Author Archives: richardhandel

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About richardhandel

I would like to give a brief snap shot of my life and introduce myself; My name is Richard Handel and was born in 1965 in Suffolk. I have worked as a UK Operation & Intermodule Manager for a shipping company. I live in Hampshire now and am married with 2 young children, both girls so I am a bit outnumbered even the cat is a girl! I have been fishing since I was about 7 years old. I started on small local rivers in Suffolk, then moved onto gravel pits and then carp fishing. My personal best is a 39.08 mirror, over recent years I have started river fishing again, on the Hampshire Avon, this is a nice break from the carp lakes. My life has turned a big corner this year, the company I was working for relocated their Operation centre to Estonia. I was offered a job at the head office in London. This would have meant a 5 day commute and working in Stratford. As a family, we did not fancy this, as I would hardly spend any time with the children (and the Mrs). So after 22.5 years, I was given a nice redundancy package and with my wife is working full time. I became the house husband. This has meant a complete turn around in my fishing, as I can pick and choose when I go. I have found a splendid new syndicate to fish this year, which includes 5 lakes and some 8 miles of river with only 150 members. It's an amazing change to the way I am able to fish. I am now trying to start my own tackle business and make a bit of a name for myself in the world of fishing, as I have retired from real work. Richard

Testing the Blank Saver Range: A Week of Unexpected Turns


Testing the Blank Saver Range: A Week of Unexpected Turns Fishing trips rarely go exactly as planned, and this one was no exception. What started as a straightforward plan to get some quality time on the lake quickly morphed into … Continue reading

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Trip 30 Carp Fishing – 2025


The Double Gravel Swim – September Session After a good look around the lake earlier in the week, and also backed up by studying my old records, I decided the Double Gravel swim was my best bet. It wasn’t an … Continue reading

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BFM


Big Fish Mix Very rarely a bait lives up to the marketing, but one look at the catch reports will show that this bait is more than a little special. Living up to its name in style with a long … Continue reading

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Hard Hookers


Hard Hookers Faced with nuisance species or simply wanting to leave your baits out for several days, then we’ve got it covered with our hard hook bait ranges which are available across all our bait ranges 🎣🎣 * * #BigFishMix … Continue reading

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Trailer – Trip 33 Carp Fishing – 2025 (Sometimes, the best sessions…)


Sometimes, the best sessions happen when you least expect them. As luck would have it, I managed to squeeze in a couple of unexpected nights on the bank this week. After finishing my gardening jobs for the day — plenty … Continue reading

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