Matchfishing's stars of the future

Matchfishing’s potential stars of the future took part in the Angling Trust’s autumn Preston Innovations National Junior League, aimed at increasing participation in match angling.
Over the past two months, more than 100 anglers between nine and 16 years of age fished in 32 competitions held across eight regions of England, and the verdict from competitors, parents and fisheries has been: “Please, can we have some more!”
“It was very encouraging to see new anglers entering the world of match fishing, many competing for the first time, and fishing alongside some of our existing young match anglers,” commented Ben Thompson, the Angling Trust’s Senior Competitions & Talent Manager. “The feedback so far has been overwhelmingly positive with requests to add junior specific Winter Leagues. We hope to build on the success of this year and attract even more anglers to get involved in 2016.”
The idea behind the competition was to provide local, low cost and easy access to quality fishing. Each regional league consisted of four fixtures with individual matches costing only £1 to enter and bait limits applied to ensure participation was affordable for all involved.
Commercial fisheries hosted the competition, which resulted in consistent catches throughout and excellent facilities for anglers and parents alike.
The top three anglers from each of the eight leagues received tackle from the competition sponsor Preston Innovations and all 24 anglers are now invited to spend a day on the bank next spring with the tackle giant’s consultant anglers.
Every angler that took part in the competition also received a goody bag, also provided by Preston Innovations.
The 2016 competition will begin in the spring with nine regional leagues and it’s still only £1 per competition for anglers to enter. To find out what’s on in your area and how to get involved visit www.anglingtrust.net/junioranglingleague

2lb farm pond roach is ‘such a special fish’

Leading specimen angler Dai Gribble went ‘back to his roots’ to land a 2lb 2oz roach from a local farm pond.
The Korum-backed angler had been invited to fish by the farmer, who had caught big roach from the tiny water but never weighed them.
Dai, who banked a string of huge tench to 14lb 13oz and a 20lb 10oz bream earlier this year, waded his way through vast numbers of small rudd and roach at the Staffordshire venue before striking gold as the sun went down.
“I can’t believe that I’ve travelled as far as Scotland to catch big roach, only to catch a fish like this from a tiny, local water,” he said.
“It was so enjoyable to relive the excitement and the feelings I used to get as a boy when I cast my float out, not really knowing what was going to take the bait next.”
Dai fed a combination of maggots and sweetcorn, and it was the latter bait, mounted on a size 14 hook tied to 3lb mainline on waggler gear, that saw him land the pristine 2lb redfin.
“It’s hard to put into words how rare fish like this are in my area,” Dai continued.
“My personal best for the species stands at 3lb 7oz, but on that occasion I knew exactly what I was fishing for.
“This latest 2lb 2oz fish almost means more to me than the three-pounder. It was a farm pond fish with a real sense of mystery surrounding it, and the catch really sums up what fishing is all about.”

Another amazing week for monster barbel!

