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.
Korda Thinking Tackle season six out on DVD
Those of you who don’t have Sky will be delighted to know that Korda’s Thinking Tackle Season Six is being launched on DVD this week.
The blockbuster carp-angling show has been airing on Sky Sports this autumn to great acclaim. It seems that the show keeps on getting better and better and this day-ticket focused series sets a new benchmark for carp TV.
Season Six pits the cream of Korda’s carping talent against some of the most pressured carp in the country and those ingredients combine to give us some of the most compelling fishing footage ever filmed.
The nine shows contain some unbelievable hauling, and the personalities involved include Simon Scott, Darrell Peck, Adam Penning, Gaz Fareham, Ali Hamidi, Danny Fairbrass and Jake Wildbore.
Venues also covered include Walthamstow, Manor Farm, Farlows, Sandhurst, The Blue Pool and Yateley Pads Lake.
As usual, all the tactics that the lads used to bank a succession of whackers are faithfully recorded and presented for all to see.
See below for a show-by-show rundown:
Show One: Danny Fairbrass is joined by Gareth Fareham as they tackle Sandhurst Lake on the CEMEX Yateley complex. Can Danny and Gareth produce the goods using their armoury of tips and tricks?
Show Two: The day-ticket focus continues as Ali Hamidi joins Jake and Dan Wildbore on the banks of Thorpe Lea in Surrey to see how the two England Internationals approach the prolific venue.
Show Three: Winters Lake on Manor Farm Fishing, Biggleswade plays host to Ali Hamidi and Jake Wildbore. Can they tempt a bite from fish that have spawning on their minds?
Show Four: Adam Penning is joined by special guest Simon Scott as they tackle the renowned day-ticket venue, Farlows. These two have seen it all, so how will they cope with tackling the pressured Farlows carp?
Show Five: Ali Hamidi is joined our own Tom Dove as they visit St Johns on the Linear Fisheries complex. With scorching hot weather on the cards, what methods will they employ to tempt these tricky day ticket carp into the net?
Show Six: The Thinking Tackle day-ticket crusade on Linear Fisheries continues as Adam Penning is joined by Darrell Peck at Manor Farm. The hot spring conditions are tough, so will the guys overcome it?
Show Seven: Ali Hamidi and his old mate Gareth Fareham visit the Pads Lake on the CEMEX Yateley complex. The intimate, weedy water, is bound to test Gaz and Ali, so what methods have they got up their sleeves to lure a big Yateley carp?
Show Eight: Adam Penning meets up with Tom Dove and James Armstrong at Walthamstow reservoirs in London. The day-only venue is bound to test Tom and James to the max.
Show Nine: Adam Penning is joined once again by special guest Simon Scott as they visit the Blue Pool on the CEMEX portfolio of venues. The two margin-fishing experts are sure to be pushed to their limits by the pressured Blue Pool carp. Who will win the battle of wits, man or carp?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Seventh UK fifty for Terry Hearn
Following what has been one of his longest campaigns of his illustrious career, Terry Hearn has landed his seventh UK carp over the magical 50lb-barrier with this 51lb 4oz mirror from CEMEX Angling’s Chertsey Lake.
The south London-based legend has been chasing the elusive specimen for the last 18 months, and eventually made contact with his prized target fish on what was his 52nd bite on the tricky low-stock pit which contains fewer than 30 carp.
Terry, who is a consultant for both Dynamite Baits and ACE, had come close to achieving his goal on several occasions throughout his time on the Surrey venue.
“I'd come close a number of times, but one way or another it would always manage to get away with it,” Terry told Angling Times. “Either it would prove too clever for my rigs, or one of its mates would nip in at the last minute and get caught instead. It's possible that I lost it last April as well, after a line breakage.”
He finally slipped the net under the stunning fish, bringing his time on Chertsey to an end in the process, after it picked up his home-rolled 15mm Dynamite Baits Red Fish cork-ball pop-up which he presented on a hinged-stiff rig using a size 6 prototype ACE hook.
“The take came in the very early hours of the morning and I had a fair idea which fish it was as soon as I picked up the rod,” he explained. “I’d already caught all the others and this one felt completely different. It was very weighty and I could feel my line pinging off its fins so it was obviously a long fish. It kited left away from where I hooked it at around 60yds range, and once I got it in close it made the sanctuary of a snaggy corner where I could feel the mainline rubbing against some branches. With steady pressure it came free, and from there I managed to keep it coming until eventually it was rolling around beneath the tip. It was pitch black, but by this stage I was almost certain what it was. Even so, it wasn't until I got it in the net and flicked on my torch that I knew for sure.
“I can't tell you how much of a relief it was to finally catch it! I've enjoyed my time on the pit, but the noise from the nearby M3 is enough to drive you mad, and after catching everything else I'd pretty much had enough of fishing the place anyway. I certainly wasn't looking forward to going back for yet another go next spring. Instead, I can now have a nice fresh challenge somewhere else. For now though it's time to do a bit of perch fishing I think!”
