Brace of thirties tops 26 fish haul
Martin Cox has enjoyed a good run of form on Diggerlakes’ Snail Lake, fishing two 48 hour sessions either side of Christmas and landing a total of 26 carp including two thirties of 33lb 10oz and 30lb 8oz.
The venue regular found success with Mainline Baits boilies and he topped his swim up with matching freebies on a little and often basis to keep the fish interested.
The smaller of Martin’s thirties is a new 30lb-plus fish for the Devon day-ticket water, and his haul also included four twenties with the rest being doubles up to 18lb 12oz.
Richworth Linear Fisheries' Brasenose One on fire
Steve Cliff enjoyed some great winter carp action during a four night session on Richworth Linear Fisheries’ Brasenose One, landing no less than 33 fish topped by this 30lb 8oz specimen.
The Bedfordshire-based venue regular baited heavily with a mixture of hemp, pellet, corn and boilies and the action was so frantic at times, that on four occasions he had three carp in the net at once.
Chod rig fools rare visitor to the bank
This chunky 33lb 12oz mirror had avoided capture since 2008, until it slipped up to the rods of Neil Mitchell during a short six hour session on the Milton Abbas syndicate in Dorset.
The 37-year-old self-employed builder targeted a spot just 10yds from the bank and presented a Richworth KG1 pop-up on chod rig over 0.5kg of freebies.
Neil told Angling Times: “I was delighted when I recognised which fish it was because it hasn’t been caught for over three years and this was the first time it has broken the 30lb-barrier.”
He got his prize to the bank with a Rigmarole Camh20 hooklink and a size 6 Drennan Continental Boilie hook.
Monster barbel on the float!
Big fish angler Keith Speer has banked a monster barbel of 17lb 10oz - on the float!
It topped an incredible list of fish he has recorded in recent months from the Great Ouse, including specimens of 15lb 5oz, 14lb 9oz, 14lb 7oz and 13lb 9oz.
Keith has also revealed that the biggest two fish were taken within nine days of each other from Verulam Angling Club stretches, and fell to his unique way of fishing for barbel using a centrepin reel.
Read the full story of Keith’s exploits, including all his tips and tactics, in this week’s Angling Times!
Massive haul of carp taken from Richworth Linear Fisheries
One of the biggest winter carp catches of all time has been taken by a pair of anglers who received an astonishing 90 ‘runs’ in a manic session at a prolific day-ticket fishery.
Mike Loftus and Andy Bailey admitted to ‘not being able to keep three rods in the water’ during an amazing two-day session at Richworth Linear Fishery, where they landed over 70 carp with the biggest fish topping the scales at 31lb 5oz.
The pair were tackling Brasenose One at the Oxfordshire fishery and decided to keep their tactics simple by putting their faith in the classic combination of corn and pellets.
Such was the ferocity of the action, the two friends told fishery staff that they didn’t even get time to put their bivvies up at the beginning of the session!
Head baliff Roy Parsons has revealed that it is without doubt the biggest haul of winter carp, estimated at 1,200lb in total, ever taken from the complex.
“We’ve had some really big catches on this lake before, but to get that many runs at this time of the year is exceptional and shows why you shouldn’t put the rods away once the colder weather arrives because you’re missing out on some great opportunities.”
“There was nothing complicated about what the guys were doing as they were using corn on the hook, which just goes to show that even the cheapest baits can often get the same results as spending a fortune on boilies.”
To find out more about the fishery visit: www.linear-fisheries.co.uk or call: 01908 588043.
New Series of Extreme Carp on Sky Sports
If you are struggling to get out on the bank over the Christmas period you’ll still be able to get your carp fishing fix thanks to the new series of the Extreme Carp Show which starts on Sky Sports tomorrow.
The series sees the team travel around a variety of lakes in both the UK and abroad featuring anglers such as Ian ‘Chilly’ Chillcott, Leon Bartropp, Tom Maker, Steve Spurgeon and John Kneebone.
In addition, the show’s presenter Rob Hughes don’s his diving kit to let the viewers in on a wealth of underwater knowledge.
Each episode has a prime time Wednesday evening slot, and is also repeated later on the same night and the next day so there’s no excuse to miss it.
Episode 1
December 21
18.30 Sky Sports 4
First in the new series. Rob Hughes takes a step back in time to visit the historic Patching Pond in West Sussex, one of the oldest man-made lakes in the country. It’s a venue that holds some historic fish and his guest is reigning World Champion Ian “Chilly” Chilcott, a man that knows a thing or two about history and also catching carp. The big question is, “does size really matter?”
