Father and son net string of personal-bests at Orchid Lakes

A father-and-son duo shared a ‘magical’ string of personal bests on their first visit to Orchid Lake.

Graham and Joel Parsons banked eight fish between them, including four thirties and four twenties from the Alamo swim at the Oxfordshire venue.

Graham, whose previous best was 30lb 6oz, snared mirrors of 30lb 10oz and 35lb 2oz, alongside a 32lb common. His son Joel managed a 32lb 4oz mirror to beat his own personal best, and also netted three other twenties and a mid-double.

“It was a brilliant session – magical,” said 58-year-old Graham. “We’re from north Devon and we’ve been up to Linear before, but Joel wanted somewhere with a good head of thirties so went to Orchid.

“We got the markers out and found a bar at about 50 yards. I put three rods on it and my son put two there, with one a bit further out.”

The pair, who fished for five nights and had fish at all times of the day, baited with a mixture of Mainline New Grange and Cornwall Bait Special Occasion boilies, along with sweetcorn and maggots.

“Every cast I put on PVA bag of tuna flakes, pellets and sweetcorn, all dipped in hemp oil,” said Graham, who fished blowback rigs featuring Korda N-Trap Soft.

 



15lb barbel from the River Nene

Jamie Cartwright has continued his impressive run of form and just days after landing a brace of 7lb-plus chub from the Great Ouse he banked this 15lb 5oz barbel during an evening session on the River Nene.

The Northants Specimen Group member decided to get away from the heavily pressured areas of the waterway and headed to a quiet stretch which he knew received little attention from other anglers.

Arriving just as the light was fading Jamie adopted his favoured barbel approach, offering a large homemade boilie on a size 6 ESP D7 hook and a 15lb Korda N-Trap hooklink set up as a running rig with a 2.5oz grippa lead.

“The first hour had been very quiet and I was just about to reel in to move to a different area when my tip wrapped round,” he told Angling Times.

“My mate and I have been searching for a few new areas on the Nene and this is one we’ve had our eyes on for a while. It was the third time we’ve fished the stretch and this is the only bite either of us have had from there which suggests it is a very low-stock stretch. This fish was a great result, though, and has encouraged us to have a few more sessions down there to see what else turns up.”


Biggest salmon caught in the UK this year landed

The biggest salmon caught in the UK this year has been landed from the River Tweed in Scotland – this 50lb specimen banked by Shamus Jennings.

The huge fish, that measured 50ins in length with a 33ins girth, was caught by the experienced fly fishing expert from an area known as Glenmayne Pool on a Boleside Shrimp tied by head boatman Nigel Fell.

After hooking the fish a nerve-wracking 35 minute fight followed, and Shamus said: “When we got it to the boat we were shocked at the size of its head. It took us four attempts to get it in the net.”

His historic catch puts him in a strong position of landing the coveted Savills Malloch Trophy which is awarded to the angler who catches and releases the biggest rod caught salmon of the year.

 

 


41lb mirror from Christchurch on washed-out baits

Washed out baits proved to be the key to success for Baz Lloyd who landed one of Christchurch’s A-Team – this 41lb 2oz mirror.

The Cheshire-based 26-year-old arrived at the day-ticket water on Oxfordshire’s Linch Hill complex to be told that the water had been fishing extremely hard, producing just one fish in the last 18 days and none in the last nine.

He said: “The lake was very quiet and there was only three other anglers on because of how hard it had been fishing. I set up in a swim called the Plate as this is an area the fish are known to turn up in when they are on the feed. I fished all three rods tight to a silt patch among the weed at 70 yards which I baited with 5kg of washed out Sticky Krill boilies and I was confident of a take if the fish did switch on.”

The lake looked set to continue its tough run of form with the first two nights Baz’s 72 hour session passing without event. Things started to look up, however, when fish started crashing all over the water on the final night.

“The final morning produced a double take at 6am. The first fish to grace the net was a very welcome 22lb 6oz common and the other was one of the lake’s most sought after residents – The Long Fish at 41lb 2oz.”

He got his prize to the bank with the help of a size 6 Korda Wide Gape hook and a 20lb Korda N-Trap Silt hooklink.


Two River Nene carp for 64lb

Daniel Hadman achieved his target of catching a 30lb-plus carp from the River Nene in style with a brace of specimens for a combined weight of over 64lb.

The Peterborough-based car salesman spent two weeks prebaiting a stretch on his local waterway with Premium Carp Fishing Pickled Krill 24mm boilies in a bid to avoid the shoals of bream.

