The Week Ahead...

This entry was posted on 10th February, 2014

The Prospects…

Well it’s the start of a new week and the end of another stormy one!

Once again last week was pretty rough, as more torrential rain and more damaging winds hit most of the UK, with the South and South West of the country taking the biggest battering. Looking on the news I see that areas of the coast at Chesil were destroyed and that the railway at Dawlish, Devon was also destroyed, as the sea wall was completely swept away from underneath the track. Further inland things didn’t get any better with huge area’s of the country underwater, there was a picture of Tewkesbury Abbey, Gloucestershire completely surrounded, seemingly held hostage by the floodwater.



I’d like to say that perhaps things will improve this week, but it doesn’t look great, as once again more heavy rain and strong winds are forecast, especially for the early part of the week. As we head towards the weekend things look like they may improve slightly, so fingers crossed they do!



If the weather does improve at the end of the week then it looks as if we maybe in for some good fishing, as our friendly fishing app makes for some good reading, as from Thursday onwards it offers a fishing efficiency of 80%+ with a peak on Friday and Saturday of 100%. I guess we are due a change of luck, so fingers crossed it may happen this weekend!



If you do plan on having a session and do get out then good luck and of course don’t forget to let us know how you get on! Send any pictures and reports to: contact@anglingdirect.co.uk

 

My Fishing…

Once again last week was ‘fishless’ for me, I was desperate to head out, but for the second weekend running the weather put me off, it wasn’t so much the rain, but the strong winds. With a South, South Westerly wind of 25mph+, with gusts of 40mph+ any beach fishing would have been near on impossible, that combined with small tides, I think I made the right decision!

With better weather possible by the end of this week and with big building tides I’m hopeful of a session either Saturday or Sunday, or possibly even both! We shall see though, at the moment nothings set in stone!

With the lack of fishing, there’s also been a distinct lake of filming, but once again hopefully it’ll change this weekend.

I did manage to add one of our new videos to the ADTV page on Friday, it was a session we filmed back in December with fellow employee, good mate and big Carp ace Rob Shanks. The purpose of this session was to pick the brains and to get into the mind set of Rob, who is without doubt, one of Norfolk’s best Carp anglers. Rob has had numerous big fish throughout the years and is the proud captor of both a Norfolk 40lb+ Mirror and Common Carp!

We spent the session with Rob and got an in-depth look at his favourite rigs, tackle and tactics, as well as trying to put a few fish on the bank!

You can watch the video below…



 

Pictures Of The Week…

February’s picture of the month competition is well and truly underway as I posted another bunch of super pictures up on Friday! You can see them all in the album by clicking the link below…

Februarys Picture Of The Month

I’d like to say a massive thanks to everyone who has submitted a picture, especially those on Facebook, who I was lucky enough to speak too. I wish you all good luck! Remember to like and share your favourites to stand the best chance of winning.

If you want to get in on the action and stand a chance of winning a £50 voucher then get sending your pictures in!



Also it’s worth remembering it’s a picture of the month competition and not a just a fish of the month, so it’s not all about the biggest Carp!

If you want to enter the competition and appear on our blog and social sites then feel free to email your pictures and reports to…contact@anglingdirect.co.uk you can also share them with us on our Facebook and Twitter pages.

 

In The Press...

Big Pike Bonanza

Just as I’d finished writing last weeks blog, news came through the angling grapevine that a 46lb fish had been landed from Wykeham Lakes, this was then followed 3 days later by the news that another 40lber had been landed from the famous Chew Reservoir. Two forty pound Pike in one week, pretty crazy stuff!

You can see the pictures of the two ‘crocs’ below, the Chew fish can be seen on the left and the Wykeham fish on the right, which as you can see, featured on the front cover of last weeks Anglers Mail!



Free Dvd Bonanza!

As well as last week being the week of the big Pike, it was also the week of the free Carp fishing DVD, as two of the big players in the Carp fishing world, released there free Dvd’s.

Nash tackle released there eagerly anticipated title, simply entitled Carp Fishing DVD, which in less than one week has already amassed nearly 100,000 views on there YouTube Channel! You can check it out by clicking the link below…

Nash Tackle – Carp Fishing DVD



Korda also released there brand new Carp fishing Masterclass installment, which is also available online, you can watch it by clicking the link below…

Korda - Carp Fishing Masterclass DVD

You can also pick up a copy of the Dvd by visiting you local Angling Direct store!

 

In Store...

Last week was extremely busy, but at the same time extremely productive as we started to plan for the next few months ahead, we have some real exciting things in the pipeline both online and in store and already 2014 is shaping up to be a good one!

Our design team was extremely busy as a whole new batch of online promo’s and adverts had to be created for our good friends at DHP, as well as some promo’s for our own website. As you will know Friday is Valentines day, so we have created a special page and promotion for all those who are looking for that perfect gift idea. To shop for your Valentine, simply click the link below…

Valentines Day Gift Ideas



After managing to get out for a couple of hours with the video camera and Advanta Pinnacle 3 Rib Bivvy, last week was spent editing the footage, which is now available online. We’ve had many requests from customers who had purchased the bivvy asking us to make a video on the best way to erect it, so hopefully this video will help! If you haven’t purchased the bivvy, you can also watch the video to find out all the fantastic benefits and features that it comes supplied with.

Advanta Pinnacle 3 Rib Bivvy - Set Up & Features Video

After weeks of hard work, last week saw the finishing touches added to our brand new Lure Test Tank at our Norwich store, meaning you can now try before you buy! The tank is sponsored by the Lure Fishing guru’s at Fox Rage and is a fantastic addition to our store!



Talking of fantastic additions, we had a superb meeting with the guys at Vass Clothing and we’re pleased to announce that in the next week or so, there superb range of clothing, waders and footwear will be available both in store and online!

Also last week, on the social side of the business, we spent a bit of time looking at a Facebook revamp, we agreed some new changes which should be evident throughout this week, we also added the reviews and star rating feature, so if you like our page and/or our business then logon and rate us, it would be much appreciated! You can do that by visiting the link below…

Angling Direct Facebook Page, Rate & Review



Facebook is not only a great way of keeping in touch with our business, but it’s also a great way of grabbing a bargain, as we’ve got some superb ‘managers specials’ that will be available to our Facebook customers on a first come first serve basis, starting this week with the excellent Advanta Carp Rods!

This exclusive Advanta range, has been engineered by Daiwa Sports and are now available at the crazy price of £64.99, that's a saving of over £50! You can check them out here…

Advanta Carp Rods – Managers Special

Finally before signing off for another week, I’d like to give a mention to Ryan Hamer from our Waltham Cross Branch who contacted me in the week about a monster 3lb 11oz Perch he’d caught from his local river in Hertfordshire. The fish fell to the Fox Mini Fry Hot Olive Shad mounted on a 5gr Fox Jig Head. Well in mate, what a corker!



 

Product of the week…

ESP Supergrade Clothing

With its RipStop material, ESP’s Supergrade apparel has long been admired and used by Carp anglers who appreciate quality and protective clothing. I reckon all of us at the office have some of this stuff at some point, the salopettes being a firm favourite of mine before they eventually gave up the ghost after several years of use while fishing.

The new range has been revamped to offer a more modern fit but with the same reliability and comfort of the original Supergrade material. It boasts an amazing 25,000 hydrostatic head, compared with most other clothing’s maximum of around 5,000. This means it is just about as waterproof as clothing can ever get. It’s also surprisingly breathable for such a waterproof material…

To read the full review click the link below…

ESP Supergrade Clothing