Margin magic for a venue best carp

The old saying that ‘the margins are the best feature on the lake’ rang true for Mark Tucknott, who landed a new personal best and venue record last week.

The 55-year-old from Romford, East London, was fishing at Long Lake in Reading when he banked the water’s first-ever forty in the shape of this 41lb 2oz mirror.

It came from a marginal stalking spot that Mark had kept topped up with bait since beginning his session at the 8.5-acre venue.

He said: “I spread a kilo of mixed 12mm, 16mm and 20mm boilies over a spot not far from the bank and kept a close eye on it. On the first day a number of fish visited it, but none of them dropped down to feed. 

“I checked the spot the following morning and all the bait had gone, so I put in another five handfuls and placed my hookbait among them – a critically-balanced Manilla boilie made from a cut-down pop-up.”

Mark then endured an agonising couple of hours watching a succession of fish continuing to visit the area and feed on his spot, before eventually his buzzer screamed into life. 

“After half-an-hour, two fish drifted in and took a bait each before moving off. Twenty minutes later another good fish came in and did the same,” Mark said. 

“This continued for the next two hours, before an upper double-figure koi wolfed down most of the remaining bait.

“I introduced another two handfuls of 12mm boilies, and about an hour later I had a screaming take. A monumental battle followed before I slipped the net under the huge mirror known as Lead Head. It was an incredible session, and to bag the lake’s first forty was a huge bonus!”

A 2lb Thames roach milestone

This is Martin Salter’s first-ever 2lb roach from the River Thames.

The National Campaigns Coordinator for the Angling Trust fished a stretch of the tidal Thames at Chiswick, West London, and used a groundbait feeder with worm and maggot on a size 12 hook.

He started picking up a few bream before the roach put in an appearance. Then, after switching to a lighter feeder and three red maggots on a size 14 hook, he began to connect more easily with the tentative bites and took a pair of specimen redfins topped by his first Thames two-pounder. 

“I’ve been lucky enough to have caught 2lb-plus roach from eight different rivers, but never one from my beloved River Thames,” he said.

49lb Mike’s Pet from day-ticket lake soon to go syndicate

Alex Woodcook realised a long-held ambition to catch one of the biggest carp in the historic Wraysbury North Lake when he slipped his net under this stunning 49lb mirror.

Alex landed the fish, which is known as Mike’s Pet, on the second morning of a two-day session at the famous fishery in Berkshire.

It was a timely capture too, because Alex had been hoping to catch one of the day-ticket lake’s biggest residents before the venue switches to syndicate status in April 2017.

He told Angling Times: “Conditions couldn’t have been more perfect, with a band of low pressure making its way over the lake. I thought to myself ‘this has to be the time!’ 

“The swim I was in, called Springate’s Point, covers a lot of water in front of an island, and running along the front of this are a number of coves created by the overhanging trees. 

“Some of these were clearer and deeper than the rest, and I figured that these were areas that had been fed on recently.”

To begin with Alex went easy on the bait, introducing around 10 Spombs of groundbait, pellets and chopped boilies. 

Over the top of this he cast a rig comprising a 5ins hooklink and a size 4 hook carrying two half sections of wafter boilies mounted blow-back style and tipped with plastic red corn. 

After receiving a bite on the first evening that ended in a hook-pull, his fortunes took a turn for the better as the second day of the trip dawned.

Alex said: “I had three bleeps on one of the rods that was locked-up to the island, struck, and found myself connected to what was clearly a powerful fish. It kited away towards open water, staying deep, and I knew it was a good fish, but it was only when I got it into the margins I realised just how big it was. 

“When I finally slipped it over the net cord and saw its huge shoulders, I knew that I had at last achieved what I’d set out to do – catch a Wraysbury chunk! 

Thousands bid at Bob Church’s tackle auction

Bob Church admitted to being ‘shocked and ‘overwhelmed’ after a collection of his prized tackle sold for thousands at auction.

