Suffolk Water Park specimens fall to snowman setup
DAN LANKESTER got his winter campaign on Suffolk Water Park’s Specimen Lake off to a flying start, landing a trio of carp during a 48 hour session.
The highlight of the trip was a 34lb 4oz mirror which the 35-year-old gardener backed up with a common of 25lb 2oz and a small stockie of around 9lb.
All three of his fish were taken from close to an overhanging tree on the far margin at 100 yards range near a sandy plateau where he’d seen fish moving.
“On the second morning I had an occurrence on one rod - the bobbin pulled up tight but when I picked up the rod there was nothing attached,” the Ipswich-based carper told Angling Times.
“Within 10 minutes of putting it back out on the spot it screamed off and this time I successfully landed a 25lb 2oz common.”
This was followed by the smallest fish of the trip before his new personal best slipped up early in the evening. “I’ve never had a fight like it – it just kept stripping line and I just had to hold on until it tired itself out.”
Dan’s successful setup consisted of a Frank Warwick Baits Fruit Smoothie bottom bait and pop-up fished snowman style on a JRC Cocoon hooklink and a size 8 Nash Fang Twister hook.
Glugged pellet fools 16lb 11oz Thames barbel
A SHORT evening session on the River Thames resulted in this personal best 16lb 11oz barbel for Ian Brooker.
With the waterway fining down and still holding plenty of colour the Oxfordshire-based Drennan International employee knew there was a strong possibility of getting a bite from one of the venue’s elusive specimens.
Arriving at a local stretch just after dusk he cast out two large glugged pellet hookbaits in conjunction with a PVA bag of freebies just a couple of rodlengths from the bank. To hold bottom in the strong flow he had to use a 5oz lead and kept a large bow in the line.
“Because of the pace and the amount of rubbish coming down the river I was only able to keep my rig in position for about 40 minutes before it began to move,” the 28-year-old told Angling Times.
“It wasn’t that long in to the session when it started to slowly bounce round again and I was about to reel in to recast when I received quite a subtle bite. I struck into it and knew immediately that I was into a good barbel. I thought it was probably a low double but because it was dark and the water was so coloured I didn’t actually see the fish until I lifted it out of the water – I then realised my initial estimation was a little on the low side.
“The stretch only holds a handful of big barbel but it does get very busy so I’ve only managed about six sessions on there. Before this I’d managed barbel to 12lb from it along with a few chub and bream so I was delighted to break my old pb with this 16lb 11oz specimen.”
Ian, who presented his hookbait on a size 8 ESP T6 hook and a 4ft 10lb fluorocarbon hooklink, has now turned his attentions to specimen perch for the rest of the winter.
“So far I’ve managed perch of over 3lb from a local commercial stillwater and another from a southern river,” he added.
Short session success for Luke Church
LUKE Church has enjoyed short-session success with a string of recent captures taken during the daylight hours.
The 23-year-old has banked five fish to over 30lb in just 12 hours of fishing spread across two days.
Topping the winter haul was this 33lb 10oz mirror from a venue near his home in King’s Lynn, Norfolk.
Luke, who won the British Carp Angling Championship in 2010, said: “It was caught along with a 22lb 14oz mirror during an eight-hour day session at a local day-ticket fishery.
“I was fishing at around 70 yards in between a channel of two islands and used 12mm CC Moore Secret Obsession pop-ups with a small PVA mesh bag of the CC Moore Active Feast bag mix.
Luke than managed three other fish, including mirrors of 23lb 1oz and 17lb, on a four-hour afternoon session at Narborough Lakes in King’s Lynn.
He said: “I was casting across to the far bank at around 80 yards and walking round to bait up with 2mm trout pellets provided. The hookbait was an 8mm Mini Bitez from CC Moore.”
Luke’s end tackle featured an eight-inch Gardner Sly Skin hooklink in 15lb breaking strain attached to a size-10 Covert Mugga hook with 12lb GT80+ mainline.
Huge albino catfish caught from River Ebro
A CARP fishing trip on the river Ebro threw up a big surprise for fishery manager David Coleman when he struck into this huge albino catfish.
Weighing in at 195lb the fish took over two hours to be hauled aboard the boat from which he was fishing from.
Using light carp gear on a 3.25lb test curve rod it was a boilie hookbait on a size 6 hook which fooled the fish unexpectedly much to the delight of Coleman:
“We must have ended up a mile or so downstream from where I first hooked the beast and we struggled to get it in the boat once it had tired. It was so big it nearly snapped our rods when we finally hauled it aboard the boat,” he said.
