E-ZINE - Nash Tackle

30 YEARS OF INNOVATION 

HELLO AGAIN AND 

WELCOME TO OUR FIRST 

E-ZINE OF 2013! 

THE H-GUN RANGE FEATURES 

- DURABLE SLICK GUIDES 

- RED TIPPINGS 

- ISOTOPE SLOT IN BUTT CAP 

- IMPROVED ACTIONS 

- QUALITY DURABLE BLANK 

- BLACK HIGH QUALITY REEL SEAT 

- ABBREVIATED HANDLE 

LIFE AT NASH ZIG BUGS SIREN 

JANUARY 2013 

E-ZINE 

012 

MORE INSIDE ISSUE 

NASH E-ZINE

2 

NASH NASH E-ZINE E-ZINE 

30 YEARS OF INNOVATION

In the mix - 

HELLO AGAIN AND WELCOME TO 

OUR FIRST E-ZINE OF 2013! 

JANUARY AND FEBRUARY CAN BE A TOUGH TIME 

TO CATCH A CARP. BUT ONCE MARCH ARRIVES, 

NATURE GRADUALLY STARTS TO WAKE UP AND 

SO DO THE CARP. SO FAR THIS WINTER THE 

WEATHER HAS BEEN UNPREDICTABLE AND HARSH 

AT TIMES AND THE FISHING PATCHY AND FAR 

FROM PRODUCTIVE. BUT IT’S NOT ALL BAD, OUR 

ZT CLOTHING, SHELTERS AND SLEEP SYSTEMS 

WILL ENSURE THERE’S NO NEED TO BE COLD AND 

UNCOMFORTABLE. NASH BAIT ALSO HAS A WELL 

PROVEN AND UNRIVALLED WINTER TRACK RECORD 

SO IF WE FISH WELL WE CAN EXPECT TO CATCH 

RATHER THAN JUST HOPE. DIFFUSION MAIN LINE 

AND END TACKLE ALSO MAXIMISES CONCEALMENT 

EVEN IN GIN CLEAR WATER, ALL OF WHICH COMBINE 

TO MAXIMISE THE CHANCE OF SUCCESS AND MAKE 

WINTER FISHING AN ENJOYABLE AND SUCCESSFUL 

EXPERIENCE RATHER THAN A FRUITLESS 

ENDURANCE TEST! 

THE OFFICE TEAM HAVE BEEN OUT THERE EITHER 

GETTING A REGULAR BEND IN THE ROD OR 

PERUSING A TARGET FISH AND AS YOU’D EXPECT 

THERE’S BEEN A FEW HIGHS AND LOWS ALONG THE 

WAY AND A FEW SPECIAL CAPTURES TOO. 

CONTINUED 

NASH E-ZINE 

3

In the mix - 

4 NASH E-ZINE 

TOP TIPS 

WITHIN THESE PAGES YOU’LL FIND PLENTY OF ADVICE AND INFORMATION ON 

WINTER BAIT CHOICE AND TIPS ON HOW TO GET THE VERY BEST OUT OF YOUR 

CHOSEN NASH PRODUCTS. BAIT CONFIDENCE IS SOMETHING THAT MANY PEOPLE 

STRUGGLE WITH DURING THE COLDER MONTHS. SOME ANGLERS SEEM TO GO 

THROUGH THE WHOLE WINTER CHOPPING AND CHANGING BAITS AS THEY SEARCH 

FOR SUCCESS. THIS KIND OF APPROACH RARELY BRINGS CONSISTENCY AND 

OFTEN LEADS TO AN EVER DECREASING SPIRAL OF POOR RESULTS AND LOW 

CONFIDENCE, AND WHERE DO WE GO FROM THERE? A BETTER OPTION IS TO 

CHOOSE A PROVEN WINTER BAIT FROM THE RANGE, STICK WITH IT THROUGH THE 

HIGHS AND LOWS, EXPERIMENT, FINE TUNE, FISH WELL AND MAKE IT WORK FOR 

YOU. REMEMBER IF YOU HAVE ANY DOUBTS OR ISSUES WE ARE HERE TO HELP! 

CONTINUED

I usually pre- bait with just boilies 

during the winter months, the 

main reason being that Nash 

boilies are designed to ‘gas 

up’ and float to the surface if 

for some reason they don’t get 

eaten. This rarely happens in 

the summer but mid winter it’s 

so easy to get baiting levels 

wrong and I don’t want to 

ruin a potential hot spot with 

WINTER BAITING 

rotten uneaten bait. With water 

temperatures at a seasonal low, 

freezer bait probably won’t pop 

up for a week or so, shelf lifes 

could sit on the bottom longer. 

So my raked and prepared spots 

should stay clean and attractive 

all winter. A while back on one 

particular lake I discovered a 

couple of margin spots that had 

been filled in with some kind 

In the mix - 

of particle and pellet mix. Very 

little if any of that bait has since 

been eaten and it has now gone 

seriously off, just out of interest 

recently I scooped out some 

weed, silt and bait residue from 

the area and it smelt absolutely 

rancid! The spots are being 

regularly fished but I doubt if any 

carp will be visiting and feeding 

on them – food for thought. 


5

I’ve been fishing lots of short sessions recently, 

some anglers seem to look upon these as the easy 

winter option. But scraping ice off the windscreen 

in what seems like the middle of the night, arriving 

at one of my target venues at first light, crunching 

across a frosty field and setting up rigs and fine 

tuning hook baits with icy cold painful fingers still 

takes plenty of commitment. But I get a real buzz 

from it and when success does come its all the 

more rewarding! 

For me, the new Scope rods and luggage have really 

come into their own this winter. On short hyperactive 

day sessions when there’s no time to waste, two 

made up rods, collapsible landing net, Sirens and 

other essentials are stored in the tiny 44inch Scope 

Sling, extra clothing, tea making gear, survival 

rations and large bait bucket are stuffed into the new 

100 litre rucksack. Day chair and Elevator mat are 

strapped together which makes everything simple 

and easy to carry and set up. When I find fish or 


NO TIME TO WASTE 

drop onto a baited spot I can be fishing in seconds, 

I can also be packed up and on the move equally as 

quick when needed. 

Winter camping can be just as rewarding and I also 

enjoy this type of fishing when time allows, although 

looking back at my winter diaries over the last few 

years, the short mobile sessions have often proven 

much more productive. 

So this winter I’ve also adopted the Scope carry-all 

for the longer visits, bait and all the essentials go 

in the bottom compartment and the made up rods 

are stored in the easy access top layer of the bag. 

When I arrive at the lake, the carp care gear, brolley 

and bed chair are quickly lobbed on the trolley and 

the Scope carryall sits on the top. I can fish mobile 

off the barrow for a few hours and then drop into a 

swim before it gets dark, in the morning if there’s not 

much going on I can quickly pack up and go on the 

prowl, Scope keeps you fit too!

LOOKING AHEAD 

In the mix - 

Whatever your targets or aspirations might be for the 

rest of the winter and regardless of whether it’s a serious 

campaign or just fishing for fun, the most important thing 

is to enjoy it. Alternatively for those who are taking time 

out to recharge the batteries, if you look really- really 

hard, the first signs of spring usually start to emerge 

towards the end of February – spring 2013 bring it on! 


7

8 NASH E-ZINE

www.nashtv.co.uk 

NASH 



9


LIFE 

@ 

NASH

KEVIN NASH 

Happy New Year! I would like to take this opportunity to 

wish all friends and customers of Nash a fantastic 2013; 

and one that I trust will be full of happiness, good health 

and good fortune. 13 is my lucky number and so I am 

optimistic about this year – or at least I will be when I deem 

my year starts sometime in February after the plaster is 

taken off my broken arm. I have never broken a limb before 

and it is doing my head. I can live with the pain – it’s the 

inconvenience that really hurts. I didn’t realise how hard it is 

to do the normal stuff like cleaning your teeth with your left 

hand, and try spraying deodorant under your left arm, which 

is also holding the can! But the real bummer is my winter 

fishing has gone down the toilet, and this winter thus far has 

been amazingly mild which has kept the carp feeding. 

That is my ‘feeling sorry for myself bit’ over with – time to 

get positive, and I am most positive about getting back onto 

my Zig fishing and learning mission. I am so absorbed in Zig 

fishing now and I can’t wait to continue experimenting with 

different bugs and critters. For those of you who are getting 

out, or intend to in the next couple of months, I will say 

just one thing to you – Zig Bugs. I have been conducting 

an interesting survey on the Church Lake, and for the last 

month I can tell you the fish have never been on the bottom. 

They are always sitting mid water. So my tip for early spring 

is don’t sit there blanking on bottom bait rigs – get up in mid 

water. 

Be lucky! 

LIFE @ NASH 


11


OLI DAVIES 

Well, finally our work is complete! 

The 2013 Nash DVD has gone off to 

the media plant to be manufactured 

and will be available for the first 

show of the year in mid-January. 

This is one not to miss, especially as 

it doesn’t cost a penny – it’s totally 

free! This year has been a bumper 

year and the DVD is packed full of 

fish captures, underwater footage, 

and of course blockbuster new 

products. It’s been a labour of love 

for myself and Mr Nash TV Winston, 

who has been burning the midnight 

oil to get it finished on time and to 

his exacting standards. We hope 

you enjoy it – it’s been great fun to 

make and we hope you’ll agree it’s 

a little bit different from your average 

fishing DVD. 

When the cold weather arrives 

I don’t hang up the rods and 

hibernate, I’m even keener to 

get out on the bank for although 

the carp bites might be hard to 

come by there are plenty of other 

species to fish for. In the last two 

weeks despite time being short I’ve 

caught chub, perch, dace, roach, 

grayling and brown trout. It is always 

possible to get that fishing fix, you 

just have to modify your objectives 

slightly and it makes you appreciate 

the carp when they do decide to 

play ball. There are still carp to be 

caught however and last week 

my winter venue threw up two fish 

to other anglers in the space of 5 

hours. This is after a month without 

a single capture. Bizarrely this was 

on the coldest day of the year, 

perhaps the extreme temperatures 

had forced them closer to the 

lakebed and the waiting traps. It 

does make me think that the fish 

are spending the vast majority of 

their time off the bottom, and I have 

spent the last two trips fishing Zig 

Bugs on all rods. I haven’t had one 

yet but I know if I can get on them 

there is every chance of a coldwater 

carp. I’ll let you know how I get on!

