Middle Trent cracker tempted from snaggy spot
LOOSEFEEDING little and often brought Robert Bown this immaculate 17lb 11oz middle Trent barbel.
Targeting both sides of a snag, the Nottinghamshire rod fed a handful of 3FT Twitch Redemption boilies every hour to keep the bites coming.
“I ended up catching a 14lb 11oz barbel, two bonus mirror carp and a chunky 6lb chub in addition to the 17lb 11oz specimen,” he said.
Robert bown – 17lb 11oz barbel
Season's biggest pike smashes 40lb barrier!
A RELATIVE newcomer to pike fishing has become the envy of seasoned predator anglers nationwide by banking the largest specimen of the season at the jaw-dropping weight of 41lb 10oz.
The 41lb 10oz pike is the biggest caught so far this season
Despite only taking up this arm of the sport two years ago, 67-year-old Jock Galloway had a pretty decent personal best for the species of 29lb prior to attending last week’s ‘pike experience day’ at Loch Ochiltree in Dumfries and Galloway.
But halfway through his seve-hour session Jock obliterated his old PB when the popped-up chunk of sardine he’d cast around 30 yards from the bank was picked up by the giant predator.
He said:
“Line started to peel from my reel at a rate of knots. By the time I struck it had already taken a good 50 yards, so I knew I was attached to something special.”
It wasn’t until the fish neared the net 20 minutes later that Jock’s friend Jimmy Costley got a glimpse of the fish.
“Judging by the look on Jimmy’s face, it was a much larger pike than we’d first thought,” Jock said.
“It then made three or four surging runs before eventually sliding slowly over the net cord. The relief at that point was immense. At this point another club member, Martin Cluckie, came over to help us with the weighing.”
Wary of having such a large pike out of the water for too long, the trio quickly weighed it before Jock asked Martin to hold his catch up for the camera. Although he didn’t manage to get a picture with his prize, Jock wasn’t disappointed.
“The memory of just seeing a pike of that size is more than enough for me,” he added.
A 40lb pike is a truly rare fish
12-year-old and Father left speechless by monster pike
ZANE’S dad Leighton said: “With the pandemic going on, it’s not been safe for my 12-year-old lad, Zane, to get out of the house, so I treated him to a few hours’ pike fishing on the local river.
“I cast out a legered Bluey deadbait close to the bank for him and sure enough, the rod was away half-an-hour later. It was clearly a big pike and gave him an awesome fight – taking him all over the swim.
“He really struggled to hold the rod at first and I thought he was going to lose it, but he got there in the end and managed to guide it towards me and the net.
“As soon as I scooped it up he just looked at me, speechless – the size of it was ridiculous! His largest fish before this was an 18lb common carp, so this will take some beating.”
Zane Ryan and his 25lb 8oz pike
PB barbel surfaces in heavy fog - Stephen Dolby
“MY barbel season got off to a very slow start this year. I found it hard to locate them on the tidal Trent, and keeping a bait in the water for more than five minutes wasn’t easy due to the plague of mitten crabs that are now in the river.
“I eventually took a 15lb 15oz barbel only a couple of weeks ago – fast forward to my latest session and it was like going back to square one.
“My traps were set with double 14mm pellet hookbaits, but I fished all day and night without a take. Then, just as daylight broke, the rod caved over and I was in. There was no doubt in my mind that this was a big fish, and it was game on!
“Visibility was terrible due to fog but this brute eventually rolled into the net. She was enormous – I was absolutely blown away by my new PB.”
Stephen Dolby and his new PB 16lb 8oz barbel
'60 Fish in 60 Days' signs off with 100lb-plus blue shark
FUNDRAISING angler HUGH Arnott signed off his ‘60 Fish in 60 Days’ challenge in style when he boated the largest fish of his countrywide conquest – a 140lb blue shark!
The pleasure fishing fanatic from St Albans was aboard KieLo Charters off the coast of Cornwall when the giant shark took his whole mackerel hookbait.
