Andy Powers ahead for UK Champs title

Preston Innovations star Andy Power joined a select band of anglers with his second Old Ghost UK Angling Championships victory in a nail-biting final round at Barston Lakes.

Scoring eight points across the four-match series, the Somerset angler tied on points with Dale Shepherd, but tallied 210-558 against the 204-713 of Maver man Dale to win the £4,000 top prize and get his name etched on to the famous claret jug alongside his 2013 victory.

Sitting on six points heading into the final match, former Match This champ Andy drew in the same section at the Solihull lake just pegs away from his rival. Dale duly won his section to finish with eight points, Andy taking second to bring weight into play with just six kilos in it.

“I had reservations about Boddington Reservoir. I was told it was peggy and hard fishing,” Wells-based Andy said. “Round one at Lindholme couldn’t have gone any better but I came back down to earth with a bump on the Glebe with a fifth in section, and I thought I’d blown it. My only hope was to win my section in the final two matches.”

Boddington gave Andy a section win after drawing a reasonable area and so it all boiled down to Barston. With his nearest rivals also suffering at Boddington or the Glebe, Andy was leading by one point.

“When Dale drew peg 124 I thought it was game over. That peg is a guaranteed section win so I was fishing for second. If I could do that, I felt I’d win on weight,” he continued. “Pellet waggler gave me six big carp plus a few F1s but at the whistle I had no idea where I’d finished.

“Dale had won the section and people reckoned Greg Norris had caught 80lb while I thought I’d got 75lb – but as it turned out I beat Greg into second by 2lb and did it on weight.”

The final round was won by Geoff Vallance with 61-225 off peg 18 on the river bank. The Preston Innovations Delcac man went for broke on the Method feeder all day for a weight, but with little to show and just half-an-hour remaining he plopped the feeder into the margins and brought his total weight of carp to approximately 125lb. “That effectively won me the match and the £1,000 prize!” said Geoff.

Result: 1 Geoff Vallance, Preston Innovations Delcac, 61-225; 2 Adam Rooney, Guru, 55-325; 3 Paul Holland, Guru, 51-000; 4 Dale Shepherd, Maver, 48-547; 5 Phil Canning, Frenzee, 44-850; 6 Paul Hiller, Daiwa Dorking, 36-796.

Final league: 1 Andy Power, Preston Innovations, 8pts (210-558); 2 Dale Shepherd, Maver, 8 (204-713); 3 Chris Barley, Dynamite Baits, 10; 4 Andy Kinder, Maver/Marukyu, 12 (172-324); 5 Zak Brown, Preston Innovations, 12 (150-215); 6 Adam Wakelin, Preston Innovations, 12 (141-511).

Angling to star in the Olympics?

Angling has taken a step closer to being part of the Olympic Games – with the submission of an official application to be a part of the world’s biggest sporting spectacle.

Numerous high-profile stars from within the sport have campaigned for years to see one of the world’s biggest participant sports included in the global event, and following this latest development the dream could finally become a reality.

Bosses from international match angling’s governing body CIPS have put together a huge dossier in a bid to convince the Olympic Committee that fishing should officially be recognised as a sport.

If the move is given the green light, it could then be considered for inclusion in future Olympics. 

TV personality and former Olympic athlete Dean Macey believes angling would be a worthy inclusion. He said: “Millions of people across the world go fishing, so why shouldn’t it form part of the biggest sporting event on the planet?

“It would be a huge boost for angling, and for those that compete it would be the pinnacle of their career. Forget Fish O’Mania and the World Championships, the Olympics has over a billion people tuning in. It would dwarf any other angling tournament.”

Given the nation’s huge array of talent, the chances of achieving success would be high and Dean added: “No matter what form the competition took, we would be in the medals. Be it feeder fishing, floatfishing or accuracy casting, Team GB would have the best in the world in their ranks.”

Current England international Des Shipp, who has won countless tournaments in an illustrious career, says that taking part in the Olympics would top the lot. 

He said: “It would be an honour to get selected if it ever came about, and I can’t even begin to imagine how amazing it would feel to win a gold medal.

“More and more sports are being included in the Olympics and angling deserves a chance to showcase itself on the giant stage.”

Former England boss and CIPS official Dick Clegg believes that a successful bid could have numerous benefits, and he told Angling Times: “It would be great to think that angling could one day be part of the Olympic Gamesin some format, whether that is accuracy or distance casting or something else.