LIFE @ NASH 


13


MIKE WILSON

LIFE @ NASH 

Nash HQ and there’s a huge amount of work that’s been noted on the 

calendar already. It’s exciting for me because it’s the start of my first full 

year here at Nash. I’ve already been involved in some of the major projects 

including the Zed-Bed, Cyber-Shot and of course the blockbuster we now 

know as Scope. There’s plenty of exciting new products in the pipeline for 

the 2013/2014 season. I can’t tell you too much but be sure to keep your 

eyes peeled for products that have certainly changed my fishing during the 

testing and development programmes. 

The Winter carp shows also take up plenty of time, there is still a few to go 

including Brentwood and of course the new Northern Angling show which 

I’m really excited about as its going to be huge! Its interesting meeting 

our valued customers, the feedback we receive also helps us the get the 

products right. 

I didn’t fish during the Xmas break so I couldn’t wait to get back out there 

in the new year, the Zig Bugs will bring me some winter success I’m sure 

of that. I want to talk about zigs briefly because most people think they are 

only a summer tactic but I can assure you they are not! I’ve proven to myself 

that although we think of carp as bottom feeders they actually spend most 

of their time anywhere but. Zigs certainly provide a big edge throughout 

the winter, if you fish them properly you’ll catch more winter fish than those 

anglers who ignore them – that’s a fact! 

Hopefully I’ll catch you soon on the bank or at one of our shows, but for 

now its rods out, kettle on and eyes glued to the water - tight lines! 


15


STEVE 

MCLOUGHLIN

It was a surprisingly warm 

December day, with 

Christmas still at the fore 

front of everyone’s mind I 

managed to slip off for a 

few hours to check on a 

section of river I had been 

baiting and fishing(when 

time was available, which 

during December is very 

rare!) to put a little bit more 

bait in on my spots. Upon 

arriving and walking down 

to the river bank I could 

see a carp just off the 

back of my baited spot! 

This sparked a wave of 

excitement and nerves as 

I have been chasing a river 

carp from this section for a 

while! It also proved to me 

that my baiting campaign 

was working and the fish 

were getting their heads 

down on the bait. Now 

normally I would have only 

had my bait with me as its 

quite a walk to get to the 

section of river I’m fishing, 

but as I had recently got 

a set of Scopes I decided 

to take them with me, as 

it always seems to be the 

way ‘when you haven’t 

got a rod the fish are 

everywhere’. 

Now the few carp that 

are in this bit of river are 

notoriously spooky, so I 

literally got down on to my 

hands and knees and ever 

so slowly crept through 

the bushes and reeds 

and peered over the top 

into the water. And there 

it was! Only a small carp 

but this wasn’t about size 

this was about principle. I 

have been chasing a carp 

from here for a long time 

and around 3 weeks ago I 

LIFE @ NASH 

had lost a fish which, in my 

head, I was sure was one 

of the elusive carp. As I sat 

there watching it slowly 

cruising near my pre baited 

spot, I took a handful of 

boilies and one by one as 

gently as possible flicked 

them out onto my spot. I 

then quickly extended my 

scope rod and flicked my 

rig into position. 

Then as if the subtle 

splash on the water was 

acting like a dinner bell 

the carp came steaming 

back into my swim, directly 

towards my bait. Being 

a crystal clear section 

of river I waited breath 

held as it stopped over 

the top of my bait and 

dropped its head and 

started feeding. My jaw 

hit the floor as I watched 

it eat one of my freebies, 

then on to the next , then 

on to another one. The 

next one in line was my 

hook bait, could this be 

the moment I have been 

waiting for? Then just at 

that moment the S5 came 

to life screaming off with 

the rod bending and the 

clutch spinning like mad! 

After a 10 minute battle a 

little stunner slipped into 

the bottom of my net! Not 

the biggest but the pure 

feeling of accomplishment, 

from locating, to pre 

baiting to having a run to 

finally catching one, put 

a massive smile on my 

face. I left the river shortly 

afterwards, sure there may 

have been a chance of 

another fish, but my battle 

for the day was done and I 

was the victor!! 


17

RICHARD 

(ditch) BALLARD 

As water temperatures plummet during November and December, 

the action on many still waters tends to slow but on the rivers, 

moving water keeps the fish active which also means they have to 

feed. 

This year I have been focusing on the River Lea, I started my 

campaign by putting in plenty of legwork in October. I knew 

that carp inhabited the stretch in question, but I needed to 

find them before trying to catch one. After a few walks 

along the river I found a fairly slow moving and much more 

heavily silted section which I was sure would be full of 

natural food and attractive to carp. 

Throughout November I steadily introduced a new 

boilie on test, applying roughly a kilo twice a week. 

As a reward for all my efforts, on my first session in 

early December I had three carp, all lovely commons 

weighing between 8lb and 16lb and a few big chub 

which were clearly making the most of the free dinners 

I was supplying. 

My next session drew a blank which was strange but 

on my next trip I found a huge bed of 

weed 


LIFE @ NASH 

which had floated down the river and come to rest in the margin a short way downstream of my spot. I 

could just make out the odd tail or dorsal fin poking through the strands of subsurface vegetation the fish 

were obviously using it to rest up in. I baited again and on my next trip two double figure commons were 

landed during a short evening session. This is more like it, I thought to myself! So in went some more food 

ready for my next visit which turned out to be New Years Eve, but unfortunately the weed had floated 

away and the carp had done the off. 

That’s the nature of river fishing there are so many variables which can make it a real love hate 

relationship, but even so I love it! 

I eventually got the rods out after finding them nearer my original spot but by 

11pm I had landed five chub, and although they were a decent size, it wasn’t 

really what I was after. I re-did my rods and was just getting into the sleeping 

bag when my right hand rod went into meltdown – clearly this was no chub. 

A lively fight ensued and a few minutes later a beautifully scaled double 

figure mirror lay in the folds of my landing net. 

The Sirens have really given me an edge. On sensitivity level 1 those 

buzzers are immense! I ONLY get a bleep when there is a fish on the 

end or if a tree floating down the river wipes my rods out! NOT once 

did I get a false bleep from wind or flowing water etc. 

I’ve also been having a go for a new passion of mine, barbel. On 

Christmas Day I found a 2 hour window before dinner, conditions 

were absolutely perfect, with the floodwater just starting to 

subside, flow levels returning to normal and a serious amount of 

turbidity in what is usually a crystal clear river. It was more than 

worth the effort as I was rewarded with my first double 

figure barbel weighing in at 11lbs 2oz 

which was one of my best 

Christmas presents 

ever! 


19


TOM 

FORMAN

I can’t believe it’s early January as I sit at my desk 

writing this whilst looking out the window at sunny blue 

skies, mild temperatures and fish constantly rolling and 

bubbling in one of the ponds at Nash HQ. 

It’s even harder to believe that only a 

few weeks ago we were hit by freezing 

temperatures and snow. With this sudden 

burst of good weather and a serious lack 

of angling on my part so far this winter, I 

didn’t need telling twice to get out and catch 

some carp. As always with this time of year 

my carp fishing tends to consist of short 

sessions, on high stock commercial type 

venues. The reason being, I want to catch 

fish! For me size is not important at this time 

of the year, it’s all about getting the bites, 

keeping active and catching a few carp. 

Prior to Christmas I managed to get out a 

few times with our main man Oli Davies and 

shoot a couple of features, including a hectic 

24 hours at Chestnut pool in Bedfordshire 

where I managed to land over 20 fish. 

Unfortunately my fishing time will be limited 

over the coming months as “show season” 

is upon us. The first weekend of December 

saw the annual Carp society’s winter show 

at Sandown take place, and once again it 

didn’t disappoint. There’s always a great 

buzz at Sandown as it’s the first “big” show 

of the year. January through to March sees 

several of the other “big” shows take place 

and once again Nash will be there in force 

showing off the new gear for 2013. Working 

LIFE @ NASH 

on the shows means lots of hard work, 

long weekends and a lot travelling, but all 

the effort is more than worthwhile. With 

the Norfolk Show, the carp spectacular at 

Brentwood, The Big One at Farnborough 

and the brilliant Carpin’ On at Five Lakes, all 

taking place over the coming few months, 

it’s going to be a hectic start to 2013 but as 

always I’m looking forward to it and can’t 

wait to get going. 

I’m also incredibly excited about the new 

Great Northern Angling Show, the guys up 

North have been demanding a show closer 

to home for years and finally they will be 

getting one in March, and a special one at 

that. The majority of you guys are probably 

now aware that my good friend Nick ‘Reedy’ 

Maddix recently left us and is now living “up 

north” and working for the Great Northern 

Show angling team which also includes 

Nash consultant and good friend Jamie 

Clossick. I wish them all the best on their 

venture and I’m sure it will be a great event. 

So if you’re visiting a show over the coming 

months be sure to come over to the Nash 

stand and say hello to the team. I look 

forward to seeing you there. 


21


EDM

TERRY 

ONDS 

LIFE @ NASH 

Making the change from Nash consultant to full 

time employee and leaving my past career of 23 

years behind represents a big change for me. 

My new role in the team involves managing the 

development of Nash rods, it’s a new challenge and one 

that I’m really looking forward to. The first three months 

have already been very busy indeed. 

The Scope range is already proving to be a massive 

success, the whole concept is aimed towards speed 

and mobility, in these incredible busy times, having more 

chances to get out on the bank fishing has to be good, 

Scope is an on-going project so keep a look out for 

further developments in the near future. 

I have also been working on new additions to the Entity 

range including a spod/marker and a 13ft 3.5 tc rod 

that’s coming very soon. 

