Traveling the globe and risking his life, Wade searches for these mysterious freshwater predators, on a mission to test the myths surrounding these almost supernatural creatures.

I’ve caught a few “monsters” in my time but nothing quite so awe inspiring as some of the fish Jeremy catches (pardon the pun) on camera, definitely worth watching, “River Monsters” hits the Discovery Channel on Tuesdays at 10pm.

Rik Mayall is brilliant as a Flash Diehard type character, and the Bombardier beer isn’t too shabby either :)

We’ve not been sea fishing for a while but we’re making up for it soon with a week on Anglesey so we’ve been getting our kit together and doing all sorts of home and garden maintenance type things before we go away. Even though I’m supposed to be getting stuff ready for going away I couldn’t resist a quick walk along our local River Douglas, not for any specific reason, just because it’s been a nice day.

Nothing unusual to report although if the number of Small Tortoiseshell butterflies flitting round the nettles is anything to go by it looks like they might be making a bit of a recovery – at least I hope so. Birds are all doing the pairing up thing and it was good to see the Swallows swooping over the fields chasing the insects being thrown up as the tractors plough. Although not unusual in itself we have noticed a lot more Orange Tip butterflies this year – I’m not sure if we’re just more observant or if there are more than normal – I suppose we’ll see once the summer arrives.

Every time I walk along the River Douglas it reminds me just how lucky we are to live in such a fantastic place, not just Lancashire, but the UK in general and even on your local patch you can sometimes find something a bit different to photograph or a new look for an old subject.

Take the above as an example, looks almost alien – like some sort of science fiction film set but it’s the dried mud on the side of the River Douglas. I’ve been trying to photograph it for a while but it’s either too wet and messy or too dry and powdery, today it was just right…

If your in the area how about renting out a cottage at Easy Cottages for your walking holiday in Lancashire

Spring is in the air and it’s time for all creatures great and small to start doing what the birds and the bees do best – yes – it’s time for some good old fashioned sex.

Everywhere you look at this time of year you can see all types of fauna paired up and ready to make whoopie. During the past few days I’ve made the most of the weather and spent a fair amount of time wondering round Queens Park, Bolton. As well as the usual suspects of Sparrows, Great Tits, Blue Tits, Long-tailed Tits, Ducks and Geese the Green Dock Beetles seem to have come out of hiding earlier this year and are certainly making the most of it.

As well as these beautiful little bugs the new growth on the Hazel and Alder is covered in deep blue Alder Leaf Beetles getting busy in the making little beetles department.

No fishing for a while as we’ve been making the most of the weather and planting a few flowers and more veg. in the garden but we’re going to Anglesey soon for a week which theoretically should coincide with the Bass arriving – at least that’s what we’re hoping…

With the Daffodils showing and the wild Garlic and Bluebells just itching to burst into flower we’ll be seeing lambs soon and I can’t wait, this Winter seems to have been a long one…

I did manage to get out for a look at our local River Douglas boatyard during the huge Spring tides a week ago. Seeing the pontoon against the banks of the river and the yacht in the above picture I must go and have another look because I’m sure it’s risen above the banks of the river and is sitting on the edge of the flood plain. It must have been a pain to get it back into the centre of the river. The barge on the right of the photo is almost always high and dry, I’m amazed the thing still floats.

So that’s it, no much of an update – more an “I’m still here” type of post. Hopefully we’ll be getting out doing something we want to do such as fly fishing, sea fishing, walking or generally anything but decorating or those things things that you have to do but never want to.

The trees in Queens Park are showing catkins and all the wild bulbs of Garlic, Bluebells and Daffodils are now well on there way although not quite far enough to show any flowers.

Although the weather hasn’t been great and it looks like another cold period is on the way this week our Snowdrops are out and the Crocuses are almost showing colour. In fact things in the garden are definitely ‘on the move’ and we need to get out and do some after-winter pruning and tidying up before it gets to far ahead of us.

But there is a big fly in the ointment to our plans, whether it’s gardening, walking, fly fishing or sea fishing. This is the time (admittedly when the sea fishing is a bit naff) that we have our yearly ‘must decorate the <fill in a room> room’. Yep, we’re decorating. This time though it’s a bit of a big one.

We want a new carpet to cover the wooden floor in the lounge and dining room as it was a bit chilly last winter, which means we needed to work out what to do with the old hearth / fireplace. The hearth / fireplace is gaining a Stockton 5 wood burner so we’ve painted the dining room to give us somewhere to put stuff while that gets done then we’ll paint the lounge once the guys at Firebarn have installed it.

After last weekends painting marathon it was a relief to come into work on Monday – for a bit of a rest…

Around half of all fish caught in UK waters are thrown back overboard dead!

This is insane no matter how you look at it. I’m not saying the fishing methods are right or wrong but if the current common fisheries policy forces our fishing fleet to throw back perfectly good fish because they are the ‘wrong type’ something has got to change.

Hugh Fearnley-Whittstal, of River Cottage fame, has taken up the gauntlet to bring this stupidity to light and I urge you to join the campaign by visiting the fishfight.net website where you can find out how you can make a difference as well as read about the alternatives.

The Marine Conservation Society, MCS, is the voice for everyone who loves the sea, working to secure a future for our living seas, and to save our threatened sea life before it is lost forever.

Almost nowhere in UK seas is marine wildlife safe from harm and the need to establish marine protected areas where wildlife can recover and flourish is vital.

• Beach litter has doubled over the last decade.
• 88% of Europe’s fish stocks are overfished or depleted.
• Once common fish such as skate and cod are now rare.

MCS’ work ensures that the sea’s rich wildlife can be restored, fish stocks grow more plentiful, and our beaches and seawater become cleaner.

As a charity MCS depends entirely on the generosity and enthusiasm of its supporters, people like you and me who want to continue enjoying our seas for the fantastic wild places they are as well as helping support a sustainable fishery around the UK coastline.

If nothing is done this rich and diverse habitat will be lost forever so in a rare plee from me I ask you to visit their website and find out how you can help save our seas.

(some text and images are copied from the Marine Conservation website)