“In the short term, being recognised as a sport by the Olympic Committee could lead to more funding for our national teams, which would play a huge part in maintaining our current high levels of success.”

41lb 9oz Holme Fen mirror carp before GCSEs kick in

Schoolboy Oli Cooper used his last summer holiday before starting GCSEs to knuckle down and find a new personal best.

Having searched for a suitable venue, the 15-year-old settled on Meadows Lake at Holme Fen in Cambridgeshire, and was rewarded for his hard work with a 41lb 9oz mirror.

The teenager told Angling Times: “I had six weeks off so I decided I should do something special before I needed to start working really hard for my GCSEs.”

Pouncing on a cancellation at the booking-only venue, Oli arrived midweek for a 48-hour stay and despite coming last in the draw for swims managed to secure Party Point, the peg he wanted.

After finding a couple of spots in the weed, Oli baited heavily with pellets, crushed boilies, corn and whole boilies. 

“I wasn’t feeling too confident,” he said. “I had only seen one good fish jump which, although it was on my spot, was much earlier on in the day, and I hadn’t had any liners or anything in hours.

“The lake hadn’t produced a fish that week so I knew it would be hard, but I ate my dinner, set my alarm for just before light and went to sleep.”

After waking to thick mist, Oli got out of his bivvy at 6am as visibility improved.

“After watching the slick off my spots for an hour-and-a-half I sat on the grass verge thinking ‘if I get a bite now, how will I get to my rods?’. And, as I was thinking that, I had a single bleep – it screamed off and straight away I knew I was into a very good fish.”

The fish ploughed through a succession of weedbeds, but eventually Oli led it into the margins and, though a crowd had gathered, he opted to net it himself. He said: “The shoulders on her were the thickest I have ever seen!”

The following morning Oli banked a 26lb mirror to round off a memorable session.

Horton forties fall at distance and in margins

Island Lake on the historic Horton complex provided Dan Leney with two of its prized residents to very different tactics.

“I had two forties in two weeks – what a buzz!” said Dan, who banked a 45lb 12oz mirror at long range, then a 40lb 6oz mirror in the margins.

The first and bigger of the fish came during a three-day session. “I had been prepping some spots from the boat at 120 yards,” said Dan. “The fish were on clearings of silt amid huge weedbeds.” 

“The rod ripped off at 1pm on day two and I latched into the huge-framed Two Tone mirror, which came in at 45lb 12oz.
I had three bites that day, taking another 25lb common and losing one in the weed.

“I returned two weeks later but this time I chose to fish just 10 yards from the bank in much, much shallower water. The sun was beating down and the temperatures were far warmer, so I targeted the 5ft area. 

“On the first morning I managed two takes, one from a 23lb mirror and another from the huge 40lb 6oz mirror.”

Drive to get more clubs on canals

A major drive is underway to get more anglers to fish canals by offering clubs the chance to take over dozens of untapped stretches.

Hundreds of miles of waterway are currently without tenants, and the Canal & River Trust wants angling clubs to take advantage of the situation by boosting its portfolio of waters.

C&RT National Fisheries and Angling Manager, John Ellis, is leading the charge. He believes clubs are missing out on what is some fantastic fishing. He told Angling Times: “There are literally miles of canal which are barely fished but offer superb sport with a huge variety of species. 

“We prefer to work with clubs rather than just leaving stretches to be fished by individual anglers – it’s a win win situation. 

“Clubs help us to fight poaching and antisocial behaviour, while the members get a great venue to fish at the same time. Clubs who can’t afford to rent waters can still enjoy the canals, as most of our stretches are available to book for matches on our Waterways Wanderers Scheme for less than the price of a day ticket. 

“We want more and more anglers to discover the magic of fishing canals.”

One club to recently take advantage of the push is Little Britain Anglers. The North West outfit took over an extensive stretch of the Bolton & Bury Canal last year. Speaking at the time, club secretary Eric Owen said: “Our main aim was to bring back fishing to as much as the canal as possible so that it could be enjoyed by the area’s anglers. The canal was a somewhat forgotten venue and we wanted to change that. 

“Taking over stretches like this is a great way for clubs to offer their members places to fish other than just your typical ponds or stretches of river – you’d be surprised what lurks in canals.”

