Packington Fishery Is Packed With Big F1's
With fishing at many commercial venues starting to tail off as winter sets in, weights at Packington have remained excellent. Recent matches fished on the venue’s Little Geary’s have been requiring over 50lb to frame proving the lakes form despite the cooler weather.
The 30-peg intimate pool is stuffed with F1’s to 4lb, providing some fantastic autumn, winter sport. These fish currently prefer the natural baits over the man-made varieties including worm, dead maggots and casters. A successful method for a nice mixed net on here at the moment is to feed chopped worm and caster with a little groundbait via a pole cup and top it up when bites start to dry up, fishing with caster or maggot over the top on the pole or waggler. It is also worth feeding a few casters down in the margins with a little groundbait for later in the session as this line will see carp to 7lb caught along with F1’s and skimmers. Alternatively you can fish a small groundbait Method feeder tight to the island with dead red maggot on the hook and some worm pieces in the mix for bigger carp and F1’s. Both methods will work for a nice mixed net of fish.
Molands Mere is also a lake in form with mixed nets of F1’s to 5lb, carp to double-figures as well as crucians and skimmers being caught regularly. The best weights are being taken on the pole at around 13m in 7-8ft of water. Cup in some groundbait and casters and feed a few casters over the top. For the biggest carp, fish a straight lead with a large 8mm pellet in open water, however, some of these fish are still being landed from the margins using worm or dead maggots over a little groundbait.
TIP: Natural baits are working well on most of the lakes especially dead red maggots
Prices: Adults £7.50. Concessions £5.50.Morning tickets (6am – 12.30pm) and evening tickets (5pm – close) £5 and £4.50
Contact: 01676 522020
Location: Packington Hall, Meriden, Warwickshire, CV7 7HF
Facilities: Car park, disabled access, café, toilets.
Rules: No keepnets, barbless hooks only,
Secret swim on River Trent produces 14lb barbel
Loughborough Soar Angling Society committee member Rob Thompson enjoyed a bumper autumn day’s fishing on his local River Trent when he landed this hard fighting 14lb 12oz barbel.
The 39-year-old specimen hunter decided to cast into a fairly unknown swim on a popular middle stretch of the river where he used a Nutrabaits Trigga boilie to attract the specimen, beating the two 11lb fish he landed from a nearby spot earlier in the year.
Rob used a 5oz cage feeder to hold bottom, filled with pellets of various types and sizes and topped off with groundbait bungs. Mainline was 15lb mono attached to 3ft of braided hooklength on a Korum running rig kit and a Size 6 Korum Xpert Power hook.
Grafham yields 15lb zander for Bob Church
Angling legend Bob Church banked this fine 15lb 1oz zander on his latest visit to the prolific Grafham Water.
The President of the Northamptonshire Specimen Group only had one bite during his day on the vast reservoir in Cambridgeshire, but he certainly made it count after the specimen picked up his static mackerel deadbait.
A rig that offers minimal resistance is essential when targeting this species, so Bob used a set-up that featured a running lead and size 12 hooks.
“I have no doubt that this water contains a zander over the British record in this venue because it’s so big with an endless supply of bait fish,” said Bob.
Big bream after 80 night sessions
Extreme dedication eventually led to Matt Clayton catching this 15lb 10oz bream, his first fish in around 80 night sessions.
The 32-year-old from Mountsorrel has been tackling a tough Midlands reservoir where he rowed his rigs and baits out to a range of 200 yards with a boat, feeding a good helping of groundbait, casters, pellets and corn. He latched into the slab on the third morning of a five night stint after a series of tentative bleeps on his alarms.
“I thought it might weigh 12-13lb when I netted it but it was very bulky across the back. I hadn’t seen one of these bream for two years so I was delighted. I used three rubber casters hair-rigged with a size 12 hook, a 3oz lead rig, 8lb mainline and 10lb IQ hooklength,” explained Matt, who also took another double figure specimen just days later.
It’s his second biggest bream ever, with his personal best standing at 16lb 8oz.
Clubs invited to bid for share of £15 million fund
The latest round of bidding for Sport England funding has opened and angling clubs are being invited to bid for a slice of a £15m pot.
Over 1,300 local community sports groups across the country have already benefitted from the outfit’s Inspired Facilities scheme and they are now looking for new applicants who are in desperate need of improving the waters and amenities they offer.
Sport England Chair, Nick Bitel, said: “With £15 million available this time and a further £40 million in future bidding rounds, there are plenty of opportunities to benefit from this fund.”
