New weapon in fish crime fight

A schoolboy has created a mobile app that allows anglers to fight crime from the bank.
‘Project Poacher’ will revolutionise the way anglers can report incidents at fisheries across the UK, and is another step forward in the battle against fish thefts.
Free to download on most smartphones, the app allows users to send on-the-spot reports to the police while automatically pinpointing the location of the incident using the phone’s Global Positioning System (GPS).
The new technology is the brainchild of 15-year-old Aaron Christiansen, who developed it on behalf of Cheshire Police for a new nationwide anti-poaching initiative on all wildlife crime.
Set up by the England and Wales Poaching Priority Delivery Group (PPDG) to fight rural crime, the initiative is a partnership between a number of national organisations including law enforcers and the Angling Trust, all of whom have endorsed the new app. 
The Trust’s National Enforcement Manager, Dilip Sarkar MBE, believes the new technology is the way forward in the war against poachers.
He told Angling Times: “We still want people to call in when they see something illegal on the bank, but the app is another great tool as it provides another way for anglers to report incidents which in turn will help authorities to catch more offenders and build up a greater wealth of intelligence.”

DOWNLOAD APP
The app is available from the Apple Istore, Google Play and Microsoft Windows. Visit www.projectpoacher.com for more details.

Pretty One at 50lb 11oz after captor follows gut instinct

Every other angler on the lake had gone home to escape Storm Frank when Rob Hattan latched into this incredibly long common at Wintons Fishery.
The 50lb 11oz fish, known as the Pretty One, fell during high winds in the first week of the year at Kingfisher Lake on the popular West Sussex complex.
The 42-year-old from Brighton shunned perceived wisdom and used unpopular tactics in an unfancied swim to smash his previous personal best by more than 20lb.
“It is usually the norm to use a pop-up or snowman,” said the welder, “but I decided to fish a bottom bait and go back to basics.”
He added: “It was my third time on the water and I decided to use a more unpopular swim than the popular one that was free – I followed my gut instinct and thankfully it paid off.”
After casting out in swim 29, Rob saw a fish roll and decided to leave his rods out for 24 hours. He said: “I’d been smashed with 45mph winds and lashing rain, and thought my bivvy was going to take off.
“By this point every other fisherman had gone home and then it happened, my Delkim receiver started ringing. It had been months since the last time it had played like that!
“I ran out of my bivvy, just about slipped my trainers on, no jacket, and the rain stung my eyes.
“My first thoughts were that it was a 30-pounder, then after about 15 minutes it rolled in front of me and I thought it could be a forty – my heart was racing.”
Once the fish was in the net, Rob rang his brother Darrell and initially told him he had caught a 40-pounder, but soon phoned him back to increase his estimate after picking up the net.
“I was ecstatic,” said Rob, who used glugged CC Moore Equinox boilies topped with fake maggots on rigs made with Korda Kamo and size 6 Kurv hooks.

19lb 14oz zander rocks UK record

You’re looking at one of the biggest zander ever caught in the UK.
Weighing a staggering 19lb 14oz, the predator was boated by Ian Crook at Grafham Water in Cambridgeshire.
The specimen, which is just 1lb 7oz short of James Benfield’s current British record taken from the River Severn, was fooled on a vertically-jigged 6ins rubber shad lure.
It was the first double-figure zander of the winter for Berkshire-based Ian, who smashed his UK personal best by more than 7lb in the process. He said: “I’ve been fishing Grafham for five wintersand bought a season ticket with an aim of catching a 15 pounder.”
“This winter has been one of the hardest – with the bad weather it’s been a struggle to even get fishing, and before this one I had boated only a handful of fish to 9lb.
“This was the penultimate session of my campaign so I am so glad to have finally caught a dream personal best into the bargain.”
The Wokingham angler started the session catching trout, small zander, perch and pike while trying a number of different areas.
However, it wasn’t until the last drift of the day when his St Croix rod slammed over as a huge fish, which Ian initially thought was a pike, put his 14b YGK X Soul Upgrade line and 20lb fluorocarbon leader to the ultimate test.
When the fish finally broke surface Ian knew he had hooked the fish he had been dreaming about: “When I first saw the bulk of its body as it rolled one last time, my legs started trembling and I screamed to my partner to get the net. I have seen zander to 20lb caught in Holland before but to have one this big on my hook in the UK was amazing” he added.
It is not the first time Grafham has produced monster zander. In November 2009 Mick Dolan boated a claimed 22lb specimen, but the 57-year-old couldn’t claim a new British record for the catch as he released it while still afloat.