England girls finish fourth in Spain

Ladies World
Championships (Sat & Sun)

River Guadiana, Merida, Spain (15 teams)

Result: 1 Poland, 33pts; 2 Spain, 35; 3 Italy, 39; 4 MAP England, 52; 5 France, 70; 6 Czech Republic, 74; 7 Hungary, 76; 8 Belgium, 79; 9 Croatia, 95; 10 Finland, 97;  jt11 Portugal and Netherlands, both 101; 13 Russia, 104; 14 Serbia, 113; 15 Slovakia, 131.

England’s quest to be crowned Ladies World Champions ended in frustrating fashion as the girls finished a red hot weekend in Spain in fourth place.

They finished 13 points from taking bronze, well clear of the fifth-placed team, after being unable to make a dent in the overnight leaders Spain and second-placed Poland who swapped places on day two.

Poland were crowned champions with host nation Spain in second and Italy third, leaving England, backed by tackle firm MAP, next best. 

Managed by Dave Brooks, the team of Wendy Locker, Helen Dagnall, Kayleigh Smith, Julie Abbott, Sam Sim and Abbi Kendall were ultimately just off the pace required when faced with catching masses of small carrasio in the river.

“Fourth place is the worst place to finish, but I feel a little sorry for the girls because they had the tactics spot on. They fell down by perhaps not attacking the river enough,” said outgoing Angling Trust international competitions director Dick Clegg. “There were millions of tiny carassio around 40g apiece to catch and it developed into a bit of a fish race where you couldn’t afford to fall behind. In some sections we were just 10 fish off scoring more points.

“There were also very few carp to catch as a get out of jail fish – 15kg was a great weight and if you could snare a 3kg carp you’d do a world of good. However, they never showed all week or across the weekend.

 “The team fished it spot on with a short line at 6m and then the whip to hand, aiming to catch a fish on every drop-in.”

The match also marked the end of an era for Wendy Locker, who retired after 23 years. 

Eel for hall of fame?

A club water has thrown up what could be one of the biggest eels ever to be landed in the UK.

Carp angler Tony Baker floatfished a worm just inches from the bank during a session on the Farnham AS-controlled Stillwater Front Lake when the float dipped, and after a bruising battle the giant fish finally slid in the net.

Once on the scales, the dial swung round to a staggering 8lb 8oz. That would make it the seventh-largest example of the species ever banked, according to data supplied by the National Anguilla Club.

Checks of the scales are due to be performed in the coming weeks to confirm the true weight of the eel.

For more details on the club visit www.farnhamanglingsociety.com 

58lb 2oz Wood Carving Common out after year’s absence

It’s a well-worn saying in angling that effort equals reward, but this addition to Adam Matthews’ photo album is proof of just that.

The Wood Carving Common, an incredibly long fish of 58lb 2oz, had not been caught for almost a year at Kevin Nash’s Copse Lake until the Kent angler put in a Herculean shift to avoid a blank.

Taking advantage of the venue’s new open-access policy, Adam booked a five-day session and initially opted to fish the neighbouring Church Lake before switching to the Copse on day three.

“All week I’d been lapping it every so often and leaving some small areas of bait where I thought they might feed,” said the YouTube tech blogger.

“However, they all remained untouched so it was now going to be a stalking effort – trying to find one and catch it on the move.”

Adam found one fish, estimated at 45lb, and tried to tempt it with freelined maggots and bread to no avail. The following day the same fish did oblige but it tore off through some lilies and snapped the line.

“It was a real low after so much hard work,” said the 38-year-old, “I’d probably made over 200 casts of the freelined bait. I went and sulked.” 

Having regained his composure, Adam, who estimates he walked around the lake 200 times, opted for a different approach and presented a maggot rig on a clay spot close to an island.

“Thirty minutes later the receiver went off and I ran around the lake and picked up the rod, only to see that the fish was weeded up no more than 15ft in front of me. I could see it. As a lover of the common carp over the mirror I knew immediately that it was the one I wanted the most. 

“After a small fight getting it out of the weed my friend Neil came running round, leapt into the water and netted it. My heart was absolutely thumping like never before and the adrenaline was flowing. 

“It came up just shy of 60lb, and while everyone seemed slightly disappointed it didn’t hit the magical 60 I sat there just staring at this whale of a fish, so long that it didn’t even fully fit in the 1m 20cm monster cradle that sits in every swim. 

