Carp angler sees the light with bream pb
A change of target species paid off for Brett Longthorne when on a recent session he landed this monster personal-best bream of 15lb 6oz.
Brett was fishing a large North West stillwater for carp, but after seeing bream rolling he decided to change tactics and target them.
The big slab was caught on a 10mm yellow Redemption pop-up fished over a tight bed of 4-6mm pellets and some boilies. James presented this attractive hookbait on a size 10 Bank Tackle hook tied to a 15lb Kryston Mantis hooklink.
Three 4lb perch in single session!
The capture of three huge perch totalling 12lb 8oz this week proves that there’s no better time to target one of autumn’s most prolific species.
The three big stripeys weighed 4lb, 4lb 3oz and 4lb 5oz, and were banked by predator fanatic Trevor Gunning during a session afloat on a lake near his Swindon home.
Trevor located the venue’s perch shoals by first casting a chatterbait lure. Once he had found them he switched to drop shot and jig tactics to winkle out the bigger specimens.
He said: “I had a fish of around 2lb, then changed to a drop shot rig and got done by a much bigger fish in the weed. I must admit that I thought I had blown my chance, but I decided to give it a bit more time and my reward was another hard hit on the lure that resulted in a real old warrior of 4lb 3oz.
“Amazingly, I had another fish of 4lb a few minutes later. A 4lb perch is special, and to catch two in one session is something I had never done before.”
Trevor then moved swims, a decision that would lead to him crowning his remarkable day.
“I had a hit that pulled the rod round in my hand. The fish weighed 4lb 5oz, meaning my best three fish together weighed 12lb 8oz. It really was a day to remember,” he said.
Trevor wasn’t the only angler to enjoy success with big early-autumn perch this week. Nathan Morse got in on the action too by banking a 3lb 12oz fish from an undisclosed quarry. Targeting a swim with overhanging bushes, Nathan floatfished a prawn soaked in squid and orange glug to tempt the new personal best.
Hold on tight for double figure barbel!
James Champkin’s phone call to his girlfriend came to an abrupt end when his rod lurched round to the savage bite of this 14lb 8oz barbel.
James bagged the big bertie while fishing tight to an overhanging tree on a picturesque stretch of the Hampshire Avon.
He told Angling Times: “I half stumbled, half rolled down the steep bank while trying to slip on my chest waders. That proved impossible after I’d picked up the rod, so I ditched the waders and walked out into the shallow margins in just my shorts and socks!
“The fight was absolutely mental, but with steady pressure and a tight clutch I managed to scoop up my new pb,” he said.
James’s rig consisted of a 10ins braided hooklength and a double 10mm boilie hookbait.
Monster Nene chub landed!
This chub, claimed to weigh 8lb 2oz, came from the River Nene near Peterborough.
It was banked by Anthony Holland, who was fishing a stretch near Peterborough, Cambs. The 36-year-old had already taken a 5lb 2oz fish from another section of the river when the big one took a hair-rigged chunk of spicy sausage fished alongside a swimfeeder crammed with krill groundbait.
Anthony, aged 36, said: “My mate and I weighed it twice, just to make sure. Catching it was one of the best days of my life!”
Is this Britain's best barbel venue?
The River Trent is well-known for its double-figure barbel – but Gunthorpe Lock Fishery manager Ian Potts reckons his pegs offer ‘the best barbel sport in the land.’
The passionate Trent angler backed up this big claim recently with a remarkable catch from the area known as ‘The Island’ – where he landed no fewer than 33 barbel, 20 of which were in double figures.
Of these, four were between 10lb and 11lb, eight were between 11lb and 12lb and another eight were over 12lb – with a 14lb 7oz giant topping the lot.
Ian told Angling Times: “There are several reasons why there are so many big barbel at our fishery.
“We have a big weir here, which produces lots of natural food for the fish. And with the good flow the weir provides we have barbel that use a lot of energy day to day – this means they need to feed more.
“The habitat elsewhere on the stretch is perfect too, with fast gravel runs, deep water,s nags and weed beds. That means the fish don’t have to travel far to find safety, a source of food or somewhere to spawn.
“Perhaps the biggest factor that makes this fishery so good, though, is the amount of anglers’ bait that has gone in over the last few years.
“This, no doubt, is helping the fish pack on the pounds.”
Ian’s catch came on Vortex Baits CKO Hydro Shrimp bolilies presented on Hybrid Tackle hooks with a PVA bag of freebies attached every cast. He recommends fishing the Trent at night, which is prime bite time.
