River Loddon produces giant barbel on homemade boilie

A homemade boilie proved to be the key ingredient for specimen angler Neill Stephen when he hooked into this 16lb 2oz barbel from the river Loddon.

With just a few hours to fish his chosen stretch of the waterway, the London-based rod decided to experiment with swims, casting his rig, complete with a size 8 hook and paste wrapped around the lead, into the middle of one of the area’s last remaining ‘cabbage beds’.

“I made a few casts, none of which felt right, but I decided to leave the last one anyway,” Neill told AT. “Half an hour later the rod slammed round and I connected with what felt like a good barbel. The fight was over quickly and when I lifted the net up and felt the weight I got very excited.

Giant barbel caught on float fishing tackle

After a season hunting the River Trent’s roach and barbel in alternate sessions, Mike Lomas recently found himself adopting his favoured methods for the silvers to target the bigger species - catching this 13lb 13oz specimen as a result.

The speci-hunter fished the river at Newark, using a 15ft float rod and a home-made goose quill Avon-style float to present a maggot hookbait in 10ft of water.

“I catapulted a few pouches of maggots out before I started fishing, and then trotted through four maggots on a size 10 hook. It wasn’t long before I hooked into the fish, either,” Mike told AT.

“I’ve caught bigger on legering tactics, but this was by far my favourite fish just due to the tactics I caught it on,” he added.

Hampshire Avon barbel record has been broken

The Hampshire Avon barbel record has been smashed this week with the capture of this impressive 16lb 11oz specimen.

Taken by Ringwood-based speci angler Ben Hutchinson, the big barbel came from a stretch of the waterway controlled by Ringwood & DAA - falling for the 31-year-old’s legered 15mm Marine Halibut boilie presented over a bed of pellets.

“With all the rain there was a lot of weed flowing through the swim, so I had to bury the tip of my rod about a foot underwater to stop the line snagging up,” said the landscape gardener.

“The fish gave a screaming bite and fought like mad. Luckily the previous record-holder and the water’s bailiff, who also used to hold the record, were near by so they could witness the catch.”

River Trent produces 11lb barbel to schoolboy

This big barbel just goes to show that age counts for nothing when it comes to angling. The 11lb fish was caught by 11-year-old Mathew Chester, when the Barnsley schoolboy was fishing the tidal stretch of the Trent with his uncle, Chris Smith.

“We started the session at 6.30am and it was hard fishing,” said Chris.

“Mathew did very well and took two other small barbel before the big one took his bait at 6pm. His patience never failed all day.” Mathew beat his big barbel using 11lb line straight through to a size 10 Drennan Super Specialist hook, fishing hair-rigged halibut pellet over a bed of hemp, pellets and groundbait.

Huge 17lb barbel smashes River Dove record

With the number of river record claims down so far this season, Derbyshire angler Scott Blues must have thought he was going to add to the figures when he hooked into this big Dove barbel just 6oz short of the water’s best.

Fishing a club stretch of the river, the 33-year-old specimen-hunter took the 17lb fish while targeting a swim he suspected held big specimens under an overhanging tree. He baited-up with around 10 droppers of hemp and pellets, before sitting back for a few hours to let the fish settle over the feed.

“At around 8pm, I dropped my bolt rigs into place with hair-rigged, squared-off 16mm boilies soaked in halibut oil,” said Scott. “I was using bite alarms and the fish gave me the only bite of the session, which came around midnight. There were a few little beeps that I thought was debris, but it kept going so I struck into it.

“My previous best was 15lb, so I’m well chuffed with the fish. I’m sure there’s a bigger one around, though,” he added.

Ex-match angler kick starts his specimen fishing career in fine style

When Terry Barrett set himself a target of beating several pbs in one season, he had no idea he’d have so much success so quickly.

The former matchman-turned-specimen-hunter kicked off his campaign targeting chub and barbel on his local River Lea. Following a few blanks, his persistence was rewarded with a 14lb 14oz barbel (pictured right) and a 6lb 5oz chub in the same session. Both were taken on 8mm pellets with small PVA bags of free offerings and both were new pbs.

Next on Terry’s hit list was a double-figure tench. But, after targeting a gravel pit on a three-day session, it wasn’t his intended pb that fell. “I fished a patch of gravel between weedbeds with a tutti-frutti boilie over a bed of groundbait,” Terry told AT.

“At 9pm I had a screaming run and hooked into the biggest common in the water. At 34lb 12oz it was another new pb.” From there, he went on to Nazeing Mead, Essex, to take eight large bream from a prebaited swim, with the biggest being another personal best of 12lb 14oz that fell to worm and caster.

“My next target is a 3lb perch,” said Terry.

Angling Trust aim to find out the nation's favourite rivers for fishing

The River Trent, the River Severn, the River Thames - which is your favourite river for fishing?

The Angling Trust wants to hear from you to find the nation’s best - and worst - running water venues as part of a new conservation survey.

It’s part of the Our Rivers campaign, a major response to Government research last year, which found that 74 per cent of rivers in England and Wales are falling short of European environmental targets, with only five per cent described as being in ‘pristine’ condition.

For the best river, nationwide publicity and an award for the specific area/town beckons, but the Trust points out that the worst river is not about naming and shaming - the Our Rivers team will conduct a workshop with the local council and action groups to develop a plan to improve the river and bring back fish and wildlife.

As well as the Trust, the RSPB, WWF and the Salmon and Trout Association are involved, in what the AT chief executive Mark Lloyd describes as a ‘joint review’ against the Government for failures in its plans for rivers.

The European Union’s Water Framework Directive requires the UK to bring all its rivers up to ‘good’ status or above by 2015, but the Trust claims that the current draft plans mean the UK will fail to reach this target.

