back with our old friend Benidorm Dave. Finally I managed to put him among some fish after a disappointing trip together a week or so before. He had seven altogether to around fourteen pounds.....

I managed a reasonable one myself.........

Later on in the day I got a little restless and decided to try and catch some perch on the worm. After a biteless hour or so, my float disappeared and I struck in to a good fish. Just as I was getting the better of my unseen foe it shot in to the marginal reeds. Hardly becoming of a perch. After a bit of a tussle I netted it with reeds and all. Upon peeling them back, there it lay in the bottom of the net, my prize and probably over the magical three pounds. A bloody tench, in December.

Back to the pike now and I had a few more short trips taking several from a few different venues but alas, only small ones. The best of the bunch came from a freezing cold day on the Steeping while showing some lads from work how to hopefully catch and then handle some pike. Luckily they all caught something and they've been out several times since with some success.

Back aboard

I travelled a short distance to meet our old friend Martin. Same county, same tier. McDonalds got my breakfast order wrong on the way and I got caught up in a one-way system trying to return. With the order corrected I then managed to get lost so I ended up being a little late. 

Martin was waiting for me and I hopped out of the car to give him an elbow bump. I felt a twinge in my back but thought little else of it as I readied the boat. We were soon afloat and set off upstream to a section of river neither of us were familiar with. For lure fishing I like river conditions to be as clear as possible, this day however it was carrying a little too much colour for my liking. As such I couldn't really settle, not that we came across any obvious signs of fish. We'd gone a couple of miles before I decided to take us back past the cars and in to the downstream section I knew reasonably well. 

We stopped off at the cars and I put some more air in the boat which had been slightly underinflated in my eagerness to get out. "Leave the petrol tank Martin, we'll have plenty" I advised......

Three miles later at the sea gate we ran out. Empty, nil petrol, none, zip, squat. I'd have to walk back to the car to get some. Reluctantly I set off and it must have been half a mile before I could fully straighten up, my back having gone in to spasm. I shuffled the remaining distance, avoiding anyone we'd seen on the way down. I hadn't even had a single bite. Martin had fared little better with one tiny pike. In addition to that I had cast up every tree, bridge and bankside furniture we came across. The only consolation being on a boat, you get retrieve them although on one occasion I did have a tussle with a massive willow tree for a good couple of minutes much to Martin's amusement.

With the car fetched and the boat collected we decided to try well upstream which is the section we know best for a few minutes to try and make something of the day. My confidence spiked when I saw the river, which was a far better colour than the lower reaches. First cast I hooked a reed in the margins with the tensile strength of titanium and I had to set up again. Second cast I caught a perch about a pound and a half. Five minutes later I hooked something under my feet that gave me the right old run around.....

15lb 5oz

We should have started off there in the first place. Sometimes exploring pays off, many, many times it doesn't.

In the groove

I'd beaten myself up on the Bain, run out of petrol on the Fens and had another absolute nightmare of a roach fishing session that I can't even bring myself to write about. Surely I was due a day where everything would run smoothly? Unfortunately for our friend Alfie Naylor it came about when he kindly took me out on his boat. I still don't know how he did it but he got us on an old haunt of ours and he was about to witness a perch catching masterclass (come on, let me have that one).

From the very first moment I was in the grove, alternating between TRDs and dropshotted worms. In fairness to Alfie he put me in all the right places and being on the motor does take some of your concentration away. He also brought me an early Christmas present in the shape of a scarf that apparently you're meant to wear around your neck. I ended up with eleven perch over two pounds to three pounds one ounces with several big two's.....

 Alfie finally managed a decent one towards the end of the session....

Back to basics

The Bain has been fairly shocking all season for roach. This coupled with a bit of car trouble led me to have a go on the nearby drains. Steep sided banks, silty, muddy margins and uninspiring vistas aside I quite enjoyed these little sessions, which is the ultimate aim. I caught loads over four short forays and some good ones to up to a creditable one pounds six ounces.....