Episode 2
December 28
18.30 Sky Sports 3
Top competition angler Steve Spurgeon joins Rob Hughes in tough conditions at Chigborough Fishery in Essex where the lads have a friendly match between them to see who can catch the most carp. One catches loads of carp, the other gets bothered by bream but comes up with a cunning plan to get round the problem.
Episode 3
January 4
18.30 Sky Sports 4
England International Tom Maker is Rob Hughes guest this week as the lads look at tackling busy day ticket waters. The popular Brasenose 1 fishery in Oxford is the venue and spodding / bags are the tactics the lads adopt for a highly successful session.
Episode 4
January 11
17.30 Sky Sports 4
There’s a continental theme to this week’s show as Rob Hughes heads overseas to the Abbey Lakes complex in France and is joined by a whole host of anglers, Both British and foreign, to take a look at how to approach continental carping and big fish success.
Episode 5
January 18
19.00 Sky Sports 3
Big Fish are the target this week as Rob Hughes sets big fish hunter Leon Bartropp the task of catching a 30lb carp for the cameras from a UK day ticket water in 24 hours but is he man enough for the job? The lads also take a look at top tips for day ticket fishing at Fenland Fisheries in Cambridge.
Episode 6
January 25
18.30 Sky Sports 4
Last in the series. The Extreme Team head down to Viaduct Fisheries in Somerset where the fish are clearly on the feed. Surface expert Julian Chidgey joins presenter Rob Hughes where the lads literally bag up off the surface and stalking in the edge.
Huge 87lb 8oz mirror caught from Rainbow Lake
One of the world’s biggest carp has been landed by Dean Wood, this 87lb 8oz mirror, from the former world record venue Rainbow Lake in France.
The huge specimen was the highlight of an eight fish haul for the Derbyshire-based joiner who fished from swim five and targeted a set of snags at 50yds range.
“I was fishing locked up and the only indication I had was a single bleep on the alarm,” said the 47-year-old. “I picked up the rod and walked backwards to get the fish away from the snags, and then it just plodded around out in front of me. As soon as it came over the net I recognised it as the massive mirror called the Ken Dodd fish and it smashed my old pb of 49lb.”
Dean offered double tiger nut hookbaits on 35lb Kryston Quicksilver Gold hooklinks and size 2 Fox XSC hooks with 10oz leads on a safety clips. These were fished over 1kg of hemp and crushed tigers.
Short session success for Ronnie Buss
Ronnie Buss proved that you don’t need to spend days on end camped out on the bank to catch specimen carp with this 34lb 12oz mirror taken on a quick eight hour day trip on Woking and District AA’s Langmans Lake.
Targeting a patch of silt at 40yds, the 66-year-old Richworth consultant offered a snowman presentation consisting of a 14mm Ultraplex bottom bait and a White Chocolate pop-up with six boilies on a PVA stringer.
He told Angling Times: “I was really pleased to have such a good result from a hard water on a short day session.”
Ronnie got his prize to the bank with a 15lb Gardner Sink Skin hooklink and a size 6 Gamakatsu G-Hard hook.
First twenty is 27lb 14oz specimen
John Ashurst caught his first-ever 20lb-plus pike, this cracking 27lb 14oz specimen, from Esthwaite Water Trout Fishery in the Lake District.
The impressive predator was the best of three fish which the Wigan-based joiner landed during the day, with pike of 18lb and 14lb also gracing his net.
All of his fish were hooked on trolled Spro BBZ lures, and the biggest of the trio was taken from an area of water 9ft deep with deeper holes on either side.
He said: “The water is still fairly warm and the fish fought like an absolute demon. As soon as I saw it I knew it was going to be a new pb and I was delighted to get a twenty under my belt.”
The pike season on Esthwaite is open until the end of March and for up-to-date information call 01539 436541
Four personal bests in one session
Adam Spokes enjoyed his ‘best ever session,’ breaking his personal best no less than four times during a 48 hour stint on Monk Lake’s Mallard Lake.
The Kent-based rod landed fish of 30lb 10oz, 30lb 12oz, 30lb 14oz and 31lb 6oz all of which beat his previous pb of 28lb 2oz.
Fishing from one of the swims on the River Bank of the popular day-ticket water, Adam used washed out Mainline Baits Cell hookbaits with a small PVA stringer of boilies over a spread of free offerings.
