Match This dates announced for 2020

Dates and venues for the 24 qualifiers that will make up 2020’s Maver Mega Match This campaign have been released.

2019 Champion Jamie Hughes

The winner of each match will go through to fish for £60,000 in the grand final at Maver/Dynamite Baits Hayfield Lakes in August.

There are plenty of familiar names in the line-up and only six of them are midweek, with the action kicking off on Saturday March 7 at Partridge Lakes and winding up with the last chance on Wednesday August 12 at Decoy Lakes.

Tickets go on sale in January 2020 and can be purchased via the Maver Match This website, dates as follows:

Saturday March 7 - Partridge Lakes

Sunday March 29 - The Glebe Fishery

Saturday April 4 - Partridge Lakes

Saturday April 11 – Maver/Dynamite Baits Hayfield Lakes

Saturday April 18 – Daiwa Hallcroft Fishery

Wednesday April 29 - Messingham Sands

Saturday May 2 - Moorlands Farm

Wednesday May 6 - Barston Lakes

Saturday May 9 - Tunnel Barn Farm

Saturday May 16 - Partridge Lakes

Sunday May 17 - Westwood Lakes

Saturday May 23 - The Glebe Fishery

Saturday May 30 - Hayfield Lakes

Wednesday June 3 - Decoy Lakes

Saturday June 13 – Bait-Tech Viaduct Fishery

Sunday June 14 - Messingham Sands

Saturday July 4 - Barston Lakes

Tuesday July 14 - Decoy Lakes

Wednesday July 22 - The Glebe Fishery

Saturday July 25 – Maver/Dynamite Baits Hayfield Lakes

Saturday August 1 – Daiwa Hallcroft Fishery

Sunday August 2 - The Glebe Fishery

Saturday August 8 - Tunnel Barn Farm

Wednesday August 12 - Decoy Lakes

Grand Final: Saturday August 29 Maver/Dynamite Baits Hayfield Lakes

A National for feeder anglers coming in 2020

A new National Championships for feeder anglers has been created in a major big-match revamp by the Angling Trust.

The competition will be the vehicle for qualification for the World Feeder Champs. Furthermore, the Trust has also announced that winners of the annual Sensas Challenge will be invited to fish the World Float Champs.

Previously, qualification was achieved by teams fishing bespoke one-off events, but these proved controversial and struggled to attract numbers, with only two teams signing up for this year’s cancelled float eliminator.

However, all that will change with the big news that is sure to appeal to a wider audience.

First up is the Sensas Challenge on the Gloucester Canal at the end of March, an event that’s fished to strict international rules over two days, thus suiting the type of fishing the highest-ranked English team will do in the Float Champs in Slovenia or Italy next summer.

Then comes the new Feeder National again on the Gloucester Canal on Sunday August 23, the winner of that heading off to either Bulgaria or the Ukraine for the 2021 event, as the qualifier for next summer’s champs has already been fished.

Entry into the six a side Feeder match is just £120 per team and is open to all Angling Trust member sides and this too will be fished to international rules. Teams are welcome to register their interest in the Feeder National at this early stage by e-mailing Sandra Johnson at sandra.johnson@anglingtrust.net and application forms for all Nationals listed below will be available in the New Year.

2020 Angling Trust National & qualifier dates at a glance…

Saturday March 28 & Sunday March 29 - Sensas Challenge, Gloucester Canal (World Float Club Champs qualifier)

Saturday April 25 - Commercial National, Drennan Lindholme Lakes

Saturday June 27 - Junior and Youth Nationals, Packington Somers

Saturday July 28 - Ladies and Disabled Nationals, Gold Valley Lakes

Wednesday July 29 - Veterans and Masters Nationals, Decoy Lakes

Saturday August 1 - Individual National, Grand Union Canal Northampton

Saturday August 15 - Division One National, Grand Union Canal Northampton

Sunday August 23 - Feeder National, Gloucester Canal (World Feeder Club Champs qualifier)

Saturday September 12 - Division Two National, Gloucester Canal

100lb of dace from the Wye!

Just weeks after weighing in 97lb of Wye silverfish, under-25’s world No.1 Rory Jones has gone one better after bagging exactly 100lb of dace from the river in Hereford.

The catch is believed to be one of the biggest weights made up entirely of dace ever to be taken in the UK, and checks are currently underway to find out if there has been anything larger.

