Birthday boy’s Pike Champs joy

The 2016 Pike Championships results

1 Andrew Muirhead, Cromer, 21lb 1oz (two fish)
2 Wayne Lees, Oxfordshire, 16lb (two fish)
3 Jack Taylor, Stoke-on-Trent, 14lb (one fish)
4 Diniz Rodrigues, Cromer, 13lb 12oz (one fish)
5 Paul Lenton, Doddington, 13lb 2oz (two fish)
Kevin Roads, Alderminster, 11lb 2oz (one fish)

A cheque for £1,400 and the 2016 Angling Trust Pike Championships trophy was an unexpected but pleasant reward for birthday boy Andrew Muirhead.

The pike fanatic, from Cromer, Norfolk, celebrated his 52nd birthday with two fish totalling 21lb 1oz, including the day’s biggest pike of 18lb 1oz. 

Fishing peg 24 on Cambridgeshire’s Bevill’s Leam, an area known locally as Glassmoor Bank, Andrew had to wait 90 minutes for his first run of the match, but after recasting a dead roach to the drain’s far margin the float was off again in two minutes. 

“I gave the rod a hefty strike and immediately knew it was no jack pike – but the fight from the 18-pounder was rather disappointing,” said Andrew.

Things could have been very different had third-placed 12-year-old Jack Taylor not lost a potential match winner. 

The youngster, from Stoke-on-Trent, caught a 14lb pike then, like the winner, saw his float dip again from a second fish.

“I saw the fish briefly in the clear water. It was a much better fish than the 14-pounder, but unfortunately it let go and I lost it,” said Jack.

Incredibly, he hooked the fish again moments later, but in a cruel twist of fate, he lost it again. Consolation came in the form of third place and the prize for top junior. 

In between Andrew and Jack was British Pike Fishing Squad member Wayne Lees with two pike for a combined weight of 16lb, including a 13lb 4oz fish.

On a day of heavy rain, an early-morning frost and strong winds, another four double-figure fish were recorded as well as a host of smaller fish.

Match organiser Ted Rowe commented: “Despite the horrendous weather conditions throughout, the 2016 Pike Champs has been another roaring success and I’d like to thank the Angling Trust for its sponsorship, my wife Ann for helping to organise the event, all the match stewards, and Whittlesey AA’s Dave White for the venue.  

“For me, though, the story of the day was young Jack landing a double-figure pike to come third in the match, beating off some very strong competition.

“Hopefully news of his success will spur on other juniors to take up this great sport of ours.”

Dave White, vice president of Whittlesea Angling Association, added: “Even though the conditions were poor and the fishing very hard, Whittlesey AA are proud to be able to hold the Championships on one of our many waters.” 

New strain of hard-fighting ‘super carp’

Britain’s anglers are filling their nets with a new strain of ‘super carp’. 

These F1 ghosts are being described as ‘the commercial fish of the future’ following the first introductions of the hardy hybrids over recent months. 

The strain has been developed to feed willingly even in the coldest conditions and is immune to Koi Herpes Virus (KHV). It’s the ghost carp element that makes it distinctive – and it fights harder than the original F1.

Commercials that have already shared more than 10 tonnes of F1 ghosts include Gold Valley Lakes in Hampshire, Tunnel Barn Farm in Warwickshire, Staffordshire’s Heronbrook Fishery and Bradshaw Hall in Lancashire.

“When we stocked the fish there was more than 700lb caught in a match the very next day,” said Bradshaw’s Luke Worthington.

“Anglers love them because they look more individual than original F1s and fight really hard. We have more on order for next year.”

This is just the first phase of stockings across the UK that will continue until March 2017.

Babylon Fish Farm owner Jason Dorkings, who was involved in the creation of the original F1 carp, has been working on this latest project for over four years at his Kent facility. 

He says there is such demand for the F1 ghosts that there’s now a waiting list for venues that want to stock them.

