Five minutes with Paul Whitehouse and Bob Mortimer.

Angling and comedy have seldom crossed paths over the years.

So you’ll be delighted to hear that Bob Mortimer and Paul Whitehouse have teamed up to create a brand new TV show – and it’s all about fishing!

The BBC2 series ‘Whitehouse and Mortimer: Gone Fishing’ runs over six episodes and takes us on the hilarious adventures of Paul and Bob as they sample fishing across some of the country’s most breathtaking venues.

Angling Times caught up with the comedy duo to discuss their fishing backgrounds and what brought them together for TV.

Q) Have you worked together before? What was it like working together on this show? And what was it like working alongside your friend and fellow comedian?

Bob Mortimer: “We’re old friends, we’ve done bits of shows, and appeared on live shows, but really we’re great friends. After my triple heart bypass I became a bit of recluse – so Paul took me fishing to get me out. It’s the most fun I’ve ever had in 30 years of filming! It was hard to film at times because we were laughing so much!”

Paul Whitehouse: “So you’ve just spoken to the half-wit! We’ve been together from day one, Bob’s an old friend. We lost touch, as people do, and after his heart problems I knew he was pretty down – so I decided to take him fishing as I knew he used to like it. This is where the idea from the show came from – I thought it’d be funny to film two old gits being kids on the river bank. I’ve had hearts problems as well, so there was a chance if we hooked a double-figure barbel then we might drop dead!”

Q) What can viewers expect to see in Gone Fishing that they won’t have seen before? 

BM: “Paul’s a massive star, but people don’t know much about him, so you will get to see him in his natural environment. Our intention was to portray just how beautiful England is.”

PW: “You’ll see us relating as mates rather than characters. I have to be bossy with him when it comes to the fishing, but really I think it shows quite a sweet relationship.”

Q) What’s the funniest thing you’ve seen or done while fishing?

BM: “Me failing to land a fish is pretty amusing. I’m getting on a bit and it’s amazing the sheer number of times I’d fall over or fall in due to my lack of balance and physical ability! I’d also lose a lot of tackle! We were serious about the fishing, but then we would head to the pub after – which is what it’s all about.”

PW: “I’m bossy with Bob, I’m always telling him ‘don’t do that!’ or ‘mind the rod!’ and he’s always falling over – I’ll be concentrating on the fishing and all I hear is crash, or bang or splash!”

Q) What are your fishing backgrounds like? Are you both keen anglers? 

BM: “I always enjoyed it when I was young, but it’s a distant memory – it’s nice to see even when you’re nearly 60 you can recreate those same days.” 

PW: “I’ve been fishing since I was five, so nearly 55 years! My first fish was a roach from the River Lea. My dad was a keen fisherman, and he cast out a porcupine quill with bread and passed me the rod – he said tell me when it goes under, and it did just as he passed me the rod!”

Q) What’s your favourite fish species and what was your favourite capture during the series? 

BM: “Really I am new to it, but I caught a barbel of over 10lb which was fabulous. It put up one hell of a fight – they’re a superb, powerful fish. That was also the first time I got my fishing and landing technique right. Also tench – I had seen pictures of them before, but never realised just how beautiful they are – an amazing fish.”

PW: “I’d say there are two really. I had a tench about 6lb on my last cast of a two-day session. It was lunchtime and the crew were all packed up, but luckily there was a drone camera which filmed it all. I fished for tench a lot as a kid – I don’t think you can beat them. Second was the moment I caught a 10lb bass. Again, this was on the last cast – and it really was as the skipper called it. People were being seasick – not me by the way – and all of a sudden, bang!  It was like hooking a shark or a tuna! I also enjoyed catching roach from the River Wensum in Norfolk as it reminded me of being a kid.”

BM: “In terms of species they are all great, to be honest. I’ve always had a real fascination with tench, and although I don’t fish very often for carp, you can catch them in several different ways.” 

PW: “If I could only fish for one thing it’d be trout – I do enjoy fly fishing and you can catch trout from a variety of locations, from fast or slow rivers, to small lakes or huge reservoirs.”

Q) Would you consider fishing with each other outside of the show?

BM: “We do, we’re going fishing next week, for trout on the Derbyshire Wye. We visited during the show and I came very close to catching one, so I’m going back for revenge – plus it’s a beautiful place, I loved it there!”

PW: “Definitely, it’s how the show came about. We were already going as mates, and will continue to do so in the future.”

Q) You must’ve visited a few destinations throughout filming. What was your favourite place? What made it so special?

BM: “The weather can dictate a lot, but I adored the Derbyshire Wye. We also fished from a boat at Christchurch harbour, and we both caught sea-trout from it – something I never thought I’d do, that!” 

PW: “The main point of the series was to highlight how beautiful rural England is. It’s not a ‘how to’ series, neither of us is good enough for that... I sort of know what I’m doing! I enjoyed visiting the Wensum and reliving my childhood on the River Wye in Herefordshire – sadly, my father passed away last year, and so that show was slightly dedicated to his memory.”

Q) Do you think there will be a second series? If so, what would you both do differently? 

BM: “Who knows? It depends who watches it. Because it’s fishing, a big percentage will be put off watching but I hope they do, and I hope a few people go fishing because of it. I hope it improves the way people look at fishing – if not they may just call us a couple of ****s!”

PW: “You know what? I’d love to do another one!”

Five minutes with Alan Henshaw.

Calverton Fish Farm introduces around half-a-million fish into our lakes, canals and river systems every year. Ever wondered how much time and effort goes into rearing some of our most beloved species?

Alan Henshaw is the team leader at the Nottingham-based National Coarse Fish Rearing Unit, where he works daily with a team of dedicated individuals to help grow the fish of the future. 

Angling Times caught up with Alan to pick his brains on the daily goings on at the Environment Agency-run fish farm, and the work that’s put into making sure our rivers are stocked in preparation for the new season. 

Q. So Alan, what’s it like being the boss of a huge fish farm like Calverton? What goes on in the daily life of someone who breeds freshwater fish?

Alan Henshaw: It’s a great privilege to work at Calverton as part of such a fantastic team. The working day and working year are very much dictated by the seasons. My role is varied and no two consecutive days are ever the same. Each year we stock around 450,000 fish of nine species into waters throughout England, and this can only be achieved by the hard work and dedication of my staff.

Q. Not many people know how river species are maintained in the UK. What’s the rough process or guidelines you follow to ensure the next generation of river fish is maintained?

AH: Many of our industrialised rivers have improved dramatically in water quality terms over the last 30 years. Concerted restocking from Calverton has accelerated the restoration of the natural fish stocks in these waters, and many viable fisheries have been created.

Q. The river season is now here. How has Calverton been preparing for the new season?

AH: The team here are all anglers, so we’re looking forward to the new season. Currently, we’re stocking the ponds with the year-old fish that we’ll be releasing into the wild this coming winter. We’ve also spawned eight of the nine species that we produce here and the youngsters are growing very quickly. In another 18 months (November and December, 2019) we’ll be stocking these out into lakes and rivers all over England.

Q. Almost half-a-million fish are introduced by the Environment Agency each year into our rivers – what species are generally stocked?

AH: Here at Calverton we rear nine different species of fish. We start the year in February, spawning grayling and dace, followed in early May by chub, barbel, roach and bream (all the river species). Additionally we produce a number of species for lakes. From mid-May we spawn crucians and rudd, and we finish off the season by spawning tench in June.

Q. What’s the largest stocking of fish carried out by Calverton in recent years? Where did they go?

AH: We have done numerous large stockings in the past few years. The River Leadon in Gloucestershire suffered a serious pollution in 2017 and so far, we’ve stocked more than 42,000 chub, roach and dace back into the river.

Q. How have Calverton-stocked river fish been getting on over the last few years? Are they thriving? Are they marked so that anglers can tell they are stocked fish?

AH: We go to great lengths to ensure that all our fish are fit for purpose. They are reared in natural ponds with continuously flowing water which ensures they are extremely fit and adapted to life in the river. We also feed them on the highest quality food, a mixture of “nature’s best” and specially formulated pellets. Most of our stockings are monitored, and we’ve had great results with the fish growing to adulthood and spawning themselves. For us, that’s what success looks like.

Q. Has the demand from angling clubs to have more fish stocked into their waters risen this year?

AH: All fish produced at Calverton are used by the Environment Agency to restock waters. We don’t supply fish direct to angling clubs, as all the stockings are carried out at the request of our area fisheries teams.

Q. There are lots of threats to our UK river fish nowadays – what’s the biggest concern, and why?

AH: A wide range of activities and incidents can have an impact on our fish and our rivers. That’s why the support of anglers and fishing licence funding is so vital. 

All fisheries licence income is used to fund work to protect and improve fish stocks and fisheries. Our work includes responding to fish kills and, where we can, rescuing fish; improving habitats for fish and facilities for anglers; protecting stocks from illegal fishing; plus fish restocking, eradication of invasive species, and working with partners to encourage people to take up fishing for the first time. 

Q. Particularly on the River Trent, anglers have been taking scale samples of barbel and chub they’ve caught and have sent them back to the Environment Agency for analysis. How important is the anglers’ contribution to fish conservation on rivers?

AH: The contribution by anglers to river conservation is absolutely vital. These people are the “eyes and ears” on the bank and are often the first to spot and report any problems. 

All the work here at Calverton is funded by rod licence revenue, and without the support of anglers, we wouldn’t be able to produce fish and stock rivers the length and breadth of England.

Q. What does the future hold for Calverton? Is there a long-term plan to keep producing river fish?

AH: Each year we continue to develop and refine our fish production at Calverton, and we remain the Environment Agency’s sole supplier of coarse fish for restocking rivers. Annually, we produce around 450,000 fish that are used for restocking into rivers following pollution incidents, to help restore fish stocks in recovering rivers and following improvements in habitat. Continued supply of these fish is vital to enable the Agency to carry out its role in protecting, maintaining and improving river fisheries throughout England.

TV COMICS REVEAL NEW SHOW WITH A SERIOUS SIDE...

They're two of the country’s best loved TV comedians, and now Bob Mortimer and Paul Whitehouse have brought the laughs to the bank in a brand new fishing show. 

