Run of specimen perch continues

THE glut of huge winter perch has continued this week, with anglers celebrating the capture of 4lb-plus specimens from rivers, reservoirs and carp waters alike.

Sam Edmonds capped a remarkable few months in his budding fishing career by landing a new personal best of 4lb 12oz. The 18-year-old lure angling enthusiast, from Ware in Hertfordshire, adopted his favoured roving approach on a stretch of his local River Lea with his father and regular angling companion Gary.

After starting their session just before lunchtime, Sam landed a perch of 3lb 7oz in the first spot the pair tried, with Gary adding several smaller fish around 2lb. The action dried up for a while shortly after, but it wasn’t too long before Sam hit the jackpot, as Gary explained.

“We started leapfrogging along the bank and had covered more than a mile without a bite when, out of the blue, Sam hooked a fish – it looked like it was going to be a good one, but we weren't expecting a fish of that size! We were both gobsmacked – Sam was shaking, and so was I! We carried on fishing for the rest of the day, but it was hard to concentrate.”

Sam landed what is his seventh perch over 4lb using 12lb Nanofil braided mainline and a 17lb wire trace attached to a 2.5 inch shad mounted on a 0.25oz jighead.

Staying in Hertfordshire, very few big fish have been caught from the notoriously tough Tring reservoirs this winter, but that didn’t stop local expert Ken Brown from banking a 4lb 15oz perch on his first visit to the venue for a number of months.

After seeing grebes feeding on silverfish at around 70yards, he cast out a worm tipped with a red maggot and his only bite of the day resulted in the impressive specimen.

“At this time of the year you should really think about scaling down to get bites and that’s the reason I fined down my gear and used 6lb mainline coupled with a 4lb fluorocarbon hooklink. I think it made all the difference,” said Ken.

Finally, Steve Osbourne punctuated a carp session at Strawberry Fields with some quality perch fishing. The 65-year-old turned his attentions away from carp at the Kent lake and caught perch of 3lb 8oz, 4lb and 4lb 7oz. The Essex rod, who braved freezing was handsomely rewarded for his perseverance with what he called his ‘best winter catch ever’. His non-carp tally also included a 2lb rudd and a couple of roach around the 1lb mark.




Swim off the beaten track produces 17lb 6oz barbel

THE biggest barbel of 2013 so far has been landed weighing in at 17lb 6oz….and captor Carl Welch has revealed he had a bicycle to thank for the stunning capture!

In order to access areas of the River Thames well off the beaten track, the specialist straps his rods to the frame of his trusty old bike and clocks up hundreds of miles every season finding new areas to target his chosen quarry.

Carl’s latest quest saw him embark on a tiring two-hour round trip from his Felton, Middlesex home to a length of the waterway at Chertsey. After pre-baiting his chosen swim the night before and meticulously searching his swim for an area of gravel, he flicked out a simple leger rig baited with a worm-flavoured boilie and within 15 minutes was playing the huge barbel.

“It’s hard work to cycle with all of my gear attached to the bike and it was so cold on the morning of this latest session that my drinks had frozen solid and I couldn’t even feel my hands!” Carl told Angling Times.

“But it’s definitely worth it, because using my bike gives me an advantage over the other anglers in terms of the places I am able to access, and it’s often that kind of edge that you need to catch the biggest fish.”

Carl is no stranger to outsized Thames fish; his personal best list makes for impressive reading, boasting a chub weighing 9lb 3oz - just 2oz short of the current British record, plus a barbel falling just 1oz shy of Guy Robb’s Thames best of 18lb 2oz.

“I watch so many anglers just rock up in their car and fish the first pegs they get to - then they wonder why they aren’t catching much,” Carl continued.

“You still have to get all of your tackle and bait right to fool fish like this, but I’m positive that without my bike I wouldn’t have had the success that I’ve enjoyed over the last few seasons.”
Carl used 12lb Drennan mainline and a 15lb Gravel Braid hooklink from the same company, attached to a size 8 hook.


In

Fishing against the norm pays off with brace of thirties

A THREE-night session for Stuart Moore produced a brace of thirties within minutes of each other.

The Sticky Baits-backed angler tackled Berkshire’s Kingsmead One and took the fish known as Blind Eye at 36lb 10oz and another mirror of 33lb 10oz after deciding to go against the norm of fishing single hookbaits.

