Match records fall as huge weights taken

Match records have been tumbling all over the country in one of the most prolific months ever in UK matchfishing.

Big weights of carp and F1s have been the main feature of contests, although silver fish and big bream have also muscled their way into anglers’ keepnets.

The largest reported weight
in a long string of records was 510lb 4oz, taken from peg 11 on Ash Lake at Oaks Lakes fishery in North Yorkshire.

The monster haul fell to County Durham matchman Tony Watson, who polefished just few metres out with pellets to amass nine keepnets-worth of carp in five-and-a-half hours. 

He said: “When I turned up at the fishery that morning I told the owner I had a feeling the match record would go today. Everything just felt right.

“The weather was mild, it hadn’t rained the night before and the wind was blowing into my end of the lake, where carp could be seen shallow. 

“I pretty much fished a top-kit plus two with 6mm banded pellets, feeding 4mm offerings from the start of the match, and I didn’t look back. 

“I ended up with 183 carp averaging between 2lb and 3lb, which I think we worked out to be a fish every one minute 48 seconds.”

Despite obliterating the venue’s previous record of 459lb, the 45-year-old tackle shop owner reckons he lost at least 50lb to hook-pulls, and had to step up his hooklinks from 6lb breaking strain to 8lb.

“The last hour-and-a-half of the match was silly fishing, and during this time I probably put 180lb-200lb in the net,” Tony added.

“I had to increase the strength of my hooklinks for insurance as I knew that match could have been close and every fish needed to count.

“At this point I asked the angler in the next peg to me what the match record was but he just said, ‘don’t worry mate, you’ve smashed it.’

“It’s taken me four years to compete on this venue so I’m over the moon to be the first angler to break the 500lb barrier here and claim the new record.”

It’s not just commercial fisheries that have been impressing in matches either, as Danny Chetwood proved in a recent memorial match at Patshull Park Fishery. 

Using pole tactics on the venue’s beautiful main lake, Danny alternated between red maggots and bunches of redworms fished over groundbait to take 141lb 10oz of skimmers and bream to 6lb.

“It was probably my best day’s pole fishing ever, and I’m so very proud to be the new match record-holder here at Patshull,” he said.