Basingstoke Canal's Bottom Flash Is Stuffed With Bream

One of the few stretches of canal where the traditional closed season still stands, the Basingstoke Canal at Bottom Flash in Aldershot is now open once again and anglers have been returning to this unique water to enjoy some excellent bream nets.

Pleasure anglers can easily catch 40lb of slabs on a good day here and due to its width of nearly 120ft, it is one of the few areas of canal where boat traffic is irrelevant. With this in mind the bream tend to shoal up as do the specimen carp which are in here in good numbers and have been previously caught over 30lb by specimen hunters. As this venue can be night-fished at weekends it makes for an exciting prospect for carp anglers looking for a change of scenery. As for the silverfish, there are also good bags of roach to be had on the maggot or caster with fish to 1.5lb in good numbers. Of course hemp and bread may also be worth trying for the bigger stamp fish, however, most anglers who visit the venue, tend to opt for the groundbait or micro pellet feeder for the bream. The depth in the middle is around 6ft and it is here where the bream tend to sit. They can be caught using worm, pellet or corn on the hook with a sweet groundbait mix or softened micro pellets in or on the feeder whichever you prefer.

Whilst the fishing is already fairly prolific here the club are try to re-stock the venue with more silverfish to improve things further and anglers who visit the venue can seek further advice on the fishing from either of the club bailiffs who patrol the banks.

Tip: A pellet feeder can often outscore a standard groundbait one during the summer months

Prices: £4 on the bank or £3 from local tackle shops Basingstoke Canal AA

Contact: Fisheries Officer, Steve Meyer, 07786 663921, www.basingstokecanalaa.co.uk

Location: Basingstoke Canal Great Bottom Flash, Ash Vale, Aldershot, Surrey, GU12 5LP

Rules: Barbless hooks only, no carp in keepnets

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Fishing is Easy at Cob House

With a record match weight of nearly 500lb it is easy to see why Wyatts Pool on Cob House Fisheries is popular with anglers. With full disabled access and big bags of fish, Wyatts is a fantastic water for those who like comfortable days fishing with easy pickings.

Recently anglers visiting the 30-pegged lake, which has depths averaging around 5ft, have been recording nets to 200lb made up of carp averaging around 4lb. Typical commercial tactics work on here so you can choose which tactic you employ but the most successful one seems to be the pellet fished in the margins on the pole. Using the fisheries own pellets simply feed six or so every cast using 4 or 6mm pellets and enjoy the fish a chuck action. The carp also feed shallow here too so if you come up in the water try and use a rig which cocks instantly and steadily build a weight by keeping the feed going in. Tackle wise you should be using  around 12-16 hollow elastic like black hydro with say 0.16mm 5lb line as your mainline. Hooks should be around 14-16 and barbless as per fishery rules.

Laugherne Island Pool is another prolific carp water on the complex but this one features bigger carp averaging around 8lb. It has 39 pegs all of which offer nets to 250lb on a good day. As the name suggests there are three islands on the lake which can be targeted on the long pole or Method feeder. However, if you do fish here don’t ignore the margins too. Alternatively, If you prefer a more mixed bag the fishery has Laurels Lake. This 23 peg water contains tench, bream, carp, crucians and chub all averaging around 1-2lb and these can be caught using pellet, meat or corn on the pole or waggler.

Prices: £7 a day or £6 concessions, evening ticket is £6 from 2pm, breakfast and fish for £9 weekdays only
Facilities: Full disabled access on Wyatts Pool, toilets, café, teaching academy centre
Contact: 01886 888517 www.cobhouse.org
Location: Cob House Fisheries, Worcester Road, Wichenford, Worcester, WR6 6YE
Rules: Barbless hooks only – maximum size 8, all weights and feeders must be free running, no nuts, beans, pulses, cat or dog food, no high oil pellets, tinned meats to be used as hookbaits only, fishery own nets, fishery own pellets as feed.


Smooth-hound record broken

ROBIN Randall has broken the British smooth-hound record with the capture of this 32lb specimen caught aboard his own boat Novat.

