Long range forty

MARTIN Pierce initially thought he had hooked a bream until this 42lb 1oz mirror burst into life close in.

The big carp, which woke up halfway through the fight, was part of a four-fish catch that included three upper twenties from a southern stillwater.

30Plus and Individual Baits consultant Martin moved swims after a quiet first night and was rewarded with the 40-pounder early on his second morning at the venue.

He said: “Once again the night passed quietly, but like an alarm clock the right-hand bobbin pulled up and woke me in the morning. I was convinced it was a bream until about 50 yards from the bank when the fish burst into life and tore off.

“The rest of day and night passed with no action, but the following morning at 6.30am the same rod was away again, this time with a 29lb 6oz mirror.”

Yet another fruitless day and night passed before the morning alarm sounded again, this time producing a 27lb mirror. Having recast and rebaited, Martin was quickly rewarded with a 27lb 15oz mirror to cap a memorable session.

Martin’s fish came from an area at 135yds and fell to snowman and pop-up rigs with 18mm Individual Baits Steamies boilies.

Bream brace just shy of 30lb

Perseverance certainly paid off for Paul Douglas when he slipped his net under a brace of huge bream weighing just short of 30lb.

Following a succession of bite-less visits to a local stillwater, the tackle shop manager from Northampton didn’t let his spirits dropped, and on his next visit was rewarded with two fish weighing 14lb 10oz apiece, both of which smashed his personal best out of sight.

Paul, who is also a member of the Northampton Specimen Group, concentrated his efforts on an area of silt just beyond a weedbed at 60 yards range. He set up two rods with Method feeders and cast those two his chosen spot, but it was Paul’s third rig, baited with a single grain of hair rigged imitation maize on a simple lead clip system, that accounted for his huge brace.

“I arrived at the lake at about 7pm and I put out 10 spodfulls of mixed pellets, before threading a pva bag of small pellets onto my hooklink and casting out. My personal best was on its way to the net just a couple of hours later!” said Paul.

“It was bigger and blacker than any bream I’ve ever seen and it really was in a league of its own. The sight of it coming over the net cord is something I won’t forget in a hurry. Then, the next morning, it was like an action replay, as I banked another fish that was exactly the same weight and looked identical.”

Paul finished his session with a third fish that topped the scales at 10lb 7oz, and that was also brought to the net with the help of a rig made from 12lb Drennan mainline, a size 10 ESP hook and a braided 15lb hooklink. 
 

Richworth Linear Oxlease Lake record broken

“THE biggest common carp I’ve ever laid eyes on.”  These were the words of John Russell describing the capture of a new lake record from Oxlease on the Linear complex.

The Somerset rod caught the new personal best at 43lb 4oz, just four hours into his first visit at the water.

Josh’s success came after spotting showing fish on the popular Oxfordshire day-ticket venue.
He said: “Because it was busy I decided to fish a swim on the car park side where I saw a few carp crash out in the middle of the lake.

“I had a quick flick around with the marker rod and decided to fish a silty area about 60yds out with particles. As I was spodding out I spotted a few more fish crash out to my right near the middle of the lake so I quickly set up my rod and cast out towards the showing fish.

“Four hours later my bobbin on the right-hand rod lifted slowly to the top and the line went tight so I hit the rod and after a nervous but exciting fight I slipped the net under the biggest common carp I have ever laid eyes on.”

Josh fished a trimmed-down 20mm Nash Scopex and Peach boilie with a piece of white fake corn on a six-inch combi rig.

One week, two venues, two thirties

SEAN Leverett has been in a rich vein of form of late, banking two thirties from two different low-stock venues in the space of a few days.

His first fish came in the form of a 34lb 12oz mirror which resulted from three changes of swims during a 72 hour session on the Vinnetrow syndicate in Chichester.

He said: “I had moved from one swim to another to my left after seeing a few fish in the area, but by the following morning they’d gone. That evening a really good fish right over my original spot and I began to wish I’d stayed put. The next day I went for a walk and I saw an area of coloured water which I then moved onto.”