Two high forties in social session

Darren Knight got the ultimate Christmas presents as he banked two of the UK’s finest day-ticket carp during a festive session.
Fishing at Linear St John’s, the 41-year-old caught the Big Common at 46lb 7oz and then the Big Plated at 47lb 8oz.
The two sought-after fish fell during a three-night social session with Tom Maker, who banked the lake’s Big Ghostie at 34lb 6oz.
The pair, who work together, fished the Social Bank of the Oxfordshire day-ticket water and took full advantage of mild temperatures.
Darren told Angling Times: “I’m on a bit of a good run at the moment after having three thirties in a night on here a couple of weeks ago.
“We arrived on Sunday morning, found our spots and baited with corn, maggots and a new bait from Sticky. At 10pm I had the Big Common. It was a screaming take but when I pulled into it I thought it was a bream. It didn’t really fight on the way in, but put up a bit of a struggle in the margins.”
Tom said: “Before we went to bed we jokingly said that one of us will wake the other when they land the Big Common. An hour after turning in, Darren only went and had it!”
After the capture of the Big Plated on the final night, Tom added: “Darren nudged me last night when we stood near the rods and said
‘Big Plated tonight, boy’ and winked. Well, at 3.30am he’s shaking my bivvy!”
Bristolian Darren fished at 60 yards and mounted a 12mm Sticky boilie topped with corn on helicopter rigs made with Fox components.

White Springs perch tempted on a prawn

Commercial carp fisheries are a great resource for specimen perch anglers, as Stephen Smith demonstrated with the capture of this 4lb 1oz stripey.
The Rhondda-based angler netted the specimen during a stormy session at White Springs Fishery in South Wales, a venue known for its huge perch.
He tempted the fish, which beats his previous best for the species by 5oz, using a floatfished prawn baited on a size 12 Drennan Wide Gape Specialist hook after bait-dropping chopped prawns and maggots into his swim.

Centrepin record for barbel?

This is an image of what is believed to be one of the biggest barbel ever to be caught using a centrepin reel.
Weighing a colossal 16lb 10oz, it was caught by Phil Buckingham, from the renowned stretch of the River Lea at Kings Weir.
The 64-year-old vice president of the Barbel Society, tempted the fish using a small piece of punched Spam hair-rigged to a size 4 Drennan hook during a short evening session on the prolific waterway.

Stott’s second fifty in three weeks, and loads more lumps

Ian Stott banked his second fifty in three weeks as part of an incredible haul at Wellington Country Park.
Returning to the venue that produced his pb of 56lb 4oz less than a month earlier, Ian landed a 51lb 10oz mirror, a 46lb 12oz mirror, a 43lb 8oz ghostie, two 41-pounders and a 33lb 8oz mirror.
“It just seems so surreal that I had gone over six years trying to catch a 50lb carp then, in a matter of three weeks, I had managed to land two of them,” said the St Neots angler, who was joined at the Berkshire venue by wife Sam and friend Lianne Bullard.
“I don’t think I have ever laughed so much on any session as I did that one,” added Ian. “I had had some absolutely fantastic company and probably just had the session of a lifetime.”
Setting up in the Hole in the Bush swim after seeing fish show close to an island, Ian’s first run came at 1.30pm on the second day and produced a 41lb 10oz mirror after a fraught long-range battle. A 33lb 8oz mirror followed on the same rod an hour later and then, at 10pm, the big mirror known as Shoulders made an appearance.
“As it tore off, the power and weight of that carp left me shaking and it took a minute or so before the carp slowed down. I just kept the rod down in the water and continued pumping it back towards me. There was a little while during the fight when it powered off down my left margin and with the powerful rods I was using I was loath to put too much pressure on the fish, but I was left with no choice!” he said.
“The carp seemed to come to a sudden stop before turning and coming back towards me, and after some short heavy dashes in the margins it was a massive relief to slip the net under a proper-looking unit.”
Between the following afternoon and 6am the next morning, Ian received an incredible seven takes, landing three – another 41lb 10oz mirror, a 43lb 8oz ghostie common and a 46lb 12oz mirror.
Ian fished snowman rigs using size 4 Gardner Covert Mugga hooks and 25lb Trick-Link on two rods, and a pop-up rig using the same hook pattern on his third.