I’m really impressed with the performance, the new 

Entities will be the distance rod within the price range 

and the spod/marker performs brilliantly at all ranges. 

My casting tuitions have also been very busy, and I have 

been overwhelmed with the positive feedback that I have 

received. This is an area of my work that I really enjoy, 

and to see the massive improvements in distance gained 

by my clients is extremely satisfying. 

During these tuitions the anglers get the chance to try the 

NR rods and again the response has been brilliant 99% 

of the time the longest casts have come on the NRXD. 

The NR’s are becoming firmly established in the market 

place as the top end rods for the serious caster, I’m also 

working on some really exciting new developments for 

the future. 

Fishing time has been extremely limited due to casting 

tuitions and of course starting my new job, but in the last 

week or so I’ve managed to get out in the never ending 

rain, and bag a couple of upper doubles from a local club 

lake which was very welcome. The weather has been 

so mild of late, and as I write I’m getting ready for an 

overnighter in between work, never ideal, but if it’s the 

only time available, you have to give it a go! 


23


ZERO 

TOLERANCE 

WINTER 2013 

ATTITUDE TO 

ADVERSE ELEMENTS 

www.nashtackle.co.uk/ZT 


www.facebook.com/OfficialNashTackle 

@nashtackleuk 


25


BAITTALK 

BAIT GARY BAYES 

TALKWITH 

Last season I fished a lot of short evening sessions 

due to work and other commitments so was looking 

for quick bites. This entailed using several hookbait 

types and doing a lot of re-casting, it’s what I call 

busy fishing. 

Most of these sessions were fishing with and 

teaching Bobby, my mate’s boy the ropes so I 

wanted to cover as many methods as possible so 

he doesn’t end up as a carp camper. The standard 

approach was to get a bed of bait on the most likely 

looking spot in a swim but if we saw a fish show 

elsewhere one of us would get a rod on it or we 

would even move swim if there was room to do so. 


27

BAITTALK 

Instead of PVA or Chain Reaction, both 

of which kept getting wet in the abysmal 

weather I decided to spruce our hook baits 

up using stiff and sticky dips. It took a bit 

of messing about to get them right so we 

could reel in, re-dip and cast them out 

quickly. Most dips don’t stick to a wet boilie 

and we didn’t want to waste time drying the 

hook baits out so I kept re-formulating them 

until they did. It also got a bit messy casting 

them with the dip dripping all over us so I 

started to coat the dipped hook baits with 

fine powders to form a kind of crust which 

unless you go too mad stops the drips. 

Once in the right spot the powder and dip 

needs to come off the bait quick to get 

working but doesn’t need to drift upward 

too fast so I made the dips quite heavy, 

similar to another semi proven project I’m 

working on designed for rivers and flowing 

water. 

We tried out lots of different attractors in the 


dips but found the 4 we now call the Magma 

Glugs to be the best for a quick bite. They 

are very “fish” attractive and we caught 

every species in my lake on them using a 

variety of presentations, straight bottom 

baits, snowman, off the lead pop ups, zig 

rigs, float fished maggot and method mixes, 

mainly using them as they are intended but 

often adding them to method and spod 

mixes to speed the fishing up. 

Because of the gulls it was difficult to 

catapult anything except black or dark 

coloured boilies out (the gulls hardly ever 

nick black free offerings) so I knocked up 

several combinations of hook bats to use 

over the top of black and other dull coloured 

free offerings. Snowman and other double 

bait presentations suited the Magna Glugs 

well as there is a nice gap to fill between the 

2 hook baits. The bright 10mm snowman 

top baits add visual attraction and combine 

well with 15mm bottom baits to create the 

perfect presentation.

I soak the bottom baits and some free 

offerings in the dip to create a taste link from 

the free offerings to the hook bait but leave 

pop ups bright and dry. 

Double baits also cast better than PVA or 

Chain Reactions so the rig will fish better 

and can be re-cast or re-used very quickly 

after a bite. We had up to 3 consecutive 

fish on the same hook bait which in limited 

fishing time is a must, it could have been 2 

fish instead of 3 if we had to attach a new 

rig and hook bait. 

My lake isn’t the easiest water to catch 

consistently from and they hate the rain 

which we had in abundance but most 

evenings we had at least one chance and 

often several chances up to 6 on our best 

evening. That was often not in the best 

swim either. Bobby caught his personal best 

34lb 4oz and a 19 pounder within minutes 

of moving into a vacated swim one evening 

on single baits and I’m sure we would have 

had more if we could have got the swim 

earlier. The thing is changing the hook baits 

about and being quick about it definitely 

caught us extra fish. 

“ We tried out lots of different 

attractors in the dips but found the 4 

we now call the Magma Glugs to be 

the best for a quick bite. 

Nash Bait Snowpots available to buy 


“ 

29


AVAILABLE IN CLEAR & CARPY BROWN colouration 

Breaking strains AVAILABLE: 8LB (0.25mm) - 10LB (0.28mm) - 12LB (0.30mm) - 15LB (0.35mm) - 300M SPOOLS & 1/4LB SPOOLS 

© KEVIN NASH GROUP PLC. 2012 

www.nashtackle.co.uk www.nashtv.co.uk www.facebook.com/OfficialNashTackle www.facebook.com/KEVINNASHCARPANGLER 30 YEARS OF INNOVATION 


31

GET ON THE DWARFS! 

GET ON THE 

DWARFS! 

DWARF RODS FEATURE 

REVOLUTIONARY RETRACTABLE 

BUTT SECTIONS, ENABLING A 

SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION IN THE 

OVERALL PACK DOWN LENGTH OF 

YOUR RODS; OPENING UP NEW 

HORIZONS IN COMPACT TACKLE 

TRANSPORTATION AND STORAGE, 

AS WELL AS A FISHING LIFESTYLE! 


Dw

arf is cool. 


33

GET ON THE DWARFS! 

Your Dwarfs will store in the most 

compact of car boots securely and out of 

sight, so you can pop into your lake on 

the way home from work ready to catch 

that opportunist carp, and still be home 

in time for tea. 

Youngsters can jump on their bikes and 

cycle effortlessly through the town to the 

canal or hop on the train to the city carp 

pool. 

In addition Dwarf rods challenge 

traditional thinking of how long a 

rod should be – why do you need a 

cumbersome 12ft carp rod when a 

Dwarf will cast over 150yards, be more 

accurate at casting to that gap in the 

reeds on the far margin, whilst playing 

and landing carp is an effortless pleasure. 

Whether you are urban carping, walking 

the banks of an inland sea, or off to 

foreign shores – Dwarf is cool. 



35

PEG ONE NEWS. 

It has been an incredibly busy autumn and winter for the 

Peg one lads, with product testing to be completed on all 

of the new range for 2013, new baits to fine-tune and plenty 

of fishing to be done! Despite the fishing being challenging, 

mainly because of the poor weather, the lads have been 

catching specimens of a variety of species. Here is a roundup 

of what has been going on. 

Seventh 2012 forty for Ted. 

Many anglers go their whole lives without 

catching a forty pound carp, but one angler 

who makes the feat look relatively easy 

is Peg One’s Ted Bryan. All-rounder Ted 

decided to spend much of his fishing time 

this year going back to his roots and fishing 

for carp on venues around the South East 

of the country. Using a combination 

of Scopex Squid and IC1 boilies, 

Ted has been having an absolute 

dream of a season catching big 

fish with incredible regularity 

and hardly a week 

has gone passed 

without him 

reporting a 

big fish. 

Now the 

big man has hung up 

his carp rods for the winter 

and is in pursuit of a variety of 

different species over the coming 

months and we don’t think it will 

be very long before more big fish start 

rolling into his net! 


Get on the Whiskey! 

We might have said it before, but the Whiskey Magic Mix really is THE additive to be using through the winter 

months, especially if you are targeting carp and barbel. One angler who knows this only too well is Paul Garner 

who recently visited a day ticket carp fishery for an exploratory look at the lakes roach potential. Bait was 

maggots flavoured with whiskey that were actually left over from a barbel trip. The roach showed in numbers, 

with Paul taking some lovely specimens to over the pound mark, but the lakes carp also found his maggot 

hookbaits much to their liking with a succession of fish falling for the whiskey grubs. 

If you are looking for a flavour that is really going to give you an edge through the colder months then do 

yourself a favour and get a bottle of the whiskey! 


37

Cold rivers mean chub. 

Most rivers haven’t been at their best just recently with a 

combination of floods and cold weather making the fishing 

tough, but as the waters return to normal winter level it will be 

time to get the chub gear out and make the most of some 

brilliant winter river fishing. Alan Storey lives within a stonesthrow 

of the upper Thames and has taken some massive chub 

from his local river on the simplest of approaches. His bait of 

choice is the awesome Monster Squid paste moulded around 

a small piece of cork on the hair to make it almost neutrally 

buoyant. Either touch legered or quiver tipped, if there is a 

chub in the swim the Monster Squid will catch it! 


Duncan Charman joins Nash Peg One 

Well known and widely respected specialist angler Duncan Charman is the latest high profile 

angler to join the Nash team. Duncan has been one of the most successful all-rounders 

in recent years, thanks to his meticulous approach and huge levels of stamina. In recent 

seasons he has also set up a successful guiding business, passing on much of his 

knowledge of fishing for species as diverse as chub, barbel, roach and zander. For more 

information check out Duncan’s website at: www.duncancharman.co.uk 

Well, that’s about it for this time around, despite the cold weather this really is 

a great time to be out on the bank, and if you think carefully about your 

approach and which species to fish for then results can be fantastic. 

Everyone at Peg One would like to wish you a fantastic 2013! 


39

We are proud to announce that the following people are patrons 

supporting the work of the Predation Action Group: 

Chris Ball 

Jerry Hammond 

Bill Cottam 

Bob Church 

Jim Davidson OBE 

Len Gurd 

Chris Tarrant OBE 

Julian Cundi 

Les Webber MBE 

Chris Burt 

Kevin Cli ord 

Rob Hughes 

C l i Fo x 

Kev Knight 

Rob Maylin 

Danny Fairbrass 

Kevin Nash 

Rod Hutchinson 

e PAG need your support and your donations. Visit us online for more info: 

www.PredationActionGroup.uk.org 

Des Taylor 

Lee Jackson 

Terry Hearn 


e e ects of predation are a serious issue facing shing in the UK, we are the people facing the issue.