Arriving in the early hours of the morning he received a screaming take within 20 minutes of casting out and following a slow and heavy fight he netted a 28lb 5oz common.

“Shortly afterwards my alarm signalled another fast take and I was flat-rodded by the fish as I tried to slow its initial run,” Daniel told Angling Times. “I eventually got it close to the net and for some reason flicked my head torch on to have a peek. This proved to be a massive mistake as I spooked what looked to be an upper-thirty mirror and as it flew off down the margin my hook pulled.”

He didn’t have long to lick his wounds, however, as just after first light the third fish of the trip made its mistake.

“Another slow and heavy fight followed so I knew it was a decent fish. I guided what I could see was a 30lb-plus common towards the net and let out an almighty roar when it went over the cord.”

On the bank his prize tipped the scales at a weight of 35lb 11oz. “To say I was made up is an understatement and I would class 64lb of river commons as one of my best ever fishing results,” he added.


20-year quest ends with 13lb 10oz barbel

Andrew Harris made a 100-mile round trip to the River Kennet and was rewarded for his efforts with this 13lb 10oz barbel.

The Hemel Hempstead-based rod’s previous four trips had resulted in blanks and he feared his unlucky run was going to continue when he lost a big fish on the first night of his trip.

He preserved, however, and continued to feed a mixture of casters, small pellets and hemp and his 16mm pellet hookbait wrapped in paste was eventually picked up by his new personal best.

“It’s taken me 20 years to catch one this big,” he told Angling Times. “I thought I was going to have to let the fish go without taking a photo when thankfully another angler walked passed who was able to do a couple of pics.”


29lb pike from Chew Valley Reservoir

This cracking 29lb 4oz pike was the highlight of Darran Goulder’s session on the famous Chew Valley Reservoir in Somerset.

The Kent-based former Drennan Cup champion put his faith in a whole float fished sardine and also landed a fish of 17lb as well as a small jack at last knockings.

“The 29lb’er was caught in the second spot that we fished during the day,” explained the Shimano-backed specimen hunter. “It was ridiculously windy and we were struggling to keep the boat in place, even with two anchors out.”


Anchor out at 42lb 1oz from Essex Manor

Nathan Bailey has been in decent autumn form of late, picking up fish of 38lb 1oz and 42lb 1oz from Essex Manor.

The Greys-backed rod caught the 38lb 1oz fish during a weekend session on the busy venue before catching the forty known as the Anchor on a subsequent two-nighter.

Having moved into an in-form area for the second night of that session, Nathan still wasn’t satisfied that he was on the fish. He explained: “Normally after dark you start to see a few, but things were a bit quiet for my liking. At this point I started to get itchy feet and a few hours after dark I could not take any more, so I had a wander to the other end to see if I was missing out on anything. 

“As I approached I clearly heard one top and as I stood there, one after the other showed, which made my mind up instantly and a move was soon under way.”
Having got all three rods out first time, Nathan settled down with confidence and soon received a couple of bleeps on his alarms.

He said: “To be honest the fight was nothing spectacular and didn’t trouble my 3lb AirCurve rod, which suited me fine.

“As I turned the fish on its side in the net I instantly knew it was a fish called the Anchor due to its unique scale pattern. It was one I had been talking about to my mates for some time now as I was desperate to catch it!”

Nathan used DT Bait’s Green Beast boilies and G Force rig components.

 


Park Lake 40lb carp comes in first hour of session

A two night session on a Kent Park Lake produced this chunky 40lb 2oz mirror for Wesley Coggeshall.

The 33-year-old local ventilation engineer had a good walk around the water on his arrival and eventually decided to set up in a swim that he’d caught a couple of fish from recently.

He said: “Within an hour of getting my rods out I had the 40lb 2oz mirror laying in the bottom of my net. The venue has got a very good stock of large carp so I’m looking forward to spending more time on there over the coming months.”
Wesley mounted 20mm Sticky Krill bottom baits on size 6 G-Force Straight Point hooks and 25lb Blackout hooklinks.


Angler spends £15k to fish at Cudmore!

A globetrotting angler showed his determination to fish the venue that hosts the Fish O’Mania final by making a 20,000 mile round trip from his home in Australia!

Lancashire-born Tim Waldron emigrated to Hervy Bay near Brisbane over two decades ago but decided to embark on the long-haul trip back to the UK after he watched the showcase event – which is staged on Arena Pool at Staffordshire’s Cudmore Fisheries – on TV.

