Epic Grafham Water perch session
One of the biggest catches of specimen perch of all time has been landed by species expert Paul Elt after banking five specimens over 4lb topped by a 4lb 14oz personal best.
His incredible session unfolded while adrift during a stormy day on the daunting Grafham Water reservoir in Cambridgeshire where his biggest-ever perch, along with fish weighing 4lb 11oz, a brace at 4lb 1oz and a 4lb specimen came to the net.
The Drennan, Dynamite Baits-backed specialist used the devastating method known as ‘dropshotting’ close to an underwater feature where he found over 24 feet of water and then expertly worked a selection of his favourite lures including a new variety of baits that are soon to be released by Drennan.
His rig comprised an 8lb braided mainline, four feet of fluorocarbon and a size 1 hook, which also fooled also a string of eight other fish that ran to 3lb 12oz.
“I will never experience a session like this for as long as I live and it really has left me in a true state of shock,” Paul exclusively told Angling Times.
“The perch in this venue remain largely neglected because most predator anglers concentrate on the pike and zander with large lures, but over the last few years ‘dropshotting’ has completely revolutionised this kind of fishing.”
“I’ve fished this venue for 25 years now and it’s always been a really hard venue to crack, a real test, but this method is now helping anglers discover the true perch potential of reservoirs like this.”
John Marshall is the Fisheries and recreation manager for Anglian Water, who run Grafham Water and he’s been blow away by Paul’s huge haul of perch.
“This catch is perfect proof of why perch fishing is getting more and more popular at all of our venues,” he said.
“I’ve been involved in the fishing here for over 30 years and feel that until now visitors have only scratched the surface as regards to the perch potential of our waters.
“ But now anglers like Paul, who are using tactics like ‘dropshotting,’are proving why many believe that it’s venues like this that will throw up a record.”
Nine thirties topped by 47lb 2oz mirror carp
An attack based around sweetcorn has accounted for an incredible haul of carp topped by this 47lb specimen that was backed up by no less than nine other ‘thirties’ and all banked in just 25 hours.
Avid Carp backed Ian Russell had a feeling that something different would give him a vital edge during his latest session at RK Leisure’s Kingsmead 1 and it proved to be a masterstroke.
He fished two rods either side of a weedbed at 60 yards and after an initial introduction of three tins of Sonubaits F1 corn over each rig, he fed a tin after every fish landed.
A stack of imitation corn topped with a boyant Korum hairstop that was hair-rigged onto the back of a size 4 hook was the winning rig and it proved the downfall to a trio of fish all weighing 38lb 10oz, followed by specimens topping the scales at 38lb 8oz, 38lb 7oz, 36lb 2oz, 34lb 8oz, 33lb, 32lb 5oz, plus four other carp to 29lb.
“Sometimes doing something different gets results and this is perfect proof that you don’t have to spend a fortune on bait to get a big hit of fish,” said Ian.
“I hadn’t had a single touch after 23 hours, but then the swim just came alive and it was the craziest 25 hours fishing I’ve ever experienced in my life.
“Too many anglers get to a swim and the marker rod comes straight out and then every rig has to have a pva bag or stick attached.
“I picked my spot, fed some corn over the top and kept everything tight and it was as simple as that.”
First 40lb pike of the season banked
The biggest pike of the predator season has been banked topping the scales at 40 lb 4oz.
It’s a specimen that was landed by Mike Heyes from Whiston, Merseyside, while fishing from the bank at ‘Nunnery Point’ during a two-day session at the famous Chew Valley reservoir in Somerset.
Mike was fishing alongside his nephew Paul Millar, who set a new fishery record back in February this year with a predator of 44lb 6oz, but this time the tables were turned and it was Paul who slipped the net under the 59-year-old’s new personal best and ‘Chew’s’ biggest fish so far of the 2014 predator season.
“We’d only been fishing for a few hours when Mike had a proper screaming run at 8.30am and he didn’t say much as he was playing the fish as it didn’t seem to be anything spectacular,” Paul told Angling Times.