It was on one of these trips a man pulled up behind me in his car. "Ere, you're that specimen bloke aren't you?" He asked. "Er....sort of'," I replied. He then proceeded to tell me about a British record perch he'd hooked and lost at a local commercial complex. I know what you're thinking and I thought much the same. I've seen a few perch in my time and even a big two pounder to my eyes is a very impressive looking fish when you have landed it, even more so when you haven't.

 I remember a bloke once telling me he'd had a big four pounder, a week or so later he witnessed me catch a perch of nearly three pounds and he nearly wet himself with excitement. His reaction told me he'd never seen a perch that big before in his life, let alone caught one.   

Anyway, let's be fair. the way my new friend spoke gave me inspiration and he was very kind in divulging the information. Even if it wasn't a six pounder it was probably worth trying to catch, just to be on the safe side. Besides in the last eight years or so I know of three cast-iron four pounders from this part of the world and two of those were from commercials. I also know of loads of completely made up ones. 
 

The next day I was at the complex. I had a look around and it was all pretty uniform. I'd just have to pick an area and hope one turned up. After three hours without so much as a tremble on either worms or prawns I began to lose interest. "Three o'clock, that'll be bite time," said my mate Dave on the phone. Well that's the last time I listen to that bloody charlatan. It was 3.37pm when my float finally went under, I know this because I was on the phone to the lovely Mrs P at the time. I hung up immediately.

I believe hypnosis is based on suggestion, not that I was in a trance, just a tiny part of me (not that part) believed I was seconds away from a monster. As soon as I hooked in to the fish it came straight to the surface before diving down again. Oh my god it's massive and it's a perch were my simultaneous thoughts. Not a British record but certainly big enough to brighten up a cold winters day. I'm trying to work out how many perch I've actually seen around this size without sounding like a braggard. Over a hundred and they still get me every time when I'm playing them. Had I have lost it, I wouldn't have guessed its weight to within a pound, on the bank I can usually get within a couple of ounces. At an ounce under three pounds it was a very welcome start.....

SHUK interlude

Just a few from the chaps this time around, they've been mostly useless.

Mike Lyddon 3lb 1oz Grayling

Nate Green 3lb Perch

Dai Gribble 5lb 12oz Chub

Andy Wilson 6lb 15oz Rainbow

James Aris Pitsford Pike

Bobby Brookes 2lb Grayling

Nate Green 6lb 6oz Chub

Martin Barnatt 5lb 4oz Chub

Tackle Talk

Fox Duralite Chair

Did I mention I'd snapped my Korum Aeronium chair? Clean break on the frame, not on the weld. As it was Christmas present I didn't have the receipt so Korum wouldn't take it back. Nice of them eh? Anyway, onwards and upwards. I lashed it together as best I could so still usable, just.

Some friends recommended the Fox chair to me so I took the plunge and bought one from my superb local tackle shop- Big Catch Tackle. I have it on dubious authority it's made from exactly the same the metal alloy as the Korum one. Vitally it has an extra front brace to reinforce the front legs that you don't get on the Korum one so hopefully it will prove far more durable. 

After a few trips now it's been really impressive. Better in every department to the Korum one apart from weight but not enough to matter. Multi-directional mud feet, locking extendable legs and a lovely padded seat. It's amazing how much more comfy and warmer it is than the Aeronuim, the thin padding making all the difference. Crucially you can use it with the back legs folded up, perfect for Lincolnshire's infamous steep banks.

Aim to pay around £75

Avon Roach Project Book

I can't tell you how much I like this book. I lied, I'm just about to. I picked it up for the first time on Christmas eve morning and didn't put it down until I'd finished it. A really, really amazing story told in a no-nonsense, informative and often quite funny way. It's a weighty book, don't read anything in to me finishing it in a day, I read fast. Trevor and Budgie should be incredibly proud of themselves. Even if you're not an avid reader you really should try this. Trevor told me wanted the story to come across as if you were in a room with him telling you about it. It works. Really well. 

