I'm not embarrassed to say I shed a tear listening to you talk about your family, as it reminded me instantly of the fun times I had with my father on the river bank.. Sadly I lost him over 10 years ago, but I miss him still to this day! We had some great times sharing a bivvy in Dorset chatting about life and fishing, whilst also increasing the bond between us both.. From there to sleeping on the dam wall at Rutland Reservoir waiting for the sun to rise for our fish day of fly fishing!. Then watching my brother fall into the Derwent river as the bank collapsed and we had to haul him out with our landing net handles extended. Happy times, and thanks John for bringing back those memories! cheers Paul
My absolute pleasure and I’m not ashamed to admit I joined you in shedding a tear when I was editing that video - a special place for me and so many happy memories. The rainbow 🌈 just seemed to appear while I was thinking about everyone and it was another reminder, for me, that sometimes it’s worth getting up really early! Thanks for sharing those amazing memories of you and your dad, too. I think my granddad would have smoked us out of a bivvy (which didn’t even exist back then) but I can only imagine it was a right laugh to fish overnight with your old man. Funnily enough, I once fell into the Derwent, too, although it was less a bank collapsing and more a case of my poor judgment involving a rope swing…
Hi mate. I think your mum would be so very very proud of you for being so brave and honest about her. My mum nearly died last year and she is now fully mended and it puts a whole new perspective on the world. Her Dad ( my Grandad) passed away after saving her life whilst she was in hospital, a very tragic story. Anyway thanks for sharing how lovely your mum was mate 👍👍👍👍
What a wonderful video. I too shed a few tears , as it brought back memories of loved ones lost. I had put away my fishing gear a few years ago, because after 40 years of specimen hunting and match fishing, the bombardment of social media with pictures of "scaley bangers" and the latest bait boats just meant there was no magic left for me. Then your channel popped upon my UA-cam feed, and it awakened something in me that had been missing for some years. I'm glad to say that the gear has been dragged out of the lockup, and I'll be on the banks of my favourite rivers and lakes for the foreseeable future. I may even go up and fish the Trent. Thanks for the great content.
Chris, I use this phrase with a few comments from time to time, but that really has made my morning (particularly as it’s pissing it down and I likely won’t be going fishing). I’ve been lucky enough to discover that the next best thing to being on the bank is to record some of my waterside exploits and share them with anyone who might take an interest. And if the focus of the channel, just like the book, is the truly magical moments and memories that angling gives us, then hearing someone else has remembered it, too, and decided to give it another go, is the best feeling. Not trying to plug my book here but there are a few chapters in there about some difficult years in my life and, yep, they probably coincided with the modern obsession with catching crazy numbers of fish, or only the biggest fish, or when the buying of tackle seemed to come ahead of using of tackle, when I also fell out of love with it for a while. But rediscovering the magic of fishing is almost as powerful as the first time, if you get back to basics and take the pressure off yourself. I still love match fishing from time to time and I now enjoy trying to target certain species, too, but you can’t beat fishing for bites on a natural venue in my mind. That’s what I enjoy a lot anyway… having no idea what you might catch next and seeing any biggies as a massive bonus. A fantastic comment and long may your reawakening last! 🎣🐟
@@themagicoffishing As a person who followed the exploits of the great Chris Yates, I'm glad to have found someone with a similar ability to encapsulate the true magic of fishing. I have ordered your book, and very much look forward to what I'm sure will be a great read. I'm a 62 year old man-child with too many hobbies. But you have lit the fire again for me, and I'm sure, many others. Tight lines!
There is something special about your videos John. I love how you speak from the heart and share your memories. Clearly you have grown up with a very loving family, which has made you the man you are. What a wonderful privilege to have caught the bug of fishing from your grandad and having spent time and making memories with him. Personally I can go back to a place I fished as a kid, now 50 years on, and can recall being there with my brother and fishing friends and remembering special moments. These memories, I will always cherish.
Thanks man, that is a comment I will cherish 💙 I’ve always worn my heart on my sleeve, at home, work and indeed on the bank, so it’s awesome to hear it comes through in the videos - now I’ve accepted that’s just how I am 😄 And, yep, probably a reflection of having a brilliant family. Sometimes I just want to fish, while at other times I feel like talking or reminiscing - mostly about the magic of fishing! Anyone who truly loves our sport is very lucky and it’s cool you have your own happy memories of fishing with your brother and mates. There are several chapters about my young fishing pals in my book and I’m still meeting some great people through angling - both online and on the bank. Again, thanks for the kind of comment that fuels my fire to keep making vids whether I can 👍🎣
Interesting to hear your recollections of your grandad and family John, they say grief is the price we pay for love. Remembering the happy times and honouring the memory of people who have passed is the best tribute you can make to those who helped bring you up and made you the kind person you clearly are!!. Sometimes the fish just aren't in the mood, but a great day, (and night), out on the river, cheers Peter.
@@themagicoffishing You are very welcome John, I've never fished the river Trent, but I know there are some huge barbel in there, I mostly fished the Severn at Arley, Hampton loade, and Bewdley, my best barbel however were from the Warwickshire Avon and weighed 11lbs 8ozs and 12lbs 8ozs and fought very hard and were in mint condition, lovely fish indeed!!. Tight lines, cheers Peter.
I loved all the memories you shared John. I've got so many memories linked with fishing adventures over all of my life. Blessed is the right word to use, not trying to any of it for granted or that we have a right to it. thanks for sharing jon
Thanks for taking the time to leave a special comment and I completely agree about the memories - fishing creates so many and the vast majority are good! Definitely not to be taken for granted 👍🎣😀🙏
Thank you again John, the way you talk about fishing, life and people lost is the reason i can not wait until the next episode and thats why i got your book also! A bit emotional now, but also happy memories!
Thanks as always for such a meaningful comment and I’m glad the video moved you, too - it was emotional to make and to edit, largely because of all the strong fishing and people associations I have with that place. Happy memories, too, as you say, and that’s the thing to focus on ☀️🎣 Cheers for now!
Absolutely brilliant channel my favourite way of fishing stick float and centre pin I go on the broads fir two weeks early October so relaxing I'm Nottingham 64 I started with a fibre glass sea rod and a black Prince reel at trent Bridge steps with a little bobbin float catching gudgeon love your story off your grandfather and mother 😢 memories never forgotten ❤
Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a lovely comment and share your memories and thoughts with me and the community 🙏👍🤗 I have a real soft spot for Nottingham and Nottingham folk - all thanks to fishing of course. Two massive fishing cities and, yep, plenty of history with the stick float. The Trentmen - trentmen.co.uk/ - were right up there with the original stick aces and inventors from the Northwest. If, like me, you love your stick float fishing and haven’t come across it yet, you might enjoy a book by one of my fishing mentors, Jim Baxter, who captained Sheffield and fished for a national winning Barnsley Blacks side… Stick Float Wizardry: mastering the essential river float amzn.eu/d/2ZD3DKe So many great stories about the fishing greats of the past and more recent years 👍🎣 I too started with a glass rod (and used it off piers as well as on the farm pond where I leaned to fish)! 😄 Thanks again for commenting and cheers for now 🍻
Great video which reminded me of fishing the Trent around Nottingham with my late dad. We have just come back from three days fishing at Gunthorpe. Small world and you have brought back some lovely memories. Thank you.
Wow, that is a small world! Brilliant you’re still fishing with your dad and have similar strong memories of the place - I love being reminded it’s not all unique for me and there will be loads of angling destinations with strong connections and emotions for loads of us in the angling world! It’s yet another special aspect of fishing - all the places we get to know over the years, in addition to the people we enjoy them with. Cheers for now 🍻
The raw truth of fishing!! The fact you didn’t catch didn’t spoil the video for me, listening to you reminisce was very emotional & touching. We have a lot to thank the person who helped us start fishing, as I couldn’t imagine life without it. I’m sure you’ll be back on the Trent, & on a more favourable day, your wishes will be granted. Tight Lines John, & as always, another fantastic video. 👌🏻🎣
Many thanks, mate 💙 You always leave brilliant comments and seem to understand my videos as well as you understand fishing. There’s no denying I would have loved to finish that 22-hour session (and vid) holding a double-figure barbel, but sometimes my ramblings seem to match the fate of the fishing and it’s almost like I knew at 5am - talking about people who’ve been important to me - that it wouldn’t be a day of big fish action. Perhaps a subconscious result of the bailiff’s advice the previous day, who knows, but I’m really glad that you and others don’t feel the lack of a big bruiser spoils the end result. Thanks again 🙏 And I totally agree we all owe a lot to the person or people who got us into 🎣🐟
That can be a good stretch, the hotel just a cracking rotisserie chicken and chips 👌, it was my uncle who got me fishing 42 years ago ,your videos are always atmospheric, reminds me why I go, awesome, tight lines, good health and safe travels, cheers craig
Had some great stick float sessions in front of that pub! I do remember the grass used to be well cropped almost up to the bank from across the road in front of the pub! Always remembered lots of cyclist race guys at that pub which is weird for me as I'm from further up north! Love the Trent! I caught a 2ilb roach on caster on the opposite bank once,only one of 3 2ilb roach I ever caught!
Many thanks for the kind words about the video and the book - really glad you found and enjoyed both of them, Justin. Hope you have subscribed and enjoy some of the other films - welcome to comment again anytime 👍🙏🎣🐟
Another fantastic video and I did shed a tear when you were talking about your grandad, and how your mum lost her parents at a young age , both my parents died before I was 21, and I still miss them very much
That’s very tough - at least I can say so from listening to my mum, who was likewise an orphan in her late teens. Thanks for commenting again and for your ongoing support of this channel. Take care 💙🎣🐟
I'm sure that I'm correct, but, was that "Mal 90" Mal Aldgate from Woodseats, if so, he was my neighbour, he lived opposite Brian Whitney, and I used to go club fishing with them both when I was younger .
NO WAY?! You know Mal? Yes it is 👍 An absolute gent. He turned 90 this month and is STILL fishing matches. Not only that, but winning a few too. Lovely bloke - which I’m sure makes you one too 😀
I've known him since I was a young kid, and went to school with one his kids. Started out at Woodseats school, then attending Rowlinson. I'm 64 now, so years are passing on. I did see him a couple of weeks ago on Woodseats, but, was driving, so, unable to chat to him. The whole family was lovely, albeit, lost his wife many years ago. Keep up the vids mate, love them. Incidentally, the vid at Gunthorpe is close to where my daughter lives at East Bridgford.
Just watching your video on the trent .it brings back Happy memories of when me and my brother and dad. I lost my mum 43 years ago, and my dad 34 years ago my brother 6 years ago. With you it's not all about match fishing. When we younger we fish on river in Wales river clwyd no course fish nearly all trout. Me and my brother were quite happy catching eels. Also I too I'm from Bolton. I don't fish matches no more. Your video brought back such lovely memories and happier times. Iam now in my 75th year. Never stop talking about your past it keeps things alive. ❤
John, thanks for leaving such a lovely comment and, as a Bolton man and keen angler, you’re welcome on the channel anytime. Keep yourself keen because 75 is no age at all! Great story about Wales - you can’t beat an eel or two when the going gets tough 😄 🎣 Sorry you’ve lost them, but as I say in the video, they would want you to be happy and it’s grand you can remember all the brilliant memories fishing brought you all. Now it’s your turn to make some more. It’s been too long since I’ve been back to Bolton but it’s still close to my heart 💙 I still like my Vimto and pasties, and I still keep an eye on The Trotters. Cheers for now.