“I waded out and when I scooped it up I told him it was a ‘thirty’, but when I started taking up the bank to the mat I couldn’t believe how heavy it was and I suspected it might be another forty and sure enough It was” he said.
“It’s incredible to think that we’ve been both netsmen and the captors of 40lb pike.”
Mike’s successful tackle was 18lb line, a 40lb wire trace, two size 2 trebles and a 4oz lead, which was cast around 50 yards out into 10ft of water.
Paul also confirmed that it’s a fish that was definitely a different pike to the 44lb 6oz giant he banked earlier this year.
“When you get a fish like this all the difficulty getting tickets and all the travelling and early starts are suddenly worthwhile,” Paul continued.
“Chew is a very special place as it’s the only venue to go to for a realistic chance of a pike like this and it just keeps throwing up more and surprises.
“Mike and I have been fishing together for 18 years so it’s fantastic that we have both been there to witness the other catch a fish of a lifetime!” he said.
Click here for more angling news...
3lb 3oz 8dr roach best fish ever
“I can’t believe that this 3lb 3oz 8dr giant is the first ‘proper’ roach I’ve ever caught from a river.”
These are the words of big fish ace Alan Stagg after he joined an elite group of anglers who have banked 3lb-plus roach from both still and running water.
This incredible fish was caught by the Gardner Tackle employee after he spent three weeks walking the banks of a southern chalk stream searching for what is regarded as one of the UK’s rarest and most sought-after specimens.
After locating a small pocket of fish, he visited the stretch three times without a sign of his intended quarry, but his latest visit was a different story as he had to wait only 20 minutes after casting out a simple feeder rig before the personal best took his double maggot hookbait mounted on a size 18 Drennan Super Specialist hook.
“There’s no doubt that this fish ranks as the best fish I’ve ever caught and I feel so privileged because I know how rare these fish are,” Alan told Angling Times.
“A big river roach was going to be my winter campaign, but to catch something like this so early on is kind of hard to get my head around, especially when it’s the first river roach I’ve ever caught…that’s just mad.
“I hate to think how many miles I walked just with a pair of polarising glasses looking for signs of fish before I actually got round to casting a line. This is what you have to do because there are so few pockets of big fish not only in this venue, but many other rivers throughout the UK.”
Alan beat the fish with a short 3lb fluorocarbon hooklink that sat below a 30 gram maggot feeder that was fished just a couple of rodlengths out from the bank and was presented over a bed of maggots introduced via a small bait dropper.
Two forties and a thirty in 12 hours
Two forties and a thirty in 12 hours gave Liam Burkin the session of a lifetime.
The company director from Stanford-le-Hope made the short hop across Essex to the Main Lake at Fryerning Fisheries and bagged The Mommon at 46lb 3oz, Four Scale at 41lb and The Stripe at 37lb.
All three fish broke the 37-year-old’s previous personal best and were caught in a period of just half a day.
Liam, who is a new member at the syndicate water, fished plastic baits from the Point swim.
Tough campaign ends with 52lb common carp
This pristine 52lb 9oz common was the culmination of a tough campaign for Dutch angler Rogier Smit.
The tackle-shop boss used a monster 25mm Solar Club Mix bottom bait over matching freebies to tempt the monster from a venue in the east of the Netherlands.
He said: “It’s a fish that I dearly wanted to catch and have put the effort in for. Now, though, my attention is fixed on a new target, a 61lb common that’s well known in Holland and is a real sought-after fish among the big-carp hunters in the country.”
Shark Bite out at 45lb 8oz from Avenue Fisheries
Luke Edwards toasted the arrival of his new daughter with the capture of this 45lb 8oz mirror.
The Shropshire rod made the four-mile journey to RH Fisheries’ Avenue Lake and caught the fish, known as Shark Bite, during a day session.
“After the safe arrival of our baby girl I had the all clear for a day session,” said Luke.
“I got there at first light and, knowing I had limited time, quickly headed to an area that does morning bites. I quickly sent the rods out and waited in anticipation, but nothing happened so I went for a walk and found a group of fish on the end of a new wind.