Bury Hill ghost carp at its most solid yet!

This giant ghost carp at Surrey’s Bury Hill Fisheries has been caught at its biggest weight.
The distinctive fish pulled the scales round to 39lb 10oz when it was banked by Phil Kingsbury, from West Sussex.
Phil, who fished from peg seven on Temple Lake at the popular complex, also banked
a 25lb common during his stay.
He used a critically balanced tiger nut boilie fished tight to the island over a few freebies.

Area switch brings ‘best’ chub

Lure angler Kevin Cox had a group of match anglers to thank after he slipped the net under a huge haul of perch to 2lb 7oz, along with a monster 6lb 10oz chub.
The Swindon angler had originally planned to fish a new stretch of the upper Thames, but when he found a match taking place he headed elsewhere.
It proved to be a masterstroke for Kevin when he proceeded to land 15 perch along with his new personal best chub in a four-hour session. All the fish were taken on a 2ins easy shiner lure, mounted on a 2g jig head.

Huge bags on the Old Nene!

Thousands of Britain’s match anglers have enjoyed a festive bonanza as unseasonal  high temperatures lead to some huge catches of both silverfish and carp over the holiday period.
Warm, coloured water and mild temperatures added up to ideal weather for some terrific fishing – and the commercial carp waters weren’t bad either!
However, Mother Nature did her best to spoil the Christmas match calendar for many with gales and floods that swamped much of the North West and West Yorkshire meaning cancelled river matches and travel disruption for many.
The Old River Nene in March produced a stunning result just before Christmas with well over half the
70-plus field weighing in 10lb-plus of roach, Dave Cooper and John Taylor taking first and second with 26-15-0 and 26-1-0 – leaving match organiser Bob Fitzjohn beaming with the form of his local river.
“We all know that when conditions are right, this is the best winter river in the country and this match backs that up,” Bob said. “It bodes well for the Winter League Final in February and I think anglers will be praying to be allocated the Old Nene from their captains! So long as the river doesn’t get too much hammer from practice and the weather stays mild, it should be a brilliant match.”
Also bang in form has been the River Ancholme around Brigg, matches before and after Christmas seeing 20lb-plus winning nets with tench figuring strongly in the warm weather while on commercials, anglers have been baffled by normally summer tactics such as paste and pellet shallow winning!
“Twelve months ago we were sliding about in snow and smashing the ice – this Christmas we’ve been setting up in t-shirts and catching on paste next to the keepnet – it’s madness!” said Tunnel Barn Farm match organiser Les Whetton. “Anglers are weighing in 40lb and not winning a thing but it’s all about bites and they can’t get enough of it.”

Ringer and Wakelin rack up brace of pairs victories

When you put two anglers of the calibre of Steve Ringer and Adam Wakelin together, you’ve got a pretty handy duo on commercial fisheries whatever the weather, and the two men, part of last year’s gold medal-winning England Feeder team, enjoyed a super post-Christmas win double on two big pairs events – despite the wind and rain!
Going up against 35 other pairs on the annual Tunnel Barn Farm Bank Holiday Monday match, Steve and Adam scored four points to get the nod by a point from Pete Rice and Dave James. Adam led them home as the Preston Innovations’ man won the match from peg 21 on the Top Pool with 91-12-0 of F1s and mixed silverfish using maggot at 9m.
The two men then moved onto Barston Lakes 24 hours later for the Ringer Baits Pairs and battling the poor weather, both won their sections to add more cash to the kitty. This time it was Angling Times columnist Steve’s turn to enjoy some individual glory as he took second overall with 87-12-0 of carp and F1s using Hybrid feeder and mini boilie tactics.
His brother Phil won the match easily with 131-8-0 of carp and F1s on Method feeder and mini boilies.
However, proving how fickle matchfishing can be, the two men came back down to earth with a bump at the weekend as the opening round of the Meadowlands Winter League dealt them what turned out to be two poor pegs with Adam catching just three skimmers and Steve blanking!