It also taught me a few things too. I had this kind of default thought that nature has an incredible capacity to regenerate itself. This clearly wasn't the case on the Avon, certainly not in a generational timeframe. Trevor and Budgie are obviously a 'do-ers', they get things done. What also came across is how insular and downright selfish some sections of the angling community are. A perennial problem in our pastime. They had a great approach to these situations though and if you want to know more then you'd better just get yourself a copy from the link below......

https://www.avonroachprojectshop.co.uk/

Pandemic

 I usually fish in the week and work at weekends, I have done for years and as such rarely see other people. With the lockdowns and tier restrictions I'm encountering more anglers, a lot more. I live in one of the most sparsely populated counties in England so heaven knows what it's like for others. Anyway, no problem. Apart from my number one pet hate, litter and more pertinently litter dropped by anglers, supposed guardians of the countryside. Seriously, it's a cliche but leave nothing but footprints please folks. I'm trying to be as kind as possible because I don't want to end the blog swearing my head off and stamping my feet. So pretty please, with sugar on top, take your fucking rubbish home.....

Links

https://www.bigcatchtack/kle.co.uk

https://www.bostonanglingassociation.co.uk/

https://www.lincolnangling.org/

Contact

shukphil@gmail.com

Photography

Witham

The solo boat

Chaos Twins

Grift Bank

Waiting for a bite

Ultimate style

A seriously unimpressed and stranded Martin

Captain cocksocket

Happy New Year

Till Next Time...........

Autumn 2020

 Two's a crowd

Without wanting to embarrass him or sound like a name dropper Dai Gribble is a bit of a specimen hunting legend. We'd struck up a friendship on social media and through Specimen Hunting UK. It wasn't until a few weeks back though that we'd finally got out together with me guesting him on a section of the middle Trent. 

We'd settled in our swims and not much happened for the first couple of hours. I started off fishing two rods right in front of my seat at the top of some concrete steps. I sometimes over-think situations so when the going gets tough, the tough get stupid. I'd convinced myself that because barbel spook off lines I should split my rods so the angle they entered the water was as wide as possible. So I had a rod either side of the concrete steps, one directly in front of me and one a couple of yards to my left.   

A few minutes later Dai came along for chat. Turns out like all good anglers, Dai was very inquisitive. "Split your rods have you?" he enquired. Not really having a cogent answer I brushed his question off and set about re-tying a rig with some coated braid he'd kindly given me. Dai looked on while providing a running commentary- "hmmm, palomar knot eh?" and the like. Super analytical with a keen eye for detail, I'm not. I was using three of the four knots I actually know in the rig. It was a bit like Phil Neville performing a football skills test in front of Lionel Messi.

I glanced up to see my left hand rod take on an alarming curve. The baitrunner was singing but I had it set quite tightly to set the hook so the rod began moving. If Dai was writing this story he'd swear my rod rest head saved the whole lot from going in as the reel jammed up against it, but he isn't, I am. Despite him distracting me, tying a complicated rig and not really paying attention I heroically rose from my low chair like a sprinter from their blocks and was on the rod in the blink of an eye. I bent into a heavy feeling fish that almost instantly snagged me solid. "Think it'd had probably built up a head of steam," Dai added, stating the bleeding obvious as he wandered off shaking his head.

Barbel

Alfie Naylor, Me and Dai Gribble

As you can see we were joined that day by Trent regular Alfie Naylor. Now it was only my second visit to that particular section of the middle Trent and with all my research, hard work and long journey I thought it only fair I gave myself the best peg. After my lost fish described in the introduction I caught a small example and then followed it up with a fine fish of 11lb 11oz......

Some time later I hooked a really good fish and was on it straight away. Even though it is a notoriously snaggy peg I still didn't expect to be cut off on 35lb coated braid a short time in to the battle. I vowed not to fish that swim again after that day. Sure, it has some great fish but the odds of leaving hooks in fish are just to great for me to feel comfortable targeting them.  

Late in the afternoon Alfie gave up in an unfancied area while Dai got off the mark with a tiny little barbel that we did our best to make look as large as possible....