Angling Times joined the legendary angler and his wife Jeanette during the recent Sporting and Country Pursuits sale at JP Humbert Auctioneers in Northants, which saw more than 50 lots of Bob’s gear go under the hammer.

Auctioneer Jonathan Humbert had a tough task keeping up with the number of bids as vintage rods, reels and collections of hand-tied flies turned heads in the busy saleroom full of collectors looking for their own slice of angling history.

But it was the volume of online bids from as far away as Australia and Switzerland that surprised and excited both Bob (MBE) and theon-site auctioneers.

The most popular lots included a gold-plated Mitchell reel made specially for Bob, an Avington
Mk II 9ft fly rod, and a three-tier fly box containing around 1,000 flies – which together made £1,160.

Speaking exclusively to Angling Times on the day, Bob explained his emotions during a memorable afternoon in the auction room.

“Funnily enough this is the first auction I’ve ever been to, so it was very exciting to watch and hear what was going on,” Bob said. 

“Although there weren’t that many in the room, those on the internet were constantly trying to outbid each other and Jonathan did a fantastic job keeping up with them. 

“This made the bidding very exciting, and I was overwhelmed to see the amount of interest in my tackle – which played a huge part in my angling career. 

 “It’s tackle that I would never use again so I’m just happy it’s going to help other people with their own fishing.” 

Auctioneer Jonathan Humbert wasn’t surprised at the amount of interest in Bob’s tackle, which made a total of £3,140.20, and believes it’s his reputation as one of the world’s most influential anglers that led to such frantic bidding. 

Mr Humbert said: “Bob obviously has a huge presence in the angling community. This was highlighted when we started to receive bids from people in Canada, Sweden and Tasmania. 

“All his items are unrepeatable rarities that are a must-have for any fly-fishing follower.

“My personal favourite was the three-tier fly box which is simply fishing gold and was the party-piece of the sale. They’re flies that Bob used all over the world throughout the last 60 years so it’s no wonder they sold for as much as they did.” 

The fly box held more than 1,000 flies – some of which caught championship-winning fish – and was purchased by a local Northamptonshire man for £880. 

Speaking anonymously, he said: “I bought the fly box for my son – who has not long taken up fly fishing but spends many hours at Pitsford.

“I’m sure these new, exquisite imitations will give him an edge during his next visit, and he’ll never have to buy a fly again!”

Bob has suffered from Parkinson’s disease for the last 19 years and is donating part of the money raised to the Parkinson’s UK Charity, which has been helping to combat the illness for 50 years.

Bob concluded: “I want to put something back into the charity that has been fighting the disease I’ve been living with for nearly 20 years.

“My wife Jeanette has aided and put up with me throughout that whole time, too, so I would like to buy her something for her garden – she truly deserves it.” 

Vote for the best of 2016!

The prestigious Angling Times National Angling Awards are back, and the power is in your hands to decide the winners for 2016.
It’s been a great year, with countless incredible catches, huge match fishing achievements and historic TV moments.
In a bid to reward the best in the business for their sterling contribution to fishing in 2016, Angling Times is now calling on every reader to vote for their favourites in 28 categories.
It’s been a tough job to decide the shortlists in each fiercely-contested category, which include Match Angler of the Year, Specimen Angler of the Year and River of the Year – but now it’s up to you to decide.
Editor-in-chief Steve Fitzpatrick said: “I’ve been blown away by how good this year has been for our sport. Every day I come into the office I find out that something new and exciting has happened.
“Sometimes it’s a giant fish that’s been landed, or a brilliant TV show that’s been released. 
“So much hard work has been put in by people, but now’s the time for you to vote and give them the national recognition they deserve.
“The National Angling Awards has been running for several years and, while there are other similar schemes, none of them has the prestige that this one has.
“All the nominees are excited to be in with a chance, but now it’s all down to our readers to make them the winners.” 
It’s been an equally impressive year in the tackle market as well. Hundreds of innovative products have hit the shelves, with new poles, rods, terminal tackle and baits from the biggest names within the industry.
Tackle editor Mark Sawyer has been gauging the mood within the industry ahead of the awards, and said: “I have been incredibly impressed by the quality of tackle released by the top manufacturers this year and now is the time to reward those who have gone above and beyond with their innovations.
“I have spent a lot of time talking to staff from each company in recent weeks and there is a lot of excitement about the National Angling Awards. They are all determined to win and gain the trophies that go with that success.
“If you’ve bought a piece of tackle this year that has transformed your fishing, make sure you vote to give it a great chance of becoming a 2016 champion.”
Readers who register to vote will be instantly entered into a draw that will provide them with a chance of winning one of four £100 vouchers to spend with tackle shop giant Chapmans Angling.