Stuart takes up the story: “I was fishing Kingsmead One for a 72-hour session and it had been pretty quiet for a few weeks so I wasn't really expecting much action.

“Through the course of the first night a few fish showed close to my area and I decided to let them have a bit of bait rather than just fish singles like the rest of the anglers seemed to be using.
“I baited to a weedbed at 85 yards with around three to five kilos of 16mm Sticky Baits Vor-Tex and then fished pop-ups over the top.

“The baits were out for around five hours with nothing really doing but at around 4pm another fish stuck it nose out right over the spot and within the next 20 minutes I'd had a take on both rods, resulting in a brace of 30s.

“First a mirror of 33lb 10oz and then Blind Eye at 36lb 10oz. Chuffed is an understatement for this time of the year, especially on Kingsmead One which can be particularly tricky during the winter months.

“Let’s hope this is a sign of things to come this season, it’s been a pretty good start."
Stuart used 12mm Buchu Berry pop-up hookbaits from Sticky Baits and his successful rigs comprised Thinking Anglers leadcore and Gardner Choddy hooks tied to ESP Stiff Rig Bristle Filament with a 3oz distance lead.



Overnighter twenties brace

A QUICK overnight session on a Shropshire syndicate produced a brace of 20lb-plus commons for Liam Ryan.

Setting up on the back of a cold northerly wind, the Cheshire-based rod landed his first fish, this 22lb 8oz specimen, on a snowman style hookbait consisting of a Baitcraft T1 freezer bait tipped with a Super Fruit pop-up cast out in conjunction with a golf ball sized PVA mesh bag of crumbed boilies.

His second fish, which also tipped the scales at 22lb 8oz, fell to a trimmed down Snowball pop-up mounted on a 360 rig.


Former Fulham and Wigan midfielder bags Guru sponsorship

Former professional footballer Jimmy Bullard has been awarded for his fantastic run of form since retiring with a sponsorship deal from a top tackle brand.

The top matchman has won countless matches since he hung his boots up and bosses from Guru have now thrown their backing behind him to help continue his success.

Clearly delighted at his new deal, the former Fulham and Wigan midfielder took to Twitter and said: “Thanks to everyone at Guru tackle, it’s time to start bagging!”


In

Birmingham Fazeley Canal fish-a-chuck action

It was fish-a-chuck action for most of the competitors taking part in the latest event on the Birmingham Fazeley Canal, with the top five sharing almost 100lb of silverfish between them.

Leading the frantic action from start to finish was Ian Haddon, who eventually placed 29lb 8oz on the scales to record victory. After drawing peg 38 at Curdworth, he used pole and breadpunch for a mixture of roach and skimmers.

Runner up Dave Freestone was also kept busy and managed to place 25lb 14oz in the net come the final whistle.

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In

Huge river chub out at 9lb

THIS is a picture of one of the biggest chub ever caught from a river, weighing in at a colossal 9lb.

It marks a pinnacle in the decorated 60-year fishing career of 68-year-old Bob Hornegold, who became only the fifth angler ever to bank a chub over the magical 9lb barrier when his four-month campaign on the ultra-tough River Lea in Hertfordshire culminated in the historic fish.

The chairman of the Osprey Specimen Group had already broken his personal best for the species twice since the New Year with chubweighing 7lb 4oz and 7lb 9oz. But his perseverance in fishing through snow and floods delivered the biggest reward in his angling career when his legered salmon boilie from All Season Bait Developments, mounted on a 10lb monofilament hooklink and size 10 hook, attracted the attention of one of the UK’s biggest specimens.

“I lost a monster of a fish just after Christmas and it has haunted me ever since, so to finally net a chub like this is truly the highlight of a lifetime’s specimen hunting,” said Bob. 

“Many people criticise anglers like me, who target big individual fish. But I just have to laugh because huge chub like this are some of the most difficult to fool. They’re like cautious big carp, so your presentation has to be absolutely spot on because these fish will literally come up  and inspect your bait. They won’t give it a second look if you’re set-up isn’t perfect.

“Since last October I’ve fished through every kind of adverse weather condition mother nature could have thrown at me. To have beaten my chub personal three times, capping off they campaign with a fish like this, is something very special indeed.”



In

Perseverence pays off in the shape of a 21lb 12oz stunner

A CONCENTRATED pre-baiting campaign resulted in this 21lb 12oz mirror carp from a local syndicate water for Ian Lewis.