Another great video John, I love your dedication even when not catching. To hear you speak with such affection for your family living and unfortunately passed is truly heartwarming. Although my father nor son shared my love of fishing I’m really hoping I can inspire my grandchildren once I return to the banks in the coming years, and hopefully I can create some wonderful memories for them and a love of the outdoors and the riverbank. Thanks and keep up the good work. Your enthusiasm is infectious.
Many thanks as always, Graham! You’ve got the same goal as me then… No joy with my own kids (well, they like a dabble but not addicts like me), so my next best bet is any grandchildren I might be lucky enough to see! Maybe then the Moorwood ‘granddad fishing’ cycle will begin again… Cheers for now 🍻
Hey up I'd just like to say what a brilliant video u really r a top bloke,I have health problems and have fished for well over fourty years but haven,t been able to fish for many a year,I don,t think people like u realise how many people u really do help like me and i thank u for that so much,it really does help take care....
Many thanks 🙏☺️ Lovely comments like this help me appreciate that I’m helping people like you to relive some happy memories and get out the bank in a virtual way. Sorry to hear you’ve not managed to get fishing for a long time now, which must be really tough having enjoyed your fishing for so long. I’m so glad you enjoyed the watch and thanks again for commenting. Cheers for now, John 🎣🐟👍
Superb video. I love that stretch of the river and the many childhood walks with my Dad who made me appreciate the natural world and set me off on a life long journey fishing and enjoying watching the wildlife. He passed away in 2009 and we scattered his ashes on his favourite walk at Stoke Bardolph. This video brought back many memories and thank you.
You take me back to my grandma, she was blind, but what a lady, she would sing, and sit there knitting, play the piano, just a real Londoner, my dads brothewas into photography, and I myself run two photo groups with over 2000 members, work full time, and try to fish when I can, but finding time, well thats another story. But I love fishing since the age of 7 years old.
Lifelong angler like me 🎣🐟 ✊ I think I was five when my granddad first took me, with a glass fishing rod from Woolies. Your grandma sounds like a right character. I think my mum’s grandparents were originally from Glasgow and both of them were blind. Thanks for commenting as always and tight lines until next time 👍
Lovely video fishing really does give you time to reflect about life and loved ones loved and lost very emotional stuff thanks for the upload really enjoyed it 👍
Thank YOU for taking the time to comment and I’m chuffed you enjoyed it. We can enjoy fishing in so many ways can’t we? From raucous socials or matches to complete solitude and thinking time 👍🎣🐟 I think anyone who loves fishing understands something truly special that the majority of the population are sadly missing. Cheers for now 🍻
Thanks for that you are spot on pal I remember driving through the same little villages with my dad from sheff I'm 54 now but remember it like it was yesterday ❤
My absolute pleasure! Hearing from ‘retired’ anglers who have enjoyed one or more of the videos and been inspired to get back on the bank is the ultimate pay back, in terms of the time spent film in and editing, that I can wish for. So much has changed in the sport since I learned to make my first cast, but so much is exactly the same - the fish in particular - and the old magic is still there to be enjoyed. Keep watch, keep enjoying, and keep fishing 💙🎣👍😎 Cheers for now.
Superb, loved the storys you tell. I think this is your best yet, lost my dad 30 years ago , we had so many trips on the canal , miss him everyday to . Am crying watchin at the mo. I love your passion for angling i must go again great video thanks for sharing top notch,
Thanks Mick, I’d give you a big man hug if I was there! 🤗 Really glad you enjoyed it and were also reminded of your old man. I’ve not done much canal fishing for a while but agree they can be really atmospheric and memorable places to fish, whether inner city cuts or out in the middle of nowhere. And always memorable with yer dad. Thanks as always for watching and leaving such a lovely comment ☺️
Really?! Brilliant 🤩😂 You’re a lucky man to have boat there and that marina (or those marinas, plural, should I say) are another feature of Gunthorpe that make it a lovely place to visit. Sure it’s nice to fish in the middle of nowhere and find peace a lot of the time, but Gunthorpe is full of life and people enjoying themselves, as well as offering great fishing. Thanks for taking the time to comment 👍🤗
Great film that brings back great memories for me too, at 14 (jeez 50 years ago) My friends and me were on the Trent, mainly under Kelham bridge or on the wall at Newark, but we fished Gunthorpe, Shelford, Stoke Bardolph, Burton Joyce etc, i don't fish much these days but i do walk the River 2 or 3 times a week, but now with a camera instead of a rod & line.
Glad I could bring back a few happy memories and it sounds like you’re still making plenty with your camera too. There is some stunning scenery around there and I love it. Maybe you should get the rods back out….?? 🎣🐟 Cheers for now.
Think most people taught to fish by family members it's a great bond and great memories. Love tthee vids me personally love to trot rivers nothing like it
That is one of the first stretches of the Trent I ever fished. My own family is from Sheffield, and I lived in Dronfield till I was about seven. Although Sheffield has a rich fishing heritage, none of my family fished. I moved to Notts in 1980, but didn’t fish the river Trent seriously until 1989. I still fish it to this day, but miss the many club matches I used to fish.
Thanks for watching and commenting, David, and I know exactly what you mean by missing club matches on the mighty river! We used to get coaches from Dronfield (meeting at the sports and social club opposite the Miners Arms), but first many of the members found the walks and difficult banks challenging, then the fishing was off for a good few years and then coach hire become too expensive… We are still going as you saw, but now meet at commercial venues and drive ourselves. I really do miss those early morning draws, with the steak coming off the river! You’ve lived in two great fishing cities! Cheers for now 👍
You talk very fondly and eloquently of your lost family, really honest and likeable. I'm a Sheffielder aswell, 56 now and still live here. I was thinking, why don't you come home and do the 5 rivers challenge? (I know these "challenge" things are a bit old hat and cheesy now but this is a good one)...catch a trout from every river, Don, Sheaf, Rivelin, Loxley and Porter in a day. I think it's meant to be in daylight hours, it's tricky logistically and a bit of planning is required but achievable. I found the best way is with a simple bubble float and maggot in the smaller rivers and a small chubber or stick float for the Don.
John, you know which buttons to press! 🎣🐟😎 I was just saying to Rachel, earlier tonight, that it’s nice to hear from a few more Sheffield folk on the vid today. She asked why I don’t get more, seeing as I’m from the Steel City and the book begins there, and I said ‘because I haven’t yet made any fishing vids up there!’ I’m only up for the odd weekend and usually fish a match on the Saturdays, so fishing and filming, too, usually feels too much. But now you’ve given me something to think about… Thank you 🙏
Makes you a certain type of man being from "Sheffeld" as the owd un's used to call it. Resilient, resourceful and hard when you need to be...not to be tested! We are born nature lovers without going all Chris Packham about it 😄, the environment governs that, it just comes naturally. I do a bit of wildcamping and swimming in the Peaks aswell, it's so handy. Love the old stone circles, springs and tumuli etc, I go out of my way to find them. Love our city to death and I've done a lot of travelling but nowhere compares to me. Hope you've got enough Hendo's and make your own Sheffield fishcakes to put it on and teach the Southerners what a real delicacy is 🤣. All the best pal, John.
Awesome comment 😎 Thanks for watching and taking the time to leave a few kind words - it really does keep me in the mood to do more whenever I can. Cheers 🍻
Hi all, I have fished the river Trent all my days and it has special memories for me when i saw the title of this video and saw the location and shots of the Pub I had to ask you and others reading this if any of you remember the Lady that was rescued from the river just above the Bridge? I was Carp fishing back in 1990-92 i forget the exact year just above a line of tall trees all bivvied up when about 6 am a Lady walked up the bank behind me and carried on walking, the odd thing was she was dressed in rather fine clothes as you would wear to a dinner party, anyway i thought no more of it, and about an hour later i saw what i thought was a swimmer in the middle of the river, and just as i saw this whoever it was tried desperately to shout help as they did this they raised their arm and hand out the water and i watched whoever it was go under... my heart was in my mouth of what to do, I had my leg amputated a few months earlier and my false leg was not even on at that point, so i quickly stuffed my stump into the socket of the false leg and as quick as i could so i could reel in one of my carp rods, whoever it was, was now 20 yards away as i cast towards where i thought they may be, the line of very tall trees stopped my casting a second time so i ran as best i could down the river untill there was another gap in the trees not far from the bridge, i ran in the water and there was no sign of whoever it was, but because it was flat calm and i was in the river up to my chest i was able to look across the cerface of the river and scan it, there was just one area a depresion in the water.... i thought that had got to be them, so i cast a second time now against the flow, my lead was cast about 50 yards just past the spot and the rig went down about 10 feet when i felt resistance so i slowly pulled my rod into a curve and slowly whatever it was coming towards me, people from the bridge could see something was not right my girlfriend was in a panic behind me, the current was helping me as it was coming towards me, i got further out into the river up to my neck now and whoever it was surfaced just feet away from me who was very blue in colour i grabbed them out the water and as quick as i could carry them up the bank and rolled them onto their side, i then rolled them over and over then back on there side again, lots of water was gushing out of them, i rolled them once more and the person twitched and then spluttered and even more water came out, i could now see it was the lady who had walked passed me, colour was now coming back into her face and arms, someone had called the police and ambulance from the bridge and the crew took her away to hospital, the police took details and i had a cup of tea back at the bivy up the river still very shaky, the lady recovered and i told the papers to leave her family alone when they asked for the story, but Angling times and Anglers mail got hold of it and covered it in a very respectfull way, Back to why i am retelling this, i had a house fire a few years back and i lost my copies of Angling Times and Mail, if anyone out there remembers this or has a copy i would be so grateful for a photocopy. "Hemp and Tears on the Trent steps city side near where the metal pole used to stick out the water instead of School was very much a part of my childhood" or further down near Lady Bay Bridge where Brian Clough with the forest team would ask me ( now then young man) why i was not at school...... "Teacher training day Sir" i would shout back to Brian. while not for a moment taking my eye of my stick float.... Thank you for these great videos! Tim Lee
Tim, it’s not often that I’m lost for words but after reading that epic story, heart in my mouth, it’s taken me some time to start a reply. What an incredible situation and outcome 🤯👏🏼 I’ve sadly heard of people losing their lives or having close shaves with big rivers - from fellow anglers who have born witness or been involved in some way, but I’ve never heard or dreamed of one of our club being able to directly save someone’s life with the gear we use to catch fish 🎣🤯 Phenomenal stuff and well done for having the tenacity, strength, skills (and some luck I suppose) to pull off such a mind-boggling feat. That’s a fishing trip like no other! Have you tried Angling Times directly I take it? There MUST be someone who reads this who remembers the events of that day, or possibly has an old copy of the AT?! 🤞🤞🤞🤞 I’ll never think about Gunthorpe in the same way. Thank you for taking the time to share that surreal and heroic experience with the community and let’s hope it might lead to something… TMOF community, please reply to these comments if you can help 🙏
P.S. I’ve fished matches on the embankment a few times, but not for years, and it’s another place I’ve been meaning to get back to. So many places and never enough time…!
