Fishing Tales And Stories

Trip 1 Carp Fishing - 2026This session was meant to take place last week, but a sick child put a stop to that. After spending two hours looking for signs of carp and finding nothing, I decided to settle into a swim I have confidence in and enjoy a bit of comfort. Starting that way puts you in the right mindset and gives you something solid to build on. The conditions looked very encouraging: 10°C...

Trip 10 Carp Fishing - 2026Welcome back to another fishing adventure. Back on the syndicate water for a short two-night session, I went in with a plan based on past experience and recent signs. With the lake empty and conditions far from perfect, it was all about location, baiting strategy, and staying patient. After a frustrating run of tench and bream, the session turned on its head at first lig...

After last year's camping trip was plagued by bad weather, flu, and a tyre blowout on the journey home, we headed back to beautiful Pembrokeshire hoping for a much better experience. With a week of sunshine, temperatures over 30°C, evenings around the fire pit, visits from old friends, and trips to Narberth, Carmarthen, Llansteffan Castle, and the stunning River Towy, this year's adventure...

Trip 3 Carp Fishing - 2026The weather threw everything at me this week — rain, frost, bright sunshine, and strong easterly winds — making it a real challenge to pick the right three days for a winter session. In this video, I head back to a swim I’ve been wanting to properly test after spotting carp there on a previous trip. With light rain moving in Sunday afternoon and an overnight frost forecas...

With one of my gardening jobs cancelled, and it being a quieter Monday than usual, I switched my Wednesday work over and started early both days. By Tuesday afternoon, I was finally on the road down to the lake, although I honestly hadn’t got the slightest clue where I was going to set up. The weather had barely changed all week either — it’s been that cold I’ve even had the heating on for a few h...

Trip 11 Carp FishingWelcome back to another fishing adventure. With Meadow Lake only producing at night, I took a chance on a quick overnighter at Airfield Lake—despite it not being known for fishing well in March. Armed with a simple but proven baiting approach using quality boilies, pellets, oils, and solid PVA bag mixes, this session was all about building confidence in daylight bites and readi...

Trip 2 Carp Fishing - 2026I wasn’t sure I’d even make it out this week. With a house full of sick people, I was convinced it was only a matter of time before I went down with it myself. Thankfully, I stayed well enough to take a chance and load the car. With Monday night forecast as a washout, I had to think carefully about venue choice. Meadow Lake was ruled out straight away, leaving the club la...

“Effort equals reward” is a phrase that should be ingrained in every angler’s mindset. But I believe it goes beyond just putting in work and expecting results. The real key is understanding that the effort you put in should be measured by what you personally want to achieve—not by someone else’s standards. Fishing is an individual pursuit, and comparing yourself to others can not only be pointless...

Boosting Your Baits for an Edge Over Other Anglers Fishing is all about small edges, and one of the most overlooked aspects is bait preparation. Over the years, I’ve refined my approach to bait enhancement, ensuring my boilies are primed and ready before each session. I don’t believe in drowning baits in excessive amounts of flavour or liquid, as that can sometimes have the opposite effect. Instea...

Im back down at Airfield Lake for another three-night session. The conditions are almost identical to last week’s, but the pressure has dropped slightly, and a few more carp have been coming out. That’s always a positive sign, so I arrived quietly optimistic that things might just fall into place over the next few days. Pulling into the complex, there were plenty of day anglers spread around, but...

Catching up on this week's news from my website, richardhanded.com

More Ramblings I certainly believe there is such a thing as a nutritional edge in carp fishing, although I think it tends to be specific to individual waters. The reality is that there is something in every good bait company’s range capable of catching carp. The real challenge is identifying what nutritional deficiencies exist within a lake and determining which essential nutrients the carp are no...

Chilly Winds, One Chance and Lots of Questions I arrived at the lake earlier than normal this week, having decided to load the car before heading off to my gardening job. Thankfully, it was in a quiet area, and I was only working on the front garden, so the car and all my kit would be safe enough while I worked. It saved me the usual trip home to reload everything afterwards, and with the house on...