The six-part BBC2 series ‘Whitehouse and Mortimer: Gone Fishing’ sees the comics travelling the length and breadth of Britain on a string of fishing expeditions where they discuss life, death and comedy-related topics. 

Speaking exclusively to Angling Times, the two friends, who have both suffered serious heart problems, revealed the reasoning behind the show and what viewers can expect to see. 

Paul said: “Before Bob Mortimer and I die of heart disease, we’re going fishing all around the country. 

“I’ve sold it to him by saying fishing is long periods of boredom punctuated by short, sharp periods of incredibly intense boredom. So, as a Middlesbrough fan, he lapped it up!

“But seriously, in the show you’ll see us relating as mates rather than characters. 

“I have to be bossy with him when it comes to the fishing, but really I think it shows quite a sweet relationship between us.”

Bob agreed that the show isn’t just about comedy, and said that the UK’s countryside played an important role in the filming.

He added: “Paul is a massive star, but people don’t know much about him, so you will get to see him in his natural environment. 

“Our intention was to portray just how beautiful England is, and I think we’ve done that really well. Hopefully it’s something the viewers will enjoy – on both a visual and comedic level.”

Whitehouse and Mortimer: Gone Fishing can be seen on BBC2 with the first episode airing on the 20th of June. For updates and air times of each episode, please check the BBC website.

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Whitehouse and Mortimer: Gone Fishing episode by episode...

1) TENCH

Fishing for tench in Norfolk, Bob and Paul share nostalgia for their younger years and reveal how they recently came face to face with their own mortality.

After a brief respite in a local brewery they reluctantly camp down in yurts before fishing again the next day. Will the tench play ball?

2) BARBEL

In Hay-on-Wye the pair fish for barbel. Passing a graveyard, they muse about the future and chat to a local vicar about death and their own funerals. 

Back in the fishing cabin, Bob promises Paul a special treat if they are successful in their angling endeavours.

3) RAINBOW TROUT

In Derbyshire’s beautiful Monsal Valley Paul teaches Bob how to fly fish for wild rainbow trout. 

Bob cooks Paul his very personal recipe of ‘Tuna Melanie’ on the river bank, proving his cooking is more successful than his fishing.

4) ROACH

Paul and Bob fish the River Wensum for roach and realise how age is starting to take its toll as they negotiate the steep banks. But Bob has a plan to help Paul recapture his youth.

Later, in the local pub, they challenge each other to a fishing competition where the winner gets a very special culinary treat.

5) SEA TROUT AND BASS

Paul fishes the famed Bridge Pool in Dorset, hoping to catch sea trout. Arriving late, Bob redeems himself by hooking the first fish of the day. 

Later Paul persuades Bob, not a good sailor, to charter a boat in search of bass. Out at the Needles Paul catches a fish too big for Bob to handle so they head off to a local restaurant to prepare it. Catch Bob’s small cameo as an irritating waiter!

6) PIKE

Paul and Bob decide to try and catch a pike, which is perhaps not the best idea for two men of a certain age with heart problems.

In the cosy cottage where they are staying, they invite a consultant cardiologist to dinner to talk about their medical past and their future, gaining tips on how to live the healthiest life possible. Facing the future, they write a eulogy for each other as the sun sets on their final fishing expedition.

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the whole world will fish on June 23!

World Fishing Day on June 23 will see 20 countries unite in a 24-hour angling marathon across the globe, with no fewer than 32 events being held in the UK.

We spoke to WFD’s executive producer Ed Burgass to gain an insight into what people can expect on the day. 

He said: “The main aim of WFD is to get people to go out, go fishing and share their results across social media using the hashtag #WorldFishingDay

“There are just a few days to go, so make sure you look out for a free fishing event near you at
the Angling Trust website
www.getfishing.org.uk”

Accompanying these nationwide events will be the biggest angling broadcast of all time, hosted and presented by Fishing TV. 

Sign up to the Fishing TV app and you can view the day’s proceedings entirely free. 

“The broadcasts will start at midnight on June 23 with live fishing from Australia, New Zealand and Norway,” Ed added.

“The action from then on will be fast-paced, with footage from locations all over the globe ranging from salmon fishing in Finland to hunting tiger fish on the Zambezi River in South Africa.”

One of the highlights UK anglers will be looking forward to is the Carp Wars competition which will see an eight-hour match unfold between four of the UK’s best carp anglers. 

It takes place at Par Fishery in Essex, and presenter Hassan Khan will keep viewers updated on all fish caught.

Sky TV’s Tight Lines reporter Andy Ford will be traveling around the country with a camera team and is expected to visit at least seven fishing events. For your chance to appear on TV, make sure you get to a WFD event near you. 

These events will be ideal for beginners or experienced anglers, with Level 2 coaches from the Angling Trust on hand to share their knowledge.

To make sure you don’t miss out on any of the World Fishing Day action, visit www.worldfishingday.com for more information. 

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79,000 new young anglers join us!

The future of fishing looks brighter than ever after 79,000 youngsters took up the sport for the first time, Angling Times can reveal.

In a report issued by the Environment Agency it was announced that there was a 53 per cent rise in junior rod licences supplied this year since the law on junior licensing was amended. 

For the 2016/2017 season the age bracket for free junior licences changed from 12-16 to 13-16... meaning that those under the age of 13 don’t need a licence. 

Statistics for that season revealed a 25.7 per cent rise in juniors signing up to the sport – an encouraging sign that the numbers could rise even further over the course of 2018. 

Kevin Austin, head of fisheries at the Environment Agency, told Angling Times:

“Children today have a wealth of technology at their fingertips, and coupled with the costs parents face, it’s easy to see why fewer children are enjoying outdoor activities. 

“With this in mind, we’re really pleased to see that a growing number of young people are now taking up the offer of a free junior licence – helping them to enjoy the great outdoors and this great sport of ours.

“Today’s children are the anglers of tomorrow and it’s important we attract them to the sport early.”1

Target silvers now for big match weights!

Silverfish are threatening to oust carp as the number one species on Britain’s commercial fisheries. 

Reports sent into Angling Times over the last week have revealed match nets of silvers topping the 100lb mark, with some even nudging the 200lb mark – suggesting that carp needn’t always be the automatic target.

The heaviest of these came from the newly-established Springvale Fishing Lakes in Nottinghamshire, where an incredible 191lb bag of ide was weighed in by an angler fishing the Oak Avenue Lake. 

Fishery owner Sue Bloom told Angling Times: “Although it’s more expensive to go down the silver fish route, I have been stocking our lakes with ide for three years, alongside the tench, skimmers, crucians and chub – they are becoming increasingly popular in matches now. 

“You can rely on ide to offer sport in all climates – we have had such a hard winter, and if I had stocked only carp we wouldn’t have had any anglers turn up. 

“To keep a fishery busy you need to support anglers who are retired – and those aged 60 and above can’t always cope with a 10lb carp!”

Another venue that’s renowned for producing stupendous weights of roach and bream in matches is Wold Farm Fisheries in Northamptonshire.

Angling Times asked venue boss Dax Miller if more anglers are now chasing silvers in matches. 

He said: “We’ve had several 200lb-plus match weights recently, and although some of them are carp, the back-up weights of silvers have been phenomenal. They are definitely worth targeting! 

“I’d say it’s an art to catch silvers – anyone can turn up here and catch a carp, but many wouldn’t know how to specifically target the roach.

“We do get the odd silver fish angler but I think they are a rare breed nowadays.

“We also often get media lads coming here for roach features because the sport is so prolific. 

“Personally I love fishing for roach. I’d much rather catch 5lb of roach than 200lb of carp!” 

Commercial ace Des Shipp is renowned for his match winning skills and agrees that silver fish have played an important role in competitions he’s fished. 

He added: “I think there is definitely a place for silvers in matches, perhaps more so in the winter time as the water cools down, but even now anglers are catching 100lb-plus bags of these smaller fish. 

“I think there was a 130lb net of skimmers from Todber Manor last week – that’s awesome fishing! 

“On a lot of venues now the carp are growing too big for matches. They’re wise, you can’t feed a lot, and you’re waiting for a bite – I think people are starting to get bored with that now.”

20,000 polled on the closed season

Total of 20,000 rod licence-holders have been picked at random to take part in a survey on the river closed season.

The study, which was recently released by the Environment Agency, urges those chosen to submit their opinions via an email link so that the authority can gain a tighter understanding of how anglers feel about the potential closed season reform.

However, with 1,191,142 rod licences sold in the 2016/2017 season, some anglers are doubtful whether ‘only’ 20,000 responses will provide a true reflection of how the nation as a whole feels about the situation.

One man who wants the survey to reach a wider audience is river maestro and Angling Times columnist Dave Harrell, who wants to see the closed season scrapped. 

He told us: “I’m disappointed for the majority, and as a member of the trade I haven’t got a vote either!

“I think it’s great what they’re doing, but having worked closely with the EA and Angling Trust, I am a little disappointed it’s being carried out in this way. As far as I know, the EA has around 780,000 contacts on its database – it would have been the perfect opportunity to utilise all those people and assess the situation. 

“My concern is that the email could go out to 19,000 carp anglers who don’t go near a river – how is that an accurate survey? 

“I don’t know why the EA has done it like this. It’s disappointing, as I know a lot of anglers who want to be involved. 

“The EA does want the public’s opinion, but it’s a strange way of going about it – I’d have liked to have seen it done on a larger scale.

“That said, I think the way they’ve done it is good. I’ve seen the layout and it’s a simple system – you simply click the link in the email and it takes you straight to the survey form which asks you a few questions.” 

5 minutes with: Jamie Hughes

Champion match angler Jamie Hughes is all set to attend his eighth Fish O’Mania final, his seventh in a row – but what does it take to be so consistently successful? Angling Times talked to the former three-times Fish O’ winner, angling tutor and MAP man, picking his brains on his match angling career and his love affair with Fish O’Mania…

Q) So Jamie, you’ve qualified for your eighth final, which will be your seventh on the spin. That’s quite an achievement – how do you feel about that? And how hard is it to consistently qualify? 