“As I was moving I slipped over and broke the tip on my rod, so as I was frustrated I took a breather and tied two new rigs and settled in my new swim. About an hour after casting out, my left-hand rod tore off and I was playing a lump. Just as I was about to land it the hook pulled! I was gutted.
“I then re-cast the rods but noticed the fish had moved slightly, so I moved my rigs and added a light sprinkling of 10mm Mainline Hybrid boilies.
“Light and time was running out but as I was chatting with one of the members my alarm signalled a bleep and the rod was a way. After a 10-minute battle I slipped my net under a fish known as Shark Bite.”
Luke presented a Hybrid wafter on a blowback rig made with a size 8 Fox Kuro hook and 12lb Trans Khaki Illusion.
Click here for more angling news...
Long trip for personal best dace
A dawn raid on a southern river resulted in this personal best dace of 14oz 8dr for Alan Stagg.
The Hampshire-based Gardner Tackle media manager left his house at 4.30am and made the 70-mile trip to the waterway to ensure he could be set-up and ready to fish at first light.
The specimen silverfish fell to a trotted single red maggot fished on 2lb mainline and a 1lb 12oz hooklink.
Alan said: “It was a long trip for a few hours fishing as I left at 11am, but it was well worth the effort.”
Surprise sturgeon from River Severn
Vaughan Witton got the shock of his life while fishing one of his favourite stretches of the River Severn when he hooked a sturgeon – the first ever believed to have been caught from the waterway.
Fishing with angling guide Graham King on a private stretch of the river below Worcester, Vaughan was targeting barbel using a groundbait feeder set-up and was in the process of landing an 11lb specimen when his other rod signalled a take as the unexpected fish picked up his 14mm Dynamite pellet hookbait. Vaughan told Angling Times: “I still had the barbel in the landing net when I had to grab my other rod. I thought it was another barbel or chub but was shocked when it surfaced. In all my years fishing the river I’ve never heard of anyone catching a sturgeon.”
The pair decided not to weigh the sturgeon and returned it to the river, estimating its weight at around 6-7lb.
Is the Trent the UK's finest river?
‘Fishing on the River Trent has never been so good.’ This is the claim being made by anglers following last week’s venue record match weight.
The huge haul by Sutton-on-Trent angler Toby Bunting saw him land around 40 bream from the Holme Marsh stretch in Nottinghamshire to weigh in a staggering 167lb 6oz.
Another recent Division One National on the river at Newark saw nearly all of the 420 competitors weigh in and the top six recorded nearly 200lb between them.
70-year-old Stewart Goulding, match organiser for Worksop District Anglers Association, the scene of last week’s record weight told Angling Times that he can’t remember the fishing ever being so good. “I have fished this part of the river since I was a lad and it’s better now than in its heyday,” he said. “Back then it was just roach and chub but now it’s other species too - this year we have had numerous 100lb-plus match nets of big barbel and bream.”
Chris Shaw, President of Midlands Angling Society, a club which runs a stretch of the river at Caythorpe in Nottinghamshire, has also sang the river’s praises: “As well as specimen fish we have seen a notable improvement in match catches over the past five years or so with roach, dace and chub being caught in huge numbers,” he explained.
It’s not only matchmen enjoying the quality of the fishing, however, as specimen anglers are also reporting bumper catches. Numerous barbel captures over 16lb have been recorded in the last month in what has been a bountiful year for the Midlands waterway which has also seen zander to over 16lb, carp of more than 30lb and chub to 7lb-plus banked.
One of the anglers cashing in on the superb sport is big-fish man Lee Swords, who netted a 7lb 4oz chub from the river in June. He told Angling Times: “The river has been improving year-on-year and this season has been one of the best, especially for chub. There has also been some huge barbel caught too so I wouldn’t be surprised if a record fish emerged in the next five years.”
The excellent fishing has also seen an increase in sales of traditional running water baits like hemp, maggots and casters. Tim Aplin, who runs Nottingham’s Matchmen Supplies, said: “Takings from baits like maggots have definitely been up this year as more anglers have been visiting the river. Not just those who have fished it before but new and young anglers are trying it for the first time which is such a positive sight.”
