Academy unearths big match stars of the future
A project set up by a top tackle brand to help develop young match anglers has this year received a record number of applicants, Angling Times can reveal.
The Guru Match Academy is now in its third year, and more youngsters than ever before are involved have signed up.
Guru Tackle representative Matt Godfrey spoke to Angling Times about the Academy and the goal it’s trying to achieve.
He said: “It’s been fantastic to see how the Academy has progressed over the last three years, and to know that there are more and more budding young match anglers out there.
“In our first year we had 20 applicants, and 35 in the second – but this time round we had around 60 attend the two events held at Partridge Lakes and Makin Fisheries.
“The main task is to get them involved and engaged in fishing, but we’re also introducing them to the next level in match angling.
“It gives youngsters a taste of what it’s like to compete on a grand scale with the help of some of the best names in the business.
“Two young anglers, who we thought had exceptional skills and attitude on the day, also received a £1,000 one-year 2018 Guru Tackle sponsorship – an award that will help them get to the next level.
“Getting kids into fishing is hard enough, but this scheme gives them something to chase.”
One angler to benefit from the Academy this year was Brandon George, who took home the sponsorship prize during the first event at Makins.
Angling Times caught up with the 17-year-old to find out about his experience on the day and his future match fishing plans.
“I couldn’t believe what happened the moment I was given the sponsorship,” he added.
“I have always looked up to those who are sponsored by Guru as I believe they are the best match fishing company out there.
“To be given an opportunity that could change my life is something I will cherish forever, and I don’t think that fact will ever sink in.
“I’m wanting to make the most of my sponsorship with Guru – for the past few years I’ve been fishing various opens and qualifiers but haven’t been able to do as many as I would like, due to school.
“Now I have this opportunity and a bit more time, I’m going to make the most of it by trying as hard as I can.
“I want to fish more opens and festivals than ever before. My future goal is to one day win a major festival or a qualifier to get into a big-money final or, even better, win one.
“The Guru Academy is an awesome event for young anglers to give them a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and I urge others with the same goal to sign up and do the same!”
Match bags up north the best in years
Match records on commercial fisheries have been tumbling this summer – and nowhere more than in the in the north of Britain, where anglers have enjoyed some of the best fishing for many years.
Angel of the North Fishing Lakes near Gateshead, Tyne & Wear, is an excellent example, where a recent match was won with 405lb 7oz.
Angling Times spoke to Ann Adlington, owner and manager of the complex, to discover just why the fishing has been so good this summer.
“The water in our lakes is the warmest it’s been for 17 years, and this has caused the fish’s metabolism to reach peak levels,” said Ann.
“The result is exceptionally hungry fish that respond very well to bait, and pleasure anglers are regularly catching bags of fish in excess of 300lb.
“Simple tactics are all that are needed – use an 8mm or 10mm fishery pellet over 3mm or 6mm loosefeed. Just be careful to only feed small amounts of bait, otherwise you’ll get too many fish in your peg!”
The Oaks Lakes in Sessay, North Yorks, has also fished brilliantly off this summer, and in a recent match the venue record was broken not once, but three times – the three framing weights were all over 400lb. Best haul was a phenomenal 451lb 14oz by Adam Richards. The top seven anglers in the match all had over 300lb, and throughout the summer match weights across the fishery have steadily increased.
The match record at Lindholme Lakes in Doncaster, South Yorks, has also been broken this summer, this time by Andy Bennett, who bagged 427lb of F1s shallow on the pole from Benny’s Lake.
As on the Angel of the North Fishing Lakes, the water at these two venues will have been much warmer than it has been over the past few years, and this will have led to exceptionally hungry fish with a very high metabolism.
It’s not only catches of carp and F1s that have been taken during the recent hot spell, as fantastic bags of bream and ide have been caught at Broom Fisheries in Scotland. Owner John Wright said that while exceptional bags of silvers can be taken in hot conditions, it can get too hot for them to feed well: “When it gets to over about 26ºC silver fish sport can tail off. In conditions like this it’s better to target carp. Anglers doing this have had more double-figure fish than ever before, and it is likely that the long summer contributed to this,” he added.
Although the hot spell now seems to be over and we are entering autumn, fishery records are still being broken and fish will feed hard to fatten up for the winter. Get yourself Up North and make the most of these exceptional conditions!
Schools urged to teach kids to fish
Schools in England and Wales are being urged to apply for free fishing courses in a bid to help their students get into the sport.
The Fishing for Schools initiative is run by The Countryside Alliance Foundation (TCAF) and has been providing free, short angling courses at schools across the country for the last 11 years.
The goal has been to aid the education of 12 to 16-year-olds who may not respond to traditional classroom-based learning.
Due to phenomenal interest in the courses, Fishing for Schools (F4S) is now operating an application process where schools can use an online form to apply for free sessions annually.
F4S director and founder Charles Jardine said: “There has been a huge growth in demand for our courses, which is brilliant.
“We believe the new application process is a fair and consistent way of deciding how our resources are best used.”
Bright future for budding anglers!
Three major projects to encourage youngsters to take up fishing have been hailed resounding successes by organisers.
First, the benefits of the Angling Trust’s Talent Pathway – a programme to help nurture and progress young anglers into becoming England Internationals – could be seen at this year’s Under-15 World Championships in Italy, where Sensas Team England angler Callum Jennings took the silver medal in the individual rankings with the team securing fourth.
England Under-15 manager Joe Roberts told Angling Times: “The Talent Pathway has proved the knockers wrong, and I couldn’t be happier. 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.”
Another event that took place recently and was aimed at getting youngsters into fishing was the Get Hooked On Fishing sessions at the BBC’s Countryfile Live show at Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire.
