Recent content by Alex Gowney

This depends, I have often found tench to be very venue specific in what they prefer. Back in the 80s I used to fish Ham Pool in South Cerney. First few trips using conventional baits like casters, corn etc. produced mainly small fish, around the two pounds mark and not many of them. A change to...

This is like the one I have except mine doesn't have the cork handles.

Have any of you ever done any good using bread for barbel? Either intentionally or while fishing for chub? It seems generally a fairly rare occurrence yet reading the books and great articles of Martin James he catches lots of barbel on bread. I met him on the Teme once many years ago and he was...

Drennan Continental or Pallatax Gripz

I am also thinking of getting a deeper for the Thames. Many years ago when I was a small kid I used to fish a stretch of Thames near Oxford with my dad and uncles, and I always remember my dad catching a lot of chub and small barbel from one particular spot. He always said there was a depression...

Never say never Alan, but I agree, it would be highly unlikely. As long as the angler was paying attention of course :)

Chub are definitely capable of bite offs Ian, I've had it more than once, usually on bread or worm which they often engulf with no warning. Also, a very slow bite which you wait to develop can turn into a bite off as the slowness of the bite indicates the fish has simply swallowed the bait...

I wouldn't know about the Yorkshire rivers Jim, I'm talking mostly about the Thames and it's tributaries and the Warks Avon. The Thames tributaries, the Cherwell, Windrush, Kennet etc. suffered quite rapid declines, the Warks Avon more of a steady decline. A lot of the rivers I used to fish went...

My thoughts exactly. Trefor wrote that book when we had probably three or four times the number of barbel in our rivers that we have now.

Move about a bit more on a small river but I always thought "have I moved from this swim just as the barbel are arriving? or have I arrived in this swim just as they are leaving?" For me the key was always in the pre-baiting. Always keep one or two banker swims, try not to fish them for a few...

Is that Angling Times Graham?

Nash Bullet, 12lb, you could tow a car with that.

I would be interested to know as well. I fished it back in 2010 and it was in decline then. Very hard work but had some good chub and perch and a few very fat trout, but the barbel were hard to find.

Just came across this...

Terrific looking fish Richard!