As the light faded I was keen to go but Dai wanted to make the most of the opportunities dusk sometimes afforded. Sure enough as I was packing up he hooked another fish, this time a better one. I scrambled over and grabbed his net only for the hook to pull in the latter stages of the fight. He was trying to reconcile his loss, playing down the size of his quarry. "Don't worry, it was probably just an 8lb chub," I added helpfully.

A week or so later a few of us had arranged to meet on a day ticket stretch of the tidal Trent. James Edwards, James Hunt, Dai, Martin Barnatt, Mike Lyddon and myself all spaced ourselves out in the 200's at Collingham on a Friday afternoon. I was first there and the pegs on the bend were free but as it was a socialish session I elected to go upstream were we could all see each other. Turned out to be a big mistake as someone had a 15lber that night from that area. 

James Edwards had a few small chub, James Hunt had a 9lber while Mike, Dai and Martin remained biteless. I had an 8lb fish in daylight and thought it was to be the start of a bumper session as it was caught right over a big bed of bait I had put out.....

Weirdly it took another six hours to get another one, also a mid-eight....

Just as I was returning it my nearside rod screamed out and it turned out to be a lovely 5lb 6oz chub......

Now I've had some heart-stopping battles with chub, mainly in small stream-like rivers. Steering them away from snags, dealing with powerful runs and lunges and that's only after you finally hit one of their notoriously finicky bites. This wasn't one of those times. Catching chub on barbel gear requires no skill, none, not one bit. Still lovely to see though.

Dai was upstream of me and a big fish kept rolling right in front of a bush between us. I was pretty sure it was a barbel and after it showed two or three times I went up to ask Dai if he'd seen it. The bush was slightly obscuring his view and he hadn't but he put in a speculative cast on my recommendation. Sure enough a short time later he had a bite and began to do battle with his foe. Unbelievably it came off leaving Dai wondering what he'd done in a previous life to be subjected to such rotten luck. He tried to convince himself it was a rogue Salmon as he never normally loses barbel, If it was the fish I'd seen rolling it was a 20lb barbel I told him, again just to be helpful. 

Sadly I had work looming and had to leave mid afternoon. By that time I'd endured nearly fourteen hours without a bite so reconciled I had given it a decent go. Unfortunately it meant not seeing my friend, latecomer David Frame. He and Mike ended up being the last men standing and Mike had a small zander while David had the best barbel of the weekend, a lovely 11lb fish from a rapidly rising river. Little did he know at the time but that fish earned him a case of red wine for his efforts....

Mike Lyddon

Framey

A few days later, no doubt buoyed by my barbel masterclasses Dai went and fluked a massive barbel all on his own. Luckily this one didn't come off........

17lb 4oz

I did have one more visit to the Trent before the area went into level 3 covid restrictions. This time I went with my old friend Steve. We hadn't been fishing together for a number of years and had a great time, vowing at the end of the day not to leave it so long next time. We only had one barbel each but the conditions were pretty horrendous. We fished for barbel together twenty plus years ago on the river Soar so it was a real pleasure to meet up again....

Staying local

Lincolnshire began to be surrounded by top-tier covid restricted counties. A quick chat with our friend Martin and a trip to a local river was arranged. Perch were the target and we both met at first light. Regular readers will know that I usually manage the better fish when we go out together, purely by luck and by not getting snagged up every five minutes as Martin usually does. Sure enough I was quick off the mark, taking several two pounders on dropshotted worms while Martin set about rapidly depleting his hook supplies. I then hooked a perch that led me a merry dance all over the place, it really was a powerful little fish. "That's a three," I declared as Martin set about weighing it. He looked up from the scales with a wry smile- "2lb 14oz," he said with rather too much happiness. 

 Spurred on by my success Martin then miraculously didn't cast in to an immovable object and started to catch fish of his own. The latter part of the session was fairly forgettable as bites became very hard to come by but for half an hour or so we could do no wrong. I think I had another 2 14 and a few more decent ones while Martin's two best were fish of 3lb exactly and 3lb 2oz. The bastard.