He told us:
“It was truly the catch of a lifetime and the biggest fish I’ve ever caught by about 30lb, not to mention the biggest of the challenge by a good 120lb!
“It was so long that I needed help from friends Steve and Chris to hold it up for the camera!”
Hugh easily surpassed his target of catching 60 species of fish, with the blue shark being the 68th of 75 he landed during the challenge.
During that time the 60-year-old travelled more than 4,300 miles and raised £3,200 for the Get Hooked on Fishing, England Disabled Fly Fishers and Fishing for Forces charities.
Hugh Arrnott with his 140lb blue shark. The 68th of 75 species caught in his fishing challenge
Four-year wait for 3lb-plus grayling ends with two in two days!
A FOUR-year quest for a 3lb-plus grayling finally ended for Steve Ballard when an opportunistic visit to the River Frome produced a pair of fish weighing 3lb and 3lb 8dr.
The Leicestershire gas engineer had a job in Wareham and packed a rod and a few tins of corn in the hope that he’d be able to get some fishing in.
“I managed two afternoon roving sessions and landed the first three-pounder on the last cast of the first day,” Steve told us.
“On the second day I lost the bigger fish before resting the swim and hooking it again!”
Steve Ballard’s brace of grayling weighed 3lb and 3lb 8dr
7lb-plus chub result of early start - Trevor Pole
“AFTER spending the last two months chasing bream on a massive pit I decided to target some Great Ouse chub for a change. I headed to a stretch I’d not fished before and baited a few swims with cheesepaste. I had two chub to 5lb 8oz in one swim, so I decided to stay in my van overnight and get up early to fish it again.
“At dawn I flicked my link-legered paste to the far-bank slack and had two small chub before my tip whacked round again. It was a lovely plump chub, but I was wearing my reading glasses and didn’t think it would go over 7lb! It was only when I got it on the unhooking mat and took off my glasses that I realised its true size.”
Trevor Pole – 7lb 6oz chub
Rising river no problem for best grayling
THE bold decision to target grayling on a rising and coloured river paid off for Matthew Fernandez when he slipped his net under a grayling pb of 3lb 2oz 8dr.
The Hampshire rod found an area of slack water along the far bank of the River Frome which he baited with maggots before flicking his 7AAA Drennan Loafer over the top.
After losing a big fish on his very first trot through the swim, the 33-year-old’s fortunes took an upward turn on the very next cast when he set his hook into another powerful grayling.
Matt backed up his catch with fish of 2lb 8oz and 2lb 14oz, both of which also fell to double red maggot.
Matthew Fernandez and his 3lb 2oz 8dr Frome grayling
Avon record zander?
PREDATOR enthusiast Paul Thomas believes he may have boated a potential Warwickshire Avon zander record after this 16lb 2oz cracker snapped up his bleak deadbait.
Just a few days after he’d landed a 15lb 14oz zed from the River Severn, the Gloucester angler tried his luck on the Avon… and ended up latching into something even larger in pretty short order.
He told us:
“I’d cast my bleak deadbaits into the middle of the river and before I knew it I was battling a heavy fish. Following the usual crashing and diving near the boat I netted another huge zander, which was a new PB at 16lb 2oz!
“I’ve only ever heard of one bigger zander from the Warks Avon, but no pictures ever surfaced of it.”
Paul Thomas and his 16lb 2oz zander from the Warwickshire Avon
Large Avon roach after heavy rain - Mark Everard
“Heavy rain had caused the Bristol Avon to rise, but that didn’t stop me from visiting. Strong gusts from a south-westerly wind were blowing leaves from the trees into the river, although they didn’t give me too much trouble in the near-bank slack I’d baited with liquidised bread.
“After pinching a piece of flake on to a size 12 hook, I trotted the bait through the swim and watched as the float buried near the end of the run. I lifted the rod and set the hook into a strong fish that I hoped was a roach.
“Following a nervy scrap under the tip I finally saw my prize and slipped my net under what was clearly a huge roach for the Bristol Avon.”
