Rumours of large pike taking ducklings and even small animals are common in lakes across the country., giving them an unwarranted reputation, particularly among members of the general public.

While often unverified, such stories are hard for anglers to ignore, and Tommy Crockett was no exception when reports of a huge pike began to circulate, prompting him to head down to the lake in question to investigate.

“After hearing rumours that a big pike in my local lake was snatching ducklings, I thought I’d try to catch it over winter.

“Using lure tactics I worked my way up the bank, landing two jacks as I went.

“I reached a peg that produced a PB a few years ago, and it wasn’t long before I lost a powerful fish. But I kept casting, hopeful of another chance.

“Thankfully, it came, and after a tense fight I netted this new 21lb 3oz pike, which was also a new PB. Could this be the lake’s infamous ‘duckling eater’?”

Canal bream fishing rarely gets talked about with the same enthusiasm as commercials or big natural waters do. But when conditions align and you target the right stretches, canals can produce proper red-letter days, with big nets of skimmers and bream.

The challenge is knowing where those productive lengths are, because not every canal fishes the same, and some sections are far better suited to bream than others. From deep, boat-worn channels to quieter lengths with settled fish and consistent form, these are some of the best canal stretches in the country to bag up on bream.

New Junction Canal, Doncaster, South Yorkshire

Quality skimmers and bream are to be had using standard feeder tactics, or fishing the long pole over groundbait.

Contact: www.ddaa.co.uk

Bridgewater Canal, Leigh, Lancashire

Head to the stretch at Leigh and target the wider areas for fish to over 4lb. Pole fished casters can work well here.

Contact:www.bridgewatercanal.co.uk

Droitwich Canal, Droitwich, Worcs

Head to Mildenham for quality bream. Feed groundbait and fish worms or casters over the top, with regular top-ups.

Contact: www.canalrivertrust.org.uk

Shropshire Union Canal, Goldstone, Shropshire

Hodnet AC controls some great water on the Shroppy. Target the wider areas on the pole, or with a small waggler.

Contact: www.hodnetanglingclub.co.uk

Grand Union Canal, Leamington Spa, Warks

The Lure Anglers Canal Club’s waters aren’t all about predators – there are good bream to be caught too. Day tickets online.

Contact: www.lureanglerscanalclub.co.uk

Staffs and Worcester Canal, Wombourne, Staffordshire

There’s always a chance of a few quality skimmers in the stretch at Wombourne. It’s controlled by Wolverhampton AA, who offer £20 annual permits.

Contact: www.canalrivertrust.org.uk

Kennet and Avon Canal, Great Bedwyn, Wilts

Fish two lines – one close to cover and one in deeper water – and rotate them to keep the bream coming.

Contact: www.katrust.org.uk

Oxford Canal, Kidlington, Oxon

Kidlington AS offers fishing on this canal for just £24 a year. Bread can result in good catches.

Contact: www.canalrivertrust.org.uk

Grand Western Canal, Tiverton, Devon

Targeting far-bank cover will produce skimmers and quality bream. There are plenty of tench present too, so don’t go too light!
Contact: www.tivertoncanal.co.uk

Bridgwater and Taunton Canal, Somerset

Large bream are present in this scenic canal. The fish are nomadic, so prebaiting can swing the odds in your favour. Day tickets are available online.

Contact: www.bridgwaterangling.co.uk

Wild salmon in Scotland are in serious decline. Numbers of retuning fish are down, conservation measures are tightening, and more fisheries are moving to mandatory catch and release. The causes are well known. Habitat loss, barriers to migration, climate change and poor marine survival all play a part.

But on the west coast and around the islands of Scotland, where fish farms sit in the same waters used by migrating salmon and inshore-feeding sea trout, another question keeps arising. Is salmon farming adding pressure to fish stocks that are already vulnerable?

Where fish farms and wild fish collide

Scotland’s salmon farming is concentrated in sea lochs and coastal waters on the west coast and in island groups. These are the same areas that wild salmon smolts must pass through on their way to sea, and where sea trout spend much of their lives.

That overlap is where the concern lies. It is not just about the farms. It’s about what happens when farmed fish and wild fish share the same water at critical points in the wild fish’s life cycle.

The Scottish Government’s latest assessment for the 2026 angling season classifies 66% of salmon stocks as being in poor conservation status, while only 18% are in good status. When stocks are already at that level, the question is not whether farming is the biggest issue, it’s about whether it’s adding an avoidable one.

The lice pressure

Open-net farms create conditions where lice can build up, and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) is explicit that farms can elevate lice levels and increase risks to wild salmon growth and survival. For smolts moving through farmed areas, that exposure comes at one of the most vulnerable points in their life cycle. Sea trout are even more exposed, simply because they spend far longer in the same inshore waters.

Salmon Scotland’s technical director Dr Iain Berrill said lice are kept at “very low levels” across the sector and that, if there is an impact on wild fish, it is “small compared with the wider pressures on wild salmon”.

That is where the disagreement lies. Nobody is arguing salmon farming is the only pressure. The question is whether its making things worse in the places where wild fish are already most at risk.

What fish farms are putting into the water

Modern salmon farming relies on a mix of treatments. These include emamectin benzoate, a medicine that is added to feed, and bath treatments such as azamethiphos, deltamethrin and hydrogen peroxide. They are regulated, but that does not mean they are leaving no mark.

A peer-reviewed study published in Science of the Total Environment in 2019 surveyed eight fish farms in the Shetland Isles and found emamectin benzoate present in 97% of seabed sediment samples. The strongest negative effects were recorded on crustacean abundance and species richness. SEPA’s own survey work has also documented benthic impacts and sea-lice medicines in sediments around farms.

For anglers, this is important as fish farming does not operate in isolation from the wider environment through which wild fish migrate. The seabed, the inshore waters and the rivers connected to them are all part of the same system.

SEPA data, corroborated by reporting in The Times in March 2026 said Scottish salmon farms discharged more than 48 tonnes of formaldehyde in 2025, around 40% higher than the previous year and part of a five-year total approaching 176 tonnes.

UK government guidance notes that formaldehyde is classified as carcinogenic to humans. That does not automatically define the risk at the point of discharge, but it does make the sustainability argument harder to keep simple when a chemical with that profile is being used at that scale.

Formaldehyde is used during the freshwater phase of salmon production to treat fungal infections. Many of those freshwater farms sit in Highland lochs draining into rivers, which is why the discharge point matters just as much as the total.

Asked about treatments and their environmental impact, Dr Berrill said the focus is on prevention and that medicines are used as a last resort under strict regulatory control.

What the mortality figures show

Scottish data shows repeated seasonal spikes in mortality. Dr Berrill acknowledged “real environmental and biological challenges” but said the figures do not indicate a consistent, sector-wide problem of persistently high mortality.

He also argued that comparisons with other livestock can be misleading, noting that salmon “produce thousands of eggs, and in the wild only a small number survive to adulthood. That does not reduce our responsibility to improve survival on farms”.

Losses are part of any farming system. At this scale, though, they are also a sign that the biological pressures, from lice to disease and environmental stress, are not fully under control. The measures used to manage those pressures are the same ones raising wider questions around chemical use and environmental impact.

Why this matters to anglers

Salmon Scotland points to £1 billion invested between 2018 and 2024 in welfare, monitoring and infrastructure. The sector publishes monthly mortality data for every marine farm. Dr Berrill has also backed calls for a full parliamentary inquiry into wild salmon management.

But investment in a problem and resolution of it are not the same thing. Transparency about mortality does not bring mortality down. And a wider inquiry, while sensible enough, is not an answer to the specific questions around lice pressure, treatments and local environmental impact.

For anglers fishing west coast rivers, sea lochs and inshore coastal area, the issue is about what is in the water, what is happening to the sediments, and whether fish are being put under more pressure by an industry operating in the same environment.

The evidence doesn’t say salmon farming is the whole story, and it would be wrong to pretend otherwise. But in waters where wild fish are already under heavy pressure, it is becoming harder to argue that farming is not part of the picture. Anglers are right to keep asking where that pressure begins, and how much more these fish can take.

Trotting enthusiasts are being invited to take part in a radical new match format this summer, in which they can pit their wits against like-minded anglers.

On June 25, the River Trent Float-Only Championship will begin, in which anglers will compete over six rounds for cash and tackle prizes. With feeder fishing dominating much of the river angling scene these days, this event has been designed to offer an alternative to those who love nothing more than to run a float downstream.

The first round will take place at Radcliffe, with further matches confirmed at Burton Joyce and Shardlow. Tackle company Normark is offering top-of-the-range Legacy rods for the winner of each match, and for the top three overall. Additionally, Jackstone Ltd, manufacturer of freezers for the frozen food industry, is backing the competition with cash and trophies.

The event has been organised by a group of top anglers, including Wayne Swinscoe and Dave Harrell. “These matches will be very different to what we’ve become used to on many parts of the Trent over the years,” said Wayne. “With feeders not allowed, we will see only pole, waggler, stick float and Bolo tactics brought into use.

“We’ve chosen some great venues, and the support from Normark and Jackstone is a huge bonus for year one!”

Dave Harrell explained to Angling Times a little more about the format of the event. “This year’s competition will be for 40 anglers, and I’m expecting it to sell out quickly,” he told us.

“Points are allocated after every match, based on overall positions. If you win a round, you get 40 points, second gets 39, and so on.”

The overall winner will go home with £1,000, plus a Normark rod and a trophy, with £900 for second place, £750 for third, and cash prizes for the remaining top 10.

To enter, search for ‘River Trent Float Only Championship’ on Facebook.

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Keeping your fishing gear clean and well maintained is essential if you want it to perform at its best and last longer. Whether you’re a carp, match or casual angler, looking after your tackle properly can make a huge difference on the bank.

From rods and reels to terminal tackle, a simple maintenance routine can help prevent damage, improve performance and save money in the long run.

The act of cleaning also makes you familiar with the key details of your kit. If you’ve ever given your car a thorough hand wash you’re likely to have spotted blemishes you never knew were there. The same is true when giving your fishing tackle a proper once over – you might just spot a problem like a cracked rod guide before it has the chance to turn into a disaster!

Give your reels a service

A no-fuss, quick way to save your reels from a build-up of grime and old groundbait is to use a packet of wet wipes, as long as they’re not soaked in harsh chemicals.

If you want to give your tackle a deeper clean, though, use a soft dishwashing brush, a bowl of soapy water and a little elbow grease to give the outside of the reel a scrub-down, removing any visible mud, grit or old bait. Be sure to check all the little nooks and crannies, including the anti-reverse lever, clutch, handle knob and quick-release spool button, where dirt can accumulate.

IF YOUR REEL IS BEYOND REPAIR, CHECK OUT THESE AWESOME OPTIONS...

To keep your reels spinning sweetly, remove the spools and treat the rotor arm and worm gear to a fresh blob of grease or a blast of silicone-based WD-40.

If you’re confident you know what you’re doing, use a screwdriver to remove the reel’s side panels and give the gears fresh lubrication. But, NEVER use WD-40 on these inner workings, as it will melt the grease and ruin the gears. To lubricate the gears and protect the inner workings it’s best to use either a dedicated reel oil or a blob of standard grease.

If you own several reels then it’s all too easy to forget what line is on which, especially ones that haven’t been used for a while. To avoid confusion, and any potential mistakes in using the wrong line, when you fill up your reels, write on a tiny piece of tape what the line is and stick it to the inside of the spool. Note the date too as, particularly with mono, line deteriorates over time.

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Deep clean rods and poles

A basic clean with a cloth and warm, soapy water will do your rods the world of good, making sure the threads and clamps that hold your reels in place don’t seize or rust. An old toothbrush is a very useful tool too, and can help you to winkle out the most stubborn dirt from tight spaces.

Cork rod handles and Fuji-type carp reel seats can both be cleaned with soap and a brush. Over the course of a season dirt will accumulate in the grooved thread of your reel seat. Also, mud and dried scum from the surface of the water can stick to your rod blanks and become tough to remove if it’s baked in the sun.

Getting rid of these deposits isn’t just about making your rods look presentable again, it can also prevent tangles and crack-offs that occur if your line snags on something stuck to the blank. Modern rods tend to be well sealed from the elements, with plenty of varnish applied to areas like the whippings that hold your guides in place. A once-a-season wipe-down, however, can stop dried-in dirt damaging the varnish and leaving your whippings vulnerable to deterioration.

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When it comes to poles, the first job is to make sure there is no dirt inside the sections, as this can lead to damage when putting them together. What many top match anglers do is take the broken-down sections and put them in a bath of hot soapy water for a clean. Others use a shower head to flush out any dirt. Once they’ve dried, you can give them a wipe down with a silicone-based polish.

The next thing on the checklist is your pole elastics. Two places where elastics tend to damage easily are at the Dacron connector and at the puller bead connector. To check their condition, wet your finger and run it lightly over the section of elastic. It should feel totally smooth – if it doesn’t, there’s a good chance that it has started to crack or perish.

Make sure that your elastics are well-lubricated. One of the best elastic lubricants that you can use is Flash Dash or its equivalent silicone aerosol spray. It’s quick and easy to use, isn’t affected by the weather, and it doesn’t bung up your top kits. Adding a can to your kit now will ensure you’re prepared if you get sticking elastics, and it should last you at least a season.

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Seatbox maintenance

Removing a season’s worth of mud and dirt from your expensive seatbox is a quick and easy task if you have access to a steam cleaner, such as those made by Karcher. Ten minutes spent with one of these will save hours of manual labour with a brush and cloth to get the same result.

Once it’s dried, the next mini-job is to lubricate the handwheels using a squirt of WD-40 or some other lubricant. Jammed or sticky handwheels can lead to you fishing in a less than optimum position, which can in turn lead to a bad back, so this is time well spent.

Finally, to keep the seatbox trays holding all the terminal tackle items in tip-top condition, give the tray runners a quick blast of Mr Sheen, or another silicone-based furniture polish.

Any empty winders in your pole float tray? Well, now’s the perfect time to start re-tying those rigs. With shallow and margin rigs, always try and get two sizes of the float on the same winder. If you tangle one or lose one, you don’t have to faff around re-tying it on the bank.

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Tackle box de-clutter

Over the course of a season, tackle boxes can become a complete mess. Bits of old rigs, empty packets, broken float segments and fragments of bait soon begin to build up.

We all do it – you come to the end of a session and, keen to get home, just snip off old rigs or hooklinks and dump them in the tackle box to sort out next time. It just never happens, so now is the perfect time to finally delve in there for a clean-up.

Tip the lot on to an empty table, separate the good from the bad, then get a brush and some soapy water and scrub the inside of the tackle box clean. Be sure to address all the little compartment boxes and the corners of dividing sections, where grime can build up.

We all have favourite hook patterns, rigs and feeders, and reach for the same tried-and-trusted combos most of the time. Now is the perfect time to make sure that you’re well stocked up with those preferred items.

Similarly, your tackle box will contain some ever-present items that never get used. Rather than cart them around on every session, why not remove them now and either give them to friends in need, or even sell them to raise funds?

Anglers are being urged to take part in an annual citizen science campaign to help get an overall picture of the health of the UK’s rivers.

The initiative, led by the The Rivers Trust, is now in its fourth year and has already helped uncover important insights into the state of the country’s waterways. Running from April 24-30, previous surveys have identified dozens of unrecorded barriers to fish movement, highlighting just how valuable public input can be.

With growing concern over pollution and river health, organisers say this year’s event comes at a crucial time, and that anglers are perfectly placed to make a real difference. By observing their local river and submitting their findings, participants can contribute vital data to support future conservation efforts.

Emma Brisdion, from the Rivers Trust, said: “My grandfather was a keen fly fisherman, so I understand how angling can draw deep connections to waterways and how anglers can be vital eyes and ears for our rivers.

“This year the campaign is coming at a time of increased public awareness about the health of our rivers.”

To take part, download the app to your phone, pick a location and spend 15 minutes observing and answering the questions in the survey. These cover areas such as the wildlife present and the highlighting of any signs of pollution. Then, all upload your survey results.

Download the Big River Watch app, or visit www.theriverstrust.org/take-action/the-big-river-watch

Spring and summer are brilliant seasons to target tench, and few tactics suit them better than a maggot feeder.

It puts a tight pile of bait around the hookbait, encourages confident feeding, and keeps everything compact enough to improve your chances of hooking one. It is a rig that has accounted for some of the biggest tincas caught in this country, while still being just as effective if you are after plenty of bites.

Why this maggot feeder rig works for tench

Tench love maggots, so this is a rig that makes complete sense from the start. Rather than scattering bait and hoping fish find your hookbait, a maggot feeder keeps everything tight, with the hookbait sat right amongst the feed.

It comes into its own in spring when fish begin to feed more confidently again. Regular casting lets you build the swim, and once tench move in, the rig is already doing exactly what it should. It is simple, easy to tie, and very hard for feeding fish to ignore.

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The best feeder to use

An inline maggot feeder is the best option here. The Drennan Inline Blockend and Guru Inline Maggot Feeder are both good choices that do exactly what you need.

Fixed feeders are best avoided on venues with weed or snags where a fish could become tethered. An inline feeder with a swivel pushed into the end gives you a neat, safe set-up and a clean way to attach the hooklength without complicating things.

CATCH YOUR FIRST TENCH WITH THE HELP OFOUR BEGINNER GUIDE.

How to tie the rig

Thread an inline maggot feeder onto your main line, then tie on a snap link swivel with an eye that beds neatly into the feeder body. Push the swivel into place so it holds with a little friction, creating a safe semi-fixed set-up that helps the feeder set the hook.

Use a short mono hooklength of around 6’ so the hookbait stays tight to the feed. If you are getting aborted takes or losing fish don’t be afraid to go as short as 4”.  As with a Method feeder, you want the hookbait right next to the feeder, surrounded by maggots as they work their way out the feeder.

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Hookbait and hook choice

A size 12 or 14 medium-gape hook is ideal, giving you enough strength and enough gape to fish three or four maggots properly.

A useful tweak is adding a fake maggot onto the hook shank and over the eye so it acts like a simple kicker. This helps the hook turn and catch hold more effectively, especially when combined with a few live maggots for movement.

It is also worth carrying alternative hookbaits. Worm, corn and pellets can all work well, and tench can switch preferences quickly. Sometimes a small change is all it takes to get bites going again.

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Where to fish it

A maggot feeder rig works best over a firm lakebed, whether that is gravel, clay or a harder patch of silt with minimal weed. If the feeder plugs into soft bottom or disappears into weed, the presentation loses its effectiveness.

Classic tench areas are always worth a look. Lily pads, weedbeds, near-margin drop-offs and overhanging trees will all hold fish. You do not always need to cast far either. Plenty of fish patrol just a couple of rod lengths out, and accurate casting is far more important than distance.

Other considerations

Dawn is one of thebest times to fish for tench, and signs like rolling fish or fizzing bubbles are always worth watching for before you even make a cast. If you see either, you are usually in the right area.

Go prepared with bait, because tench can get through a lot of maggots once they settle. Prebaiting the night before can be a big edge, and a little groundbait can help pull fish into the swim, especially if it includes hemp, pellets and corn.

IF YOU WANT TO CATCH MORE TENCH, TRY THE WORM KEBAB!

Fake baits still get written off by some anglers, but they catch plenty of fish. Imitation corn, rubber pellets and artificial bread have all earned their place in many anglers fishing because they do a job, and in the right situation they can be every bit as effective as the real thing. Carp, tench, barbel and bream will all take them readily enough when they are fished properly.

Predator anglers have trusted artificial baits for years, and the principle is no different here. A bait still has to land where fish are feeding, look right in the water and behave naturally enough to be accepted. Get that part right and the fish is not going to stop and question whether the hookbait is real.

USE A FAKE BAIT WITH ONE OF THE ALL TIME BEST CARP RIGS.

Why use fake baits?

When smaller nuisance fish can peck away at the bait, a fake more resilient bait makes sense. A soft hookbait can be stripped, broken down or pulled out of place in no time, while an imitation one keeps fishing. That is often enough on its own to make it worth using when you are trying to target the better fish.

Many are buoyant too, which gives you more control over the presentation. You can fish them popped up so they sit proud of the bottom or use them to create a critically balanced or neutrally buoyant hookbait that settles more gently and behaves more naturally when mouthed. Over soft silt, light debris or sparse weed, that can be a real edge.

They also come into their own where softer baits are awkward to fish. Artificial bread is the obvious example. It gives you the same look as crust, but in a form that casts well and stays on the hook far better, which is a huge help when you are trying to reach surface-feeding carp at range.

CATCH MORE FISH ON SWEETCORN THANKS TO THIS HANDY GUIDE.

Why fish take them

Fish do not need much convincing if the bait looks right and is amongst bait what they are already eating. Shape, colour and presentation do most of the work. Once a fake bait is introduced among free offerings, it can be taken just as naturally as the real thing.

That is why imitation baits are no different to anything else in one important sense. Put one in the wrong place and it will do nothing. Fish it where they are feeding, match it to the loosefeed and it becomes a very different proposition.

CATCH SPECIMEN FISH ON FAKE BAITS USING THE BEST SPECIMEN RODS.

Adding attraction

Most fake baits are made to look right rather than smell right, so it often pays to back them up with a bit of attraction. Some anglers soak them in liquid flavourings, which can help for a while, but that tends to fade with time in the water.

Fishing them over the real thing usually makes more sense. Fake corn over a few grains of the real stuff is the classic example, but the same applies with pellets, hemp, groundbait or a small PVA bag. You keep all the toughness and visual appeal of the artificial hookbait, while the feed around it adds the smell and food signals that help complete the picture.

SOAK FAKE BAITS IN THE BEST LIQUIDS, ADDITITVES AND BAIT BOOSTERS.

Having just turned 16, Abbey Cutting decided to enter her first-ever ‘proper’ match in the shape of a qualifier for the Fish North event… and promptly won it!

She’s followed the series over the last few years, watching every final as a spectator, so Abbey eagerly awaited the chance to buy a ticket herself.

When she reached the age of 16, she entered the match at Woodlands Lakes, where she drew Peg 1 on Middy Moat – and made no mistake in claiming victory.

“I had a decent run of F1s and silvers on the long pole to the island before catching some lovely carp and F1s down the edgelater on, landing 40 fish for 76lb 3oz. That was enough to qualify,” Abbey said.

“I’m buzzing with the result at my first ever go.”

Abbey must now fish a semi-final and, if she gets through that, she will be competing for the £10k top prize in the grand final later on this year.

THESE AWESOME MATCH FISHING TIPS WILL HELP YOU WIN JUST LIKE ABBEY!

Angling has long been a sport built on experience, with the older generations of anglers often shaping its traditions and trajectory. However, as the spotlight has begun to shift towards younger audiences and fast-paced content, some of the older anglers are feeling left behind.

Ian Wright bought his rod licence in March last year at the age of 57, having not fished since he was a teenager. He was not coming back to relive childhood memories or chase nostalgia. He needed something for himself. Something that got him out of the house, cleared his head and gave him a reason to do more than stare at the same four walls.

What he found was FjukaAnglers, a Facebook group built around the bait brand founded by Dave Preston, the man behind Preston Innovations. It was not created as a formal participation scheme. Preston simply needed anglers to test baits, and the group grew from there. It has since become a community of 25,000 anglers, with members organising their own social fish-ins and matches. Many, he says, now tell him it has changed their lives, either by bringing them back into fishing or by giving them social contact they did not have before.

That matters because it tells you something straight away: this audience does not need inventing.

Ian was so nervous before his first Fjuka Anglers session at Aston Park Fisheries in Sheffield that he booked a hotel nearby and stayed over the night before. He lay there wondering whether he would look out of place, whether everyone else would know exactly what they were doing and whether he was about to make a fool of himself.

Instead, he found it friendly, welcoming and free of judgement. He went home and booked the next one.

When winter arrived and the calendar went quiet, he felt the change immediately.

“I could feel myself going back into my shell,” he says. “In six months time the next one comes up. Am I going to go? I don’t want to go through making friends again.”

Rather than wait for something else to happen, he started his own group, Any PegAnglers.

That is not just one man taking initiative. It is a sign of something angling should be paying far more attention to.

Angling is only looking one way

British angling has put a lot of effort into juniors in recent years, and rightly so. Free junior licences, Let’s Fish sessions, coaching and schools work have all helped create a stronger route into the sport than existed before. Environment Agency figures show 934,000 fishing licences were sold in England in 2024-25, the second straight year of growth.

That is encouraging, but it only tells part of the story.

While the sport has been busy improving one end of the pathway, it has done far less to speak to another obvious audience: older adults returning to fishing later in life.

And the scale of that opportunity is hard to ignore. According to the Office for NationalStatistics, more than 26 million people in the UK are aged 50 and over. Recruit even a small fraction of that audience and the impact on participation, clubs, fisheries and the wider trade would be significant.

The annual participation figure also masks something important. People do not move through angling in a straight line. Many fish when they are young, drift away through work or family, then return years later when time, interest or need pull them back.

That points to an area the sport still does too little with. Not just recruitment, but reactivation.

Anyone who has spent time in the trade will recognise the pattern. Adults coming into the sport later in life often behave differently from juniors or occasional anglers. They may not spend heavily on day one, but once they settle and gain confidence, many become regular anglers who buy carefully and keep coming back. Most are not looking for a formal pathway. They are looking for a welcome, a bit of guidance and the confidence to feel they are not about to make a fool of themselves.