“These fish have surpassed all my expectations and the feedback has been tremendous. I can’t produce them fast enough to meet demand,” he said.

“We’ve stocked fish from 6ins up to 2lb and they are stunning to look at. I really can’t wait to see how big they can grow.”

Tunnel Barn Farm in the Midlands is another venue where anglers have been singing the praises ofthe new strain, and boss Tony McGuire said: “Anglers have been over the moon with this fish, which has already featured in our winter league matches.

“Their willingness to feed in the colder conditions seems to have encouraged other species to have a proper go as well.

“Pleasure anglers love the look of the F1 ghost as well. But remember to fine down your rigs to catch them through the winter.”

Battling flu... and a near-60

A morning he will never, ever forget is how TJ Elliott described catching this giant 59lb 12oz mirror – despite coming down with flu during his session.

The fish, known as Single Scale, came during a midweek trip to a large southern club water. Having found a likely looking spot a few weeks earlier, TJ continued to fish the same swim each week and baited heavily with CC Moore Live System boilies each time.

“It soon became clear that my spots were getting cleaner and cleaner,” he said.

On this occasion, TJ got in the swim on Wednesday morning but after baiting up his illness kicked in. 

“At around 4pm I had only managed to put one of the rods out to the spots and then decided to have a little sleep as my flu continued to progress.”

After eventually getting his other two rods out before nightfall, TJ returned to bed but was woken at 4.30am to a single beep “followed by my clutch going into absolute overdrive”.

“The fight was very straightforward, just 15 minutes of very heavy lunges and slow plodding. 

“When she came up for the net, I knew it was her! I scooped the net under what can only be described as a baby whale and as she passed over the cord I let out a massive ‘YES!’. It was definitely a morning I will never, ever forget.”

TJ fished snowman rigs with Live System and CC Moore Dairy Supreme boilies on fluorocarbon D rigs.

‘Prehistoric’ giant beaten on feeder rod!

This 165lb white sturgeon was tamed on a feeder rod from a private lake in Italy.

The captor was French angler Seb Nash, an angling adrenaline junkie who specialises in targeting huge fish on pole or heavy match tackle. 

Seb landed the prehistoric-looking specimen at midnight following a 30-minute tussle on 30lb line, a size 6 hook and a 3.8m feeder rod. 

He floatfished a piece of smoked herring in the margins over a bed of pellets for his prize.

51lb mirror banked on only bite of trip

Liam cradles his 51lb mirror, which fell to a pop-up.

Liam McGoldrick had only one bite during a weekend session on Wellington Country Park – but he wasn’t complaining when it resulted in a superb 51lb mirror. 

Arriving at the venue in the dark, the 32-year-old baited up and cast out. The following morning he noticed fish feeding further down the bank, but rather than recast and risk spooking them, Liam left his baits in position in the hope that the fish would move out of the area and towards his swim.

That proved to be a wise move by the senior contracts manager from Kent. 

He said: “The bite came at around 10pm and it was just a single bleep, followed by the line pinging out of the clip. 

“I was on the rod straight away, and the fight was immense – the fish was extremely angry and did not want to give up!”

Liam used a Mainline Cell pop-up over a spread of bottom baits and presented it on a Ronnie rig made using a size 4 Gardner Tackle Mugga hook and a safety lead clip system from the same company. 

Pair of fours make a winning perch hand

Perch fishing sessions don’t get much better than the one Ben Hinton enjoyed on the River Thames.

He landed no fewer than a dozen 2lb-plus fish topped by this specimen of 4lb 6oz.

Fishing an unnamed stretch of the waterway, the Gardner Tackle-sponsored angler’s dream haulfeatured three 3lb stripeys as well as another of 4lb 1oz in what he called ‘by far the most crazy three hours’ fishing I’ve ever had’. 

