James Hinley has caught a lovely mixed bag of fish, trotting a stick float on the River Tees with the help of his 14ft Acolyte Ultra float rod.

“I had brought three pints of maggots and two of caster and it didn’t take long to start catching roach and dace,” the keen angler from Middlesborough explained. “This seemed to be all I was catching for an hour or two. I decided to step up the feed; feeding a dozen maggots before, during and at the end of each trot. This had the desired effect, and a nice 1lb grayling was soon in the net. This was released back into the river rather than kept in the net. This was followed by more dace and roach and the odd decent perch.

“I wanted some chub, and the maggot didn’t seem to be working. I decided to stop casting for half an hour and trickle in a pint of casters gradually. First cast through, and the plan clearly worked as I struck into something solid and determined. A 4lb 3oz fish.

“No more chub were forthcoming, so a switch back to maggot soon had grayling, trout, perch, dace and roach in the net.

“A switch back to caster again, after half an hour of baiting, brought two more chub; one of them 4lb and the other about 2lb. They fought brilliantly on the Acolyte!

“I finished off with 22lb 4oz of fish, which to me is a good river weight. Really enjoyed being back on the river!”

The Acolyte Ultra float rod is now available in 13ft, 14ft and 15ft lengths. Click here to learn more.