Brace of 40lb commons
A brace of 40lb commons topped an incredible session that also featured four thirties for Darren Gleave.
The Manchester rod visited St John’s on the Richworth Linear complex in Oxfordshire last week and came away 72 hours later with a huge tally of specimens.
Among the haul was the Box Common at 42lb 7oz and, just three hours later, the Big Common at 44lb 12oz.
Providing back up were four thirties to 33lb, 11 twenties and 11 doubles.
The 39-year-old Trafford Angling Supplies employee said: “It was my best-ever session, without a doubt.
“I’ve had some good sessions in France but this has beaten the lot of them.”
Four of the fish fell to zig rigs while the other 24 carp, including the monster commons, tripped up on bottom-bait combi rigs and Nash Manchester Specials boilies.
“I got the peg I wanted to get on and there were quite a lot of fish showing, but they seemed to be the smaller ones,” said Darren.
“I put a bed of boilies out at about 100 yards and then topped it up with a couple of spods after every fish. In all I used about 6kg of boilies.”
Both commons fell on Monday afternoon and beat Darren’s previous personal best of 35lb 12oz.“
Both of the fish weeded me up and I had to put the rod down for 15 to 20 minutes, and like most of the fish they didn’t really fight until they were in the margins.
“I certainly didn’t realise how big the biggest one was until I got it on the mat.”
Trout reservoirs on form for specimen pike
PREDATOR trials at pike fishing mecca Chew Valley Reservoir have got off to a flying start and one angler to take advantage of the superb sport on offer was Peter Mersh, who slipped the net under this 35lb 5oz specimen.
The Bristol Water-owned trout water, which opens for a limited number of pike fishing sessions each winter, had already produced fish to just over 30lb before the London-based rod raised the bar with his new personal best, which fell for a bluey deadbait.
The 65-year-old and his son Paul booked a two-day stint on the vast north Somerset venue under the guidance of expert coach John Horsey and kicked things off by netting a string of fish to 15lb.
With most anglers on the day congregating around the Herriots and Stratford areas of the reservoir, Pete and his son headed for a quieter spot between Woodford Bank and Nunnery Point on day two, where they hit the jackpot just before dusk.
“It tore off and I instantly knew I was into something pretty special. My personal best before this was 24lb and I had a sneaky feeling early on that I’d break that if I got the fish into the net,” Pete told Angling Times.
“It plodded around for 20 minutes before I finally got the upper hand – once safely landed I knew that I was looking at the fish of a lifetime.”
The capture rounded off a memorable year for Peter, who also took a personal best carp of 62lb while holidaying in France. He has now set his sights on upping his pike pb yet again.
“Everyone knows the venue is home to some of the biggest pike in the country and while this catch has surpassed all my expectations, I’ll be back in the future to try and better it,” he added.
Chew Valley isn’t the only trout water to have produced huge pike this week, with Gavin Dickson landing a 32lb predator from Esthwaite Water.
The local angler from Kendal had never caught an example of the species over the 20lb barrier, but this soon changed during his first session on the 280-acre venue when he tempted his new personal best with a float legered herring fished close to his boat in 12 feet of water.
Robson Green unveiled as face of new high-street tackle brand
“My thirst for truly wild fishing is as keen as ever.”
Those are the words of Robson Green, who this week was unveiled as the face of a new high-street tackle brand. The Geordie actor, whose Extreme Fishing programme will return in February, will lead Dunlop’s foray into the angling world in a venture that will see its products go on sale at the Sports Direct chain of stores.
Like most things he’s done, including antagonising some coarse anglers, Green is honest about how things have turned out.
A self-confessed “ugly caster”, the 47-year-old is openly surprised his fishing show — “the most natural thing I’ve ever done” — is soon to enter its seventh series.
We spoke to him about his busy schedule, his preference for eating his quarry and bringing fishing to the masses.
AT: What are you up to, fishing-wise, at the moment?
RG: “I’ve just come back from finishing off series seven. I was out in the Middle East, in Dubai, then we went to Tanzania in search of enormous Nile perch, then Zanzibar, the birth place of Freddie Mercury, so we did a little bit on that. I was also on Rubondo Island, where we were charged by a bull elephant.”
AT: Why have you become involved with Dunlop?
RG: “Like the Extreme Fishing series it was completely unexpected. Dunlop approached me and said will you be the face of our brand, because Extreme Fishing is so popular and reaches an extraordinary demographic, and obviously Dunlop are associated with excellence and quality. It’s an honour and a privilege. I’ve never said I’m an angling expert, my casting action is quite ugly, but the fish don’t seem to mind.