Targeting an area of rough ground out of Southampton known as The Brambles while aboard his boat, Novat, the 42-year-old fished a piece of ragworm on a size 4/0 hook to tempt the shark which beat the old best for the species of 28lb.

However, Robin won’t be able to submit an official record claim as he sportingly returned the fish alive, as opposed to killing it and returning to shore.

“I was fishing in about 15ft of water so the fish went off like a train, it was like hooking a tuna. It just kept going and I knew it was a big smooth-hound. It looked simply huge, the biggest I’d caught before this was 15lb. I was unaware just how big a catch it was until I showed my pictures to Al's Tackle in Woolston,” he said.


200lb haul of bream at Thames free fishing spot

A FREE fishing hotspot on the River Thames has produced one of the best catches of the season so far after Tony Curd hauled out almost 200lb of bream in just three hours.

The MAP backed angler took time out from the competitive side of the sport to enjoy a short pleasure fishing session and headed to the Kingston stretch of the waterway at first light.

Confident the slabs would be in the mood for a feast, he fed 4kg of groundbait - which consisted of a 50/50 blend of Bait-Tech Omen and Kult Sweet fishmeal - and a kilo of 2mm pellets. A cage feeder presentation with a triple red maggot hookbait was then offered over the top.

Despite a slow start to the session, regular recasting soon triggered a response which led to a manic couple of hours.

“It took almost 60 minutes to get a bite but once the first fish was in the net, the action never stopped. By the end of the session I had netted 33 bream which averaged 5lb each, with a few at around 8lb,” explained Tony, who used 6lb mainline and an 0.15mm hooklink to a size 14 Kamasan B560 hook.

“I have had some great catches of bream from the area in the past but this has to rate as one of my best ever sessions. It just goes to show how good the Thames can be if you do your homework,” he added.

Members of Edmonton and Tottenham AS also capitalised on the impressive form of the river, with the top three of their latest match on the stretch sharing over 225lb of bream between them.

Leading the way on the day was Dave Whiteman who used worm and maggot to tempt fish to 7lb for a 91lb 8oz total.



A new tench pb in 3 weeks on the Bawburgh lakes

THE phrase ‘just like buses’ certainly rang true for Steve Nunn, who just three weeks after catching his first double figure tench struck gold once again with this personal best specimen of 12lb.

The Norfolk-based all-rounder has been concentrating his efforts on the Bawburgh Lakes complex and he hit the jackpot when he found a clear spot between two weed beds at around 50 yards range.

After introducing a bed of hemp, casters and maggots, Steve cast out straight lead set-ups baited with three hair-rigged imitation casters on size 14 hooks and this was enough to produce two bites, his other tench weighing around 6lb.

“I started fish Bawburgh last year and If someone had told me that I’d have two doubles to my name by the end of June then I would have just laughed,” Steve told Angling Times.

“It was clear that that I’d hooked a really big fish, but I was in sheer disbelief when the needle of the scales flicked around to 12lb. I even had to call my mate who brought two other sets of scales down just to check that it was the weight.”


47lb common carp landed in Shropshire

THIS huge 47lb common carp was the highlight of James Hawtin’s 48 hour session on RH Fisheries’ The Avenue in Shropshire.

Casting to the top of a gravel bar at around 70 yards range the High Peaks, Derbyshire-based head chef baited the feature with a scattering of Sticky Krill freezer baits.

To ensure that his 12mm pop-up hookbait was presented effectively over the light silk weed he put his faith in a naked chod setup incorporating a size 8 Korda Choddy hook and a 15lb Mouthtrap hooklink with a 3.5oz lead.

“I’d seen a fish stick its head out over the spot so I knew there were a few carp present,” James told Angling Times. “I had a 27lb mirror the first day and then lost a fish that evening. The next day one of my rods tore off out of the blue. The fish came in easily at first but really woke up once it was under the rod tip. Thankfully it went in the net on the first attempt and on the scales it beat my previous best of 42lb.