JH: I do fish a lot of qualifiers, but a lot of luck is still involved – you need to draw the correct peg for a chance. Persistence is key. It’s my goal every year to qualify for a final, and it hasn’t gone that bad so far. 

Q) You certainly are doing something right. How can you be so consistent?

JH: Again, this is down to persistence, it really is key. You have to approach each match differently, but the bottom line is that you have to fish positively – you have to fish to win! There is no point fishing if you don’t have that attitude. There’s no point in finishing second. 

Q) Do you spend much time practising and preparing for events? 

JH: To be honest, having fished for such a long time, I’ll have a rough idea of each venue I go to and how to approach it. In the summer months the events come so thick and fast, you also don’t have the time to practise between events.

Q) What have you learnt in previous Fish O’Mania events or finals that you reckon you can use to your advantage this year?

JH: While you do learn a little from match to match, I try to approach the fishing the same as I always have. I have the same basic approach, which is to keep things simple. I prepare the kit I need to use to win, for example. I’ll choose the line of attack I think will work on the day and go with it – if you end up on Plan C, chances are you aren’t going to win the match.

Q) What’s it like competing at the top level? It must be hard work fishing against other top angler’s week in, week out. 

JH: If I’m honest I’m used to it now – I fish hundreds of matches every year. The Fish O’ finals are a unique atmosphere, with the big crowds and the TV presence – although I do quite enjoy it now! For a newbie I think it can be quite a daunting scene, but now I’ve fished so many I can handle it better, which definitely gives me an advantage.

Q) There must be a lot of pressure to perform in a Fish O’ qualifier or final. How do you cope with it? 

JH: It’s largely down to mindset, and experience definitely helps here. I’ve seen some of the top anglers, people you’d never expect to fall apart, crumble under the pressure of a match. The pressure will always be there, but even if you do sort your head out, in the Fish O’Mania final you then have the added thought of a £50,000 winner’s prize in your mind – which really doesn’t help!”

Q) What are you expecting from this year’s final?

JH: I always like to be confident. If I get in the right mindset, and draw the right peg, then I’ll stand a good chance of winning! That said, it’s at Hayfield this year, so it’s all a little bit unknown – which may change things.

Q) Are there outside factors which affect your chances of winning? 

JH: As I’ve mentioned, peg draw in match fishing is, of course, everything – you can’t catch what’s not in front of you. On the previous venue, Arena, peg draw was essential. What it’ll be like on Island Pool at Hayfield I have no idea. Certain areas of certain lakes are often better than others. I think sometimes crowds can be an issue – they can upset the fish and completely kill your swim. The good thing is, behind me it’s normally my mates and I can turn around and tell them to shut up!    

Q) What advice would you give your younger self? 

JH: Don’t go fishing; it’ll do your head in! Seriously, though, I’d tell myself to enjoy it more. I don’t pleasure fish any more, I wouldn’t know how to. All these high-pressure matches have spoiled that side of things. That said, I have started taking my step son fishing, which is good – chances are I’ll slowly introduce him to the match scene.

Q) Where did it all start? When and how did you get into the match fishing scene? 

JH: I fished club matches on local ponds when I was 14 or 15 years old, and won my first open aged 17 on Burton Mere. I then started doing a lot of team fishing on canals and rivers, but at the age of 25 I decided to try full-on commercial fishing. Luckily at the time commercials were on the rise, as was the introduction of F1s, which I have now learnt so much about – both put me ahead of the game, which has definitely helped my match career. Those F1s are difficult to catch, like roach on a river, and learning to bag a weight of them has improved my carp catch rate tenfold. 

Q) What’s been your most memorable moment so far? 

JH: Definitely my first-ever Fish O’Mania win. I drew the ultimate peg – all of the lake’s barbel were in front of me, and I’d effectively won it after about 2½ hours. If I’m honest it couldn’t have been easier – it was my easiest-ever match win!

Q) Who have you been influenced by the most? Did anyone in particular inspire you to take up competition fishing?

JH: Like lots of people it was my mates, half-a-dozen people, a group of lads who just bounced off each other. It’s a great core of people, the match scene – I end up fishing against the same 30 or 40 anglers who travel the country for match angling. I’ve become very good friends with some of these.

Q) As we know, you’re an angling coach. How did that come about? 

JH: Basically, from me having enough of being a scaffolder for 10 years. I started in 2011 and it was going okay, but after my first Fish O’Mania final win in 2012 it’s been mental – that changed my life forever, putting me in the spotlight.

Shops back line recycling bins

More than 100 tackle shops have signed up to a national initiative to help rid our inland fisheries and coastlines of discarded fishing line. 

Each year an estimated 400 million metres of line are discarded or thrown away, but since 2016 The Anglers National Line Recycling Scheme has been campaigning to help dramatically reduce that number. 

Over the last two years the organisation, which is a collaboration between the Local Independent Sea Anglers group and the Global Ghost Gear Initiative, has been working on a tough advertising strategy to get the word out to the angling community. 

And in the light of the recent milestone being reached – including the support of big-name tackle retailers Angling Direct and Fishing Republic – it’s clear that the group’s hard work is paying off.

Angling Times spoke to ANLRS volunteer Viv Shears about the achievement in engaging with the tackle trade. 

He said: “We’re absolutely are over the moon to have reached this number. 

“As of last Friday (May 4) we have 103 tackle shops signed up in addition to the support from Sparsholt College, six different fisheries, and three corporate supporters in the form of Linear Fisheries, Gardner Tackle and Lee Valley Park Fisheries.

“We are now waiting on the arrival of 10,000 flyers, which are sponsored by Lee Valley Park Fisheries.

“These are being distributed to clubs and syndicates that have asked for information on the scheme for their members.

“We’ve also received a number of direct donations from anglers in support of what we are doing which is great, and the website has gone down well too.”

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How to get involved

Do you want to start recycling your old fishing line but don’t know where your local line recycling points are? If so, please follow these four simple steps: 

1 Head to the ANLRS website at www.anglers-nlrs.co.uk

2 Click on the Recycling Locations tab at the top of the page

3 Scroll through the interactive map to find a tackle shop, angling club or fishery near you with their own line recycling bins

4 Simply bring your line along to the recycling point and discard it in the appropriate bins

The ANLRS is run solely on a voluntary basis. If you would like to contribute to the cause please visit the website and click on the donate button.

Meet england’s next angling stars

England’s match teams are set for a bright future thanks to a scheme designed to find our next international stars.

Talent Pathway was created by the Angling Trust back in 2011 with the aim of identifying and nurturing match fishing talent among youngsters. Its aim is to ensure the continued success of England teams at an international level.

Seven years on and the programme’s success has come to fruition with five students selected to compete in the Under 15s FIPSed World Championships hosted on the Cavo Lama Canal in Italy later this year.

Billy Kirk, Billy Pitman, Callum Jennings, Josh Paling and Sonny Lynn expertly fished their way into the team during a recent regional England U15s trial held at Barston Lakes in Solihull.  

This final selection event brought together 26 anglers from across the country who, over the last six months, have been engaged in three regional training programmes led by some of the top anglers and coaches in the sport – including Matt Godfrey,
Des Shipp and Frankie Gianoncelli. 

England U15s manager Joe Roberts had the challenging task of selecting five anglers from the 26 to represent England on August 3/4 in Italy.

He said: “The trial assessment day was very close to call and it wasn’t until the last 20 minutes that Matt Godfrey and I came to the same conclusion of who would be selected for the U15s England squad for this year’s event. 

“I would like to thank Matt Godfrey, Mick Gibbs and Mike Wilkinson for helping out on the day and all their hard work.

“Billy Kirk and Josh Paling both went to Ireland with the U15s team last year, along with the other squad members new to the team this year. 

“In last year’s Championships we brought home the bronze team medal, so we are hoping to go one better this time round and be back in contention for a podium place.” 

Asked about the success of the Talent Pathway initiative, Joe agreed that all young and aspiring anglers should get involved next year. 

He added: “The Talent Pathway has proved the knockers wrong, and I couldn’t be happier.

“The Angling Trust funds it and all the anglers have to do is turn up at their regional day with their kit and they’ll get one-to-one coaching from top anglers.

“I’d expect and urge any young angler who wants to fish for England at any youth level to attend, get free coaching and throw their hat into the ring.

pro diver Mark Barrow reveals his passion for filming our favourite fish

Have you ever wondered what’s lurking beneath the surface of Britain’s waterways? 

What exactly happens underwater? How does our quarry go about its daily life? Would we catch more if we knew? 

These are all questions we ask ourselves, but who can come up with an answer? Professional diver Mark Barrow has dedicated over 28 years to the cause and was happy to give Angling Times an exclusive insight into his work…  

Q) So Mark, where did it all begin? How long have you been diving? 

The seed was planted when I was eight years old, watching survival programmes on sharks. I always found it fascinating that an alien world within our world existed this then got me thinking about my fishing on rivers and what it must be like underwater. 

I finally trained as a diver at 20 years old, and have now been diving a total of 28 years. I’m trained to instructor level, but I left that side of the industry to concentrate on my freshwater filming – that’s where my passion really lies.

Q) When did the filming start? Was that your intention all along? 

The filming started more or less once I trained using a 35mm underwater camera – these days I use digital 4k cameras. My intention was to film for myself and have a video library of memories. It was my wife Julie who mentioned I should start publishing my work – I have to confess she actually came up with the name Beneath British Waters!

Once I published my findings, I was surprised at the positive response I got. Fishery owners started to get in touch and ask if we could film on their waters. 

Q) Are you an angler or just intrigued by what’s underwater?  

Good question! Basically I do it because I love the underwater world, more so if it’s freshwater.

This is not a paid business, and all the filming I do is funded out of my own pocket, but having the chance to film in areas where others would not be able to is truly amazing. 

I am indeed an angler, having fished since I was eight years old. I love my barbel fishing, but I enjoy fly fishing too. There is nothing quite as nice as using a centrepin reel to trot a stick float down my local river. But yes, I have always been intrigued by life under the surface and how it operates.

Q) So, what is Beneath British Waters all about?  

Beneath British Waters is all about gaining footage within the freshwater environment, then showcasing it to anglers, organisations and clubs, giving them a unique insight into their fisheries. 

