The marketing team, and consultants from JRC and Berkley had been planning a return trip to Crystal Waters in Burgundy for several months, with the main objective being to cover off some new photography and video for use throughout the year. We were there for 6 days in mid April, and whilst we had a tight work schedule, we were hoping to get amongst a few fish too! The journey passed quickly (its only a 3 hour drive from Calais on a good run), and we all arrived to find th...

I decided to fish my local lakes for this session. I decided to fish the bottom lake as I know it has some lovely looking double figure commons in there. The weather was warm and I know the fish love patrolling the margins which are about 18inches deep. Rig set up was a carp method feeder with a 4inch hook length. Bait choice was 4.5mm Gulp halibut soaked pellets with Gulp Betaine liquid added. Hook bait choice was a trimmed Gulp tuna & spice boilie. First thing I did ...

Looking through my French doors while putting this Blog together from my last session the weather has change to a grey wet and miserable day. Which is a complete change for my area as the weather has been pretty good over the last week with plenty of sun and high cloud and no rain. On arriving at the lake on this session there is a light southerly wind with some cloud and sun, the making of a good day hopefully. With fish showing in the far margins the swim of my choice has ...

Frankly the weather on my local Cardigan Bay coast in Wales for the past month or more has been generally pretty much unfishable. I still have not had a boat trip out this year, all being called off due to bad weather. Shore fishing has fared little better. It’s been the weed that has made the fishing really tough, and this has been reflected with other anglers as catch reports currently are as scarce as hen’s teeth. The amount of weed on the beaches and inside the estuaries ...

It started with a text last year, ‘do you fancy a week on Gigantica’ well that got my attention. I checked with the boss and got the ok, having never been to France I fancied having a go. So for 6 months I researched all I could on the lake, the most helpful was emailing Danny T at the lake. As he is there 24/7 his knowledge was invaluable, also the reports on the website from the last couple of years gave pointers to weather and swims which may be an option at the draw. Chri...

We spent the day in search of specimen Roach yesterday, that is to say, fish of two pounds and over. They are one of the most abundant species in Ireland, but certainly not at that particular size, and a specimen is considered a rare achievement. One local lake on my hit-list has been extremely kind to me over the years, giving up its fair share of quality Roach, and we opted to give it a try. It has been almost twelve months since my last visit, and I was keen to see how ...

Hi I’m Sean Rand I’ve been doing bait testing for Berkley since just before Christmas and I have been using the squid and liver boilies on my local lake and over 3months I have got the fish loving it. I did a 24 hour session on the pool last week and with the pool quiet for the day with no fish on the bank I set up at 5.30pm and baited the area with the squid & liver boilies using my boilie stick spreading baits in a big area. I then left it for 1 hour before casting into...

WRECKING - A recent trip produced Ling,Pollack , Cod and Conger. Scottish lassTracey Robertson landed a 15Ib Cod on 15Ib class tackle with a flying collar rig and Rhubarb and Custard Shad.Tracey is pictured with her Cod catch. Neil Barbour and Julie on their first wrecking trip on Flamer IV caught four Ling,two on lures and two on Ammo Squid Baits.Flamer IV regular Phil Harrison landed some Cod with the biggest weighing 14Ib 15oz.While trying for Ling with Squid and Ma...

Following a date cancellation with my girlfriend an opportunity for a quick overnight session arose. Of course I didn't need asking twice. Arriving at the lake at 8pm, the sun was just dissapearing over the treeline surrounding the lake. A full moon and bright night was on forecast and for once the weather report was correct. I set the rods up in a corner of the lake which has good form for an evening bite or two. I despatched a kilo of 16mm tuna & spice boilies over a...

As you know I have been chasing a common in my syndicate water for two seasons now, not the biggest of fish but what a warrior. I have been on the bank as much as possible recently, with this warm weather kicking in the fish have been moving, so I knew there has got to be a chance. Last season I was top rod with 30 fish, this season I am well up there again but just cant seem to bag my target. On the 3rd of may after work I shot up to my water to start a session for the week...