And despite spending over £15,000 to spend two days on the prolific complex he is adamant that it was money well spent: “When I watched the final in 2012 I decided I must pay Cudmore a visit and although I’ve had two hip replacements within the last year it wasn’t going to stop me from making this trip,” he said.

“During my time in the UK I visited family and friends but I saved my two days of fishing until last and it was fantastic, with a personal best tench of 4lb and a 12lb ghost carp the pick of the fish caught,” he added.

The 64-year old water supplies expert has fished all over the globe and has already put plans in place to make a return next year. “I'm speaking at a conference in Vienna next spring so it would be a shame not to pay Cudmore another visit!”

Professional angling coach Andy May was hired to provide expert advice during Tim’s stay and he was full of praise for his dedication to the sport. “It was a real pleasure to help Tim and I really enjoyed the day. I thought it was a joke when I first heard someone wanted to come here to fish from Australia but as he’s proved, it was a genuine desire to give this great fishery a go.”


Every Peg Is A Winner At Rosemary Wood Fishery

Many anglers shy away from fishing carp dominated commercials because of the mundaneness of fishing the same method week in week out. However, not all fisheries conform to the one tactic rule. One of them is Rosemary wood in Lancashire where nets of 100lb are currently being recorded on Island Pool.

This is a lake where every peg is different and different tactics will work on any given day. The 42-peg mature lake is stuffed with carp to 10lb, averaging around 4-5lb. There are three islands, one of which you can fish from and with plenty of other structures and vegetation anglers have plenty of fish holding features to target. Many of the pegs offer an island to target and these hold some of the big carp. From certain pegs, such as 16, 17 and 18 for example you can even reach the edge on the long pole at around 14m. If you cant then the Method feeder or straight lead will all work. When the weather is cooler use pellets and groundbait in your mix and fish a 6mm pellet on the hook. However, maggots and bread are also worth trying during the winter especially once the water runs clear. The venue fishes well throughout the colder months and 150lb nets after breaking ice are not unknown. For a net of skimmers and bream, fish at 8m on the pole or waggler and fish a 4mm softened pellet over a bed of pellets and groundbait. Don’t ignore the margins as these produce too , even in winter.

The 50-peg Moss Lake contains bigger carp to 28lb making it an attraction for the speci boys but there are tench, bream, roach, ide and tonnes of smaller carp which can make a nice mixed net over 50lb on any cold day. The beauty of this lake is that any tactic can work from pellet waggler to straight lead.
TIP: Bread is an excellent bait to try here after the first frosts. Try liquidised feed and a punched hookbait in the margins for a bonus big carp to 10lb

Prices: £6 one rod, £10 two, concessions £5 one rod, 24 hours on Moss Lake only £20
Location: Rosemary Wood Fishery, Riding Lane, Haskayne, Ormskirk, Lancs, L39 7JD
Contact: 07957 434325, www.rosemarywood.co.uk
Rules: Barbless only, no keepnets, leads and feeders to be free running, no braid, no floating baits, no spinning or livebaiting
Facilities: Toilets, tackle shop, snack shop


Angling Times National Angling Awards 2013

It's been a year packed with incredible big fish catches, exceptional tackle innovations and shocking news stories – and now you can vote for your favourites in the 2013 Angling Awards.

Almost 40 different categories have been created to honour the pride of the sport, with ‘angler of the year’, ‘lifetime achievement’ and ‘best river and stillwater’ just a selection of the topics that need your feedback to help us pick the overall winners.
Tackle manufacturers will also be looking on eagerly as they battle it out to take victory in a range of fields including ‘best flagship pole’, ‘top float rod’ and ‘greatest innovation’.

Angling Times editor Steve Fitzpatrick is urging everyone in the sport to get involved with the awards. He said: “This is a fantastic opportunity for anglers to vote for who they feel are the big achievers in fishing this year and help their choices gain the recognition they deserve. There have been so many great catches made and tackle items released this year that some of the categories are just too close to call.

“There may be other awards in angling, but these are the ones the nominees really want to win, and only you can help your favourites take the glory.

VOTING HAS NOW CLOSED. FOR THE RESULTS OF ANGLING TIMES NATIONAL ANGLING AWARDS 2013 SEE ANGLING TIMES ON SALE TUESDAY DECEMBER 23, 2013


New Angling Times Issue 3134 out now!

