Youngsters land HUGE shark
ANDY Griffith’s passion for catching huge fish runs in the family – his two sons have boated their first blue sharks in an action-packed day targeting the species.
Adrenaline junkie Andy, from Kent, is reckoned to be one of the best shark anglers in the country with no fewer than six world records to his name – but this time his challenge was to help his two sons, Harry and Ben, catch their first-ever sharks.
Speaking exclusively to Angling Times, Andy described the day out on the boat with his lads.
He said: “After I’d caught three threshers in a single day, Harry and Ben were eager for me to take them out to catch their own sharks. We had this trip booked with Andrew Alsop of White Water Charters, originally to target tope, but the weather was so good we decided to head out into the Celtic Deeps off the coast of Wales.
“After a fairly slow start we spotted a ‘free swimmer’ in the chum trail and Andrew began to hand-feed it mackerel cutlets.
“Soon afterwards it dived away to the nearest mackerel hookbait, the float went under and Sam was hooked into his first blue.
“He’s only eight, but after a 20-minute battle he managed to get the 70lb-estimated shark to the side of the boat, and Andrew agreed to bring it on board for a quick photo.”
With Sam’s fish unhooked and released it was soon Harry’s turn, and it didn’t take long for another float to shoot under the surface.
“While battling his blue, Harry said he didn’t realise how strong they were and announced he was getting a little out of breath,” Andy added.
“Despite being just 10 years old he still managed to get the shark to the side of the boat – another fantastic blue weighing in the 60lb-75lb bracket.
“As before, we agreed on a photo on deck and a quick release – the boys just couldn’t stop smiling.
“They had achieved their first blue sharks at the tender ages of eight and 10 – I had to wait until I was 37 for my first blue. I am incredibly proud of them both.”
Three giant carp taken on the pole!
A rod with a 3lb test curve is considered a suitable piece of tackle for playing a 25lb-plus carp.
So imagine our surprise when reports of three pole-caught specimens reached the Angling Times newsdesk this week.
The largest of these weighed in at an impressive 34lb 6oz and fell to Bournemouth angler David Yarwood during a week’s fishing holiday spent at a lake in the Dordogne, France.
Despite taking over 1,000lb of fish on specimen tactics over the course of the trip, the carp fanatic’s catch on an elasticated pole was his pick of the bunch.
He told Angling Times: “It fell to a single piece of corn on a size 16 hook and a 4lb hooklink tied to 5lb mainline on a Middy Muscle Tech 600 pole with a 1m extension.
“It put up one of the best fights I’ve ever had, considering it was on a pole suited to fish around a fifth the size of this carp!”
A father and son duo featured in the other two specimen carp catches taken on the pole.
Stewart and Ash Ogborne were enjoying a fishing trip on a lake in the north of France when the two giants struck – with Stewart enjoying sport from the first fish in the form of a 25lb 10oz mirror.
Speaking to Angling Times, Stewart said: “I’d just hooked and released the 25-pounder and then gave Ash a turn on the pole.
“His float wasn’t in the water for long before it shot under and a big fish was hooked – 32lb 5oz!
“He’s only 11 years old, and it took him 28 minutes to land on my Garbolino Exorcist pole which was equipped with a size 14 elastic. It certainly put up an incredible scrap!
“We knew there were big carp in the lakes and I’d been feeding a line all through the day to try and lure one in.
“It was just a matter of time before one was hooked!”
Both carp were caught on two 10mm punched luncheon meat pellets fished on a homemade rig that incorporated an 8lb mainline tied direct to a size 12 Kamasan Animal hook.
Big roach is fooled on a drop shot rig
Imagine Dan Eave’s delight when this specimen 2lb 2oz roach grabbed a worm on his drop shot rig.
The redfin equalled the predator fanatic’s personal best and was taken from a tributary of the RIver Thames.
Dan Told Angling Times: “After catching and weighing a 3lb 9oz perch I received another bite on a big lobworm.
“This felt like another decent fish – so you can guess my amazement when I saw this huge roach break the surface!
“It weighed 2lb 2oz, equalled my personal best, and is most certainly my biggest-ever from a river!
“All in all I was left very pleased with my morning’s work and arrived home by 10.30am, having caught two specimen fish of different species.”
River nene perch record smashed!
