Tag Archives: PB

The 2021/22 season hasn’t been my best! I haven’t fished as much as I’d like or for the range of species I would have liked, and my results have generally been poor. Far more blanks than usual and a lost Derwent barbel, which still haunts me, that felt huge and snapped me off due to my own stupidity. The one redeeming feature of the season so far has been my relative success with a very unlikely species – one which has probably given me more blank hours than any other – the zander. For whatever reason I’ve been on a bit of a roll with them. As I’ve stated in the past, I love zander but it’s often a one-way relationship – they don’t reciprocate. When I target zander it’s in the hope of a bite. I don’t expect to catch one so it always gives me a boost when I do, even small ones. There are some exceptions, of course – for example: Predator Hat-trick and Zander Saves September – but my blank rate is usually quite high. I think I had only ever caught zander on consecutive sessions once, but I’ve now had a zander in four consecutive …

Read More »

Read More »

Until around four years ago, my only real experience of perch was catching the occasional small fish on maggots or worms as a youngster. I’d never specifically targeted the species and a fish of over 2lb was something I could only dream about. Then one day’s pike fishing on a small drain changed all of this. I was wobbling a mackerel deadbait for pike, without success, when I noticed a group of perch following the bait in. I immediately grabbed my lure rod and caught a phenomenal number of perch from the swim, including a fish of 2lb 7oz. It was one of the most spectacular creatures I’d ever set eyes on, and it set me wondering what a 3lb perch must look like. Since then, perch have become one of my favourite species to target and I’ve had my eyes set on landing a perch over 3lbs; on bait, or preferably on a lure. My previous PB perch of 2lb 7oz I’m now quite experienced at catching perch on lures, and it’s surprising just what a range of lure styles they will take. I target perch on all sorts of venues, and lure style generally depends on whether I’m …

Read More »

Since starting serious pike fishing back in January 2000, most of my winter sessions have been devoted to this superb predator. Following a dire 2004 campaign, this season I have fared much better and caught many doubles from a variety of venues, on a diverse mix of methods and baits. An early-November piking trip started off like any other. A pre-dawn start saw myself and two mates load up the van and head off into Yorkshire in search of some specimens. We arrived at the venue to find the water gin-clear, with a few pike anglers already setting up. Not the ideal scenario for a successful day’s piking. Still, we loaded ourselves with tackle and headed as far as possible from the madding crowd, in the hope of finding some big pike seeking some peace and quiet. The weather had taken a noticeable chill overnight and I remember feeling the cold air in the back of my throat as we walked. I was the first to find a peg, as I spotted a shoal of roach and bream rolling on the surface, close to some extensive reed beds. I set up quickly and cast a paternostered bait towards the edge …

Read More »