Top carpers ready to go head-to-head

THE sport’s biggest names are set to go head-to-head in what is being billed by many as the ultimate match in carp fishing.

‘The Battle of Britain’ will see teams from UK-based manufacturers fight it out at the prolific French venue, Lac de Premiere, owned by professional premiership footballer Tony Hibbert. Brands including Trakker, Nash and Taska have already signed up and the likes of Korda, Fox and Shimano are due to confirm their participation in the coming days.
The event is set to take place in the middle of October and negotiations for it to be televised are at an advanced stage.

With more than 750 carp to over 60lb in the venue big hits of fish are always on the cards and several anglers have already taken 1,500lb-plus hauls from the lake this year.
The match will run over 72 hours and fishery manager Keith Gladden said: “It will be the first time that a contest like this has taken place.

“There’s a lot of big fish in the lake and with a field consisting of such a high caliber of anglers I’m sure there will be some spectacular catches made and hopefully a few of the water’s real big girls will visit the bank,” he added.

Rob Hughes, who founded the hugely successful British Carp Angling Championships, has also played a key role in organising the contest.

“It will be great to see some of the sport’s biggest manufacturers competing against each other on this excellent venue,” he said. “The match will have a bit of a twist to it compared to the regular carp match format but we’re still finalising the details of this so I don’t want to give away too much just yet – keep an eye out in the coming weeks for more information.”


Terrific Fishing at Hull's Rush Lyvars Fishery

It has to be one of the most scenic lakes in the North of England but one which is still relatively unknown. Rush Lyvers fishery near Hull, is a fantastic hidden gem of a venue which is currently producing some cracking nets of fish to 50lb.

Another good feature about this venue is that the pegging space is so generous; you have bags of room between each peg and there are 150 of them to choose from spread across 7 acres, split into two areas, The Deeps and The Shallows. The Deeps is the old trout lake area and The Shallows is the old coarse lake both have a large variety of species, which include carp, ide, bream and tench to name a few.

 There are numerous features and depth variations throughout the fishery which include islands and depths to 15 feet. Tactics can vary depending on the peg chosen, which can include waggler, feeder and the pole so chose what is comfortable to you for a good days sport. Currently pole anglers are fishing shallow (around 2ft) with 6mm meat cubes on the hook and as feed but caster, pellet and maggot also all work here. It is also worth having a rig setup for fishing on the deck which is where you should start your session, feeding more meat and expander pellets by hand to bring the fish up in the water, where you can use your shallow rig later. The average size of the fish is around 2-3lb with the odd lump and plenty of small stuff in between. With this in mind you want to use a mainline of around 0.14 and an elastic of say 5-8 for on the deck and 10 for up in the water. Fans of hollow elastic can use yellow or blue hydro, while hooks sized 14 or 16 should cope with anything you encounter in here. You won’t need too much bait here so just take a bag of pellets and cut up two tins of meat for a fantastic days fishing.

TIP: When fishing shallow, shorten the line between pole-tip and float and try using a couple of small back shot behind your pole float in order to help with missed bites.

RUSH LYVARS LAKE

Location: Preston Road, Hedon, Near Hull, East Yorkshire HU12 8JU

Contact: 07530951103, 01482 897611 day time only

Prices: £5 per day - 1st extra rod £2, 2nd extra rod £1, available on the bank, night carp fishing only - £15 per night (Bookings Only) - from dusk till 7.30am, no guests

Facilities: Toilets, designated disabled pegs (wheelchair friendly)

Rules: Barbless hooks only, no ground bait or hemp, all carp to be returned to the water immediately

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Stunning 32lb 12oz mirror from tricky Cambridgeshire syndicate

Scott Grainger only received one bite during his latest session on a Cambridgeshire syndicate water – but he wasn’t complaining as it resulted in this stunning 32lb 12oz mirror.

The fish came on the final morning of the local engineer’s 48 hour stint on the tricky venue from a small gravel spot which he located 20 yards from the bank in an area of the lake where he’d seen a number of fish showing.

Despite fish showing in front of him it wasn’t until the final morning of the session when, out of the blue, his alarm burst in to life.