“I’ve only been fishing for 18 months so I’m obviously chuffed to bits with this session and I probably won’t have one like it again for a while,” he said. “This was also the first time I’d tried tying my own rigs, so I will definitely be doing that from now on.”
Dream start to winter campaign
Leon Bartropp has got his winter campaign off to a flying start with this 41lb 7oz mirror caught on his first session on an Essex stillwater.
The Fox International and Sticky consultant set up in a swim which allowed him to target a small island where he thought a few carp might be present. The first night of the trip passed without event but he put a bit more bait out as a south westerly wind started to pick up the following day. With the conditions looking good and the wind getting even stronger and pushing directly in to the island where his middle rod was positioned, it was no surprise when he received a screaming take on the final morning of the session.
“The fish did its best to get around the back of the island, but after a spirited scrap I had her in the net,” Leon told Angling Times. “I shone the torch into the folds of the net and was surprised to see a big old mirror laying there. At 41lb 7oz I couldn’t have asked for a better start. I always love beginning a new campaign, but I was a little concerned I’d left it so late in the year and I was hoping I hadn’t missed the boat with regards to getting a bit of bait in and sussing out any likely looking areas for me to concentrate on. I’d also been given a new bait to test for Sticky, so to have a forty on it the first time I used it was a right result.”
As he was fishing over an area of dark silt, Leon put his faith in an 8ins 25lb Fox Black Cortex hooklink and a size 5 SSC hook. On to this he mounted a snowman hookbait presentation consisting of a 16mm bottom bait and a 12mm Sticky Buchu-Berry pop-up.
Brace of double figure zeds landed from Cambs pit
What started as ‘a short social session’ with a friend ended up being Simon Layt’s best-ever zander trip, with the 36-year-old landing four fish for more than 41lb in just six hours, including a new personal best of 14lb 2oz.
He was targeting a pit in Ely, Cambridgeshire with legered dead roach tactics when he made the memorable haul, which also included fish weighing 10lb 14oz, 9lb and 7lb 8oz.
Running rig fools 32lb 9oz Catch 22 common
Lee Nobbs has caught his twelfth Norfolk 30lb-plus carp of the year in the shape of this 32lb 9oz common from the day-ticket lake on the Catch 22 complex.
The venue bailiff did a week of 12 hour overnight sessions and landed five other carp using Mainline Baits New Grange dumbbell hookbaits on running rigs incorporating size 7 Nash Fang Twister hooks.
He said: “I have only recently switched over to these baits and so far the results have been fantastic as the carp seem to love it. This is now the twelfth thirty I’ve had this year from the region and my thirty first over the last two years. Hopefully there’s still time to sneak another one out before the end of the year.”
Swim change leads to 40lb 1oz mirror
Following two changes of swims, Ted Bryan was rewarded with a three fish catch topped by this 40lb 1oz mirror.
The Sydenham-based specimen hunter had to brave torrential rain and gale force winds during the trip, but on the final night he received a fast take which resulted in the chunky specimen.
He hadn’t been back in bed long when he was woken by a second bite which ended up with a 25lb common sat in the net.
He then rounded off the session in style in the early hours of the morning with a second mirror weighing in at 30lb 8oz.
All of Ted’s fish were taken on 15mm Nash Amber Strawberry pop-up hookbaits fished on 12lb Bullet hooklinks and size 8 Nash Fang X hooklinks over a scattering of 10mm and 15mm free offerings.
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.
Suffolk Water Park carp record broken
The Suffolk Water Park record has been broken by James Potter with the capture of this 41lb 3oz mirror from the complex’s Specimen Lake
Targeting a clear spot at 50yds range in an area of the day-ticket lake which he knew the carp liked to reside in during the winter, the Woodbridge-based venue regular offered a snowman style hookbait consisting of a Premier Baits Quad bottom bait and a bright 10mm pop-up with a small PVA bag of pellets.
On the first afternoon of the 24 hour session he landed a 29lb 8oz mirror and at midday the next day he beat his old pb of 38lb 14oz when he slipped his net under the lake’s biggest resident known as 4.3.
He said: “My mate and I decided to fish different styles, and he went for chod rigs over a bed of bait while I chose to just use small bags. He landed three smaller fish and I managed to catch the two bigger carp.”
James’ winning presentation consisted of an 8ins ESP Strip Teaze hooklink and a size 8 ESP Curve Shanx hook on a helicopter setup with a 2oz lead.
Cod PB smashed in fine style!
“When it first came up I thought I had caught a baby dolphin!”
