Supermarket bait scores big on Swale match scene
A tough northern waterway that is home to shoals of cagey chub has sprung to life after a group of anglers switched to using a rarely selected supermarket bait.
Regulars on Yorkshire’s River Swale have scored well throughout the year on offerings such as cheese paste, maggots and worms but have been forced to change since the cold snap hit home.
“I’ve been using it for years and it’s helped me fool 40lb bags, even in the snow! I wouldn’t leave home without it at this time of year as its cheap, effective and the chub love it,” explained one local.
For more details on the deadly bait, pick up a copy of next week’s Angling Times, on the shelves from Tuesday January 3 2012.
Massive perch falls to rudd livebait
Just a week after catching a massive chub from the Dorset Stour, bang-in-form specimen hunter Jamie Stanley switched his focus to perch and came up trumps when he landed this superb 4lb fish from a small clay pit not far from his Bournemouth home.
After initially struggling on lobworm hookbaits, Jamie changed to small livebaits presented on low-resistance leger rigs to take the impressive perch, along with another of 3lb 7oz.
For the full story and tactics lowdown, see next week's double-edition of Angling Times, on sale Tuesday 13 December.
New Preston's DVD to be launched
The Absolute Match Fishing television Series, hosted by Tommy Pickering, is now available on DVD.
Following its huge popularity since its broadcasting on Sky Sports, the double DVD disc set is available for £9.99 and includes 30 minutes of previously unseen footage.
Tommy fishes all over the country, with guest appearances from anglers such as Des Shipp at Barston Lakes, Lee Edwards on the Wye, Andy Findlay paste fishing at the Glebe and Lee Kerry on the Stainforth and Keadby canal.
There is also footage of Steve Sanders pellet waggler fishing and Emma Pickering fishing the pole and pellet.
It is available from mid-December, find out more at www.prestoninnovations.com.
Poachers caught with a bag full of chub!
The fight against poaching took a step forward this week after a group of fish thieves who were caught red-handed on the River Wye with a carrier bag containing 10 dead chub were ordered to pay fines totalling £726.
Angel Angelov, Yordan Talev and Asen Valkinov were tried in their absence at Hereford Magistrates Court on October 4, where they were found guilty of charges relating to illegal fishing.
The Environment Agency praised the good work of those who helped to bring the case. A spokesman said: "This case is the result of quality evidence gathered by the Hereford and District AA bailiff. Such evidence is crucial in cases like this, and anybody who sees illegal fishing activity should call 0800 807060 and provide as much detail as possible."
Study reveals barbel 'thrive' in stillwaters
A huge research project to find out how traditional river species such as barbel and chub are coping in stillwaters has revealed that they are ‘thriving’ in their non-flowing homes.
Critics of stocking the species into lakes have always maintained that they are unable to function effectively in them but the latest stats and figures have rubbished this theory.
The study took data from a number of sites that contained barbel and chub including Staffordshire’s Cudmore Fisheries and Lancashire’s Whitmore Fisheries.
For more details on the in-depth analysis, pick up a copy of this week’s Angling Times, on the shelves from Tuesday November 22.
8lb 3oz River Wey chub falls to boilie hookbait
Carl Welch has continued to work his way through the chub stocks of the River Wey with this 8lb 3oz specimen the latest to grace his net.
The London-based security guard used a 16mm Aqua Dynamix The Maggot boilie hookbait which he offered over four freebies on a size 8 Korda hook.
Carl said: “I watched the fish circle the bait before it actually took it, and then it made a run for the nearest snag. Thankfully I managed to keep it clear of all the snags and after six minutes I had it in the net.”
He also managed a 10lb 3oz barbel during his session on the CEMEX Angling controlled stretch of the waterway.
Trust ramps up anti-poaching measures
The Angling Trust has this week launched a seven-point plan to tackle the ever-growing problem of poaching from English waters.
The sport’s governing body is set to ramp up a number of initiatives, ranging from the establishment of a new ‘Poacher Watch’ website for reporting fish theft - in a similar way to its Cormorant Watch site - through to a pilot scheme that will allow voluntary bailiffing by angling club members alongside Environment Agency officers.
The plan also includes furthering the recently-launched Building Bridges programme, under which the Trust has appointed two members of staff to work with member clubs and fisheries to address illegal fishing in parts of the South West and the East of England, as well as collaborating with the National Wildlife Crime Unit, a special police task force, to raise awareness of the offence of poaching within regional police forces.
For the full story, plus reaction, see today’s Angling Times.
Nation's rivers go big chub crazy!
This clonking great 8lb chub, landed from the notoriously difficult River Lea Navigation on the Essex/Herts border by Johnny Joannou, was the pick of a raft of huge examples of the species taken by the nation’s anglers over the past week.