Rivers across the UK continue to produce some of the best barbel of 2015, with a host of specimens hitting the bank.
The first, setting a new personal best for the species, fell to Nottingham’s Richard Easom who targeted the middle reaches of the River Trent and got what he was looking for – a 16lb 14oz specimen.
After a biteless four hours, a cast under a tree sent his rig, baited with an 18mm 3 Foot Twitch Dubby boilie, into a deeper hole than any of his previous casts had found.
This proved crucial, as the huge fish took his bait three hours later.
“I set up the camera ready for the pictures and I wasn’t overly excited as I thought it was around 10lb.
“But as I struggled up the bank I was gobsmacked by the sheer width of the fish. I could have put a saddle on her,” Richard said.
“There are rare moments that define you as a specialist angler, and this capture is certainly one of those for me.”
Shaun Harrison also targeted the river and topped a prolific spell with a 14lb 11oz barbel.
He returned to a stretch that hadn’t produced a single bite in two years, but proved why his Quest Baits Questrami boilies are the business when he topped a list of recently-caught doubles to 13lb with the fine specimen.
Moving up to the Severn, Dale Thomas had a session to remember when he set a new river pb.
The dairy herdsman from Hereford arrived at the river at midnight and, after introducing two handfuls of boilies around a snag, didn’t even get the chance to set up his tripod before a 5lb 2oz fish made its way to the net.
He landed a steady stream of fish, including chub, until he struck gold with a 13lb 7oz barbel on a 3 Foot Twitch 18mm boilie.
“I reached down to get the net and wasn’t prepared for this beauty that beat my previous best from the river that stood at 11lb 13oz,” said Dale.
Surrey’s Mike Lyddon had an old stick of Peperami to thank for the capture of his biggest-ever barbel from the Severn at 13lb 6oz.
He travelled to the river in search of zander, but after landing small fish he turned his attentions to barbel and used the popular supermarket offering to great effect with the help of 15lb braid, a braided 15lb hooklink and a size 8 hook.
“I chucked out a couple of single hookbaits and my first fish went 11lb 4oz. This was followed by the big one, and I finished off with a little scamp of 10lb 8oz,” said Mike.
The Hampshire Avon, long a favourite among barbel enthusiasts, saw Lee Chatfield get among the big fish and land a new personal best for the species.
He used a bait dropper to deposit a bed of Sonubaits pellets and broken boilies into a gravel hole between two weedbeds and netted the 13lb 6oz fish after it took a Code Red dumbell boilie.
Leicestershire’s Rob Thompson needed only four hours on a Midlands river to fool barbel weighing 13lb 4oz and 10lb 15oz.
The Korum-backed angler hair-rigged a crushed boilie and used pva bags full of pellets and crushed boilies. This is his fifth different fish over 13lb in a couple of months.

Huge tackle sale at Dragon Carp Direct this weekend!

The countdown is on to the biggest tackle sale of the year!

The Dragon Carp Direct £1m Tackle Clearance takes place over three days in November – Friday 27th, Saturday 28th and Sunday 29th – in Chesterfield, with incredible bargains available across a huge range of kit.

The event, which takes place at DCD’s headquarters in Chesterfield, begins with Black Friday, moves onto Roger Surgay’s famous Man on the Mic auction on Saturday before finishing with Clearance Sunday.

Here’s what to expect on each day:

Black Friday (27th November)
Exclusive access to Unit 3 where every piece of tackle will be at least 50% off!

Man on the Mic Open Day (28th November)
Roger Surgery’s famous auction. Doors open at 9am.

Clearance Sunday (29th November)
Every piece of tackle left will be cleared – at crazy prices!

DCD boss Roger Surgay said: “This is going to be our biggest-ever sale. I’ve got piles of clearance tackle to shift and some of the prices will be unbelievable.

“Our old Newark Show was extremely popular but the logistics made it impossible to continue with. Last year we moved to our HQ in Chesterfield for a one-off sale and it proved to be so popular that this year we’ve decided to do it over three days.

“On Black Friday we’re opening up our Unit 3 warehouse for the first time ever and every piece of tackle in there will be at least 50% off. “

“On Saturday, I’ll be hosting my Man on the Mic auction with loads of crazy deals and then Clearance Sunday is about getting rid of everything that’s left at stupid prices.

“There’s loads and loads of kit so don’t worry about there not being enough.

“Make sure you get there – I promise you won’t be disappointed!”

Here are some of the deals:
5,000 rods from £5
1,000 reels from £5
16m £1,000 poles from £50
Bivvies and shelters from £5
Seatboxes from £10
Chairs from £10
Clothing and footwear from £10

*Doors open at 9am sharp each day and the sale takes place at Dragon Carp Direct, Units 2 and 3 Calow Brook Drive, Hasland, Chesterfield, S41 ODR. Tel: 01246 540140.

Tom Lane wins Riverfest after nightmare Day 1

Angling Trust RiverFest 2015 Final
River Wye, Hereford (72 pegs)

