Barbel future boosted by fresh stock

A project has been launched to secure the future of some of the nation’s most prolific big barbel rivers.

Numerous waterways have seen an unprecedented number of specimen fish reported this season, with both the River Nene and Derbyshire Derwent producing several fish over the 16lb-barrier since June 16.

Despite the optimism over the form of these venues, concerns have been raised that very few small barbel have been landed, leading to the fears that the top class action could soon peter out once the current crop of big fish die off.

Efforts are now being made to eradicate those doubts, with Environment Agency staff stocking thousands of small barbel in to several rivers across the country.

Two locations on the Nene have welcomed new introductions, with stretches at Earls Barton and Irthlingborough both gaining 750 fish.

Several stretches of Derbyshire Derwent controlled by the Earl of Harrington’s Angling Club have also been earmarked for similar stockings.

Club treasurer Teresa Parr is confident this will provide a major boost to the waterway. She said: “It's going to help secure the barbel fishing for the future which is very important and this in-turn will attract more people to fish what is an up-and-coming waterway with huge potential.”

The EA have also shown their commitment to help the species flourish in venues that are not yet renowned for barbel, with Yorkshire’s River Aire receiving a top up of 3,000, and its neighbour the Dearne being stocked with the same quantity – its first introduction of the species for a decade.

Barbel Society chairman Steve Pope has welcomed the move and told Angling Times: “It’s really great news that the EA continue to stock barbel as not only does it help spread the species and bolster existing stocks, but also help revive venues that have suffered from predation.”

Elusive 31lb common carp from Cambridgeshire stillwater

This cracking 31lb 2oz common had avoided capture for the last few years until Dan Stacey fooled it during a recent session on a Cambridgeshire stillwater.

The local rod targeted a pre-baited silty gully on the tricky nine acre weedy pit and received a finicky take early in the afternoon.

“A heart-stopping fight followed,” he told Angling Times. “I was delighted when I saw the common coming towards the net as it hasn’t been caught for several seasons and is one fish that I dearly wanted to catch when I joined the lake.”

Dan tempted the impressive specimen with a CC Moore Odyssey XXX pop-up soaked in Feedstim XP.

5lb chub on coaching session with Dave Harrell

The water temperatures may have dropped recently but one man who wasn't complaining was Robin Adcock who booked a day with Angling Times columnist Dave Harrell on the River Wye near Symonds Yat.

This stunning 5lb 3oz chub featured in a 60lb catch which also included some quality barbel. All the fish were caught using bunches of three or four maggots on a size 12 hook underneath a DH 4SSG No2 Truncheon Waggler, fished slightly overdepth.

"It was certainly a day to remember," said Robin. This is the second time I've been fishing with Dave and both days have been memorable with plenty of bent rod action! I'm alreasy looking forward to our next day out."

**For information about Dave's coaching days visit his website at: www.daveharrellangling.com**

39lb 2oz mirror carp starts winter campaign for Leon Bartropp

Leon Bartropp couldn’t have asked for a better start to his winter campaign, landing this cracking 39lb 2oz mirror from a Kent stillwater.

It was only the Gardner Tackle and Mistral Baits consultant’s second session on the venue and followed the capture of a 33lb 10oz mirror and two mid-twenties a week earlier.

Targeting a silty gulley between two large weedbeds at 40 yards range, Leon offered a 15mm Mistral Baits 4Season pink pop-up hookbait over a scattering of free offerings.

The following morning he received a steady take but was weeded up by the fish early on in the fight. “Everything went solid and for 30 minutes I couldn’t budge it. I kept the pressure on, though, and it eventually popped out of the thick weedbed,” he told Angling Times.

“The rest of the fight was fairly straight forward and once I got it on the bank I recognised as Bruce’s Fish. I was delighted to land this one as it is one of the lake’s ‘A-Team’ and was one of my target fish for the winter,” he added.

Leon put his faith in his favoured multi-rig presentation, which he constructed with 25lb Gardner Chod Skin and a size 4 Chod hook.

Prime minister helps save club

The Prime Minister has helped to save a community angling club lake just weeks after its lease was terminated by its landowners, the Ministry of Defence.

