Huge 47lb salmon from River Tweed
This is the picture of one of the biggest salmon ever landed on rod and line – estimated to weigh close to 50lb.
The colossal fish, which is by far the heaviest reported this season, was landed by Edinburgh’s Jim Reid while fishing a stretch of the River Tweed.
Measuring 50 inches in length and with a girth of 25 inches, it took the venue regular 40 minutes to land as local ghillie Ian Farr expertly manoeuvred their 11ft boat through a fast-flowing area on the Bemersyde beat of the famous waterway. It easily set a new personal best for Jim, whose previous biggest salmon stood at 26lb.
“We had only been fishing for about 10 minutes when I got the take, and before I knew it the brute had stripped 100 yards of line off my reel!” said Jim, who used a homemade gold-bodied Willie Gunn tube fly.
“It became apparent that we were attached to something special as we were forced to follow it in the boat as it tore off down river. We both gasped out load when its huge tail came crashing out of the water. It was absolutely incredible and there’s no way I would have landed it without the help and guidance of Ian. He also held the fish up so we could get a really good picture of it because I was so tired I just couldn’t lift it properly,” he added.
Ian has been a ghille on the Bemersyde Estate for 25 years and Jim’s fish is easily the biggest salmon he’s landed in that time.
“I was honoured to be part of the capture,” said Ian. “I had the dimensions of the fish analysed by a biologist on the Tweed and he confirmed that it could have weighed anything up to 46lb which is very special for the river indeed.”
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Clubs step in to save our rivers
Some of the country’s biggest angling clubs are ‘taking matters into their own hands’ to rejuvenate famous river stretches in 2013.
After enduring many years of dwindling silverfish catch returns at a number of once-popular running water venues, club officials have launched their own initiatives to redress the balance after becoming ‘disillusioned’ by the Environment Agency’s apparent inaction over the pressing issue.
As a result, a number of stretches on the Severn and the Warwickshire Avon are to benefit from a new ‘Roach Project’ designed to help fish spawn, while in the north, Leeds and District ASA is considering the viability of stocking excess ‘nuisance’ silverfish from their lakes into river stretches under their control.
John Williams, secretary of Birmingham Anglers Association, told Angling Times: “The EA denies that there is a lack of silverfish in the Severn and Avon, even though perfectly good anglers are struggling to catch them. Avon matches are won with a single barbel or catches of bream, so where have all the chub, dace and roach gone? They’ve been eaten by cormorants, that’s what.
“We’d love to stock our rivers but the EA won’t let us do it, even when we’ve offered to buy the fish ourselves, so we’ve had to look at other ways of replenishing our waters. The only time the EA seem to want to stock a river is when there’s been a pollution incident”.
John revealed that Birmingham AA has signed up to the Severn Roach Project, a scheme which aims to emulate the success of the Hants Avon Roach Project, whereby floating spawning refuges are placed into the river, where the fry hatch before being returned to the river when they are old enough. The initiative is to be trialled at a number of locations including Ironbridge and Shrewsbury, plus tributaries of the Warwickshire Avon.
The man heading it all up is Tony Bostock, who is a director of the Severn Rivers Trust as well as being an angler with 30 years’ experience in fisheries management.
“We’re putting these boards where roach have traditionally spawned in the past, to give the remaining population a helping hand. They are pieces of wood with chopped up sections of keepnets hanging beneath to mimic fontinalis weed which roach spawn in. If we get a lot of spawn we can look at rearing fish in tanks and stew ponds,” he said.
The Shropshire Anglers Federation of Anglers has already trialled its own project, putting artificial structures in back eddies at Shrewsbury, a once-prolific match stretch of the Severn. The spawn is then transferred upstream to its noted Quarry length. This section of river, which once saw 20lb-plus nets of silvers regularly put to the scales, hit rock bottom two years ago when just 1lb 9oz won a big memorial match.
Federation chairman John Roberts said: “A couple of years ago, before we started the project,we might have 40 anglers in a match and only five catching fish. Now we’ve now got 35 catching fish and more consistent overall silverfish weights – it’s a marked improvement. We’re basically encouraging the river to regenerate itself. Hopefully the town stretches will soon bounce back too, and we’re looking to work with the Severn Roach Project for the good of this amazing river,” he said.