Before the draw there were two pegs Rory fancied, and incredibly it was one of these that he pulled out the bag.

“I told the lads that I fancied either peg 93 or 94, and when I drew peg 93, I couldn’t believe it.” Rory revealed.

“It’s one of the noted pegs on the river, where the bottom shallows by about four feet into a gravel run.

“I actually started the day hoping to catch roach, and I kicked off the peg with 10 balls of groundbait laced with a pint of caster, hemp and chopped worm, but I was quickly into quality dace.

“I therefore started loose feeding maggots to bring the fish shallow and began catching well using a pole stick on a six-metre whip.”

On occasions when the sunlight peaked through, Rory could see just how many fish were in his peg, but this didn’t mean they were easy to catch.

“Its remarkable how crafty dace are. There were so many fish in the peg, but at no stage were they suicidal.

“If my maggot was damaged at all I would run the float through and not get a touch.

“I hooked these by threading them up the shank of the hook, and if I presented them conventionally I would only land smaller fish.

“I actually caught best using a long hooklength, as the dace seemed to take my hookbait better without the resistance of a shot close to the hook.”

Long-shanked hooks were key to Rory’s success

Despite having so many dace in the peg, there were periods of the day where the fish backed off and Rory had to adapt.

“There was quite a big crowd of people watching me, and if anyone came too close you could tell as the shoal dropped downstream.

“When this happened, I balled in groundbait to create some noise to bring the fish back into the swim, after which I would catch them on the deck before bringing them shallow again with loosefed maggots.

“The sport was phenomenal, and whilst I didn’t keep count of my fish someone stood behind me and kept a tally. In 70 minutes, I landed 174 dace.

“By the end of the match my arm felt like it was going to drop off after swinging in so many fish!”

Rory caught on an elasticated six-metre whip, using an 8 x No. 4 Woody’s stick to fish through the water, as well as a Sensas Alberto float for fishing on the deck

Rory’s choice of float for fishing on the deck - a Sensas Alberto

“The Alberto was fished with No. 8 shot strung out shirt-button-style through the rig to catch in the deeper water, whilst the stick was over-shotted with a bulk.” Rory explained.

“I fished this by laying it in and holding it back, which helped to hit the quick bites. Some of the fish actually pulled the elastic out, just like carp do when fishing shallow!”

Rory used a Yellow Sensas Hollow elastic in his whip, a size 14 Sensas Feeling 3065 hook and 0.11mm line. This hook pattern was crucial in Rory’s approach, as its long shank allowed him to thread a maggot past the bend.

35lb pike breaks angler's reel!

A 450-mile round-trip from Bristol to the Norfolk Broads paid off in style for Richard Earl, who landed this stunning 35lb pike.

Richard spent two days angling for the monster fish that obliterated his previous personal best of 24lb which he caught from Wroxham, Norfolk, nearly 45 years ago.

He said: “With just a 12lb pike to show for my efforts by 5pm on the second day I’d thought I’d be facing a blank, but on the way back to the car I heard a big fish crash 80 yards downstream.

“I got my rod and landing net in position and cast my 25cm Savage Gear 3D shallow burbot lure, when on the second cast it was hit hard by a very big fish.

“A few minutes into the fight my reel broke so I had to hand line the fish for the remainder of the fight – and if that wasn’t enough, it took me three attempts to get the fish into my 30” round net!

“A massive thank you to the local angler who assisted with photographing and weighing the pike, which at 35lb was certainly the fish of a lifetime.”

The fine esox obliterated Richard’s previous personal best of 24lb which he caught from Wroxham, Norfolk nearly 45 years ago.

Big perch feed off the scale

RIVERS might be written-off due to intense flooding but anglers who have been targeting reservoirs and Stillwaters have been enjoying multiple hits of specimen perch.

Here is a selection of some of the best catches we’ve recieved…

Joe Atkinson 4lb 4oz perch

Two weeks after boating 27 perch to 4lb 7oz from farmoor Reservoir, Oxon, Joe Atkinson was back to bag this 4lb 4oz stripey.

The fine specimen was part of a 14-perch haul for the carp angler which included nine others over the 4lb barrier, and all were taken on drop shot tactics with 2-4ins rubber shads or grubs.

