Flooded Lea produces 14lb 15oz barbel

AN impromptu session on the River Lea produced this 14lb 15oz barbel for former Drennan Cup Champion Darran Goulder.

The Shimano and Dynamite Baits consultant from Kent, hair-rigged a single Robin Red pellet and dropped it just a few feet from his own bank in a swim on a flooded River Lea to land the barbel that beats his previous biggest for the species from the venue that stood at 13lb 10oz.

“I was supposed to be fishing on Chew Reservoir for the pike but the trip was cancelled because of the weather. The river was tanking through and was only just fishable but I’m glad I made the effort.”


Cardiff Dock common

A FORMER shipping dock just a stone’s throw from the Bristol Channel is the surprise home of this 34lb 8oz common.

The unusual venue on the outskirts of Cardiff’s busy city centre was selected by Darren Charman as his winter venue, but he banked the biggie within weeks of getting started.

The 32-year-old Nash fieldtester had four fish in four overnight sessions, culminating in what is believed to be the lake’s biggest resident in the first week of November.

He said: “My plan was to fish through the winter and before I started I knew this was the fish I wanted to catch.

“I went for a walk around when I was still planning my trips and because it’s so close to the sea it’s normally got a fair chop on the water, but it suddenly calmed right down and I could see lots of figures that were definitely carp.”

Having found a silty area in deep water in the centre of the lake Darren baited with Nash Monster Squid boilies and lost a good fish on his first night.

 A 17lb common did arrive on that first session and two mid-twenties followed before the big common turned up.

“I knew I’d hooked a good fish — I said to my mate it felt like a sand bag,” said Darren. “It wasn’t a spectacular fight, but I was absolutely buzzing when I got it in.”

Darren fished 20mm Monster Squid bottom baits with two-bait stringers on heavy leads to Nash Diffusion leaders.

The Cardiff rod added: “It’s proper urban fishing and you can’t really relax while you’re down there, but I’ve also fished Roath Park Lake in Cardiff and I had more problems there.”


Dates revealed for British Carp & Angling Show

Some of the biggest names in angling are set to make an appearance at the British Carp & Angling Show which is set be staged on January 19 and 20 2013 at the Royal Norfolk Showground.

Matt Hayes, Bob Nudd and John Wilson will be amongst the stars sharing their greatest tips and tactics with visitors, while top name tackle brands such as Nash and Korda will display their latest releases.

Various group talks will be staged by industry experts, with a ‘Bait Kitchen’ also being created to give you the knowledge to make the most of your next session on the bank.

Advance tickets are £8 for adults, £2 for under 16s and you can find out more by visiting www.britishcarpshow.co.uk


Two 29lb-plus pike in an hour

Leighton Ryan came close to breaking the magical 30lb-barrier twice in an hour with a superb brace of 29lb-plus pike.

The 33-year-old mechanic tempted the pair of predators, weighing 29lb 4oz and 29lb 8oz, from Bristol’s famous Chew Reservoir after moving to an area he’d enjoyed success from in the past.

“I had taken a mate with me for his first visit to the venue and we had three double-figure fish throughout the day. I then moved to another area that I’d had a 27lb 8oz pike from a couple of weeks before,” said the South Wales-based rod, who used mackerel deadbaits to land the two new personal bests.

“I was absolutely chuffed with the first one and when I landed the second I was completely blown away,” he added.


New match waters for top commercial fishery

One of the country’s most popular commercial fisheries has revealed ambitious plans to dig a series of new waters.

Cheshire’s Partridge Lakes attracts thousands of match and pleasure rods every year and officials have announced that that the two Holbar Lakes will be dissolved into one bigger water to cater for specimen anglers.

There are also four Covey Lakes on the complex which cater solely for competitions and contractors will soon begin work on two similar waters to help the fishery host more big events in the future.

Work is expected to be completed by Easter 2013 and more details can be found at www.partridgelakes.co.uk


New record on Willow Lake at Fenland Fisheries

The Fenland Fisheries’ Willow Lake record has been broken by Jason Wilson with the capture of this 47lb 4oz mirror.

The Cambridgeshire-based plasterer targeted a clear soft area at around 80yds and offered maggot hookbaits over a bed of spodded hemp, sweetcorn and krill flavoured micro pellets.

As well as the lake’s biggest resident, called the Space Hopper, Jason also landed mirrors of 25lb 8oz and 22lb during his 48 hour session.


Eleven chub to 6lb 13oz on Dorset Stour

A day spent trotting maggots on a stretch of the Dorset Stour produced a sensational catch for Dean Derbyshire, including 11 chub to a best of 6lb 13oz and more than two dozen roach to 1lb 10oz.

