Tackle Store Review - BobCo Tackle

Having been to tackle stores in industrial units before and been thoroughly unimpressed I wasn’t sure what to expect before visiting BobCo Tackle. Needing some maggots and casters for a fishing trip the next day I decided to give the store a go as it had been recommended to me by another angler whilst fishing recently.

River Aire gets stocked! (Again)

Good news for all Anglers for who fish the River Aire in Leeds, Keighley and Bradford.

Over the next few years there should be in increase in catching Barbel as 3000 of the little beauties were released by the Environment Agency at various points along this river just over a week ago. This follows on from a consistent fish stocking programme the EA has undertaken in recent years around this time of year. Releasing fish into colder water is more beneficial as they can travel further in the highly oxygenated water. Tweeting about the release, Environment Agency officer Pete Turner told me that the fish were released “at Kildwick, Bingley, Hirst Wood, Apperley Bridge, Armley and Thwaite Mills. 500 at each site.”

Photo taken from Pete Turners Twitter pictures.

Trip #16 – Highfields

I have been slowly but surely fishing my way around West Yorkshire and after some recent “Tweeting” this time it was the turn of Highfields, a fishery which is tricky to find but worth it when you get there. With an afternoon spare I made my way to the Garforth AC venue and was curious about fishing it as the most recent write up was some years old. Being described as a good “mixed” fishery it was an encouraging and exciting prospect as more subtle tactics could be employed than on most carp ponds.

Trip #15 - Predatory Practice

Although I have caught pike previously on Llangorse in Brecon, on that occasion I was with a pike catching veteran and using lure tactics which I was at least slightly familiar with. I have never really used dead baits to fish for pike although most of the piking world and some of my friends who regularly fish for pike (one recently catching a 27lb monster from Chew Valley Lake) swear by them. So being continuously told that the pike in the Leeds – Liverpool canal ranged from tiny to massive and were to be caught in plentiful numbers I had a few hours spare on a recent weekend afternoon and thought it about time that I set out in search of one these veracious hunters. 



Trip #14 – 2 Days, 2 Venues, 2 Fish

Saturday – River Aire (Stick Float and Feeder)

Continuing from my previous river session a few weeks ago, for all intents and purposes this session was “The decision maker”. After a small but brief spell of success on the river I decided this weekend would be the weekend that I would take my father and brother to fish the river. We arrived at the swim I had previously fished with the hope of catching some chub, roach, dace and minnows! The river was slightly discoloured from the rain earlier in the week but it was running at its usual depth. We set 4 rods up between us, “The Lunker” (as my brother would say) was a heavy feeder rod baited up with a lump of worms and cast downstream close to the edge of some over hanging trees. This would remain out and try and tempt an elusive big chub out the deep!

"The Lunker" was set...

Trip #13 - Clayton Ponds

There is a level of excitement which comes with fishing an unexplored and previously unfished venue and this was increased a hundred times when on my walk around the lake I saw a fairly sizable carp sitting in the margins right next to my peg! Clayton Ponds is 2 lakes containing a mixture of species and from what I had managed to read about the lakes on the Yorkshire fishing forums, both lakes contain some big carp, tench, specimen eels as well as the usual head of silver fish! As it’s not far away from where I live I thought it was high time I paid the lakes a visit.