The River Nene perch record has been obliterated with the capture of an incredible
4lb 12oz specimen.
It fell to predator fanatic Harry Langley from a Cambridgeshire stretch of the waterway, and smashed the previous venue record of 4lb 4oz, taken in 2015 by local angler Paul Smith, by half-a-pound.
Speaking exclusively to Angling Times, Harry described his recent pursuit of big stripeys from the River Nene – a waterway that isn’t famed for its perch sport.
He said: “I decided to target the perch after stumbling across a few bigger ones chasing fry in this particular stretch.
“I set up two rods – one with a maggot feeder with maggot hookbaits and the other with worm on the bomb.
“At my first attempt of trying with a worm hookbait I was lucky enough to smash my personal best with a specimen weighing bang on 3lb.
“It was an exceptional catch for the Nene, but I knew there were bigger perch out there.
“This was confirmed a couple of days later when I hooked and lost a much better fish.
“I simply had to return, but I had no idea my next trip was going to produce something altogether more special.”
A week later Harry set up in the same spot and cast out his bomb and worm set-up.
A few hours passed without a bite, but then the 23-year-old’s perseverance was rewarded.
“The bite was a hard one and pulled the tip round towards the surface,” Harry said.
“The fight was fantastic – especially for a perch – as the fish started to take line, followed by those classic heavy headshakes.
“At first I thought it might have been a small zander, but when I got it to the top and saw it for the first time I just couldn’t believe what was heading for the landing net.
“I even managed to get some GoPro footage of the fish.
“It’s certainly a catch I won’t forget in a hurry!”
Barbel blitz in the cooler conditions
The recent cooler temperatures and much-needed rise in water levels have already produced some great results for the country’s barbel anglers.
Lots of double-figure fish have been landed over the past week, topped by one a 16lb 7oz caught by Adam Lister from the River Trent.
The mechanic from Doncaster was targeting the popular Gunthorpe Lock fishery on the river when early on a Sunday morning his left-hand rod screamed off with what he described as ‘the biggest barbel I have ever seen.’
Adam told Angling Times: “I had to get my friend Lee to weigh the barbel, as I was still shaking. The huge fish was a new personal best and was simply unbelievable.”
The giant was caught on a Dynamite Baits Cheese and Garlic boilie fished over a bed of pellets on a size 6 hook tied to a hooklink more than a foot long.
A trip to the Gunthorpe stretch of the Trent also paid off for Dean Lowe when he landed a fantastic 15lb 1oz barbel from the weir area. Targeting a deep swim, the 54-year-old balled in krill groundbait and mixed pellets, creating a large bed of feed for the barbel to settle on. Over the top of his feed Dean fished a 14mm shrimp and krill pellet on a 3ft Amnesia hooklength and a size 10 specimen hook.
To complete a remarkable week for Trent barbel catches, project manager Paul Faint landed a
15lb 10oz fish from a stretch of the middle river while on a guided trip with 3FT Twitch baits boss Richard Easom.
Paul said: “After fishing for about an hour there was a steady pull round on the tip, and when I struck into it I knew it was a big one. It gave a great account for itself.
“We allowed the fish a good rest and then got some great photos before it was safely returned to the magical Trent.”
The successful rig on this occasion incorporated a 25lb coated braid hooklength attached to a size 6 hook with a split shot 2ins away. Paul’s favoured bait was a 3ft Twitch 14mm Lamprey and Herring boilie.
Like so many large Trent barbel, all three double-figure fish reported here were landed at night, and this highlights that after dark can be the prime time to fish if you’re searching for a specimen barbel.
The Trent is not the only river that’s been producing big double-figure barbel, though – the Thames, Nene and Swale have thrown up some great fish too…
Joseph Wynter, 15lb 0oz
Joseph Wynter has landed Thames barbel of 15lb and 13lb in the same session.
Fishing a section of the lower river, he used an Enterprise Tackle running rig with a 3oz lead and an N-Trap hooklength.
Joseph did not reveal what bait he used, but he tells us that he landed a 13lb barbel in a recent session using a boilie flavoured with added ‘Jamaican seasoning.’ Reggae Reggae barbel, perhaps?
Simon Lashmore, 14lb 12oz
Simon Lashmore fished a Nene backwater for three barbel topped by this 14lb 12oz warrior.