The Berkshire-based rod had baited several spots around the lake with Mistral 4Season boilies every night after work to try and get the fish moving around.

Following seven blank overnight sessions his plan finally came together after casting his rig close to snag bush on an island.

He said: “It was one of those casts which I just knew would produce a bite. The fished looked bigger than a low-twenty but who cares when they look that stunning.”

Ian mounted his hookbait on a  D-Rig tied with a size 8 Gardner Covert Mugga hook and a Chod Skin hooklink.


In

Personal bests galore on the Great Ouse

THE Great Ouse underlined again this week why it is a specimen hunter’s winter paradise by providing two anglers with new personal bests.

Seasoned all-rounder Jamie Cartwright had suffered a run of blanks on a little-fished club stretch of the Midlands river so far this winter, but put that firmly behind him by banking a new pb perch of 4lb 9oz.

It was the only fish of a bitterly cold day and fell to a link-legered lobworm, presented over a bed of broken worms and maggot close to a marginal snag.

“An hour or so before I had the fish, I missed a decent bite and thought maybe that was my chance gone for the day. Then I started getting a few tentative plucks, so I span the reel handle once to move the bait along the bottom – it worked a treat because the tip then sailed round. Playing it was a hairy experience because I could see the fish was very lightly hooked by a tiny flap of skin on the outside of its mouth!” said Jamie, who is a member of the Northampton Specimen Group.

The perch upped his previous best by 6oz and was beaten with the help of a 6lb reel line, straight through to a size 6 wide gape hook.

Another angler celebrating a successful trip to the Ouse was Jason Mash, who smashed his chub pb out of sight when he slipped his net under a 7lb 8oz fish from a stretch near Bedford.

After banking a fish of 5lb 6oz on lobworms early on in his day trip, the 48-year-old switched to the highly unconventional offering of a small section of sprat before dark and a couple of hours later was admiring his prize in the folds of his net.

“The stretch has low numbers of chub – you certainly couldn’t put together a net of them - but the ones that are present all seem to be pretty big!” said Jason, from Luton, who used 6lb line straight through to a size 4 hook, with a small lead free running and held in place by a couple of float stops.



In

Brian Cox banks 29lb 1oz linear in 3.7 Celsius

A WATER temperature of just 3.7 Celsius failed to deter this 29lb 1oz linear from feeding.

The pretty mirror fell to the rods of Brian Cox during a short session at his Stenhill Fishery in Devon.
The fish took a single hookbait just moments before Brian was due to pack up for the day.

He told Angling Times: “I was not intending to fish, but decided to stick just one rod out for a few hours while repairing one of the swims at the fishery.

“I had decided to call it a day and was ready to wind in, when for some reason I just paused for a few seconds. As I looked down at the rod a single bleep from the alarm sounded, the hanger was tight and a solid thump was felt on lifting the rod.

“After a rather short fight the carp was in the net. The successful bait was a single Marukyu Strawberry and Milk pop-up dipped in one of its new prototype dips.”

Brian added: “As the water temperature was still only 3.7 degrees Celsius, casting around with single hookbaits seems to be the best tactic over the winter period.” 


In

Overnight session produces 37lb 10oz mirror

THIS cracking 37lb 10oz mirror was the highlight of a quick overnight session on Suffolk Water Park’s Big Fish Lake for Charles Glasse.

The all-important bite came just 90 minutes into the 17-year-old’s session who, after arriving to be greeted with a freezing cold easterly, chose to set up in a more sheltered area on the back of it where he’d caught a thirty from the week before.

“I have also been introducing a bit of bait into the area over the last few weeks,” the Framlingham-based rod told Angling Times. “I put out about half a kilo of Sticky Baits Vor-Tex boilies when I arrived and fished snowman rigs over the top of that.

“The spot is a gravelly area at the bottom of a shelf about 80 or 90 yards out on the far margin near some reeds.”

The student added: “The bite was a little drop back and I initially thought it could be a tuftie, but when I lifted into it I felt the weight of a big fish.

“I haven’t fished the water much, so to have this fish and the other thirty a week before was a great result.”


Hunch pays off with a 37lb 2oz mirror

THE odds were stacked against Mark Bodell when he arrived at his chosen venue, but he managed to winkle out this 37lb 2oz mirror while using a new bait for the first time.