Once in position he cast out two single Sticky Krill pop-ups to a spot at 90 yards and received a take 90 minutes later which ended with the specimen known as Paw Print in his net.

His next session saw him heading to CWA Fisheries Roach Pit in Hampshire where the move on to the end of a strong south westerly wind paid dividends with a 35lb 12oz mirror.

“The lake was busy so I started off up the opposite end of the venue to most as I'd seen a few up in the snags,” he told Angling Times. “When I checked them on the second morning it was clear they had moved out, however, and had most probably followed the wind that was now picking up.”

After moving in to a corner swim he flicked out a couple of Chod rigs baited with Which Chocolate pop-ups towards a group of showing fish and a couple of hours later he was holding up his prize for the camera.

Choose From More Than 30 Lakes At Anglers Paradise

One of the UK’s most popular and prolific holiday complexes just got bigger and even better with the addition of a brand new fishery plus anglers are now enjoying its best run of form so far in 2013.

Anglers Paradise in Devon boasts over 30 fish-filled stillwaters that cater for pleasure and specimen fishermen alike and the recently opened ‘Xanadu’ is the latest addition to the portfolio, which boasts large numbers of carp between 20lb and 30lb.
This compliments the hugely popular Main lake that boasts no less than 100 pristine carp over 20lb along with catfish to well over 50lb and the Specimen Carp Lake has just hit top form and a red hot week for big fish was topped by the capture of ‘Tadpole’ at 31lb 6oz and caught by James Hudson.
These are just a handful of many venues  including the Specimen Carp Lake , Nirvana Kracking Carp, Octopussy and the Easy Access Lake, that help make this complex one of the UK’s premier big fish destinations.
But this stunning complex is not all about big fish.

During the last week pleasure anglers have also been reporting huge catches of carp, tench, orfe and silver fish from ‘bite-a-chuck’ venues such as the Beginners Carp Lake, Pixie, Magic, the Koi and the Float Lakes.
The sheer variety of species on offer is almost unrivalled at any other fishery in the UK and anglers of all ages and abilities are guaranteed to fill their nets whether they’re flicking out a float and spraying maggots or fishing a small Method feeder in conjunction with a pellet or a grain of corn on the hook.
It’s not just the fishing that keeps anglers coming back year after year as award-winning accommodation, coupled with a unique atmosphere created by owner Zyg Gregorek and his family helps deliver the perfect fishing experience for any angler.

Venue Factfile
Anglers Paradise
Prices: Day tickets for non-residents are available on both Anglers Eldorado and the Nirvana complex and are £10 for two rods, excluding Nirvana Kracking Carp where it’s £20 a day and £10 per night .
There are 12 lakes which are exclusively available to residents and for holiday options and prices check out the website or contact the fishery.
Contact: 01409 221559 or visit www.anglers-paradise.co.uk
Location:The Gables, Halwill, Devon, EX21 5XT
Rules: Barbless hooks only, no keepnets, no fixed leads, no sacking of fish overnight, no bent hooks, no bait boats.
For the full list see the fishery website.
Facilities: Tackle & bait shop, 38 luxuary villas, heated indoor swimming pool, fully licenced bar with home-cooked food and children’s play area.

Hinderclay Lakes A Hidden Gem

This delightful fishery, located on the Norfolk, Suffolk border has in recent years earnt a reputation to match that of some of the country’s top fisheries. With six lakes all offering something different there is little wonder it is proving popular.
Every lake is stocked each year and well-managed but one of the quieter and scenic pools on the complex is Reed Pool. This 24-peg lilly-lined lake is natural in style and is a fantastic water for those looking for some nice sized fish with carp to 16lb as well as bream and tench to 10lb. The fish in here respond to a number of different tactics including the feeder and the waggler, which can be fished either in open water or tight to the lillies in the margins using pellet or corn as bait.