Perch frenzy sees 13 landed in 90 minutes

The predator fishing potential of canals has again been highlighted this week following the capture of a mammoth haul of perch.
Matthew Perring enjoyed a session of a lifetime during a short lure fishing trip on a day-ticket stretch of the Oxford Canal.
The Ecogear-sponsored, Banbury all-rounder, achieved the staggering haul during a manic 90 minutes spent on the cut, which saw him land 13 perch over 2lb topped by a 2lb 14oz specimen.
Matt targeted a swim he had never previously fished, only making a chance cast into the peg after spotting small silverfish topping while walking past.
 “I was on my way to another area where I normally go, but thought I’d have a cast after seeing all those small silvers surfacing,” he said.
“Within seconds, I was playing my first fish of the session and then it just snowballed from there. It was incredible how many fish there were in a small space.”
Matt, who also banked five zander to just under 5lb during the session, caught all his fish using a 3ins Ecogear Rock Claw lure, mounted on a 5g jig head and size 2/0 hook.
Having already landed numerous perch to over 4lb this year, Matt is no stranger to big fish but he admitted he had never experienced a session like it and hopes the catch will encourage others to head to their local canal.
“I have achieved multiple catches of perch over 3lb on the River Thames before, but to haul out this many fish of this size on a canal is special,” he continued.
“I am hoping this catch proves just how good the UK canal systems can be.”

Big Frome grayling

Tim Lennon had every right to look happy with this grayling when it topped the scales at an impressive 3lb 6oz.
He trotted maggots on a stretch of the Dorset Frome and used his traditional set-up to expertly edge his waggler downstream and beat gale-force winds.
This year has proved extremely successful for Tim with the species, as he netted a 3lb 10oz grayling back in March.
Tim got the better of his latest catch with a rig made from 3lb line and a size 12 Drennan Specimen hook.

42lb carp tops wild weekender

Work commitments kept Ross Ryder from the bank for almost two months, but he returned with a bang to land a new pb common.
This 42lb 14oz fish was the best of a six-fish weekend haul that also saw two twenties and a 30lb 5oz mirror hit the Dynamite Baits angler’s net.
Ross’s mates Ash Bailey and Richie Leat joined him on the trip, and the latter banked a pb common at 38lb.
Said Ross: “It was fair to say I was more than happy with my captures and blown away to have spent such a great weekend with a couple of great pals who also banked fish over 30lb.”
Ross set up in his favourite swim with depths down to 16ft on his southern syndicate water, buffeted by south-westerly winds.
His first fish was a 27lb 12oz mirror in darkness, before the big common arrived mid-morning.
“Hitting into it I felt some weight and it plodded slowly down in the depths,” said Ross. “I was certain I was into a good one – that, or some weed was caught on my line.
“Once in close, the fish charged down the right-hand margin towards some snags. I was sure it was only a matter of time before she dropped in there and did me. Keeping the tip low, I managed to turn her head and pump her to safety away from the snags, but she still didn’t give up.
“After another few minutes a deep-bellied common rose and appeared ready for the net. She was in and looking massive, and I was jumping for joy.”
Ross fed maggots and Amino Black groundbait in PVA bags and fished maggot hookbaits.

It’s not a barbel, but he’s not complaining

Christmas was filled with surprises for Laurence Mason when a barbel fishing trip to the River Lea resulted in the capture of this monster 7lb 1oz chub.
Fresh from netting two barbel of 15lb and 14lb 11oz on his previous two sessions at the prolific Fishers Green Fishery, the Essex angler returned to the venue where he fished a light 1.5oz lead rig with 12lb fluoro hooklink tied to a size 12 hook with a Sticky Baits boilie on the hair.
After carefully placing his rig and attached PVA bag of offerings under an overhanging tree, the Waltham Abbey rod waited just 30 minutes before his tip was pulling round as the huge fish made off with his hookbait.