Mark Everard’s 2lb 2oz Bristol Avon roach
15lb-plus barbel on first Thames session - Paul Scowen
“I was given the heads-up about a stretch of the middle Thames that contains some big barbel. Having not fished it before, I ended up walking the banks four times to get an idea of where to target.
“With a couple of likely swims selected, I arrived after work for my first session. The river was pushing through quite hard so I stuck to large PVA bags and double 16mm boilies, with no loosefeed. Within minutes I found myself attached to a bream of around 7lb-8lb.
“About an hour later the same thing happened, but this fish held deep as it swam upstream past my feet, feeling heavy and slow. Assuming it was just another bream, I gave it no quarter and heaved it toward the waiting net, which is where I saw it was a big barbel!
“Less than two hours in and I already had a 15-pounder in the net!”
Paul Scowen’s 15lb 2oz middle Thames barbel
Two trots of the float and two PB chub - Matthew Fernandez
“I’d spent the night fishing a syndicate lake for big bream but I didn’t have a single bite, so in the morning I switched my attentions to the Dorset Stour and its big chub.
“The river looked in good condition to trot a float so I settled into a swim and began feeding it with red maggots.
“After an hour I started fishing and caught lots of dace and roach before I set the hook into a new PB chub going 6lb 10oz.
“Before I had a chance to enjoy the moment, though, my very next trot saw the float bury again and my rod bent into what felt like an absolute monster!
“From the off I was certain I’d hooked a barbel as the power of this fish was insane. Fortunately, my friend Matt was present and helped me net the fish.
“I’ve always dreamt of catching a 7lb-plus chub on the float, and the needle on my scales signalled my dream had come true.”
Matthew Fernandez and his 7lb 1oz Stour chub
PB Avon barbel strikes whilst packing up - Craig Colston
“FOR six hours I fished on a low and clear Warwickshire Avon in the pouring rain without so much as a knock.
“There was hardly any flow to the river either, and I didn’t fancy my chances of a barbel. Before I started packing up I recast my downstream rod, which had a luncheon meat hookbait, to a new spot a little further down the peg.
“A few minutes later the rod bent double and after hooking into the fish it took me two pegs downstream and under a tree before I could really do anything about it!
“Understandably I was delighted with the fish, which was a new PB for me and such a rare fish these days for the Warwickshire Avon.
Craig Colston and his 14lb 1oz barbel from the Warwickshire Avon
Fisheries set for busiest winter ever as licence sales soar...again!
THE BOOM in angling participation has shown no signs of slowing down this month, with many venues reporting unprecedented numbers of visitors for the time of year.
After angling’s busiest-ever summer, it was anticipated that numbers on the bank would tail off as temperatures started to fall, but reports suggest quite the opposite, with fisheries saying business is still booming.
Surrey’s Bury Hill Fishery is one of the venues enjoying a productive autumn, as staff member Ian Chennell revealed:
“I’d say there’s probably a 40 per cent increase on the usual numbers we’d experience at this time of year. We sold a lot of memberships for our carp and predator waters, and these anglers keep coming back.
“In particular, we’ve had a lot more people interested in catching pike and zander, so as the temperatures fall, we hope these guys will keep fishing for these winter species.”
A similar trend has been witnessed further north at East Yorkshire’s Starcarr Lakes.
“We’ve had unprecedented numbers on our banks” said fishery boss Shane Turrell.
“I expect things to drop off a bit more when it gets really cold and the bream begin to back off, but if only half the people come who are currently visiting, we’ll still be doing much better than usual.”
In addition to the continued surge in bankside numbers, the Environment Agency has reported yet another boom in rod licence sales, with 36,851 people buying or renewing their licence in October.
This suggests the influx of newcomers to the sport is continuing unabated. An EA spokesperson told us:
“Despite colder weather, we continue to see thousands of people buying licences. We hope this shows that the current popularity of fishing isn’t just a summer trend but the revival of a much-loved sport.”
People can’t get enough of fishing and now look set to hit the banks all winter too!