Oakhanger AC had managed Kingsley Pond for 46 years but they were recently kicked off the venue following a dispute over the installation of new platforms.

The move caused uproar among its members and even the PM David Cameron wrote to the club to offer his support after hearing of their plight.

The lake is a popular fishing spot and is regularly used to coach junior anglers as well as ex-servicemen.

The argument arose after a new surveyor employed by the MOD had questioned what Oakhanger AC deemed as a routine installation of new platforms to replace damaged old ones. The club refused to comply with orders to remove all the platforms and claimed the MOD was unwillingly to meet at that time to address the unfortunate situation.

An agreement has now been made between the two parties and a new licence is being drawn up, following a meeting between which also included the Angling Trust and the Environment Agency. Kingsley Pond Fishery manager, Fred Bell, said that he was relieved to have the lake back again.

“We agreed to forget what has happened over the past three months as mistakes have been made on both parts. We now have a much stronger agreement than ever before and the MOD has even offered to buy and install new disabled platforms,” he said.

“We would like to thank them for accommodating our wishes, they stated that they always wanted us to have the licence at the pond and praised the way we control and maintain the area. It was important to have The Angling Trust and the EA advising us during this time,” he said.

Record water set to reopen

Angling Times can this week reveal that the venue which produced the current British pike record could re-open its doors to predator anglers next year.

Llandegfedd Reservoir in Pontypool, South Wales, first hit the headlines in 1988 when it allowed pike fishing for the first time and produced four fish over the magical 40lb-barrier. Over the next few years it produced two British records for the species - the first falling to Gareth Edwards in 1989 at 45lb 6oz, followed by the existing best of 46lb 13oz to Roy Lewis in 1992.

Catches of bigger fish started to drop off after the turn of the millennium and in 2009 venue officials made the decision to stop pike angling on the 434-acre water.

The fishery originally announced on their Facebook page that plans are in place to allow boat fishing for pike again in 2014, and this was confirmed by Richard Poole, site controller for the Welsh Water owned venue. “We decided to give it a rest for five years as the pike population had obviously declined and we felt that the fishing was not offering visitors good value for money,” he explained to Angling Times.

“That period has now passed and if the work which is currently being carried out on the visitor centre at the reservoir is completed on time then we are planning to open two days week throughout October 2014. If for some reason the work isn’t completed on time it will definitely be opened during the same months in 2015.

“Costs are yet to be decided, as is the method of booking, but I’m sure there will be a massive demand for boats,” he added.

One of the many anglers praying the work is finished by next autumn is seasoned specimen hunter and Angling Times’ Bait Doctor columnist Paul Garner.

“I would definitely be keen to fish there,” he said. “A lot of these big pike waters are cyclical so there is no reason why it shouldn’t produce fish of a similar size to what it did in its late eighties, early nighties hay day. The fishery has also been managed well, which is good to see, and keeping the pike free of pressure over the last few years certainly won’t have done them any harm.

Respected pike angler and former record holder for the species, Neville Fickling, is also excited to see what the former pike ‘mecca’ will produce. “Chew has been simply exceptional over the last few years, but it will be interesting to see what happens and what gets caught from Llandegfedd. Any fish in there that were around 10-12lb when it closed to pike fishing five years ago could quite easily be mid-thirties.

“When it first opened I spent over £2,000 on permits and fuel for two 19lb pike so I would love to get back on there to try and better that.”

**LLANDEGFEDD FORTIES**
- Roy Lewis, 46lb 13oz, Oct 1992 – (Current British record)
- Gareth Edwards, 45lb 6oz, March 1989
- Carl Garrett, 44lb 8oz, Oct 1988
- Stuart Gilham, 44lb, Oct 1988
- B. Ingram, 43lb 2oz, Oct 1988
- Pete Climo, 42lb 5oz, Oct 1988
- Martin Cooke, 40lb 8oz, Oct 1996

Big river perch on a lobworm

When the temperatures drop, big perch can still be relied on to put a bend in the rod – as proved by Josh Fisher when he banked a series of fish to 3lb 7oz from a Midlands river.