Of the 74 per cent which are failing to meet EU standards, 117 rivers (two per cent) are classed as ‘bad.’ “The survey will raise awareness of problem rivers and there is a box on the voting form to highlight any concerns.

“We’ll be taking these to the fisheries minister Richard Benyon later this month and will be attending all of the party conferences,” said Mark.

THE STAR'S FAVOURED RIVERS...

		John Wilson It has to be the Wensum, beside my home in Norfolk. I moved here for the roach fishing 40 years ago and I’ve caught fish to nearly 3lb, plus barbel to 16lb 13oz and chub to 6lb 9oz from its waters. Sadly, it’s been plundered by cormorants for 25 years and decimated by otters for the last 10.
		Keith Arthur Old Father Thames. I’ve been very close to this river for so long and won lots of matches on its banks, but now it’s better than it has ever been. We blame all sorts when the fishing is poor, but it’s more cyclical than we realise.
		Bob Roberts I’m going to go for the River Idle, which begins in Sherwood Forest, flows through the town of Bawtry and empties into the Trent. It’s a very intimate river, just five yards wide in places, and it’s real Mr Crabtree fishing - you don’t point two rods in the air here!
		Des Taylor The River Severn, anywhere from Bridgnorth to Bewdley. The Severn valley is one of the most beautiful places in the UK. You can watch deer come down to the river and the birdlife is fantastic, including buzzards and kingfishers. I moved to Bewdley because the roach and barbel fishing are first class.
		Denis White There’s only ever been one if you’re a match angler - the Trent. I remember my first ever open match win on the river - I was 16 years old, there were 350 anglers fishing and I won £220. The headlines were in big bold letters, ‘New star on the Trent!’ Now it’s been cleaned up, the fish are bigger and it just takes a bit of homework to catch ‘em!

Big barbel boom is now over say fishing experts

Britain’s big barbel boom has officially ended - and many experts believe sport will take years to recover.

Since 1998, when the Great Ouse began to dominate the history books, river records have tumbled across the country, with as many as 28 falling in a season. But during the last campaign that figure crashed by a staggering 89 per cent - and the trend looks set to continue with just three falling during the current season.

The news has prompted some barbel specialists to paint a bleak future - and it’s otters which are getting most of the blame.

“The figures don’t lie,” said barbel historian Dave Mason, who has compiled the river records in the last few years. “It wasn’t very many years ago when there were anywhere between 20 and 25 records falling in a season, and now this has slumped to three. It’s a huge drop. Otters have obviously had a massive effect, but I would like to a see a proper scientific study to find what’s gone wrong.” Martin Bowler is a big-fish angler who was well positioned to enjoy the barbel boom of the last decade, landing a series of giants including a British record. But he is adamant that period can be consigned to the history books.

“Barbel fishing, as we know it in this country, is over - and it’s only going to get worse,” said the Angling Times columnist and star of Catching the Impossible.

“Otters have had a massive impact and while they are present in their current numbers, trying to restock is a waste of time - you’ll just be serving up sushi to the predators. If the cormorants don’t get the small barbel, then otters get the big ones.

“The way I see it, anglers have a choice - either we have chub and barbel in our rivers, or we have cormorants and otters. We can’t have both.” Founder member and now president of the Barbel Society, Fred Crouch, has an equally bleak outlook for the species - but thinks bigger, less vulnerable, venues could emerge.

“The reintroduction and spread of otters have had a massive effect,” said Fred, who has been targeting the species for more than 60 years. “They don’t just take fish, they disturb spawning grounds, too. Whole areas and stretches that once contained fish are now barren on many rivers.

“Venues like the Wye, which have supported otters for years and are big and wide enough to sustain predators, will become more and more popular.

“I am a naturally optimistic individual and I’d like to think we’ll get through this period, but I’m worried. People will simply have to change their aims and objectives because the era of very big fish is over.”

Team MAP win the River Severn's biggest match team event

Team MAP are rightly celebrating their success after winning top honours at the largest team fishing event to take place on the River Severn this year.

The Bridgenorth Invitational comprises 10 teams of 8 anglers and takes place on the Bridgnorth AS stretch on the stunning Appley Estate upstream of Bridgnorth.

Using a variety of methods, the MAP team, lead by team captain Matt Maginnis  and comprising of Gary Farmer, Dave Foxall, Chris Jones, Kevin Jones, Mark Jones, , Steve Maher, Bob McAulay, put together cracking bags of mixed barbel and chub to claim 75 Points and the Match win.

Team captain Matt Maginnis said "This was a tremendous team performance and the wealth of experience, skill and versatility within the team shone through. To have every team member finish in the top 4 in their sections and particularly on such a tough river is a great achievement."

"The match is superbly run by Rosa and her team and as it's now the only team competition on the River Severn I'm extremely proud to say that MAP are the 'River Severn Team Champs' for 2010!"

Result

1st MAP75 points
2nd Rowley 68 points
3rd Willow Creeek64 points

Three barbel river records smashed in one week

An unprecedented three barbel river records have potentially been shattered in just a week, Angling Times can exclusively reveal.

Increased rainfall has reinvigorated the country’s rivers following months of low, clear conditions, with three different water systems throwing up huge specimens to prove that the fish are back on the feed.

The first to fall was the Thame, with Oxford angler Stephen Harris taking a fish of a claimed 15lb from the river, breaking its current record by nearly 2lb.

“I was fishing a nice gravel run in about 3ft of water,” Stephen told AT.

“After having a 5lb chub, a couple of chucks later the top of the rod plucked and I struck into the barbel which powered off down the river.

