Tag Archives: predator

I headed South to fish surely the most famous river fishery in the country; a venue I first heard of through reading Mr. Crabtree Goes Fishing, probably two decades ago. The venue is, of course the Royalty stretch of the Hampshire Avon. Since first hearing of it, I’ve seen countless big fish photos in the weeklies and read various anglers gush romantically about its history and its uncanny knack for producing big fish. I have known of its legend for the majority of my angling life, but I have never challenged my childhood preconceptions of a distant, wild, unspoilt dream venue, which I’d vowed I must fish one day. I had naively put the Royalty on an almighty pedestal, which it could never have quite lived up to in reality.

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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 …

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King of the Pond Terminal Tackle Range Reviewed by Andrew Kennedy I’ve recently been sent a new range of terminal tackle to review from a company called “King of the Pond”.  The company claims to focus on providing quality and value-for-money in its products, and based on the ones I’ve seen so far, I cannot dispute those claims in the slightest!  On the whole, the rig components are thoughtfully designed and of a very high quality.  I have briefly described and reviewed them individually, below… Swivels All of the King Of the Pond swivels are of exceptional quality. They are all extremely well finished off, with no visible joints or seams and no sharp edges. The swivels are also very smooth-spinning and very strong. There are four different styles of swivel available in the range; Rolling Barrel Swivels (£1.65 for 50), Quick-Change Link Swivels (£1.99 for 10), Quick-Change Helicopter/Chod Swivels (£1.99 for 10) – all of which are available in size 8, feature a matt anti-glare finish, have a breaking strain of 65lb and are compatible with their range of lead clips & buffer beads – and Micro Swivels (£1.25 for 20). The rolling swivels are the perfect all-round swivel …

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As we are now well into the Winter months and the pike season is in full swing, the pike at your favourite venue will – like it or not – have received a bit of angling pressure by now and may also be a bit lethargic in cold winter conditions. So it’s time to think about giving yourself an edge over fellow anglers and give the pike just a little more persuasion to be interested in your deadbaits. Over the years I’ve experimented with various ways of enticing pike into the swim and pricking up the senses of any fish already in the vicinity. Pike, as with all underwater predators, have an extremely complex range of senses and it’s these we need to appeal to. There are various ways of improving the looks of your deadbaits nowadays, with things such as bait flags and “paint-on” additives, which are great in clearer water, but the senses a pike must rely on in all conditions are smell and taste. Whether the water is clear or murky, whether it’s sunny or dark, a pike always has these senses as means of locating food; these two senses are also – very conveniently – closely …

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My first ever zander, at 6lb 4oz, caught back in the year 2000 Zander can often be the most infuriating species to target but when things go right they can also be one of the most rewarding. The species has been the subject of my on/off love affair which started when I first tried zander fishing, and banked my first zed, back in July 2000 (it took a freshly caught dead roach presented on a float-paternoster – rig nerds!). It took many more sessions before I banked another zander and I never came close to the 6lb 4oz PB I had set myself with that first fish. Sometimes I would sit at a water all night, expecting something to happen – with the conditions seemingly “perfect”, yet never see a sign of a zander. Other nights the zander have made me aware of their presence with the odd strike and dropped run but, try as I might, I could neither hook nor land one. After failing to land a zander in my last 7 night sessions I had been starting to fall out of love with the species. But, like a teenager with a crush, I just kept on trying. …

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