3lb 2oz

Torksey Lock

About three years ago I was afloat on the Fossdyke canal with a friend when we bumped in to a fellow angler. "You want to try Torksey Lock," he enthused. Now I'd had a look at the lock section and it was the most angler unfriendly place I'd ever seen, no fishing notices up everywhere you looked. Our new friend assured me it would be ok in my boat though. So a few weeks later I went and launched my boat. Over the next couple of years I got to know the people there and all was well. The fish shoal up there every winter and there are an abundance of predators. My perch PB from there is 3lb 13oz and I've led several people to their own overall PB's there. It's a brilliant venue. 

Sadly the controlling club has banned fishing from boats, probably because none of them have them. So it has come to an end. A rule for a rules sake. I've said this many times before though, when on a boat you have to be super friendly and if you do fish near boats you must not under any circumstances interfere with them. Whether that's bouncing lures off the hulls or tying yourself to them. I did go back recently but fishing isn't all about the chance of big fish for me, it's about mystery and relaxation. I feel privileged to have fished it but for now, it shall remain out of bounds, a real shame.

Pastures new

The Louth canal intrigued me although I'd never fished it. Around fifteen miles long it is the canalised river Ludd which starts off in the chalk hills of the Lincolnshire Wolds. The water quality should be excellent and ideal for the odd big perch or two I thought to myself. Information is thin on the ground though so I had to go blind so to speak. Sure enough I searched the lower reaches until my motor battery flattened. I travelled around four and half miles and after trying every perchy looking spot gave up and just trolled lures for several modest pike. I remain fairly sure there will be a pocket of big perch somewhere along the canal but it's going to be both a question of time and good furtune if I am to find them. 

I'm never too shy to receive venue advice and I given enough out over the years to more than welcome some return traffic. You can contact me here-

shukphil@gmail.com

An old favourite

Right, after the Louth canal providing little in the way of perch I decided to launch on a river I'm more familiar with. By now we were in full lockdown again and it's about as far from my house as I am comfortable travelling to. Again I had my new boat in the car and after a brief workout with the manual hand pump I was soon afloat. I do have an electric one but a bit of mild exercise warms one up on a cold morning.

 After covering a couple of miles I came across a few fish, mainly Pike. I'd already caught a couple that day slowly trolling a small lure downstream after my usual perch spots proved unproductive. These ones I could actually see in the clear water though. The level was perhaps three feet below normal, very unusual but it provided me with a window into the depths. I saw perhaps twelve pike in total, most I thought to be high singles and low doubles. Indeed I went on to catch seven pike that day with a couple scaring ten pounds. There was one standout fish though, bigger than the rest but try as I might I couldn't entice a take from her. 

I went back a few days later to try again. The water had coloured up slightly but as luck would have I hooked her within the first ten minutes on a large TRD. Fortunately she didn't go too far but I saw her quite early in the fight so it was a nerve wracking experience. I was glad to have taken my newly purchased Korum 30in net when she finally surfaced....

19 lb 14oz river Pike

I also had a couple of modest perch that day on lure but I got the feeling I could do a lot better with bait.

With some worms I had ordered landing on my doorstep I returned. Again I elected to hand pump my boat up and this coupled with the unseasonably mild conditions saw me in a t-shirt on a mid-November morning. Despite a frustratingly slow start I went on to catch over fifty fish, including over ten two pounders, It's strange, some venues I'm happy to catch two's from but some I don't feel I have done them justice if I don't catch a three. After a couple of big two's one after another I finally got my target, just......

3lb exactly

It was a strange day. I had to anchor the boat up in one spot and just wait for fish to pass by. I saw quite a few of them which was novel and infruriating at the same time. One big perch swam straight past my dropshotted worm, not taking the slightest bit of notice, only for another one swimming directly behind it to happily engulf it. 