Hi mate,just watched all of this video and it brought loads of memories flooding back.Firstly when you put your match clips on I couldn't believe 1 of the anglers in the match was an angler that I fish with regularly, David Watson.He's never fished a river or other natural venues only commercials. Another memory was bang opposite you were fishing was /is called East Bridgford stretch and in the mid eighties was leased by sheffield and District fishing association and was noted as a fantastic chub fishery along with roach,dace ,gudgeon and the odd carp plus barbel up to 4lb ish.There was a noted ( stick float peg ) 39 which was down the left of cardiac hill .So your first swim you were fishing was probably left downstream to that fantastic peg.The reason it was good / special was that you could wade out nearly a 3rd across the river before it suddenly went deep.The story behind this peg was that there was some kind of bridge across the river and when you waded out you would be standing on a parapet which the bridge sat on and it was also gravelly bottom.You used to feed hemp and caster and trot a stick down and you were certain to catch a few barbel and chub.The pegs were 1-65 from the wier field and 1_3 were brilliant stick pegs ,we use to use plastic hemp and catch loads of chub.My last memory was we had a match in December and we had to pack up half way through to heavy snowfall ,we all just managed to get back to the cars before we would have been in trouble as the snow was very thick.Great to see pictures of that stretch havnt been on there since very early nineties. Good luck in quest to catch a big whisker I'm sure it won't take you long as all the trent including the tidal is full of big barbel now.cheers
Many thanks for such a brilliant comment and I’m glad you enjoyed the video 💙👍🎣🐟 Plenty more on the channel, although not all of them on the Trent of course. It’s such a special river and stories like the one you just told so well are exactly the kind of myths and legends (many of them true) I used to soak up as a young lad, during our many club coach trips. It’s also the kind of peg I still dream about fishing, although not everyone is so forthcoming with information if they come across such a flyer these days! I keep hearing about the tidal Thames and Collingham in particular, however, so can’t wait to get back and try again as you say - even if it takes me a while. And I have so much of the Thames to explore, too… Love the snow story! 🤯 Never fished in anything quite like that. I’m not trying to flog you anything but if you’ve not come across it already, you strike me as someone who might enjoy my book, The Magic of Fishing, from which the channel gets its name - lots of tales about growing up in Sheffield, fishing with my granddad and enjoying days on the Trent. In fact I once gave a copy to Dave W! That’s a real coincidence and I’m fishing with him and the club (for the final time this summer) on Saturday! Back at Springvale near Retford. He may not fish the rivers but he’s come on in his match fishing a long way since I first met him and is now hard to beat on the venues he fishes week in, week out! Cheers for now and thanks again for watching 👍🎣🐟
And I love your comment! 💙😎🙏 Seriously, you may think it’s a few quick words, but this is exactly why I spend a couple of nights a week attempting to edit my iPhone footage for UA-cam - because it brings me great joy to share my time on the bank with people who appreciate the effort and share my passion for the magic of 🎣🐟 Keep the comments coming and I’ll do my best to keep the vids coming 👍
".30am really are you sure, clap clap well done, great video mate, loved it, I will be on the Thames Sunday morning, all the best, have a great weekend.
Honestly, mate, I met the bailiff on the Sunday aft and we both agreed it was going to be red hot and very tricky for the barbel the following day. He looked at me and said, ‘if it was me I’d be on the bank by 3 and your best bet will be 3-5ish’. I had to do a double-take and 2.30am meant I managed about 3 hours sleep 😴 I must say it was worth it though, even if I didn’t catch my beast of a barbel that time. As Arnie said, I’ll be back… 😎🎣
Yet another interesting video. You have the gift of a calming interesting voice. I'm sure you could read a telephone directory and make it sound interesting! I'm over here in Ireland with my son Stephen. He'll have some memories when I'm gone. At 81, he won't have long to wait! I've been coming over here for over 50 years and I've never known the weather to be so bad for so long. Every day, rain and gales. and a little sun. Anyway, 5 days to go.
Oh John! What can I say?! Firstly, I’m gutted for you with the weather 🌧️😬 If it makes you feel any better, it’s been chucking it down most of the day here, too. Although I know no one wants to fish in the wet all week. BUT..: You’re in Ireland 🇮🇪 and 🎣 with your son, so I reckon your are as cool 😎 as a cucumber. And, at 81, you’re nearly a decade younger than Mal, who made a brief appearance in this video, and not only does he still fish in my old club’s matches, but sometimes WINS them! OK, so he’s a lucky man, but so are you my friend 🍀 Thanks for another lovely comment 🥰 I’m off to read the phone book 😂
Hearing the love coming out that never wains for departed cherished people that are owed so much has left a tear on my cheek. I think it's safe to say that it's like that for the majority of us. As with you, it was Grandad (on mum's side) that put a fire in my belly for angling. He went back in 1980, and still I'd love to have him here to fish with once again. I wonder if you knew that you were plugging Rolls Royce aero engines!!?? LOL Names of rivers have been used to name their engines for decades. Rivers such as the Trent, Avon, Spey, Dart, Derwent, Conway etc... Notice the names of Lugg, Piddle and Usk are absent from their list... Thanks again for bringing a bit of peace to a troubled mind. Take care John. TTFN
My gratitude for you and your poetic comments never wains either, Graham. Nice to understand you’re another granddad-inspired angler and although I would have loved to fish with my dad too (beyond holiday mackerel boat trips), there’s something special about that 🎣 link with the generation above. Indeed, it may yet be my best bet for raising a young apprentice, seeing as my teenage lad and stepchildren have never quite got that 🔥 you talk of (despite my efforts)… Didn’t know of that RR river connection and you’re always welcome to bring a touch of your ✈️🛩️ enthusiasm onto the channel 🤗
Hi John Really enjoyed this video, bought back so many memories of fishing in the exact same place you were fishing. had many great days there on hemp and tares on the stick. pike fishing below the lock in winter. catching carp in the marina entrance, Bream fishing at at the point to lock entrance and Sunday nights as a kid fishing in front of the unicorn while parents were having a drink. None of these big barbel then. I used to live local to Gunthorpe but left the UK in 1994 so lovely to watch your video bought back so many memories, Thanks
Ah that’s brilliant to hear and thanks so much for commenting! What memories and stories you have of the place too! I can completely relate to fishing in front of the Unicorn 😀 Sounds like you knew what you were doing, too, and I’m yet to experience a carp from the Trent. Cheers 🍻
Hi John. A very enjoyable and atmospheric video! You persevered for 20 hours and deserved to get a good barbel but I guess that’s fishing. I imagine it was always going to be a struggle in the heat of the day and you always hope for a bite or two at dusk or the first couple of hours of darkness.
Used to fish Gunthorpe weir with my Uncle Clive when on holiday in the mid 70s from the far bank! Used to be a sand bar up close to the weir almost half way across he used to wade to and fished cheese mainly! He used to get mostly chub with the odd big bream and the odd barbel which were less prolific in those days ,200Ilbs of chub many sessions! The odd big pike also.He made his own rod rest,huge heavy thing he used to drive into the river bed! Many happy memories! I caught a few myself! Little boat yard just above the weir on what was then Notts Fed is where I caught my first carp and river tench,both under a pound! Loved Hazelford and the weir there also! 🙂 PS: You couldn't fish off the Gunthorpe lock side wall in those days,very popular spot nowadays! 1976 was very hot,the spray off the weir was like heaven!
Lovely comment and they sound like very happy memories, thanks - it’s great hearing from others who also love a particular place. 200lb of chub eh??? That is truly dream fishing and I wouldn’t have minded just one on my trip there 😄 I’ve heard so many stories about the glory days of the Trent and caught the tale end of it as a young lad, although there are plenty of angler saying the river has never fished as well as it is right now. I don’t get there enough, or belong to any clubs, in order to judge whether that’s the case or not, but it’s encouraging with all the threats our waterways are facing. Thanks again for taking the time to comment 👍🎣🐟
Beautiful video thank you . I used to fish opposite back just below the weir in the 1980's . We could wade out to almost half way out into the river . No fishing from the lock island those days . And no barbel either ! . We'd just ledger lobworm over towards the lock . We'd catch lovely chub with some carp showing too and even the occasional pike on worm . It was and still is N.A.A. members only waters . Fished it for probably 6ish years early to mid 80's but never had a barbel . I went back there about "93-4 one day and had a 7lb barbel from the sloping weir concrete bank . Was made up .
Good on you! And thanks for a lovely comment - I always like to hear from others who have fond memories of the place. I heard it was still Notts on the other bank (and that it was shallower). It’s fascinating how natural venues and their fish stocks evolve over time - rarely staying the same for more than a decade. Hope you might enjoy some of my other Trent videos on the channel 👍🎣🐟
@themagicoffishing reading the comments on here you clearly evoke happy angling memories in others too , as you did me immediately. I think it's the way you speak in your commentary. It's very tranquil and soothing almost . You'd be perfect for voice overs on TV angling programmes . In fact that's a silly statement ! YOUR videos would make perfect angling programmes for TV ! Tight lines buddy 👍🎣
😮 A queue to go fishing, I’ve not seen that before - although I was pretty rapid when I saw the other guys packing up 😄 🏃🏻♂️ I’ve got to say it was pretty quiet on the Monday, although a few set up on the beach just down from me for the night. They must have been happy and considering a late move when I had to give up around midnight! Thanks for watching and commenting 👍😎🎣🐟
the trent at gunny used to always be hard in summer low water but there was a trick i used to do to catch barble carp chub even large roach . i was member of the NAA Notts angling ass we fish op bank from where u was fishing in the NAA IF U WAS 1ST THERE WE WOULD FREELINE MEAT OR CHEESE just above the weir and let the bait roll down the weir and the flow would take the bait right under the weir where there still water and the fish was always under there once that dryed up we would wade out 15 feet from our bank and free line meat cheese for some good chub of 5ib Boy those was the day's but that was 35yrs back now no pic from them day but i have most of the memerious in my head
No need for pics, mate - you just painted a perfect picture in my head (and had me dreaming I was there with you!). Funnily enough, the bailiff mentioned two of those aspects of the fishing there. Firstly, he said that some of those fishing from the island chuck right onto the sill of the weir and then drag it back off, so it goes underneath - very effective but snag city and quite expensive in terms of tackle! He also had a barbel himself during a short session with his son (again, from the island) and caught it using rolled meat. It’s a technique I need to try again myself sometime, so thanks for the reminder 👍 Thanks also for watching and commenting - love those memories and tips.
Wow, what a gorgeous spot, my type of fishing. Love to reminis. I was fishing the Thames in 34c that day😂 Nice vid again bud, loving the B-roll. Me next, just finished it, waiting on an Adsence verification, typical..! Lol..😂
It was a proper scorcher wasn’t it?! Great to hear you’re still doing plenty of fishing, in amongst the other passions, and trying one of your recommended spots is high on my fishing list. Possibly the Loddon (also a first) this weekend and then I’m back up north the weekend after, but I did enjoy the Dezzy Cut recently and have walked round some of your old haunts this summer by sheer coincidence. It’s just so cool to find a guide to those areas where I was thinking ‘well it LOOKS free, but dare I risk it…?!’ Best of luck with the verification and I look forward to it 😎🎣
Its not all about the fish eh John,what a lovely place on the river,it's a pleasure just watching how you have filmed some lovely shots of nature at its prime ,ime sure you will be going again sometime when it's cooler eh,and yes John we've all got memories of absent friends and in those settings it's so easy for the mind to drift away,tite lines mate
My sincere thanks, as always, for your lovely words, mate 💙🙏☺️ Yep, it’s not all about the fishing results or it would be called catching 😄 And while it’s possible to do that on some venues, which I enjoy doing at times, I also love to be in those stunning places like Gunthorpe Lock 👍 Would LOVE to get back there and have another go, and I keep being told Collingham is also a cracking stretch for barbel and chub - two of my favourite fish. Cheers for now, mate 🍻
Brilliant presenting, fellow Northerner, I feel fishing has become very strange, So called experts explaining how wild fish think, come on!! They are there to promote tackle companies. Please don't ever go to the dark side, you definitely capture the soul of fishing. Give yourself a big pat on the back.
