I call this river swim THE AQUARIUM - here's why… 

Herman (if I’ve got your first name right), it’s a pleasure and I love the fact you’re enjoying the channel from the Netherlands. Your English seems fine to me and the fact you’re also enjoying the book has made my day. Really glad you’ve got back on the bank and your country has produced some fantastic match anglers! I’ve never fished there but hear there are some amazing roach and bream venues. Sorry you couldn’t access the hoodie - I think I just selected availability on the .co.uk and .com versions of Amazon. You could try searching for it on your local or .com Amazon site, but perhaps they don’t ship to the Netherlands from the .com site either. I think the link I provide is for .co.uk. I would be more than happy to sign a book if you really want me to and don’t mind the hassle and cost of postage to the UK. You can email me at themagicoffishing@gmail.com for the address when you’re ready 👍

@@themagicoffishing Thank you for your kind answer, i will e-mail a signed copy would be amazing for me and i am really enjoying the book! We have some great veneus nowadays ,we have some pretty big rivers and we can also catch barbell and chub, and plenty of old lakes and streams for carp and tench, but non the less, i think the UK is an anglers heaven and much better then we have here, i hope to fish over there in the future. I hope you keep making the videos , i really enjoy them and it made me go back to the bank again. Most off my gear is old, but i am glad that i still have these old rods and reels, some off them are 50 years old, but still amazing to use them and it brought me back to beautifull memories off years off being in nature with my mates or alone, some are no longer with us, but remembering them on the banks gave me comfort and joy again! Thank you John, your channel gave me the courage and motivation to deal with the loss of good friends and to go fishing again, this time without them, but i like to think that there are there with me! Thank you!

@@hermanuslambo7252 I know of at least one friend who fell out of love with fishing after losing a close friend with whom they had enjoyed their angling for many years. It’s a huge hole in your life to deal with but fishing can indeed provide the comfort, faith in living happily again and new memories - as one friend I’m thinking of discovered after switching from big carp fishing to joining and small club and starting to compete in matches 👍🎣 Enjoy yourself,, whether it’s alone or with new friends on the bank.

Thanks Paul, that’s what I try to remind people through the book and channel - so it means a lot to hear that in a comment 💙🎣👍 I love catching carp, too, and now’t wrong with that side of fishing as you say, but the real magic for me comes from enjoying every little aspect of my fishing. Basically getting back to the things that first caught my imagination, in between trying to catch a biggie or win a match. Tight lines 🎣🐟😎

Thanks mate! I’m actually on the Trent at Gunthorpe right now (day off)! Lots of a dace on the float earlier but now I’m sitting it out for biggie… 🤞🤞🤞🤞

Great to hear that, Adam, if I’ve got your name right from the username! Plenty. more to come as comments like this fuel the fire, so I hope you keep enjoying and commenting 👍🙏🎣🐟🍻

Thanks John! 🙏💙 Less than a week to go, eh? I’m not surprised you can’t wait 🎣🐟😎 I’m up in Sheffield this weekend and have just got up ridiculously early (by my standards!) to fish a match near Retford in Nottinghamshire… Bring it on 🎣🤞

Hope the match went well.

Hello Stephen (or Steve?) and welcome to the channel 🤗 Glad I can provide you with lots of happy reminders, and therefore memories, of the local area. It’s funny, I always thought Woking and the surrounding countryside was a bit boring when I first moved down - purely because I’d come from a big city and the magnificent Peak District alongside Sheffield - but over the years I’ve come to realise how lucky I am to live here. There is so much fishing around here and now the kids are getting older I feel like I’m only just working out the full extent of that. I just don’t have the time to do it all justice which plays on my mind! I know Tannery Lane very well and you’ve just reminded me I’ve yet to film there 😀 I once had a nice tench from the canalised section of the Wey there, and have done a bit of lure fishing for the jacks in winter, but I must say I’ve often found the fish to be patchy or nomadic. A swim that gave me a good day one weekend might be dead the next, but there are interesting mixed stocks and it has been a while so maybe I need to revisit… 🤔 I will add it to the loooong and ever growing target list. I even saw a giant terrapin or turtle (presumably an ex-pet) under the little bridge last time I had a stroll there 😮 😄 Sorry to hear about the hammy and I hope you’re fully back on your feet - but still enjoying the channel - soon 👍

Hi John thank you for getting back to me very nice of you to reply. You keep enjoying your fishing and producing great videos and I look forward to seeing your next one 👍

Glad to hear it, Bob! Thanks for commenting 🙏💙👍

Ahhh, many thanks, Graham! It’s comments like this that give me the enthusiasm to keep sharing my angling exploits. Thanks again 🙏 💙🎣

Ah thanks, Clive! It really does mean a lot when you take the time to leave a comment like that - really keeps me going and keen, thanks 💙☺️

Paul, it’s my honour as always - thanks so much for always leaving a comment, it’s much appreciated 👍😎

Jim (if that is your correct name, going off the username), you have just made an exceptional life decision that you will not regret and could turn out to be the start (or second coming!) of something extraordinary in your life! 💥 👏🏼✊🎣 That’s how I feel about fishing anyway and just the mention of Sundridge and Sigma had me whisked back to the 1980s and beyond. Thirty five years you say… The good news is that fish haven’t changed at all in that time and you don’t need to latest n greatest tackle to catch them. Talk to your local tackle shop owner and other anglers wherever you fish, but I will also endeavour to keep providing a few tips here and there in my videos. Start with maggots (a pint is plenty), feed accurately and ‘little and often’ (a pinch every cast), fish as light as you can (unless carp are likely), meaning maybe 3-4lb b.s mainline and 2-3lb hook length to an 18 or 16 barbless hook (pretied is easiest). And shot your float down so only the tip is showing (nice and sensitive). Always use a plummet - Google that if need be - so you know how deep it is and fish just on the bottom of the pond or river. Tight lines and keep watching / fishing / commenting!

