Big river pike wins competition

It was a case of the agony and the ecstasy at the 2011/2012 Kingspan National Pike Championships, which were held last week on Ireland's River Suck in strong winds and heavy rain.

Despite the bumper turnout of 77 anglers, the fishing was relatively poor, with almost half the field failing to catch a single pike.

However, one man who left the competition on a high was Ian Drennan, from Durrow, who walked away with the title after banking a superb 24lb 11oz specimen on a ledgered lamprey.


British Waterways vow to never cull canal pike again

One of the UK’s biggest angling clubs has won a victory for the sport this week after forcing British Waterways to vow it will never again cull pike on its canals.

The assurance was made by the former Government body – responsible for over 2,200 miles of Britain’s canals and rivers – after the Pike Anglers’ Club of Great Britain used Freedom of Information laws to investigate a large-scale cull of the species carried out by BW on a stretch of a Midlands canal.

The PAC found that over 150 pike to 18lb had been killed on the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal near Minworth – a cull which, according to information gathered, was easily avoidable.

“A BW survey revealed ‘significant numbers’ of pike in the canal, but instead of seeking expert advice it electrofished and all the pike removed had to be killed by law.

“There had been no health check made and no Section 30 put in place so the pike couldn’t be moved to another water,” a PAC spokesperson told Angling Times.

“In the PAC’s opinion, British Waterways just slaughtered the fish in an unacceptable knee-jerk reaction. Luckily we have reached a positive outcome with British Waterways.”

BW national fisheries manager John Ellis said: “Since the incident, British Waterways has come to an arrangement with a private fishery whereby it is willing to accept any pike in the event of there being a need to relocate them.

 


British Waterways vow to never cull canal pike again

One of the UK’s biggest angling clubs has won a victory for the sport this week after forcing British Waterways to vow it will never again cull pike on its canals.

The assurance was made by the former Government body – responsible for over 2,200 miles of Britain’s canals and rivers – after the Pike Anglers’ Club of Great Britain used Freedom of Information laws to investigate a large-scale cull of the species carried out by BW on a stretch of a Midlands canal.

The PAC found that over 150 pike to 18lb had been killed on the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal near Minworth – a cull which, according to information gathered, was easily avoidable.

“A BW survey revealed ‘significant numbers’ of pike in the canal, but instead of seeking expert advice it electrofished and all the pike removed had to be killed by law.

“There had been no health check made and no Section 30 put in place so the pike couldn’t be moved to another water,” a PAC spokesperson told Angling Times.

“In the PAC’s opinion, British Waterways just slaughtered the fish in an unacceptable knee-jerk reaction. Luckily we have reached a positive outcome with British Waterways.”

BW national fisheries manager John Ellis said: “Since the incident, British Waterways has come to an arrangement with a private fishery whereby it is willing to accept any pike in the event of there being a need to relocate them.

 


Terry Lampard breaks the magical 30lb-pike barrier

One of angling’s most respected big- fish anglers has described the capture of this huge 30lb-plus pike as one of his ‘greatest achievements in the sport so far’.

Landed from Dorset’s Milton Abbas Lake, the 33lb 8oz predator was caught by specimen angling legend Terry Lampard, and was a capture that delivered the seven-times Drennan Cup winner a ‘double whammy’ of
angling feats.

As well as being a new pb for the species – beating Terry’s previous best of 31lb 12oz from the River Wye by just under 3lb – the big fish is also the first predator over the magic 30lb barrier to have been caught from the Hampshire venue.

“The capture of this huge pike is right up there near the top of my greatest achievements in the sport,” Terry told Angling Times. “The great thing is that it’s a fish that hasn’t been caught for years, but I knew it was still lurking around because it’s been seen a few times. I’m so pleased that I managed to catch it.”

Terry landed his fish during an early-morning session, fooling the specimen with legered mackerel hookbait presented between two weedbeds at around 40yds’ range.