A multitude of reasons has been cited for the upturn in sport, much of which can be linked with work carried out by the Environment Agency. They have made numerous restocking’s on Trent stretches including immediately after pollution incidents. In 2009 thousands of fish were killed after cyanide leaked into the river in Staffordshire but in response the EA stocked over 50,000 coarse fish the following winter. The quality of the water in the Trent has also been steadily improving since the 1970s and work has been carried out at numerous places across the Midlands to reconnect the river with the floodplain which helps to boost fish populations by providing shelter in high flows, as well as creating a productive environment in which juvenile fish can grow rapidly during the summer months.
Sarah Chare, the Environment Agency’s new head of fisheries, said: “The River Trent is the healthiest it has been for many years and a popular place to go fishing. Not wanting to rest on our successes, we are doing even more to further improve water quality and biodiversity. This is a great example of how rod licence income is used to protect and improve fisheries.”
FIVE TRENT HOTSPOTS TO TRY
River Trent, Burton Joyce, Notts
20lb roach nets on the pole or stick float.
Contact: 01159 870525, Victoria Tackle
Prices: £6 a day on the bank, Ashfield AC
River Trent, Burton on Trent, Staffs
Roach nets to over 20lb falling to stick float and maggot tactics.
Contact: 01283 512711, Coors AC
Prices: £35 a season Coors AC
River Trent, Caythorpe, Notts
Barbel to 14lb and chub to over 6lb have been caught here this season.
Contact: Midland AS, 01773 784840
Prices: £3.50 on the bank, Midland AS
River Trent, Holme, Newark, Notts
Barbel and bream bags to over 100lb featuring in catches here with the groundbait feeder working well.
Contact: Worksop DAA, 01909 486350
Prices: £4 a day on the bank, Worksop DAA
River Trent, North Clifton, N Lincs
This tidal stretch has been in great form for bream, barbel, chub and roach with match anglers and specimen boys enjoying good sport.
Contact: Harrison’s Tackle, 01522 523834
Prices: £4 on the bank, Lincoln DAA
48lb 15oz mirror carp caught from Horton Church Lake
Steve Bliss can add one of the most iconic backdrops in carp fishing to his photo album after banking this 48lb 15oz mirror at Horton Church Lake.
The fish, seen here in front of the Berkshire venue’s eponymous building, fell along with a 30lb common during a two-night session.
The 64-year-old from Cirencester in Gloucestershire told Angling Times: “I’ve been fishing all my life and it’s doesn’t get much better than this.”
Steve added: “I joined the syndicate this year and have six fish out so far. This fish, known as Fingers, is a new UK personal best for me and is currently the biggest one in the lake.
“I had been baiting a spot for five or six weeks and when I arrived I could see bubbling over the area. On the first morning I had a 30lb common, which was a beautiful fish, and then at almost exactly the same time the following morning I had the big one.
“It was a screaming take but the fish went straight into a weed bed. With steady pressure I managed to bring everything towards me. After a protracted battle with weed bed and fish I managed to get it in the edge and eventually bundle it into the net.”
Steve baited lightly with hemp and CC Moore Odyssey XXX boilies.
Goulder's nine barbel topped by trio over 10lb
Former Drennan Cup holder, Darran Goulder, took full advantage of an in-form River Wye to land nine barbel, including three over the 10lb-barrier.
The Kent-based Fortis Eyewear boss made the trip to the Herefordshire waterway where he cast 4oz open end feeders filled with 6mm pellets and groundbait in to the main flow.
“Conditions were perfect – relatively mild with a couple of feet of floodwater,” he told Angling Times. “There was a fair amount of debris being washed downstream, but rather than using back leads I paid out a large bow in my 12lb Shimano Tribal Carp mainline which meant the fish couldn’t come in to contact with it.”
Darran successful set-up consisted of two 10mm Dynamite Baits The Source boilies wrapped in paste which he mounted on a size 6 wide gape hook and a 15lb braided hooklink.
Stunning 30lb mirror from Dinton Pastures
Autumn carp don’t get much better than this beauty from Berkshire’s Dinton Pastures.