Have your say below!

Switch of swim leads to mirror carp ‘Scar’

James Butcher has continued his memorable autumn on Kingsmead One lake by banking the big mirror known as ‘The Scar’ at 47lb 10oz.

Just a few weeks after making a bumper ten-fish haul from the Berkshire venue, the East London rod again got among the bigger mirrors in the 30-acre lake on the second night of a four-day session.

Once again, keen observation played a key role in the capture.

“On the first night I fished a swim where the fish had been showing when I arrived, but by the morning they had done the off. I saw a few shows in another part of the lake, so moved my kit round and, as I knew the spots, I flicked the rods out and put out 10 baits around each,” said James.

“After three hours I decided to give it some bait, introducing 1.5kg over each rod to get the fish grazing. As it got dark the fish began to show again, and I sat up listening. Eventually I crashed out, only to be woken by liners on my right hand rod. The tip soon pulled down but when I struck, there was nothing there,” he added.

“I recast a little shorter and got back into the bag and the next thing I knew the right hand rod pulled up tight and I was playing a really heavy carp. It beat me up big time for about 15 minutes or so before I could net it. On the scales it went 47lb 10oz. Happy days!”

‘Dave’ at 55lb tops mega haul from day-ticket fishery

A last minute-decision to switch lakes paid off in handsome style for Steve Wright after he went on to bank four stunning big carp, topped by a 55lb mirror.

After making the journey from his Hinckley, Leicestershire home to Bluebell Lakes in Northants, the 63-year old was intending to fish the venue’s Sandmartin Lake. However, this changed after a quick chat with the owner of Bluebell Lakes, Tony Bridgefoot. 

Steve said: “He told me that there weren’t many anglers on Swan Lake. I didn’t really fancy it as there had been no carp out in the previous nine days, but a mate who was fishing over there convinced me to give it a try for the night. I dropped into a peg halfway down one bank, in the hope of catching them as they moved up and down the lake.”

With just two tench to show for his efforts over the next 24 hours, Steve was beginning to question his choice of lake, before a bite out of the blue signalled a major change in fortunes.

“I was thinking of moving and I’d already reeled one rod when one of the others screamed off. The fish made it into a weedbed but soon came out into open water, and I felt the rod tip bump so I knew it was still on,” said Steve.

“When I got the fish around 20 yards from the bank it surfaced and I recognised it as one known as Dave. On the bank it tipped the scales at 55lb on the nose.”

At 4am the next morning Steve’s session then got even better when he landed a 40lb 4oz mirror, followed by a 32lb 4oz common an hour later and a 39lb mirror later that same evening. The first of the trio was a new ‘forty’ for the lake, so Steve was allowed to give it a name… which he promptly did, calling the big mirror ‘Stevie’!”

39 barbel ‘doubles’!

Six friends enjoyed a barbel fishing trip to remember last week, landing an astonishing 39 double-figure fish topped by a 14lb 1oz specimen.

The amazing haul was made by pals Gary Whelan, John Mott, Shaun Swift, Glen Drummond, Phil Marsden and Dean Stewart during a two-day visit to the renowned Collingham stretch of the River Trent.  

The lads, who are backed by GW Rig Solutions, used 5oz-6oz leads or swimfeeders, 2ft-long braided hooklengths and Dave Mallin pungent squid boilies on the hook.