The initiative’s CEO Sarah Collins told us how the event went, saying: “Our sessions proved very popular, with us being fully booked before noon on all four days.
“We estimate that more than 5,000 people came through the fishing area and engaged with either our free coaching sessions, our interactive games area, artwork, or music.
“The response we had was overwhelmingly positive, in fact the only negative comment was that we were fully booked.
“This means that at next year’s event we can apply for more space for fishing and coaching. This is only possible, though, with more volunteers, who are vital to our success.
“Our main aim was to show that fishing is something for all the family, and I think we definitely showcased this.”
One of the most popular annual events for youngsters is Korda’s Carp Academy and this year’s was no exception.
While fishing with superstars such as Danny Fairbrass and Tom Dove, the 24 youngsters taking part caught a total of 206 fish weighing up to 31lb in the
48-hour event held at Todber Manor Fishery earlier this month.
With events like these leading the way, and regular organised ‘learn to fish’ days at clubs and fisheries around the country, there has never been a better time for youngsters to get into angling.
Trent has never been better...
he River Trent is rightly grabbing the headlines for its barbel, but match ace Tommy Pickering reckons the river’s silverfish sport is better than it has ever been.
After fishing the river regularly in the run-up to last weekend’s Division One National, the England feeder team boss has enjoyed cracking catching of roach and dace – his favourite fish.
“It’s incredible,” said the man who became known as ‘The Bionic Bleaker’ thanks to big match hauls of the tiny fish from the Trent in the 1970s. “There are more fish in the river than there have ever been. You can do what you want to catch them as well – pole, waggler, feeder, stick float...
“Last week I fished the open on the river at Winthorpe and drew above the bridge. I had no idea what to expect but I caught 81 fish for 13-8-0 – mainly dace and perch on the feeder.
“Then the other week on Newark Dyke I had a fish every cast on a long rod and stick float – roach, skimmers and perch.
“Access to the river is fantastic, and in many areas you can park right next to your peg. I have been fishing the Trent for 50 years now and there have never been so many fish there. It’s brilliant.”
All-rounder Bob Roberts is another who knows all about the silver fish potential of the river, and he says the brilliant sport is down to anglers targeting species other than its dace, roach and skimmers.
“The Trent has always held good stocks of silver fish,” he said, “but they have been neglected for years after match and pleasure anglers largely abandoned the river in the mid-1980s in the wake of a decline in roach sport.
“Access is also far better than it has even been, not only to individual swims, but to whole stretches. Non-tidal waters have been opened up where the fishing is superb. Local anglers have been catching there for years, but match anglers were slower to cotton on to their potential.”
Alan Henshaw, team leader at the Environment Agency’s Calverton Fish Farm in Notts, believes the Trent has yet to reveal its full potential.
“When we consider the quality of the barbel and chub fishing, the incredible silver fish sport and, of course, the relatively untapped predator potential of the Trent, with its pike, perch and zander, we find a river with more angling possibilities than any other in the country,” he said.
“Up until the 1980s, the Trent was essentially an artificial river,” he continued. “Its waters were dirty and warmed by power stations, which created perfect conditions for roach to thrive. Then the river was cleaned up, resulting in a clear, cool waterway which is the perfect environment for chub and barbel.
“Combine these conditions with intense angling pressure and factor in the large quantities of high-protein baits being introduced to the river, and we have a situation where these fish can grow to specimen size.”
Bob and Alan both expect the current barbel boom to tail off, just as the roach fishing did, and say that in 20 years’ time the Trent could well be a completely different river once again.
Time will tell, but for now the River Trent has never been better.
236lb nile perch in amazing battle
Tim Webb described the capture of this enormous 236lb Nile perch during a spectacular action-packed trip to Uganda as ‘the greatest angling achievement of my life.”
The 59-year-old was fishing beneath the dramatic Murchison Falls, on the Victoria Nile, when the huge predator took his livebait offering in the gorge immediately below the white water.
Tim, who did battle with the fish for 40 minutes, told Angling Times: “Once I hooked the perch we had to follow it downstream in the boat for 1km, through rapids, in order to find water slow enough to land it safely. The river was very high, and that made fishing conditions more challenging.”
The Crawley, West Sussex rod banked another giant perch of 117lb as well as a 72lb semutundu catfish during his trip. All the fish fell to 8oz-10oz livebaits which were bounced along the rocky river bottom with 1oz leads attached in order to hold them down in the flow.
Tim used Rovex Masterline/Walker John Wilson Monster Tamer rods, Shimano Stella 1800 SW reels loaded with 80lb Rovex Braid, 100lb Black Magic leaders and two-hook rigs comprising a size 19 Gamakatsu single and an Owner ST66 2/0 treble.
Tim is no stranger to doing battle with massive fish overseas. The Nile perch is the fifth freshwater fish species weighing over 200lb that he has landed down the years, the others being giant freshwater stingrays to 620lb, Siamese carp to 222lb, arapaima to 465lb and Mekong catfish to 410lb.
In spite of this, he ranks this latest heavyweight as the highlight of his impressive big-fish career. He added: “I consider this to be my greatest angling achievement, and it came on my very first visit to the Victoria Nile.
“It was a remarkable trip, and we saw lots of big game while fishing, including elephants, giraffes, hartebeest, buffalo, crocodiles, hippos, waterbucks, warthogs, goliath herons, egrets and fish eagles.”
The magnitude of Tim’s latest catch was not lost on angling legend John Wilson, himself no stranger to globetrotting for huge foreign species.
He said: “Having fished Murchison Falls many times in the past, I know what an incredible feat it is to land a beast of this size.
“It’s a remarkable fish, and hats off to Tim.”