Jaime Atkinson caught the 30lb 4oz mirror along with a mid-twenty common and a double during a two-night session on the challenging White Swan Lake.
The 29-year-old dental technician extracted the fish from silty patches in the central part of the lake.
He said: “After doing a slow lap of the lake with not much to go on I plumped for the middle area of the lake in a swim I'd fished and caught from a couple of times before.
“As darkness fell the carp turned up and started rolling all around me. It was Just after midnight when the right hander pulled up tight and I was into a fast-moving but small-feeling carp. Sure enough, I was soon unhooking a pristine double-figure common which I released quickly to get the rod back out on the money.
“The same rod was away again just before dawn, but this time it felt a decent fish as it bored down hard to a snag in the left-hand margin. It fought like a tiger for a good 10 minutes.
“My good mate Cheesy came to do some cracking shots and confirmed it to be a fish known as the Bay Fish. I've caught much bigger from the venue but looks-wise I think this one is a bit special.”
Jaime fished Sticky Krill bottom baits over 500gr of freebies per fish. His rigs were made of 20lb Korda N-Trap and size 6 Wide Gape hooks.
Click here for more angling news...
Friends share big perch haul
A weekend's barbel fishing on the River Severn at Bridgnorth turned into the perch session of a lifetime for friends Chris Hunter and Alex Crow.
The highlight was this huge 4lb 1oz specimen which fell to the rod of 27-year-old Chris, and came shortly after Alex landed fish of 3lb 5oz and 3lb.
Both anglers had started the session targeting the waterway’s famous population of barbel, but after spotting some small prey fish scattering on the surface in the margins, they decided to change their approach.
“I got the drop shot rod out and started working a small shad pattern around the margins and I caught four perch up to 2lb but the light was fading all the time,” explained Salisbury, Wiltshire-based Chris.
“The weather had turned cold and it was putting the barbel off so we made the decision to ignore them the next day and go for the perch instead in the same swim. It had a disused platform and an overhanging tree. We were casting just past this and they were nailing it every time, it was unbelievable,” he said.
The pair caught a dozen perch around the 2lb mark between them, plus several smaller ones, taking it in turns to cast and regularly resting the swim. In the afternoon the biggest fish started feeding as Alex broke his personal best twice before Chris rounded off the day with the 4lb 1oz stripey.
“As one of us was unhooking one perch, the other was hooking another, there was a lot of fish in the swim. It was a real red letter day and it doesn’t usually happen like this. I actually thought my biggest was a pike until it came up to the net so I made sure I didn’t lose it!” he explained.
All fish were taken on either a small shad pattern or curly grubs and twin tails, in conjunction with 8lb Drennan Feeder Braid, 6lb fluorocarbon and a size 1 Fox Rage Drop Shot hook, fished in 9ft of water.
Ian Chillcott sets new personal best common carp
Experienced carper Ian Chillcott eclipsed his personal-best common with this immaculate specimen.
The 46lb 10oz fish fell to the Fox consultant at the Carp Society’s Farriers Lake in Gloucestershire.
Ian said: “Once again I am left speechless, an incredible carp from an incredible lake. And I think it's a lake record, too. Not bad for a rainy day in mid-October, eh?”
The big common was caught from a hole in dense weed at 45 yards in around 6ft of water and was a personal-best common for the presenter of BT Sport’s Fishing TV Show.
The former paratrooper, widely known as Chilly and famous for his ‘light my fire’ catchphrase, added: “Not unsurprisingly, the rest of my session went by in a bit of a blur. I did manage a 24lb common several hours after the big fish, but my heart really wasn't in it. I contrived to let one fall off in the weed as I was packing up, but it could never have extinguished the fires that had been lit.”
Chilly fed a total of 3kg of 10mm and 15mm Mainline Hybrid boilies spread over the area and fished a hinged stiff rig made from Fox Trans Khaki Rigidity and Trans Khaki Illusion over the top. The hookbait was a matching 15mm pop-up tied to a size 5 Fox Arma Point SR hook.
Brace of forties from Fryerning Fisheries
A brace of forties gave Paul Palmer a perfect birthday weekend at Fryerning Fisheries.