This isn’t the only stretch of the Trent producing big catches of barbel, though – as proved by Paul Mersh.
On a recent trip to an undisclosed weir on the river he took 25 fish in just 12 hours. The catch included five of 12lb-plus, two 13lb-plus barbel and two over 14lb fish. He described the session as “simply awesome”.
Paul’s fish, like Ian’s, fell to boilies, but this time from Flaming Further. Paul presented them on a hair two at a time and wrapped in a big ball of paste.
These were cast 80-100 yards into the weir with approximately three kilos of freebies.
Incredible week for roach as redfins go on the feed
Experts believe Britain’s roach shoals have gone on a ‘feeding frenzy’ after a string of sensational river and lake catches to over 47lb!
Leading the week’s best bags was Wayne Anderson, who pole fished casters on Norfolk’s River Thurne and was rewarded with an incredible 47lb 6oz of roach.
The fish – anywhere between 4oz and 6oz – were all taken close in on the pole with casters, and Wayne’s catch won a match in which the top five all had over 25lb.
The River Trent at Burton also got in on the silver fish act with a string of double-figure weights.
Despite poor river conditions, the recent three-day festival was a triumph for roach anglers, as river regular Wayne Swinscoe explained: “The river was low and crystal clear,” he said. “However, the fish went on a feeding frenzy, especially the roach, and all sections fished really well.
“Over the course of three days multiple 20lb bags of roach were taken, topped by a thumping
38lb 9oz net of redfins caught by Ian Shaw, who fished casters and tares from peg 3 at Shardlow.”
Anglers on Yorkshire rivers also had some fantastic roach sport to report, as was highlighted in the Upper Calder Champs on the stretch at Brighouse.
The match was dominated by Andy Miller, who caught a cracking 21lb 7oz net of redfins on the pole at 11m with maggots over groundbait.
Bradford No1 AA match secretary, Matt Foster, reported the event to Angling Times.
He said: “The river fished so well that 10lb of roach finished 21st!”
It wasn’t just the rivers which provided anglers with silverfish action this week either, as one of the country’s ‘forgotten fisheries’ sprang into life.
A fantastic 32lb 12oz of roach was needed to win at Alton Reservoir, in Suffolk, a venue made famous for producing massive bags of bream for visiting anglers.
The man behind the catch was Ian Torn, who fished maggot, caster and corn over groundbait on the 13m pole line.
Match organiser Sean Bere was delighted with the result.
He said: “Alton is a venue that match fishing seems to have forgotten since its bream-filled heyday in the 1990s, but the fish are still there – as recent fantastic catches of roach have proved.”
Roach were also the mainstay of many catches at Tamar Lakes near Bude, Cornwall, where multiple 40lb bags were taken in the recent Preston Pairs Festival.
One of these was taken by Simon Poynter, who caught 313 roach for a massive 40lb 8oz.
Simon fished a 5m whip to hand and switched over to the pole over the same line whenever he needed better presentation.
t’s not just roach that have been filling anglers’ nets, as 75-year-old Dave Riley proved with a 90lb bag of ide from Butts Lake at Aston Park Fishery in Sheffield.
These fish averaged between 8oz and 12oz, and were caught on maggot fished shallow.
Bills Lake, at the same fishery, also saw a 65lb bag of chub caught up in the water.
Schoolboy lures top catch22 perch
Teenager Jake Ball has caught one of the biggest perch of the season so far, kicking off his Angling Times Catch22 reader challenge in style.
Jake (14), from Huddersfield, was fishing an early-morning session on a stretch of the River Don when he spotted the 3lb 8oz specimen attacking smaller fish in the clear water.
Casting a Z-Man Finesse TRD lure to the showing fish, it didn’t take long for it to take the bait.
“I saw the perch smashing little fry on top of the water, so I cast out and my TRD didn’t even touch bottom before the perch screamed off towards the far side.
“When I was bringing it in I noticed a lot of similar perch that followed it right to the side as we got it in the net,” revealed Jake, who added several two-pounders to his tally during the trip.
The perch is the biggest of its kind to be entered into our exclusive Angling Times Catch22 competition so far.
Earlier this year we launched a brilliant new event where we challenged our readers to catch 22 different types of fish before the end of the season.
Open to all anglers whatever their age and ability, the Catch22 Challenge is designed to inspire anglers to try new tactics and catch as many fish species as they can from every type of water.