In this week’s Angling Times we have the full story of a massive, record-shaking  pike, plus more amazing catches including a 7lb chub from the Great Ouse and a 16lb Trent barbel.

Elsewhere, we go behind the scenes at the UK’s leading fish farm, Steve Ringer reveals his deadly new bait combination and cover star Martin Bowler goes in search of floodwater barbel.

We’ve also a huge Carp News section and exclusive tackle reviews. Angling Times is Britain’s No.1 fishing weekly – out on the iPad every Monday.


37lb 4oz mirror heads an impressive session

This stunning 37lb 4oz mirror was the highlight of a three fish catch taken by Scott Sweetman during a four day session on a Berkshire club water.

As well as the impressive specimen known as Crop Tail, the 26-year-old’s trip also yielded a 38lb mirror called Pearly and The Leney at 28lb.

All of his fish were taken during a 24 hour period from a patch of silt at 30 yards range which he had baited with a light scattering of Sticky Krill boilies before casting pop-up hookbaits over the top.

“The venue doesn’t have a particularly big stock of fish so I was delighted to get three in a session,” said the Cippenham, Berkshire-based set dresser.

“Crop Tail was an excellent addition to the photo album but there’s a few other bigger fish that I’m still targeting in the venue so hopefully my run of form will continue,” he added.

Scott mounted his hookbaits on hinged-stiff rigs comprising Korda N-Trap boom sections and Korda Mouthtrap attached to size 6 Atomic Chodda hooks with light 1.5oz leads.

 


10 million fish stocked thanks to your rod licence money

A significant milestone was reached this week with the stocking of the Environment Agency’s 10 millionth coarse fish.

The landmark fish was one of around 5,000 roach and crucians from Calverton Fish Farm – the EA’s national coarse fish rearing unit – to be introduced into Corby Boating Lake in Northamptonshire, as part of a routine re-stocking strategy, the like of which occur on waters across the UK every autumn. The fish arrived at the lake in special oxygen fed tanks after making the 50 mile journey from Nottingham following a recommendation from regional fishery officers.

EA team leader Alan Henshaw, who was present at the stocking, said: “We are very proud to have our 10 millionth fish produced on site to be introduced to the environment. It takes us approximately two years of hard work to raise these fish, by which time we consider them to be an acceptable age and size to release into the wild.

“Our fish are raised in a special way to ensure that they can survive and hopefully produce offspring. That’s how we boost the fish populations throughout England and Wales by giving nature a helping hand.”

Calverton Fish Farm is run on rod licence money, produces between 350 and 400 thousand fish each year and has been in operation since 1939. The unit emphasises their fish rearing strategies with the rejuvenation of waters, particularly rivers, in mind and this is evident in species breakdown, with nearly 50 per cent of fish leaving Calverton being running water species such as dace, barbel and chub. However, the amount of stillwaters being stocked in recent years is now on the increase.

Andy Beale, a monitoring officer for the EA, added: “It is difficult to balance anglers needs with that of the fishes, so we have to consider both when we make stocking decisions. In this lake we added roach and crucians because these are species already present and also they are easier to catch which is vital on a council run lake like Corby where kids like to come and fish.”

Milton Keynes Angling Association chairman Trevor Johnson, whose club control over 15 miles of canal and riverbank in the South East as well as numerous stillwaters, believes fish stockings are necessary for the future of UK waters. “Venues such as Adams Mill on the Great Ouse have profited significantly from the recent EA barbel stockings and the anglers will reap the rewards from this in years to come. I am delighted to see the EA achieve such a milestone and look forward to the next 10m being stocked” he said.

See this week's Angling Times for a behind the scenes look at the work done at Calverton, on sale Tuesday, November 12.

Percentages of EA stockings by species:
Roach - 21.2%
Chub - 18.2%
Dace - 17.3%
Tench - 13.6%
Bream - 12.7%
Barbel - 8.4%
Crucians - 5.8%
Rudd - 2.8%


There's no better time for roach with bumper week topped by 2lb 7oz specimen

Rivers and stillwaters have hit their best form of the year for big roach and anglers nation-wide have proved that there couldn’t be a better time to get out there and beat your personal best.

There aren’t many better ways of catching a big redfins than with traditional floatfishing tactics, as proved by Richard Booty when he banked a brace of fish that topped the scales at 2lb 7oz and 1lb 14oz.