Millions tune in to ‘gone fishing’
BBC 2’s fishing series ‘Whitehouse and Mortimer: Gone Fishing’ has been a massive hit.
The six-part show, which launched on Wednesday, June 20, was watched at launch by over 1.8 million, and 586,000 recorded it to view at a later date. A further 310,000 watched the Friday repeat. These viewing statistics mean the programme is the sixth-best-rated show at 10pm for BBC2 this year.
The show appealed to a wide audience, with adults aged 55-plus accounting for 437,000 of the total viewings – half of these being from men.
The response to the show on social media has been equally positive with even a Facebook group created to celebrate it. The pick of the comments from our own Facebook page is: “This show is just heart-warmingly awesome. Fantastic work to all involved!”
Co-presenter Bob Mortimer was delighted with the feedback from the viewing public. “In 30 years this is the most positive response I’ve ever had to a show,” he said.
Paul Whitehouse added: “People have told me that they are going to get heart check-ups purely because of watching the show, which is obviously very encouraging.”
7 Records smashed as carp go on the feed
Despite the heat – or perhaps because of it – commercial stillwater fisheries have never been in finer form, with record-breaking match weights reported from all around the country.
England international Des Shipp was at it again, bagging 38lb to set a new five-hour match record at Todber Manor Fisheries in Dorset.
Drawing peg 89 on Homeground Lake, Des set up to fish short, shallow and in the margins. After catching a few carp using 6mm pellets on the short pole, Des turned to his right-hand margin swim, which was where the bagging really began.
Feeding groundbait and corn 5m out, Des caught mainly carp between 1lb and 3lb. Taking to Angling Times after the match, Des explained: “When it slowed I just fed another pot of groundbait and they were straight on it.
“The settled weather has played a part in these big weights but the main reason is anglers are just so much better and more efficient at catching fish. Fisheries themselves are also very much switched on as to how best to look after their waters and stocks.”
Guru-backed ace Pemb Wrighting fancied Lake Two on Kent’s Monk Lakes complex but never expected to catch a massive 525lb of carp and claim the new venue record.
Drawing peg 66, Pemb started by fishing down his right-hand margin, where he filled a keepnet within the first hour.
After this initial flurry, he spent the rest of the match fishing across to the end bank, feeding pellets and fishing a big Mainline Neutral expander pellet or a bit of paste on the hook. In the last hour Pemb returned to his right-hand margin, where he fed heavily with groundbait and finished off his phenomenal catch.
He told Angling Times: “I think it’s been hot for so long now that fish are happy with the water temperature as it is. Everything has been consistent for months – pressure, temperature and sunlight. I think the fish are simply happy and this means they move around a lot, so they have to eat to recoup lost energy.”
Tactically, Pemb had this to say about his success: “I think it’s mega-important to use the best quality bait you can, and now is the time to use a lot of it! The fish are hungry, so feed them. It’s also important to gear up accordingly. That doesn’t mean using the heaviest gear, but rigs need to be durable to last all day.”
Doncaster’s Lindholme Lakes is another venue in prolific form, with huge match weights coming out across the complex. Andy Bennett, however, took these weights to another level when he broke the fishery record with 427lb from peg 28 on Benny’s.
In this unfancied area of the lake Andy fished with 4mm fishery feed pellets shallow on the pole at 8m to catch mainly F1s.
A hard pellet approach has also been producing record-breaking weights on the Meadowlands complex near Coventry, where both the five and six-hour match records have been broken on its Lambsdown Lake.
Stu Brown took 463lb 15oz on 8mm pellets fished on the pellet waggler, the bomb and down the margins to claim the six-hour record from peg 10.
Barry Byrd used the same tactics to bag 348lb from peg 36 for the five-hour record. The greater part of both anglers’ catches was taken in the margins, where feeding heavily was key to success.
To finish a week of immense match weights, John Light broke the record on Hampshire’s Gold Valley’s Gold Lake with a massive 343lb, and Jamie Hughes smashed the Mescar Fisheries complex record on Merseyside with 362lb 8oz from Mistral Lake.
Jamie told Angling Times: “It was a ridiculous match, in which I fished down the margins the entire time. This weather is great for big match weights.”
The common factor to all these record-breaking bags has been a simple and clear approach, where fishing shallow or in the margins has reaped rewards.
The use of hard pellets seems key at present – but you need to feed them regularly to keep the fish in your peg.
Future of rivers looking bright as fry numbers soar
Thousands upon thousands of fry have been spotted in rivers all over the UK, prompting expert predictions that the future is bright for our running waters.
Despite the current weather conditions being less than ideal for angling and the environment – including a lowering of dissolved oxygen and water levels – it appears the heatwave suits fish fry just fine.
The last major fry boom was back in 1976 which, incidentally, was a summer many will remember as the hottest of their lives. That year anglers witnessed an explosion of fry which fast-forwarded to the ‘glory years’ of the 1980s, when rivers nationwide saw an abundance of silver fish.
One angler who vividly remembers the aftermath of 1976 is river maestro Dave Harrell:
“I’m no fishery scientist, but I’ve been around long enough to have witnessed a lot of changes to fish stocks in rivers,” he said.
“The last time we had a sustained period of dry weather like the one we’re currently experiencing was in 1976.
“Rivers all around the country saw an incredible number of chub growing and thriving during the 1980s. I think the same thing could happen again.
“I’m also excited by the news coming in from many rivers concerning numbers of small barbel between 1lb and 2lb that have been caught since the season began. I would imagine these are three-year-old fish, so 2015 must have been a good spawning year too. Is there a fish boom on the way, I wonder?”
