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If you’re looking for cheap days out to entertain children & families, during the school summer holidays, in Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and the East Midlands – why not let them learn to fish! On this page I’ve compiled links to organisations – such as the Angling Trust and Canal & River Trust – who host free-to-attend fishing events such as taster sessions, where children can have a go at fishing, under the guidance and supervision of qualified angling coaches & instructors. I believe strongly that learning to fish gives youngsters a great range of skills, with many, wide-ranging benefits. If you’re taught properly how to fish, those skills stay with you for life. If you’re a parent or grandparent of a child over the age of three (some kids try fishing younger, but it does take a little patience & attention span!), looking for a safe activity for your kids to try over the school holidays, this could be just what you’re looking for. It may be something they dabble in for the odd day to keep them occupied; it may even become an obsession which makes them a lifelong angler… Or somewhere in between! Whatever the outcome, the vast majority …

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I grew up in Tibshelf and I learned to fish at Tibshelf Ponds, so I still have a vast amount of affection for the place. I spent many a day there with friends, trying between us to catch something. Then, as I got older I learned how to fish the whip and pole here, then how to target carp (mainly fishing on the surface, which is no longer allowed, for the benefit of the waterfowl). I would spend many a spring evening up at the ponds, feeding and watching fish, anticipating and plotting my attack for the beginning of the season (in those days Tibshelf Ponds were closed from March 14th until June 16th). When the Glorious 16th came around I would have my tackle packed and ready, and would run out of the school gates so I could get to the ponds as early as possible – hopefully before anyone else from school, so I could have a better choice of peg. From mid-June until the end of the school term, throughout the 1990s, I’d spend as many evenings as possible fishing the Ponds. The way I maximised this was to load up my mountain bike – rucksack of …

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June 2019 saw national fishing tackle retailer, Angling Direct, open a brand new store in Sutton-in-Ashfield. The new Angling Direct shop in Sutton can be found at: 1B Forest St, Sutton-in-Ashfield, NG17 1DA. This large tackle shop is packed to the rafters with major brand tackle, alongside AD’s own-brand ADVanta range. As part of a large national chain, Angling Direct stock a large range of tackle and offer convenient services such as “click & collect”, which many people will find to be very convenient. However, Sutton-in-Ashfield already has a long-established independent fishing tackle shop based on the old marketplace – Phil’s Bait and Tackle – which I believe offers anglers much more. If you are looking to start out fishing, or to get your child kitted-out with fishing tackle for them to give fishing a try then you should head to your local independent tackle shop – in this case Phil’s Bait & Tackle. In their shop you will find excellent service and one the largest ranges of tackle in the area, from major manufacturers of coarse, carp, specimen and match tackle. They have plenty of kit priced perfectly for beginners who are looking to buy their first rod & …

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On this page I’ve compiled a list of all the free-to-attend events I can find, where children can have a go at fishing, under the guidance and supervision of qualified angling coaches & instructors. Below is a list of fishing events – FREE to attend for children – during the school holidays this year. This list concentrates on events close to Derby, Chesterfield and Nottingham. Besides the curated list of events below, there are some excellent online resources to find fishing events, taster sessions, open days and free coaching events in the East Midlands, such as: IMPORTANT!  It is a legal requirement for all anglers aged over 12 to be in posession of a valid Rod Licence when fishing. Rod licences for 13 to 16 year olds are FREE – but you still need to register for one. These can be purchased instantly online here (only buy rod licences from the official Gov website to avoid extra fees), or by calling the Environment Agency’s Rod Licence service on 0344 800 5386. 2019 Summer Holidays Angling Events Listings – Free Fishing Taster Sessions & Learn-to-Fish Events in Derbyshire & Nottinghamshire Date:Thursday 25th July 2019Event Name:Free Let’s Fish! – Nottingham – Learn …

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Andrew urges all anglers to use their local tackle shop as often as possible. I grew up in a small village with a few fishing ponds which catered well for kids. The thing was, there were no fishing tackle shops within easy reach of the village, so as a teenager it was always a case of “Get what you can, when you can”, when the chance of a lift to a tackle shop arose! I’d been fishing for 20 years before I finally had a tackle shop in the village I lived, but after a couple of years it had already closed down. The tackle market is a different place to when I was kid, mainly because of the internet. Whilst there are thousands of bargains available out there from the major players, the advantages of having a small, local tackle and bait supplier cannot be overstated. You can’t order a last-minute pint of maggots from the internet, or replace that packet of hooks you realise you’re without, just as you’re leaving the house! Yes, it can be invaluable to go into a large shop and pick up 10 different rods to compare before you commit to that big spend, …

