Inside angling’s greatest secret...

This fishing hut on the banks of one of the UK’s most iconic rivers is guardian to one of the best-kept secrets of the season.
Angling Times can reveal that hidden within its brick walls is a set of printed photographs of incredible once-in-a-lifetime catches that have been put on show by a secretive angler.
The hut, located on the banks of the River Avon at the popular day-ticket stretch at Winkton, Dorset, is owned by Christchurch Angling Club – whose members have been trying to identify the mystery rod since the discovery of the incredible display.
Pictures of roach to 3lb, barbel to 16lb 5oz and chub over 7lb, all landed this season, have wowed  visiting anglers and club officials alike, and they are now appealing for the captor to come forward.
Images of the photos have been posted on the club’s Facebook page, and these have already sparked rumours about the identity of the mystery angler.
Club press officer, Andy Walker, told Angling Times: “As soon as I posted them on social media I was getting messages from some of the venue regulars, asking who the angler might be.
“Many of them believed we were just being coy, but we honestly haven’t an idea who this elusive angler is. He is using quite traditional tackle, and he more than likely fishes alone.”
Christchurch secretary, Steve Jenner, is equally perplexed by the recent discovery.
“No one has ever posted photographs of their catches in the hut before, so it is rather peculiar, but really intriguing at the same time – these really are some incredible captures,” said Steve.
“There is a catch return book inside the hut which members use to write down their successes, but this angler didn’t use it at all and hasn’t come forward to claim them, so we have no idea who it might be.
“However, we are really pleased that they are catching fish of this size and showing anglers that specimens like this are in the venue.
“The river has been superb in the last couple of years and these aren’t the only big fish which have been coming out.
“Last year we were told about a barbel angler who caught a 3lb 9oz roach on a boilie, but he chose to keep it quiet.”
Club member Robert Young was the captor of an 8lb 9oz chub from Christchurch waters which appeared in a recent issue of Angling Times, and he added: “The barbel is a very big fish for the Avon and so are the roach.
“Winkton is not an easy stretch, so the angler obviously knows what he is doing. It would take a lot of time and effort to catch fish of this calibre because they would be fish of a lifetime for most anglers.”


Rudd seal glory on the Old Nene

Browning Hotrods bank worker Andrew Moss was glad he kept his eyes on the water when he arrived at his peg below the BMX track on the Old Nene at March.
The 51-year-old from Colchester, Essex explained: “I noticed some decent fish topping across by the far bank and thought they might be rudd. They were out of pole range, so I rigged up a small 3BB waggler on rod-and-reel tackle, and I caught rudd to 1lb in bursts throughout the day.”
Andrew’s level 10kg was well ahead of two tench weights from the Benwick section, and he managed to keep the rudd coming by resting his swim regularly.
“When the rudd backed off,
I came in on my chopped worm line and caught a few decent perch, and every time I returned to the waggler, the rudd were back,” he said. He fished 2ft deep and fed around a pint of red maggots.
“I know I’d have caught more if the wind had been kinder because it made casting and tackle control really difficult,” he said. “But I did catch some rudd when the float and bait were being pushed along by the wind. It looked all wrong, but it worked! I used single and double maggot on a size 20 Kamasan B520 hook to 0.08mm hooklength.”
Fen drains result: 1 A Moss, Browning Hotrods, 10.000kg; 2 S Barnett, Drennan Bordon, 7.310 kg; 3 D White, Maver Midlands, 6.800kg; 4 P Close, Mosella Quaker, 6.500 kg; 5 J Pantry, Sensas South East, 6.23kg; 6 C Steffen, Preston Innovations Black Horse, 5.96kg.