There are also some nice guides to basic float fishing on RU-vid of course, such as this one - ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-upK-3iJFwNQ.htmlsi=XsP0lAbbU8ouVC_n If you fancy plenty of bites I would ask your local tackle shop (when you pick up some bait) where would be a good day ticket fishery to try. Commercial fisheries aren’t for everyone and you can also find free stretches of river, but they do usually offer secure parking, easy access to pegs, toilet facilities (and sometimes cafes and tackle shops), plus lots of fish and bites! Just check the rules before you fish and many don’t allow barbed hooks, certain baits, or keepnets for example, while others may insist on an unhooking mat to protect bigger fish while being unhooked on the bank. Most tackle shop people and fishery bailiffs will be happy to advise 👍🎣😊

@@themagicoffishingThanks for the advice John. I have plenty of lovely looking fisheries near me including some good beginner waters. Plus I’m very near the River Thames…can’t wait!

Many thanks as always, Peter! 💙🎣🙏 I’m sure you will have your own favourite river swims and I’ve also been enjoying fishing some new ones of late - plenty more running water films to come this year! Cheers 🍻

@themagicoffishing My favourite swim is on the trent, Winthorpe bend. It's deep off the rod end and was full of chub with the odd barbel. I've not been for many years due to back issues.

I think I know where you mean! Although I’ve not fished it for years either. I’ve suffered with some back issues over the years, including a total of three prolapsed discs, two spinal injections and one surgery, so I’m sorry to hear of your own aggro and sympathise!

My absolute pleasure, Graham 💙🙏🎣👍 I’ve appreciated your unwavering support and always look forward to your comments. I’ll keep going as long as I’m able to and as long as I’m still enjoying it 😎👍🎣🐟

Many thanks my friend. I’ve not managed any barbelling for a couple of weeks BUT… I’m in Sheffield for a match this weekend and might be stopping off at a stretch of the River Trent renowned for barbel on the way back down…. 🤞🤞🐟🐟😃

Thanks for watching and taking the time to comment! 💙🎣 I know Esher fairly well and was at the races one evening earlier this summer! The stretch of the Wey I was fishing is run by Woking and District Angling Association (think I put a link in the description) but I think there are free or public stretches of the river in Guildford (by the big B&Q) and around Chertsey. Also in Farnham - allaboutangling.net/surrey-fishing/river-wey/river-wey-farnham-bypass/. They tend to be the town stretches that are free. Cheers for now 🎣

Thank YOU, Bert - the comment means a lot and keeps me fresh for more 🎣🐟🙏

fishing is so much more than catching fish , you convey that superbly .

Many thanks 🙏💙 I will do my best 😃

It blows my mind! 🤯 Thank you 🙏🎣🐟

Thanks - glad you enjoyed it and thanks for taking the time to comment 👍💙🎣

Many thanks 🙏💙 Yes to it being Woking’s water but a bit higher up than the stretch above Walsham Weir. If you follow the river up from the weir (either by the main navigation or the Abbey Stream), you get to the road by the small bridge and the car park. Then cross over and head upstream again, passing the bit where the river divides and the big grassy area that’s become VERY popular with paddle boarders and for picnics, etc. Just a short walk beyond there… Or to put it another way, I was fishing a few hundred yards below the lock 👍🎣 I’m hardly on the river every day but can honestly say I’ve never seen anyone else fishing that area (other than lure anglers) in many years.

@themagicoffishing oh I know now 👍 your right about it getting busy just above the lock swimmers, boarders , canoers just about everybody 🤣 . Keep up the great videos me and my son thoroughly enjoy them 👍

Brilliant to hear ☺️

No day tickets on that stretch I’m afraid - members can buy guest day tickets from the club but you do need to be a member of Woking and District (WDAA if you Google it). Great little club and lots of river on offer. There are areas of the Wey around Guildford you can fish for free and some good fish in there too - park and fish at the big B&Q 🎣🐟

That’s a fairly controversial position - as in a quite understandable, but arguably one sided view of a complicated debate - yet I respect your opinion and you are welcome to express it (politely) on this channel. Thanks for taking the time to comment. As a lifelong match angler I have used keepnets on and off most of my life and think we’ve come a long way with materials and our understanding of when and how they can be used with reasonable confidence. If you take the ‘no keepnets’ argument to the extreme, however, then you could then ask why catch fish in the first place if you don’t want to risk any harm to them at all? If temporary retention in a well oxygenated river is an issue, should you be hooking, playing and handling them at all? Which is a path I don’t believe us anglers should wander down without serious thought. But that’s just my opinion and I’ve taken note of yours - thanks again for sharing it 👍🎣

Cheers Kevin 👍

Smiffy! I love all comments and commentators of course, but it’s nice to be able to put a face to a name since our chance meeting at Weybridge 😀 I was back there recently and have edited our encounter into that film about my first session on the Desborough Cut - look out for that in the coming weeks! ‘The Aquarium’ stretch is near Ripley and is run by Woking and District Angling Association - the first club I joined after moving down south some quarter of a century ago. It’s a nice deep stretch of the Wey that doesn’t throw up too many big fish but offers one by of variety as you saw 👍🐟 Cheers for now and keep enjoying your fishing! 🎣

@themagicoffishing Good man John, be good...or be fantastic! Off to Arundel tomorrow with father in law after a good mix of species, but, it's full of mirror & common carp, but, hey if I land a few, happy days. 🐟🪱🎣👍