“The fish gave a decent account of itself and weeded me up on a couple of occasions,” the 34-year-old told Angling Times. “Each time I kept the pressure on and managed to get the fish moving again. As I drew it over the net I got a glimpse of a large scaly flank and on the bank once I got the fish out of the net I was blown away by it. Carp certainly don’t get much better looking,” he added.

Scott put his faith in Denham Baits The Element boilies and offered 16mm bottom baits over two kilos of free offerings. These were mounted on long supple hairs tied directly to the eye of an Owner C3 hook and a Sufix Heavy Skin hooklink.


Double figure river bream on bread

CATCHING double figure bream is usually associated with fishing stillwater venues but this 10lb 11oz specimen was landed from a stretch of the tiny River Ivel.

Fox-backed Dan Sales was targeting the waterway’s carp and chub when he spotted three huge bream grazing on the bottom so decided to try and tempt a bite with a thumb-sized piece of bread flake folded around a size 6 wide gape hook.

“I’ve never seen bream this big in the river before and this was the smallest of the tree,” Dan told Angling Times.

“There’s no doubt that the other two were around 12lb to 13lb and they were actually pushing the carp out of the way to get to the bread.”


Stoneacres stunner

CARP don’t get much better looking than this magnificent 35lb 6oz mirror from Stoneacres on the Linch Hill complex caught by Adam Smith.

The Sticky consultant also landed carp of 33lb and 27lb along with five tench to a massive 11lb 12oz during his session on the Oxfordshire venue.

His biggest fish, which has only been caught a handful of times over the last six years, was taken on a critically-balanced pop-up rig fished over 2.5kg of whole and chopped Sticky Krill boilies.


100lb Mixed Nets at Willow Park

Still undoubtedly one of the best commercial waters in the UK, Willow Park is still attracting thousands of anglers every month.

Currently it is the 30 pegged, Small Lake which is the most prolific of the three lakes with mixed nets topping 100lb.
Carp averaging around 6lb but going into double-figures are the predominant species on this pool but there are also plenty of tench, crucians and bream. With depths of around 5ft most people fish with the waggler on the deck around 10ft from the bank and then move closer in as the session progresses. The trick is to loose feed 4mm pellets and fish a 6mm banded version over the top, shallowing up if required. As on many UK commercials it is also worth feeding elsewhere in the margins with meat or corn on the pole or waggler as this can help snare you some of the bigger fish in the lake. A third line can also be fished on the pole at around 13m, fishing shallow with 6 or 8mm banded pellet for the F1’s and carp.

The Middle Lake (27 pegs) has not been as prolific as it was last year but is still worth a visit with nets to 40lb being caught regularly. This may be a good lake to try if you want to get away from the crowds.  It is similarly stocked to the Small Lake and responds well to the pole fished at around 13m with 6mm pellet. You can also use the feeder on here fished at short distances with the same hookbaits.
Lastly there is the Big Lake. This 82 pegged lake is an excellent carp water with a huge head of double-figure fish including some bigger specimens to 34lb. It is therefore more suited to the specimen angler but you can fish it during the day with match style tactics if you fancied catching a double-figure carp on the pole or feeder. There is also still some bream in here to 7lb which can be caught using groundbait feeder tactics.

TIP: Try an inline pellet feeder with dampened 2mm feed pellets for the bigger fish on the small lake, fishing around 20 yards out.
Willow Park Fishery

Prices: £10.50 a day one rod, £16 two rods, concessions £5.50 one rod £11 for two, budget evening tickets available. Big Lake is £25 for 24 hours (two rods), £42 for 48 hours, longer bookings available.
Contact: 01252 325867, www.willowparkfishery.co.uk
Location: Youngs Drive, Off Shawfield Road, Ash Vale, Aldershot, Hants, GU12 6RE
Rules: Barbless hooks only, no keepnets, no floating baits, no nuts or seeds, minimum 4 inch hooklength
Facilities: Café open 7 days a week, toilets, shower, tackle shop


The Fish Are Feeding At Barnburgh

The good thing about Barnburgh is that each lake offers anglers something different so whether you want to catch a net of carp or a nice mixed net of silverfish there is something here for everyone.