If a boom is really on the cards it can only be good news for the future of our river systems – but why do the current conditions promote such positive fry recruitment? Environment Agency technical officer Richard Pitman, from Calverton Fish Farm in Nottinghamshire, explained:
“I’d say it’s more to do with flows, but there are other factors,” he said. “Minimal rainfall is perfect for fry – it creates low water conditions which enable them to choose a safe location. In a normal year we have summer floods which push them into less secure areas and make their survival far less certain.
“At the moment the rivers are also full of natural food and for these little fish the living is easy. Hopefully the fry will survive and we’ll see a boom, which can only be great for angling.”
Anglers, too, are noticing the increase in fry numbers on their travels. Angling Times reporter Jake Benson has been fishing various river locations since the beginning of the season, and said: “I recently spent the day with a team from the Environment Agency, and it didn’t take long to spark up a conversation about the thousands of fry we witnessed at each location we visited.
“It’s something I’ve been noticing across all river systems this year – the Severn, Great Ouse, Ivel, Hampshire Avon, Lea, Nene, Thames, Trent, Wensum and Suffolk Stour are all examples of rivers that are alive with fry – I’m sure the future is bright right across the UK.
“I’m always hearing people moaning about the state of our rivers, and while I do think there is a lot more we can do to help, from what I’ve seen they are teeming with fish.
“Try walking a stretch during the hours of darkness with a headtorch – I can’t tell you how much fry life I’ve seen doing that.
“I’m prepared to go out on a limb and say we’re in the middle of a positive cycle – five to ten 10 years down the line and I think our rivers could be in a great place.”
big cash prizes in new contests
A new series of matches at a top fishery will give anglers the chance to win thousands of pounds... without having to qualify.
Staffordshire’s Heronbrook Fisheries is hosting the matches in partnership with tackle company MAP.
Called the MAP Heronbrook 100, up to five one-off events will have a £100 entry fee and 100 places available.
The winner of each match will receive £4,000, and 23 of the participants are guaranteed to win at least their money back.
“Already we’ve sold 50 tickets for the trial match on September 29,” said Heronbrook owner Neil Dale. “If the match is successful we have plans in place for four further matches in 2019.
“A lot of anglers are starting to become disheartened by the prestigious competitions such as Fish O’Mania, Maver Match This and Golden Reel.
“Some of the qualifiers are crammed across smaller venues and there’s only a few metres between you and the guy pegged next to you.
“Unless you draw a flyer, there’s very little chance of you being able to qualify and win something.
“In the MAP Heronbrook 100 you have a big complex with lots of room, and there will be one free peg between every angler.
“There’s also 15 metres between each peg here, so anglers will have a great chance of sacking up with lots of room to work in.
“There are at least 60 pegs that have the potential to win a match at Heronbrook, and with 30-40 anglers currently catching over 100lb in matches, those competing in the trial are sure to have a great day’s fishing with the bonus of winning big.”
Heronbrook isn’t the only fishery to create a big-money competition, as the recent
R & J Pipework Masters at Decoy Lakes proved.
The 160-peg match had an entry fee of £50, was organised by Wensum Valley Angling, and used all 11 lakes at the Cambridgeshire venue – with Adam Major claiming the £6,000 winner’s cheque.
A spokesman for Decoy Lakes said: “More and more anglers aren’t minding paying decent entry fees for the chance of winning these big matches.
“With sponsorship from Norwich company R & J Pipework, the match was able to offer competitors some serious prize money without having to travel around the country fishing qualifiers which can be a bit of a lottery. Next year’s event will be even better!
“The problem these days is that there are too many big qualifiers going on at the same time. A spread of these competitions across the year could see attendances increase still further.”
Matches to run over all five lakes
£100 entry fee
100 spaces available
£9,000 paid out – First: £4,000 Second: £2,000, Third: £1,000
20 sections of five pegs
£100 for each section winner
Prizes supplied by MAP
The trial match will be held at Heronbrook Fisheries on September 29. Call Neil Dale on 07879 441282 to participate or for further information.
The Middle Level could host a UK World Champs, says Ray Malle
FINDING a venue suitable to host international-standard events has been a long-standing challenge in UK match circles.
But that could well change thanks to hard work by clubs and anglers bidding to transform one of Britain’s ‘forgotten’ match venues into one capable of welcoming the world’s best.
Cutting a swathe through the heart of the Fens in East Anglia, the Middle Level Drain was renowned for 1,000-plus-peg matches fished by stars of the calibre of Ivan Marks and Robin Harris back in the 1970s.
Since then it has fallen out of favour – but local Norfolk club King’s Lynn AA, which controls much of this massive venue, is keen to change all that.
Arrow-straight and deep, with access behind most pegs and a massive head of fish, the drain opens itself up to feeder or float events. And with hundreds of pegs to fish, plus a willing controlling club, there seems no reason why the ‘Level’ couldn’t welcome back the big matches.
Ray Malle is the man on a mission to make it happen. The King’s Lynn AA match promoter and Sensas Mark One angler grew up fishing the Middle Level, watching the likes of Marks and Marlow learn their trade. With money available for improvements and a committee singing off the same hymn sheet, Ray believes that now is the time for England to finally welcome back international fishing!
Q) England is crying out for a venue to host the World Championships. A lot of anglers would love to see Alan Scotthorne and William Raison fishing and winning on home soil. Could this happen on the Middle Level?
Ray Malle: Why the hell not? The recent World Feeder Champs was fished by 145 anglers, and we could get them on one short section of the Middle Level.
We could pick and choose the best sections and hold that without any issue. The same goes for a World Champs float event. We’ve got great access, as the drain is just a few minutes off the A47 trunk road and there’s loads of accommodation nearby. This drain can be fished on a slider, a feeder, a whip, the long pole, a waggler shallow, almost anything you care to name.
