Did you ever get the feeling you had entered a purple patch in your angling life? Just as there are phases you can’t seem to do anything right, there are other times when you can’t do much wrong. I’ve endured plenty of those times when the angling gods seem to have scorned me. Or perhaps,… Read more
Attending your local festive club contest is a highlight for any match angler. In fact, they become something of an annual ritual. That’s especially true of the Tiverton club’s Christmas match, which has a big entry pool, lots of prizes and an unpredictable venue- in other words all the ingredients for something a bit special…. Read more
Have you ever looked at a brutal weather forecast and thought to yourself: “sod it, I’m still going fishing”? It can be a fine line between braving it or writing off that foul weather angling trip. Sometimes such conditions are better for curling up with a book than drowning maggots- and there are some great… Read more
I would love to start this post with some uplifting lines about autumn being some kind of fishing nirvana, blah blah blah, but I would be mostly lying. With dicey conditions and even worse timing on my part, it has been a right slog. Some highlights, yes, but some very testing days as well. I… Read more
As much as I enjoy wild places and peaceful fishing, coming back to match angling has been one of the best things I’ve done in recent seasons. It has involved some serious adaptation, however, and I’m still learning some big lessons along the way. Competition tends to have this effect; it quickly highlights any lack… Read more
When it comes to the best or worst weather to go fishing, that can depend on the method and species. Since the turn of the year we’ve had most permutations, to be fair, from torrential rain to subzero temperatures. It was a brutal -10C on a recent return journey from from Hull, having given a… Read more