How to use raw meat to catch big chub and barbel
To keep catching quality chub and barbel from any river in the midst of winter takes some doing, so when we had a chance to meet Mark Perkins on the banks of the Newark Dyke to see how he does it, we couldn't refuse.
He's had a string of huge winter chub and barbel from both the Newark Dyke and the main River Trent using his unique bait approach.
Rather than struggle through the winter using the baits that anglers have used throughout the year, Mark switches to using a variety of raw meats - something he learned was extremely successful during the 1980s.
In this explanatory video below, Mark details the exact bait approach he adopts and shows just how to get the most from his bloody array of fish attractors...
Top barbel fishing tips
Big barbel rivers like the Nottinghamshire Trent can be daunting but approached in the right way, they will give up their secrets like a blushing bride on her wedding day.
Being a local boy who went from match angler to speci-boy, Rik was practically born and raised on the banks of the Trent and so he knows the river and what makes its barbel population tick better than anyone.
Here he reveals his top three tips for getting the most out of barbel fishing on big rivers like the Trent, although these are tactics that will work on most middle and lower stretches that contain good heads of barbel.
To watch the video, click the image below.
How to fish the Method feeder for big chub, barbel and silver fish nets
Staffordshire's Cudmore Fisheries is home to a vast array of pools containing a huge head of hungry mirros and commons, but it is the carp-free Milo Lake that has proved the most visited in recent weeks, every peg giving 100lb-plus hauls of tench, bream, chub and barbel.
In the thick of the action is Dave Smith. The Bag'Em Baits ace has been emptying the water on a weekly basis and has concocted a number of deadly approaches to get the most out of his swim.
Here Angling Tiems reporter Tony Grigorjevs caught up with the match angler to find out just how he's managed to catch so many of the lake's silver fish.
To watch the video, click on the image below.
How to catch a huge weight using just 100 maggots
Pete Gleadon has set a new match record at Dragon Carp Watermeadows Fishing, in Skegness, by bagging 148lb 15oz using scarcely more than 100 maggots and 200 micropellets!
The 74-year-old proved that age is no barrier by taking 50 carp and two barbel, booking his place in the prestigeous Fish For 5K Final. It was the third match he had won at the Skegness venue in as many weeks.
Incredibly he only started fishing commercials only 18 months ago after being a stout roach and bream man for over 50 years. Now he admits he can't get enough of them!
Pete has been winning using delicate rigs not too dissimilar to his roach days in his native South Yorkshire, presented accurately three-quarters of the way across the 14m wide Match Lake.
Soon after meeting him it became obvious he is one of the true characters that makes angling the sport that it is.
To watch the video of Pete in action, and to see the methods and techniques he uses at Dragon Carp Watermeadows, click the play button on the image below.
If the video doesn't load automatically, press Ctrl and F5.
How to use Dinsmores Auto Shot
Putting tiny micro and dust shot on to a hooklength or a fine mainline can prove really difficult and incredibly frustrating. Not only are some shots cut incorrectly, but they are so small that fitting them on line is almost impossible.
The Dinsmores Auto Shot dispenser is a Gosend for those of you who struggle putting tiny shot on lines. Here's how it works...
How to use Dinsmores Auto Styx dispensers
If you are fed up with small shot coming off your pole rig or mainline when you're catching lots of big fish, perhaps it's time to switch over to using styl weights instead. This ingenious development - Dinsmores Auto Styx dispenser - is the ideal tool for placing small styl-like weights onto your fine mainline and hooklengths. Here's how it works...
