Freshwater Informer Lure Blog Articles

Freshwater Informer Lure Blog #56

My knowledge and experience of catching Carp on fly tackle has grown enormously over the last few months. I’ve managed to fit two sessions in each week, sometimes a whole day otherwise an afternoon and evening. Read More

Freshwater Informer Lure Blog #55

Last month I wrote about my fly fishing adventures in Spain chasing Iberian Barbel. Well this month I’ve been targeting Carp, on the fly. Read More

Freshwater Informer Lure Blog #54

As regular readers will know I love lure fishing and fly fishing equally, they are the methods I enjoy the most and I employ them whenever possible to catch a variety of species. Read More

Freshwater Informer Lure Blog #53

I’m back on track this month lure fishing, after several weeks of fly fishing which I’ve enjoyed immensely by the way. My friends and I made our now annual visit to Holland at the end of March; this has become a boy’s trip where we catch up with each other after months of only talking via the internet. Read More

Freshwater Informer Lure Blog #52

Hopefully this year we will get a period of spring weather, a time when colour returns to the countryside and when life blooms beneath the water’s surface. It’s my favourite time of year as I’ve said before, when the Trout are feeding hard and the water temperature is cool enough for them to be full of energy, what’s not to like? Read More

Freshwater Informer Lure Blog #51

Having got my “fly head on” again, I can’t think of anything I’d rather be doing at the moment. I’ve enjoyed it so much, the challenge of fishing different waters, especially those I’d not fished before has given me a new sense of freedom I’ve not experience for many years. Read More

Freshwater Informer Lure Blog #50

I didn’t realise how much I’d missed my fly fishing until I started again. Last summer’s heat wave had enforced a break from the beginning of June until the Sunday before Christmas. Read More

Freshwater Informer Lure Blog #49

With conditions at Bewl deteriorating with the influx of new water being pumped in this added colour which always makes lure fishing less effective in my experience. I decided it would be a good time Read More

Freshwater Informer Lure Blog #48

As a result of last years “super summer” we are seeing massive shoals of coarse fish fry on all our reservoirs. On one of our local waters the fry shoals are so dense that my echo sounders signal was unable to penetrate through them to see the bottom! Read More

Freshwater Informer Lure Blog #47

A new direction, this was going to be a start of a new adventure. Instead of our normal Spanish Barbel fishing we were heading for the Ebro Delta, an area of marshland and rice fields that lies between Tortosa and the Mediterranean. Read More

Freshwater Informer Lure Blog #46

It’s been said that “time flies when you’re having fun” well I can testify to that as the last month has whizzed by. Read More

Freshwater Informer Lure Blog #45

Now the FUN begins, I can start lure fishing for freshwater predators again now the water’s cooled off. Rutland, Grafham and Bewl Water, I have good news regarding Bewl, more about this later. The next few months are going to be exciting! Read More

Freshwater Informer Lure Blog #44

In last month’s article I covered choosing lures for a variety of waters in the early autumn season when the pike are active. Those of you who fish with lures will have noticed I omitted to mention soft plastics. Read More

Freshwater Informer Lure Blog #43

With the autumn looming now’s the time to start planning your piking campaign, where you’ll fish will affect your lure choices, so here are a few things to consider that will ensure you have the right tools in your box. Read More

Freshwater Informer Lure Blog #42

My last visit to Powdermill [Sedlescombe] was after the recent bank holiday and the heat wave had finally blunted the Trout's appetite. Well that's what my boat partner James Gardner and I concluded because for the first few hours despite having lots of enquiries, had not produced a fish! Read More

Freshwater Informer Lure Blog #41

Each month in my introduction I seem to complain about the vagaries of the weather, never more so than this month. After the “beast from the east” I was looking forward to spring. Read More

Freshwater Informer Lure Blog #40

This year’s three day trip was going to be a little out of the ordinary as James Garner, Rik Wesley, Andy Blazey and I were going to be joined by Gary Collins, Mark Bryant and Shimano’s Matt Boast, the Brits were coming! Read More

Freshwater Informer Lure Blog #39

I’d like to share two quite different days I spent last April on Farmoor 1 reservoir in Oxford with my good friend James Gardner. Read More