On Lake 1 (32 pegs) mixed nets to 160lb have been coming out this summer with carp, barbel and F1’s making up the bulk of the weights. The carp in here average around 2lb while the F1’s are slightly smaller. The barbel put up a good fight and can be caught as heavy as 6lb. These fish tend to hide in either the margins or across the far side to the island at 14m where they can be targeted using meat. The depth here is at its deepest down the track at around 6-7m where it is 5ft; it is here where anglers have been catching F1’s by feeding caster or pellet and fishing shallow with a banded 4-6mm pellet.

Lake 2 (23 pegs) is more natural in shape and has no island. This lake is unique in that it offers anglers the chance to target silverfish including bream, skimmers, barbel and roach or just for F1 carp. For silverfish you can catch a nice mixed net to 100lb by using just your top three or four kit on your pole and feed micro pellets using a softened 4mm over the top. You can also catch well on smaller baits such as maggot. For the F1’s you can fish shallow further out but some anglers like to try a small inline Method feeder with micro pellets and a bigger pellet on the hook and cast it to the shallow bar hidden out in the middle. The depth here is only around 1.5ft deep compared to 6ft elsewhere in the lake but can only be reached from pegs 9 and 10 or from pegs 13 to 16.

Finally there is Lake 3. This lake is heavily stocked with F1 carp to 3lb offering very easy fishing. This is a one a chuck action style water where nets well over 200lb are consistently recorded on a mixture of methods. It makes a good lake for a club match and has 35 pegs. Paste in the margins has been working well but with an island at around 14m many anglers also fish to this as well as the usual shallow tactics down the track like on Lake 1.

TIP: On Lake 1, don’t get caught in the mindset of just fishing shallow down the track, As the summer wears on the fish tend to shy away to the far bank here so feed a line across with pellets for barbel and F1’s.

Barnburgh Lakes

Prices: £5 a day, £4 concessions
Contact: 07752 528086, www.barnburghlakes.co.uk
Location: Ludwell Hill, Barnburgh, Doncaster, DN5 7EE
Rules: Barbless only, no boilies, no floating baits, groundbait in cup or feeder with 1kg maximum, no keepnets, no method feeders
Facilities: Toilets


Thirty caught off the top after work

HARRY Charrington has been making the most of the hot weather we’ve been experiencing and caught this 30lb 4oz mirror off the top of an Essex syndicate water during a quick session after work.

With a large number of ducks on the venue, the Fox International media assistant fed over 4kg of Richworth Floating Trout pellets down one end of the lake to keep them occupied and then headed to the other end where the majority of the fish were.

It didn’t take long for Harry to get a few fish feeding confidently and he cast out a hair-rigged trout pellet on a size 10 Arma Point SSSP hook tied to a 12lb Zig and Floater hooklink with a Medium Bolt Bubble controller float.

“The fish was a stunner and I was made up with the catch,” explained Harry. “It was the first fish I’ve caught from the syndicate and was also a new surface personal best by 2oz. When the weather is as hot as it has been you can’t beat a spot of floater fishing as the fish generally just are not interested in feeding on the deck.

“I didn’t have any other fish but as I only arrived at the venue at 5.30pm and had left by 7pm with a thirty under my belt I was well chuffed.”


Rod licence sales to under 16s crash

A report released by the Environment Agency has revealed a worrying decline in junior rod licence sales.

The amount of kids aged 12-16 going fishing has dropped by 44 per cent in just four years according to the figures, slumping from 77,000 in 2009 to 44,000 in 2013.

The news comes despite numerous schemes being launched in recent years to encourage new blood in to the sport with funding from governing bodies such as Sport England, the EA and the Angling Trust.

Sarah Collins, who runs the Get Hooked on Fishing Campaign - which coaches thousands of kids every year - believes that although more needs to be done, including councils providing more access to fishing for youngsters, the figures may not be a true representation. “When you are being coached by level 1 or 2 coaches in schemes and campaigns like mine you are not required to buy a licence, so many kids have simply not done so,” she explained. “Also, anglers can apply for an exemption from buying a rod licence when trying out the sport during club and council open days whereas they previously needed to buy a licence. We need to work together with councils and the community to improve access to waters for kids such as country parks where fishing should be free for under 16’s as youngsters of that age often find it hard to afford to go fishing,” she added.