Ben tempted all his perch on trotting tactics with small livebaits under a bobber float. He used 5lb Gardner fluorocarbon mainline and a size 6 Gardner wide gape Talon Tip hook.  

Perch are Ancholme deciders

Mouncey League
River Ancholme, Cake Mills (32 pegs)

Perch are the target fish on the river now as the roach are yet to arrive in numbers. 

Drennan Barnsley Blacks star Simon Fields topped this latest round with 8-0-0 of fish to 1lb off peg 32. The former Division One National champ caught on chopped worm and caster fished at 11m. 

Second went to Paul Cannon on 6-4-0. Leading the league is Wayne Easter on 33 points, one in front of Rich Pulford.

Result: 1 S Fields, Drennan Barnsley Blacks, 8-0-0;
2 P Cannon, Mosella, 6-4-0; 3 P Iveson, Scunthorpe, 5-14-0; 4 K Harrison, Scunthorpe, 5-0-0; 5 I Parkinson, Scunthorpe, 4-14-0; 6 C Camburn, Scunthorpe, 4-4-0.

League: 1 W Easter, 33pts; 2 R Pulford, 32; jt3 R Bent,
G Tock and G Bunnage, all 28.

Two fifties in Holme Fen catch boosted by three thirties

Steve Wright banked one of the biggest carp braces in history with mirrors of 57lb 1oz and 52lb 14oz from Meadows Lake at Holme Fen in Cambridgeshire.

The 35-year-old also had carp of 38lb 2oz and 37lb 6oz for a four-fish average of over 46lb, before nipping next door to Poachers Pool and banking a 33-pounder! 

“Put it this way,” the Stockport carper told Angling Times with a chuckle. “I’d caught three thirties in my entire fishing life before this trip, and now I’ve had two fifties and four thirties in the same session.”

Steve was among a group of nine anglers on Meadows Lake, which is open to all on a booking system, but spent two of his six nights on the neighbouring Poachers Pool.

He came third in the draw for swims on Meadows and opted to set up in Party Point Double.

“I’ve been to Holme Fen twice before and caught both times, but I’d been really unlucky and caught stockies of 16lb and 19lb,” said builder Steve.

“Party Point Double was my third-choice swim and we hadn’t seen any fish, but I knew there was a clear spot to fish at about 16-and-a-bit wraps (65 yards). The first night I put two rods on that spot and had the 52-pounder, so I switched all my rods to that area for the second night. 

“Nothing happened the second night and I think I had probably put too many rods on the spot, so I left two on there for the third night and had the 38.

“On the last night I was standing in the swim with a mate and we saw a fish come straight out of the water over the spot, and literally within a couple of seconds the bobbin pulled up and line started slowly ticking off the spool. I struck but pulled into absolutely nothing.

“I quickly reeled in and cast the same bait out again.

“As I put the rod on the rests it screamed off and I landed the 57-pounder, before having the 37 within the hour.” 

Preston and Barnsley head to Spanish final

Sunny Spain awaits the anglers of Preston Innovations Telford and Drennan Barnsley Blacks after the two star-studded sides won through from the qualifier for the new World Club Feeder Championships event.

Their prize is now the chance to be crowned inaugural champions next summer.

Although the event at Barston Lakes was fished by only seven teams, organisers are hoping that number will grow in the coming years, with the prize being a weekend of feeder-only action against the best teams in Europe.

And England have a great chance of bagging gold given the strength of angler who will be heading out in 2017.

The Preston Innovations side of England Feeder boss Tommy Pickering, Adam Wakelin, Mick Vials and Will Freeman plus former Ladies World Champ Emma Pickering and ex-Fish O’ champ Neil McKinnon, won but only on total weight. They tied with Barnsley and Daiwa Dorking on 17 points apiece, their 124-8-0 tally getting them over 40lb in front. Barnsley pipped Dorking by just over 3lb.

“The venue is the River Jucar at Fortaleny in Valencia when there will be 30 teams,” said Tommy.

