Reel Value

Mitchell Avocet Silver III 2000 FD. I bought 2 of these reels six years ago and they set me back £12 each, since then I’ve used them for all my fishing (except trotting where I use a centerpin).

I can’t begin to count how many fish they’ve caught - but it does include carp to 28lb, pike to 18lb, barbel to 12lb, chub to six and both mine and James PB crucians. I’ve got my money’s worth out of them!

I have finally used one to destruction - having caught one jack it seized as a second hit the lure - I had to handline the pike in. Time to replace them - and I’m definitely buying Mitchell!

Slogging Away...

Quick mission and two barbel to 9lb 0oz (photo doesn’t do it justice) and a bonus 5lb 0oz chub (mat shot as I was in a rush). Great stuff!


For the barbel records: 9lb 0oz & 4¾lb (147)

Pike Five

Seems to be tough going on the pike front this season - already in January and only my fifth pike landed! Need to turn things around!


Barbel fishing is better, couple of hours on the little river and two more hard fighting fish landed. For the records: 8lb 2oz & 3½lb (145)

Happy New Year

Would have been nice to start the year with a pike, but I didn’t have time. Instead I shot down the river to try and bag a January barbel.


I found a few but most didn’t want a bait - but a bit of perseverance paid off - landing four to 8lb 2oz - great start to the year!


For the records: 8lb 2oz, 7lb 7oz, 5½lb & 4lb (143)

Lazy Fisherman 2019

The stats are in for another year - time to see how far I walked with my lazy hobby in 2019. Very slightly less than the last two years but still over two thousand miles - 2,099 miles - or 80 marathons!

Three years is enough to see the average is over two thousand miles a year - so over 22,000 miles since starting this blog - and God knows how many miles since first picking up a fishing rod... Lazy? Nope!

Distance Walked 2019


Distance Walked 2018


Distance Walked 2017

Frozen IV

Before heading back to London it was time for the fourth annual Christmas fish-off, so after a cracking fried breakfast me, Steve and Dyl ventured across the border to Wales for a bit of fly fishing...

And it was tough going - the trout really didn’t want to play today. Steve eventually managed a little rainbow, and a few hours later Dyl landed a little tiger - a beauty and the first one I’ve ever seen...

Not my day, none for me - but that really didn’t matter - a great day fishing rounded off with a couple of pints. Same again next year - I hope so - I’ll win one sooner of later - bit more practice required!

Fining Down. Slowly...

Far from ideal conditions - but I had to wet a line in the river this Christmas! A couple of hours and a wander. And a sprat lowered into a tiny slack did the trick - a 13lb 6oz River Wye pike - lovely!! (+1.7)

Christmas Miracle?

The River Wye is back within it’s banks - just! But it has been pouring with rain all day, and a lot more is forecast. Might take a minor miracle for it to be fishable this week - but fingers crossed!

The Rise Of Skywalker

As you can tell I’ve lost my faith.

Frosty Barbel

After a few proper frosts I knew the barbel fishing would be tough, and although I could find fish they didn’t want a bait. It took about three hours to find a shoal of feeding barbel and I quickly bagged two about 5lb and 3lb - then James phoned...

“Are you still on the river? I’ve popped down for an hour” I told him I was and I’d found fish, “come and meet me, try and bag one”. It didn’t take him long, a 6lb 10oz barbel first cast - followed by one about 3lb half an hour later. James left - it got cold - I left...


A shoal of feeding barbel in December? I was back for a couple of hours the next day! Unsurprisingly they had vanished - but I thought I’d have a few casts in likely spots on the way back up the river - landing one about 4½lb - then I watched a big girl nail the bait...

Cracking fight and the hook pinged out over the net, but it was too late! No need for a Mac comparison, I recognised her as the 10lb 3oz from last month - a double! Nope, at a (double-checked) 9lb 15oz she’d dropped 4oz - they’re really not on the feed in this weather!

For the records: 9lb 15oz, 5lb, 4½lb & 3lb (139)