They also banked numerous fish under 10lb during the action-packed session, but it was John who bagged the biggest of the entire trip on the second day.

Roach tops mixed bag

There are few more enjoyable methods of catching fish than by trotting a stick float down a river, as Adam Fisher did to bank this fine roach last week.

A day trip to the River Itchen proved fruitful for the Angling Dreams boss, who caught bream, chub and sea trout as well as the immaculate 1lb 10oz roach. 

“I knew it was a good fish so until I got it to the surface, my heart was in my mouth. Once it was finally in the net I wasso relieved,” said Adam, from Herefordshire. 

He took the roach on a single red maggot, mounted on a size 18 Drennan Carp Maggot hook attached to 3lb line.

Not too late for bream!

The capture of one of the biggest bream of the year, along with many other huge fish, proves that it’s not too late to smash your personal best.

Temperatures might be dropping, but specialist Steve Stones banked a 17lb 6oz slab, his biggest-ever, on his only bite during a 48-hour session at a large Midlands stillwater.

The 45-year-old freelance journalist and Korum consultant from Stamford, Lincs, beat his previous personal best for the species by just over 2lb.

Fishing at 50yds, Steve did the damage using a double imitation corn hookbait, fished over particles, pellets, 10mm boilies, dead maggots and groundbait.

“Line bites started at 1.30am, with the bobbins on both rods rising right to the top before falling back down again, repeatedly, for 30 minutes,” said Steve. 

“It was driving me crazy, but after 30-odd nights on the water this year with just two bream and a carp to show for my efforts I didn’t want to risk striking a liner as there were clearly a few fish out there feeding on the spot.

“Finally, at 2am, one of the bobbins rose to the top and stayed there, and when the freespool on the reel clicked a couple of times,  I picked up the rod and lifted into a heavy, plodding weight which came to the net like a typical big bream. Looking into the mesh, I could see that it was in a different league to any bream I’d ever had before. It was ridiculously fat!

“I was beginning to think I’d missed my chance for the year, but this just shows there’s still time to catch a big one,” he added.

Mike Townsend proved that you don’t have be out all night to catch big bream when a couple of short day sessions produced 15 slabs topped by a 13lb 10oz fish from a Yorkshire water. A feeder containing chopped worm fished alongside a lobworm tail nicked on to a size 16 hook was the successful combination for Mike.

All his fish were beaten with a simple set-up made from 8lb line, a 5lb fluorocarbon hooklink and a size 16 hook.

Adopting the same tactics as Mike was Mark Doherty, who landed fish weighing 13lb 5oz,
12lb 10oz, 11lb 15oz and 10lb 12oz.

The Worcester Angling Centre-backed angler also added a 9lb fish to his tally during a session to remember on a Wiltshire stillwater.

The Swindon-based rod fished with his dad, Malcolm, who also netted a 10lb 12oz slab during the same session. 

All their fish were taken using a Method feeder topped with pellets and boilies. 

Laying down a big carpet of feed soon whipped the bream into a frenzy for Matthew Tann, who finished a recent session with a fine personal-best fish weighing 12lb 10oz.

Arriving at the venue close to his Hampshire home at first light, the Drennan-backed angler quickly put down a big bed of hemp, oats, casters and other particles to try to prompt a reaction from the lake’s resident bream.

A Method feeder baited with a double pop-up corn hookbait was dropped over the top of his loosefeed and the shoals responded almost instantly. As well as the big one, Matthew also banked specimens weighing 8lb 8oz, 9lb 3oz and 9lb 12oz.

IMPORTANT: Price error on this week's Angling Times

Owing to a printing error, the wrong price has been printed on the front cover this week’s Angling Times, October 25th 2016 issue. The correct price is £1.99. If you have been charged £2.99 please call 01733 395107 or email mary-ann.payne@bauermedia.co.uk immediately. Thank you.