“When I got it on the bank I was shaking so much I had to get my mate to weigh it and the scales went to 15lb on the nose.” Stephen took the big barbel on rolling meat fished on a size 6 hook to 10lb line.

Also breaking records recently was the River Ure. Fishing a stretch of the waterway near Harrogate, specimen-hunter Gage Whyte got in an early start to take a fish of 11lb 10oz, 8oz heavier than the current record.

Presenting a halibut pellet on a size 10 Drennan Super Specialist hook at the end of a 15lb braid hooklength, the 23-year-old was fishing feeder tactics with groundbait and pellet offerings. The tactics worked perfectly, with Gage hooking the big barbel not long into the session.

“It was a hell of a fight,” said the Leeds-based angler. “It took over 10 minutes to get the fish into the net. With the help of Barbel Fishing World I’ve now had the fish confirmed as the new Ure record.” A third mystery fish and potential river record was caught from the Wye.

Weighing in at a claimed 16lb 12oz, the specimen was caught by an unknown angler on the Moccas Fishery stretch of the Wye at Letton, and although the only image of the fish is poor quality it shows the shape of a fish that’s clearly huge.

The capture was, however, witnessed by a reliable and well-respected local angler who is a member of Three Counties Fishery that runs the opposite bank of the Wye to where the fish was caught.

The angler, who doesn’t wish to be named, spoke to AT about what he saw: “I was on the opposite bank when I saw this chap hooked into something powerful,” he said.

“He was fighting the fish for a good 15 minutes before it broke the surface. My bank was higher, so I saw it before him and it was a huge barbel.

“He weighed it at 16lb 12oz. Unfortunately he didn’t have a camera, so I did what I could with my camera phone.

“I’ve caught double-figure barbel before and seen 14 pounders in the flesh and this one dwarfed them. It was massive, very long with a large belly,” he added.

Glory days of huge catches return to the River Trent

Fishing on the River Trent is better than it has been for the past 20 years. That is the opinion of a host of the nation’s best-known and most well-respected anglers who have this week said that the famous waterway is now producing its best sport for match, specimen and pleasure anglers for decades.

Five-times world champion Alan Scotthorne has been joined by river fishing legend Wayne Swinscoe and Trent expert Bob Roberts in claiming that not only is sport equalling that of its heyday, but pleasure anglers are also returning to the waterway in their droves.

And it’s not difficult to see why, with 100lb-plus nets of barbel and chub being taken each week, the most recent match-winning net being 110lb 15oz of fish coming from the famous 1A peg at Collingham, and reports that silverfish are making a resurgence with big nets caught at Fiskerton and Stoke Bardolph.

“I’ve been fishing the Trent since I was 14 years old and anglers have always looked at the river through rose-tinted glasses, but it’s now better than ever,” said Alan Scotthorne talking to Angling Times.

“During the river’s most difficult times sport used to be very patchy and match weights were diabolical at times.

“But now good weights of roach and dace can be taken from so many different areas, and I don’t think there’s a better water in the country for big barbel and chub.” Top matchman turned specimen-hunter Bob Roberts has stuck with the river through its toughest times and has proved the big-fish potential of the waterway with unrivalled success.

“People have said the river’s dead and written it off, but it always seems to bounce back and reinvent itself,” said Bob.

“There were times when I could run a float down the river with maggots on the hook and not get a bite, but now there are roach, dace and perch throughout, it’s harder to find stretches that don’t hold chub and barbel rather than ones that do.” The effects of this new lease of life are also being felt by local tackle shops, with more and more anglers taking holidays in Nottingham in order to fish the river.

Tim Aplin, owner of Matchman Supplies tackle shop in Nottingham, admits that the river has seen its fair share of tough times, but is convinced that it’s back to its best.

“The river’s never been healthier. The water clarity’s promoted weed growth that’s led to a huge increase in silverfish.

“Anglers should be very excited about the future of the River Trent,” he added.

Kamasan Starlets win Division 1 National on River Trent

Kamasan Starlets’ love affair with the Division 1 National continued as the West Midlands outfit chalked up their third win in just six years to lift the silverware by only three points from Maver Image Van Den Eynde. More importantly, they also booked their place in the World Club Champs fish-off at Evesham next month.

Winners in 2004 and 2008, Starlets racked up 498 points to deny Image by that slender margin, with Mirfield AC picking up the bronze medal. Other teams joining them on the Warks Avon for the big match included Shakespeare, Trentmen, Barnsley and Drennan NW, which should make for a brilliant match.

First, though, they had to overcome the Trent on a day where bream didn’t show throughout much of the match length. That made small fish the main targets, something that was always in the mind of Starlets, as skipper Darren Cox explained:

“We felt it was going to be a waggler match today, but the river was carrying more pace than expected so we swapped to the stick float,” Darren said. “The plan was to kick off on the feeder to see if any big fish were around while priming our float lines.

It was then a case of catching little fish unless you caught a barbel or bream on the tip.” Starlets took everything but the kitchen sink with them, Darren alone setting up eight rods, such was the nature of the river where any method could have delivered.

Some anglers caught on the pole, some on the tip and some on the float, but the key was to have everything covered.

“When you don’t have a clue what will work it can be dangerous to go down the route of spending too long on one method,” Darren continued.

“Experience plays a huge part in knowing when to chop and change. This team is full of seasoned river anglers who have got a lot of experience of the Trent in the last few weeks. Much of that has been down to Danny Ashington, who has been brilliant in keeping the team on the go and turning out for practice.

“We also had a fantastic team meeting the Wednesday before the match when we talked at length about the river and came away feeling more than prepared.”