The list includes some of fishing’s favourite species such as roach, carp, bream and tench, as well as some tougher challenges guaranteed to stretch your angling abilities to the max.
Angling Times Editor-in-Chief, Steve Fitzpatrick, said: “Catch22 has really captured the imagination of the UK’s anglers and thousands of readers have already chalked off more than a dozen different species.
“As we move into autumn, there are lots more species which become easy targets, and any angler who can catch all 22 target fish before the end of the season can truly call themselves a top all-rounder – good luck!”
Never too old to battle big barbel
Conditions for catching specimen barbel couldn’t be better, as huge catches from rivers all over the country prove this week.
The largest came in the form of this stunning 16lb 5oz River Trent beauty which set a new personal best for its captor, 83-year-old Mervyn Wilkinson.
The Coventry angler pinned his hopes on a stretch of the middle river to produce a specimen barbel – a decision that proved to be a wise one when his rod sprang into life at around 10.30pm.
He told Angling Times: “The fight was horrendous – because of my age I find it very difficult to stand up, so I had to play the fish sitting down.
“When I finally managed to scoop it into the net I was shaking – I rang my fishing partner, Phil Smith to tell him I’d caught a bloody big one!
“I have to take my hat off to Phil, who assisted with the weighing of the barbel and ran up and down the bank for me.
“He’s in his seventies, so it must’ve been a hard task for him too. If it wasn’t for Phil I’d struggle to go fishing.
“I can’t foresee improving on the 16-pounder, I simply enjoy being on the river when I can.”
Mervyn’s barbel best fell to a swimfeeder rig loaded with soaked pellets, and a 14mm halibut pellet hookbait.
This was fished over a bed of micro pellets which Mervyn introduced via a bait dropper.
The River Trent was also the scene of the capture of Brett Longthorne’s 15lb 12oz personal best barbel.
The Manchester angler enjoyed a memorable 72-hour session on a tidal stretch of the waterway, where he smashed his barbel personal best twice and upped his chub record as well with a fish of 7lb 7oz.
He said: “The session ended with 12 barbel, including four doubles that went 15lb 12oz,
15lb 4oz, 12lb and 11lb 10oz.
“A couple of chub also came in at 6lb 3oz and 7lb 7oz – so that meant I’d caught three personal bests in just 24 hours, an achivement that blew my mind!”
Brett’s bait and tackle for the session included 3FT Redemption boilies, 4oz UFO leads, size 8 Bank Tackle hooks and Kryston’s Jackal braided line in 30lb breaking strain.
Top Trent angler Ian Potts also cashed in on the river’s fine form with this sleek 15lb 5oz example.
Casting halfway across the river with Vortex Bait Hydroshrimp cocoons on the business end proved to be the downfall of the barbel, as well as a personal-best 20lb 8oz mirror carp.
specimen bream go on the munch in amazing week
A stringof specimen bream catches topped by an 18-pounder proves that now’s the time to smash your personal best.
The giant fish fell to Angling Direct-backed specimen hunter Darryn Stolworthy, who fished a southern gravel pit.
It was the biggest of six double-figure bream taken by Darryn in his 48-hour session. The other fish weighed in at 12lb 13oz, 14lb 14oz, 15lb 3oz, 16lb and 17lb 2oz.
Darryn explained his session: “I got to the swim first thing on Saturday morning and I thought I could see tench and bream rolling on a spot around 80 yards from the bank,” he said.
“I didn’t put any bait out there until Saturday tea time, and decided on a bait boat instead of a Spomb to avoid spooking the fish, which were very active.
“For feed I introduced caster, chopped worm, maggot, corn, mini boilies and groundbait – but rather than fill it in I only put in three or four handfuls of bait.
“I just wanted to fish for one bite at a time.”
It was a tactic that soon proved effective for the Norfolk angler, as by 6am the following morning one of his rods ripped off with an 8lb 6oz tench.
However, his next bite was from another species, and something altogether more special.
“At 9.30am I received a single bleep followed by slack line… a few minutes later a new personal best bream of 18lb lay in my net. I was shaking, “Darryn added.
“By 3pm I’d caught five other big doubles as well as a 34lb 10oz carp – I just couldn’t believe it.
“There wasn’t a cloud in the sky – you couldn’t have asked for worse conditions for bream!
“Owing to family commitments I had to shoot off, but I could easily have stayed.
“It was a freak catch that I’ll never forget.”