Monster pike in harsh weather
TREE surgeon Jamie Barnes had poor weather to thank for the capture of a 34lb 5oz Chew Reservoir pike, after heavy wind forced him and his boat partner to target a sheltered bay.
Within two hours of fishing sprat deadbaits in the new spot, the 33-year-old managed six pike to 19lb before something much larger pulled his float below the surface.
“After an epic battle, which felt like a lifetime, we couldn’t believe our eyes when we saw the sheer size and length of this pike,” Jamie told us.
“I’m still on cloud nine!"
Jamie Barnes and his 34lb 5oz Chew pike
16-year wait for a 2lb roach ends with two in five days!
A PAIR of pink maggots trotted into a large eddy accounted for this clonking 2lb 13oz Hampshire Avon roach for specimen-hunter Tony Sweeney.
It was the larger of two hefty specimens banked by the redfin fanatic during the same week – the other, weighing 2lb 11oz, was taken during a visit to a private stretch the river near Fordingbridge.
Tony said:
“I caught my last 2lb roach around 16 years ago, but I’ve now had two within five days of each other!”
Tony Sweeney – 2lb 13oz roach
Could this have been another record fish?
AFTER a remarkable six months during which potential new British Record crucian, perch and carp have been banked, could a possible fourth history-making fish be on the cards?
Jack Bytheway, captor of this monster ruffe, certainly thinks so. Hailing from Walsall, Jack caught the spiky specimen, measuring 15cm long, on a lure during a trip to his local canal.
“Me and my mate were fishing for perch in the hope of a few bites” he told us.
“It was a new stretch of canal with an old mooring that was full of silverfish. I was retrieving the lure really slowly when I felt a tiny snatch at it. When the fish hit again, I struck.
“I thought it was some kind of perch hybrid, but after showing my mate he revealed the potential magnitude of the catch I’d just made.”
The current British Record ruffe stands at 5oz 4dr, and although Jack didn’t weigh his catch, he’s certain his fish was close to that weight.
“We took a few pictures and released it. But at 15cm long and very fat, I’m 100 per cent sure it was around the record weight.”
Jack Bytheway’s ruffe, was it a record breaker?
Biggest lure caught pike of the season is landed at Chew
A PERCH imitation lure has produced the largest reported pike of the season so far at 37lb 8oz.
The remarkable specimen was a new personal best by nearly 10lb for its captor, Andrew McNicholas, who watched as the pike engulfed his lure just feet from the boat during a trip to Chew Reservoir.
He said:
“This pike frightened the life out of me when it came up, took the lure then dived back down to the depths – causing my clutch to scream!”
Andrew McNicholas and his 37lb 8oz pike, which fell to a perch imitation lure
10-year quest for double-figure zander ends with Trent monster
DARREN Clarke smashed his 10-year quest for a double-figure zander out of the park when he finally slipped his net under this pristine 16lb 9oz specimen.
Targeting a stretch of the tidal Trent where he’d caught zander from before, the 47-year-old specimen hunter banked a string of small zeds on legered roach deadbaits before striking into a much larger fish just before dusk.
“When it surfaced a rodlength out I knew that I’d had my ‘double’, but it was only when I lifted her up in the net that I realised this was a very special zander,” Darren said.
Huge-framed barbel best of six doubles - Julian Barnes
“I HEADED to the tidal Trent for a 48-hour session, only to discover from other anglers that not much had been caught recently. To gauge the water, I began by fishing a trimmed-down Pandemic boilie alongside a small PVA bag of pellets, and almost straight away I had a 15lb 14oz fish.
“It was tremendously fat and looked as if it had been gorging, so I decided to fish with just PVA bags and no other free offerings, recast every two to three hours, and fish accurately to the same spot every cast.
“Just before dark a 16lb 8oz barbel picked the bait up, followed by a huge-framed fish of 16lb 12oz early the next morning!
“Along with three more doubles to 13lb and four singles it was a magical barbel session I’ll not forget in a hurry!”
Julian Barnes – 16lb 12oz barbel