The Norfolk-based all-rounder had endured several fruitless sessions in search of chub and decided to switch his attentions to the predatory species in a bid to change his fortunes.

Fully aware that the cold conditions would affect the feeding habits of the fish, he used a simple yet extremely sensitive rig which would register even the shyest of bites.

“I wanted to spot the tiniest of plucks on the rod tip so I link legered a lobworm on the hook and sprayed red maggots over the top,” explained Josh, who used 4lb Drennan Supplex mainline straight through to a size 6 hook.

Targeting a well-known hotspot on the waterway, it wasn’t long before the professional tattoo artist hooked and landed a fish just over the 3lb-barrier and several others of a similar weight came to the net before the end of the session.

Just days later he headed to a different stretch and adopting a roving approach to fish a number of swims he finally took the biggest perch from the two trips. He said: “A large fish kept picking the bait up and spitting it out so I cranked the reel a couple of times to pull the worm back. This got an instant reaction as the tip immediately flew round and the 3lb 7oz specimen was soon on the bank.”

Determined to continue to his run of form, he has now set his sights on a new winter target, and told Angling Times: “I’ve pinpointed a venue that has a big head of roach and I’m hoping to catch a fish over the 2lb-mark in the coming weeks.”

Brace of forties from Pavyotts Mill

Danny Pedley enjoyed the ‘session of a lifetime’ at Pavyotts Mill landing five carp including a brace of forties weighing 42lb 6oz and 41lb.

Targeting the Maze Lake at the Somerset complex, the Dorset-based angler also helped himself to fish of 35lb, 32lb 9oz and 28lb 4oz.

All of his carp were taken on the same rod with he had baited with a 12mm Korda Pink Dumbell hookbait on a KD rig inside a solid PVA bag filled with bloodworm pellets.
He said: “It was definitely my best ever session. My previous pb was 34lb and I beat that three times during the trip. The two forties came out on the last day within half an hour of each other.”

28lb mirror highlight of seven fish catch

This cracking 28lb mirror was the highlight of a seven fish haul for Jake Whiting during a recent session on the Grenville syndicate in Cambridgeshire.

The local rod located a number of fish feeding on a fly hatch in an area of the lake off the back of the wind and wasting no time getting his rods out he promptly landed a fish of 22lb 13oz.

The majority of the fish were showing at range, so after a quiet night, Jake heavily baited a spot at 120yds range with a mix of chopped Mainline Hybrid boilies, hemp, grouts, sweetcorn and pellets.

“I thought the carp would be up for a feed so decided to give them a bit of food,” explained Jake.

“The move paid off and over the next couple of days I went on to land four more twenties to 28lb and couple of smaller fish. What a session! It was one I will never forget and it just shows that big beds of bait work and sometimes you just need to sit on your hands and wait for them to turn up,” he added.

Jake mounted pop-up hookbaits on Withy Pool rigs.

Best-ever roach for Andrew Childs of 2lb 3oz on bread

Andrew Childs used trotting tactics to catch this personal best roach of 2lb 3oz from the River Itchen.

The 65-year-old made the journey from his home in Essex to the Hampshire waterway and after walking along a stretch he’d fished in the past he settled on a ‘classic looking’ roach swim.

Offering a piece of breadflake on a size 12 hook and a 3lb hooklink in a crease next to the main flow he caught several chub to just over 4lb before connecting with the specimen redfin.

“It had rained a couple of days earlier and there was a tinge of colour in the water,” said Andrew. “The fish beat my previous best for the species of 2lb 1oz, which I caught from the same river two years ago.”

Grafham set to open for extra month

A huge day-ticket reservoir with record-breaking potential is to extend its predator fishing season for the first time ever.

Grafham Water in Cambridgeshire, is popular with predator anglers across the nation as it’s produced massive pike to just under the 40lb mark, perch well over 4lb and is arguably the best stillwater zander venue in the UK with the fishery record standing at 22lb.

The traditional predator fishing season used to finish in late December, but now venue chiefs are offering day-ticket anglers the chance to book 10 boats per-day throughout January.