Chub the star of latest rod licence

This is an image of the new 2016/17 rod licence which goes on sale today.
Anglers who buy the permits, which come into effect from April 1, 2016 and run until March 31, 2017 will be greeted by the sight of a chub being tempted by a Mayfly.
The licences, now available from the Post Office, were designed by renowned angling and wildlife artist David Miller and are available to buy in one-day, eight-day or full season formats.
Full licences cost £27 for coarse fishing and non-migratory trout, or £72 to fish for salmon and sea trout, but a second licence will be required for those who wish to fish with more than two rods. Junior and concessionary options are also available. Buy them from: www.postoffice.co.uk/rod-fishing-licence or by phoning 0344 800 5386.
Anyone fishing illegally is cheating other licence-paying anglers and can expect to be prosecuted and face a substantial fine. In 2014-2015 the Environment Agency checked 70,000 rod licences and prosecuted more than 2,000 anglers for fishing without a licence, resulting in more than £500,000 in fines and costs.


Two 30s head up 'crazy' piking session

A bucket of fish heads played its part in a prebaiting campaign that ended in one of the best hauls of gravel pit pike of all time.
Huge predators of 33lb 4oz, 30lb 3oz, 28lb 4oz and a couple taking the scales round to 24lb were the highlights of what Angling Times columnist Steve Rowley described as ‘the session of my life’.
Seven fish for a combined weight of over 150lb fell to the specialist from Gloucestershire when he legered his favoured sardine hookbaits at a gravel pit in the south of the UK.
“The recent rains had really coloured up this pit and the first day I didn’t have a single take, but then the water began to clear and it all kicked off big time,” Steve told Angling Times.
“I think the fish had shut up shop because of the recent cold conditions, but I just timed it to perfection, catching them as they came out of their slumber wanting a really good feed. But I never imagined that I’d have an afternoon like this.
“It all kicked off with the
28lb 4oz fish and a couple of jacks, then at 3pm the really big fish started to show. The 30lb 3oz pike was the first to be netted, then I had two simultaneous takes that resulted in two 24lb pike in the net at the same time, followed by the 33. It was crazy.”
Prebaiting is a tactic that’s not often associated with predator fishing, but Steve introduces hundreds of kilos of feed into his chosen network of stillwaters every winter.
He feeds his likely-looking spots with mackerel heads and whole herrings, which he says have played a huge part in his success so far this season. He’s landed no fewer than 18 fish over the 20lb mark, with four of these weighing over 30lb.
“Pike don’t just sit there and wait for individual baits to be cast in front of them. Prebaiting can be just as effective as for other coarse species because it gets them used to visiting a certain area to feed,” Steve continued.
“It also gives pike a regular food source and helps the fish put on weight.”


Maggot finds the carp at Decoy Lakes

A disappointing practice match was soon forgotten as Preston Innovations Delcac’s Jason Collins stormed to victory at Decoy with a massive 86.200kg.
The 25-year-old medical service engineer from Chadwell St Mary, in Essex, drew on one of Decoy’s famous strip lakes – peg 21 on Oak – and soon realised he had a swim full of carp in front of him.
“In my one previous practice match I’d taken a right battering at the next peg, and I was determined not to let it happen again,” he said. “Thankfully, it didn’t!”
Starting at 5m on the pole with pellet on the hook, Jason soon caught a couple of carp before his swim died, so he moved out to 14.5m when a few more carp preceded a run of foulhooked fish.
“The fish were obviously off the bottom, so after a quick attempt on the bomb and corn for one carp and several line bites, I came back to the pole at 14.5m with maggots and shallowed up at 6ins intervals until I started hooking them in the mouth. I ended up fishing 2ft off bottom.
“After that it was plain sailing.
I fed the swim with maggots from a Kinder pot just like I would have if I’d been fishing on the deck, and caught in bursts for the rest of the match, changing where I fished slightly if I stopped catching.
I ended up with between 30 and 40 carp, averaging 6lb or so, on 0.13mm line, a 4x14 float, size 18 PR434 hook and Green Preston No10 hollow elastic.”
To show how tightly shoaled the carp were in front of Jason, Daiwa Dorking stalwart Paul Hiller at the next peg blanked!
Decoy Lakes result: 1 J Collins, Preston Innovations Delcac, 86.200kg; 2 N Crooks, Team Ossett, 81.700kg;
3 H Rushden, Maver Midlands, 54.85kg; 4 R Griffiths, Drennan North West, 49.65kg; 5 L Barrett, Woodlands Colmic, 42.25kg; 6 R Bond, Maver Image, 40.65kg.