All Darryn’s fish fell to fake caster and maggot hookbaits fished helicopter-style in conjunction with a 2oz lead.
fishy boilie tempts wye barbel best
Targeting a new stretch of the River Wye proved to be a golden decision for Mark Doherty, who slipped his net under this torpedo of a 13lb 5oz barbel.
After a biteless three hours fishing in the morning, the Monster Baits and Dips-backed angler moved swims and received a powerful take on his first cast.
Mark’s new Wye best fell to a halibut, garlic and tuna boilie fished in conjunction with a blockend feeder filled with hemp.
biggest two-fish catch ever in uk?
midweek overnighter has produced one of the biggest-ever braces of freshwater fish – two monster catfish weighing 85lb and 105lb.
The mighty pair fell to Catfish Pro Team member Richard Wetton at Crow Green Fishery in Essex, alongside two smaller moggies, to top off an incredible session.
An ecstatic Richard told Angling Times: “I have had good nights on the fishery before catching 10 or 11 fish to 50lb, but that doesn’t compare to this recent trip.
“When the first one screamed off I knew from the moment I hooked it that it was a big one. It battled for 15 minutes before hitting the net, and that was just the 85.
“The next slow but constant run saw me connect with an even bigger fish that fought hard for 20 minutes with neither of us prepared to give in.
“When I got it in the net, I just sat there and took it all in. I had just achieved my target for the season – a 100lb-plus cat. Let’s say I had little sleep after that mad 40 minutes, with the adrenaline pumping from the madness.”
Richard caught both fish on halibut pellets fished on a brick rig. His specialist tackle consisted of 11ft Cat Tamer rods and big pit reels loaded with 99lb braided mainline. Attached to this was a 1oz inline lead and a 16ins, 120lb Catfish Pro hooklink tied to a Pro circle hook. Richard added: “You can’t really turn a big cat’s head when it wants to go. So you hold on for dear life, and fingers crossed the gear will hold out.”
15 blue sharks from a kayak
Catching a huge fish from a boat certainly gets the adrenaline pumping – so imagine how these three anglers felt after they caught FIFTEEN 70lb-plus blue sharks while fishing from kayaks.
Mike Burnett, Greg Bowes and Mark Kemble together form the members of ‘Yak Life’ – a team of kayak-fishing enthusiasts who target the UK’s coastlines in search of big fish. Once a year they head out to the Celtic Deeps off the Pembrokeshire coast in pursuit of giant blue sharks.
Speaking to Angling Times, Mike described the trip and the moment a group of sharks circled their craft. He said: “We were right on our limit weather-wise as the swells were quite high, but we knew the sharks would be there.
“On the day we set out from Swansea aboard Lady Jue 5 and headed 40 miles out to the Celtic Deeps with our kayaks on board.
“Once on location and aboard the kayaks we sat in the chum trail created at the back of the boat – it was just a matter of time before one of the floats went under.”
To help muscle the sharks up from the depths the three used strong rigs incorporating short 400lb wire traces and 10/0 size hooks, mounted with whole mackerel or Ammo squid.
These were fished to a depth of 60ft with a plastic bottle or toilet ballcock used as a floating indicator.
“The float would shoot under and line just blitzed off the reel,” Mike added
“The swells were massive, so we had to really concentrate to keep our balance during the fight.
“We put our legs either side of the kayak to do this, but it’s a daunting prospect as you know other sharks are swimming all around you.
“As soon as you gain line and get them to the surface they battle on down again, and this can happen up to three times – the fight you get from a blue shark is just incredible.
“At the end we had 15 between us, but we did catch 42 last year – although these latest sharks were much bigger.
“It was Mark’s first trip targeting the blues and he managed to catch the biggest one at around 125lb, which was a fantastic sight to witness.”
Is this the season's top tench?
This excellent fish is potentially the largest tench of the season, and was banked by Alex Warren after he noticed fish holding up in a corner of the syndicate lake his dad used to fish when he was a youngster.
It weighted an astonishing 14lb 2oz and fell to a Nash Tackle Tangerine Dream boilie hookbait.
Alex told Angling Times that he cast under an overhanging willow tree before his rod burst into life moments later.
A 10-minute battle followed before Alex slipped the net under the big tinca.
He said: “I guess it all began many years ago when my dad took me to this syndicate lake and he caught the most amazing tench.