Meanwhile, in Yorkshire Leeds and District ASA has been given permission to move unwanted roach and skimmers from one of the club’s heavily-stocked lakes into the River Wharfe, subject to health checks.
This comes after concerns over fish numbers were expressed by several clubs about the lack of fish in several stretches of the upper and middle river.
Clubpresident Stan Jefferies said: “Small silvers breed so well in commercials that they can become a nuisance, so why not put them to good use by replenishing our rivers? I’m not saying this will make an instant difference but eventually it would, if these fish reach a spawning age,” he said.
Steve Fearnley sits on the fisheries committee at the club and believes that the silvers in many Yorkshire rivers, such as the Ouse, Aire and Calder, have moved into the lower reaches.
“These parts are tidal and usually unfishable. So you get some sections which are solid and others further up where there are hardly any silverfish and trout have taken over. Why can’t numbers of fish simply be moved back up river? The EA here has been heavily stocking urban rivers such as the Don and Aire, thanks to the great work of fisheries officers like Peter Mishchenko and Peter Turner. But it seems other EA branches with upland rivers under their control won’t stock theirs, even though they are most in need,” he said.
£35m Evesham fishing complex gets go-ahead
Britain’s first combined shopping centre and fishing complex has been given planning permission.
The £35m IntoOutdoors site will include tackle shops, two lakes and a stretch of the River Avon near Evesham in Worcestershire.
The site’s key feature will be the chance for anglers to instantly road-test tackle before buying, according to Devon-based developer Eagle One.
The venue, which is set to open in summer 2014 after work begins in January, will also include a 45-unit retail park in its 125-acre setting. Restaurants, cafés, cycle routes and 60 holiday lodges are also planned.
IntoOutdoors said the lakes are likely to be run as day-ticket waters as well as ‘try before you buy’ arenas.
Top all-rounder Jan Porter, who lives in Evesham, said he feels for existing local tackle dealers but admitted this American-style centre has been a long time coming.
He said: “My first feeling as an ex-tackle retailer is it’s going to have an impact locally and my concerns are for those shops, but we are living in a very fast-moving world and when I sold my business in 1989 I saw there would eventually be these superstores and I was going to get eaten alive.
“From a commercial viewpoint, it’s an exciting venture. We are becoming American in Europe and this is like the Bass Pro places, where you pretty much go there for the weekend. It’s a retailing colossus.
“Retailing is becoming an event and that’s why people will take to it, and they’ve got a massive captive audience.
“For anybody who goes there I think it’ll be a great opportunity to get professional advice and road-test equipment. I can’t see it not being a success, providing they give people what they want.”
The new centre will replace a smaller outlet centre, Evesham Country Park, which currently occupies the land.
Simone Tothill, director of the project, said: “IntoOutdoors is a unique retail concept which offers an alternative to traditional and internet-based retailing.
“We believe it will succeed by making the shopping experience a truly leisure-based activity, with IntoOutdoors designed to appeal to all age groups.
“A retail environment where you can ‘try before you buy’ is an intrinsic part of our offer, not only do consumers get a memorable hands-on shopping experience in an idyllic setting, but retailers benefit from showing products to their full potential.”
Three river barbel records in two hours
TWO HOURS was all specimen angler Nigel Bryans needed to smash the River Nene barbel record not once but three times with a trio of amazing fish totalling 49lb.
Bryans beat the venue’s previous best on his first cast when he landed a specimen weighing 16lb - a mere 1oz above Jamie Cartwright’s record fish caught last month on the east midlands river. He then broke his own record twice over when he followed this up with two monsters each weighing 16lb 8oz to round off an amazing session.
Fishing an unnamed stretch of the river in flooded conditions, the 49-year-old from Peterborough was using nothing more complicated than a hair-rigged luncheon meat hookbait on a running lead, with a size 10 Nash Fang hook and a 15lb Gardner hooklink. He fed no free offerings or loosefeed.
Nigel said: “I have caught a few fish from this section of river in the past so I thought I’d just cast out and give it a go. Within 15 minutes I was playing the first fish, the weight of which shocked me when I put it on the scales, but to then catch two even bigger fish so soon after was simply unbelievable.
I was going to pack up after the first fish as it was getting dark! It was my best session ever, and I’ve hardly slept a wink since, such was the adrenaline.”