No matter how bad things are in fishing, you should never give up. That’s an adage
Tom Lane demonstrated in spades by winning this year’s final on a river that showed two very different faces to the 72 competitors.
Weighing in a total of 43-10-0, the Lane’s Bait rod from Coventry took the £12,000 first prize. You would have got very long odds on him doing that on Sunday morning though because the opening five hours of action on the Saturday saw the 24-year-old muster just 1-10-0 from a poor peg.
Day 2 didn’t promise much better as the river rose by several feet and was raging through. He stuck to his guns from his peg on the tennis courts section, making its debut in this year’s final, and calmly dismantled the field with nine barbel for 43-0-0 to win the day and the title.
But it was so close, with Garbolino Blackmore Vale man Richie Tomala turning in two great performances of small-fish work to reply with 42-0-0 and miss out by just one of the Wye’s famed chub or barbel. Lincolnshire’s Alistair Ogilvie finished third on 36-8-0.
Tom, grandson of late former World Champion Billy, got the family name back on a famous trophy with a feeder attack from peg 98 on the tennis courts. Ironically, that was one down from where Lee Edwards had won the Saturday match from, but in very different conditions.
Tom adopted a sit and wait approach, casting into a big slack a quarter of the way across the river to just do enough.
“Day 1 was a total write off,” Tom said. “I’ve been fishing the Wye in matches for five years and know how bad peg 47 is. It can be hit or miss, but is more often miss and I really struggled for 1-10-0 of tiny dace on the feeder.
“It poured with rain all day and I felt pretty deflated, especially as we all knew that the river would be up a lot on Sunday and could be almost unfishable.”
He was right on that score because the Wye came up over the rowing club HQ’s steps, forcing the rowers off the river and seeing onlookers think that the anglers setting up must have been mad! Trees were ploughing downriver plus a million leaves and the river was a filthy brown colour – not the stuff of legend!
Tom found himself heading to peg 98 where 18lb had been caught the day before, but Sunday would be totally different. He didn’t fancy it, but flooded rivers can spring all sorts of surprises.
“I’ve fished the Wye before with over 12ft of extra water in it and it was desperate, so I didn’t expect a lot,” he explained.
“I planned to fish the feeder into the slack looking for barbel because they do live around that area. I also put in a pole line using a flat float to catch some roach as a back-up. I began on the feeder and nothing happened, had a quick look on the pole without a bite and feared the worst.”
“I did know that next to nothing had been caught around me so went back on the tip and had my first barbel of around 4lb quite quickly on a bunch of five maggots,” Tom continued. “Another fish followed after 20 minutes and that was much bigger. After that it was a bit of a sit and wait job because the fish came in little bursts. They were moving around in the slack so I had to keep casting around to try and get a bite. Fortunately, I only missed one all day and never lost a fish, but I still felt as though I hadn’t done enough to win, and that was almost the case.”
After taking two fish on maggot, Tom changed to a hair-rigged lobworm to keep picking the fish off, ending up on two hair-rigged 8mm pellets. He packed his 4oz Kamasan Blackcap blockend feeder with 4mm halibut pellets and geared up with 10lb Pro Gold mainline to a 3ft hooklink of the same material and size 10 Drennan Super Spade or Specimen hooks.
“The peg was actually quite free of snags so there weren’t too many dramas getting the fish in, but all the while I kept an ear open to the people stood behind me. They reckoned there were a few big bleak weights taken that might beat me,” he reflected.
“I felt as though I would need one more barbel to really seal things, but it didn’t happen. It may have been close, but it’s a tremendous feeling, especially as I’m an out-and-out river angler and there aren’t many events like this around. Mind you, I was one who was questioning whether the match should even have gone ahead in the first place!”

Overall result: 1 T Lane, Lane’s Bait, 44-10-0;
2 R Tomala, Garbolino Blackmore Vale MG, 42-0-0; 3 A Ogilvie, Sensas, 36-8-0; 4 L Edwards, Garbolino/ABC, 34-8-0; 5 B Brown, Sensas, 30-12-0; 6 M Buchwalder, Preston Innovations, 29-8-0; 7 I Ward, Frenzee, 29-4-0; 8 I Dawson, Tri-Cast Calder, 29-2-0; 9 R Hoskins, Daiwa Gordon League, 28-15-0; 10 S Willsmore, Drennan/D&A Tackle, 28-13-0.
Day 2 result: 1 T Lane, Lane’s Bait, 43-0-0;
2 R Tomala, Garbolino Blackmore Vale MG, 23-7-0; 3 A Ogilvie, Sensas, 18-6-0; 4 J Summerson, Garbolino RAF, 13-2-0; 5 I Dawson, Tri-Cast Calder, 12-4-0; 6 S Ashby, Sensas, 12-7-0.