Sarah’s campaign alone has seen an estimated 40,000 youngsters pass through its coaching processes since it began in 1999, including over 8,000 last year.

Former England International, Denis White, who has helped coach thousands of young anglers, also believes more needs to be done in schools to encourage kids: “Angling should be on the curriculum because it not only introduces them to a new sport it focuses them on learning and relaxes them. The kids become better behaved and learn about the environment too.”

Richard Wightman, Environment Agency Fisheries Manager revealed they are working closely with the Angling Trust to try and reverse the figures. “Children under 12-years-old can fish for free and we’re keen to encourage more people to pick up a rod and give fishing a go. We’re working with the Angling Trust to deliver the National Angling Strategy and encourage people to come back to angling or take it up for the first time. We have also kept the rod licence price the same for the fourth year running, including those for juniors which are just £5.”

Top schemes
There are a number of courses which aim to encourage newcomers to the sport - check these out to find one near you:
• Get Hooked On Fishing, www.ghof.org.uk, 075252 55572
• Take a Friend Fishing, www.takeafriendfishing.co.uk, 08454 599956
• Les Webber’s own coaching scheme , www.angling-projects.org.uk, 01189 431701
• Lymm Angling Club Junior Coaching Scheme, www.lymmanglersclub.com/juniors, 07525 360804
• Kingfisher Pool, Warwick, www.kingfisherpool.co.uk
• Fir Tree Fishery, Wigan, www.firtreefishery.co.uk, 01257 252607
• Gipping Valley Angling Club, Suffolk, www.gippingvalleyanglingclub.co.uk/junioracademy
• Cob House Fishery, Worcester, www.cobhouse.org/fishing-academy, 01886 888517
• Carp Society’s Junior Carp Camp at Horseshoe Lake, A four-day coaching camp for youngsters aged 12 to 16, www.horseshoelakelechlade.com/society
• Korda British Young Carpers Angling Championship, An annual fishing competition for carp anglers aged under 17, Visit www.bycac.co.uk
• I Love Fishing. Korum’s scheme to inspire the next generation of anglers includes offering tips and advice and all-in-one starter kits, www.clubkorum.co.uk/I_Love_Fishing


Solar Tackle launch new online shop

This morning saw the launch of Solar Tackle’s brand-new webshop, Solar 24-7.

Now every item made by the popular carp brand is available at the click of a button. You can shop direct with Solar Tackle from you Mac, PC, smart phone, iPad or tablet, 24-hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year and have your goods delivered straight to your door, lake, or anywhere else you desire.

At the time of launching, there are more than 2950 products available at Solar 24-7, and this number of tackle and bait items will continue to grow with special offers, deals, limited-edition items and exclusive products for customers to take advantage of being uploaded each week.

Solar 24-7 has been designed to be user friendly, enabling even the most technophobic angler to enjoy all the benefits of shopping online. Better still, you’ll find images, descriptions, technical specifications, details and videos on all of the Solar products so that you can find the perfect items for your fishing and buy with confidence.

Commenting on the move Solar Tackle boss Martin Locke said:
“From where we are, we can’t reasonably expect retailers to stock everything that we produce, as Solar has a large portfolio, with both bait and tackle arms to the business. Obviously, we won’t slow down our developments just for that reason. We also want the angler to have the full Solar product range easily available to them. So, we have taken the now obvious route of launching www.solar24.7.co.uk, our very own webshop, so that anglers have 100% availability of everything that we make, at the touch of a button, anywhere in the world.”

To keep in touch with Solar Tackle 'like' their Facebook page www.facebook.com/SolarSharperCarper

SHOP ONLINE AND ENJOY:
Special offers
Exclusive, limited edition products
Bulk-bait deals
Huge availability of the entire, extensive Solar range
Free delivery anywhere in the UK on all order over £75
Free delivery anywhere in mainland Europe on all orders over €100
Expert advice and instructional videos demonstrating how to get the very best out of the products you buy.

DOWNLOAD THE FREE ‘APP’
Download the Solar24-7 ‘App’ for free and have the entire Solar Tackle warehouse available to you at the touch of a button; Simply log onto www.solar24-7.co.uk from your mobile device and follow the instructions.

