September stripeys!

September is an exciting time of year for the lure and fly angler. As temperatures begin to cool, predatory fish go on the munch, and it also coincides with the opening of many of the midlands reservoirs for lure fishing. Rutland and Grafham both opened for lure fishing on August 31st this year, but my Dad and I were able to fit in a couple of trips flyfishing beforehand, in between a busy period of Family Fishing days, which I'll talk about later. Grafham seems to be producing more small Zander this year than I've ever known, although on our last trip flyfishing there a few weeks ago, on his fourth cast of the day, Dad landed a good fish on one of his 'Zander Lander' flies.

Shortly after, I also caught my first fish of the day - a Perch measuring 51cm! You would have thought a fish of this length would probably weigh 4lbs, but it was quite an old fish and weighed 3lb 6oz.

The summer holidays is the busiest time of year for Get Hooked on Fishing, and the 'Family Fishing' days, run in conjunction with the Angling Trust, have been huge successes. The last week or so of the summer holidays were particularly busy, with events at Suffolk Water Park, Shuttleworth College's Middle Lake, and GHoF's projects at Rib Valley, Walthamstow and Ealing.

There were a couple of highlights for me that week, and the first was at the Family Fishing day at Shuttleworth. When young Joshua Cobbs' float slid under for the very first time, I don't think he could quite believe what was pulling on the end of his line! After an amazing fight and brilliant team work between Joshua and my Dad, they managed to land this beautiful 19lb 3oz Mirror Carp on 4lb line and a size 14 hook! Not bad for your first ever fish!

On the Saturday of the August bank holiday weekend, GHoF held a second Family Fishing Day at Rib Valley. We were very lucky with the weather and plenty of fish were caught, including some nice Perch on lures and Roach to nearly 1lb to those fishing the whip! It was a very busy day, but it couldn't have happened without the support of our volunteers, so a massive thank you to them, and also to Keith Arthur and Sarah Collins! It was then off to Ealing the following day for another successful Family Fishing day, and over the course of the weekend, GHoF introduced just over 300 people to fishing.

Our next fishing trip was back on Grafham, for the first day of the lure fishing season on there. Sadly, the weather was awful, with heavy, persistent rain and strong winds all day, which made it hard to target the Perch and Zander we were set on fishing for. At 3pm we were both so soaked (even through Gore Tex jackets), we had to go in and change clothes! Thankfully, we had some spare waterproofs, but unfortunately, we didn't catch many more fish before it was time to head in!

We returned to Grafham a couple of days later after all our clothing and gear had dried out, and this turned out to be a much better day. We caught from many different areas, but we did find a big shoal of small Zander, which was great fun.

We caught most of our fish jigging, but we caught a few fish drop-shotting too, including the biggest Perch of the day, which weighed 3lb 6oz (49.5cm). Dad was unlucky though, as he hooked in to a Perch of a similar size at the same time, but his one came off as we netted mine! We ended the day boating 58 zeds, 16 Perch and a Pike.

Apart from one other trip to Grafham, the rest of our fishing has been based on local rivers targeting Perch, practising and trying out new lures in preparation for the Lure Fishing World Championships in Estonia next week. They've been working well, and my Dad even managed to catch this nice Roach on one of the lures we've been experimenting with, which the fish took on the drop!

On one recent evening trip, we'd been fishing for around an hour without any bites, then, as I was lifting my Sébile A.T Minnow out of the water ready to make another cast, six or seven Perch, all well over 2 and a half pounds, followed me in and literally started rolling and boiling around the lure, fighting over the shad! It was incredible to watch - almost like they were in a frenzy, like Tuna smashing in to bait balls. This 3lb 1oz beat the others to it, but there were bigger ones that I just missed out on!

After an unsuccessful attempt at relocating and catching them the following evening, my Dad and I had our last outing before the World Championships along another stretch of river. The afternoon was going well, catching plenty of Perch to 2lb 5oz and a jack Pike, but after a few hours in one area, we decided to have a change of scenery and try a different section of river where we've caught some big fish in the past, often in the last hour of light. It turned out to be a good move, as Dad's last fish of the day was a chunky 3lb'er.

We're now just finishing the last bit of packing before our flight to Tallinn, the capital of Estonia, tomorrow. Somehow, all the gear has managed to fit in the cases, but I'm not sure how we'll get it in to Eric's car to get to Gatwick - we may have to put my Mum on the roof rack!

Mixing it up a bit!

When summer arrives, I always aim to spend as much time out on the bank, or afloat as I can, trying to learn as much as I can to improve my lure fishing and flyfishing. This year has been slightly different though - instead, I've been to quite a few events (especially over the past month) sharing what I've learned from my experiences to newcomers keen to have a go themselves. Along the way I'm learning to improve my coaching, as well as my fishing, and you get a great buzz knowing that a person has enjoyed a session and learnt something new, especially if they've caught a fish!