Thanks Gary, brilliant to read that on a Friday night ☺️ Especially from a fellow northern lad. I will try my very best to stay with the light... Unless someone offers me a chance to pack in the day job to flog their gear for millions 😂💰🤑 I’ll get myself another cold one from the fridge and ask Rachel, my wife, to give me a pat on the back - in return for making me watch Celebrity Masterchef?! 😄😏 thanks again 🙏
Great vid. Love to see the Trent vids. I was on the Trent at Collingham yesterday and had 6 barbel up to 10.9lb. Great fishing at Collingham, as 6 barbel is a pretty standard days fishing for collingham, and often many more then that. had 9 babrel and lost two in a day session 2 weeks ago (upto 13lb as well) Most people think fishing next to the weir is imperative but I fish much further down from the weir, away from all the pressure and always catch more then the guys fishing close to the weir. Yes the actual weir pegs are next level fishing but if you cant get in the first 3 pegs (1 to 3) then youre better off getting away from the pressured area. I assume that is similar at Gunthorpe. Is fishing from a boat allowed at Gunthorpe do you know? as I would like to do some pike fishing up there in winter as you cant boat fish from collingham? Try Collingham for babel mate. you will neve look back!! bailiffs know very little in my opinion. The Bailiff came first thing in the morning yesterday and specifically told me that everything was against me and that I would be lucky to catch. he was wrong as usual!!
Hello again and thanks for leaving a brilliant comment 😎🎣🐟 First of all, congratulations on your recent barbel bagging 👏🏼 I would have loved just one of those fish and it sounds amazing. Secondly; it is so weird you mention Collingjham because I recently watched the NuFish video with Mick Vials, in which he fished there, and I actually have the day ticket webpage up on my laptop as a result! It’s ages since I’ve fished the tidal Trent and I’d love to get to Collingham sometime - especially after what you’ve said (and thanks for extra advice, which makes sense 🙏). Not sure it will be possible this year but you’ve got me seriously interested…
@@themagicoffishing I have only started fishing the Trent again this year and I can not believe the shear volume of barbel there are up there now a days (Corringham). I only fish day ticket as the membership is full at the moment, therefore I can only fish days (members are aloud to night fish). But I have still managed an average of 4.7 Barbel a session (over 7 day sessions). Id say 75percent of those fish came in the last hour or two of daylight though, and can imaging night fishing would be insanely easy. Keep it in mind for sure mate!! Love the content, keep it coming pal. Cheers
Hello again Hugh. Well that was a hard days fishing, wasn't it. I'm really glad you took a break from the feeder to do some float fishing, makes all the differance if you can put a few silvers in the net. I've recently been fishing at Beeston canal and caught a fair amount of perch along with a few dace and roach. I'm not sure how I feel about the long evening feeder fishing for Barbel, so often it seems you come away with an empty net. To be honest I'm not a massive fan of stareing at a quiver tip for hours I'm a bit too much of a fidget. Ten minutes after casting I'd start worrying that my hook was hidden in weed or the bate had come off lol. I have fond memories of fishing with an uncle and cousin back when I was not much bigger than a pike, we used to go to the river Devon near Belvoir, no idea what that is like these days. I'm very fortunate these days as I live in Warwickshire and can be at a canal in about three minutes.
Hello Keith! Lovely to hear from you again, although I don’t know who this ‘Hugh’ is?! 😄 No doubt that pesky auto-spell to blame, as it’s happened to me a few times. Yes, they sure were tough, bright conditions and it was difficult fishing that day but, as you say, there’s no harm in trying something else during a long session and I really enjoyed the float fishing. As well as savouring the experience of being back on the Trent from one night to another. I 💙 that river. Like you, I’m usually an active angler. Although I will say that, once you’ve had a barbel wrench the rod round (which I’ve managed to achieve a few times on smaller rivers since starting the channel), it really is addictive and does wonders for the confidence. They really are special fish and I’d also love to get one on the float one day as well… I’ve never fished Beeston Canal but it’s another familiar name from the Nottingham area and I’m glad you had a decent session recently. Thanks again for leaving a great comment and hope to see you on the channel again soon. Cheers for now, John
Hi mate, brilliant video really enjoyed it , going to Gunthorpe soon , question is how far out were you casting , what did bailiff advise , cheers dave
Hiya Dave and thanks for the kind words! 💙 You jammy b***er - very jealous of your forthcoming trip 😃 I wasn’t casting too far, as the deeper water is on the near side, not the middle or the far side, but the bailiff advised to have one rod closer in and fished for longer (maybe an hour between casts), while the other one was used more experimentally, trying different spots from further upstream or more forwards the middle. However, if you’re on the furtherest swim up to the island / weir, it’s a bit snaggy, so if you find a couple of spots where you seem to be fine I might stick with them! You will need heavy lead to hold now I would think - 6oz+ - but all this extra rain may have done wonders for the barbel fishing and I enjoyed some big hits at Collingham recently (in a high and coloured river). If it’s that high when you go I would consider fishing both rods fairly close in - like a quarter the way across. I’m told meat works well there in coloured water. He usually walks the banks every morning so you will likely see him while there (and I’m no expert as you saw in the vid, not managing a fish that time round!). You can park in the Canal & River Trust car park just before you get to the end of the lane and the lock (payment by a mobile app) and the other advice would be to get there the day/night before, or up mega early, if you want your pick of pegs. I got there the evening before, on a hot day, and no pegs were taken thanks to all the public weekend activity, but by 3am the best ones were taken as you saw! But fear not if so, as many locals only fish the nights. Again, with all this rain you may stand a much better chance of fish during the day… 🤞🎣🐟
@@themagicoffishing hi I’m only doing a day session as not been before , I had my pb this season at collingham next to conveyer 13lb 1oz a cracker ,👍🎣 cheers
@@themagicoffishing I’m only doing a day session to start with as not been to Gunthorpe before , only been barbel fishing a year , do most of it at collingham , down in 80s , but had my pb this season next to conveyer 13lb 1oz stunning fish , hoping for one at gunthorpe 🤞🤞😊🎣 cheers dave
Hi, is on day ticket ? And I’ve done a few session at Collingham this season resulting in my pb 13lb1oz next to conveyer , like it at Collingham , park behind your peg, happy days cheers dave
i am 61. from sheffield . and the so called specialist approach is working at your fishing , not sitting behind 2 feeder/carp rods which is also enjoyable. just my opinion,
Cheers, Paul, always happy to get comments from the Steel City! I have to agree it can sometimes pay to be much more mobile and I don’t do a lot of two-rod fishing to be honest. Athough I wanted to give myself the best chance possible in tough conditions and did move pegs at least once when the top one became free 😄 I hear the Don is doing lots of barbel these days, which is great. I used to fish it at Stocksbridge and my former club there put a lot of baby barbel in at that top end, back in the day 👍🐟
Thanks very much 🙏💙 Glad you’re enjoying the channel and thanks for commenting. The feeder rods in that video are Drennan Specialist Twin Tips (they come with a normal rod top and a quiver tip top section as well. Mine are 1.25lb TC. Good for bigger fish on stillwaters and rivers 👍 The trotting rod is my pride and joy - a 15ft Drennan Accolyte. So light and responsive, you really can fish with them all day. Cheers for now.
@@themagicoffishing oh wow that's what I wanted to get, but I got told 1.25 is too light. What's the biggest you've caught on a 1.25? I wanted to use mine for specimen tench and bream fishing at my local waters then blobber floating for perch in the winter, would this be okay? Do you recommend the drennan 1.25s?
Hi mate don’t know ya name, quick question if you can help , do you the App for the Car park at Gunthorpe, phone only or card and cash ??, cheers Dave 🎣
Hi mate, no problem! It’s John. From memory, it’s app only for payment (ie by card via the app), but it’s been a while and I’ve only been the once so don’t quote me on that. However, I’m pretty sure if you spend some money at La Vague Bistro which is right next to the car park then you may get a free ticket! Worth giving them a ring - la-vague.co.uk/
Yes, but I’m not 100% sure who it’s with or how to get there - I THINK you park in the marina over there and have walk down and I think might be a Notts water - no idea about day tickets but you can probably find something online. Cheers
@@themagicoffishing the whole video I was looking at those bushes and thinking that barbel and chub are under them and I'm sure you were thinking that when sat there waiting for a bite. A simple drop next to a bush would have been effective I can guarantee it, especially on a bright hot day.
Yeah, I would have loved to get fishing with all three of us - but he never caught the bug and neither, it seems, have my kids 🤷🏻 It must slip a generation in our family 🎣
Sorry to hear it (that I’ve lost you) Totally respect your view and thanks for sharing it in a polite way. But as an occasional matchman and someone who enjoys using a keepnet from time to time in a responsible way, I’m afraid I won’t be changing that. Again, respect your view and hope you enjoy other UA-cam anglers who share your view. All the best and tight lines.
I'm not embarrassed to say I shed a tear listening to you talk about your family, as it reminded me instantly of the fun times I had with my father on the river bank.. Sadly I lost him over 10 years ago, but I miss him still to this day! We had some great times sharing a bivvy in Dorset chatting about life and fishing, whilst also increasing the bond between us both.. From there to sleeping on the dam wall at Rutland Reservoir waiting for the sun to rise for our fish day of fly fishing!. Then watching my brother fall into the Derwent river as the bank collapsed and we had to haul him out with our landing net handles extended. Happy times, and thanks John for bringing back those memories!
cheers
Paul
My absolute pleasure and I’m not ashamed to admit I joined you in shedding a tear when I was editing that video - a special place for me and so many happy memories. The rainbow 🌈 just seemed to appear while I was thinking about everyone and it was another reminder, for me, that sometimes it’s worth getting up really early! Thanks for sharing those amazing memories of you and your dad, too. I think my granddad would have smoked us out of a bivvy (which didn’t even exist back then) but I can only imagine it was a right laugh to fish overnight with your old man. Funnily enough, I once fell into the Derwent, too, although it was less a bank collapsing and more a case of my poor judgment involving a rope swing…
Hi mate. I think your mum would be so very very proud of you for being so brave and honest about her. My mum nearly died last year and she is now fully mended and it puts a whole new perspective on the world. Her Dad ( my Grandad) passed away after saving her life whilst she was in hospital, a very tragic story. Anyway thanks for sharing how lovely your mum was mate 👍👍👍👍
What a wonderful video. I too shed a few tears , as it brought back memories of loved ones lost. I had put away my fishing gear a few years ago, because after 40 years of specimen hunting and match fishing, the bombardment of social media with pictures of "scaley bangers" and the latest bait boats just meant there was no magic left for me. Then your channel popped upon my UA-cam feed, and it awakened something in me that had been missing for some years. I'm glad to say that the gear has been dragged out of the lockup, and I'll be on the banks of my favourite rivers and lakes for the foreseeable future. I may even go up and fish the Trent. Thanks for the great content.
