Study concludes fish don't feel pain

A NEW report by a team of top scientists from around the world has concluded once and for all that fish do not feel pain.

The news – which deals a killer blow to the claims that angling is cruel – comes following work by US professor Jim Rose and a team of researchers from Canada, Australia and Germany.

The study, which has been published in the scientific journal ‘Fish and Fisheries’, concludes that fish simply don’t have the brain facility, or the full complement of ‘sensory receptors’, for feeling pain.

Rose said that, although fish are equipped to quickly respond to ‘threatening stimulus’, such as the prick from a sharp hook, through their nervous system, they are not equipped to consciously feel pain and don’t remember the experience.

He wrote “Studies of catch and release angling have consistently demonstrated the resumption of normal activity immediately or within hours of release, with many instances of a fish being re-caught within minutes.”Rose added that it was ‘impossible to assume that fish possess a human like capacity for pain.’

The professor first came up with his conclusions 10 years ago, but then other scientists did a series of experiments using needles on fish to inflict what they thought was pain and announced that the fish did feel it.

Rose and his team say such claims are woefully lacking in adequate supporting evidence. “Research literature that alleges to show pain in fishes has failed to do so,” he concluded.

The news has been roundly welcomed by the fishing fraternity. Angling Trust boss Mark Lloyd said: “The debate about fish feeling pain has always been a red herring.  We’ve all observed fish that we’ve put back and seen how quickly they start behaving normally again.  Anglers care passionately about the protection of fish stocks and the welfare of fish and we do more than any other group to protect and improve freshwater and marine environments. Modern fishing tackle and techniques mean that fish which are released have an excellent survival rate and if fish are to be eaten, then angling is by far the most sustainable way of catching them. The vast majority of the public support angling and I hope that this research will increase that support.” 


Angler bags 120lb of carp off the surface

Surface fishing in the winter sounds like pure madness but Roger Reade proved it should never been dismissed when he used the unseasonal tactic for a 119lb catch during a session at Somerset’s Bullock Farm.

The Solihull-based rod was enjoying a relaxing break at the complex and decided to go against the grain by using bread on the top while targeting the North Pool.

It was a bold move that soon paid dividends, with fish to 8lb falling throughout the day.
For more details on the fishery visit www.bullockfarm.co.uk


Big cash prize up for grabs in Irish festival

The 25th Irish Winter Shore Angling Festival is set to start next week and the overall winner is set to bag a cool €1,000 cash prize.

Hundreds of anglers are expected to descend upon the beaches of County Wexford between January 24 and 26 to target the huge variety of species and try to get their hands on the big money bounty.

Tickets costing €150 are still available and you can secure your spot by emailing warrendoyle@iol.ie


Single hookbait fools 28lb 2oz Walthamstow carp

A single hookbait produced the goods for Justin Holness who landed this 28lb 2oz mirror during a day session on Walthamstow Reservoir Number 3.

The Essex-based rod cast a Nash Monster Squid bottom bait tipped with a fluorescent artificial maggot towards an island at 70 yards range.

He said: “This was my only fish of the season but I was really chuffed any it was the perfect way to end 2012.”


Win tickets to the East Anglian Game Fair

The 10th East Anglian Game & Country Fair is set to go ahead this year and we’ve got £300 worth of tickets to give away!

A whole host of outdoor activities are set to be displayed at the Norfolk Showground on April 27 and 28, with the Salmon and Trout Association helping game anglers improve their skills.

To celebrate the event’s anniversary, we are giving you the chance to get your hands on a family permit that will admit two adults and three children .

To be in with a chance of winning a ticket, write to Angling Times editorial, Media House, Lynchwood, Peterborough, PE2 6EA. Winners will be drawn on January 25.


Anglers smashes barbel best three times in Derwent match

Keen river angler Steve Stone had several reasons to smile after the latest event on the River Derwent as he took the win and also smashed his barbel personal best three times during the match!

