Tag Archives: catfish

The Warrior range of carp tackle from Fox International has long been associated with combining great features with exceptional value for money.  They have been immensely popular and successful rods for Fox, who have released several generations of Warrior rods over the years.  Despite Warriors being used by thousands of anglers, I had never actually used one!  Fox made my favourite-ever specimen rods (a pair of Zandermasters), so when I was offered the chance to use & review a selection of the limited edition Warrior+ (that’s Warrior PLUS) range, I was eager to see if they lived up to their legendary status.  These striking 12 foot Fox Warrior+ carp rods – exclusive to Tackle Fanatics – are finished with a full cork handle.  The blank – the same one used in Warrior S rods – comes in at 3.25lb test curve.  It’s made from low resin carbon and has a beautiful matt finish.  To further enhance the quality finish the rod has a classy anodised aluminium butt cap, etched with the Fox logo. I personally prefer a full handle over an abbreviated one and, even with wet hands, cork does seem to offer a little more grip than Duplon.  So …

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When I saw this project on Kickstarter, I just has to share it: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/737549484/cat-fish It’s called the “Cat-Fish” and it introduces the idea of “fly fishing” for your cat.  You have a mini fly rod & reel, castable fly line and hookless flies, which you cast out and try to lure your cat into taking the bait.  What a genuinely unique and brilliant idea! Practice your own fly casting skills at home, whilst exercising and entertaining your cat! What better way to spend half an hour on a dark evening or a wet & windy day, than bonding with your cat and keeping your casting eye in by casting out a little teaser lure in the kitchen or down the stairs?! I should probably add that I have absolutely nothing to do with this project (other than pledging to back it), but I love fishing and I also have cats who love to chase things.  This project won’t happen unless they receive pledges for the total target value.  They only have a couple of weeks left to find backers, so if you’d like to own a Cat-Fish, or see it come to market, please visit the Cat-Fish Kickstarter page  and …

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Footage of wels catfish being caught whilst fishing on the River Ebro at Riba Roja d’Ebre in Spain, including underwater footage shot with a waterproof camera. Read all about the exploits of me, Shane Calton and Dave Newby-Thornley in my articles: Alternative Ebro Part 1 – Zander, Roach, Barbel & Carp and Alternative Ebro Part 2 – Catfish, and also take a look at the River Ebro catfish video Shane shot during our trip.

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I trust everyone had an enjoyable Christmas time.  I certainly did but it’s only involved one fishing session, which I’ll mention in my next blog post. Meanwhile, here’s something I found in my drafts folder which I thought I’d posted this a couple of weeks ago. Better late than never, as they say… A quick message to inform you of two recent additions to www.fishingmagic.com; firstly part 2 of my “Alternative Ebro” article is online to read at:  https://www.fishingmagic.com/features/coarse_fishing/specimen_fishing/15601-alternative-ebro-part-two.html Part 2 covers all of the catfish fishing we did with our guide, Carl of Rio Ebro Angling, during the week we spent boat & bank fishing with him at Riba Roja.  I’m told by Carl that since we were there, some of his guests have landed catfish to 164lb, including lure-caught catfish up to 148lb!!! Also, if anyone has a bit of Christmas money to spend on a little bankside/backside comfort for 2012, I recently reviewed the “Stalk-Lite Mk II” reclining chair by Cyprinus for FishingMagic, and rather liked it!  You can read my full review here:  https://www.fishingmagic.com/features/reviews/15584-cyprinus-stalk-lite-chair.html If you’re impressed, you can purchase this chair for less than £30 from Tackle Discounts Online Fishing Tackle Shop online fishing tackle store. That’s all for now …

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Fishing on the River Ebro at Riba Roja d’Ebre in Spain, courtesy of Shane Calton. Watch as we get a treble hooker on the catfish rods! Read all about the exploits of me, Shane and Dave Newby-Thornley in my articles: Alternative Ebro Part 1 – Zander, Roach, Barbel & Carp and Alternative Ebro Part 2 – Catfish, and also take a look at the underwater Ebro catfish footage I shot during our trip.