Versatility was the key to success ¬ Darran Bickerton, for instance, having to catch dabs on the tidal section on chopped worm, while Dave Harrell nicked a bonus barbel on Newark Dyke and then went back to whipping out gudgeon, so all signs point to Evesham for the champions ¬ and Darren can’t wait.

“We’ve been crying out for big team matches and this will be tremendous,” he said.

“The calibre of teams fishing it couldn’t be better and of course we’d like to qualify for the Club Champs by right, but Evesham is a good river for us. It’ll be a busy few weeks of bloodworm fishing, what with the Team Champs final as well, but this is what you should want at the top end of the sport.” There aren’t many Nationals where only three points divides first and second, especially at Division 1 level, so the disappointment of Maver Image Van Den Eynde was understandable but like Starlets, they too are looking ahead to Evesham.

“Fair play to Starlets, they’re a class act,” said captain Steve Clark, who set the event record the last time the National visited the Trent five years ago. “Our aim was to get in the top 10 but to come this close to winning is gutting. We had some good pegs and I think we only dropped four points from the sections on the tidal river where a lot of teams came unstuck.” Boasting the likes of former Essex County men Gary Miller and Chris Vandervleit plus ‘old-school river men’ as Steve put it, Image’s plan was similar to that of the winners in terms of starting on the feeder with long tails and small hooks, while feeding the waggler or stick line. After this foray, the float took over with a back-up plan of going on to the feeder if the roach didn’t show.

Top 10 teams

1 Kamasan Starlets, 498pts
2 Maver Image Van Den Eynde, 495
3 Mirfield AC, 460;
4 Maver Barnsley, 454
5 Shakespeare Superteam, 451
6 Fox Match Trentmen, 447
7 Collins Green AC, 442
8 Drennan NW, 441
9 Maver Tipton Bait-Tech, 436
10 Garbolino Harrison’s Lincs County, 435

Steve Collett romps home with individual Div 1 National win on River Trent

Peg 1A at Collingham must have been everyone’s pre-match favourite for top spot and it didn’t disappoint, the same swim that handed glory and the National record to Steve Clark back in 2005 doing the same for Steve Collett this time round with a 56-020 barbel haul that secured him the title by 40kg!

A regular on the River Severn and a specimen-hunter when not matchfishing, the peg was right up Shatterford-based Steve’s street. Fishing halibut pellet with a pellet blockend feeder rig, the Farnborough DAS man landed 20 fish to 9lb from the famous peg, leaving him relieved at the end of the five hours.

“When you draw a flier like this there’s pressure not to muck it up,” Steve said. “This has to be one of the best fliers I’ve ever drawn and as soon as I saw the weirpool upstream I felt right at home. It was just like fishing the Severn back home with proper kit.” Kicking off on a groundbait feeder and maggot combo in search of bream, bites were hard to come by so Steve swapped to the pellet approach, casting a 70g Black Cap feeder packed with 4mm halibuts around 40yds upstream to a gravel patch. With 8mm and 10mm drilled hair-rigged halibuts on the hook, it wasn’t long before he was catching.

“I caught seven fish in the first couple of hours, but had spent a bit of time spodding out pellets to get a bed of feed down,” he explained.

“People might think that’s a waste of time in a five-hour match, but when the fish move over the feed, they don’t leave it! It took another hour, but for a golden spell I landed nine fish in quick succession and most of the time bites came as soon as the feeder settled.” Steve’s tackle was also right out of the big-fish book. He used a 2lb tc barbel rod, 15lb mainline, a long 3ft 0.30mm hooklength and a size 12 hook.
Steve lost half-a-dozen fish and had to use brute force to drag hooked fish away from danger.

Sport wasn’t quite so hectic for runner-up Steve Addy on peg E4 just downstream of Crankley Point. Aiming for the bream, the Team Mosella Selby angler got off to a slow start before the chub turned up in numbers, 14 of them giving the Gilberdyke rod his 16-890kg.

“I began on the groundbait feeder, but only caught two little skimmers. By one o’clock I was going nowhere, but out of the blue the tip went round and I caught a 1lb chub. I switched to the maggot feeder with three red maggots casting three-quarters of the way across and in the next hour I caught five fish around 1lb before it slackened off.”

Individual result

1 S Collett, Farnborough DAS, 56-020
2 S Addy Team Mosella Selby, 16-890
3 K Hartley, Mirfield AC, 14-400

16lb 4oz barbel landed on 3lb line by schoolboy

A record-shaking barbel has been landed by a schoolboy after an epic hour-long battle on just 3lb line, Angling Times can exclusively reveal.

The 16lb 4oz fish, which is only a single ounce shy of the River Severn best, took Josh Roe’s legered double red maggot during a night session at the 16-year-old’s local Holt Fleet stretch of the West Midlands waterway.

Striking into the fish at around midnight, it took Josh a full hour and 10 minutes to get the historically important barbel to the net, where the teenager was ‘stunned’ to see its size.

“We’d got there around 8pm and I’d only had a few eels when my quivertip dropped back,” Josh told AT. “I hit into it, but thought I’d snagged the bottom. Then it started to move.

“I’ve caught barbel before and they shoot off, but this one just stayed deep and moved slowly. I don’t think it even knew it was hooked for half the fight.” Having cycled to the venue with only a small backpack of tackle and light quivertip rod, Josh landed the second biggest barbel ever to be taken from the Severn on 4lb mainline with a 3lb hooklink to a size 10 hook.

“There were some hairy moments during the scrap. It was a massive relief when I got it on the bank,” said the teenager. “My mate who I was fishing with had never even seen a barbel before, he couldn’t believe how big it was and neither could I.”

