Fishing UK Specialist Angler & Angling Writer, Andrew Kennedy | Pike Perch Barbel Carp Lure Coarse British angler writing about fishing and specialist angling

By mid-August, I am usually well into my stride catching river fish, especially barbel. This year, however, I’ve struggled to even get a bite! The problem with becoming confident in certain methods, baits and even venues, is that it’s easy to become set in your ways with your approach. The old adage “If it aint broke, don’t fix it” springs to mind. But what happens when it is broke, and your tried and trusted methods fail you time and again? It’s so easy to dwell on glories past, sticking with the same setup in the hope that it will work eventually. The truth is, conditions change, swims change, fish can become wary of certain rigs and baits. If you find yourself struggling, you must start ringing the changes until you find something else that works. Two chance meetings earlier in the month inspired me to get out of my recent rut, and I’m so relieved! With very few bites, and a single measly 10 ounce chub to show for several after-work river sessions, I knew I had to change something. My initial focus, along with trying a variety of different swims, was to change my baits until I found one …

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Every now and again, a simple but truly innovative product falls through the letterbox for me to review. The concept is such a perfect solution to a recurring problem that it begs the question “Why didn’t I think of that?”! One such product is the SteadyRig, from Essex-based company, Rig Innovations. So what is the SteadyRig? Believe it or not, it’s a product designed for safe and easy positioning of a camp stove or lantern! How I wish this product had been around a few years ago, when I was spending regular night sessions on the drains fishing for zander. So many times I set up my Coleman stove on a frozen, lumpy bankside and managed to partially boil a kettle, only for it to topple and spill my much-needed hot water! The SteadyRig has been designed to fit all popular brands of portable stove. There are ridges machined into the base plate, into which the lip on the base of a stove will locate to prevent it from slipping. Attached to the lightweight base are three adjustable legs, with removable mud feet for use on soft ground. The locking screws the leg adjustment have large-diameter knurled heads, making adjustment …

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In the past couple of decades one place in particular has become synonymous with catching giant sturgeon. It is, of course, Canada’s Fraser Valley in Southern British Columbia. Recently I was lucky enough to visit this region and sample its legendary sturgeon fishing for myself. The Fraser river itself is immense, running some 850 miles from it’s source in the Rocky Mountains all the way to the Pacific Ocean at Vancouver. The majority of sturgeon fishing is concentrated on the river’s lower reaches, with most charter boats being based in the “city” of Chilliwack. I had booked 3 days fishing, along with my friend Tim, with a local company called Aqua Ventures, which is operated and skippered by experienced guide Grant McCallum, who I met in person at the “Go Fishing” Show in Birmingham earlier in the year. When looking at the Fraser as an angling venue, don’t expect to have the river to yourself. You will see plenty of other boats over the course of the day, but the river is so vast that the angling pressure is hardly noticeable. Besides sturgeon, the Fraser is possibly the world’s most important salmon river, as it channels millions of pacific salmon …

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