Want to read a fishing story? - The On The Bank Angling Blog is back, and we want your stories!

IT'S been a long time since we posted on our blog but this post is just to say we are back and are going to be creating as much fishing content as possible.

So why are we back and why should you have a read of the blog?

On The Bank Angling was originally set-up to share fishing stories between a small group of friends and anyone else who was interested. Since then we have grown to have a small following on several of our social media platforms but the one thing everyone says we lack is consistency - that's something we aim to change!

Ever since I was a young lad, I've always loved reading, listening and watching good fishing stories. Whether it be reading a copy of the Angling Times, watching Matt Hayes Record Breaking Fish for the 100th time or having a chat with an angler on the bank - I can't get enough of hearing other peoples fishing adventures. I feel this not only helps me learn more but also inspires me to get out on the bank to see if I can catch a monster fish myself.

We are obviously just one of hundreds of blogs out there and that is a great thing - if I had time to watch everyone's I personally would. I do feel the story telling in angling has been lost a little by some over the last few years with the coming of the social media age. It is great seeing peoples captures but its even better to hear the work that went into catching the fish and what it means to them.
Those of you who know me closely will know that I now have a job very close to Angling and I love every minute of it. So its great to try and use any knowledge I gain to pass on to others.

Our aim for On The Bank Angling is to hopefully revitalise the classic 'fisherman's tale'. We will hopefully do this by providing you guys with some great content on here and on our YouTube channel.

Its not just our stories we want to share and tell though - its yours. I have a lot of exciting ideas of things I would like to do with the blog and channel. This includes fishery catch reports, inside info, podcasts, you name it!

So if you do have a fishing story or you are a fishery that want to share your catch reports then here is what you need to do:

Join our Facebook group with 500-plus members - I honestly have never seen a bad word said in the group, its awesome!

Or you can email us at: onthebankangling@gmail.com.

So that's about it really, stay tuned for lots of fishing content and tight lines!!!

Here's a few pictures of what we have coming up on YouTube...

A species hunt at Anglers Paradise

Surface stalking at a secret lake

A mental Creedy session

Tench on the float!

Getting Jiggy With It! - Winter Lure Fishing

Well hey guy's long time no blogging and once again I have to say how sorry I am for the lack of post's! Hopefully if you follow any of the On The Bank Angling bits and pieces though you will realise there's been a lot going on!

Anyway enough excuses and may I wish you all a very happy new year! So, how has the new year started for the members of OTBA? Well all I can say is I can't wait till the summer!

That's being a little unfair to be honest, as I have actually had some cracking results over the past weeks whilst pursuing my new interest - fishing with lures.

To be more precise I mean fishing with small soft jigs on light rods. This approach really has hooked me. As a kid I often considered lure fishing as a desperate method that never really accounted for many big fish. Don't get me wrong, I would still do it and catch the odd fish but was never really amazingly confident. This may be down to the endless options of different lures all of varying colours, shapes and sizes. There's so many lures in some shops that the whole thing can get a bit confusing.

My first Pike was on a lure! Boy don't I look young.

With this is mind I have always been looking at other methods to catch predatory species such as Perch and Pike but now wish I had not been so hasty in ruling out lure fishing. The more I think about it the more advantages I see in this mobile and creative approach. Lure fishing offers the angler so many options. You can fish at all the depths , you can cover so much water , you can basically make that lure do whatever you want and you don't have to commit loads of time to it. 

It was that last point that made me start my recent spell of jig fishing sessions on the Bristol Avon. As I was up in the area visiting the girlfriend I would often only get a couple of hours fishing time. Not enough to bait and wait effectively. So why not explore the river with lures? 

My first session on the river with the jigs was more than enough to get me coming back for more as I caught Pike , Perch and Chub all on little jigs. Check out the video below to see just how I did it....

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPQUr87dmqY

The Bristol Avon has turned out to be the perfect river for the method too, since as you can see in the video it's just me on the bank without another angler in sight. This means I can try all the areas the fish lie up in - and I mean all the areas. I always tend to look for the predatory species near cover and every tree , undercut bank or snag is thoroughly explored. Soon you begin to get a picture of the exact areas the fish like to sit in and then fishing gets really easy. I have already had three Chub in three sessions from the same swim on the Avon , it's a swim where a concrete pipe enters the water in the near margin. The fish I find always are sat under the pipe , a spot that would more than likely be ignored using other methods as it is so close to the bank.

A near PB Chub on a Lure

Another Chub from the "Pipe" swim

It really pinpoints a fact that is important in all fishing disciplines and that's location. In a lot of the swims I try I end up biteless - however in other spots the jig is hit almost instantly, indicating there are a number of competing fish present.
The Perch I have caught on the Avon so far have all come from the same tree. This is a typical Perch spot where a fallen tree has created a large raft. The numbers of Perch under this tree are staggering and I am sure if I persevere that big two or three pounder will show up!
The method it's self is so simple too , a small jig mounted on a single hook. That's it! This is fished in an up and down motion to imitate a fish in distress. The skill in lure fishing really is working the different lures though and I'm sure far more experienced lure anglers than myself would have had a lot more fish - but I keep learning as I go!
A few of the other lads have also jumped on the method and are getting some cracking results. We pass on our observations and findings so that we can all use these tips in our own fishing. One observation we have noticed already is that how different species tend to prefer certain styles of retrieve. Perch prefer the classic jigging motion of a lift and drop, whereas Pike seem to like the faster dart - like retrieve. With the Chub I've caught I can only imagine that they are snatching at the lure as it passes. I personally find it hard to imagine Chub chasing down the lure but I may be - and probably am - wrong! What do you guys think?

A Dorset Stour Perch

So that's what's been keeping me busy recently, work and a bad case of the lure fishing bug! I hope those of you who haven't tried light jig fishing yet really fancy going and giving it a try after this little read. There isn't really too much else to say other than get out on the bank using this mobile and exciting method. Oooh - there is one other thing and that is that I've just got back from my first session drop shotting!  We'll save that story till next time! ;) .


Tight lines!