World predator event at Grafham Water

Gary Palmer’s huge 36lb 6oz pike

Gary Palmer’s huge 36lb 6oz pike

Angling Times readers are being given the chance to win some of the biggest cash prizes in predator fishing with the launch of a new lure fishing event.
Prizes worth £18,000 will be up for grabs when the first-ever UK qualifier for the hugely popular World Predator Classic (WPC) kicks off on Sunday, August 21 at Grafham Water Park in Cambridgeshire.
Hordes of anglers from across Europe have already signed up to the England World Predator Classic Boat & Kayak Qualifier, which will see the winners walk away with an all-expenses-paid entry into next year’s £70,000 World Predator Classic (WPC) held in Holland.
The ‘open to all’ qualifier, which has been organised by former England Lure International Gary Palmer, will become one of the richest non-match fishing competitions on the UK angling calendar, but Gary believes this is just the start of something huge.
“The popularity of species such as pike, perch and zander has hit an all-time high and the call for more high-profile lure events like this has become greater each year,” he said.
“The WPC has grown immensely since it started three years ago, and qualifiers have already taken place elsewhere in Europe – next year we will have one in Wales and Scotland.
“Although anyone can enter the WPC, anglers are required to use their own boat.
“That can prove expensive and difficult, so the qualifier will give more average anglers the chance to attend.”
Gary tasted success for himself in this year’s WPC just a few weeks ago, winning the largest fish award with the capture of a monster 35lb 6oz pike (pictured).
Fishing on the famous Hellevoetsluis Lake ,Tokar-backed Gary tempted the giant predator on a 4ins Spro Bomy Shaker lure.
The WPC Qualifier isn’t the only lure fishing event to be held next month. The weekend of August 6/7 will see dozens of kayak anglers take to the water in Northamptonshire for the Pitsford Kayak Grand Slam.
The competition, which is another ‘open to all’ event, has been arranged by kayak angler Dane Wood, who warmed up for the event by netting a giant personal-best 5lb perch from
an unknown water in the Cotswolds while fishing with the Ocean Kayak UK Fishing Team.

Local knowledge pays off with 21lb Lakes pike

Geoff Birtwistle had every reason to smile when he slipped the net under this immaculate 21lb pike.

The Bury angler is a season ticket holder at the popular Esthwaite Water Trout Fishery in Cumbria and made his knowledge count when he tempted the predator after fishing a float-legered mackerel from a boat.

The pike season on the venue finishes on March 31 and reopens again on October 1.

For more information on the venue visit: www.hawkesheadtrout.com or call: 01539 436541

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‘Gut feeling’ leads to 31lb pike capture

Mike Lyddon demonstrated perfectly why trusting your instincts is vital to catching a new personal best when he won the battle with this stunning 31lb pike.
Perch were his initial target, but after getting what he described as a ‘hunch’ that told him that a big pike was on the cards, he stuffed some deadbaits into his rucksack and made his way to a large stillwater in the south of the UK.
Having found a small weedbed surrounded by 8ft of water, the experienced Gardner Tackle-backed all-rounder cast out a float-legered joey mackerel hookbait.
Mike was just minutes away from moving swims because he doesn’t tend to favour coloured water for targeting pike – but then the huge personal best fell into his trap.
“Every now and again I get a feeling about the species I should be going for, and even though I intended to try for perch something inside me said it wasn’t the right thing to do. I’ve learned to listen to these hunches,” said Mike.
“I had a 6lb pike and then the water started to colour up, so I gave it another five minutes. Just as I was going to reel in, it rattled off.
“The fish plodded around and when it rolled on the surface I could see just one point of my trebles was nicked into its bottom jaw. As I drew it over the net, it shook the hook.
“It rolled over and was as wide as a dog across the back. Then I realised how close I came to losing it.”
The fish smashed his previous personal best that stood at 23lb 10oz. It was beaten with a rig made from 50lb braid, a 40lb wire trace and size 4 trebles.


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.”


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.”