“I joined the syndicate this year and this was only my third session so I was delighted to catch one of the lake’s bigg’uns so quickly. The venue’s biggest resident, a  mirror called Jonah, hasn’t spawned yet this year and is looking massive so I can’t wait to get back down there and have a go for it.”


The Norths Biggest Bags At Blundells

THE NORTH’S BIGGEST BAGS

‘The fishing is as good on here as it’s ever been’ is what Fishery owner John Blundell said about the venues Trio Lake recently, a lake where you need 250lb to win a match at the moment, making it arguably the most prolific venue in the North-West this year.

The 60-pegged lake is available for day-ticket anglers and offers fish a chuck action with tonnes of mainly F1’s and mirror carp. A sunny day is the best time to visit this water as the weights really go up when the fish come shallow. You can catch them by loose-feeding pellet on the pole and fishing pellet over the top. The fish average around 2-3lb so something like 0.12mm 3lb mainline should suffice with white hydro or 11 hollow elastic on the pole. Fishing the slop, which is essentially over-wetted groundbait, also works well here, especially in the margins with pellet on the hook. When the fish are on the deck however, the trick is to plumb up, find a nice feature that’s not too deep, say 6ft, and cup in pellets, fishing with pellet or meat over the top on the pole. Around 8m out should be fine.

There are other lakes at Blundells which are also fishing well at the moment. One of them is Hawthorne Canal (12 pegs). The water has a good mix of stock including carp, tench and bream. However, it is the skimmers making the headlines on here and these can provide an excellent, fun days sport with nets to 40lb. To catch these simply fish the pole or waggler on the deck with a 4mm pellet over the top of a bed of cupped-in micros in 5ft of water.

TIP: Plumb up carefully on Trio as there are many underwater features such as sunken islands at around 8 and 14m which are fish holding features.

Prices: £6 a day or £5 concessions, £1 for every extra rod

Facilities: Toilets, café local to fishery

Contact: 01617 752124 www.hamiltonsweb.co.uk

Location: Moss Side Farm, Prospect Lane, Rixton, Warrington,WA3 6EJ

Rules: No floating baits, barbless only, no keepnets, no feed boilies, groundbait in moderation

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Rare Cornish common caught by Chris Taylor

A 40lb Cornish common is a very rare thing indeed but here’s one of them in the arms of Chris Taylor.

The St Austell rod took the 40lb 8oz fish from a silty three-acre reservoir having targeted the venue after relocating from Manchester in December.

The fish, which was last out at 37lb 14oz in 2011, came at the end of a 20-night campaign that involved regular baiting with boilies based on the classic Rod Hutchinson flavours of Mulberry Florentine and Monster Crab.

Chris said: “I got to the lake at 7pm, got the rods out and sat through a proper storm. At midnight I had a jittery take on my right-hand rod and, after passing the rod under the other two to steer the fish away from the lilies, got what felt like a right chunk out in open water.

 
“After 10 minutes of the fish giving powerful runs and trying to bury herself into the silt I got her up on the surface and as soon as I saw her my legs buckled – it was the big girl!”

Being the only angler on the lake, Chris messaged some friends and Shaun Parkinson arrived at 5am to do the photos.

“I cannot describe the elation I felt packing up,” said Chris, “a 40lb common in Cornwall is virtually unheard of and like rocking-horse poo.”



40lb 10oz carp caught at Monk's Pit

A LAST-minute bite turned a frustrating weekend into a successful one for Carl Sharp as he tempted one of the jewels of Monk’s Pit.

The West Midlands rod fished a 48 hour session on the Cambridgeshire water but wasn’t rewarded until moments before packing up when the mirror known as Moonscale picked up his bait and turned the scales round to 40lb 10oz.

The Solar-backed 29-year-old said: “Not a lot happened throughout the session, and although I could see fish present in the opposite swim – which was occupied – I couldn't help but feel that I wasn't far away from slipping the net under one of the Monk’s carp.