Simon said: “On arrival, the Nene had a tinge of colour, and shortly after casting a freelined boilie close to an overhanging tree I caught a 12lb 13oz fish.
“I then fished three other swims before returning to the first, where I caught another double at 10lb 4oz. The next barbel was the big girl, a new personal best.”
Andrew Bogan, 11lb 4oz
With recent rainfall freshening up the River Swale, Andrew Bogan visited the Cundall Hall stretch for a night session, and was rewarded with this 11lb 4oz barbel.
Andrew said: “I have only got into barbel fishing this year – it’s been a tough one with conditions the way they are but now I’m over the moon.”
The big berttie was caught on a 14mm halibut pellet, which also snared numerous chub prior to the capture.
Neil Wayte, 15lb 4oz
Continuing a run of form on the River Thames, Neil Wayte caught this 15lb 4oz cracker. It was backed up by 10 chub and four other barbel during his two-day session.
All Neil’s fish were caught on Mad Baits Pandemic boilies fished in conjunction with a large PVA stocking of broken boilies and pellets.
This was cast towards the far bank of the river with a dozen freebies introduced over the top every cast.
Carper bags top crucian from canal
Scott Cooper was targeting the Exeter Canal for carp when he had a one-toner from this monster 3lb 15oz crucian.
The captor told Angling Times: “I am 100 per sure it’s a true crucian, although they are not known to be in the canal.
“Unfortunately I caught it on standard carp tackle, which is a shame.”
Scott’s fish came from a clear spot in the margins after he’d spotted tench, bream and a few carp feeding nearby. He baited with pellets and Essential Baits B5 boilies before presenting a B5 wafter over the top.
The crucian was beaten on a 10lb hooklink with a size 8 Nash Twister hook tied KD style.
Cracking week for crucians!
It's been a remarkable week for the shy-biting crucian, topped by what may well be the best haul ever by Korum-backed Gary Knowles.
During a recent session Gary netted an incredible 14 crucians, 10 of them over 2lb and four topping the magical 3lb barrier, topped by a personal-best giant of 3lb 14oz.
Gary explained to Angling Times how the session unfolded: “Fishing has been slow owing to the hot, dry weather but a change to a strong south-westerly wind and heavy rain meant I just knew I had to get out,” he said.
“I arrived at the Shropshire pool late evening and got set up ready for a morning assault. When I arrived I was the only angler on the pool and didn’t hesitate to set up in the face of the strong wind.
“Very little happed during the night, but some line bites encouraged me to make the decision to feed heavily throughout the morning, whether I was getting takes or not.
“At first light I had my first crucian, and a good one too at 3lb 3oz. From then on, with regular feeding of casters, corn and 2mm pellets, they kept coming.
“Eventually bites slowed down and I actually thought the session was over. My mate had just come up to photograph my new pb of 3lb 12oz, and with the fish returned I started to pack away when my last rod rattled off. This turned out to be another immaculate fish and another pb weighing in at 3lb 14oz, which capped off one of my most memorable sessions ever.”
Gary’s remarkable catch fell to a specialist approach incorporating a Preston Innovations Flat Dura Feeder, a 3ins hooklink of 4lb Powerline and a size 14 PR39 hook. For feed he used a 50/50 mix of 2mm Krill and Bloodworm pellets, a pint each of casters and red maggots, and half-a-tin of sweetcorn. He fished over the top of this with an 8mm Sonubaits Oozing Krill boilie.
Kevin Sanders has also been getting among the crucians. On a recent trip to Johnson’s Lake in Surrey the 41-year-old from Cambridge landed three crucians over 3lb. Topping the golden trio was a new personal best of 3lb 5oz.
Kev, too, adopted a Method feeder approach but began the session with a Dynamite F1 Durable Hooker pellet for bait, placed tight in the margins.
Kevin told Angling Times: “I introduced a sweet milky particle mix to try and get the fish feeding harder.
“Eventually they really switched on to the approach and I caught them on in-your-face baits such as 10mm Dynamite Pineapple and Banana fluro pop-ups.”
Johnson’s Lake delivered another superb catch to Andy Childs. Targeting the venue for two days with pal Mark Fox, the pair looked to break their personal bests. They did so in fine style, between them netting numbers of crucians topped by a 3lb 4oz bar of gold for Andy.