Word on the lure fishing streets is some are disappointed I don't catch all my perch on lures. Honestly, aren't some anglers just the dreariest bunch of dullards, mainly but not exclusively in the single-tactic or single-species camps? I've said this countless times before, angling has so many facets I'm happy to try them all. Bait doesn't always out-fish lures and in those situations I'll happily use lures all day. Not that I have to answer to anyone, least of all some motocross clad rubber fetishists.

Sorry about that, here's a case in point- At another venue I found a few perch on lures but they shut up shop very quickly so I went back with some bait and had a wonderful couple of hours fishing worms on the tip. My Greys Toreon rods providing some nerve racking fights with some more proper wild river fish, these the best three of another big hit.......

SHUK Roundup

Andy Lobel with a massive Scottish skate from his inflatable

Bobby Brookes with some Dove Grayling

Lee Fletcher with a couple of nice perch

James Aris with a Severn Zander

Nate Green finally catches something

Nick Owen with a nice perch

James Aris, Ouse Chub

James Hunt, Dove Grayling

Martin Barnatt with a Nene double

Leo Heathcote with a rare smile

Tackle Talk

Korum 2.5lb TC Barbel Rods

I didn't actually want these rods but my self-imposed ban on internet purchases limited my choice. My local tackle shop Big Catch Tackle said the lead time on the Fox EOS's I actually wanted was a couple of months as Fox were out of stock. I ordered some Korum ones from them and two days later they arrived at the shop. 

They are budget rods, that said I like them. They haven't got fancy wraps or rings but the action is nice and the handle and reel fittings are more than adequate. A touch on the heavy side weight wise but largely irrelevant as they spend most of the time in the rests. I have been using the MK1's in 2lb test curve and while never knowingly undergunned I fancied a bit more umph so plumped for the 2.5lb TC in the new models. I'm totally over the matt black obsession and wish we could return to the good old days of unpainted lovely looking carbon but I guess I'll just have to go with the flow. More than happy with them and super pleased I gave my local shop some business as they always treat me very well. 

RRP £64.99

Talamax Aqualine 230 Airfloor 

Looks small doesn't it? Don't be fooled, I've come across several anglers and non-anglers over the last few weeks and they are all pretty much smitten with it. I passed respectfully by a old chap on the Louth canal who was Pike fishing, he was amazed and as I left him I felt very lucky not to be stuck in one spot, catching nothing while reading the paper. If that sounds harsh I don't mean to be, it just gives me the freedom to explore which is pretty much priceless, let alone the paltry sum these boats can be bought for. 

So, the Talamax. I can pump it up in five minutes or so. It has five air chambers, it's not a toy, it is a proper inflatable boat. I'd prefer fixed straps for the seat instead of the fiddly rail system but other than that it's really great. If I was buying again I'd go for the 250, not for the increased length but just because the tubes are a slightly bigger diameter so you sit a touch higher. I was absolutely obsessed with weight saving at the time and it's certainly very manageable. Even rolled up carrying it up steep Lincolnshire river banks it's not a problem. I reckon I can launch it just about anywhere. I've used it with my petrol and electric motors and it performs just fine. All inflatables have the majority of buoyancy in the tubes so there is none of the pitching and rolling of normal boats, they are incredibly stable, even small ones. 

Aim to pay around £400 for the boat. Factor in your motor and battery if required, anchor and lifejacket and you can be afloat for less than a decent set of carp rods. 

Daiwa Hyper Sensor

For years I've used 5lb Drennan Double Strength for my perch fishing. At a push I'll also use it for roach and chub. Pre-stretched line isn't for everyone. Certainly the Drennan stuff needs changing with annoying regularity. So I'm giving the Daiwa version a run out, First impressions are good. Overall strength is greater than the Drennan and I'm guessing the durability can't be any worse so I'll keep you posted. Fishing rivers, even small ones I need the fine diameter so I can use as little as weight as possible to hold bottom. As perch are usually tight to the far bank a fine line really gives you an advantage. 

£7.95 for 300m 

Photography

Dawn on the Trent

Not a perch

Going back

Till next time