Get 20% off an iBobber Fish Finder

Have you ever wondered what’s going on in your swim? How many fish are there and how big they are? Most of the time it’s sheer guesswork, but get your hands on this week’s brilliant reader offer and you can map out your swim with pinpoint clarity and work out just what lies beneath!

We’re offering 20 per cent off the Real Sonar Bluetooth iBobber fish finder. This smart little device shows the number of fish in your peg and their size, the depth they are sitting at and even the contours of the swim. There are also precise weather, water temperature and moon phase settings, with the option to store previously-mapped swims for future reference and to share on social media.

Compatible with all Apple and Android devices, the iBobber attaches to your line and works in two ways. To map the swim, cast to the required distance then reel in slowly, letting the sonar do the work, feeding back accurate measurements of depth and contours. To discover the fish in the peg, leave the iBobber alone and it will ping back the fishy life forms close by.

It comes with a charging dock, carry bag and instructions. All you need do is download the free app on to your phone, device or tablet and you’re away!

It retails at £99.99, but Angling Times readers can get the iBobber for £79.99 (plus free shipping), an impressive 20 per cent saving. That makes the iBobber the ideal Christmas present for the angler who almost has it all on the fishing front, or for the specimen and pleasure angler who take their fishing seriously!

FEATURES

The iBobber will allow you to:

- Map swim contours and depths down to 135ft at up to 100ft range

- Discover the size of fish below and above 15ins

- Chart water temperatures

- Indicate favourable moon phases on the calendar

- Display accurate weather data

- Store previously charted swims for future use

- Map good areas via GPS

- Share findings on social media

To order your iBobber, simply visit www.mailordergolf.com search for iBobber and then enter the code FISH20 to place your order. The offer ends on Thursday, December 31, 2015

Two chub for close on 16lb!

One of the biggest chub braces ever – fish of 8lb 4oz 8dr and 7lb 10oz – has been banked by specimen angler Robert Young from a Christchurch AC stretch of the Dorset Stour.

The Bournemouth-based computer engineer visited the fast-flowing river every day for three months to introduce a handful of boilies.

“I had fed quite a few swims since the summer and knew there were big fish present, as I had already caught three chub to 7lb 5oz, but having not fished this particular swim before I wasn’t expecting a catch like this,” said Robert, who used 12lb mainline and a Drennan fluorocarbon hooklength tied to a size 8 hook.

“I used a PVA mesh bag of loose offerings, and wrapped another around the lead so as not to spook the fish when it hit the gravel.”

The rod-tip began twitching within minutes of his arrival and moments later he was netting a new personal best after the bigger of the two chub took his single hair-rigged boilie. He had to wait for over an hour for his second fish, the seven-pounder.

The ‘eight’ is a new club record, and a catch Chub Study Group secretary Iain Nairn believes will be remembered for a long time.

“This stretch of river is well capable of producing a big fish but to get two in a session from the same swim is incredible. This will go down as one of the best catches in chub fishing history,” he said.

Another angler to celebrate this week was Mark Jones, when his floatfished lobworm, intended for perch, brought a bite from a huge 8lb 1oz chub.

The Coventry-based man began his epic day on a stretch of the River Great Ouse controlled by Milton Keynes AA.

While the light held he fished for roach and dace, but once darkness fell and the venue’s resident big perch began to put in an appearance, the 49-year-old stepped up his tackle to incorporate a 3lb hooklink and a size 16 hook into his simple waggler rig, looking for a big stripey.

“I’ve been fishing for many different species all my life and I know that this won’t happen again. I really thought the chub was going to be over 7lb, but for it to be over 8lb is simply incredible. I had to check my scales three times just to make sure they were right,” he said.

