3lb 2oz giant leads fine week for rudd
There's no better time than summer to target surface-feeding rudd.
Pick of the numerous big rudd reported to Angling Times this week is an incredible 3lb 2oz fish caught by Gary Knowles.
The golden beauty was the result of a near-400-mile trip to a Fenland drain, proving that dedication and location are vital to catching specimen fish.
The Korum-backed star told Angling Times how the session unfolded: “For the last four years I have been making the long journey to the Fenland waterways for one weekend every summer,” he said.
“In previous years, despite catching several 2lb-plus rudd, I failed to break the 3lb barrier.
“Last weekend started well with a couple of fish to 2lb 8oz, then I hooked what felt like a really big rudd, only for it to throw the hook.
“Deflated, my friend Matt Rand and I moved to another venue a 30-minute drive away. On arrival we headed to a spot from where I had caught some good fish in the past.
“As I baited against the reeds with mashed bread, fish quickly began to swirl. I cast the float out and it had barely hit the water when a nice boil broke the surface and it sailed under.
“As soon as I struck I knew it was a decent fish, and as Matt netted it he shouted ‘it’s a three!’.”
Gary’s stunning rudd personal best was caught on a loaded waggler running on 6lb line with a 5.14lb Preston Innovations hooklink and a size 10 hook. A piece of bread flake was pinched on to the hook and fished amid a cloud of mashed bread.
For those looking to catch a specimen rudd, Gary had this to say: “They can be challenging, as they are very nervous fish that spook easily. It certainly pays to cover plenty of water”.
Trent '16' tops amazing week for barbel
This sublime 16lb 1oz barbel tops the list of catches in what’s been another fantastic early-season week for the species.
It was banked by Nottingham rod Den Willets and was the best of 20 barbel taken during a week’s fishing on a section of the middle Trent.
Arriving in his swim on the eve of the new river season, Den caught steadily from midnight right through to Saturday the following week – but it was his catch on the Thursday that really set the grapevine buzzing.
Den said: “Some friends and I had just started cooking on the Thursday morning when my left rod on the inside line ripped off.
“It took me into a snag but after five minutes I managed to free it.
“In another cruel twist of fate it then swam into another snag that had been plaguing my mate Wayne all week.
“I thought I’d lost it but I didn’t give up, knowing that something special was on the end.”
After a tense few moments Den finally managed to free the fish and his other friend Luke jumped into the water to net the prize.
“When he brought it up the bank I couldn’t believe my eyes, and I knew then it was a new pb,” Den told Angling Times.
“When the scales read 16lb 1oz I was over the moon and couldn’t stop shaking – getting a fish that big on my first session of the season was unreal.
“I ended the trip with more than 20 barbel, a tally that included eight doubles.
“I lost at least five big fish and caught an endless procession of chub, a couple of bream and an elusive river carp.
“It’s a start of the season I shall never forget, and I doubt I’ll ever have another like it.”
Den’s new barbel best fell to Vortex Baits Hydroshrimp cocoons fished over a scattering of the same in dumbell form.
2018 tench campaign gets off to a flyer
Christopher Taylor has got his 2018 tench campaign off to a flying start with a rack of double-figure fish, topped by this specimen of 11lb 13oz.
Fishing a bay on a southern stillwater, the Hampshire angler arrived at first light but had to wait four hours for the first bite.
He said: “After a drop-back that resulted in a hook pull I was cursing my luck and thinking I’d probably blown my only chance of the day when the other rod roared off. That resulted in 8lb 15oz tench.
“ Five minutes later the first rod was away again – the fish put up a dogged fight, and in the net I could see that it was clearly a good double.”
Chris’ helicopter rig incorporated three rubber casters on the hook that fooled two other tench over 7lb in the remainder of the session.
The best haul of big rudd ever!
Simple waggler tactics have accounted for one of the biggest hauls of rudd ever recorded by an angler in the UK.
The five specimen silver fish totalled nearly 16lb, and were banked by Airfield Lakes Fishery owner Richard Wilby from a private five-acre irrigation reservoir in Cambridgeshire.