The fish capped off a fine trip for the Esthwaite Water manager who also caught carp to 47lb.
69lb mirror tops 74 fish haul
LUKE Edwards enjoyed an action packed session at Domaine le Ribiere in France, landing no less than 74 carp topped by a 69lb mirror.
The Wolverhampton-based rod’s staggering haul also included two other sixties, weighing 64lb and 60lb, seven fifties and 15 forties.
“The sport was non-stop throughout the trip and I even had to reel in for a few hours each day just so I get some sleep,” the 31-year-old told Angling Times. “I’d spent a fair bit of money on bait and took around £500 of Mainline Baits MK1 boilies, maggots, casters, hemp, sweetcorn, maize and parti-mix with me. The more bait I put in the more fish I caught and when I slipped the net under the bigg’un I couldn’t have cared less about the cost of the bait,” he added.
Luke tackled the French stillwater with double MK1 10mm boilie hookbaits tipped with fake maggots.
These were fished blow-back style on a Fox Kuro S3 hooks and 12lb Illusion Fluorocarbon hooklinks. Illusion Fluorocarbon mainline and Captive Backleads were also used to ensure everything was pinned down and out of the way of the carp.
“The rig proved to be devastating and my hook holds were at times up to two inches back in the carp’s mouth.”
Maggots score for 38lb mirror
WARREN Broadhurst caught his first carp over the 30lb barrier and broke his personal best in the process with this 38lb mirror from The Monument in Shropshire.
Faced with a strong northerly wind and plummeting temperatures the 37-year-old from Telford hadn’t seen any fish showing so cast his rigs towards the centre of the water where he thought the carp might be holding up.
Maggots have accounted for a number of big fish from the venue in recent weeks, but to give his baits an extra kicked he coated them in a dusting of Retro Baits garlic powder the night before his session.
“On the first morning my mate had a 31lb mirror on a pop-up boilie but I decided to stick with the maggots,” Warren told Angling Times. “I kept putting a couple of Spombs of bait out every two hours and the next day I started getting a few liners which eventually turned into a screaming take.”
Warren’s winning presentation consisted of a couple of real maggots popped-up with a piece of red foam on a Gardner Talon Tip hook and a Korda IQ Super Soft fluorocarbon hooklink. This was cast out in conjunction with a PVA bag of maggots.
“This was the first time I had fished The Monument and I couldn’t have asked for a better start – a new personal best and my first ever UK thirty. The fish looked stunning in its winter colours and hopefully I’ll manage a few more from the lake over the next few months.”
14lb zander after 20 year break
WHEN Barry Cook returned to fishing after a 20-year absence and tackled up for zander for the very first time he would have been hard pushed to predict the results that would follow.
During a day’s fishing on the Old Lake at Bury Hill Fishery in Surrey, Barry banked seven zeds topped by this 14lb specimen.
Under the guidance of resident predator tutor Eric Bailey, Barry fished legered roach and mackerel to land five zander over 7lb 8oz.
He said: “I enjoyed the personalised and informative tuition in a relaxed atmosphere and we really had a great day."
Big perch bag in Wye match
The River Wye often gets praise for its immense stocks of chub and barbel but it was perch that dominated in the latest event with Tom Lane needing 42lb 1oz of them to win.
After drawing the favoured peg 75 on the Belmont stretch at Hereford, the Shakespeare backed rod – who is grandson to the legendary Billy Lane – used worms on the pole to take fish to 3lb at regular intervals during round three of the team event.
Wizards ace Andrew Murphy took second spot with 34lb 4oz, while W B Clarke man Terry Parrott completed the frame with 32lb 4oz.
Meat scores for 14lb 1oz Lea barbel
THE RIVER Lea can be a tough nut to crack, but Keith Little proved the rewards are there for those who put the effort in when he caught this 14lb 1oz barbel.
After setting up in a noted hotspot on the Fishers Green stretch close to his Waltham Abbey home, the venue regular legered a large lump of meat over a handful of pellets.
Within two hours of casting out a 10lb fish had fallen to the trap and shortly afterwards he received a second bite which, following a short battle, resulted in his biggest barbel from the waterway this season.
Keith said: “The venue has a lot of crayfish in and a large chunk of meat is something they will struggle to eat quickly and this gives the barbel more time to find it.”