Q) How about a big a big National event such as FeederMasters?
RM: Absolutely. We’ve got the pegs, we’ve got the access, we’ve got the fish and we’ve got a committee who all want the best for the venue. They will help in any way to get big matches back on the Middle Level, but I think we’ll need to walk before we can run. That means perhaps getting a FeederMasters qualifier on the water to show anglers how well it can perform.
The club did a costing for holding the Ladies World Championships several years ago but the committee then were a bit backward – now we’re highly proactive and want these big events on our waters. We have the people on board who will say ‘yes’.
Let’s make it happen!
Q) Why did the Middle Level fall out of favour with anglers?
RM: The advent of commercial fisheries, easy access, and anglers wanting ‘easier’ fishing in the 1990s led to a lot of people turning their backs, not just on the Middle Level, but on rivers and drains in general.
Carp lakes were new, offered great fishing out of the back of the car, and didn’t need a fortune spent in bait.
Also, I think there was a perception that zander had eaten all the roach and skimmers, and that if you held a match on the drain, it would be a disaster.
Q) It appears that the drain has bounced back, and naturally too. You must be pleased about that?
RM: Very much so! I grew up 10 minutes away from the drain, fished it as a lad, and watched the likes of Ivan Marks fishing the massive matches on there.
To see it slide in popularity was sad, but I think that Mother Nature has now re-established a balance to the ecosystem. The zander have now spread throughout the whole drains system so there’s not the concentration there was in the 1970s.
This, in turn, has allowed the silver fish to last longer and get to a decent size. Recruitment is much better too, as nurseries for fry are now firmly established. As a result, there are more fish to catch than I can ever remember.
Q) How are thorny issues such as bankside access and swim clearing solved? Surely not every farmer or landowner is going to be accommodating?
RM: That’s true, but King’s Lynn AA has a good relationship with a lot of landowners and the Middle Level Drainage Commission. Between us, we’ve gained access where you can drive on top of the bank to park behind your peg.
There’s still some permission to be gained to open it all up, but things are certainly miles better than they were 10 years ago, and the club works hard to cut out pegs and install platforms.
We’ve put quite a few in, and the money is there to add many more. It’s all about making the fishing comfortable, and that means parking close to pegs and a good platform to fish from.
Q) How many pegs are on offer, and is the fishing going to be eqally good on all of them?
RM: We have more than 1,000 pegs running from St Germans near King’s Lynn all the way down to Three Holes near Upwell – that’s 10 miles of bank. The fishing is obviously not going to be good everywhere, as these are wild fish that move a lot.
The Environment Agency tagged a bream in the Middle Level near King’s Lynn and it turned up in the Old River Nene in March town centre! That’s a massive distance to cover. However, I’m adamant that you can have a day’s fishing anywhere. This might not mean a netful of bream, but this drain offers so many other fish to catch.
Q) Such as? What other species can anglers target in addition to the drain’s shoals of bream?
RM: Well, there are a lot of roach and rudd to catch on the pole, hybrids and skimmers if the big bream aren’t feeding, and perch, eels and big tench that will take worms just over the lily pads.
Add to that big pike and zander that get caught in winter and this really is a fishery for everyone.
Part of my remit, and the desire of King’s Lynn AA, is to get more people fishing the Middle Level to make it the club’s premier fishery.
I think people know of the place but reckon it’s not very good owing to zander and other predators. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Q) So what are the next steps?
RM: My task is to speak to the Angling Trust and the lads who organise FeederMasters and put the Middle Level forward as a potential venue to be used for a National, a qualifier or even a smaller international event.
However, it’s also available for clubs and locally we’re being proactive with a feeder-only series which has one round on the Middle Level.
We’ll never again see the days of Marks and Marlow doing battle with the Sheffield anglers in 800-peg matches, but I’ve fished a lot of UK venues my time and I’m not being biased when I say there’s not one big enough or good enough to rival the Middle Level at present.
Stock boost for Great Ouse barbel
A hundred thousand month-old barbel fry have been stocked into the Great Ouse above Bedford and its tributary the River Ivel in a bid to replenish stocks.
The work is in response to feedback from anglers that there are fewer barbel in the Ouse than in its heyday in the 1980s and 90s.
Nobody is sure if the decline is down to habitat loss, natural causes, predation or a combination of the three, but thanks to the latest stockings the future of barbel on both rivers seems assured.
The Environment Agency is responsible for improving the fisheries, with all the work it does funded solely from rod licence revenue. Fisheries technical specialist Kye Jerrom, from the EA’s Brampton depot, manages projects carried out in the Cambridgeshire and Bedfordshire river catchments.
He said: “We’ve been carrying out habitat improvements and research into barbel for 12 years now, and this stocking is just a small snippet of the work we’re undertaking.
“Our aim is to ensure the Upper Ouse is a sustainable fishery, and a natural one. This means it shouldn’t be reliant on top-ups of fish. Most of our efforts are being invested into ensuring that the habitat of the Ouse and its smaller tributaries, like the Ivel, is suitable for barbel.
“That means retaining stocks, providing cover for juvenile fish and ensuring successful spawnings – that’s how you make a real difference.”
“We stock fish to provide a helping hand – a boost to natural populations. It’s a useful fisheries management tool, but by no means the only one.
Kye continued: “We’ve learnt an awful lot from our research. Our studies indicate the primary cause of the barbel decline is a poor fry survival rate and reduced spawning success.
“Although there are a number of factors affecting natural recruitment, two of the most problematic which have been outlined in our studies are the lack of clean spawning beds due to sediment build-up, and predation on barbel eggs by the invasive signal crayfish.
“This is why we have chosen to stock the fry and bypass the problems brood fish are currently experiencing in the wild.”