The specialist from London, who won the chance to fish a stretch of the River Test in Hampshire after taking part in a Barbel Society Research and Conservation Auction, made the most of his prize when he trotted casters down the iconic waterway.

“I don’t have to tell anyone how great this river is for its roach fishing. Fortunately my trip coincided with perfect conditions and mild temperatures,” said Richard.
Another angler to demonstrate how devastating floatfishing tactics can be was Charlie Kemmett who landed no less than five specimens over 2lb topped by a fish weighing 2lb 8oz.

After heading to a London AA-controlled stretch of the Hampshire Avon at Britford, The 63-year-old from Salisbury used stick float tactics with hemp to amass his haul with a simple rig comprising 0.12mm mainline and an 0.10 mm hooklink.

The lure of perfect roach fishing conditions were also too much for Doncaster’s Mike Townsend to resist and his 480-mile round trip to Sway Lakes in Hampshire was made worthwhile when he netted a trio of roach over the 2lb-barrier to 2lb 3oz fish.
He began his session by waggler fishing casters, but after being pestered by small roach he swapped his size 18 hook for a size 16 and nicked it through a soft 8mm pellet.

“Some people might think that I’m mad to travel so many miles, but if the conditions are right then it’s definitely worth making the effort,” Mike told Angling Times.

Further north on the prolific River Ribble the big roach were certainly on the feed and John Hicks banked eight fish between 1lb 9oz and 2lb 7oz.

Having caught big ‘redfins’ during recent barbel fishing sessions on the venue, the specimen hunter from Cumbria, refined his rigs and fished a small feeder filled with mashed bread and micro pellets with a piece of flake on the hook.

Last but certainly not least was Gary Maton, who also used bread to tempt a fish-of-a-lifetime weighing 2lb 1oz.

He stalked the banks of the Bedfordshire venue and in just a couple of hours he’d landed the impressive specimen along with chub and dace on floatfishing tactics.

 

 

 

 






Trio of bream goes 43lb 8oz

Trevor Pole has continued his run of form on a tough Leicestershire stillwater with the capture of three big bream for a combined weight of 43lb 8oz.

After an uneventful first night without so much as a liner, sport eventually picked up for the 55-year-old when a shoal of specimens honed in on his bed of bed which consisted of two pints of dead red maggots, two pints of casters and three tins of sweetcorn.

In a manic spell of angling he landed a brace of huge slabs weighing 15lb 7oz and 15lb 5oz before completing the hat trick with a 12lb 12oz specimen.

“There was a time when many of us used to pack all of our bream gear away by the end of September, but if you’re fishing a lake that’s got decent depth it’s possible to fish way into November,” the self-employed gardner told Angling Times.

“Even when we start to get the first consistent frosts of the year I will continue to sit it out because it takes a lot longer than people think for the water temperatures to really start to get down and stop the bream from getting their heads down.

“When you’re fishing for bream  like this it’s vital to fish with quite fine end tackle because they are very finicky and under pressure, but I did get a bit nervous when the lead became snagged in the rocks while the 15lb 5oz bream was attached to the other end of the rig. I guess it was just meant to be.”

Trevor offered imitation caster hookbaits on helicopter rigs comprising 7lb Berkley Fireline hooklinks and size 14 Korum hooks.


23lb common from old quarry

An old quarry containing fewer than 10 fish produced this 23lb 2oz common for Ross Haselwood.

The carp was taken from the challenging 80ft-deep venue on just half an 18mm boilie, fished without any free offerings.

Ross said: “I was fishing the top of a shelf with just a single hookbait and hooked the fish at about 8.30pm. After a truly epic battle that lasted 30 minutes I was well and truly chuffed to bits with this fish.

“She’s an old girl and was worth the rain, the dangerous trek to the cliff face and getting wet while running for the rod!”


78lb best of 26-fish net from Rainbow Lake

This huge 78lb mirror was the highlight of a 26 fish haul during Tony Kenrick’s two week session at former record venue Rainbow Lake in France.

The 50-year-old from St Helens caught the impressive specimen known as Briggs’ Fish from close to an island surrounded by sunken trees at 150 yards which he baited with a bed of boilies and mixed particles.

Over the top of this he offered a Sticky Krill boilie hookbait on a heavy duty rig comprising 50lb braid, and a 45lb hooklink attached to a Solar 101 hook in conjunction with a 10oz drop-off lead.

He said: “This is actually the second time I’ve had Briggs’ Fish this year as I also had it at 84lb in March.”