Come and catch a monster roach

One of the nation’s favourite fisheries is calling for specimen anglers to come and catch its massive roach, claiming some huge fish are being ‘ignored’.
Just two weeks after being voted ‘Stillwater of the Year’ in the Angling Times 2015 National Angling Awards, the famous Linear Fisheries in Oxfordshire is eager to shake off its reputation of being a carp-only complex.
Venue bosses have also revealed that 2015 has been its best-ever year for catches of specimen redfins.
The biggest fish banked so far this year was a 3lb 2oz specimen recently taken by a carp angler fishing Brasenose 2, and many other specimens over 2lb have also been caught from its other popular venues Oxlease, Hardwick and Brasenose 1.
“Most people think our waters are just about carp, but they all hold really big roach and it’s such a shame that no one comes and fishes for them,” said Linear Fisheries’ head bailiff Ian Roper.
“Fish over 3lb are caught every year and one of the biggest I’ve heard of is a 3lb 12oz specimen out of B1. That is a massive roach and a possible record breaker now.
“Anglers who want to target big roach are welcome to come down and fish any of our day-ticket waters for the species, and they must not be intimidated by squeezing in between bivvies.
“Not only do we want more general coarse anglers fishing here, we also wish to find out how big the roach actually grow, because I wouldn’t be surprised if there are a few real monsters.”
One UK specialist who already loves to target other species at Linear is big-fish legend Dai Gribble, who not only catches its resident tench, but is well aware of the roach fishing potential.
He’s already been in contact with Ian to organise a roach fishing session and is extremely excited at the prospect.
“Linear is the most welcoming big-fish complex in the UK, and if you like fishing for big roach you’d be mad not to go and have a go for them,” Dai told Angling Times.
“It’s getting towards the best time of year to target the species and all the waters at Linear have really great potential.”
Despite 2015 already seeing several big roach reported to Ian and his team, Dai claims this is only the tip of the iceberg, since many more  big roach get caught by accident by carpers and get slipped back unreported.
This is a common theme that runs throughout commercial fisheries across the land.
Countless waters that many favour for specimen carp also have a growing reputation for producing huge roach, which are now a viable target for anglers looking to set a new personal best.
Leading fisheries consultant, fish farmer and owner of the highly-respected AE Fisheries, Andrew Ellis, has not only personally netted huge roach from many well-known carp waters such as Horseshoe Lake in Gloucestershire, but he also prides himself on nurturing and growing on big stillwater redfins.
“There are many factors that contribute to the growth of huge roach in carp waters,” said Andrew.
“The first is that it’s common to have really big roach and then fry because those in between are often thinned out through predation.
“At venues like Linear spodding with particles is very popular and I’ve seen the water exploding with roach and rudd while working at places like this. This abundance of food, and the fact that carp waters tend to be larger venues, mean that roach have space to thrive….especially the really big ones.
“Ian has already mentioned that big roach at Linear are widely neglected and this is another reason why they grow so big – they don’t take kindly to being put in and out of keepnets all of their lives, as they tend to be in smaller commercially run waters.”

Name: Linear Fisheries
Location: Stanton Harcourt, Oxfordshire
Number of lakes: 11
Day-ticket venues: Brasenose 1, Brasenose 2, Hardwick Lake and Smiths Pool, Hunts Corner Lake, Hunts Corner Pond, Manor Farm Lake, Oxlease Lake, St Johns Lake
Contact: www.linear-fisheries.co.uk or 01908 588043

Santas get their claws into charity match

A Suffolk beach took on a festive theme when dozens of sea anglers put on Santa Claus outfits in order to raise money for charity.
Almost 100 anglers braved the wind and rain to take part in the annual Century Tackle-backed Fishing for Wishes charity match.
The event, which was held on a Lowestoft beach, has so far seen more than £5,500 raised for the Make-A-Wish Foundation, a UK charity which grants the wishes of kids with life-threatening illnesses.
 Mark Cole successfully defended last year’s title with his 323 points, beating Craig Scott in second and Kevin Bullen in third. Donations to the event can still be made at: www.justgiving.com/fishingforwishes