This not only gives visitors the chance to fish for the resident pike, zander and perch when they are at their optimum weight, but also continues the on-going quest to fully explore the potential of large trout reservoirs for these species.

“Grafham is a very special venue and every year there are not only huge predators caught, but also stories of catches that don’t even get publicised and are even kept secret from myself and the fisheries staff,” said John Marshall, Fisheries manager for Anglian Water.

“We want to give day-ticket anglers the chance to fish for predators for as long as we possibly can because we are well aware of how much potential there is here.
“There’s no complicated procedures to get a place, as all you have to do is call us and book your place or just turn up on the day and take a boat out.”

The headlines in recent weeks have been dominated by huge pike caught from trout reservoirs including Somerset’s Chew Valley reservoir that has already produced two different specimens over 40lb and over 25 fish over the 30lb-mark.

Having fished many of the major UK trout waters, Angling Times columnist Paul Garner is one of many that will be booking their place on Grafham in January 2014.
He said: “I’ll definitaley be there because there is every chance that this vast expanse of water could throw up a real giant. The fact that it’s going to be open in January for the first time just adds to the excitement.”

To enquire about the pike fishing at Grafham Water call the lodge on: 01480 810531 or e-mail: fishing@anglianwater.co.uk
 

Ed Skillz joins Avid

Avid Carp are delighted to announce that renowned Dutch carper Ed Skillz has joined their growing team of Benelux consultants. Ed is an accomplished angler who brings a wealth of carp fishing knowledge to the team.

Avid’s brand manager Jon Jones was delighted to have signed Ed, commenting: "As well as being heavily involved with the development of new products for anglers on the Continent, Ed will also play a large part in the media and marketing of Avid Carp across Europe. Ed brings much more than just angling ability to the table. He’s an extremely skilled photographer, videographer and has a natural flare for directing and editing videos. We’ll certainly be utilising these skills and look forward to working with him on a number of interesting and exciting projects over the coming months. If you haven’t seen any of Ed’s work, head over to www.carpcrossing.com and prepare to be astounded. His work really is out of this world! I’m confident this is going to be the start of a long and productive relationship”.

Ed was also extremely pleased with his new position at Avid Carp commenting:
“Avid Carp is a fast-growing company and I cannot wait to help promote the brand across Europe. I’ve known a number of the team members for a while now and I know I’m going to love working with them. The company is like a large family and everybody is striving for the same end goal. This is very important to me.”

50lb Skimmer Nets At Wold Farm

Many anglers have labelled Wold Farm Fishery as a summer only bagging venue but this couldn’t be further from the truth. Yes like most venues winter sport is slower than it is in summer but there is one lake on the complex which is well worth a visit this winter.

The 25-peg Oaks Lake has been continually stocked with carp in the 2-6lb bracket over the autumn as the management reduce the numbers in other areas, and this has improved the fishery considerably. However, for consistent sport why not target the lakes huge stock of roach and skimmers. Nets to 50lb are easily achievable with skimmers averaging 2lb and roach to 1lb filling nets. Tactics are also simple.

Chopped worm and caster work well on here when fished in conjunction with the pole. Feed two lines one at around 10m and one in the margins and work between the two to keep bites coming. On milder days you can even fish maggot or caster over a little groundbait. For the carp typical commercial match tactics will work but now the water is clearing and cold, bread is working excellently. Use big punched discs on a hair rig to catch carp to double-figures. 

The 20-peg Moat Lake is also another good water in winter. This lake has plenty of small tench, crucians as well as silverfish around the 1lb mark. There are also the odd larger barbell to 8lb. Our advice is to head to the deeper pegs from 12-18 and target the fish with small baits such as maggot or pinkie or even bread to catch a nice mixed net of around 20-40lb.

Location: Wold Farm Fisheries, Airfield Road, Podington, Wellingborough, Northants, NN29 7JQ
Prices: £8 including landing net hire, £10 with keepnet added. Wold price is £20 for two rods or £40 for 24 hours. All fishing is by appointment only so please call the fishery before turning up.
Rules: Groundbait, pellets and boilies fishery brought only, barbless only, fishery’s own nets only
Contact: 07974000230 or 01933 316630 www.woldfarmfisheries.co.uk
Facilities: Toilets, tackle shop, snack bar, tuition available

New venue record at Angler's Paradise

The biggest carp ever caught at Anglers Paradise has been banked by Gary Western.