The pike provided the only bite of the day, being beaten with size 6 Drennan trebles on a 28lb wire to 50lb braid mainline.

 


45lb 14oz pike shakes the British record

The British pike record stands on the brink this week, following the capture of a momentous 45lb 14oz specimen from a little known northern trout water.

Falling just 15oz shy of the current British best, the huge fish – captured from Wykeham Lakes, North Yorkshire – is just a single meal away from creating angling history, with the fishery’s manager stating that if it is caught again before the end of March ‘it will be a record’.

Wykeham Lakes near Scarborough made headlines last November following the capture of a 39lb 15oz pike from its 7.5 acre trout lake to a lure angler. This specimen is believed to be the same fish.

This time the huge predator fell to a 6oz trout livebait presented on a paternoster rig by local angler Wyndon Coole, the capture taking its place in the history books as the fifth-heaviest pike ever landed in the UK.

“I’m still coming down from cloud nine. It’s an absolute dream,” Wyndon told Angling Times. “Me and my fishing partner Chris have put a lot of effort into Wykeham and had a lot of blanks, but this has made it all worthwhile.”

The capture and weighing of the massive fish was witnessed by several people, including the fishery’s manager, Mike Heelis.

“After the big pike last year we’ve been running trials on our trout lake for local anglers which have been going since January,” said Mike, speaking to Angling Times.

“Wyndon really deserved to catch this fish. He and his fishing partner Chris have put in loads of effort, it’s just a shame he didn’t catch it at the end of the trials as it would have been a lot bigger.

“I think the pike will be spawning late this year and this fish definitely wasn’t full of spawn, so if it comes out again it will be a record.”

 


34lb pike captured from north west natural venue

At the height of the trout reservoir ‘silly season’, when monster pike from venues such as Somerset’s Chew Valley Lake seem to come almost daily, one North West venue has proved that natural waters can still produce huge fish - in the shape of this 34lb specimen.

Landed by Lancashire predator angler Darryl Kirkbright, the large predator was the result of a reconnaissance session on a local 45-acre lake designed to help one of Darryl’s friends catch his first pike.

But it turned out to be a landmark session for a different reason after the builder hooked into his new personal best for the species after just 20 minutes on the bank.

“My Billy’s Backbiter alarm burst into life not long after I’d set up my gear and from then on it was a typical big-fish fight,” Darryl told Angling Times.

“It was such a powerful fish and when I got her near the surface and saw the size of her head I knew she was a very good fish.

“On the bank I realised how lucky I’d been, as she’d fought so hard she’d virtually straightened out one of my trebles - something I’d never seen before.” To tempt the big fish, Darryl used tactics he’s developed over years of pike fishing.

The 45-year-old, whose previous best pike weighed 32lb 4oz, used a suspended paternostered rig employing a subfloat to present his smelt deadbait off the bottom.

“I suspend or pop up all baits, except lamprey and eel sections. A pike’s eyes are on the top of its head, so I want them to be able to see my bait as they cruise along the bottom after prey.

“I’ve also developed a way of hooking my suspended baits that’s allowed me to strike into fish straight away, and it totally cuts out deep hooking,” continued Darryl.

“I tie a loop of mono in the eye of the second treble on my trace - the one closest to the swivel - and mount a wide gape single hook on it, usually a size 8 or 10.

“This is then hooked into the bait’s back, leaving the treble exposed about an inch above the bait - the first treble is mounted at the front of the bait by the pelvic fin.

“When the pike engulf the bait this gives me a better hook-hold and allows me to hit the runs early. I never get dropped runs with this set-up.” Darryl caught his fish around three rodlengths out on a marginal drop-off in around 10ft of water. End tackle comprised size 4 Kamasan BB90 trebles on 55lb wire.

 


Biggest pike of the season – taken on a boilie!

The biggest pike of the year, a 38lb 7oz giant, has been banked – by a carp angler fishing a pink boilie and fake sweetcorn cocktail!