“There weren’t a lot of sides fishing but we just needed to get the qualifiers off the ground, so it was all a bit last minute but it’ll grow. It’s all feeder, feeder and more feeder in the UK at the moment, everywhere you look.”

The winners only just got away with it as, from a commanding lead at the midway stage, they saw their advantage ebb away.

“We were lucky as we thought the fish would move on to a short line at around 18m but they went the opposite way and pushed out,” Tommy explained. “We weren’t ready for that, but others were and I thought at the end that we might not even have qualified. The plan was to fish a small open end feeder with single maggot at around 35m and then come short where we’d filled it in with leam and joker. It worked to an extent!

“I had an easy match, winning with 66-8-0 from peg 55. There’s no Method feeder or pellet allowed, so I fished a little groundbait feeder holding joker and pinkies with single maggot on a size 18 and caught 15 F1s, 13 skimmers and two carp. I think Steve Ringer summed it up best. He said that nobody had the perfect plan. We all got some things correct but missed a few tricks here and there.”

Result: 1 Preston Innovations Telford, 17pts (124-8-0); 2 Drennan Barnsley Blacks, 17 (83-10-0); 3 Daiwa Dorking, 17 (80-4-0); 4 Ringer Baits, 19; 5 Daiwa Gordon League, 22; 6 Derby Railway, 22.5; 7 Stoke MG, 25.5.

Double-figure zander boated from Grafham

A 350-mile round trip in search of a big zander produced a great result for Gary Knowles when he boated a 12lb 2oz specimen.

The Cheshire angler made the long journey to Grafham Water in Cambridgeshire and headed straight for deep water.

Using a 40g jig head with a Quantum Freddie Shad lure, he had a take on his first cast but lost the battle. Determined to set the record straight, he instantly chucked the bait back into the same spot and was immediately rewarded with the biggest predator of the trip.

Returning the next day, Gary carried on the action with several other zeds to a best of 10lb 4oz.

£20m boost for River Severn

FISH PASS SITES

Seven sites have been pinpointed for renovation, with various devices being installed to help fish move more freely up and down the Rivers Severn and Teme. 
The weirs in question are:
• Upper Lode
• Diglis
• Holt
• Lincomb
• Bevere
• Powick
• Knightsford

The UK’s first-ever underwater viewing gallery – that allows spectators to watch fish in one of our most iconic rivers – is just part of a huge £20 million improvement project.

Years of discussions to secure the huge pot of government funding to transform the River Severn have finally come to fruition, and now Angling TImes can reveal how that cash will be allocated.

Millions will be spent on making it easier for coarse and game fish to migrate up and down the waterway via many state-of-the-art fish passes, but along with improved access and habitat improvements, arguably the most talked-about development is the installation of the unique underwater viewing area at Diglis Weir in Worcester.

Members of the public will be able to look in on what goes on beneath the surface, with the large shoals of barbel, chub, predators and silverfish all expected to be on show.

For those that are unable to visit the site, a live feed is expected to run on the internet to give everyone the opportunity to see what the river holds.

A collaboration between several influential bodies, including the Canal & River Trust, came up with the idea, and its national fisheries and angling manager John Ellis said: “In the past fishing’s big problem is that the general public can’t see what’s going on beneath the surface. There’s been an ‘out of sight, out of mind’ mentality.

“But the first-ever viewing window at Diglis Weir will open up this underwater world and give people an incredible insight into the lives of fish, their surroundings and their importance to our natural world.

“This work will open up more of our waterways for coarse and game species to become more widespread, while improving habitats and river environments. It’s great news that more conservation bodies are recognising fish and angling.”

Severn Rivers Trust deputy director Mike Morris was equally delighted at the scheme’s confirmation, and he added: “We are extremely keen for local anglers, school children and the wider public to get involved with the viewing gallery, which will be built at Diglis to monitor all movement of fish.