West Yorks lads triumph on drains and Decoy

Team Ossett staked a claim to be Yorkshire’s top match team with a convincing win in the 2015/16 Angling Trust Winter League Final at the weekend.
Ossett’s 45-point total saw them finish 11 points in front of runners-up Daiwa Dorking, with Maver Midlands third on 58.
Fished for the first time on two very different types of water – the silverfish-dominated Fen drains and carp-filled Decoy Lakes in Cambridgeshire – the match was a true test of the 34 competing teams’ versatility, a quality shown by Ossett in spades after triumphing on both waters.
With a biting easterly wind contributing to a tough day for some, Ossett clinched the £3,000 top prize after practice sessions on both the drains and Decoy gave them an insight into the waters’ moods.
The team’s captain, silverfish expert John Ibbotson, also revealed how he left the team plan for Decoy to former Barnsley Blacks man Steve Barraclough, allowing him to concentrate on the drains.
“With five of the 10 anglers on the drains and five on Decoy, we soon decided who would be on which venue, which allowed us to practice properly,” said John, who finished second in his section at Benwick with 2.920kg. “I looked after the drains and I left Steve to sort Decoy and, thankfully, both our plans worked.
“On the drains we fed two lines with groundbait, one positively with balls containing a lot of pinkies, and one negatively with hardly any feed in the balls. We then started on the positive line and caught a few roach quickly, but we found that this line would die at some point.
“That’s when we switched to the negative line, which wasn’t as quick, be we found we could keep fish coming in bursts for the rest of the match.
“Punch also came into our plans on a couple of sections on the Old Nene at March, while a few of the lads had some bonus perch on a chopped worm line. But roach definitely won it for us on the drains.”
Over at Decoy, Steve Barraclough explained how an ‘easy-does-it’ strategy led to another venue win.
“While most teams started on the long pole, we started much closer at 5-6m, feeding only a tiny pinch of micro pellets and fishing maggots over the top,” he said. “We fed nothing else, but we kept an eye on the anglers around us, who tended to feed a lot more. If they started to catch well, we could always up our feed. It soon became clear that it was going to be a tough day for many, and because we started close, we could move around our swims more, fishing further out and in different places as the fish moved around. Those teams who had started long had nowhere to go and were soon struggling. We also had a ‘throw-away’ close-in maggot swim that we fed quite heavily, and that worked for a couple of the lads.
“We fished really light – something we do a lot on carp lakes up here – with 0.10-0.12mm lines and size 18 hooks. We won it on the hard pegs. The good ones take care of themselves, but we did really well in the tougher areas.”
Ossett are no strangers to big-match wins, with a recent record to match that of arch rivals Drennan Barnsley Blacks.
“We have beaten Barnsley in our Winter League Division in the last two years, we’ve won the Division 1 National twice, and in Lee Saville we had the World Club Individual champion several years ago,” said John. “I know my team, and they are amazing. Not only have they the commitment to practice, but they also know how to work a swim on the day and how to feed according to the bites that they’re getting. I’m proud of them!”
Runners-up were regular Winter League champions Daiwa Dorking, who kept up their remarkable record in the event with a strong team card giving them 56 points. There wasn’t such good news for fancied Drennan Barnsley Blacks, though, in 5th, and for Kamasan Starlets, who finished a disastrous 20th. 