“I was all packed away bar the rods on the Sunday morning as I had to be away by 10am due to Father’s Day plans.

“I was just contemplating which rod to reel in first at 9:55am when the middle rod pulled up tight! Fortunately my dad was on hand to quickly reel the other rods in out of the way as I could tell straight away from the slow, deep, plodding fight that I was connected to one of the Monk's Jewels.

“I was under the impression that I may have possibly landed a mid-30, but it wasn't until I laid the fish on the unhooking mat that I could appreciate its sheer bulk!

“It was a fantastic start to Father’s Day as my dad played a part in helping to land the beast – amazing.”

Carl used a Solar Club & Cream dumbbell boilie tipped with an 11mm Dairy Cream pop-up over boilies and hemp. Rigs were snowman setups featuring 10 inches of Solar Easy Strip and a size-six Solar Stronghold Longshank hook.


Ben Allen catches Royal Forty

THE sought-after Royal Forty has upheld its tradition of being caught on June 16 – this time the lucky captor being Ben Allen who banked it at 44lb 14oz.

It was the third season that the Shepperton, Surrey-based rod had targeted the famous Richmond Park Lake inhabitant and the fish was the result of his first bite from the lake.

Three days before the new season started the 28-year-old baited a spot at 40 yards range with 2kg of Obsession Carp Baits Red Fish boilies and then fished a single cork ball pop-up during the session. This was mounted on a hinged-stiff rig tied with 20lb Korda Mouthtrap and a G-Force Straight Point hook.

“My mate had lost a fish earlier that morning and the Royal Forty is usually always the first fish to be caught from the lake when it opens for the new season,” Ben told Angling Times.

 “He was devastated and as such when I received a take I certainly didn’t think it was the Royal. It came in fairly easily but when my mate waded out to net it he saw the distinctive dorsal fin and we knew exactly what I was attached to.”

Once on the bank the fish broke Ben’s previous best of 37lb 4oz. “The fish is a really special one as it’s believed to between 40 and 50 years old,” he added.


Pair of specimen River Dove barbel landed

A QUICK bite on Andy Cartlidge’s first session of the new season resulted in his target fish for the year – this 15lb 14oz barbel from the River Dove.

The Stoke-on-Trent-based engineer began the trip by baiting up with a few handful of boilies and then rested the swim for an hour before casting out.

His patience was then rewarded when his tip was pulled round within 10 minutes of positioning his rig in a gap between two overhanging willow trees on the far bank.

“I couldn’t quite believe it,” the 44-year-old told Angling Times. “I’d spent all of last season, fishing at least once a week, trying to catch this particular barbel and then had it on my first session since the river reopened.

“It was funny really, as I was fishing with my mate John Davey and we saw the fish roll in his swim. It must have swam over his baits and then taken mine instead.”

Andy mounted an 18mm Frank Warwick Baits Relish boilie on a 3ft Sufix Camoskin hooklink and a size 6 hook.

On the same waterway, Michael Jones smashed his personal-best on the first day of the river season with a 14lb 2oz barbel.

After spending a couple of hours on the bank without any indications, Michael decided to pack up his gear and move to a different swim further upstream closer to a weir. His efforts were rewarded when his large piece of hair-rigged luncheon meat was taken by the impressive specimen at 5am.

“This fish beat my previous pb by nearly 3lb,” explained Michael. “I was over the moon. I asked a nearby angler to take the catch picture for me and we were both stunned by the size of the fish. It was a great first day to the river season and hopefully I’ll be fortunate enough to catch a few more like it over the coming months.”



Stunning mirror tops trio

THIS stunning 35lb 2oz mirror was the highlight of a trio of specimens caught by Luke Griffiths during a 48 hour session on a Cambridgeshire gravel pit.

The Peterborough-based landscape gardener baited his chosen spot with 2kg of 14mm Mainline Hybrid boilies and offered a Milky Toffee pop-up over the top.