I’m hoping that in the future I could maybe work on some form of documentary – I would say Blue Planet 3, but that might be pushing it! I also want to film abroad, alligators and other creatures, but that’s the future. 

Q) What’s been your favourite dive? Any stand-out moments? 

I don’t have a particular favourite dive, as each one is different yet unique, bringing something new to each filming session. 

There are a few moments to pick from, but one stands out for me. I had tried to get really close to pike spawning, in the thick of it, and it took me over 15 years to do so – last year at Wykeham Lakes I finally managed to film some stunning pike going through their courtship and spawning. 

To get this close to these huge creatures was a real honour. The anger of the female pike and the attentiveness of the males was amazing to watch. 

Q) What’s been your worst moment? Any scary experiences? 

The scariest moment for me was when I was filming grayling in the rapids against a strong current.

My safety rope clip snapped at the buckle end, sending me hurtling downstream, and I came out bruised and sore – lesson learnt to use two safety ropes!

Another scary moment was finding a porcelain doll on a night dive in a river. The torchlight shone on its eyes, and safe to say it made me jump! I’ve come across a fully dressed mannequin on a dive too, which didn’t do much for my heart rate either.

Q) What’s your oddest underwater sighting in all these years? 

The list is endless! The oddest underwater sighting was diving in a quarry, where I came across a vertical mine shaft which went down to the abyss. Also, diving a carp syndicate and coming across the full mine workings – rail carts and tracks – which were pretty immense due to the history of the place. I also dived in a flooded mine in Derbyshire – seeing the workers’ footprints in the silt was really strange.

Q) Have you ever discovered anything really interesting? 

Yes, we had the option to dive Lochnaw in Scotland. I jumped at the chance, but the clarity had worsened due to rain. 

A lot of anglers venture to Lochnaw for the roach. We are not just talking about ordinary roach, but probably the biggest head of specimen roach to be found anywhere in the British Isles. It wasn’t a wasted trip, though, as we dived and found the Crannogs – artificial islands of rock, stone and collapsed timber that mark the position of ancient dwellings in the water. All in all, Lochnaw was a fascinating place!

Q) What’s the biggest thing you’ve learnt about the underwater world? Is it totally different to what you’d expect? 

Whatever mental image you have of a lake or riverbed, it is completely different to how you would imagine it – the topography can be mind-blowing. 

I’ve learnt that fish are not as daft as one might think. They can work things out, and if they sense danger they will react accordingly.

One big insight was watching a pike attack on a shoal of roach. Once the attack was over hundreds of fish formed themselves into a bait ball something I never expected! 

Q) What could we anglers learn from your diving expeditions and what you’ve discovered? Have you got any advice for us? 

I think one big plus point of me filming fisheries is that it allows the anglers to gain an insight into a lake or riverbed, often by showing the various underwater topographies. Seeing how certain fish behave, too, gives an insight which will aid anglers. The best advice I can give is that even when one blanks, the chances are that fish have visited your bait.

I’ve seen it where fish have mopped up bait or offerings, but for whatever reason have left the hookbait. I do think certain species wise up to various tactics, but I can only comment on the lakes and rivers in which I have dived, as each water is unique.

Q) What have you learnt about fish behaviour? For example, how do roach and silvers behave in comparison to carp or pike? 

I have learnt so much. I have found carp to be very social and inquisitive – they get spooked easily, but then they come back to have another look. 

Pike are very territorial. They will happily sit there with prey just inches away from them and not attack, but once another pike comes into view it’s like a switch being thrown and they will turn on one another! 

Roach and silvers work in large shoals and don’t like fast movement through the water. They will disperse and regroup, and they will also quite happily feed, even with predators next to them –they’re fascinating to watch. 

Barbel are a very hard species to film, and will spook very easily, only returning once they feel danger has gone. One thing worth mentioning is that boat traffic, swimmers, divers, or even a dog jumping in the water doesn’t always ruin a swim – fish will often return quite happily. 

Q) How are fish affected by weather, temperatures and times of year? 

Carp like to move around in small herds, so to speak. In winter I’ve seen them all huddled up together under trees, just lying there, and in the summer they will quite happily be on the surface – in situations of danger they always retreat to the safety of cover. 

As for silvers, I have found that in winter the shallow water around 1m deep is often devoid of all silver fish life, which means they are in the deeper areas. 

As it warms, the shallows come alive with an explosion of silvers. It’s quite remarkable where they all come from – I found it virtually impossible to film silvers on natural lakes in winter. 

Pike will rest up in the warm, shallow water, but in winter, when fishing for them, find the prey in deeper water and the pike won’t be far away. I don’t think there is a golden rule for temperatures and weather conditions. What I have read at times I can rewrite after filming certain species.

Q) What’s your favourite fish species to film? 

My favourite species is pike. This stems from fishing as an eight-year-old after experiencing an attack on a roach I had caught. 

I wanted to know what the fish was, so I went to the library and read a book – that’s when I realised how cool it would be to study the pike. I wanted to see how it operated, and what made it tick. 

It’s the big female pike that fascinate me the most, but they are so elusive. I have been very successful filming pike, a lot of which is down to the help of Jake Finnigan at Wykeham Lakes. He has allowed me access to their water on a regular basis. 

The pike filming has gone so well I now do talks for the Pike Anglers Club, which is a real honour. It’s great that angler and diver can work together – it’s taken me a long time to achieve this!

Q) How long can it take to get the shot you’re after? 

I have lots of failed hours with no results, but when it goes right it is immense, resulting in some awesome footage. 

This year I spent nine hours trying to film a 30lb pike. I achieved that with five minutes of footage – nine hours was worth the five minutes of gold viewing!

Q) What’s your favourite type of venue to dive on? And have you ever been anywhere famous?

To be honest, I don’t have a favourite venue. I’m equally over the moon diving in a lake, a river or a quarry. 

I’ve dived some of the famous wrecks in Scotland, such as the Breda, HMS Port Napier and Rhonda – the list is quite long. 

Q) Have you got any exciting plans for the future? 

I plan to film a 40lb-plus pike, as well as filming river barbel during their spawning courtship. I will be filming in some remote rivers around the UK, showing how full they are of wild beck trout. 

I hope to do various projects with pike that will help anglers, and in a few years I’m aiming to travel to film alligators. 

I’m also working on my own documentary on the life of pike, which will be completed once I’m happy with all my footage. I’ve been working on that for the last four years.

Q) Where can our readers follow your expeditions? 

They can follow me on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter – all under the name of Beneath British Waters. I’m currently working on a website that will be complete by the end of the year under the same name.

Anglers urged to support new line recycling scheme

Angling Times is urging all anglers to get behind a national recycling scheme to help rid our inland fisheries and coastlines of unwanted fishing line. 

Each year an estimated 400 million metres of line is either discarded or lost across the UK - enough line to reach the moon.

Now the Anglers National Line Recycling Scheme is leading the fight to dramatically reduce that alarming statistic.

The incredible campaign first started in 2016 when a passionate group of Sussex sea anglers known as LISA (Local Independent Sea Anglers) introduced line recycling bins into local tackle shops.

Two years on and the scheme has grown – LISA has partnered with the Global Ghost Gear Initiative to create a stronger awareness. But it still needs your help to really make a difference. 

Angling Times spoke to scheme volunteer Viv Shears to find out more about its advancement and how we can help contribute as a nation of anglers.

Viv said: “After lots of work over the past year, all on a voluntary basis, the scheme is now moving quickly and 84 shops have now signed up – including Fosters, Angling Direct and Fishing Republic.

“We’ve also had great interest from the tackle manufacturers who attended this year’s The Big One Show, which was fantastic.

“However, with more than a million anglers across the country our main challenge is reaching out to them, as this is an issue that can be resolved with their help. 

“We’ve already had a positive response from anglers to line recycling from a survey we ran.

“Their reaction has made us realise that this could be a hugely positive scheme, not just for the sport, but for the environment too. For example, we collected line over a three-month period from eight Sussex tackle shops recently and it equated to 81 miles or 130,000 metres of line that’s no longer being used…

“Our next step is to increase national awareness of the scheme to all disciplines, and make it easy for anglers to send their line to us. 

“We have set up a formal and traceable recycling route for fishing line, rather than see it being dumped in landfill or even incinerated – which is environmentally unacceptable.”

Besides reaching out to anglers and tackle shops, ANLRS is urging fishery owners to provide their own recycling bins. 

Oxfordshire’s Linear Fisheries has already made a significant contribution to the cause and helped fund bin stickers and posters.

The fishery’s manager, Chris Blunt, said: “The scheme is incredibly important, as fishing line is dangerous to wildlife and the surrounding environment. 

“Anglers need to be seen to do the right thing – everyone recycles nowadays and it shouldn’t be any different for the angling community, which is why at Linear we have decided to help fund the scheme. 

“We’re now in the process of putting the new line recycling bins up around the fishery. These will be different from the rubbish bins. 

“Hopefully, anglers who fish here will make good use of them and discard any old line they no longer use.”

How the scheme works

In order for anglers to buy into the scheme it needs to be easy for them to get their waste line to a recycling point. The ANLRS scheme hopes to achieve this in a number of ways:

Posted returns – Anglers put their line into a pre-printed envelope and send it to LISA.

Recycling bins – These are placed into tackle shops where anglers can deposit waste line.

Recycling points – These are located at fishing venues so anglers can deposit line during a fishing session.

Match record smashed as fish finally wake up

After months of freezing temperatures, intense rainfall and biting winds, the time has finally come to get out there and catch some fish! 

In what’s been one of the worst starts to spring in a long time for UK fishing, Angling Times can proudly reveal that sport has staged a revival.

Huge match weights and big fish catches are now being made all over the country. 

A spike in temperatures has significantly improved results on the commercial match scene, with a large number of 100lb, 200lb and even 300lb weights reported over the last couple of weeks. 

One of the most significant hauls was taken by Spotted Fin matchman Matt Bingham, who smashed the venue’s match record at Tunnel Barn Farm Fishery with 385lb 10oz of F1s and carp from peg 29 on the venue’s House Pool. 

Tunnel Barn fishery manager Tony Mcguire spoke exclusively to Angling Times to explain why the fishing has all of a sudden taken off. 