EXPERT ADVICE
Videos from members of the highly-experience Solar team will be regularly uploaded, offering hints, tips and advice on how to get the best out of all manner of products and baits. We’ll also be uploading underwater footage of various products and baits to give you a carp’s eye view.

LAUNCH OFFERS
Here is just a selection of the 10 launch offers available at www.solar24-7.co.uk right now:

1: SEAFOOD SESSION PACK – 15% OFF
Get your hands on a whole host of the all-new Seafood Take-Away range at a bargain price.

2: BULK-BAIT DEALS - £6.50 PER KILO!
Buy 100kg+ of any Solar boilie or dumbell for just £6.50 per kilo.
Smaller quantities are also available, starting at 20kg for just £7 per kilo.

3: TASTER PACKS – 15% off
Want to try one of the Solar baits and save yourself money? Take advantage of these taster packs in each of Solar’s 7 boilie-range flavours. 


70lb silverfish nets at Anglers Hideaway

Little is known about this delightful fishery located deep in the Warwickshire countryside but having had major renovation work on the site including the enlarging of the lakes as well as some re-stocking the venue has improved dramatically.

Anglers are now leaving the venue with smiles on their faces with silverfish nets to 70lb being recorded this year making a refreshing change to the multitude of match carp waters in the area. Sapphire Lake (22 pegs) is the largest and most popular water on site and  like the other two it contains a mix of stock including tench to 4.5lb, chub to 3lb, bream to 5lb, crucians and F1’s to 3lb as well as tonnes of roach, rudd and perch. As a pleasure angler you can expect a good net of around 30lb using simple pole or waggler tactics. We recommend feeding two lines, one at around 11m and one closer in or in the margins. Cup in or ball out two or three balls of sweet groundbait, such as Sonubaits Sweet Fishmeal F1 and loose-feed the bait of your choice over the top. Corn, meat, pellets, maggots or casters all work at this venue on all three lakes. Re-feed only when bites die off and keep loose feeding or potting in loose feed little and often over the top. As the fish only go to around 5lb in here you can get away with fishing fairly lightly and with depths varying between 5-9ft a light float of say 4BB or 0.75 gram on the pole should suffice.

Ruby Lake which has 12 pegs is very similar to Sapphire in what there is to catch so similar tactics can be used. As for Diamond Lake, this is also predominantly a mixed stock venue but there are some double-figure carp in here which can be targeted at night or by fishing on the surface. The standard size of fish in here is also larger than in the other two lakes so you will need stronger gear.

TIP: Don’t ignore the margins on all three lakes as they can be very productive any time throughout the day.

Anglers Hideaway Fishery

Prices: £7 a day £4 concessions, £4 after 5pm, 24 hour ticket on Diamond Lake is £20
Contact: 07513 321083, www.anglershideawayfishery.co.uk
Location: Anglers Hideaway, Knightcote Road, Bishops Itchington, Southam, Warwickshire, CV47 2SL
Rules: Barbless only, carp and silverfish to be separated in keepnets, groundbait not to be fed excessively
Facilities: Toilets, showers (coming soon)


Fish O' Mania heading to America

AMERICA and the rest of Europe could soon be gripped by Fish O’ Mania fever if ambitious plans by its organisers go ahead.

Matchroom Sport want to screen the £30,000 final overseas after last Sunday’s Fish O’ International was shown live in Holland and they exclusively revealed to Angling Times that they may even look at holding a European qualifier for the event.

It’s more good news for the high-profile competition, which recently announced it was committed to UK screens until at least 2017 as part of an agreement between Matchroom and Sky Sports.

Last weekend Jamie Hughes produced a faultless display to win the final on Arena Lake at Staffordshire’s Cudmore Fishery, and Matchroom’s media director Luke Riches is sure the event would be a hit in the States.

“Initially it could be as a two hour highlights programme and we’re currently in talks with Fox. We already sell and distribute the bass fishing shows over there which are massive and each tournament involves hundreds of thousands of dollars. But the fishing itself it’s very basic and it’s like chalk and cheese compared to our UK match fishing,” he said.

Luke also explained that Fish O’ Mania is becoming increasingly popular in Europe, with Dutch broadcaster RTL screening six hours of last Sunday’s International two-man team event which was won by England’s Alan Scotthorne and Will Raison.