A question many anglers are asking is, why stock thousands of small fry as opposed to fewer, but larger, barbel? Kye explained the EA’s stance.
“Larger fish may well have better survival rates than the estimated one per cent from our latest stockings, but those fish are unlikely to be as fit and as successful as adults that have survived from very young fry.
“These will be a lot more ‘streetwise’, so to speak, when they mature, having spent virtually their whole life in the river. This will hopefully make for a hardier fish long-term.
“It also doesn’t feel right stocking larger fish – yearling fish seem much more natural.”
All the EA’s stocking efforts would be pointless unless they proved to be sustainable for
years to come, and this is why Kye and his team have also carried out a succession of habitat improvements, including creating areas suited to juvenile barbel.
He explained: “We’ve constructed several refuge areas for fry and juvenile fish, the latest of which is in Harrold Country Park, one of the six stocking locations. These areas offer an escape from floodwater and are very important for fry survival – only a day after opening this particular relief channel it was full of fry!
“We’ve also restored several areas, including Adams Mill, which produced the record. Here we’ve installed structures to halt bank erosion, which in turn keep the stretch narrower and faster, helping to keep the spawning beds clean.
“Alongside this, we’ve added several flow deflectors, which again help stop sediment build-up on the gravels and raise oxygen levels.
“We can’t do all this work ourselves,” Kye continued.
“The fisheries team also works with local anglers, angling clubs and landowners, as they are the key to improving the fishery catchment scale. All this work is reliant on rod licence income, 100 per cent of which will be ploughed back into projects such as this.”
Anglers urged to help save fish stocks!
The UK is currently enjoying one of the hottest summers in years but as temperatures hit upwards of 30°C, angling clubs and authorities are taking measures to ensure their river fish remain safe.
The country has seen little or no rain over the last five weeks and this has started to impact on river levels and the fish living in them.
Some river levels have got so low that the Environment Agency has had to step in to intervene – and has recently carried out a fish rescue on a section of the River Teme in Worcestershire after a number of trout and salmon were cut off due to the receding water.
Jason Grant, a communications specialist for the EA, issued a report stating: “The rescue is part of annual response to reports of fish in distress due to natural processes that reduce oxygen levels in the water.
“Where necessary, fish will be rescued and transferred to another river.
“During dry spells it’s not unusual for some rivers and lakes in fast-responding catchments to deplete quickly, even during short periods of low rainfall, although they tend to recover quickly when the rain returns.
“At this time of year the Environment Agency is always ready to respond to pressure on rivers caused by low flows, and we continue to monitor the water situation.
“If anyone sees any fish in distress, or a suspected river pollution, we ask they please call 0800 80 70 60 so the Environment Agency can respond to protect the environment.”
River anglers are also being urged to take extra care when returning fish to the water during the hot weather.
The news comes after Angling Times received a number of reports of barbel being found dead on popular stretches of river.
The situation has become a cause for concern, particularly for the Barbel Society, which has now closed its river venues until conditions improve.
Chris Jones is the membership secretary for the Society, and he said: “Our waters are among some of the best remaining barbel fisheries in the country.
“The decision to temporarily close our waters was made by a unanimous committee decision on the July 6... in the best interests of the fish, our members and the fisheries themselves.
“As it happened, we were pleased that many of our members had already ceased fishing, and all have supported our decision.
“With such low dissolved oxygen levels, barbel will struggle to regain oxygen into their bloodstreams after the exertions of being caught.
“Further, normal reduction of river plant photosynthesis, or algal blooms, during low light and darkness means sub-surface plants consume more oxygen – only adding to the problem.
“We all know our barbel populations are suffering for a number of reasons, so it is imperative that we all protect what we have left.
“We will be monitoring the situation regularly so that our waters can be re-opened as soon as possible. In the meantime we thank our bailiffs for their daily efforts in policing this decision.”
3 tips to ensure fish go back strongly in hot weather
1) After the fight leave the fish in the net within the water for at least five minutes to allow for recovery.
2) Specifically with barbel, bream and chub, hold them around the belly and the wrist of the tail and point their heads upstream so that the water can enter their gills
3) Don’t release the fish into fast-flowing water – find a shallow area with moderate flow. Barbel in particular can take up to 30 minutes to recover. They should only be released when they start to swim strongly.
Anglers have voted to scrap the close season AS it stands
Anglers have voted to scrap the close season on rivers.
But just a quarter of those rod licence holders polled by the Environmental Agency took part in the survey..
The EA rolled out the questionnaires to a selected 20,000 anglers asking for their view on the closed season and released the figures today.
The returns revealed that out of those 20,000 only 5,147 anglers took part, 2,553 (49.6%) of said the closed season should be scrapped from rivers and 2,190 (42.5%) preferred to see it remain in force.
Out of the 2,553 anglers who wanted to scrap the close season, 1,695 of them wanted it totally abolished with the remaining 858 wanting a change to the starting and closing date on rivers.
The number of anglers who voted for a change to the close season means the EA will now open up a further consultation process to all anglers and other parties with an interest in fishery management.
Kevin Austin, Deputy Director for Agriculture, Fisheries and the Natural Environment at the EA, said: “We are grateful to all those that took part in the survey. The fact that so many did shows how important this is to anglers. It also means the results are statistically robust and is a true reflection of anglers’ views.
“We plan to hold a consultation later in the year which will examine all the arguments and
evidence, to help inform any future change in the close season byelaw.”
Mark Lloyd, Chief Executive of the Angling Trust, welcomed the EA’s decision to carry out a full consultation of all anglers.
He said: “The Angling Trust will not take any formal position in lobbying for or against any changes in the river close season but we strongly believe that the views of all anglers should be taken into account and are pleased that this important issue is now going out to full consultation.