He said: “It’s been a long, hard winter which the fish have now come out of, so they’re very hungry and looking to pack some weight back on. 

“This has shown more and more as the temperatures have risen and the fish have gained the confidence to really go on the feed – and the match results have gone up and up because of that. 

“The average winning match weight across the complex now is between 180lb and 250lb, whereas a few weeks ago it was only about 60lb, so the difference is already plain to see. 

“It won’t be long before we’ll be seeing regular 200lb-plus weights here again.”

It’s not just match and pleasure anglers who will be welcoming the warmer weather – specimen anglers, too, are making preparations for their upcoming bream and tench campaigns. 

Top fish scientist and Angling Times weekly columnist, Dr Paul Garner, revealed why now is the best time to target specimen fish. 

He said: “Fish, as cold blooded animals, respond to the rise in water temperature. They feed more and become more catchable. 

“They will search out the warmest water, so make sure you target areas which receive plenty of sun, as well as areas of shallower water. The end of a south-westerly wind can be very productive. 

“As for species to target, bream are perfect in early spring and carp always have a mad spell about now. The tench are also now beginning to wake up. 

“It’s worth mentioning that this is still a brilliant time to target big stillwater roach, so don’t feel the need to rush to a catch a ‘summer’ species just yet.

“Moreover, the reason it’s such a good time to catch a specimen is mainly down to the fish feeding harder and replacing their used-up fat reserves – that’s why fish are nice and plump in the spring.

“In late spring, female fish will fill up with spawn. This is most noticeable only a few days prior to their actually spawning. 

“Tench are usually at their heaviest at this stage.”

Dai Gribble is Drennan Cup champion

It's like winning the FA Cup of angling – to do it twice in three years is something I never dreamt would happen.”

These are the words of Dai Gribble, who has fished his way to a stunning second victory in the world’s biggest specimen angling competition. 

It was another convincing win for the Staffordshire ace as votes cast by some of the country’s greatest big-fish specialists saw Dai’s dreams turn to reality. He finished 34 points ahead of his nearest rival – Andrew Cheetham, from Manchester.

Dai’s rollercoaster season saw him secure no fewer than five Weekly Drennan Awards, the first of which he netted last May during a trip to Medway Valley Fisheries
in Kent. 

Here, the Korum-sponsored star had his first double-figure tench of the season in the shape of a 10lb 5oz specimen, which was quickly overshadowed by one of 11lb 6oz from a Midlands waterway just a month later. 

On top of this, Dai added a
15lb 13oz bream, a 32lb 4oz pike and a 3lb 3oz roach to his tally to round off a truly incredible end to his season. 

“It’s absolutely fantastic to win it again,” Dai told Angling Times.

“I’d been told by so many people that the Cup was a sure win for me this year, but it was still a massive relief to finally hear the news.

“I again didn’t set out to win the Cup – I simply have a passion for catching big fish. 

“There’s always an element of luck in fishing and I was fortunate to catch my first tench, the pike and the roach on my first trips of fishing for them,” added Dai. 

“It’s an honour to be placed alongside the likes of Terry Lampard, Alan Wilson and Martin Hooper as multiple-winners of the Drennan Cup.”

Despite having secured the most awards in the competition this season, Dai had a nervous end to his campaign after suffering a broken shoulder as a result of a cycling accident. 

He added: “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t looking out for other catches during those final few weeks of the season,” he said.

“There are so many venues out there now that are capable of producing big fish, and equal to that is the number of anglers capable of catching them – so to be fortunate enough to have been placed above them all is unbelievable.”

There was little surprise that Manchester rod Andy Cheetham was voted into second-place after his pair of 5lb River Derwent perch went down as one of the greatest catches in history. 

He smashed his personal best twice in a memorable session that yielded fish of 5lb 2oz and 5lb 11oz – the bigger of which is the fourth-largest perch ever landed in the UK. 

The Perchfishers member banked his historic brace with three half lobworms on a size 4 hook and a simple cage feeder rig.

Third place went to Phil Spinks, who in May made arguably the greatest roach catch ever. 

The Korum and Angling Direct-backed all-rounder landed redfins of 3lb 12oz, 3lb 10oz, 3lb 8oz 8dr, 3lb 6oz, 3lb 5oz and 3lb 2oz during his historic visit to Homersfield Lake in Suffolk.

In order to avoid being pestered by the small roach that teem in the privately-owned 33-acre estate lake fishery, 37-year-old Phil fished groundbait feeders in conjunction with helicopter rigs that he baited with 12mm Sonubaits Code Red boilies.

Big eel fanatic Mark Salt took the final position on the Drennan podium after banking an 8lb 1oz specimen of his favourite species by design. 

The environment officer for the National Anguilla Club hair-rigged a bunch of worms on a syndicate water in Middlesex to take his second eel over the 8lb mark.

A great week for river roach

It's been a fantastic week for UK roach anglers with several huge specimens landed and news of one of the biggest river stockings in history.   

At the end of March the Avon Roach Project (ARP) carried out an annual stocking of the nation’s favourite species into three different locations along the Hampshire river. 

Tens of thousands of roach averaging between three and four inches were released into the waterway to add to the substantial stockings made by the project in previous years. 

The ARP’s chief co-ordinator Trevor Harrop helped with the stocking and told Angling Times that it was ‘a fantastic moment in the history of the species.’

He added: “We’re delighted with the outcome and how well these fish have grown on over the years – we couldn’t have done it without expert help and guidance from Stuart Kingston-Turner, Jim Allan and Phil Rudd from the Environment Agency. 

“It’s impossible to gauge accurately how many fish we’ve stocked this year but we could tell that it was a huge number, judging by how many times we had to go back to move the fish from the stews into the tanks!

“The 2014/15 season was by far our largest stocking, but this year has certainly come close.”

Not only has the project helped boost catch rates of roach on the Avon but they are being stocked at an age where they can effectively spawn in the river. 

“We’ve without doubt achieved our objective,” John added.

“Anglers have been catching up to 50 roach in a trip, which was very difficult to achieve around a decade ago, but it’s not just the continual stocking that has assisted their revival. 

“The fertilised roach eggs are taken from our Avon spawning boards and are grown on naturally in our spring-fed stews in Bickton. These hold lots of natural food for the roach to feast on and grow to a healthy condition.

“However, we don’t introduce the roach back into the river until they’re three years old. 

“At this age they are in the best condition for spawning and have the greatest chance of re-establishing themselves in the river naturally.

“They are now true wild, Avon roach. We’ve simply given them that helping hand along the way. It’s been a fantastic journey.”

Barbel hotspot booked up till november!

The country's most prolific barbel pegs are fully booked for the first five months of the new season, Angling Times can exclusively reveal. 

From June 16 to November 16, 2018, Pegs 1A to 10 on the River Trent at Cromwell Weir will be fished by anglers 24 hours a day, seven days a week. 

Collingham Angling Association runs the fishing here and has been inundated with bookings since before the start of the new year. 

Speaking to Angling Times, the club’s head bailiff, Ky Morton, stated that the popularity of the stretch is down to the prospect of a turbine being built at Cromwell Weir.

He said: “The hydroelectric power company BARN Energy is currently in the process of obtaining planning permission to extract and build a turbine at Cromwell, and this will see an end to fishing on pegs 1A to 10. 

“This plan is to be reviewed next year, so I’m not surprised we’ve taken so many bookings – anglers know that time could be running out to fish this stretch of the Trent. 

“I know some people will be worried about the fish and think they’ll be too pressured, but it has always been busy at Cromwell on both our side and Ashfield AC’s bank – some years anglers used to wait behind pegs for them to become free!

“The barbel are very active below the weir and do move up and down the river, so I don’t feel they’re at risk of being harmed from this pressure.”

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Top Trent angler Bob Roberts said: “I think it’s stupid to pressure these fish – there won’t be one day of rest, indeed even one hour of rest.

“BARN has issued that the weir is a designated spawning ground, and considering barbel spawn from May onwards they are going to suffer.

“Those fish will be hounded round the clock without mercy or relief by those who supposedly campaign about respect and fish care, about novices treating precious barbel without care, who criticise match anglers, invent codes, have unwritten rules of etiquette and shout from the rooftops about otters. 

“Some are high-profile figures using this ‘commodity’ to inflate their profiles, egos and PBs – and I shall not be one of them. It just doesn’t sit comfortably with what I believe is a fair way to treat fish.”

Have your say:

What do you think about the Cromwell Weir peg bookings? Have your say by emailing kevin.wilmot@bauermedia.co.uk. We’ll print your views in our upcoming letters pages. 

Drennan Cup round up

Smashed records, shock catches and historic moments. The 2017/18 season has been one of the best yet – but who will be crowned champion of the Drennan Cup? 

Over the last 12 months specimen anglers have been testing their wits against some of the biggest fish in the country, and in just a few weeks’ time Angling Times will reveal last season’s champion of the UK’s premier big-fish competition. The winner will lift the coveted trophy and pocket an impressive £2,000 pay-out.

Angling Times Editor-in-Chief Steve Fitzpatrick said: “I can’t remember a year so packed with fish as the one we’ve just enjoyed in 2017/18. 

“If it wasn’t a river record being smashed or the biggest-ever brace of fish taken in a single session, each week we would be greeted by another massive catch story – and Angling Times was there to take you through each and every one of them.” 

This year Drennan handed out now fewer than 130 (number could change) weekly awards to a diverse mix of anglers. 

As always, it will be the Drennan Weekly Award Winners themselves who will be responsible for deciding the top four places in the competition, with anybody who has received an award over the last five years being eligible to vote. 

So sit back and enjoy five pages of the best big-fish catches from the past 12 months. Who would get your vote?

What is it?

Launched by Oxford tackle giant Peter Drennan in 1985, the Drennan Cup is the UK’s longest-running big-fish competition. It rewards anglers who target and catch specimen fish (other than carp and catfish) by design. Anglers can win multiple awards across 12 months
of fishing. The current Drennan
Cup champion is Kent angler
Iain McDonald – whose catches of specimen tench, perch, barbel, dace and roach were enough to land him the trophy and a £2,000 cheque.

how does it work? 