Barbel dominate in 113lb commercial catch
Barbel are becoming a more common occurrence in stillwaters as Derek Gladwin found out when he took 113lb 10oz of them to win the latest event at Monk Lakes.
The Preston Innovations Delcac man picked peg 57 on Lake Two out of the draw bag and made no mistake, taking specimens to 5lb by alternating between the Method feeder with meat and pellet on the pole line.
Runner up Sean Clifford was the only other man to place triple figures on the scales, recording a 104lb 12oz mixed catch.
Two new venues for Fish O'Mania 2013
Next year's Fish O'Mania qualifier dates and venues have been announced, and those in search of the £30,000 prize will have two new venues to tackle as Coleman's Cottage Fishery and Aston Ponds join the fray alongside some old familiar favourites.
Here are the full list of qualifiers:
Sat, April 6 - Viaduct Fishery
Sat, April 13 - Preston Innovations Boldings Pools
Wed, April 17 - Dynamite Baits Makin's Fishery
Sat, April 20 - Coleman's Cottage Fishery
Weds, April 24 - Gold Valley Lakes
Sat, April 27 - Tunnel Barn Farm
Sat, May 4 - Maver Larford Lakes
Weds, May 8 - Monk Lakes
Sat, May 11 - The Oaks Fishery
Sat, May 18 - Barford Lakes
Sat, May 25 - Aston Park Fishery
Weds, May 29 - Messingham Sands
Sat, June 1 - Partridge Lakes
Weds, June 5 - Preston Innovations Woodland View
Sat, June 15 - Woodland Lakes
Weds, June 26 - Garbolino Lindholme Lakes
Short session success
Stu Morgan proved you don’t to spend days on end camped by the lake to catch big carp with this 35lb common topping a four fish catch taken in a short morning session lasting just a few hours.
The Hampshire-based bait maker visited his local syndicate the day before and spodded out a mix of bait to a spot which he’d caught from recently.
He then returned the following morning at first light and cast out two blow-back rigs to the area.
“Within a couple of hours I was playing my first carp of the day, but unfortunately I lost it in the weed,” he said. “I need not have worried, though, as in the next two hours I managed a 15lb 14oz common, mirrors of 22lb 8oz and 19lb 8oz and topped it off with a fish known as The Long Common.”
Stu’s winning presentation consisted of 25lb Fox Coretex hooklinks attached to size 7 Arma Point SSSP hooks.
“If you can get a swim ‘rocking’ by applying bait on a regular basis then it often means you can reduce your time spent on the bank while keeping your catch results soring,” he added.
Big perch on the feed
PERCH personal bests tumbled at a host of stillwater venues this week as the prolonged lower temperatures and frosty mornings sent the species on the feed.
One man taking advantage of the seasonal bonanza was Wyn Jones, who was rewarded for persevering at a rock-hard Hertfordshire venue by landing a 4lb 11oz cracker following his only bite of a day session.
The 54-year-old gas engineer from Cheshunt had endured numerous blank days over the past three seasons at the water, with just one lost fish to show for his efforts. But all those countless unproductive hours soon melted away with the capture of the special fish, which beat his previous perch pb by a whopping 1lb 10oz.
“I was just pouring a final cup of tea before I started packing up, when the bite came out of the blue. It was a fantastic fish, and I’m still buzzing from the capture to be honest. It’s incredible the difference catching just one fish can make to your morale – I was beginning to think I’d never catch a big perch from the venue, but now I can’t wait to get back there for another go!” said Wyn.
He used a simple swimfeeder rig on a running link, with 6lb mainline, a 4lb hooklink and a size 12 hook holding three bronze maggots.
Another angler who banked a new personal best on his only bite of the session was Lee Chatfield, who landed a 4lb 5oz fish from a southern Stillwater. The 36-year-old threw away the rule book and polefished a king prawn hookbait over a mix of chopped prawns, chopped lobworms and red maggots soaked in Sonubaits Krill liquid, introduced on a little-and-often basis.
“It was hard going because of all the recent rain, but one bite can change your day and makes it all worthwhile. The fish will be well over 5lb in February, when I will hopefully catch her again!”
The fish beats Lee’s previous best perch of 4lb, caught from the river Thames.
King prawns have also been doing the business for Bob Langford, who has had a rake of big perch from his own Springfield Meadows during a series of short evening sessions, topped by a 5lb fish taken last week.