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41


UP YOURS MATE! 

TOP TIPS 

TO UP YOUR WINTER CATCH RATES

NIGEL SHARP 


For more years than I care to remember if the lakes and canals aren’t frozen I’ve been able to get the rods 

out and keep catching no matter what the weather has thrown at us. If I had to put my finger on why I have 

managed to achieve this it’s actually down to several reasons and the main one is staying motivated. For a 

lot of people it’s easier to make an excuse not to go fishing rather than just go, but for some strange reason 

I love fishing during the winter months so it never seems like a chore. I think the other reason why I have 

been so successful during the two coldest months of the year is because I keep it local, fish short sessions 

during bite times and always bait up lightly before leaving. 

By keeping my winter fishing local I’m able to do the little and often thing with the bait which I think is the 

key to my winter success. Once I remember reading something Kevin Nash himself wrote about making 

the effort to keep the bait going in over the Christmas break and it rang home with me so as sad as it might 

seem I to have made the effort to nip out during the festivities and it has paid off for me in the long run. On 

some waters like the famous Sandhurst venue this has been hard to achieve due to angling pressure over 

the holiday period so I’ve just simply stayed in touch with the water and watched to see where the bulk 

of the bait has been going in. By biding my time until the holidays are over I have also used this to great 

success and in early January reaped the rewards. So my tips are 1: keep motivated 2: keep the bait going 

in and 3: keep in touch with your chosen water. 


43

Use washed out boilies, these being baits that have 

been soaked in lake water for 24 hours is my top tip. 

Winter carp in particular seem to find the soft texture 

instantly appealing which makes them perfect for the 

short sessions many of us fish at this time of the year. 

It’s by no means a new idea but an extra little tweak 

that I’ve developed during the soaking process has 

turned a good idea into an exceptional one. 

By adding the Top Rod Formula liquids to the lake 

water, as the baits soften, they also take on extra 

taste and attraction, additional sweetener and a pinch 


KEITH JONES 

of salt also seems to give the baits an extra edge 

too. I tend to think of it as ‘naturalising’ my bait, if you 

think about it, the carp’s natural food tends to have a 

very high water content and I think this is partly why 

soaked baits are so instantly appealing. I strongly 

recommend you try this quick and simple preparation 

– good luck!

STEVE BRIGGS 


I seem to manage to catch carp through most months of the year these days but if I’m honest much of that 

has to do with the choice of water more than anything else. I learned a along time ago that some waters just 

switch off in the winter while on others the carp will feed right through. The better ones always seem to be 

the shallower lakes with not much in the way of weed – that’s if we’re talking UK waters of course, as many 

of my winter trips now involve travelling away. That’s not to say that they are always easy though as I’ve had 

to graft hard many times to get a winter result. 

It’s always vital to pinpoint where the fish are. They might not move much but a bait in front of them will 

often work. The feeding times are likely to be quite short too. It will vary from lake to lake but on one lake I 

fished the best time was always the first couple of hours of darkness and knowing that in advance I could 

cut my fishing time right down and just concentrate on being there when it mattered. The key was to get 

the baits out mid to late afternoon and then let everything calm down and settle for the prime time. Other 

people were recasting just on dusk and perhaps spoiling their chances. 

One very good tip is to keep the bait trickling in to one area. If they keep finding the bait then they will keep 

eating it. It doesn’t need to be lots as long as it’s always there for them and as long as it’s a bait that’s easy 

to digest such as the Amber Strawberry which will be my first choice this winter. 


45


SIMON CROW 

Of course carp won’t be moving as much as they do in the warmer months, but it’s not uncommon to see 

them active in the winter. At this time of the year I tend to slow down the amount of overnighters I fish in 

favour of day-sessions because some of my better catches have been from first light through to last light 

when the fish react to daytime temperature and light. I’ll put my faith in being mobile and looking for signs 

of fish activity. I pay particular attention to snaggy areas as well as weed beds and similar places of cover 

if I don’t see much activity. However, if the weather is abnormally warm or there’s been lots of rainfall, you 

might just see a few fish coming into the margins for a browse – shallow areas warm up much quicker than 

deeper spots and when the level is high, there’s lots of new areas for the carp to investigate. The message 

therefore is to not be static with your fishing because it’s amazing how quick fish react to the weather in the 

winter months, even at times of extreme cold.

There are so many things you can do in the coldest 

months of the year to increase your chances of a 

bite, but my biggest tip would be to pre-bait an area 

of your chosen venue on a regular basis. Lakes that 

fish well consistently in the cold are nearly always 

busy lakes where the fish keep getting bait sprayed 

at them. If you can create this feeding activity on 

your own water in the cold it can pay off big time. 

On my own day-ticket fishery if bait stops going in 

the fish switch off very quickly, a week with no bait is 

all it takes to make things become hard. That is what 

happened last winter, but this year has been the 

complete opposite. A few lads have been regularly 

putting in quality boilies and getting their rewards 

on nearly every trip. And it’s not just them that are 

benefitting from their bait applications. 

RICH WILBY 


Anglers who are turning up out of the blue are also 

catching on their first trip down. That’s the deal 

with pre-baiting, you are not going to catch all the 

carp yourself and you will give other anglers a slight 

advantage, especially if they’re lucky enough to 

just drop on your spot. But they will very rarely be 

using the same bait as you so the carp will always 

respond quicker to the boilie they’re seeing the most 

of. Nash Strawberry Amber Attract is one of the 

best baits to use in this way. The carp really start 

to single these white boilies out after seeing them 

regularly for a few weeks. It is well worth teaming 

up with a couple of friends and keeping them going 

in your winter venue. It can make catching them so 

easy, especially on lakes where you know the winter 

holding areas. 


47

“You gotta move it,move it” -- No matter how prolific 

your water is without a shadow of doubt carp do not 

feed as strongly and for as long in the colder months, 

particularly at this time of year. And one thing I have 

noted is that they certainly don’t ‘move’ as much 

seeming to spend much of their time in one area, or 

certainly not travelling as they do April to October. 

For that reason unless I am fishing to small holes 

in the weed or can actually see the carp precisely 

over my end tackle I do not leave baits in one place 

for much more than 30 minutes, maybe 60 minutes 

at most. Whether I am fishing on the bottom or Zig 

rigging I will recast ‘searching’ for the carp. A couple 


JULIAN CUNDIFF 

of feet left or right, shorter or longer, if you do this with 

two or three rods you can soon cover a lot of water 

and opportunities in a day. Mid winter you get daylight 

hours 8am to 4pm so that’s a lot of searching, 

countless times I have wound a rod in, recast it and 

bingo fish on! Now its not for lazy anglers but there 

again those that work harder deserve the results. 

Today in bitter conditions I winkled two out just by 

moving my Nash White Chocolate pop ups. If I am 

recasting and want extra feed its only Nash White 

Chocolate Soluballs as I don’t want dozens of solid 

boilies littering the lake bed. Give it a try and it will 

catch you bonus fish I promise.

With winter carp being lethargic 

and slower moving, paying 

extra attention to bite 

indication will catch 

you extra fish. 

Taking every 

angle you can 

out of the line 

so the Siren 

has a direct 

connection 

with the end 

tackle is the 

way to do this. 

I’ll have the rods on 

single bank sticks and 

point each one at the hookbait 

MARK WATSON 

with the rod tip about a foot above 

the water. I have the rod tip like 

this so once the alarm has 

registered a single bleep I 

can look directly at the 

line for any irregular 

movements. If there 

is any then I don’t 

hesitate in striking 

the offending rod. 

Staying alert and 

not writing off single 

bleeps as wind or 

liners will without doubt, 

catch you more fish 

through the winter. The way 

the Sirens work using line speed 


rather than distance moved, gives 

a great edge in the winter. False 

bleeps are almost eliminated so 

every single indication, no matter 

how small, warrants further 

investigation. 

Where weed and snags are not an 

issue, running leads will be my first 

choice. To ensure they work as 

intended I fish with at least a 3oz 

lead and semi slack lines. If the 

line is too tight the lead will be felt 

by the fish on the take, too slack 

(which seems to be the fashion 

right now) and the fish will have to 

move too far to register a take. 


49


Custom 

Rods 

WITH TERRY EDMONDS 

OUR IN HOUSE CASTING EXPERT TERRY EDMONDS 

LOOKS AT THE NR CUSTOM ROD OPTIONS 

The NR Range has been a big success and pushes the 

boundaries between strength and lightness with ultra- fast 

performance. Using an overhead cast, the action actually helps 

the average angler cast further and more accurately, they also give 

excellent feel to the cast. 


51

The rods are available as factory builds, 

the handle spacing is perfect for most 

anglers and the rings are placed to utilise 

performance, casting is trouble free and 

smooth, I use them for all of my casting 

tuitions and angling 

There is also the option of having your rods 

customised or personalised by a legend in 

rod building Nick Buss. 

There are many options to choose from 

which I will take you through now, first 

option to choose is what TC rod is best for 

your fishing. 

There is also the option of 

having your rods customised 

or personalised by a legend in 

rod building Nick Buss. 

““ 


12ft 3lb NRD is a stunning all-rounder 

that will fish from margins to 130 yards 

optimum cast weight 3.5ounce 

12ft 3.5lb NRXD slightly more powerful in 

the butt it can be used close in but also 

has extra casting power, 3.75 – 4 ounce 

leads optimum for distance casting 

13ft 3.5lb NRXD the biggest casting rod of 

the range but not overly stiff, I use mine for 

zig fishing and light hook links no problem, 

I class it as a ‘fishing rod’ that can cast, 4 

ounce is the optimum casting weight. 