“Staff and volunteers will be on hand to help those with no prior knowledge of what lies beneath the surface and give them a better understanding of the various species they come across.”

The news comes just one week after the Environment Agency announced plans to provide free rod licences to all under-16s. 

Reigning RiverFest champion Tom Lane believes this move will further assist the process of attracting more juniors into the sport. 

He told Angling Times: “If youngsters are given the chance to view fish in their natural habitat it will create a unique opportunity that I am sure will spark an interest in the underwater habitat.

“Fish are often forgotten about, but this is a fantastic way to educate people and get them into angling at the same time.”

Work will get underway next year, with the scheme set to be completed by 2022.

Carper’s 30lb pike falls to a boilie!

Tom Bray became the envy of predator hunters across the UK when he landed this impressive 30lb 1oz pike... on a boilie!

This is only the second pike that the 21-year-old has ever caught, and it gave him his only bite during a session at a day-ticket water in Cambridgeshire.

A critically-balanced boilie topped with a popped-up piece of imitation corn was too much for the predator – which beats Tom’s 17lb personal best for the species – to resist.

“At first I thought it was a small carp. It was shaking its head and giving a decent account of itself as it neared the net,” said Tom.

“I probably would have put the fish back without weighing it, but then it rolled over in the net and I couldn’t believe the girth of the creature. 

“My mate, who’s a keen piker, came down to see it and he was blown away, so there was no way I was going to slip this one back without weighing it properly and getting a few shots.”

Tom, from St Ives, Cambs, had never seriously targeted pike before this recent trip to his local carp water, but in the light of this accidental capture he’s now admitted to an urge to fish specifically for them this winter.

“I’ve never fancied fishing for pike in the past, but this fish has changed my mind,” Tom continued.

“I know I’ve been very lucky to catch this fish of a lifetime, because anglers fish for years and never catch a 30-pounder.”

“It’s going to take some beating, but who knows what else is in this lake.

New Feeder Champs all set for 2017

Feeder fishing is the method of the moment.

Feeder fishing is set to become even more popular, following talks of the launch of a huge national event to celebrate the tactic.

In the wake of big competitions like the Feeder Masters and the triumphs of the England Feeder team managed by Tommy Pickering, bosses at the Angling Trust are drawing up plans to create an event which could be on par with the current National Angling Championships.

Team England Veterans squad man Joe Roberts and former England International manager Dick Clegg are two big names who have been discussing the plans after increasing demands by anglers and clubs that wish to see the creation of such an event.

Said Joe: “It’s still early days but we hope to create an event that could see as many as 200 anglers in 40 teams on the bank. 

“The recent launch of the World Club Feeder Championship means every nation has to find two clubs to represent them, and we think this would be a better way of qualifying for it than the system we have at present.”

This year’s qualifier for the World Club Feeder Championship was held last weekend and was won by Preston Innovations Telford, with Drennan Barnsley Blacks runners-up. Both qualify for the 2017 World final in Spain.  

The event was held at Barston Lakes in the West Midlands, but Joe believes the new version would require a much bigger venue if it was to go ahead: “Major events are quite difficult to organise in the UK because of the lack of venues able to cope with that number of anglers. The River Trent would meet all the requirements, and really suits feeder anglers,” he added.

New of the new event has been welcomed in the match fishing fraternity, and England International Feeder Team manager Tommy Pickering who said: “All the other nations who enter the World Club Feeder Champs have their own feeder national events, so it’s only right we should have one two. It would be a great spectacle,” he added.

8lb chub tops a week of fantastic catches

The capture of countless huge chub from rivers across the UK has proved that now’s the time to beat your personal best.

Alfie Naylor had every reason to celebrate when he banked the fish of a lifetime in the shape of an 8lb chub from the River Trent.

The specialist from Newark has enjoyed an incredible season so far on the waterway, and his run of form continued when he turned his attentions away from barbel and on to chub.