The real barrier is confidence

For somebody trying fishing for the first time at 55, or returning after 30 years away, angling can look like a world of its own. It has its own language, its own etiquette and plenty of unwritten rules. If you arrive at a fishery wondering whether you have brought the wrong gear, it does not take much for uncertainty to turn into embarrassment.

That was exactly what Ian wrestled with.

“The hardest thing for me to break was worrying about what everybody else was thinking,” he says. “People are going to laugh at me, people are going to laugh at my tackle.”

At one point he drove to a fishery, sat in the car park and left without unloading.

That is the part angling still underestimates. The barrier is often not fishing itself. It is how the sport feels from the outside looking in.

Dave Lyons of Tackling Minds sees the same pattern among people coming into fishing later in life or returning after years away.

“A lot of the people we support carry that same worry,” he says. “It’s not really about the fishing, it’s about how they feel walking into that environment. Feeling like they might be judged, not knowing the unwritten rules, or just not wanting to stand out.”

For some, he says, that first interaction decides everything.

“That first welcome is everything. If someone is dealing with isolation, bereavement or low confidence, that initial interaction can decide whether they stay or never come back.”

Once that barrier is broken, the pattern is familiar. Ian started with a licence, then Angling Trust membership, then a second-hand whip. As confidence built, so did his tackle. A feeder rod, reel, line and bait.

“I know I’ve got to go and get line, bombs, feeders,” he says. “It snowballs.”

That matters because returning anglers do not just reappear. They often become committed participants.

For some, it is about much more than fishing

Some of the people standing on the edge of angling are not simply looking for a hobby. They are dealing with retirement, bereavement, isolation or the sort of empty space that opens up when work and long-established routines fall away.

Age UK estimates that 1.4 million older people in England are chronically lonely, while a further 1.9 million say they often feel ignored and invisible. By 2026, the number experiencing loneliness is projected to reach 2 million.

That matters here because angling offers things many people are short of: routine, time outdoors, quiet company and a reason to go somewhere with purpose.

Ruth Lowe, Head of Loneliness Services at Age UK, says major life changes such as retirement, bereavement or changes in physical health can seriously affect confidence and make it harder for people to put themselves out there. When they do, that first welcome matters. A simple conversation, a bit of encouragement and a sense that they belong can make the difference between coming back or not.

Elsewhere, it has been treated as a real opportunity

This is not something unique to the UK.

In the United States, angling bodies spent years working around what became known as Recruitment, Retention and Reactivation, or R3. The thinking was straightforward. Anglers drift in and out of the sport over time, and many of the people worth targeting are not new to fishing at all, just absent from it.

That led to a deliberate focus on reactivation, bringing back people who had fished before but drifted away.

Angling International reported that 57.7 million Americans fished in 2023 and 57.9 million in 2024, both record highs.

That programme has since lost funding, but the lesson remains. Returning anglers are a serious growth opportunity when a sport makes room for them properly.

In the UK, people do come back, but more often than not they find their own way in through friends, family or small communities like Fjuka Anglers. Very little of it feels structured.

The appetite is there, but the route isn’t

There is already evidence that this audience will engage with angling when it is presented in the right way.

The success of Mortimer and Whitehouse: Gone Fishing has shown that clearly enough. It centres on two men in the same broad age bracket and leans as much on companionship, conversation and wellbeing as it does on the fishing itself.

That does not prove passive viewers will become anglers, but it does show the appeal is there. The challenge is turning that interest into participation and making the sport feel accessible to people who may already be curious, but unsure how to begin.

A missed opportunity in plain sight

None of this reduces the importance of getting young people into angling. That work matters and needs to continue.

But older adults are not some side audience to think about later. They are one of the clearest growth opportunities the sport has right now. Not just because many have more time, but because a lot of them are at a point in life where getting outdoors, finding structure and feeling part of something starts to matter more.

Angling already offers all of that. What it has not done well enough is make clear that these people belong too.

Ian renewed his licence this year without needing a reminder. He now runs Any Peg Anglers, organises matches and helps create exactly the kind of welcome he once needed himself.

The audience is already there. Angling just hasn’t met it properly yet.

Not every carp fishing session needs to be a two or three-night campaign. In fact, through the warmer months, a quick overnighter can often make far more sense, particularly if you don't have a lot of time at your disposal.

With longer daylight hours, hot afternoons and the carp spending much of the day sulking in weed or mooching about without much intent, it is easy to waste time sitting behind motionless rods.

That is why short overnighters can be so effective. They allow you to focus on the periods where fish are more active and likely to feed, usually late evening, the early hours and first light, these are periods where the fish are more likely to slip up. The key is not simply turning up for one night and hoping for the best. You need to be organised, mobile and ready to make every hour count.

QUICK OVERNIGHTER? HAVE THE BEST CARP FISHING RODS RIGGED AND READY TO GO.

Be fishing for bite time

One of the biggest mistakes on a quick overnight is arriving too casually and losing the best part of the session while sorting all your kit out. In summer and early autumn, the most productive spells are often brief, and first light can be especially important, so you need to be ready long before that window opens.

Preparation should start before you leave home. Rigs tied, hookpoints checked, leads and end tackle sorted, and everything is packed so you can get the rods out quickly. If you arrive with limited time and then start rummaging through bags, tying rigs and sorting hookbaits, you are already a step behind.

CHECK OUT OUR EXPERT GUIDE FOR ALL THE TIPS AND TACKLE YOU NEED.

Travel light and stay mobile

There is no point loading yourself up with all your gear for one night if it leaves you glued to a swim you should probably have moved from hours ago.

Carry only what you actually need. A compact tackle box, a bucket for bait, the essentials for the night and simple food that is easy to grab and go. The less kit you have lying about, the easier it is to react if the fish tell you need to be in a different part of the lake.

Mobility is a huge edge on quick overnighters. If carp show at midnight in an area you had not planned to fish, you need to be honest with yourself. Are you actually in a position to move, or have you built yourself a campsite?

HERE IS OUR PICK OF THE BEST BUDGET BIVVIES.

Do your homework before the session

If you are serious about making overnighters work, much of the job needs doing before the session even starts. Turning up to the lake in the evening, with barely any daylight left, is a poor use of time.

A prior visit is worth while and can make a massive difference. Even a quiet walk round with a marker or leading around rod can help you find a couple of clean areas, note the range and far bank markers, leaving you with a plan for when you return. That way, if you do arrive late after work, you are not starting from scratch.

Where rules allow, a little prebaiting can tilt things further in your favour. On a quick session, any head start is an advantage.

DELIVER THE BAIT AND RIGS TO THE SPOT USING ONE OF THE BEST BAITS BOATS.

Make your bait work harder

Once the carp have finished spawning and properly settle into summer feeding patterns, they are often looking for food with some nutritional value to it. That is where a good fishmeal boilie really comes into its own.

On short sessions, ensuring your bait is working quickly is essential, prepare it in advance. Taking frozen boilies out the day before and letting them thaw in liquid food gives them a real boost. Once they have taken that in, adding a powder coating helps create another layer of attraction and gives the bait a bit more instant pull on the lakebed.

You are not trying to build a long campaign over several days. You are trying to get an instant response, getting the fish to find you, feed confidently and make a mistake in a small space of time.

PICK THE BEST BOILIES FOR YOUR NEXT SESSION.

Always do a lap before you settle in

Even if you have an idea of where you want to fish, still do a lap of the lake when you arrive. Carp do not care about your plan, and there is no point marching into a swim just because it made sense or where the big un was last caught, if the fish are clearly showing somewhere else.

A quick look round can often save a wasted night. If they are crashing in a corner, fizzing over a marginal shelf or giving themselves away in a quiet area you hadn't even considered, that is the information that should dictate the session. If there is nothing obvious to go on, then you can fall back on the spots you found or baited earlier.

This is where preparation can really pay off. If your wraps, lines and spots are already worked out, you can get rods in position quickly and start fishing rather than losing valuable time second-guessing yourself.

A GREAT PAIR OF POLAROIDS FOR FISHING ARE ESSENTAIL FOR SPOTTING FISH.

Keep rigs simple and reliable

On a short overnighter, it's not the time to get clever and overcomplicate rig mechanics. You want a rig you trust, one that casts well, resets properly and does not leave you worrying whether it is actually fishing.

A simple stiff D-style presentation is a good example of that. Fished over a clean spot, it kicks away well, resists tangles and tends to behave itself even if the bait gets picked up and blown about. Pairing that with a balanced hookbait or wafter helps the hook sit right and gives the bait that subtle, easy-to-take presentation carp deal with badly when they are feeding.

There is a time for complexity. A quick overnighter usually is not it.

FISHING OVERNIGHT? THEN CHECK OUT THE BEST FISHING BEDCHAIRS.

Bait the swim when you leave

If you have bait left at the end of the session, put it to work rather than take it home.

Crumbing up leftover boilies and introducing them onto the spot, along with a few pellets or some hemp, can keep fish rooting around in the area well after you have gone. That can be especially useful if you think you might return within a few days. Small food items help hold attention, and any liquids or powders you have used will continue to leak attraction out on the deck.

When done consistently you can ensure that the spot has fish visiting and feeding regularly.

THE BEST SPOD RODS HAVE BIGGER TEST CURVES TO DELIVER BAIT ACCURATELY.

Fish off the barrow if you have to

This is where a lot of anglers get it wrong. They talk about being mobile, but once the rods are out, the swim looks like a tackle shop exploded in it.

When doing a proper hit-and-run overnighter, most things should stay packed away once you're fishing. Apart from the basics, you need to be able to move with minimal fuss. Carp can show somewhere else at 2am or 3am, and if that happens, you need to decide whether you are committed to catching them or committed to staying comfortable and this is often the difference between a wet or dry net.

Some of the most productive moves happen in the middle of the night. If the lake tells you the fish are elsewhere and you are too buried in kit to react, that is on you.

GET THE GEAR TO THE BANK USING ONE OF THE BEST FISHING BARROWS.

Let conditions dictate when you go

The real beauty of the overnight session is being flexible. You don't need three spare days and a packed van to make it work. You can pick and choose your moments.

If a fresh wind is due to push into an area you already fancied, or you know the conditions are aligning for a short feeding spell, you can get a bit of bait in ahead of time and drop in when it looks right. That can be far more effective than sitting behind rods for nights on end simply because it is the only time you had available.

A lot of anglers assume they cannot compete with the lads who fish the lake constantly, but that is not always the case. A considered, well-timed overnighter, done with purpose, can often out-fish a much longer session fished badly.

ENSURE THE FISH ARE PROTECTED ON THE BANK USING ONE OF THE BEST UNHOOKING MATS.

When it comes to fishing, there is nothing worse than losing a big fish, and most anglers will have a haunting story of the one that got away. After watching a huge roach slip away at the net a few seasons ago, Roger Hill was overwhelmed to finally redeem that loss by landing this fine 3lb 1oz redfin.

Fishing a southern chalk stream just days before the season ended, he started the day on the float but, after not getting a touch, he switched to a small cage feeder for the last half hour of his session.

Using a small piece of breadflake on a fine wire size 12 hook and 3lb hooklink, and feeding liquidised bread through the feeder, it wasn’t long before he had an indication on his 1oz quivertip.

Lifting into the fish, Roger knew it was something pretty decent from the off, and not long after that he slipped the net under the three-pounder.

NOW THE SEASON IS CLOSED, WHY NOT TRY CATCHING A BIG STILLWATER ROACH...

Very few carp fishing sessions can compare to the unbelievable week Ryan Swift recently experienced at Old Mill Lakes in Lincoln.

The Manchester-based angler enjoyed what can only be described as one of the greatest UK carp sessions in recent years.

During his stay, he landed 37 carp, which, while not unheard of, was remarkable due to their sheer size, with Ryan slipping the net under multiple 50's and a brace of 60lb carp in an incredible feat of angling.

HEAD TO ONE OF THESE VENUES TO BANK SOME BIG CARP...

“After arriving at the lake, a friend of mine was in a swim I fancied and was due to leave the next morning. He'd had five bites, landing fish up to 31lb, so it was clear the carp were favouring that area of the lake, and it was certainly where I needed to be,” Ryan told us.

“The next morning, I was up early so I didn’t miss my opportunity to get into the swim. Thankfully, I managed to secure it after my friend, and rather than setting up camp, I decided to get the rods out first and worry about that afterwards,” he added.

THE BEST CARP REELS WILL HELP YOU LAND MORE FISH...

It turned out to be a very wise choice, as for the first two hours of casting in, Ryan struggled to keep a rod in the water as the fish had moved into the area in numbers and were clearly on the feed. Despite having a week ahead of him, he chose to apply tiny amounts boilies and fish for a bite at a time, rather than deploying a big bed of bait.

“Those first two hours were unbelievable. Fishing 13mm yellow hi-attract Mainline pop-ups over the top seemed to keep them snuffling about, and the bites just kept coming,” he explained.

““Things finally calmed down enough for me to get my bivvy set up, and I settled in for the night, utterly exhausted. However, on the second morning, I was again into fish early on and the madness ensued, landing another 10 fish that day up to a mind-blowing Pitchers at 63.3lb. I couldn’t believe my luck.

“From then on, I was averaging around six fish per day, culminating in carp up to 61lb. Overall, by the end of the session I had landed two 60s, four 50s, three 40s and nine 30's along with a few smaller carp in what can only be described as the session of a lifetime. I will certainly never forget it,” he concluded.

STAY COMFORTABLE ON THE BANK WITH ONE OF THE BEST BEDCHAIRS...

A growing campaign to bring water back under UK ownership is gathering momentum, with a new petition sparking fresh debate. It comes as backers say it’s time to rethink how the nation’s water is managed.

Anglers have been sounding the alarm over the declining state of UK rivers for more than a decade, but in recent years the issue has moved firmly into the public spotlight.

Between 2024 and the end of 2025, there were approximately 883,970 recorded incidents of untreated sewage discharged into rivers, totalling an estimated 5.5 million hours of spill time. Critics say this is only part of the picture, with many more incidents that never get reported.

The issue has become increasingly political, with growing pressure on water companies and regulators to act. Campaigners argue that years of underinvestment and weak oversight have left rivers in crisis, while supporters of public ownership believe it could lead to greater accountability and long-term protection of the UK’s waterways.

Despite repeated promises from successive governments, many argue that little meaningful change has followed. This has left sections of the public, particularly anglers, questioning whether those with the power to implement real reform genuinely have the will to protect the country’s rivers. All while households in the UK are experiencing steep increases in their water bills.

Amid this growing frustration over the current state of the nation’s rivers, campaigners say the situation has reached a point of desperation. In response, a petition has been launched calling for water to be brought back under UK ownership, with supporters hoping it will add further pressure for meaningful reform. The petition can be signed here.

Tench fishing is incredibly popular in the UK, often evoking images of arriving at a quintessential British estate lake at dawn, lowering a float fished bait next to some lily pads, before the tell-tale bubbles begin to erupt on the surface.

There is a magic about tench fishing that really takes some beating, but if you are yet to catch one, don't worry as this guide will help you land your first Tinca.

Get there early

Tench fishing and first light go hand in hand so if you only have a couple of hours for a session, try to organise your time so you’re on the bank before the sun breaks the horizon. Tench can be quite shy, especially on natural venues like gravel pits and canals, and dawn, closely followed by dusk, is generally the best time to catch one.

IF YOU WANT TO CATCH A TENCH, HEAD TO ONE OF THESE AWESOME VENUES!

Where to find tench

Tench can be found in almost all types of waters from canals, commercial fisheries, carp lakes, gravel pits, and rivers so chances are, there are some not too far from where you live.

Once you arrive at your chosen venue, have a look around as certain features are more likely to hold tench than others, with classic hotspots including lily pads, marginal drop-offs, overhanging trees, and weedbeds.

Tench are generally quite shy and tend to stick close to structure, especially during bright conditions so these features give youth best chance of locating them.

THESE VENUES GIVE YOU A GREAT CHANCE OF CATCHING TENCH.

Tactics to catch tench

Most die-hard tench anglers will tell you that float fishing is the only way to catch them and while we agree it’s an exciting method, feeder fishing is also a highly effective way to land tench.

If you choose to float fish, you can opt for the lift method, where the bait is anchored to the bottom and the float rises when a tench picks it up, or go with a traditional waggler setup. For beginners, the latter is much easier to master.

If you prefer feeder fishing, you can go down the Method feeder route, which is an excellent way of catching tench, or use a helicopter rig with maggots or groundbait in the feeder. This approach often accounts for the majority of specimen tench captures each year, such is its effectiveness and is a much easier way to fish if you are fishing overnight or longer sessions.

NEED HELP SETTING UP A FLOAT ROD? THIS GUIDE SHOULD BE REALLY HELPFUL.

Bait choice for tench

When it comes to tench, they can be either incredibly fussy about what they pick up or happy to inhale anything in their path, so it’s wise to take a variety of baits to tempt them.

If I could only take two, it would be casters and sweetcorn as tench absolutely adore both. Casters seem to have the edge, but if your venue has a lot of smaller silverfish, corn is king, as it helps deter them!

Other great baits for tench include worms, hemp, pellets, and maggots, with some anglers having great success on boilies, particularly on carp waters.

TENCH FISHING CAN BE A WAITING GAME, SIT COMFORTABLY IN ONE OF THE BEST FISHING CHAIRS.

Tackle

Tench are strong fish, and you'll often be catching them close to features, so it's wise to step up your tackle accordingly. I recommend using a 5–6lb mainline for float fishing and around 8lb for feeder setups.

Hooklengths of 4–5lb will cover most situations, offering enough strength to control the tench without being so heavy that it spoils the fight. A standard match or feeder rod will do the job, but if you're serious about targeting tench regularly, a dedicated specimen rod is a better choice.

ONE OF THE BEST FISHING REELS WILL HELP YOU LAND BIG TENCH.

Top tips

Prebaiting is a great way to catch tench and simply popping down to your chosen venue the night before to introduce some bait into likely-looking spots can be really effective.

Tench often give away their presence by rolling on the surface or through the tell-tale bubbles they release from the lakebed while feeding. If you spot either of these signs, it’s a good indication that tench are in the area and it's definitely worth fishing there.

Despite their size, tench tend to favour smaller food items, so small hookbaits can be particularly effective, often outperforming larger offerings. A single grain of corn, a few casters, or a lobworm can all be deadly choices.

Tench are also comfortable patrolling close to the near-margin drop-offs, meaning you often won’t need to cast far. Just a couple of rod lengths out is usually enough.

Groundbait can be useful for drawing tench into your swim, just don’t go overboard. If you're limited on time, a single hand-sized ball packed with hemp, pellets, and corn can be enough to spark a feeding response.

NEED MORE INFORMATION ON CATCHING TENCH? THIS ARTICLE IS PACKED FULL OF TIPS!

For a lot of anglers,the Hybrid feeder has now become the default choice over a Method feeder. It suits the way many people fish today, and there are plenty who will reach for one almost automatically. That does not mean the Method feeder no longer has a place, though, because there are still situations where it can be the more useful option.

The Method really comes into its own when you want to build a swim early in the session. It carries more bait than a Hybrid, so you can introduce a bigger hit of feed with each cast and get fish competing in the area more quickly. That is why it often makes sense to begin on a Method and then switch to a Hybrid once the bites start to come regularly.

If you want to stick with a Method feeder throughout, that is still a perfectly sound approach. The principles are much the same in terms of hookbaits, feed and how you load it. The main thing to keep in mind is the volume of bait going in, because that is where choosing the right size feeder becomes more important.

THE BEST SHORT FEEDER RODS ARE PERFECT FOR THE METHOD FEEDER ON COMMERCIALS.

Hookbait position

The whole idea of the Method is to get carp feeding on the loose offerings, with your hookbait among them, so always load it like that. Never have the hookbait dangling loose below the feeder.

CHECK OUT OUR GUIDE TO CATCHING BREAM ON THE METHOD.

Sizes and weights

I use the ‘Big Bertha’ versions of the Method, in both 28g and 45g weights, for piling the bait in or casting a long way. The 24g small version is better for more general use, and the mini one is mainly for winter.

PARTICLES CAN BE FED VIA THE BEST BAIT-UP RODS,

Bright or dull?

‘Blend-in’ hookbaits (6mm or 8mm hard pellets) match the feed and are useful when fish are a bit cagey, whereas stand-out hookbaits (fluoro boilies or wafters) are highly visible and give the fish a bait they can home in on.

THE BEST CARP FEEDER ROD WILL HELP YOU FISH THE METHOD EFFECTIVELY.

Feeder contents

If in doubt I’ll put 2mm pellets in the feeder as a safe option, but in case things aren’t going to plan with pellets I will switch to groundbait. If it’s right, the fish will let me know in a matter of just a few casts!

 CHECK OUR GUIDE **THE BEST FISHING REELS_ FOR THE RIGHT REEL TO SUIT YOUR NEEDS_**.

If there is one fish that tells you spring has sprung, it is the tench. Fizzing bubbles by lilly pads, the unmistakeable green flash as one rolls over a weedbed, fewer things in coarse fishing feel quite as exciting. Powerful, beautiful and once voted Angling Times readers’ favourite species, the red-eyed tench is a fish that keeps anglers coming back year after year.

Now is the time to target them. As temperatures rise, tench begin feeding harder and showing more regularly in exactly the kind of spots anglers love to fish, tight to reeds, pads and marginal cover. Better still, you do not need access to an exclusive syndicate water to enjoy quality sport, because some excellent day-ticket venues offer a genuine chance of catching them.

Hibaldstow Lakes, Gainsborough, Lincolnshire

The Specimen Lake is a highly productive day-ticket tench fishery, and now is when it starts to find form. Lead around to find a clear spot well away from the bank before putting down a small bed of pellets, corn and crushed boilies. Present a Method feeder over the top and fish to 7lb will respond.
Contact: www.hibaldstow-lakes.co.uk

Harescombe Fishery, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire

Pasture Lake is home to a healthy head of fish to 6lb, and floatfishing at close range will help you find them. Pole anglers should target lines down the margins, at 6m and 13m, and kick off long before coming shorter as the day progress. Corn, worms and maggots are all reliable baits.
Contact: www.harescombefisheries.co.uk

Dishley Pool, Loughborough, Leicestershire

This Loughborough Soar AS water is a true hidden gem with fantastic tench potential. The weed builds up in areas at this time of year, and a little work to find a clear spot is vital. A Method feeder loaded with micros or fishmeal groundbait and a wafter hookbait rarely fails.
Contact: www.loughboroughsoarangling.com

Springvale Fisheries, Worksop, Nottinghamshire

Newcastle Lake is a truly mixed water, and tench feature heavily. There’s no need to fish far out to find them, and double maggot or a single grain of corn down the margins or 5m out will help you find plenty of fish in the 1lb-3lb bracket. Get it right and 50lb-plus netfuls will be your reward.
Contact: www.springvalefishinglakes.co.uk

Billingford Lakes, Dereham, Norfolk

Basil Todd Lake has kicked into life, and tench are playing a big part in catches. A small cage feeder cast towards the middle or long pole tactics can score, and groundbait laced with chopped worms and dead maggots will result in fish in the 3lb-5lb bracket.
Contact: www.billingfordlakes.co.uk

Kiveton Waters, Sheffield, South Yorkshire

Long pole and waggler tactics are the best way to find the tench on Rose’s. This lake is heavily stocked with tench up to 3lb, and using corn or soft expander pellet hookbaits is the best way to pick out the better stamp. Feed little and often and rotate lines whenever sport shows signs of slowing down.
Contact: www.canalrivertrust.org.uk

Pickering Park, Hull, East YorkshIre

This park lake is very shallow,and the fish spend most of their time sat close to the central islands. That leads to the Method feeder being the most prolific tactic, and casting every 10-15 minutes to build a small bed of bait will soon attract fish to 6lb into the swim.
Contact: www.parks.hull.gov.uk

Otherton Fishery, Stafford, Staffs

Feed small quantities of pellets and corn just a few rodlengths out and tench to 4lb will soon show an interest. If the session kicks off slowly, start to trickle a few maggots in, as this will attract the smaller silverfish that will in turn trigger an inquisitive reaction from your target species.
Contact: www.facebook.com

Linear Fisheries, Oxford, Oxfordshire

The most popular fishery in the land, it has a national reputation for its huge carp, but giant tench well into double figures also feature heavily. Most of the lakes are home to potential personal bests, but the 14-acre Manor Farm is arguably the pick of the best, with boilies and pellets the most effective baits.

Contact: www.linear-fisheries.co.uk

Stanwick Lakes, Wellingborough, Northants

Coot Pool may be tiny, but it is home to some very impressive tench that run to over 7lb. Pole fishing 7m-10m out or underarming a Method feeder out to the same distance will put you in with a shot at finding these impressive fish. The best action tends to be experienced at first light and later in the day.
Contact: www.stanwicklakes.org.uk

Blythe Waters, Solihull, West Midlands

Cherries Pool received hundreds of quality tench during a winter stocking programme, and the increased temperatures have seen them switch on to the feed. Start by fishing in open water with worms, casters or corn on the hook, switching to the margins later in the day once you have primed them beforehand for a couple of hours.
Contact: www.canalrivertrust.org.uk

Bitterwell Lake, Bristol

Fish to 5lb have been quite frequent visitors to the bank throughout winter, and their willingness to feed will only improve now. Fish the pole at 11m-13m and feed two balls of groundbait laced with chopped worms, casters and a few grains of corn to get the fish interested.
Contact: www.bitterwelllake.co.uk

Codnor Park, Ripley, Derbyshire

This large lake responds well to feeder fishing tactics, and a cage feeder packed with groundbait and a few loose particles is the best way to tempt tench to 5lb. Use a bait-up feeder to put a carpet of bait down at the start before dropping on top with a baited rig and waiting patiently.
Contact: www.discoverashfield.co.uk

Twin Lakes Fishery, Bedford, Bedfordshire

Top-class match angler Mark Pollard is a regular at the complex and has caught plenty of tench in recent weeks, helping others achieve the same results during coaching sessions. Maggots and soft pellets presented on either the short or long pole will help you find fish to 4lb.
Contact: www.twinlakesfishery.co.uk

Meat remains one of the most reliable and versatile hookbaits in fishing. It is relatively cheap, easy to get hold of, and few baits can rival it when it comes to catching a wide range of species in all sorts of situations.