After you have chosen the rod that suits 

your angling the next step is to choose 

your favourite handle type, there are 4 

types to choose from, the Nash custom 

service offers 

- Abbreviated (standard 

factory build) 

- Full Cork 

- Full shrink 

- Full Duplon 

The next choice is the tipping colours, 

depending on your handle choice, these 

can be placed at the top of the 

reel seat and either side of the 

writing on the blank. These are 

popular choices, but again 

it’s really up to you. 

Colour options 

- Silver - Purple 

- Gold - Green 

- Blue - Red

If you use line clips these can be placed 

anywhere on the blank, just state your 

preferred position. A back clip which is 

Kevin’s preferred addition can be used with 

the abbreviated handles, this keeps the rods 

secure even with the most ferocious takes. 

When fishing with the tips in the air they also 

stop the rod slipping backwards if placed in 

front of the rear rest. 

Your custom built NR can also be 

personalised by adding your name or other 

words of your choice to the blank. The 

final and possibly most popular option is to 

have the butt and tip marked with matching 

numbers, this ensures that the two sections 

which are machined to very close tolerances 

stay perfectly matched. 

That just about covers the popular custom 

options, but if you have other requirements, 

just about anything is possible. 

http://nrrods.nashtackle.co.uk/build.php 

https://www.facebook.com/?ref=tn_tnmn#!/ 

TerryEdmondsLongRangeAngler 

I can also answer any questions on casting 

and long range fishing tactics on my 

facebook page, please feel free to get in 

touch. 

CUSTOM RODS 


53

WINTER 


BAIT 

EDGES

ALTERNATIVE FREEBIES 

Many anglers use special or boosted hook baits, making the hook 

bait stand out from your winter freebies is a popular tactic that can 

dramatically decrease the amount of time you have to wait for that first 

bite. But not many anglers use or have grasped the potential offered by 

boosted or alternative freebies. On those difficult winter sessions that we 

all have to endure from time to time high attract freebies can provide a 

real edge. 

AIT 

DGE 

Soaking any Nash boilie in the matching Food Dip is a well proven winter 

bait boosting tactic, although just soaking ready made baits in this magic 

liquid can be very effective it works even better ‘in’ the bait rather than 

‘on’ it. Here’s a red hot tactic that’s proven to boost winter catch rates. 

METHOD 

1 The first thing we need to make is some boilie paste. 

2 We meet quite a few anglers at the Nash Road Shows who have 

had a half hearted attempt at making their own boilies and have 

run into problems trying to produce a none sticky easy to role paste 

and have given it up. Nash Bait ready made boilie paste is ideal for 

the novice bait maker, as the name suggests it’s ready to go and 

with a few additional liquids and powdered extracts, it can be used 

as a base to produce some very effective specials. 

3 Start by flattening 200 grams of boilie paste in the bottom of a small 

mixing bowl and pour in 10ml of matching Food Dip. Knead the 

paste and add more liquid if needed until the paste is completely 

saturated. 

4 Roll the paste to the required size and shape 

5 Drop into boiling water and gently simmer until cooked 

6 Remove the baits from the water and allow them to cool dry and 

harden slightly for 24 hours and they are ready to use, you can also 

freeze some ready for your next session 

7 Loaded with attraction - a special hook bait could produce a special 

fish! 

8 The hardest bit is the washing up! 

BAIT EDGES 


55


6 

1 

2 

4 

8 

5 

3 

7

COOKING TIMES 

BAIT EDGES 

For 15mm baits a cooking time of around 50 seconds will produce a soft-ish bait that oozes irresistible food 

smells and tastes, but the outer skin will be tough enough to resist small nuisance fish such as winter roach. 

If you prefer a slightly harder bait, another thirty seconds in the pan will do it but over many years of using 

high liquid content specials I’ve found that the shorter the boiling time the more attractive they seem to be. 

TOP TIPS 

On the lakebed, the Food Dip 

specials leak off an incredibly 

attractive scent trail, any carp in 

the nearby vicinity will immediately 

know they are there. The Food 

Dip is a very dense liquid so it 

also seeps into the lake bed 

leaving behind a kind of food 

smell residue. Carp can often be 

seen ripping up the bottom long 

after all the bait has been eaten 

as they search for the elusive 

smell of food. For this reason 

when fishing a lake regularly it 

pays to use the specials for prebaiting 

winter feeding spots as 

carp will regularly visit them and 

feed. When you arrive, just drop 

a hook bait and a few freebies 

onto a pre- baited spot and you 

can fish confidently expecting to 

catch rather than just hoping. 

NASH READY MADE PASTE 

The unboiled paste is also perfect 

for moulding around the boilie 

hook bait that you will fish over 

the top of the special freebies, 

within seconds the paste starts 

to slowly dissolve into the 

surrounding water producing 

massive irresistible food signals. 

A much faster dissolving time can 

be created by loading the paste 

with additional Food Dip or other 

liquids and attractors. 

Remember, this is the exact same paste used to manufacture the Top Rod boilies. Available in both frozen 

and shelf life options and packed in handy 200 gram screw top pots, it’s a winter essential for many of our 

top sponsored anglers and consultants. 

NASH FOOD DIPS 

Nash Food Dips are dense bottom hugging liquids that carp find almost impossible to ignore. The water 

born food signals created by the Food Dips permeate even the coldest water and have the proven potential 

to instantly switch lethargic winter carp into instant search and feed mode. The Food Dips are winter bait 

bucket essentials for many top anglers, they are proven to boost catch rates and provide plenty of options 

for the thinking angler looking to gain a winter edge.


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P 

lease don’t think that by 

reading this article, your 

skills as a catfish angler 

are going to improve. This is 

just a tale of a first trip to the 

River Ebro in pursuit of the 

huge catfish that dwell in the 

Ebro/Segre system. 

With European and even 

worldwide fishing destinations 

becoming more and more 

accessible the decision to head 

abroad was an easy one. Once a 

willing fishing companion had 

been found in the form of 

Doncaster boy Pete ‘Webbo’ 

Webster, preparations were soon 

underway and a plan was being 

formed. A couple or three guiding 

services were shortlisted thanks 

to that new fangled gadget the 

Interwebnet. The big English firms 

that we wanted were all fully 

booked for the week (in hindsight 

this was a bit of a godsend), but 

eventually the one man band of 

Gareth Edwards and his guiding 

service under the name of Catfish 

Tours was contacted and we were 

booked. I think it must be said that 

Gareth is a catfish/carp-mad 

Brummie and not the Gareth 

Edwards of Welsh rugby fame 

and once British pike record 

holder, but of course that didn’t 

stop us ripping the mickey out of 

him all week. 

We were informed by the 

ever-helpful members of the Pike 

and Predators forum that early 

May could be a hit or miss affair 

with the fish having spawning in 

mind rather than feeding, but as I 

was going to catch nowt sitting in 

Wigan, 2nd to 9th May were the 

dates allocated for our attack. As 

always at my age the days 

passed all too soon and, two 

hours after leaving Liverpool John 

Lennon Airport, I was in 

Barcelona. Twenty minutes after 

this the hire car was sorted, 

followed by a quick brew, and 

Pete was with me after flying in 

from Doncaster’s Robin Hood 

Airport... no, I never knew 

Doncaster had an airport either. 

WRONG SIDE! 

Sat Nav set and away we went – 

or we would have done but for 

one unforeseen problem we 

hadn’t thought of: being Spain not 

only do they drive on the wrong 

side of the road but the steering 

wheel, gearstick and pedals of the 

hire cars are also in the wrong 

place! After a quick spin round the 

Airport car park we were off and 

the two-hour drive was pretty 

much straightforward. Follow the 

motorway out of Barcelona, turn 

left at Llieda and you are in 

Mequinenza, so literally four and 

half hours from leaving Liverpool 

we were in Mequi’s catfish 

country. A quick phone call for 

directions and a flash of the 

headlights found us meeting Gaz, 

and another 10 minutes saw us in 

the apartment with brew in hand. 

I was up early the following 

morning and while Pete slept on 

sounding like a baby hippo, I was 

in the shower thanking my lucky 

stars we had separate rooms. The 

apartment was fine for what we 

wanted and could not have been 

any closer to the riverbank. 

Gareth was with us for 7am and 

the plan for the week’s fishing 

took all of two minutes to sort out, 

with Gaz having one task, to 

catch us some fish, simple’s. 

Both Pete and I had discussed 

targets for the week and agreed 

that a fish over the ton was not 

too much to ask, so with this in 

mind we set to our task with 

gusto. If I’m honest, though, 

neither of us had caught a catfish 

before so any fish we caught 

would be a bonus. 

ON THE MOVE 

A spot was chosen opposite 

where the coloured waters of the 

Segre meet the clear Rio Ebro. 

From the off we knew it was 

going to be a struggle as the 

Segre was flowing at a fair rate of 

knots, and the first four or five 

hours of the trip were taken up 

reeling lines back in to clear the 


Tony ‘Pieater’ Balfour tells of a first trip to the Ebro. 

Tony and Pete 

with Tony’s 

150-pounder 

Set up on the Top Lake 

In the water with 

the 150lb cat 

Tony’s 

first ever 

cat at 54lb 

3 

Ebro/Segre system. 

With European and even 

worldwide fishing destinations 

becoming more and more 

accessible the decision to head 

abroad was an easy one. Once a 

willing fishing companion had 


Interwebnet. The big English firms 

that we wanted were all fully 

booked for the week (in hindsight 

this was a bit of a godsend), but 

eventually the one man band of 

Gareth Edwards and his guiding 

service under the name of Catfish 


him all week. 

We were informed by the 

ever-helpful members of the Pike 

and Predators forum that early 

May could be a hit or miss affair 



Barcelona. Twenty minutes after 

this the hire car was sorted, 

followed by a quick brew, and 

Pete was with me after flying in 

from Doncaster’s Robin Hood 

Airport... no, I never knew 


we were in Mequi’s catfish 

country. A quick phone call for 

directions and a flash of the 

headlights found us meeting Gaz, 

and another 10 minutes saw us in 

before so any fish we caught 

would be a bonus. 

