Angling Times Netbusters: Your best catches!
The first two casts during a day out on a Fenland waterway produced this cracking pair of rudd weighing 1lb 11oz and1lb 6oz.
Despite poor conditions, Drennan’s Ryan Hayden banked fish to a best of 2lb 1oz and many more smaller rudd on a bread hookbait.
Top Tip: “I caught most of the fish on bread flake, but about a foot under the surface because of the tough conditions.”
This immaculate 12lb barbel kicked off the new river season in style for Korum’s Adam Firth.
Fishing the River Trent, near Nottingham, the Midlands angler had a screaming take at midday, an hour after he’d plannied to reel in!
“This stretch is renowned for only producing barbel during the night. With the river low and clear, bites are hard to come by at the moment, so this was a right result,” he said.
A Code Red 15mm boilie was the successful hookbait, fished mid-river on a 2ft hooklink of 15lb Xpert Power Braid and a size 6 Korum Xpert Power hook.
Top Tip: “I was planning to reel in at 11am and spend the afternoon walking the stretch – I’m glad I didn’t. Lesson learned.”
A carp fishing session threw up a nice surprise for Sandie Cornell when she hooked this 3lb 5oz crucian.
The Bedfordshire based angler was fishing on Shefford & District Angling Association’s Broom Lake when the prized specimen took a liking for her boilie hookbait. The fish was weighed and witnessed by members of the club who identified it as a true specimen after a lateral line scale count.
TOP TIP: Small, bright coloured 10mm boilie hookbaits are great crucian carp attracters
Somerset’s Burton Springs Fishery produced this impressive 5lb 7oz eel for Steve Briggs.
This was the biggest fish of many that he caught from the popular complex, and he also admitted to losing a much bigger specimen at the net during his productive visit.
All the fish were taken on a small rudd deadbait from swim 1 on the Specimen Carp Lake.
Top Tip: “To pull in the eels I packed a maggot feeder with chopped oily fish.”
Anthony Gregory’s River Lea bream from King’s Weir wasn’t weighed, but he estimated it to be into double figures.
It was fooled on a snowman rig with a Spicy Squid boilie, coupled with an anchovy pop-up.
“This is a pb for me and it was the first time I’ve been happy to pull a bream in,” he admitted.
Top Tip: “A snowman rig works well on the rivers as it keeps the bait slightly off bottom so that it wavers in the flow.”
A low river didn’t stop Darren Poole catching this 14lb 1oz barbel.
The Essex angler, a baliff for the Fishers Green stretch of the River Lea, used a bait dropper to introduce a bed of CC Moore Hemp & Krill and then fished a 20mm boilie over the top.
“The light was just starting to go when my tip bounced around as the fish ripped off,”
he said.
Top Tip: “If the river is low then head for the oxygenated areas because this is where the barbel will be.”
Catching a double-figure barbel is a big achievement, but catching one on the float is something many anglers only dream of.
Cambridgeshire’s Andrew Field has every right to look pleased after he used one of his home-made floats to land this 10lb 8oz fish, part of a six-fish haul.
The float fishing specialist caught all his fish on a rod he built himself, and he alternated maggot and caster hookbaits.
Top Tip: “Balanced tackle is the key to catching barbel on the float. I use 5lb line tied straight through to a size 14 Drennan Super Spade hook.”
The River Irwell isn’t exactly known for its big barbel but Lancashire rod Eric Owens, from Bury, gave food for thought to local specimen anglers with this 11lb 7oz specimen.
The chairman of Little Britain Anglers was fishing his own club’s stretch of the waterway in an area where he had seen barbel spawning last summer.
Using a running lead rig with lobworm, his tip was pulling round as the huge fish tore off downstream.
TOP TIP: “Walk the river as much as possible and spot the fish to help you target the right areas.”
A long walk to locate the fish paid dividends for Andy Waters when he landed four huge rudd, topped by this 2lb 2oz specimen.
The Lowestoft rod roved the Fen drains and after spotting some fish he cast out a piece of crust. and within minutes bagged specimens of 2lb 1oz, 1lb 15oz and 1lb 14oz. The following day he had the rudd pictured.
Top Tip: “On the drains you have to travel light and be prepared to walk to find the fish.”
