Schoolboy banks shock 35lb pike
Schoolboy Thomas Pinchin became the envy of predator anglers across the nation after his first ever pike tipped the scales at 35lb.
The Surrey-based 12-year-old had been on the trail of a pike for two years and made the long journey with his dad from their home in Surrey to the family owned Manor Lake in Norfolk.
Using a floatfished mackerel hookbait, the junior achieved his long term goal early in the day when he banked an 11lb fish.
He quickly reset his trap and shortly afterwards he gained a lot more than he bargained for when he latched in to one of only a handful of specimen pike in the venue.
A spirited battle ended with the fish sliding over the net, with the sheer weight of the beast smashing the landing net handle as it was lifted onto the bank.
Manor Lake owner Stephen Burroughes told Angling Times: “This is a lake record by some way and an incredible specimen.”
“He was obviously delighted at his achievement and it’ll certainly be a tough personal best to beat.
A nine year old boy caught a 26lb pike a few years ago and we suspect this could be the same fish,” he added.
He wasn’t the only junior to show off their predator skills this week as teenager Thomas Moore hooked a monster 29lb pike during a tournament on a Cambridgeshire drain.
The 13-year-old from Yaxley-based angler was fishing with his dad during a pairs pike match on his local Whittlesey Angling Association controlled drain when the giant fish took his coarse deadbait.
Another smaller specimen was added to the bag to give the duo first prize in the competition, with Thomas gaining the individual honours thanks to the memorable catch.
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Monster 46lb 8oz pike caught on film!
This is the incredible image of one of the biggest ever pike ever caught on rod on line …..and it’s been captured on film.
The colossal predator weighing 46lb 8oz was boated by Danish angler Finn Sloth Hansen and the incredible moment when it took his trolled lure was filmed on an underwater camera during a kayak fishing trip on a private lake in his home country.
The 27-year-old Team Hobie angler boated the monster specimen, that sets a new Danish record, on his first visit to the venue after hearing the owners stories of how ducks were beginning to mysteriously disappearing on the lake.
“I was having a tough day as I couldn’t even catch a perch, but I just kept thinking about what might have been taking those ducks so I carried on changing my lures and eventually got the take” he said. “The huge fish only just fitted into my landing net and I couldn’t lift it aboard my kayak so I to paddle to shore and get help from my friends.”
It beat the previous Scandinavian record of 42lb 10oz and is just 5oz short of the current UK record caught by Roy Lewis at Llandegfedd Reservoir, Wales in 1992.
Flying the predator fishing flag for UK stillwaters is pike fishing expert Brian Ingram after he banked this huge 38lb 8oz predator.
Following hot on the heels of the recent capture of his second pike over the 40lb mark weighing 42lb 8oz and caught from Chew Valley Reservoir, the well-known specialist turned his attentions to a tough stillwater in the Midlands.
A floatfished mackerel was positioned on a shelf where the depth comes up from 25feet to around 10 feet and it was a rig that was made with 50lb Berkley Fireline, a 45lb Pike Pro wire trace and size 4 Onar trebles that were firmly struck into the jaws of the specimen by the highly respected angler from Warwickshire.
“To catch my second ‘forty’ back in February was a great achievement and this has just made my season even better as I also caught a 30lb 8oz predator last December,” said Brian.
“But it wasn’t all about pike either as I also banked an unknown 43lb 8oz carp and perch to a best of 4lb 2oz.”
Underwater footage of the 46lb 8oz pike is available to view in Team Wild Out’s exclusive video.
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Stunning 350lb of predators in one session!
Big weights are few and far between at this time of the year but Paul Bennett bucked the trend when he landed 350lb of pike and perch in a session.
The Stockport-based predator angler endured a 330-mile round trip to the Midlands syndicate water and was left exhausted after he slipped the net under 41 pike and a brace of big perch topping the scales at 3lb 8oz and 3lb.
It certainly wasn’t plain sailing from the off as he had to work to get his session-of-a-lifetime underway after an initial approach of legered deadbaits failed to produce a single take.
So a change of tactics was required and from then on he could hardly keep two rods in the water.
“I could see predators striking at the bait fish so I knew they were in the area,” said Paul.
“It would have been easy to persevere with the deadbaits, but I just couldn’t sit there and wait for something to happen.
A sunken float paternoster was soon rigged up and after catching a number of small livebaits, he threaded one on the hook and instantly reaped the rewards.
“It took less than 10 minutes to get my first bite and from then on it was virtually non-stop, with fish attacking the livebait within minutes of it hitting the water.”