It’s the first of the species that 58-year-old Dennis Jones has ever caught and came during a two-day session at club water Woodstock Pond, in Newport.

Despite the fish’s huge size, Dennis, from nearby Rogiet, subdued the specimen in just a couple of minutes after a ‘sluggish’ fight.

“I’ve hooked pike before when reeling a rig in, but they’ve always bitten me off. But this fish was hooked fair and square in the side of the mouth – I can’t imagine that it took a still bait on the bottom, so I think it must have disturbed the boilie as it swam past,” he said.

He took the fish, which on the second day of his trip at 1.39pm, when his indicator registered three bleeps and moved halfway up the line. Immediately, his rod bent over as a heavy fish hugged the bottom and he was convinced he’d hooked a big carp.

“When it came near the bank my friend had the net, and suddenly it popped up. ‘It’s a bloomin’ great pike!’ he said. I was a bit down in the dumps at first, then I saw the size of it. It looked huge on the unhooking mat and we both thought it was around 30lb, but it was a very fat fish.

I’ve had carp to 27lb, but I’ve never caught anything like this before!” he said.
Dennis’ pike was beaten with the help of a size 6 hook, 15lb mainline and 8ins of 25lb hooklength.

It is the second 30lb-plus esox to come from Woodstock Pond this year and sets a new club best for Newport Angling Association, which runs the water. Visit www.predator-uk.net/naa for more information.

 


30lb pike brace taken from Chew Valley

One of the greatest braces of pike – two fish for 63lb 12oz – has fallen from the prolific Chew Valley.

The amazing double came to the rod of Jamie Cartwright on a bank-fishing session of a lifetime, with the Northampton Specimen Group member smashing his personal best twice in a day.

Alternating between legered herring and Bluey deadbaits, Jamie connected with a 30lb 4oz specimen which was soon followed by another pb of 33lb 8oz.

Jamie said: “The water was very coloured due to heavy winds so I dropped the baits out with a bait boat and added chunks of fish into the hopper so it put smell into the lake to draw predators to the area.

“Both fish were pbs and I’ve now caught as many thirties as I have twenties…all from Chew. It’s a place of fishing dreams.”

The well-stocked rainbow trout reservoir continues to rewrite predator history with dozens of fish over the magical 30lb mark taken since the venue re-opened for the February trials.

Most trout reservoirs traditionally suffer a significant fall in sport after opening for pike angling, with an early peak tailing off quickly as the ‘overweight’ predators – fat on a big supply of rainbows – fail to recover from capture.

But Chew defies all historic evidence and continues to produce giant after giant every season despite operating a lengthening, intense pike season in a bid to claw back monies lost by a down-turn in trout angling.

Llandegfedd Reservoir, in Wales, currently holds the British pike record with a fish of 46lb 13oz but unlike Chew, the water was unable to continue its prolific form and is currently shut to pikers as predator stocks recover.

Specimen hunter Paul Stephenson, who last week tackled Chew, near Bristol, and recorded his 10th all-time 30-pounder with a fish of 32lb 6oz, used to be a regular at Llandegfedd and believes the difference between the two venues is purely down to depth.

Paul told Angling Times: “People think the bubble is going to burst on Chew but it keeps going and going. Where the venue scores is its depth – it is so shallow. My latest thirty came in three feet of water. The Llandegfedd pike often came from deep areas and many were gassed up.

I had a 38-pounder that I had to retain overnight in order for it to be able to swim away. You don’t get that trouble on Chew, plus the recruitment at spawning time is also very good,” said Paul, owner of Wirral’s Yew Tree Fishery.

 


Huge pike taken from Chew Valley Lake and Blithfield Reservoir

Two of the country’s most prolific pike venues have cemented their form for big predators this week after producing a number of huge fish including the biggest pike landed this year.

Somerset’s Chew Valley Lake and Blithfield Reservoir in Staffordshire are trout waters renowned for their big pike, and as the temperatures started to rise the residents switched on, resulting in fish of 28lb, 30lb, 34lb and a best of over 38lb.

