Recent content by Paul Richardson

I’ve used black barrel swivels for the same reason as the weight pins things down and negates the need to mould tungsten putty on the knot

For me 8mm is about as small as I go for barbel, 10mm being my preference But I nearly always fish them as singles

I can completely understand why people fly under the radar with big fish captures For sure some anglers are secret squirrels but for an average angler who is in the right place at the right time and gets a special fish, in this day and age sharing this information could literally be the kiss of...

Why not get a bag of 10mm halibut pellets or Elips or a tub of Pellet Os and you’ll always have a few options for a switch bait and they all catch I always have Pepperami fire sticks and cheese strings as a snack for me but both also can make a good switch bait in the right conditions Naturals...

An old timer swore blind that early part of the season a lip hooked minnow on a bottom rig was a killer barbel bait Never tried it personally as castors do it for me and you need to catch them & then club rules etc.. Always fancied trying mussels as the lad on Andrews Knots catches some...

Knotless - god knows where moles knot came from?

I don’t want to sound flippant but honestly I don’t think barbel give two hoots about the hook kicking off when using the knotless knot on mono If it does bother you you can tie a supple braid hair using say 10lb Gardner trickster , whip it on with a moles knot and then tie the hook + braid...

A 2.25 tc rod will find a snag just the same as a 1.25tc rod. There is so much interpretation on ‘ backbone’ and ‘ power’ but really it boils down to how much weight you want/ need to cast to fish effectively Actions are again very personal - no rights or wrongs - Torrix are different to...

No idea why? System glitch? Maybe next season for me

Good luck Gary I’m getting close - think 129 in Ashfield Angling waiting list but to put things in perspective the end of the queue is 3723!!!! Then I’ll spend some time on the Trent

I went in a jungle’ swim this morning Very steep and took an age up and down bringing gear in Got set up and looked an amazing swim Just about to put a bait out and noticed insect activity- well more specifically I was about 3’ from a hornet or wasp nest and had plonked my mat over the entrance...

River was a horrid strained tea colour - never conducive with good fishing Had a lot of chublets and dace on castor and maggot Managed a modest but lethargic barbel Switched to pellet and managed another 2 shoal barbel Results were similar to most anglers on this stretch This morning has...

Why not chill out and go use it - it might fit your style of fishing perfectly ? I completely get the excitement and anticipation but I would suggest pace yourself and be realistic - opening week can be a real anti- climax on a lot of rivers if it’s all about getting your string pulled. Enjoy...

I don’t do a lot of float fishing but have used the CS10 4000s for quite a few seasons and had plenty of barbel and good chub on them Light as a feather, nice line lay, strong bail arm, good clutch and reliable - tick every box for me and I’ll use them for speci- waggler work on the far bank

It is shocking Wouldn’t you think the RSPB , the Otter fans and generally anyone genuinely interested in nature would work out seals in an inland river is catastrophic for the whole ecosystem? I feel your pain- we had a seal in the Swale and it was devastating but things did recover but..it was...