He opted for a groundbait feeder packed with hemp, pellets and the base mix that formed his 110% Baits Red Ball Plum boilie hookbait, which was attached to the back of a size 8 hook with a short hair.

“I honestly thought it was a common carp. This is by far the biggest chub I’ve ever seen,” Alfie told Angling Times.

“There’s no doubt in my mind that this stretch of the Trent holds a British record fish. 

“It was the best chub venue on the whole river in the 1980s and it’s back to its best. I’ve barely scratched the surface of its potential.”

Elsewhere, a lump of luncheon meat fished over hempseed proved the right combination for Gary Hickling, who banked a new club record 7lb 10oz chub from the Great Ouse.

It sets a new best for Vauxhall Angling Club and was landed from the River Great Ouse by Gary when he fished upstream of Radwell at the stretch of river adjoining the Sharnbrook complex.

A simple leger rig and a bait cast beneath an overhanging tree tempted the fish that beats the previous club record by 2oz.

Moving further south, another angler to smash his personal best for the species was specialist Stuart Davison.

He fished a short session on a Christchurch Angling Club-controlled stretch of the Dorset Stour to bank an impressive specimen that took a legered boilie hookbait and topped the scales at 7lb 3oz.

“I caught this fish on a really short session at dusk. It just goes to show that you don’t need to spend hours on the bank,” said Stuart. 

The River Nene in Cambridgeshire has been in incredible form this season, and Peterborough & District Angling Association bailiff Mark Smith banked his biggest-ever chub while fishing a day-ticket stretch.

It weighed 6lb 3oz and was caught on a Sticky Baits Krill boilie.

Cold relief arrives with a 46-pounder

Wading into the water in just his pants gave John Claridge a heavy cold, but the perfect tonic in the shape of this 46lb 3oz mirror.

After forgetting his waders during an earlier prebaiting visit to the Sand and Gravel syndicate in the Cotswolds, the 43-year-old was forced to brave the chilly water in his underwear.

But all John’s discomfort was soon forgotten when he banked the mirror known as Look at the Length at an all-time top weight.

The Swindon rod, who manages Tackle Den in South Cerney, said: “I was nursing man-flu – probably something to do with having to prebait in my pants in cold water up to my thighs as I’d forgotten my chesties – but I got the rods out relatively easily as I’d already put on hookbaits and clipped the lines up to the precise distance. Full of cold, I turned the alarms up a notch and hit the sack early.”

At dawn the next day John received a positive bite after a
few subtle liners and pulled into a big fish.

“As the carp neared the bank,” he said, “the carbon throbbed under my hand and I knew what I was attached to was a lot heavier that anything I had caught so far this season. A back then popped to the surface and, quickly adjusting the net position, I stepped forward and engulfed my prize.

“The depth of the beast was immense and I summoned all my strength to heave him safely up to the awaiting mat. A very special carp from a special lake.”

Two big roach from tiny river

Specimen fish often occupy the smallest waterways, as proved when Mike Townsend banked this impressive pair of roach.

The fish – weighing 2lb 2oz and 1lb 6oz – were caught on the float when the specialist from Doncaster, South Yorks, fished a tiny local river.

They were backed up by 40 roach over 1lb and all were all taken on a 2lb mainline, a 0.08mm hooklink and a size 20 hook baited with a single caster.

Syndicate rod adds 44lb 8oz common to impressive tally

Jamie Peacock completed a quartet of target fish within six months with the capture of this 44lb 8oz common.

The fish, known as the Cut Tail Common, follows on from the capture of Clarissa at 53lb 4oz and the Long Common at 38lb in Jamie’s first full year on Deepings One in Lincolnshire.

The Peterborough angler said: “This year was my first full year on Deepings One, having only joined last summer.  

“I’ve managed to land a few nice fish, including Clarissa at 53lb 4oz on my birthday weekend in April, which was a great present! A couple of weeks later I had Black Scar at 48lb 12oz.