“It will doubtless arouse some strong feelings on all sides but as an angling community we shouldn’t be frightened to debate, scrutinise and examine the evidence for the laws that affect and govern our sport.”
Records through the years.
In 65 years of Angling Times, tens of thousands of big fish have passed across the newsdesk.
They range from records that still stand today through to specimens that started a mini revolution in fishing. Inevitably, wading through that mass has created an ultimate list of greatest captures.
Even with that list drawn up, argument still rages among Angling Times staff, let alone anglers, as to which fish should make it.
Are the Norfolk Broads record pike of the 1980s more important than Llandegfedd’s trout water fish, and should the carp of Holme Fen earn more plaudits than Dick Walker’s record? You decide...
Schoolboy perch record shock - 2002
It’s the stuff of fishing fantasy – a schoolboy fishes a tiny pond and catches a British record perch. Fantasy then? Not a bit of it, as Oxfordshire 11-year-old Dean Rawlings stunned the angling world with the capture of a then record 5lb 9oz 8dr stripey from a small day-ticket lake in his home county.
A perfect example of the unpredictability of angling, Dean took the fish most specimen hunters die for by floatfishing a bunch of maggots on a lake that no-one would spare a second glance. The perch grabbed his hookbait as he reeled in to recast.
Not only did the capture get the big-fish world in a bit of a tizz, but it also showed the promise of commercial-style day-ticket waters for big perch. Today, such lakes are targeted for their massive perch but back in 2002, they wouldn’t have been on the hit list of anglers planning their campaign.
“The catch was 90per cent luck and 10 per cent skill, we know that, but nevertheless we’re all very proud of Dean,” said his dad at the time.
Although the UK record has since eclipsed his fish, the schoolboy’s record perch is still a story that comes up immediately when talking about memorable catches.
Chris Yates & the carp that didn’t count - 1980
There are a select few waters that you’d fish today in search of a record carp, but back in the 1980s, this branch of the sport was still in its infancy.
It was seen as very ‘secret squirrel’, and of all the lakes to fish for a massive carp, the tiny Redmire (Bernithan) Pool on the Welsh border was THE one to get on.
Steeped in history, having produced Dick Walker’s record Clarissa in the 1950s, it was the turn of angling legend and writer Chris Yates to show what the pool was capable of. At the start of the decade he landed a 51lb 6oz mirror to beat the then UK best.
Unfortunately for Chris, his application for a new record was cut down by British Record Fish Committee red tape, as the carp was ‘not made available for inspection’ by committee members.
This would have meant taking the fish away from the lake but Chris wasn’t prepared to do that and so the carp, which he named The Bishop, was weighed, witnessed, photographed and returned.
In an age of hi-tech tackle, rigs and baits, Chris caught the monster using nothing more complicated than a grain or two ofcorn on the hook, with a piece of Plasticine as a casting weight. The fish showed anglers that the 50lb carp benchmark was now possible to attain. Since then the record weight has gone up and up!
Llandegfedd pike revolution - 1988 - 1992
Trout reservoir pike fishing is big business today, but back in the late 1980s the phenomenon got underway with a series of pike fishing trials on Welsh trout water Llandegfedd.
Countless 30lb fish were caught and Welsh rugby legend Gareth Edwards set a new British best with a 45lb 6oz fish in 1989, beaten a few years later by Roy Lewis’ 46lb 13oz pike in 1992, a best that still stands today.
Roy was just 15 minutes into his first day on the reservoir when the massive pike took his lure fished from a boat. The pike had to be weighed on a set of scales procured by a local farmer, and delivered to the bankside in a JCB!
Ray Clarke’s river record roach - 1990
There’s always something special about a UK record being caught from a river, and no species is more evocative in this respect than the roach.
So Ray Clarke’s 4lb 3oz new best, caught in October 1990, was one that really struck a chord with anglers around the country.
He took it from the Dorset Stour, a venue famed for big roach and chub, using trotting tactics with double caster – that most classic of roach approaches.
Ray had visited the southern river in the hope of chalking up his first 2lb roach. That would have been a fine achievement in itself, but to catch a fish double that size and a record to boot staggered the Hertfordshire angler and the fishing world as a whole.
The UK’s first 20lb barbel - 2004
As the millennium dawned it was easy to dismiss 15lb barbel, such was the growth rate of this species. All bets were off as to whether a 20lb fish would be taken.
It was only a matter of time, given the domination of the Upper Grest Ouse at Adam’s Mill, which had produced a string of record breakers. Northampton’s Tony Gibson finally got over the line with a 20lb 6oz new British record.
Tthe record went a few times after that historic catch and Grahame King enjoyed a fine run of form, but this was the last breath of a dying giant as the river went into decline. The angling world now awaits the next record barbel – could it come from the Trent? Only time will tell.
Alan Wilson’s Wilstone wonder - 1985
BIG-fish hunting was seen as a bit niche in the mid-1980s. Who but a crazy man would spend weeks on end in all weathers under an umbrella in search of a record-breaking specimen? However, Lancashire rod Alan Wilson showed how rich the rewards could be when he landed a new UK tench best, a 12lb 8oz 11dr fish from Hertfordshire’s Wilstone Reservoir.
Triple Drennan Cup winner Alan, who is sadly no longer with us, caught the fish on feeder and corn tactics in the early morning before retaining the fish in a keep sack and contacting both the British Record Fish Committee and Angling Times for authentication and photos.
The eel record that’s still standing - 1978
Since the early 1990s, almost every British fish record has been bettered. But one remains that no angler has even come close to matching – the eel.