Freelining his bait under overhanging trees did the business for Bob, who told Angling Times:
“Visitors to my lakes have had loads of decent perch over 3lb while targeting carp with prawns, so I thought I’d give them a go. In a couple of evenings last week I had fish weighing 3lb 12oz, two at 4lb 2oz and then the big one. I always knew that there would be a ‘five’ in there!”
Matchman nets huge pike on Stainforth & Keadby Canal
A roach fishing session on the Stainforth and Keadby Canal took an unexpected twist when Lee Kerry hooked and successfully landed this 25lb 12oz pike.
The Preston Innovations rod had been enjoying a practice outing on the prolific Thorne section of the Yorkshire waterway and had managed to put over 20lb of roach in the net on waggler tactics in three hours sport.
With the light closing in he hooked another redfin which was snapped up by a big pike and after a tense ten minute battle in which a boat also ploughed through his swim it was in the net.
“The size 18 hook had lodged in between its teeth and it’s a miracle the rig didn’t break as I was only using an 0.09mm hooklink!” explained Lee.
Chilly lands Manor Farm's Spike
“This is a capture that has well and truly lit my fire!” These were the words of Ian Chillcott after capturing Spike from Richworth Linear Fisheries’ Manor Farm at 44lb 6oz.
Arriving to find the lake busy and no signs of fish showing he dropped in to a swim which an angler had just vacated but the first night passed without event.
“The next day I was watching the water when I saw a slick coming up in front of a swim to my right at about 75 yards range,” he said. “I quickly wound in one rod and took it, along with a net and a mat, to the peg and cast out a pop-up towards it. I’d literally just sat down when it ripped off and after a spirited scrap I landed a 24lb mirror.”
With the fish returned he wasted no time moving the rest of his tackle into the swim and soon had all three rods in position. He then baited the spot with 1.5kg of a new prototype boilie from Mainline Baits in a mixture of 10mm and 15mm sizes along with half a kilo of matching Response pellets.
“In the middle of the night I had another screaming take and I lifted into what felt like a tuna! It just kept charging off on powerful runs and stayed deep. After 20 minutes I eventually gained the upper hand and slipped it into the net. I was delighted when I realised it was Spike because it is one of the lake’s jewels. And at weight of 44lb 6oz it is my biggest ever Oxfordshire carp.”
Chilly mounted pop-up hookbaits on hinged-stiff rigs tied with size 5 Arma Point SR hooks and a 30lb Fox Illusion hook section with a prototype hooklink material boom section.
“The fact that it was caught while field-testing new rig components for Fox and bait for Mainline was a great confidence booster. The capture was made all the more special as it was taken during a filming session for a segment for a new DVD that will be released in 2013,” he added.
40 year old leather landed
THIS 30lb 10oz leather has to be one of the oldest carp in the country and is believed to be at least 40-years-old.
It was caught by Luke Griffiths during an overnight session on the Little Bundy’s day-ticket water in Cambridgeshire.
Targeting a spot on the edge of an overhanging tree in 20 feet of water just 10 yards from the bank, the 24-year-old carpenter baited the area with 30, 18mm Mainline Baits Cell boilies. Over the top of this he positioned a matching hookbait on a size 6 Fox Arma Point XSC hook with a Line Aligna Adaptor pushed over the eye and a 25lb Coretex hooklink.
“I have been dabbling on the lake on and off all year but decided to have a concerted winter campaign to try and catch the leather,” said Luke. “This was only the second night of my campaign and I was surprised to catch it so quickly as it doesn’t get caught very often. Not only is it a stunning looking fish, the fact that it is nearly twice as old as me makes it a really special capture.”
Moorlands Farm festive matches
Moorlands Farm is hosting a range of matches over the festive period.
The Kidderminster complex will run two special fur and feather opens before Christmas on Thursday December 20 and Saturday December 22. There will also be a New Year's Day open on January 1.
Call the fishery on 01299 250427 to book your place.
23lb river pike on roach deadbait
JAMES Sarkar only had one bite during a recent session on the River Severn – but he wasn’t complaining as it resulted in this 23lb personal best pike.
The 20-year-old Sparsholt College student presented a floatfished roach deadbait on a pair of size 4 trebles to tempt the impressive predator, which beat his previous best of 22lb 8oz, from the near margin of his swim on the midlands waterway.