Chris, I use this phrase with a few comments from time to time, but that really has made my morning (particularly as it’s pissing it down and I likely won’t be going fishing). I’ve been lucky enough to discover that the next best thing to being on the bank is to record some of my waterside exploits and share them with anyone who might take an interest. And if the focus of the channel, just like the book, is the truly magical moments and memories that angling gives us, then hearing someone else has remembered it, too, and decided to give it another go, is the best feeling. Not trying to plug my book here but there are a few chapters in there about some difficult years in my life and, yep, they probably coincided with the modern obsession with catching crazy numbers of fish, or only the biggest fish, or when the buying of tackle seemed to come ahead of using of tackle, when I also fell out of love with it for a while. But rediscovering the magic of fishing is almost as powerful as the first time, if you get back to basics and take the pressure off yourself. I still love match fishing from time to time and I now enjoy trying to target certain species, too, but you can’t beat fishing for bites on a natural venue in my mind. That’s what I enjoy a lot anyway… having no idea what you might catch next and seeing any biggies as a massive bonus. A fantastic comment and long may your reawakening last! 🎣🐟
@@themagicoffishing As a person who followed the exploits of the great Chris Yates, I'm glad to have found someone with a similar ability to encapsulate the true magic of fishing. I have ordered your book, and very much look forward to what I'm sure will be a great read. I'm a 62 year old man-child with too many hobbies. But you have lit the fire again for me, and I'm sure, many others. Tight lines!
There is something special about your videos John. I love how you speak from the heart and share your memories. Clearly you have grown up with a very loving family, which has made you the man you are. What a wonderful privilege to have caught the bug of fishing from your grandad and having spent time and making memories with him. Personally I can go back to a place I fished as a kid, now 50 years on, and can recall being there with my brother and fishing friends and remembering special moments. These memories, I will always cherish.
Thanks man, that is a comment I will cherish 💙 I’ve always worn my heart on my sleeve, at home, work and indeed on the bank, so it’s awesome to hear it comes through in the videos - now I’ve accepted that’s just how I am 😄 And, yep, probably a reflection of having a brilliant family. Sometimes I just want to fish, while at other times I feel like talking or reminiscing - mostly about the magic of fishing! Anyone who truly loves our sport is very lucky and it’s cool you have your own happy memories of fishing with your brother and mates. There are several chapters about my young fishing pals in my book and I’m still meeting some great people through angling - both online and on the bank. Again, thanks for the kind of comment that fuels my fire to keep making vids whether I can 👍🎣
Interesting to hear your recollections of your grandad and family John, they say grief is the price we pay for love. Remembering the happy times and honouring the memory of people who have passed is the best tribute you can make to those who helped bring you up and made you the kind person you clearly are!!. Sometimes the fish just aren't in the mood, but a great day, (and night), out on the river, cheers Peter.
I think the best response I can make to this comment is to say I wholeheartedly agree with every single word 💙 Thanks as always Peter.
@@themagicoffishing You are very welcome John, I've never fished the river Trent, but I know there are some huge barbel in there, I mostly fished the Severn at Arley, Hampton loade, and Bewdley, my best barbel however were from the Warwickshire Avon and weighed 11lbs 8ozs and 12lbs 8ozs and fought very hard and were in mint condition, lovely fish indeed!!. Tight lines, cheers Peter.
I loved all the memories you shared John. I've got so many memories linked with fishing adventures over all of my life. Blessed is the right word to use, not trying to any of it for granted or that we have a right to it. thanks for sharing jon
Thanks for taking the time to leave a special comment and I completely agree about the memories - fishing creates so many and the vast majority are good! Definitely not to be taken for granted 👍🎣😀🙏
Thank you again John, the way you talk about fishing, life and people lost is the reason i can not wait until the next episode and thats why i got your book also! A bit emotional now, but also happy memories!
Thanks as always for such a meaningful comment and I’m glad the video moved you, too - it was emotional to make and to edit, largely because of all the strong fishing and people associations I have with that place. Happy memories, too, as you say, and that’s the thing to focus on ☀️🎣 Cheers for now!
Absolutely brilliant channel my favourite way of fishing stick float and centre pin I go on the broads fir two weeks early October so relaxing I'm Nottingham 64 I started with a fibre glass sea rod and a black Prince reel at trent Bridge steps with a little bobbin float catching gudgeon love your story off your grandfather and mother 😢 memories never forgotten ❤
Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a lovely comment and share your memories and thoughts with me and the community 🙏👍🤗 I have a real soft spot for Nottingham and Nottingham folk - all thanks to fishing of course. Two massive fishing cities and, yep, plenty of history with the stick float. The Trentmen - trentmen.co.uk/ - were right up there with the original stick aces and inventors from the Northwest. If, like me, you love your stick float fishing and haven’t come across it yet, you might enjoy a book by one of my fishing mentors, Jim Baxter, who captained Sheffield and fished for a national winning Barnsley Blacks side… Stick Float Wizardry: mastering the essential river float amzn.eu/d/2ZD3DKe
So many great stories about the fishing greats of the past and more recent years 👍🎣 I too started with a glass rod (and used it off piers as well as on the farm pond where I leaned to fish)! 😄 Thanks again for commenting and cheers for now 🍻
Great video which reminded me of fishing the Trent around Nottingham with my late dad.
We have just come back from three days fishing at Gunthorpe. Small world and you have brought back some lovely memories. Thank you.
Wow, that is a small world! Brilliant you’re still fishing with your dad and have similar strong memories of the place - I love being reminded it’s not all unique for me and there will be loads of angling destinations with strong connections and emotions for loads of us in the angling world! It’s yet another special aspect of fishing - all the places we get to know over the years, in addition to the people we enjoy them with. Cheers for now 🍻
The raw truth of fishing!! The fact you didn’t catch didn’t spoil the video for me, listening to you reminisce was very emotional & touching. We have a lot to thank the person who helped us start fishing, as I couldn’t imagine life without it. I’m sure you’ll be back on the Trent, & on a more favourable day, your wishes will be granted. Tight Lines John, & as always, another fantastic video. 👌🏻🎣
Many thanks, mate 💙 You always leave brilliant comments and seem to understand my videos as well as you understand fishing. There’s no denying I would have loved to finish that 22-hour session (and vid) holding a double-figure barbel, but sometimes my ramblings seem to match the fate of the fishing and it’s almost like I knew at 5am - talking about people who’ve been important to me - that it wouldn’t be a day of big fish action. Perhaps a subconscious result of the bailiff’s advice the previous day, who knows, but I’m really glad that you and others don’t feel the lack of a big bruiser spoils the end result. Thanks again 🙏 And I totally agree we all owe a lot to the person or people who got us into 🎣🐟
That can be a good stretch, the hotel just a cracking rotisserie chicken and chips 👌, it was my uncle who got me fishing 42 years ago ,your videos are always atmospheric, reminds me why I go, awesome, tight lines, good health and safe travels, cheers craig
Wow, what a lovely comment - thanks, Craig 🙏👍😎 Shame I missed the chicken 🍗
Had some great stick float sessions in front of that pub! I do remember the grass used to be well cropped almost up to the bank from across the road in front of the pub! Always remembered lots of cyclist race guys at that pub which is weird for me as I'm from further up north! Love the Trent! I caught a 2ilb roach on caster on the opposite bank once,only one of 3 2ilb roach I ever caught!
Fantastic i,v read your book it was excellent. Full of nostalgia and exactly what fishing is about 👍
Great video
Many thanks for the kind words about the video and the book - really glad you found and enjoyed both of them, Justin. Hope you have subscribed and enjoy some of the other films - welcome to comment again anytime 👍🙏🎣🐟
Another fantastic video and I did shed a tear when you were talking about your grandad, and how your mum lost her parents at a young age , both my parents died before I was 21, and I still miss them very much
That’s very tough - at least I can say so from listening to my mum, who was likewise an orphan in her late teens. Thanks for commenting again and for your ongoing support of this channel. Take care 💙🎣🐟
I'm sure that I'm correct, but, was that "Mal 90" Mal Aldgate from Woodseats, if so, he was my neighbour, he lived opposite Brian Whitney, and I used to go club fishing with them both when I was younger .
NO WAY?! You know Mal? Yes it is 👍 An absolute gent. He turned 90 this month and is STILL fishing matches. Not only that, but winning a few too. Lovely bloke - which I’m sure makes you one too 😀
I've known him since I was a young kid, and went to school with one his kids.
Started out at Woodseats school, then attending Rowlinson.
I'm 64 now, so years are passing on.
I did see him a couple of weeks ago on Woodseats, but, was driving, so, unable to chat to him.
The whole family was lovely, albeit, lost his wife many years ago.
Keep up the vids mate, love them.
Incidentally, the vid at Gunthorpe is close to where my daughter lives at East Bridgford.
Just watching your video on the trent .it brings back Happy memories of when me and my brother and dad. I lost my mum 43 years ago, and my dad 34 years ago my brother 6 years ago. With you it's not all about match fishing. When we younger we fish on river in Wales river clwyd no course fish nearly all trout. Me and my brother were quite happy catching eels. Also I too I'm from Bolton. I don't fish matches no more. Your video brought back such lovely memories and happier times. Iam now in my 75th year. Never stop talking about your past it keeps things alive. ❤
John, thanks for leaving such a lovely comment and, as a Bolton man and keen angler, you’re welcome on the channel anytime. Keep yourself keen because 75 is no age at all! Great story about Wales - you can’t beat an eel or two when the going gets tough 😄 🎣 Sorry you’ve lost them, but as I say in the video, they would want you to be happy and it’s grand you can remember all the brilliant memories fishing brought you all. Now it’s your turn to make some more. It’s been too long since I’ve been back to Bolton but it’s still close to my heart 💙 I still like my Vimto and pasties, and I still keep an eye on The Trotters. Cheers for now.
Another great video John, I love your dedication even when not catching. To hear you speak with such affection for your family living and unfortunately passed is truly heartwarming. Although my father nor son shared my love of fishing I’m really hoping I can inspire my grandchildren once I return to the banks in the coming years, and hopefully I can create some wonderful memories for them and a love of the outdoors and the riverbank. Thanks and keep up the good work. Your enthusiasm is infectious.
Many thanks as always, Graham! You’ve got the same goal as me then… No joy with my own kids (well, they like a dabble but not addicts like me), so my next best bet is any grandchildren I might be lucky enough to see! Maybe then the Moorwood ‘granddad fishing’ cycle will begin again… Cheers for now 🍻
Hey up I'd just like to say what a brilliant video u really r a top bloke,I have health problems and have fished for well over fourty years but haven,t been able to fish for many a year,I don,t think people like u realise how many people u really do help like me and i thank u for that so much,it really does help take care....
Many thanks 🙏☺️ Lovely comments like this help me appreciate that I’m helping people like you to relive some happy memories and get out the bank in a virtual way. Sorry to hear you’ve not managed to get fishing for a long time now, which must be really tough having enjoyed your fishing for so long. I’m so glad you enjoyed the watch and thanks again for commenting. Cheers for now, John 🎣🐟👍
@@themagicoffishing I really hope that John likes your comment,but my name is will but thanks anyway ha ha ha ha....