Arriving on a Sunday morning to find no fish had been caught or seen, the Sticky Baits-backed rod called on his previous experiences at the lake to find somewhere to present his rigs.

He told Angling Times: “After being told that the lake had been fishing quietly I had a look around for over an hour but did not see anything to go on.

“I eventually decided to go in peg one because it is the weediest part of the lake in the summer and I was hoping there was some fallen weed still about. It was also on the back of the wind.”

Mark continued: “After casting a lead about I found that there was still weed about so I dropped three rigs around 50 yards out, just beyond a weed bed, with around 2kg of scattered 12mm and 16mm Vor-Tex boilies.

“The following morning at 7am the middle rod ripped off resulting in a 37lb 2oz Mirror carp. I was so over the moon that my hunch about the weed was right I'm made up with this capture but what makes this extra special is that it was the first time on the Sticky Baits.”


Three rod licence a possibility

The Environment Agency is considering the creation of a ‘three-rod fishing licence’ for 2014, Angling Times can exclusively reveal.

For years carp anglers have complained of the extra cost of buying a pair of two-rod permits to fish venues that allow three rods, and the EA now says it “there is “strong support to allow three rods on one licence” and will hold a formal review later this year.

Responding to a Freedom of Information Act request by the Angling Times, the EA’s Richard Melbourne said: “We are currently considering our licence duty proposals for 2014 and beyond. We will be reviewing certain aspects of the licensing system to give better service to rod-licence payers.

We will be addressing the number of rods allowed per licence as part of this review. Options for change are currently being considered.”

Discussions about how many rods should be allowed on each licence date back to the national byelaw review process in 1996, as Mr Melbourne explained.

He said: “The options [in 1996] ranged from one licence for each rod used at the one extreme, to unlimited rods per licence on the other.”

The two-rods-per-licence rule was imposed, Mr Melbourne said, “because we believed it to be simple and that it would be popular with most anglers.

“However, we recognise that those fishing with three rods are being penalised by having to buy two licences.”

Details of the EA’s review into the licensing system are set to be published on its website later this year, and the news has been roundly welcomed by the carping community.

Well-known angler Ian ‘Chilly’ Chillcott said: “I think it would be a massive step forward. It shows the EA, as a government body, is listening to people – though it would obviously depend on how they went about pricing it.”


Steak and cheese fool Ure chub net

Thinking outside the box can sometimes pay dividends as Dave Robson found out when he took victory in the latest event on the River Ure with 28lb 8oz of big chub.

While most of the field decided to use conventional offerings such as worms and bread during the competition at Ripon, the Kippax Tackle Box rod alternated between lumps of cheese and steak to net eight fish to 4lb.

Weights slumped off dramatically from then on, with Leeds Angling’s Steve Beckwith needing just 6lb 4oz for second spot.


Emperor Lakes forty falls to single hookbait

WHEN Craig Sheffield settled down for a two-night session at Emperor Lakes, little did he know he would be cradling a winter 40-pounder just two hours later.

The Plymouth-based rod picked up the new personal best, a fish known as the Moth, from the Carp Lake at the South Devon fishery.

The 41lb 8oz mirror fell right at the start of the 48-hour session, which also produced a 29lb 12oz mirror.

Craig, who spoke to Angling Times as he was packing up, said: “I’ve still got a smile on my face now and I’ll still be smiling when I go to bed tonight.”

He added: “The lake was pretty busy when I arrived so I just bided my time until a few anglers moved off and took my time setting up. About an hour and three quarters after casting out I got the take.”

Both of the 39-year-old bicycle-shop owner’s fish fell to single Solar Club Mix pop-ups cast close to an island.

“It’s not the deepest area of water but I knew fish had been coming out of this half of the lake,” said Craig. “I was using very simple rigs and just fishing with single hookbaits close to an island.

“It was a brilliant session and I have to thank Jo and Dave who run the lake as it’s such a great place to fish.”


Decade wait for a pb chub ends with a 7lb 13oz specimen

SOME anglers won’t let anything come between them and their fishing goals - and Gareth Goldson proved he’s one of these dedicated few after a gruelling campaign, that saw him travel over 1,150 miles, resulted in two huge personal best chub weighing 7lb 13oz and 7lb 4oz.