Trip 42 Carp Fishing - 2025I managed to squeeze in a two-nighter just before Christmas, with conditions looking very promising on paper. Air pressure was rising steadily from 1005mb to 1016mb during the session, with a big jump forecast for Christmas Day itself. Temperatures were set to drop, rain was pushing through early on, and the main concern was a persistent NE, E, and SE wind. After walking...

Welcome back to another fishing adventure. Trip 41 Carp Fishing - Back down on the club lake for what could be my last carp session before Christmas. This was planned as a relaxed two-night social with a mate, but despite textbook winter conditions—mild temperatures, stable pressure, cloud cover, and a steady south-westerly—we couldn’t buy a bite. In this video, I talk through my thinking, the dec...

Trip 40 Carp Fishing - 2025With December settling in, I returned to the club lake to find the pads dying back and the banks virtually empty—perfect winter conditions for a quiet, low-pressure session. I kept things simple with catapulted bait and large PVA bags, sticking to my usual mix and fishing tight to the pads and margins. Carp finally started showing around mid-afternoon, crashing on the fa...

Trip 39 Carp Fishing - 2025This week’s session looked absolutely spot-on. I arrived just as the frost was fading and the sunshine pushed temperatures from a brutal -3°C up towards a spring-like +13°C. Dropping pressure, a gentle southerly breeze, warmer conditions ahead… everything screamed perfect winter carp fishing weather. But carp fishing rarely follows the script. With only two anglers on wh...

Trip 38 Carp Fishing - 2025The weather this week was completely different from last week—northerly winds, minus temperatures at night, and daytime highs of only six degrees. With that in mind, I really didn’t fancy being exposed to the full force of the wind. The tricky part was that the wind was blowing from the north and north-west, which affects a lot of the swims on this lake. Realistically, I...

Welcome back to another fishing adventure. I wasn’t originally due out until Wednesday afternoon this week, and even then, it was only going to be a quick one-nighter because of family commitments. Over the weekend, I’d glanced at the weather forecast, but these days I’ve lost all faith in their ability to get it right beyond 12 hours. So, I didn’t pay it much attention. By mid-afternoon on Sunday...

The weather’s been playing havoc with my gardening jobs this week. Monday was a complete washout — I got rained on everywhere I went. Tuesday turned out better though, and as I’d managed to move a job forward, I suddenly had a free afternoon. Perfect timing, because the forecast showed a good blow coming in from the south — rain from noon onwards. These carp love a proper wind pushing down the lak...

This trip didn’t get off to the best start. Before I’d even wet a line, one of the back wheels on my barrow had a puncture. Then, as I started unloading, I realised my bank sticks were still at home in the fishing cupboard — the very cupboard I’m meant to empty completely before every trip to avoid this exact situation. Clearly, a bit of fine-tuning is still needed in my system. Thankfully, things...

My original plan was to spend a few nights up in Suffolk with my oldest friend, Rob, but unfortunately, things didn’t quite line up. Instead, I found myself with four nights on Airfield Lake. The conditions weren’t looking great, with heavy rain forecast — though apparently, we still need it. As far as I know, there’s still a hosepipe ban in place. I’d been up in Rutland last week, visiting family...

Sometimes, the best sessions happen when you least expect them. As luck would have it, I managed to squeeze in a couple of unexpected nights on the bank this week. After finishing my gardening jobs for the day — plenty of lawns cut and borders trimmed — I packed up the tools, swapped the mower for the rods, and made my way down to the lake. I nearly drove to Meadow Lake out of interest, but deep d...

It’s now the first of October, and the countdown to the Airfield Lake closure has begun. With the end in sight, Ian and I had agreed this would be our last social of the year. Once November rolls around, Ian switches over to day sessions when the weather suits him. I must admit, every winter I get that little bit closer to following suit, but I’ve yet to decide if I’d actually be happier sticking...

elcome back to another fishing adventure. There are weeks in carp fishing when everything seems to line up, and others where nothing goes to plan no matter how hard you try. This session fell somewhere in between—full of excitement, a few golden moments, and some lessons that will stay with me for the next time I return to Airfield Lake. The Build-UpThe week before, I’d wrapped up a slow-going tri...