Weighing in at 38lb 2oz, the biggest was caught from Chew by former PAC president Phil Wakeford. But it was a capture that nearly never was, with Phil admitting to a mix of “luck and fate”.

Originally booked to fish from one of the reservoir’s boats, Phil was close to going home after high winds resulted in none of the boats being allowed out. But luckily, having also packed his bank tackle, the predator hunter - who has captured nine career pike over 30lb ¬ changed his mind. It was a decision that saw him beat his personal best for the species by almost a pound.

“I didn’t start fishing until 11am”, Phil told AT, “then I found the water in front of me was really shallow. The wind eased off near midday, so I got out my bait boat and managed to reach deeper water at around 100 yards out.” With Phil’s whole mackerel deadbait presented hard on the bottom with size 4 Owner trebles to 30lb wire, it was just half-an-hour before he was bent into the fish.

“I could tell it was a good fish from the start; it was a dogged fight, especially for such a fat pike,” said Phil. “It was a very short fish at 44ins, but with a massive 27ins girth and I’m certain there’s a considerably bigger pike in the venue that’s just as fat but longer.” Another Chew monster came in the form of a 34lb specimen for Southampton’s Roger Pitman. The fish smashed his pb by 7lb, and fell for popped-up mackerel fillet fished in 14 feet of water, before providing Roger with a heart-stopping 15-minute battle.

“We got her on to the unhooking mat and my friend said ‘I think she is’, I smiled and replied ‘so do I’, but neither of us could actually say the word ’thirty’. We watched the needle fly past the magical 30 barrier then rest bang on 34lb” recounted an overjoyed Roger.

Also producing large pike this week was Blithfield Reservoir, Staffordshire.

Open for its first pike fishing dates of the year, the large trout water gave in-form specimen hunter Paul Garner a 28lb fish, but only after the Nash Peg One consultant had faced disaster.

“I was slow trolling but managed to snap a foot off my heavy lure rod,” Paul told AT.

“I was forced to switch to my jigging set-up and fished a 6ins shad on a 28g jig head. The big girl took the lure on my last cast of the day and put up a tremendous scrap.” The fish completes a triple of big trout reservoir pike caught by Paul this winter, including a 31lb fish from Chew and a 27lb specimen from Grafham.

Along with Paul, lure ace Dave Kelbrick also experienced a day of ups and downs at the venue, when, after losing a fish estimated to weigh around 28lb at the net, he went on to catch a specimen of 30lb 3oz.

Dave was fishing a 6ins Replicant lure in about eight feet of water when he took the large predator.

Not to be outdone by the trout reservoirs, Norfolk’s River Yare showed that running water shouldn’t be overlooked for large pike, giving predator fanatic Darren Debbage a specimen of 30lb 14oz. Darren has been fishing up to five times a week every winter for the last eight years to try and catch a predator over 30lb and he finally achieved his goal during a session on his local waterway.

The Norfolk man’s chance came after finding a deeper stretch of the river. Presenting a sardine beneath a float, Darren had only been fishing for 40 minutes when the fish struck.

 


Hectic pike sport had on the River Wye

Darren Charman thought he’d blown his chances for the day when he missed his first bite of a piking session on the River Wye.

He needn’t have worried though, because over the course of the trip he and his fishing partner landed a total of nine fish topped by this pb predator for Darren of 27lb.
It was roving tactics that proved the key to success for the Cardiff-based duo who float legered sardine deadbaits in deep marginal holes.

“The action was so hectic that we could barely keep a rod in the water for the first few hours,” said Darren. “We even had a double hook-up at one point. I was stunned as in recent weeks the norm on the river had been just one or two bites per session.”

 


Two huge pike and two huge roach caught in four days

Fenland all-rounder Chris Hammond showed the winter potential of his local waters with a stunning haul of specimen fish, including a brace of roach at 2lb 6oz and 1lb 14oz, along with two 20lb pike - all landed in just five days.