A common of 21lb and a second mirror of 26lb also fell to the approach and all three were beaten with hinged-stiff rigs consisting of a 25lb Fox Rigidity hook section attached to a size 5 Arma Point SR hook.


Anglers Cashing in at The Bank

This almost forgotten stretch of river has once again made a comeback as anglers visiting the venue on the opening days of the season have been recording some good nets of bream to 60lb.

The pegs have been re-set on the 5-mile North Bank, so where it used to be 1-400 it has now been changed. Pegs 1-30 have been cut out and are situated around 1000-yards from the Dog and Doublet sluice at the eastern end. These are the pegs to head to for the best action. As always here it is the groundbait feeder or balling-in approach which is paying dividends.  Use an open-ended feeder of around2-3 ounce filled with a sweet bream groundbait such as brown crumb and Van Den Eynde Gold Pro with plenty of loose offerings such as red squatts, casters and chopped worm. The red squatts work really well particularly if the smaller 1-2lb skimmers are feeding well and there are plenty showing at the moment.  The trick is to throw out 8-10 balls of groundbait around two-thirds of the way across or more at the beginning then fish the feeder over the top. Don’t be negative as the balls will help attract then hold the bream. It is an all or nothing approach to fishing on the North Bank these days as there are few smaller fish worth targeting anyway. Rigs can be fairly light with size 16 hooks but remember some of the bream go to 6lb or more. If you don’t want to fish the tip you can use the long pole which can also produce particularly on pleasure sessions. Do the same above but fish a rig of say 1-2 gram over the top with bulk-shotting to get the bait down quickly.

There are roach to be had in here as the summer wears on and these tend to be taken from the pegs on the gravels close to the Millenium Bridge. There are currently a lot of bream rolling here so these pegs may also be worth trying with the same tactics as above. The whole length fishes better when there is a little flow and colour to it so any rainfall before a session is a good sign. It may also be worth moving pegs if the one your on proves fruitless as the fish often move from one day to the next.

TIP: Take an array of different hook baits and keep trying different ones as the bream can be picky and one day will be different from the next.

River Nene, North Bank, Peterborough
Prices: £5 on the bank, Peterborough DAA or £4 from local tackle shops
Contact: Wades Tackle, 01733 565159 www.peterboroughfishing.co.uk
Location: North Bank, Peterborough, Cambs, PE6 0RW
Rules: No bloodworm or joker, no livebaiting, Fishing in river season June 16th to March 15th only

 


Top Sport For Anglers At Saltfleetby

Local anglers flock to Saltfleetby every week as the guarantee of a good days sport and a heavy net is a continuous occurrence particularly through-out the summer for both match and pleasure anglers.

This is a venue which is ideal for those wanting a keepnet full of fish using the simplest of tactics. At the moment all three lakes are fishing as good as ever with nets topping 100lb on both the Main and Island Lakes which are both popular amongst match anglers due to the stock of small carp. On the Main Lake it is these fish which dominate despite being a mixed venue and they average around 4lb. In warmer temperatures fishing shallow is king on here and angler fish the pole while loose-feeding pellet continuously. You can also fish the pellet waggler here to good effect. Use a mainline of around 0.14mm with a hook around a size 18. Feed pellets should be around 4-6mm using a soft version on the hook. There are also plenty of roach in here which can be caught fishing maggot or caster shallow for a nice 20lb net, feeding 20-30 maggots every cast. The pegs behind the café are the hot pegs on this lake.

The Island Lake (24 pegs) is even more prolific. Pleasure anglers can haul in 150lb plus nets with the carp averaging around 2lb. Top tactic here is to fish the margins, in around 2ft of water, with your pole top two or three using dead maggots or pellets as feed. Keep the feed going in and find a rhythm for a nice net of fish.  The hot pegs on here are 1, 9, 18, 20 and 24. These pegs have fish holding features such as beds of rushes and the carp tend to reside here, although a good net can be taken from anywhere with bite a chuck action.
Alternatively you can target the silverfish only Kingfisher Lake which is full of roach and skimmers and ideal for beginners or those not wanting to catch carp.
TIP: When margin fishing on Island Lake, feed making as much noise and splash as possible to help attract the fish.