The Earl of Harrington’s AC member was competing in the clubs W Warner contest and after drawing a renowned hotspot he set up a straight lead and used a lobworm hookbait presented tight to a sunken tree.

It didn’t take long for the action to start with a 9lb 2oz specimen soon resting in the net and things got even better shortly afterwards when he landed his first ever double in the form of a 10lb 6oz fish.

He completed the hatrick late in the day when a tentative knock ended with a 13lb

barbel coming to the bank after a tense battle.
For more details on the club visit www.theearlofharringtonsac.co.uk


New Year's Eve barbel brace

TOP all-rounder James Crameri celebrated New Year’s Eve in the best possible fashion by banking a stunning 34lb 1oz barbel brace.

After shunning the pull of the local pub in favour of a session on an undisclosed Midlands river, the 42-year-old took fish weighing 16lb 10oz and 17lb 7oz in successive casts.

Large chunks of luncheon meat presented on a simple leger rig in floodwater conditions did the business for James who, following the capture, becomes the first angler to bank 17lb-plus barbel from four different rivers, the other three having been taken from the rivers Great Ouse, Wensum and Ivel.

He said: “I got there at lunchtime and spent the afternoon fishing a number of swims, trying to locate where the barbel might be holed up in the high-water conditions. With nothing to show for my efforts and dusk approaching, I set up in a spot offering an area of slack water immediately in front and dropped my rig out. Within 10 minutes I had a bite and landed a small barbel of about 3lb.

“A quarter of an hour later the rod tip wrenched round and I was into a very powerful fish, which gave me a wonderful scrap. It was an extremely long and lean fish and I was surprised when it went 17lb 7oz on the scales – I weighed it three times just to be sure!”

At that point, James, from Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk, would have been more than satisfied with his night’s work. However, within the hour he once again found himself doing battle with another big barbel.

“I had to bully the fish quite a lot to keep it out of bankside bushes and reeds, and I could feel the line pinging off submerged stems and branches. Everything held firm and within five minutes it was in the net, where I could see it was another heavyweight. I was delighted when the needle on the scales went round to 16lb 10oz - it was the perfect way to end the year!” added James, who beat both his fish using 12lb mainline, a 15lb braided hooklink and a size 8 hook.



Club lake produces 32lb 6oz mirror

BIGGLESWADE & Hitchin AA bailiff, Pete Housden enjoyed a superb post-Christmas session on the club’s Swan Lake at Sandy in Bedfordshire when he landed this fine 32lb 2oz mirror.

Having already taken two 20lb-plus fish from the venue during December, specialist carper, Housden landed the fish using an Innovate Baits Steamie boilie. As a former trout fishery, Swan Lake has become popular amongst specimen anglers, containing some huge pike as well as numerous carp over 30lb.

The venue is available to fish to all B&HAA members costing £60 a year for a senior ticket, although anyone wishing to night fish will have to obtain a separate permit from the club.


Win a day with Bob Nudd

Anglers are being given the chance to enter a competition that will see the winner enjoy a day’s tuition with a four times world champion.

Browning’s Bob Nudd has offered his services to help raise funds for the Big Bash, which passes on all funds to Breast Cancer UK.

Each entry costs £5 and the applicant picked from the hat will gain a session of coaching at Cambridgeshire’s Decoy Lakes with the maestro.
To enter visit www.thebigbash.co.uk


Ted Bryan banks winter tench brace

Former Drennan Cup winner Ted Bryan took the unusual step of fishing for tench in the middle of winter and it proved to be a worthwhile session when he netted this 9lb 12oz specimen from a southern stillwater.

The Sydenham, London, based ace turned his attentions to tench in his quest for an elusive specimen and fed several large balls of NashBait Fish Frenzy Monster Crab and Shellfish groundbait laced with freebies into a deep spot close to an island before three rods baited with a variety of offerings were presented over the top.

A long lull in sport occurred before the barren spell was broken when a 7lb 12oz tench fell for a 10mm Amber Strawberry pop-up.