“This was the catch of a lifetime. Being in such a special place just made it even better.”

Oar-some bream best

Catching big bream in a weed-clad lake was no chore for Adam Riches, who rowed a boat out to drop his hookbaits into a clear patch and bag this 15lb 10oz personal best.

The 29-year-old carpenter out-foxed the super-slab on a tricky southern gravel pit.

“The water is full of snags, and using a boat was the only way to get my baits through to the fish,” Adam explained.

“I found a clear spot 130 yards out and baited it with a particle and pellet mix, before rowing out to drop my rigs baited with popped-up fake corn.

“After a slow spring and only one 14lb-plus bream so far this season, I was absolutely chuffed with the result.” 

Two other bream weighing 10lb 1oz and 10lb 14oz were landed to make this a session to remember for Adam.

Chew Valley 30 sets pike target for 2016

This is the picture of one of the biggest pike of the year.

The pointer on the scales went round to 30lb 8oz for a fish boated by Martyn Cattermole when he spent the day afloat on the UK’s finest specimen pike venue.

Chew Valley Lake in Somerset has provided hundreds anglers with personal bests for the species, and the 58-year-old from Bristol was celebrating following the capture of his biggest-ever fly-caught pike.

He was drifting over 12ft-13ft of water when the huge predator took his bait.

“It felt as if the fly was snagged on the bottom until it started moving away, then before I had time to think it stripped 30ft of line and a brutal scrap with the fish began,” Martyn told Angling Times.

“I had three attempts to net the fish and I saw the fly was only just in the corner of its mouth. I was bricking it, thinking that the hook would pull any minute.”

Scotthorne wins Wychavon Champs

THE RESULTS

Hobgoblin Championship (Sat)
Warks Avon, Evesham (73 pegs)
Result: 1 C Dicks, Maver, 10-12-0; 2 R Wootton, Shimano/Dynamite Baits, 8-6-0; 3 A Scotthorne, Drennan Sensas, 7-12-0; 4 M Derry, Sensas, 7-0-0;
5 B Blowing, Gloucester, 6-10-0.

Wychavon Championship (Sun)
Warks Avon, Evesham (73 pegs)
Result: 1 Alan Scotthorne, Drennan Sensas, 17-3-0;
2 L Gardener, Shakespeare Bait-Tech, 15-8-0;
3 W Swinscoe, Drennan/Bait-Tech, 14-7-0;
4 W Raison, Daiwa/Old Ghost, 12-0-0; 5 D Davies, Drennan/Van Den Eynde, 11-14-0.

Match Fishing Team Champs (Mon)
Warks Avon, Evesham (70 pegs)
Result: 1 S Pallett, Sensas WB Clarke, 9-2-0; 2 S Willsmore, Daiwa Dorking, 7-8-0; 3 W Raison, Daiwa Dorking, 7-0-0; 4 N Crooks, Browning Ossett, 6-1-0; jt5 A Scotthorne and J Dent, both Drennan Barnsley Blacks, both 5-14-0.
Team: 1 Daiwa Dorking, 61pts; 2 Drennan Barnsley Blacks, 43 (superior weight); 3 Matrix Image, 43; 4 Matrix Dynamite Baits Trentmen, 42 (superior weight); 5 Drennan Oxford, 42; 6 Shakespeare Bait-Tech, 42; 7 Kamasan Starlets A, 42; 8 Kamasan Starlets B, 41; 9 Sensas WB Clarke, 37; 10 Bailey’s of Warwick, 33; 11 Daiwa Gordon League, 32;
12 Browning Ossett, 30; 13 Drennan Leicester Sensas, 24; 14 Sensas Black Country, 20.

August Bank Holiday weekend saw a star-studded line-up for the Evesham Angling Festival. 

And after three days of action the silverware went the way of international class acts and the best team in the UK.

England aces Callum Dicks and five-times World Champ Alan Scotthorne won the Hobgoblin and Wychavon Championships respectively on the town stretch of the Warks Avon, while the all-conquering Daiwa Dorking side signed off the festival with team honours in the Bank Holiday Monday match.

Maver man Callum was first to triumph, weighing in 10-12-0 on the Saturday from end peg 73. Rob Wootton followed with 8-6-0 for second spot as the clear river saw the match turn into a roach-dominated event.