Once again the successful tactic was a flatbed Method feeder with either a small pellet or boilie as the hookbait. This approach definitely seems to be a winner for the species at the moment!
Dai Lands amazing late summer tench
The month of August very seldom produces big tench, so imagine Dai Gribble’s delight when he slipped the net under this 10lb 1oz beauty.
Scorching hot weather made fishing difficult for the two-time Drennan Cup champ, but he defied the odds by banking his biggest tinca of the season from Oxfordshire’s Linear Fisheries.
Fishing a 24-hour social with friend Andy Lewis, the pair both fished helicopter tactics in hope of a big tench or carp – with Dai pinning his hopes on a gravel hump 50 yards from the bank.
He said: “We fished all through the day and night but didn’t have a bite until 9.30am the next morning. After rebaiting at first light with five Spombs of chopped worm and worm-attract peat extract, I replaced my rigs and found some tench from 4lb-6lb.”
Dai’s next bite yielded a much better tench at 8lb 5oz, but it was the following take that resulted in something altogether more special.
“I struck into the fish but at that distance it was hard to tell just how big it was,” Dai added.
“When it got to within four rodlengths out it started to prove its worth and made several angry runs down the shelf.
“At 10lb 1oz it’s not the biggest of the 41 double-figure tench I’ve caught to date, but it’s the only one I have caught in August.
“Double-figure tench aren’t so readily available now as they are in the spring and autumn, so I’m especially pleased with this unexpected catch.”
Dai’s winning tench rig incorporated a 12lb mainline attached to a Korum Combi Feeder loaded with chopped worm, worm-attract peat extract and
live maggots.
Attached to this was a Korum Heli-Kit, a 10lb Xpert monohooklink to a size 10 hook and four pieces of dendrobaena worm fished on a short hair.
Huge thames chub bagged
Neil Wayte’s clonking 7lb 12oz Thames chub gave the last bite in a night that saw him catch five from a spot in mid-river.
Neil told Angling Times: “This is the second 7lb chub I’ve had in the last two weeks.”
All his fish took Mad Baits Pandemic dumbell boilies fished on a size 8 hook. He baited the spot consistently with hemp and presented a large PVA bag filled with 8mm pellets and crushed boilies over the top every cast.
Ruby’s gem of a barbel
Ruby Terry fished a stretch of the River Trent at A1 pits in Newark and caught this immaculate, well-proportioned barbel of 14lb 2oz.
The fish follows the capture of an even bigger whisker for Ruby a month ago at 15lb 11oz.
She said: “I just can’t believe it, I feel so lucky. I have now had two fish-of-a-lifetime captures in the space of two months – both of them barbel, and the only ones I’ve ever caught!”
What a week for rudd!
It’s been another incredible week for big rudd captures, with a raft of fish over 3lb.
Fenland has long been a hotbed of big rudd action, and once again it proved a rich hunting ground for the enigmatic summer species.
Leading the way was Norfolk all-rounder Phil Spinks, who finally bagged his first Fen ‘three’ after countless near misses.
Phil told Angling Times: “Over the past few weeks I’ve banked 24 rudd over 2lb, including fish of 2lb 13oz, 2lb 14oz and 2lb 15oz. One evening session alone produced nine two-pounders, including the 2lb 15oz fish.
A 3lb 2oz rudd, Phil Spinks’ first three-pounder.
On my last trip, when the scales settled on 3lb 2oz, I was absolutely delighted – it made all the hard work worthwhile.”
While many species have proved hard to catch in the hot and muggy conditions, rudd have shown no such reluctance to feed on rivers and drains alike.
According to Phil, calm evenings often prove to be the best time to catch a specimen rudd, although he points out that tracking them down can be hard work.
“Big rudd are among the few fish that seem to love the hot sunny weather, so over the last couple of weeks I’ve walked many miles along different Fenland drains and rivers looking for a specimen, battling with stinging nettles, high temperatures and all manner of biting bugs along the way.”
Many anglers have been using a boat to track down their quarry, but Phil found a lot of his success fishing from the bank and underlined how important it is to adopt a mobile approach.
“It’s a style of fishing I really enjoy,” he said. “Sometimes I fish from the boat, while at other times a more stealthy approach is needed from the bank. Having very little kit and keeping mobile is the key. Nearly all my recent fish – 23 out of the 24 bigger rudd – have been caught on floating breadcrust fished alongside a float, with a 4lb mainline straight through to a size 10 hook.