Captures are submitted to Angling Times each week and then forwarded to Drennan to be considered for a weekly award worth £80 (plus a limited edition cap for first-time winners.) Any angler breaking a British record receives a special one-off award of £300. Once the 12 months draw to a close, a list of winners is published and voting cards sent out to all the weekly award winners from the previous years. They pick their top four anglers, with four points going to their top pick, down to one point for their fourth. 

Votes are then counted and the winner is announced in late April. 

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Roach

Phil Spinks 

Phil Spinks proudly displays roach of 3lb 12oz, 3lb 10oz and 3lb 8oz 8dr in a picture of the greatest big-roach catch of all time.

Well-known redfin specialist Phil admitted that he was ‘still pinching himself’ after he banked six fish over the magic 3lb mark in a session that will go down in fishing history.

The Korum and Angling Direct-backed all-rounder landed fish weighing 3lb 12oz, 3lb 10oz, 3lb 8oz 8dr, 3lb 6oz, 3lb 5oz and 3lb 2oz during the historic visit to Homersfield Lake in Suffolk.

In order to avoid the small roach that occupy the privately-owned, 33-acre fishery, the 37-year-old fished groundbait feeders in conjunction with helicopter rigs
that he baited with 12mm Sonubaits Code Red boilies.

The biggest fish set a new personal best for Phil, whose roach fishing CV makes for impressive reading as he has now landed 37 fish over the 3lb barrier.

“This was the best day’s fishing of my life…it still hasn’t sunk in yet,” Phil told Angling Times.

“I’ve had some exceptional roach fishing at this stunning venue over the years, but to land six over 3lb in one session is absolutely incredible and to my knowledge the 3lb 12oz and 3lb 10oz is one of the biggest braces of roach ever caught.

“I had loads of fish over 2lb during the same session, but I was unhooking them and slipping them back without even weighing them!”

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Ken Fuller

Just a couple of days after Phil Spinks’ incredible haul of six 3lb-plus roach  from Homersfield Lake, Angling Times received the report of a 4lb 3oz specimen redfin from the same privately-owned venue in Suffolk. 

The national record-shaker was banked by roach fishing fanatic Ken Fuller on his first cast at the incredible East Anglian stillwater.

He had been fishing for the species for 60 years and his dream came true when he fished a Method feeder loaded with softened pellets and coupled that with a 5lb fluorocarbon hooklink and a 12mm boilie.

“I thought it was a bream at first, then I saw it and I wished my landing net pole was about 4ft longer…what an incredible sight!” said the 66-year-old from Norwich.

“This truly is a dream come true and a fish of a lifetime.”

Ken’s new personal best fell just 1oz short of the official British best – a 4lb 4oz fish caught in 2006 by Keith Berry from a stillwater in Northern Ireland.

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Perch

Andrew cheetham

Dick Walker once said that “the perch is the biggest of all fish” – a notion that was proved true when Angling Times revealed the pictures of the biggest-ever brace of UK river perch. 

Manchester rod Andrew Cheetham smashed his personal best twice in a session when he banked specimens of 5lb 2oz and 5lb 11oz from a Midlands river – the biggest of which is the fourth-largest UK perch ever. 

 “To catch a five pounder is a dream, but two in a session is something I’m finding very hard to get my head around,” Andrew exclusively told Angling Times.  “When I looked down into the water after a great scrap, the larger of the two looked like a breeze block in the bottom of my landing net. 

“It’s a 200-mile round trip to fish this venue, but days like this make all the blanks, hard work and effort so worthwhile.”

The Perchfishers member banked the brace with three half lobworms on a size 4 hook and cage feeder rig. 

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Dan Gale

On the subject of monster perch braces, who remembers Dan Gale’s catch of 5lb 2oz and 5lb 1oz specimens from the beginning of the season?

A simple maggot feeder was the tactic behind the incredible haul of stillwater perch, which Dan described as ‘the catch of a lifetime.’

The Southampton-based specimen hunter targeted a gravel pit in the Cotswolds when his lobworm hookbait was taken by his biggest-ever perch on the 34-year-old’s very first cast. 

“I still can’t believe that I’ve had a catch like this. 

“It’s really difficult to get my head around it,” Dan exclusively told Angling Times.

“The 5lb 2oz fish was in the net as I was just giving it a rest after unhooking it and then the other rod went rattling off, so I had both the big ones in the net at the same time. “It really was incredible.”

The action didn’t end there either, as Dan backed his brace up with perch weighing 4lb 10oz,
3lb 11oz and 2lb 13oz, along with a big bream of 11lb 8oz and two tench, with the best topping the scales at 7lb 13oz.

He used the trusty combination of chopped worm and casters inside his feeder, but he’s adamant that the secret behind his catch was the use of a Spomb.

It was a piece of kit that he used to regularly introduce groundbait, chopped worms and casters over the top of his feeders.

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Barbel

Rob Phillips

The 2017/2018 season was another cracker for specimen barbel, but this 20lb 9oz Thames-record monster was by far the pick of the bunch.

It was landed by barbel fanatic Rob Phillips and is the third-biggest barbel ever taken in the UK. 

The catch was rich reward for the countless hours Rob had spent in pursuit of the species. 

He said: “I was a young man when I started barbel fishing the Thames around 20 years ago! I must’ve done 40 or 50 nights a season since, and finally it’s all come good.”

Rob legered a lump of garlic-flavoured meat in a high, coloured river, adding another barbel of
14lb 11oz in the same session.

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Chub

Paul Allen 

Angling Times lost count of the number of 7lb-plus chub that were caught towards the back end of the season, but a special catch from July 2017 topped the lot. 

This stunning 8lb 2oz specimen was banked by river fishing specialist Paul Allen after he spotted a group of fish during an evening session on the Hampshire Avon.

After introducing a bed of pellets with the help of a bait dropper, the aircraft engineer from Dorset, who has been fishing the famous waterway for over 15 years, sat back for 30 minutes and watched a shoal of resident chub confidently graze over his bed of bait.  “I’ve never seen chub feed so confidently as they were flashing over the bait and ripping up the bottom to get to the pellets…it was very exciting,” he said.  “Even though it was bright it was very windy, so I couldn’t see how big the fish were.”

After missing a bite on his very first cast, Paul’s legered fishmeal boilie hookbait was taken by the biggest reported chub of the season 10 minutes after recasting. His rig was constructed with a braided hooklink and a size 8 hook, which helped him beat his 8lb personal best banked in 2013.

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Bream

Gary Knowles

It wasn’t the biggest bream of the season, but the determination behind Gary Knowles’ 20lb 7oz specimen certainly deserved some recognition. 

It was a new pb for the Korum-backed star, and his first bream in four years’ fishing an ultra-tough 90-acre mere on the Cheshire/Shropshire border. “I know anglers who have fished the lake for 15 years and are yet to have a single take…this is as difficult as it gets,” Gary told Angling Times. “Imagine how my heart was pounding when I watched that bobbin climb and saw the line slowly peeling off.”  Gary baited up with mixed particles, Sonubaits ‘S’ pellets and broken Code Red boilies with trimmed-down Code Red boilies tipped with a 6mm pineapple boilie on the hook.

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Eel

mark salt

A bunch of hair-rigged worms was the winning combination for Mark Salt as they helped him produce a take from this impressive 8lb 1oz eel.

The huge fish was caught by the environment officer for the National Anguilla Club at a syndicate water in Middlesex. He used five broken worms on a short hair. It was the Herts specialist’s second eel over the 8lb mark from the venue. The specimen was beaten to the bank with the help of a ‘Dyson’ rig made with a circle hook tied to a 45lb Quicksilver Gold hooklink. “I fished for eight nights and packed up each day. The big one came on the very last session,” said Mark.

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Crucian carp

Nigel Kennard

This record-shaking 4lb 7oz crucian was by far the biggest caught this season. Nigel Kennard fished a lake in Surrey over eight days and he landed no fewer than four crucians over 4lb. 

He also had 21 specimens over the 3lb mark and six weighing more than 2lb. Nigel’s biggest specimen fell just 3oz short of the current British best.

 All his fish were taken when he alternated imitation maggot and caster hookbaits. Drennan Method feeders and 6lb mainline were also part of the winning formula.

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Zander

Ian wilson

There were some monster zander caught this season, but this pair are believed to be the biggest ever brace of zander to be caught from a river.

The fish weighed 15lb 11oz and 14lb 7oz and were banked by Ian Wilson when he targeted a stretch of his beloved River Trent.

Both fish came in an incredible 15-minute spell with the smaller of the two first to take a legered lamprey, and a roach deadbait proving the downfall of the 15lb-plus specimen.

This wasn’t the end of the tale, however, as the brace turned into an incredible trio when the Worksop specialist slipped the net under an 11lb 4oz fish just as he was about to pack up.

“I was in a swim that I hadn’t fished for a couple of years, but I just had
a hunch that it could
produce the goods as it was around 18ins up and holding good colour,” Ian told Angling Times.

“The 14lb 7oz fish was put into my retainer while I got prepared for weighing and a quick photo when the roach was taken by the biggest zander. It was an incredible 15 minutes of fishing.”

Ian fished simple rigs constructed with components such as a 50lb braided reel line, a 28lb Drennan wire trace and two size 8 trebles.

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Tench

Steve Fenton

Steve Fenton  thought he’d hooked a carp when his alarm screamed during a session on a Lea Valley pit, but little did he know he was about to smash his tench personal best with an incredible 12lb 7oz specimen.

The experienced 64-year-old specialist from Hertfordshire, who works part time in Angling Direct in Waltham Cross, banked the fish of a lifetime after it took three floating maggots that were threaded onto a size 12 hook and fished in conjunction with a maggot feeder.

“This is such a special fish for me and to say that I’m over the moon is an understatement.

“It’s taken a while to sink in,” he added.

“It beats my previous personal best by 1lb 15oz and from a lake that I’ve fished for a number of years.”

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Dai Gribble

the 2016 Drennan Cup winner Dai Gribble had another fantastic season for tench, with this
11lb 6oz fish the pick of the bunch. 

The huge specimen was part of a massive 45-tench haul taken by the Korum-sponsored angler from a Midlands gravel pit. 

