Recent content by Jeff Smith

Well done Garry. You did much better than I did the previous week. I fished nearby for 6 straight evenings for just one barbel, and I was pleased to bag that. Pity the fishing wasn’t as HOT as the weather

That is extremely useful to me. 👍I see Sid has posted today and noted the drop in temperature.

Thanks for your replies. Is there a reliable source where the river temperature is available? I’m concentrating my efforts on the middle Severn but live in deepest Sussex ( about 200 Miles away) so it’s a little inconvenient as you can imagine. I suppose watching the air temps, as well as the...

I notice that on a couple of the river report forums that current water temperature is often quoted. As a river pike angler, I’m quite keen to keep an eye on temperatures before I start my winter piking campaign. As a relative newcomer to barbel fishing I’d be interested to find out at what LOW...

Korum arrived today and, like you do, I attached a Cardinal 55, rung it up ,and put a bend in it. First impression………..’nice action’ 👍 Rings and reel fitting seem fine and I’m liking the slim handle ,which seems just the right length for me ,and the white painted tip. Hopefully be able to have a...

Thanks again for all your advice guys. I’ve been having a close look at my collection of Korum rods- an ancient Neoteric float rod, a pair of 12ft Neoteric quivers and a pair of 10ft 2.25 Opportunists ( these are excellent)that I use from my boat. They’ve all served me well so I’ve decided to go...

Thanks for all your helpful advice guys. I’m going to take a look at those Darent Valley rods👍

I’m after a cheapish 11ft 1.75lb rod and was wondering if anyone has used the above? Or has any other recommendations in a similar price range. Currently, these are available for around fifty quid which seems very reasonable. I’ve had quite a few Korum rods over the years and , despite the fact...

😂 Please don’t take this the wrong way Rupert but, with your track record, we’d rather you didn’t book any trips with us mate……….. we’d be running at a loss😂😂😂😂

They can be tough on the kit.You did well to get that fish up on a broken rod Rupert👍

We’re certainly seeing big numbers of tuna out there every day Mark and, as you say, sometimes very close inshore. Our ‘busiest’ day so far has seen 10 hits with 7 fish to the boat which is fantastic as all the anglers on board ( we run a maximum of 4) had a chance to fight one of these fish...

The last seven barbel I’ve caught have all been in the 8-9lb bracket and all from the same swim. It’s a low density stock river and my average catch rate is one fish every other session. On the surface , the weights would suggest that these are two fish being recaptured but , having photographed...

I fish from a boat so appreciate a shorter rod to aid safe netting and the Korum opportunist 10ft 2 piece mentioned above has proved to be superb.

I’m currently crewing a tuna charter boat running out of Fowey and licenced under the CHART ( catch and release tagging scheme) run by DEFRA. 25 licences have been granted to English boats and we’re mostly based on the SW coast until early December when the licence ceases. So far, on our boat...

Brilliant TV. Captures the essence of fishing with a good mate ( more about the banter than the fish) Most of my friends/ family that enjoy it are non- anglers.