That trend continued until the final hours of the closing day of his stint when he decided to scale-down his tackle in a bid to target the specimen perch that also inhabit the venue.
Once again he hit the jackpot almost straight away with a brace of stripeys weighing 3lb and 3lb 8oz coming in consecutive casts.
With the biggest pike of the three day session tipping the dial on the scales round to just over 15lb, he has now set his sights on landing a large individual predator in the coming weeks.
“I am convinced the fish prematurely shoaled up in preparation for spawning and that is why I was catching a fish almost every cast,” Paul continued.
“It was a case of being in the right place at the right time and I am now targeting one of the venue’s 30lb plus pike before the season ends.”
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Chew Valley does it again with 40lb 6oz pike
The incredible Chew Valley Reservoir produced its second 40lb pike of the year when local predator angler Richard Cooper smashed his personal best with a huge 40lb 6oz specimen.
Every year the Somerset venue continues to produce huge pike for visiting anglers and its February pike fishing trials proved no different as the Bristol specialist followed up the recent capture of Brian Ingram’s 42lb 8oz pike with this huge predator.
The 44-year-old, has been fishing the venue since it opened to pike anglers in 2001 and netted the fish-of-a-lifetime when it picked up a legered smelt fished from Walley Bank.
“Landing this huge pike is like winning the lottery for me,” Richard told Angling Times.
“I’ve netted 10 ‘thirties’ from Chew and with a personal best of 32lb 4oz it was getting to the stage where I thought I’d never beat it. Fishing really doesn’t get any better than this.
In the final 14 days of pike fishing the Bristol Water venue produced the two 40lb plus specimens along with 10 other predators over 35lb.
To find out more about the venue visit:www.bristolwaterfisheries.co.uk
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Monster zander from Croatian river
It's not just the UK where the big predators have been feeding heavily as Dalien Vignjevic revealed when he took this monster 23lb 8oz zander from a Croatian river.
The specimen fish fanatic managed to land one of the biggest zeds ever taken from the Sava River when it snapped up a 14cm Savage Gear Sandeel Curltail in the Ragworm pattern.
Despite trying for years to land a fish of such magnitude, it was his first outing of 2015 and he said: “I can’t explain how happy I am now that the hard work has paid off. Using a lure that was the right colour and size and retrieving it slowly played a big part in this capture.”
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A big week for huge predators
These pictures are proof that you don’t have to fish trout waters to catch huge pike after a free stretch of river and a host of day-ticket fisheries produce five 30lb specimens.
While those lucky enough to obtain tickets for the ongoing pike trials at the famous Chew reservoir to target its seemingly endless supply of massive predators, Michael Spinks was the first to realise a dream of catching a pike over the 30lb barrier while on the banks of a free stretch of river.
The pike fishing fanatic from Sutterton, Lincs, was targeting a stretch of the River Ant, which is a tributary of Norfolk’s River Bure, was fishing with his brother Melvin when his first bite of the day resulted in the capture of a 30lb 8oz specimen.
“Chew is an amazing place and fair play to all those guys to fish there, but there are so many other waters that are capable of producing a fish-of-life-time like this. It’s a dream come true,” said Michael, who caught his new ‘pb’ on a floatfished livebait.
Richard Colwell ended a 20-year quest to bank a fish over the 30lb mark when he visited a gravel pit in Gloucestershire to net a stunning 30lb 6oz specimen.
The venue was partially frozen, but that didn’t dampen the Worcestershire anglers desire to beat his previous personal best that stood at 27lb when he cast a legered mackerel tail to a sunken reed bed.
"Popular venues just don’t do it for me as I prefer less commercial places which have less anglers on them and offer more of a challenge,” said Richard.
A stretch of Fen Drain produced a fish-of-a-lifetime for Northampton’s Bill Leggett when he too slipped the net under a predator over the magical 30lb mark.
He clocks-up over 4,000 miles every year as he makes the journey from his home in Sywell to concentrate on the intriguing network of waters and he made it count when it took a freelined sardine.
It was the same hookbait that did the trick on the River Wye for Warwickshire Avon fishing guide Richard Stananought when he won the battle with a 30lb specimen and last but certainly not least is Sunderland’s Geordie Lauder, who had a big surprise when a lump of cheesepaste intended for chub was taken by a huge 30lb 9oz fish.
He beat the personal best predator with a size 14 hook and a 4lb hooklink during a session on the River Wear.