Sunday saw colour in the river after overnight rain and Alan Scotthorne drew peg 46. The Drennan/Sensas man targeted the slabs and a great early part of the match saw him home with 17-3-0, ahead of Shakespeare’s Leigh Gardener on 15-8-0.

“With rain the day before I thought there might be some skimmers and pommies to catch, and if there were any bream in the area they’d normally be found around my peg,” Alan said.

 “I balled in 12 balls of Sensas 3000 Gros Gardons Fine, 3000 Magic and brown crumb mixed 50/50 with Terre de Riviere and grey leam holding casters, dead pinkies and a lot of hemp. 

“I was targeting bigger fish, so every half-hour I topped up aggressively with two big balls over the top.”

Fishing a 2g float at 11m run through with a longish hooklink to lay some line on the deck and presenting a steady bunch of bloodworm or pinkie hookbait, the opening 90 minutes brought three bream and four skimmers before the river began to clear.

“After that it was a case of picking off little fish on bloodworm, catching what I could,” Alan continued. “At the end of the day, if you catch 17lb at Evesham you won’t be far off winning something! 

“It’s been a super weekend for me, as I was third on the Saturday match and then joint fifth in the team match on Monday – and my Barnsley team finished second overall.”

That left Monday’s team match to be decided and Dorking, riding on the crest of a wave after their record-making World Club Champs victory, crushed all before them with a 61-point tally.

They ended up 18 points clear of Drennan Barnsley Blacks, with Matrix Image third. 

Individually, Sensas WB Clarke man Steve Pallett won with 9-2-0, followed by Dorking and England duo Simon Willsmore and William Raison on 7-8-0 and 7-0-0 respectively.

Worm tempts an 18lb Trent barbel

Traditional barbel tactics went out of the window during Colin Hebb’s latest session on the River Trent – and a bold move was rewarded with this stunning 18lb specimen.

The East Yorkshire rod had struggled to get among the shoals while using pellets and boilies, so he switched to lobworms in a bid to transform his fortunes.

Kick-starting the session a couple of hours before the light faded, perch and small chub were the first to respond before bites suddenly stopped.

But the tiniest of indications tempted Colin to strike, and that decision proved to be a wise one as the rod-tip hooped over. 

He told Angling Times: “At first I thought I had hooked a log as it drifted slowly without doing anything, but then the fish went over to the other side of the river and surfaced, showing its true size straight away.

“That’s when the fight really started. The barbel made eight or nine really powerful runs and at one point I was convinced the hook was going to pull out.

“Everything held in place, though, and once it was in the net I couldn’t believe its size. There’s no doubt it makes up for all those blank sessions.”

Colin wasn’t the only man to record an eye-catching result on the rivers this week – Daniel Best’s debut on the Wye ended with a river record-shaking
13lb 8oz barbel.

Double-figure fish are few and far between on the picturesque waterway, but a slow take ended with the Lancashire angler falling just over 1lb short of the venue best. He said: “We’d been travelling rivers throughout the country during a few days off and had made stops at the Dove, Severn and Warwickshire Avon. I’d had a torrid time, blanking on all three.

“It was a relief just to get a run on the Wye, and for that bite to be something as special as this fish is absolutely incredible and completely unexpected.”

The specimen whisker fell for a legered brace of large Elips pellets hair-rigged on to the back of a size 10 hook.

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.

Island hotspot brings Greg a day-ticket best

Casting tight to an island at a popular day-ticket venue gave Greg Wildon a new personal best in the shape of this turbo-charged mirror.

The 39lb 6oz mirror came during a 72-hour session at Kent’s Elphicks Fishery, which included a double, a 26lb 4oz common and an 11lb catfish. 

“I’d seen a lot of big fish by the edge of the island,” said the Colchester, Essex, angler, “so I managed to get a bait about 2ft from the edge of the island. After about an hour, the fish took off at an amazing speed.

“Eventually, after a brilliant fight, it made it to the net – a truly magnificent specimen.” 

Greg, who regularly catapulted boilies over his spot at 40 yards, added: “This was a new personal best and it certainly made my day.”

Two monster eels in the same session

Chris Mason had every reason to smile when he banked this impressive pair of big eels.

Targeting a stillwater in the Midlands, the species enthusiast from Walsall, West Midlands, landed fish weighing 5lb 6oz and 5lb 13oz when he fished roach and lobworm hookbaits just a few rodlengths from the bank.