16 year wait for a Richworth Linear thirty ends with 44lb 2oz mirror
After 16 years of trying, Ian ‘Chemo’ Russell has caught his first ever 30lb-plus carp from the Richworth Linear Fisheries complex with this 44lb 2oz mirror. And it was a critically-balanced maggot rig which finally brought an end to his long wait for one of the specimen carp which the Oxfordshire day-ticket site has become famous for.
The Avid Carp consultant and angling coach has been targeting Manor Farm for the past 12 months and over the last few weeks he had been catching steadily using single hookbaits at range. Despite the regular action he had struggled to get among the lake’s bigger residents and, never one to rest on his laurels, he knew that a change in tactics was required.
After spotting several massive carp show at close range on a previous visit, Ian plumbed the area with his marker rod looking for carp-holding features. Eventually, he found a small, firm area at 70yds range that he was convinced was caused by feeding carp.
On his next session on the busy water he decided that a switch to maggots may be the best way to get one of the lake’s big girls feeding.
He baited the feature which he’d found with a gallon of wrigglers and then cast out a 10mm red Avid Carp High Lite hookbait tipped with around 15 maggots over the top. Before doing so, however, he trimmed-down the High Lite to critically-balance the setup and make sure that the hookbait was just hovering off the lakebed. “With this presentation I know that as soon as a carp starts feeding over my bed of bait and comes anywhere near the rig, the chances are the hookbait is going to fly into its mouth,” explained Ian.
The decision paid-off and in the early hours of the morning his right-hand rod burst into life. “The fight was absolutely incredible, lasting at least 30 minutes. I could tell from the way it was fighting that it had to be one of the lake’s A-Team. Every time I thought I had it under control it would start tearing more line off my spool. Eventually, after a few heart-stopping moments, a massive mirror emerged from the depths and I bundled it into the landing net. I couldn’t believe it when I realised that it was the much sought-after Spike.”
Incredibly, despite catching countless carp to over 40lb from various other waters, he had never managed to bank a thirty from Richworth Linear which has been a regular haunt of his for almost two decades.
“I’ve fished on the lakes here for over 16 years and have caught hundreds of carp but for some reason the thirties have always eluded me,” Ian told Angling Times. “I’ve had anglers I’ve been doing tuitions with catch them but they just never came to my rods. Hopefully, now that I’ve had this one I won’t have to wait so long for my second,” he added.
The Brute landed at 53lb 6oz
After a three year break from fishing, Luke Gray returned to the sport in style with this 53lb 6oz mirror known as The Brute from a Berkshire stillwater.
The sought-after specimen, which smashed the 26-year-old New Malden-based carpenter’s pb by 8lb, was caught on only his seventh night on the tricky 14-acre venue.
Targeting one corner of the lake where he’d regularly seen a few fish moving around, he baited an overhanging snaggy tree with a light scattering of Tails Up OCM boilies and cast an 18mm hookbait over the top with a small PVA bag.
Arriving just before dark, he got his rods in position and four hours later his alarm burst into life.
“The fish tore off straight into a weed bed and although I kept the pressure on, I couldn’t get it to budge,” explained Luke. “I waded out to change the direction from which I was pulling and I eventually got it moving again. At this point I unfortunately discovered my waders had sprung a leak and it took me another 40 uncomfortable minutes to get the fish near the net. I scooped up the huge ball of weed thinking that I’d banked a decent thirty. As I peeled off the weed the carp just got bigger and bigger until I was eventually looking down at The Brute.”
Luke’s winning presentation consisted of a 6ins Atomic Tackle 25lb Jel-E-Wyre hooklink with a size 6 Gunsmoke Grabba hook and a 4oz flat pear inline drop-off lead.
“I became self-employed a few years ago so fishing unfortunately had to be put on the back burner. I recently decided to dust the rods off and have a go on the venue, but I certainly didn’t expect to end up posing with The Brute for the cameras so soon,” he added.
First bite results in target fish
John Kneebone may have to rethink his plans for the winter after he caught his target fish on his first session on Boscathnoe Reservoir in the form of this 37lb 14oz common.
The Cornwall-based Fox consultant chose a swim which gave him access to a set of dying lilies as well as the open water and he put his faith in snowman hookbaits consisting of Mainline Baits bottom baits and a 10mm Hi-Vis Pineapple pop-up.
“This was my first bite from this water where I planned to spend some time during the colder months. I think I’ll be turning my attentions to a low-stock 40-acre water that holds some very old fish now,” said John, whose winning setup included a Fox 20lb Gravel Brown Coretex hooklink and a size 6 Fox Arma Point SSSP hook.