Having extended his trip from 24 hours to 48 due to a rain-lashed first day, Paul went on to catch commons of 36lb and 40lb, and a 45lb 2oz mirror known as The Nunn.
He explained: “It was not going as planned and having been bivvy bound for a long period of time I was contemplating going home. I decided to stay an extra night as I wasn’t sure how many more opportunities I’d get this year. I also decided to change my baiting strategy and positioned my rods closer to where I had seen some movement.
“At about 10pm I thought I better get into the sack a get a good night’s sleep, when a rod roared off nearly making me jump out of my socks. I hooked into what I knew was a good fish and a while later, sitting in the bottom of the net on a dark night, was a new pb common of 40lb, which I later found out was named Round Tail.
“I was over the moon and tried to go back to bed but was up two hrs later for a 36lb common. I couldn’t believe my luck! Around first light one of my rods thundered off again. I hooked into something that felt very powerful and with my headtorch giving up on me it was a really tough fight.
“When I had eventually secured it in the net I got my backup light and couldn’t believe I had landed another lump which turned out to be a fish called the Nunn at 45lb 2oz. It’s a shame I had to leave the lake to go to work on my birthday, but it was definitely the right way to start the day and cause for further evening celebration!”
Paul used Mainline Cell boilies on rigs made with 20lb Fox Camotex braid and size 5 ESP Raptor T6 hooks.
Pike season kicks off with string of 30lb-plus fish
The slight drop in temperature has seen predator sport pick up a gear with 30lb-plus pike reported from both still and running water.
Justin Grapes’ first cast of the year at the famous Chew Valley Reservoir produced this stunning 31lb 7oz personal best.
The Norfolk-based specialist was fishing from the bank when his legered mackerel hookbait was taken by the huge fish. Following a powerful fight he beat his prize with a Drennan wire trace, size 6 trebles and a 40lb braided mainline.
He also netted a predator that topped the scales at 19lb 2oz plus six other jack pike to 8lb.
“This was the most nerve-racking fight I’ve ever had as the fish scrapped so hard in relatively shallow water, plus my landing net broke just as the pike slid into the net, which made things interesting to say the least,” Justin told Angling Times.
Another angler to reap the rewards at arguably Britain’s finest big pike water was Leighton Ryan with a 30lb 4oz specimen.
The fish is the third over the 30lb-barrier which the South Wales-based rod has landed since last October and it fell to a floatfished mackerel hookbait while boat fishing close to Woodford Lodge.
“I followed the crowds on the first few days and lost a fish over 20lb at the side of the boat, but on the final session I decided to go off and do my own thing. The rest is history,” said Leighton.
Chew Valley also provided Jon Shorman with two personal bests in the space of a few days.
The 47-year-old from London had modern technology to thank after using the latest Hummingbird Onix Sounder and then casting to where the fish were showing on the screen.
His first best tipped the scales at 26lb 12oz and this was followed by a 31lb 12oz specimen the next week. He said: “It was the most violent run I have ever had from a pike, almost ripping the rod out of the rod rest.”
Nathan Edgell experienced the ‘session of a lifetime’ on an undisclosed river taking a 19 fish haul including three specimen pike for a combined weight of over 75lb.
The highlight of 30Plsus-backed predator angler’s trip was a cracking 31lb 10oz pike which was backed up with fish of 25lb 6oz and 21lb 10oz.
“When I arrived at the river it was pushing through quite quick and was fairly coloured – far from ideal for big pike,” he said. “I decided to target the side streams and feeder channels as these are the places pike often move in to when the main river is flooded.”
After catching 10 single figure fish his lure was taken by the smaller of the two twenties. A change of swim and tactics saw him complete his hat-trick of specimens.
“I found a nice slack out of the main flow which looked perfect for a deadbait. I mounted a roach on a single size 4 30Plus treble and dropped it a rod length from the margin.”
It wasn’t long before he’d banked a pike of 25lb 6oz and this was quickly followed by the biggest of the outing – his third biggest river pike and fifth over the 30lb-barrier. “A wild river thirty is a rare fish indeed,” he added.