Speaking to Angling Times about the capture, the chairman of The Barbel Society, Steve Pope, said: “It’s a brilliant and inspirational fish, so big congratulations to Josh. The story just sums up why we all go fishing. It’s also great to see a fish that can put the Severn in the limelight again as it’s become a little unfashionable in recent times.

“My only concern would be that after an epic hour battle like that he did everything necessary to let the fish recover before it swam away,” he added.

Paul Garner continues his fine Warwickshire Avon barbel form

Dr Paul Garner is continuing his fine run of form on the Warwickshire Avon with a latest overnight catch that included three eleven pound barbel.

Using two 10mm Marine Halibut pellets on the hair wrapped in Marine Halibut paste, Paul fed a gallon of Frenzied Hemp, 1 kilo of 6mm Marine Halibut Pellets and 250 grams of 10mm Source Boilies little-and-often with a catapult to keep the barbel coming.

Six inch Dynamite sticks filled with crushed Source boilies, Marine Halibut pellets and Source Stick Mix were tied to the lead on each cast to increase the attraction still further.

Paul also had several other fish up to 9.8lb in the session that ran from 8pm until 6am the following morning.

Rigs consisted of 4 foot hooklengths made from 10lb Nash fluorocarbon to size 14 Mustad Super Power eyed hooks, tied knotless knot style. His 2oz leads were fished on simple run-ring rigs.

Overjoyed with the success of the session Paul said; "This is the second time I have been fortunate to get three doubles in an overnight session, but the first time I have managed it on the Avon. The river really is fishing well at the moment, thanks to the perfect weather conditions. The previous night I had ten fish with the biggest being a nine-pounder so to manage three big fish was a great result!"

You can find out more about Paul's latest fishing on his website www.drpaulgarner.co.uk

Paul Garner ends a superb Warwickshire Avon session with a 13lb barbel

With the weather being absolutely perfect for barbel fishing Paul Garner decided to sneak out on Friday night for an overnight session on his local Warwickshire Avon.

Earlier in the week Paul had an evening on a previoiusly unvisited stretch but never had a touch, so rather than potentially waste the ideal conditions on a stretch that might not hold any fish he decided to tackle an area that he knew well and that could turn up a good fish or two.

Arriving at 19:30 Paul had his first bite just after 20:00 from a small chub and then as the light began to fade the barbel moved in and it was steady action until he decided to try for some sleep for a couple of hours at 02:30.

In that time 12 barbel put in an appearance, all in the 4 to 7lb range, and all most probably males still shoaled up after spawning.

Paul was more than happy with this, as the session was turning out to be the largest single session catch of barbel he'd had from the Avon.

Paul only managed to get a couple of hours sleep so rather than head off home early he decided to put in another couple of hours.

Although the fishing in daylight was quite slow it did bring two bites, the first from a lovely 5lb 4oz chub and the second from this clonking barbel of 13lb 9oz.

Most of the fish, including the ’13’ fell to two 10mm Dynamite Marine Halibut pellets drilled and fished on a hair to 3ft of 10lb Nash Fluorocarbon and a size 14 Mustad hook.

Paul had fed 2 pints of 6mm Halibut Pellets and half a gallon of hemp with the catty and added a six inch PVA stick of mixed pellets liberally coated in Source Liquid and another secret attractor that he has been testing.

Great barbel and chub catches kick starts river season

Anglers celebrated a return to running water sport this week with impressive hauls of barbel, chub and bream heading catch returns.

Pleasure and specimen rods from the North East right down to the South West got in on the action as they ventured on to the riverbanks for the first time in three months.

Leading the way was the mighty River Trent, where Sheffield-based chef Lee Swords targeted a stretch on the middle river to land over 160lb of barbel to 13lb 1oz and chub to 6lb 3oz. All his fish were tempted on clusters of small pellets Superglued to a hair and wrapped in paste fished over a bed of fermented particles.

Elsewhere on the river, local government officer Chris Smith, from Barnsley, landed his first double from the tidal in the shape of a 10lb 2oz specimen which fell to a feederfished 10mm halibut pellet at first light.

Further south, on the River Thames Francis Francis Club members Keith Clark and Bill Rushmer shared an impressive 180lb-plus bag of float-caught bream to over 8lb on bread hookbaits, while London cabbie John Gard achieved a long-held ambition to catch a Thames carp on the float by netting commons weighing 25lb 8oz and 23lb 14oz on plastic corn.

Opening day on the Great Ouse saw Simon Todd-Hunter land five bream for 25lb, the best of which topped 6lb, from the Olney and Clifton stretch, a catch that was beaten by another local angler Adam Short who caught seven slabs to 5lb, plus a single tench, for a 39lb 2oz bag.

After two hours without a bite on the River Wellend, Martin Porter (40) decided to change swims and went on to bag 160lb of bream in five hours. The highlight was a personal-best slab of 9lb 7oz, which was backed up by the Peterborough-based engineer with 22 other bream and three perch. All his fish fell to worm or maggot hookbaits.

One of the biggest river fish of the week was taken by Gavin Hughes, who got his season off to a flying start with a 13lb 14oz barbel from the Bristol Avon. He also caught another barbel of 9lb 3oz and several small chub.

Meanwhile in the far north, Nigel Collins and his daughter Anne Marie banked three chub in just four casts from an overhanging bush on the River Wear, including fish of 4lb 12oz for the 13-year-old schoolgirl and one of 5lb 5oz for Nigel.

2010 World Angling Championships preview and daily reports

The 2010 World Angling Championships are just days away and here's where you'll find up to date reports from the matches in Spain, result analysis, team stats and prospects before any other fishing website.

Following a last minute change of venue by the Spanish organisers, it looks like being anyone’s guess as to who will lift the title come Sunday afternoon!