I have caught plenty of bream, big roach and tench on meat, which says plenty about how versatile it is. Carp obviously love it, but it is far from being just a carp bait. I am also pleased the old trend of feeding it heavily with cubes has died off, because that can create water quality problems. Used mainly as a hookbait, and with feed kept to a minimum, it is often all the more effective for it.

THE BEST BARBEL FISHING RODS ARE IDEAL FOR FISHING MEAT ON THE RIVER.

Luncheon meat

Bacon Grill, Spam and chopped pork and ham were among the first meat baits I ever used, and all three still have a place in the emergency bait supplies I keep stashed in the car. A lot of that comes down to their long shelf life, but they also remain effective and incredibly adaptable.

Bacon Grill is still one of my favourites, but Spam, particularly the black pepper variety, is right up there too. It is firm, easy to chop or pass through a meat cutter, and stays on the hook really well, which makes it a very reliable option when you want a neat, durable hookbait. Both can be punched or cut to suit the job in front of you.

It is worth checking the ingredients on tins of luncheon meat, though, because some contain chicken rather than pork. That usually makes them much softer, and some versions can even be prone to floating. That is not always a bad thing, as softer meat can still be very effective, but it does mean different brands behave differently. It is well worth experimenting, because texture can vary a lot and you will soon work out which ones best suit the way you like to fish.

DID YOU KNOW YOU CAN USE MEAT IN A SLOP? FIND OUT HOW IN THIS EXPERT ARTICLE.

Hot dogs

A cheap and under-rated meat bait. Most hot dogs contain more chicken than pork, a very different proposition to luncheon meat.

Their soft texture makes them ideal for short-range work on pole or leger. They are quite buoyant too, useful for fishing on the drop or when a wafter-style bait is required to turn finicky bites into something more positive.

You can simply slice hot dog sausages into chunks for larger fish, a useful tactic if you are freelining for river chub.

Most of the time, though, it’s a 6mm or 8mm punched bait that does the business. Use a fine baiting needle to carefully hair-rig these soft baits. They are also ideal for side-hooking on the float. Why not use them as a very visual hookbait when float fishing pellets for barbel and chub?

Hot dogs are also a brilliant bait to punch and use on a straight lead during cooler conditions, when you are often fishing a single hookbait and searching the swim for bites. More often than not, if you put a neat piece of punched hot dog in front of a fish, it will have it.

CAST OUT A PIECE OF PUNCHED HOT DOG ON THE BEST CARP FEEDER RODS.

Garlic sausage

Over recent seasons, garlic sausage has become a firm favourite bait of mine. I have used everything from matchbox-sized chunks for catfish, down to tiny punched pieces for crucians. Being quite tough, this bait can be hair-rigged with ease.

Garlic sausage is often much cheaper than luncheon meat, and it can be cut into slices and punched or chopped into cubes. It’s a very versatile bait that you can find in the chilled food section of your local supermarket.

MEAT IS A PERFECT BAIT FOR ROLLING ON THE RIVER FOR BARBEL.

Salami

Among my favourite baits in the last few years are the various salamis and pre-packaged snack meats that have become really popular. Peperami is probably the best known of these products, but there are lots of other different varieties available, many of which are useful baits.

Straight from the packet, Peperami is just the right size for a carp bait – simply cut it into chunks and hair-rig it. This tough bait will easily last all night and is loved by carp and barbel. For smaller species I use a bait punch to produce my hookbaits. These can range from 4mm upwards, making them ideal for tench, bream and crucians. These small baits are also useful for larger species when they are playing hard to get.

PUNCHED MEAT MAKES A GREAT HOOKBAIT FOR FISHING WITH THE BEST FISHING POLES.

Why not fry your meat

The high fat content of many tinned meats can make using them in hot weather very tricky, especially if you need to cast them any kind of distance. Their soft texture is ideal for pole fishing, where the hookbait can be carefully lowered in, but use the same bait on a leger rig and the cast will often dislodge the hookbait.

One simple tactic to prevent the hookbait being lost is to push a small piece of dead grass under the bend of the hook before pulling it into the bait. This works surprisingly well, but can impede the hook on the strike.

More effective is to toughen up the meat by lightly frying it, so that it can be side-hooked or hair-rigged. Frying draws a lot of the fat out of the meat and gives it a tough skin. Start by cutting the meat into cubes, then warm up a large frying pan and add the cubes of meat. Keep them moving around the pan and fry them for about two minutes.

I will often add some garlic granules or chilli powder to give the bait an extra kick. Let the cooked cubes cool down on a sheet of paper towel and they are ready to use.

YOU CAN ENHANCE YOUR MEAT BAITS WITH ADDITIVES FROM THE SUPERMARKET.

Colouring and flavouring

Some anglers swear by using ragged-shaped lumps of meat, but personally I find it makes no difference.

Cutting meat into neat cubes is certainly less wasteful, and makes baiting up and feeding easier since the baits are of a uniform size. I tend to chop my bait up at home and add any additional flavours and colours the night before fishing. I like to add spices to meat, as these combine really well with this savoury bait.

Store the bait in the fridge to keep it fresh. The porous texture of meat holds flavours well, and both savoury and sweet additives are effective.

IT PAYS TO ENHANCE GOOD BAITS, HERE ARE THE BEST BAITS FOR CARP FISHING...

Whether you have been carp fishing for decades or have just started, there are some mistakes that Adam Penning sees happen time and time again. From poor bait presentation to tackle errors, they will prevent you catching carp.

In this guide we show you how to fix the most common carp fishing mistakes, so every session counts and more fish end up in your net.

Problem one: Being in a rush

Picture the scene. You arrive in rush hour – the same as most of the other anglers on a Friday night. Time is seemingly short. The pressure forces you to choose a spot and get fishing as quickly as possible. You can hear the tick of the clock in your head as you fall into the panic of getting into the ‘right swim’.

Some pegs are already taken, adding to the stress and, even worse, you might only have until 10am the next morning to make it all count.

Solution: Stop and think about it

By all means ‘bucket’ a swim, if permitted, but don’t fall into the trap of getting fishing as quickly as you can. You’ve got a swim, so relax and go for a walk. Do a lap. Do another lap. Are you sure you are in the right place?

Very often the fish will start showing into darkness, so instead of setting up all your gear and rooting yourself to the swim, why not wait and play a longer game?

Only this week I had a correspondent on social media asking me how to cope with exactly this situation. He accepted my advice, took his time and waited until the fish showed, then he moved on to them in darkness and caught a belting mid-twenty common on an adjustable zig.

The lesson is obvious – don’t let panic rush you into making poor decisions!

THESE CARP FISHING TIPS WILL HELP YOU CATCH MORE DAY TICKET CARP...

Problem two: Applying too much bait!

Again, this is very common to see. Once established in a swim, out comes the marker float and off comes the bucket lid. The longer the session, the more bait that is applied. The logic behind the process often being that the more bait you put in, the greater the likelihood of a big catch return.

In reality, this is rarely the case and, furthermore, the process tethers the angler to the swim, taking away the essentials of adaptability and mobility – the latter being a vital component at any time, but particularly in the spring.

Solution: Fish for a bite at a time

Ask yourself how many fish you could realistically catch on your session and also how many do you want to catch? In reality, for most anglers, avoiding the blank and bagging a single carp would be a really good result, especially on more testing venues.

Why not try to achieve this instead of going ‘all or nothing’? Fishing for a bite is always my chosen preference – just concentrate on getting that one carp into the net and then try to build on it afterwards.

Literally all my biggest catches have come this way – I’d struggle to recall one where I heaved it in and then reaped spectacular results.

THE BEST BIVVIES WILL HELP YOU STAY COMFORTABLE ON THE BANK.

Problem three: Tactical confusion

The modern angler is faced with the dilemma of what to apply tactically on a session. The options are vast. Pop-up, wafter, bright, dark, stiff, supple, long, short, boilie or particle? And so it goes on.

Many are chasing their tails in a spin of confusion that doesn’t cultivate confidence or effectiveness.

Solution: Simplify your approach

Instead of blindly following the latest trends and fashions, try and get your choice of rig and bait down to just one or two at the most. Concentrate all your efforts on getting into the right area and deploying an untangled rig with a sharp hook and good-quality bait to the area of activity.

Stop lugging around that bucket of 30 different tubs of pop-ups. Stop carrying a whole tackle shop of terminal tackle items. Streamline your approach and it will rapidly declutter your mind. This process WILL lead you to more carp.

LEARN HOW TO TIE THE PERFECT CARP RIG IN THIS GUIDE...

Problem four: Fish blindness

The angler who once went fishing to be with nature, the lake and the carp, is now disconnected from the whole experience by allowing themselves to be surrounded and indeed engulfed by electronic media.

This results in the angler becoming totally detached from what should be a proactive, ongoing and participatory interaction with the lake. The end result is an increasing number of blanks and a hollow sense of meaninglessness – what was it all really for?

Was it just to be somewhere quiet so that you could ‘doom scroll’ without limit? Surely we want it to be a richer experience than that?

Solution: Turn it all off!

We all use our phones too much. Sometimes they are a necessary tool but beyond that, try putting it down and disconnecting yourself from the electronic matrix.

Pay some serious attention to your surroundings and actually concentrate on what is going on. This one single action will result in you not only enjoying your time on the bank more, but also in more carp gracing your landing net.

THE BEST BITE ALARMS WILL ENSURE YOU NEVER MISS A RUN AGAIN!

An angler was given real reason to celebrate last week after winning a one-of-a-kind pole from angling legend, Sir Bob Nudd!

At the start of the year, four-time World Champion Bob launched a competition on his Facebook page in which anglers would have to predict his weight in the matches he fished until the end of March. Bob awarded 10 points for an exact guess, and five points for the closest, with the angler on the highest points come the end picking up a truly special prize.

“The pole is a Browning Xitan Advance Z16 special edition, embossed with unique graphics for my 30 years of loyal service to the company,” Bob explained. “I have never used it, and would expect it to be worth £4k, maybe even more.”

Over the last four months, more than 500 anglers have taken part, but it was Julian Warrington from Burton-on-Trent who claimed the top prize with a 25-point score.

“I couldn’t believe it – I was truly emotional to be the lucky winner,” he told us. “I recently met Bob with my wife, Kate, at March Railway Station, in Cambridgeshire, to pick up the pole.

“Bob is my all-time hero. I met him once before at a trade show at the Rolls Royce Pavilion in Derby with the late, great Frank Barlow. But when I saw him again this time, it was like he’d known me for years. Bob is a true gentleman – such a warm and friendly person – and a fantastic ambassador for our great sport.

“Thank you again, Sir Bob, for putting together a brilliant competition,” Julian added.

IF YOU NEED A NEW FISHING POLE, CHECK OUT OUR GUIDE...

A huge carp weighing less than half-a-pound short of the official British best hit the bank last week.

The 67lb 8oz ‘Waterside Common’ was caught from Waterside Fisheries in Buckinghamshire by Gareth Smith. Having made the journey from his home in Somerset, Gareth arrived a day later than the three other anglers fishing – and still found himself with nearly half of the lake to himself.

THE BEST FISHING BIVVIES WILL KEEP YOU DRY ON LONG SESSIONS...

“Fish were clearly present, although they were clued-up and knew that they were being fished for,” Gareth told us.

“Over the first two days of fishing things were quiet, but I knew there were carp in the snags opposite me. That night, I baited a bit heavier with two pints of maggots and some crumbed Mainline Cell boilies, tight to the snags to try and entice them out.”

Fishing a piece of yellow foam and seven maggots, Gareth had a subtle drop-back bite that evening.

“It came right under the rod-tip, and I could see that it was a good common,” he added.

“It then plodded around in the deep margin, but when I netted it, I realised just what I had caught! The rest was a blur.

“After 30 years of carping, I’d just caught a proper English 60lb common! ”

YOU NEED A SENSITIVE BITE ALARM WHEN FISHING TO SNAGS!

In a remarkable moment for the species, a juvenile salmon has been observed in a river for the first time on record.

The tiny fish, discovered during a Trent Rivers Trust survey on the Bottle Brook, offers key insight into salmon movement and supports conservationists’ efforts to promote their recovery across the Derwent catchment area.

With no prior records on the Bottle Brook, this survey suggests that Atlantic salmon may be more widespread in the River Derwent and its tributaries than previously believed. A small beacon of hope in what has been a bleak few years for the species.

The Bottle Brook is a tributary of the Derbyshire Derwent, which is itself a tributary of the River Trent – a river where efforts to improve fish migration have taken place over recent years, such as the installation of a fish pass at Colwick.

Dr Scott McKenzie, from TRT, hopes the find can kickstart efforts to aid the wider recovery of threatened freshwater species.

“It’s clear that Atlantic salmon in the UK are in crisis, facing a myriad of threats,” he said.

“A record like this salmon is important for organisations like us to build on. We can now work to improve the habitat in the Bottle Brook to increase the number of spots salmon can spawn on.

“Anglers are the eyes and ears of our rivers. Their catches can help guide our restoration efforts and ensure we restore habitats where they will have the biggest impact. If you do catch a salmon on the Trent or tributaries, we’d hugely appreciate it if people could let us know."

Tim Jacklin, Conservation Officer at the Wild Trout Trust, added: “This is a significant step in the recovery of migratory fish in the River Derwent and its tributaries, and justifies the hard work in removing the many barriers they face.”

A lot of anglers overlook how effective a top kit can be for carp, simply because it feels too easy. There is no shipping, no complicated feeding and very little that can go wrong, but on the right commercial fishery it can be one of the quickest ways to put together a big weight.

The real reason it works is not the simplicity, it is where you are fishing. As the water warms and the session wears on, carp begin to move out of open water and patrol the marginal shelf before edging right into the margin. On pressured venues, they know this is an area where food often turns up, usually because spare bait gets thrown in there at the end of the day.

Fish a bait at the bottom of that slope and you are not waiting for carp to reach the edge, you are catching them on the way in. Get it right and, for a short spell, it can feel like every drop in brings another fish.

THE BEST FISHING POLESARE SUPPLIED WITH A NUMBER OF SPARE TOP KITS.

Timing is everything

This is rarely a line that will produce all day, and that is where a lot of anglers go wrong.

You can often nick a couple of fish early, particularly in the first half-hour when there is less pressure and fish are happy to move, but the real value of this line is later in the session. That is when carp begin to move into shallower water, follow established routes and feed with far more confidence.

If you are not planning your session around that late window, you are missing the point. The top kit line is something you build and maintain, ready to drop onto when the time is right.

TRY ONE OF THESE COMMERCIALS FOR A GOOD DAY'S FISHING.

Getting the depth right

The biggest mistake anglers make is fishing in water that is too shallow, or too tight to the actual margin.

Look for at least 3ft of water, ideally more, either on the marginal slope or just into the main body of the lake. That depth gives fish confidence and keeps them settled for longer.

Depending on the peg, you might need to add a short No4 section or even go a touch further, but the principle stays the same. You are not fishing the margin itself, you are fishing the route into it.

MAKE SURE YOU HAVE ONE OF THE BEST LANDING NETS FOR ALL THE EXTRA FISH YOU'LL CATCH.

Build the swim early

Regular, light feeding is the key to this line. A few 6mm pellets, a couple of grains of corn or small pieces of meat every time you ship out onto another line is enough. It does not look like much, but over the course of a match it builds a steady trickle of bait that fish will home in on.

It’s important to keep feeding this line even when you are not fishing it. You want fish already competing over that area when you do present a rig on it, not just discovering it.

Keep it simple and stable

A round-bodied, stable float is essential. You are often fishing in slightly deeper water with fish moving in and out of the swim, so you need something that holds its position and gives you clear indications. In 3ft to 4ft, around 0.2g is about right, stepping up to 0.4g if it is deeper or there is more tow.

Keep the shotting simple too. A strung bulk above the hooklength gives you a controlled fall and keeps everything neat. Lifting and dropping the rig can often induce quick bites from passing fish.

ARE YOU USING THE RIGHT POLE FLOAT? FIND OUT MORE HERE.

A line worth trying

The temptation in fishing is always to chase what is right in front of you. If the long line is producing, you stay there. If the edge looks good, you fish there.

What the top kit line offers is another option that can be devastating at the right time. It is an effective approach that can turn an average day into a big weight very quickly.

Get it right and you will not be scratching for bites late in the session. You will be catching carp under your feet while everyone else is waiting for them to arrive in the margins.

And when they are feeding hard on that line, it really can feel like you are emptying the lake.

SITTING COMFORTABLY? YOU WILL BE WHEN YOU USE ONE OF THE BEST FISHING SEATBOXES.

Modern day carp fishing presents such a diverse range of scenarios that choosing the best line to use can vary hugely, and as such, there are so many different options to choose from. A lot of anglers don’t really pay much attention to their line choice, with many just choosing a line by its breaking strain. However, line can massively improve or impair your angling depending on the line you choose and the scenario you’re using it in.

Line choice can impact your ability to cast a long way, it can reduce or enhance your feeling of what the lakebed is made up of and it can also cause you to lose fish if it unsuitable for the situation you’re using it in. Some lines come with smooth coatings and low diameters to help you hit long distances, others are very thick and durable to help pull fish through weed, and then there are more specialised lines like fluorocarbons and braids.

With so many lines to choose from, it can be daunting for even the most seasoned angler to decide on the best line to use. But fear not, as this guide will show you some of the best available, when to use them and how to get the best from them…

How we test the best carp lines

These carp fishing lines were tested by experienced members of the Angling Times team. We have been using and abusing lines for decades and have probably used most, if not all of them during our time on the bank, so we know the best from the rest!

Team members, Mark Sawyer, Aidan Bordiuk and James Furness have been testing a variety of fishing lines, under both match and pleasure fishing scenarios, to ensure they perform and get a thorough testing.

Our decision process of what makes the best carp lines takes into account various factors including price point, strength, durability and usability to ensure we can give you the best advice on factors that will make a 'reel' different to your angling, rather than confuse you with a load of specifications.

The following list includes a mixture of our favourites for all styles of carp fishing to help find a reliable line for you. Find out how we test our gear, HERE.

What to look for in a carp fishing line

Mainlines for carp fishing come in many colours and breaking strains as well as materials, with many of the best carp fishing lines tailored to suit a specific style of angling. Whilst many of these lines can be used as all-rounders on a variety of venues, if you want to do a more specialised style of carp fishing, such as long distance fishing or fishing in weed, it is best to choose a line that is made for the task, as it will make it far easier.

For fishing at range, the best line to use is a monofilament with a low diameter, as the thinner the line, the less friction it will produce, allowing the lead to travel as far as possible. If you can, go for a tapered mainline, as this will allow you to fish without a shockleader, which can damage the rod and are banned on many lakes. If you don’t like the tapered lines, a braided shockleader can help reduce the knot size to allow you to use your favourite line.

When fishing in weed, it is always best to use a thick diameter mainline or a braid as this prevents breakages should the fish become buried in the weed. Braid is slightly better again, as its thin diameter but high breaking strain allows it to cut through the weed. If you are an angler that wants the best line concealment available then choosing a fluorocarbon mainline is easily the best choice. This line is virtually invisible underwater and sinks quickly, straight to the bottom out of the way of any suspicious carp.

Glossary

Diameter: The distance across a circle, which equates to how thick a line is. The higher the diameter the thicker the line will be.

Breaking strain: The amount of pressure that must be applied to an unknotted line before the line breaks. Therefore it doesn't mean you can only catch fish up to 10lb on 10lb line.

Abrasion resistance: The ability of a surface to resist being worn away by rubbing or friction, the better the resistance, the more it will resist being worn away.

High stretch: The amount a line will stretch varies amongst monofilaments, a higher stretch line will just simply stretch further at a given length then a low stretch.

Supple: How easily something bends and moves, the more supple the more freely an object will move.

Spool: A cylindrical device upon which the line is wound.

High knot strength: The ability to maintain strength as close to the original breaking strain after knotting the line.

Monofilament line: Monofilament fishing line (shortened to just mono) is fishing line made from a single fiber of plastic material.

Braided line: Braids are made by braiding or weaving fibers of a man-made material into a strand of line. The strand number will indicate how many fibres are woven together.

Shockleader: A length of heavier breaking strain line that is attached to your main fishing line so that it does not break during the cast.

Author Aidan Bordiuk is an enthusiastic angler who enjoys all fishing disciplines from match fishing to beach casting. He is currently occupying the position of Commercial Content Writer at Angling Times.

Over the last few months, Tom Hughes has been trying to catch a ‘proper’ zander. After plenty of blanks and a few dropped takes along the way, he finally caught the fish he was after in the shape of this 15lb 10oz specimen.

Fishing the Great Ouse at Ten Mile Bank on a last ditch session before the season ended, Tom cast out two roach deadbaits, one to the nearside drop-off, the other to the far bank.

Just 25 minutes later, he had a take on the short-range rod and lifted into a weighty fish.

After a tense 10-minute battle, he finally coaxed the fish to the surface and was blown away when he saw it. It measured an impressive 84.4cm from tip to tail.

HERE ARE SOME GREAT LURE FISHING TIPS TO CATCH ZANDER...

Spring is here, and it’s the perfect time to target crucian carp! With these 8 quick and simple tips, you’ll be landing more of these beautiful bars of gold on any water you visit.

Head out at the right time of day

Crucians are very sensitive to light, and if you were to ask any experienced angler, they’ll tell you the best time to catch them is the first and last hour of light. Even if your swim has been quiet all day, crucians can suddenly decide to feed at dusk or complete stop after the first couple of hours of light passes.

TRY THESE TIPS TO HELP YOU CATCH MORE CRUCIANS...

Set up to register sensitive bites

Dot your float right down when fishing for crucians. If you have too much tip protruding from the surface you won’t spot tentative and delicate bites.

Crucians spit out baits if they feel resistance, so use a float with a fine tip. Some anglers use a pole float on running line rigs to offer ultimate bite detection.

Use stealthy rigs

Clear plastic wagglers are good for fishing in the clear water of shallow margins. If you pick one that is loaded you won’t need to add loads of shot around the float, and can do so using a couple of rubber stops either side of it instead.

Try a Method feeder

While using a sensitive rig for crucians can be beneficial, so too can the bolt effect from a Method feeder. Many of the countries top specimen anglers have discovered the effectiveness of these feeders for hooking crucians, and it can make a species we associate with being a delicate feeder seem very aggressive on the right day.

HEAD TO ONE OF THESE VENUES IF YOU WANT TO CATCH A CRUCIAN...

Use soft baits

Crucians have very small mouths and are fickle feeders. This makes small baits and light tackle essential. The fish will then hold on to small, soft baits for longer before rejecting them.

Feeding too much can lead to other species such as tench and bream invading your swim. Start with golf ball-sized nuggets of groundbait laced with a few hookbait samples. If there are lots of crucians and you’re catching plenty, up the feed to keep them interested.

Trust fake baits

Crucians can hammer a hookbait without you even knowing it – which is why many anglers swear by using fake rubber baits instead of the real thing. The two most popular are plastic maggots and casters. These will withstand the attentions of small nuisance fish, so you can use them with confidence, knowing you’ve always got a bait on your hook. Hair-rig them lengthways for the best hook-ups.

Look for these features

Crucians by their nature are very shy creatures, and because of this, it can actually make locating them fairly simple. Any cover on a lake is a great starting point, whether that be a set of lily pads or an overhanging tree you can almost guarantee they won't be far away. If the lake doesn't have any features like this, a great place to try is just win the edge of the marginal drop-off as the extra after can help make them feel more confident to feed.

THE BEST FISHING CHAIRS WILL KEEP YOU COMFORTABLE WHILE WAITING FOR A BITE...

As the dust settled on the river season, one angler came forward with news of a spell of incredible big-fish angling, in which he landed two barbel for a combined weight of 43lb!

Epping rod Carl Twaites has spent years targeting the species, travelling all over the country in his quest for rod-bending action. His long-standing personal best had been a fish of 14lb 8oz, but having always harboured dreams of landing a giant, he visited a club water on the River Lea in the dying days of the 25/26 campaign.

“I still can’t believe what happened,” Carl said. “With a few days’ holiday left over, I headed to the river, and on my first session I hadn’t had a touch until 5pm, when my centrepin screamed off.

“The fish took 10 yards of line, but I was using heavy tackle, so I could apply some pressure and eventually I had the barbel in front of me.

“When I saw it rise to the surface, I was shocked. My mate and I have often talked about what a 20lb barbel would look like in the flesh, and seeing the sheer scale of this fish was phenomenal. It weighed 21lb 4oz and, after releasing it, we packed up!”

CLOSED SEASON BLUES? HEAD TO ONE OF THESE VENUES TO KEEP THEM AT BAY!

Carl wasn’t done yet, though, as a few days later he returned, this time on his own, and went one better.

“I was fishing the next swim down and, just 15 minutes after casting out, my centrepin screamed off again, although this time the fish was even bigger, weighing 21lb 12oz,” he revealed.

