Fishing guides that get to the point

Carp Rigs: Which Rig to Use and When

There's no single best carp rig. This guide matches the hair, ronnie, chod, zig and simple wafter set-ups to the lakebed, hookbait, weed, pressure and presentation you're actually facing, then points you at the step-by-step guides.

How to Tie a Hair Rig for Carp: Step by Step

The knotless-knot hair rig is the first carp rig most of us learn, and still one of the most useful. Here's how to tie it neatly, set the hair for your bait, check it's fishing properly and fix the usual problems.

How to Find Carp in a Lake: A Watercraft Guide

Finding carp is mostly patient looking. A watercraft routine for UK lakes: what to watch for when you arrive, how to read shows, bubbles, wind, birds and margins, and how to treat each clue as a probability rather than proof.

Ronnie Rig (Spinner Rig): How to Tie It and When to Use It

The ronnie rig, also called the spinner rig, is a crimped stiff boom with a hook that threads onto a swivel and spins freely. Here's what each part does, how to put one together, when to use it and the safety checks that matter.

Chod Rig: How to Tie It, Fish It and Know When to Use It

A chod rig lets a balanced pop-up settle on top of low weed, silt or leaf litter while the lead sinks below. Learn when it's the right tool, how the slide-on-the-leader set-up works, how to tie the stiff hook section and what to check for safety.

Winter Carp Fishing: Location, Bait, Rigs and Feeding

Winter carp are catchable, but they're tighter-packed, less active and feed in short windows. Find them first, feed far less, keep rigs simple and use the weather as a nudge rather than a promise. A practical UK guide for cold-water carping.

Method Feeder Fishing: Setup, Bait, Casting and Bite Strategy

The method feeder is the most reliable way into commercial carp and F1 fishing. This pillar covers feeder types, hooklengths, hookbaits, loading, casting to one spot and the feeding rhythm that keeps bites coming, with fishery rules kept front and centre.

How to Plumb the Depth When Pole Fishing

Get the depth right and everything else on the pole gets easier. How to set up a plummet, find dead depth, map slopes and shelves, sweep for snags and then deliberately set your bait on, over or off the bottom, with an original depth diagram.

How to Set Up a Method Feeder Rig

Step-by-step set-up for a fishery-friendly method feeder rig: free-running feeder, quick-change bead, short hooklength and a banded or hair-rigged hookbait. Includes inline versus elasticated choices and how to stay within commercial fishery rules.

How to Prepare Pellets for the Method Feeder

Method pellets that are too dry fly off on the cast; too wet and they won't break down. A practical starting method for micros and bigger pellets, how to adjust for size, brand and temperature, and how to diagnose and fix a bad mix on the bank.

Pole Fishing for Beginners: Your First Session, Step by Step

Your first pole session, start to finish: the basic kit, picking an elastic, attaching a rig, plumbing up, feeding, shipping the pole back safely and landing your fish. Includes overhead power line safety and simple fish care.

Pike Fishing for Beginners: Tackle, Baits, Lures and Fish Care

Pike fishing starts with fish care. What kit you must have before you cast, why wire traces matter, simple deadbait and lure approaches, how to land and unhook a pike calmly, and the warm-water and rule checks every beginner should know.

How to Set Up a Deadbait Rig for Pike

A strong, simple legered deadbait rig for pike: running lead on a boom, buffer bead, swivel and a wire trace with two hooks. How to mount the bait, set up bite indication so you can strike early, and prepare to unhook before you cast.

Lure Fishing for Perch: Where to Find Them and What to Use

Perch love structure and shoal up, which makes them a great lure target. Where to look on canals, rivers and lakes, how to choose lure size and type by depth, clarity and mood, retrieve speeds that work, and when to use a wire leader because pike may be about.

Winter Pike Fishing: Location, Deadbaits, Lures and Conditions

Winter is classic pike time, but cold fish move less and sit in specific areas. Where to look on lakes, rivers and canals, how to choose between deadbaits and slow lures, how conditions change your approach and how to keep fish care tight in the cold.

How to Cast a Fly Rod: A Simple Beginner's Guide

A simple, step-by-step overhead cast for beginners. Why the rod does the work, how to load it, where to stop, why the pause matters, what good loops look like and how to fix the common faults, with an original cast-sequence diagram.

What Fly Should I Use for Trout? A UK Conditions Guide

There's no magic trout fly. A decision framework for UK stillwaters and rivers: read what fish are eating, where they're sitting in the water and how clear it is, then pick between dries, nymphs and buzzers, wets and lures, with seasonal starting points.

Fly Fishing for Beginners in the UK: What You Need and How to Start

Fly fishing in the UK is easier to start than it looks. What the rod, line, leader, tippet and fly each do, why small stillwaters are the best place to begin, how river fishing differs, basic etiquette and fish care, and the licence and venue checks to make.