Team result: 1 Team Ossett 45pts (170.330 kg); 2 Daiwa Dorking, 56 (116.166 kg); 3 Maver Midland, 58, (130.425kg); 4 Drennan North West, 70 (120.292kg); 5 Drennan Barnsley Black, 73 (109.790kg); 6 Preston Innovations Black Horse, 75 (87.472 kg); 7 Matrix Leigh Tackle, 76 (98.289)kg; 8 Arun Angling, 77, (83.650kg); 9 Saints, 81 (93.140kg); 10 Drennan Bordon, 81 (91.606kg); 11 Woodlands Colmic, 83 (108.700kg); 12 Frenzee South West, 83 (102.300kg); 13 Maver Image, 83 (85.920kg); 14 Drennan Oxford, 83 (82.850kg); 15 Scunthorpe Tackle, 85 (89.748kg); 16 Mosella Quaker, 87 (106.730kg); 17 Browning Hotrods, 87 (84.600kg); 18 Maver Bathampton, 90 (74.830kg); 19 Shakespeare Superteam, 91 (72.570kg); 20 Kamasan Starlets, 92 (88.650kg); 21 Maver Old Ghost, 93 (100.135kg); 22 Ted Carter Southport, 94 (65.596kg); 23 Sensas South East, 94 (64.111kg); 24 Quorn AS, 97 (75.195kg); 25 Devizes MG, 97 (66.140kg); 26 Sensas Black Country, 99 (78.933kg); 27 Preston Innovations Delcac, 100 (137.330kg); 28 Lincs Tidechasers, 102 (84.817kg); 29 Preston Innovations Thatchers, 109 (58.860kg); 30 Ted Carter Preston, 113 (58.206kg); 31 Maver/Colemans Match Pack, 115 (48.804kg); 32 Sensas A4, 118 (51.520kg); 33 Team Lobby, 127 (59.155kg); 34 Garbolino RAF, 136 (39.711kg).


50lb Butthead and 40lb Tutti banked before Pendle View sale

Scott Hatton admitted “you just can’t better it” after a challenging winter campaign ended with a 50lb Lancashire common for him and a 40-pounder for his teenage son.
The pair have fished in all weathers this winter at Pendle View, hoping to catch Butthead the big common before the imminent sale of the day-ticket venue is completed.
In the end, Scott and 14-year-old Connor accomplished their mission with a flourish, banking nine fish including the two big commons and seven twenties in a session.
“I had vowed I was having her, that she would be mine before it shut,” said 39-year-old Scott.
“We had a winter campaign on there and I’d basically been telling everyone I would catch her.
“As weekends go you just can’t better it. I think there had been two fish out in 10 days and then we had nine fish between us.
“All winter we’ve basically been doing the opposite to what everyone else does there, fishing single hookbaits rather than spodding out loads of bait.
“Over the last six weeks we’ve worked out the routines and where the fish are moving, building up a pattern.”
The pair have also gone against the grain with their rigs, using running leads rather than semi-fixed set-ups and trimming their pop-ups down to about 6mm in size.
Recalling the fight from Butthead, the self-employed joiner from
St Helens said: “All the bites have been two or three bleeps then hitting them, no one-toners. After a 15-minute battle she came into the margins and shoved her head up, and both Connor and I let out a shout.”
The Hattons fished Pukka Squirrel Baits’ Strawberry-EY pop-ups on Withy Pool rigs made with Korda N-Trap Soft and size 8 Korda Kurv hooks.

Dave Harrell: My plan to save river fishing

River fishing legend Dave Harrell has this week unveiled his ambitious blueprint for the resurgence of river fishing across the UK.

In a continued bid to attract thousands more anglers on to running-water venues, Dave has now drawn up plans for a ground-breaking initiative called ‘Go River Fishing’.

The aim of the month-long event is not only to promote and showcase traditional angling on some of the most prolific and iconic waterways that the UK has to offer, but also to build on the recent resurgence that river fishing has enjoyed.

But despite this and the success story of RiverFest, which was also the brainchild of Dave and has seen anglers flock back to be a part of competitive angling on running waters, the river fishing icon believes that there’s a distinct lack of newcomers coming into this branch of the sport with commercials attracting the most novices.

This is a trend that he’s hoping ‘Go River Fishing’ will address.

“We have reached a critical point for river angling and if we don’t act fast to get more people involved, then nobody will be wetting a line on them in 20 years’ time,” he said.

“There are plenty of things being done by the Angling Trust and Environment Agency to promote fishing on the whole, but we need a more specific campaign that I believe can be responsible for creating a whole new generation of river anglers.”

Dave has long been a campaigner for a review of the current closed season and this will form one of the foundations of his blueprint for ‘Go River Fishing’ as he intends to consult the Environment Agency over the possibility of staging the month-long event in May or June.