The north London resident used fined-down tackle and a worm hookbait to lure the new personal best from a Royal Small Arms AC-run stretch of the river.
Other rivers to produce 7lb-plus chub over the last seven days include the Wey, Dorset Stour and Colne. For full details and pictures of all the catches – get tomorrow’s Angling Times.
Dream chub and barbel brace taken from Stour
Dean Derbyshire got a soaking twice during a recent session on the Dorset Stour, but he wasn't complaining after banking a dream brace of chub and barbel weighing 6lb 10oz and 14lb 8oz respectively.
The 20-year-old engineering apprentice began his memorable day session in a swim opposite an overhanging willow tree that he had been visiting in recent weeks and which he knew held a good head of chub.
After catapulting in a few free offerings and watching the fish dart out to intercept them ‘on the drop’, Dean cast out a pair of elips pellets…..and didn’t have long to wait for the action to begin.
“They took the bait straight away on the drop. I took eight chub in total, and the 6lb 10oz fish was the fourth to fall. It gave me a few problems because of a big snag upstream on the near bank which it went underneath. I had to jump in to the margins to net it – but it was worth a soaking!” said Dean.
He then switched his focus to barbel and eventually locating a couple of barbel sitting right in the edge.
“As soon as the pellets fell through the water, they were on the bait. Less than two minutes passed before it wrenched round and I was in. The fish made straight for the snags and rushes and I had to jump in again to stop it cutting me off!” he said.
See all the pics and read the full account in tomorrow's Angling Times.
Huge Taff chub have a liking for casters
Andrew Hawksley’s season continues to go from strength to strength, with this 7lb 10oz chub being the latest in a string of big fish he has landed from the River Taff in Wales.
After banking a 13lb 4oz barbel on the float a month ago, the Cardiff-based student returned to his local waterway and netted this fine 7lb 10oz chub after ditching his float tackle in favour of a light feeder rod.
The 19-year-old also took a 12lb 8oz barbel in the same session, taming both fish with the help of 6lb mainline and a size 14 hook carrying three casters.
A swimfeeder packed with hemp groundbait and casters completed his set-up.
Rod licence evasion figures released - Thames 'anglers' the worst!
Rod licence evasion is at its highest in the Thames region, it has been revealed this week.
According to comprehensive figures published by the EA, in the past twelve months 8.6% of the 13,191 anglers in the region who were asked to produce a valid rod licence could not do so.
The Midlands was home to the second largest incidence of offenders at 5.5%, followed by the southern region (5.1%) and the north west (4.9%).
At the other end of the scale was the anglian region, where just 2.9% of the 18,854 anglers checked in 2010/2011 didn’t have a licence, marginally better than the south west region, where 3% were unable to produce the document.
In total, the EA performed 94,203 licence checks nationwide, and the overall evasion rate stood at 5%.
Chub bag takes victory in Portland Waters event
Carp didn’t get a look in during the latest event at Nottinghamshire’s Portland Waters with eventual winner Scott Davis taking 75lb 1oz of chub.
The Archer AC rod decided to try and catch everything that swims with a simple pole and maggot setup and was into fish from the off.
Runner up Tom Haith was one decent fish off taking victory and placed 73lb 1oz on to the scales.
Biggest chub of the season falls to boilie
This is the picture of the biggest chub of the season so far, tipping the scales at 7lb 11oz.
River Colne expert Dave Summersell used all of his experience to bank the new personal best from the Hertfordshire waterway.
He targeted an Uxbridge Rovers-controlled stretch and settled in the same swim that had produced his previous biggest chub, weighing 6lb 9oz, just a week before his most recent short evening session.
The river enthusiast, from Ruislip in Greater London, legered a Richworth boilie over a light scattering of free offerings to tempt the fish, which is 7oz short of the Colne chub record.
But local bailiff Dave is confident that this is a figure that will soon be broken after recently spotting a fish that he estimated at weighing around 9lb while he was clearing weed from the river.
“If you get your tactics right this is without doubt one of the best rivers for big chub and barbel in the country and this chub will be well over 8lb in the winter,” Dave told Angling Times.
“The nature of the venue makes it easy to spot fish, but by the same token it makes it tough to fool the really big ones. My son has had two chub over 7lb and I’m so glad that I’ve done it too!”
Dave’s rig was constructed from 10lb mainline and a 10lb braided hooklength that was attached to a size 8 hook.
Fishery boss says 'It's all venue owners' duty to check rod licences"
‘Every fishery boss in the country should check rod licences before they are allowed to set foot on their lakes.’
These are the words of a commercial boss who insists that visitors fish within the law and will even buy a permit on behalf of any angler that turns up at his water without the necessary paperwork.