The 21-year-old from Kinson, near Bournemouth, caught most of his fish from a far bank run close to a fallen tree in 7ft of water, with a single red maggot on a size 18 hook and 4lb line proving the successful set-up.

Dean, who made his memorable catch in less than five hours, revealed how the haul could have been even more impressive: “I lost what I think was a very big roach indeed on my first cast, and also hooked and lost a barbel which I could do little with because of the light tackle I was using. Nevertheless, it was a brilliant session,” said Dean, who put his faith in 4lb Drennan Supplex mainline and size 18 hooks to nylon from the same company.


Angler banks three 200lb-plus catfish in one session

BRIAN Hammond has become the first angler to bank three catfish over the 200lb barrier in a single session.

The Bristol-based rod was left exhausted after he hauled in fish of 223lb, 211lb and 203lb from the River Ebro in Spain in less than 18-hours.

Having caught specimens to 186lb on past trips he was determined to increase his personal best, and it didn’t take long - with the 211lb cat falling for his large halibut pellet on the first night.

The biggest fish of the trip came the following evening, before the smallest of the trio concluded what Brian could only describe as ‘a mindblowing experience’.

“Other anglers on the river were piling in the bait while we fed fairly lightly and I think that is what tempted the biggest catfish into our swim,” he explained.

Fishing guide and close friend Jason Toye was on hand to experience the catch and despite spending eight years working on the waterway, he admits the haul even surpassed his high expectations.

“I’ve never seen anything come close to this. It’s a phenomenal achievement and I don’t think anyone will ever catch a trio of 200lb-plus fish in such a short space of time again.”


40lb 4oz common for Jerry Hammond

JERRY Hammond has caught his twenty third UK carp over the 40lb-barrier in the form of this 40lb 4oz common.

The owner of Carthagena Fishery was fishing on his own syndicate water when he hooked in to the fish which has avoided capture since the start of the season.

With carp showing just below the surface he started the session using zig rigs but when the fish dropped down in the water he switched over to chod rigs on the deck.

This produced a 12lb mirror almost straight away and then on the final morning the specimen known as Tango.

Jerry used a new boilie he is helping develop with Mad Baits on chod rigs tied with ESP Stiff Rig Bristle Filament and size 5 Stiff Rigger hooks.

He said: “I’ve just signed with Century so this was the perfect way to christen my new ADV-1 rods. It’s the first time this fish has topped the 40lb-barrier too.”


River Tame barbel record broken

A FRUSTRATING three-year quest came to a triumphant conclusion for Damien Jones when he smashed a six-year-old venue record with this superb 14lb 8oz barbel.

The River Tame in Staffordshire is a notoriously difficult water which holds a relatively small number of really big barbel. But the local rod didn’t let the fact that he’s only landed two double figure fish since he’s been fishing the waterway deter him.

Concentrating his efforts on his local stretch in Tamworth, he adopted a light, mobile approach to search out every area of the 2 mile length. His efforts were rewarded on his latest session when the fish, which beat his pb by 3lb, found his legered fishmeal boilie.

He used a simple rig consisting of a 12lb braided hooklink and a size 8 hook to land the specimen which supersedes the previous river record of 13lb 10oz which was landed by Phil Bennett in 2006.

“I’ve been fishing this river for several years and found it really tough going,” Damien told Angling Times.

“But I’ve always loved fishing for big carp and I’m used to working really hard for my fish, so I’ve never been put off by the fact that the river’s big fish are so elusive.”


Angling Times Advent Calendar Winners

Here are the winners so far from the Angling Times Facebook Advent Calendar Competition:

Day 1 - 16l Square carp bucket – Dan Millington from Northwich
Day 2 - Pair of new Fox Royale Alarm Pouches – Carl Cobbett from Bideford
Day 3 - Matrix Ethos Accessory bag – Colin Skeel from Edinburgh
Day 4 - New Fox FX Stink Bag Sleeve – John Austwick from Bolton
Day 5 - Set of two Fox Rage Fish Snax Slugger Shads – Ryan Case from Southam
Day 6 - Find ‘em Feed ‘em Fox ‘em stainless steel mug – Garry Orton from London
Day 7 - Matrix Squeeze and Feed Method Mould and three Evolution Method Feeders – Ian Adams from Manchester
Day 8 - 5 x Fox Specialist Chubber Floats - Steve Dilligaf Porter from Glasgow
Day 9 - New Fox FX Gas Canister Case – Malcolm Hill from Worcester