I’m John (The Magic of Fishing)! You’re Will! Now we’re straight 😄 New video due out Friday 👍🎣
@@themagicoffishinghey up oh dear what a goober I am,I'm so sorry my brain was having a day off that night doh,take care....
Superb video. I love that stretch of the river and the many childhood walks with my Dad who made me appreciate the natural world and set me off on a life long journey fishing and enjoying watching the wildlife. He passed away in 2009 and we scattered his ashes on his favourite walk at Stoke Bardolph. This video brought back many memories and thank you.
My pleasure and thanks for sharing your story. RIP your dad and long may you carry on his love of nature 💙🐟
You take me back to my grandma, she was blind, but what a lady, she would sing, and sit there knitting, play the piano, just a real Londoner, my dads brothewas into
photography, and I myself run two photo groups with over 2000 members, work full time, and try to fish when I can, but finding time, well thats another story.
But I love fishing since the age of 7 years old.
Lifelong angler like me 🎣🐟 ✊ I think I was five when my granddad first took me, with a glass fishing rod from Woolies. Your grandma sounds like a right character. I think my mum’s grandparents were originally from Glasgow and both of them were blind. Thanks for commenting as always and tight lines until next time 👍
Lovely video fishing really does give you time to reflect about life and loved ones loved and lost very emotional stuff thanks for the upload really enjoyed it 👍
Thank YOU for taking the time to comment and I’m chuffed you enjoyed it. We can enjoy fishing in so many ways can’t we? From raucous socials or matches to complete solitude and thinking time 👍🎣🐟 I think anyone who loves fishing understands something truly special that the majority of the population are sadly missing. Cheers for now 🍻
Thanks for that you are spot on pal I remember driving through the same little villages with my dad from sheff I'm 54 now but remember it like it was yesterday ❤
Lovly video really enjoyed that i was a fanatic angler when i was younger and now 50 years later starting again thanks for reminding me how good it is
My absolute pleasure! Hearing from ‘retired’ anglers who have enjoyed one or more of the videos and been inspired to get back on the bank is the ultimate pay back, in terms of the time spent film in and editing, that I can wish for. So much has changed in the sport since I learned to make my first cast, but so much is exactly the same - the fish in particular - and the old magic is still there to be enjoyed. Keep watch, keep enjoying, and keep fishing 💙🎣👍😎 Cheers for now.
Superb, loved the storys you tell. I think this is your best yet, lost my dad 30 years ago , we had so many trips on the canal , miss him everyday to . Am crying watchin at the mo. I love your passion for angling i must go again great video thanks for sharing top notch,
Thanks Mick, I’d give you a big man hug if I was there! 🤗 Really glad you enjoyed it and were also reminded of your old man. I’ve not done much canal fishing for a while but agree they can be really atmospheric and memorable places to fish, whether inner city cuts or out in the middle of nowhere. And always memorable with yer dad. Thanks as always for watching and leaving such a lovely comment ☺️
“‘Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.”
Aye 👍🥲
Great video mate. Then I noticed my boat sailing by at the end of the video.the Trent is a amazing place.
Really?! Brilliant 🤩😂 You’re a lucky man to have boat there and that marina (or those marinas, plural, should I say) are another feature of Gunthorpe that make it a lovely place to visit. Sure it’s nice to fish in the middle of nowhere and find peace a lot of the time, but Gunthorpe is full of life and people enjoying themselves, as well as offering great fishing. Thanks for taking the time to comment 👍🤗
Great film that brings back great memories for me too, at 14 (jeez 50 years ago) My friends and me were on the Trent, mainly under Kelham bridge or on the wall at Newark, but we fished Gunthorpe, Shelford, Stoke Bardolph, Burton Joyce etc, i don't fish much these days but i do walk the River 2 or 3 times a week, but now with a camera instead of a rod & line.
Glad I could bring back a few happy memories and it sounds like you’re still making plenty with your camera too. There is some stunning scenery around there and I love it. Maybe you should get the rods back out….?? 🎣🐟 Cheers for now.
Think most people taught to fish by family members it's a great bond and great memories. Love tthee vids me personally love to trot rivers nothing like it
Many thanks, Gary 👍🙏🍻 Long live trotting the rivers 🎣🐟✊
That is one of the first stretches of the Trent I ever fished. My own family is from Sheffield, and I lived in Dronfield till I was about seven. Although Sheffield has a rich fishing heritage, none of my family fished. I moved to Notts in 1980, but didn’t fish the river Trent seriously until 1989. I still fish it to this day, but miss the many club matches I used to fish.
Thanks for watching and commenting, David, and I know exactly what you mean by missing club matches on the mighty river! We used to get coaches from Dronfield (meeting at the sports and social club opposite the Miners Arms), but first many of the members found the walks and difficult banks challenging, then the fishing was off for a good few years and then coach hire become too expensive… We are still going as you saw, but now meet at commercial venues and drive ourselves. I really do miss those early morning draws, with the steak coming off the river! You’ve lived in two great fishing cities! Cheers for now 👍
You talk very fondly and eloquently of your lost family, really honest and likeable.
I'm a Sheffielder aswell, 56 now and still live here.
I was thinking, why don't you come home and do the 5 rivers challenge? (I know these "challenge" things are a bit old hat and cheesy now but this is a good one)...catch a trout from every river, Don, Sheaf, Rivelin, Loxley and Porter in a day. I think it's meant to be in daylight hours, it's tricky logistically and a bit of planning is required but achievable. I found the best way is with a simple bubble float and maggot in the smaller rivers and a small chubber or stick float for the Don.
John, you know which buttons to press! 🎣🐟😎 I was just saying to Rachel, earlier tonight, that it’s nice to hear from a few more Sheffield folk on the vid today. She asked why I don’t get more, seeing as I’m from the Steel City and the book begins there, and I said ‘because I haven’t yet made any fishing vids up there!’ I’m only up for the odd weekend and usually fish a match on the Saturdays, so fishing and filming, too, usually feels too much. But now you’ve given me something to think about… Thank you 🙏
Makes you a certain type of man being from "Sheffeld" as the owd un's used to call it.
Resilient, resourceful and hard when you need to be...not to be tested!
We are born nature lovers without going all Chris Packham about it 😄, the environment governs that, it just comes naturally.
I do a bit of wildcamping and swimming in the Peaks aswell, it's so handy.
Love the old stone circles, springs and tumuli etc, I go out of my way to find them.
Love our city to death and I've done a lot of travelling but nowhere compares to me.
Hope you've got enough Hendo's and make your own Sheffield fishcakes to put it on and teach the Southerners what a real delicacy is 🤣. All the best pal, John.
Awesome video as always John. Many thanks for sharing!😀👍
Awesome comment 😎 Thanks for watching and taking the time to leave a few kind words - it really does keep me in the mood to do more whenever I can. Cheers 🍻
Hi all, I have fished the river Trent all my days and it has special memories for me when i saw the title of this video and saw the location and shots of the Pub I had to ask you and others reading this if any of you remember the Lady that was rescued from the river just above the Bridge? I was Carp fishing back in 1990-92 i forget the exact year just above a line of tall trees all bivvied up when about 6 am a Lady walked up the bank behind me and carried on walking, the odd thing was she was dressed in rather fine clothes as you would wear to a dinner party, anyway i thought no more of it, and about an hour later i saw what i thought was a swimmer in the middle of the river, and just as i saw this whoever it was tried desperately to shout help as they did this they raised their arm and hand out the water and i watched whoever it was go under... my heart was in my mouth of what to do, I had my leg amputated a few months earlier and my false leg was not even on at that point, so i quickly stuffed my stump into the socket of the false leg and as quick as i could so i could reel in one of my carp rods, whoever it was, was now 20 yards away as i cast towards where i thought they may be, the line of very tall trees stopped my casting a second time so i ran as best i could down the river untill there was another gap in the trees not far from the bridge, i ran in the water and there was no sign of whoever it was, but because it was flat calm and i was in the river up to my chest i was able to look across the cerface of the river and scan it, there was just one area a depresion in the water.... i thought that had got to be them, so i cast a second time now against the flow, my lead was cast about 50 yards just past the spot and the rig went down about 10 feet when i felt resistance so i slowly pulled my rod into a curve and slowly whatever it was coming towards me, people from the bridge could see something was not right my girlfriend was in a panic behind me, the current was helping me as it was coming towards me, i got further out into the river up to my neck now and whoever it was surfaced just feet away from me who was very blue in colour i grabbed them out the water and as quick as i could carry them up the bank and rolled them onto their side, i then rolled them over and over then back on there side again, lots of water was gushing out of them, i rolled them once more and the person twitched and then spluttered and even more water came out, i could now see it was the lady who had walked passed me, colour was now coming back into her face and arms, someone had called the police and ambulance from the bridge and the crew took her away to hospital, the police took details and i had a cup of tea back at the bivy up the river still very shaky, the lady recovered and i told the papers to leave her family alone when they asked for the story, but Angling times and Anglers mail got hold of it and covered it in a very respectfull way,
Back to why i am retelling this, i had a house fire a few years back and i lost my copies of Angling Times and Mail, if anyone out there remembers this or has a copy i would be so grateful for a photocopy. "Hemp and Tears on the Trent steps city side near where the metal pole used to stick out the water instead of School was very much a part of my childhood" or further down near Lady Bay Bridge where Brian Clough with the forest team would ask me ( now then young man) why i was not at school...... "Teacher training day Sir" i would shout back to Brian. while not for a moment taking my eye of my stick float.... Thank you for these great videos! Tim Lee
Tim, it’s not often that I’m lost for words but after reading that epic story, heart in my mouth, it’s taken me some time to start a reply. What an incredible situation and outcome 🤯👏🏼 I’ve sadly heard of people losing their lives or having close shaves with big rivers - from fellow anglers who have born witness or been involved in some way, but I’ve never heard or dreamed of one of our club being able to directly save someone’s life with the gear we use to catch fish 🎣🤯 Phenomenal stuff and well done for having the tenacity, strength, skills (and some luck I suppose) to pull off such a mind-boggling feat. That’s a fishing trip like no other! Have you tried Angling Times directly I take it? There MUST be someone who reads this who remembers the events of that day, or possibly has an old copy of the AT?! 🤞🤞🤞🤞 I’ll never think about Gunthorpe in the same way. Thank you for taking the time to share that surreal and heroic experience with the community and let’s hope it might lead to something… TMOF community, please reply to these comments if you can help 🙏
P.S. I’ve fished matches on the embankment a few times, but not for years, and it’s another place I’ve been meaning to get back to. So many places and never enough time…!
wonderful again , thank you .
