Step five: Get some scraps from your local butcher or fishmonger. Almost anything will do, but the best bait is an oily fish head or skeleton. A chicken carcass is OK, and easy to tie on. Meat bones, fat and bacon are fine: you can use any carrion which can be tied onto a piece of string. Pack the bait, the nets, a penknife, some cloth bags (or better still a hessian sack), some string and some stout cord or rope (or old washing line or telephone cable). Get to the river an hour before dusk. Peak fishing is an hour either side. Tie a short piece of string to each side of the rim, then use the two lengths to tie on the bait, which should be positioned in the middle of the net. Tie the rope to the fixed loop with a bowline, sheepshank or half-bloodknot, and lower the net into the water beside the bank (vertically if possible). If you've made more than one net, drop them a few metres apart. If you're clever and are next to a pub, grab yourself a pint

Photograph: George Monbiot/Guardian