“This one was longer than the first – its dorsal fin was the size of my centrepin!

“There was nobody on the bank to take a picture of me with it but, to be honest, I didn’t mind. I grabbed a quick shot of it on the mat and slipped it back. Then, afterwards, I went home and told the missus about what had happened, trying to convey the significance of my catch, but she wasn’t interested!” Carl joked.

A luncheon meat hookbait, fished on a combi-rig alongside a PVA stringer with a few freebies attached, produced both bites.

TRY THESE RIGS FOR BARBEL WHEN THE SEASON OPENS ON THE 16TH OF JUNE...

There’s nothing worse than losing a big fish right at the net! But most of the time, this occurrence is avoidable and with a bit of reflection there is likely something you have done wrong in the build up to hooking the fish. Follow these simple rules to ensure there’s no chance of your hook coming out at the wrong moment.

Check your hook points!

The hook’s job is to prick and penetrate the carp’s mouth with minimal resistance. But if your hook is anything less than ‘sticky’ sharp, it doesn’t matter how good or beautifully tied your rig is, you’ll automatically be at a disadvantage.

This can lead to fish falling off during the fight, as the hook hasn’t penetrated as effectively as it should have done.

The easiest way to test the hookpoint is to place it vertically on to your fingernail, then tilt it. If it slides at all, then it’s blunt and you’ll need to change the hook or give it some TLC with a hook sharpening file.

FIND THE BEST VENUES FOR CARP FISHING NEAR YOU IN THIS WHERE TO FISH GUIDE.

Length matters

The length of your hooklink can have a big bearing on hookholds. If your hookbait and rig get buried in any detritus then they simply won’t work as intended.

Going longer ensures that the rig isn’t dragged down into the muck when the lead plummets into the lakebed, and just adding a few inches to your hooklink can be all it takes to improve hookholds when the bottom is not firm.

An easy way to slow the descent of the rig to make sure it settles on top of lakebed rubbish is to incorporate a PVA bag of crumb into your set-up, ideally by threading it down the hooklink.

Of course, there are other benefits to this, not least that you end up with a pile of highly attractive boilie crumb near your hookbait that can help to disguise the rig.

HAVING THE BEST BAITS IS ALSO A BIG EDGE IN CARP FISHING.

Reaction times

One cause of poor hookholds is attributed to the fish having ‘soft mouths’ as a consequence of their being predominantly ‘silt feeders’. By improving the ‘reaction speed’ of the hook and making it turn further back in the carp’s mouth, you can convert more pick-ups into fish in the net.

Adding line aligners, kickers or extensions to the hook shank pushes the ‘fulcrum’ (the lever point along the hook that creates the twist) further away from the point. This means that the hook reacts when more of it has entered the fish’s mouth, placing the point in contact with flesh further inside.

Result? Better hookholds and fewer lost carp.

THESE ARE THE BEST RIGS YOU CAN USE FOR CARP FISHING...

The right bait

The bait being used has a significant effect on the way our rigs work, especially when it comes to pop-up rigs.

If you consider the mechanics of set-ups like the chod, hinged stiff and Ronnie rigs, which all rely on the rig being able to twist freely to offer optimum mechanical efficiency, it’s not hard to see why a poor pop-up that isn’t buoyant enough and allows the rig to lean over can potentially undermine the rig’s performance.

Think of it like turning a bicycle wheel – if the axle is horribly out of alignment it won’t turn freely. It’s a similar concept when looking at the rotation of pop-up rigs with stiff hook sections. If the pop-up doesn’t do what it should, then the rig will be compromised, and so will the hookhold.

GET YOU RIGS ON THE SPOT WITH ONE OF THE BEST CARP RODS...

Playing style

If you’re getting hook pulls and you don’t think it’s your terminal rig arrangement that’s at fault, think about how you play your fish, and your technique when you pick up the rod.

Most modern hooks have pin-sharp points straight out of the packet, and if you’re fishing with a clutch set relatively tightly so that the fish comes under pressure from the off, most of the time the hook will already be embedded.

You don’t need to strike! Just lift the rod and tighten the clutch in a controlled way to be in direct contact with the fish. A dramatic strike is actually likely to do you more harm than good.

GET THE BEST REELS FOR CARP FISHING IN THIS BUYER'S GUIDE.

A worrying trend is emerging as local councils and authorities move to ban angling. While some wildlife trusts have long shown a cautious, or even biased, approach to recreational fishing, seeing local authorities follow suit is disappointing. Angling is a healthy, outdoors activity that should be encouraged, not restricted.

There’s plenty of evidence that angling is a benefit to the community. Mental health, natural awareness and collective spirit are just a few of its perks. But many of our community waters are under threat, be that from a lack of funding, a lack of will or, more sinisterly, an agenda to push angling out.

We’ve already seen a number of battles, some won, some lost: Wingerworth Lido, Ellesmere Port Basin, Tomlins Pond in Surrey, to name a few. There will be more. Cheshire’s historic Shakerley Mere is currently under threat. We’ve seen councils claim anti-social behaviour, littering and damage to wildlife as reasons for closure, and these issues are often laid unfairly at the feet of angling.

Embracing the sport and providing a properly managed fishery is an asset to any recreation department, especially as it often brings a good helping of volunteers that will assist. Sadly, it’s frequently easier to look for a reason to stop fishing than to keep it going.

One of the key barriers to participation, especially with youth recruitment, is having somewhere to go. Park ponds and free venues have always been a bastion of young anglers, but restrictive practices by councils, and environmental ‘do-gooders’ are removing this option.

Maybe it’s time to put together a register of local authority-run venues and think about community asset funding to manage them on behalf of the locals so that angling can continue.

With the 2025/26 season now closed, it has given us time to reflect on what was a sensational few months for anglers targeting barbel. With the record falling twice, and big barbel being caught up and down the country, it was only right that the last few days saw some incredible fish banked to end a spectacular season on a high...

Trent giant for Liam Willis

With the closed season approaching, Liam Willis booked a week off work and travelled to the River Trent at Gunthorpe, landing a monster 19lb 10oz barbel.

After settling in an area that he’s had big barbel from in the past, he introduced hemp, pellets and boilies, and topped the swim up every eight hours to try to stir the barbel into feeding.

By the third day of his trip, he had only managed to catch a few small fish, but despite gale force winds and rain he stuck to the plan and introduced a few more kilos of his mix.

Not long later, Liam had a take on flavoured luncheon meat, and after a powerful fight in the main flow, he slipped the net under a fish that looked so big it ‘blew him away’!

THESE ARE THE BEST RODS YOU CAN USE TO TARGET BARBEL...

Stunning Stour barbel banked on the float

With a few days of better conditions, James Hutton had a memorable session, banking this stunning barbel on the float.

"With the rivers being pretty much unfishable for much of this past winter, it was nice to time it right at the end of the season and get a couple of days off work when the conditions were perfect.

“I headed to the Dorset Stour and trotted maggots beneath an 8g Bolo float and landed a 7lb 5oz chub, one of 6lb 7oz and a few smaller ones.

“The next day I returned and this time landed a 16lb barbel plus another chub around 5lb.

“The fight from the barbel was mental on my 15ft Acolyte – it took a good 20 minutes to land with the rod hooped right over at full test curve!”

THESE FLOAT RODS ARE WORTH TAKING A LOOK AT IF YOU LOVE YOUR TROTTING!

Final Trent session ends with pb

Following countless trips through the year, Michal Czadowski headed to the Trent for one final barbel session.

“Just after midnight, my boilie hookbait was taken and a tense fight in the darkness followed. Eventually, a huge barbel surfaced, and I knew it was something really special.

“It weighed exactly 19lb and was an incredible reward that made all of my efforts this season worthwhile.”

Thames brace caps memorable trip

Neil Wayte managed what was his first session on the Thames this spring and made up for lost time in spectacular fashion with a 7lb 12oz chub and this 17lb 2oz barbel.

Neil had to wade down the flooded footpath to a swim he fancied, where he settled in for a two-night session. Fishing around a rodlength out in steady water, he used a 4oz feeder packed with groundbait alongside a 15mm boilie hookbait, which he cast to the edge of the crease below an overhanging bush.

On his first morning, Neil caught the big chub, and on the next night, fishing with a larger, 22mm hookbait, he landed the barbel to complete a memorable trip.

Effort equals reward for Stephen

Since the turn of the year, Stephen Hall has endured eight weeks of blanks in tricky conditions, but when he arrived for a final session on the Trent, he was pleased to see the river level dropping.

Reaching his swim after navigating his way through deep mud, he fed hemp with a bait dropper and fished boilie hookbaits.

At 8pm he received a screaming take and lifted into a big fish that put up a dogged fight in the flow. Eventually, it broke surface, and after such a long period without a bite, he was praying he’d land it safely – which thankfully he did!

From Let’s Fish sessions on canal towpaths to junior matches on commercials, fishing is attracting youngsters once again. The question is what happens after that first catch, and whether we are keeping them once life starts competing for their time.

Environment Agency data released under FOI shows junior licences issued have climbed sharply. In 2024 to 2025, 100,650 junior licences were issued, up from 76,648 the year before, a rise of around 31%. Juniors now account for just over 10% of all licences issued, compared with roughly 6% to 7% through most of the previous decade.

However, what it does not prove is retention, and it doesn't capture under-13s who do not need a licence, but it backs up the fact we are seeing more youngsters on the bank.

The harder part to measure is the one that matters most. Are we turning introductions into a habit, or are we simply winning the first session before other distractions fight for their attention?

The first win is easier than the second

Recruitment is not the hard sell it once was. Children under 13 do not need a licence and junior licences for 13 to 16-year-olds are free, although they still need to be registered. That removes one barrier straight away, but it does not solve the biggest ones: confidence, belonging, and having a reason to go again.

John Ellis, Canal & River Trust Fisheries and Angling Manager behind Let’s Fish, believes retention has to be built into the structure from day one, not bolted on later. The scheme delivers coached beginner sessions on canals and rivers.

“Regional celebrations are important because it’s got a league structure, so people come back time and time again,” he told me. “We have a Let’s Fish certificate programme. By kids working through that and ticking the boxes in that, hopefully it’s really cementing that habit.”

That word habit is key. A taster day can be brilliant, but if it is not followed by something repeatable, it stays a one-off memory rather than becoming part of a routine.

Matt Godfrey works as Marketing and Media Coordinator at Tackle Guru and sits at the centre of the Angling Trust talent pathway. He sees the trade and media side up close and thinks the bigger picture is moving in the right direction.

“I think there is increasing participation in young people in England at the moment,” he said, adding that he does not see it “coming tumbling down”.

His most useful point, though, is why retention is hard to engineer. He described modern angling as a network of entry points rather than a single journey.

“It’s an absolute maze of ways that people get into it,” Godfrey said. “As an industry, we have to cover ground on a massive variety of touch points to try and retain it. That’s through fisheries, through events and through media.”

That is why recruitment can look strong while retention is harder to judge. The entry points are multiplying. The question is whether the journey continues after the first one.

The age drop-off is real, even if it is not the whole story

Ellis put his finger on the age bracket everyone worries about.

“One of the things that you touched on is what happens when they’re 16, 17, 18, 19,” he said. “Some of them are without a doubt moving away from Let’s Fish.”

Not always because they have fallen out of love with fishing, but because they outgrow the pathway and life starts competing for their time.

That pattern is one I recognised from my years in the trade. When I ran a tackle shop and managed a commercial fishery, I saw mad-keen youngsters who lived for it through their early teens, then fade at 18 when money, social life and work weekends took over. Many would come back later, often when life settled and they had more time or even a family of their own.

Ellis does not pretend there is a magic fix. His argument is that early routine still matters, even if stepping away for a period is inevitable. “If kids go regularly when they are young, you have a better chance of getting those kids when they’re adults,” he said.

You are sowing the seeds of a pastime, something that sticks with them.

Why some youngsters never return to fishing

One of the most revealing parts of this is how often the sport itself creates the conditions that push youngsters away.

Jonathan Wormley, known online as Original Jonnyboy, has a large following across Facebook, Instagram and TikTok (237k, 102k and 190k respectively at the time of writing) and also manages the carp fishery Willow Farm in South Yorkshire. He told me he regularly hears from parents who feel shut out locally.

“I get a lot of messages saying that I wish that you were closer to where we live so my son could come and fish your pond,” he said, “because the fisheries down where they live… they don’t make them feel comfortable… they don’t give them a chance.”

His fix is almost embarrassingly simple, and it sits right at the heart of retention.

“It doesn’t cost anything and it doesn’t take much out of your time,” he said.

“Instead of going round and chastising them for doing something wrong… explain to them why the rule is put in place… all it needs is five minutes… just have five minutes a day with a young’un, just to chat to them and come down to their level.”

That lands with me, because I have been on the other side of the fence as a fishery manager. I had a hard rule that under-16s were accompanied by an adult. Safeguarding requirements under current guidance mean venues carrying junior sessions have clear responsibilities around supervision and duty of care, not just common-sense policies - and rightly so. Thirty years ago, I could vanish with a rod, and nobody thought twice. That is not the world we live in now. But even with rules in place, there is still a choice in how we treat youngsters when they do visit venues. Warm, clear, respectful interaction costs nothing and has the biggest impact.

Jonnyboy also makes another point that matters for older teens. Retention is social.

“It’s all about making friends as well and connecting with other anglers,” he said. “If you’ve got young fishermen… connecting with older anglers… then they are going to stick with that sport.”

Angling clubs and programs supporting young anglers

At Lakeview Fishery, owner Ross Jelfs sees the same trend. He has had “definite uptake, especially with dads and lads”, helped by matches and coaching they run. More importantly, he has seen youngsters return after those sessions, which is about as real as retention evidence gets when you are looking at behaviour rather than social media engagement.

He also understands the cost fear that stops families committing. He has helped reduce that barrier by handing out whips to kids who did not have much tackle, simply to give them a fair chance and keep them engaged.

And he nailed something many adults forget. “Tackle prizes are all well and good, but a trophy means something different,” he said. “I used to love winning trophies when I was a kid.” It’s motivation. Recognition creates memories, and memories create returns. Ross was left some money by a regular angler after he passed away and he uses this to purchase trophies to give out at these events.

Schools might be the missing link

Compared with other delivery methods, Ellis told me the schools programme delivers better value “for each quid spent”, partly because schools provide a stamp of approval that reassures parents who would otherwise be sceptical. He illustrated just how far perception still has to shift with one story from early in the programme.

“One of the headmistresses turned up… and said… ‘I think Mr Ellis, you’re wasting your time. Because to me, fishing is nothing more than old blokes, asleep, drinking beer, in tents… and I cannot see where the educational value is going to be for my pupils in that.’”

That preconception is still out there, and it kills retention before recruitment even starts, because it shapes whether parents support the second and third trip.

This is why school-linked angling matters and could be a poweful driver for recruitment and retnetion. The Countryside Alliance Foundation’s Fishing for Schools programme is developing an “Angling and the Countryside” qualification, with pilot delivery planned from September 2026, subject to centre approvals. Whatever you think of qualifications, the retention value is obvious. It gives youngsters a reason to return, a sense of progress, and something parents can see as structured and worthwhile, rather than a hobby they worry will be dropped in a month.

The means of retention are simple, but they take effort

If you boil all this down, the things that improve retention are not complicated. They are practical, human, and often inexpensive.

Ellis described a good first experience as one where the coaching is competent and the youngster catches enough fish to feel it working. “To catch 3, 4, 5, 6 fish, ideally two or three different species.” He wants it “not too easy, not too difficult.” Even framing it as learning from the very first hour, if the presentation is right the float goes under, if it is wrong it doesn’t. That is how you build competence, and competence is the fuel of retention.

He also made a point that should be written on a board at every junior day. Involve parents, because if mum buys into it, “that’s almost battle over.” Most retention under 16 is driven by adults. The child can be desperate to go, but if the parent does not feel confident, safe or welcome, the second trip is never going to happen.

The future of fishing means keeping young anglers engaged

Getting a rod into a child’s hand is a win, but angling faces its biggest challenge when those youngsters hit 16 and beyond. That’s the point where structure starts to thin out, a rod licence is no longer free at 17, and the competing pressures of exams, first jobs, money and social life begin to crowd out time on the bank.

At that point you get a perfect storm of pressures that fishing struggles to compete with. Education ramps up, whether that’s GCSEs rolling into A-Levels, college or an apprenticeship, and suddenly a long session on the bank has to fight for space in a week that already feels full.

Money tightens too. Turning 17 can mean cars, insurance and fuel, and the cost of tackle, bait and day tickets gets weighed against everything else teenagers want to do with their first proper income. Then there’s the social pull. Angling can still feel solitary, and in the late teens the centre of gravity shifts towards mates. If their friends do not fish, a day on the bank can start to feel like opting out rather than joining in.

Jamie Cook, CEO of the Angling Trust, sums up the retention problem. “Retention remains the bigger long-term challenge. Getting young people into angling is only the first step; keeping them engaged as they get older depends on affordable access to fishing opportunities, supportive clubs and healthy rivers.” It’s a reminder that it’s not just about enthusiasm. It’s about whether the sport stays easy to access, welcoming to newcomers, and worth sticking with.

The wider participation signals suggest we are attracting people into the sport. But as Matt Godfrey put it, the pathway isn’t a straight line, it’s a maze. If angling does not offer a clear step on from junior sessions into something that feels like it belongs to older teens, we should not be surprised when they drift away.

Retention is not about one-off experience days. It is about culture. It is about whether a 17-year-old turns up at a fishery and feels welcome, or feels like an outsider surrounded by matching luggage and expensive carbon. It is about whether someone takes five minutes to help, explain, and encourage, rather than making them feel like they are in the way. Older teens need belonging, a reason to return, and a route that feels like it’s theirs, not something they have outgrown.

The first cast is the easy part. What happens next is what the sport is made of. Get that right and the future will look after itself.

Being ‘waterside’ for an hour or two is great for the mind. It gives us anglers our ‘blue fix’, and we feel better for it. Being there with purpose is even more rewarding.

The Angling Trust are promoting a few initiatives at the moment that are not only good to get involved with, they’re great for the environment too. Being ‘hands-on’ without being too strenuous, they provide a real sense of wellbeing.

The Great British Spring Clean is exactly what it says on the tin. Grab a bag and a litter picker, head out to a local waterway, and help clean it up. As anglers, we kop for the blame for a lot of lakeside or riverside rubbish, but it’s not always us – the general public are far often worse. So, clearing up is really rewarding, even for just an hour, and it shows that anglers are looking after the waterways.

Another is the Water Quality Monitoring Network, which is citizen science at its best. This one is for clubs, so it’s worth you checking in with yours as to whether they’re already doing it. The aim is to generate water quality data from rivers around the country, with the Angling Trust loaning monitoring equipment to representative clubs so they can sample their stretch regularly and feed their findings back. Fish Legal and AT can then use the data to bolster the legal fight against water companies and polluters, as it provides frontline evidence.

Check out the Angling Trust website for more info about how to get involved. If you want to fly solo, there’s nothing to stop you grabbing a litter picker and a bag and heading down to the local pond for an hour every now and again to give it a bit of a spring clean. I’ve done it a few times at our local park lake and was pleased not just with the result, but how personally rewarding it was!

The River Cam in Cambridgeshire is best known for large rudd, but the waterway holds a few huge chub, as Martin Croxon proved with this giant of 8lb 4oz.

It’s the joint-biggest chub reported from anywhere this season and, interestingly, was caught on a piece of steak, fished on a size 8 alongside a tiny cage feeder packed with mincemeat.

The bait combo is an ‘old-school classic’ for the species, and one that Martin has huge faith in, having picked up the idea from an angler many years ago who was catching fish after fish on it!

Martin has caught some good chub from the Cam before, and knew there were a few truly huge ones in the river, having watched them in the summer months.

The all-important bite came after a series of small touches, following which Martin’s rod wrappped right round. Although he’s travelled the world in pursuit of huge fish, he knows that this chub is a specimen he’ll never beat!

NOW THE SEASON IS CLOSED, WHY NOT TRY CARP FISHING INSTEAD?

This winter, Ian Coulson has endured a tough campaign in search of river pike, with flooding wiping out much of the fishing.

But, just before the closed season arrived, he managed an after-work session on the River Witham in Lincoln, during which he landed this beautiful 32lb 12oz pike!

It’s his first ‘thirty’ and fell to a mackerel tail on a simple running rig. The capture was witnessed by half a dozen anglers, but what made it extra special was that he was able to share the moment with his family and young son, who came down to see the fish.

WITH SPRING IN THE AIR, WHY NOT TRY AND CATCH YOURSELF A TENCH...

Junior angling is on the rise, with rod licence sales for young people now topping 100,000. The milestone highlights a growing interest in fishing among the next generation, offering a positive boost for the future of the sport.

More than 100,000 junior rod licences were issued in England and Wales in 2024-25, with Environment Agency figures revealing that 100,650 junior licences were issued across the latest season, up 31.3 per cent on the 76,648 recorded in 2023-24.

Junior licences, which are free to anglers aged 13-16 accounted for 10.3 per cent of all rod licences issued in 2024-25. A notable rise on the 8.1 per cent recorded the season before.

The figures also show how sharply junior take-up has bounced back since hitting a low of 61,534 in 2022-23. Over the two seasons since then, the total has risen by more than 63 per cent.

This growth not only highlights fishing’s unique appeal, but also points to a stronger future for angling, driven by a new generation eager to get outdoors, learn new skills and become part of a thriving and supportive community.

Angling Trust chief executive Jamie Cook said a mix of digital visibility and organised participation work was helping bring more young people into the sport.

“The growth of accessible social media content has played a significant role in making fishing more visible and appealing to younger audiences,” he said.

“We are also seeing a genuine increase in junior participation on the ground, driven in part by programmes such as Get Fishing and Reel Education, which last year introduced around 30,000 kids and new anglers to the sport.”

Spring can be a strange time of year on many fisheries. With water temperatures still low, we can be lulled into a false sense of security that life is blossoming when, in fact, for cold- blooded fish the conditions can still have a major influence on their behaviour.

We can never master the conditions at this time of the year, and I know there will be days when I completely misjudge the mood of the fish. There are, however, a few pointers that I use to influence my bait choice.

Fish the warmest water

You will often notice groups of carp cruising lazily around near the surface on bright days. If they are up in the water, the chances of catching hard on the deck are reduced, snd fresh tactics are needed.

Dobbing a piece of slow- sinking bread or a worm right in front of any cruising fish can be the way to go. You might only entice one in 10 fish to feed, but that can be enough. Dobbing is easiest with a pole, but with heavier baits, like worms, we can simply freeline, casting a bait accurately in front of any carp cruising the margins.

IF YOU ENJOY CATCHING SPECIMEN CARP, THESE TIPS ARE INVALUABLE...

Try flavouring your baits

As any gardener will tell you, we can expect the odd frosty day right through to May, and bright, sunny mornings with a definite chill can make the fishing a little tough. When it is like this the fish can be most active on the deck early and late, as they are most inclined to feed when the light levels are low.

In this situation maggots are be my bait of choice, and I will feed a couple of spots with a handful of bait while waiting for a few carp to arrive, rotating between swims and topping up with bait after a couple of fish.

This is certainly a time when you can notice a definite effect with flavouring baits, as the carp are still quite circumspect. Proven coldwater flavours, such as Chocolate Malt, Pineapple, Scopex and Indian Spice will make a difference.

TRY ONE OF THESE AWESOME LIQUIDS TO HELP YOU CATCH MORE FISH...

Zigged bread

While carp cruising close to the surface can be very noticeable, many more fish will be out of sight in midwater. On shallower commercials, up to two metres deep, a zig can be well worth trying – three bread discs or a mini marshmallow make a very visible hookbait.

Often it can be best to try hunting down groups of carp with a zig. Try recasting every 15 minutes and check out different areas of the swim. Fishing close to cover can be a good starting point, but don’t ignore open water.

TRY ONE OF THESE COMMERCIALS FOR A GOOD DAY'S FISHING.

Scale down your approach

On larger commercials the carp will often stay out in the middle away from bankside disturbance, and anglers who can fish effectively at long range will score. Here, a mini Method feeder loaded with pellets is the go-to tactic.

To achieve a dense bait that will stay on the feeder, it is essential to use micro pellets that have been dampened correctly.

I like to add a small amount of Method groundbait, because this helps hold the pellets together, and creates an enticing cloud of attraction in the water column. Ring the changes with your hookbaits and be prepared to cast around the swim. By using a mini feeder we are introducing just enough bait to buy a bite without dumping piles of pellets all over the swim.

THE BEST SHORT FEEDER RODS ARE IDEAL FOR USING THE METHOD...

Give the margins a go

We might think of it as a summer tactic, but targeting the margins, especially with a ‘sleeper’ rod, can often find some big fish at this time of the year. Look for swims where there is around a metre of water, and some cover – not the shallow margin spots associated with high summer.

You can simply swing a Method feeder with an 8mm pellet down the margins, or fish a straight lead with a cube of meat or paste on the hook. Don’t expect the action to be fast and furious, but when a fish does come along it will often be a right old dinosaur that will make your day.

Staying flexible with your baits and tactics probably makes more difference right now than at any other time of year. Feed sparingly, keeping in mind that water temperatures are still quite low, and use baits that are already known to have a track record of spring success.

For many river anglers, the 2025/26 season will be remembered as one largely scuppered by the adverse weather conditions, but if big barbel are your thing, it was one for the history books!