“In August I had the Long Common, slightly down in weight at 38lb. This fish had to be one of the hardest-fighting I have ever caught and it went mental for about 15 minutes.  

“After picking up these fish fairly quickly I thought the Cut Tail Common would take me a long time to catch, so when I had it at the weekend I could not believe it – I was blown away.”

Jamie added: “I turned up on Friday at around 3.30pm and saw the swim I wanted was free. I chose the swim because I had been regularly catching from it for the last month. 

“There are two islands to fish to and they gave me shelter from the easterly wind which was blowing all weekend, so I was convinced there would be a few fish gathered in the area. 

“I got the rods out on the spots at around 80 yards and Spombed out about a kilo of Nash Key Cray boilies on each one.

“The next morning at around 8.30am I had a single bleep and noticed the line was moving. The fish was kiting but not taking any line off the spool, so I hit into it and started to bring it back, but it didn’t really do much until I had it under the tip, when it gave a few powerful runs. 

“At first I thought it was a small fish, as it was shaking its head, but when I saw it boil up on the surface I knew it was a good one.”

Huge perch highlight of a wonder week

This 4lb 6oz 8dr perch topped an amazing week for Nigel Kennard.

His new best from the River Lea in Hertfordshire topped a list of fish, including a 6lb 5oz chub and an 11lb barbel from the idyllic Hampshire Avon, plus another pb – a 3lb 11oz 8dr crucian.

“I began on the Avon, where the big chub was backed up with three five-pounders, all on boilies,” Nigel said. “I then drove to a lake in Surrey where I beat my crucian pb on the first day.”

Adding six others over 3lb, he then turned his attentions to the River Lea perch where stripeys of 2lb 8oz and 2lb 1oz backed up his four-pounder, all caught on a link leger rig baited with a lobworm.

Huge nets in amazing Wye champs

RESULT

1 Pete Goulding – 125lb
2 Lee Pritchard – 90lb 12oz
3 Matt Maginnis – 88lb 15oz
4 Steve Rowen – 86lb 11oz
5 Colin Harvey – 83lb 3oz   

WYE CHAMPS IN NUMBERS

84 Pete Goulding’s winning peg number in Eign A section
55 Number of double-figure weights recorded
230 Number of fish in Dave Harrell’s catch
2,159lb Total weight shared by the field
136 Number of anglers that fished the event

The River Wye has produced one of the greatest matches ever as competitors in the latest event shared in a massive 2,159lb weigh-in.

The annual Wye Champs is the first event of a hectic winter schedule on the prolific stretches around Hereford, and the season got off to a breathtaking start with a series of huge weights that were topped off by Pete Goulding’s incredible 125lb 6oz winning catch of chub.

Backing weights were equally impressive, with just shy of 60lb good enough to only sneak into 10th place.

The champion put his name into the history books thanks to an impeccable display of waggler and maggot fishing. Pete told Angling Times: “I have been trying to win this event for over 40 years and to do it in this fashion is just incredible.

“I drew a peg that can produce a few fish, but never in my wildest dreams was I expecting to land a three-figure catch from it. 

“The annual three-day festival is coming up this week, and that was a sellout within days. I could probably have sold double the number of tickets on offer – that’s how impressed people are by the Wye right now.”

Angling Times columnist Dave Harrell could have been forgiven for thinking he’d taken the glory with a 60lb bag of dace, but it turned out to be only good enough for ninth place. 

He said: “The river is really low, and while that always leads to big weights, none of us expected it to fish to this high standard.

“I’ve had a bite every chuck all day and that has only been good enough to win my section. The angler next to me had over 40lb of dace and didn’t win a penny!

“There are colossal numbers of small fish in the venue now, with loads of bonus barbel, chub and perch. It really was one of the greatest-ever river matches.”

