Carp which avoided capture for two years finally landed at 36lb 2oz

THIS classic-looking carp evaded capture for almost two years before providing Mark Parish with a new British personal best.

The 36lb 2oz mirror came from Pingles Pool in Cambridgeshire during an overnight session for the Lincolnshire rod.

It was last caught in March 2011 and its previous visit to the bank before that was in 2009.
Service manager Mark said: “It was a brilliant fish, a great fight and very exciting. My knees were shaking and I was absolutely chuffed to bits when I got it on the mat.”

The 41-year-old, whose birthday fell just days after this capture, cast a hinged Chod rig featuring a Nash Fang Twister hook to the base of a gravel bar at about 80 yards’ range. This was baited with a Cambridge Carp Baits Red Berry pop-up surrounded by about 150 freebies.

“It was my first session of the year and was absolutely freezing during the night,” said Mark.
“At about 6am I had one bleep on the Delkim and watched the bobbin lift then drop back before I got a one-toner.

“I knew straight away I was connected to a decent fish but it took me about 20 minutes to land after going through two trees in the margins.”

He added: “I had 22 fish from Pingles Pool last year and was top rod, and had set myself a target of catching a 30lb common. I had a 26lb common on December 30 but although I didn’t quite achieve that goal this fish more than made up for it.”


Trio of thirties top incredible winter session

CHRIS Ramping’s perseverance at Emperor Lakes in Devon was finally rewarded with a fish haul which included three thirties to 37lb 3oz.

The local lifeguard decided to fish a swim on the complex’s Syndicate Lake which commanded a lot of water including a deep area where he suspected some of the carp would be held up.

He said: “My current favourite bait is the Animal Orange from ACE Baits which has served me well so far this winter, so I was confident that if the fish were feeding then I was in with a good chance of catching.”

Within an hour of casting out a couple of pop-up rigs he started getting liners and 60 minutes later his alarm signalled a steady take.

“After a short tussle I had my first carp in the net at 36lb 12oz. I had no further indications throughout the night, but things got much more manic the next morning…. In a short space of time I netted fish of 33lb 13oz, 27lb 8oz, 27lb 4oz and then the biggest fish of the trip at 37lb 3oz.

Three thirties and two twenties in a 48 hour session is a fantastic result in anyone’s book and I was especially pleased to land such stunning fish.”

**From April the Syndicate Lake will be run on a day-ticket basis. Bookings are now being taken on 07814 060147 or visit: www.emperorlakes.co.uk**



Prebaiting pays off with 31lb common

THIS stunning 31lb common was the best of a brace of carp caught by Jordan Dicks during a session on the Carp Society’s Farriers Lake in the Cotswolds.

The fish, along with a smaller common of 27lb, was caught from a deep silty hole at around 60 yards’ range which the manager of Bristol Angling Centre had been pre-baiting all winter.

The spot was tightly baited with 2kg of Nash Monster Squid Purple boilies and he then cast all three rods over the top.

“I’ve been baiting the spot with around 8-10kg boilies every throughout the winter,” said the 25-year-old.

“The area is slightly deeper than the rest of the lake and by keeping the bait going in I think it helps to keep the fish feeding. These were the only two carp caught from the lake while I was there so the effort is definitely paying off. I think a lot of people make the mistake of stopping putting the bait in as soon as the weather turns cold. When you do this the fish slow down and can become very hard to catch” he added.

His winning setup consisted of a snowman presentation with a bottom bait and a 10mm pop-up mounted on a Nash Fang X hook and a Missing Link hooklink.


Holgan Farm to stage £5k festival

Over £5,000 in prize money is set to be paid out during a summer festival at Holgan Farm.

The Pembrokeshire complex is owned by former world champion Ian Heaps and he has revealed plans to host an eight day extravaganza between June 23 and 30.

Entrants will start with two days pleasure fishing to get to grips with the waters, before taking part in a five-day tournament followed by the 15 man grand finale.

Places are still available, with those getting to the last stage needing to record a lake win during the week. To book your spot call 07796 517586.


Northern Angling Show line-up revealed

THE line-up of expert anglers set to appear at next month’s Northern Angling Show has been announced.