He said: “Up until a couple of weeks ago I was still searching for my first four pounder – in three trips I've now managed 17 of them.

“I'm still in shock now and will be for quite some time, but this truly is the fishing of dreams for me.”

David Tudor 4lb 2oz perch

 Graffham water has been producing 3lb perch for fun this autumn but David Tudor has arguably caught the pick of the bunch with this 4lb 2oz effort.

Utilising dropshot tactics with a Savage Gear dying minnow in clear colour, David drifted his boat over shoals of baitfish to take more than 20 3lb-plus perch, although the four pounder was by far the highlight of the day.  

Ryan Thomas 3lb 10oz perch

Finally, Ryan Thomas proved the effectiveness of fishing livebaits over groundbait for big perch when he landed this stunning 3lb 10oz fish.

Targeting a deep area on an undisclosed southern Stillwater, the specimen ace started the session by waggler fishing maggots over a bed Dynamite Baits Silver X groundbait before switching to a float-fished livebait later on.

He said: “On only my second cast with this outfit the float sunk and after a spirited battle I managed to land a gorgeous 3lb 10oz female.

“The same lake produced my personal best in March with a giant fish of 4lb 1oz.”

16lb 12oz zander from the Severn!

A TWO-hour fishing trip was all Graham Mann needed to bank one of the season’s largest zander in the shape of this 16lb 12oz beauty.

Between 2pm and 4pm the Worcester-based angler and a friend lure-fished a stretch of their local River Severn but conditons were far from ideal, as Graham explained:

“My mate Mark had finished work early and rang to see if I wanted to fish for a couple of hours before it got dark, but we knew the river would be up and coloured after the recent rain.

“Despite this setback we headed to the river but found a big area of slack water which we thought perhaps could have held some fish.”

Any doubts the pair had were quickly quashed as some thirty minutes into the session Mark hooked and landed an 8lb zander, although it was Graham’s next cast which yielded something entirely different.

“After letting the lure hit the bottom I jigged it up a couple of times and then there was a huge bang – followed by some very strong headshakes,” Graham added.

“After a short, powerful fight I was able to draw it to the surface, where Mark waited nervously with the net before he shouted: “Good god, I can hardly lift it out of the water!”

“It was such a mint-conditioned zander that I knew was a new personal best, and it was a pleasure to see it swim off strongly.”

Graham’s zed was his fourth over the 15lb barrier and took a Fox Rage Zander Pro shad in bottle green colour.

Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing to return for third series

FILMING has started for a brand new series of the countries much-loved and critically acclaimed angling show – Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing.

The announcement was made by the BBC after the show’s second series charmed the nation over the summer, boasting viewing figures in excess of a staggering 2.2 million.

The format for the new series is set to stay the same with the comedy duo exploring venues across the UK and possibly abroad.

Each episode focuses on a particular species, with Paul using his extensive angling knowledge to be Bob’s fishing guide, whilst Bob hunts out unique places to stay and prepares some ‘heart-healthy’ food.

Talking to Angling Times whilst out on the bank, an excited Paul Whitehouse said:

“It was a surprise to be honest as following the feedback from the second series, the BBC were quickly on to us to begin the third – so it was a very quick turnaround.

“Filming has started and this series we plan to showcase fishing through all four seasons.”

Paul and Bob will be looking to build on the universally positive reviews the shows second season received, whilst recognising this support, Paul was also keen to bring a new element to the show, as he explained:

“We really want to bring anglers together and highlight just a few of the issues that affect our sport, whilst still in keeping with the feel good factor of the show.

“I think that the angling community will be in a much stronger place if we can show a unified front on conservation issues and we have the audience to highlight some of those.”

So what can viewers expect in season three?

“There will be all the usual antics, laughs and tears. At the end of the day we are the fishing show for people who don’t go fishing.

“Bob likes to use a float and hopefully we can capture that magic of watching one, whilst probably behaving like a couple of kids”, Paul said.

700lb off the top... in November!

One of the most remarkable catches of the season has just been taken after a club angler landed a staggering 707lb 12oz of carp in a five hour match.

Roy Jones was the man responsible for the arm-aching haul, and in a catch that would be impressive in the heights of summer, he took full advantage after hearing that the carp were feeding hard.

Unsurprisingly, the catch is a new record for his club, ‘Andy’s Mob’.