Kayak caught record cod
WHEN Dan Richards paddled off in his kayak from Sandgate Beach near Folkestone the last thing he expected was to return a UK record holder.
Well that’s exactly what happened to the 38-year-old from Kent when he landed this superb 29lb 10oz cod and smashed his previous best by more than 20lb.
Kayak fishing is a method many anglers dare not attempt and the fact that Richards paddled a staggering two miles off-shore where he landed the giant fish in nearly 80ft of water made it even more impressive.
Fishing with two rods, Richards tempted the beast – the biggest caught from a kayak in this country - using a Pennel rig. This was held tight to the bottom with a 12oz lead and a 60lb hooklink with a size 7/0 hook baited with cuttle fish stuffed with lugworm.
“When I first struck into the fish I just thought I had snagged the bottom, because when fishing at that depth it is often hard to tell,” he told Angling Times. “But then it started stripping line off my reel and that’s when I knew it was a big fish. It was like reeling a sack of spuds up through the depths but never in my wildest dreams did I expect it to be that big,” he said.
He then had to haul his catch aboard his tiny boat and with no room aboard for the giant fish, the keen sea angler had to continue fishing with his catch lying between his legs before paddling back to shore.
“I tried putting it on the back of the boat but with all my gear it was impossible so I packed up one of the rods and carried on fishing with the other. I would have been happy to come in with a fish like that but I had to stay out longer as my friend had caught nothing and had travelled a long way to get here. Everyone has been congratulating me but it is yet to sink in” he added.
Women's World Carp Record broken
THE BIGGEST ever carp landed by a female angler has been caught by Lizette Beunders in the form of this 84lb 5oz mirror from Abbey Lakes in France.
The Dutch angler landed the fishery’s biggest resident, known as Shoulders, during a session on Heron Lake which also saw her land four other carp to 50lb and a 27lb 5oz sturgeon.
Her successful tactics consisted of an 18mm Mainline Baits Cell boilie hookbait offered on a 7ins 25lb Fox Coretex hooklink and a size 6 Kuro S4 XS hooks with a Fox Line Aligna Adaptor pushed over the eye. This was cast out with a PVA bag filled with pellets over a bed of groundbait, chick peas, crushed hemp, sweetcorn and halibut pellets.
Lizette said: “On the last night of the session my alarm burst in to life once again. The fish was clearly not in the mood to be caught and did everything in its power to get rid of the hook. My partner Bianca eventually netted it for me and in the moonlight we could make out the contours of the fish but I still couldn’t believe that I’d caught shoulders. We celebrated this amazing catch with a good bottle of champagne and the next morning I was informed that it was a new world record carp for a lady - incredible!”
Lizette’s catch beats the previous record which was held by British angler Jo Green who caught The Brown Fish from Les Graviers at 84lb in May this year.
Homemade paste fools 17lb 5oz barbel
ONE OF the biggest barbel of the season has been caught by Neill Stephen – this 17lb 5oz specimen from a southern river.
The London-based former Drennan Cup holder found the waterway rising rapidly and while most other anglers had resorted to the comfort of local stillwaters, he embraced the challenge and freelined a piece of homemade paste.
After allowing it to trundle downstream towards a series of tree roots, the tip twitched slightly and seconds later the hook had been set.
The specimen then plodded around slowly on the bottom and minutes later it was in the net.
“I couldn’t see how big it was because of the dark but when I lifted the net out I saw the girth and size of its head and realised I’d landed something very special,” explained Neill, who used 25lb PowerPro braid, a small lump of Plasticine moulded around a float stop and a size 6 Drennan Super Specialist Barbel hook.
Eighth forty of the season
JON TAYLOR has caught his eighth forty of the season in the form of this 42lb 4oz mirror from the Manor Farm syndicate in Essex.
The Benfleet-based Sticky Baits-backed rod tempted the sought-after specimen known as the Big Lin during a 24 hour session on the famous big fish venue.
Fishing at around 20yds range on the marginal shelf, he offered a 16mm Buchu-Berry pop-up on a size 7 Nash Fang Twister hook and a 20lb Missing Link hooklink over a scattering of Vor-Tex free offerings.
Huge Ouse perch for Perna
ADAM Perna’s successful year shows no sign of slowing down with this 3lb 11oz perch the latest specimen to grace his net.