The bigger specimen beats his previous personal best by 5oz and was beaten by the 28-year-old when he fished rigs made from 60lb braid and size 4 hooks.

Sunset specimen is worth the wait

Catch pictures don’t come much better than this stunning image of Gary Johnson and his huge River Nene barbel.

It weighed 14lb 12oz, and was proof that good things come to those who wait. After steadily baiting a weedy gravel run throughout the afternoon, the specialist from Nassington, Northants, resisted the urge to cast out until an hour from sunset.

His ploy paid off as the fish took a John Baker dumbell boilie hair-rigged on a size 10 hook.

Well-known lump and long-lost mirror hit the bank

It’s been a tale of two fifties at a northern day-ticket water in recent weeks.

Hitting the bank at Eric’s Willows Lake, in West Yorkshire, were two very different creatures – one camera-shy, the other less so.

Three Scale, weighing 52lb 10oz, came out for the third time in quick succession to Brian Latham during a week-long session. 

“This fish has seen the bank quite often of late,” said Brian, who also had a 29lb 15oz mirror and a 20-pounder, “but it’s in great condition and gaining weight after a good spawn.”

The other fifty to be caught at Willows recently has been much more cautious – incredibly going uncaught for more than five years when it weighed 40lb 6oz!

Venue regular Danny Johannessen netted the fish during an overnighter in peg 1 and immediately realised it was one he didn’t recognise.

Danny, who fished a single Mainline Banofee pop-up on a Ronnie rig, alerted fishery boss Tom Broomhead and handed him the camera. 

Danny said: “We weighed the fish at 53lb 12oz and retained it in deep water near the outflow while we waited an hour for sunrise to get the shots by the lily bed. We were like kids on Christmas Eve, but still didn’t recognise it!”

Tom, who searched all the catch reports he had collected in three years of running the lake, said: “I contacted the remaining syndicate members for guidance and learned that as far as I am aware the fish was last landed at 40lb 6oz on April 7, 2011, by Kevin Rogerson and was regarded as the Original Scar Fish. We then suffered the floods in 2012 and it hadn’t been seen since.”

The capture takes the number of fifties in Willows to six. 

“Absolutely epic,” said Tom, “a truly heartwarming moment to weigh in and do the honours with the camera.”

Stour perch falls to a worm

Big perch love worms, and Iain McDonald used this to his advantage when he targeted the species on the Kentish Stour.

Two dendrobaena worms trundled beneath an overhanging tree on the far bank saw the local big-fish expert induce a take that produced this pristine stripey weighing 2lb 12oz.

His simple two swan shot rig was made up on 4lb line with a size 12 hook.

Perkins – the new champ

A brilliant 40-620 of bream sealed the individual National title for Matrix Dynamite Trentmen’s Rob Perkins.

Drawn on B17 (permanent peg 8, Holme Marsh Weir), Rob landed 22 slabs to 6lb using a 60g large cage feeder at 55 turns.

“I was casting regularly to put down lots of bait and it took an hour to get a bite. After that I caught fish in spurts of twos and threes. There were loads of bream in the area, and they came in, mopped up the bait and wandered off again!  

“I was behind the angler on peg 5 for most of the match, but caught and overtook him in the last hour. It’s everybody’s dream to win a National and this was definitely my day!” he said.

Rob fished a size 18 hook with half a dendrobena tipped with a maggot as bait, packing worm and caster into the feeder.
Result

1 R Perkins, Matrix DynamiteTrentmen, 40.620; 2 S Bryan, Daiwa Gordon League, 30.350;

3 A Dixon, Lincs County, 23.120; 4 W Parker, Swindon Isis AC, 19.840; 5 A Henry, Scunthorpe Tackle, 17.450; 6 M Perkins, Derby Fed, 16.800.

Mini boilies account for a 2lb 7oz roach

Respected big-fish specialist Dave Harman’s big roach campaign took off when he netted this 2lb 7oz specimen.

His chosen venue, a large southern gravel pit, didn’t respond to maggot feeder tactics due to the sheer numbers of small fish present.

But a switch to mini boilies did the trick and he struck gold on his most recent session when, after spotting some big fish at dawn, he cast out feeder rigs made from 6lb Drennan Super Specialist mainline and size 12 Drennan Barbel hooks.

“About 30 minutes after casting out I had a steady run, and I nearly had a heart attack when the huge roach popped up just a few yards from the net,” he said.