Latest Content

Monthly Archives: September 2010

How to Tie a Wire Trace for Pike & Zander Fishing (Video)

How to tie a wire trace for pike & zander fishing

How to tie a wire trace (instructional video) In this YouTube video I show you all you need to know to tie strong, reliable, safe 2-hook wire traces (also refered to as “snap tackle”) for pike & zander fishing with deadbaits. I go through the tools and components you need and then show you how to tie a wire trace from scratch. I have used this type of quality home-made wire trace for the majority of my pike & zander fishing, for over 20 years and caught countless predatory fish using them. I also wrote a step-by-step “how-to” article on making a wire trace here. Related Video: How to unhook pike safely If you are relatively new to pike fishing, you should also view my video to show you how to unhook pike. These fragile predators need good fish care and handling skills to ensure they are not damaged in the process. Approaching the unhooking process with confidence is a key part of this, and hopefully my short video will help with this. More DIY fishing tackle making tips & hacks I’m quite a hands-on guy and I’m regularly tinkering with things to improve them, adapt them or make them …

Read More »

Wake Me Up When September Ends

Big barbel fishing, PB

Since my last post I’ve fished a few times but it’s been pretty slow going.  Just last night I went Zander fishing and ended up with an 8lb pike and lost a good fish, which may well have been a zed, but I’ll never know… This follows an all-day barbel session last week with friends Craig and Kev.  I fished all day on a prolific stretch of the Trent and despite trying all sorts of baits, fining down, stepping up to a 6 foot hooklength and even trying single maggot hookbaits, I didn’t even get a sniff of a barbel.  I caught a couple of dace when fishing maggot (on a 2.25lb TC barbel rod, size 16 hook and 14lb mainline!), which is a species I haven’t caught since I don’t know when. I even spotted a pike swim towards a plastic bag which was fluttering downstream.  It then proceeded to follow it downstream, deciding whether or not to strike at it!  Interesting to see such behaviour, but it was a stark reminder just what harm our rubbish can potentially do to our wildlife and with the pike season just around the corner (come on frosts!), please take care with your …

Read More »

Late August Capture Update, New Angling Star Article & New Website Article

Locating specimen perch fish on rivers, drains & canals

Well, after a couple of weeks off – first being away on holiday (rarely, without any tackle!), then attending the Leeds Festival for the August bank holiday weekend – I have done very little fishing of late.  However, during the week before I went on holiday, I managed a couple of sessions which saw me bank a few good fish… Firstly, I targeted barbel and although I managed to lose two fish in a snag, once I’d switched to using “hit and hold” tactics with a single rod, I managed to extract this excellent 9lb 5oz barbel.  Check out the way its tail fin is so long that it arcs over at the top, like the dorsal fin of an Orca Whale! The following evening I had a couple of hours to lure fish for perch – just before sunset – and although conditions were difficult, I did land a few good fish in the shape of a 2lb 12oz perch, a 2lb 5oz perch and – just as I thought I’d spooked the remainder of the fish in the swim – my first 3lb+ perch of the season at 3lb 1oz… Perch shown in capture order: 2lb 12oz 2lb …

Read More »