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I don’t think you need to go above 1.5lb test if you’re fishing small/medium sized rivers, especially if you hate stiff rods and want to enjoy the fight as I do. Harrison Chimera 1 is an excellent rod.

I’ve used gt60 clear before and also found it a bit springy but very tough. I’ve moved on to ESP Synchro now which is both tough and supple.

Check your hook and hook link regularly. Be stealthy in your approach to the riverbank and in your placement of rigs.

I have watched far too many YouTube fishing channels and have to say there aren’t many that cut the mustard. The very best imo is Terry Hearn. Sticky baits and Cadence do some good stuff as do Westin if you’re into lure fishing. Of the low budget channels I think Mark Erdwin, Perch Jesus, London...

I know it’s not a barbel book, but Terry Hearns latest book is fantastic, and I’m not really a carp angler.

I’m currently using aqua baits who do an interesting alternative to fish meal boilies. Very good bait and rolled on the soft side. Another good bait I’ve used recently is Upstream baits who do a really good spicy fish meal. I still roll my own milks though because no one else does one to my...

When I first fished the tidal about 17 years ago around Dunham area I caught as many doubles as singles, with 1/2 fish a session normal. Not many anglers, not that many fish. Visited a remote stretch below Torksey this season and after chatting to a lone angler it would appear that’s the case...

I had the medium one and it seemed a bit flimsy to me with a very wide aperture for the length. I read some reviews about it which said it often failed at the spreader point so decided to repurpose the net onto another frame, which is now my go to chub net.

The Nene backwaters tend to be the best bits for barbel or narrower sections of the main river with cover where there’s more flow, or weirpools. Good luck.

The Nene is probably the nearest river with a reasonable chance of success, but it too has its problems and is by no means easy. If you expect to catch each session, the Trent is your best bet.

I honestly think they are the most natural pair on TV and do wonder whether people find them slightly awkward/contrived because we’ve been fed such well scripted performers on other shows. I appreciate some will not find them funny ( I personally hate Python) but unnatural ?? Very odd.

Aquabait do a maple milk boilie. I haven’t used it myself but highly rate their other offerings.

I really enjoy watching the two of them and my eldest son has watched every episode at least twice. Definitely good for future recruitment.

So true Dan, not long now.

Subsidies based on acreage Joe are a problem in themselves and have led to the emergence of a small number of large corporate agri businesses with huge lobbying budgets, which suck up a disproportionate amount of the subsidies available, when they are the ones least in need of them. We’re...

Something which often gets mentioned when returning our utilities to public ownership is mentioned, is that things weren’t so great in the 70’s before privatisation. Agreed, they weren’t, but what is the relevance of that comment ? Public ownership of utilities works extremely well in many...

RIP Ting Tong.

Don’t anyone be put off with the thought of a camera possibly being put up your jacksie, I had it done a couple of years ago, it really isn’t that bad and it can save your life. Afterwards, you can always slip the images into the family photo album for a bit of light relief.

I’m not in any way saying diagnosing certain conditions and giving them a label is a bad thing, it’s not, its vitally important in most cases. I’m just not sure every minor condition, which wouldn’t normally prevent someone from leading a full life, needs labelling, or funding. I barely know...

Totally agree Mike, my wife was a head teacher until very recently and the support provided to children and parents suffering from mental health issues was totally inadequate. This may well be due to resources being stretched extremely thin due to virtually everyone having a diagnosis these...