The most popular pool and the lake which has recently seen nets over 200lb being recorded in matches is Florence. This 20 peg water is stuffed with carp in the 7-8lb bracket and these can be caught on the pellet waggler or method feeder. Fishing tight to the island can work well here but the pole in open water in around 6ft of water with loose-fed pellet or corn can outscore any tactic when the fishing is good.
The complex also has a specimen lake named Spring Lake which has carp to 30lb as well as William Lake which is the venue’s silverfish pool. Arthur is similar to Florence while Willow Pool is an excellent lake for the beginner or for small matches as it is full of small carp in the 1-2lb bracket. All the lakes are available for club bookings and they also hold open matches every weekend.

MARK SAWYERS TIP: Try and use big pellets such as 8mm versions to make a splash when feeding as this will help attract the carp.

Venue Factfile
Hinderclay Lakes
Prices: £7 one rod £9 for two, concessions £5 for one rod, £7 for two. Night fishing is by appointment only
Contact: 01379 890110
Location: Hinderclay Lakes, Mill Lane, Rickinghall, Suffolk, IP22  1HG
Rules: Barbless only, no boillies, fishery own nets, no keepnets in pleasure sessions
Facilities: Parking, toilets, tackle & bait shop, accommodation 1 mile offsite

Emperor forty after just three hours

JOSEPH Baldwin only received one bite during his 48 hour session at Emperor Lakes in Devon – but he wasn’t complaining as it resulted in this 41lb 5oz mirror.

It was the first time the 35-year-old Somerset-based Splash Baits consultant had fished at the complex and setting up on the Syndicate Lake he decided to fish just off the strong wind which was hacking across the water.

Casting tight to an island the all-important bite came just three hours in to his trip after he offered a Splash Baits Assassin boilie over around 25 free offerings. This was mounted on a fluorocarbon and supple braid combi-rig with an Atomic Grabba hook.

Crucian best broken 15 times

A MANIC session at a southern club water saw Mike Lyddon break his crucian carp personal best no less than 15 times, with the largest fish weighing in at 4lb 2oz.

The Gardner Tackle sales rep spent several weeks heavily baiting a spot with groundbait at the Surrey venue and his hard work paid dividends during the two day trip which saw him net 31 specimens – 20 of which were over 3lb and two over the 4lb-barrier!

With conditions perfect for a few bites, he rigged up a simple Method feeder setup comprising 6lb Hydroflo mainline, a short 5lb fluorocarbon hooklink and a size 16 Target Specimen hook baited with rubber casters.

“On a good day you can expect to catch four or five big crucian carp from this lake and I was hopeful that I was going to beat my 3lb 7oz best,” explained Mike.

It didn’t take long for him to meet that goal, with a fish of 3lb 8oz on his first cast of the day.
The bites then just kept on coming, with the best of the session – a fish 7oz short of the British record - coming half way through the trip. “It was a once in a lifetime session and I’m still pinching myself – it was beyond my wildest expectations,” the Osprey Specimen Group member told Angling Times.

“Every time I got a bite I knew it could be a 3lb-plus crucian and the smallest of the lot was still over 2lb. At one point I landed four huge fish in a manic five-minute spell.”

With venue’s crucians piling on weight, he is confident it could produce a new British record but is aware there is only a small window of opportunity to achieve such a feat.

“These fish are feeding up in preparation for spawning and I think they will start in a couple of weeks. If someone can catch one of the biggest fish before that time, though, there is a good chance they could get their name in the history books,” added Mike.

Huge Scottish pike for the Piking Pirate

“THIS awesome specimen is the highlight of my angling career and unless the British record is broken there won’t be a better fish caught this year.”

These were the words of legendary predator angler Gord Burton after he banked his biggest ever pike weighing 34lb 14oz.

Better known as the ‘Piking Pirate’ and renowned for his passion of fishing natural venues, Gord targeted a vast Scottish loch measuring almost 14 miles in length and boasting a width of 1.5 miles. Despite having banked mostly jacks in recent visits to the water, which he’s fished for four decades, he remained confident that it was capable of producing something a bit special. And late in the afternoon of his latest session his float slid away and he struck into his fish-of-a-lifetime.

