Hart has arrived at Monster Tackle and to celebrate we're giving you the chance to win aHart Bloody Offshore 240 lure rod worth over £150! To enter simply leave your details below and answer the question - it couldn't be easier!For more details on this great prize click here.

Hart have a fantastic range of quality rods, reels, soft and hard baits - we'll be adding more to the site in due course but for now don't miss theAbsolut Worms, theX3 Pencil, and the awesomeSurface Patriot 120!

This trip must be one of the most amazing I have done in South America!

With 5 guests and myself, we arrived at the International Ezeiza airport in Argentina on November 2nd and stayed in the beautiful city of Buenas Aires. Leaving the smaller airport of Jorge Newbury the following afternoon we arrived in Concordia and after a short van ride, we got to La Zona Lodge, our home for the next 4 days and 5 nights.

Each day started with a sumptuous breakfast followed by about 4-5 hours of intense fishing and then back to the lodge for a three-course lunch! After a short siesta at about 3.00pm, our mottly crew was led back to the river for an afternoon of more lure chucking until dark. A few pre-dinner drinks were followed by another three-course dinner and splendid wines! You will NOT lose weight here!

There is nowhere on earth that anglers can catch Golden Dorado of the sizes taken here. Records are constantly broken and as the El Salto Dam stops the upriver migration of these huge fish, they gorge on the constant supply of large baitfish available. They grow to immense proportions here and often when caught they will regurgitate baitfish and even fellow Dorado to over 10lbs!

This is an area which incorporates the water below the huge El Salto Dam (built and shared between Argentina and Uruguay) running across from border to border and down river for about 1km. Anglers cast lures and jigs/flies while the boats drift down with the current to the end of what is the protected reservation known as ‘The Zone’. The boat pilots then start up the engines and run up to the dam for another drift.

Over the next 4 days of this extreme fishing, even with two novice anglers, we all hooked and landed big fish to over 30lbs! Even with replacement split rings, 4X strong and extra sharp hooks, only one Dorado is normally landed for every four hooked. They often throw the hooks when jumping so acrobatically as they have such hard, bony mouths. We still made a respectable total of over 500 fish for two boats and six anglers with 26 over 30lbs.

The fish of 30lbs and over were as follows:
5 x 30, 1 x 31, 4 x 32, 1 x 34, 1 x 35, 3 x 36, 2 x 37, 2 x 38, 1 x 40, 2 x 41, 1 x 42, 1 x 46, 1 x 47 and 1 whopping big 49.5. The last two are also both new world length records!! That's an average of just over 5 fish over 30lbs per angler!!

The best producing baits were Rapala X Raps deep-divers, Rapala CD 18s, lead-in-head Rubber Shad jig baits (these got hammered and chewed up all too quickly), 2-3oz Bucktail jigs and large 2-3oz heavy-duty Spinnerbaits. The largest of 49.5lbs was caught on a 3oz Spinnerbait.

Due to heavy rain coming down the river from Brazil, the water levels were high and the water fast and furious most days, especially when all generating turbines were let loose in both countries! On Sundays, generally neither country generate electricity so the current is usually slower and levels much lower with plenty of rocks showing. Dorados loves rocks and abound stack up around them easily picking off baitfish. Our Sunday however still produced fast water which didn’t fair well for our long-awaited topwater lure action. While some fish were caught on poppers and walk-the-dog baits, deep-divers produced the best fish.

On the morning of November 8th, we all flew back from Concordia to Buenas Aires. I had business in Brazil so carried on from there while the others all flew home the same day. Most of the guys took from the 2nd - 9th November or 8 days off in total for their trip, with 4 Brits, one Lithuanian and an American.

This is such exciting sport, the fish here are always on the hunt, the guides are the best anywhere in Argentina and the lodge and food are excellent in every way. Anyone interested in knowing more about this fantastic fishery can contact Steve viawww.amazon-angler.com

At the start of week 1 we arrived on the Araca only to find us in rising water conditions. The levels rose by over 1m during the week! High water is an Amazon angler's nightmare as it puts the fish down due to cooler water temperatures and it allows water to rise over the banks and spread into the surrounding jungle, making finding fish like looking for a needle in a haystack!

With only 750 fish caught by 8 anglers for the week, most of our group caught big fish, with 18lbs being the largest Peacock Bass and a couple of 50 and 60lb Piraiba Cats were caught in the evenings. We ran the camp down river to the Rio Negro to get away from the rising levels and downwards onto the Rio Caures.

Arriving at the mouth delta of this beautiful river at the end of the first week, we found the Caures to be a completely different story, with low conditions and fish busting on baitfish everywhere. Lots of good sized fish were caught from day 1 with the largest Peacock at 22lb and quite a few 20s and 21s also caught. Many high teeners also added to the total of over 2,000 Peacocks for 7 anglers in 6 1/2 days. A few Redtail Cats also caught with the biggest at about 65lbs only.

In total we must have travelled and fished over 800 miles of rivers. A good bunch of guys and many new friends made.

Next report will come in a few weeks from Argentina for Giant Dourado at the world-famousLa Zona Lodge, followed by a week in the Brazilian Amazon for Peacock Bass at our friendly, family-run eco-lodge.

Over the years we've come to love the Jersey Bass Festival weekend, organised by Steve Mullins and the Sinkers Sea Fishing Club it is well supported by sponsors and always draws a big crowd (over 200). The format is simple start fishing at 6pm on Friday night, finish by 7pm on Sunday and you can fishing almost anywhere you like on the Island so long as you can reach it by foot.

