Born in 1938, Barrie Rickards took to angling at an early age, and learned to fish in the waters around his childhood homes in Leeds and Goole. The rivers Ouse and Derwent were favourite venues though he also had a love of Stillwater fishing, particularly for tench. Barrie was renowned internationally as a Palaeontologist and …
Having grown up in an environment influenced by the rigours of religion and army-life, John Andrews’ subsequent career in the music industry must have made for quite a contrast. As marketing manager for Creation Records, John lived life at 1000mph – his daily dealings involving bands such as Oasis and Primal Scream. His was a …
Few ‘British’ fish divide opinion quite as much as the zander (Sander lucioperca). A fish non-native to the British Isles but common across mainland Europe, the zander was first introduced into Woburn Abbey Lakes in 1878 by the Duke of Bedford. Though movements of fish were made subsequently, it was not until 1963, when 97 …
The autumn may have been absurdly mild, with record breaking temperatures and weeks without rain, but as winter nibbles deeper into the tail of the year, so the saltwater anglers prepare for the arrival of cod. The Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) has long been sought by Man. The white flesh makes for excellent eating, whether …
Anyone who should find themselves near Spitalfields Market on a Thursday could do worse than visit the stall of John Andrews. Having traded in vintage fishing tackle for nearly a decade, John’s inspiration is borne from a fascination with angling history and he specialises in tackle items from the Georgian era through to the mid …
Let us be honest for a moment, if any of us get a boot full of grimness from the bowels of a mudflat, we do not, for a single moment, consider anything but the cold, wet, stinking oomska attached to our feet. Should we keep ourselves stench-free however, we can marvel at one of the …
The etymology of our rivers is a fascinating subject. The names of many of our waterways recur across the country, and the ‘Ouse’ is no exception. There is the Great Ouse (see Bits and Pieces Issue 26) of course, alongside rivers suffixed by Sussex, Little and this Issue’s focus, the Yorkshire Ouse. This particular stream …
Measuring over 38 miles from east to west, the Humber Estuary is the second largest coastal plain estuary in the United Kingdom (After the Severn Estuary). Around 20% of England’s landmass drains into the North Sea through the estuary, via rivers such as the Trent (see Bits and Pieces Issue 16) and the Yorkshire Ouse …
Ever wondered why the Severn is so called? Or why there are so many rivers called Avon and Stour? The Etymology of our rivers has confused and intrigued for centuries. Some names are self-explanatory. The ‘Blackwater’, which is a name shared by at least a dozen water courses in the British Isles, relates to the …
The Atlantic cod is a fish renowned for keeping a somewhat catholic diet. Being a huge mouthed predator, they tend to chomp first and digest later, and will pick up almost anything they come across if it vaguely resembles food. The natural diet of a cod will feature smaller fish, crabs, lobsters, starfish, prawns and …