“I’ve been waiting my whole life to catch a pike like this from this wild, natural water,” Gord told Angling Times.

“If someone was to offer me a trade for two 40lb fish from a trout water I’d turn them down without hesitation. This is in a different league all together.”

Gord cast a float paternostered perch in to 25 feet of water and he beat his new personal best, that measured 45 and-a-half inches in length, with the help of a 15lb mainline, a Drennan wire trace and a pair of size 4 trebles.

“A short while after slipping her back I hooked another extremely big fish that also felt like it was over 30lb but unfortunately it came off,” Gord continued.

“The fish I caught had already spawned, so I’m intrigued as to what its top weight would be. I know that this huge water has much more up its sleeve and I want to be the one to uncover some more of its surprises.”

Anglers angry over cormorant claims

THE angling world has reacted angrily after one of the sport’s most influential organisations claimed that cormorant numbers are in decline and the birds pose no threat to fisheries.

In a press release issued entitled ‘Don’t Kill the Cormorants’, the Institute of Fisheries Management (IFM) said that research carried out in conjunction with the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) ‘proved that the number of breeding pairs in the UK is in decline.’

Even though both organisations agreed that licenced killing of the birds ‘might be an option at particular sites that had too many cormorants’ in a recent presentation to the London and South

East branch of the IFM, representatives also stated that a combination of scaring the birds away and improving fish habitats would be more beneficial to stocks, angling and conservation in the long run.

The claims have understandably provoked an outcry at the Angling Trust, who have tirelessly campaigned to protect the nation’s fisheries from wide-scale predation and recently published a report on the damage caused by cormorants in a bid to persuade the government to put the birds on the general shooting licence.

“Back in February we published a 10,000 word dossier highlighting the massive damage that cormorants and goosanders have done to freshwater fisheries and how their numbers have risen to plague proportions,” said Mark Owen, the Trust's Freshwater Campaigns Manager.

“The idea that these predators are not a problem is patently ridiculous.”

Martin Salter is the Trust’s campaigns chief and he added: “I’d like to see these people try telling fishery owners and angling clubs who've been put out of business by unsustainable predation that numbers are in decline and there’s no need to control their numbers. “

When Angling Times contacted the IFM in order to question the data behind his organisation’s contentious claim, IFM Public Relations Officer Alan Brothers said: “This information has come from RSPB research and the considered view of fisheries professionals.” When pressed further to divulge the identity of the ‘fisheries professionals’ he was allegedly referring to, Mr Brothers refused to do so.

Heavy baiting produces St Ives' Colin

A CONCENTRATED baiting campaign paid dividends for Mark Johnson when he slipped his net under this 47lb 5oz mirror from the Shallow Pit on the famous St Ives complex in Cambridgeshire.

The huge specimen, known as Colin, is the sixth fish which the local 29-year-old has caught from tricky low-stock venue this season and beat his previous pb of 43lb.

Focusing his efforts on an area close to a gravel bar at around 40 yards range he kept the spot topped up with Mainline Baits Cell boilies.

“I’d put a couple of kilos out at the start of each session and then put more in at the end of the trip,” he told Angling Times. “The spot I was fishing was in the shallower area of the lake and I knew that the fish would use the bar as a patrol route.”

The first two days of his latest outing passed without event but sport then picked up on the final night.

“I’d caught a 24lb mirror and then an hour later by bobbin just slowly pulled up to my rod. I got out of bed and on feeling that the line had tightened up, lifted in to it. The fish then went mad and after initially weeding me up, went on to flat rod me on several occasions. I knew that I was more than likely attached to Colin as I heard plenty of stories about it always fought really hard. Sure enough, 10 minutes later I slipped the unmistakeable bulk of Colin in to the net.”