Day 10 – Predator Drop arm Indicator – Andy Bearne from Kingston upon Hull
Day 12 – Fox Rapide PVA bag System – Luke Agacy from Sunbury on Thames
Day 11 – A spool of Matrix Hollow Elastic – Matt Wickens from Staffordshire
Day 13 – Two Fox Rage Ready To Fish Pro-Shad Pack – Fiona Waterworth from Sunderland
Day 14 – Two Fox Predator Slimline Slider Floats + Quick Change Egg Sinkers – Gary Taylor from Tamworth
Day 15 – Fox Steam and Store Chod/Withy Bin – Kevin Lomas from Cheshire
Day 16 – 5 packets of Matrix Carp Bagger Hooks – Ryan Kilby from Norwich
Day 17 – Halo Zig Float Kit – Shaun O’Connor from Bath

Day 18 – Fox Rage Pro Series Rod Shoulder Belt – Glyn Morgan from Sheffield
Day 19 – Set of three Fox Butt Grips – Jason Higgs from Lincolnshire
Day 20 – Fox Predator Forceps – Tom Christopher Walters from Manchester
Day 21 - Matrix Dump Pot Set + Toss Pots – Dan Callaghan from Cheshire
Day 22 – Fox Wide PVA Mesh Funnel System – Barry Lee Crofts from Sheffield
Day 23 – Fox Small Royale Accessory Bag – Martyn Russ from Cardiff
Day 24 – Fox Adjusta Level Chair - Lynne McEvoy from Cambridge

The winners have been contacted via email so don't forget to check your inboxes as we need your delivery address to post out your prize!

LIKE the Angling Times Facebook page for more great competitions -  www.facebook.com/anglingtimes 

 


End of year success

BEN DOWERS banked the biggest mirror in his club lake on his last proper session of the year in the form of this 35lb 6oz specimen which topped a four-fish catch on the south-eastern venue.

The Suffolk-based rod who is backed by bait company Sticky, fished blow-back rigs in conjunction with small PVA bags.

He said: “I was hoping that the big common that resides in the lake was going to slip up during the session and things started off well when the first three nights produced three fish.

“However, the frosts then came and things went quiet and just one other fish graced my net. Fortunately for me it was a decent fish, in fact at first I even thought it was the biggie by the scrap it gave me.

“I was quite surprised to see a mirror go over the net cord but it turns out it's the largest mirror in the lake so I was well happy with that.

“I will hopefully do a bit more time on the lake through the winter but come spring I will have a more concerted go at it.

“For now though I’m more than happy with the mirror, even if it wasn't my target fish."

All the fish were taken using 16mm Sticky Baits Vor-tex boilies with bags of crumbed boilies and matching flavoured pellets.

The rigs were placed over a bed of various sizes of free offerings, pellets and particles.


PB 16lb 10oz bream from low-stock pit

LEE MCMANUS  ended a frustrating campaign - that had resulted in just two bites in over 720 hours of fishing - with this impressive 16lb 10oz personal best bream.

Measuring a mile in length and half a mile wide, Swithland Reservoir in Leicestershire is a notoriously hard water at the best of times - but has proven to be even tougher this year due to vast weed beds that all but choked the venue during the warmer months.

Even though the majority of it has now died away, Lee had to call upon all of the knowledge he’s gained over the last 17-years on the water to get the better of its resident bream.

After suspecting that the fish would be out in the middle of the lake and out of casting distance, the specialist from Birstall, Leicester, used a bait boat to get his simple leger rig and a couple of handfuls of hemp, corn and casters to a spot at 190 yards.

And it was these tactics that resulted in only his second bite in 30 sessions and beat his long-standing personal best of 13 years.

“I’ve been fishing this water since 1995 and it’s always been hard. But this year has been the toughest of all because the weed has been a nightmare. I was beginning to think that I was going to have to wait until next year to get another crack at the big ones,” said Lee.

“I persevered, though, as the bream will always continue to feed up until the water temperatures really begin to plummet.

“Not only was it a great feeling to get a bite after so many nights sat behind silent alarms, but to beat my old pb by 1oz made it all worthwhile.”


England's biggest pike landed

The biggest-ever English pike has been claimed from a Lake District trout fishery - but the captor released it without taking a photograph.

Jeff Dandy, who admits he did not realise the significance of the catch, said his main concern was returning the 46lb 1oz beast safely.

Had the weight been confirmed, it would be the biggest pike ever caught in England and would be just 10oz shy of the 20-year-old British record from Llandegfedd Reservoir in Wales.

Jeff, who is a competent pike angler despite favouring fly fishing, said he was not aware of the magnitude of the capture.