Several clubs have already benefitted from the project - which was launched following the London Olympic Games in 2012 to boost participation in all sports - with Burton Mutual AA receiving £50,000 last year to create a new clubhouse to conduct indoor tuition sessions.
Who can bid?
Any angling club who encourages the local community to get involved in the sport is eligible to bid for funding. Grants of up to £50,000 are available to help with issues such as lake restorations and buying tackle to use on coaching days. For more information on how to submit your application visit www.sportengland.org/inspiredfacilities
Second trip to Baden Hall produces 42lb common carp
Chris Jennings didn’t waste any time getting among the larger residents of Baden Hall’s Quarry Pool with the capture of this 42lb 10oz common on only his second session at the tricky Staffordshire venue.
The local 32-year-old located a smooth clear area 60 yards from the bank and primed the spot with a gallon of maggots and chopped Mainline Cell boilies.
“I’d been told that the lake had been fishing pretty slow over the last couple of weeks with very little getting caught,” he said. “That evening I saw loads of fishing over my baited area before one of my rods eventually rattled off. It’s the first time that this fish has been caught over the 40lb-barrier,” added Chris, who put his faith in a trimmed-down Cell pop-up tipped with four artificial maggots.
He beat his prize with a Fox Coretex hooklink and a size 6 Arma Point LS hook with his hookbait mounted on a micro rig swivel.
Also getting in on the action was Luke McPeake who landed a new lake record mirror of 39lb 11oz following a change of swims.
Head bailiff Roy Russell: “Quarry Pool is in excellent form at the moment. The venue’s biggest common is still due out and there are two mirrors which are bigger than the 39lb that must be over the 40lb barrier now.”
New world record Albino catfish
A long battle on the mighty River Ebro ended with Bernie Campbell banking this world record 206lb albino catfish.
The Merseyside angler travelled to the Spanish mecca for his annual trip with his son Gary and decided to leger a huge ball of bait which was made up of five 22mm halibut pellets.
With midnight looming, the action began and although the skip hire manager initially took control, the specimen soon awoke and charged off, almost pulling him in on several occasions.
After 30-minutes it eventually gave up much to the delight of an exhausted Gary.
“I’ve never caught an albino catfish and I was determined to get one this time but I didn’t expect a new world record,” he said.
For more details on fishing the waterway email colin@catmastertours.com
14lb barbel from River Loddon on 6lb mainline
Specimen hunter Mark Erdwin proved that you don’t need strong gear for big barbel after landing this 14lb 4oz fish on just 6lb mainline.
The 34-year-old Shimano backed rod caught the specimen whilst fishing on a local stretch of the Upper River Lodden in Berkshire and was the largest of two double figure fish he landed during a productive session: “The fish were very wary and bites were proving hard to come by so I scaled down my gear a little and switched to natural baits, feeding maggots and casters and using double lobworm on the hook” he said.
Mark used a low resistance link ledger rig with four SSG shot, Daiwa Sensor mainline and a size 12 Ashima hook to land the fish which is now his new personal best from the river.
Two 30lb carp in one night from Norfolk water
A quick overnight session on the Catch 22 No. 2 Syndicate in Norfolk produced a brace of thirties for Lewis Russell.
The highlight of the Norwich-based Nash field tester’s session was the ‘lake’s gem’, The Big Fully at a best ever weight of 35lb. This was backed up with the Two Tone common at 36lb 12oz.
“I couldn’t decide whether to go down to the pond for a quick overnighter but I’m so glad I did now,” he said. “The weather was horrible when I arrived, it was blowing a gale and raining non-stop. I ended up choosing a swim called IT purely due to the fact that the lake’s big common was due out and this is one of the areas it usually comes from.
“I had all three rods out and had seen several shows before dark so was feeling pretty confident,” he added.
His first take came at 4am to his left hand rod which he’d positioned on a hard patch of silt in 11ft of water at 25 yards range.
“After a decent scrap I had the Big Fully in the net. To say I was buzzing was an understatement as it’s the lake’s gem.”
Two hours later he was in again, with the Two Tone Common falling to his right hand rod which was fished to the bottom of a gravel bar in 10ft of water.
Both fish were taken on Nash Scopex Squid Red bottom baits tipped with red plastic corn over 100 free offerings. These were mounted on rigs tied with 15lb Nash Missing Link hooklinks and size 7 Fang Twisters.
Second Chew Valley pike for Gavin Young
The prolific pike sport at Chew Valley Reservoir shows no signs of letting up after Gavin Young got in on the action yet again with this 28lb specimen.