Not only was the British Record broken twice, but a stack of other colossal barbel were reported, including river records on the Severn and Trent. We now live in an age where there are more barbel over the 20lb mark swimming in our waterways than ever, and more individual rivers holding fish over that remarkable benchmark.

This week, we spoke to a number of experts on the reasons for this meteoric rise, as well as hearing their views on whether it’s necessarily a good thing for the species.

A 'perfect storm'

Richard Pitman, Farm Manager at the EA’s National Coarse Fish Rearing Unit in Calverton, believes there are a number of factors influencing barbel growth.

“In general, water quality in rivers is better than it was 30 years ago,” he said.

“Look at the Trent – it was a great roach river decades ago when it was artificially warmer due to power stations, and far dirtier than the conditions we see today. The return to a cleaner, more natural river will have aided fish growth. We’re also not experiencing the seasons we once did,” he added.

“Over recent years, the climate has been warmer and wetter. Take the winter that’s just passed – there was never really a prolonged cold spell. As a result, barbel are feeding for longer into winter, and they start feeding earlier afterwards, which again contributes to growth.”

Alongside these changes to the barbel’s environment, Richard believes that the actions of anglers are also impacting overall fish sizes.

“More people are trying to catch these fish – in the Trent, they are the most sought-after species,” he said.

“Anglers are feeding high-protein baits, and while not a ‘natural’ diet, it’s a good food source for growth, with the fish also having to use less effort to find it. All these factors: water quality, changing weather patterns, and more high-protein baits, have to be having an impact.”

THE BEST BARBEL RODS WILL HELP YOU LAND EVEN THE BIGGEST OF BARBEL...

How big could they get?

Late last season, Nathan Buckingham landed a barbel of 23lb exactly from the River Lea – the biggest ever landed on British shores. That specimen is the biggest example of Barbus barbus ever reported, anywhere, so unlike species such as perch and carp, which reach their biggest recorded weights on the continent, we have no benchmark for the weights barbel could reach in Britain.

Richard added: “You don’t have to go back many years to find anglers who wouldn’t believe that we were catching upper-doubles, never mind twenty-pounders, on so many rivers. If the factors mentioned above remain the same, with our winters staying mild and bait being continually introduced, fish will utilise them to simply keep on growing.

“I don’t believe they will get to 30lb and would expect today’s twenty-pounders to be near the upper limit. But, it’s crazy to think how far barbel have come over recent years. How big will they get? In truth, only time will tell.”

BARBEL LOVE BOILIES, LEARN HOW TO CATCH ON THEM HERE...

Unhealthy obsession?

Meanwhile, Steve Pope, Chairman of the Barbel Society, has concerns around the long-term implications of the big-barbel boom.

“In small rivers where these exceptionally sized fish live there are often not many younger, back-up fish to replace them,” he said.

“This is what has happened on the Kennet and at Adams Mill on the Ouse, where the barbel fishing today is a shadow of its former self.”

While Steve acknowledges that larger rivers, such as the Severn and Trent, contain fish of varying year classes, he worries that the ‘soul’ of barbel fishing is being lost.

“When I started in the 1960s, the very best anglers caught one or two double-figure barbel a season,” he said.

“Those fish are still huge today, in my mind, and are incredibly special, but I fear that in some places, they don’t get the respect they deserve.

“Fishing is an art form in some ways, built around knowledge of our quarry, yet today, it’s becoming mechanical,” he added. “It’s got to be the only hobby where we celebrate obesity, as these heavy fish being caught today are just getting fatter.”

FISH THE TRENT WITH CONFIDENCE AFTER READING OUR HELPFUL GUIDE...

Skewed perception

Steve urges anyone who is new to barbel fishing to try not to be blinded by the pursuit of solely giants.

“If you go to the Trent and catch a 16lb fish on your first cast, where do you go next?” he said.

“I’d encourage anyone getting into barbel fishing to go somewhere and enjoy catching smaller fish.

“Granted, there aren’t as many places where you can do that today as there once were, but on the Wye and parts of the Severn, you can learn to approach the fish with stealth, how to prepare a swim and get the fish feeding, and enjoy catching what comes along. If you do get a ‘double’, treat it with the respect it deserves – they are amazing creatures.

“Barbel fishing has taken me on a lifetime’s journey, and I hope it’s one that can be enjoyed by generations of anglers to come.”

The organisers of a charity fishing event are calling for people to help raise funds for Cancer Research UK.

Cast-4-Life was set up by Victoria and Ian Palmer in 2012 and has to date raised around £30k. This year it’s holding a 48-hour pairs carp match at Willow Park Fishery, Aldershot, and although places to fish quickly sold out, on Saturday, April 18 the organisers will be holding a raffle, auction, and a variety of other initiatives at the fishery between 12pm and 4pm to raise vital funds.

“We’d love for people to come down and get involved,” Victoria told us. “The event is held in memory of my sister-in-law Debbie Wilson, who sadly lost her second battle with breast cancer.”

Visit: www.cast-4-life.co.uk

Fishing reels come in all manner of shapes, colours and sizes, which can make deciding which is best for your budget a very difficult task indeed. The reel market has a lot of confusing terms and numbers. However, once you understand the basics, your choice depends mainly on the type of fishing you want to do.

The size of a reel is usually identified by a number, the higher the number, the bigger the reel. This is useful to know, as although a 10,000-sized carp fishing reel may be good for fishing on smaller lakes, it likely won't have the spool size and therefore casting capability of a 'big pit' carp fishing reel, for example.

The best float fishing reel or the best feeder fishing reel isn't just dictated by size, however. A good, powerful and reliable drag is essential in the best reels for barbel fishing or carp angling and the smoothness of a reel is also important, as is how the line lays onto the spool. If these crucial elements are flawed, the casting process can be severely impacted. Be sure to pick wisely to avoid buying twice. In this article, we have constructed a shortlist which hopefully has something for all angler's needs.

How we test the best fishing reels

These coarse fishing reels were tested by experienced members of the Angling times team. We have been using and abusing reels for decades and have probably used most, if not all of them during our time on the bank, so we know the best from the rest!

Team members, Mark Sawyer, Jonathan Longden and Dan Webb have been testing a variety of fishing reels, under both match and pleasure fishing scenarios, to ensure they perform and get a thorough testing.

Our decision process of what makes the best fishing reels takes into account various factors including price point, cranking power, build quality and usability to ensure we can give you the best advice on factors that will make a 'reel' different to your angling, rather than confuse you with a load of specifications.

The following list includes a mixture of our favourites for all match and coarse fishing to help find a reliable reel for you. Find out how we test our gear, HERE.

Best fishing reels under £50

Best fishing reels under £75

Best fishing reels under £100

Best fishing reels under £150

Best fishing reels under £300

Best centrepin reels

Still a firm favourite with the traditionalist, and with no bail-arm or gearing to complicate things, buy a centrepin, and you'll have direct control over line release and retrieval. A smooth-running mechanism is needed to release line at a steady speed for trotting.

What to look for in a fishing reel

If you are fishing with multiple rods, then a freespool switch or dial is a must. This temporarily loosens the drag right off, but most commonly, it automatically switches back off when you turn the reel handle.

Big pit reels hold loads of line for long-distance casts, while mini big pit reels are great for general carp or long-range feeder fishing. If you want to use your reel for multiple tasks, a spare spool is a must.

Tiny 1000 sizes are perfect for small lure fishing and spinning reels. But if big predators are your main focus, you will need to look for something a lot larger to chuck heavy lures or deadbaits for pike. It's not always the case, but it is likely, the bigger the fish or venue, the bigger the reel required.

The more you spend on a reel, the lighter it will be and the smoother the drag you will get. You will also expect better line lay, which aids casting range.

Glossary

Drag/clutch: An adjustable tensioning system that allows a hard-fighting fish to pull an additional line from the reel instead of breaking the line.

Freespool: Similar to a clutch but working at far lower tensions, the Freespool will allow a running fish to take line, preventing a rod on a rest from being pulled in. Once the rod is picked up and the reel handle turned, it will disengage, putting the reel back into 'fish playing' mode with the drag working as normal.

Spool: The cylinder at the front of a reel which holds the line.

Big pit: A reel with a long spool designed for extreme long-range casting by reducing the resistance of the line.

Frap up: A tangle during a cast where a ball of line catches in the guides of the rod, typically causing a crack off.

Crack off: Named after the loud cracking sound made as line breaks during a cast.

Line clip: A small clip on the spool that line can be placed under, stopping it from leaving the reel. Originally designed to stop lines from falling off in transit, they are now commonly used to repeatedly cast a set distance.

Line Twist: Casting, retrieving and using the freespool and clutch adds twist to your line, which can weaken it and reduces casting distance. In extreme cases, the line will bounce off the spool and ball up as it untwists. More expensive reels incorporate various technologies to minimise line twists.

Author Mark Sawyer holds the position of Tackle Editor at Angling Times, boasting more than thirty years of experience working within different fields of the angling industry.

Pole fishing is an incredibly exciting method used by match and pleasure anglers on various venues and when fished correctly, with use of the best all round fishing poles, it is one of the most precise tactics for placing a bait accurately over your loose feed and allows bites to be hit in an instant.

Buying a fishing pole is a serious investment. Even if you're purchasing one of the cheaper budget poles on the market, it is still likely to be one of the most expensive items of tackle you own. For this reason, it's important to consider what type of fishing you'll be predominately using your pole for and then purchase one which best suits this task. There's no point splashing out on a 16m pole if you never need to fish at 16m.

There are some fantastic fishing poles available to coarse anglers, from flagship models for those who demand cutting-edge features and the latest technology to shorter-margin poles for extracting hard-fighting carp at close quarters. So, before you shell out for a new pol, make sure you read this guide to find the best one for you and check out our advice below on what to look for, pole fishing terminology and frequently asked questions about poles.

How we test the best fishing poles

These poles were tested by experienced members of the Angling times team. We have been using and abusing fishing poles for decades and have probably used (and broken) most, if not all of them during our time on the bank, so we know the best from the rest!

Team members, Mark Sawyer, Tony Grigorjevs and Dan Webb have been testing a variety of fishing poles, for carp and silvers on a variety of venues, to see how they perform and give them a thorough testing.

Our decision process of what makes the best fishing poles takes into account various factors including price point, stiffness, weight and overall packages to ensure we can give you the best advice on factors that will make an actual different to your angling, rather than confuse you with a load of specifications.

The following list includes a mixture of the best available for all types of pole fishing to help find a reliable length of carbon for you. Find out how we test our gear, HERE.

What to look out for...

Poles vary massively in price, so it's important to have a budget in mind before you start looking. When it comes to length, 13m is a good place to start, as that will cover most situations on commercial venues.

Don't always think a lighter pole is best for you either, particularly if you're a bit heavy-handed. The pricier the pole, the stiffer or more rigid it is likely to be, and this will make it easier to fish with. You don't really want one that bounces around all over the place.

How does the pole feel? A non-stick finish that allows you to ship it in and out without having it catch in your hands is essential.

Final consideration is spares, how easily available are they? By their very nature and design, poles are delicate things, and breakages will happen. You need a pole that sections and top kits can easily be replaced for, so you are not left in a situation where you can't go fishing.

LET OUR TACKLE EXPERT MARK EXPLAIN WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN A FISHING POLE BELOW!

Glossary

Rig: The length of line with your float, shot and hook on that you attach to the end of your pole.

Mandrel: The metal tubes used as a template that carbon fibre sheets are wrapped around when a pole is being made. A lot of manufacturers will produce a whole range of poles on the same mandrel, meaning all the sections are the same length, diameter and taper and will interchange between each pole. Doing this is not always a good idea, as although the sections might look the same, the ones from cheaper poles will be made from a cheaper, heavier and less rigid carbon that will affect the performance of a high-end pole.

Top kit: The last 1 or 2 sections that you place on the end of your pole that contains the elastic that you attach your rig too. Most poles will come with a variety of top kits allowing you to choose which elastic to fish with or allow you to set up multiple rigs.

Cupping kit: A separate top kit specially designed to attach a pole cup, allowing you to deposit a large amount of bait right where you are fishing.

Elastic bung: A plastic cone that fits inside your top kit, which you attach your elastic to, anchoring it inside your pole and stopping it from pulling out completely when a fish is hooked.

Side Puller: A small hole in the side of your top kit with a bush or roller fitted inside, used instead of a bung to anchor your elastic. The bottom end of the elastic is threaded through the puller and anchored by a bead on the outside of your pole. This allows you to grab the bead and pull some elastic out of the pole, changing its tension when playing a fish. This is useful when a larger fish has pulled a lot of elastic out of your pole, making it difficult to net.

Bush: Often called a PTFE Bush, after the smooth low, friction plastic it is made from, a bush fits at the end of your pole and provides a smooth exit point for your elastic.

Connector: The item that allows you to attach your rig to your elastic at the end of your pole. The main types are a Dacron Connector, a bead, or traditional plastic connector.

Mini extension: A half-size or smaller, extra-strong piece of pole that goes into the back of a section. This help protects the bottom end of your pole from damage whilst also allowing you to fish slightly further out when a full-length section would be too much.

Bottom out: When a particularly large fish fights so hard that it gets your elastic to full stretch. With no more give in the elastic, you run the risk of a hook pull, line breakage or, in extreme cases, a pole breakage.

Pole cup: A cup that attaches to a specially designed cupping top kit, allowing you to deposit a large amount of bait right where you are fishing.

Pole Pot: A small cup that attaches to the end of a top kit, allowing you to feed small amounts of bait on top of your float, and can remain in play whilst you play a fish.

Shipping: The process where a pole is pushed or pulled back or forth, often over a pole roller. Shipping out is pushing the pole out over the water and towards your fishing position. Shipping back is pushing the pole back behind you so you can reach then remove your top kit to re-bait or land a fish.

Pole roller: A device with a cushioned rotating area that a pole is shipped across. Longer lengths of poles of around 11m or over will require 2 pole rollers.

Author Mark Sawyer holds the position of Tackle Editor at Angling Times, boasting more than thirty years of experience working within different fields of the angling industry.

The Ronnie, or Spinner rig, is no secret in the carp world these days, but despite its popularity and possible over-use, I see no reason to change it. In fact, I can’t imagine fishing without it!

But why is it so good? When we look at how the rig works, it mimics the also popular ‘360 rig’, but is far safer for the fish. Both are phenomenally effective hookers of carp.

What makes the Ronnie so good?

As the names suggest, the hook can rotate or spin 360 degrees to prick the fish, no matter what direction it’s approached from. I’m pretty convinced now, from watching fish, that as long as it’s balanced correctly, around 90 per cent of the time they can’t get away with it either – which is just about as good as it gets!

It’s a rig that seems to perfectly suit the stock in day-ticket waters too, which can be anything from doubles and twenties, right up to 40-pounders. There’s certainly something to be said for considering the size and shape of the fish you’re targeting when constructing a rig, which is why people often associate Chods or Hinge rigs with bigger carp. But the Ronnie seems to catch them all. I know anglers who’ve never used it and never will but, for me, it’s the rig I’ll have out the vast majority of the time.

CHECK OUT OUR GUIDE TO THE BEST CARP RIGS OF ALL TIME!

Lakebed types

These days I try to keep everything in my fishing simple, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be prepared for every situation that might come your way. When it comes to fishing a Ronnie, I’m ideally looking for firmer areas, where my favoured 6ins fluorocarbon boom section and heavy lead combo come into their own.

I actually don’t think the lead is playing as much of a part in driving the hook home as it might do with other rigs, but that little bit of extra weight won’t hurt in getting that point in a bit further. It depends on distance, but most of the time I’ll be fishing with leads of between 3oz and 5oz.

If I find myself in a situation where I have to present over softer ground, the Ronnie is still a winner, but I’ll swap the fluoro boom for a softer coated braid so the rig doesn’t sit up off the bottom, and will also extend this section to up to 15ins.

HAVING THE BEST MAINLINE IS VITAL FOR CARP FISHING.

How to fish the 'Ronnie'

One of the reasons why the Ronnie is always my number one choice is its versatility. As part of my job, I’m often travelling around and fishing lots of different types of venues. It seems to work everywhere, no matter how you fish with it.

I’ve done well with it fishing at long range with single hookbaits, I regularly fish it over big beds of particles, and it no doubt comes into its own fishing over a spread of boilies where fish are searching around for each bait.

If you haven’t boarded the Ronnie rig bandwagon yet, give it a go next trip. Before too long you’ll be just as much a fan of this awesome set-up as I am!

FOLLOW THESE CARP FISHING TIPS AND ENJOY YOUR BEST SEASON EVER!

The biggest prize in match fishing is back, and the road to FishO’Mania 2026 starts with a 120-peg sell-out at Tunnel Barn Farm.

FishO’Mania 2026 gets underway on April 1st 2026 at the Warwickshire venue, the start of a qualifying campaign that will see anglers battle it out across 25 UK events for a place in the £50,000 final.

Now in its 33rd year, the competition remains the one every match angler wants on their CV, and this season there are even more chances to get there. Event organisers Matchroom Sport have added five extra qualifiers, giving more anglers a shot at reaching the final.

From the all-in at Tunnel Barn, the road runs right through spring and into early summer, taking in some of the country’s best-known big-weight venues, including Partridge Lakes, Lindholme, The Oaks and Westwood Lakes.

Reigning champion Brad Lucas will return to defend the title when the showpiece heads back to Westwood Lakes on Saturday July 18. Alongside the UK qualifiers, two European events will also feed into the final line-up.

It has finally happened, either the kids have asked you to take them fishing or they are now old enough that you want to introduce them to the world of angling.

The best way to help them learn and stay enthusiastic is to catch plenty of fish in comfortable surroundings and the list for fisheries in this guide proved all that and more. We have venues all over the country, so wherever you live, there will be one nearby to try...

Aston Park Fisheries, Sheffield, S.Yorks

Eliysia’s has been designed and stocked with newcomers in mind, with bites all but guaranteed from a wide range of species. Small carp, F1s, ide, roach and rudd are plentiful, and short pole and maggot tactics will work from the off. The swims on the boarding allow children and their parents to sit comfortably within close distance of each other.

Contact: www.astonparkfisheries.co.uk

GET ALL THE INFORMATION YOU NEED TO START FISHING IN THIS HELPFUL GUIDE...

Barlow Country Park, Chesterfield, Derbyshire

Narnia is a small mixed gem where you can catch everything from quality roach through to golden tench. You’ll only need to fish a few metres out to get bites, working with either the pole or a light waggler rig to maximise your session. Feed maggots little and often, using one or two as hookbait.

Contact: www.barlowcountryclub.co.uk

Lavington Lake, Grantham, Lincolnshire

Use a whip and maggot, and small rudd will come thick and fast, but there are also plenty of surprises to keep every visitor on their toes. True crucian carp to 2lb can show up at any point on this tactic, as can small mirrors and commons and even fantail goldfish. Fish maggots on the hook, switching to corn if bites dry up – which is often a sign that a bigger fish has arrived.

Pipehill Fisheries, Lichfield, Staffordshire

Alders, Birch and Chestnut are all full of silvers, and you can expect to catch roach, skimmers, perch and even a few surprises, such as barbel. Start by fishing on the deck at short range with maggots, but if you start missing bites, come a little shallower and you’ll often find a better stamp waiting.

Contact: www.pipehillfisheries.co.uk

CATCH MORE FISH BY FOLLOWING THESE SIMPLE TIPS...

Whitmore Fisheries, Preston, Lancashire

Big carp, barbel and sturgeon grab the headlines at this fantastic complex, but East Lake is also teeming with roach that are a brilliant starting point for newcomers. Keep it simple with the short pole and maggot, and hundreds of fish ranging from a few ounces to just under 1lb will be your reward.

Contact: www.whitmorefisheries.co.uk

Partridge Lakes, Culceth, Cheshire

Partridge Lakes has plenty of pegs and lakes to choose from, all brimming with fish to catch. The site is always immaculate and there are plenty of bailiffs and an on-site tackle shop to point you in the right direction. There is also a cafe and toilets there too, to help make your stay more comfortable!

Contact: www.partridgelakes.co.uk

Wold Farm, Podington, Northants

Islands Lake is home to a colourful array of species that will have any newcomer hooked in no time at all. Several small islands are dotted around the lake, and underarming a small Method feeder close to these with a banded pellet hookbait on will help you find some of the most vibrantly coloured carp you’ll ever see, including bright orange and white beauties!

Contact: www.woldfarmfishing.co.uk

THESE BUDGET FISHING REELS ARE PERFECT TO GET YOU STARTED...

Lovells Lake, Market Deeping, Lincolnshire

The roach and rudd are always on the lookout for food, and fishing the whip or short pole will put you in touch with the shoals. String out your shotting on the rig so that the hookbait falls at a slow pace, giving fish that are sat throughout the water column a chance to devour it. Two pints of maggots is the only bait you’ll need for the session.

Contact: www.gocatch.fish

Blythe Waters, Knowle, West Midlands

Thousands of small roach, rudd and perch have been introduced into this lake in recent years, with juniors very much in mind. Bites will come at pace on the short pole, waggler and whip, and maggots or pinkies are the best baits for the job. You’re likely to catch 1ft-2ft deep, but going slightly deeper can help you find a bigger stamp of fish.

Contact: www.gocatch.fish

Springvale Fisheries, Mansfield, Nottinghamshire

Among the best commercials in the whole of the UK, Golden One and Two and Newcastle Lakes are phenomenal silverfish waters. Ide and skimmers can be caught on the short pole and maggots on the former two, while corn and soft pellets in the margins will account for plenty of tench and a few bonus carp from the latter. There’s parking behind almost every peg.

Contact: www.springvalefishinglakes.co.uk

IF YOU ARE NEW TO FISHING, CHECK OUT THESE BEGINNER FISHING RODS...

Howend Fisheries, Bedford, Bedfordshire

Several hundred pounds of silverfish were caught on Yasi’s Lake during a recent match fishing final, and the majority of those were fell to the pole fished either down the middle or close to the island. Ide, skimmers and tench are the dominant species, and they all respond well to maggots and pinkies fed little and often.

Contact: www.howendfisheries.co.uk

Sumners Pond, Horsham, West Sussex

Whether you fancy catching a handful of carp in the 5lb-10lb bracket or putting a chunky roach in the net almost every drop in, the Match Lake is the place to be. A small feeder to the central island with a wafter or a 6mm hard pellet hookbait will tempt the bigger fish, while maggots are unbeatable for the redfins when combined with light floatfishing tactics.

Contact: www.sumnersponds.co.uk

Greenridge Farm Fishery, Romsey, Hampshire

There are four lakes on-site, but if you want lots of rod bending action from carp ranging from 1-15lb, you need to head to the Horseshoe or canal lakes. Method feeders work incredibly well here, whether you fish them in the margins or to the far bank. Plenty of casting is key, which is great as juniors love casting and reeling in and upwards of 20 carp a session can be expected.

Contact: www.gocatch.fish

Chequertree Fishery, Ashford, Kent

This fishery prides itself on being home to a lot of different species, and you are in with a good chance of catching roach, rudd, bream, tench, perch and even the occasional stillwater chub. Light terminal tackle is the way forward to keep the bites coming, and you can expect to get plenty of bites 5m-7m out from the bank with maggots, corn or soft pellets.

Contact: www.chequertreefishery.com

Acorn Fishery, Clevedon, Somerset

The Match Lake is a snake-style water, and is home to carp, tench, ide and bream. Fishing on the bottom down the middle is the best way to put together a mixed bag, feeding maggots and a few micro pellets through a small pot each time you ship out to get the shoals grubbing around on the deck.

Contact: www.acornfishery.com

East Bilney Lakes, Dereham, Norfolk

The complex is open daily now after a period of instability last year, and the fishing on Reeds Lake is well worth your attention. Lots of roach, rudd and skimmers have been stocked in recent months, and you’ll soon get them interested by fishing anywhere between half and three-quarters of the way over to the island.

Contact: www.eastbilneylakes.com

Feeder fishing has exploded in popularity, and with it, the feeder fishing rods and tactics required to catch fish have changed too, with the "short line" when fishing for silvers or big carp becoming the go-to place for many anglers and a short feeder rod is ideal for this. Shorter chucks to islands around 20-30m away with method or hybrid feeders is a staple on commercials, accounting for numerous fish over the course of a season and to do it efficiently and maximise the potential of these methods you need a rod designed for the job.

Short feeder rods ranging between 7ft and 10ft have been developed to aid casting accuracy at these shorter distances, where a longer rod is just too cumbersome. The rods generally feature a softer action, so they can cushion the fight of strong carp or provide the finesse to see silverfish bites and retrieve the fish without suffering hookpulls.

The best short feeder rods by their nature are far easier to control and use. They are great for beginners and seasoned anglers alike, and they provide a dynamic for shorter range feeder work that other rods just can't match. A shorter rod, when casting up to around 30m, is unrivalled in terms of the casting accuracy and power it can generate, it is much easier to be precise at these distances with a rod of around 10ft than it is with a longer feeder rod. Short feeder rods are easier to compress, so they don't need a lot of force to generate a powerful, accurate cast. Here is a guide to some of the best available right now.

How we tested the best short feeder rods

These short feeder rods were tested by experienced members of the Angling times team. We have been using and abusing rods and have probably used most, if not all of them during our time on the bank, so we know the best from the rest!

Team members, Mark Sawyer and Dan Webb have been testing a variety of short rods on some of the UK's premier commercials fisheries, to ensure they perform and get a thorough testing from big carp and silverfish!

Our decision process of what makes the best short feeder takes into account various factors including price point, rod action, build quality and versatility to ensure we can give you the best advice on factors that will make an actual different to your angling, rather than confuse you with a load of specifications.