Marsh Farm crucian scales exactly 4lb

This pristine 4lb crucian put a smile on Chris Petter’s face during a visit to the UK’s most famous venue for the species.

Godalming Angling Society’s Marsh Farm Fishery has provided countless visiting anglers with their fish of a lifetime.

Hampshire angler Chris spent a day on Johnson’s Lake, where he fished an imitation caster on a size 16 Drennan Super Specialist hook in conjunction with helicopter rigs and 4lb hooklinks. 

Sellout predicted for new £50,000 winner-takes-all series

The creator of a big-money match series has set his sights on a sellout after hundreds of tickets were snapped up within days of the official launch.

Angling entrepreneur Phil Briscoe gave the angling calendar a major boost last month when he unveiled the brand new Golden Reel tournament, promising that the champion would walk away with a minimum £50,000 first prize.

With several other established big-money events such as Fish O’Mania and Maver Match This already on the agenda, question marks arose as to whether there was room for another competitor – but those doubts have been instantly quashed.

Early ticket sales have shocked the organisers, and Larford Lakes boss Phil told Angling Times: “We always expected the event to be popular but we never thought we’d sell as many tickets as we have in the first few days.

“The response has been fantastic and it’s clear that the Golden Reel has created a lot of excitement.

“I think we can surprise a few people and quickly become the number one tournament on offer in the UK.

“It’s early days yet, but I see no reason why the competition won’t be a sellout.”

The grand final will be staged at Larford Lakes on Saturday, August 19, 2017, with the winners of the 24 qualifiers battling it out for the title. Plans have also surfaced for a separate one-off contest to take place on the Sunday of the same weekend.

“We are planning a tackle village where the top manufacturers can display their latest gear, and those exhibitors will have the chance to enter a special four-man team event,” added Phil.

For details or to buy tickets visit www.goldenreelangling.co.uk

A ‘maizing’ quick hit at Farriers

Two bites in two hours on particles saw Duncan Arrandale bank two thirties in quick succession.

The 42-year-old Wychwood and Richworth consultant found the fish in the mood for maize at his favourite Farriers Lake in Gloucestershire.

He bagged a 39lb 12oz common, typical of the specimens found in the Carp Society-controlled venue, and a 32lb 4oz mirror.

The Evesham angler fed about half-a-kilo of the yellow grains and presented three pieces on his rigs.

He said: “I had seen fish bubbling close in and managed to locate a small, hard, clear spot amid the weed nearby. 

“I baited fairly heavily, making sure the carp were aware that there was some easy food near where they’d been grubbing about in the weed, and to account for nuisance fish eating some of it. 

“I had two bites in two hours the following morning and then the spot died a death, with the fish seeming to push further out into the lake.”

Huge Grafham pike

Gavin Watts’ predator fishing season began in style when he slipped the net under this huge pike.

He hooked it during a lure fishing session on the Western Arm of Grafham Water and it tipped the scales at 29lb 14oz. 

It’s the biggest pike to be boated since the Cambridgeshire venue opened its doors to predator anglers on September 1. 

Grafham’s predator season is open until the end of January. Anyone who wants to book on can do so by calling the lodge on: 01480 810531.

It’s ninth time lucky for big Severn barbel

After blanking eight times on the Lower Severn, Adam Coterill returned for a ninth to claim this 15lb 10oz barbel. 

The Worcester angler fished a 15ft-deep slack just before darkness with a free-running feeder outfit complete with pellets, groundbait and double 15mm boilies on the hook. 

Said Adam: “After a missed bite I put the rod back on the rest and five minutes later the personal-best fish bolted downstream.”

Triple specimen chub hit in a single week from Throop

Jim Quartermain enjoyed the fishing week of a lifetime when he banked a 2lb roach, a 14lb 2oz barbel and this plump 6lb 8oz chub. 

Targeting various lengths of the Dorset Stour at Throop, Jim alternated between float and leger tactics with pellets to get the all-important bites. 

On the first night of his session he bested the double-figure barbel using a light bomb outfit, while the chub and roach fell to trotted pellets just a couple of days later.