A few weeks ago, Dad and I were at Fish'O'Mania coaching lure fishing with Eric Edwards. This was my third time to Fish'O'Mania and for the past two years we've always been faced with far from ideal conditions for targeting Pike and Perch - sweltering heat and bright sunshine. Although not quite as warm this year, we were faced with similar conditions, although a downpour on the Sunday morning freshened things up a bit. Using tiny curltails, participants managed to catch around 30 small Perch. After the coaching sessions had finished on the Saturday, Dad and I decided to stay on for another half hour and fish, and Dad landed a pretty Common Carp of around 9lb! It took a 1" Johnson Ribbontail Grub, and gave him a great fight on his Shakespeare Agility LRF rod!

What was interesting was that he caught the Carp on a straight retrieve, and earlier that week he caught a Tench at Get Hooked on Fishing's project at Walthamstow, again on a straight retrieve, using exactly the same curltail! Since then, he's caught quite a few Tench using this tactic.

It was great to catch up with many good friends at Fish'O'Mania - it's the only time of the year that all the Project Managers from Get Hooked on Fishing meet up. It was also great to see familiar faces from last year who came to have a go at the lure fishing, and wanted a go again!

The 1" grub also worked well a few days after Fish'O'Mania, at a GHoF/Angling Trust 'Family Fishing' event at Alders Farm Fishery near Milton Keynes. Unfortunately, it poured down with rain all day, but I was surprised how many people came along, considering how heavy the rain was! There aren't that many Perch in Ash Lake (where we were lure fishing), but a few anglers managed to catch their first Carp on soft plastics - including Keith Arthur and Alders Farm Fishery Manager, Trevor Price!

The weekend before last we were at Harewood House near Leeds at the CLA Game Fair, introducing people to lure fishing at the Get Hooked on Fishing Funfair. Lots of people tried out some of the new Abu and Berkley lures for the UK for 2016 - in fact, over 500 people signed in to at least one activity, whether that was lure fishing, fly casting, or other games such as casting and throwing accuracy!

Most of our own fishing has been short morning or evening sessions, wandering along our local River Lea, although we had an action-packed trip afloat on the River Thames, as well as a couple of days fishing the midlands reservoirs lure fishing and flyfishing for predators.

We've been trying to stalk the Chub along the Lea with tiny soft plastics, and we've seen some huge fish, as well as Barbel too.

Unfortunately, I lost a very big Chub a couple of weeks back, but we've managed to land a few to nearly 5lbs on Berkley 1" Sparkle Nymphs and Crazy Legs Chigger Craws - two creature baits that have worked very well for us this summer.

On one morning trip (the same day as I lost a huge Chub), Dad spotted two small Barbel on a gravel run. He cast his Sparkle Nymph to one, and it was on it like a flash - moments later it was in the net!

A few weeks back, we had a trip afloat on our boat on the Thames for the first time this year - I can't believe where that time has gone! Conditions looked good when we arrived and it didn't take long for us to start catching a few Pike and Perch, including this good stripey.

As we were taking the photos of the Perch, it started to spit with rain. It hadn't been forecast, but it became heavier, and heavier, and heavier! We continued to fish in to the night targeting Zander and Chub, and I managed to land a nice Chub on a Texas rigged Berkley Havoc Rocket Craw, but not long after we decided to pack up as the rain was relentless!

Taking the boat out of the water in pitch black and pouring rain proved to be a nightmare - we couldn't see what we were doing, we were both slipping over taking the boat up the slipway and bent one of our transducer brackets in the process. Still, we landed 41 Perch and 13 Pike, plus my Chub over the course of the session, so at least we caught a few fish!

We've managed to fit in a couple of trips on the midlands reservoirs this past month - the first of those was the day after Fish'O'Mania, fishing in the Airflo International Midland Final on Grafham - a match me and my trout team, the Pitsford Pirates, had qualified for a few weeks back. Sadly, we missed out on qualification for the final by what equated to just a couple of fish! Congratulations to Rio Masters, Reservoir Dogs and Elinor for making it to the final.

Our most recent trip was a few days ago, flyfishing for the predators, again on Grafham, and for most of the day my Dad gave me a real thrashing, catching the majority of our 14 Zander and 7 Perch haul.

However, in the evening I hooked in to a hard fighting fish, which at first I thought was a good Zander, but instead it turned out to be my biggest Perch of the day, weighing 3lb 7oz.

Lastly, every summer, Dad and I have to get our fix of flyfishing for Carp, and we spent a morning at Rib Valley targeting them with mixer imitation flies. We caught a few Carp, including this pretty Ghost Koi my Dad caught.

Sky Sports' 'Tightlines' - the end of an era!