We managed just 1 bass this year between 4 of us and it placed joint 3rd in the catch and release section - just 1 fish for 4 rods isn't very good but we had alot of fun along the way. The catch and release section was won by Dave Watson who nailed an 8lb fish on a soft plastic in fast running water in the middle of the night - well done mate! The lure section was won by Giles Allcock with a fish of 5lb 15oz 12dr he also won the visitors section so a great weekend for him. Some photos and the full results from a cracking weekend below.

We've enjoyed a good summer of both business and fishing and have been getting some great feedback from customers which makes it all worthwile. The boat fishing over the past month has been good for me and Dan had a couple of great shore sessions on Herm towards the end of August. I've failed to land many fish over the 5lb mark since the begining of the summer, I lost a good fish yesterday on anima Salt Skimmer (one of my lures of the season) but there's still time. In reality we're coming into the best bass fishing months of the year so hopefully all the practice will be worth it! I've included some of our photos from the summer so far, send us your best shots and we'll get them on the site for you...

Until next time, Tom

It's interesting watching how things have changed in my home harbour here on the west coast of Wales. I'm pretty confident that the fast developing levels of bassing knowledge and 'know how' is mirrored all around the UK coast. Not so many years ago Bass were little known here. Rarely caught and when caught, often caught by accident on lures trolled for pollack. Trolling was the way, the only way but now I see lure casting going on and boats head out the harbour with local lads armed to the teeth with close to the best of bassing lure casting kit. Purpose made lure rods, braid and lures that are designed to catch the fish they target. The availability of quality kit has made bassing all the more easier but knowing just how to fish a lure, when to fish a lure, what size, what colour, surface, shallow diving, soft plastic is where the real skill lies and only time on the water brings the learning necessary to catch consistently.

The lads here are learning quickly, that learning is coming from each other and from watching how and when its done. And I'm delighted to see it - taking bassing to its ultimate sport fishing levels means an increased respect and knowledge of the spieces. More fish are going back - only yesterday whilst on the water I heard a local boat claim to have released two 36 cm fish. Good on 'em... Catch and release is a thorney issue. My take on it is as follows....when I guide the fish go back as policy - full stop. Outside of my guiding the vast majority go back - sport for sports sake but I will take the very odd fish particularly towards the end of the season which is normally over by Mid November here. I like BASS's (Bass Angling Sportfish Society) policy of maximum two fish taken a day. Its a Policy that mirrors the Irish position on recreational bass angling - there is no commercial bassing there and its a Policy that seems the best fit for today's society. I choose never take fish on that level but such a Policy does at least allow the 'one for the pot' brigade to enjoy this wonderful sport. And once you realise that the mindset of catch, enjoy and release is actually far more thrilling than killing - one soon gets more enjoyment from watching a fish swim away. Its a pleasurable memory that will live on forever whereas the £'s earnt for carcasses or a bass based meal are forgotten no sooner as you have spent or eaten them.

I really hope that the increasing levels of knowledge, the improving skill sets and the rampant growth of bass sportfishing - both locally and nationally - brings with it the understanding and respect for our quarry because without the respect that Bass deserve, they will fast become a pleasure remembered rather than a pleasure enjoyed.

Firstly let me be clear what I mean by bikini weather. Its hot, the water is clear, the sea is like glass and the sun beats down from a cloudless sky. Its the kind of weather that virtually all fishermen here in the UK hang their kit up in and wait for late evening whilst enjoying an afternoon with their family on the beach (bikini spotting behind your best fishing shades - or is that just me?) And Guys you are all wrong ... call yourself bass'ers? I'm afraid to tell you that you have missed the point and a golden opportunity.

Last weekend West Wales did its annual one weekend a year impersonation of Southern Spain. We had our dose of bikini weather and guess what?; A local bass'er who knows his stuff went bassing (another Tim) and a client and I went bassing. Different locations were chosen only a few miles apart and we both caught. Tim landed and released (good on him) this lovely 8 lb fish and my client released a 5 lb + fish off the surface. The day was hot, the sea flat, the sky cloudless and we both caught.

And this is how ... In that kind of weather I believe the good fish go shallow. Really shallow, they literally hide in shallow reef area's and rest up. They may well be dozing, or milling, or resting. I've observed groups of fish very many times now and they lie in a couple of feet of water tucked away from disturbance and predators. And they are very, very catch able as Tim and Colin proved. You just need to locate them...

So when I'm presented with the need to guide clients in hot calm clear seas I don't avoid them but bless them as I know there is a real chance of a cracking fish showing up. I will hunt the shallows, get into places where the fish are undisturbed by man or beast (seals etc). Often you can locate fish before actually casting to them (poloaroids, a good cap and a stealthy approach help massively). Think small quiet surface lures or very shallow running divers and aim to throw your lure into less that a meter of water.

So next time its bikini weather and your weighing up your options between a day on the beach behind your shades or a day bassing think carefully because you may well be missing one of the best opportunities of a good fish that you will get this season.

Well it did! Just after lunch we got the news we've been waiting for. Our first order of Century HPR Lure Rods will ship later this week and we are now able to start taking orders on the site. This means all the technical info, photos and pricing are now publicly available and I believe this month's Sea Angler is carrying an article by Henry Gilbey reviewing the new HPR rods.

This is a big day for British lure fishing. Century has been at the forefront of rod design for over 30 years and it's rod manufacturing base in UK is one of the most advanced in the world. The technology they have used in this new range of HPR rods is ground breaking and importantly the HPR rods have been designed and built in Britain. I personally feel like there's a healthy connection with Jersey here as well, this must be a special day for our friend and guide, Keith White. Keith has acted as lead consultant with Century on this project and no one I know catches more fish and puts the hours in like Keith.

Production has been staggered so we will be taking orders and dispatching on a first come, first serve basis - with the first lot dispatching next week. Don't miss out.

>> The full range of Century HPR Lure Rods can be viewed and order by clicking here.