Originally scheduled for Vicario Reservoir in Central Spain, poor catches and high water levels in the months before the event forced fishing World Champs organisers to up sticks and move the whole competition an hour west to the River Guadiana at Merida, near the Portuguese border.

This river is a completely different proposition to the small carassio carp of Vicario. Instead, anglers will be faced with big carp, barbel and a smattering of carassio plus bleak and assorted other small fish and in practice away from the match length, Drennan Team England have already been catching 90lb weights in three hours fishing.

“The lads have reported back and the news is good,” said England Co-Manager Mark Addy. “It seems that carp and barbel will be the main fish as the bleak tend to get caught in practice and then don’t show again. We’re happy to be fishing somewhere like the Guadiana as I think it’ll be a true test of angling skill, not a fish race like Vicario would have been.”

How this last minute switch will affect the 30-plus teams fishing is anyone’s guess but several have already had a sneak peak in hastily arranged knock up matches on the sections to be used. England haven’t fished yet but with team man Steve Gardener spying during those events, he reckons there shouldn’t be too many surprises in store.

England will of course start as one of the favourites along with the big guns of Italy and France but in Spain, the home side and neighbours Portugal can never be ignored.

Daily updates on the event

For daily reports, tactics, reaction and analysis plus exclusive interviews and hopefully some videos on the World Championships keep checking out www.gofishing.co.uk. Coverage starts on the evening of Friday June 25 with updates on Saturday and Sunday. The official result is expected to be announced around 3pm on Sunday afternoon.

Click to find out which anglers will fish the 2010 World Champs in Spain.

50 great river stretches to try on opening day

With the rivers fishable again on June 16th, we delve into the Gofishing.co.uk crystal ball to predict where the vast majority of fish will be caught...

Here we've broken down our list into the main river species and provided a brief guide to the best rivers to catch them so early in the season.

If it's anything like previous new river seasons, we think we've got it pretty much spot on...

Roach

Even-depth swims with a weed-free gravel bottom and a good flow are prime hotspots. The well-oxygenated water in the tail of a weirpool are also worth a cast, especially in low water, while bigger roach will seek sanctuary under moored boats and trees.
Great baits: Maggots, casters, hemp, tares, bread

River Don
The faster waters of Sprotbrough Falls are your best bet, with pegs around the Boat Inn and nature reserve the ones to head for. Waggler or pole are all you need, fishing maggots, casters and a little hemp.
Doncaster Angling Centre 01302 363629

Dorset Stour
The bottom end of Beat 2 going into Beat 3 is prime roach territory as it runs deeper and slower. The float works best using classic river roach baits like maggots, casters, hemp and tares.
Ringwood Tackle 01425 475155

Hampshire Avon
Avon roach are hard to find, but the Fordingbridge Park section does give you a very real chance of a fish of a lifetime 3lb specimen! A big fish approach is needed here, fishing float or leger with bread, maggots or corn over hemp.
Ringwood Tackle 01425 475155

River Nene
A moody river for roach, but the Railworld section in Peterborough and Stibbington, Water Newton and Oundle on the upper reaches always have good early-season form, with maggot or pinkie over balled-in groundbait best.
Wade’s Fishing Tackle 01733 565159

River Yare
Always a river to hit roach form straight away, pegs to the left of the Beauchamp Arms pub in Roach Bay are good, while if you don’t mind a walk, head off to the right just past the boards in the reeds. Fish long pole with maggot and caster over plenty of groundbait.
Angling Direct 01603 400757

Sussex Ouse
Haven is a famed section for good mixed fishing and it holds its fair share of quality roach. Any method will catch, although the float is best for redfins, with Iron Bridge, Boreham Street and Middle Bridge highly fancied early season.
Polegate Angling 01323 486379

River Trent
The Nottingham Embankment showed good early-season roach form last year, but a better bet is the Notts AA section at East Bridgford where the running line rules. Classic waggler and maggot or stick float and caster are the No1 approach.
Matchman Supplies 01159 813834

River Medway
Teston Bridge up to the weir at the top end of the section offers great roach fishing in swims with good flow. This is classic stick float territory with maggot, hemp and caster fished a rodlength out best.
Medway Tackle 01732 360690

Yorkshire Ouse
Below York, the Fulford stretch is good roach water with an average depth of 6ft to 8ft and a long rod approach with the stick float, fishing hemp and caster will score well.
York Tackle 01904 411210

River Thames
Roach are spread all the way through the Medley section, but the gate at the end of the track near the boatyard is favoured by locals. This is great waggler and maggot water.
Fat Phil’s Angling Centre 01865 201020

The Thames at Medley offers superb Roach sport

Chub

Any cover such as overhanging trees, reeds or weedbeds. Chub also like to hang around man-made objects such as bridges and moored boats. Failing that, look for parts of the river that have drop-offs into deeper water.
Great baits: Worms, maggots, bread, pellets, boilies

Hampshire Avon
The Concrete Plinth below the weir at Lifelands is prime chub territory on a day ticket and you can fish classic stick tactics with hemp and caster or a more static approach with big baits, such as pellet or luncheon meat.
Ringwood Tackle 01425 475155

River Thames
The Channel in the Botley Road area has produced some huge chub to 8lb plus in the past and is THE area around Oxford for consistent nets of fish. Fish a little waggler run through against the far bank with maggot.
Fat Phil’s Angling Centre 01865 201020

The Ivel lends itself to leger tactics for the many chub.

