Fishery limits matchmen’s margin time

A popular fishery has restricted margin fishing during matches after competitors complained that fishing at the venue had become ‘too easy’.

Mick Martin, match organiser at Kingfisher Pools in Bulkington, Warwickshire, has enforced the new rule after recent competitions saw venue records tumble, with anglers recording 300lb-plus mixed nets solely by fishing down the edge.

In response the fishery decided to limit fishing in the margins to after the first two-and-a-half hours of competition following complaints from regulars who said that the fishing on the venue’s 52-peg Kingfisher Lake was becoming one-dimensional.

Mick, who now uses a whistle to notify when competitors can move shorter than four pole sections out into the lake, explained his decision.

“Attendances to the matches were starting to drop and the lake has become so prolific it’s now far too easy to catch,” he said. “I thought I would make anglers work a bit harder for their fish and try other methods to make up the weights.

“I’ve had nothing but positive feedback since the change and anglers are now returning, so I am going to stick with it,” he said.

Big weights often dominate matchfishing at this time of year, with some venues seeing individual weights soar as high as 800lb. 

One of those is Arran’s Lake in Essex. Arran’s bailiff Glen Smith said there had been few complaints from anglers visiting his venue and that they would not be following in the footsteps of Kingfisher Pools in changing the rules to make catching big weights more difficult.

 “Match anglers love bagging up with tonnes of fish – it’s what they come here for,” he said.

“No-one ever complains about being tired from catching so many fish, so we won’t be changing anything,” he said.