ON THE MOVE 

N THE MOVE 

N THE MOV 

A spot was chosen opposite 

where the coloured waters of the 

Segre meet the clear Rio Ebro. 

From the off we knew it was 

going to be a struggle as the 

Segre was flowing at a fair rate of 

knots, and the first four or five 

hours of the trip were taken up 

reeling lines back in to clear the 







CATFISHING IN THE UK 

DAVE MUTTON 

3 




B 

y the time you get to 

read this, the frosty days 

of winter will be just a 

memory; a memory that 

hopefully is full of fat pike that 

have graced the bank or boat. 

So what are you going to do? 

Some of you may continue to 

fish for pike through the 

warmer months, whilst many of 

you, as soon as the days 

lengthened and the suns rays 

started to have some warmth in 

them, give a sigh tinged with a 

touch of sadness as the 

deadbait rods are put away 

again to sit there untouched 

until October. Some of you may 

be after tench, bream or other 

species, whilst others may be 

targeting carp. I also fish for 

those species on occasion, but 

I never seem to be able to gain 

the same level of enthusiasm 

for non-predatory fish as I do 

for predators. That is why my 

summers are usually spent 

targeting that other apex 

predator, the wels catfish. 

The wels catfish can be 

described as a predatory 

scavenger, in that it will eat a 

huge variety of meat or fish baits, 

both alive and dead. Its natural 

diet consists of fish, amphibians, 

worms, waterfowl and small 

mammals. It will eat pretty much 

anything that it can fit into its very 

large mouth. However, like most 

predators its feeding spells are 

infrequent and, as the catfish 

possesses a proper stomach, it 

will gorge on food and then lie up 

to digest it. The catfish finds food 

by combining its sense of smell, 

taste and by sensing vibration in 

the water. The catfish has two 

sets of nostrils and has an 

excellent sense of smell – in 

Britain only the eels’ is keener. In 

fish, smell is very closely linked to 

taste and the catfish has a highly 

developed array of taste buds 

which are located along its 

barbules as well as in and around 

its mouth. This means that if it did 

not like the taste of a bait, it could 

reject it, even without the hook 

being anywhere near it’s mouth. 

This is worth thinking about if you 

are going to target them using 

artificially flavoured baits. 

The catfish will actively hunt 

for prey, particularly in warmer 

months, and can often be found in 

the upper layers of the water 

hunting for fish. This is when it 

employs a third sense, that of 

vibration. The catfish is very adept 

at sensing particle displacement 

in the water using its highly 

developed lateral line. The catfish 

can sense vibrations in the water 

such as a fish in distress, and 

move towards them. As it nears its 

prey, receptors in its barbules will 

pick up the vibrations and the cat 

starts to fine tune its approach. As 

the catfish nears its victim, the two 

long whiskers will point straight 

ahead almost like a divining rod, 

and when it gets within range it 

suddenly opens its cavernous 

mouth and simply engulf its prey. 

Unlike pike or zander, the 

catfish does not possess rows of 

proper teeth. Instead the wels has 

pads in its upper and lower palate 

which consist of hundreds of tiny 

Velcro-like teeth. It uses these 

pads to grip its prey which it then 

passes back to four crushing 

pads, two top and two bottom, at 

the back of its throat. 

TO THE LIMIT 

So what tackle are you going to 

need to tackle this large and very 

hard fighting species? The key to 

all catfishing tackle is reliability 

and strength. The wels catfish is 

very powerful and will test all of 

your gear to its limit. When 

hooked they will either surge off 

on a seemingly unstoppable run 

that will have your reel screaming, 

or hug the bottom refusing to 

move and the rod will be hooped 

over to the butt as you apply more 

and more pressure trying to get 

CATFISHING 

IN THE UK 

Thinking of having a go for wels catfish? Dave 

Mutton begins a two-part feature to tell you how. 

Above: Powerful 

rods and sturdy 

reels are required 

Main: The sensor 

array of a catfish 

This 43-pounder is 

clearly capable of 

taking very large 

baits 




TONY BALFOUR 

TONY BALFOUR 

TONY BALFOUR GREAT SPECIAL OFFERS WHEN YOU SUBSCRIBE – CALL 01430 440624 OR VISIT WWW.PIKEANDPREDATORS.CO.UK 






Tony and Pete 

Tony and Pete 

with Tony’s 

150-pounder 


AMAZONIAN GIANTS 

ARNOUT TERLOUW 

3 




I 

t is estimated that over 2500 

species of fish occur in the 

Amazon. The order 

Siluriformes (catfish) is the 

second most diverse and 

probably the most spectacular 

group of Amazon species. With 

14 families, including more than 

1000 species, the Amazon 

accounts for almost half of all 

the catfish species in the world! 

They range in size from the 

diabolical candirú, a tiny parasitic 

catfish that lodges itself in the 

urethral openings of other fish, 

animals or occasionally even 

humans(!), to the monstrous 

piraiba, which has been reported 

to grow over nine feet long and 

weigh in excess of 150kg. Many of 

the larger species of Amazonian 

catfish are migratory, extremely 

active and aggressive predators 

that live mainly in fast water. 

Pound for pound, these catfish are 

as strong – if not stronger – than 

any freshwater fish you will ever 

encounter on rod and line! 

The piraiba is the largest 

catfish in the Brachyplatystoma 

genus, and is notorious for its 

voracious eating and solitary 

lifestyle. This is the true giant of 

the Amazon with many stories of 

fish weighing over 500lb! Locals 

call the juvenile fish (those 

weighing under 100lb) filhote. 

Once they are over 50kg, locals 

call them piraiba. 

I 

t is estimated that over 2500 catfish that lodges itself in the any freshwater fish you will ever 

With this issue being a catfish special we thought 

we would throw this one into the mix. Arnout 

Terlouw encounters some really big catfish! 













































BIGCATSOF 

THEAMAZON 

Longe, slim and acrobatic, they 

have been known to jump and roll 

in the surface splashing with their 

big tails; a very un-catfish-like 

behaviour. In Bolivia this fish is 

known as saltador, which means 

jumper. Piraiba sometimes has a 

mysterious ‘milk’ gland at the 

anterior upper part of its pectoral 

fins. Its function is unknown, but in 

Colombia this fish is therefore 

known as lechero, which means 

milkman. 

BIG APPETITE 

Piraiba look for food as far down 

as 50 metres. They will scavenge 

but also actively hunt for prey like 

small catfish, characins and 

piranhas. Piraiba, like other big 

Amazonian catfish such as the 

redtail catfish, dourada and jau, 

do not worry about the sharp and 

pungent dorsal and pectoral fin 

spines of small catfish. Examined 

dourada and piraiba specimens 

revealed perforated and/or 

scarred stomachs most likely 

caused by catfish spines. The 

slicing teeth of piranha are no 

problem either, even though they 

inhabit the same waters where 

hundreds of piranha school. 

These giants have extremely thick 

tough leathery skin that resists 

such attacks. By the time they are 

five feet in length, piraiba can 

move freely in the deepest 

Amazon waters without fear of 

predators. 

When they’re juveniles, 

piraiba are light to dark grey with 

small spots on their dorsal and 

lateral sides. As they get older, 

they turn dark grey on the top and 

light grey/white on the bottom. 

This coloration aids in 

camouflaging their massive 

bodies as they hunt in midwater or 

shallow places. Most people think 

of catfish as true bottom dwellers, 

but the opposite is the case for 

piraiba, dourada and the shovel- 

nosed catfish species. Piraiba 

search for food throughout the 

entire water column and at night 

they can be caught at or just 

below the surface. 

Piraiba have an appetite to 

match their massive bodies. 

Fishermen who’ve caught these 

massive giants have found small 

monkeys, birds and cats inside. 

While they don’t hunt for monkeys 

or birds, piraibas have no problem 

scavenging on already deceased 

Commercial 

fishing is 

beginning to 

take its toll 

on catfish 

populations in 

the Amazon 

Fishing deep pools in 

daytime – will they 

bite or will you have 

to wait until dusk? 

Catfish heaven: deep pools below a set of 

rapids in an isolated area with no commercial 

fishing, mining or other human impact 


GREAT SPECIAL OFFERS WHEN YOU SUBSCRIBE – CALL 01430 440624 O 




R VISIT WWW.PIKEANDPREDATORS.CO.UK 








ARNOUT TERLOUW GREAT SPECIAL OFFERS WHEN YOU SUBSCRIBE – CALL 01430 440624 O 




BIG APPETITE 

Piraiba look for food as far down 

as 50 metres. They will scavenge 

but also actively hunt for prey like 

small catfish, characins and 

piranhas. Piraiba, like other big 

Amazonian catfish such as the 

redtail catfish, dourada and jau, 

do not worry about the sharp and 

When they’re juveniles, 

piraiba are light to dark grey with 

small spots on their dorsal and 

lateral sides. As they get older, 

they turn dark grey on the top and 

light grey/white on the bottom. 

This coloration aids in 

camouflaging their massive 

bodies as they hunt in midwater or 

catfIsh 

specIal 

3 

The wels catfish 

described as a predatory 

scavenger, in that it will eat a 

huge variety of meat or fish baits, 

dead. Its natural 

and strength. The wels catfish 

very powerful and will test all of 

your gear to its limit. When 

hooked they will either surge off 

on a seemingly unstoppable run 

that will have your reel screaming, 

refusing to 


CATFISH CAPERS IN BRITAIN 

GRAEME PULLEN 

3 




ANGLERPROFILE 

Name: Graeme 

Pullen. 

Age: 59 

Hometown: 

Hook, Hampshire. 

Favourite Venue: 

Royalty Fishery, Hampshire 

Avon. 

Favourite Species: Barbel and 

pike. 

Most Memorable Catch: None, 

they are all totally awesome! 

W 

hile I like my floater 

fishing for carp, I can 

see the attraction of 

avoiding Gerty the Thirty of the 

overcrowded carp world, in 

favour of Ton-up Tessie of the 

wels catfish world. It was while 

filming with Phil Williams in 

deepest Devon that I began to 

realise just how much of a cult 

fish the catfish has become. We 

were at Zyg Gregorek’s Angler’s 

Paradise, which I had never 

ANGLERPRO 

Name: Graeme 

Pullen. 

