A good first trip does not need a dawn start, a long walk and a mountain of equipment. A few comfortable hours at a beginner-friendly lake can be plenty. Give yourself a chance to enjoy it, rather than turning the day into an endurance test. Choose ...

It is tempting to put in a generous helping of bait and hope the fish notice. On a first coarse-fishing trip, though, a little is usually a more useful starting point. You can add more as the session develops. You can’t easily take it back out. Loos...

You don’t need a shelf full of bait to get started. A small tub of maggots, a little prepared sweetcorn or some fresh bread can give you plenty to learn with. The best first choice is the one that suits the fish, the venue rules and the tackle you a...

A float tells you much more when it is set up properly. If half the body is waving about above the surface, you may struggle to spot a delicate bite. If it disappears before a fish gets anywhere near it, something needs adjusting. There are two sepa...

Walk into a tackle shop for the first time and it can feel as though you need one of everything. You don’t. For a first coarse-fishing trip, a small, well-matched setup is far more useful than a boot full of kit you haven’t worked out yet. Start wit...