To my eyes the conditions were pretty perfect. Unseasonably warm, overcast, yet little chance of rain. I knew the spot - a corner swim on a local pond that had yielded good perch in the past - and I knew the tactics - a piece of prawn ledgered near the last lilies, still clinging on, despite the lateness of the year.
Read moreDespite the startling lack of activity on these pages in recent months...nay, years...I've actually been fishing more often since the pandemic struck than I have in the last 10 years. It's a funny business, writing about fishing...
Read moreAlways nice to get a letter from a happy reader - this time from someone who got 101 Golden Rules of Fishing as a Christmas present. I'll let them take up the story.
For the last year or so I've fished almost entirely using centrepin reels. I've had a Leeds 'pin for years now and a Marco Cortese model which cost next to nothing but which works really well. Having watched someone who really knows what they're doing play a large fish on a 'pin - yes, I'm talking about you Sean - I fell in love with the whole idea...
Read moreOn recent trips to this stretch of the river it's fair to say that luck has deserted me. Well, not so much deserted, as changed its name, appearance and upped sticks to a completely different county without leaving so much as a forwarding address.
Rob Beattie is the author of several popular fishing books. He's also a regular contributor to Waterlog magazine.