3lb 4oz roach found dead at pike water Chew Valley

This is the picture of a 3lb 4oz roach that was found at the UK’s finest specimen pike water.
The dead roach was discovered by former British pike record-holder Neville Fickling and Angling Times columnist Paul Garner when the pair fished from the deck of a boat on the famous Chew Valley Reservoir.
It’s a venue that’s already produced two pike over 40lb and numerous 30lb-plus specimens so far this season, but the roach proved why many experts believe that the next British record pike isn’t the only history-making coarse fish that is lurking in the depths of the vast Somerset venue.
“As soon as I saw the fish I shouted ‘hang on a minute, that is absolutely huge’ so we sped over to investigate,” Neville told Angling Times.
“It doesn’t surprise me at all that there are roach like this in this place because everything seems to grow to such huge proportions. But all that said, I didn’t think I’d be having my picture taken with a 3lb 4oz roach during a day at Chew.”
Along with pike to 44lb 6oz and perch to just under the 5lb mark, respected specimen all-rounder and fisheries scientist Paul Garner also believes that Chew and many of the other vast trout fishing reservoirs in the UK could contain coarse fish of massive proportions.
“This roach is further proof of just what could be in these lakes, because many of them are perfect breeding grounds for specimen fish,” said Paul.
“Chew is such healthy water that’s rich in food and nutrients, so it’s no wonder why it’s not only home to huge pike.
“I’ve seen huge coarse fish rolling while fishing this type of venue and if you do a bit of research you’ll find out about a 20lb 2oz bream that was found dead at Thames Water’s Farmoor Reservoir some years ago – just one of many examples of what lurks beneath the surface of these waters.”

Four forties to 49lb 10oz and six thirties in 48 hours

Three forties and a thirty in an hour gave Justin Greig an incredible 60-minute haul of 168lb – and his biggest fish was still to come.
Having blanked for two days at Cambridgeshire’s Holme Fen, Justin ended up with 10 carp averaging over 39lb in the final 48 hours of his stay.
In a manic morning spell Justin bagged mirrors of 45lb 2oz, 46lb 4oz, 41lb and 36lb 6oz. And 24 hours later, in the final hours of his four-night stay, he banked a 49lb 10oz mirror.
The Bank Bug-backed angler said: “I ended the session wet and cold but I was the happiest fisherman alive. Five thirties and five forties to 49lb 10oz – wow! A red-letter session I will never, ever forget.”
Justin, who was fishing from the Reeds swim, baited heavily with maggots seasoned with chilli and a liquid sweetener.
After two blank nights, the first bite came at 10.30am on the third day, but the fish promptly fell off.
A 33lb 8oz mirror followed almost immediately, but a second dropped fish made Justin swap his 360 rig, baited with a white pop-up and 12 maggots, for a multi rig.
“Something had to change,” said Justin.
“I needed a low-sitting pop-up rig like the 360 but one that I knew would nail them, so I came up with a multi rig using a size 6 Bank Bug Demon hook.”
A 30-pounder followed at dusk, but the real action kicked off the following morning as four carp occupied nets and slings at the same time.
“The first of the crazy four fish was what we thought to be the biggest and it turned out to be 45lb 2oz – a UK forty, I was buzzing!
“Next fish was the fatty, which on close inspection was deep and had big apple-slice scales. It weighed 46lb 4oz and was a stunner – it was like a dream, two UK forties in one session!
“Next fish – could it be? Yes! 41lb – three forties one after another and I still had a good fish in the net! I hoisted it up on the scales and it read 36lb 6oz.”
That evening, a 36lb 10oz mirror made it eight fish for the session before the biggest carp of the trip – at 49lb 10oz – arrived on the last morning. With just minutes left, a 41lb 8oz mirror made it a perfect ten.

Bleak seal Wye festival for Whittle

Shakespeare River Wye
Festival 2015 (Weds-Fri)
River Wye, Hereford (60 pegs)

Despite the River Wye being low and clear, this midweek festival, backed by tackle giant Shakespeare, produced some cracking action.
Day 1 saw Jamie Robbins top the field from the Tennis Courts section. He had a great day feeding and fishing maggot on the waggler for a net of chub weighing 39-14-0.
The rest of the festival belonged to bleak king Hadrian Whittle as Day 2 saw him out in first place from Belmont with 41-4-0, the Kamasan Starlets rod catching from one of his favourite pegs on the river, peg 80. He had a strong half of the match on bleak and also topped up with chub for a section win.
The final day saw Hadrian in his element, bagging 1,300 bleak on the whip from the Ferry section to take first place with 38-0-0.
The win and better weights than his nearest rival Andy ‘Spud’ Murphy saw him take the honours with a four-point score over the three days.