Mark beat his prize with a hinged-stiff rig comprising Korda Mouthtrap and a size 5 ESP Stiff Rigger hook.

**For more information about fishing the St Ives complex visit: www.stiveslakes.com or call Gordon Howes on: 07803 065993**

Great Sport at Barnby Dun Canal

The New Junction Canal at Barnby Dun is located in an area which offers miles of excellent canal fishing. For this reason this section is relatively under-fished but is a cracking summer stretch.
Pleasure nets to 20lb are commonplace mainly due to the quality of fish rather than quantity that reside here. Of course a big net of roach is there for anyone who wants it and these often respond to hemp and tares on the pole or waggler at this time of year but for the majority who come here it is about the bigger fish in the shape of chub to 5lb, bream to 6lb and perch to 4.5lb.

The canal is wide here at about 30m but the depth is only around 6-8ft down the middle and a few feet deep on top of either shelf. The nearside shelf is worth targeting for the smaller fish using squatt and pinkie while the far bank can be fished with a maggot or cage feeder with chopped worm for the chub and perch especially if you have a far bank feature like a bush to aim at. The middle of the canal is where the bream hide. Here you can use the pole at around 11-13m feeding around 5 balls of groundbait at the beginning and then fishing caster or worm over the top. You can loose-feed little and often over the top of these to keep bites coming but avoid doing so when the canal tows. A rig of around 1.3 gram with bulk shot will suffice for this style of fishing and this should give you plenty of control. If it is too windy you can fish the groundbait feeder around two thirds of the way across for the same species.

Venue Factfile
New Junction Canal, Barnby Dun
Prices: £4 on the bank or £20 a year £15 concessions, Doncaster DAA
Contact: Club Secretary Ian Hurst 07946 382882, www.ddaa.co.uk  Stainforth Angling Centre 01302 846623
Location: New Junction Canal, Barnby Dun, Doncaster, S Yorks, DN3 1EY
Rules: No livebaiting, no litter or fires,
Facilities: Parking at Barnby Dun

Match angler nets 77lb carp

Top match angler Steve Mayo made the long haul trek to Thailand more than worthwhile when he banked this stunning 77lb Siamese carp.

The Maver-backed rod decided to take a break from the competitive side of the sport and booked a trip to the prolific Gillhams Resort.

During an action packed holiday, he kept fish coming to the net at a regular basis, with big Siamese carp and Mekong catfish to 180lb falling to his legered pellet attack.
He rounded the trip off in style, taking a 300lb arapaima on the final day of the memorable break.

For more details on the complex visit www.gillhamsfishingresorts.com

Biggest British coarse fish landed

THE biggest coarse fish ever landed in Britain on rod and line has been taken from a popular day-ticket complex.

Keen specimen angler Adi White had been targeting Northamptonshire’s Bluebell Lakes complex when he hauled out the mammoth catfish that is estimated to have weighed over 120lb.

After selecting a renowned spot on Swan Lake, the Leicestershire-based rod decided to present a 15mm glugged CC Moore Meteor pop-up boilie 12 inches off the bottom and received a take on the first night of a four-day session. Not long into the battle, unfortunately the hook pulled, leaving Adi to reset the traps in the hope of another run. Shortly afterwards he was given a second chance following another violent take, and spent over an hour coaxing it into net.

“I always fish one rod for catfish when I’m at the venue, and when it screamed off I instantly knew it was my target species,” explained Adi.

“When I set the hook it was like a dead weight and it took a long time to even move it off the bottom before it began to strip line. It was then a case of very slowly drawing it towards me. Once in the net, a friend and I tried to lift it from the water but it was so heavy it was a real struggle. It was at this point we realised I could have landed the country’s biggest coarse fish.”

Although its true weight will never be known, he believes the specimen could have broken the 120lb barrier said: “The dial on the scales went past 110lb but it was too big to fit in the sling and a large part of its tail lay on the matt. It will always be a mystery but it’s a catch I’ll never forget,” he added.  