River Ivel
A classic river full of bends and far-bank vegetation, the angler wandering downstream of Biggleswade road bridge will find plenty of cracking swims. Leger tactics with bread, worms and maggots is as complicated it gets.
Walker’s Pitch 01767 316700

River Mole
The Dorking DAS water at Dorking and Leatherhead is a super chub water, with the Stepping Stones on the North Bank at Dorking or Mickleham famed sections. A little waggler with caster is all you need and you’ll normally find the chub in the shallowest water.
KC Angling 0208 6426222

River Dane
Bay Malton AC controls two prime stretches at Pimlott’s and Cotton Farm. Bigger baits, such as pellets and boilies, have scored in recent seasons, but old favourites like worms and bread will still catch.
Dave’s of Middlewich 01606 833853

River Ribble
Warrington AA controls the Hurst Green section, a noted area for chub, while Elston is always capable of throwing up a net of smaller fish to a small bait approach. Maggot and caster works for these chublets, with classic baits like bread and cheese to pick out a 5lb-plus fish.
Ted Carter Preston 01772 253476

River Severn
Holt Fleet is a great day-ticket section and the chub live right in the weirpool and can be caught on either float of feeder. The Kidderminster water either side of Bewdley town is another good early-season stretch with Hawkesbatch perhaps the pick.
Mark’s Tackle 01299 871735

River Wear
Durham City Centre is noted for its chub throughout the year and they don’t move far in early summer. The Baths area and Feren’s Bridge are famous and standing in the river fishing waggler or stick float with maggot and caster in classic fashion will also take roach and dace.
Cleveland Angling Centre 01642 677000

River Ure
Above the North Bridge in Ripon offers day-ticket sport for the float angler fishing the waggler or a big stick float with maggot and caster or a tip approach with worm for the bigger fish.
Harrogate Angling Supplies 01423 883270

Warwickshire Avon
Locally it’s known as Wasperton, but the Leamington and Birmingham AA sections at Manor Farm are great for chub and the Aeroplane swim is particularly good, floatfishing maggot.
Bailey’s of Warwick 01926 490636

Barbel

Any swift, well-oxygenated area of water attracts barbel. Weirpools, side streams and shallow water holding good beds of streamer weed are likely spots, better still if there’s cover, such as overhanging willows. Avoid slow, deep areas which will be a little too turgid for barbel.
Great baits: Pellets, boilies, paste, luncheon meat, maggots

The River Trent produces lots of early season barbel, especially in the evenings.

River Trent
Close to Nottingham, the Clifton Grove and high numbers at Holme Sluice areas are well worth a look fishing pellet and boilies on a strong leger set-up. Beeston Weir can also produce early doors.
Matchman Supplies 01159 813834

Hampshire Avon
You’ll find barbel living happily alongside the chub on the Lifelands section and the Concrete Plinth is well recommended for a big fish. Sit-and-wait approach with big baits like pellet.
Ringwood Tackle 01425 475155

Dorset Stour
Throop is barbel heaven with Beat 2 good for numbers of fish on the float or feeder with pellet, paste and boilies.
Ringwood Tackle 01425 475155

River Thames
For good numbers of smaller barbel and free fishing to boot, the mouth of the River Mole at Hampton Court is a hotspot. The feeder or a straight lead with pellet is the method.
KC Angling 0208 6426222

River Ribble
The Elston section on the Wigan AA book is a good barbel section while on a day ticket, behind the Tickled Trout pub in Preston and the Bonsai Nurseries section hold barbel.
Ted Carter Preston 01772 253476

River Swale
The first two pegs at the point of access at Myton are noted barbel haunts with mid-river leger or feeder tactics working best. Small baits like maggot and caster work in clear water, a large piece of meat best in coloured conditions.
Harrogate Angling Supplies 01423 883270

Warwickshire Avon
The upper end of Wasperton is faster and shallower while in Stratford upon Avon, the Lido’s sand bar area and Lucy’s Mill hold a handful of barbel. Big baits like pellets, boilies and meat will avoid nuisance fish.
Bailey’s of Warwick 01926 490636

River Kennet
The Reading DAA-controlled Benyons sections are prolific and barbel can be found in most areas. Take your pick from a specimen approach with pellet and boilies or a more active maggot attack.
Reading Angling Centre 01189 872216

River Witham
The upper reaches hold few barbel but they are big and not too difficult to locate. Check out the weirs at Long Bennington and Foston fishing pellet, boilie or worms.
Dave’s Peg 01529 415896

River Great Ouse
Two sections in the village of Haversham are prolific for barbel, namely Whitingstone Park and the Galleon. Fish pellets, boilies and maggots.
Milton Keynes Angling Centre 01908 374400

Bream

Slow flowing rivers are prime bream territory, but they can be found in swift water as well. A typical area is down the middle of the river in the deepest water, which not only gives the fish maximum sanctuary but also a wide area of riverbed for them to browse over.
Great baits: Worms, maggots, pellets, boilies, sweetcorn

River Great Ouse
There are bream in most pegs from Ely through to Littleport in the heart of the Fens, but good areas in recent years have been the high numbers at Littleport, the Pymoor section just out of the town and the Wissey Mouth to Denver Sluice sections at Ten Mile Bank.
Benwick Sports 01353 721009

Twenty Foot Drain
A mass of water to go at here, but highlights for bream include the Chain Bridge section of the 20ft Drain at March or Beggar’s Bridge near Whittlesey where a small feeder or straight lead with worm will catch.
Wade’s Fishing Tackle 01733 565159

River Witham
National Bend at Southery is the stuff of legend among matchmen and the bream are still there. The bridges at Tattershall and Kirkstead also act as magnets with the dozen or so pegs either side worth putting in some time on.
Harrison’s Tackle 01522 523834