The Exmouth angler took the 43lb 4oz mirror after a frustrating first year on the Kracking Carp Lake at the Devon complex.

Gary, who had banked just two fish from the lake since spring, managed a 34lb 2oz common on the opening night of his three-day session, before hooking into the forty at 10pm on his second evening.

He said: “I still can’t believe I hold the current complex record –it was worth its weight in gold.”

Both fish fell to Mainline Cell boilies.

Farriers giant tempted from hole in weed for Lee Collings

An hour spent searching for spots with his marker rod proved worthwhile for Lee Collings who caught this 39lb 1oz common from the Carp Society’s Farriers Lake in the Cotswold.

With the venue fishing hard and very few carp being caught the midlands-based Century consultant decided to go back to the drawing board and try and find some new areas to target.

“The lake is still very weedy and not showing any signs of dying back yet so after an hour casting a bare lead about with my marker rod I found a small clear spot which looked quite promising next to a thick weed bed,” Lee told Angling Times.

“The area I was fishing is a passing point which the fish use to move to the different parts of the lake. It seems to have a window of opportunity of about 3-4 hours to catch then it seems to be it for the day.”

After baiting his new found spot with 30 broken Mainline Baits Cell boilies he cast a 15mm hookbait tipped with a piece of big buoyant plastic corn on a blow-back rig tied with  25lb ESP Strip Teaze attached to a size 6 ESP Curve Shanx hook.

“The take was really slow and didn’t even pull the line out of the clip and my Stow bobbin didn’t come off either. The fish had weeded me up solid but after walking backwards I managed to get it moving again.

“I knew it was a good fish and the fight seemed to last for an eternity – in reality it was probably no more than five minutes before it rolled in the net.”

Huge perch from river and canal

Commercial fisheries have become synonymous with big perch but natural venues have proved their specimen fish potential yet again with both rivers and canals producing massive predators.

Agony soon turned to ecstasy for Paul Elt when he slipped the net under a pristine 4lb 4oz perch during a session on a tributary of the River Ouse.

After his hook pulled out of what he was convinced was a 4lb-plus fish earlier on in his stint, Paul, who comes from Cambridgeshire, didn’t let his misfortune get the better of him and half an hour later he netted one of the biggest river perch of 2013.

The Drennan and Dynamite Baits-backed all-rounder started his day by catching some small roach livebaits which he offered on a simple paternoster rig incorporating a size 4 Drennan Super Specialist hook.

“After a hectic morning with countless pike and a 1lb 12oz perch to show for my efforts I then hooked a huge fish which rolled on the surface and then unfortunately came off,” said Paul.

“I slumped down in my chair and was completely and utterly gutted because I could clearly see it was well over the 4lb mark.

“But I was determined to persevere because I thought that the fish would still be on the hunt for its missing meal and I was right.”

Specimen all-rounder Dan Sales adopted a mobile approach on the Grand Union Canal and banked no less than 14 perch all over the 2lb-mark with the biggest fish weighing 3lb.

The Fox-backed rod was fishing with his friend Gavin Mooney and the duo walked over 4 miles of the waterway armed with ‘jigging’ outfits and braided mainlines.
They targeted areas above and below lock gates with Gavin banking a new personal best weighing 2lb 10oz and both anglers used Fox Warrior Mini Fry jigs.

Angling Trust unveils new website

Planning your next fishing trip has just become a whole lot easier thanks to a new website which has been launched by the Angling Trust.

Fishinginfo.co.uk combines data and resources from The Met Office, The Environment Agency, The Post Office and the Angling Trust to give anglers a mobile-ready, online tool which allows anglers to find a venue as well as view fishery contact information, water levels, weather data and even buy a rod licence to fish it. The site, which is viewable on PCs smartphones and tablets, also allows you to locate tackle shops, coaches, clubs and charter boats all over the UK making it easier when travelling to new parts of the country. Users can save their favourite venues interactively on the site to view at any time and there is also a full map, including an Ordance Survey option to make finding new venues easy.