Richard’s impressive catch boasted rudd of 2lb 15oz, 3lb 1oz, 3lb 2oz, 3lb 4oz and 3lb 6oz – and all fell to sweetcorn hookbaits fished just feet from the bank.
Angling Times spoke to the former UKCarp deputy editor about his achievement, and how he came to be fishing the water for its specimen rudd.
He said: “The lake is crystal clear and has a very low stock of carp and a handful of big rudd, but when an angling friend of mine told me that a couple of these had been caught by mistake by the carp boys, that really got my attention.
“After a few phone calls and favours I was fortunate enough to get invited to fish it for myself.
“I did several laps of the lake but couldn’t find any rudd – I knew it was a low stock, but it felt like a big task to see a fish, let alone catch one.”
Richard’s luck soon swung in his favour, however, when the arrival of a northerly breeze saw a single rudd break the surface, and over the course of the next hour 10 more rudd revealed themselves.
“The surface water was blue with a massive mayfly hatch and the handful of big rudd in the lake were like trout taking them,” Richard added.
“I started to spray corn as far as I could catapult it in the breeze and put on a loaded Drennan waggler to try to reach them.
“The first bite soon came and the rod doubled over but I lost the fish in the thick marginal weed. I felt sick, as I knew it was a clonker.
“But just like that everything went to plan and the rudd then came in very close.
“I could see them, and I patiently fed maggots and corn to get them feeding confidently.
“In the next hour I banked five huge rudd, all of which were the fish that I could see in the water perhaps the lake’s whole stock!
“I went to the lake hoping for my first 3lb rudd and ended up with the session of a lifetime.
“The fish were immaculate and huge, and to see one of my favourite species of that size
and in that condition was a real buzz.
“I must thank Dale, Dave and James for their help in getting me to fish this incredible lake.”
is this the greatest tench catch ever?
This colossal 12lb 3oz tench is the jewel in the crown of what’s possibly the greatest catch of the species ever recorded in the UK.
It was banked by Norwich angler Darryn Stolworthy during a week-long trip to the prolific Bawburgh Fisheries in Norfolk.
Besides catching the biggest recorded tench of the season so far, the Tenchfishers member also managed to put more than 60 other fish in the net, including a 10lb 1oz male tench and a
33lb 12oz common carp.
The 49-year-old roofer told Angling Times: “I’d initially gone down to the fishery for a social with a friend, but the fishing was so good I extended my holiday and stayed for the week.
“During this time I fished two lakes on the complex and backed up the two big tench with 12 nine-pounders to 9lb 15oz, 10 eight-pounders to 8lb 15oz, 20 sevens and 20 that were 6lb or under.
“The tench were surfacing all week, and by topping up my swims little and often I managed to keep them there.”
The Angling Direct-backed rod caught 44 of his tench on the venue’s Colney Lake by fishing to a clear area next to a weedbed around 36 yards from the bank.
Here he regularly Spombed a mixture of maggots, casters and chopped worms to whip the fish into a frenzy.
Over this, he fished helicopter rigs incorporating 50g Kamasan Black Cap feeders with alternating maggot, caster or worm hookbaits.
“I’ve had well over 100 tench this season, but the 12lb 3oz fish was the highlight by a mile,” Darryn said.
“The best was saved until last, as it was the penultimate fish I caught during the trip. I’ll never forget seeing its massive tail break the water for the first time.
“I knew it was a decent double, but had no idea it was that big – breaking my previous pb by just 1oz was a bonus.
“I can imagine I’ll struggle to have a session like this again,” he added.
dai’s eel trip brings him a super ‘five’
After catching a big eel on a tench rig the week before, Dai Gribble was determined to return to the same southern stillwater and catch one by design.
Following a day’s tench fishing, Dai cast his eel rod out over the top of the same baited area at dusk. Just after dark his lobworm hookbait was picked up by this cracking eel of 5lb 7oz.
The fish is a new personal best for Dai, and was landed on a running rig incorporating a Kryston Quicksilver hooklink and size 4 hook.
