Canal Roach & Bream - A Gentleman's Exchange

A rather good blog appeared on the local scene last February. 'Float, Flight & Flannel', by George Burton is a fishing/wildlife blog that held an immediate appeal to me because George fishes the local canals for roach, as do I. George's enthusiasm arises from the fact that he is, or rather was, a match angler now entering into specimen fishing for the first time, so at every turn he encounters new problems, problems that will be familiar to anyone who stalks big fish. Consecutive blanks for instance...

Casting Practise - Cock-ups, Crack-offs & Confidence

Getting back into distance casting after nearly decade away from serious shore fishing is proving fun. There's so much to think about, especially when faced with getting coarse gear to perform like beach gear does. The rules are the same, distance is achieved more through correct technique than anything else, but the tackle needs to be just so otherwise technique fights against bad gear, and loses.

Big Pit Bream & Tench - The Dark Interior...

Friday evening saw Martin Roberts and myself humping out gear down the bank of a nearby gravel pit after the first tench of the year. I was after big bream too, but hadn't any confidence in my swim choice for that species as it doesn't have much form for them, however, I wanted to try out a maggot feeder fished helicopter style, and at range, just to iron out the problems. My swim choice soon proved bad for that too, the cast requiring a short wade into the water just to give enough clearance overhead through the narrow slot of the trees either side of the peg, consequently I had to cast directly overhead on a short drop to the lead like carp anglers habitually do, not at an angle of 45 degrees to the vertical and with a long, steady, power building arc firing a lead hanging from drop half as long as the rod itself, as a beach caster would. Consequently, my range was 50-60 yards absolute maximum. Which seems a long way off when the lead splashes down, but really isn't.

Zander Tag - Respect is Due...

Appearing now on walls and bridges down the Longford cuts. At last, a tag that inspires me enough to take a picture and shout its merits to the world. 'Rob' not only knows his fish and how to draw them anatomically correctly with all the fins in the right places, but he also knows exactly which fish live where he chooses to tag, for this is clearly a zed. 

At last, a tag writer crawling out of the cesspit of merely pissing up walls like a dog marking territory and progressing onwards and upwards to adorn them with something an angler can consider and admire!

Respect is due...