After heading out in a boat towards a known hotspot, the venue regular decided to float-leger a deadbait into the deep water and line was soon being stripped off the reel as the large predator did its best to shed the hook.
It is the second monster in as many weeks he has landed from the Bristol water after he netted a personal best 32lb pike just days before.
Change of plan sees huge chub double banked
A last minute change of plans proved fruitful for Jamie Cartwright who banked two chub over 7lb in consecutive casts.
The Northants Specimen Group member targeted a private stretch of the River Great Ouse in the Midlands which he had pre-baited with boilies the day before and landed fish weighing 7lb 4oz and 7lb 1oz.
“It was a bit early in the season for chub but my friend who I was supposed to be going barbel fishing with cancelled so I headed out chubbing instead. And I’m so glad I did now,” he said.
Jamie took both fish on CC Moore Meteor boilies on running rigs constructed with 10lb mainline, 10lb braided hooklinks and size 8 ESP hooks.
“My first cast produced a fish of 7lb 4oz which I rested in the net before photographing. It would have been rude not to have another chuck, and five minutes later my tip banged round again. After what was without a doubt one of the best fights I’ve ever had from a chub I completed the brace.”
Further south, Bob Hornegold ended a two month break from angling after the loss of his close friend and fellow specimen angler Simon King, by landing a colossal 8lb 9oz chub from the River Lea.
The 68-year-old chairman of the Osprey Specimen Group had only just cast out at the Fishers Green stretch of the waterway when the fish took his hair-rigged All Season Salmon and Crab flavoured boilie offered alongside a PVA bag of broken boilies.
Bob said: “I was actually fishing for barbel but you have to use boilies here to prevent being pestered by crayfish.
“After my friend Simon passed away I just didn’t feel like going fishing for a while, but I think Simon would have wanted me to carry on and I’m sure he would have been happy with this nice fish. I know I am,” added Bob, who beat his prize with a size 10 Gardner Mugga hook and a 12lb Stealth hooklink.
Aire & Calder In Autumn Form For Fishing
Now the temperatures have started to drop and the leaves are falling from the trees anglers are once more making their yearly pilgrimage to the canals. One of the best sections of cut in the country is the Aire & Calder at Altofts. Autumn sport has once more got off to a great start here with match weights touching 20lb in recent weeks.
The canal here is stuffed with roach and perch and the good thing about this waterway is that the action isn’t confined to a couple of ‘flier’ pegs either, with countless spots along several miles of waterway producing chunky redfins almost every drop in.
This canal is fairly wide at around 30m across and with a depth of around 9ft the fishing here is more challenging than on other canals but the amount of fish and the quality of fishing more than makes up for this. Despite the width you don’t need to fish far out. 11m is more than enough to target the roach and this can be done by balling or cupping in some fairly heavy, well -binded river style groundbait to help get the feed down. Lace the mix with casters or pinkies and maggots to hold the fish in the swim. Use a 1 gram pole float with an olivette or bulk shot about two feet from the hook to get the bait down with some small droppers below it for a natural fall of the hookbait. You may also need a heavier rig up to 2-gram for when the canal is pushing through. Try to avoid loose feeding particularly when the canal is moving so any re-feeding should be preferably done via groundbait. You can catch on the waggler here but if you do fish the pole try to use a slightly heavier elastic than usual as to set the hook in the deeper water and to cater for the good stamp of roach. It is also worth feeding a chop worm line short for a bonus perch which go to 3lb here. The worm can be fed in groundbait to get the bait down if the canal is moving or via a bait-dropper, whatever you prefer.
Prices: £3.50 from local tackle shops, Mirfield AC
Contact: Chris Roberts Fishing Tackle 01484 545032 or www.mirfieldac.co.uk
Location: Nearby postocode - Foxholes Lane, Altofts, Normanton, W Yorks WF6 2PE
Facilities: Parking
Great Ouse perch makes it 'double four' for Drennan Cup champ
Gareth Goldson is in the form of his life and the moment and his run of stunning catches continued when he took this 4lb 2oz perch from the Great Ouse.
The Dynamite Baits angler had set his sights on a ‘four’ from a stillwater and a river this winter and he achieved the former earlier in the month with a stunning 4lb 7oz specimen from Grafham Water.
Determined to achieve his overall goal before the end of the year, he headed to hotspot on the Bedfordshire waterway and took a number of fish over 2lb on lure fishing tactics in the early stages.