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.


Chew does it again with 41lb predator

Carl Garrett has joined an elite band of pike anglers by landing his second fish over 40lb – as yet again Chew Valley Lake confirmed its dominance of the UK’s predator scene.
The pike, weighing 41lb, was boated by the highly-respected big-fish angler from Somerset during a session on the incredible South West reservoir, enabling Carl to join the very select group who can lay claim to two pike over the 40lb mark.
His first was taken back in 1988 from the legendary Welsh water Llandegfedd Reservoir, and tipped the scales at 44lb 8oz.
Twenty eight years later Carl made it an historic double at Bristol Water-controlled Chew when, just minutes after he switched his mackerel hookbait for a smelt, the pike struck.
“John, the fishery manager, came around doing routine hookbait checks, so I reeled mine in and noticed one of my mackerel wasn’t looking great. So I put on a smelt, cast it out and it ripped off as soon as I put the rod down,” said Carl.
“I was fishing on my own, and as the huge fish came past me I saw the trebles were only just hanging on in there. It takes a lot for my legs to go, but I have to say that at this point they did.”
Carl’s incredible pike fishing career has seen him land 21 specimens over 30lb, including the two forties. His latest specimen, which measured 45ins, was boated on a simple float-leger rig made from a 40lb braided mainline, a wire trace and size 6 trebles.
“I’ve been fishing Chew since it opened, but catching another pike over 40lb had never been a target for me. Just to get a few takes here is a result,” Carl continued.
“Catching this fish on my own from a boat was a special moment because I was able to just enjoy the experience.
“Later I reflected on what had happened – it was a pretty incredible catch, especially from a venue in my home county.
“Everyone has been so kind and really complimentary about my achievements, for which I am very grateful,” he said.
Carl Garrett’s historic capture came just a week after Chew produced another huge pike weighing 40lb 4oz to Kent angler Guy Elson.
These latest forties have been backed up by 20 confirmed thirties, all of them caught during the 2016 pike trials being held at the reservoir.


40lb pike tops a massive opening week at Chew

A huge 40lb 4oz pike caught on a homemade rod tops an incredible week at the famous Chew Valley Reservoir, which also saw a record-breaking brace of predators landed.
It was the first time that Guy Elson had ever fished at the Somerset venue, and he christened his new hand-built rod with the specimen that smashed his personal best by more than 25lb during the latest pike fishing trials. It also saw an incredible venue record brace of fish weighing 37lb and 35lb taken from Picnic Area 2 off the North Shore.
Guy was fishing with boat partner and close friend Craig Holiehead, and the fish-of-a-lifetime provided the only pike of the day for the duo at the Bristol Water-controlled venue, which produced a total of 19 predators reported over the 30lb barrier, as well as the 40lb 4oz fish.
“We turned up with a bucket and a couple of rods each at this vast venue, surrounded by other anglers who were obviously super serious about their piking. That was a little daunting, to say the least,” said Guy, who’s based in Kent.
“The weather turned nasty, so we headed around the back of an island and cast float-legered mackerel baits into a hole about 18ft deep.
“I had a slow, ponderous take, and when the fish began to take line off a tight clutch I knew this was no ordinary pike.
“This was the first fish on my new rod, my first visit to Chew and probably the biggest pike I’ll ever catch. It just goes to show what an incredible venue this is. Anyone with a bait in the water has a chance of a dream fish like this.”
It proved yet again why ‘Chew’ is regarded as the UK’s finest and most consistent big-pike venue after producing many fish over the 35lb mark, one of them topping the scales at 35lb 12oz and landed by Somerset’s Andy Berwick.
Angling Times columnists Martin Bowler and Steve Rowley were among the many visitors who banked pike over the 30lb barrier.
“Chew is a factory for producing huge pike, and there’s nowhere else that comes close,” said Martin.
“If I’d caught a fish of 34lb 12oz at any other venue it would be a safe bet that it would be the best of the day, but I think the day I was fishing it was the third biggest, which really puts into perspective how amazing this venue is.
Steve Rowley joined Martin for his two-day session and also got among the seemingly endless stock of huge predators when he won the battle with this 34lb 2oz (above) with size 4 Drennan semi barbless trebles.
His fish fell to a sardine hookbait just as the light began to fade on their final day’s fishing.
“Though social media and the press may give people the impression that Chew is an easy water, this is far from the truth,” said Steve.
“The fact that most anglers’ expectations are high when they fish Chew makes it twice as tough if they fail here. But the truth is that anyone can apply for a ticket and have a shot at a huge pike.”
There’s always a special buzz among the dedicated staff at Chew when pike anglers from all over the country descend on the venue for the highly anticipated pike fishing trials.
And with eight days left of the winter trials, and a venue record that stands at 44lb 6oz, many believe there’s no other venue in the country that’s got a better chance of producing over the current 46lb 13oz British best.
“It’s always really exciting for everyone at this incredible fishery,” said fisheries manager John Harris.
“The sheer number of huge pike caught on a daily basis never ceases to amaze us. I’m sure that the remaining days of fishing in February are going to produce the goods... something really special is always a possibility.”