The highlight of the outing came shortly afterwards though, with the big male fish falling for the same approach.

“I knew it was going to be hard but the mild temperatures gave me confidence I would succeed. Using three rods with different baits definitely increased my chances of success,” explained Ted, who used 10lb mainline and a size 10 hook.


Fake maggots fool 32lb 12oz mirror

STEWART Moss took advantage of the unseasonably mild weather over the festive period to land this 32lb 12oz mirror from an Oxfordshire gravel pit.

The Drennan International employee fooled the darkly-coloured specimen with eight artificial maggots threaded on to a short three inch ESP Soft Ghost Fluorocarbon hooklink and a size 8 Raptor hook.

This was offered in conjunction with an inline lead over a lightly spodded area of maggots, corn and maples.

He said: “I caught the fish early in the morning on Christmas Eve and it was the only bite I had over two different 24 hour trips. Despite the settled mild conditions and favourable south westerly winds the carp seemed very inactive, possibly because of the big rise in the lake water levels due to flooding.”


Oxfordshire pit produces 32lb 12oz mirror

Stewart Moss took advantage of the unseasonably mild weather over the festive period to land this 32lb 12oz mirror from an Oxfordshire gravel pit.

The Drennan International employee fooled the darkly-coloured specimen with eight artificial maggots threaded on to a short three inch ESP Soft Ghost Fluorocarbon hooklink and a size 8 Raptor hook. This was offered in conjunction with an inline lead over a lightly spodded area of maggots, corn and maples.

He said: “I caught the fish early in the morning and it was the only bite I had over two different 24 hour trips."


Ross Lawson nets 2lb 1oz Hants Avon roach

Fishing light can be the difference between success and failure as Ross Lawson found out when he took this 2lb 1oz roach from the Hampshire Avon.

The Courtmoor, Hants, based rod found the London AA stretch of the waterway with plenty of flow and fining down after recent floods and decided to set up a simple stickfloat rig with maggot on the hook.

Shortly after first wetting a line the float shot under and it was soon guided over the waiting landing net.

“I used 0.14mm mainline and an 0.09mm hooklink to a size 18 hook – fishing light definitely helps tempt big fish when they are in a cagey mood,” explained Ross.

 


British Barbel Angling Champs cancelled

Plans to host the first British Barbel Angling Championships lie in tatters after officials revealed that this year’s event has been cancelled.

An ambitious blueprint to host the single species tournament on a number of the country’s most popular rivers had been widely welcomed by anglers but officials have now abandoned the competition, sighting ‘unforeseen circumstances’ as their reason.

A statement released by the organisers said: “Due to personal issues that have arisen we're unable to facilitate this event.  We hope we can run this event and make it a great success in the future but at this point we’re unable to commit to something of this magnitude.”


Thirties galore at Orchid Lakes

OXFORDSHIRE’S Orchid Lake switched on in style over the Christmas break and Lee Barter was among the anglers to capitalise.

The Bristol rod netted two thirties and an upper double during a 24-hour session between Christmas and New Year.

Fishing the Pads swim on the 18-acre day-ticket water, Lee used homemade pineapple pop-ups to catch a fish known as Peaches at 32lb 9oz and Thomo at 32lb 8oz. His tally was completed with an 18lb 4oz common.

The 31-year-old electrician, who was on his first visit to the venue, said: “I was doubled up with my mate Sean Fehicy, and having arrived at about 9am we had six fish between us in the first four hours. Sean had a 26lb 4oz mirror, a 20lb 8oz mirror and a smaller one of about 14lb.

“The lake was pretty busy and it was clearly moving the fish about. I fished single hookbaits on chod rigs in open water and both the thirties put up really hard fights.”

Elsewhere on the venue Danny Coltman took one of the lake’s oldest warriors from the RH Snag swim in the shape of a specimen called Samson at 30lb 8oz.

The Derbyshire angler, who also banked an 18lb mirror, targeted a bar at 40 yards’ range during his two-night stay and fished CC Moore’s Northern Specials pop-ups on eight-inch-long KD rigs.