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Chew Valley does it again with 42lb 8oz pike
Chew Valley reservoir has cemented its place as the best big pike venue of all time after it produced this 42lb 8oz specimen and 16 other ‘thirties’.
Brian Ingram netted his second pike over the 40lb barrier when he boated the specimen during the opening week of the February pike trials held at the prolific Somerset venue.
The specialist from Warwickshire, who etched his name into the pike fishing history books in 1988 when he landed a 43lb 2oz personal best from the famous Llandegfedd reservoir, fished half a float-legered mackerel in 15 feet of water to induce the take from the second biggest fish ever taken from the water.
“If you wanted to create a factory for producing pike over 30lb then Chew Valley is the blueprint,” Brian told Angling Times.
“My method entails staying in one particular spot for the morning and if nothing really happens, I’ll move every hour in the afternoon.”
“It was the mobile approach that did the trick and an area that hadn’t seen many boats on that day that produced this fish that was totally immaculate like all of the Chew fish.
“I don’t think there are any areas that haven’t produced huge fish over the years and that’s what makes this water so unique.
It’s a catch that topped one of the best opening weeks since the Bristol Water venue first opened its doors to pike anglers in 2001.
Pike weighing 39lb, two at 38lb, 37lb and four over 36lb were just some of the predators that were taken from the venue during the five-day trial.
Local angler Andy Berwick has been fishing for pike at the vast venue since it opened in 2001 and he celebrated with the capture of a new personal best weighing 38lb exactly which was caught on a legered herring during a day on the Woodford bank.
“I’ve fished here since the beginning and yes anyone who has a bait in the water has a chance of landing a huge fish, but this doesn’t mean that it’s just a case of turning up and catching ‘thirties’ for fun,” he said.
“I know of anglers who have fished this water many, many times and are yet to land that real fish-of-a-lifetime or have lost huge a huge fish at the net as I have.
“This really is an incredible and special fishery, which really is a testament to the quality of the water and the management team here at Chew.”
The second instalment of the three-week February trial is now under way.
And both visiting anglers that have successfully obtained tickets and fishery staff are full of anticipation of what the coming weeks have in stall as the resident pike continue to fatten up for spawning in March.
“Chew just keeps raising the bar every year,” said fishery manager Tony Donnelly.
“This incredible start to the February trials just helps to build the excitement and anticipation for what is always the most exciting few weeks of predator fishing as it’s when the fish really begin to pack on weight.”
Neville Fickling, former holder of the British pike record, was not one of the anglers who got among the huge fish last week but is also of the opinion that Chew Valley Reservoir has cemented its place at the top of the predator fishing tree.
“I know I might sound like a broken record, but this opening week just proves Chew is the best pike fishing venue in the world bar none,” Neville told Angling Times.
“The next few weeks could produce something very special indeed.”
Chew Valley’s big pike list:
Paul Millar, 44lb 6oz, February 2014
Brian Ingram, 42lb 8oz, February 2015
Ed Matthews, 42lb 4oz, November 2011
Roy Jones, 42lb, October 2013
Mark Even, 41lb 8oz, January 2012
Andy Charmer, 40lb 8oz, February 2010
Mike Green, 40lb 8oz, May 2009
Phil Wakeford, 40lb 6oz, January 2012
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24lb pike in freezing conditions
Freezing temperatures and a gin-clear lake did little to deter keen pike angler Adam Ford when he banked this 24lb 11oz specimen.
It was caught from an undisclosed Midlands gravel pit using a six inch rudd deadbait which Adam bumped just off the bottom of the lake in order to entice fish.
“The water temperature was just 3 degrees so I wanted to literally place the bait on the fish’s nose to get a take and it worked a treat, ” he said.
It’s been a successful winter so far for the Buckinghamshire based, 28-year-old, which has also produced a pike of 30lb 3oz and 11 other fish over 20lb.
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16lb 2oz zander from River Trent
This huge 16lb 2oz zander is proof why many regard the River Trent as one of the UK’s finest big fish waters.
Nottingham-based specialist Stuart Jessop has had his fair share of blanks on the river so far this winter, but a he had a ‘hunch’ that the big zander would go on the feed before recent snowmelt found its way into the watercourse to thank for his impressive specimen.
The fish fell to a legered chub deadbait mounted on size 8 trebles which were attached to a wire trace and 15lb mainline.
“I’ve been putting loads of time in on the river this season and even though it’s been very frustrating at times I knew I had the chance of something really special and I was right,” said Stuart.