“Next year Italy and Belgium should be able to fish too, as this time it clashed with a few of their events. If there becomes sufficient interest in the competition, we may even look at possibly holding a qualifying match in France or Italy,” he said.

 


British shore caught skate record broken

CRAIG MacKay had to endure a titanic five hour battle before landing a new shore caught British record common skate, weighing 223lb.

The 49-year-old from Halkirk in Scotland, used a whole mackerel bait from an undisclosed mark on the North coast of the country. And just 30 minutes after casting out he hooked in to the huge specimen and began an epic fight to land what he described as ‘the most amazing fish you could ever catch’.

“I could barely stand by the end and even had cramp throughout the scrap” he told Angling Times. “The fish stripped off yards and yards of line and then it swam beneath a huge undercut on the cliff.

It took me ages to get it out and then I had to move back to where I originally hooked the fish in order to be positioned low enough to lift it out onto the rocks - even then we had to wait for a big wave to get it high enough.”

The fish, which will go down in history as an unclaimed record due to the fact it was released alive by Craig, has smashed the official record of 169lb 6oz caught by Gordon MacKenzie from the Isle of Lewis back in 1994.

However, Craig, who has only been fishing for two years, knew a fish of this size was possible after his angling partner, Murray Farmer caught one of a similar weight last year.

“We knew they were there but I had never actually caught one before after losing four in previous sessions. I was desperate to give it another go this year with Murray.

“There was no way I would kill it to claim a record because skate of this size are as old as me. They are a beautiful fish which belong back in the ocean,” added Scot, who is already planning to break his record. “I want to see if there are bigger fish out there but will have to wait a few days as I am still sore from landing this one!”


Double figure tench for perch record holder

PERCH record holder Neill Stephen banked his biggest tench of the year when he slipped the net under this mint-conditioned 10lb 11oz specimen.

The former Drennan Cup Champion from North West London had to make a late start to his tench campaign this season after breaking his arm in May, but he certainly made up for lost time when he visited a tough gravel pit in the Home Counties.

After introducing two buckets of hempseed, he fished popped-up red maggots on a 15lb braided hooklink and 12lb mainline over the top to tempt the specimen that was backed up with another fish weighing 7lb 8oz.


Opening night fifty

ON THE opening night of his new East Midlands syndicate water Jerry Purse landed the lake’s biggest resident at a huge weight of 55lb 10oz.

Faced with a large amount of Canadian pondweed and blanket weed, the 37-year-old from March in Cambridgeshire decided to use a naked chod rig setup to ensure that his hookbait was presented effectively.

“I baited an area roughly half the size of a tennis court with a scattering of Denham Baits Red Enzyme-X boilies at midday and then rested the swim during the day,” Jerry told Angling Times. “I eventually cast out at 7pm and then had the take just two hours later.

“The fish weeded me up twice during the fight and at one point I thought I’d have to go out in the boat to land it. Thankfully it came free, but I’d seen its tail break the surface in the weed and by the size of it I had a very good idea which fish I was attached to.

“Once it was out of the weed it plodded around for a bit before I netted it on the first attempt and smashed my old pb of 31lb.

“The fish in the lake started spawning a few days later so I definitely caught it at the best time,” he added.


30lb target mirror makes it a birthday to remember

Stu Morgan received the perfect birthday present in the form of one his target fish from a Hampshire gravel pit – this 30lb 9oz mirror.

The local Fox International-backed rod had put aside four days to spend on the venue and arrived to find the lake relatively quiet. After a quick look around he found the fish were spread all over the water but settled in a swim where the bulk of them were held up in front of.

He then located a smooth area of silt behind a gravel hump which he baited with a mixture of particles, pellets and boilies before casting two rigs over the top.

Two twenties were landed the following morning but a take the next morning saw him lift in to what felt like a better fish.

“Once in the margins I could clearly see it was a fish called Fingers even though I tried talking myself out of that until it was safely in the net as it was defiantly one from the wanted list,” he said. “I eventually won the battle and on the mat she had clearly spawned successfully as on her last capture she was in excess of 36lb while for me she weighed in at 30lb 9oz but the weight was immaterial.”

Stu beat his prize with a blow-back rig tied with an 8ins Fox Coretex Weedy Green hooklink and a size 7 Arma Point SSSP hook.