David Howarth owns Green Haven Fishery and Caravan Park in Boston, Lincolnshire, and is one of only a few UK fishery owners that make it their responsibility to check licences after becoming disillusioned with the Environment Agency, whose bailiffs have visited the site just once in the last 15 months.
Many venue bosses believe that it is ‘not their job’ to perform licence checks, fearing the confrontation with those anglers that choose to avoid spending the £27 for a yearly permit.
But David insists that since he began he has experienced none of the problems forseen by fellow fishery owners and believes that if others follow his example it will only produce positive results.
“If I have to buy a licence to fish at my own lake then there’s no way that I’m going to let anyone else that comes here fish without one,” he said.
Barbel and chub bests fall to legered pellets
Any angler would be more than happy to break one personal best in a session, but Ian Lowe did it twice when he caught a 13lb 10oz barbel and a 6lb 1oz chub.
Tackling an undisclosed Midlands river, the 39-year-old baited two swims with a Teme Severn Mini Mix and hemp.
The first swim was unproductive, but a move then saw the big chub banked an hour later, so Ian rested the swim and introduced another 10 bait droppers full of bait.
This saw a big barbel hooked and it took him on a couple of long runs before he was able to slip the net under personal best number two, 5oz above his previous biggest.
Both specimens fell to a new prototype Ellipsis boilie.
Free fishing show this weekend - not to be missed!
Anglers are urged not to miss the free entry Big Fish charity fishing show taking place this coming Saturday, 3 September, featuring a host of stars, a carp match and a kids ‘fishing camp’.
Great Linford Lakes in Milton Keynes is the venue and the day includes casting, rig making and bait demonstrations from top carpers such as Colin Davidson, Derek ‘The Don’ Ritchie and Jerry Hammond, plus keen angler and Eastenders star Scott Maslen.
The kids fishing camp is being hosted by Nash Tackle, and the show also features a 24 hour carp match, cookery and falconry displays, laser clay shooting and archery, plus bouncy castles, a hog roast and an all-day restaurant and bar.
For more information see www.thebigfish.tv or call 07414 255519.
Floatfished boilies tempt big Stour chub
Trotting boilies under a waggler is not a commonly used tactic, but that didn’t stop Luke Guarguaglini from adopting the neglected approach with great effect at the famous Throop Fishery, on the Dorset Stour.
The Bournemouth-based angler – a regular early season visitor to the venue each year – used half a boilie on the hook in a swim on Beat 2 to attract the attention of a superb chub that tipped the scales at an impressive 6lb 1oz.
In the same session he also managed to bank a new roach personal best at 1lb 6oz on a legered boilie.
Matt Hayes back on TV - and you decide what he fishes for!
Fishing celebrity Matt Hayes has this week been signed up by the Discovery Channel for a new television series.
Angling Times first revealed that Matt had filmed a pilot called ‘24 Hour Rod Race’ in the Spring, and as a result of that initial recording, the project has now been commissioned for screening by Sky in 2012.
And AT readers can also play their part in the series by voting for the shows they want to see made.
A delighted Matt said: “It’s great news to be back working with Discovery – anglers have been asking me for a long time when we’d be making something new and this is a project I’m really looking forward to getting stuck into.
“And to celebrate the programs we’re asking Angling Times readers to vote for the shows you want me to create. I want to make this the greatest series we’ve ever produced – a series where anglers are involved from start to finish.”
*To have your say in the species Matt fishes for, see the latest copy of Angling Times - out today!
Lid lifted on top silverfish stillwater
Angling Times this week lifts the lid on the greatest ‘silverfish only’ stillwater in the land.
The lake is located within the walls of one of the country’s best carp bagging complexes but the management have left one pool free of mirrors and commons and it has turned into a popular haven with match and pleasure rods alike.
Huge hauls of barbel, chub, tench and bream have been recorded in recent weeks, with countless triple figure nets being taken.
What’s even more impressive is that virtually any tactic is capable of scoring heavily, with long pole, margin fishing and feeder approaches all in deadly form.
To find out more about this top silverfish haven, pick up a copy of this week’s Angling Times, on the shelves from Tuesday August 9.
Ouzel delivers big chub
A hat trick of personal bests in one week for Sam Blakeburn was topped by this 7lb chub from the River Ouzel.
The Buckinghamshire-based rod started the campaign on a stretch close to Bletchley with a 5lb 3oz personal best, but managed to up it twice in quick succession with specimens of 5lb 9oz and 6lb 8oz before the lump made an appearance.
Sam’s tactics couldn’t have been any simpler, with the all-rounder using freelined floating bread to tempt the finicky chub into slurping up the hookbait.