The following list includes a mixture of our favourites for commercial carp and silverfish feeder fishing to help find a reliable rod for you. Find out how we test our gear, HERE.

What to look for in a short feeder rod

When looking to buy a short feeder rod, it's worth considering what type of angling that you enjoy or do the most throughout the year. If you mostly fish snake lakes or small commercials that are carp and F1 dominated, then a rod of around 7-9ft with a bit of power in the blank would be the most suitable choice, as you won't be casting far and the fish will be pulling back.

If your fishing is more tailored towards silverfish on wilder waters or commercials then a rod between 9 and 10ft would be an ideal choice. If the water requires a cast over 30m then we suggest a rod of 10ft, as the slightly longer length will aid you in reaching the extra distances, whilst maintaining accuracy, especially if it is windy.

In terms of the power in the rod, most shorter rods will be slightly softer to cushion the fish on the way in, its more about striking a balance between a rod that can cast the size of feeder you want, the distance you want, whilst giving you the confidence you can land the fish you are fishing for.

Glossary

Casting weight: Depending on the manufacturer, it is either the best suited or maximum total weight in grams that you should cast with your rod. You will normally find your rod will perform best at around half its total casting weight. For example, a 120g feeder rod best suits a 60g feeder.

Quiver tip: The very top (often brightly coloured) section of a feeder rod, used to identify bites, which bends and 'quivers' when a fish moves off with the bait. Like the test curve of a rod, quiver tips are often rated in test curves measured in ounces.

Blank: The hollow carbon fibre tube that the rod is made from, attached to which are the guides and handle.

Reel seat: The part of the handle that your reel attaches to. Almost all UK coarse rods have screw-down reel seats, where the fore-grip on the handle rotates and closes the seat to hold the reel in place.

Guides: The rings that line the length of the rod that the line passes through.

Fish playing action: A way of describing how good a rod performs when reeling in a fish. A rod with a good fish-playing action will provide plenty of cushion to a thrashing fish, preventing hookpulls (lost fish) and line breakages.

Author Dan Webb first became involved in angling journalism in 2015 and has worked as Tackle Tester at Angling Times since April 2021. He is a fanatical all-round match angler and former England Youth International.

It was a memorable end to an evening session for this four-year-old angler, Noah, who landed this stunning rudd after convincing his dad to stay for the angler’s famous “one last cast.”

“I took my son on a session to our local Fenland river, before the season ended," Noah's dad told us.

“We chose a swim that we had fished in the evenings beforehand, catching some nice roach and rudd. At the end of each session, we’d fed a tin of corn to hold a few fish in the area.

“Using a whip and triple maggot hookbait, Noah had landed a rudd of 2lb 3oz on his first run through, followed by four others around the 1lb mark.

“We kept feeding little and often, but bites slowed as the light faded. We could hardly see the float, but Noah insisted, ‘Just one more cast, dad!’

"The bite came at the end of the run, and as Noah stuck, I knew he’d hooked a special fish. With the elastic of his 4m whip at full stretch, this stunning 2lb 10oz rudd was soon in the landing net!"

NOW THE SEASON IS CLOSED, HEAD TO ONE OF THESE VENUES FOR SOME GREAT FISHING...

As an experienced angler and tackle retailer, I've spent countless hours testing and recommending the best carp feeder rods on the market. Whether you're a experienced angler or someone just starting out, choosing the right feeder rod can significantly impact your success. In this guide, I'll share my expert insights and help you find the perfect rod to match your fishing style and preferences.

Carp feeder rods are specifically designed for targeting carp in the 3-15lb range. They can be found all over the UK and are a popular species to be stocked into commercial fisheries. Carp feeder rods, are typically 9ft to 11ft with the most popular length being 10ft, as it is a great all-round size capable of handling most angling scenarios.

With venues containing carp varying drastically, it is important you choose the right carp feeder rod. If you are going to fisheries like Boddingtons that can require a long cast, that same rod would be really unsuitable for casting a small feeder to an island 20m away, so look through our guide to find the best rod for you...

How we test the best carp feeder rods

These carp feeder rods were tested by experienced members of the Angling times team. We have been using and abusing rods and have probably used most, if not all of them during our time on the bank, so we know the best from the rest!

Team members, Mark Sawyer, Jonathan Longden and Dan Webb have been testing a variety of feeder rods on some of the UK's premier commercials, to ensure they perform and get a thorough testing from big powerful carp!

Our decision process of what makes the best carp feeder takes into account various factors including price point, rod action, build quality and versatility to ensure we can give you the best advice on factors that will make an actual different to your angling, rather than confuse you with a load of specifications.

The following list includes a mixture of our favourites for commercial carp feeder fishing to help find a reliable rod for you. Find out how we test our gear, HERE.

What to look for in a carp feeder rod

When selecting the best carp feeder rod, consider factors such as your preferred casting distance, the size of the carp you want to target, and your personal fishing style. The Method feeder is a hugely popular tactic on commercial fisheries and a carp feeder rod is perfectly suited to using it, but they is also more than capable fishing a straight lead or open ended feeder too

A longer, stiffer rod around 12-13ft is generally better suited for targeting larger carp at longer distances, while a shorter, softer rod is generally more suitable for targeting smaller carp at closer distances, most rod ranges have options within them to suit all styles.

You should also consider the casting weight of the rod and the desired fish-playing action. A rod that is too long and powerful for the distances you typically fish may be difficult to cast accurately and may not provide the best performance when playing fish.

Glossary

Casting weight: The maximum total weight in grams that you should cast with your feeder rod. While the manufacturer may specify the best-suited casting weight, it's often recommended to cast at around half this weight for optimal performance.

Quiver tip: The brightly colored top section of a feeder rod used to identify bites. It bends and "quivers" when a fish moves off with the bait. Quiver tips are typically rated in test curves measured in ounces.

Blank: The hollow carbon fiber tube that forms the main structure of the rod. The guides and handle are attached to the blank.

Reel seat: The part of the handle where the reel attaches. Most UK coarse rods use screw-down reel seats, which rotate the fore-grip to secure the reel in place.

Guides: The rings along the length of the rod through which the line passes.

Fish-playing action: A term describing a rod's performance when reeling in a fish. A good fish-playing action provides plenty of cushion to absorb a thrashing fish, reducing the risk of hookpulls and line breakages.

Author Jonathan Longden, is an experienced angler. With over 20 years experience in the tackle trade specialising in match and coarse fishing he has an extensive practical knowledge of the latest equipment and the specific needs of anglers. He currently occupies the role of digital content writer at Angling Times.

Specimen rods are not limited to a singular style of fishing; rather, they encompass a broad range of options, including float, feeder, twin top, and solid top rods. These rods are categorised as 'specimen' due to their enhanced power, allowing anglers to target larger specimens of their chosen species. This often involves challenging conditions and the use of stronger tackle, which is reflected in the design of the rods. They typically feature larger guides, more robust actions, and heavier test curves.

Whether you want to catch big roach on stillwaters, or are looking to chase double figure barbel on big rivers, having the right rod for the job is important. You don't want to hook the fish of a lifetime and lose it due to not having the right tackle and that starts with the carbon in your hand!

In this guide, I will explore the diverse array of specimen rods available, debunking common myths regarding their attributes and appropriate applications. I will examine float rods suitable for targeting specimens in both still and flowing waters, dual top rods that offer versatility across various fishing venues, feeder rods that can handle the biggest feeders and distances, and specialist rods designed to effectively handle the largest fish.

How we test the best specimen rods

These rods were tested by experienced members of the Angling Times team. We have been using and abusing rods for decades and have probably used most, if not all of them during our time on the bank, so we know the best from the rest!

Team members, Mark Sawyer and Aidan Bordiuk have been testing a variety of rods on some of the UK's rivers and lakes, to ensure they perform and get a thorough testing from specimen fish of all species!

Our decision process of what makes the best specimen rods takes into account various factors including price point, rod action, build quality and versatility to ensure we can give you the best advice on factors that will make an actual different to your angling, rather than confuse you with a load of specifications.

The following list includes a mixture of our favourites for all kinds of angling to help find a reliable rod for you. Find out how we test our gear, HERE.

What to look for in a specimen fishing rod

When picking a specimen fishing rod, it's important to consider the type of fishing you'll be doing and the species you're targeting. The rod's length, action, and power should all be matched to the technique, size and weight of the fish you're hoping to catch. The rod's components, such as the guides and reel seat, should also be durable and suitable. Typically a specimen rod will be rated to take heavier mainlines.

A longer rod will lend its's self to fishing at distance with a float, feeder or lure on both stillwaters and larger rivers. Twin tip rods offer more versatility allowing you to target different species on different venues using varying tactics, so if you aren't sure where your next session might take you, opt for one of these rods.

Species specific rods can be used for other applications too, the attributes of a carp rod will lend it self to fishing for pike, and other hard fighting fish. The same applies to a barbel rod, as it will be equally at home targeting specimen fish like tench or bream

Gloassary

Action: How much a rod bends when you put pressure on it. A "powerful action" means the rod is stiffer and can handle bigger fish.

Guides: The rings along the rod that the fishing line goes through. Larger guides are often found on specimen rods.

Hook Keeper: A small attachment on the rod that can hold a hook in place.

Light Action: A rod with a flexible tip, suitable for smaller lures and delicate presentations.

Medium Action: A rod with a moderate amount of flexibility, providing a balance of power and sensitivity.

Powerful Action: A rod with a powerful action, much stiffer rod providing extra power for bigger fish

Reel Seat: The part of the rod where the reel attaches.

Specimen (Fish): A particularly large or impressive example of a fish species.

Specimen Rod: A strong fishing rod designed for catching large fish.

Specialist Rod: A specimen rod designed for a specific type of fish or fishing.

Test Curve: A measure of a rod's power, indicating how much weight is needed to bend the rod to a 90-degree angle.

Twin Top/Dual Top Rod: A rod that comes with two different tips, allowing it to be used for different types of fishing.

Frequently asked questions

What is a specimen rod?

A specimen rod is a type of fishing rod that is designed for catching large or "specimen" fish. These rods are typically longer and more powerful than other types of fishing rods, and they are designed to handle the powerful nature of large fish.

What are the different types of specimen rods?

There are many different types of specimen rods available, each designed for a specific type of fishing or species of fish. Some common types of specimen rods include carp rods, pike rods, and specialist rods.

What is the difference between a specimen rod and a standard fishing rod?

Specimen rods are typically longer and more powerful than standard fishing rods. They are also designed to be more durable and to handle the stress of fighting large fish.

How do I choose the right specimen rod?

The right specimen rod will depend on the type of fishing you are doing and the species of fish you are targeting. Consider the rod's length, action, power, and components when making your selection.

How do I care for my specimen rod?

To keep your specimen rod in good condition, rinse it off with fresh water after each use and store it in a case or rod bag to protect it from damage.

Author Jonathan Longden, is an experienced angler. With over 20 years experience in the tackle trade specialising in match and coarse fishing he has an extensive practical knowledge of the latest equipment and the specific needs of anglers. He currently occupies the role of commercial content writer at Angling Times.

When going carp fishing getting your tackle to the bank safely can be a battle. Good luggage isn’t just about storage - it’s about protection, organisation, and making sure you have everything you need at hand ready to go when needed. Whether it’s a hardcase holdall for your prized rods, a rugged rucksack for your essentials, or a carryall big enough for a long session, the right setup can make a huge difference to how smoothly a trip runs.

Today’s carp luggage has evolved far beyond the old canvas bag. The best holdalls now handle fully made-up rods with big pit reels, sleeves give quick access and solid protection, and modular carryalls and rucksacks help keep everything neatly in order. In this guide, we’ve picked out some of the best carp fishing luggage options to help you find the right gear for your style of carp fishing.

Rod holdalls and sleeves

Rucksacks

Carryalls

What to look for in carp fishing luggage

When it comes to choosing carp fishing luggage, the first thing to consider is capacity - how much gear you need to carry. Short, mobile sessions call for lighter, compact options like small carryalls or rucksacks that hold just the essentials: tackle box, rigs, bait, and a few accessories.

For longer sessions or overnight trips, you’ll need larger modular luggage that can store cooking gear, clothing, and multiple tackle boxes. The key is to match the size of your luggage to the type of fishing you do most often,  too big and you’ll overpack, too small and you’ll spend the day rummaging.

The next important factor is protection and practicality. Rod holdalls and sleeves are among the most important bits of kit you’ll own, as they safeguard some of the most expensive items you take to the bank. Look for models that can hold rods made up with reels attached, feature padded dividers, and have reinforced waterproof bases. For carryalls and rucksacks, durability matters just as much as quality materials like 600D polyester or EVA that will keep your kit dry and resist the wear and tear that comes with muddy banks and barrow journeys.

Finally, think about access and organisation. The best carp fishing luggage helps you fish more efficiently by keeping everything in its place and easy to reach. Multiple pockets, rigid frames, and modular compartments make life easier when you’re setting up or packing away.  Some designs even double up as workstations or bivvy tables, saving valuable space in your bivvy. Whether you prefer a minimalist setup or carry half your tackle shed with you, investing in the right luggage system means less faffing, fewer lost items, and more time spent doing what really matters - catching carp.

Glossary

Holdall: A long, padded case made to transport rods safely. Carp holdalls usually fit made-up rods with reels attached and include additional pockets for brollies, landing net handles, and banksticks.

Carryall: A large, soft fishing bag designed to hold bait, tackle boxes, clothing, and accessories. Often used as the main storage bag for carp anglers during sessions of any length.

Rod Sleeve: A single or multi-rod case designed to protect rods and reels during transport. Sleeves can be linked or carried together to form a lightweight, modular rod transport system.

Rucksack: A backpack-style bag used for mobile carp fishing or shorter sessions. Ideal for anglers who like to travel light and keep their hands free while walking the banks.

Modular System: A luggage setup where pouches, carryalls, and cases fit together neatly, allowing anglers to customise their storage depending on the type or length of session.

EVA (Ethylene Vinyl Acetate): A tough, waterproof material used in modern fishing luggage. It’s easy to wipe clean and resistant to damage from moisture or mud.

500D / 600D Polyester: Heavy-duty, water-resistant fabric used for high-quality luggage. The “D” stands for denier, a measure of fibre strength and durability.

Big Pit Reels: Large-capacity reels used in carp fishing, often paired with 12ft or 13ft rods. Holdalls and sleeves designed for carp gear usually specify if they can accommodate these reels.

Reinforced Base: The strengthened lower section of a bag that prevents wear from rough ground and keeps water from seeping in when placed on damp grass or mud.

Author Jonathan Longden, is an experienced angler. With over 20 years experience in the tackle trade specialising in match and coarse fishing he has an extensive practical knowledge of the latest equipment and the specific needs of anglers. He currently occupies the role of commercial content writer at Angling Times.

There’s more to fishing luggage than meets the eye. The right setup isn’t just about looking organised or showing off your favourite brand’s colours on the bank, it’s about making every trip run smoothly and efficiently. Whether you’re loading the van for a big match or heading out for a few quiet hours on the canal, good luggage keeps your gear protected, accessible, and ready to go.

From rod cases that shield your prized setups to Tardis-like carryalls and pole cases built to swallow a mountain of carbon, today’s coarse fishing luggage is designed for real-world use. We’ve tested and compared the best options for durability, practicality, and on-the-bank comfort, so you can choose gear that works hard, lasts well, and won’t let you down.

Rod cases and holdalls

Pole and top kit cases

Carryalls

Net bags

What to look for in coarse fishing luggage

When it comes to coarse fishing luggage, practicality and protection matter most. The best setups don’t just look tidy on the bank, they save you time by keeping everything organised and ready to go. A solid rod holdall is a must-have, especially if you like to arrive with your rods already made up. Being able to pull a rod straight from its sleeve and start fishing cuts down on wasted time and effort, which is crucial in a match. Go for one with good padding to protect fragile rod tips and reels, plus extra pockets for brollies, banksticks, and landing net handles.

Pole cases and top kit cases have become essential for modern anglers. With poles costing upwards of £5,000, keeping them secure is non-negotiable. These cases are a big improvement on the old system of loose plastic tubes and oversized holdalls. Today’s designs are lighter, more compact, and purpose-built to store poles and top kits safely in one place. For anyone using expensive carbon, the extra protection and tidy layout are well worth it.

Carryalls form the backbone of most setups, keeping all your accessories neat, tidy, and within easy reach. Whether it’s spare reels, bait tubs, or rig boxes, a well-designed carryall keeps everything together and ready for action. Look for one with a reinforced base, quality zips, and comfortable handles - you’ll be grateful when you’re hauling it across a car park or along muddy banks.

Finally, a good net bag is invaluable once the day’s over. Waterproof construction typically EVA or PVC keeps your car clean by sealing in water, smells, and slime from used nets. Many now use welded seams and reinforced bases to make sure nothing leaks. It’s a simple bit of kit that prevents that unmistakable wet-net smell from lingering in your vehicle - and that alone makes it worth every penny.

Glossary

Hardcase: Luggage with a hard plastic inner that keeps it rigid and protects from internal damage.

Carryall: A large bag designed to hold accessories such as bait tubs, rig boxes, spare reels, and other loose items of tackle. Usually has a reinforced base and strong zips to handle weight and regular use.

Made up rods: A term given to a fishing rod that has the reel attached, line threaded and end tackle attached so it is ready to fish with.

Holdall: An item of luggage that allows you to store rods and/or poles, landing nets and other items such as net handles.

Divider: A padded length of material that is used to operate the rods and stop them knocking together when stored.

Pole Case: A hard or semi-rigid case designed to protect expensive carbon poles during transport. Often holds full-length sections securely in place without needing individual tubes.

Top Kit Case: A smaller version of a pole case used to carry top kits (the first few sections of a pole used for different setups). Keeps them organised and safe from damage.

Net Bag: A typically waterproof bag used to carry wet keepnets and landing nets after fishing. It prevents leaks and odours inside your vehicle.

EVA (Ethylene Vinyl Acetate): A durable, waterproof, wipe-clean material commonly used in modern fishing luggage. Offers structure, flexibility, and resistance to the elements.

PVC (Polyvinyl Chloride): A strong, waterproof plastic material widely used in fishing luggage and net bags. PVC is tough, easy to clean, and completely watertight when welded at the seams.

Neoprene Handles: Soft, padded handles that make heavy bags more comfortable to carry over distance.

Author Jonathan Longden, is an experienced angler. With over 20 years experience in the tackle trade specialising in match and coarse fishing he has an extensive practical knowledge of the latest equipment and the specific needs of anglers. He currently occupies the role of digital content writer at Angling Times.

If you’ve ever been carp fishing, chances are you’ve heard of DNA Baits. Not only do they have some of the best carp anglers fishing under their banner, but their baits have also accounted for some of the biggest and best carp in the UK and Europe.

As an all-round angler myself, I never know exactly when or where I’ll be fishing, so I tend to grab a bag of bait off the shelf, as I rarely have time to organise longer trips. Because of this, and the fact that DNA sell a lot of their bait directly, I haven’t been a massive user of their range, not because of the quality, but simply due to availability in my area.

When DNA kindly sent me some goodies from their Bug range, I was keen to give them a proper review. Rather than trying them once at a single venue, I decided to put them through thorough testing over late summer, winter, and spring. Basically, whenever I went carp fishing, The Bug went with me.

IF YOU WANT TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT DNA BAITS, YOU CAN DO SO HERE...

First impressions of the boilies

The Bug gets its name from the insect meal that forms the majority of its base mix. Rather than relying on more traditional fishmeals or krill meals, like many other modern boilies, DNA have taken a more sustainable route, while also providing anglers with a completely new ingredient that could inspire an edge in their carp fishing.

When I first opened the bag, I wasn’t sure what to expect. The smell wasn’t as strong as I anticipated, and in fact, it’s quite hard to pinpoint exactly what scents come from the bait. There’s a subtle sweetness combined with a faint fishmeal aroma, but sometimes, when you open a bag of bait, you just know it has carp written all over it — and this is one of those times.

It’s worth noting that while the scent isn’t overpowering, when the wind shifts across the swim or you move something the bait or liquids have touched, you can smell it, and the aroma lingers for ages. Using the shelf-life option, I was pleasantly surprised by how soft the boilies were. Many “preserved” baits can feel tough, but these broke down easily in the hand and of the countless baits I’ve used, these were by far the softest.

Pop ups and wafters

As you would expect, alongside the boilies, DNA have produced accompanying pop-ups and wafters. All the baits were uniform in size, which is important when using precise, balanced rigs as you won’t need to adjust your setup every time you change the bait.

Personally, I’m not a fan of putty, preferring to trim pop-ups down instead, as putty can easily fly off leaving you fishing what is essentially a 7-inch zig. With some pop-ups I’ve tested, trimming them down so the hook on a spinner rig balances them, it very often turns them into a wafter after being submerged for a few hours. The Half Tones supplied by DNA, however, kept my rig perfectly popped up for 12-18 hours, even after trimming, and they retained a noticeable scent after being retrieved, a big plus in my book.

The half-tone coloration is a refreshing change from the in-your-face fluorescent hookbaits we’re normally faced with. I’ve found that on tricky or pressured waters, these more subtle “off” colours can offer a real advantage, as I experienced at venues like Linear, Stanwick Lakes, and a few syndicate waters I’ve been fishing.

Liquids, bait boosters and syrups

Every bait company now offers liquids and extra attractants, and with venues getting busier, anglers are always looking for ways to draw more carp into their swims over others on the lake.

I’m as guilty as any angler for probably adding too much to my mixes in the quest for the perfect spod mix, and the Hydro Spod Syrup and Amino Smoke didn’t last long in my testing. They are very pungent, thick liquids that not only coat baits effectively but also add weight to whatever you apply them to, helping drag it to the bottom for accurate baiting. Thanks to their viscosity, they don’t cause pellets to soften and disintegrate, making them a perfect addition to any mix.

As for the bait soak, I haven’t used it much, mainly because the boilies are already so soft. However, in the spirit of proper testing, I applied it to some boilies, and after around 45 minutes, they had absorbed the liquids fully, giving them a much stronger scent than the straight-from-the-bag baits. If you like boosting your baits, this is certainly worth checking out.

The more I used, the more I liked

As mentioned, I used this bait exclusively for a few months to give it a proper test, and the more I used it, the better I got to understand how it worked and the more impressed I became. I’m not an angler who affiliates with or shows loyalty to any bait company, usually grabbing whatever is available when I go fishing, but what I’d heard about DNA producing top-quality bait certainly proved true.

The 8mm baits are a real game-changer, and with very few companies produce baits this size, which already gives you an edge on any water you fish. Normally, to get your baits smaller, you have to go through the laborious process of chopping or crushing them. Not only does this take time, but it can also make baits lighter, preventing them from landing exactly where you spod them.

During the winter months, rather than crumbing loads of baits, I found the 8mm baits fished exceptionally well, especially at short range when putting just a few out with a catapult. While everyone else was spodding crumb, I kept catching when others didn’t, and I put that down to these perfect mini boilies.

If you do want to crumb them, however, they break down easily, and thanks to their texture, they take liquids really well when powdered up.

The struggles

As with any bait, the Bug isn’t without its drawbacks, and the colour is both a positive and a negative. The boilies are quite pale in colour, and after sitting in the water for a few hours, they become lighter still. While this can be visually attractive to carp, it also makes them highly visible to birdlife and on shallow lakes, this can become frustrating, as the birds seem to love diving on and eating the Bug just as much as the fish.

The softness of the shelf-life baits is impressive, but if you prefer to use baits straight from the bag, you may struggle to keep them on the hair for long periods, especially where crayfish are present. It also makes them difficult to introduce with a throwing stick without some form of air-drying, which is something I’m not a big advocate of, as I feel it can reduce some of the bait’s attractive qualities.

There also isn’t a fluoro pop-up or wafter in the range, which can be a limitation in certain situations. However, DNA do offer alternatives in their PB range, with a variety of flavours available if brighter hookbaits are needed.

Lasting impressions

After using the Bug extensively, I’d confidently say it’s a true all-season bait and I know that’s a claim often made about many baits, but I genuinely feel the insect meal gives it year-round appeal. Whether in spring, summer, or winter, I never felt the bait was underperforming, which allowed me to focus on finding and catching carp rather than worrying about my bait, something I’m sure we’ve all been guilty of.

The accompanying range is comprehensive, giving you practically everything you need to cover all eventualities. You can even make your own hookbaits using their kit, allowing you to create a unique recipe that could give you an edge. If nothing else, there’s something incredibly satisfying about catching a carp on bait you’ve made yourself.

Overall, I was thoroughly impressed with the Bug range, and it’s easy to see why DNA has earned such a strong reputation. If you’re looking for a reliable, year-round option that moves away from standard fishmeal or nut-based baits, this is well worth considering—with the 8mm boilies standing out as a real game-changer in my carp fishing.

Fears are growing around a proposed CO2 pipeline that could force fisheries to close, putting popular angling venues and local livelihoods at risk.

This week, a number of clubs and fisheries across the Midlands and North West of England have voiced their concerns about the impending impact the new ‘carbon capture’ pipeline may cause, with some of them fearing they will have to close down permanently if it all goes ahead as planned.

The Peak Cluster project states that it will secure a ‘sustainable future’ for Britain’s cement and lime industry by transporting carbon dioxide produced at plants in the Peak District along a pipeline running all the way to the Wirral. Once there, it will be taken beneath the seabed and permanently stored in gas fields under the Irish Sea.