The small town of Alnwick in Northumberland is famed for being the home of legendary game fishing manufacturers Hardy and Greys. It's now also the UK headquarters for the brands Berkley, Abu Garcia and Shakespeare, to name a few, and at the beginning of June, Dad and I made the five and a half hour journey up the A1 for a meeting to discuss new lures coming out in 2016. However, we did break up the journey, meeting with Greys Brand Manager Dave McCartney on a lake in Yorkshire for some product testing.

I thought we were going to be targeting Pike, but we soon found out that there are no Pike and Perch in the lake and that we would be targeting Trout, as the lake was a former Trout fishery! Luckily, we'd brought along some small lures for Perch, so Dad started off with a Berkley Shrug Minnow in Orange Glow, whilst I started with a crankbait - a Sébile Puncher 5cm floating in Ghost Rainbow. I'd been told that the lake was full of Sticklebacks, and the Ghost Rainbow colour, to me, seemed to closely resemble them in size and colour. Neither of us needed to change lure again that afternoon!

Within a few casts a stunning Brownie shot out from the margins and slammed my Sébile Puncher, and shortly after, Dad caught 2 Rainbows, one of which was around 5lb!

About 20 minutes later, I hooked in to another fish, this time at range. It was quite hard to tell whether it was any size until I got it closer to the net - then I realised it was something very special. It was a huge Brownie - a new P.B weighing 9lb 14oz!

We released the fish and as it swam off, it coughed up about 15 Sticklebacks, all of a similar size to the Sébile Puncher.

Sadly, we only had time to fish for a couple of hours, but I'd have loved to have continued for a bit longer. We still had to get to Alnwick and check in at our hotel, so after another half hour's fishing and one more Brownie for Dave, we were in the car and on our way even further north!

The next day I had a meeting at the Pure Fishing UK headquarters, before Dad and I were shown around the Hardy and Greys factory. It was fascinating watching rods being put together, and fly reels being cut and shaped out of lumps of bar stock aluminium! The factory also make components and parts for Dyson vacuums and the International Space Agency! We then visited the Hardy museum, learning how rods and reels have evolved over the last century or so. Interestingly, I didn't realise the original Hardy 'Fortuna' reel of the 1920's was designed 'for Tuna'! It was a great day and if you're in the area, I'd certainly suggest stopping by.

Keeping on the subject of Trout, three weekends ago I fished in my first fly competition of the season - the Airflo International Midland Heat at Grafham, with the Pitsford Pirates. I practised with team-mate Pete Elliot the day before the match and we had a great day, but the conditions on the match day were completely different - almost flat calm and heavy rain showers, compared to a bright and windy day when Pete and I fished together previously.

I started off pulling with a fast glass line and caught two fish but the bites soon dried up. Our team captain, Charlie Abrahams, was doing well washing lining on a floating line, so I switched lines and managed to catch another 3 fish. The team caught 39 fish in total, including the biggest fish of the day at 5lb exactly, caught by Bart Farmer, and it was enough to help us secure second place and qualify for the Midland Final! Well done shipmates! 'Aaarrrrr!'

Dad and I have also had a couple of trips flyfishing Grafham and Rutland for the predators. Although the fishing has become a bit harder over the past month, we've still caught a few nice Zander - Dad has caught the biggest fish, weighing 11lb exactly.

I've been to a couple of Get Hooked on Fishing 'Family Fishing' events this past month - at Orton Pond near Peterborough and Rib Valley Fishing Lakes near Ware. We've also been introducing some year 10 students to fishing every Monday at our project in Walthamstow. Over the past few weeks, the students have caught a mixture of species, including Roach, Rudd, Tench, some stunning looking Carp, and Rainbow Trout and Perch on small soft plastics, and on Monday, I caught this Tench drop-shotting a small piece of Berkley Gulp! Sandworm!

Today, we had a class of sixth-formers who had never fished before, and they all caught at least one fish, including this pretty looking Mirror!

The Rib Valley Family Fishing event went really well. We held the event on the Millennium Lake, which is normally the Trout lake, but it opens for coarse fishing on the 1st June. We also had special permission to lure fish the lake for the day, as the Team England Lure Squad kindly gave up their time and came along to demonstrate different lure fishing tactics.

Luckily, we were blessed with fantastic weather - sunshine all day, although not ideal conditions for lure fishing, but a great day was had by all. A massive thank you to all of those who came along and helped make the day a success!

The following day, Dad and I fished Pitsford for an afternoon with Eric Edwards, who had kindly come all the way down from St. Helens to help at the Rib Valley Family Fishing day and stayed the night at ours.

Although Eric sometimes uses lures as big as this Pike and doesn't normally take pictures of fish under 30lb ;) , it was his first time fishing Pitsford, so we took a picture of his first Pitsford Pike! We had a great afternoon and boated a good number of Pike between us, and lost quite a few too - the best fish weighing 14lb 14oz.