Hampshire angler Steve Terry broke the record way back in 1978 with a massive 11lb 2oz snake from a local lake. He took it on a legered boilie intended for carp, and since then, even though eels claimed to be bigger have been caught, none have passed the stringent requirements needed for a record.
In fact, 10lb eels are rarer than the anglers who deliberately fish for the species, which makes Steve’s capture all those years ago all the more remarkable.
Fish O’ Mania to return to Hayfield Lakes in 2019
Fish O’ Mania celebrated its return to Hayfield Lakes in style with an estimated 6,000 people turning up to the venue to watch Pete Black make history.
It’s also been announced that the venue is to host next year’s Fish O’ Mania finals following its successful return.
Robin Goforth, Chief Executive of Hayfield Lakes, said: “We’ve never had a bad Fish O’ Mania at Hayfield Lakes and it was very successful again this year. Now the fish are bigger, so there is more thrills for the crowd and for the TV.
“The crowd will be a lot bigger next year and we’ll have a 12 months to plan things like licences for beer tents, and things like that. It was a fantastic day, we couldn’t have asked for it to be any better and next year there will be more people and more things around the main event.”
Fish O’ Mania will return on Saturday, July 13, 2019. With tickets for qualifiers being announced in the coming weeks. For more info or to stay up to date with all things Fish O’ Mania related then follow them on social media.
Fish O’ Mania history made again!
PETE Black made Fish O’ Mania history over the weekend by becoming the youngest ever winner of the competition in its 25 year history. The 21-year old from King’s Norton weighed in with a final tally of 51.350kg and bagged £50,000 in prize money.
Second placed Andy Power finished on 39.225kg and picked up £10,000 for his efforts. Black Lead from the front after the second weigh-in and it wa a position he remained in for the rest of the contest.
Speaking after the match, Pete said: “It’s a dream to win Fish O’Mania. I’ve been putting in a lot of hard work in the last few weeks and it’s paid off. Mid-match I lost my way a bit – I went on the waggler and only really caught a few.
“I said to Adam (his bank runner), ‘if I’m going to win this I am going to carry on catching on the pole’ and I stayed on that for the rest of the match.
“You have to keep your head, it’s a fishing match at the end of the day. Everybody here is good enough to win so you have to just enjoy the day.”
5,000lb of carp in just 6 hours!
When you’ve weighed in a total of 388lb 12oz and yet only managed to finish sixth in a match you know you’re part of something very special – and that’s exactly what happened after a recent contest at Chart Fishery, in Kent.
The incredible match, fished by the Medway Trotters angling club on the venue’s Coarse Lake, resulted in more than 5,000lb of fish being banked by the 15 participants.
The top three all landed over 600lb with the winner, Del Lockwood, taking the top spot with 669lb of carp.
Angling Times spoke to Stephen Peters, who managed 628lb only to finish second!
He said: “The day was mental – we started the match with great anticipation after we arrived to find the carp cruising very close to the bank. On this occasion it did not matter what swim you were in, as nearly every angler bagged a personaL-best weight.
“I started fishing a pole top kit plus one section down to a dibber float set at about 14ins depth.
“With a banded 10mm pellet on the hook, I fed 8mm pellets over the top and stayed on that method for the whole match,” he added.
The rules at Chart Fishery state that your accumulated catch must be weighed midway through the six-hour competition.
At this halfway point Steve had already caught 302lb of carp.
He added: “Most of the fish were commons in the 4lb-12lb bracket – and at that average weight there’s no way you can bully them in.
“The difference on this occasion was that you did not have to wait for a bite – the float would go under in a matter of seconds”.
The result proved that commercial fisheries can provide spectacular match sport at this time of year, and Steve reckons that even bigger weights could be on the cards.
He said: “I ached for two days solid after the match, but what a fantastic water that Coarse Lake is.”
Hook Yourself a Luxury Fishing Lake (and a home worth £5.25million is thrown in!)
For those who dream of owning a massive house with its own lake in the garden a unique competition has arisen where YOU can have a chance to do just that.
The property up for grabs is Dancers Hill House located just 14 miles from central London. If the 6-bedroom and 6-bathroom mansion was not enough you also get 4-acres of grounds including a 1 1/2-acre lake stocked with over 2000 mixed coarse fish.
To enter the competition please visit www.windancershillhouse.com. Once on the site answer the question and pay the entry fee of £12.50 (plus £1 booking fee).
It really is as easy as that and you can enter multiple times if you are feeling lucky! The competition is due to close on the 16th of December 2018.
‘Catch a Crucian’ photographic competition
The Angling Trust and the National Crucian Conservation Project are once again organising their ‘Catch a Crucian’ photographic competition.
Leading crucian anglers, including A Passion for Angling’s Hugh Miles, big-fish specialist Gary Newman, author and crucian expert Peter Rolfe and angling artist Chris Turnbull, will judge images sent in by anglers.
Running throughout June, July and August, the competition aims to highlight crucian fishing, how to recognise true crucians, and the need for specific crucian waters.
Peter Rolfe told Angling Times: “This competition has helped the crucian conservation cause and it gives me great pleasure to be involved as a judge. I’m looking forward to seeing photos of great fish and places. In particular, I think it is a brilliant idea to offer a prize for photos of crucians caught by youngsters, sowing the seeds for years of pleasure ahead.”
Unlike many angling competitions, the size of the fish is not critical. The event’s sponsors have offered prizes of a £100 Angling Direct voucher and a Bait-Tech bucket containing £35 worth of crucian bait to each of the three anglers who take the best crucian picture, the best scenic picture of a crucian water, and the best picture of a junior with a crucian.
The competition is free to enter – just register online at https://catchacrucian.wordpress.com/ and go and catch and photograph some crucians.