AT: You have always preferred to eat what you catch, have you had more experience with coarse fishing recently or do you intend to?
RG: I do understand carp fishing, and I’ve eaten them in Thailand, but no, I find some methods of angling inactive and I like mine to be more active.
AT: Have you been surprised by the enduring popularity of Extreme Fishing?
RG: “I know when it first took off a lot of people thought ‘what’s this guy doing?’ but it’s just turned into an extraordinary adventure. It doesn’t celebrate the complexities of fishing, but focuses on who you are with, where you are and what you are after, and when you have all three you have angling alchemy. We show the fun side of fishing.”
AT: How much more mileage is there in the format, are there still plenty of ‘extreme’ locations to visit?
RG: “Fish tend not to reside in ugly places. There are many locations that you and I will not have heard of, and many are absolute havens for many fish. At the moment there are over 200 countries on this planet and I’ve only visited a quarter of that.
“It’s the most natural thing I’ve ever done in my life. I’ve been an actor 28 years, faking sincerity, but I don’t have to fake anything when I’m fishing, it’s really from the heart.”
AT: Do you have a favourite memory from your time filming the show?
RG: “Cuba. Bonefishing on the fly. I thought salmon fishing was the most unreal fishing activity, but then I hooked a 6lb bonefish. It took off, stripping 150 yards of line of my reel, right to the backing, then snapped. The place and the people are also so colourful in all respects.”
AT: Do you see yourself as an angling ambassador at all?
RG: “Not at all. Other people do, but I don’t have an objective view of myself. With fishing I just live the experience, I genuinely enjoy it. I’m just someone who loves what they do.”
AT: Do you have a favourite method of fishing or species of fish?
RG: “Using a six-weight fly rod, catching a trout on the fly. Nothing beats it.”
AT: Is there anything that annoys you about fishing itself or the politics of the sport?
RG: “I joined the Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall campaign (Hugh’s Fish Fight, which aimed to reduce wasteful fish discards). I just think don’t kill a fish you’re not going to eat.”
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The Brute landed at 51lb
AN impromptu change of swims paid off in style for Billy Shackleford when he landed the most sought after resident of a southern club water weighing a massive 51lb.
The venue regular moved in to a freshly vacated swim despite being unsure on whether to fish the night or not.
His eventual decision to stay on proved to be a wise one, because the following morning he received the all-important bite from the specimen mirror known as The Brute.
His setup included an Oxford Carp Bait MC Nut boilie with an ESP Strip Teaze Two Tone hooklink and Syncro XT mainline.
Two carp for 84lb from low-stock southern pit
Teenager Calum Kletta has been in fine form on a tough southern syndicate water, banking a cracking brace of mirrors for more than 84lb.
The 19-year-old Hampshire-based rod had three fish in as many nights, having caught just four carp from the venue in the whole of the previous year.
The trio was topped by a 38lb 10z mirror and a resident known as The Lord at 45lb 12oz. A 27lb mirror completed a successful weekend’s angling.
Student Calum said: “I’ve been fishing quite a large spread of boilies over a spot at about 150 yards, about 2kg to 3kg, and topping up after every fish.”
All the fish fell to 15mm white CC Moore’s NS1 baits fished snowman style over a spread of the bait firm’s Odyssey XXX boilies.
He added: “I’ve been putting quite a bit of bait on this spot fairly regularly. I think the fish have started to have their winter feed up and I’ve found an area they like to visit and a bait they feel confident feeding on.”
With about 120 fish in roughly 60 acres, any capture is a result but young Calum still has his eye on banking a few more.
He said: “Last year I had the Big Leather at 45lb and an unnamed fish at 49lb 8oz, which is my personal best, but there’s another one I would love to catch called Silver Scale.
“That should be about 50lb next time it comes out.”
80,000 fish saved from Trent and Mersey Canal collapse
Anglers from the North-West have the Canal and River Trust to thank after the charity rescued a staggering quantity of fish from a canal near Rochdale.
Heavy rain from last month’s storms caused a small section of the Trent & Mersey Canal to collapse, sending gallons of water and debris into a nearby field, leaving around 80,000 fish stranded.
The incident occurred on the stretch of canal at Dutton, near Preston Brook which is run by
Warrington Angling Association. Specialist contractors, MEM Fisheries, and officers from the Trust rescued the fish from both the field and a small hold of water left in the cut, placing them into the safety of an un-affected section further along the waterway.