But it was a switch to legered maggot and worm that brought about the desired response. After feeding the spot steadily for an hour, the tip eventually pulled around slowly.
“It felt too big to be a perch and thought it was maybe a tench or bream to start with but then the head shaking started and knew I was attached to an Ouse giant,” explained Gareth.
“I thought my target of catching 4lb plus perch from a river and a lake over winter was achievable but I never expected to get the job done so quickly,” he added.
Lee Shulver banks 41lb mirror carp from Suffolk Water Park
Lee Shulver joined the forties club with the capture of this 41lb mirror known as Magical from the Big Fish Lake at Suffolk Water Park.
The 47-year-old from Ipswich headed to a quite area of the popular day-ticket water to get away from angling pressure and with the use of his marker rod was able to locate a clear channel between two large weedbeds at 70 yards range.
He had to wait until the final morning of his 48-hour session for the all-important take and following a 20 minute battle he landed his new personal best.
Lee’s winning presentation consisted of a critically-balanced 18mm Mainline Cell boilie mounted on a size 8 Fox Arma Point SSC hook and Korda N-Trap hooklink over a bed of hemp and boilies.
England international Steve Gardner bags up in Florida
England international match ace Steve Gardener made the most of a holiday to Florida as he caught a huge array of exotic species including sharks and goliath groupers.
The Milo angler made the long overseas journey with former Essex County teammate Steve O’Rourke and was into fish from the off, with snook fish to 20lb falling to small livebaits in the early stages of the trip.
Sport hit its peak soon after, with the huge shark and groupers falling to over 400lb taking large deadbaits fished over an artificial reef.
When contacted, he told Angling Times: “It’s really good fun and a change from the weekly routine. The power of some of the fish is incredibly and I’m now looking forward to tarpon fishing in Antigua in a few weeks’ time.”
Sea anglers win fight to save clubhouse
A campaign to stop a local council demolishing a club house that was central to the plans of an angling club looks set to end in victory.
Officials at Weymouth AC were told that blueprints had been drawn up to knock down the harbour-side building to make room for a new car park.
Plans were created to host a meeting between councillors and members of the 113-year-old outfit so that both sides of the argument could be put forward, with a petition also being circulated to gain support for the crusade.
By the end of the exchange, councillors voted that the base should remain and the club should be given a new 10-year lease to secure their future.
Although a final decision won’t be made until next month, there was plenty of reason for optimism and club chairman Billy Short said: “Members helped build this club house with their own hands back in 1974 and we have since invested in new disabled access and many other modernisations.”
“We are very grateful to anglers from all over the world, and to the Angling Trust, for supporting us at this time.”
Spike out at 39lb 14oz
An ultra short two inch hooklink led to the downfall of one the most sought after fish in Manor Farm Lake on the Richworth Linear complex – this 39lb 14oz mirror known as Spike.
Lancashire’s Andy Adams had made the long drive to the famous Oxfordshire fishery and dropped in to the only remaining free swim on the northern end of the lake where he’d seen a few fish showing at close range.
“I was just tying up a couple of solid bags when a good fished crashed out about 50yds in front of me,” said the 23-year-old workshop manager. “I had a couple of casts with a lead and once I’d got a decent drop I got everything clipped-up and put a bag on the spot.”
His rod had only been on the alarm for 10 minutes it signalled a screaming take. A spirited fight followed which concluded with a scaly 22lb mirror in the net.
“I’d only just returned the fish when the same rod was away again. A lengthy battle ensued and at one point the fish just buried its head in the silt and refused to move. I eventually got her moving and once in the net I recognised it as the old mirror known as Spike.”
Andy offered a Sticky Peach and Pepper wafter hookbait inside a solid PVA bag filled with crushed Krill boilies, 2mm and 3mm bloodworm pellets, L-Zero 30 glug and Krill liquid.
“The next 48 hours didn’t produce any action so I moved to St John’s Lake where I landed two more carp of 18lb and 20lb then a catfish of 65lb,” he added.
Two St John's thirties for Chris Lowe
A change in tactics paid dividends for Chris Lowe who landed this stunning scaly 30-pounder.
The Avid-backed angler had nothing for two days at Richworth Linear’s St John’s Lake, until two thirties showed up on the final morning.
The heavily scaled specimen went 30lb 8oz, while the other pulled the needle round to 30lb 12oz.