Numerous top names from carp, match and specimen angling will be on hand to offer advice at the show, including the likes of Olympian and specimen angler Dean Macey, 2012 World Champion Sean Ashby, carp fishing’s Derek ‘The Don’ Richie as well as TV stars Matt Hayes and Ali Hamidi.

The show, which is expected to attract over 10,000 visitors, is to be held on March 23-24 at EventCity in Manchester. Tickets are £10a day or £15 for the weekend. For more details visit: www.northernanglingshow.co.uk


Fish O'Mania entries hit all time high

The organisers of Fish O’Mania have revealed that a record amount of people applied for tickets for this years contest.

Over 1,100 people put in for places for what is set to be the 20th anniversary of the big money battle, with individual ticket entries also hitting record levels.

A spokesperson for the event said: “It is going from strength to strength and we are delighted to see more apply for tickets this year.”

For the full story, pick up a copy of this week's Angling Times, on the shelves from Tuesday February 18.


Packington Somers gets major stocking boost

A top commercial fishery has taken big steps to provide its customers with more action by stocking over 6,000 F1 carp.

Warwickshire’s Packington Somers has become a firm favourite with match and pleasure rods alike in recent years and bosses have moved to keep visitors happy, with several waters including Molands, Little Gearys, Anniversaries and Willow receiving a welcome boost.

For more details on the complex visit www.packingtonestate.net


Maggot and boilie combo scores for massive winter hit

MARK Jenkinson had a winter session to remember at in-from Cromwell Lake with 11 fish to 39lb 4oz.

The Derby-based rod had three twenties and another thirty, at 34lb 1oz, in addition to the big mirror during a 72-hour stay.

The 41-year-old joint owner of Rhinobaits combined his firm’s Four Season Mix boilies with maggots to catch consistently - despite reeling in on one night to have a social with friends.

“To have an 11-fish hit in winter is a real red-letter day — it’s phenomenal,” said Mark.

He added: “I arrived at 3pm on Monday afternoon but we had 50mph winds so I couldn’t get any bait out until 12.30am when I Spombed out about a kilo of boilies and a gallon of maggots.

“I then topped up with about three Spombs of the mix each morning.

“All the bites were fairly gentle, with just a few beeps on the alarms, but a couple of the smaller commons were hooked just on the outside of the mouth so they were really getting down among the bait.

“The biggest mirror was a known fish called Hardy but I don’t think the 34 is known.”
Mark’s rigs featured size-nine ESP Raptor-Shanx hooks and 2.5oz leads, and were cast to a plateau at 45yds range.

“I haven’t fished Cromwell for about a year but it’s a lovely lake and really well run. I set myself a target at the start of last April to catch 10 thirties and two forties in the following 12 months. I’ve now managed 11 thirties and one forty so I just need one more.”

Mark’s tally was completed with commons of 13lb, 16lb, 14lb and another 13-pounder, plus mirrors of 17lb and 17lb 12oz.


In

Peck does it again - another fifty for Darrell

Darrell Peck has banked the biggest fish in southern big-fish water, Rockford.

After banking his first fifty from the venue last November, Darrell set his sights on a fish that he’d photographed for Matt Jackson, Single Scale.

The huge mirror, which is one of the very biggest in the UK, slammed the scales to 57lb on that occasion, and many thought that it was on its way to 60lb.
 
Darrell had a short break during the worst of the winter weather, before resuming his quest for the big ’un, which finally succumbed to his long-range tactics last Thursday morning. The lake’s largest resident, which weighed 57lb 4oz, came as part of a six fish catch, which amazingly also included fish of 26lb, 26lb, 33lb, 38b, 40lb 4oz (a lake-record common). This means that Darrell has now caught a twenty, a thirty, a forty and a fifty in one session on two separate occasions from Rockford!
 
The six fish fell to Darrell’s hinged stiff rigs, fished at over 175 yards, onto clean ground where the fish have been holding up for some time. He baited heavily with Mainline’s Hybrid bait, which will be available later this year.


Thornton bags Heronbrook festival glory

The latest big money event at Staffordshire’s Heronbrook Fisheries came to a conclusion with top match angler Lee Thornton walking away with the £500 prize.