Hiring a number of regional co-ordinators also forms one of the first stages of the scheme, with each one charged with analysing local river fishing opportunities to pinpoint venues that would be suitable to stage the event.

Experienced anglers would then be sought to give up their time for a number of free taster and demonstration sessions, with local newspapers, radio and TV stations being canvassed heavily to promote each event.

“It’s a formula that could work extremely well. Using the media will help reach out to non-anglers and make their first point of contact with our sport on a river rather than a commercial,” Dave continued.

“Finding a date in the current calendar could prove almost impossible and with that in mind I think it is important that the EA reviews the closed season to allow us to stage this vital event in April or May.

“Everybody wins out of this situation. Tackle shops gain more customers, clubs gain more members and rivers gain thousands of new enthusiasts.”

Staff at the Angling Trust have been approached with a view to playing a major role in the organisation of the project.

 Chief executive Mark Lloyd told Angling Times: “We’re keen to explore all the options related to getting more people on rivers, along with all the other things we are doing to get more people fishing more often.

“Creating a final plan will take time, but we are conscious that this topic is important to a lot of anglers.”

Angling charity Get Hooked on Fishing is always trialling new concepts to boost participation and head of the organisation Sarah Collins has added her support to the plans.

She said: “It’s a really great idea and I support any project that gets people fishing more often – especially on rivers.

“To make something like this a success, the co-operation of clubs and associations is vital to help Dave formulate his plans. To create an event on a national scale requires a lot of people working together.”

GO RIVER FISHING - DAVE’S PLAN

- Recruit regional organisers who would be responsible for sourcing appropriate venues for use during the project. Fisheries with good access, pegging and a reputation for providing plenty of bites would be deemed ideal.

- Create tailor-made press releases for local newspapers and radio stations to gain maximum exposure of the events being staged.

l Recruit experienced anglers to act as mentors and coaches.

- Consult the Environment Agency to review the closed season in order to create an opening on the angling calendar for the month-long festival.

- Work with tackle shops and manufacturers to create opportunities for participants to receive goodie bags and discounts.

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Bread snares 8lb River Lea chub

Just a few pence worth of bait was all Jerry Brown needed to claim one of the season’s biggest chub in the form of this colossal 8lb 4oz specimen.
The 60-year-old banked the new personal best from the famous Kings Weir stretch of the River Lea in Hertfordshire by feeding liquidised bread and moulding breadflake around the hook – however, his session was far from plain sailing.
“I had fished two previous swims, but struggled for a bite,” Jerry said. “On my third move, I noticed a nice-looking overhanging branch just off the main flow and introduced a couple of balls of liquidised bread. I then lowered in my breadflake and sat back and waited.”
Little did Jerry know that he’d only have to wait 10 minutes for a bite, but it was nothing like he’d expected from a fish of this size.
“Almost immediately a number of small indications registered on my quivertip, so I knew a fish was there,” Jerry added. “Then, all of a sudden, two positive taps yanked the rod and I couldn’t help but strike – and it was met with immediate resistance.
“I’d like to say it shot around the river, but it didn’t – it stayed right on the bottom and was difficult to get to the net. Smaller fish usually charge around the swim, so I knew I had hooked into something special.”
It was a moment of sheer relief for the semi-retired insurance manager when the chub was finally netted as he could tell that it was a new personal best. “I’ve felt really blessed this season,” Jerry said.
“My previous chub best was 7lb 2oz – again from Kings Weir. “I’ve also had a 16lb 2oz barbel from the members’ stretch which sums up how good fishing can be on the Lea.”
Jerry’s outfit consisted of a Shakespeare twin-tip barbel rod coupled with a reel loaded with 8lb maxima line. This was fished direct to a running link leger boasting four SSG and a size 8 Drennan Super Specialist hook.