The Linear regular said: “I fished for three days and filled it in with boilies. Initially I put in 5kg of 15mm Sonubaits’ Code Red and then topped it up with an additional 2kg of 12mm ones. To be honest I thought I might have overdone it as no fish showed over me for two days. In the end I received two takes and banked two thirties.”
Chris, who often fishes pellets and particles at the venue, added: “It’s not generally a boilie water, you’re normally better off fishing ‘bits and pieces’, but I changed my approach this week as we’re moving into autumn.
“I was fishing over the top of some weed, which was the closest area to where I thought the fish were. I was using inch-and-a-half pop-ups, just resting over the weed, and used a lead clip system so I was detaching the lead when I hooked the fish.
“The scaly one was an absolute beauty. Linear’s fishery officer, Chris Blunt, did the pictures and it’s not one we recognised.”
Secret paste tempts huge barbel brace
Specimen angler Geoff Collins topped off a phenomenal week for barbel enthusiasts when he took the biggest brace of the season with fish 18lb 10oz and 15lb 12oz from a Midlands river.
Sport on running waters up and down the country has stepped up a gear during the mild temperatures and the Northamptonshire rod became the envy of thousands of others when he took the unforgettable duo – which also included the biggest individual specimen from any venue this season - on a lump of homemade paste.
With the water coloured and rising, he embarked on a quick evening session and it didn’t take long for him to break his previous best by 8oz with the smallest of the pair.
The best was still to come, though, as a delicate tap on his rod tip turned into a solid wrap round. “It charged off to the far bank and five minutes later I saw the silhouette of the fish - it looked huge,” he said. “The first attempt at netting it failed but I didn’t make any mistakes on the second chance.
“I couldn’t believe what I was looking at when I saw it on the matt. I’d smashed my pb twice in an hour and all the disappointment of not fishing much this year soon disappeared,” added Geoff, who used 12lb mainline and a size 7 Drennan Barbel hook.
Lewis Baldwin also achieved his season’s goal of setting a new personal best for the species when he caught a 17lb 10oz barbel just a foot from the bank.
The 32-year-old, from Stratford-upon-Avon, broke his previous ‘pb’ by 3lb 10oz when he set his sights on a midlands river.
Recent rainfall had caused the water levels to rise so he presented his boilie hookbait close to the near bank where the flow was at its weakest. He also introduced minimal bait due to his chosen stretch being heavily pressured.
A bait dropper full of hemp at the top and bottom of his swim was enough to keep the specimen in the area and a tiny PVA bag filled with two crushed boilies was nicked onto his size 7 Nash Fang hook that was finished with a hair-rigged boilie.
“On stretches which see a lot of pressure it’s important not to overdo it on the bait front,” he explained. “I only really add the PVA bag to ensure that my hooklink straightens out and gives me a good presentation.”
Joe Royffe needed just an hour at one of the UK’s toughest river fisheries to smash his barbel pb with a 15lb 6oz fish that topped a brace of specimens for a combined weight of 27lb 4oz.
The venue regular used 12 CC Moore Meteor boilies wrapped in matching paste and hooked the biggest of the pair just 10 minutes after casting out at the Fishers Green stretch of the River Lea in Hertfordshire.
Shortly after returning the specimen his rod tip was pulled round again resulting in his second double of the session at 11lb 14oz.
One cast, two perch for 7lb
Predator expert John Horsey enjoys nothing more than targeting big perch with fly fishing tactics and his love for that arm of the sport grew stronger when he netted two fish for over 7lb…on the same cast!
During a session at Chew Valley the professional angling guide shunned the more of traditional approach of lure fishing and set up a rig incorporating two flies and a pair of hooks which tempted fish of 4lb and 3lb 2oz.
And to prove the catch wasn’t a fluke, John experienced over a dozen double hook ups during a manic week on the Bristol water, including another huge brace of perch weighing 3lb 11oz and 3lb 9oz.
It is a tactic that he originally took from his game fishing armoury and he hasn’t looked back since first using it several years ago.
“When I’m trout fishing I use four flies on a 20 foot leader and I was confident that if I scaled this down to two flies on a 10 foot leader I would have a good chance of catching some very big perch,” explained John.
“The flies are spaced out five foot apart and it has proved to be devastating when there are big shoals of the species on the hunt – it’s common to have two fish take flies at the same time and it can lead to a fantastic fight,” he added.
Choosing the right fly has also proved to be important, with a number of carefully selected patterns the most effective. He said: “I use minkies and others that replicate fish fry. The perch are shoal feeders and hunt down fry together, hence the high percentage of double hook ups.”