“As the big tail of this fish went over the cord of the net I jumped for joy. To catch it from the next swim down to where my dad caught his many, many years previously really did make this the most rewarding catch of my life.”
Monster canal eel
An overnight trip to a local canal proved fruitful for Nick Duffy when this 5lb 4oz eel devoured his four-lobworm hookbait.
The 47-year-old, who is social officer for the National Anguilla Club, had previously caught eels to 4lb from this particular stretch of canal but had a feeling it could produce a much bigger one.
He told Angling Times: “The eel was 37 inches long with an 8.5ins girth and is my biggest of the season so far.
“I caught it on four lobworms mounted on a size 6 Ashima hook, which was part of a Dyson rig incorporating an anti-gut hook twig rig system.
“I also used my Chris Brown specialist eel net to land it – every serious eel angler should own one of these!
“I would like to thank my late brother Mark Duffy who taught me how to eel fish – he is the reason I do what I do today.”
Incredible week for specimen roach
As summer fades to autumn the roach begin to feed hard – and anglers across the nation have been taking advantage of the ideal conditions.
Dynamite Baits-backed Matt Fernandez kicked things off with a cracking bag of 10 river Itchen roach, the biggest at 2lb 2oz.
Talking to Angling Times about his catch, Matt said: “I found a decent shoal of roach among some weed in a tricky area to fish.
“The river was low and the conditions were bright, so it took some time to tempt them to feed – but eventually they started taking my loosefed maggots.”
Matt fished a 4BB stick float on 2lb line to land the roach, using red maggots on a size 16 hook.
Martin Abonyi also fished the float to target large roach, which resulted in the capture of an immaculate 2lb 4oz roach from a tiny northern river.
He said: “I spotted a group of big roach under some tree branches, but unfortunately I had a few chub straight away that I thought would wreck the swim – however, as the light began to fade I struck into the roach.”
Martin presented his breadflake hookbait on a size 12 hook fished beneath a small crystal dibber.
Like Matt, Martin also used 2lb line, however fine tackle is not necessarily needed to land large roach, as Maris Miervaldis proved when he landed an immense 2lb 14oz fish on a boilie wrapped in paste. Maris was fishing the Warwickshire Avon for chub and barbel when he encountered the near-3lb fish.
Ryan Dolby opted for a feeder with pellets and boilies to land a cracking 2lb 4oz roach from the River Trent, alongside large chub, barbel and bream.
It’s not only rivers that have been in good form for roach, as James Howes proved with a 2lb 8oz fish from a northern stillwater. Fishing specifically for the redfins, James used a helicopter rig with a 10mm boilie hookbait to single out the largest fish.
Whether you fish rivers or stillwaters, with the float or feeder, now is the perfect time to target your biggest-ever roach.
Epic crucian haul at johnsons lake
An angler on a 48-hour trip has taken one of the UK’s largest-ever hauls of crucians – 47 fish topped by a 3lb 14oz beauty.
The monumental feat was accomplished by Gardner Tackle-backed Mike Lyddon, who spent two days targeting Marsh Farm Fishery’s prolific Johnsons Lake in hope of catching a few of its specimen crucians.
Despite falling short of beating his 4lb 4oz best, Mike had no idea that his session was going to be one of the best he has ever experienced with this species.
Speaking to Angling Times, an elated Mike said: “The catch was exceptional, but surprisingly it was well short of my best haul from Marsh Farm when I had 63 three-pounders in a weekend – but it was still good fun!
“On this occasion I decided to stay for 48 hours and fish at about 30 yards with 25g flatbed Method feeders.
“To these I attached 4ins braided hooklinks to size 16 Target Specimen hooks, each with two fake casters mounted on the hair.
“As for features, to tell the truth there weren’t a lot to fish to, really.
“I had a brief chuck about with a lead to see if I could find any weed or variations in the lakebed but there was virtually nothing to suggest one spot would be any better than another.
“I knew that the fish would be in that general area this time of year, so just opted to fish a spot at 30 yards, mainly because it was within convenient casting range.
“I then decided to make my bait a feature in its own right to draw the crucians into my swim.”
Before casting out his rigs Mike used a Spomb to introduce 3kg of groundbait made up of mainly Sonubaits Green F1, Hemp and Halibut and Krill.
To ensure the crucians came back to his spot time and time again, Mike regularly cast the Spomb over the target zone to top up the swim.
“Most of the fish came in daylight, in fact both nights I wound in about midnight to get a decent night’s sleep,” Mike added.
