Preps- Keeping Beer Cold

Hi folks,

I`ve often wondered how I`d keep my beers cool if the electrics went down for a long period of time, well now I have a nice little project for the weekend, all I need are some clay pots, some sand and a wet towel.

Preps- Bugs n Slugs

Hi folks,

It`s on damp mornings like these that you`ll find me in the garden rooting around hunting slugs. So it was this morning before I set off for work, 15 mins hunting produced 21 sluggys.

My two hens love em and fight over them, they make a good supliment to their diet and keeps down the damage to my veggies. I do use pesticides, sprays and slug pellets however, I`ve tried the organic approach but after repeatedly losing most of my crops to slugs and bugs I abandoned that approach.

The problem is in a SHTF situation losing crops would mean less food which of course would be a bad situation so I`m always looking to be well stocked up with critter killer.

I`ve also heard Mr Slug makes a good bait for Chub, I`ve not tried it yet, maybe this weekend.

Mystery Fish, Still no Barbel

Well folks,

its been a while since my last post on your fav blog, I`ve been pushed for time and energy lately so lets have a quickie!, I managed to get a few hours freedom fishing the Trent with my dog PJ last night, he had a paddle while I caught an assortment of tiddlers, Perch and Chub.

I did catch something I`ve never caught before and I`ve no idea what it is, it pulled the tip of my feeder rod round into a good bend and initially I thought it was a good fish, I dared dream I`d hooked a Barbel at long last but alas no.

Though small, Ok tiny it put up a good squabble before I landed it, a very pretty fish with a blue tinge and large jet black eyes, any idea what it is?

Big Game Fun

Hi folks,

Ive been looking through some photos from a few years back and came accross some fishing pics taken during my hols in Cuba.

I caught quite a few of these fish using freelined prawn tight against the rocks, and let me tell you those rocks were razor sharp, my flip flops were shreded at the end of the day.

This is where the larger ones ended up, at the local beach bar, cooked on the hot plate and washed down with copious amounts of beer, mmmmmmmm!

The highlight of the holiday was a big game trip, we caught a number of Dorado and Barracuda

When we were coming back into port we spotted the Snapper floundering on the surface so one of the crew gaffed it out onto the boat. As you can see its tail is missing, the gaff man told me that Barracuda often bite off the tails as a snack leaving the rest.

Sundays Dinner Is Cheese

Aaaaaaarrrrhh,

I can`t get fishing out of my tiny brain, I`m planning my next trip to the banks of the Trent for this Sunday and its only bloody Tuesday bwaahhh!, no time before then, real life getting in the way.

A work buddy swears by cheese as a bait in the Trent, especially for big Chub and Barbel, I`m usually a worm and maggot man though recently I' ve mixed it up with Halibut and Trout pellets but my catch rates have been poor to be honest, a few small Perch though I did catch my Pb Chub, about a pound and a bit hahahaha!

I put this down to being away from fishing for too many years and being out of practice but practice makes perfect as they say so I`m going to give cheese a go.

Not sure what kind yet, there`s a Liddle nearby, I`ll pop in and do a sniff and texture test, something that`s got plenty of pong but is firm enough to stay on the hair or hook depending on which I use.

I`ll just have to be patient and make sure I `m properly prepared for Sundays trip, tonight I`ll sort out my tackle box that should help keep my butterflies at bay.

Any tips on cheese baits from you loyal readers would be appreciated, in the meantime here`s a picture of a Chub, caught on cheese of course.

Anglers Compass

Hi folks,

Well here we are, the first post on your new favourite blog lol, in the midst of a media and political storm, the air waves and tv screens awash with chatter and theories over  hackergate, yaaaaaaawn!

All the waffle over our societies supposed lost moral compass did get me a wondering about the morality of fishing and fishermen in the UK, is there a place for morality in the art of the angle and if so where are we at and where are we heading ?

Most importantly for me is the way we catch and the treatment of the fish we catch and the way we treat the flora and fauna around us, basically what kind of condition we leave our pegs, shore line etc, It shocks me still the state some anglers leave pegs in, litter left is an eyesore and a danger to wild life, I always take a bin bag and clear what I can, it only takes minutes to pick up and dump into a dustbin.

When I was a yoof there was no such thing as barbless hooks, now of course they`re all the rage, the belief being that less damage is done to fish mouths without a barb, there are theories mind that the opposite is actually the case, people like John H have concerns, I`m sure there are others I`m not sure either way, general opinion deems them a good thing so I use them in the hope this is true.

I think we fishermen have come a long way in how we treat our captures, fish friendly nets are standard although I don`t use a keep net , I admit to              having an issue with keep nets which is not going to make me popular with     the match  fishing brigade, when I see large nets of fish being hauled around the bank I can`t help thinking about the fish at the bottom of that pile.                                                                                                                          

Unhooking matts are now standard kit and not using one is frowned upon which works for me, Korda produce a carp specific medical kit so we can now treat fish we catch with various ready made medications, however it is important to properly clean the wounds etc before applying meds.


So much I could say but too little time for now, to sum up, I think anglers are in a good place right now, fish care and their habitat protection have never been more in anglers minds, of course there are still some who need to get with the program.What the future holds for our sport here in the UK I don`t know but we as anglers must be vigilant and progressive.

Thats it for now folks, work beckons, I`d be interested to read your thoughts on the subjects I`ve touched on in the comments so go ahead and have your say, tata for now.

                                                        Nice fish