The government-backed project, costing £60m, is now in the consultation stage, and numerous angling groups and venues that fall in the proposed pipeline’s 120-mile path have been contacted.

"We will not stay open"

Lingmere Fishery, located on the coastal end of the Wirral, is set to be severely impacted by a ‘Coastal Above Ground Installation’ that is part of the proposed project.

Peak Cluster say that this would require a site area of around 300m x 180m, and could be up to 50m high.

“The plan puts this pipeline in the next field to us – right next to my house and the fishery,” said Lingmere owner, Steve Openshaw.

“It will be in operation 24/7, creating constant noise and vibrations. If plans go ahead, we will not stay open. People come here for peace and quiet. Another fishery on the other side of it will suffer the same fate.

“We’re really busy, with matches booked for years in advance, but this would impact us massively and have a knock-on effect on local tackle shops.”

Steve is dismayed by the prospect of the plan, and hopes that the angling community can rally round in opposition to it.

“We need all anglers to stand up and be counted. People at the other end of the country might call me a ‘nimby’ (not in my backyard) but imagine if this was happening to you. I wouldn’t want this anywhere,” he added.

Feeling powerless

Currently, Peak Cluster are in the development phase of the project, determining a preferred route within a 300m wide ‘corridor’. The final construction’s ‘working width’ is expected to be up to 40m but, for now, they are speaking to landowners within the initial corridor.

In Cheshire, Windmill Angling Club falls into that zone, and its members are alarmed about the impact of the development. Having existed since the 1960s, this is a thriving outfit that controls fishing on the historic Hunters Pool.

“We were going from strength to strength, when suddenly this letter drops on our laps,” club treasurer Andy Southern told us.

“It states that, as a ‘nationally significant infrastructure project’, Peak Cluster are applying for a Development Consent Order, which includes compulsory purchase powers.

“To us, it feels like they’re saying, ‘if you don’t agree, we’ll do it anyway’, which leaves us feeling completely powerless. Everybody in the club is incredibly worried.

“We’re hoping that this will just clip us, but even if they don’t affect us directly, they will definitely come through our feeder stream, which could easily impact us,” Andrew added.

Strength in numbers

Andrew, who has worked in marketing his whole life, knows that for anglers to have any hope of combating the plan, they will need to work together.

“Peak Cluster will have professionals on board to write PR and to lobby Westminster, and as anglers, we need to be on top of this,” he said. “There is strength in numbers, and the bigger the lobbying power we have, the better.

“There must be other fisheries and clubs impacted by the plans that don’t know where to turn, and I’d urge anyone else who’s worried to get in touch with the Angling Trustand Fish Legal. We can face this together.”

Peak Forest AC – a historic fly-fishing outfit with waters in the Peak District – is yet another club adversely affected by the plans.

“Clubs along the pipeline route need to be fully aware of what is going on and try to protect their interests through effective communications with the project team,” said a spokesperson for the club.

“We have already linked up with other clubs so we can share information, intelligence and resources, and we are being represented by our solicitors, Fish Legal.”

On the proposals from Peak Cluster, Zoe Wedderburn-Day, Fish Legal’s Head of Policy, said: “If the project progresses to a formal Development Consent Order application, fisheries and water environments will need to be fully considered as part of that process. We encourage any clubs or fisheries who are impacted or could be impacted by this proposal to contact Fish Legal for assistance.”

The response

We contacted Peak Cluster, raising the concerns of angling clubs and fisheries in the vicinity of the pipeline. Their Chair, David Parkin, responded as follows:

“We understand how important local rivers and the surrounding area is to anglers and to the businesses that depend on them,” he said. “Our aim is to make sure the Peak Cluster is designed and built in a way that avoids affecting waterways or fish habitats, and we’re taking advice from independent environmental specialists to guide that work.

“We’re planning routes carefully to steer clear of sensitive areas, and we are developing plans for construction methods to avoid impacting angling access or the health of local waters.”

He added: “We encourage all those who are interested to continue to engage with us and take part in the project’s consultation process. Every response is read, recorded, and plays a role in shaping the next stage of the project.”

As trees and bushes burst back into life, so do your chances of catching proper fish, and on a lot of canals that means skimmers and bream more than anything else.

The trouble is they rarely make it easy. Plenty of pegs will show signs of fish, with bubbles coming up and the odd bit of disturbance in the swim, but that does not always mean they are ready to feed. You can stare at fizzing water for ages and still not get a proper bite. Bream often feed late, and on many canals you are not trying to build a huge shoal in front of you. More often, you are trying to make the most of the odd passing fish and turn a few chances into a worthwhile net.

IN THIS BUYERS GUIDE WE HAVE OUR PICK OF THE BEST FISHING POLES.

What to feed

A more modern approach built around pellets and corn can certainly work on canals these days, and there was a time when few would have expected that to be the case. But when you are setting out with bream in mind, especially in spring, it still makes a lot of sense to go back to the more traditional chopped worm and caster approach.

On a canal, keeping the bait tight is important. Groundbait will catch fish, but once a boat comes through or the tow starts pulling after a lock opens, it can spread well away from where you introduced it. Chopped worm and caster is much better in that respect, especially on the far-bank shelf in shallower water. It is heavier, so it tends to stay put, while the chopped worm is constantly leaking attraction and helping pull fish into the baited area.

A good starting mix is finely chopped worm and caster in roughly a 25:75 split, with a few dead red maggots added in. It pays to be quite positive with it too, and around three quarters of a large pole cup, roughly 200ml, is a good starting point. It is enough to give the fish something decent to settle over.

NO NEED TO SPEND THOUSANDS ON A POLE CHECK OUT THE BEST SUB £1000 FISHING POLES.

All in the timing

One of the biggest mistakes you can make is rushing straight onto this line. You are usually far better off letting it settle. At the start of a session, it often pays to catch a few roach on maggots or pinkies fished short and long for an hour or so while the bream swim rests.

It fills that early part of the day nicely, but more importantly it gives the bigger fish chance to drift in and settle with confidence. While that line is resting, you can flick a few casters across with a catapult, but only sparingly. Too much loosefeed just spreads the bait and can easily push it into far-bank cover where you have no real chance of presenting properly.

CATCH CANAL BREAM USING ONE THE 5 MUST HAVE SILVERFISH POLE RIGS.

Hookbaits

When it is time to go on the bream line, keep the hookbait simple. A caster tipped with a dead maggot or a double caster are both proper target baits, and both are excellent options to start with. They are strong skimmer baits, and neither will look out of place if a decent perch turns up instead.

If you feel the bigger fish are there, or you just want the hookbait to stand out a little more, switch to a short section of worm tipped with a dead maggot.

ALWAYS HAVE THE BEST HOOKBAIT WITH THIS GUIDE TO THE BEST FISHING BAITS.

Where to fish

Cover is always worth targeting when you are fishing a canal. Bushes, brambles, overhanging trees and far-bank reeds all hold fish, while on barer pegs the far-bank piling is usually the obvious target.

Even so, feeding and fishing tight to the cover straight away is not always the best move. That is often a line better kept back for later if the fish move right in. You are usually better off building your main area a few feet off it, usually on top of the far-bank shelf in at least 18in of water. That gives you a much cleaner area to feed and present over, while still keeping the bait close enough to the cover to draw fish out.

BE COMFORTABLE ON THE BANK SITTING ON ONE OF THE BEST FISHING SEATBOXES.

The rig

Even though you are targeting big fish close to snags, that is no excuse to fish too heavy. A balanced set-up is nearly always the better way to go. Something like 0.12mm (3lb) mainline to a 0.10mm (2lb) hooklength and a size 16 hook is ample for most canal bream fishing when paired with a sensible hollow elastic.

Fish too crudely and you risk ruining the presentation, which matters when bites are often hard to come by. The only time it makes sense to step things up is if you are fishing right under the cover itself, where a stronger, more direct elastic will give you a better chance of pulling fish clear quickly.

As for the float, a light 0.3g round-bodied pattern with a simple bulk is all that is needed. You want to fish dead depth. Go overdepth and problems can soon start, because once the canal begins to tow due to boat traffic or lock movement, that extra line under the float can drag it under.

Topping up

If you catch a skimmer, the natural reaction is often to feed more, but that is not always the right move. If you have just had a fish, there is a fair chance plenty of that original feed is still sitting there, so you are usually better off trying to fish that out first rather than keep piling more in.

As a general rule, keep fishing until you feel you have worked through that initial feed. Only then should you top up, and when you do it can simply be with the same amount again, around three quarters of a large pole cup, roughly 200ml, of chopped worm, caster and dead maggots.

That said, it still depends on what the peg feels like. If there are clearly a few fish in the swim, you can often leave it alone and let them work through it. If it feels like there are only the odd fish drifting through and you are rotating a couple of lines, then introducing that same measured top-up a bit sooner can make sense. More often than not, though, you want the fish to eat what is already there before you give them any more.

ALWAYS PICK THE RIGHT POLE FLOAT WITH THE HELP OF THIS EXPERT GUIDE.

Three years ago, Luke Miller was suffering with his mental health, but he forced himself to get back into fishing and was recently rewarded with this sublime 5lb 1oz perch.

It was caught on dropshot tactics from the River Thames and is the result of countless early starts and gruelling blanks along the way. Impressive as the fish is, the catch has a deeper significance for Luke.

“I’ve never spoken about my mental health publicly, but if it wasn’t for angling and my family, I’d probably still be stuck in that hole.

"Fishing is my medicine. I was in awe when the perch rose to the surface – it was a moment of pure silence, shared by just me and the fish.”

THIS FISH WAS CAUGTH BEFORE MARCH 15TH 2026...

The hardest part of winning a big-money match can often be the qualifying, but at one top event, your odds of making the final have just been boosted.

In previous years, entrants to The Golden Reel had to win a 60-peg qualifier to reach the final, but now, following a format change, the qualifiers will be divided into three 20-peg sections, with the winner of each going through to a two-day final at Larford Lakes to fish for the £35k top prize.

“Winning a 60-peg match is a big ask, and there would be numerous anglers in each that put in great performances but went home disappointed,” said organiser Phil Briscoe.

“Now, the odds are stacked much more in your favour.”

For ticket info: www.goldenreelangling.co.uk

Although the coarse fishing season is now over until June, we had some incredible catch reports come in as anglers made the most of the final few days of fishing, being rewarded with some spectacular chub.

With conditions on the River Kennet spot-on for a bite, Ashley Holmes headed out in search of a lot minute chub...

“Using cheesepaste, I hadn’t been fishing long before the isotope on my rod twitched a few times, I struck, and chaos ensued.

“The fish made several dashes across the river before I landed it. In the net, I could see it was a good chub, and I ended my season on a high.”

“At the start of my Thames chub campaign I had a target of catching a six-pounder, which I soon achieved with a fish of 6lb 8oz. After that, high river levels stopped me from fishing, but lately they dropped just enough for me to head out, hoping for a late-season monster.

“I settled into an area with a slack just upstream, cast out, and two minutes later the tip bent over! A hairy battle followed, but after steering the fish away from a snag, I netted it. The catch capped a season to remember.

“The chub fell to garlic cheesepaste, fished alongside a feeder filled with liquidised bread also boosted with garlic.”

Chris Martin was agonisingly close to eclipsing his personal target on the Stour...

“A seven-pound chub was my target this season, but this fish of 6lb 15oz landed the other day was close enough for me!

“I’ve been fishing the Dorset Stour throughout the floods this winter, and often, I was the only angler on the bank.

“I had landed one of 6lb 11oz – my previous PB – a few weeks earlier. The 6lb 15oz fish fell to a bread hookbait fished on a very light leger rig.”

Daniel Macefield has spent many winters targeting chub on the Suffolk Stour.

“It’s an intimate waterway where the target is always a good five-pounder.

“But, on a recent session, I managed this impressive specimen which weighed 6lb 12oz.

“Althoughlarger fish inhabit better-known venues, this one means the world to me - to land a fish four ounces short of the seven-pound mark is simply incredible for the river.

“Tactically, I use a link leger with either bread or cheesepaste hookbaits. The latter option was successful for this specimen.”

Modern carp rigs are designed to react quickly the moment a fish picks up the bait. While standard bottom boilies still catch plenty of carp, these days most anglers favour buoyant hookbaits, such as wafters or pop-ups, as they offer numerous advantages.

First, they reduce the weight of the hook, allowing the bait to behave more naturally, and that slight buoyancy also helps the rig to reset effectively if it is picked up and ejected by a fish.

The key difference between pop-ups and wafters lies in how much buoyancy they provide. They both serve different purposes and excel in different situations.

Understanding those differences will help you choose the correct presentation for the conditions you’re faced with.

GET THE HOOKBAITS ON THE SPOT WITH ONE OF THE BEST CARP FISHING RODS.

Bottom baits

A bottom bait is designed to sit hard on the deck, which makes it a natural fit for the way carp feed. Most of the loosefeed you introduce will end up on the lakebed, and with their underslung mouths built for grubbing around on the bottom, carp are well used to picking up food from this zone.

That natural presentation is a big part of the appeal. When the hookbait looks and behaves like the free offerings around it, a carp has a much harder job separating one from the other. Unlike many pop-ups, which can look obviously different from the bait you have fed, a bottom bait blends in properly and can appear far less suspicious.

Bottom-bait rigs also tend to be straightforward. A simple hair rig tied with either supple or stiff materials is more than capable of catching fish, and that ease of use is one reason they remain such a reliable choice. They are also the most practical option when you want to fish things like pellets, sweetcorn or tiger nuts.

The main catch is that bottom baits work best over clear ground. Because any debris lying on the lakebed can interfere with the hook, they are far better suited to clean areas where you can be confident the rig is fishing exactly as it should.

MAKE SURE YOU DON'T GO CARP FISHING WITHOUT THE BEST BOILIES IN YOUR BAG.

What’s a wafter?

A wafter is made to be critically balanced. Rather than floating, it almost cancels out the weight of the hook, enabling the hookbait to sink slowly and rest lightly on the lakebed.

When set up correctly, the hook sits flat on the deck and the hookbait hovers just above it. This means a carp can inhale it with very little effort, and this makes the rig extremely sensitive.

Because wafters behave much like a bottom bait, they’re perfect for fishing over a bed of feed, whether that’s a spread of boilies, pellets or particles. They are also less blatant that pop-ups when fished over clean gravel or firm lakebed, where the fish are feeding confidently on the bottom.

Wafters are usually paired with rigs designed for bottom bait presentations such as standard hair-rigs, blowback rigs and more modern set-ups such as the German rig or a fluoro D-rig.

DELIVER A PAYLOAD OF BAIT ALONG WITH YOUR RIG WITH THE BEST BAIT BOATS.

Pop-up principles

While wafters offer a more natural and subtle presentation, they do come up short when fishing in deep silt, weed, or debris-covered lakebeds, as the hookbait can sink out of sight.

Pop-ups are far more buoyant than wafters. Instead of resting on the lakebed, they float above it, and need to be anchored in place with tungsten putty or a shot on the rig.

This creates a highly visible hookbait that carp can easily spot and pick up. Their buoyancy also plays
a crucial role in many modern carp rigs, as they hold the hook up in an aggressive position, ready to catch hold the moment they are inhaled by a carp.

At this time of year pop-ups are often used in situations where the lakebed isn’t clean enough for a standard bottom-bait presentation.

They come into their own when fishing over light weed or silt, as the hookbait can sit proud of any debris and remain clearly visible.

At this time of year bright pop-ups, fished as singles, are also highly effective for casting at showing fish.

WE HAVE COMPILED THE BEST CARP FISHING RIGS TO HELP YOU CATCH MORE FISH!

Pop-up presentations

Many of carp fishing’s most effective ‘big-fish’ rigs were specifically designed around the use of pop-up hookbaits.

The stiff hinge is a classic presentation that combines a stiff boom with a curved hook section to create aggressive hooking mechanics.

For a long time the chod rig dominated the specimen carp scene, because of its ability to present a pop-up hookbait over weed or deep silt. This meant it could be cast almost anywhere.

The Ronnie – or Spinner rig,  as it is sometimes called – is without a doubt the most popular set-up in modern carp fishing. When paired with a small buoyant pop-up the mechanics of this rig are almost impossible for fish to deal with.

WE HAVE ROUNDED UP THE BEST FISHING BIVVIES IN OUR BUYERS GUIDE...

Suitable situations

Despite their effectiveness, pop-ups aren’t always the right choice. When carp are feeding hard on the bottom, a brightly coloured bait hovering an inch or two above the lakebed can be far too blatant and should therefore be avoided. And on heavily baited spots, they run the risk of appearing less natural than a balanced bottom bait.

There’s also the risk of over-using them. On pressured waters where every angler is casting bright pop-ups, carp can quickly become wary of them.

The best carp anglers think carefully about how their hookbait behaves underwater and are able to make the best choice, depending on the situation they’re faced with.

A wafter offers subtlety and a more natural appearance, making it deadly over baited areas. A pop-up provides visibility, adaptability and aggressive rig mechanics, especially when targeting bigger carp.

Neither is better in every situation, but thinking carefully about when to use one over the other is a skill that can make a real difference to your catch rate.

THE BEST BUDGET BIVVIES WILL HELP KEEP YOU COMFORTABLE ON THE BANK FOR LESS.

The season ended with a moment of history when James Benfield landed a 20lb 3oz barbel from the River Severn.

The Midlands waterway has long been associated with the species, and held the British record as recently as 1997, when Howard Maddocks banked a 16lb 3oz fish. However, it’s fair to say that, in terms of the big-fish scene, other venues such as the Rivers Lea, Trent and Thames have well and truly left it behind over recent seasons.

While all those rivers, and more, have produced 20lb barbel, the Severn record had stood at 17lb 14oz for a number of years before being blown out of the water by James’ latest heavyweight whisker.

LAND YOURSELF A BARBEL WITH ONE OF THE BEST BARBEL FISHING RODS.

James, from Tewkesbury, has fished the river for 31 years, and is also the captor of the British Record zander of 21lb 5oz, also caught from the Severn back in 2007 – although that fish fell to a pellet intended for barbel!

But there was no fluke involved in his capture of the new river record, as he had heard rumours of a big fish on the lower reaches, and spent the last two years searching for it.

“In January, I started actively targeting it from one swim, and on my fifth trip, I encountered it,” he told us.

“Fishing one rod, my first fish was a 12lb barbel, and after landing it I considered packing up, but decided to stay for a few more hours.

“At 10.30pm I had another take and judging by its slow, plodding fight, I had a strong feeling that this was the fish I was after.

“When it broke surface, I knew it was the fish of a lifetime. After a few more dives for freedom, I managed to get its nose into the net.”

The fish has been confirmed as an official river record and caps an incredible campaign for James, during which he landed 123 barbel, 45 of them being ‘doubles’.

“A 10mm Ambush hooker pellet from Severn Valley Barbel Products accounted for the 20-pounder – I catch all my barbel on these, or meat, and keep my tactics and rigs simple,” he added.

FANCY GIVING BARBEL FISHING A TRY THEN CHECK OUT THIS BEGINNER GUIDE?

When the rivers close, the question is always the same. Where to fish out of season without ending up shoulder to shoulder on a busy commercial. For plenty of anglers, that is not what they are looking for, especially when a bit of space and a quieter setting matter just as much as the fishing itself.

The good news is you are not short of options. From canals and country park lakes to reservoirs and more picturesque stillwaters, there are plenty of venues that will keep bites coming and the rod bending while the rivers are out of bounds to coarse fishing.

Rother Valley Country Park, Sheffield, South Yorkshire

The Northern Lake is a fantastic tench water, and there’s every chance of half-a-dozen or more fish in the 3lb-6lb bracket during a session. Long pole tactics work well, and fishing over a bed of groundbait laced with chopped worms, dead maggots and casters will help you get a response.

Contact: www.rvcp.co.uk

FISH AT DISTANCE ON LARGE LAKES IS EASIER WITH THE BEST DISTANCE FEEDER RODS.

Billingford Lakes, Dereham, Norfolk

In a series of gravel pits that are spread across a truly stunning site, there is something for everyone at Billingford. Follow in the steps of a great, and target the carp in the John Wilson Lake down the margins, or head to Basil Todd with traditional feeder tactics or the long pole for bream and tench.

Contact: www.billingfordlakes.co.uk

Thorney Lakes, Langport, Somerset

This venue has all the hallmarks of an old-school estate lake, with lily pads and reedbeds dotted around it. The stocking is angled towards the traditionalist, and while carp are present, it’s bream, tench and crucians that will dominate the action. Soft pellets, corn and worms are all reliable hookbaits.

Contact: 01458 250811 Web: www.thorneylakes.co.uk

Alders Farm, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire

Pines Lake is nestled away at the back of the complex, and the surroundings allow you to forget all about the daily stresses of life. A thick canopy of trees surround it, with only the resident wildlife disturbing the silence. A Method feeder will account for plenty of carp to 8lb, while long pole and soft pellet is a solid bet for the bream and skimmers.

Contact: www.aldersfarm.com

THE BEST FISHING POLES MAKE FISHING MORE ENJOYABLE.

The Rosie, Connah’s Quay, Flintshire

A crucian carp fishing haven, this picturesque gem is home to a very healthy head of fish to 3lb. Fishing either in open water or close to the marginal features with a light pole or waggler set-up will help you find the shoals. Feed small quantities of micro pellets or nuggets of groundbait to spark a response.

Contact: www.connahsquayanglingclub.com

Lockwood Beck, Middlesbrough, North Yorks

Covering over 60 acres, this under-rated gem is a fantastic coarse fishery for those in search of a big net of silverfish. Present a cage feeder 30m-40m out for the resident skimmers, switching to long pole and maggot with plenty of loosefeed via a catapult for chunky roach and perch.

Contact: www.watersideparksuk.com

Grand Western Canal, Tiverton, Devon

The stretch that runs close to the village of Sampford Peverell is renowned for its spring tench sport, and there is every chance that you could fool a few lumps to 6lb. Worms and casters presented close to far-bank cover are a brilliant combination for your target species, while bonus rudd to 2lb are always a possibility using this approach.

Contact: www.tivertoncanal.co.uk

SIT COMFORTABLY ON THE BEST FISHING SEATBOXES.

Vicar Water, Mansfield, Nottinghamshsire

Whether you want a bag of silvers on the long pole and maggot, or fancy trying to catch a handful of big carp on the bomb or Method, this venue, created on the site of a former colliery, is for you. The gate to the lake can only be accessed by anglers who are given the code for the lock, and this reduces disturbance on the bank from other users in this area of the country park.

Contact: vicarwaterangling@gmail.com

Clumber Park, Worksop, Notts

This certainly isn’t the easiest venue in the land to master, but huge bream and tench to double figures could be your reward if you can find them. Put down a big bed of groundbait, pellets and corn at a reasonable distance from the bank when you first arrive, before dropping a feeder on top to try and tempt a bite or two.

Contact: www.clumberparkangling.co.uk

Woodland Waters, Ancaster, Lincolnshire

Huge shoals of bream live in the Specimen Lake, and 50lb-plus catches are on the cards when they are hungry. Pick a swim with lots of open water to explore, and introduce a couple of large bait-up feederfuls. Drop a Hybrid feeder loaded with micros on top and fish in the 3lb-6lb bracket will soon find the trap.

Contact: www.woodlandwaters.co.uk

HIT THE DISTANCE WITH THE BEST FEEDER FISHING REELS.

Dents Farm, Downham Market, Norfolk

Farm Shop Lake has the feel of an estate lake, and there are various approaches that you can work with. Long pole with worm and caster will account for a mixed net of true crucians, bream and tench, while the whip and pinkie will catch a small rudd every drop in. Those in search of a big carp should target either the central reedbed or marginal features, with brightly coloured boilies and pellets.

Contact: www.dentsfarmhilgay.co.uk

Greenwood Fisheries, Warrington, Cheshire

Depths vary greatly on Kingfisher Lake, and fishing a feeder towards the central gravel bar where you will find 4ft-6ft of water will produce carp and bream. Plumb up on the long pole and you’re likely to find 8ft-10ft. Maggots, casters and worms over groundbait will account for roach and skimmers.

Contact: www.greenwood-fisheries.co.uk

Mousecroft Pool, Shrewsbury, Shropshire

You wouldn’t expect this small lake to hold anything large, but it is home to shoals of bream in the 3lb-6lb bracket. Big carp to well over 15lb are also on the cards, and you can extract these lumps by fishing a Hybrid feeder with strong terminal tackle close to the snags.

Contact: www.shrewsburytownfisheries.co.uk

Docklow Pools, Leominster, Herefordshire

Located in a secluded valley that is shrouded by greenery, this popular fishery is a million miles away from your traditional commercial. Figure of Eight, Mickey Mouse and Moby Dick are all open for day ticket action, and you can expect to put together a mixed net of silvers, F1s and carp with pole or waggler and maggots.

Contact: www.docklowpools.com

PREFER TO FISH FROM A CHAIR? CHECK OUT THE BEST FISHING CHAIRS IN THIS BUYERS GUIDE.

The nice thing about lure fishing with ultra light gear and small lures is you genuinely never know what you might hook next. This is exactly what happened to Ianny Djorkaeff, who while fishing for perch before the season closed on the Ouse, managed to bank this cracking rudd instead.

“On a recent session on the Great Ouse, Cambridgeshire, I aimed to catch perch with soft plastic lures.

“However, it became clear that this wasn’t going to be a day for perch when this big rudd took me by surprise!

“I caught a good few of them, each fish in immaculate condition, with bronze flanks and red fins that glowed against the grey backdrop.

