Have a fishing bucket list? If not perhaps it is about time to start one. The fishing bucket list is here to enliven your familiar fishing patterns. Season after season our sporting lives are set and familiar beats. Try something new and you will be one step nearer to sporting Valhalla. (You might also like to read: Fly fishing for taimen in Outer Mongolia.)

Catch a 50lb plus conger eel

The Field’s fishing bucket list

1. Catch (and release) a 20lb salmon in the UK
   The River Tay holds the record for the largest-ever line-caught salmon, landed in 1922 and weighing 64lb. To find out which beat is best for your attempt and when to go, try FishPal.
2. Catch a 50lb-plus conger eel
   Watch out – they bite! The British Conger Club is your  best source of information on catching your beast. The world record for a rod-caught conger is 133lb 4oz, landed at Brixham, Devon. Conger eel fishing is an ideal way to return a shooting invitation.
3. Go tramping for flounders
   Fish with your feet for the common flounder or fluke in a sandy or muddy seabed. Enjoy this estuary pastime, the spiritual home of which is Palnackie in Scotland.
4. Grand slam at permit, tarpon and bonefish
   You will find all three saltwater species off the coast of Florida, in the Bahamas and in South America, making for perfect holiday sport. Thrilling to catch on the fly, a hat trick is certain to impress. Permit can be the hardest, so go when they’re at their best: April, May, June.
5. Catch a fish with a fly you have tied yourself
   The thrill of bringing in a fish is doubled when you have tied the fly yourself. Nimble fingers are needed to master the skill. Take advice from our feature on salmon flies and fly tying. The Game Fair has a large fishing sections with fly-tying experts giving close-up demonstrations.

This article was originally published in 2015 and has been updated.