Angling Film & Video Reviews

By reading this review, chances are you’re already familiar in some way with the Caught In The Act project, you’ve either watched parts 1 & 2 or read my previous review.  I think it was clear that I really enjoyed the first two films and I must say that the Autumn & Winter instalments in parts 3 & 4 do not disappoint. Just in case you’re not familiar with the format, each of the two DVDs is split into five ‘acts’ of around 15 minutes each.  Stu Walker and Bob Roberts film all of the footage themselves besides presenting the films, taking turns to be behind the camera or behind the rods.  They are also joined in a couple of the Autumn & Winter acts by friend James Gould, who manages to more-than-justify his appearance with the capture of some fine specimens for the cameras.   There’s also a short sketch of what I believe is the first fully animated version of the “Jack’s Pike” cartoon strip by Brian Roberts, which Bob regularly features in his blog. The fishing in CITA is never complicated, just simple rigs and techniques done extremely well.  No angler should feel out of their depth when …

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Caught In The Act is the ambitious latest project from Bob Roberts and Stuart Walker; the duo behind the successful and enlightening (it certainly taught me plenty about how barbel and rigs behave underwater) “Barbel Days and Ways” series, which features some terrific underwater footage.  I am a fan of that series of DVDs and when I heard that this new series was in the making, which dramatically expanded the range of species targeted, I had high hopes for it. The complete films are the result of over 3 years of angling trips to day ticket & open-access club waters, after a variety of species over all four seasons.  Each session is chronicled as a short “act” and there are ten acts in this 2 DVD set, which covers Spring & Summer fishing (Autumn & Winter will follow later in the year as a separate double-disc set).  Stu and Bob don’t have the benefit of an on-hand professional cameraman to film their sessions but instead call upon their own filming experience from making “Barbel Days…” and film each other.  When one is fishing, the other does the filming and vice-versa.  Both Bob and Stu are extremely accomplished anglers, which means that when …

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Are there people you know who have not yet seen The End of the Line yet but you think they should? Well they’ve come up with a clever way of helping you spread the word this weekend.  If you pick up a copy of The Sunday Times this Sunday (11th April) you will find a clever little voucher for The End of the Line DVD. All you need to do is take that voucher to a Waitrose store and you will be given the DVD in exchange. Nice and simple! You can either keep it or give it to someone you think should see the film. The End of the Line was seen as quite a groundbreaking documentary. A film which highlighted the human threats to wild fish stocks, and brought them mainstream attention. As The Guardian puts it, The End of the Line “changed the way we eat fish”. Since its release other documentaries about harmful fishing practices and overfishing, such as Seaspiracy, have come along – furthering the cause. You can find out more about the award-winning The End of the Line documentary movie on the official website for the film. If you missed the free DVD above, or have not purchased a …

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Anyone familiar with my website will likely know that I’m not the biggest fan of Robson Green’s fishing show, “Extreme Fishing with Robson Green“.  I do explain myself further on my website, but my main gripe with the show is the inhumanity and contempt he shows towards fish and other creatures (moorhens, to be precise!). Anyway, I received an email a few weeks ago from an Australian writer, who maintains a blog called Sting In The Tail. She had seen a couple of episodes with her husband and made a few comments about Robson’s treatment of fish on her Twitter account. A baffling, but hilarious, exchange ensued – with Robson posting several knee-jerk responses to her comments. I was aghast when I read it, and as a result Mr Green has dropped further in my estimation. Before I thought he was a pillock when given a fishing rod, but it seems he’s just a full-time pillock! The full dialogue is detailed Here – Robson Green vs Sheila in Twitter verbal battle. I’d recommend you give it a read; it’s both amusing and enlightening! As for fishing at the moment, I have no sessions planned.  The last time I fished I was out on the Trent …

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Boycott Extreme Fishing with Robson Green Andrew agrees with the Angling Trust and also urges all anglers to refuse to watch Robson Green’s “angling” programmes It is very rare I would discourage any programme showing fishing on the TV, but having watched certain episodes of Robson Green’s programme – now inexplicably into its second series – Extreme Fishing, I feel that I really must. Personally I was horrified by some of the methods depicted as “Fishing” to an unsuspecting UK TV audience (and a surprisingly large one at that!), and also by Robson’s attitude throughout. I do not recognise Robson as an angler; indeed I never knew he fished until his first series came out. From what I’ve seen of his skills, he’s not even a very good angler, and certainly not of the calibre I’d expect to see presenting an angling show on prime-time terrestrial TV. There is nothing wrong with some of the methods he uses – when they are taken in the context of being successful methods for catching fish as FOOD, by cultures which have practised these methods for centuries – but all of this should be properly explained in the programme, rather than Mr Green …

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Jungle Hooks – India “The second series of Jungle Hooks – Jungle Hooks: India, exclusive to Discovery Real Time, sees adventure fisherman Jeremy Wade once again tackle extreme fishing as he takes on his biggest challenge yet; to catch a variety of the largest, most bizarre and most dangerous fish he can find.” Intrepid Adventure Angler, Jeremy Wade I watched the first series of Jungle Hooks in amazement, as Jeremy Wade relocated to the Amazon, in search of a gigantic freshwater fish called the Arapaima. With exciting twist after exciting twist, the series, and the epic journey it chronicled, never failed to surprise me. So, when I heard that the new series of Jungle Hooks was set in the Himalayan region of Northern India, I was more than a little intrigued. Having fished in the region myself, I knew exactly the kinds of scenarios Jeremy would be faced with. It would be a difficult enough task just to film a series out there, but when you consider that the inhabitants of this region’s waterways are notoriously difficult to catch, you realise just how much of a challenge Jungle Hooks: India must have been. In the days of British control of …

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Riverfly Monitoring – A Multimedia CD-ROM Tutorial – Review Please note: this article is now a few years old and I cannot guarantee the accuracy of the contact information below. I only continue to host the review for archival purposes. This DVD was released by Aquascience consultancy Limited. More info can be found on their website. A Guide to Riverfly Monitoring, by Dr Nick Everall and Doctor Cyril Bennett is a well thought-out, step-by-step guide to sampling invertebrate life in rivers. This may sound an extremely specialist subject, but with a few basic pieces of equipment and an understanding gained from using this tutorial, I think many groups of people would see a benefit from being able to examine and monitor the natural food sources present in their waters. The most obvious groups of people who would benefit are serious fly anglers, fishery managers/owners and anyone involved with aquatic ecology or conservation. For the fly angler, knowing what insects feature in a particular river and knowing what they look like up-close can be invaluable when choosing or tying flies. Whereas fishery managers and aquatic ecologists will learn which species will only inhabit the cleanest water, allowing water quality and pollution …

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