Thank you - for watching and leaving a nice comment 🙏☺️🎣🐟
Hi mate,just watched all of this video and it brought loads of memories flooding back.Firstly when you put your match clips on I couldn't believe 1 of the anglers in the match was an angler that I fish with regularly, David Watson.He's never fished a river or other natural venues only commercials. Another memory was bang opposite you were fishing was /is called East Bridgford stretch and in the mid eighties was leased by sheffield and District fishing association and was noted as a fantastic chub fishery along with roach,dace ,gudgeon and the odd carp plus barbel up to 4lb ish.There was a noted ( stick float peg ) 39 which was down the left of cardiac hill .So your first swim you were fishing was probably left downstream to that fantastic peg.The reason it was good / special was that you could wade out nearly a 3rd across the river before it suddenly went deep.The story behind this peg was that there was some kind of bridge across the river and when you waded out you would be standing on a parapet which the bridge sat on and it was also gravelly bottom.You used to feed hemp and caster and trot a stick down and you were certain to catch a few barbel and chub.The pegs were 1-65 from the wier field and 1_3 were brilliant stick pegs ,we use to use plastic hemp and catch loads of chub.My last memory was we had a match in December and we had to pack up half way through to heavy snowfall ,we all just managed to get back to the cars before we would have been in trouble as the snow was very thick.Great to see pictures of that stretch havnt been on there since very early nineties. Good luck in quest to catch a big whisker I'm sure it won't take you long as all the trent including the tidal is full of big barbel now.cheers
Many thanks for such a brilliant comment and I’m glad you enjoyed the video 💙👍🎣🐟 Plenty more on the channel, although not all of them on the Trent of course. It’s such a special river and stories like the one you just told so well are exactly the kind of myths and legends (many of them true) I used to soak up as a young lad, during our many club coach trips. It’s also the kind of peg I still dream about fishing, although not everyone is so forthcoming with information if they come across such a flyer these days! I keep hearing about the tidal Thames and Collingham in particular, however, so can’t wait to get back and try again as you say - even if it takes me a while. And I have so much of the Thames to explore, too… Love the snow story! 🤯 Never fished in anything quite like that. I’m not trying to flog you anything but if you’ve not come across it already, you strike me as someone who might enjoy my book, The Magic of Fishing, from which the channel gets its name - lots of tales about growing up in Sheffield, fishing with my granddad and enjoying days on the Trent. In fact I once gave a copy to Dave W! That’s a real coincidence and I’m fishing with him and the club (for the final time this summer) on Saturday! Back at Springvale near Retford. He may not fish the rivers but he’s come on in his match fishing a long way since I first met him and is now hard to beat on the venues he fishes week in, week out! Cheers for now and thanks again for watching 👍🎣🐟
Brilliant 😊.
Ah thanks 🙏 ☺️💙🎣
All your videos are excellent m8
THANKS mate! 😎🙏👍💙🎣🐟
I love your videos.
Your story telling about the past is captivating
And I love your comment! 💙😎🙏 Seriously, you may think it’s a few quick words, but this is exactly why I spend a couple of nights a week attempting to edit my iPhone footage for UA-cam - because it brings me great joy to share my time on the bank with people who appreciate the effort and share my passion for the magic of 🎣🐟 Keep the comments coming and I’ll do my best to keep the vids coming 👍
".30am really are you sure, clap clap well done, great video mate, loved it, I will be on the Thames Sunday morning, all the best, have a great weekend.
Honestly, mate, I met the bailiff on the Sunday aft and we both agreed it was going to be red hot and very tricky for the barbel the following day. He looked at me and said, ‘if it was me I’d be on the bank by 3 and your best bet will be 3-5ish’. I had to do a double-take and 2.30am meant I managed about 3 hours sleep 😴
I must say it was worth it though, even if I didn’t catch my beast of a barbel that time. As Arnie said, I’ll be back… 😎🎣
Yet another interesting video. You have the gift of a calming interesting voice. I'm sure you could read a telephone directory and make it sound interesting! I'm over here in Ireland with my son Stephen. He'll have some memories when I'm gone. At 81, he won't have long to wait!
I've been coming over here for over 50 years and I've never known the weather to be so bad for so long. Every day, rain and gales. and a little sun.
Anyway, 5 days to go.
Oh John! What can I say?! Firstly, I’m
gutted for you with the weather 🌧️😬 If it makes you feel any better, it’s been chucking it down most of the day here, too. Although I know no one wants to fish in the wet all week. BUT..: You’re in Ireland 🇮🇪 and 🎣 with your son, so I reckon your are as cool 😎 as a cucumber. And, at 81, you’re nearly a decade younger than Mal, who made a brief appearance in this video, and not only does he still fish in my old club’s matches, but sometimes WINS them! OK, so he’s a lucky man, but so are you my friend 🍀 Thanks for another lovely comment 🥰 I’m off to read the phone book 😂
Hearing the love coming out that never wains for departed cherished people that are owed so much has left a tear on my cheek. I think it's safe to say that it's like that for the majority of us. As with you, it was Grandad (on mum's side) that put a fire in my belly for angling. He went back in 1980, and still I'd love to have him here to fish with once again.
I wonder if you knew that you were plugging Rolls Royce aero engines!!?? LOL Names of rivers have been used to name their engines for decades. Rivers such as the Trent, Avon, Spey, Dart, Derwent, Conway etc... Notice the names of Lugg, Piddle and Usk are absent from their list...
Thanks again for bringing a bit of peace to a troubled mind.
Take care John. TTFN
My gratitude for you and your poetic comments never wains either, Graham. Nice to understand you’re another granddad-inspired angler and although I would have loved to fish with my dad too (beyond holiday mackerel boat trips), there’s something special about that 🎣 link with the generation above. Indeed, it may yet be my best bet for raising a young apprentice, seeing as my teenage lad and stepchildren have never quite got that 🔥 you talk of (despite my efforts)… Didn’t know of that RR river connection and you’re always welcome to bring a touch of your ✈️🛩️ enthusiasm onto the channel 🤗
Hi John Really enjoyed this video, bought back so many memories of fishing in the exact same place you were fishing. had many great days there on hemp and tares on the stick. pike fishing below the lock in winter. catching carp in the marina entrance, Bream fishing at at the point to lock entrance and Sunday nights as a kid fishing in front of the unicorn while parents were having a drink. None of these big barbel then. I used to live local to Gunthorpe but left the UK in 1994 so lovely to watch your video bought back so many memories, Thanks
Ah that’s brilliant to hear and thanks so much for commenting! What memories and stories you have of the place too! I can completely relate to fishing in front of the Unicorn 😀 Sounds like you knew what you were doing, too, and I’m yet to experience a carp from the Trent. Cheers 🍻
Hi John. A very enjoyable and atmospheric video! You persevered for 20 hours and deserved to get a good barbel but I guess that’s fishing. I imagine it was always going to be a struggle in the heat of the day and you always hope for a bite or two at dusk or the first couple of hours of darkness.
Cheers Harry! I certainly made up for it at Collingham later in the year 🐟🐟🐟🐟
Used to fish Gunthorpe weir with my Uncle Clive when on holiday in the mid 70s from the far bank! Used to be a sand bar up close to the weir almost half way across he used to wade to and fished cheese mainly! He used to get mostly chub with the odd big bream and the odd barbel which were less prolific in those days
,200Ilbs of chub many sessions! The odd big pike also.He made his own rod rest,huge heavy thing he used to drive into the river bed!
Many happy memories! I caught a few myself! Little boat yard just above the weir on what was then Notts Fed is where I caught my first carp and river tench,both under a pound! Loved Hazelford and the weir there also! 🙂 PS: You couldn't fish off the Gunthorpe lock side wall in those days,very popular spot nowadays! 1976 was very hot,the spray off the weir was like heaven!
Lovely comment and they sound like very happy memories, thanks - it’s great hearing from others who also love a particular place. 200lb of chub eh??? That is truly dream fishing and I wouldn’t have minded just one on my trip there 😄 I’ve heard so many stories about the glory days of the Trent and caught the tale end of it as a young lad, although there are plenty of angler saying the river has never fished as well as it is right now. I don’t get there enough, or belong to any clubs, in order to judge whether that’s the case or not, but it’s encouraging with all the threats our waterways are facing.
Thanks again for taking the time to comment 👍🎣🐟
Beautiful video thank you . I used to fish opposite back just below the weir in the 1980's . We could wade out to almost half way out into the river . No fishing from the lock island those days . And no barbel either ! . We'd just ledger lobworm over towards the lock .
We'd catch lovely chub with some carp showing too and even the occasional pike on worm . It was and still is N.A.A. members only waters .
Fished it for probably 6ish years early to mid 80's but never had a barbel .
I went back there about "93-4 one day and had a 7lb barbel from the sloping weir concrete bank . Was made up .
Good on you! And thanks for a lovely comment - I always like to hear from others who have fond memories of the place. I heard it was still Notts on the other bank (and that it was shallower). It’s fascinating how natural venues and their fish stocks evolve over time - rarely staying the same for more than a decade. Hope you might enjoy some of my other Trent videos on the channel 👍🎣🐟
@themagicoffishing reading the comments on here you clearly evoke happy angling memories in others too , as you did me immediately. I think it's the way you speak in your commentary. It's very tranquil and soothing almost . You'd be perfect for voice overs on TV angling programmes . In fact that's a silly statement ! YOUR videos would make perfect angling programmes for TV ! Tight lines buddy 👍🎣
Yeh it can get pretty packed ,,,on the good spots I've seen folk waiting behind other angler, s to pack up ,waiting 24 hours 😮
😮 A queue to go fishing, I’ve not seen that before - although I was pretty rapid when I saw the other guys packing up 😄 🏃🏻♂️ I’ve got to say it was pretty quiet on the Monday, although a few set up on the beach just down from me for the night. They must have been happy and considering a late move when I had to give up around midnight! Thanks for watching and commenting 👍😎🎣🐟
@@themagicoffishing try peg 1 Collingham, weir I've seen 2 waiting
@@shauncorless8965Colligham (further down) is high on my list 👍 Thanks
the trent at gunny used to always be hard in summer low water but there was a trick i used to do to catch barble carp chub even large roach . i was member of the NAA Notts angling ass we fish op bank from where u was fishing in the NAA IF U WAS 1ST THERE WE WOULD FREELINE MEAT OR CHEESE just above the weir and let the bait roll down the weir and the flow would take the bait right under the weir where there still water and the fish was always under there once that dryed up we would wade out 15 feet from our bank and free line meat cheese for some good chub of 5ib Boy those was the day's but that was 35yrs back now no pic from them day but i have most of the memerious in my head
No need for pics, mate - you just painted a perfect picture in my head (and had me dreaming I was there with you!). Funnily enough, the bailiff mentioned two of those aspects of the fishing there. Firstly, he said that some of those fishing from the island chuck right onto the sill of the weir and then drag it back off, so it goes underneath - very effective but snag city and quite expensive in terms of tackle! He also had a barbel himself during a short session with his son (again, from the island) and caught it using rolled meat. It’s a technique I need to try again myself sometime, so thanks for the reminder 👍 Thanks also for watching and commenting - love those memories and tips.
Cracking video! Cant beat trotting , last casts go on forever when there biting!