Perfection is a big perch on a prawn
Dick Walker famously said that the perch was the biggest fish of all, and this 4lb 2oz specimen landed by Craig Fletcher certainly supports that view.
Targeting Kings Nordley Fishery in Bridgnorth, Shropshire, Craig targeted the margins, where he fed red maggots with tuna red groundbait on a little-and-often basis.
Over his feed Craig fished a running rig on 8lb line straight through to a size 10 wide gape hook to ensure that the fish felt minimal resistance.
A large prawn hookbait soaked in liquid worm and dyed red for added attraction proved irresistible to the prickly predator, which was landed just before 10am.
Monster 11lb 14oz tench landed
A colossal tench of 11lb 14oz has topped a superb week for the species that has seen numerous specimens banked from lakes all across the country.
The double-figure fish fell to Tenchfishers member Eddie Court on a pair of 8mm pineapple boilies fished over a bed of maggots, micro pellets and hemp.
Eddie, alongside a number of other members of the group, was enjoying a fish-in at Medway Valley Fisheries when his new personal best for the species picked up his hookbait.
He told Angling Times: “The tench fought incredibly hard, in fact initially I thought I’d hooked a carp!
“I backed that fish up with another tench of 8lb. This fell to the same helicopter rig, but with two 8mm Krill boilies on the hair.
“My catch was special, but the trip was made extra-special as two of my fellow Tenchfishers members broke their personal bests in the same fish-in.
“This is our first event to have had three double-figure tench grace the bank, and I’m sure there will be more to come from these fantastic lakes over the next few months.”
Bream record shook!
The bream record has been rocked this week with the capture of this 21lb 12oz monster.
It was taken by Suffolk angler James Crameri, who targeted a low-stock southern gravel pit during a two-night session.
Speaking to Angling Times, James explained how his trip began with disaster but turned into one of the best of his life.
He said: “I arrived at the lake on Tuesday afternoon and baited a silty gulley at 80 yards with four kilos of mixed particles – including sweetcorn, casters, pellets and maggots.
“Nothing happened on the first night but at 10am the next morning I had a bite and struck. I connected with the fish but as I was playing it in the hook fell out.
“Seeing as the lake is rock-hard to get bites from and the stocks of bream are incredibly low in this vast water, I was pretty disappointed to lose the first fish of the session.”
Undeterred by his earlier misfortune, James stuck to his guns and fished through the remainder of the day – finally being rewarded with another bite as darkness approached.
“I recast the rod, having tied a new rig baited with fake grubs,” James added.
“At about 7.45pm a friend popped into the swim for a chat and about 15 minutes later the bobbin rose on the right-hand rod and then slowly began to drop back again.
“I struck immediately and connected with a heavy fish.
“Praying that the hook wasn’t going to fall out this time, I coaxed the bream back towards me.
“As it came into the margins it started to kite into some reeds. Giving it plenty of side strain I once again manoeuvred it straight in front of me, where I managed to net it first time.
“On seeing the sheer size of the bream in the net I knew I’d got something truly special.
“While I was lifting it into the unhooking cradle I realised I’d probably caught another bream over 20lb, as my previous-best was 20lb 15oz.
“To have caught two different bream over 20lb is mind-blowing, and unless you know different I’m probably the first bream angler to have done so. Talk about being ecstatic – that’s an understatement!”
James took his new personal best for the species using a 4ins 15lb E-S-P Sinkbraid hooklength to a size 12 Korda Mixer hook presenting a fake maggot and caster hookbait on the hair.
Another notable bream was a 16lb 10oz tone-tone specimen (below) taken by Lee McManus during a recent trip.
The Leicester angler made contact on a Midlands gravel pit using a 12mm boilie hookbait tipped with buoyant rubber corn.
He fished his rig over Spombed particles to a spot 100 yards out from the bank. This tactic also yielded bream of 11lb and 12lb 2oz, as well as a string of mirror carp to 31lb 8oz for the specimen hunter.