Fishing at Kent’s Chart Fishery, there were so many fish in Roy’s peg that he was being ‘interrupted’ whilst attempting to land his fish.

“It was mental!” Roy exclaimed.

“The carp were jumping out of the lake like dolphins when I arrived, there were just so many fish in the peg.

“One problem I had was that whilst attempting to land a hooked fish other ones were ending up in my landing net! Of course, these went straight back.

“We do a weigh-in at the three hour mark, and at this point I had 385lb, but it was once I started fishing again that things got really silly.

“I was able to catch just a few metres from the bank on floating baits.”

At the end of the match Roy had 12 keepnets in, and he came well prepared for a hectic day.

“I had been told that some really big weights were being caught shallow, so I came prepared for a huge catch.

“I elasticated five top kits with red Hydrolastic, and spent time drilling 200 pellets for the hook, as well as 150 baits to use on the surface.

“You’re allowed floating baits on the hook here, and these were deadly.

“I had an absolutely brilliant day - but I’m knackered now!”

Eight Avon barbel to a 16lb 10oz best

THE Hampshire Avon has returned to a rich vein of barbel form in the past few weeks, with one angler reporting a run of eight double figure specimens – culminating in a 16lb 13oz monster.

The superb fish fell to 43-year-old roofer Simon Daley as just part of a phenomenal two weeks on the Southern river, which saw him land chub of 6lb 5oz and 7lb 3oz in addition to an unforgettable list of barbel of 10lb 6oz, 15lb 10oz, 11lb 7oz, 15lb 3oz, 13lb 12oz, 14lb 14oz and 14lb 1oz.

Speaking exclusively to Angling Times, Simon said: “This season I’ve had some of the best barbel fishing I’ve experienced on the River Itchen and Hampshire Avon.

“The last two weeks have been an amazing experience, the rivers have had some much needed rain and the area I had been baiting wasn’t seeing any pressure.

“I was blown away with the size of the biggest, a fish I have been after for a season or more.

 “Another lump a few day later means I have now caught six 14-plus fish this season from three different rivers – incredible.”

Simple tactics incorporating inline leads with short braided hook links tied to size 8 hooks and a secret homemade bait were all Simon needed to catch his fish

9,300lb of silvers banked in roach bonanza!

An incredible 9300lb of river fish have been caught in matches over the last week, the bulk of which have been made up of pristine roach and dace.

The catches came in this year’s Wye and Bann festivals, and will live long in the memory of local anglers.

In Hereford, over 3800lb of fish were caught over the prestigious three-day long Wye Festival, with each angler averaging a fantastic 21lb a day, as well as lots of roach over the 2lb mark being landed.

River expert Dan Ashington went home with the trophy, but it was under 25s World Number One, Rory Jones, who topped the individual catches with a thumping 97lb bag of roach and dace on the first day.

Drawing a peg on the tennis courts section, Rory was on a swim where he’s had mixed results in the past…

“I’d actually drawn the peg three times previously, and have blanked twice and landed four chub the other time.

“It can however produce when there is extra water on, but it turns into a really strange swim to fish.

“It becomes a massive eddy, meaning that it flows the wrong way a lot of the time!”

Rory went with his usual positive approach, cupping in groundbait seven metres out laced with hemp, caster and chopped worm, and it wasn’t long before Rory was into fish.

“In the first three minutes I will have had 6lb. It was solid with quality roach averaging two fish to the pound, and I also had two that will probably have gone 5lb between them.”

After catching a roach a chuck for the first hour and 10 minutes, the peg suddenly went quiet when an unwelcome guest entered the swim:

“I saw something big in the water, and at first I thought it was a Labrador that somebody had let in the river, but then the head of a huge otter popped up and stared at me.

“This really put the roach off, so I started feeding groundbait by hand and caught dace instead.

“It turned out to be a phenomenal day, and if it wasn’t for that otter a weight of 130lb would have been on the cards.”

Rory finished third overall, and caught his first double figure barbel as well as a 2lb 9oz roach on the other days in the festival.

Anglers also enjoyed phenomenal silverfish sport over in Northern Ireland, where over 5500lb of roach were landed during the Wild on the Bann and the Bann Bonanza Festivals.

Individual weights were up to 31kg on the more productive days and were made up of pristine roach averaging 4oz with the odd better specimen up to 1lb 4oz chucked in.