Day 1 result: 1 J Robbins, Shakespeare, 39-14-0;
2 D Foreshaw, Cotswold Angling, 39-8-0;
3 D Ashington, Sensas/Kamasan Starlets, 35-8-0.
Day 2 result: 1 H Whittle, Kamasan Starlets/Woody’s, 41-4-0; 2 T Wales, DH Angling, 40-3-0;
3 M Lindsey, Surrey, 36-8-0.
Day 3 result: 1 H Whittle, Kamasan Starlets/Woody’s, 38-0-0; 2 A Murphy, Shakespeare, 37-4-0;
3 M Derry, Kamasan Starlets, 36-4-0.
Overall: 1 H Whittle, Kamasan Starlets/Woody’s, 4pts (superior weight): 2 A Murphy, Shakespeare, 4; 3 M Derry, Kamasan Starlets, 5; 4 B Rigby, Shakespeare, 6; 5 D Foreshaw, Cotswold Angling, 7.

Two sessions lead to two personal bests

Lightning struck twice for Paul Bennett when he broke his personal best for the second time in as many sessions at his Cambridgeshire syndicate water with this 43lb 8oz mirror carp.
The Stockport rod set up in the same swim where he took a 41lb 4oz pb on his last outing and laid down a good helping of Madbaits Pandemic and Nutz boilies over a large area at 140-150 yards.
Two rods were fished with pop-up hookbaits on IQ D-rigs and the third with a critically-balanced bait inside a solid PVA bag.
These tactics accounted for mirrors of 17lb 4oz, 26lb 8oz, 26lb 4oz and 43lb 8oz.
He said: “I’m still in angling heaven. To get one pb in a season is mega but to get two in a month – well, it just doesn’t get any better.”

Feeder Switch seals £1,000

A timely switch to the feeder secured England star Des Shipp the £1,000 Stafford Moor Silvermanic title at the weekend as he won by just 2oz on a wind-lashed Tanner’s Lake to pick up his second title on this silverfish-only event.
Weighing in 16-13-0 from peg 2, Preston Innovations-backed Des edged out Lee Farmer on peg 30 by that tiny margin, with William Raison taking third on 15-13-0. But it almost never happened for the Bristol man as his pole attack threatened to be scuppered by the wind.
However, seeing Zac Newton on the peg next door catch on the feeder as the wind got up, Des went back to the van, set a tip rod up and enjoyed a purple patch of eight decent skimmers and a crucian to do just enough, although he was quick to acknowledge the luck he’d enjoyed.
“If I hadn’t seen Zac catch on the tip I wouldn’t have set the feeder up and wouldn’t have won – as simple as that,” Des said. “I had planned to fish the pole as there was no wind at the start of the match, but within an hour it was blowing a gale and I couldn’t fish short, let alone long which is where I’d based my attack around.”
Changing to a small groundbait feeder and fishing worm or dead maggot, Des hooked three early carp on the tip but the skimmers settled and fish to 1lb 8oz saw him make his move after a slow start on the pole where he fished pellet long and maggot and worm short.
“The lakes had a lot of water going through them and were a dirty colour, which I think is why the roach didn’t feed, but in practice we’d seen the better skimmers caught long, so I fed pellet at 14.5m until the wind ruined it,” he explained.
“Even the short line only produced a few eels so that shows how hard the fishing was. I didn’t fancy the peg as it’s close to a corner and that normally means carp city but after those early fish, the skimmers fed.”
Worm was his opening hookbait, but Des found two dead red maggots to be much better, introducing just a few through the feeder on each cast.
Result: 1 D Shipp, Preston Innovations, 16-13-0;
2 L Farmer, Sensas, 16-11-0; 3 W Raison, Daiwa/Old Ghost, 15-13-0; 4 A Morrison, Browning West Midlands, 15-7-0; 5 A Power, Preston Innovations Thatcher’s, 14-9-0; 6 Z Newton, Exeter, 12-13-0.

Crab tempts 16lb 9oz Thames barbel

A ‘no-feed’ approach worked a treat for Ellis Forrester when he banked this giant 16lb 9oz barbel.
Fishing a stretch of the River Thames in Oxfordshire, the Abingdon angler decided against a heavy prebaiting campaign and instead fished just two Oxford Carp Baits GS Crab 18mm boilies wrapped in paste along with a PVA bag of chopped boilies.
This was attached to a simple 3oz lead rig consisting of 15lb ESP Syncro line and a 2ft-long 15lb ESP Strip Teaze hooklink.
The fish, which was taken during an overnight session on the waterway, set a new personal best for the 28-year-old heating engineer, and is just 1lb 9oz short of a river record for the species set by Guy Robb in 2005.

