The old ways are appealing, but will they catch you more fish?

The cold means nothing when the wolf of the waterways turns its dark eyes to your lure or deadbait – it’s time to tame the beast...

1 PLAY IT SAFE FOR SKIMMERS A lot ...

With its majestic proportions and astonishing turn of speed–it can swim faster than a battleship–the bluefin tuna is poetry in motion

From landing hulking catfish on the Zambezi to talking tackle with Ted Hughes, COUNTRY LIFE’s fishing correspondent looks back on seven colourful decades

Unfairly maligned as a sneaky troublemaker, the quicksilver ferret is a characterful, curious and highly intelligent creature–with fascinating regal and cultural trappings to boot, writes Octavia Pollock