Practical know-how for life
by the water.
Fresh from the cove
Alder gives a very light, delicate, slightly sweet smoke and is the traditional wood for salmon on North America's Pacific coast. What it suits and which grade to buy.
Apple wood gives a mild, sweet, fruity smoke that suits fish, chicken, pork and cheese. Which grade to use and how it compares with cherry and hickory.
Beech gives a mild, clean, slightly nutty smoke, long used in European smokehouses for fish, ham and sausages. What it suits and which grade to buy.
Which smoking wood suits which fish: oak for mackerel and kippers, alder, apple or beech for salmon and trout, and the strong woods to keep away from delicate fillets.
Cherry gives a mild, slightly sweet, fruity smoke and a rich reddish colour. What it suits, which grade to buy and how it compares with apple.
Hickory gives a strong, savoury, bacon-like smoke that suits pork, ribs, beef and sausages. How much to use, when to blend it and why it can overpower fish.
Maple gives a mild, subtly sweet smoke that suits poultry, pork, cheese and vegetables. Which grade to buy and how it compares with apple.
Mesquite gives the strongest, earthiest smoke of the common woods and is a Texan barbecue classic for beef. How much to use and what to avoid.
Oak gives a medium, balanced smoke and is the traditional British smokehouse wood for kippers and smoked salmon. What it suits, which grade to buy, and bourbon-soaked oak.
The best crabbing bait, how to keep it in a bait bag and a simple family method that catches shore crabs without hooks or waste.
Understand cold-smoking equipment and the safety limits before preparing salmon at home. Cold smoke does not cook fish, and this overview is not a validated curing recipe.
Hot-smoke mackerel, salmon or trout at home with a stovetop smoker or barbecue: preparation, wood choice, temperature and a simple doneness check.
Turn a gas or charcoal barbecue into a simple smoker: where to place the box, how many chips to use and how to get clean smoke without soaking everything.
A practical guide to filling, lighting and positioning a cold smoke generator, keeping it alight and controlling temperature for cheese, salmon and bacon.
Three simple sea-fishing rigs for shore beginners, what each one catches and how to match hooks, weights and bait to beaches, harbours and rough ground.
Christmas gifts for anglers, sorted the way the morning actually goes — stocking fillers first, then under the tree, then the big one.
BBQ gifts for the dad who guards the grill — from a bag of smoking wood chips under £5 to the complete hot smoking kit, wrapped and dispatched same day.
Fishing gifts picked by budget from our Cornish tackle shop — stocking fillers, presents under £40 and one kit that covers everything a beginner needs.
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