My names Bret (Weaver). I have many favourite venues but I think my top one would be The Croft on the Todmorden permit.
I've been fishing since I was about 12.One of my first experiences was fishing Mertons lake 1 on the Bolton permit.Swapping the rod back and two with my best mate Martin Greaves.Think we caught 3 tiny perch that day and still went home happy.Or catching bullheads on the brook Nr Firwoods.
My personal best was a 22lb ish common carp when I was 18 caught on the Newton le willows canal.Peg 76 on a float,3 maggots and about 5 foot out! Just goes to show..
If I could give just one tip it would be to always try something new everytime you go out.
Even if just for an hour you never know, you might stumble across a killer personalised rig.
My favourite picture is probably the ghost/common carp in my avatar
I'm a 36 year old dad to Shawn (14) & Chloe (12),and I live in Bolton,Lancashire

Hi Im Garry Murray,(Muzza) im the eldest of the staff being very nearly half a century old and also the most sensible obviously ;). I am fairly new to fishing (18months) but coming on the forum has and still is increasing my knowledge daily. My personal best was 3lb until I attended a Breaking Surface Carp social and low and behold it is now 16lb..so what does that tell you a great set of lads always willing to share their knowledge.....My favourite lake to fish is Shore as it is so local to me and also a great place to try different methods and learn the ropes as it were. My favourite technique is with the method feeder I am experimenting with different baits (homemade) I WILL FIND THAT LETHAL BAIT ONE DAY.Stop by and say hello but for gods sake dont ask me for any tips lol

My name is Craig (Tincaman ) i'm 41yrs old and have been Fishing for over 20 yrs. Most of my Angling takes place in and around Bolton and Lancashire. The species that I tend to target the most during my sessions is the Tench. I also fish a lot of commercials including Church Gardens. My biggest Tench so far is 9lb 1oz caught from my local water Mertons in Bolton. One of my all time favorite baits to catch Tench is the good old fashioned Lob Worm, although I do use all the other commonly used baits such as corn,bread,maggot and small boillies as well as other natural baits. Usually my Tench fishing is done on the float, but occasionally like to get the swim and method feeders out and try my luck that way. One of my targets for this year is to net myself a 10lb Tench, which would give me a great sense of achievement as i`ve been fishing for them for over 10 yrs.
Tip. Don't be a lazy Angler, if its not working, try a different approach

Hi my name's Mark (Bornagain).I first started fishing when i was 12,joined my local club and got into match fishing in junior,club and open matches.
I had a brief spell on the Dark Side(carping)and had my PB of 16lb 4oz...a pb that's stood for nearly 30 years!
After an absence of 26 years i returned to fishing in April 2009 and haven't looked back since.I've meet some great guys through this site and had some reet good laughs fishing the matches and socials.
During the summer you'll probably find me fishing at Gingham's so come and say hello.

Coming Soon...

Hi. I'm Neilpeel. Fisherman since catching a small perch at the Clayhole in Hindley Green back in 78. The majority of my fishing is done on free waters, or on the Bolton and Wigan AA card. Favourite fishing? An evening float fishing for Tench, hovering behind the Barbel rods in the fading light, or floater fishing for Carp. The forum on here has some great info and a good social side. I've had the majority of my PBs since joining the forum. Coincidence? Probably...:)

I'm joel & i live in blackburn,I've spent the last 6 years chasing pike & predators on many waters using baits & lures.My pb pike is 27lb 3oz,perch 3lb 1oz,chub 5lb & wild brown trout 4lb.I decided that after i'd qualified for the aca british pike finals,i'd try another side of fishing.So i started carp angling in march & have had a great start with well over 150 doubles banked & a pb currently at 17lb4oz.I couldn't have done it without the invaluble advice & practical help i recieved from breakingsurface members.I'd advise any newcomer to angling to learn Lure fishing.With this method anglers who do it correctly learn about watercraft,which i think is suffering in this age of commercial fisheries.Watercraft will catch you more fish as location is 75% of the battle in catching not just predators but all species