Venue boss Tony Bridgefoot has removed a number of big catfish in recent years but was confident a triple figure specimen was still there for the taking. He said: “I always knew a fish of this size was possible and I think it will continue to pack on the weight quickly. Adi didn’t have any way of retaining the fish safely so that it could be rehomed and it was released back into Swan Lake to fight another day.”

Ashmead's finest out at 55lb 10oz

THIS jewel in the crown of the Ashmead syndicate has been banked by Martyn Skoyles after a five-year quest.

Single Scale weighed 55lb 10oz and provided the 29-year-old with a heart-stopping fight after revealing itself early on in the battle.

The fish was the only carp of a three-night session at the Somerset venue for the Daiwa-backed angler, whose father Brian is also a well-known carper.

Martyn, who works for Oxford University, told Angling Times: “It came shortly after I moved swims on the second day. The fish surfaced almost straight away so it was a pretty terrifying 10 minutes or so for the rest of the fight.”

He added: “I've been lucky enough to be a member of the lake since 2008, and the nature of the venue with its numerous bays, channels and mountains of weed make it a unique place to fish.”

Single Scale picked up a Nutrabaits Trigga and Blue Oyster boilie over a bed of matching freebies.

Martyn’s rig featured a 2oz square pear lead on a Korda leadclip, 10 inches of Korda N-Trap Soft and a size-eight Nash Fang hook.

Fish-in event to raise money for British Disabled AA

New bait company 3 Foot Twitch is holding a fish-in on the River Trent to raise money for the British Disabled Angling Association.

Over 30 anglers will be fishing the Trent on July 27 and 28 hoping to raise awareness of the work of the BDAA. Each angler will make a donation to the charity and there will also be an auction of items of tackle donated by tackle manufacturers and tackle shops to raise even more money.

Donations can be made by PayPal to the following email address - c_mutton@me.com

For more information on the work of the British Disabled Angling Association go to www.bdaa.co.uk For further details on the fish-in event go to

https://www.facebook.com/3FTBarbelBaits

Biggest bream of the year landed

THE biggest bream of the year has been caught by Darryn Stolworthy at a new personal best weight of 17lb 7oz.

The Norfolk-based specimen hunter has been focusing his attentions on an ultra-tough local gravel pit that is home to only a handful of large slabs and up until this point hadn’t even seen a sign of his target species.

This all changed on his eighth overnight session of the year, though, after he spodded out a large bed of casters, corn and pellets at 100yds and cast simple rigs with short hooklinks, inline leads and imitation corn hookbaits over the top.

At first light the Angling Direct-backed specialist was woken by his alarms which at first he thought were being set off by the swirling winds - but he soon discovered that the disturbance wasn’t being caused by the elements.

“The weather was terrible and I was dozing in my sleeping bag when my alarm beeped three times then stopped. A couple of minutes later the same happened, but the bobbin still hadn’t moved,” Darryn told Angling Times.

“My mate was stood next to the rods and said ‘It’s just the wind mate’ but no sooner as he said that the bobbin danced up and I was in.

“The fish looked absolutely huge in water and I must admit that I did utter a few swear words when I saw it in the net!

“Usually at this time of the year you’d see the odd bream rolling on the surface, but it’s funny that the first one I’ve clapped eyes on in months weighed 17lb 7oz and was lying on my unhooking mat.”

Darryn had positioned two of his rigs right in the middle of his bed of particles, but it was three hair-rigged grains of imitation corn cast to the edge of his feed that did the trick.

His rig was constructed with a 10lb Preston Powerline hooklink that was tied to a size 10 Gamkatsu hook.

Fifty, forty and a thirty in a session

NOT many anglers can boast of catching a fifty, forty and a thirty in a session – but Daren Norman is one man who can now lay claim to the impressive feat.

The Kent-based rod made the 250 mile roundtrip to CWA Fishery’s Roach Pit more than worthwhile when he landed three of the lake’s most sought after residents in a frantic 24 hour period.

