I've been around long enough to have seen SARS, MERS and Swine Flu come and go - but they were nothing like the current Covid-19 shitstorm. It's a worrying time, sure enough - but dwelling on the negatives; and fearing the worst; are ... Read More

Sara, the owner of Landrace Cottage in Carlton Miniott pinged me an email about a last-minute availability in the first week of September (2019).  The forecast looked reasonably good, so I thought "why not?" - and before I knew it, on ... Read More

In my last post I made it clear that I'm rather disappointed by my new G&L guitar - especially the piss-poor job that they've done on the nut. and other sloppy manufacturing issues. Well I've decided to let a professional sort them ... Read More

It's funny how things turn out. I've been getting some fishing in on the waters of my local angling club (which as I mention elsewhere, I co-founded, so I'm rather invested in the quality and appearance of these ponds) and I'm ... Read More

I've just spent a week (ish - 20 to 25 May, to be precise) in Carlton Miniott, N. Yorks, so as to fish Woodland Lakes - a venue I've fished many times, which I'd chosen this time partly because of my familiarity with it; and partly ... Read More

Nothing is ever straightforward, is it? I recently took delivery of the Okuma Custom Black CB-60 reels I talk about here. And they're great: good-looking, smooth, well-built - and they come with a freespool-to-locked-up-in-3/4-of-a-turn drag. I'd ... Read More

Well now that's a pisser...  Everything had been going well with my BPX reel quick drag conversions, as I discuss here.  Last night I was having another play with the reels - as you do - and I noticed that one of them ... Read More

I mention in another post that I like a bargain when it comes to my fishing tackle. So although I could easily have sprung for something more expensive, when the urge recently struck for a (mini) "big pit" reel (or three) - an urge ... Read More

As part of my plan to get back to being an active angler (this is not a contradiction in terms...) I'm going to have a serious crack at single-hook pike rigs. Treble hooks on pike traces have been the norm for as long as I've fished ... Read More

No, a big step. But I had my reasons. Obviously... In one sense it's a no-brainer: most people would - I reckon - be ready for something new after forty-odd years of earning a living with the same - increasingly bad ... Read More

I've never bought into the intellectually lazy meme that "you get what you pay for..." I've lost count of the number of times I've landed some piece of gear that has punched way above its pecuniary weight... So it ... Read More