Essex carp water’s offer to keen roach anglers

You can fill your net with fish like these at UK commercials right now!

Silverfish anglers have been offered the chance to fish for free at one of the UK’s leading carp fisheries. 

As commercials look set for their most profitable winter ever thanks to an explosion of stocks of roach, bream and ide, a match at Essex carp fishery Fryerning Fisheries saw winner Bob Fox bank 75lb of redfins.

Now venue boss Charlie Knowles has invited roach anglers to fish for nothing so that these fish can be removed and stocked elsewhere. 

Venue boss Charlie Knowles told Angling Times: “We have a huge head of roach and fish to over 2lb have been reported in the past.

“However, first and foremost we are a carp fishery, so although we don’t do day tickets, we’ll let people fish here for the giant roach for nothing in order to thin the stocks out. 

“We expected the latest  match to produce plenty of bites, but the results went well beyond what we thought was possible in such cold conditions.”

And it’s not just waters in the south that are producing. Further north, Dave Williams had two red-letter silverfish days at two different fisheries. 

The Bait-Tech and Maver-backed angler first set his stall out at Cheshire’s Rosemary Wood Fisheries and banked 50lb of quality roach using short pole and maggot on the hook.

Days later he switched to the nearby Greenwood Fisheries and enjoyed a similar level of success.

He said: “I’m not the sort of angler who enjoys waiting for just one or two bites all day, and the silverfish shoals at my local commercials are producing brilliant action.

“More often than not it is a bite every chuck from start to finish.” 

Shropshire’s Woodside Fishery has also attracted interest thanks to its unseasonal form. Venue official Ben Hughes banked 30lb of quality redfins and skimmers during a recent pleasure session and is convinced that the huge shoals present in commercials are helping keep more anglers on the banks during the winter.

He said: “Woodside is a great venue to target for silvers and like most venues, these species get overlooked for much of the year as anglers target carp.

“Our roach, skimmers and big perch are giving anglers lots of bites and convincing them that getting on the bank in winter is a much better option than putting your gear away until next year.”

- To book a free roach fishing session at Fryerning Fisheries call 01277 352245.

Rub the carp god for luck!

A granite carp god weighing 3.5 tonnes has already smiled on one angler after taking up residence at a popular venue.

The imposing statue, modelled on the famous Easter Island heads, was levered into position with help from bricklayer Carl Baxter, who then got his rods out and banked two fish for 87lb, including a 50lb 6oz common.

The 8ft-tall good-luck charm was placed on the dam wall at Fryerning Fisheries’ Main Lake in Essex by owner Chris Knowles, who believes anglers shouldn’t take themselves too seriously.

“As anglers we are always praying to the carp god,” he told Angling Times, “and if we don’t, we’re in trouble!”

Chris said the head, which cost £3,500 and took three months to create, reflects his outlook on fishing and life.

He said: “A mate of mine designed it and I got him to put a couple of scars in the back which anglers can rub for good luck as they go past.

“I honestly believe that if you go fishing with a positive attitude, then nine times out of 10 you will do well. I’d been in this game for 33 years when I dug the lake and this is just one of those silly things you do. It’s a bit of fun – I think people take life too seriously sometimes.”  

One of the carp god’s first duties was to look on as Carl Baxter, who had helped position the statue, caught Mommon at 50lb 6oz and then an elusive and old mirror known as Riddler at 36lb 12oz.

The 42-year-old from Ipswich in Suffolk said: “It’s my second UK fifty and a fish I dearly wanted after fishing the venue for 18 years. I fed heavily every night, only fishing the spot at night after resting it. 

“87lb of fish in two casts – wow!”

Over the course of his 72-hour session, Carl fed 8kg of Activ8 in mixed sizes with a throwing stick and fished matching pop-ups on chod rigs to a silt patch next to a lilybed on the far-bank margins 100 yards away. 

“It’s my first time using Mainline for several years after using other baits, and forgotten favourite Activ8 did me proud,” added Carl, who is also known by the nickname Bertie.

Venue boss Chris told Angling Times another lump of granite is waiting to be chiselled into a skull which may be placed on neighbouring Valley Lakes.

Huge weights ‘a step too far’

The owner of one of the UK’s top commercial fisheries may well ban a popular bagging tactic to reduce catches after weights sky-rocketed.

Countless colossal hauls have been landed this summer, including the biggest-ever match haul last week by an angler who took 1514lb in six hours from Arran’s Lake.

The huge Essex catch has divided opinion, with many anglers and fishery owners claiming that match weights have spiralled out of control.

Lincolnshire’s Westwood Lakes has seen records fall many times since water temperatures reached summer levels, but while many are excited at the red hot form, boss Alan Coupland is less than impressed.

In a bid to bring weights more in line with his expectations he is now toying with the idea of banning the prolific big-weight tactic known as ‘slapping’.

 He told Angling Times: “I’d always liked the idea of having a fishery where maybe 170lb could be seen as a great weight, but we’ve reached the point where 300lb catches are becoming fairly common – in my book that’s going too far.

“My rule is that match anglers must split their catch between three nets, and while that is being abided by, I’m ending up with up to 100lb of fish in each keepnet. I don’t like that.

 “Most of the big weights are taken by anglers who slap the water with their pole rigs to imitate bait being fed. While it is extremely effective, I could well ban it in the future as it’s playing a big part in these huge weights we are seeing.

“Some anglers might look elsewhere if I did bring a ban in, and they are entitled to do that, but I have to think about the welfare of my fish stocks. Current weights are not what I envisaged at Westwood Lakes.”

If the ban on slapping is imposed, Westwood will join a growing list of fisheries that have taken the same stance. North Yorkshire’s Woodlands Lakes introduced the restriction last year, and boss Craig Kent has no regrets. He said: “People were catching 200lb on just their hookbait, and that presented a number of problems.

“First, the fish weren’t getting fed, which wouldn’t have done them any good. Second, a lot of skill was removed from catching big weights. Take away the need to feed and putting together a big weight becomes a lot easier.

“My attendances are now bigger than ever and that just goes to show I was right to ban the tactic.”

Further south in Milton Keynes, Alders Farm officials experienced a similar conundrum last year after weights rose over 500lb.

In a bid to draw back anglers who had looked elsewhere due to the ease of sport, thousands of pounds of carp were removed to make the fishing more challenging. Owner Lewis Monk believes the action has had the desired effect.

“Soon after taking over in October 2014, we realised that the match weights had got completely out of control,” explained Lewis.

“When we decided to net the lakes we did get a few negative comments – however, we felt confident we had done the best thing for the fishery and the anglers. 

“We now average winning summer weights around 200lb, which has attracted far more anglers back to Alders, and we certainly have no regrets about the action we took.”