The Hardy and Greys consultant has been trying to beat his pb for the species for the last 10 years and finally achieved his target after getting up at 2am to make the six-hour round trip from his home in Cromer, Norfolk, to the River Ouse in Bedfordshire.

It’s a journey he’s made on 10 different occasions, some of which were solely to introduce bait into his chosen swims, and this time he struck gold with a trio of specimens that also included a 6lb 10oz fish.

It was this tireless dedication, along with an attack based around the introduction of Dynamite Baits’ Source boilies and a matching hookbait mounted on a simple link-leger rig, which saw him finally realise his dream and beat his previous biggest chub of 7lb 1oz.

“It’s been really tough dragging myself out of bed at 1.45am, making the three hour drive down to the river and then fishing a couple of hours before it gets light,”  Gareth told Angling Times.

“But this is when the big chub are usually at their most confident and to beat my personal best twice in one morning makes all of those hours in the car worthwhile.

“I knew that if I religiously kept the bait going in then it would give me the best chance of getting among the better stamp of fish and it was these spots that produced the goods for me.

“All of the chub came from a stretch that is seldom fished and can be very frustrating because of the amount of crayfish that it holds. But my catch proves that if you put the work in and have confidence in what you’re doing then you don’t have to visit the popular stretches to get results.”



Biggest bream of the year landed at 17lb 1oz

THE biggest bream of the year has been landed after teenage angler Ben Ward slipped the net under this personal best 17lb 1oz specimen.

After deciding to target a tough southern stillwater, the Buckinghamshire-based 17-year-old introduced a scattering of hemp, maggots and casters over a clear area at around 50yds range.

On the opening night of the two day stint, his alarm burst in to life as a big fish tore off having fallen for his fake corn hookbait, but disaster struck as the hook pulled out.

Despite high winds and torrential rain, the Chapel Baits and Fox-backed rod was still confident of netting the twenty sixth double figure bream of his short career and 24-hours later he received another take.

“As soon as I struck I knew I was into a decent bream and it made several powerful lunges. Having already lost one I was determined to win the battle this time though,” he explained.

The fight didn’t last long, but once he slid his prize over the waiting net he was unsure as to whether he had broken his previous biggest bream of 16lb 1oz.

“When I looked down on it I was 80 per cent confident I’d done it but I breathed a huge sigh of relief when the scales registered 17lb 1oz,” said Ben, who used 10lb Fox Aquos mainline, a 10lb Illusion XS hooklink and a size 10 SSBP hook.

He has already set his sights on breaking his best yet again, but his motives are more than just a personal desire, with a highly respected charity set to benefit from his exploits.

“I am raising money for Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital and my main challenge is to catch 25 double figure bream this year so I hope I can up my record in the process.”

**To donate to the campaign visit www.justgiving.com/BenWardGOSH**


In

Leon Bartropp joins Gardner Tackle

Gardner Tackle have announced that top carp angler Leon Bartropp has joined the company's team of sponsored anglers.

A press release from Gardner said:

Not only is Leon a highly respected big fish angler, but he is also a prolific writer within the carp angling press and takes enormous enjoyment in producing his own informative carp fishing videos.

Over the last few years Leon has carved an exceptionally strong reputation on the banks of the waters that he has visited.

He regularly demonstrates his talent, knowledge and passion as an angler by successfully landing  his target fish using a wide variety of techniques – and we really feel that his great knowledge base will be a major asset to the Gardner Team.

Just as important to his angling prowess, Leon loves to help other anglers with their problems and show the right way to angle or how best to use a specific product for a specific purpose...

‘Unusually’ for such a successful angler, he is well liked and respected by his peers, largely thanks to his professional manner, and a congenial friendly attitude.

Leon’s experience of working within the fishing tackle industry means that he already has a good head on his shoulders when it comes to offering feedback during product development and understands the processes necessary to develop innovative products and how best to present and promote them within articles. 

We’re really looking forward to working with Leon on a day to day basis – and we are genuinely excitement at bringing him into the Gardner Team.


Target fish landed at 39lb 5oz

THIS cracking 39lb 5oz mirror was caught by David Boult during an overnight session on a southern gravel pit.

The specimen known as Cluster fell to a CC Moore Live System boilie which the Pagham-based logistics supervisor mounted on a hinged-stiff rig incorporating a size 6 Gardner Tackle chod hook.

“This particular fish avoided capture all of last season and I am due to move on to a new water in April so I was delighted to finally bank it.”