Organiser John Pembridge believes the result is just the start of another golden period on the waterway, and he told Angling Times: “I have been running this event for 10 years but this is definitely the best one yet. Last year the entrants shared 1,400lb, so the fishing has clearly been much better this time round.

“The weights were just phenomenal and it wasn’t just one species that dominated – there was a 90lb barbel bag, dace catches over 60lb and hundreds of chub landed... on a low river.”

Massive rod licence shake-up will see kids fish for free!

The new rod licence charges from March 2017

Every season the new rod licence goes on sale on March 1 and expires the following year on March 31. 

Type of licence – Full (April-March)
Current price: £27
New price: £30

Full (concessionary) senior and disabled
Current price: £18
New price: £20

Short-term 1 day
Current price: £3.75
New price: £6

Short-term eight-day
Current price: £10
New price: £12

Junior (12-16)
Current price: £5
New price: Free

Three- rod licence
Current price: None
New price: £45

Three- rod licence (concessionary) 
Senior and disabled
Current price: None
New price: £30

Children will fish for free and carp anglers will save money as part of a massive shake-up in the rod licensing system.

These are just two changes in a raft of new measures announced by Environment Agency bosses this week in a bid to offer anglers more value for money and encourage more youngsters to fish.

The changes,which come into force next March, include a special price for those using three rods, and scrapping the current £5 fee for under-16s. They will also see 365-day rolling licences from day of purchase.

The move comes in response to a recent Angling Trust survey in which the nation’s anglers criticised the current licensing system. Big-fish hunters claimed they were being overcharged for fishing three rods by having to buy two full annual licences. 

The EA Head of Fisheries Sarah Chare believes the changes reflect feedback from anglers nationwide: “We hope that a 365-day licence, a three-rod licence and a free junior licence will all play a part in getting more young people fishing and securing the sport’s future,” she said. 

“All money raised from rod licence sales is ploughed back into England’s fisheries, and is used to fund a wide range of projects to improve facilities for anglers.”

The announcement was also welcomed by Angling Trust Chief Executive Mark Lloyd. 

He said: “We lobbied the Environment Agency to make these changes to the rod licence system, as many of the carp and specimen anglers we represent had complained about the need for them to buy two separate licences for four rods, when they wanted to fish with three.

“We also wanted a free junior licence, as this removes a significant barrier to participation for young people considering taking up the sport. Well done to the Environment Agency for listening and taking anglers’ concerns on board.”

Meanwhile carpers were also celebrating, including Korda boss Danny Fairbrass, who has piled thousands of pounds into various projects aimed at boosting junior participation. He believes the latest move can play a big part in halting the decline in youngsters on the bank. He said: “This is absolutely brilliant news, and the EA deserves a lot of credit for listening to anglers and changing the system to provide free rod licences for under-16s.

“This was needed to help get more kids hooked on angling and I hope this news gets out beyond the angling world so that people who have never even considered fishing before are given still more reason to get involved.

“The three-rod licence will also be well received,” Danny continued. “Carp anglers have accepted the old rules of having to buy two licences through gritted teeth for many years, but this amendment represents the modern angling scene. All these changes can help provide an even brighter future for fishing.”

These sentiments were echoed by Current Fish O’Mania champion and professional coach Andy May, who tutors dozens of juniors each year. He agrees that the historic news can provide a springboard to getting more juniors on the bank. He said: “Our sport needs a regular influx of children if it is to continue to grow and the decision to give them a free rod licence is a fantastic way of achieving just that.

“We all know how addictive fishing is, and if we can tempt more kids into trying it out you can guarantee they will get the bug and become keen anglers.”

• Millions of anglers will be adding extra support to the EA’s continued work to improve fisheries following the announcement that the price of the rod licence is to increase by 10 per cent from March 2017.

In the light of this the Angling Trust is calling for the government to halt and reverse the annual cuts to Grant in Aid to the EA for fisheries management, monitoring and regulation.