After hearing a large carp crash out during the night he moved swims to roughly where he thought the fish had showed. He then located two gravel bars which were baited with 3kg of Sticky Baits The Krill boilies before casting pop-up hookbaits over the top.

Just after first light he banked the venue’s biggest inhabitant at a weight of 50lb 4oz. After topping up the swim with another 2kg of boilies he went on to complete the hat-trick of specimens with mirrors of 44lb 10oz and 37lb 10oz the following morning.

Mega 'Match This' Qualifier Result - Mallory Park Fisheries (26.05.13)

The 2013 Mega 'Match This' campaigns second sell-out qualifier event saw one hundred and twenty anglers line the banks for this Sunday qualifier at Mallory Park Fisheries. Conditions on the day were even warmer than Saturday with plenty of sunshine making things feel very warm indeed. With a total of nine lakes in the draw, fishery owner Roy Marlow could not predict where the next 'Match This' finalist would come from.

After three hours into the match, there were dozens of anglers in the running for a place in the Final, meaning the final hour would be critical and a very close top three finish was on the cards.

Ex 'Match This' finalist and Maver / Marukyu-backed Andy Kinder held his nerve and managed to secure victory in this latest qualifier with a superb 215-00-00 from Glebe (lake 1). Andy fished a cage feeder with maggot on the hook for the duration of the match taking carp to 6lbs to earn his place in Grand Final and win the lake by a huge margin. Andy will now have a second opportunity to win angling's richest prize after missing out in 2011.

Sam Brown finished runner-up on the day from Glebe 5 with an equally impressive catch of 195-00-00. Sam caught the majority of his fish down the inside and on pellet fished up in the water to book his place in the Maver British Pole Championships at Larford Lakes.

Rounding off a close top three was Marukyu rod Kevin Russell. Kevin drew Glebe 7 and fished pole and pellet shallow at 14.5m to return 187-10-00. Kevin also books his place in the British Pole Championships.

Paul Robinson finished in fourth place on Glebe 1 weighing in 172-00-00. Paul alternated between both the feeder and shallow pellet to put together a fine bag of carp.

Completing the top five was Chris Needham from Glebe 7. Like most, Chris opted to fish shallow returning 146-08-00, fending off a strong challenge from Mel Hodgson, who just misses out on a Pole Championship placing.

100lb of tench on maggot feeder tactics

ANDY Loble was left exhausted on his first tench session of the year after netting over 100lb of specimens, with this cracking 7lb 6oz example of the species was the highlight of a 16 fish catch from a small weedy gravel pit in Chichester.

The 32-year-old’s haul, which included five fish over 7lb and five of 6lb-plus, were all caught on popped-up artificial corn hookbaits tipped with three maggots over two prebaited areas.

Fishing one rod out in open water over a patch of light weed and the other three rod lengths out on the bottom of the marginal shelf, the Cambridgeshire-based environmental consultant kicked off the session with the introduction of 10 Spombs full of Hinders bloodworm and Little Gemz pellets, krill and shrimp meal plus CC Moore bloodworm glug and then kept the swim topped up with tumeric flavoured maggots, hemp and sweetcorn.

“It didn’t take long for the fish to move in and they made their presence very obvious with fizzing and rolling over both spots,” Andy told Angling Times.

“My first tench weighed 7lb 4oz and the bites were certainly not slow or shy.  I continued to catch until just after dark when I started to get pestered by eels so reeled in until first thing in the morning.  In total I only fished for 10 hours during the trip.

“The runs were frantic - there was a spell where it was difficult to keep both rods in the water at the same time. It was a cracking first session and has given me the buzz to have a proper go for a double figure tench. My current personal best is 9lb 14oz and I’ve held it for too long. I will be giving this venue another try and a few other waters a go to try and achieve this target,” he added.

Andy used 10lb Ultima Power Carp mainline, a 2ft leadcore leader with a Drennan inline maggot feeder threaded on and a 10lb hooklink attached to a barbless size 10 Drennan Barbel hook.