''The highlight of this past season''.

Would that be a particular red letter day, the discovery of a new venue, or perhaps a new item of tackle and mastering a new technique.

All have their place in the making of a memorable season. What's yours?

Discovering the effectiveness of fishing surface lures in the Autumn, really had some great sessions.
Switching my piking from 80/20 in favour of stillwaters to 80/20 in favour of rivers and the results have been extraordinary with 6 twenties, one was a recapture. Most of these sessions were short three or four hour stints, with almost zero day long sessions in the winter.
Back in the summer of 2015 resisting the temptation to cast to the horizon and fish the margins overnight. The results again were very good.

So in summary a season of shaking off the 'doing what I always did' and trying - and persevering - with different approaches, led to the most satisfying season for many many years.

Joining a new fishery last April, I spotted it on google maps.had a look on line and got in touch with the owner.

Me and and my mate went to have a look at it, we talked to some of the members, who were all very friendly, and spotted some nice carp on top in the sunshine.

So we went to the owner and joined there and then, it's a lovely place, very quiet and peaceful, and being members only there's no idiots or litter.

With having just retired we go at least twice a week when the weathers nice.
Very quiet in the week can have a pond to ourselves.

Good variety of fish and they are in good condition to.
Just rejoined again for this year
Really like this place.

Probably getting a reel i'd waited over 5yrs for and then going out the next day and christening it....

No what I would call highlights for a good few years now.
The only thing that springs to mind is a Wren that sat on my bait table a few weeks ago eating pinkies.
I had a chat with him on how to get bites but he couldn't help.

Meeting up with Binka.Upping my float caught Barbel best to 14 plus, a days stick float fishing hemp n tare for a great bag of roach on the tidal Trent.
Had a few more ups between a few downs but overall a pretty good season.

Taking some mates on a days Grayling fishing, and seeing them catch their first Grayling.


I get just the same buzz helping others catch, as when i catch fish.

As for my own fishing, a new venue that took a couple of sessions to get things right. I caught from the first time there, but hit it off after that.

I enjoy working things out, rather than turning up with all the info, bait, swims etc etc.

Meeting a one-armed angler - a cheerful young fella who'd lost the other one in a car accident. There can be few sports more difficult for a man with such a handicap - although to be fair, he got help landing fish from his friend - but it didn't put him off in the slightest. They'd left their spreader block at home, so my offer of the use of a spare net for the week was well received, to say the least. One of those experiences that makes you realise how lucky you really are.

It was also one of my more successful fishing holidays - I like to think it was karma in action.

4 Days fishing down South on the Hants Avon. Long trek but one to cross off my bucket list.

First fish on fly... brown trout of about 2 lbs....spent a lot of time flogging the water for it but was very satisfying when it happened...

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Having finally retired back to Dorset in July last year, I've had lots of highs but two particular highlights got to me in way akin to a big kid catching his first fish.


The first was part of my attempts to revisit certain areas I'd not really seen for many years. Perhaps not the wisest thing to do as obviously things change with time and good memories are sometimes best left undisturbed.

But one afternoon in August I took the barbel gear down to the Dorset Stour, to a spot I last had a barbel from many years previously. The river was rising and starting to colour up so conditions were good, but my expectations were zero. I didn't intend to stay any time at all really, it was almost just to sit there for old times sake.

Within an hour the centrepin screamed and I found myself attached to a superb barbel. 38 years separate these two images from the same swim.


The second superb highlight was just last Sunday, also on the Dorset Stour at Throop, for the last time as the season was ending. I had a number of fine chub with a few solid 5's and one excellent 6. Basically having a quality last morning catching superbly fit chub on my favourite method: trotrting a big fat balsa with a centrepin. Then the big one arrived. You could have put a saddle on the back of the 7lbs 11oz chub which beat my previous best and was my 4th "7" on the float in the past few years. It also turns out to be the heaviest chub to be reported from Throop for quite awhile.

Barbel off the ratchet Neil, love it. That's the way I fished the yorkshire rivers back in the early sixties.

On the individual fish side of things I just can't pick one out no matter how hard I try, the entire season feels like a highlight.

Likewise with Flighliner the day we first met up will remain a memorable one, not only for the start of a great friendship but also a 17lb mirror which, between us, we put some great teamwork in to get it in the net on a 2lb 10oz hooklink.

Similarly with Crow when I hit the first of my last season's two 14-14 barbel and telling him it wasn't a big one before it started to really dig in

Enjoying a couple of pints in a riverside pub after a wet but very enjoyable day stood in the river running sticks through with Sam Vimes will also be a memorable day for all the right reasons.

I think I've been fortunate enough to meet some great people that have made the craic just as important as the fishing that we've enjoyed.

At a very outside push I would probably opt for the 2lb 3oz roach as fish of the season.

Wow, a tough question and I'm torn between two highlights.

First has to be going fishing with my dad, which even for the sheer nostalgia factor gives me a warm feeling inside. He started fishing about 60 years ago and at age 11 he'd set off from Deptford with just the bus or train fare in his pocket and fish for roach using silkweed as bait. Over the years I've learnt so much from him and still do to this day.


There he goes, dragging some stuff round to an inaccessible swim


Second has to be introducing a friend to fishing for the first time. I suppose this put me in my dad's shoes, handing down some knowledge and watercraft to someone who listened, understood and really enjoyed it. Job's a good 'un.