GRAZY ROBERTS - PISCATOR

Part 1 - Tidal Trent Sutton My two weeks leave from work were off to a flyer with a birthday weekend PB of 12lb 8oz from the river Dove at 6am on the Sunday morning. I travelled home the next day to restock the tackle and food and headed off to the tidal Trent on the Barbel Societies beat at Sutton. The Sutton stretch is further downstream from the famous Collingham stretch and I thought turning up at 6pm on a school night would have seen the place devoid of all life forms ap

Hook Bait Co. owner Darren McCann has recently tweaked the mix on the already successful Spicy Fish Pro range which has already helped put a significant number of specimen fish on the bank so far this season. Darren said “I have added Atlantic Salmon to it plus a couple of inducers as well but that’s not to say the original Spicy Fish Pro won’t do the business because it’s still a top quality bait” I’ve had a great start to my season and used no other bait apart from the Spic

I settled into a spot that looked quite promising when we first had a look a couple of weeks ago, it was basically a cattle drink and I fancied it as my best chance given the still, low and clear conditions. I cast out both rods around 10:30pm and got the tea on, a very tasty'peppered steak with new potatoes and mushrooms in an onion gravy sauce, I wasn't expecting much from the fishing but the food was second to none. The night came and went without as much as a chub pluck s

Difficult couple of days on the river Dove but managed to winkle two immaculate barbel out, the first at 9lb 1oz taking me by surprise in mid afternoon on Saturday then at 5am this morning the alarm screamed off on a very swollen tea coloured Dove but after a couple of minutes and a shaking of the head it was off and I'd lost it. I dropped a fresh bait in under the rod tip the extra water giving me about 5 foot of murky cover, no freebies just a single 14mm dumbell holding wi

I don't usually do stats on my fishing apart from my Chub Study Group returns which require anything 4lb or bigger to be photographed, weighed and measured by length and girth or if it's a new PB for me of any species but this season I started keeping a log of each fish caught on my phone. Now I've started I'm almost obliged to maintain them. One things certain I'll recall the stats at every opportunity in the bragging stakes!! In two trips to the River Dove I've caught 9 bar

After a very successful opening session the week before I let the rush hour traffic subside on the M6 and headed south arriving just as darkness fell. This was my second visit to the venue and I’d conceded and brought my barrow after making multiple trips back and forth with all the long session paraphernalia last week I thought it made sense to do it in one go. With the barrow loaded I headed off across the farm yard not intending to fish the same swim as last week but as I

The eagerly awaited eve of the new river season was here at last and as I wandered across the familiar field I couldn't help pondering what lay ahead. It was 7pm on Wednesday 15th June as I settled in my chosen spot, I scanned the opposite bank and was pleased to see I had the place to myself. The spate of torrential downpours had found their way downstream and I surveyed a swollen and rather coloured river Dove. I'd packed the tidal Trent gear just in case and a quick cast a