Amazingly, the impressive roach came during the 47-year-old’s first attempt for the species, while targeting the fish in a large Norfolk gravel pit. The pike - weighing 21lb 10oz and 21lb 12oz - were landed on a stretch of a nearby drain.

“I’ve had roach up to 1lb from a local river while pleasure fishing but, because of my fixation with winter piking over the years, I’ve just never got around to having a proper crack at them,” explained the builder, who also featured in AT recently with a zander of 11lb 2oz.

“I hadn’t been fishing long when I had my new pb for the species at 1lb 14oz,” said Chris. “As if that wasn’t enough, I had another at 2lb 6oz soon after, along with a good bag of quality roach around the 6oz mark.

“I had to deal with gale-force winds, but I caught steadily and just left both rods in until I got a bite. The fish, I believe, were moving between the gravel bars in front of me and I relied on just the maggots in the feeder to attract them,” added the Newmarket, Cambs-based angler.

The roach fell to turmeric-flavoured maggots fished on a helicopter rig set-up, while the pike took floatfished deadbaits on size four trebles and 50lb braid.

 


Nine week wait for ice to thaw leads to near 30lb Fenland pike

After having to wait nine weeks for the ice on his chosen lake to finally thaw, John McKie didn’t even have time to set up a second rod before he hit into his first big pike of 2011 - this specimen of 29lb 6oz.

Arriving at the private Cambridgeshire stillwater early morning, John had just cast out his mackerel deadbait to 70 yards and was busy setting up his second rod when his alarm signalled a screaming run.

“I’d just turned round to tackle up another rod when the buzzer went off on the first one,” John told AT. “As soon as I struck into it it felt good and made a really powerful run. And when I got it to the net I could see it was a good fish, in great condition too.”

John landed his big pike using size 3 Fox XS carbon semi barbless hooks on 25lb wire to 30 braid.

 


16lb zander is the biggest caught this season so far

A river carrying a little extra water and colour always proves perfect for zander, so Martin Jauncey took advantage of these conditions on his local River Severn to net this 16lb 4oz specimen just as daylight faded.

The predator-fishing expert from Worcester, who has landed huge zander to 20lb 2oz in the past, tempted his quarry by floatfishing a small roach livebait from the bank.

His tactics also proved the downfall of a small jack pike weighing 3lb, with his rig being made from 30lb Fox wire and a single hook.

“I found an area that held around 11ft of water which was a perfect spot for the species at this time of the year,” Martin told AT. “Many people use small trebles for zander, but I find one single hook stays in and you lose fewer fish through pulling out.”

 


Dream start to season sees 27lb pike landed

It was a dream start to the year for South-West angler Danny Parkins when the 26-year-old hooked into this 27lb pike on his first session of 2011.

Fishing a drain on the Somerset/ Dorset border, the agent for Topwater Lures was working a five-inch cannibal shad on an 8g Owner jig head when the big fish struck from under a willow branch in an 8ft deep pool.

“I retrieved about six winds of the multiplier and it went solid,” Danny told AT. “I thought it was just caught on the willow’s roots, but then I felt a massive head-shake and it went straight for the reeds on the other bank. When I got it out I could have sworn it was a thirty, but it weighed in at bang-on 27lb. I also had a 2lb perch in the same session.”

 


26lb 10oz pike tempted from the River Stour

Catching big fish in freezing conditions is all about being in the right place at the right time, and this certainly proved to be the case for well-known specimen hunter Terry Lampard after he banked this superb 26lb 10oz river pike.

Targeting a stretch of his local River Stour in Dorset, the former Drennan Cup holder fished float legered sardine near a reed bed to tempt the big specimen, which gave an extremely finicky bite that saw Terry’s float hardly move as it took the oily deadbait.

Before the end of the session, the tactics also proved the downfall of another, smaller predator which topped the scales at 17lb.