“Location is everything,” Phil added. “Big rudd are very greedy fish and once you’ve found them they can soon be persuaded to take floating crust. I hate to think how many miles I’ve driven recently on my days off work, and I’ve put the legwork in too. Effort definitely equals reward, but it’s all been worth it in the end.”
Another angler to land ‘the fish of a lifetime’ was Dave Horton, who broke his personal best with a fish weighing a smidge over 3lb, again taken on breadcrust.
Dave Horton’s rudd weighed a touch over 3lb.
The predator fanatic is no stranger to specimen rudd either, and said: “I started to enjoy rudd fishing in the Fens back in 2011 and have had multiple catches of two-pounders along the way, but the mythical ‘three’ kept eluding me. I recently missed the mark by less than an ounce but having discovered a little pocket of fish I was desperate to get back.
“The mad rush 50-odd miles across country, through the rush-hour traffic, paid off when I bagged a couple of 3lb-plus fish as well as one of 2lbs 12oz! The biggest was my 60th over 2lb and my 17th over 2lb 8oz!”
Yet another angler to land the rudd of his dreams this week was Dave Spence, who smashed his pb twice on his first serious session after the species. The Dynamite Baits employee began with fish of 2lb 7oz, 2lb 9oz, 2lb 10oz, but then, at last knockings, a ‘final cast’ in the fading light produced a monster of 3lb 1oz 5dr.
A 3lb 1oz 1dr rudd for David Spence.
Dave told Angling Times: “The session far surpassed my wildest expectations – I ended up with half-a-dozen fish over 2lb… topped by the three!”
7lb avon chub on a boilie as night falls
A late-evening session proved productive for Jason Edney when he bagged this 7lb chub.
It was caught from a stretch of the lower Warwickshire Avon and fell to a 20mm The Source boilie presented alongside a PVA bag of 15mm boilies and 6mm bloodworm pellets from the same company.
Jason told Angling Times: “I was well chuffed to catch the fish. It’s now my second 7lb-plus chub from the stretch, the previous one being a 7lb 2oz fish back in 2015.”
3lb 9oz perch follows a rig switch
Dan Eaves landed this specimen perch of 3lb 9oz from an undisclosed southern stillwater, where he put his success down to a variety of lure fishing tactics.
Arriving early in the morning, Dan cast large 7ins Hothead jig which generated a number of follows from large perch.
But not until a clever switch to a dropshot rig was made did a twitched Savage Gear Dying Minnow lure provoke a bite from the specimen stripey.
The same tactic then produced four more fish for Dan, highlighting how successful drop shotting can be on the day.
11lb 10oz tench on fake casters
17-year wait ended for tench fanatic Dave Harman when he finally beat his personal best with this sublime specimen of 11lb 10oz.
The 53-year-old from Surrey banked one of the biggest tench of the season on the second evening of a three-day session in pursuit of big tincas on his local gravel pit.
Speaking exclusively to Angling Times, Dave described his session and the tench fishing on his local water of late.
He said: “I ended up back on the same water I fished last spring due to a mix-up with a different permit, but this actually paid off, as I have steadily been catching numbers of tench to 9lb-plus.
“However, over the last three weeks the fishing has slowed considerably, with just the
odd fish coming out here and there.
“So when my alarm sounded and I realised it wasn’t a bream, my heart was in my mouth.
“The tench put up a good battle after making a powerful initial run, but it wasn’t until I placed her on the mat that I noticed her considerable bulk.
“This is the largest tench to come from the pit in recent years, and although not the 12lb fish I would dearly love to catch it still put a massive smile on my face.”
Dave’s new tench best took three rubber casters on a size 14 Pallatrax wide-gape hook attached to a 4ins hooklength of 15lb Drennan Gravel Braid.
This was fished helicopter-style above a 60g Korum open-end mesh feeder and cast to a gravel bar at 60yds range over a bed of casters and mixed particles.
His approach also brought an 8lb bream to the net in the same session.
Rare eel a new best
A lake with little history for producing big eels has produced this 5lb 3oz monster to Darren Clarke.
Darren only decided to target eels on his Lincolnshire syndicate water after the weather scuppered his plans to target other fish.
He said: “I did fish it several years ago and had a 4lb 4oz eel – the only one known to have come out the lake.