The potential of Pitsford Water was highlighted during an incredible predator session for Neil Bridges, which saw perch to 4lb 3oz and a 33lb 4oz pike landed.
A boat session on the Northamptonshire venue saw 45-year-old Neil record five perch over 3lb in the space of an hour. Using drop shotting tactics he presented an American Jelly Worm in 18ft of water near a marginal drop off. The best was yet to come, however, when he moved to a bay to target pike in the afternoon.
“I was contemplating moving as the wind was getting a bit blustery and I’d wound in my first rod. As I went for the second I saw the float bob. I wound down and hit it straight away and it was obviously a good fish, it nearly snagged me around the anchor rope but I managed to get her in,” added Neil, who used a 28lb wire trace, size 6 trebles and a large sliding float.
Rod licences to be reviewed by Environment Agency
Having to buy two full rod licences to fish with three rods has been a long standing complaint of specimen and carp anglers. But that could be set to change after the Angling Trust began discussions with the Environment Agency to push for a reform of the current system.
The move comes following a huge response to a recent survey carried out by the Trust with aggrieved big fish hunters claiming they are being ‘overcharged’ for fishing three rods. The Environment Agency’s new Deputy Director of Fisheries, Sarah Chare, has since met with Trust officials to discuss possible solutions.
In accordance to current law the UK coarse rod licence allows the holder to fish up to two rods at one time, but in order to fish three rods - a common practice among carp and specimen anglers - you are required to buy two licences at a cost of £54 per year.
“We need to find a workable way forward that’s fairer to specimen anglers without impacting significantly on the funds that pay for the vital work of the EA’s fisheries department,” said Angling Trust Chief Executive Mark Lloyd.
“The Trust has welcomed the willingness of Sarah Chare to listen to the views of the angling community and to consider taking action to make the licence system better for those wishing to fish with three rods.”
Top carp angler and Korda Tackle boss, Danny Fairbrass, agrees the current system needs changing: “There has to be a more cost effective way of charging for an extra rod,” he told Angling Times.
“The best thing would be to introduce a fee for a single rod because very few fisheries actually allow the use of four rods.”
Any changes will not be implemented until April 2016 at the earliest because of the constraints of the commercial rod licence contract.
“This review may also affect the cost of licences which have remained at the same level for the last 5 years,” said Sarah Chare. “As part of this review we are talking with the Angling Trust and other partners to understand the views of the angling groups they represent. We will be seeking the fairest deal for anglers that secures the best future for angling through the services the Environment Agency delivers both directly and through the partners we fund."
Korda Clothing Facebook Competition Winner
Congratulations to Paul Leeson from London! You have won a Korda Hoodie and a pair of Korda Rifle Green Combats thanks to Big Fish Little Fish Tackle in the latest Angling Times Facebook competition. Your prize will be posted out shortly.
Make sure you 'like' Angling Times Facebook page for more great competitions - www.facebook.com/anglingtimes
Incredible haul of thirties topped by 47lb mirror
The revamped Kingsmead One gave Ian Russell an incredible haul of thirties, topped by this 47lb 2oz mirror.
The Avid Carp consultant and angling tutor blitzed the Berkshire venue during a 44-hour session with a haul of 13 carp, 10 of which were over 30lb.
Kingsmead One, on the Horton complex, has recently been re-opened as part of the RK Leisure group of lakes, which now includes the historic Wraysbury and Horton Boat Pool among others.
Ian moved swims three times after a slow start and instantly started to catch once he had located the carp. All the fish, including three weighing 38lb, fell in the last 25 hours of the session and came to Sonubaits boilies and F1 sweetcorn.
RK Leisure spokesman Leon Bartropp said: “The Horton complex holds some stunning fish and big catches are regular there but nothing before on this scale for the Surrey-based angler.
“Ian fed a total 5kg of bait over the session and managed 10 fish over the magical 30lb barrier, both commons and mirrors, including five fish over 35lb, topped by a huge 47lb-plus mirror!
“It just doesn’t get any better than this and with the fish growing at an alarming rate on RK Leisure’s Horton complex we can see this being a regular occurrence in the future at the Berkshire venues.”