His father, Dilip, has also been getting in on the pike action over the last week and landed a 20lb 10oz specimen from an undisclosed river.
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Tunnel Barn Farm record smashed
Commercial fishery expert Pete Rice showed his class once again when he smashed a Tunnel Barn Farm record with 188lb 5oz during the latest contest.
The Bag’em Matchbaits man drew peg 46 on High Pool and broke the lake best by using pellet on two lines to net a mixture of carp and F1s.
Second placed John Berry needed 123lb 9oz while the lowest weight taken by the 33 man field was 79lb!
Elstow Pits under threat
THE FUTURE of one of the UK’s most influential carp waters has come under threat.
Elstow Pits in Bedfordshire have produced many of the country’s best anglers and were also the birthplace of numerous tackle items that we all take for granted such as dedicated spod and marker rods.
Korda’s hugely popular Stow bobbins are even based on the style of indicator first developed by an angler while fishing Elstow.
The waters could be lost to angling, however, following a planning permission application for a proposed landfill site and incineration facility which has been submitted by FCC Environment who currently have a recycling centre next to the lake.
Anglers have reacted angrily to the news with a Save Elstow Pits page set up on social networking site Facebook. And Angling Times is calling all anglers to help save the historic lakes.
Ian Stott caught one the lake’s most sought after residents, The Mother, at a weight of 49lb in January 2005 said: “It was always my dream to go back to the venue and have another go at some point in the future. Surely they can’t be allowed to deprive other people of their dreams.”
Another venue regular, Paul Rudd, told Angling Times: “It’s the birthplace of modern carp fishing and it would be a travesty if the application is approved. As well as the amazing fish which the lake’s hold they are also home to such a wide range of wildlife.”
To formally object to the planning application go to: www.publicaccess.bedford.gov.uk/online-applications and enter 12/01306/FULWME in the search box. All objections must be submitted by December 12.
43lb 8oz linear ends run of blanks
MARTIN Pick brought a welcome end to a run of 20 blank nights with the capture of this 43lb 8oz linear from Wellington Country Park in Berkshire.
After a quick lead about the Leicestershire-based rod located a small clear area surrounded by dying weed at 100 yards range.
He then baited the spot with a kilo of mixed 10mm, 15mm and 18mm DT Baits Cold Water Mix boilies and cast a 15mm fluoro white pop-up hookbait over the top.
“When I arrived I had actually seen a fish show down the other end of the lake, but one of the other anglers told me that in the last couple of nights there had been a number of carp showing in the area of the water which I’d been concentrating on so this was where I headed to.
“It had been a long time since my last take from the lake so it was a massive relief when my alarm burst into life shortly after midnight,” Martin told Angling Times.
“The fish weeded me up almost straight away and I had to go out in the boat to try and free it. Once I got over the fish I managed to get it moving again and because it was a full moon I could just make out a huge ball of weed and a decent looking carp coming up towards the net. I’ve never had a 40lb-plus linear before so I was buzzing to finally put one on the bank. Hopefully, a 40lb common won’t be far away now as I know there are several in the venue.”
Martin put his faith in a reverse combi-rig which consisted of a 20lb Korda N-Trap and 25lb Mouthtrap hooklink attached to a size 6 Choddy hook.
Town centre chub action
You don’t have to venture far from civilisation for picturesque fishing, as this chub proves.
The upper Great Ouse in Buckingham town centre was the venue that produced this scale-perfect 5lb 3oz fish for Adam Perna.
The 27-year-old tiler from nearby Bicester in Oxfordshire trotted maggots at dusk.
He said: “It wasn’t the biggest chub in the world at 5lb 3oz, but it was taken right in the town centre, in the park, and my mate managed to get a great photo.
“It just shows what sort of fishing there is on your doorstep, you don’t have to walk miles into the countryside to get decent chub.”
Harrell Wins Wye Festival
The popular three-day Shakespeare sponsored Hereford Angling Festival on the River Wye once again attracted a sell-out entry and a big waiting list. Despite the low and clear river conditions there were some excellent weights recorded and an exciting end to the final day that saw river ace Dave Harrell crowned the champion.
Dave picked up £1,200 over the three days and becomes the first angler to win the competition twice after first winning in 2006.
For the full report see this week's paper (November 13).