The Barrow-in-Furness rod told Angling Times: “I am absolutely genuine. I didn’t want any publicity - I’m not interested in that. My big concern was getting that fish back in the water. I can understand the doubters but somebody is going to catch it again.”

Top pike angler Neville Fickling said: “Esthwaite has produced pike to 37lb in the past. It’s gone through a bit of a lull but is now producing big pike again, so it’s not impossible for a fish like that to turn up.”

Esthwaite fishery manager David Coleman doesn’t believe Jeff would have made up the story: “We had a pike wash up dead earlier in the year that was well over 35lb.

“There are always going to be doubters, but we told Jeff to bring his scales in and we checked them against a set of Reuben Heatons and they were smack on. He’s an honest guy and I have no reason to doubt him.”

Jeff presented a floatfished roach from a boat and tamed the pike after a 20-minute battle using 30lb braid, a Shimano Baitrunner and a Fox Pikemaster rod.

He said: “It fought like absolute stink but when we got it to the boat and netted it I knocked the unhooking mat in the water in the panic and it floated off before I could get it back. To cut a long story short, we basically wanted to get the fish back in the water as quickly as possible.

“I was with my boat partner who’s in his sixties and I’m 56 - we’re not fishy-tale people!

“I’m kicking myself now. We did have a phone with a camera on it, but I didn’t actually realise at the time that it was near the record.”

Jeff, who said the fish was not bloated and looked immaculate save for a mark left by the hooks on its left jaw, added: “I’ve nothing to prove it so I’ll just have to catch it again - that’s going to be my mission.”

dead%2030.JPG

Damo's 93lb mirror

Damian Clarke has become the first English angler to bank two 88lb-plus carp from two different venues, after hunting down the famous Scarred Mirror, from Luke Moffat’s Les Graviers lake, near Dijon in France.

The huge specimen, which is one of the biggest fish in the world, breaks his previous personal best which stood at an already impressive 88lb after banking the huge Saussaie common last year. And it was that capture that sparked Damian’s interest in chasing another 80lb-plus fish.

“After targeting and catching the Saussaie common last September I wanted to catch something as big or bigger,” he told Angling Times. “The list of venues that hold carp of that size and are accessible to all are extremely limited. The Graviers holds the famous Scarred Mirror that was once the world record at 99lb. As well as this fish there is another over 80lb, so it seemed the obvious choice.”

The Korda operations manager quickly hatched a plan to single out the venue’s biggest resident. “Scar is a fish that is seen a lot in the margins and with the calm cold weather I just imagined him visiting an area that was well over 200 yards out from my swim. I'd not seen anything - it was purely an instinctive decision.”

After heading out in the boat to investigate the area close to some dense foliage he found a firm ‘sweet spot’ that he fancied. “The bottom of the lake has a lot of clay on it and I simply bumped the lead on the bottom until the lead didn't stick, indicating a harder spot. This was where I placed my hookbait. To complete the trap, I dropped 20 15mm Mainline Hybrid boilies and a very small handful of sweetcorn. I've been asked why I used sweetcorn on a lake that has a great many bream in? Simply, I wasn't too concerned about the bream - I had seen how corn was used to get an immediate feeding response in similarly cold water conditions on the Underwater 7 shoot, so I wasn’t about to leave it out of the baiting situation.”

Damian explained what he took into consideration when coming up with a rig to target one of the biggest fish in the World. “I'm not one for using really big hooks, I know that 60lb carp have huge mouths, but I’m confident in a particular setup. The rig featured a size 6 Wide Gape X hook, with a ring sliding on the shank and a small piece of shrink over the eye of the hook. The hooklink material was my ever-faithful Hybrid Stiff in 20lb, 5.5 inches in length. This setup is something both Danny Fairbrass and I have caught a lot of carp on from a variety of different waters. I threaded two standard bottom baits onto the hair. The reason I did this was, firstly, to be a little different - most anglers use singles or snowman type setups and, secondly, one of our lads has caught a great many big carp from Gigantica using multiple baits on the hair.”

The instinctive choice of location and carefully thought out tactics bore fruit in the very early hours of the Wednesday morning of Damian’s weeklong session. “The fact that it was slowly taking line against a tight clutch at over 200 yards was the first signal that it was a big fish. Just five minutes into the fight I was convinced it was the one. It took about 30 minutes to get the fish to within 20 yards and a further 15 arm aching minutes to get it near the net. From the first sighting, the huge scar that runs down its flank was clearly visible. It was the moment I'd been waiting for! Being attached to a carp you know weighs over 90lb was certainly intense. Luke, the lake owner, came round and with help from my fishing partner Clive Gibbins and another angler we carefully weighed and photographed the Scar on an extremely cold and misty November night at 93lb 8oz.”
As if the Scar wasn’t enough, Damian also banked mirrors of 20lb, 38lb, 40lb, 41lb, 48lb and 55lb 14oz! So, where next for Korda’s monster hunter? “Well, the obvious place would be Rainbow Lake but there is another beautiful 80lb-plus carp I would love to catch along with the Brown Fish at Graviers. Those, along with the huge creatures that inhabit Gigantica, will certainly keep me busy for the next few years!” he added.