The vast majority of the 3,370lb of fish rescued were roach and perch but there were also plenty of decent sized chub, double figure carp and a good number of eels.
Helen Hall, a Trust press officer for the North-West region was extremely satisfied by how well the rescue went: “It was pleasing to see good numbers of eels present as they are a declining species and this short section of canal affected by the breech represented a very healthy fishery.
“Once the repair work has been completed these fish will move back in to the section and repopulate the area again,” she said.
Frank Lythgoe of Warrington D.A.A, the club which controls the stretch, was not surprised by the quality of fish in the canal:
“I knew there were some good fish in there as it is section with plenty of features and is not overly fished so I was glad the rescue was a success.
“This is a nice picturesque stretch which is a pleasure to fish all-year-round,” he added.
Repair work for the canal is set to top £1.5m which will come from the Trusts contingency fund as well as donations from the general public.
Matchfishing's biggest prize is back
Maver has leaked details of the 2013 Mega Match This Competition, with boss Phil Briscoe once again guranteeing a minimum of £50,000 to the winner.
Les Thompson walked away with the big cheque in 2012 after victory on the Match Lake at Maver Larford Lakes, the venue to hold the prestigious final once again.
There are five new venues next year holding qualifiers - Packington Somers, Hayfield Lakes, Decoy Lakes, The Glebe and Cudmore Fishery.
For the full story check out this week's paper (October 23).
Is this the UK's biggest ghostie?
This huge ghost carp weighing 44lb 2oz was caught by professional angling coach, Andrew Ellis, from Lemington Lakes’ Bishops pool.
The fish has piled on over 23lb in the last eight years and is believed to be the biggest ghostie in the country.
The Gloucestershire-based rod used his own variation of a stiff-hinged rig, tied with 20lb Korda Mouthtrap and 18lb N-Trap along with a size 8 Choddy hook, to fool his new pb and a 31lb mirror.
“I am convinced that this fish will top the 50lb-barrier in the next few years,” said Andrew, who used a pop-up hookbait over 2kg of Dynamite Baits White Chocolate and Coconut boilies.
Spicy meat fools 17lb 4oz barbel
A twist on a popular supermarket bait helped Gary Morgan take this huge 17lb 4oz barbel during a session on the River Dove.
The Burton-on-Trent ace targeted a renowned hotspot on the Staffordshire waterway using luncheon meat flavoured with masala curry spice and just a couple of hours after casting out his tip was pulled round.
Despite the fish doing its best to find sanctuary in a set of nearby snags, his rig, comprising of 15lb mainline, a short braided hooklink and a size 4 hook, held firm and his prize was soon beaten.
Incredibly, it is the fifth time he had landed the fish and he told Angling Times: “This fish set my previous best at 15lb 15oz a couple of years ago but it’s put a lot of weight on recent months.”
Surprise 4lb 2oz River Ivel perch
When Chris Mount went fishing for livebaits for an upcoming pike session the last thing he expected to catch was this stunning 4lb 2oz perch.
The Bedfordshire-based rod had embarked on an early season predator trip on the Jordan’s Mill stretch of the River Ivel and set up a light waggler rig to catch minnows for bait.
But his rhythm was soon disrupted when the float went under and the culprit shot off.
Convinced a small jack pike had taken his maggot hookbait he waited for the 2lb line to break but the tension set in once the distinctive dorsal fin of a large stripy broke the surface.
“I couldn’t believe it and I knew I had to take my time as I was using very light gear. It was a huge surprise but I’m delighted as it beat my previous best for the species by 10oz,” said Chris.
900lb Linear haul for Tom Maker
Tom Maker has once again shown why he is widely regarded as one of the most prolific carp catchers in the UK following a mind-blowing 57-carp haul from Linear Fisheries Brasenose One totalling more than 900lb.
His catch was made all the more special as he arrived on a Saturday morning, slotted into the last available swim on the lake and only fished until the following afternoon.
The highlight of the haul was a 31lb mirror with the average weight being 16lb, and incredibly all of his action came during the daytime without a single bite during the night.
After locating a clear area among the weed at 70 yards range, the Fox and Mainline consultant clipped all three of his rods up to the spot. “This is a tactic I favour when fishing for big hits of carp as it enables me to concentrate a shoal of fish in one area which keeps them feeding competitively for longer,” he explained.