Unfortunately, the next day I came down with a bad cold, which Dad caught a few days later - terrible timing considering June 16th was just a couple of days away! We'd planned to fish the Thames on our boat on the opening day of the season, but we both felt so rough we decided to go local instead and concentrate on targeting Chub with lures.

Despite feeling under the weather, we managed to get fishing by 5am and stalked a few Chub to around 2lb 8oz on Berkley Micro Sparkle Nymphs.

The highlight of the morning though was when Dad stalked a lone, immaculate Barbel on a Micro Sparkle Nymph - what a fight it gave him!

Shortly after releasing the Barbel, he caught his first Perch of the season on the same soft bait, which was also a cracker!

The fishing became quite hard in the afternoon as the sun came out and Dad started to feel quite rough, so we decided to go home, catch up with some work and get some rest before heading out again early the following morning. We'd spotted a couple more Barbel during the day and our aim was to try and catch another. We returned to the same stretch, but the fish seemed very spooky and after landing one small Chub, we relocated to another stretch of the Lea to see if we could stalk a Barbel.

At first we saw three huge Chub (one was well over 6lbs), which soon disappeared, so we ventured upstream, trying to spot fish. After walking for nearly half a mile without seeing anything at all, we were beginning to wonder where all the fish had gone, but when we reached the weir at the top of the stretch, we couldn't believe what we found - at least 15 Barbel (some big ones too) along with 25-30 Chub, all spawning.

It was incredible to watch, but we decided not to fish for them as they were clearly spawning and we didn't want to disturb them. I did manage to stalk a nice Lea Brownie though, again on the Micro Sparkle Nymph.

The weekend before last, Dad and I fished with the rest of the Team England Lure Squad at Ardleigh Reservoir, practising for the forthcoming World Championships in Estonia, with Eric Edwards, Ron Dalton, Rikki Cooper and Wayne Fletcher.

Wayne managed to get us special permission to camp out on the banks of the reservoir so we could start fishing early the following morning. The fishing was quite challenging in hot and sunny conditions, even when it came to targeting the Perch in deep water, but we caught plenty of stripeys, as well as Pike, on a variety of different tactics. To make things interesting, on the afternoon of the last day, we decided to have a pairs match to see which pair could catch a measurable Pike (45cm+) and a measureable Perch (22cm+) and get back to the jetty the quickest. All three boats managed to get back in under an hour, but it was Dad and Wayne that managed to complete the challenge first!

I'm going to end this post on a sad note. In 2011, when I was 16, I couldn't believe it when Sky Sports approached me and asked whether I'd like to take Keith Arthur out flyfishing on Grafham, filming for 'Tightlines'. We had a fantastic day, targeting Trout in the morning and Zander in the afternoon, and a couple of weeks ago, I was asked again whether I'd like to fish with Keith, again on Grafham, for the very last shoot for Tightlines. As I've mentioned in this month's and last month's posts, Dad and I have been catching a few nice Zander from Grafham, including five doubles to 12lb 8oz, but things can change very quickly in fishing, especially when you're up against the worst possible conditions for targeting predators - cloudless and still, and the hottest day of 2015 so far - the following day was the hottest July day since records began. We also had an almost full moon, which may not have helped. Casting bulky flies on heavy Di7 lines, using 9wt and 10wt fly rods and pulling up anchors in those conditions is demanding, to say the least!

I did manage to catch a Zander (only a small one by Grafham's standards), but it was probably one of the most frustrating days I've ever had fishing Grafham. We tried so many areas and waypoints on our GPS, all around the reservoir, with one bite all day to show for our efforts. I was very upset as I wanted the day to be a success for the last ever shoot for Tightlines, but it just wasn't to be. What was even more frustrating was once Keith and the cameramen had left, my Dad wanted to fish for the last hour of light, as he'd been driving the cameramen around all day, and on his second cast, he hooked and lost a Zed at the boat, and then went on to land three more before we had to head in! By this stage, I felt pretty sick! The Zander had switched on for the last hour after everyone had left.

I've been very lucky and privileged to have fished with Keith on a few occasions for Tightlines, and also featured as a guest in the bothy. It's an amazing experience visiting the Sky Sports studios, bumping in to faces you've seen on telly like Chris Kamara, and doors opened for us by Kirsty Gallagher - one of the most surreal experiences was sitting in the make-up room, chatting to Keith about fishing whilst having our faces airbrushed! I'd like to say a huge thank you to Keith, Mick Brais and the team at Sky Sports for giving me the opportunity to appear on Tightlines - it's a sad loss to angling as it has covered such a diverse range of fishing for all anglers, all over the country for the last 20 years. Just like Bernard Venables and 'Mr. Crabtree Goes Fishing', Keith and his 'Tightlines' show will remain legendary!