Quick tip today, something that I learnt a few years back when I ran out of bait when doing some river fishing.  As you know, any fishing trip isn’t complete without a flask of tea and a few sandwiches.

Well, as I said, we were river fishing and was having some luck with trout and mullet, when I ran out of bait and started cursing.  My friend who has been doing it since he was a kid, asked if I had any sandwiches left.

To cut a long story short, it seems that many fish are quite partial to a bit of bread  You can either throw a handful of large crumbs on the surface to attract some fish to the are, or as I did, wet the bread, roll it up into a ball, and then bait it on the hook.

I caught 2 more fish using this method, not many but a lot more than what I would have caught without any bait at all!  Now I always make I bring some bread for the fish as well as for me!

Let me know if you’ve found anything weird and wonderful fish are partial to, we all know, that Carp love the taste and smell of pineapple for example!

Speak soon,
Phil

Well, it can be frustrating during the winter months when you can’t get much fishing done, the cold can be battled with the right gear, but baiting up when it is tipping it down with rain isn’t much fun.

Still, now can be the time to swat up on the latest tips with fishing, and now fishing programs has become common place on TV, both sides of the pond.  Feel free to email me with any good programs that are worth keeping up with.

In the uk for example, Adam Penning has a great series running right now where he has to catch 30 different river species within a month.  It’s an excuse of course to visit some of the best fishing points around the country, but you can pick up some great tips, especially regarding food and different reels.

Talking of which, it was pointed out to me by one of my friends that you can pick up many bargains on Ebay, certainly for rods, reels and other accessories.  I recently picked up a good rod stand so I can bait up easily when doing sea fishing.

Feel free to email me if you’d like to feature a fishing tip or story.

Speak soon,
Phil

Well, I know it’s hard to do fishing in the winter, especially in the UK, but if you are prepared to put up with the cold, there can be some great sea fishing to be done.

Of course, you’re nearly always going to have success with boat fishing, but we can’t always aford to do that.  So, on a recent trip to Dorset, I managed to get some beach fishing done with my Cousin’s husband.

My mission was the catch a Dogfish, because for some reason, I had never managed to get one before.  This is probably due to the bait I had used in the past, which was normally rag worms, Dog’s tend to go for something bigger.

So I loaded up with some strips of mackeral which I had caught in the summer and froze.  Well, at first, I got the usual suspects, mostly pouting, but finally after about 2 hours, managed to get my first dogfish.  It wasn’t huge but still put up quite a fight.

The only problem is it swallowed all my bait and half of my tackle too.  Still, managed to get it out without too many problems.

After another hour, it was time to retreat, call us softies but it was getting damn cold, and we weren’t really prepared as it was a last minute thing.

Speak soon

Phil

For many anglers stillwater fly fishing is a kind of ugly cousin to river and stream fishing. I admittedly used to look at it a bit that way. However, this time of year I actually itch to get out on the lakes.

When the ice comes off the fish feed like crazy and these are often much bigger fish than you might find in your local streams (my 6 pound brown this week being an example).

Stillwater fly fishing presents it’s own challenges as well. Lake fish feed at different depths at different times and on different food items. Locating them is sometimes more challenging than it is on rivers that have clearly defined fishy water. If you’re hesitant to try stillwater fishing just get out and try it during the runnoff this year when you have nothing else going on, and say “hi” because that’s probably where I’ll be.

Thanks - Jake Ricks from River Bum

The name Lake Trout lends a slight misnomer to the actual species of this incredible fish that is actually not a trout at all, but a char. The Lake Trout resides in some of the most spectacular places on earth and the trip that spurred this article is no exception.

The Newhalen River, near Iliamna Alaska, is where this trip took place and the intention was to land some nice early season Rainbows. Although Rainbows were indeed landed the Lake trout took center stage as they fed in frenzies on the tiny smolt that were venturing out into the currents for the first time.

The first feeding frenzy we spotted drew much attention as we expected huge Rainbows were cruising the shallows. Not one person expected what happened next. Wham! The Marabou Muddler was engulfed as it was stripped quickly through the rising pod of what turned out to be Lake Trout.

Lake Trout, for the most part, tend to elude most fly-fishing lore and go unnoticed. The depth at which they dwell and the difficulty in locating a group of fish to target within the parameters of the fly angler all contribute to its lack of attention, however; there is an exception and that is early spring just after break-up when Lake trout, usually in the 20 to 30 inch range, journey from the big lakes and cruise the shallows of the rivers that enter and exit them. So while Rainbows, Dollies, Coho and Kings steal the lime light, the Lake Trout still continue, unmolested, gorging on the many salmon fry that struggle in the currents as they begin to learn the perils of life as a salmon.