Big pike on herring

Well-known predator fishing fanatic Ant Glascoe Jnr showed that he’s not only one of the best at catching big pike on lures when he boated four fish to a best of just over 20lb.
The Manchester angler specialist loves nothing better than catching pike and perch on artificial baits, but his latest haul was taken while float-legering a herring hookbait.
The 20-pounder and three other high doubles were taken during a session at a glacial lake.


Pike personal best from River Wye

This mint-condition pike was the result of Lewis Baldwin’s first piking session of the winter and came from the beautiful River Wye.
It weighed in at 23lb 4oz and sets a new river personal best for the experienced all-rounder from Kingston-upon-Hull.
A BaitBox sardine fished on a rig that incorporated a 20lb Gardner Hydro Tuff mainline also proved the downfall for another pike weighing 18lb 8oz.
“The seemingly endless floods have meant I haven’t been able to get out much, so to have a result like this is a real bonus to say the least,” said Lewis.


Lure-caught pike one of Germany’s biggest

This monster pike estimated to weigh up to 55lb has been caught on a lure.
It’s one of the biggest ever landed in Germany and was taken by Quantum-backed angler Bari Latifi when he targeted a club lake with his new belly boat.
The huge predator was over 4ft long and took more than 20 minutes to land. It was fooled by Bari’s Quantum Pelagic Shad lure in the Game Over pattern.
It was Quantum team angler Fredrik Harbort who invented the Pelagic Shad. “I knew that this special lure would be responsible for a record catch sooner or later,” he said.
“This monster is beyond comparison with any fish I have seen and without doubt is one of the heaviest pike ever caught in Germany.”


46lb 8oz pike rocks record

A record-shaking pike weighing 46lb 8oz has been banked.
The specimen - just 5oz short of Roy Lewis’ long-standing British record - was taken by keen predator angler Darren Clark last weekend at Wykeham Lakes near Scarborough.
It’s the sixth time the predator has been caught and it became the largest pike ever landed from an English water back in 2014 when it was landed by Wyndon Coole (pictured) at 46lb 11oz.
“For it to come out at a weight like this at this time of the year is incredible and if you consider that it hasn’t reached the full potential of its growth it’s scary to think what this fish could weigh,” said fishery manager Jake Finnigan.
“The fish is still in immaculate condition and we are very proud that we have such pristine pike that could easily do the record.”
Wykeham’s Trout Lake that produced this incredible fish has operated on a syndicate basis for the last three years.
Former pike record holder Neville Ficking has fished the venue for the last four years and he was on the bank at the famous water when he was contacted by Angling Times.
“This venue never ceases to amaze me and I know that this isn’t the only big pike that’s swimming around in here,” said Neville. “Considering this fish has been caught a few times it really is an incredible pike, but I’m convinced there are other fish in here to get excited about.”