Fishing tight to a feature while using a feeder is a technique that is anything but chuck-it-and-chance-it. In fact, there is a real art in being able to cast within inches of an island on a regular basis, and it’s this accurate casting that can be the difference between catching or not on many pressured commercials across the country. Get it ...
With its soft texture, instant attraction and awesome fish-pulling power, paste is one of THE best summer carp baits. G.O.T Baits’ Gary Thorpe shows you how to get the best from it… HAVING predicted a catch of well over 100lb by three o’clock, it looked like Gary Thorpe would achieve this goal in half that time. With his swim almost ...
Pellet cones are great little tools for making compressed cylinders of micro pellets that sit on your hooklength, just above your baited hook. These little parcels of strongly-scented goodies will quickly draw the attention of nearby carp, tench and bream, leading them to follow the smelly trail and quickly find your hook bait. When cast out they put the micro ...
Imagine a bait which stood out more than any other, fluttered enticingly as it fell slowly through the water, and was loved by every fish in the lake. Now that would be something, wouldn’t it? Well, it’s a bait that most anglers have on their bait tray every weekend during the summer, but often leave it at home when the ...
Knowing what’s on the bottom of the venue you’re fishing makes catching its residents a lot easier, says Martin Bowler. Here he breaks out the strange Aquascope to investigate. Maybe what makes angling so intoxicating is the mystery that lies under the water. Like a door firmly locked, water is our barrier to entry and this fuels the imagination, reinforcing ...
Casters are the next stage in the life cycle of a maggot. They are the chrysalis of a maggot – a shell-like pupae that contains the soon-to-emerge fly. Casters are slightly smaller than maggots and their shape is a lot more rounded. They are available at all good tackle shops and, like maggots, are sold by the pint. Casters are ...
What is hemp seed? You may have read about hemp, often referred to in old books as ‘the demon seed’. It was for a long time extremely controversial and banned on a lot of waters but in recent times, anglers have come to see hemp for what it is – a deadly coarse fish catcher. Hempseed is the seed of ...
The tench is one of Britain's most distinguishable and loveable fish, with its olive green flanks, tiny red eyes and powerful grey-brown fins. Anglers cannot fail but recognise this beautiful species, but by the same token, non-anglers recognise the tench too, due to its distinctive shape, colour and size, and due to the fact that many tench are sold in ...
He might boast a big-fish CV that’s second to none, and added his name to the British record fish list, but Martin Bowler is always willing to learn. Here he joins actor Bernard Cribbins and film-maker Hugh Miles for a few lessons in catching tench and crucian carp… Perhaps it’s an indictment of how poor our sport is at recruiting ...
It would appear that the Garden of England is the place to be for tench enthusiasts at the moment – apples and pears are not the only fruit to be found in the county of Kent, writes Martin Bowler. With the vast majority of waters available on an open ticket, it’s not surprising that Angling Times has been full of ...