After four rounds of action in the individual winter league, the Middy-backed rod racked up an impressive nine point total and sealed the glory in the final match of the series with a 48lb 10oz section win from peg 25 on Meadow Pool.

Second place overall went to Frank Cooke who pocketed £400, while Tony Shelley completed the frame to net £300.


Newcomers smash bests with 30lb-plus pike

DESPITE only taking up predator fishing a few months ago, Ryan Burrows has already caught a fish any seasoned specimen hunter would be proud of – this 30lb pike from Esthwaite Water in the Lake District.

The 21-year-old from Bowness, Cumbria certainly had beginners luck on his side when, targeting an area near the car park on the vast 280-acre venue, he hooked in to the impressive predator during a short evening session.

Using a legered mackerel head on a pair of semi-barbless trebles in around 6ft of water it took Ryan over 20 minutes to land ‘the fish of a lifetime.’

“I just cannot put this catch into words,” he told Angling Times. “Everyone has been congratulating me - except my boss who helped get me back into the sport as his biggest pike is only 28lb so he wasn’t too pleased!”

Another angler to break the magical 30lb-barrier this week was Dave Newman.  The 33-year-old caught his first 20lb-plus pike just before Christmas after four years of trying, and it didn’t take him long to go one better with this superb 30lb 14oz personal best from an undisclosed Lincolnshire gravel pit.

After moving swims to one in a secluded corner where a coarse angler had been fishing for silverfish with maggots the pike grabbed his float legered smelt deadbait while he slowly twitched it in.

“I knew that this lake held a 30lb-plus fish but I couldn’t believe it when I caught her on only my second visit,” he said. “My arms were aching playing it because I’d just completed a Guinness World Record for the World Darts Singles Marathon with my mate at our local pub. It was to raise money for Cancer Research and we managed 48 hours and 1 minute,” add Dave, who mounted his bait on a pair of size 6 trebles on a strong wire trace and an 18lb mainline.



In

Is this the next British record carp?

STEPHEN Johnson has become one of the few anglers in the country who can boast of landing a carp over the magical 60lb-barrier after he caught this 60lb 4oz mirror from The Avenue in Shropshire.

The colossal specimen came on the second morning of what was only the 42-year-old’s third session on the 10-acre venue.

With strong winds forecast, Stephen decided to set up in a sheltered area of the lake and cast all three rods just short of a gravel bar which runs down the centre of the lake at around 55yds range.

He had baited the area with a mixture of live and dead maggots and sweetcorn and offered a large bunch of hair-rigged maggots over the top on combi-rigs tied with Kryston Supa Nova and Korda Mouthtrap and size 6 Fox Arma Point hooks.

Fish of 26lb 9oz and 21lb 8oz graced his net during the first day before receiving the all-important bite at 9.20am the following morning.

“I was actually about to reel in and recast just before I had the take as my rigs had been out all night and I hadn’t had any indications,” he told Angling Times. “I knew as I lifted in to it that it was one of the lake’s bigger residents and then once I got it around 10yds from the bank I recognised it as the mirror known as Jona. The fish was last caught in October 2012 at 55lb 8oz so I knew that it would be close to 60lb.

“Everyone gathered round to help with the weighing and I had to stand back and just tried to take it all in. I couldn’t believe it when the scales settled on 60lb 4oz and I still don’t think it has sunk in,” he added.

Jona has for a long time been tipped as a potential fish which could break the existing British carp record of 67lb 14oz.


Minimal feed fools 23lb common in freezing conditions

STU Morgan caught this 23lb 12oz common during a 24 hour session on a partly-frozen local club water.The Hampshire-based rod had caught three twenties over his last couple of trips to the venue and with nothing showing when he arrived he headed back to swim where he’d enjoyed his recent success.

“My hands felt like ice blocks holding the fish. It went 23lb 12oz on the scales and meant I kept my good run going. The fact the lake was half frozen made the capture all the more sweet.”

His winning presentation consisted of a DM Baits TD11 boilie with a small PVA bag of pellets on a size 5 Fox Arma Point SSC hook and a 25lb Coretex hooklink.