That’s no pike, Mark!

Angling Times features editor Mark Parker got the surprise of his angling life when he hit into this 12lb-plus brown trout on a drop shot rod while perch fishing.
Mark caught it during a perch fishing feature at Blithfield Reservoir in Staffordshire.
 “The fish had the light drop shot rod bent double and it didn’t surface for at least 10 minutes or so,” said Mark. “My boat partner Ian and I thought it was a huge pike, but a brief break in the fight saw the fish surface and it was then that we realised it was a huge brownie.”
He beat the trout on a braided mainline and 8lb fluorocarbon leader, and the lure was a Savage Gear 8cm Cannibal Shad on an 8g jig head.
“Due to the constant rocking of the boat, the precise weight could not be recorded,” said Mark.
“Still, it was a pb trout that could potentially have been the new fishery record for the species.”

Orion falls to Adam Penning at 43lb 2oz

“The one I really wanted!” That’s how Adam Penning described this 43lb 2oz mirror carp which brought a successful conclusion to his autumn campaign on the Quarry in Essex.
The well known angling coach has been targeting the 22-acre venue for the last six weeks, and after photographing the fish known as Orion for one his clients last summer he set his sights on catching it.
He said: “My client, Sam Croft, caught it at a spawned-out weight of 31lb and it was one of the most impressive carp I had ever seen.
“Orion’s last capture was in April, and with that being its only visit to the bank this year we all had a feeling he could be big and even break the 40lb barrier for the first time.”
Following a string of captures, including a few repeats, Adam’s perseverance was finally rewarded.
“I was beginning to wonder what I had to do to get one of the lake’s real units – the answer was, of course to keep going, keep catching and it would come.
“At 6am Friday morning, the planets aligned and the incredible fish rested, beaten in my net. Orion weighed 43lb 2oz and was my 40th fish from the lake. Not only was it a forty-pounder, but also the most desirable carp I have seen in a long time – perfect tail, sloping head and an underslung mouth.
“I was, and still am, totally stupefied. Thank you, carp gods!” he added.

Three twenties mark piker’s return to rivers

Dilip Sarkar showed no signs of rustiness after a seven-month break from angling when two sessions resulted in three 20lb-plus pike topped by this superb 22lb 8oz specimen.
The Angling Trust fisheries enforcement manager waited until October to make his first cast of the season on a local river, where he banked the biggest of his three fish on a  paternostered deadbait.
Things got even better a week later when a trip to the River Severn resulted in the capture of a stunning pair weighing 20lb and 21lb 7oz.
Dilip’s book, River Pike, is still available to buy from Harper Angling Books.
Visit: www.harperanglingbooks.co.uk/RiverPike

First-ever zander a ‘13’

Ronny Hawkes’ first ever zander will be one he will never forget, with the fish tipping the scales at a whopping 13lb 12oz.
The giant was taken on a roach deadbait during an evening session spent on a tidal section of the River Trent.
After making the two-hour journey to the waterway from his home in Darlington, the 28-year-old bus driver had to wait only 20 minutes before his rod was wrapping round and the huge predator was battling against his 20lb Daiwa Sensor mainline and size 8 Drennan carbon treble hooks.

8-year wait for 46lb 10oz carp

After eight years of trying, Ted Bryan broke his carp personal best with this 46lb 10oz mirror from a southern stillwater.
The Sydenham-based big-fish hunter and former Drennan Cup Champion arrived on the Sunday afternoon to find the lake packed with anglers, so he had to drop into one of the few remaining free pegs.
The night passed without event, so when the crowds had thinned out the next day he upped sticks to try a different spot.
“Once I had got set up I went off to work on the lakes, cutting out swims,” Ted told Angling Times.
“I was working through the day and fishing at night, and because the clocks had gone back I was struggling to get my rods out before dark.”
He eventually had three rods positioned 40 yards out with 20 Nash Bait TG boilies over each one.
“I could hear fish crashing out all night in my swim, and at 4am I received the fastest take I’ve ever had. I picked up the rod and the line just continued to spill off the reel. Even when I tried to stop it, it just carried on going!
“I kept the pressure on but whenever I gained any line the fish stripped more off. It took over 10 minutes to get it in front of me and I thought it was going to be a small fish because of how fast it was. But when I pulled the net in it was huge – I even struggled to hold it for the photos.”
He added. “At 46lb 10oz it beat my previous personal best by 2oz.”
Ted’s successful presentation consisted of a double 15mm Nash Bait TG Active boilie hookbait mounted on a size 8 Fang X hook, and a 15lb Hardcore hooklink with a 2oz inline lead.