One session, two personal bests

KEVIN Hewitt proved the pulling power of lobworms for big perch after smashing his personal best twice in the same session with fish of 3lb 5oz and 2lb 13oz.

Fishing off the dam wall at Coate Water Country Park in Swindon the Cotswold Angling manager broke his pb of 2lb 5oz for the first time when he offered a worm in conjunction with a feeder filled with chopped freebies.

But he left the best until last as he freelined a hookbait on a size 7 hook to bank his first perch over the 3lb barrier.

“I was just packing my rods away when I saw my line pull tight and I struck into-the fish-of-a-lifetime,” said Kevin.


Forsdyke bags big pay day at Gold Valley

The highly anticipated Rushmoor League at Gold Valley got underway this week and Colin Forsdyke got off to a great start by pocketing £1,100 for taking individual victory on the day with 115lb 6oz.

After drawing peg 99 on Middle Lake, the Garbolino Banstead man used the bomb and pellet and was soon getting amongst the vast stocks of carp at the Hampshire complex, with the best going 12lb.

Runner-up Zak Brown came close to rewriting the script but fell just short of taking the big cash windfall with a 110lb 14oz haul from peg 85 on the same water.


Prolific cod sport continues

THE prolific cod sport off the south coast has continued with Rupert Harris catching this 33lb 2oz specimen.

After taking a spot aboard the Fair Chance charter boat running out of Dungeness, Kent, the keen sea angler was taken to a deep mark two miles offshore from the Kerton Road hotspot.

In the opening stages his tip refused to budge, but it eventually wrapped round when the large specimen – which is the biggest taken on the vessel in over 12-months – fell for a cuttlefish hookbait.

To book a trip on the Fair Chance call 01797 363544.


Single hookbait scores for 30lb common

Rory Paddle’s ‘delicate and cautious’ approach paid off once more as he banked his third thirty in a fortnight from his local syndicate venue.

The 28-year-old aviation broker managed a 20lb 3oz mirror and this pristine 30lb common on a session in which he had the water to himself.

He explained: “I arrived early for a day session and because the lake had been frozen most of the week I was fortunate enough to have the whole place to myself.

“After watching three swims in particular I spotted a huge circle of fizzers popping up right opposite the swim I had parked my barrow in.

“I quickly stripped down my gear and got a rod set up with a single Mainline Cell hookbait. I did not want to give the fish free-offerings if they were already feeding, especially as nobody had been down all week, so I plopped my rig in the centre of the channel where I had seen the fish, about eight yards out.

“I left the line slack and didn’t even bother setting up alarms or having a second rod — I just wanted the fish to be completely undisturbed.

“About an hour and a half later after many a heavy rain shower my Baitrunner started to turn with a slow, short take.

“I lifted the rod into the fish and thankfully it hadn’t reached the sanctuary of the dense reed beds on the far margin. After kitting to the right the fish soon tired and I managed to slip her into the net.

“It was a real dinner plate of a specimen common without a mark on her, which pulled round the scales to exactly 30lb.”

Two hours later the 20lb mirror rounded off a top bit of daytime winter action.

“It was another fantastic day during which my delicate and cautious approach seemed to pay off,” said Rory.

The winning rig featured a 1.5oz semi-fixed lead with six inches of Sufix Camfusion and a size-12 Korda Kurve Shank B hook.


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Big perch on boosted prawns

THIS 3lb perch was the highlight of an eight fish haul for Andy Loble during a short session on a southern stillwater.

The West Sussex-based all-rounder’s winning tactics involved a king prawn hookbait soaked in CC Moores Shrimp Extract over a bed of groundbait laced with chopped worms, prawns and red maggots.

“This is the first season I’ve targeted perch and I’m already addicted to them,” said Andy.

“I’ve only been able to fish for three hours at a time, but it doesn’t seem to have affected my catch rate - on this particular day I even missed six bites because I couldn’t keep up with the pace of the action.”