The current British bream record stands at 22lb 11oz.
orfe record is equalled
A session spent fishing for golden orfe at a southern stillwater paid off in style for Lawrence King, who has landed a fish equalling the current British record of 8lb 5oz.
The Surrey-based rod told Angling Times: “My first cast produced a 6lb 8oz tench, before I lost an orfe of around 5lb – I was gutted, as my target was one of 4lb-plus.
“It was hard going after that, until my friend left early. I then moved into his swim and had the big one within 20 minutes – I was blown away by this absolutely absurd unit of a fish!”
Lawrence tempted his personal best on a Free Spirit 1lb tc rod, 6lb mainline, a Guru Method feeder and a critically-balanced pellet hookbait.
no crucians, then a pair of 3lb specimens
Mark Doherty enjoyed a fantastic surprise during his latest fishing session by catching three specimen crucians – and all from a venue that hadn’t produced a single example of the species for years.
Nine years ago around 500 crucians were stocked into Moulden Hill Lake, near Swindon, Wilts, but none had been out for some time.
Fishing a simple waggler set-up with maggots around three rodlengths out from the bank, the Monster Baits and Dips-backed angler managed to catch a brace of 3lb 1oz crucians topped by this 3lb 7oz specimen.
Mark told Angling Times: “This was a session I will never forget.”
Six pit rudd top 2lb mark
Dynamite Baits-backed Kevin Sanders enjoyed the rudd fishing session of a lifetime when he paid a visit to a Cambridgeshire gravel pit and hooked no fewer than six fish over the magical 2lb barrier – topped by this 2lb 12oz beauty.
All were caught on Method feeder tactics and a size 12 hook. His end tackle incorporated a hair-rigged 10mm yellow pop-up boilie glugged in Dynamite baits XL Liquid Strawberry.
Around the Method frame Kevin used Dynamite Baits Silver X Carp Method mix and Frenzied Hempseed original groundbaits.
'Still shaking’ after huge eel!
This incredible 10lb 2oz eel is just 1lb short of the current British record for the species.
It was banked by 55-year-old engineer Tony Arbery, who spent 48 hours at an undisclosed southern stillwater with lobworm hookbaits.
Tony’s father Len, who won the Drennan Cup back in 1990, told Angling Times: “During a 48-hour session last weekend, Tony caught an eel weighing in at a truly impressive 10lb 2oz – around 90 per cent of the 11lb 2oz British record.
“It was accurately weighed on a set of Reuben Heaton Specimen dial balance scales. It measured 46 .5ins, and its girth was 11.5ins.
“When he can get time off work, Tony has been concentrating on eels this year, having previously caught five from the water to a creditable
6lb 12oz – his previous best.”
The first two eels Tony caught from the water were accidental captures made while he was targeting the tench.
But after losing a decent eel at the net he took advice from an eel specialist friend and increased the strength of his line, hooklink and hook, as well using a light carp rod.
To handle the potential fight with a big eel, Tony stepped up to a Jack Hilton carp rod coupled with a Mitchell 350 reel and 12lb Drennan Super Specialist monofilament.
His terminal tackle consisted of a simple running link-leger outfit incorporating a 25lb braided hooklink tied to a size 4 E-S-P Cryogen Gripper hook.
“Tony’s Delkim alarm alerted him to the monster eel at around 7pm,” Len added.
“He sat close to his rods to lessen the risk of deep-hooking, and struck into his prize before the bobbin had reached the butt ring, which is when all hell was let loose.
The eel fought so hard that Tony initially thought he’d hooked into one of the water’s rare big carp.
“He reckons this specimen eel is by far the best catch of his 50-year angling career, and a highlight he will never, never forget,” said Len. “He told me he’s still shaking with excitement!”
tench with a taste for tutti-frutti
A lake in Wiltshire played host to this fine catch of nine tench for Mark Doherty – which was topped by a 7lb 12oz specimen.
They were part of an 88lb 2oz bag of tench and bream taken by the Commercial Indications & Fabtrays-backed angler – who fished a Method feeder with Monsterbaits & Dips micro pellets around the frame to help draw in the fish.
