This page represents a chronological guide to the type of fishing I have been involved in throughout the last twenty or so years. It is not meant as a thorough history of what I've been doing, and where I've been fishing. However it is simply a brief description of some of the venues, where I have spent time on the bank. This section only deals with my fishing in the UK, and the foreign destinations section of this site covers the foreign fishing side of things very thouroghly.

I more or less served my angling apprenticeship, on 'the local cut'. Originally built over 200 years ago, the Grand Union Canal is a lasting legacy of the Industrial Revolution, and it does offer some good fishing to the coarse angler. I first started fishing here as a young teenager, and I soon discovered that it did contain some good sized carp! However, It receives very little attention from specialist anglers, and the fish it contains, are generally speaking of a small size. But there are a few large sized carp to be caught in the Milton Keynes area, which has produced fish over 30lbs. Most of the carp are low double figure fish, and my best fish from here was an 18lb 8oz mirror carp.

The River Ousel, is a tributary of the Upper Great Ouse. It flows through the towns of Leighton Buzzard, and Bletchley, before entering the River Ouse at Newport Pagnell. I first discovered the River Ousel in the late 70's, as a young teenager, where I fished for and caught numerous small perch, but I soon discovered that it held much better quality fish. The Ousel at this time was home to some very good quality roach up to 2lbs, and a few chub up to 4lb in weight. I experienced numerous catches of quality roach from here up to 1lb 9oz. However the elusive bigger fish some how eluded me. Sadly the river was hit by a pollution in the early eighties, and many of the quality roach perished. The river has now been ruined by dredging and pollution!

The Blue Lagoon is a local clay pit within walking distance of where I live. It is a nice picturesque lake which is gin clear, and up to 60 ft deep! I started fishing this venue in the early eighties, and it held a reputation as being a hard venue that held big tench. I caught about 50 tench from the Blue Lagoon up to 6lb 14oz, and bream up to 7lb. But I eventually discovered that it also had a lot of potential for large roach. Initially I caught big roach up to 1lb 14oz by accident whilst tench fishing. However in 1984 I initiated an asserted campaign on this venue to catch more of the big roach, and I eventually caught numerous fish over 1lb 8oz, and four fish over 2lbs in weight.

Sywell Reservoir has always been a very famous and prolific big tench venue. In the 60's it became very well known as a venue which regularly produced specimens fish. However, in the early eighties, Sywell really hit the headlines, when it began to produce large catches of big tench, and catches of 10, 12, and fifteen or more fish in one day become quite common. These fish were all young, fit, fast growing tench between 6 and 8lbs, and in 1988 I decided to transfer my attentions to this well known tench venue. I spent many weekends here over a aeven year period, and I caught many many tench during this period, including 2 nines, 18 eightes, over 100 sevens, and approximatly 250 - 300 fish between 5 and 6lbs.
Check Out My Tench Gallery Pics>>

Claydon Lakes is one of several waters in Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire that received a stocking of wells catfish in the 1950's following a netting operation at Woburn Abbey. The original Woburn Abbey fish found the middle lake at Claydon much to their liking, and they soon reproduced and thrived in this shallow muddy lake. Since then, the middle lake at Claydon has become something of a mecca for catfish anglers, and in the early eighties, interest in Claydon 'cats' peaked, due in part to the formation of the Catfish Conservation Group. I started fishing here in 1988, and four summers produced 47 catfish for me, up to 22lbs 10oz. The majority of these fish were upper double figure fish.
Check Out My UK Catfish Gallery Pics>>

The Woburn Sands pit is another lake which recieved a stocking of cafish from the Woburn Abbey estate. However the catfish stocked in here struggled to establish themselves, mainly due I think to the depth of the lake, which is up to 36ft deep. The carp however have flourished here, and the lake holds about 20 twenties, and to date, the pit has I believe two thirties. it is a small pit of around 1/2 acre. I caught eight twenties out of here, during this period, up to 26lb 8oz, and numerous double figure fish.

Tring reservoirs consists of four large reservoirs. Wilstone, Startops, and Marsworth are the lakes of interest to the coarse angler, and the fourth (smallest) reservoir is reserved for trout fishing. Wilstone and Startops reservoirs have been famous for many years for producing huge specimen fish up to British record sizes! Wilstone reservoir has produced two British record sized tench over the last twenty or so years, and it also produced a record sized catfish of 43lb 8oz which held the British record for over two decades. The fishing on these lakes can be described as hard! This venue does not feature very prominently on this site because I have only had limited success here! But having said that, I have caught bream up to 9lb 15oz, tench up to 7lb 14oz, perch up two 2lb 8oz, and carp up to 18lb, from this venue.

The River Great Ouse is now well known as the river which has produced a number of claims for British record sized barbel. The Adams Mill, and Kickles Farm syndicate stretches are famous for producing huge 16lb+ barbel in recent years, and some people are predicting one of these stretches to produce a twenty pound plus fish some time in the near future. The average size of the River Ouse barbel throughout the upper reaches is quite high, with most fish typically weighing between 8lb and 12lb. Although the Adams Mill, and Kickles Farm syndicates have been the only areas to produce record barbel, there are signs that other stretches could potentially produce equally big fish. My best barbel from this venue is a winter fish of 15lb 12oz. Check Out My Barbel Gallery Pics>> • Read more about how to catch barbel>>

My quest for big exotic fish has taken me to some of the most exciting destinations in the world. I have caught Nile Perch, Atlantic Tarpon, Indian Mahseer, Wells Catfish, and White Sturgeon, all to impressive sizes. For more details check out the foreign destinations link at the top of this page.

Take me to the foreign destinations section of this web site>>

Everyone has probably heard about the perch disease of the 1960's which decimated resident stocks of the perch in the UK around this time. Before this terrible disease first appeared, large perch were fairly common place, but certainly in the seventies and eighties, large perch were very much a rarity. Thankfully, the perch has began to make a comeback over the last decade, and in recent years, certain parts of the Upper River Ouse, have produced some very large perch up to 5lbs in weight. The appearence of these huge perch is largely due to the infestation of the Signal Crayfish in this part of the river. The introduction of this foreign crustacean, has supplied the resident perch with an ideal diet to grow very very big. My best perch from this venue is a fish of 4lb 6oz. Check Out My Perch Gallery Pics>>