Freshwater Informer Lure Blog #38

I was itching to get back to Rutland and continue my search for deep water pike unfortunately the weather had other ideas. Read More

Freshwater Informer Lure Blog #37

After several winters chasing Zander and Perch on Rutland and Grafham reservoirs I finally felt like a change. Read More

Freshwater Informer Lure Blog #36

Another change of location saw our convoy of vehicles and boats wend their way through the mountains to another huge reservoir. Read More

Freshwater Informer Lure Blog #35

In the west of Spain lies the rural region of Extremadura, the rugged countryside is largely uncultivated with forests covering vast areas. Read More

Freshwater Informer Lure Blog #34

Five days into a new predator season and I’m loving it, not every day has been successful if you only count fish caught but the sheer pleasure of being on the water you ardour, Rutland Water, fishing for “the thinking man’s fish” Zander. Read More

Freshwater Informer Lure Blog #33

Something I’ve been meaning to do for some time, but I never seem to get around to is fly fishing for bass. Read More

Freshwater Informer Lure Blog #32

Another month has slipped by in a flash, our weather is never dull the intense heat of summer was quickly replaced by the more bearable wet and windy autumnal weather. Read More

Freshwater Informer Lure Blog #31

The advent of summer saw a dramatic change in weather and a rapid decline in my fly fishing results, time for something different. Read More

Freshwater Informer Lure Blog #30

Spring is my favourite time of year, a time when I’m always torn between lure fishing and fly fishing. Read More

Freshwater Informer Lure Blog #29

It’s been another lean month for me, one minute it’s spring, the next it’s summer, then back to winter again, I don’t know if I’m coming or going and nor do the fish. The annual migration of predators, pike and perch, to the shallows in their spawning recital has been interrupted by the changeable weather too. Read More

Freshwater Informer Lure Blog #28

The end of March and we’re in Holland chasing predators before the seasons close, James Gardner and I are joining our good friend Willem Stolk AKA the” Perch Magician” along with our Fenland friends Andy Blazey and Rik Wesley. Read More

Freshwater Informer Lure Blog #27

This last month I’ve found it very hard to settle on any one venue or method. So five trips through February saw me both lure fishing and fly fishing, on five different waters. Read More

Freshwater Informer Lure Blog #26

Well another predator season, on Anglian Waters, has drawn to a close. It’s with mixed emotions for James Gardner and I that it’s come to an end as we love the fishing there so much. If Rutland was open we’d still be making the long arduous journey up to the midlands each week, it’s that good! Read More

Freshwater Informer Lure Blog #25

As you motor out of the harbour you’re never quite sure what sort of day you’re going to have. My lure fishing over the last month has been very challenging; the Zander had moved off their previous haunts and were now residing elsewhere. Read More

Freshwater Informer Lure Blog #24

It’s been a busy month seeing me traveling up country to Rutland reservoir for my daily fix of Zander fishing. It’s hard to explain the appeal of Zander, as they don’t fight especially hard nor do they grow to exceptional sizes when compared to Carp, Catfish or Pike. Read More

Freshwater Informer Lure Blog #23

It’s been a bit like a curate’s egg, good in parts, a visit with my good mate James Gardner to Grafham reservoir was a "pick and mix" sort of day. Read More

Freshwater Informer Lure Blog #22

James Gardner, Mark Bryant, Gary Collins and I travelled to the Extremadura region of Spain for what’s become our annual trip. Read More

Freshwater Informer Lure Blog #21

Finally the wind of change is upon us, autumn, is in the air and my predator season has stepped up a notch. Read More

Freshwater Informer Lure Blog #20

As a fly fisherman and lure angler summer offers up the worst conditions for my fishing. Trout and Pike both thrive in highly oxygenated water, so when the mercury rises and the water warms the oxygen content decreases, making the predators seek deeper, cooler water. Read More

Freshwater Informer Lure Blog #19

I can think of few hobbies that are so adversely affected by the weather. It’s not only our comfort but the behaviour of the fish we seek, the weather can throw "a spanner in the works" when it comes to understanding what’s going on beneath the water. Read More

Freshwater Informer Lure Blog #18

It’s been a month of contrasts, one moment its spring with the birds and bees pike and carp all thinking of breeding, the next it’s back to winter. Cold Northerly winds have chilled me enough to frantically go searching for my thermals! Read More

