Sticky Situation When groundbaits are not an option and blockend feeders are too slow to distribute bait quickly there is another way, sticky maggots! There are times when fishing with maggot hook baits on a commercial venue that you need to get a large quantity of feed down on the deck quickly to keep feeding […]

All Hooked Up And you thought hooking maggots was straightforward! Here are eight options to help you put more fish on the bank. Hooked NormallyThis is the correct way to hook a maggot under normal circumstances, with the hook point nicked at the thick end of the maggot ‘between the eyes’. The most important part […]

Dead Certainty The tcf team shows a simple and guaranteed way of making dead maggots on the bank without risking damage or losing the colour. Step 1Clean off the maggots using a riddle to remove any dust. Step 2Pour your cleaned-off maggots into a clean bait tub. Step 3Add cold water until there’s at least […]

Maggots Q&A How are maggots coloured?Maggots are naturally white and are generally coloured by eating meat that has already been died. The dyes used to colour the meat include rhodamine (for fluoro maggots), auramine (for yellow maggots) and Sudan Red (for red maggots). Although the first two are carcinogenic, because the dye is within the […]

Angler Profile Name: Martin FoundsAge: 54Hometown: Chesterfield, DerbyshireOccupation: Owns Anglers World HolidaysFavourite location: The Ukon, CanadaAmbitions: To continue to open up exciting new destinations to the UK’s anglers In conversation with Martin Founds In his first ever interview, the Anglers World Holidays boss talks about how angling is changing across Europe, the power of wheat […]

Ian Welch shows how he sets up his own DIY pike traces… Make Your Own Pike TraceThere are as many different ways to make pike traces as there are types of wire. Ian is a fan of twisted rather than crimped traces and finds them far more simple and bombproof! At the sharp end he […]

Sinister-looking and foreboding with evil, staring eyes and a flattened snout filled with rows of needle sharp teeth – there is absolutely no mistaking the pike! Top of the freshwater food chain, fewer species have generated as many myths and legends as ‘old Esox’. However, reality is far removed from folklore and in truth pike […]

Gareth Purnell heads to the upper Great Ouse to try out a theory on targeting specimen perch with the pole. My affinity with big perch stretches back to my teenage days – maybe earlier than that. I used to go fishing all over the place with a school friend of mine – the wheels provided […]

The weather forecasters by no means always get is right, and as a boat angler you need to be ready with a good understanding of weather systems and terminology… with Jim O’Donnell IF you think that weather forecasting is an exact science in these high tech days, think again.Watch your local forecast’s 3-5 day out […]

There are many venues around the country where anglers can experience the thrills of landing many different species of ray. If you want to know how, then read on… RAYS are actually members of the shark family. They may not have the razor sharp teeth that are associated with their close relatives, but they do […]

Jim O’Donnell, skipper of top Plymouth charter boat ‘Tiberon’, explains how to use a chart plotter to drift over marks with precision. BASICALLY there are two types of boat fishing, fishing done with the boat on the move, and fishing done whilst the boat is stationary. Unfortunately, most fishing marks lack lovely great buoys which […]

Jim O’Donnell, skipper of top Plymouth charter boat ‘Tiberon’, explains how to use a chart plotter to drift over marks with precision. THE marine electronics industry moves so quickly with new and more accurate products, released on a regular basis, that it’s hard to keep up sometimes. Ask any long-time charter skipper and they will […]

Jim O’Donnell, skipper of top Plymouth charter boat ‘Tiberon’, reveals a few of his tricks for finding fish holding features. YOU can either have the fanciest plotter in the fleet but with no knowledge of what the unit was built to do, it will become nothing more than a pretty picture with an icon representing […]

Jim O’Donnell, skipper of top Plymouth charter boat ‘Tiberon’, explains what a boat angler needs from an effective chart plotter and how they can catch him more fish. WELCOME to the 21st century an age where computers drive trains and order milk automatically when the fridge runs low, an age where if you don’t keep […]

Top carper Dave Lane’s step-by-step guide to tying his safe lead core clip rig… STEP OneHere are the basic components you will need, including lead, Korda clips, size 7 or 8 swivels, tail rubbers and lead core. STEP TwoBefore you even start tying the rig, remove half of the clip with a pair of scissors. […]