Age: 59 

Hometown: 

Hook, Hampshire. 

Favourite Venue: 

Royalty Fishery, Hampshire 

Avon. 

Favourite Species: Barbel and 

pike. 

Most Memorable Catch: 

they are all totally awesome! 

CATFISH CAPERS 

IN BRITAIN 

After many years of not really paying attention, 

Graeme Pullen discovers catfishing is a viable 

alternative summer species for UK predator anglers. 

fished before but we dropped in 

with a couple of cameras on the 

way back from a fruitless 

session hoping to break the 

British porbeagle shark record. 

Zyg has a very large head of 

catfish at the complex, running 

from five-pounders up to over 

50lb, which I certainly consider 

well worth catching. While filming 

and catching everything from 

golden tench to grass carp and 

ornamental koi I noticed that, 

rather than being full of carp 

anglers, around half of the big fish 

guys were after catfish. 

Supposedly night feeders, the 

catfish at Zyg’s complex didn’t 

seem to have read the books and 

many were coming out in broad 

daylight – blazing sun and blue 

sky. 

There were different 

techniques, different rigs and 

some clonking great baits in use 

– the mouth on even a 20lb 

catfish is like a B&Q bucket, so no 

worries about whether they can 

eat it or not! Livebaiting at the 

fishery is not allowed, but 

deadbaits are okay if you get 

them from Zyg. So, what do the 

anglers catch on? Top selling bait 

in the site’s tackle shop was the 

giant sized halibut feed pellets. In 

fact many of the anglers threaded 

them on a hair rig as doubles to 

make even bigger hookbaits. I 

fished a couple of hours for a cat 

one evening on a smaller lake and 

watched a guy walk down to a 

corner, lob out what I thought was 

an enormous bait dropper, then 

walk back to his swim, feeding out 

line as he went. I sent Phil off on a 

mission to find out. It turned out 

he was using a half tin of pork 

luncheon meat as a monstrous 

hair rigged cube. Now that’s what 

I call fishing! Phil got a 

15-pounder, so he’s off the mark 

with a new PB, and although I 

didn’t get my first cat I was 

suitably impressed with the 

enthusiasm level, and as soon as 

I got back I decided I needed to 

learn more. 

SIMON SAYS 

As fortune would have it my local 

Tackle Up fishing shop is owned 

and run by Simon Clarke, who is 

chairman of the Catfish 

Conservation Group and has a 

personal tally of several hundred 

catfish... 

Graeme Pullen: Give us 

introduction on the history of the 

British catfish. I seem to recall the 

first time I read of them was many 

years ago at a place called 

Woburn Abbey”. 

Simon Clarke: Yes, they were 

introduced as a folly of the 

aristocracy in the late 1800s into 

Woburn Abbey Lakes by the Duke 

of Bedford at the time. It wasn’t 

until the 1950s that their 

distribution expanded around the 

country with some local clubs 

being given stock, and it basically 

all started from there. 

GP: What sort of sizes were they 

running back then? 

SC: Around 1970 the record was 

only some 31lb, so they started 

out small. There were supposed 

to be accounts that they reached 

up to 70lb, but there was a lack of 

photos. Now with the upsurge of 

commercial fisheries and high 

protein baits going into the waters 

there has been a rapid increase in 

growth, so 30lb is no longer an 

exceptional fish. 

GP: Now the sizes have 

increased are there many waters 

where the beginner to catfishing 

can go and have a reasonable 

chance of catching? 

SC: 20 years ago I would have 

said there were less than 50 

waters in the entire country; today 

there are over 500. I go to a lot of 

tackle shows and meet with many 

anglers who say they would love 

to catch a catfish, but they are not 

in many waters. However, that is 

not the case today. With over 500 

waters holding cats, most anglers 

are probably within striking 

distance of a suitable venue. 

GP: Is the CCS an elite club, or 

can anybody join it? 

SC: It was started back in 1984 by 

catfish enthusiasts. Basically it’s a 

club to help beginners and help 

understand the species. There are 

no real cat experts. Even though I 

have fished for them for more 

than 25 years I am still learning 

something from every session I 

do. After all, that’s the magic of 

going fishing in the first place. 

GP: Let’s start with the tackle a 

beginner to cats would need. Start 

at the sharp end with hooks. 

SC: What you need is to match 

the size of hook to the size of bait. 

Invariably you will be using big 

baits – lobworms, meat, fish, 

squid, luncheon meat – and it can 

be very easy to mask the hook if 

you are not careful. What you 

need is a hook with a nice wide 

gape, long point and long shank 

so it can sit nicely off the hook bait 

corner, or you can hair rig it. 

Catfish have big bucket mouths. 

They come in and nab the bait so 

you need plenty of hook to go into 

that large and very hard jaw. An 

adequate size for a bunch of small 

worms would be a size 2 or 4. 

With a great bunch of lobworms 

then a 1 or 1/0 would match the 

Young anglers are quickly 

zoning in on the catfish, 

like Andrew Pillings who 

took this 40lb-plus from 

the lakes at Angler’s 

Paradise 

A sustainable food source exists in Devon, 

where Zyg Gregorek provides shoals of rudd 

that the cats crash into at night 

SIMON SAYS 

As fortune would have it my local 

Tackle Up fishing shop is owned 

and run by Simon Clarke, who is 

chairman of the Catfish 

Conservation Group and has a 

Cats are long so 

make sure you 

have a good sized 

unhooking mat 

– watch out for 

them snaking 

about 

Chairman of 

the Catfish 

Conservation 

Group, Simon 

Clarke, with 

his recent UK 

PB cat of 56lb 

predator anglers. 

fished before but we dropped in 

with a couple of cameras on the 

way back from a fruitless 

session hoping to break the 

British porbeagle shark record. 

Zyg has a very large head of 

catfish at the complex, running 

from five-pounders up to over 

50lb, which I certainly consider 

well worth catching. While filming 

and catching everything from 

golden tench to grass carp and 

ornamental koi I noticed that, 

rather than being full of carp 

anglers, around half of the big fish 

catfish is like a B&Q bucket, so n 

up to 70lb, but there was a lack of 

photos. Now with the upsurge of 

commercial fisheries and high 

protein baits going into the waters 

the size of hook to the size of bait. 

Invariably you will be using big 

baits – lobworms, meat, fish, 

Group, Simon 

Clarke, with 

Clarke, with 

Clarke, with 

Clarke, with 

Clarke, with 

Clarke, with 

Clarke, with 

Clarke, with 

Clarke, with 

Clarke, with 

Clarke, with 

Clarke, with 

Clarke, with 

Clarke, with 

Clarke, with 

Clarke, with 

Clarke, with 

Clarke, with 

Clarke, with 

Clarke, with 

Clarke, with 

Clarke, with 

Clarke, with 

Clarke, with 

his recent UK 

his recent UK 

his recent UK 

his recent UK 

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his recent UK 

his recent UK 

his recent UK 

his recent UK 

his recent UK 

his recent UK 

his recent UK 

his recent UK 

his recent UK 

his recent UK 

his recent UK 

his recent UK 

his recent UK 



















CAT CRAZY 

DAN WILLIAMS 

3 




T 

he wels catfish is one the 

most impressive fish 

swimming and it deserves 

every bit of respect after it’s 

given us the pleasure of 

catching it. 

LANDING THE FISH 

A very large landing net is a must 

when cat fishing. It is one of very 

few species of fish that can swim 

backwards and they often do this 

when nearing the net in the final 

stages of the fight. If there are 

shallow margins then boots or 

waders should be used to ensure 

the catfish is landed properly. 

Fishing with someone else is an 

advantage as it can be a big task 

just getting a catfish into the 

landing net – a helping hand is 

always welcome. Be sure to 

check all fins are flat against its 

body and the hook is not in a 

position that will tear its mouth 

when lifted (slacken off). 

ON THE BANK 

Catfish are big so once the fish 

has been landed it should be 

place on a large, wet unhooking 

mat (multiple unhooking mats can 

be used). As a rough guide, a 10lb 

catfish is around 3ft long and a 

60lb specimen can be around 5ft 

long so you can see why you 

need large unhooking areas and 

mats. A weigh sling should be 

wetted and zeroed on a set of 

scales which should be at the 

ready to ensure the catfish is out 

of the water for the minimum 

amount of time. The hook will 

most likely be set in the soft 

corner of the mouth. If you are 

wary of catfish then wearing 

gloves will help protect you 

against Velcro-like teeth – though 

these very rarely hurt the angler. 

Strong forceps or pliers can also 

be a good idea to help remove the 

hook if it is held firm. 

Catfish can feed in hot 

conditions so it is wise to unhook 

and photograph in a shady area, 

and a bucket or two of water 

should be at hand to keep the 

catfish moist. One of the most 

important features of the catfish is 

its whiskers so take extra care to 

not damage them as they help the 

catfish survive. Ensure camera 

equipment is at the ready if you 

want a photograph. Some people 

can be frightened by catfish but 

they are docile and easy to handle 

on the bank if cared for correctly. 

However, they recover quickly if 

retained for a few hours for 

photographing in daylight, and can 

become a proper handful. If your 

catch is particularly lively on the 

bank then covering its eyes will 

help it keep calm. 

RETURNING THE FISH 

The catfish are very powerful 

fighters and will need a short rest 

before being returned. Catfish can 

also become very stressed during a 

capture and a sign of this can be 

seen by them changing colour 

and becoming lighter. If this 

happens then it is paramount to 

return them to the water straight 

away. Because the wels catfish 

has no scales they can get line 

marks during the fight, but these 

are not a long-term damage and 

do fade. Once it is time to return 

the fish, hold it upright in the water 

and allow it to breathe, regain its 

strength and swim off strongly. Do 

not leave a fish unattended and 

take the time to ensure it swims 

off safely. You may need to hold 

and support them in some cases. 

It is very important to respect the 

fish you are fortunate enough to 

catch so that they can give other 

anglers the same joy you have 

experienced. 