Freshwater Informer Lure Blog #17

Having identified a successful pattern in our captures Rikki Cooper and I were keen to see if we had indeed “cracked it”. I wondered whether the perch were reacting to our lures in an aggression manner, purely biting them as they invaded their space, or were they actually targeting them as food? Read More

Freshwater Informer Lure Blog #16

My regular fishing buddy James Gardner and I made our now annual visit to Holland in search of jumbo Perch. We were joined in the quest by our two fenland friends Andy Blazey and Rick Wesley; James was really looking forward to wetting a line again after a long absence from the water of nearly two months. Read More

Freshwater Informer Lure Blog #15

It’s been rather lean pickings for me over the last month the cold North Easterly wind has made it unpleasantly cold, and it has to be said that I’ve never had a productive days fishing on an Easterly wind. Read More

Freshwater Informer Lure Blog #14

I’d like to thank all the staff at Rutland and Grafham reservoirs for another fantastic predator season. What a winter it’s been, I’d also like to thank all those who I’ve shared boats with this winter, it’s been a blast, literally! Read More

Freshwater Informer Lure Blog #13

I celebrated New Year’s Day with “Zandermaster” Rikki Cooper on Rutland Water in Leicestershire. We had intended fishing earlier in the week but the weather had other ideas. Having had to cancel the two previous days due to gale force winds we were greatly relieved to finally be afloat. Read More

Freshwater Informer Lure Blog #12

The shrill sound of my alarm signals it’s time to get up, 4am! What makes a perfectly sane person get up at such an unearthly time in winter, several hours before dawn? Well I’m going fishing of course I still get excited the night before going on another adventure. Read More

Freshwater Informer Lure Blog #11

After the sun of Spain it was difficult to settle back into the routine of fishing in the UK again. My first trip was to Grafham Water which turned into a bit of a grueler. Read More

Freshwater Informer Lure Blog #10

Think of predator fishing in Spain and Catfish spring to mind. James Gardner and I have been visiting Spain for the last 15 years, at first we targeted the Cats but became aware on another fascinating predator that drew anglers from all across Europe, Zander. Read More

Freshwater Informer Lure Blog #9

October is a pivotal time in my predator season I’m torn between several reservoirs across the midlands and the east of England. Having stayed fishing locally for the past few of months I’m now itching to get busy catching Perch and Zander. Read More

Freshwater Informer Lure Blog #8

Recently I’ve been fishing Bewl Water trying to locate Perch; this has occupied my time for the last couple of seasons, after initially catching in very deep water during the spring I’ve struggled to find any consistent depth or area where I could expect to catch fish. Read More

Freshwater Informer Lure Blog #7

It’s now time to take kids fishing and introduce them to the “outdoors”. Start them young and they will always want to be exploring new places with new fish to catch. Chores like reading soon become the pathway to knowledge that unlocks the secret world of fishes. Read More

Freshwater Informer Lure Blog #6

Crankbaits or plugs as many of us know them is a descriptive term coined by our American cousins. It implies that the lure is cast out and cranked back. Read More

Freshwater Informer Lure Blog #5

Over the last few weeks I’ve spent most of my time fly fishing for Trout, spring is my favourite time of year, and I can’t think of anything better than chasing Trout in the Spring. Read More

Freshwater Informer Lure Blog #4

The great thing about lure fishing is “how portable the tackle is”. If you are traveling on business or on holiday it’s possible to take tackle and fish effectively, in both fresh and salt water. Read More

Freshwater Informer Lure Blog #3

My first visit to Hanningfield in several years was very enlightening. I’ve fly fished the reservoir in the past for its fabled monsters but that was a different era on this trip I would be lure fishing Read More

Freshwater Informer Lure Blog #2

Well here we are at the beginning of March, “spring is in the air” and now’s the time to start thinking about going Trout fishing. Read More

Freshwater Informer Lure Blog

Lure Fishing is a fast growing discipline in both fresh and saltwater. In this series I aim to show you how, where and when to use; Soft Plastics, Spoons, Spinners, Crankbaits and Jerkbaits while Jigging, Dropshotting, Walking the Dog, Popping and Buzzing. Read More