The bit you should read.

I’ve always been an angler and after around the country moving I wanted to discover and document the best places to fish (where ever I might be) in the way of rivers, lakes, canals and ponds. When previously fishing in South Wales I often fished in club and winter league matches, however living up north presented me with new challenges, venues and angling clubs that I acquainted myself with. Now down in the South West I plan to do the same.

This fishing blog details my angling adventures around the UK (although depending where I am in the country I also sea fish from both Boat and Shore, Carp, Pike and Fly fish). I will be giving a summary of 3 values considered by most anglers as well as the additional Disabled Access rating. Since being diagnosed with CIDP and regaining my motor function Disabled angling and Disabled access is now something I always consider when visiting venues. They will all be rated on a scale of 1* to 5*;

1. Fishability *****

2. Accessability *****

3. Value for Money *****

4. Disabled Access *****

I think these 4 points are the key issues which are readily identifiable with all anglers. Feel free to take a look and add your own comments along the way!

Sunday 31 May 2015

Pellet Paste made easy!

Summer it seems is on the way and for a lot of commercial anglers that means one of 2 things either starting to use or the increased use of Paste. Paste fishing on its day can be an absolutely devastating method and for some reason has the potential to pick out some of the venues specimens. I generally fish with 2 types of Pellet paste, Skretting Pellet Paste and Halibut Pellet Paste. Of these 2 types the Skrettings Paste is the easier to make (you don't need to use a blender to turn the pellet into a powder), and because of a recent request it will be the one I will be covering in this post.

Making paste is a very simple process all you will need is;


Monday 25 May 2015

Trip #82 - Higher Kingcombe Floaters

Just a snippet of a post from me this week, as there was extraordinary amounts of cleaning and shopping to be done. Also, by the time I had worked out I had time to go fishing I was only going to have a couple of hours spare. Fortunately I had renewed (and bought new) local club licenses so I can now report I am a member of Yeovil and Sherbourne Angling (though I did not pay the extra £50 for access to Sherbourne Castle). I cannot wait for the river season to start up again, especially with all the drains I now have access too. Anyway, with my new license in mind (and S.L.A.C), coupled with a distant memory that Higher Kingcombe Lodge Lake held some big carp, I blindly grabbed a rod and reel from the shed, a bag of bits and I was away.

Lodge is the Top Lake

Monday 18 May 2015

Trip #81 – Mangerton Mill

I’ve slowly but surely been working my way through the very extensive list of fisheries in Somerset, and although I’ve still got a good chunk left to sample, the fisheries closest to my house have been visited on more than one occasion. Wanting to fish somewhere new I decided to travel down the a3066 and visit Mangerton Lake. I’ll be honest, looking at the website I didn’t hold out a great deal of hope, aside from the fact that I knew I’d be in a picturesque location. A quick phone call the night before to make sure I was going to the right place, and I was set. I arrived at the farm house (where you pay into an honesty box) picked up my ticket and made my way back down the track towards the fishing lake. It was a nice lake and bigger than I expected, and after a quick walk around I picked a peg which looked to have a huge margin swim. In the time it took me to set my gear up the wind really picked up, and was now blowing firmly into my face. I reassessed my position before setting any more equipment up and deciding on moving around to my right, so the wind would be off my back, making holding a pole a lot easier.


Tuesday 12 May 2015

Trip #80 - Viaduct Match Lake

A visit from the in-laws meant that this weekend I would be fishing with my father-in-law Jeff. I wanted to go somewhere which offered a bit of sport, with the potential of a few bigger bonus fish and within half an hour’s drive. There was only one option - The Viaduct. I was very keen to give Viaduct’s Cary Lake a whirl, but after asking a few questions on Maggotdrowners, I settled on re-visiting Match lake (There was a match on Cary, and Lodge was very busy). Jeff and I arrived at the Viaduct around 9am, and walked through the car park mid peg draw. I have never seen so many fishing barrows. Most of these match anglers had more gear than some small shops! Not that I was jealous… I loaded up my trolley and heaved my gear over to Match Lake. I was desperately hoping for a better result than my last visit, although the weather was a lot warmer. I positioned Jeff on peg 48 and I took up residence on the peg diagonally opposite (49). 

Tuesday 5 May 2015

Trip #79 - Broadleaze (Baker's Mill) Fishery

I've been desperate to find local venues (within 15 - 20 minutes) as they enable me catch a sneaky hour or 2 while walking the dog in the summer evenings. I've never bagged a lump (15lb+), so when I found a fishery which only takes 8 minutes to drive too I was very excited. Finding it seemed easy enough, even if the verbal instructions on how to get there seemed incredibly vague. With my smart phone set to the location I left, I planned to give the water a good once over on pole tactics before trialing it later on in the year for something bigger.