Oh they sure do 😄🎣🎣🎣🐟 Thanks very much for watching and then taking the time to comment - glad you enjoyed it 👍☺️🎣
Brilliant thank you
Thank you too - really appreciate the comment ☺️
Wow, what a gorgeous spot, my type of fishing. Love to reminis. I was fishing the Thames in 34c that day😂
Nice vid again bud, loving the B-roll. Me next, just finished it, waiting on an Adsence verification, typical..! Lol..😂
It was a proper scorcher wasn’t it?! Great to hear you’re still doing plenty of fishing, in amongst the other passions, and trying one of your recommended spots is high on my fishing list. Possibly the Loddon (also a first) this weekend and then I’m back up north the weekend after, but I did enjoy the Dezzy Cut recently and have walked round some of your old haunts this summer by sheer coincidence. It’s just so cool to find a guide to those areas where I was thinking ‘well it LOOKS free, but dare I risk it…?!’ Best of luck with the verification and I look forward to it 😎🎣
Its not all about the fish eh John,what a lovely place on the river,it's a pleasure just watching how you have filmed some lovely shots of nature at its prime ,ime sure you will be going again sometime when it's cooler eh,and yes John we've all got memories of absent friends and in those settings it's so easy for the mind to drift away,tite lines mate
My sincere thanks, as always, for your lovely words, mate 💙🙏☺️ Yep, it’s not all about the fishing results or it would be called catching 😄 And while it’s possible to do that on some venues, which I enjoy doing at times, I also love to be in those stunning places like Gunthorpe Lock 👍 Would LOVE to get back there and have another go, and I keep being told Collingham is also a cracking stretch for barbel and chub - two of my favourite fish. Cheers for now, mate 🍻
Brilliant presenting, fellow Northerner, I feel fishing has become very strange, So called experts explaining how wild fish think, come on!! They are there to promote tackle companies. Please don't ever go to the dark side, you definitely capture the soul of fishing. Give yourself a big pat on the back.
Thanks Gary, brilliant to read that on a Friday night ☺️ Especially from a fellow northern lad. I will try my very best to stay with the light... Unless someone offers me a chance to pack in the day job to flog their gear for millions 😂💰🤑
I’ll get myself another cold one from the fridge and ask Rachel, my wife, to give me a pat on the back - in return for making me watch Celebrity Masterchef?! 😄😏 thanks again 🙏
@@themagicoffishing 👍 very refreshing, thanks, definitely cheers me up in these weird and wonderful times. Crack on chap. Thanks.
Great vid. Love to see the Trent vids. I was on the Trent at Collingham yesterday and had 6 barbel up to 10.9lb. Great fishing at Collingham, as 6 barbel is a pretty standard days fishing for collingham, and often many more then that. had 9 babrel and lost two in a day session 2 weeks ago (upto 13lb as well) Most people think fishing next to the weir is imperative but I fish much further down from the weir, away from all the pressure and always catch more then the guys fishing close to the weir. Yes the actual weir pegs are next level fishing but if you cant get in the first 3 pegs (1 to 3) then youre better off getting away from the pressured area. I assume that is similar at Gunthorpe.
Is fishing from a boat allowed at Gunthorpe do you know? as I would like to do some pike fishing up there in winter as you cant boat fish from collingham?
Try Collingham for babel mate. you will neve look back!!
bailiffs know very little in my opinion. The Bailiff came first thing in the morning yesterday and specifically told me that everything was against me and that I would be lucky to catch. he was wrong as usual!!
Hello again and thanks for leaving a brilliant comment 😎🎣🐟 First of all, congratulations on your recent barbel bagging 👏🏼 I would have loved just one of those fish and it sounds amazing. Secondly; it is so weird you mention Collingjham because I recently watched the NuFish video with Mick Vials, in which he fished there, and I actually have the day ticket webpage up on my laptop as a result! It’s ages since I’ve fished the tidal Trent and I’d love to get to Collingham sometime - especially after what you’ve said (and thanks for extra advice, which makes sense 🙏). Not sure it will be possible this year but you’ve got me seriously interested…
@@themagicoffishing I have only started fishing the Trent again this year and I can not believe the shear volume of barbel there are up there now a days (Corringham).
I only fish day ticket as the membership is full at the moment, therefore I can only fish days (members are aloud to night fish). But I have still managed an average of 4.7 Barbel a session (over 7 day sessions).
Id say 75percent of those fish came in the last hour or two of daylight though, and can imaging night fishing would be insanely easy.
Keep it in mind for sure mate!! Love the content, keep it coming pal. Cheers
@@dieselpowerdiesel4994cannot wait to get there… Love me barbel, love me Trent!
Hello again Hugh. Well that was a hard days fishing, wasn't it. I'm really glad you took a break from the feeder to do some float fishing, makes all the differance if you can put a few silvers in the net. I've recently been fishing at Beeston canal and caught a fair amount of perch along with a few dace and roach. I'm not sure how I feel about the long evening feeder fishing for Barbel, so often it seems you come away with an empty net. To be honest I'm not a massive fan of stareing at a quiver tip for hours I'm a bit too much of a fidget. Ten minutes after casting I'd start worrying that my hook was hidden in weed or the bate had come off lol. I have fond memories of fishing with an uncle and cousin back when I was not much bigger than a pike, we used to go to the river Devon near Belvoir, no idea what that is like these days. I'm very fortunate these days as I live in Warwickshire and can be at a canal in about three minutes.
Hello Keith!
Lovely to hear from you again, although I don’t know who this ‘Hugh’ is?! 😄 No doubt that pesky auto-spell to blame, as it’s happened to me a few times.
Yes, they sure were tough, bright conditions and it was difficult fishing that day but, as you say, there’s no harm in trying something else during a long session and I really enjoyed the float fishing. As well as savouring the experience of being back on the Trent from one night to another. I 💙 that river. Like you, I’m usually an active angler. Although I will say that, once you’ve had a barbel wrench the rod round (which I’ve managed to achieve a few times on smaller rivers since starting the channel), it really is addictive and does wonders for the confidence. They really are special fish and I’d also love to get one on the float one day as well… I’ve never fished Beeston Canal but it’s another familiar name from the Nottingham area and I’m glad you had a decent session recently. Thanks again for leaving a great comment and hope to see you on the channel again soon.
Cheers for now, John
Hi mate, brilliant video really enjoyed it , going to Gunthorpe soon , question is how far out were you casting , what did bailiff advise , cheers dave
Hiya Dave and thanks for the kind words! 💙 You jammy b***er - very jealous of your forthcoming trip 😃 I wasn’t casting too far, as the deeper water is on the near side, not the middle or the far side,
but the bailiff advised to have one rod closer in and fished for longer (maybe an hour between casts), while the other one was used more experimentally, trying different spots from further upstream or more forwards the middle. However, if you’re on the furtherest swim up to the island / weir, it’s a bit snaggy, so if you find a couple of spots where you seem to be fine I might stick with them! You will need heavy lead to hold now I would think - 6oz+ - but all this extra rain may have done wonders for the barbel fishing and I enjoyed some big hits at Collingham recently (in a high and coloured river). If it’s that high when you go I would consider fishing both rods fairly close in - like a quarter the way across. I’m told meat works well there in coloured water. He usually walks the banks every morning so you will likely see him while there (and I’m no expert as you saw in the vid, not managing a fish that time round!). You can park in the Canal & River Trust car park just before you get to the end of the lane and the lock (payment by a mobile app) and the other advice would be to get there the day/night before, or up mega early, if you want your pick of pegs. I got there the evening before, on a hot day, and no pegs were taken thanks to all the public weekend activity, but by 3am the best ones were taken as you saw! But fear not if so, as many locals only fish the nights. Again, with all this rain you may stand a much better chance of fish during the day… 🤞🎣🐟
@@themagicoffishing hi I’m only doing a day session as not been before , I had my pb this season at collingham next to conveyer 13lb 1oz a cracker ,👍🎣 cheers
@@themagicoffishing I’m only doing a day session to start with as not been to Gunthorpe before , only been barbel fishing a year , do most of it at collingham , down in 80s , but had my pb this season next to conveyer 13lb 1oz stunning fish , hoping for one at gunthorpe 🤞🤞😊🎣 cheers dave
Hi, is on day ticket ? And I’ve done a few session at Collingham this season resulting in my pb 13lb1oz next to conveyer , like it at Collingham , park behind your peg, happy days cheers dave
i am 61. from sheffield . and the so called specialist approach is working at your fishing , not sitting behind 2 feeder/carp rods which is also enjoyable. just my opinion,
Cheers, Paul, always happy to get comments from the Steel City! I have to agree it can sometimes pay to be much more mobile and I don’t do a lot of two-rod fishing to be honest. Athough I wanted to give myself the best chance possible in tough conditions and did move pegs at least once when the top one became free 😄 I hear the Don is doing lots of barbel these days, which is great. I used to fish it at Stocksbridge and my former club there put a lot of baby barbel in at that top end, back in the day 👍🐟
The mighty Trent....
😀💙🎣🐟
Very captivating videos you make, absolutely love them. Out of curiosity what rods were they you was using looked gorgeous!
Thanks very much 🙏💙 Glad you’re enjoying the channel and thanks for commenting. The feeder rods in that video are Drennan Specialist Twin Tips (they come with a normal rod top and a quiver tip top section as well. Mine are 1.25lb TC. Good for bigger fish on stillwaters and rivers 👍 The trotting rod is my pride and joy - a 15ft Drennan Accolyte. So light and responsive, you really can fish with them all day. Cheers for now.
@@themagicoffishing oh wow that's what I wanted to get, but I got told 1.25 is too light. What's the biggest you've caught on a 1.25? I wanted to use mine for specimen tench and bream fishing at my local waters then blobber floating for perch in the winter, would this be okay? Do you recommend the drennan 1.25s?
Also how long have you tested the drennan 1.25s? :)
hey John if you like like curry there's a pretty good Indian restaurant next to the lock
What’s it called? That will have to be on my hit list next time! Cheers
its called the Bridge and Bay leaf......I think its part of the old lock keepers cottage
Thanks 👍
Hi mate don’t know ya name, quick question if you can help , do you the App for the Car park at Gunthorpe, phone only or card and cash ??, cheers Dave 🎣
Hi mate, no problem! It’s John. From memory, it’s app only for payment (ie by card via the app), but it’s been a while and I’ve only been the once so don’t quote me on that. However, I’m pretty sure if you spend some money at La Vague Bistro which is right next to the car park then you may get a free ticket! Worth giving them a ring - la-vague.co.uk/
Can you fish the opposite bank?
Yes, but I’m not 100% sure who it’s with or how to get there - I THINK you park in the marina over there and have walk down and I think might be a Notts water - no idea about day tickets but you can probably find something online. Cheers
@@themagicoffishing the whole video I was looking at those bushes and thinking that barbel and chub are under them and I'm sure you were thinking that when sat there waiting for a bite. A simple drop next to a bush would have been effective I can guarantee it, especially on a bright hot day.
@@tomhill9934 I was thinking the same! 👍
strange ya dad never got the bug as you say
Yeah, I would have loved to get fishing with all three of us - but he never caught the bug and neither, it seems, have my kids 🤷🏻 It must slip a generation in our family 🎣
🍺🍺🍺🍺🍺
Cheers 🍻😄
You lose ne when you get a keepnet out John 😮
Sorry to hear it (that I’ve lost you) Totally respect your view and thanks for sharing it in a polite way. But as an occasional matchman and someone who enjoys using a keepnet from time to time in a responsible way, I’m afraid I won’t be changing that. Again, respect your view and hope you enjoy other UA-cam anglers who share your view. All the best and tight lines.
Won't get anything whilst the foam is flowing
I think the foam is always flowing below that weir?? But I’ve not been in years and don’t fish it regularly. Thanks for watching and commenting 👍
Beautiful place gunthourp is not far from me ⚓️👍🧲😊
Lucky you! Love that place 😀😎🎣🐟