National Angling Awards 2012 - cast your vote

IT’S BEEN a year packed with memorable big fish catches, exceptional tackle innovations and shocking news stories - and now it’s your turn to vote for your favourites in the 2012 Angling Awards.

Almost 40 different categories have been created to honour the pride of the sport, with angler of the year, lifetime achievement and best river and stillwater just a selection of the topics that need your feedback to help pick the overall winners.

Tackle manufacturers will also be looking on eagerly as they battle it out to take victory in a range of fields including best flagship pole, top float rod and greatest innovation.

Angling Times editor Steve Fitzpatrick is urging everyone in the sport to get involved with the awards: “This is a fantastic opportunity for anglers to vote for who they feel are the big achievers in fishing this year and help their choices gain the recognition they deserve. There’s been so many great catches made and tackle items released this year that some of the categories are just too close to call.

“There may be other awards in angling but these are the ones the nominees really want to win and only you can help your favourites take the glory,” he added.

Voting is now underway and the all-important results will be revealed in the December 18 Christmas Special edition of Angling Times.

For a full list of categories and to place your votes visit: www.gofishing.co.uk/awards2012


Winter fifty

A FISH that rarely makes an autumn appearance showed just how big it can go in the colder months by tipping the scales at exactly 57lb.

The huge mirror was banked by Matt Jackson during the final night of a weekend session on a southern gravel pit.

The 25-year-old factory worker said: “It’s never been that big before and it’s been known as a bit of an autumn dodger — people always wondered how big it would go if it was caught at this time of year.”

The Salisbury rod fished from Friday to Monday over the Bonfire Night weekend, and had the take just before daybreak on the final morning.

“It’s quite a rural area so there were loads of fireworks going off to begin with and that killed it for the first two nights,” he said.

But a twitchy take on Monday morning, followed by a difficult fight through a weedy swim, eventually yielded the prized capture.

“It’s a pretty tough water,” said Matt, “top rod last year had nine fish and some people only get one or two a season, but this year I’ve had 22 bites and landed 18 different fish — but this one really was the icing on the cake.”

Matt fished a CC Moore Odyssey XXX pop-up on a stiff rig over 3kg of freebies at 150 yards’ range next to a weedbed.


Boilie and maggot cocktail produces 31lb mirror

Carp don’t get much better looking than this 31lb mirror caught by Martin Cannon during a session on the Linch Hill Fishery Christchurch syndicate in Oxfordshire.

Dropping in the closest free swim to where he’d seen fish showing, the 31-year-old Honda shift manager from Swindon baited a clear area with 0.75kg of CC Moore N-Gage XP boilies and 10 spods of dead maggots.

He then cast two rods over the bait and one off to the side with a 15mm boilie hookbait tipped with 5 maggots inside a small solid PVA bag. In the early hours of the following morning this rod burst in to life and after weeding him up, Martin had to wade out and coax his prize towards the waiting net.

His winning setup consisted of a 4ins Fox Coretex hooklink with all of the outer coating removed and a size 8 Gardner Incizor hook.


Perch session produces brace of 15lb barbel

DAREN Eyles never dreamt that a perch fishing session would result in him becoming one of just a handful of anglers who can boast of catching two 15lb barbel in a session – but that’s exactly what happened when he banked a brace of specimens topped by this 15lb 10oz personal best.

He started the day targeting the stripeys in a local Bedfordshire river with feederfished lobworms, but turned his attentions to barbel after his chosen quarry proved too difficult to locate.

Armed with the same set-up, that featured 6lb line and a size 4 hook, he moved upstream and only had to wait 10 minutes before the 15lb 10oz fish found his lobworm hookbait. Just 30 minutes later his tip pulled round again and another immaculate fish weighing exactly 15lb soon lay in the folds of his landing net.

“Absolutely nothing was happening on the perch front, so I moved into the swim that I knew held barbel because I had faith that the lobworms would lure them out from the overhanging trees,” Daren told Angling Times.

“I’ve always dreamed of catching one over 15lb, so to have two in less than an hour was incredible.

“Every time I talk about the session it just doesn’t feel real - especially after I started the day fishing for a completely different species.”