On the hook he used Scopex-flavoured Banditz, then a switch to the tutti-frutti & almond flavour really saw the fish get their heads down.
Stunning spring 10lb 2oz tench landed
A 500-mile round trip paid off for Dean Taylor in the shape of this specimen tench of 10lb 2oz.
The Cheshire rod travelled to Kent to cash in on the current form of tench hotspot Medway Valley Fisheries, where he also took an 8lb 4oz male fish.
He presented a worm on a size 12 Korda Choddy hook on a fluorocarbon hooklink alongside a 2oz Korum Combi Feeder filled with chopped worm, Worm Attract and brown crumb to produce the bites. This was delivered over a bed of caster, hemp and more chopped worm.
10lb 14oz tench landed!
Colin Hebb’s dream of a double-figure tench on the float was realised when he landed this
10lb 14oz fish on breadflake.
The Yorkshire rod targeted an undisclosed northern stillwater at dawn to get the bite. He said: “I arrived at 3am and fed the swim with mashed bread.
“Before long the float slid away and I was connected to a powerful fish that made four or five runs into the lilies before I turned it. What a fantastic tench this was!”
Colin’s tackle consisted of a Drennan float rod coupled with 10lb line and a size 8 hook.
Carp angler lands monster bream
Bream frequently slip up to carp anglers, and most of the time they are considered a nuisance.
However, Brett Longthorne certainly wasn’t disappointed with this 14lb 3oz specimen! The personal-best fish is one of only 20-odd big bream in a tricky northern stillwater, where the average size is into double figures and only a handful of carp are present.
Brett was targeting these with 10mm 3ft Twitch Redemption boilies in a prebaited weedy corner, presenting them on a combi-link and size 10 hook.
It’s been a pb-breaking time for the 42-year-old, who’s also landed a personal-best carp of 34lb 2oz and his biggest-ever catfish at 59lb 4oz.
Incredible rudd brace
AN afternoon off work was put to good use by Kevin Sanders, who headed to a local lake to bag this stunning pair of big rudd at 2lb 15oz and 2lb 8oz.
After failing to raise a bite on float tactics, the Cambridge rod baited two spots at dusk and switched to feeder tactics – and reaped almost instant rewards, as Kevin explained.
“I had two tench in quick succession, then, as the sun went down, the rudd came hard on the feed and a double take resulted in two fish around 2lb.
“Soon after that I netted a really big rudd… followed by one that was even bigger again!”
Kevin, who went on to bank a string of other rudd between 1lb 8oz and 2lb, used a Method feeder loaded with Dynamite Baits’ Marine Halibut and Frenzied Hemp groundbait, alongside a 10mm yellow
pop-up boilie hookbait glugged in strawberry flavouring.
Youngster lands monster perch!
Young Teddy Towner rocked the fishing world back in February with a tremendous
4lb 14oz perch – and he’s only gone and done it again with this 4lb 3oz specimen!
Despite being only nine years old, Teddy has achieved what most anglers have been chasing their entire lives – the capture of yet another 4lb-plus stripey.
Teddy’s dad treated the youngster to a day’s fishing on a marina in Essex, where they legered lobworms in an attempt to tempt a big fish.
It didn’t take long for Teddy’s quivertip to slam round, and his second biggest perch to find its way into the net.
Big bream are starting to wake
Specimen hunter Colin Hebb also had help in the capture of a personal best 15lb 7oz bream.
The angler from Hull banked the biggest slab of the season so far after a mate treated him to a session after tench on a completely new water.
Although no tench were caught, Colin was elated to have caught a massive bream.
“I was after a big tench, so when my alarm sounded and I struck I was very excited – imagine my surprise when a bream surfaced instead,” Colin said.
“I couldn’t believe it when my scales went round to 15lb 7oz, so I weighed the fish a second time just to be sure.
“Although it wasn’t a tench, I was very happy to smash my bream personal best.”
Colin’s only fish of the session fell to a sweetcorn hookbait presented on an 8ins hair and a 15lb braided hooklink.