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So, onto the final part of my 2015 highlights trilogy!  The epic finalé.  Hopefully it’ll be more Toy Story 3 than Jurassic Park III; more Die Hard with a Vengeance than Superman III!  There’s only one way to find out… Cornish manoeuvres in the dark On our first holiday with our (by now, 4 months old) baby daughter, fishing was never going to be high on the agenda, it would be a case of grabbing a chance if and when it arrived.  We stayed in this country, which allowed me to take quite a range of gear with me so that I could exploit any opportunities which came my way.  The first of these came in Poole, where we spent a week. Our hotel was walking distance from a bay of some repute amongst local angling bloggers I’d looked up before we went.  A couple of evening trips produced my first two bass (which would have each fitted in the palm of my hand and they were returned as quickly as possible) and a couple of eels which had me fooled I might have hooked a bit better bass.  Brilliant fun, a new species chalked off and all done without …

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In the second of my Highlights of 2015 posts I once again visit the Derbyshire Derwent, but a different stretch this time. The session provided me with a great insight into the lives of barbel & chub when this river is exceptionally low and clear… Fishing for barbel & chub in clear water on the Derwent Every now and again, a fishing session comes along which unexpectedly knocks you sideways.  Sometimes it can be a red letter day in the form of the number or size of fish you catch, other times it’s the things you see or the whole experience. I had one such day last July, where it was the latter which made the day special.  I caught some fish but the overriding highlights of the day were the things I witnessed.  Forgive me if I get carried away describing something you see regularly, but because I don’t fish during the daytime very often, this whole experience was something quite special for me. It started when I decided to head to a stretch of the River Derwent which I had only ever fished once, several years ago.  It was primarily a reconnaissance session to reaquiant myself with the swims …

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In April last year my life was changed forever by the birth of my daughter! So whilst I’ve been experiencing the highs and challenges of fatherhood, finding time to fish has become even more difficult. Time to blog about it has inevitably proved yet trickier to find! I have, however, sneaked in a short evening session most weeks since June and I’ve really enjoyed the fishing I’ve done this season. More than I have in quite some time! So I thought I would write about my 3 angling highlights from last summer; a blog post for each. They include a first, a PB and an exhilarating spot of close-quarters, clear water fishing.  If you like the sound of those, read on… First barbel on the stick float A couple of seasons ago I decided that I really wanted to catch a barbel on the float.  With almost all of my barbel fishing consisting of summer & autumn evening sessions, I only managed 4 or 5 hours of trotting for them last season, with only a few small silver fish and minnows to show for my efforts.  This year I decided to put some effort in at the beginning of the season when, arriving at …

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Introduction Juggling time between family, work, friends and other commitments can leave little leftover for fishing trips.  Not an ideal basis for targeting specimen fish, but I’ve worked 6-day weeks since I left school and I remain a mad-keen angler.  Two years ago I bought my first house with my girlfriend and her daughter, which has further constricted my fishing time, but I have plenty of experience in squeezing short sessions into what little time I have left. Rivers are my favourite venues and during the first four months of the season I mainly target barbel, after work during short evening sessions.  To get the best out of these sessions you have to be prepared, efficient and have your tactics ready to employ quickly and confidently.  I shall explain how I do this, which should give you a basis of knowledge to help you get the best from your local rivers. River & Swim Selection First you need a venue within easy driving distance of work/home.  I finish work at 6pm, so for evening sessions I set myself a limit of 45 minutes driving time each way.  Research which local angling clubs offer you the best river fishing to suit …

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FishingMagic.com has been through a few redesigns which have affected how the articles, reviews & catch reports I wrote for them – mostly between 2011 & 2013 – have been displayed.  What has never changed is the quality and variety of writing on the site; it’s a great resource for angling-related news, instruction and entertaining stories. The site has gone through another revamp over recent months and I thought the images on the content I wrote for them had vanished forever, but after checking again recently the content is reappearing!  So if you have an interest in reading the reviews, articles & catch reports I wrote for the online angling magazine, FishingMagic, you still can at the following links:  www.fishingmagic.com/?s=andrew+kennedy or www.just-fish.co.uk/fishingmagic

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