‘Next Redmire’ to open doors to the public

Carp legend Kevin Nash is to allow public access to two monster-producing lakes as his company moves into fishery development.
The Copse and Church lakes hold more than 10 fifties between them, including at least one 60-pounder.
“There are more fifties in the Copse today than there are in most counties,” said Kevin, who is opening up the pair of Essex venues to help fund his company’s foray into the fisheries market.
He added: “In terms of desirability the Copse has got to be the next Redmire.”
A new Nash venue is being developed in Royston, Cambs, and another Essex lake is being dug at a total cost of £400,000.
“To help continue to procure and develop fisheries, the Church and Copse will be a revenue stream towards future acquisitions,” explained Kevin. “I’ve always considered the lakes as my place to study and research carp growth in fisheries, which is one of my passions, and I think we’ve made our point down there.
“What has changed is my recognition that quality carp fisheries are not being developed in significant numbers, and a lot of the ones out there are poorly run with no ability to create the right environment for carp or carp anglers – so we have started a Nash Fisheries portfolio.”
Having dug, stocked and fished both lakes, Kevin knows exactly how much potential they have.
In 2011 he took a brace of fifties – a 52lb 2oz common and a 51lb 2oz mirror – on Riser Pellets just 10 minutes apart.
The lakes’ development began at the turn of the century, although disaster struck in the summer of 2012 when two 50-pounders were found dead in Church Lake as an oxygen crash killed half-a-dozen carp. The venue has since been restocked and has bounced back stronger than ever.
Until this week’s announcement, fishing on both waters had always been by invitation only to friends of Nash Tackle. Star names such as Julian Cundiff, Simon Crow and Alan Blair have all bagged giants from the lakes.
Although open access will now be allowed, tickets will be limited. Sessions will all last five days and run from Monday to Friday, as on a holiday venue.
The first sessions will take place in April and these will be auctioned off, but after a two-month break for spawning in May and June, the lakes will re-open between July and November on a fixed-price booking system.
Precise details are expected to be announced in May.


Snubbed water produces 35lb pike surprise

It’s been a week of shocks on the pike fishing front, with a number of huge predators being landed from venues with no form for the species.
Bristol’s Chew Valley Reservoir dominated the headlines since the turn of the year thanks to a number of colossal catches, but it’s taken a back seat as less fashionable stillwaters stole the show.
Leading the way was top all-rounder Gary Knowles, when he banked a personal-best 35lb 2oz fish from Blithfield Reservoir.
The Staffordshire water’s credentials had been ignored by the vast majority after a fish-kill several years ago, but the Korum-backed star showed its immense potential when the pike fell for a soft plastic lure presented close to the bank.
Although pike fishing has been banned there since early 2014 for the stocks to regroup, Gary was given permission to host a trial to see if there were any signs of recovery.
“As soon as I hooked into it I knew it was a big fish, as it just held bottom and it refused to budge when I applied any pressure,” he said.
“My previous best of 31lb 12oz came from the venue a long time ago, so it was nice to break it in such style.
“People had written off Blithfield’s big-pike potential and friends told me I was wasting my time on an empty water, but I knew there were some huge fish still to be had.
“This fish came within two hours of our first trial and, considering the venue is over 800 acres, there is no way this is the biggest fish in there. I’d go so far as to say Blithfield could hold the next record pike.”
In response to the amazing catch, plans have been drawn up to reopen to pike angling in early 2017, with further details to be released shortly.

- Two winters searching for a huge pike ended for Paul Collier, when he took a 35lb 4oz giant from a Lincs pit.
The Skegness angler had spent countless sessions in search of his target and struck gold when it fell for a roach deadbait.
“This is the only pike in the water worth catching and as soon as I had the run, I had a feeling it was the one I had been on the hunt for,” he said.
“I’d been prebaiting a spot for a while and it must have been gorging itself as it weighed a lot more than anyone expected.”
Paul banked the beast on a rig made up of 40lb braided mainline to a 30lb trace and size 6 hooks.

 

- The little-known Bathpool Park, in Kidsgrove, Staffordshire, also produced a surprise when it threw up a claimed 41lb specimen to Ben Machin.
Fishing a couple of rodlengths out, his tackle was tested to the limit when the specimen found his sardine deadbait. “I’ve never hooked a fish that fought like this. It took me over half an hour to get it in the net,” he said. “I knew the venue had some big pike in it but never in my wildest dreams did I expect a 40lb-plus fish from a park lake.”