River roach run riot!

An incredible 500lb of float-caught roach tops a long list of redfin hauls this week as venues nationwide prove why sport with the popular species is at an all-time high.

Venues from West Yorkshire all the way down to the South West have been delighting visiting anglers, while those fishing a contest on the River Great Ouse in Bedfordshire were treated to some of best roach fishing of their lives as they filled their nets with roach and dace.

There were more than 20 weights of roach and dace into double figures during the Bedford Hospital Cup, staged on popular club stretches along the upper river, and the top four anglers shared almost 80lb of prime silverfish, all caught on traditional float tactics.

“The roach fishing this year has been the best ever,” said Milton Keynes Angling Association chairman Trevor Johnson.

“This match is perfect proof, but this is just the tip of the iceberg – big nets of roach are being caught up and down the entire river.

“I believe the roach boom on this venue, and countless other waterways across the country, is down to the ongoing silverfish stockings carried out by the Environment Agency.”

The River Trent is another in a long line of rivers that have seen the huge shoals of roach they were historically famous for make a welcome return.

Anglers been flocking to Trent hotspots Burton Joyce, Long Higgin and Gunthorpe to take nets to 20lb-plus of roach on floatfishing tactics, and the owner of a local tackle shop has revealed that sales of traditional roach baits bronze maggots, hemp and tares are on the up.

“Roach catches on the river have been exceptional. It’s not only about quantity either, as there are so many big individual fish being landed too,” said Tim Aplin, who runs Matchman Supplies Angling Centre in Nottingham.

“All the areas that used to produce big catches of roach back in the Trent’s heyday are back in form, and more and more anglers are now fishing for them. It’s great to see,” he said.

“This is reflected in the fact that our bait sales for those visiting the river have increased in line with the general improvement of fishing on the Trent.”

Moving further north, 25lb catches of roach on the stick float have become a common occurrence on the River Calder in West Yorkshire.

It’s this sheer quality of sport that is seeing anglers regularly travel more than 100 miles in order to take part in the weekly contests held on the river around the Mirfield area.

“We get anglers travelling from Newcastle, Nottingham and Manchester to fish here.

“Every week matches on the Calder are being won with between 17lb and 25lb of roach,” said Mirfield Angling Club president Martin Highe.

“There aren’t many better ways to spend a day’s fishing than with a float rod in your hand, catching quality roach.”

Emotional personal best carp weighs 53lb 8oz

Craig McEvoy’s storming 2016 has continued with an emotional session at the Avenue.

Back in May, the Black Country carper landed five forties and three thirties in the same session at Acton Burnell, but his lastest trip to an RH Fisheries venue produced a new UK personal best.

In 48 hours at the Shropshire syndicate water, Craig caught a 53lb 8oz mirror plus three others of 35lb 8oz, 32lb 4oz and 27lb before packing up to go to a family funeral.

“I had to pack up for midday on the final morning as I had my uncle’s funeral to attend,” said Craig. “I had three fish on the final morning, which included the fifty that I caught in the final hour of the session.

“It sure was an emotional day.”

Craig fed a total of 4kg of Mainline Cell boilies and fished matching hookbaits on size 8 Korda Kurv Shank hooks tied to 15lb Korda IQ2 fluorocarbon.

Huge roach from famed carp water

This 2lb 14oz roach proves that specimen fisheries hold much more than just big carp.

Captor Luke Sparkes was fishing a carp match on Brasenose 2 on the award-winning Linear Fisheries in Oxfordshire when he hooked the fish of a lifetime.

The Grimsby rod cast out a small bunch of maggots over a bed of red grubs that he’d introduced 120 yards out on the venue which has an ever-growing reputation for producing big roach, bream and tench.

“I couldn’t believe my eyes when the big roach popped up. This is a truly special fish to me,” he said.

“Even though I was after carp I aim to fish with rigs that give me the chance of catching other species too, as I class myself as an all-round angler.”