Bristol Avon
The Fry’s AA water near the chocolate factory is a noted hotspot with pegs from the mid 40s to 52 and 14 to 24 best while Bathampton AA’s water at Newbridge is prolific, especially pegs 50 to 64.
Bristol Angling Centre 01179 508723

River Trent
Not too many bream show early in the season on the Trent, but Burton Joyce, at the bottom end of the road stretch, is normally reliable. A classic groundbait feeder approach with worm and maggot will produce.
Matchman Supplies 01159 813834

River Welland
The Spalding end is less weedy but noted areas are above Crowland Bridge on the bend or pegs in the late 500s and early 600s on the feeder with worm and maggot.
Wade’s Fishing Tackle 01733 565159

River Thames
The Canbury Gardens section at Kingston is free fishing with the Half Mile Tree just below Canbury very good. Standard bream tactics apply here, with groundbait feeder and a worm and maggot or caster cocktail sorting out the better bream.
KC Angling 0208 6426222

Tackle the Northwich town centre stretch of the Weaver for year-round bream sport.

River Weaver
Northwich town centre has the famous floating hotel and Dane mouth swims within close proximity of each other and they are great year-round bream areas on the feeder or long pole. Upstream, it’s well worth trying the bottom end of the boatyard stretch.
Dave’s of Middlewich 01606 833853

River Bure
The St Benet’s Abbey area is prolific with a groundbait feeder fished two thirds of the way over a great area especially opposite the mouth of South Walsham Broad.
Angling Direct 01603 400757

Warwickshire Avon
The slower, deeper water downstream of Stratford is bream territory and Luddington is a hotspot fishing groundbait feeder and worm although with colour in the river, the long pole can also score.
Bailey’s of Warwick 01926 490636

Perch

Being predators, perch will conceal themselves under cover to strike at prey. This makes landing stages, weir stanchions, lock cuttings, trees, reeds and lily beds all great spots. Smaller fish will swim in shoals and can be found in more open water where they feed on smaller prey.
Great baits: Maggots, casters, worms, livebaits, lures

River Tees
Last winter saw brilliant perch nets, including fish to 3lb but come the start of the season, they move into the Yarm area to spawn. You can find them anywhere through here and a chopped worm feeder with lobworm on the hook will pick out the big perch as well as a few bream.
Cleveland Angling 01642 677000

River Welland
The Stamford Meadows section holds good numbers of perch with a 2lb specimen not out of the question. Lobworms are the No1 bait fished on a light leger underneath or close to any far-bank vegetation.
Stamford Tackle 01780 754541

River Lea
Dobb’s Weir might be more famous for producing a former record chub, but its perch are also worth talking about and fishing for! Worms or a bunch of maggots presented in the slacks just off the main flow of the pool are likely spots, while the run-off will also hold perch hunting small prey fish.
Oakwood Angling 0208 8826821

River Thames
Weybridge Weirpool is a perch hotspot, but generally these fish are little elusive early on. The early pegs at Walton Bridge and Desborough Island are also places to have a cast and on the tactics front, straight lead and lobworm will do fine.
Apollo Angling 01932 340000

River Nene
Lock cuttings up and down the Nene are prolific for numbers of perch, with most fish weighing in at over 1lb and falling to lobworms. On more open sections such as Milton, Orton and the Peterborough Embankment, fishing worm against any marginal weed will always score, especially when the river’s clear.
Wade’s Fishing Tackle 01733 565159

Carp

It is often a case of setting a trap and waiting for river carp, and the best approach is to spend a bit of time scouting, looking for signs of carp. Good spots are those out of the main flow such as dead arms, quiet backwaters or long-term moored boats, but carp will regularly move out into the main flow to feed, so it’s well worth having one rod fished down the middle of the river.
Great baits: Boilies, pellets, paste, bread, sweetcorn

River Nene
The Milton area will be a carp hotspot this season as a lot of fish have already been seen in the pegs in the 350s, while best of all is the section above Milton Ferry Bridge heading towards Alwalton. This holds some huge fish, but a little scouting mission beforehand will be needed to locate them.
Wade’s Fishing Tackle 01733 565159

River Thames
The Thames is producing more and more carp and Donnington in Oxford city centre is famed, but a little off the beaten track is the mouth of the Seacourt Stream at Carrot’s Ham, where a big fish sit-and-wait approach can produce some surprising specimens!
Fat Phil’s Angling Centre 01865 201020

River Weaver
The boatyard on the edge of Northwich town centre is steeped in carp history and even produces match winners with one 20lb fish! Boilies fished under the boats is the method, but there aren’t masses of fish so it can be a sit and wait job but when you get a run, it could be a pb.
Vale Royal Angling Centre 01606 46060

River Severn
Small populations of carp live in Lincoln Weir just out of Stourport town centre and are often caught by barbel anglers fishing pellets. You might have to put up with barbel and bream but a dedicated angler should have a little joy – make sure you fish strong tackle!
Mark’s Tackle 01299 871735

Warwickshire Avon
There are loads of carp in the Avon now and if you fancy fishing in the shadow of history, Myton Fields in Warwick upstream of the castle is a good place to try. The fish range from 5lb well into the 20s and standard carp tactics with pellets and boilies will catch them.
Bailey’s of Warwick 01926 490636

End of season session produces 13lb Royalty barbel

The end of the river season is rapidly approaching and one angler who has certainly been making the most of the remaining few days is John Stack, who landed this
13lb 12oz barbel from the Royalty Fishery on the Hampshire Avon.

After finding the river in perfect nick - slightly coloured and holding a little extra water - the Christchurch-based rod rolled a meat hookbait along the popular Fiddlers West section to tempt his quarry.

For more details on The Royalty, call Davis Tackle on 01202 485169.