CATFISH CARE 

This being a catfish special edition, occasional cat angler 

Dan Williams has a few tips and cat facts for other cat novices. 

More information on catfish care can be found at 

www.catfishconservationgroup.com 

It is important to 

care for all catfish 

regardless of size 

A large 

unhooking 

mat is a 

must 

A big cat is one 

of the hardest 

fighting fish you’ll 

ever encounter 

Catfish are 

usually hooked 

in the corner of 

the mouth – take 

extra care with 

their sensitive 

whiskers 

The wels can live for at 

• 

least 35 years. 

The wels has no scales. 

• 

The wels can be found all 

• 

over Europe. 

The wels is predatory and 

• 

will anything from insects, 

rats, birds to fish. 

The wels prefers to stay in 

• 

sheltered locations but 

can be found in both still 

and flowing water. 

The wels features a total 

• 

of six barbules; two long 

ones on the upper jaw and 

four shorter ones on the 

lower jaw. 

The wels can change their 

• 

colour depending on their 

environment. Dark in clear 

water and pale in turbid 

water. 

Female wels can produce 

• 

up to 30,000 eggs per 

kilogram of body weight. 

When wels spawn they 

• 

use a ‘nest’ positioned in 

tree roots or underwater 

vegetation. 

Wels eggs are around 

• 

3mm in diameter. 

Eggs can take less than 

• 

five days to hatch. 

Only 10% of fry are likely 

• 

to survive. 

Males guard the nest until 

• 

the eggs hatch. 

The average growth rate 

• 

of a UK wels is 1-2lb a 

year. 

The wels can grow to 

• 

nearly 10 feet long and 

weigh more than 330lb in 

rare cases. 

You need special 

• 

permission to stock wels 

in England from the 

Environment Agency and 

DEFRA. 

Young wels (under 30lb) 

• 

flesh can be consumed as 

food. 

Wels eggs are poisonous 

• 

and should not be 

consumed. 

WELS CATFISH FACTS 

The wels can live for at 

least 35 years. 

CATFISH FAC 

DID YOU KNOW..? 

The British record for the 

• 

wels was closed to further 

claims on 23rd October 

2000. 

The wels was introduced 

• 

into the UK more than 100 

years ago. 

The original stocking took 

• 

place at Woburn Abbey in 

Bedfordshire. 

Spain, Italy and France 

• 

have all got established 

wels stocks. 

The wels thrives in warm 

• 

temperatures where there 

is also an abundance of 

food. 

Prey is detected by both 

• 

smell and vibration. 

Although predators, wels 

• 

are also scavengers and 

will eat pretty much 

anything. 

Water temperature is a 

• 

major factor in growth 

rates. 

Wels are ideal for 

• 

controlling the numbers of 

crayfish in a water. 

The Latin name for the 

• 

wels is Silurus glanis 

The wels is one of the 

• 

biggest freshwater fish in 

the world. 

The wels is also known as 

• 

the sheath-fish, sheat-fish 

or giant European catfish. 

The wels is just one of 

• 

thousands of different 

catfish species across the 

world. 

The wels has fantastic 

• 

hearing due to a sound 

amplification system 

called the Weberian 

apparatus. 

The wels has a highly 

• 

developed sense of taste 

due to the whiskers and 

mouth/lips being covered 

in taste buds. 

Once a wels reaches 

• 

around 50lb, it has no 

natural predators. 

Despite their 

fearsome looks, 

wels are usually 

quite docile on 

the bank 

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ON NASH BAIT TO CARP-TALK 







EVERY 

WEDNESDAY 

AT YOUR LOCAL 

NEWSAGENT 

VISIT 

FOR YOUR FREE COPIES


59

TERRY EDMONDS 

TAKES A LOOK AT SOME EXCITING NEW 

H-GUN 

PRODUCTS 


H-Gun rods 

12ft 2.75lb - £49.99 

This is a brilliant players rod with inbuilt power in the butt section which 

provides great casting potential and improved control or stopping power 

when fishing near thick weed and snags. The action has been re-vamped 

a little which also makes it a superb floater rod. Attention to detail such 

as attractive red tippings and a very handy isotope slot in the butt cap 

ensures this rod really stands out from the crowd. 

Ideal lead size 2.5 to 3 ounce 

12ft 3lb – £49.99 

Another brilliant players rod and again revamped with a little bit more 

power for improved casting distance and more control over hard fighting 

powerful fish. I’ve actually chucked a lead over 150 yards, which makes it 

much more versatile particularly on bigger waters. 

Ideal lead size 2.5 to 3.5 ounce 

12ft Spod/Marker – £49.99 

This is a new concept for the H-gun range, the rod is a 4lb test curve so 

not over powerful, but even so, it will fire a Spod over 120 yards making 

it more than adequate for most situations. It’s very easy to compress, 

because of the power in the butt and the firm tip also makes it perfectly 

suited for marker and feature finding work. This rod will cast a marker 

and lead a long way, it’s also easy to ‘read’ when searching for those 

crucial fish holding features. 

The H-Gun 

range 

features 

- Durable Slick Guides 

- Red tippings 

- Isotope slot in butt cap 

- Improved actions 

- Quality durable blank 

- Black high quality reel seat 

- Abbreviated Handle 

H-GUN PRODUCTS 

It takes a lot to impress me but I have to say the new H-guns have done 

precisely that. The blanks performed superbly during testing and despite 

some extreme abuse they’ve also proven to be durable and completely 

reliable. 

CONTINUED 


61

MULTI MAT 

What a product - does three jobs in one! Not only is the Multi Mat a 

superb ‘safety’ mat, thanks to its raised sides and heavy padding, the 

carry handles also mean that it can be used as a weigh sling without 

having to transfer the fish, reducing handling considerably. When moving 

between swims the Multi Mat also makes an excellent carry bag for 

awkward items, such as bags of bait, bank sticks, scales, you name it! 

Made using a wipe-clean fast drying outer with medium density foam 

padding throughout, the Multi Mat cradles the fish stopping it from sliding 

off the mat, and enables the fish to be carried back to the water safely 

before being released simply by unzipping one of the ends. 

A true multi-purpose product providing maximum fish care. 

• Large padded mat area 

• Raised sides stop fish from sliding off mat 

• Wipe clean surface 

• Inbuilt weigh / carry handles 

• Rubberised mesh drainage sections 

• Zipped ends for easy fish return 

• Pegging points 

TOP TIP – The Multi-mat also makes a great carryall when stalking 

H-GUN BARROW 

– SINGLE WHEEL 

This is a rugged barrow providing superb stability. Featuring fold-down 

front and side bars, and integrated barrow bag making it perfect for 

safely transporting your gear. Simple functional designs and quality 

materials combine to make H-Gun a modestly priced tackle range with a 

difference. 


H-GUN PRODUCTS 


63

TALK 

RIG 

TALK 

Featured this month 

STEALTH AND CONCEALMENT: 

Diffusion Components 

Cling-on Leader 

RESPOOLING - MAKING THE 

RIGHT CHOICES: 

D-CAM Mono 

NXT Bullet Braid 

Hardcore Mono 

64 NASH E-ZINE RIG


RIG TALK 

65

DIFFUSION PROVIDES AN 

EDGE. 

Many waters during winter 

remain gin clear for long 

periods of time, this makes 

end tackle concealment 

vitally important. In these 

difficult conditions it can 

be virtually impossible 

to create low viz/low 

spook presentations with 

conventional solid colour 

components. 

Although some companies 

market a huge and often 

confusing range of weed gravel and 

silt colour options, in a real fishing situation 

components of this type rarely blend 

effectively. And even if you manage to get 

solid colour components to blend in the 

margins you can never be sure how it will 

look when cast further out into the pond. 

But Diffusion rig components are colour 

and light reactive, drop one of our leaders 

onto weed and it just vanishes, move it onto 

gravel or sand and it immediately lightens 

and appears to melt away. Our extensive 

tests have proven that Diffusion technology 

produces more bites and provides a vital 

winter edge. 


CLING ON LEADER 

Sometimes what carp can feel is just as 

likely to put them on their guard. And this is 

when our new Cling On leader material really 

comes into its own. This ground breaking 

material sinks just like the heaviest lead 

core but unlike lead core, a Cling On 

leader is ultra supple, so it moulds 

itself and clings to lakebed contours 

and undulations making it virtually 

undetectable. 

...Diffusion technology 

produces more bites and 

provides a vital winter edge.

RE SPOOLING - MAKING 

THE RIGHT CHOICES 

D-CAM MONO 

For the serious carp angler not wanting to 

leave anything to chance, D-Cam ticks all 

the boxes. This line provides exceptional 

abrasion resistance and knot strength, it’s 

supple, casts like a dream and sinks quickly 

and reliably. D-Cam moulds itself to lakebed 

contours and Diffusion technology ensures 

that carp will find it virtually impossible to 

detect on the bottom. 

HARDCORE MONO 

Not every angler or every angling 

situation requires the exceptional level of 

performance provided by De-Cam and this 

is where our new Hard Core mono really 

comes into its own. 

Hard Core is strong reliable and casts 

extremely well, it’s available in clear and 

brown colour options and a modest price 

also means that the line can be changed 

regularly if required to maintain maximum 

performance. Our tests have shown that 

when compared to other similar priced 

materials, Hard Core really is an exceptional 

product. 

BULLET BRAID 


RIG TALK 

The new generation Bullet Braid is a specialist 

product especially suited to slack line tactics. 

Bullet Braid provides almost bomb proof 

abrasion resistance and knot strength, zero 

stretch also maximises bite indication. Carp 

that are subjected to relentless angling 

pressure can easily be spooked by what they 

can feel, brushing against mainline in particular 

can really put them on edge. 

Bullet Braid is ultra supple, sinks exceptionally 

well and hugs any lakebed contours and 

undulations and virtually melts into the bottom. 

67

68 


www.nashtackle.co.uk 

JANUARY 2013 


ISSUE 

012

E-ZINE - Nash Tackle

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