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Did anybody see the recent episode of Fishing Gurus on TV? Dean Macey and Steve Ringer were fishing for barbel on the Wye with each angler alternating in the use of a rod. When feeder fishing, they sat several feet away from the rod and on two occasions when a bite occurred they only just...

There's no better approach for barbel (and big chub and roach) in low temperatures and low clear rivers than maggots,casters and hemp. I tend not to use hemp much in high, coloured water - I prefer to use larger, more smelly baits. In clear water though, a good bed of hemp will give barbel...

I've prepared loads of tares over the years and if you're not careful, it's easy to end up with a saucepan full of mush. I put the un-cooked tares in a container, add a spoonful of bicarbonate of soda, cover them with boiling water and leave them to soak for 24 hours. After soaking, drain the...

I remember reading about a huge sturgeon that was caught in the 1800's from the Teme at Dinham weir, Ludlow. It had obviously made its way up the Severn and I assume it was able to get up the river because there weren't any weirs to stop them in those days. Don't they become property of the crown?

Hello Iain - Line is very much a personal choice. I use different manufacturers lines for pole, running line float, and feeder fishing. Over the years, like most anglers, I've used a vast array of different kinds of line. For barbel fishing I currently use Ultima Power Plus in 10 and 12lb and am...

Hello Steve - I sold 2 a couple of years ago and got over £50 each for them. They had been in the attic for years, so I was more than satisfied with what I got for them. For whatever reason, they seem to be desirable reels and can command a good price. Personally, I think there are much better...

I've fitted lots of reel fittings to replace the old style sliding rings - it's a pain of a job and previous forum posters have described how the job would normally be done. I recently had an old Daiwa feeder rod and wanted to modify it to accept a Fox reel fitting that I'd salvaged from a...

Hello Paul, the address is: Felindre Servicing, Felindre, Swansea, SA5 7ND Tel: 01792 796584 Further details are available on their website.

Shimano's service department at Felindre is truly superb and the turn around is just as impressive! I've been using their tackle (match and specialist) for many years now and it's top notch. Despite owning a selection of their reels (which are in regular use), I've only needed to return two for...

I can vividly remember the capture of my first Severn barbel - it was a Friday evening in July 1963, first week of the school summer holidays. I was fishing for dace at the time and the fish weighed about 8ozs. I didn't know what it was until an old bloke fishing next to me said, 'it's one of...

Barbel fishing is not rocket science! However we will no doubt all concede - the venue, the time of year, clear water, coloured water, head of fish, day or night, size of river etc. etc. all combine to confuse and challenge the simple minds of us anglers! We have all come across situations when...

Hello Andrew. I think you are quite right in saying that fish will roam, but it does seem that they also have a preference for certain areas at certain times of the year. In bigger rivers, that 'preferred area' will be quite big when you take into account 60 or 70 yards of river, plus its width...

I think on smaller rivers where a stealthy approach and not much casting is required PVA bags can be useful. If you fish bigger rivers and you need get large amounts of bait a fair distance from the nearside bank, then feeders are the best choice. I like to fish relatively short sessions...

Click on the link below and you will see that the RSPB website on how to become a member has a picture of an otter on it. The RSPB: Join the RSPB: FAQs A lake where I fish used to support several pairs of great crested grebes, together with an assortment of coots and moorhens. (I’m sure other...

Obviously, due to water levels, time of year, spawning etc. many fish will migrate to different areas of a river – that’s the natural order of things. Now that we have digital photography though, it’s easy for anglers to accurately identify individual fish. Over the last ten years or so, I’ve...

Very funny Graham - we all love a Joker!

Bat bites are very common during the summer months - however, I've also had them in the depths of winter. Apparently, Gotham City Angling Club members have been reporting man-size bats for some years now. Some unlucky anglers have had rods ripped from their rests, only to see them disappearing...

A few years back, I snagged up on the bottom - after a brief tug of war I wound in to find what looked like a second world war bayonet attached to my hook. One of my most embarrassing moments though came years ago when I was about 10 years of age. Whilst fishing for dace with my old dad I hooked...

On the Severn in the seventies and early eighties, it was common for lots of anglers to float fish for dace, roach and chub - you obviously had to use lighter breaking strain lines. Consequently, if a barbel was hooked it was rather difficult to get them in on light gear and breakages would...

Enjoy it while you can - one day you'll be too old and you'll fall in and just float away to the big river in the sky!