“Once all three rods where out I put out 10 spods of a mix consisting of hemp, pellets and sweetcorn. Usually you have to wait an hour or two for the fish to get on the bait but on this occasion the action was pretty much instant. By Saturday evening I had landed no less than 33 carp with the biggest going 29lb 4oz as well as a few other twenties to 26lb 4oz. Very rarely did I get single takes - usually it was double, or even treble takes, and the angler next door had to help me out. After each bite I simply topped the spot up with a further three spods to keep the fish competing for food.”
As soon as darkness fell the bites dried up, but at 10am the next morning the takes started coming thick and fast again.
“Over the next six hours I went onto land a further 24 carp including two thirties to 31lb. I think at one point I had six fish in five nets and a retainer sling, comprising two doubles, a 24lb 6oz, 26lb 8oz, 30lb 6oz and 31lb. It was action like I had never experienced before on the lake and while I was playing one of the thirties my other rod screamed off and I landed the second.”
Tom kept his rigs simple with 2ft of leadcore coupled with a 4oz inline lead and a 4ins Fox Reflex braid hooklink with a size 5 Arma Point SSBP hook. Hookbait wise, he used a single grain of fake corn soaked in Hinders Betalin liquid, which instead of hair-rigging, was threaded directly on to the hook.
Season's biggest barbel caught at 17lb 4oz
This is a picture of the biggest barbel of the season, weighing in at an impressive 17lb 4oz.
It was caught by Simon Buckman, who hit the headlines this time last year when he caught an even bigger specimen from the same low-stock, highly challenging ‘southern river’.
This time around the 28-year-old, from West Sussex, hit the jackpot after the onset of perfect weather conditions gave him a ‘gut feeling’ that the barbel would be on the feed.
“It was just like a replay of last year,” said Simon. “A wet and windy south westerly front rolled in and I knew I had to get to the river. I sat there all night in the wind and rain, and at about 4am my bite alarm let out a couple of single bleeps, before the drag on the reel began ticking. I knew it was a big barbel straight away, despite there being quite a few carp in the stretch,” he added.
The mighty fish – Simon’s fifth over 15lb in the past year - fell to a pair of hair-rigged 15mm Dynamite Source boilies, fished on an inline lead set-up with 18lb Drennan mainline, a 25lb coated braid hooklink and a size 4 hook.
The capture caps a brilliant few weeks for the full-time carpenter, during which time he has also banked roach to 2lb 4oz, carp to 25lb and another barbel of 14lb from the venue.
He said: “Other species have been attracted to one of the areas I have been baiting up for barbel and carp, including roach, so I thought I’d have a go for them with a feeder set-up and sweetcorn on the hook. I’ve had some nice fish, but my dream would be to catch a 3lb river roach.”
42lb mirror from St Ives Shallow Pit
Anglers fishing the St Ives Lakes’ Shallow Lagoon have certainly been making the most of the autumn feed up with some of the lake’s biggest residents visiting the bank.
Fishery regular Paul Rudd continued his impressive run of form on the Cambridgeshire complex with a 42lb mirror.
After baiting a small clear area 60 yards from the bank with two kilos of spodded boilies and pellets the 37-year-old had to brave a night of torrential rain before his alarm burst in to life the following morning.
“The fish charged straight in to the weed and I eventually brought a ball of weed the size of a brolly towards the net,” said the Bedfordshire-based owner of Denham Bait Innovations.
“I stood in the margins pulling the weed away and when I saw the frame of a large mirror I feared for a minute that I’d caught the lake’s biggest carp – a mirror called Colin which I’d had earlier in the year at 46lb 4oz.
"Thankfully it wasn’t a repeat capture, but one of my other target fish from the venue known as Big Head.”
Paul put his faith in one of his own Element cork ball pop-ups which he presented on a size 5 ESP D7 Raptor hook and a Sufix Stealth Skin hooklink.
Swim change produces 43lb 4oz common
Staying mobile proved to be the key to success for Charlie Walker who topped a three fish hit with this 43lb 4oz common from the Walthamstow 2 and 3 reservoirs after changing swims three times.
The Oxon-based 14-year-old landed a small 10lb common shortly after arriving and then moved to a different area of the day’s only venue and helped himself to a fish of 25lb 4oz.
A final move towards the end of the session resulted in him breaking his old personal best of 32lb 8oz with the lake’s Big Common.