Event organiser Derek Buckley told Angling Times: “It’s been a great couple of weeks on the Bann, when the river runs clear the fishing can be brilliant.

“We had two days of rain towards the end of the second week which caused the river to rise and slowed the sport down, but before that the average weight was 13kg-plus with every angler having a fish over 1lb in the net.

“I would recommend people come and visit, based on current form the Bann is probably one of the best rivers in Europe in my opinion.”

The whip was also key in silverfish weights on the Bann, with a 4g float fished at 6m over a ball of groundbait laced with hemp, maggots and casters the most effective tactic.

19lb bream smashes record

EIGHTEEN-year-old Billy Saunders had the session of a lifetime when he landed a 35lb brace of bream just 10 minutes apart – topped by this 19lb giant.

The pair of specimen slabs were caught from Ringwood and District Angling Association’s Longham Reservoir, with the largest of the brace setting a new club record for the species.

Targetting carp, Billy changed tactics when he noticed bream rolling close to the bank – eventually catching them just half a rod length out.

The stunning brace fell to a homemade boilie presented on a size 8 hook tied knotless knot style and a 3oz lead.

Bream and pike will travel up to 100km in a month!

Research into the movements of pike and bream on the Norfolk Broads has revealed just how far our coarse fish species can travel from year to year.

Among the discoveries from the groundbreaking project was a female pike that moved 100km in just over a month, along with a bream that swam 35km to spawn FOUR times in a single spring.

 The pioneering research is being carried out by PhD Student Emily Winter (26) in collaboration with Bournemouth University, Natural England, the Environment Agency and Fishtrack Ltd, with financial support from the EU LIFE+ Nature and Biodiversity Programme.

Emily said: “We are tracking the movement of bream and pike in the Broads using acoustic transmitters (tags) surgically implanted into the fish (under Home Office licence and after ethical review).

“These release an ultrasonic coded ‘ping’ that can travel hundreds of metres underwater.

“Acoustic receivers then continuously monitor the fish movements throughout the river systems and connected lakes and dykes, by recording the date and time of each unique detection. All fish used in the study were caught on rod and line.”

The study has already brought forward some intriguing observations. “Preliminary results have already highlighted some unexpected behaviours. One female pike moved 100km in just over a month during spring 2019 and a bream made the 35km spawning migration four times in the spring of 2018,” said Emily.

“We are excited that this project will provide valuable information on how the fish use their diverse habitat and respond to environmental change.”

The project’s objectives are to gain greater insight into how fish respond to habitat fragmentation, saltwater intrusion through high tides and outbreaks of toxic algae.

nine perch over 4lb to a 5lb 2oz Best!

PREDATOR specialist has made one of the greatest perch hauls of all time, boating nine fish over 4lb to a 5lb 2oz best.

The remarkable catch fell to the rod of Wayne Fletcher, who had headed to an undisclosed Essex reservoir with a friend in search of a large stripey – with no idea he’d smash his personal best twice within an single hour.

He said: “We arrived at first light and after about 10 minutes I noticed a large group of fish on the side scan of the fish-finder, so I motored round to the spot.

“I fished a Texas-rigged Zman TRD in about 25ft of water and after 30 minutes there was a delicate pluck on the line – resulting in a pristine 4lb perch.

“The rest of the day was simply crazy. I broke my pb twice in an hour with fish of 4lb 14oz and a 5lb 2oz beast – followed by six others over 4lb. My boat partner had a 4lb 11oz perch pb too!

“I was still shaking as we came off the water that day, thinking to myself: “Was it a dream?”

l Wayne’s impressive catch of perch wasn’t the only to be taken from a boat this week either.

Carp angler Joe Atkinson targeted Farmoor Reservoir in Oxfordshire and used a variety of lure tactics to catch no fewer than 27 fish to a best of 4lb 7oz.

Included in the mighty haul were perch of 4lb, 4lb 1oz, 4lb 3oz, 4lb 5oz, 4lb 6oz and 4lb 7oz, plus four over 2lb, 17 over 3lb to 3lb 15oz and six over 4lb.

“I beat my personal best four times throughout the day,” he said. It was the perch session of my dreans!”

The perch were caught on a mixture of tactics, but most of them fell to a drop shotting approach.”