Birthday gift roach

Andrew Mussellwhite enjoyed a birthday present to remember with this personal-best 2lb 4oz river roach.
The Hampshire angler headed to a stretch of the River Itchen to celebrate his 38th birthday, where he set his stall out to target the waterway’s silverfish shoals.
He fed the swim with maggots for 20 minutes, then the Winchester rod trotted a 2g Drennan Avon float with a size 16 Drennan wide gape Specialist hook baited with maggot.
After landing grayling and roach to over 1lb, Andy’s centrepin was soon screaming as the giant roach took off.

59lb 6oz Single Scale sets new pb during a social session

HAVING worked his way through most of the stock, Adam Rawlings thought his time on Rockford was done – but a return visit for a social produced the lake’s biggest resident at 59lb 6oz.
The 32-year-old, known for his long-range tactics at the Hampshire venue, fished a comparatively conservative 165 yards out and baited heavily to snare Single Scale and set a new personal best.
The Southampton angler arrived at the venue at 10.30pm and had a quiet first night before seeing signs of fish in daylight. He said: “I awoke at first light and saw two fish show, and I heard three in the night, so I told my mate ‘they’re moving, they’re feeding’.
“As I was pulling the rods back in I had a feel of the lake bottom and found spots in places I’ve not fished before, so instead of going to the normal spot at 187 yards it was closer in for a change!
“I put one rod on that hard, clean spot with 5kg of 16mm and 20mm frozen Sticky Krill boilies and 2.5kg over the other two rods.”
At 1.30am, Adam had a couple of bleeps on one of his alarms.
“I ran over to the rods and the latching light went off,” said the installation engineer. “I sat and had a fag and said to myself ‘if it doesn’t go again I’ll go back to sleep’, then it went again and pulled out of the clip.
“I lifted into it and it was grating a lot. It was just collecting more and more weed on the way in. After 20 minutes I finally saw this weedbed. Not knowing what was in there I put the rod down, pulled the lot in by the leadcore and got it in the net.”
With the help of his mate Ryan, Adam began to peel away the weed and realised it was bigger than he thought. “I pulled a bit more weed, saw the scale and thought, ‘oh my God, it’s Single Scale, she’s going to be huge’!
“It was insane! I sat up all night with excitement. Twelve people came down for photos and to enjoy this moment of insanity!”
Adam fished a Sticky Krill White One pop-up on a rig made with 25lb Fox Camotex and 25lb Korda Mouth Trap with a size 7 Fox SR hook.

Dick Walker on your licence?

Is this the iconic image that will be in the pocket of every UK angler?

That’s the question being asked this week as the Environment Agency considers printing Dick Walker’s British record carp, Clarissa, on the front of the rod licence.

The proposal came from Charles Walker MP, chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Angling, and was made to the Secretary of State for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).

It would mark the centenary of the birth of the godfather of modern angling and shows him with the famous 44lb record carp caught from Redmire in 1952.

And it’s an idea that’s been quickly embraced at the highest Government level.

Since the proposal, that was made in the form of a recent parliamentary question, Defra has been in discussion with the Environment Agency, which says it is ‘happy to consider the option’ of printing one of the most iconic specimens in angling on the front of the 2018 rod licence.

“We are happy to consider this option, as there’s no doubt the whole of the angling world will mark Dick Walker’s achievements in 2018,” said an Environment Agency spokesperson.

“We will be pleased to support that celebration where we can, whether that be on the rod licence or through other means.”

The proposal to commemorate the life of a pioneering angling icon whose work and fishing career have inspired generations of fishermen across the globe will undoubtedly be welcomed by ever angler who buys a UK rod licence.

It’s an idea that’s gained the full support of the most influential organisation in our sport.

“The Angling Trust is delighted to support this excellent suggestion from Charles Walker to mark the very real contribution that Dick Walker made to freshwater angling,” said Martin Salter, national campaigns co-ordinator for the Angling Trust.

“He was a true giant of our sport whose inventions and writings revolutionised the way we went about trying to outwit our quarry,” he added.