Nationals get set for huge revamp

Anglers are being invited to have their say on the future of the National Championships following the release of plans to revive the fortunes of the famous matches.
More than 5,500 anglers took part in the six Nationals when the competitions were at their most popular in the late 1980s, but fewer than 1,000 attending the two remaining contests last year.
Organisers at the Angling Trust want to halt and reverse the decline, and have created four possible formats that could herald in a new era for the Nationals.
Three of the proposals would see the current system abolished, with specific float, feeder, river and canal events taking their place. The final idea argues the case for keeping the two divisions alive with additional matches scheduled into the calendar.
In order to put concrete plans in place for 2017, anglers are being asked to pick their favourite format. Trust Senior Competitions Manager Ben Thompson said: “It is hard to ignore that the number of teams competing in Nationals has steadily declined. We are committed to attracting new and lapsed teams to these competitions.
“This is an opportunity for anglers to give us their views on how they should be run. Ultimately, it is the opinions of anglers that will shape how the Nationals will look for years to come.”
Daiwa Dorking have scooped glory in countless Nationals over the years and key squad member Des Shipp is among those who have welcomed the review. He said: “There is definitely still a demand for the Nationals but the format needs looking at. I think that giving anglers the power to influence the direction it takes is a great idea.
“The suggestions the Trust has put forward provide something for everyone, and it will be interesting to see which style is eventually put into place.”

 

THE PROPOSALS

Each format is made up of four entirely separate matches

1. Float, Feeder, Commercial and Championship Nationals
2. Canal, Commercial, River and World Club Champs qualifier Nationals
3. Regional Championships, National Premiership, Float, Commercial Nationals
4. Div 1, Div 2, Commercial, Individual Nationals


Revealed: 94lb public-lake carp world best

This giant common carp could go down in history as one of the most impressive carp captures of all time.
The colossal fish weighed in excess of 94lb, which makes it special enough, but it also came from a public-access venue almost 12,000 acres in size.
Publicity-shy Dutchman Vincent Keetman caught the fish – thought to be the biggest ever from a public venue – from France’s notorious Lac du Der Chantecoq.
This sprawling water was the scene of Darrell Peck’s mammoth summer session last year that ended in the mystery torching of his van.
As reported in Angling Times previously, sketchy details of the capture and poor-quality images of the fish circulated last autumn, but Vincent was only persuaded to make the catch public last week.
He released two images to bait firm Sticky, which said it was the biggest ever caught using its boilies.
Sticky’s Jake Wildbore said: “We have great pleasure in posting a picture of the largest known carp ever caught from a public-access venue worldwide, and certainly the biggest carp ever caught using our bait!
“It is truly a fish of a lifetime!” he added.


Fishery reveals ‘in swim’ cameras

A fishery in Yorkshire is offering anglers the unique opportunity to watch their hookbaits while they fish – thanks to underwater cameras.

In what is the first exercise of its kind, Welham Lake in Malton, North Yorkshire, is giving visitors the chance to improve their angling skills by allowing them to watch live underwater footage of their tackle while they target the fishery’s specimen carp and tench.

The idea is the brainchild of fishery boss Gary Howard, who was inspired to create the project called ‘The Welham Underwater Carp Academy’ after he posted a video on social media, only to receive an overwhelming amount of feedback.

He told Angling Times: “I came up with the idea when I took an underwater video of my lake using my phone and posted it on Facebook.

“Within a few hours hundreds of people were sharing it, which made me realise how popular this sort of thing can be.

“I also run carp fishing schools at Welham, so I then thought, why not combine the two? The lake here is spring-fed and shallow, so it is ultra-clear, and therefore ideal for underwater filming,” he said.

Gary is planning to open the lake to anglers on March 1, when a maximum of four visitors at any one time will be able to target carp to 26lb and tench to 10lb-plus while receiving live footage of their rigs after casting out.

“Anglers will fish for 24 hours, of which eight will be under the guidance of our staff, showing them how the system works,” Gary said.

“They will be able to go out on a boat to see their rig up close, as well as fish in a filmed swim with a permanent camera installed.