44lb roach catch wins Messingham Sands match

Bites have been hard to come by at many fisheries but not at Messingham Sands where Lee Harrison took 44lb of roach to win the latest match.

The Maver rod drew on the North Day Ticket Lake at the Scunthorpe venue in the silverfish open event and used maggot on the short pole line to take samples to 1lb at regular intervals.

Grimsby’s Jamie Green was on the same water and secured second place with 31lb 5oz.
For more details on the fishery visit www.messinghamsands.co.uk


Roach hotspot produces huge 3lb specimen

A decision to brave heavy rain and driving winds proved more than worthwhile for Scott Ashworth when he netted this 3lb roach from Lochnaw Loch.

The fishery boss pitched up on a renowned hotspot at the Scottish silverfish haven and rigged up a simple helicopter feeder rig with a worm and maggot cocktail hookbait.

“The conditions were horrendous but when fish like this could be your reward it is worth taking a chance and battling against the elements,” explained Scott, who tempted the fish by fishing close to a large weedbed 50 yards out.

 


Slade Reservoir produces 20lb plus pike

A quick cast towards the end of a friend’s keepnet where a big pike had been spotted several times ended with Dan Spearman netting this personal best 20lb 1oz specimen from Slade Reservoir.

The Devon-based ace targeted his local venue with lures in search of a large predator but failed to tempt a single take in the early stages before a large fish was seen swirling close to a friend’s net which was full of silverfish.

Moments after setting the trap the pike reappeared and snapped up the artificial bait before trying its best to shed the hooks.

“It was a tough day but a fish like this makes all the waiting worthwhile. It was my first double figure pike and beat my previous best by 12lb,” explained Dan.


River Trent to host summer festival

A three-day festival is set to be staged on one of the most iconic match fishing waterways in the country this summer.

The River Trent has seen countless big events over the years and between July 26 and 28 this year it will host the Matrix Festival.

Top tackle prizes and cash pay-outs will be handed out to the winners, with tickets to enter costing £150 all in.

For more details or to book your spot call Alan Henry on 07712 620385.


Red hot winter run continues for Jonny Mac

JON McAllister has continued his impressive winter form on the daunting Burghfield pit with his biggest fish from the venue so far.

The Wychwood consultant took mirrors of 28lb 2oz and 39lb 10oz on the same morning of a midweek session.

Jon has now caught carp from the 90-acre Berkshire water in each of the winter months since beginning his cold-water campaign in October.

He even managed to land a 24lb carp at 150 yards’ range through a small hole in the ice back in December.

He told Angling Times: “I’m a regular winter keenie and nothing puts me off.
“I’ve been targeting an area of open water and trickling in small amounts Mainline Cell on a regular basis.

“I’ve set my stall out to fish this area through the winter and have set myself a target of catching in every month up until March, when I’m convinced the big common will come out.

“On this occasion I arrived on the Monday and had both these fish on the Wednesday morning. A couple of days later the whole place was covered in snow.”

Jon, who fished multi rigs featuring a size-four Atomic Chodda hook tied to Atomic Jel-E-Wyre, added: “Back on December 12 I had a 24lb mirror from under the ice and it was honestly one of the most noteworthy fish I’ve ever caught.

“People talk about snow carp, but whenever I get frozen in I always stay at the lake and leave my rods in because I know that at some point a carp will pick up the bait.

“I was fishing at 150 yards but I managed to keep a small hole in the ice in the margins and when I got the take I kept pumping the rod backwards and forwards low to the bank so there wasn’t a big angle between the line and the ice.

“I put my torch on and saw this ghostly shape drifting under the ice – it was a really bizarre sight.”


Debutant walks to win at Blundells Fishery

A debut session on a commercial fishery that is regularly visited by some of the country’s top anglers could be a daunting prospect but Tom Barlow brushed aside those concerns to bag 52lb 10oz and win his first match at Blundells Fishery.

After drawing peg 7 on the Trio Pool at the Warrington complex, the Maver NW rod used pellet at 14m for carp and F1s to 2lb at regular intervals.

Venue regular John Carroll was next best with 36lb 14oz while former Fish O’Mania finalist Kieron Rich was third with 31lb.