52lb carp taken on feeder rod

A roach, a bream and then a 52lb mirror carp! That was the incredible catch taken by Phil Spinks while fishing for tench on Lenwade Charity Lake in Norfolk.

Amazingly, the local Korum consultant managed to successfully land the county’s biggest carp using a light 1.75lb test curve rod and an 11lb Xpert mainline attached to a short 10lb braided hooklink with a size 12 Xpert Specialist hook.

“I’d heard that some of the carp anglers on the lake had been catching some good tench so I decided to have a go for them,” Phil told Angling Times. “I set up in a swim which allowed me to cast towards an island where I often see tench rolling.”

After putting out a bed of casters, pellets and maggots he landed a 5lb bream and a small roach before receiving a stuttering drop-back bite. “As soon as I lifted in to the fish and the rod hooped over I knew I was attached to one of the lake’s two biggest carp. After a nerve-wracking 20 minute fight I steered it over the net and recognised it as Babyface – the Norfolk record carp.

“I had four more carp to 19lb the next morning but no tench so the session wasn’t very successful in that respect – I couldn’t really complain, though, with a 52lb mirror to my name!”


Double figure tench on the Method

“The way my fishing’s been going I think I’d better go out and buy a lottery ticket.”

These were the words of Phil Spinks who, just a week after banking one of the country’s biggest carp at a weight of 52lb on light tench gear, landed one of his intended species - this impressive 10lb 4oz specimen.

A prolific two-hour feeding spell was all that the Korum consultant  needed to get the better of eight fish that came from his local Lenwade Charity Lake in Norfolk, the same venue that produced the huge mirror known as Babyface seven days earlier.

This time round Phil headed to the opposite end of the lake where there’s much more weed present and put out a bed of maggots, casters, hemp and pellets over a clear spot at 55 yards with a small spod.

Over the top of this he cast a method feeder rig constructed with a Korum Dura-Method and a short 3ins Xpert Power Braid hooklink attached to a size 12 Xpert Specimen hook baited with three hair-rigged fake maggots.

He spent the night behind silent bite alarms, but at first light the fish started fizzing over his baited area.

“I was beginning to get a bit worried that I hadn’t had a bite as they were obviously feeding hard,” Phil said. “I kept recasting every 15 minutes or so and at 7am my alarm finally burst in to life. Over the next couple of hours I went on to land seven more tench, including the 10lb 4oz specimen, and a number of roach to over 2lb.

“There’s no doubt that this is the rig of the moment and the beauty of it is that anyone can use with complete confidence – it’s so versatile at a whole host of different venues.

“I visiting the River Trent for the first time soon to have a go for the barbel so hopefully my purple patch will continue,” he added.



44lb 2oz common tops morning haul

THREE fish at sunrise, topped by a 44lb 2oz common, provided Daniel Fellows with some stunning images for his photo album.

The 26-year-old Birmingham-based angler took the big common, a 30lb mirror and a 22lb ghostie in a hectic period shortly after 5am at Linear Fisheries’ Unity Lake in Oxfordshire.

Daniel, who fished a 24-hour session, said: “After seeing plenty of fish showing on the surface in the hot weather I settled into a swim called the Dance Floor.

“I then cast around with the marker rod with no float to find a decent area to fish. I found spots at 70, 80 and 90 yards. All were soft silty areas with around 2 to 3 inches of weed and silkweed to fish in.

“I then cast three chod rigs with Mainline Cell pop-ups on to the spots, feeling the lead down.

“Just before dark, at around 10pm, I put in about 2kg of Cell boilies with a throwing stick over a wide area of about 30 yards over the rods.”

Daniel, who has been a member of the lake for nine months and recently had a 17-fish haul including a 39lb ghostie named Orange Spot, added: “After a warm, sweaty night getting a few liners, the left-hand rod roared off with a 22lb ghost carp at about 5am. As I was netting that, my right-hand rod went off and after about 15 minutes I knew I was in to a good fish. As his head came up out of the water I knew it was the big common; his head was huge!

“The guy next door saw I was having fish so he came round to lend a hand. As we were getting ready to take pictures the last rod went off and produced a lovely 30lb mirror! What a session!”