“They all nailed the lure – the takes were aggressive, making the captures even more memorable on the light gear I was using.”

It would appear 2026 is already shaping up to be a big year for new fishing tackle, with some genuinely exciting releases landing on the market.

A few of these products are already on shop shelves right now, while others are due to drop over the coming weeks and months.

From smart refinements to proven favourites to proper step-forward designs, these are our standout picks for the best new fishing gear worth keeping an eye on in 2026.

How can I find the best tackle reviews?

No matter what item of tackle you are looking for, we at the Angling Times have a guide for you, all tackle we have reviewed and love! Simply head over to our review pages for everything you need to know from rods and reels to chairs and bivvies.

_
Author Mark Sawyer holds the position of Tackle Editor at Angling Times, boasting more than thirty years of experience working within different fields of the angling industry._

Bait boats, some love them others hate them, regardless they are here to stay! But just like in all aspects of life, technology is increasingly making its mark with the goal of simplifying our tasks. When used correctly, a bait boat undeniably gives you a significant advantage in your fishing.

Whether it’s about placing your rigs quietly and accurately with minimal disruption, getting bait under that pesky overhang, or fishing in vast inland seas without the hassle of constantly boating out, a bait boat can greatly simplify these tasks. While they used to be predominantly used in carp fishing, more pike anglers and general coarse anglers are reaping the benefits of using them in their angling.

However, with the wide variety of boats available today, selecting the right one is crucial. You'll need to consider factors such as lead acid versus lithium batteries, carrying capacity, stability size, sonars, GPS, and autopilot systems. Bait boats come in numerous shapes, sizes, and specifications and they aren't cheap, so getting it right first time is paramount!

In the following article, you will find my favourite bait boats for carp and specimen fishing, ranging from budget-friendly options to high-end boats filled with the best tech and features.

How we test the best bait boats

These bait boats were tested by experienced members of the Angling times team. We have been using and abusing tech like this for decades and have probably used most, if not all of them during our time on the bank, so we know the best from the rest!

Tackle testers, Mark Sawyer and James Furness have been testing a variety of bait boats in varying scenarios to ensure they perform how they are supposed to for the given method they were designed! Whether it be carp fishing at range or using to catch bream and tench or shipping deadbaits out for pike, these boats have been thoroughly tested on so we can give a rounded review!

Our decision process of what makes the best bait boats takes into account various factors including price point, weight, build quality and usability to ensure we can give you the best advice on factors that will make an actual different to your angling.

The following list includes a mixture of our favourites for all types of specimen fishing you are likely to encounter! Find out how we test our gear, HERE.

What to look for in a bait boat

When considering a bait boat there are several factors you should consider when choosing the right bait boat to suit your needs. These include size, range, battery life, bait capacity, features, and price.

Bait boats come in various sizes, from small, compact models to larger, more robust vessels. Consider the size of the water you'll be fishing regularly and the amount of bait you'll need to carry when choosing a size. The size of the water you will be fishing will also dictate the range the bait boat needs so always pay attention to this, the range refers to how far it can travel from the remote control. Fishing larger waters? You'll need a boat with a longer range.

Another important consideration is battery life, the battery life of a bait boat determines how long you can use it before recharging. Consider how long you typically fish and choose a boat with a battery life that meets your needs and won’t constantly need recharging, boats with relatively low battery capacity (mAh) are better suited to short sessions.

The bait capacity of a bait boat is probably something that can be overlooked but if you need to be taking a boat back and forth just to get enough bait on the spot will soon drain the batteries so hving a boat that can carry sufficient amount of bait is paramount. If you plan on using a lot of bait, you'll need a boat with a large bait capacity.

Bait boats come with various features, such as GPS, fish finders, and lights. Consider which features are important to you and choose a boat that has them. With bait boats ranging in price from a few hundred to several thousand pounds it's important to consider what features and functions will suit your angling the best.

Glossary

Bait hopper: The compartment on the boat where you load your bait.

Range: How far the boat can travel from the remote control.

Receiver: The part of the remote control that picks up signals from the transmitter.

Remote control: The handheld device used to control the boat.

Run time: How long the boat can operate on a single battery charge.

Battery capacity: The amount of power the batteries can hold given in milliamp hours (mAh), the more power the battery can hold the longer it will typically run for and it's capability to power features

Transmitter: The part of the remote control that sends signals to the receiver.

Catching a personal best bream isn't about luck. It's about working out where they are, when they feed, and giving them a bait they can't ignore. These are the tactics that consistently separate the anglers who bank big slabs from those who blank while the fish move through uncaught. Here are our top tips for landing a personal best bream.

Map out the lake contours

The large stillwaters and gravel pits that big bream commonly inhabit can look barren on the surface, but they’re often packed with underwater features.

Bream are quite fussy as to where they will settle, and it’s important to use a lead to work out the contours of the bottom before you decide where to position your rigs.

Gravel bars, plateaux and depressions all appeal, while overly thick silt and heavy weed will prove off-putting.

Cast out a bare 3oz lead (or a feature-finding lead) on braided mainline and slowly retrieve it across the bottom to work out what the lakebed is made up of. You’re looking for either smooth gravel - indicated by a light ‘tapping’ on the tip - or smooth silt, which will feel ‘glassy’.

TAKE A LOOK AT OUR PICK OF THE BEST FEEDER REELS.

Feed accordingly

Think about how many fish you reckon you could catch should a shoal arrive and start to feed. For example, if good numbers of fish in the 6lb-plus bracket are present, you’ll need to introduce a big bed of feed to hold them in the swim, but if just one or two big fish are more likely then you should scale back the feed so that you aren’t waiting an age for them to select and take your hookbait.

It’s best to use a variety of loosefed offerings. Fishmeal groundbait, sweetcorn, pellets, crushed boilies and dead maggots should all come into the equation.

CHECK OUT THIS ARTICLE FOR MORE TIPS ON CATCHING SPECIMEN BREAM.

Stand-out hookbaits

If the bream are cagey they may take a few mouthfuls of food before backing away. So you need to make sure that your hookbait is unmissable, and one of the first things they inhale once they arrive.

Fake baits works well, and can be glugged to boost their appeal, while bright dumbells or boilies from 10mm to 15mm are also solid choices, and can be boosted with additives and liquid flavours to up their pulling power.

NEVER MISS A BITE THANKS TO THE BEST BITE ALARMS.

Keep a logbook

Big bream are present in reasonably low numbers in most venues and it can take a while to track them down. Once you’ve got that first specimen in the net, it’s important to learn from the experience, as repeating the formula is often the key to catching consistently.

Keep a record of key data such as the depth of water, how far out you were fishing, baits that were used and the weather conditions.

The more things you can replicate the next time you are on the bank, the more chance there is of upping your personal best again.

MAKE SURE YOU'RE SITTING COMFORTABLE THANKS TO THE BEST FISHING CHAIRS.

Time it right

Walk around your chosen lake at dawn or dusk, as bream are renowned for ‘rolling’ when light levels are low.

Watch carefully and you’ll often also see their direction of travel and favoured haunts.

Several fish may top in one spot and then, 15 minutes later, do the same 30m to the left or right of the earlier location. Bream are mostly creatures of habit and so, if they’re doing this one day, you can be fairly confident that they’ll follow the same route most days.

THE BEST DISTANCE FEEDER RODS WILL HELP YOU TARGET BREAM AT DISTANCE.

Strike a balance

Bream aren’t the hardest-fighting species that you’ll ever come across, so using a rod with a heavy test curve isn’t necessary.

That said, they often feed well away from the bank, and a reasonably powerful rod is required to punch a heavy lead or feeder to the mark.

A rod with a test curve in the region of 1.75lb to 2.25lb is about right. Use the lightest that you can, while still having enough casting power to reach the baited zone.

KEEP YOURSELF SHELTERED ON THE BANK IN ONE OF THE BEST FISHING BIVVIES.

Add a maggot

A lot of venues will be home to small roach, perch and skimmers that will slowly chip away at a bed of bait. Their presence is impossible to detect when fishing at distance, though, with your large hookbait never being troubled. Nicking a maggot or two on to your hook can help identify whether any tiddlers are in the area.

If you wind in and find the maggots are smashed, it’s a sign that the silvers have invaded! This will help you decide when to feed again.

More bait is often needed when small fish are present, to ensure that there is always enough loosefeed to hold the big bream when they arrive.

KEEP YOUR PB SAFE AND PROTECTED ON THE BANK WITH THE BEST UNHOOKING MATS.

Pick the perfect rig

This is a style of fishing where you often only get a handful of bites every session, so
you need full confidence that your rig is working properly, and not sitting in a poorly presented heap.

All manner of set-ups will work, including safety-clip arrangements and running legers, but a helicopter rig incorporating a leadcore or lead-free leader is one of the most tangle-free presentations and, if used correctly, it will sit pretty over a variety of lakebeds.

Don’t go undergunned for big bream – use 12lb mainline and a semi-stiff coated braid hooklength to a size 6 or 8 hook.

HEAD TO ONE OF THESE SUPERB WATERS TO CATCH YOURSELF SOME BIG BREAM.

Roll out the ‘carpet’

A few hungry slabs can hoover up a small pile of bait in no time at all, so creating a wide carpet of bait will increase the amount of time they stay in the swim.

If you’re using multiple rods, aim to put down a bed of bait five metres square, or even a little more, and spread your hookbaits across this area, with a reasonable gap between each.

ADD THE BEST LIQUIDS AND ADDITIVES TO YOUR GROUNDBAIT TO GIVE IT A BOOST!

Bait up with braid

Although, as we’ve already suggested, pinpoint accuracy isn’t needed when bream fishing, it’s still important that your loosefeed doesn’t go all over the place, fall too far short or travel considerably further than where your hookbaits are placed.

Using braid on the rod that you are baiting up with will help to guarantee this accuracy. Braid has zero stretch and, when you hit the clip after casting out a heavy, fully loaded spod or spomb, it will stop pretty much exactly where you want it to.

BAITING UP IS A BREEZE WITH THE BEST BAIT UP RODS.

Anyone that’s pushed a barrow loaded with tackle will tell you just how tiring it can be. So, spare a thought for two Royal Marines Commandos who are about to begin a mammoth 50-mile journey with a barrow loaded with 200kg of kit!

Craig Tucker and Daniel Pither are, at the end of the month, beginning a five-day quest in which they’ll fish five matches on venues across the South West, pushing their tackle from venue to venue and camping overnight.

Raising funds for RMA – Royal Marines Charity, that supports serving and former Marines and their families – they’ll start at Plantations Lakes in Clevedon on March 30 and will finish on the Bridgewater and Taunton Canal on April 3.

Each match will raise money on the bank, and the pair have also set up a GoFundMe page to support the challenge.

“Angling is increasingly recognised as a powerful tool for supporting the mental health of serving and former military personnel - and we want to give something back,” they say.

“Over five consecutive days, we’ll run five charity fishing matches across Somerset. After each match, we’ll load around 200kg of kit and push it to the next venue. No vehicles. No shortcuts. Just grit, determination, and a trolley. Each night, we’ll sleep outside with our kit before doing it all again the next day.

“Most anglers know the struggle of carrying kit 100 metres from the car — so pushing it 10 miles a night should put things into perspective!”

As well as raising funds, Craig and Daniel are aiming to shine a light on mental health within the military community and encouraging people to use angling to support their wellbeing.

“If this challenge helps even one person pick up a rod instead of suffering in silence, it will be worth every step.”

To support their challenge, visit: www.gofundme.com/f/royal-marines-angling-tackling-mental-health

After catching only a small jack pike on the first of a two-day session at Chew Valley Lake, Daniel Horton wasn’t feeling overly positive.

His fortunes changed in spectacular style, however, with this fish of 38lb 14oz. It fell to a smelt, packed with oil attractants, which Daniel fished in 10ft of water on a spot at 70yds.

“Just after sunrise, I had two quick beeps on the alarm,” he told us.

“When I picked up the rod, I could feel the fish moving away, so I lifted into it. It swam straight towards me and into a reedbed, but I managed to ease it out.

“When I weighed it, I couldn’t believe my eyes when the scales settled on 38lb 14oz. I returned the following week and landed another of 31lb 12oz!”

DON'T BE WITHOUT A SET OF THE BEST FISHING SCALES IF YOU LIKE CATCHING BIG FISH!

Peperami has been catching fish for as long as it has been filling lunchboxes, and for good reason. It is the sort of thing you might throw in your bag as a snack, but when the fishing gets tricky it often ends up on the hook instead.

When fish grow wary of other baits or when bites are hard to come by, a small piece can be enough to trip one up. Whether it is the meat, the spice, the oil, or a combination of the lot, it offers something different, and that can be enough to force a bite.

CAST OUT PEPERAMI ON A STRAIGHT LEAD USING ONE OF THE BEST CARP FEEDER RODS.

Target hookbait

For me, less is more. A piece around the size of an 8mm pellet is about right. Small enough to look easy to eat but still leaking plenty of smell and oil.

It is a versatile hookbait too. You can hook it directly, but it really mounts well on a hair. Leaving the hook clear and gives you a much cleaner presentation.

If you want to tweak it further, it pairs well with a grain of buoyant corn. That lets you balance the bait and add a small flash of colour without overdoing it.

HERE ARE 13 UNUSUAL BAITS THAT CAN BE FOUND ON SUPERMARKET SHELVES.

How to fish it

It is not just a novelty bait, it slots neatly into a few very effective approaches.

Fished as a single hookbait on a straight lead, it is ideal when you want a target bait with very little feed around it. Particularly in winter or on hard days when you are fishing for a bite at a time.

It also works well alongside a small PVA stick or bag. Pellets, groundbait or a mix of the two all complement it nicely, and adding a bit of blitzed Peperami into the mix helps push more oil and flavour out around the hookbait.

On the Method feeder, it makes just as much sense. Whether you are using pellets, groundbait or a blend of the two, it ties in well with the feed and gives you a stand out hookbait.

IN THIS BUYERS GUIDE WE HAVE OUR PICK OF THE BEST FISHING REELS.

A change bait worth having

The best thing about Peperami is its simplicity. It is foil-sealed, keeps well in your bait bag and takes seconds to prepare. You can always have a stick tucked away ready to go when bites are hard to come by. And if it does not work, you have still got a decent snack.

PEPERAMI IS ONE OF THE BEST WINTER CARP BAITS.

What species is Peperami good for?

When it comes to using Peperami, there are certain species that are more fond of it than other. Fish like barbel and carp absolutely love the stuff, and it makes a great bait when there are lots of minnows or other nuisance fish around that can quickly whittle away softer baits. Chub and tench are also great fish to target with Peperami.

Barston Lakes in Solihull, a venue better known for its strong match fishing pedigree, has just taken a step into serious specimen territory, as owner Nigel Harrhy has stocked a 41lb carp into the lake.

The fish is already making waves on social media, with anglers are eager for a chance to catch it, adding extra excitement to a venue long popular with match and pleasure anglers.

The venue hosts plenty of big matches like the UK Championships and the British Carp Angling Championships, regularly producing big weights for competitors. Barston has traditionally appealed to those chasing numbers, but big-fish anglers now have even more reason to keep a close eye on the venue.

There will be no shortage of anglers dreaming of seeing that fish on the mat, but at Barston, the real twist is that it could just as easily turn up for an angler fishing one of the many matches held on the lake. If that happens, it would make for a unique turning point in a contest where nobody expects a 40lb carp to change their fortune.

IF YOU HAVE NEVER FISHED A MATCH, HERE IS A GREAT BEGINNERS GUIDE...

Arriving at the River Lea’s Kings Weir for one last session before the end of the season, and finding that he was the only angler there, Gary Newland settled in a weir pool swim that he’s fancied trying for a while.

After introducing a pint of hemp, he fed a pouch of maggots every few minutes as he tackled up. About 45 minutes after making his first cast, Gary had a bite way down the swim and hooked a fish that fought doggedly as he slowly brought it upstream.

At first he assumed it was a barbel, so was shocked to see a huge chub surface. At 7lb 11oz, the fish beats his previous best by 3oz, ending his season off in style!

NOW THE RIVERS ARE CLOSED, WHY NOT TRY AND CATCH A TENCH...

Mackerel fishing is facing an uncertain future as stocks continue to decline and pressure from commercial fleets shows no sign of easing. Once seen as one of the most sustainable and accessible sea fish, mackerel is now at the centre of growing concern, with warnings that current catch levels could cause serious long-term damage.

Worries have intensified in recent months, with ongoing debate around catch limits and whether enough is being done to protect the stock, after reports show a 77% decline in stocks over the last decade.

For anglers and coastal communities alike, the question is no longer hypothetical, it’s becoming increasingly urgent, as anxiety grows that the species is being pushed towards the brink of collapse.

The mackerel has long been the fish that ignited passion for sea angling, even for those who rarely fish. Once a symbol of summer fishing and a healthy ecosystem, this iconic species now faces growing uncertainty.

However over the past decade in particular, catches have become less predictable, shoals more dispersed, and the summer run noticeably smaller. When policymakers and industrial fleets disregard the science, as usual, it is the local anglers and coastal communities who bear the consequences.

What is going wrong?

Scientists raised the alarm earlier in 2025, warning that commercial catches must be cut by a minimum of 77% to halt the decline.

The European Union also proposed a 77% reduction in commercial mackerel catches, directly reflecting the latest ICES (International Council for the Exploration of the Sea) guidance, in what could have been a crucial step to end years of chronic overfishing and set the stock on a path to recovery.

Instead, the UK joined most other coastal states in rejecting the proposal, and was criticised for voting against aligning quotas with this scientific advice, instead opting to reduce by 48%.

This stance is nothing new and since 2010, international quotas have exceeded scientific advice every year, by an average of 40%, as mackerel were seen as 'too sustainable'. As a result, the mackerel stock has been depleted, with scientists warning that continued inaction could push the species to the brink of collapse, allowing greed to prevail at the detriment of the species

Why the crisis is worsening

The improvement of sonar and fish finding capabilities of huge trawlers have enabled fishing vessels to scoop up entire shoals, with 150-250 tonnes not uncommon. When you consider this could equate to more than 1 million individual fish, you can see why this crisis is deepening as the fish stand little chance.

While there has been some calls that the return of the Bluefin tuna to our shores has contributed, their impact is thought to be minimal, especially when you consider how efficient modern fishing vessels are. No doubt, once again recreational anglers who catch a few fish from the beach for food and bait will be scapegoated before too long.

Retail takes action

In a bold and decisive move, UK supermarket Waitrose stepped in where the government had not, taking responsibility away from consumers in the hope that reduced retail demand could help relieve pressure on struggling fish stocks.

The supermarket has become the first to suspend sourcing of fresh, chilled and frozen mackerel by 29th April 2026, with tinned mackerel following once the current stock has sold, choosing to promote the sale of herrings and sardines as sustainable and nutrient dense alternatives to mackerel.

Jake Pickering, Head of Agriculture, Aquaculture & Fisheries at Waitrose, said: “By suspending sourcing of mackerel at Waitrose we are reinforcing our ethical and sustainable business commitments, acting to tackle overfishing and protect the long-term health of our oceans and this crucial fish.

"Our customers trust us to source responsibly, and we are closely monitoring the fishery. We look forward to bringing mackerel back to our shelves once it meets our high sourcing standards.”

Is the situation overblown?

Mackerel have always been pushed as sustainable, and when you envisage images of multiple fish being lifted over the side of the boat or landed on the beach, it is clear to see why. It has been advocated for years that these fish are the best option to eat if you want to make an better choice for protecting other fish stocks, however as we have seen with other stock collapses, this is often the first warning sign.

Being a keen sea angler myself, I have never known the mackerel fishing to be as difficult, and speaking to other anglers and seeing what others are catching it seems to be a common theme. Yes, there will be occasional good days, but gone are the sessions you could rely on catching a few with regularity and for those who charter boats or have recreational vessels, they are stating the same.

What this means for the future

Without urgent action, scientists warn that continued overfishing could push mackerel to the brink of collapse, threatening ecosystems and the livelihoods of those who rely on this iconic species. France has recently implemented a five fish per day quota for recreational anglers, which has seen strong backlash, with those under fire pointing the finger at the destructive practices of trawling if any meaningful recovery is to be seen.

A late season trip to the Thames at Medley proved fruitful for Trevor Gunning, who landed this 4lb 11oz perch. Using a dropshot rig with a floating creature bait presented 12 inches off bottom, Trevor held the rod high, giving occasional and gentle taps to add a flutter of movement.

The fish measured just under 50cm and caps a memorable spell for Trevor, who has landed six four-pounders over recent weeks from three different areas of the Thames around Oxford. The same tactic has proved successful for all of his fish.

FOLLOW OUR HELPFUL GUIDE TO CATCH MORE PERCH ON LURES....

With the weather warming up, it’s no surprise that anglers are beginning to turn their attention to the species we typically associate with the summer months. On a recent trip, Wayne Edwards took full advantage of the improving conditions, opting for an early sessiontargeting rudd on a local canal he knows well, and he was rewarded with a real red-letter day.

“The other day I enjoyed a spectacular rudd session. I fished a cage feeder filled with hemp, maggots and corn, held in place with groundbait and breadcrumb.

“In the first hour I landed six between one and two pounds, then went for breakfast to rest the swim.

“On my return, the action continued and, by the end of the day, I’d landing over 65lb of rudd, the biggest two of which weighed 2lb 10oz and 2lb 8oz.

“Thirty of them weighed over a pound!”

THE BEST FEEDER RODS ARE PERFECT FOR CATCHING FISH ON ANY CANAL...

While lure fishing is booming in the UK, most anglers tend to use them during daylight hours relying on the vision of predatory fish like pike to spur them into striking. However, if this latest capture by Kieran Glarvey proves anything, it’s that lures can still catch fish after dark and that many anglers are missing out on some great fishing if they go home when the sun sets!

“After work, a mate and I decided to try a stretch of the tidal Trent known to produce big pike in flooded conditions.

“The moon was bright, so I selected a white fluorescent shad that I cast in the margins. I hooked a fish and, when netted, I knew it could be a river PB.

“I didn’t have scales, but a barbel angler nearby let us borrow some. When they read 29lb 2oz, neither of us could believe it!”

(THIS FISH WAS CAUGHT BEFORE MARCH 15TH)

A citizen science drive, led by anglers, has gathered the largest ever dataset on water quality in UK rivers. The Water Quality Monitoring Network (WQMN) is an Angling Trust drive that has taken place over the last three years.

Mobilising volunteers from angling clubs across the country, the initiative inspires people to venture out to their local river and collect water samples. These are used to measure a range of key factors that indicate its health, including water temperature, nutrient levels, and electrical conductivity.

More than 800 people have given up over 40,000 hours of their time to the cause across 80 different river catchments, with their efforts generating over 12,000 water samples providing a valuable insight into water quality.

Since its inception in 2022, findings generated by the WQMN have painted a grim picture, and today, there is continued decline.

Nitrates on the rise

Data gathered by the WQMN was analysed by independent researcher Isla Thorpe of the University of York. One of the most concerning trends revealed was the continual rise in levels of nitrate concentrations.

When present in excess, nitrates can cause explosive growth of algae and plants, which can subsequently destroy biodiversity. Over the three years the report has spanned, the percentage of sites monitored that have breached safe limits has risen each time.

In Year 1, 44 per cent of sites exceeded the ‘safe limits’ threshold for nitrates. This climbed to 46 per cent in Year 2, and in Year 3, this has now risen again to just under 50 per cent.

“Excess nutrients on the scale revealed translate into algal blooms and fish without enough oxygen to survive,” explains Alex Farquhar, Angling Trust Freshwater Campaigns Officer.

“Ecosystems have spent thousands of years finding their balance, but after just a few decades of mismanagement and profiteering at the expense of the environment, the impacts are clear to see."

Further threats

Additionally, the Year 3 water samples showed that lethal ammonia concentrations are rising, with nearly five per cent of sites breaching safety thresholds in Year 3 of the WQMN.

While this may not sound a lot compared to those with excess nitrates, ammonia is highly toxic to fish, even at low levels, causing severe damage to respiration and nervous systems. Warmer weather makes ammonia more soluble and significantly more toxic, so with rising water temperatures over our increasingly hot and dry summers, its threat is amplified.

Across almost all catchments sampled, a clear and worrying increase in chemical pollution has been reportedover the last three years. These range from household chemicals through to pesticides and veterinary products, which have a wide range of impacts on fish and the broader aquatic environment.

On the figures, Will Millard, writer, broadcaster and angler, says: “Firstly, I want to extend my thanks to the volunteers and the Angling Trust for their execution of this survey. If anything can be gleaned from these results, it’s that a great deal of people care about our river catchments. Without their effort and dedication, this simply would not be possible.

“Ultimately though, this depressing picture underlines firmly that the time for intervention and investment is now. This is no longer an abstract issue: we are at tipping point.

“The health of our freshwater continues to decline and the time for direct action, at the very root of the causes, has come.”

Anglers leading the line

While the figures from the WQMN are damaging, they are a vital tool in pushing for real change. Without the efforts of anglers, the data wouldn’t exist, a factor that Jamie Cook, Angling Trust CEO, highlighted.

“The third WQMN report once again shows how anglers are leading the way in the fight against river pollution,” he says.

“Citizen science initiatives have been instrumental in pushing river pollution up the political agenda, with all major political parties highlighting the issue in their 2024 election manifestos.

“A total overhaul of the way we manage the water environment is needed. Fish, fishing, and the environment cannot wait any longer for these changes. We urge the government to match its rhetoricwith concrete action.”