Dai targeted a gravel bar around 55yds out, baiting the spot with mixed 2mm Sonubaits S pellets and hemp.  He took numerous
fish to 9lb 15oz using a helicopter rig with three rubber maggots on the hair, before hooking his biggest fish on the third of a four-day trip. The catch was just one of five awards earned by Dai during the season.

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Rudd

Stephen Chesney  

Stephen Chesney had sweetcorn to thank during a September rudd session as he banked this 3lb personal-best specimen. 

The Suffolk angler quivertipped single grains of sweetcorn on a Fenland river to take the large rudd as well as four others. 

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All awards given

April 11 2017

Dan Gale, 5lb 2oz perch,
5lb 1oz perch, Cotswold lake 

Gary Truelove, 7lb 12oz eel, southern stillwater

April 18

Matthew Fernandez,
4lb 2oz, 3lb 10oz crucian, southern stillwater 

April 25

Iain McDonald, 5lb 6oz eel, southern stillwater

Nigel Kennard, 4lb 7oz crucian, Surrey lake

Jamie Stanley, 4lb 11oz perch, southern stillwater

May 2

Dan Gale 11lb 12oz tench, southern lake

May 9

Andrew West, 17lb 2oz bream, Northants water

Dai Gribble, 10lb 5oz tench, Medway Valley

Jackie Proud, 6lb 10oz eel, Beds stillwater

May 16

Ken Fuller, 4lb 3oz roach, Homersfield Lake

Phil Spinks 3lb 12 oz roach, Homersfield Lake

George Osbourne, 4lb 5oz perch, Upper Tamar Lake

May 23

James Crameri, 19lb 3oz bream, southern pit

Des Taylor, 16lb 4oz bream, St Ives Fishery

Craig Woolhouse 16lb 11oz, Leics gravel pit

Adam Riches, 16lb 9oz bream, southern stillwater

Mark Salt, 8lb 1oz eel, Middlesex lake

May 30

Nate Green, 10lb 12oz tench, southern stillwater

Rob Knapp, 11lb 9oz tench, Kent gravel pit

Dave Harman, 10lb 12oz tench, southern gravel pit

Ed Matthews, 4lb 1oz crucian, Shropshire lake

June 6

Steve Fenton, 12lb 7oz tench, southern stillwater

Dane Wood, 32lb 14oz pike, Pitsford Reservoir

June 13

Dai Gribble, 11lb 6oz tench, Midlands stillwater

Graeme Johnson, 11lb 3oz tench, Bawburgh Lakes

Sebastian Jarmoluk, 31lb pike, Pitsford Reservoir

Jamie Cartwright, 15lb 5oz bream, Cambs stillwater

June 20

Dai Gribble, 15lb 13oz bream, Midlands stillwater

Dean Taylor, 11lb 5oz and 11lb 4oz tench, Kent stillwater

Justin Grapes, 11lb tench, 

April 11 2017

Dan Gale, 5lb 2oz perch,
5lb 1oz perch, Cotswold lake 

Gary Truelove, 7lb 12oz eel, southern stillwater

April 18

Matthew Fernandez,
4lb 2oz, 3lb 10oz crucian, southern stillwater 

April 25

Iain McDonald, 5lb 6oz eel, southern stillwater

Nigel Kennard, 4lb 7oz crucian, Surrey lake

Jamie Stanley, 4lb 11oz perch, southern stillwater

May 2

Dan Gale 11lb 12oz tench, southern lake

May 9

Andrew West, 17lb 2oz bream, Northants water

Dai Gribble, 10lb 5oz tench, Medway Valley

Jackie Proud, 6lb 10oz eel, Beds stillwater

May 16

Ken Fuller, 4lb 3oz roach, Homersfield Lake

Phil Spinks 3lb 12 oz roach, Homersfield Lake

George Osbourne, 4lb 5oz perch, Upper Tamar Lake

May 23

James Crameri, 19lb 3oz bream, southern pit

Des Taylor, 16lb 4oz bream, St Ives Fishery

Craig Woolhouse 16lb 11oz, Leics gravel pit

Adam Riches, 16lb 9oz bream, southern stillwater

Mark Salt, 8lb 1oz eel, Middlesex lake

May 30

Nate Green, 10lb 12oz tench, southern stillwater

Rob Knapp, 11lb 9oz tench, Kent gravel pit

Dave Harman, 10lb 12oz tench, southern gravel pit

Ed Matthews, 4lb 1oz crucian, Shropshire lake

June 6

Steve Fenton, 12lb 7oz tench, southern stillwater

Dane Wood, 32lb 14oz pike, Pitsford Reservoir

June 13

Dai Gribble, 11lb 6oz tench, Midlands stillwater

Graeme Johnson, 11lb 3oz tench, Bawburgh Lakes

Sebastian Jarmoluk, 31lb pike, Pitsford Reservoir

Jamie Cartwright, 15lb 5oz bream, Cambs stillwater

June 20

Dai Gribble, 15lb 13oz bream, Midlands stillwater

Dean Taylor, 11lb 5oz and 11lb 4oz tench, Kent stillwater

Justin Grapes, 11lb tench, Bawburgh Lakes, Norfolk

June 27

Nate Green, 5lb 5oz eel, Woodland Pool

Scott Hamilton, 7lb 10oz chub, River Lea

July 4

No Drennans

July 11

Gary Knowles, 20lb 7oz bream, Cheshire
Mere

July 18

Paul Allen, 8lb 2oz chub, Hants Avon

Andrew Mussellwhite, 2lb 4oz roach, River Itchen

July 25

Nick Hughes, 5lb 10oz eel, Midlands stillwater

Aug 1

Andrew Carson, 40lb 5oz pike, Loch Lomond

Aug 8

Shayne Kerns, 16lb 10oz zander, River Trent

Aug 15

Darren Poole, 16lb 4oz barbel, River Lea

Neil Wayte, 16lb 4oz barbel, River Thames 

Aug 22

Gary Edmonds, 37lb 2oz pike, Grafham Water

Aug 29

Alan Lawrence, 4lb 3oz perch, Great Ouse

Harry Pardoe, 16lb 6oz barbel, River Trent

Sept 5

David Turner 15lb 8oz zander, River Severn

Sept 12

Ray Cutler 16lb 12oz barbel, River Thames

Sept 19

Mike Townsend, 2lb 4oz roach, Yorkshire
river

Stephen Chesney 3lb rudd, Fenland river

Chris Hewett, 2lb 10oz roach, southern
lake

Sept 26

Robert Machin, 21lb 6oz bream, NW stillwater

Mick Lomas, 2lb 14oz roach, northern stillwater

Garry Teer, 17lb 9oz,
15lb 4oz barbel, Thames

Matt Hughes, 16lb 6oz barbel, River Trent

October 3

Lionel Martin 16lb 10oz barbel, River Thames

George Hinds, 15lb 2oz barbel, River Severn

Paul Mirfin, 17lb barbel, River Trent

James Sarkar 15lb 8oz zander, River Severn

October 10

Andy Oxley, 16lb 10oz barbel, River Trent

Adam Perna, 15lb 15oz barbel, southern river

Joseph Southern,  35lb 4oz pike, Chew Valley Lake

Ray Kent, 16lb barbel, River Lea

October 17

Craig Lander, 18lb 14oz barbel, River Trent

Bob Hornegold, 4lb 11oz perch, Lea Navigation

John Horsey, 32lb 8oz pike, Blagdon Lake 

October 24

Colin Douglas, 18lb 1oz barbel, River Trent 

Dean Derbyshire, 3lb 1oz grayling, southern river

Ken Thompson, 7lb 14oz chub, Royalty Fishery

Alan Rio, 2lb 14oz roach, Surrey lake

October 31

Matt Bridgwood, 42lb 12oz pike, Chew Valley Lake

Paul Sharman, 39lb pike, Blagdon Lake

NOV 7

Paul Garner, 4lb 12oz perch, Farmoor Reservoir

Paul Parnell, 5lb 4oz perch, Farmoor Reservoir

Dai Gribble, 32lb 4oz pike, Farmoor Reservoir

Terry Lathwell, 16lb 10oz barbel, River Itchen

Martyn Cattermole, 36lb 8oz pike, Chew ValleyLake

Nov 14

Kenny Massey, 15lb 9oz barbel, River Cherwell

Craig Woolhouse, 16lb 10oz zander, River Trent

Chris Darke, 41lb 12oz pike, Wyekham Lakes

Luke Maher, 4lb 8oz perch, Darenth Lake

Nov 21

Peter Coxhead, 44lb pike, Chew Valley Lake

Jacob Wise, 16lb zander, Gloucester Canal

John Keeley, 16lb 3oz zander, River Trent

Mark Humphries, 16lb 2oz zander, River Severn

Nov 28

Andy Childs, 2lb 4oz roach, River Itchen

Paul Rogers, 16lb 8oz barbel, River Lea

Darrel Hughes, 16lb 8oz barbel, Hants Avon 

Dec 5

Tony Gibson, 15lb 15oz barbel, River Ouse

Stewart Harris, 4lb 6oz perch, southern river

Dave Brice, 2lb 13oz
roach, Oxfordshire pit

Matthew Fernandez, 15lb 8oz barbel, River Itchen

Dec 12-26

Reggie Blake, 33lb 4oz pike, River Thurne

Michael Eagles, 5lb perch, southern gravel pit

Dec 27

Matt Wood, 4lb 6oz, 4lb 1oz perch

Julian Peacock, 2lb 5oz 12dr roach, Beds river

Dai Gribble, 3lb 3oz roach, Oxfordshire stillwater

Jan 2 2018

Dave Newman,
31lb 13oz pike, Notts gravel pit

Chris Tredway, 4lb 3oz perch, River Severn

Jan 9

Andy Cheetham, 4lb 15oz perch, Midlands river 

Ben Booth, 39lb pike, Grafham Water

Carl Smith, 31lb pike, Essex stillwater

Jan 16

Kevin Palmer, 2lb 11oz roach, River Test

Paul Rogers, 16lb 14oz barbel, River Kennet

Jan 23

David Broady, 19lb 8oz barbel, River Thames

Adam Reed, 7lb 15oz chub, River Thames

Ian Wilson, 32lb 11oz pike, River Trent 

Terry Theobald, 7lb 8oz chub, River Avon

Jan 30

Stewart Harris, 7lb 8oz chub, River Ouse

 Feb 6

Gary Truelove, 1lb 1oz dace, Hampshire river

Ron Russell, 34lb 10oz pike, Dorrington brick pit

Keith Rogers,
32lb 8oz pike, Colne Valley Lake

Feb 13

Paul Curry, 41lb 2oz pike, Chew Valley Lake

Dave Owen, 1lb dace, southern chalkstream

Ian Wilson, 15lb 11oz zander, River Trent

Feb 20

Dave Ladds, 5lb 1oz perch, northern stillwater

Patric Kyte, 33lb 4oz pike, Ravensthorpe Reservoir

Feb 27

Tony Hopley, 5lb 1oz perch, Midlands river 

John Rushworth, 40lb 2oz pike, 100-acre trout fishery

Graham Mann, 15lb 6oz zander, River Severn

March 6

Andy Cheetham, 5lb 11oz perch, 5lb 2oz perch, Midlands river

Adam Reed, 32lb 7oz pike, 31lb 6oz pike, River Test

Lee Noakes, 17lb 3oz barbel, River Itchen

Duane McClaymont, 3lb 4oz grayling, Yorkshire river

Rob Thompson, 7lb 9oz chub, Great Ouse

March 13

Brendan Guilar, 44lb 12oz pike, Ravensthorpe Res

Steve Rowley, 35lb 8oz pike, southern gravel pit

Martin Lofthouse, 3lb 4oz grayling, northern river

Danny Taylor, 2lb 9oz roach, Hampshire Avon

March 20

Rob Phillips, 20lb 9oz barbel, River Thames

Scott Richardson, 18lb 7oz zander, River Trent

James Champkin, 7lb 10oz chub, River Lea

March 27

Derek Knight, 7lb 7oz chub, Hampshire Avon

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To submit your catches for the

2018/2019 Drennan Cup Competition which begins on April 11, email your pics and contact details to:
ian.jones@bauermedia.co.uk

The Big Fish Off is back!

One of the most successful angling TV shows of all time is back! The fourth series of The Big Fish Off started last Thursday and this year’s programme promises to be even more action-packed than ever.

For series four, co-presenters Ali Hamidi and Dean Macey are joined by celebrities from the world of sport, many of whom have performed at the highest level with some having represented their country in recent years.