“This time the night was quiet until 3am, when one of my homemade drop-off indicators fell to the floor and line began to peel off the spool.
“I picked up the rod quickly to avoid deep hooking and felt the unmistakable zig-zagging fight of a specimen eel.
“A few minutes of drama getting it in the net in the dark and the fight was won.
“The scales read 5lb 3oz and I had a new personal best by 3oz. Happy is an understatement!”
Darren’s eel fell to a simple running rig incorporating a size 6 Korda Wide Gape hook attached to an 18ins, 50lb Korda Armacord braided hooklink .
His hookbait was the head of a small roach.
Perfection in a perch
Perch hunter Ken Brown used livebaits to good effect on a Hertfordshire water to tempt this 4lb 7oz beauty to the net.
After noticing a number of perch and pike chasing fry in front of him, the 56-year-old cast out a small roach in hope of a bite and he didn’t have to wait long to get one!
He told Angling Times: “I caught a couple of small perch at the beginning, then all of a sudden the big one struck.
“I knew it was a much bigger perch by the classic head shakes felt on the end of the rod.”
Ken’s stripey fell to a roach livebait fished on a mini sunken polyball rig incorporating a John Roberts boom, a 6ins trace and a size 2 Kamasan hook.
10lb 4oz tench from distant raked swim
A CASTABLE weed rake helped Rich Hall net this stunning 10lb 4oz tench during a session on a southern gravel pit.
The Northampton Specimen Group and Tenchfishers member found a plateau 45 yards out from the bank, but he needed to use the rake to help clear a prolific weedbed that covered it.
It was a decision that proved fruitful for Rich when the tactic accounted for the fine double, as well as two other tench at 9lb 5oz and 9lb 1oz.
He told Angling Times: “The pit is large and very low stock, so to catch three in a session was a real personal achievement (there are probably only around 30-40 tench in the lake).”
A combination of Drennan inline feeders and helicopter rigs was used to help catch the tench.
barbel pb is obliterated
Simon Walker smashed his barbel personal best with this 16lb 8oz specimen – taken on just his fourth session targeting the species on the River Trent.
The site supervisor’s previous best was set on a guiding trip with the late great Jan Porter back in 2001, and stood at just 3lb 8oz.
Simon fished meat close in with a 4oz feeder loaded with Marukyu EFG151 groundbait and 2mm pellet. The barbel fell in the early hours of the morning.
Biggest barbel of the season landed!
A SINGLE Monster Crab and Chilli boilie has accounted for the biggest barbel of the season at 17lb 2oz.
It came from an undisclosed southern river and equals Roman Vann's pb for the species.
Roman said: “I fished pellet alongside my hookbait but had to feed a lot to keep other species at bay. Everything seems ravenous this year – I was plagued by roach on 15mm boilies in this particular swim!
“The frame of this barbel was truly amazing, and I’m sure it will grow on to be a proper whale!”
Roman’s rig comprised a size 8 Gardener Talon Tip hook and Thnking Anglers components.
River Cam produces amazing rudd session
AN EIGHT-mile walk along the River Cam ended in success for Paul Faint in the shape of this 3lb 6oz rudd.
It was a new personal best for the 46-year-old, who said: “I started off by walking a section of the Cam, only to find the area that I fancied was privately owned, with no access for fishing.
“This was a long hike for nothing, so I decided to return to the beginning of the section and make my way across the river over a footbridge and fish it from the opposite bank.
“By this time I had been on the bank a few hours – I must have walked eight miles and still not wetted a line.”
After eventually locating some fish, Paul flicked out a few pieces of bread crust which were soon snapped up by a shoal of hungry Fenland rudd.
Without hesitation he cast out his rig, and a floating crust hookbait was devoured almost instantly.
“Half way through the fight I could see the golden flank of the fish and knew it was a rudd, and a big rudd at that,” Paul added.
“Carefully retrieving it back to the net amid the lily pads and rushes I knew it was going to be a pb – beating my long-standing best of just over 2lb.”
Paul’s session also produced other rudd of 1lb 15oz, 1lb 4oz and 1lb 3oz.
All fell to floating crust fished on a size 8 Kamasan hook, with a 3lb Drennan hooklink tied to 5lb mainline under a thick-topped Drennan waggler float.