The 27-year-old Oxfordshire-based all-rounder has already banked roach to over 3lb, pike over 29lb and numerous specimen perch and zander in the past 12 months.
His latest predator fell to running-leger tactics from a small tributary of the Ouse.
“This fish was caught a bit further down from a near-bank slack and took a legered lobworm tipped with the trusty red maggot,” said Adam.
“This time I was on the tip due to the river carrying a bit of extra water and the bait was presented over a scattering of maggots and chopped worm. The fish look very colourful and in fine condition at this time of year.”
Adam used an 8lb mainline to a 2ft fluorocarbon hooklink with a 0.5oz running lead and a size 6 Drennan Super Specialist hook.
Two thirties in 24 hours on maggots
TIM WILKS showed the deadly power of maggots as a cold-water bait with a five-fish haul from the Monument.
The Warrington-based rod fished a one-night session on Rob Hales’ Shropshire water and banked two twenties and two thirties, topped by a new personal best in the shape of this 37lb 7oz mirror.
Fishing mag-aligner rigs in conjunction with inline maggot feeders, the 30-year-old also had a 10lb fish during his two-day session.
He said: “It was a great session. I had both twenties on the Thursday and the two thirties the following day. On both days the bites all came between 1pm and 2pm so this was obviously the feeding time.
“The biggest one fought really well and although the 31lb fish came in a bit easier it still ran me ragged in the margins.”
The brewery technician, who topped up the swim with red and white maggots about once an hour, added: “I fished mag-aligners with two or three maggots on a size-10 hook and cast 40 yards to a firm spot.
“I normally do a few sessions on the Monument in the winter when my syndicate slows down, and as soon as they allow maggots I book in. You can’t beat them!”
Brace of 3lb perch on lobworms
THIS brace of 3lb-plus perch were the highlight of a productive days fishing on an East Anglian stillwater for Phil Spinks.
The Norfolk-based all-rounder caught the fish, along with numerous other specimens between 2lb 4oz and 3lb 4oz, while shooting a feature for Angling Times Predator magazine.
“I made an early start arriving at the lake at 9am, but the conditions looked far from ideal as it was a sharp frosty morning with clear skies,” said Phil. “I always prefer overcast mild days for perch fishing this time of year and in the back of my mind I was worrying the perch wouldn't play ball – I needn’t have worried though!”
His successful tactics consisted of air-injected lobworms popped-up on size 6 Korum Xpert Specialist hooks and 4lb Power Mono hooklinks.
Emperor forty
CHRIS Rampling has caught his second forty in six months in the form of this 40lb 12oz mirror from Emperor Lakes in Devon.
The venue regular set up his stall in a swim known as the Dead End on the complex’s Syndicate Lake and tempted the impressive specimen with an ACE Baits boilie hookbait.
He said: “I caught the same fish earlier in the year at 37lb so it is great to see that the carp in the venue are piling on the weight.”
For more information on the fishery visit: www.emperorlakes.co.uk
Sandhurst forty on maggots
MAGGOTS are regarded as one of the best winter carp baits – and Jon Ogan can certainly pay testament to this after breaking his personal best with this 41lb 4oz mirror known as Nige’s Fish during a 48 hour session at Yateley Sandhurst Lake.
When he arrived at the venue, the West Sussex-based rod found the majority of anglers set up at one end of the lake, and with no fish showing he decided to get away from the angling pressure and headed to the far end of the water.
“I’d fished the swim previously and soon had my rods out over a deep silt gulley at 60yds,” said Jon. “I put a dozen or so Spombs of maggots out that had been coated in Sticky's Pure Krill Powder and fished a bunch of maggots over the top.”
The first night passed without event but the following afternoon, just as he was thinking about moving swims, a fish crashed close to his spot.
“I quickly re-baited my spots with another dozen Spombs of the krilled maggots before landing two rigs right on the money. Everything was looking good and a couple of hours later my right hand indicator pulled up tight and the clutch started to give a little line.
“I lifted into the fish which stayed low and a slow fight ensued, I had a feeling it was a good fish and I was praying that my hook wouldn't pull out as it plodded up and down the margin. All the time I was expecting the fish to wake up properly and give me a pasting but my luck held and she popped up and I scooped her up quick and easy.”
Jon’s winning maggot presentation consisted of a 5ins 10lb Daiwa Sensor hooklink knotless knotted to a size 8 hook with a PVA bag of maggots.
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.”