Those are the words of delighted sea angler Kevin Bailey-Green after he had landed this fat 22lb 8oz cod while fishing from his own boat at a mark in the eastern Solent.
Kevin, who lives at Cowplain in Hampshire, tempted his new personal best with a squid hookbait presented on a pennel rig, and beat it using 30lb braided mainline and a 50lb leader.
“The weather was calm and sunny, and I hooked the fish right at the bottom of the tide. I’ve only ever caught four cod before, and this is by far the biggest – my previous best was 14lb 8oz,” he said.
Monk's Pit lake record caught at 51lb 8oz
On only his fourth session on Monk’s Pit in four years, James Vincent landed this lake record 51lb 8oz mirror.
It was the first time elusive specimen had visited the bank of the Cambridgeshire venue since September last year and it was fooled by the 38-year-old JRC consultant who followed his instincts and used a simple but effective rig which virtually guarantees to hook any fish which picks up the hookbait.
When he arrived he soon found a few fish breaking the surface fairly close in and he wasted no time getting set up in the swim.
“Most of the anglers on the lake all fish towards the middle, but I always try to do my own thing because if you do the same as everyone else you’re only ever going to have the same results,” said the Suffolk-based rod. “I didn’t have a clue what was out in front of me so I cast out three single hookbaits while I had a chuck around with my marker rod to see what I could find. After about 15 minutes I discovered a small spot which was just screaming out for a bait. The lake is very weedy but I got a really firm drop and when I dragged the lead back a few feet it pulled into the weed. It wasn’t just a clear silty area, it felt really hard as if carp had been feeding on it and I just knew I had to put a hookbait on it.”
With the light starting to fade, James decided to position two rods on the spot over around 50 – 60 freebies and leave the third where it had landed earlier as a single.
The all-important bite came just four hours later and a typical big fish fight commenced. “It just plodded around and I eventually landed it in the moonlight. At this point I had no idea which carp I had in the net but I went to get the bailiff who was fishing a couple of swims down to give me a hand with the weighing and pictures. It was only when we lifted the net out of the water that we realised how heavy she was. When the scales pulled round to 51lb 8oz it set not only a new English PB for me but also a new venue record.”
James’ winning presentation consisted of a 16mm Berkley Gulp Tuna and Spice boilie mounted on a long hair with a coated braid hooklink and a size 8 JRC MBT 1 Connect hook setup as a line-aligner rig. This was fished in conjunction with a 3oz zip lead on a safety clip system.
“This is a rig which I have the utmost confidence in. The line-aligner style tubing guarantees that the hook flips over and grabs hold when the carp picks up the bait. The long hair of about an inch helps with the separation between the hook and hookbait and makes it much more difficult for the hook to be ejected as it automatically drops down towards the bottom lip.”
The huge mirror was originally stocked in 1999 by Mark Simmonds at three-years-old and weighing only 5lb, but was actually feared dead by some members because it hadn’t been out for over a year. “I hadn’t fished the lake since September 2009 due to concentrating on other venues and work and family commitments. To catch this fish on only my fourth session was incredible. It just goes to show that if you do your own thing and follow your instincts and not what everyone else is doing you can have some great results,” he added.
Margin spot produces 45lb 12oz mirror
Mark ‘Spike’ Harrison has caught his eleventh UK forty and a new personal best with this cracking 45lb 12oz from an undisclosed venue.
The Northants-based Richworth consultant had been pre-baiting a marginal swim for a couple of days with just over 2kg of Pineapple Hawaiian boilies.
“When I climbed the tree in the morning I could see there were three fish on the spot in 3ft of gin clear water,” he said. “I had seen the big mirror regularly visiting the spot over the previous days and
it had been taking a few baits. On the day, though, it was feeding really hard and I had the bite within 15 minutes.”
Mark mounted his hookbaits on 6ins Kryston Snakebite hooklinks and size 6 ESP hooks.
Quick overnighter results in 38lb 8oz mirror
This 38lb 8oz mirror was the highlight of a three fish catch for Jordan Dicks during a quick overnight session after work on a local stillwater.
The 25-year-old manager of Bristol Angling caught the chunky specimen from a silty area on the far margin at 130yds range using a snowman hookbait consisting of a 20mm Nash Monster Squid bottom bait tipped with a 10mm Rainbow pop-up over a spread of freebies.
Jordan mounted his hookbaits on 12ins, 25lb Nash Missing Link hooklinks and size 4 Fang X hooks with a 4oz distance lead on a Weed Safety Bolt Bead, and also landed two commons of 22lb and 18lb.