Mighty sturgeon tops 11ft and weighs 700lb

This enormous prehistoric-looking head belongs to one of the biggest sturgeon ever landed.
The huge specimen, more than 11ft long and estimated at 700lb-plus, was caught on Canada’s mighty Fraser River near Chilliwack in British Columbia.
It’s one of the largest fish ever to be recorded during a 15-year study of the species carried out by the Fraser River Sturgeon Conservation Society (FRSCS), and gave Dan Lallier, of Onoway, Alberta, a day he will never forget.
“I set the hook and I watched the fish jump clear of the water and my stunned expression soon turned into ecstatic screams as my adventure played out,” said Dan.
The sturgeon took a fish bait and battled for just over an hour before coming to the side of the boat.
“I knew that white sturgeons on the Fraser can grow to immense sizes, but I still found the experience hard to believe,” Dan continued.
His realised his fishing dreams thanks to his guide, Yves Bisson of the BC Sport Fishing Group (BCSFG), located in the Harrison Hot Springs Resort & Spa on the shores of Harrison Lake.
“What a beautiful, healthy fish – my congratulations to Dan, whose encounter is a great example of the world-class fishery we are privileged to engage in and protect through conservation measures,” said BCSFG boss Tony Nootebos.
The group used recognised International Game Fish Association (IGFA) standard protocols to measure and tag the white sturgeon, that will now be included in the research database used to track and monitor the species.

3lb 8oz Broads roach biggest of the year

The biggest roach of 2015 and a handful of huge river specimens have kick-started the season for one of the nation’s favourite species.
This 3lb 8oz example was caught from the prolific Broads system by carp angler Jake Baxter.
He had the surprise of his life when the only bite following eight gruelling sessions on Oulton Broad in Lowestoft, Suffolk, produced the huge specimen. It took a liking to a snowman rig baited with a trimmed-down 18mm bottom bait tipped with a smaller pop-up.
It was an offering intended to deter any roach or bream, but the 26-year-old local angler certainly wasn’t complaining when he slipped the new personal best on to the scales.
“I had a few small bleeps and pulls and then the rod screamed off.
I thought it might be a bream but it seemed to be to going too fast, then I saw the red fins, thought ‘whoa!’ and realised it was a true roach,” Jake told Angling Times.
“A couple of pike anglers came over to help me photograph it and confirmed what it was. This was a really solid fish like a chub and it was 2ins-3ins wide. Laid down on the net next to my arm it was double the length of my hand and reached more than halfway up my forearm!”.
Jake used 14lb mainline, a 15lb coated braid hooklink and a size 8 hook with a running lead set-up.
The theme of shock captures continued as a 2lb 6oz roach fell to a barbel angler on the River Ribble.
Lee Hitchon used a 15mm Source boilie to set a new personal best on the tidal section of the North West venue. It was the only bite of the day for the 30-year-old from Preston.
“The rod-tip started bouncing and I thought I had a small chub on, but then this massive roach came up. I’ve had them to 1lb 8oz before on the Ribble, but nothing like this.
“I was using a PVA bag full of micro pellets which must have attracted the roach,” said Lee.
Fishing-mad Labour MP Jon Cruddas, who is part of the All Party Parliamentary Angling Group and a supporter of the Angling Trust joined the list of anglers netting big roach when he spent a day on a chalk stream in Hampshire.
Alternating maggot and corn hookbaits, the biggest specimen of the day at 2lb 7oz fell to his fishing pal Vaughan Lewis, of Thames Water, while Jon set a new pb with a redfin tipping the scales at 2lb 2oz.
 “It was a really special day – not only did I catch my first fish on a centrepin, but I was fortunate enough to catch what most coarse anglers consider to be a fish of a lifetime,” said Jon.