Ultra Light starts

[@Clive]

I'm almost exclusively a lure fisherman in the colder months.

It is such a breath of fresh air after lugging around multiple rods and bags. I even use a travel rod that fits in a backpack, as well as a compact mat. So just one small backpack and a net... and that's it.

The other great thing about lure fishing is it encourages you to explore venues. There are stretches of river that i've never made it far from the car while static fishing, but with a lure on i am free to walk the whole length and scout out spots for the summer.

I'm sure there will come a time when I don't fancy being on my feet for hours, or risking muddy banks, so I'm going to make the most of it while still merely middle aged.

Some of the out of the way places that I bait fish have sheep tracks made by lure anglers, usually before 10am. There are often several following one another around. I've been here almost 13 years and in that time I come across hundreds of lure anglers on the bank, in boats and latterly in float tubes. I've never seen anyone catch anything barring one float tube user hooking and losing a black bass. And when I talk to them nobody has admitted catching anything. And my lure fishing over here has been almost equally unrewarding. Apart from a dozen or so catfish to around 25lb taken on an old Voblex I found snagged in the Vienne my total lure tally amounts to a chub, a perch and a pike plus a few small zander.

 

[John Aston]

I wish I were still middle aged - I'm 1952 vintage but still explore every bit of river I can .

 

[Rajvashi]

Man I love it so much, I imagine how you enjoy it.

 

[John Aston]

Two hours on t'canal using 4g dropshot and size ten B983 with bloodworm patterns. Fish hard to locate , but 18 fun sized perch and a little chub kept me smiling. God it's fun !