“We are currently altering the water, so that it will have various different types of lakebed including silt, weed and gravel, imitating what the anglers might find on their own local venues,” he said.

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Biggest chub of the season

The biggest chub of the season has been landed – a record shaking 8lb 9oz specimen from a club stretch of the Dorset Stour.
The monster fish fell to Robert Young, and set a Christchurch AC record for the species as well as being a personal best for the Bournemouth computer engineer.
In fact it fell just 1oz short of the chub record for the river as a whole, and is just 12oz behind Andy Maker’s official British chub record.
Thinking outside the box paid off for Rob, who targeted an area avoided by most other anglers. He took the fish on a hair-rigged JH Baits Nuti-B boilie to a size 8 Drennan Super Specialist Barbel hook.
He said: “I walk the stretches more than I fish them and I feed the odd swim in advance, so I know where the fish will be.
“I try to avoid areas or parts of swims that other anglers frequent, and I fish as light as possible using just a 1oz lead so it just about holds on a gravel bottom and a short 8ins mono hooklength of 6lb.
“On this occasion I fed a few broken boilies in the morning before fishing in the afternoon, recasting every hour with a fresh PVA bag of broken boilies, but I had to wait a few hours before I got the indication,” he said.
The catch follows a 7lb 7oz chub landed by the 54-year-old just two days before using the same tactics, and he also hit the headlines last November when he bagged two huge chub weighing 8lb 4oz 8dr and 7lb 10oz from the same waterway.
His latest catch will be one he will never forget: “When I first hooked it I thought it was a barbel, as it felt really heavy and anchored itself in mid-river.
“When I saw it in the net I was shocked – it was like a carp. My head was still spinning when I got home. I just can’t believe it,” Rob said.


Trout water pike twenty

Friend Andy Hutson and Martin Ford enjoyed a pike fishing session to remember, boating eight specimens topped by this 20lb 4oz fish (right).
Fishing on Toft Newton Trout Fishery in Lincolnshire, the pair snared all their fish on large rubber shads by targeting numerous spots on the 40-acre reservoir.
The biggest of the haul, which was caught by Andy, sets a new venue record which was then nearly matched by Martin, who landed an 18lb 15oz esox shortly afterwards.
The fishery is planning more pike trials for next winter. Anyone interested should call 01673 878453.

Esthwaite 28lb pike waits until darkness

Esthwaite water has been in good form for pike this winter as David Black discovered when he banked this 28lb 4oz specimen.
The Barrow-in-Furness angler visited the Lake District venue, where he fished a static lamprey section on two treble hooks from a spot near the dam wall. David had to wait until darkness when the giant predator was hooked.
The venue is open to pike anglers until March 31. Call the fishery on 015394 36541.


One the otters spared

Kyle Woodgate’s decision to target a low-stock venue which had been hit by otters was vindicated when he slipped the net under this 28lb 2oz zip linear from the Cotswold Water Park.
In strong winds and driving rain the local rod located a silt patch 60 yards from the bank which he baited with Pilgrim Baits K2 boilies. There he presented a boilie tipped with plastic corn on a bolt rig consisting of a size 6 Korda Wide Gape hook and 10ins of N-Trap Semi-Stiff coated braid.
Kyle said: “The fish went 28lb 8oz, although weight is unimportant – thank God the otters never took this old warrior!”


Hughes takes head-to-head at Partridge

Partridge Lakes (Thurs)
Covey Canal Lakes (38 pegs)

Two of the UK’s best commercial fishery anglers went head to head on Thursday at Partridge Lakes.
Jamie Hughes came out on top with a super 91-3-0 against the 72-15-0 taken by runner-up Andy Bennett.
Jamie drew peg 1 on Canal 1 and caught mainly F1s on maggot fished across at 13m and down the track. Andy was on peg 6 of the same lake, where he also used maggot across and in the track for a net of F1 hybrids.

Result: 1 J Hughes, MAP/Bag’em Baits, 91-3-0; 2 A Bennett, Daiwa/Guru/Bait-Tech, 72-15-0; 3 M Dawes, Drennan NW, 64-5-0; 4 P Jones, Brookside, 59-0-0.