As ever, the competitive side will feature strongly in Big Fish Off, with guests vying for bragging rights across a range of disciplines under the watchful and entertaining eyes of Ali and Dean.

Previous series of The Big Fish Off have attracted millions of anglers and non-anglers alike and this one looks set to be no different. Guest for series four include: boxing star Tony Bellew and his coach Dave Coldwell, footballers Jimmy Bullard, Wayne Bridge and Jamie O’Hara, Olympians Linford Christie and Katharine Merry, and rugby star Kyran Bracken. 

The first episode will be aired on Thursday, March 29. It saw boxing star Tony Bellew and Dave Coldwell target crucians, tench, and carp at day-ticket waters in Sussex and Surrey. They might be sparring partners in the ring, but the tables are soon turned when they went head to head on the bank.

Former Commonwealth Games gold medal decathlete Dean Macey was delighted to be hosting the latest series.

“Season one put out the feelers, season two set the bar, season three raised the bar, and this one definitely matches it,” he said. 

“Filming this year was easy. As usual we had some blinding celebs, and all we had to do was stand back and let it happen. We could have taken them anywhere and produced a good show. Being sports celebrities, they all show mine and Ali’s desperate will to win attitude. No one wants to lose. It makes for some competitive viewing!

“There is a nice balance between episodes this year. One and two are loud and proud, while three and four make for some chilled respectful viewing – a nice reflection of sport and the personalities within it.

“As usual all of the episodes are stand-outs. Jimmy v Jamie at Anglers Paradise was phenomenal, the finale was amazing, and Bellew v Coldwell was brilliant – they were at each other constantly. It reminded me of growing up with my sister!”

“My favourite moment was in episode three, Linford v Katharine. With my background in athletics I grew up watching Linford. He is a legend and to work with him was fantastic. Katharine’s brilliant too. There is a really special moment in this episode too. I won’t say any more, other than it was at Redmire, and the whole crew was choked up!”

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Episode Guide

Episode 1 – Tony Bellew v Dave Coldwell, Thursday, March 29, 8pm, ITV4

Boxing star Tony Bellew and his coach Dave Coldwell are usually on the same side, but they team up with presenters Ali Hamidi and Dean Macey to take each other on as they target crucians, tench, and carp, at a couple of day-ticket waters in Sussex and Surrey.

---

Episode 2 – Jimmy Bullard v Jamie O’Hara, Thursday, April 5, 8pm, ITV4

Team captains Ali Hamidi and Dean Macey are joined by football aces Jimmy Bullard and Jamie O’Hara at Anglers Paradise in Devon. There is plenty of banter and wind-ups as they set about catching some of the colourful and unusual species which live there.

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Episode 3 – Linford Christie v Katharine Merry, Thursday, April 12, 8pm, ITV4

Three Olympians feature in this episode, with decathlete Dean Macey and fellow presenter Ali Hamidi joined by Linford Christie and Katharine Merry. They head deep into the Herefordshire countryside to tackle the River Wye, and one of the most famous lakes in carp fishing, Redmire Pool.

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Episode 4 – Wayne Bridge v Kyran Bracken, Thursday, April 19, 8pm, ITV4

Football star Wayne Bridge and rugby ace Kyran Bracken, who have both represented their country at their relative sports, head off to Florida with Ali Hamidi and Dean Macey in search of monsters.

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Trent barbel are the UK's biggest

Barbel in the River Trent are growing 20 percent faster than those in other UK rivers, Angling Times can exclusively reveal.

The findings come from extensive research compiled by the Environment Agency, which used scale samples collected by anglers to show that the growth rates of barbel and chub in the Trent are significantly higher than the national average. 

Since June 2017, volunteers from the River Trent Barbel Survey Group have been out fishing 10 locations on the middle and lower river in a bid to catch as many barbel as possible. Once a catch was made, a scale sample was taken by the angler – using a scale removal kit – and sent off to the EA for analysis.  

A total of 76 scale removal kits were issued to volunteers and the findings have revealed the first true understanding in River Trent barbel growth. 

Karen Twine and Ryan Taylor from the East Midlands Fisheries Team explained the results in more detail.  

“As of the end of February 2018, the returns highlighted that 257 barbel were caught by the anglers, which when added to our brood-stock collections from the River Trent provided us with a total of 355 barbel – each of which have had a scale removed and measured,” said Karen Twine.

“The scale samples, along with the questionnaires, also revealed the length and weight of each barbel and chub, the number of barbel and other species caught, which location they were caught at and the time frequency between each catch. “

“This study alone has found that barbel and chub in the River Trent grow faster than the national expected growth rates, with barbel growing approximately
20  percent faster than average.” 

Not only have River Trent barbel been growing faster but the scale sample returns have revealed that those caught were aged between three and 14 years old, with the average age at nine years. 

The weights of the barbel catches ranged between 1lb 8oz and 15lb 4oz, with an average of 7lb 8oz. 

Furthermore, the results revealed that both male and female barbel had a higher growth rate compared to the national average, although the male barbel very rarely exceeded 8lb in weight. 

Ryan Taylor added: “The preliminary analysis of the data collected so far is positive, suggesting that the barbel populations on the River Trent are doing well. 

“However, there is still a need for further information from anglers fishing all sections of the Trent. We would like anyone who has taken part in the study to send in their data, and anyone interested in the taking part next year to please get in contact.”   

“We understand that conditions haven’t been favourable for fishing, but we are hopeful to have a few more returns now that the season has closed. It is likely that new information, especially from areas with little or no data, will have a big impact on final results for the year.”

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The EA report in numbers 

• 76 Total number of scale removal kits issued
• Number of barbel caught: 257
• 355 Final number of barbel surveyed with brood-stock figures
• Location that produced the most barbel, Averham to Cromwell: 174
• 15lb 4oz Biggest barbel caught by the Barbel Study Group volunteers
• Average age of River Trent barbel: Nine years
• 7lb 8oz Average weight of Trent barbel caught in survey

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We asked respected fish scientist and big fish angler Dr Paul Garner to explain why the Trent barbel might be showing such extraordinary growth rates. He said: “A number of factors may have contributed to the increases, the first being the sheer amount of natural food available to the fish. The Trent is a vast waterway that is extremely rich in invertebrates for the barbel to feast on. 

“Secondly, from below Nottingham up to Newark you’ll find a number of weirs on the river which are providing warm, oxygenated water for the barbel to thrive in. The Trent is also deep with not a particularly fast flow, meaning that the barbel don’t have to swim against the current all the time, so can put on a lot of weight in a relatively short period of time.”

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Steve Ringer's ultimate guide to pole fishing! Out Now!

Steve Ringer’s Guide to Pole Fishing book

NEW for 2018 – 132 pages - Limited Edition!

Available from Tuesday March 20 2018

£6.99 plus £2.99 p&p

Steve Ringer’s new book is here – and it’s a must-have for all anglers who fish the pole.

This limited edition, 132-page book is filled with brilliant advice to help you catch more fish this season with exclusive instruction, action-packed features, on-the-bank tips, and great tackle tricks from the master himself.

Inside the glossy mag, Steve takes you through all four seasons of fishing, picking out his favourite, match-winning tactics to crack a variety of lakes and fish species including carp, F1s, bream, and roach.

There are simple, step-by-step sequences for setting up your pole, tying the latest rigs, and preparing your bait too.

You’ll learn…

* Essential pole floats and rigs for carp and silverfish, and when to use them

* Step-by-step: How to elasticate your pole and use puller kits

* Bait prep and feeding advice, including using pole pots and cups

* How to set up your pole to land every fish you hook

* On-the-bank knowledge for catching more roach, bream and carp

* Shallow fishing, margins, and snake lake tactics explained in depth

PLUS Win some brilliant Daiwa tackle prizes