Saltfleetby Fishery, Louth, N Lincs
Prices: £7 a day £9 for two rods, concessions £5
Contact: 01507 338272, www.saltfleetbyfisheries.co.uk
Location: Saltfleetby Fisheries Ltd, The Fisheries, Main Road, Saltfleetby, Louth, Lincs, LN11 7SS
Facilities: Tackle shop, café, toilets
Rules: No boilies, nets to be dipped, fishery own pellets, barbless only, no fish over 3lb in keepnets, no floating pole, no braid, 6 inch plus hooklengths only, groundbait in feeders or pole cups only


Catch a Lump at Shiplate Farm's Main Lake

One of the South’s most up and coming fisheries, Shiplate Farm has made a name for itself in recent seasons, not only as a bagging venue but one which offers some cracking big fish action.

The venue’s Main Lake is a case in point as it is full of big carp averaging around the 12lb mark, making it an ideal runs water for those looking to catch their PB carp. Anglers visiting this lake often report around 5-10 of these fish per visit and what makes it more appealing is that you can catch them on whatever tactic you wish. The trick is to not fish with too bigger bait, as venue regulars will testify as they prefer to use soft pellets, paste or even corn. If its big bream you like to catch there are also plenty of these in here reaching 13lb and these are captured using more traditional feeder tactics with double red maggot or worm on the hook. Nets to 90lb are possible with these fish on a good day.

For the more match style angler there are the two canal-style 15 peg lakes Hawthorns and West Pool. Both these contain mixed stock but the majority of catches are made up of carp. The West Pool, which is around 15m wide, is more thinly stocked but the fish are bigger so weights on both lakes are often the same, with winning nets topping 70lb. On West the carp average around 6-8lb while on Hawthorns, which is 12-13m wide, they are 4-5lb. Both these lakes are fishing well with paste or pellet on the pole at the moment and the fish tend to be caught in both the near and far bank margins. However, later in the session it is worth trying the deeper track where you will find 5-6ft of water for the odd bigger fish.

Location: Shiplate Farm Fishery, Shiplate Road, Bleadon, Weston-Super-Mare, Somerset, BS24 0NY

Prices: £7 for one rod, £7.50 for two, concessions £1 off. Main Lake (bookings essential) is £8 for one rod or £10 for two

Contact: 078958 52162 www.shiplatefarmfishery.co.uk

Facilities: Toilets, shop selling small range of baits as well as snacks and cold and hot drinks.

Rules: No meat on the Main Lake, Barbless only, no braid, no bait boats, no dogs

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Wraysbury giant landed at 41lb 8oz

TONY Roberts has landed his second forty in as many years from the ultra-difficult Wraysbury in the form of this stunning 41lb 8oz mirror.

The Sticky Baits-backed rod fished a mid-week overnighter on the historic Berkshire venue and before leaving in the morning he baited his spot heavily with 12mm Krill boilies in preparation for his next trip at the weekend.

“When I returned late on Friday I could see the fish had eaten every last bit of it and I was extremely confident of catching, which is something a little special considering the venue,” he said. “I lowered a couple of rigs baited with double hookbaits off the boat and along with a few handfuls of bait around the area.”

Four fish showed over the spot the next morning but when they stopped showing an hour late he feared he’d missed his chance.

“Soon after, however, the bobbin pulled tight and the line picked up through the water before connecting to a heavy fish. It held deep and felt so strong, at times I thought it was solid in weed, but instead it was charging around and twisting and turning under the boat.

“I was desperate to land it and when I caught a glimpse of a large light shape and it looked like one of the Simon Scott stockies.

“Once in the net, it confirmed my theory on the identity and also the weight. I knew it felt heavy and this fish looked every ounce of forty pounds. We got her on the bank and she weighed an impressive 41lb 8oz and my second Wraysbury forty in as many years on the Krill.”