Paul Sharman, Head of communications at the Trust believes the new tool will help anglers make decisions more readily when it comes to deciding on a venue: “It is a great resource for anglers in that it pools together all the data which was only previously available on separate websites and makes it far simpler for anglers to prepare for a day’s fishing at their favourite venue or find a new water nearby.”
Currently the website, which was developed by IT specialists, Shoothill, is more suited to freshwater anglers but the Trust are planning a second version of the site which will include saltwater venues. The site may also be launched as an app available for most smartphones in the near future.

Visit the site at: www.fishinginfo.co.uk

**FISHINGINFO.CO.UK FEATURES**
• Find every EA river gauge to view the current water levels
• Thousands of stillwaters, rivers and canal fisheries in your area or elsewhere
• Provides either a road map or google satellite view of the venue you are viewing to help you pick a swim
• View information for your chosen venue including permit prices, fish stocks and telephone numbers
• Add your own venue on the map, if it does not appear on the site
• Buy a rod licence

Trio of twenties and two personal bests from Berkshire stillwater

A change of swims paid off for Paul Codman who went on to land three carp, including two new personal bests, during a recent session on a Berkshire stillwater.

After a blank first night and spotting a fish show in another part of the 10-acre lake, the Hampshire-based rod decided to up sticks and move.

He said: “I’d settled by lunchtime and had my rods positioned where I’d seen the fish top. At 4pm one of my indicators let out a few bleeps and I struck in to a 22lb 14oz common. The  next morning I landed fish of 26lb 12oz and 24lb 8oz.”

Paul used a simple pop-up tiger nut rig with 15lb fluorocarbon mainline.

Following the fizz nets Kev Hewitt a 31lb mirror from Milton Abbas

A guest session on the incredible Milton Abbas syndicate in Dorset produced this 31lb 14oz mirror for Kev Hewitt.

The Cotswold Angling manager had seen fish fizzing at the opposite end of the lake to where he was set up so he wasted no time taking a single rod up to the swim and casting out a single CC Moore 15mm Equinox cork ball pop-up 50yds to where he’d seen the activity.

He said: “Less than two hours later I had a stunning 31lb 14oz linear in the bottom of my net. I also managed to land a smaller mirror of 17lb during the 48 hour session.”
Kev beat his prize with a hinged-stiff rig constructed with seven inches of 25lb ESP Strip Teaze and an ESP ready tied chod rig.

RiverFest expands

Keen to strike while the iron is hot, Angling Trust RiverFest creator Dave Harrell is already planning the 2014 event and is appealing for interested parties to come forward and put their local waterways into the melting pot for next summer’s qualifiers.

Basking in the glow of what was unanimously voted a hit, Dave has exclusively revealed to Angling Times that a number of new rivers will host eliminators in 2014 including the River Don, Warwickshire Avon and River Weaver as well as the likes of the Thames that hosted matches this year being lined up for another heat elsewhere on its length.

However, nothing has been finalised and Dave is all ears to any venue as he strives to achieve the right demographic to allow as many anglers around the UK as possible to take part.

“The event surpassed even my expectations so I want to get next year’s competition underway and that means appealing to match organisers and clubs that control rivers to put their waters forward,” Dave explained. “While I was happy with most of the venues used in 2013 there are some I’d like to replace simply to provide anglers with better fishing and to spread the matches around a bit more. I’ve already had enquiries but with so many rivers to consider I think we can make next year’s River Fest brilliant.”

Dave is also hoping to secure more sponsorship for the final, upping the prize for the winner from an already substantial £10,000 and putting the match on a par with Fish O’Mania and Maver Match This in terms of money on offer.

 “I’m sure we can secure more sponsorship as RiverFest goes from strength to strength but from talking to a lot of the finalists last weekend, they were more than happy to see river fishing get the same big match treatment that commercial carp waters get. The cash was secondary really.”

**Any organisations or water owners interested in running a qualifier on their stretch of river should email: info@daveharrellangling.com**