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tactics Tag

19 Jan

GET MAPPING!

If you have bought yourself an echo sounder with built-in GPS then there is a seriously useful bolt-on that you can add to it that won't cost you a penny, but which can give you some fascinating insights into why certain areas and spots are better than others. I'm talking about adding topographical maps showing the underwater contours of your favourite fisheries to your sounder that can be accessed whilst you are out on the water. Such maps don't exist for every waterbody yet, especially in the UK, but there are enough to get started and it is easy to record your own. Until recently you normally had to pay for software to create maps. My buddy and I...
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19 Oct

EARLSWOOD LAKE VLOG

I am planning to put together some semi-regular blogs on my own fishing over the next few months. A lot of these will be combined with photo-shoots or other work, so hopefully will tie in nicely with some of my printed articles and give a 'behind-the-scenes' look at some of the things I get up to. Here is the first one, shot a while back at the prolific Earlswood Lakes in the West Midlands.   ...
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17 Aug

NEW SERIES ON YOUTUBE

Over the last few weeks I have stopped procrastinating and started to the hopefully not too painful process of shooting and editing some videos to go alongside my photography content. Of course, in the modern world, online video media is becoming tremendously important and it is essential to move with the times. I find the best way of learning is to actually produce something with an end goal in mind, so to that end I thought that a relatively straight-forward project would be to produce some how-to photography films. So here goes, my first effort, not the most polished video of all time, but hopefully it will be informative at least. Watch this space for more videos coming...
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16 Jul

FISHING PHOTOGRAPHY PT4

One of the main reasons I guess most of us carry a camera when we go fishing is to get decent shots of the fish our mates and we catch. This month I am going to concentrate on how to take shots of your mates with fish, before going on to self-takes next month. I must admit, I really enjoy taking pictures of my buddies with their fish, and getting them some lasting pictures to go with their memories. Catch shots aren’t really that technically challenging, after all it is just a ‘bloke with a fish’. Normally I follow a well-rehearsed routine to get the shots I want, which means the fish get back quickly and as much...
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14 Jun

HUNG UP ON YOU

Over the last few seasons I have noticed that some swims on my local rivers have become increasingly snaggy, with some verging on impossible to fish safely. On closer inspection, in some instances, it would appear that the ‘snags’ are actually lost line and rigs that are collecting on natural obstructions. “Use stronger gear, so that you are not having to pull for a break,” you might cry. Well, yes, that is a possible option, but it is often the use of strong gear that is making the situation worse, especially when using hooklengths that are stronger than the main line. If you use a coated braid or braided hooklength then this is likely to be the case....
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17 Apr

SPRING BREAK – Part 1

Winter 2016-17 must rank as my best ever in terms of big pike, but come March 14th and the start of the close season on rivers, I was glad that the pike gear could be packed away for a bit. It was almost time to start the spring campaigns, but rather than make a start on the mega-tough low-stocked gravel pits right away I decided to have a bit of fun and spend a few weeks fishing some day ticket fisheries. Now, partly this was to have a break and to get back to the simple enjoyment of catching a few fish, but also there was another motive - to get a few magazine features in the...
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28 Mar

SUCK ON THIS?

Are missed runs and lost fish all down to a lack of suction? Fishing is all about percentages. If you can swing the odds in your favour by loading the dice then your chances of catching are obviously greatly improved. This could sometimes be as simple as fishing the right place at the right time, but that is only part of the story and, more often than not, a lot of the small tweaks that can be made to every aspect of our fishing are made not through certain knowledge that they will make a difference, but because gradually acquired experience leads us down a particular line of thought. [eltd_blockquote text="Of course, very often this is a case of...
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