It is during this time that fly anglers can easily locate and entice Lakers into taking their fly, even on top. The Lakers can be located by the many swirls and splashes as they travel in schools. They remind me of my younger days when we used to go to the lake before school in hopes of catching rockfish “in the jumps” and hopefully catch one without being too late for class.

Once the frenzy is located the angler must quickly introduce their fly into the frenzy and utilize a fast strip-stop retrieve to get the Lakers attention. The takes are no joke and I have found the quicker you retrieve the more attention you get. One may want to hesitate for just a second after a few feet of retrieve before resuming the fast strip technique.

Any fly pattern that imitates a small fish should do the trick but I can only speak for the Maribou Muddler as I found no reason to change while the Lakers continued to slam them with reckless abandon. There is one note of interest you might want to know. Just because of the hard takes don’t think the Lakers are a pushover. For some reason the Lakers are hard to hook. It seems they strike haphazardly at the fly but I think nerves played a huge part of the misses I encountered.

If you have ever had the opportunity to fish Northerns or Musky on top water you are familiar with the torpedo wake as the fish ambushes your fly or lure from behind. With Lake Trout you get the same visible approach which can unnerve an angler as they try to predict when the strike will occur as the Laker dips under the fly before coming from under for the take. Often times I would set the hook too soon, missing the fish entirely and sending him searching for a new prey as I duck to miss my fly.

The Lake Trout may not get too much attention but that is quite all right with me. I will be glad to have these dwellers of the deep to myself and will also enjoy the Rainbows, Dollies and Grayling in between. If you are like myself and prefer less crowded angling you should try early spring in Alaska and remember the Lake Trout. The forgotten Lake Trout just might be an added species found in your journals of your trip of a lifetime whether you expect it or not.

This is a quick one for anybody doing a bit of beach casting on the coast of the Uk.  We’re all enjoying a second wave of summer here and it seems the Mackerel are

going crazy at the moment.  It’s got to the stage where you probably don’t even need a rod as they are practically jumping out of the water and I’ve even seen people going and picking them off of the beach with the waves.  Mackerel fishing is all about going at the right time, I’ve learnt that you either seem to go and get hundreds or none at all.

The best time to go is about an hour or two before sunset, and best if the sea is calm.  You can use tackle with 5 or 6 feathers, no bait needed of course.  A good tip is to do a couple of jerking motions before each reel turn to mimick the darting of fish.  But like I say, if you’re there at the right time and place, you don’t really need any technique at all!!  Good luck and get the pan hot for your return.

While the weather is holding out, it’s a great time to do some Carp Fishing.  An accomplished angler Adam Penning catches a 20 pounder Mirror Carp and then

shares his secrets of what tackle he used to catch this fish.  Really worth a look…enjoy.

Every once in a while, it’s good just to be reminded of some of the basics about Fly Fishing.  This type of fishing is a bit more refined than others and these tips shouldbe of bennefit to beginners and even those who have been fishing for a while.

This is one of the first fishing trips I did, quite embarrassing as I was nearly sick, much to the ammusment of evrybody else on the boat.

You see some photos though of my cathes on this site.

Something I want to stress, don’t worry if the fish in your photos aren’t huge, just look at the one I show in the  “about guild” section, I’m happy with ANYTHING I catch and glad to show it to my friends….and I CAN’T WAIT to see more fish that you have caught.  Oh, and if you like this site, please tell your friends about it

You can send pictures, stories or suggestions tme at: phil fishing guild@gmail.com - Remove the spaces between phil, fishing and guild, this is to prevent me getting spammed.

Take it easy,
Phil

As we are now moving into the next season of the year, contrary to many people’s belief, Bass fishing can be even better than ever. One of the reasons for this is as the fish notice the drop in temperature in their environment; they start to look more actively for food, to stock their body supplies for the coming winter months.  This is food that can be on the end of your line of course.

If you are fishing on the surface, then you can use floating frogs, Rat Flies, large woolly worms, Bass popping bugs etc.  Work around the banks and under trees for best results.

Otherwise, you can use Rabbit Strip Divers, Zonkers, Large Head Wolly Worms and the like.  Experiment with different colour lures around this time of the year, small adjustments can make a big difference to your success rate.