Tag Archives: homemade

It’s often good practice when predator fishing to keep your mainline up and off the deck, to avoid bottom debris (especially around autumn time when there are lots of fallen leaves & twigs) and ensure a truly low-resistance presentation. Many anglers achieve this through the use of pop-up/buoyant leger stems to attach their leads when deadbaiting. Buoyant run rings and pop-up leger stems might also be useful in carp fishing and other specialist angling. For example, a floating run ring could be the perfect way of attaching a surface controller float when floater fishing for carp; whilst a buoyant leger stem could be used an alternative to a sunk float – to allow a running lead rig to be used over weed (instead of a fixed lead on a chod rig, for example). Buoyant leger attachments have been on the market for years, most notably in the form of Middy’s Buoyant Leger and Fox Leger Stems. Annoyingly, the Middy ones have become difficult to find and the Fox ones tend to just fall apart! They’re way too fragile for me to use with any confidence, so I started modifying them. Then I thought, instead of paying so much for a …

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With the fluctuating river levels and a generally unreliable Summer once again, I found that river sport started fairy slowly and has been very inconsistent since. I have been experimenting with new venues and stretches of river I hadn’t fished before and, despite my catch rates being disappointing, I’ve learnt about features I didn’t know existed and found some promising areas which I’m sure will come into their own during the colder months. One evening, I even spotted a shoal of around 20 good barbel moving in very shallow water, but seemingly not feeding. Opting to take the “fish where the fish are” approach, I stealthily crept up to the river and cast a lobworm a little upstream of three individuals I could see. They did not appear to be spooked by the bait entering the water, so I slowly backed away from the skyline, and touch-legered expectantly for a good half-hour, without a nibble. As darkness approached I put out a second rod and opted for more conventional barbel tactics using pellets and boilies, but still no success! It had been quite a spectacle and privilege to watch these fish in the clear rapids, but despite my best efforts …

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Just recently I managed a days pike fishing on the River Trent and found the fish in a feeding frenzy! I started the day off lure fishing, using a home-made lure which had so far been my most successful home-made pattern. This time out, it wasn’t to disappoint. On my third cast, I felt the familiar ‘bump’, signalling a take from a pike. Before long, I had played my first fish of the day to the bank. Seeing that the hooks were held in a safe position, I decided to hand-land the fish, which I quickly returned. I estimated the weight at around four pounds. The new homemade lure I was using soon rewarded me for my hard work! On the very next cast, I had turned the reel handle only a couple of times when the resistance went solid. Upon striking, the rod took on a healthy bend and the fish stayed deep, signalling that I’d hooked a good fish.Because I use barbless trebles on my lures, I always keep a tight drag, which means that not many of the fish I hook on lures actually take any line during the fight. This fish, however, managed to power away …

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October 2005 arrived, and with it my first serious piking sessions of the season. The deadbait rods came out to accompany my lure rods as I prepared for what shall hopefully be a very successful Autumn and Winter’s pike fishing. Sometimes pike can seem like one of the easiest fish to catch, but very often they can seem almost impossible to catch. Just when you think you’ve got the species worked out, they turn things on their head and leave you scratching yours. If you haven’t pike fished before, but would like to have a go, then please first go with an experienced pike angler, the main reason for this is pike welfare. Everything from the timing of your strike to the unhooking of pike must be done correctly because an angler can pose a serious risk to the pike’s life if they do not know what they’re doing. I can tell you that already this autumn I’ve had some success with my piking, but to find out exactly how I’ve fared, you shall have to read on! Due to the inconsistency of the weather, I have fished a variety of venues with my regular fishing partner, Matt. The first …

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