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The streets and riverbanks of Riba Roja resounded with the laments of disgruntled guides and disheartened anglers.  It was our fourth day of six fishing the Ebro and hardly any catfish were being caught by anyone.  We had a sense that the catfish were starting to wake up a bit, but I shall start with how our week began… The first morning we were understandably high on a heady cocktail of anticipation, intrigue and enthusiasm.  We wanted a good start so the pressure would be off, but none of us had seen the Ebro before, let alone fished it, yet its legend gave us high expectations.  We boarded Carl’s California skiff, headed out to an island at the far side of the river and anchored up to cast our rigs for the first time.  These were straightforward sliding floats through to heavy braided traces holding single size 3/0 heavy-gauge trebles.  The stop-knots were set at around 80% depth and we lip-hooked bleak and trotted them downstream.  We moved every 45 minutes or so and the third spot we settled in was full of features and looked perfect. As we watched our floats steadily trotting, Shane’s float jerked downward, then back …

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So, you knew I was going, but how did I get on, over on the Ebro?  Well, I’m going to keep a little bit back for articles (which I’ll post the links to as soon as they’re online), but we had a brilliant week with Carl of Rio Ebro Angling and we did catch plenty of fish!  Although the catfish took a lot of convincing to feed and the “Charlie Boorman” tactics were almost resorted to!  But, as with all the best stories, it all came good in the end… Between us we caught 11 catfish, several zander and – in just one afternoon – over 50 quality roach to specimen proportions.  We fished for 6 days using baits & lures from boat & bank, so all in all there’s a lot for me to write about! The related articles will be in two parts, the first covering the zander, roach and carp fishing (Alternative River Ebro part 1 – zander, roach & carp) and the second covering all things catfish-related (Alternative River Ebro part 2 – catfish cannonade).  The articles should be appearing in the December 2011 & January 2012 issues of Angling Star, with “director’s cut” extended versions appearing on FishingMagic …

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It’s now just two days until I head off with Shane and Dave for a week-long fishing trip to Spain’s River Ebro. We’ll be fishing with Carl & Angie of Rio Ebro Angling. I know, lucky barstools the lot of us! We booked the trip way back in February so there’s been plenty of time for the excitement to build on this (way overdue) installment of my specimen hunting roadshow! Between us we’ll be fishing for wels catfish, zander, carp and roach, but my personal goals are mainly the catfish and zeds. I’d like to join the Ebro “Ton Club” or better, preferably caught on a lure, although if it gets to the last day and I’m struggling I may have to resort to plan B, or as I like to refer to it, the “Charlie Boorman Plan”, (to catch one “by any means”!).  Hopefully that won’t mean going quite this far, but if my neck gets sunburnt and red and I pick up a bit of a Southern drawl, who knows!… Having never fished the Ebro before, I’d be happy to catch any zander from there. So far, this is my UK PB fish and if I could manage a double from Spain on a …

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In the weeks ahead there will be many anglers stocking up on worms and for good reason. They’re a superb, bait all-year-round for all manner of coarse fish (including wels catfish) and while everything from a stickleback to a pike will take a worm, they can often be the bait that will sort out that specimen-sized fish; this is especially true during Autumn and Winter. Who needs a smorgasbord of bait when you’ve got these beauties?! Whether you go out on your lawn collecting worms by torchlight or if you’re lazy like me and buy them, in these difficult economic times it makes sense to look after such a precious angling commodity. Worms rarely visit the surface during the winter, so you’ll struggle collecting them and if you buy them mail order, it’s often cheaper to buy in bulk. So, it makes sense to stock up now and try to keep your worms alive and healthy, ready for use whenever you need them. I must admit that although effective baits, I’ve never really used or kept redworms, so the info below may not apply to them. Maybe someone with experience of keeping them could email me with details! I’ve tried …

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