“When the action came it was thick and fast – the final haul was 47 crucians to 3lb 14oz, with 13 over 3lb and the majority of the others being high two-pounders.
“I also caught around 25 tench, four small commons and a handful of roach and rudd –
with the best two of those going 1lb 11oz apiece.
“As far as crucians are concerned I’ve now caught 339 fish weighing over 3lb and nine four-pounders – this is an achievement I’m very proud of.”
Monster week for big chub
Big chub are a popular target among anglers during the winter months, but Angling Times can reveal that it’s already time to hit the banks in search of these often greedy fish.
Several incredible catches of chub have been reported from the country’s rivers this week, but none can hold a candle to a giant from the River Thames weighing in at 7lb 10oz.
The big chevin was caught by Simon Perry during a night session that also produced another fish approaching the magical 6lb mark.
Simon told Angling Times: “I didn’t arrive at the river until at least 7pm, intending to put in a quick overnighter before work with a friend.
“I had the bite at around 3am, and was shocked when I flicked my headtorch over the net to see such a massive fish. I didn’t have much time to think, though, because soon my second rod was away with another cracker.
“I knew this was a special fish and sure enough, it turned out to be a new personal best. Prior to that, my heaviest chub was a huge fish for the Wye weighing 7lb 8oz that I caught last year,” he said.
Simon caught his latest fish on Hinders River Rami dumbells fished in conjunction with Flatz pellets cast just short of far-bank snags. In total four fish fell to this baiting approach during the hours of darkness, traditionally a prime time to target river specimens.
Hinders Elips dumbells were the bait of choice for Paul Potter, who used them to great effect when he presented the bait alongside a PVA bag to catch a clonking 6lb 13oz chub from a stretch of the Dorset Stour.
Paul said: “I was fishing for barbel, if I’m honest, but I always welcome a fine chub or two!”
Moving further along the Stour to the famous Throop fishery, Steve Baddeley enjoyed the chub session of a lifetime.
During a short afternoon trip on Beat Two, the angler from Hampshire caught 12 fish, all over 4lb and topped by an impressive 6lb 7oz specimen.
Steve told Angling Times: “I would say this was one of my best chub fishing sessions ever. The key was staying mobile and spotting the shoals.”
All Steve’s fish fell to a simple freelined pellet approach with a steady stream of bait going through the swim on each cast.
3lb 8oz rudd falls in lake punt trip
Despite cloudier and cooler conditions it is still possible to catch this iconic surface-feeding summer species... the rudd.
Dan Gale proved that when he slipped the net under this 3lb 8oz specimen. He caught the beautiful golden-flanked fish from a Lincolnshire stillwater, where he and a friend fished from a punt using traditional waggler tactics.
Dan told Angling Times: “The rudd came out of the blue after a string of fish in the 6oz-12oz range. My boat partner and I were very active in adjusting our shotting patterns and feeding to try and catch the better fish more consistently, but we had long spells where it was impossible to even get the float to settle before a bite occurred.
“It seemed the faster we tried to get our baits through the shoals, the faster the fish would hit them.”
What Dan describes is classic behaviour of shoal species like rudd and roach, showing that perseverance and actively adjusting your set-up is key to getting through to the specimens in the shoal.
The three-and-a-half-pounder was backed up by rudd of 2lb and 1lb 14oz, all the bites coming from a clearing in the weed which Dan targeted on sweetcorn.
ROYAL PAIR OF PERCH ON LOBWORMS
The classic approach of floatfishing lobworms for perch paid off in fine style for Malcom Matthews, who slipped the net under this couple of beauties.
The pair weighed in at 2lb 9oz and 2lb 11oz, and were taken from the famous Royalty Fishery on the lower reaches of the Hampshire Avon.
Speaking to Angling Times, the Sutton Coldfield-based angler said: “The colours of these perch were really superb, and what a place to catch them!”
HUGE BARBEL FROM DEEP THAMES SWIM
ADAM Hughes moved his boat to a deep spot on the River Thames he had noticed on the echo sounder, and was quickly rewarded with this clonking barbel weighing 15lb 8oz.
Adam told Angling Times: “I have been targeting carp since June 16 but I decided to have a change and try for the barbel. The decision and move really paid off!”
The big whisker was caught on double 20mm halibut pellets fished on a Korda wide gape hook tied to 25lb Jelly Wire braid. The hookbait was fished over a kilo of smaller pellets to keep the fish grubbing around.