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Youngster banks 33lb river pike
A schoolboy who’s only been pike fishing two months became the envy of thousands of anglers when he banked this huge 33lb 8oz river specimen.
Morgan Gledhill was fishing with his Grandad on a stretch of river in Yorkshire when he set the hooks into the biggest fish of his life and a predator that will certainly turn heads in the specimen fishing circles.
After just an hour of being on the bank, the 13-year-old from Hull smashed his previous personal best for the species by 15lb 8oz after the pike picked up a sardine hook bait that was fished in conjunction with a simple running leger rig.
“The fish was so heavy and me and my Grandad knew it was big, but it was a real shock for me when I saw the pike for the first time and I was so scared that I was going to loose it,” said Morgan.
“It took me about 15 minutes to get the pike to the net and as soon as it went in it was hard to believe how fat it was.
“I fish for carp in the summer and pike in the winter and it’s been my dream to catch a fish over 20lb, but even though I’m young I realise how hard it’s going to be to ever catch a pike bigger this especially from a river.”
The huge fish provided Morgan with his only bite of the session and his Grandad his full of praise for the youngster, who took him on his first pike fishing trip last October.
“I’ve been pike fishing for over 30 years and not only does it beat my personal best of 32lb, but I’ve only ever seen one bigger predator in the flesh,” said Tony.
“This is an incredible fish and I don’t really think he truly understands what a significant capture this really is.”
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British Lure Angling Champs moves to the next level
‘We're taking competitive lure fishing to the next level’. That’s the message from the organisers of a national predator tournament that has been given a major revamp for 2015.
The Fox Rage backed British Lure Angling Championships was launched earlier this year and instantly gained the thumbs up from anglers, with hundreds of people trying their luck in the inaugural event.
In order to build upon that success the organisers have now extended the format with two new sub-competitions being launched.
Once again, the main event will see the top six from each qualifier reach the televised final at predator mecca Chew Valley Reservoir.
Unlike a traditional match, weight will not be used to dictate the winners, with the length of all fish caught by an angler added together to give a combined total.
Heats will be staged on canals, rivers and stillwaters and there will also be a separate sea fishing tournament being run for the first time to celebrate the use of the popular tactic on coastal marks.
In addition, a brand new Street Fishing League has been created where entrants will gain points by taking part in events on urban waterways. Match organiser and top specimen angler Julian Chidgey said: “Lure fishing has never been so popular and this is the perfect way to celebrate that.
“It’s a fun, highly productive method that is perfectly suited to short sessions and it fits well with people’s busy, modern lives.”
He added: “The competition structure is very simple, and anyone who reads this is only two matches from potentially becoming the champion!”
Big money prizes will be in store for the winners, with £1,000 going to the victor of the main tournament – which is currently held by angling journalist Steve Collett - and £500 to those coming out on top in the Sea and Street Fishing League.
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Double-figure zander brace from River Trent hotspot
Catching a double-figure zander from running water is an achievement in itself but to catch two in a session is something that few can boast to.
Specimens weighing 14lb and 13lb 8oz fell to Ian Wilson when he fished a stretch of the River Trent. The brace followed hot on the heels of the capture of an impressive 16lb 13oz ‘zed’ by the Worksop rod taken from the same venue just a couple of weeks earlier.
Both fish came during a short session and were both fooled with perch deadbaits fished in conjunction with a running rig constructed with 15lb Fox Soft Steel mainline, a 20lb Drennan wire trace and size 8 trebles.
“When I’m zander fishing the first thing I do is determine where I think the prey fish are going to be,” he said. “On this particular day I settled on an area that was around four feet deep and situated in a slack area on the edge of the main flow.”
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Duo each land 20lb-plus Wye pike
A session on the River Wye saw Adam Fisher and James Edmunds help themselves to a 20lb-plus pike apiece.
Fishing two different Angling Dreams controlled stretches of the waterway at Ross-on-Wye the duo both presented sardine deadbaits hard on the deck.
James was the first to be called in to action and after a powerful fight he slipped the net under a cracking 22lb 3oz predator.
A few smaller fish where then landed before they headed to a different area.
Adam, director of Angling Dreams, said: “We dropped our baits tight under the nearside margin and at half two I received a plodding take.
“Once the fish got out in the flow it gave a really good account of itself and on the bank it tipped the scales at 23lb 6oz.” He added: “As we each had a 20lb pike under our belt we decided to retire to the pub for the remainder of the afternoon to celebrate!”
For information on guiding or fishing any of the Angling Dreams stretches visit: www.anglingdreams.co.uk
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