“The take was more like that of a bream and it came in so easily at first that my dad even asked me if it was still on,” Charlie told Angling Times. “After plodding along the margins for a couple of minutes it went in the net on the first attempt. It was only at this point that we realised just how big it was.”
To achieve a good presentation over the silty lakebed he used a Nash Scopex Squid pop-up on a size 8 Nash Fang X hook and a combi-rig hooklink. This was cast out in conjunction with a small PVA bag of crushed boilies.
Fishery owner makes history
Fishery owner Zyg Gregorek has cemented his place in the history books after becoming the first man to catch four different species over the 1,000lb barrier.
The Anglers Paradise boss made the long haul trip to Canada to fish off Prince Edward Island where he landed a huge bluefin tuna which measured over 10ft in length and had a girth of seven feet.
This was added to his already impressive list of four figure species which includes great white and six gill shark of 1,300lb and tiger shark to 1,100lb.
“It was an amazing trip and during the week I had five other fish that could have been close to, or over, 1,000lb,” said Zyg, who is already planning his next challenge.
“My aim now is to catch an elusive Greenland Shark which could push my record to five species.”
Martin Salter wins Hampshire Avon match
Angling Trust official Martin Salter showed he is no slouch on the river bank as he took victory during the latest Avon Roach Project and Barbel Society benefit match on the Hampshire Avon.
The rules dictated the angler taking the biggest fish would be handed the silverware and the former Labour MP took the honours after he netted a 7lb 11oz barbel on the pellet feeder.
Both causes also boosted their coffers thank to the efforts of the competitors, with over £5,000 being raised.
UK's biggest common caught
Margin tactics proved the downfall of the biggest common carp in Britain.
The 58lb 7oz fish, known as the Lee Jackson fish, was landed by John Warden on his first visit to Strawberry Fields in Tunbridge Wells, Kent.
The 40-year-old supervisor fished just 10 yards from the bank to trick the impressive specimen within hours of setting up for a 48 hour session.
“I got the take at about 9pm on the first evening. Initially it was a screaming run and when I struck into it, it carried on stripping line from my reel,” said the Gillingham-based rod.
“When I landed it I thought it was a forty and I told my friend I thought it would go 42lb — but then I went to lift it and I knew it was something special.
“I initially weighed it at 59lb but we went down the bank and got some of the regulars to weigh it and identify it, and we settled on 58lb 7oz.
“I was just in shock.”
The fish, which is more than 3lb heavier than the famous Burghfield Common’s last recorded weight, is one of two 50lb-plus commons in Strawberry Fields.
It fell to two Mainline Cell boillies fished snowman style on a Nash Fang hook tied to an Atomic Tackle Jel-E-Wyre hooklink.
John, whose previous personal best was 52lb 4oz, scattered about 100 freebies over each rod and tamed the fish on a Nash H-Gun rod and 14lb mainline.
“I couldn’t ask for a better first session on the water and I’ll definitely be going back,” he said.
Livebait success for 4lb 1oz perch
Switching from lobworms to small livebaits towards the end of his session resulted in this superb 4lb 1oz 8dr perch for Rory Kingerley from a southern river this week.
Having lost a couple of fish to hookpulls in the heavy weed during the morning of his trip, at around 4pm the up-and-coming specimen ace changed his line of attack to a paternoster float set-up sporting a small lip-hooked bleak.
On his first cast he missed a lightning fast bite, but didn’t make the same mistake a few minutes later when a fresh bait was swung out and the float sailed away confidently.
“Initially, I thought that it was a pike, but then it started banging its head and I knew it must be a perch. I saw it about a foot below the surface when it was half way across the river and knew I was attached to a big fish, so it was ‘heart in the mouth’ stuff from then on!” said the 29-year-old, from Surrey, who works at Apollo Angling in Milford and used 6lb Hydro Flo main line, a 5lb Target fluorocarbon hook length and a size 6 hook.
Birthday personal best
Alfie Waters had an early fortieth birthday present in the form of this personal best 35lb 8oz common from a Cambridgeshire stillwater.
The fish, his first ever UK thirty, came just before first light during a short overnight session and took the Norfolk-based RAF Tornado aircraft engineer over half an hour to land.
Lee used a single Mainline Baits Cell hookbait on a size 8 Fox SSC hook and an 8ins 15lb Coretex hooklink on a running rig over 50 freebies on clear spot at 25 yards.
“It was a fantastic start to my fortieth birthday weekend and one that I will never forget,” he said.
