First 7lb chub comes from high and coloured river - Craig Hall
“The Thames was up and coloured, but I thought there could be a chance of a chub. Fishing close to some snags, I introduced a few handfuls of Elips pellet, boilie halves and worm extract with a bait dropper and fished hardened bloodworm dumbbells.
“Just on dark, my rod rattled off and I bent into a heavy weight. When I got the chub on to the scales, I was buzzing to see I’d caught my first-ever seven!”
Craig Hall – 7lb 1oz chub
PB Thames barbel during brutal weather conditions
Laurence Hook was rewarded for fishing through driving wind and rain with a new personal-best barbel of 16lb 12oz from the River Thames.
The Oxfordshire angler cast a cage feeder filled with dampened pellets alongside a Bait-Tech Hybrid barbel pellet hookbait into the centre of the river on a fast-flowing stretch of the Thames near his home.
He said:
“I got absolutely soaked but this fish was more than a reward for sitting through those conditions!”
Laurence Hook – 16lb 12oz barbel
Was this giant bullhead a record breaker?
LURE fishing fanatic Nick Firth reckons he banked a British record bullhead – but we’ll never know because he slipped it back, thinking it wouldn’t register on his scales!
The 52-year-old from Holmfirth was drop shotting a dendrobaena worm next to a lock gate on the Huddersfield Canal when he received a tentative bite from what he suspected was a small perch.
“When this jet-back thing popped out of the water I couldn’t believe what I was looking at,” Nick said.
“In 40 years of fishing I’d never seen one, let alone caught one, but I recognised what it was and posted a picture on Facebook.
“Comments poured in saying that the record was just 1oz and that I had a decent claim, but it was too late. I reckon mine was around the 2oz-3oz mark!”
The mini-monster that could have broken a record
Quest for first 20lb-plus pike ends with 30lb monster
AFTER spending several years in pursuit of a 20lb-plus pike, Wayne Coulson managed to go one better with this 30lb 4oz specimen.
The Boston and District AA bailiff was fishing a four-hour session on his local drain when his floatfished sardine was picked up just a few feet from the bank.
“I had a very slow run but as soon as I struck I knew this fish was extra-special as the rod just arched over into the heaviest weight I’ve ever been attached to while pike fishing!” said a delighted Wayne.
Wayne Coulson and his 30lb 4oz Boston drain pike
Is this the biggest ever barbel to be caught on the pole?
MATCH angler Brent Wilkes landed possibly the largest barbel ever taken on a pole when he netted this 14lb 14oz brute during a five-hour contest.
Brent’s 14lb 4oz barbel – best ever on a pole?
The 32-year-old told us his hollow elastic was ‘stretched to breaking point’ throughout the tense 15-minute battle on a flooded Bidford AC stretch of the Warwickshire Avon – which ultimately forced him to get off his box and travel downriver to keep himself in the fight!
He said:
“It was so powerful I had no choice but to head downstream with my pole and net in hand. I’d been snapped off by a barbel early on in the match so I was determined not to lose this one!”
The battle dragged on for 15 minutes…
With just a couple of minutes to go until the final whistle, Brent finally shuffled his prize into his 20ins net where he realised just how big it was.
“During the fight it only looked to be about 8lb, but when I saw its head and tail sticking out either side of the net I knew I had a true barbel of a lifetime,” he added.
“I’ve had carp and pike over 20lb on the pole before although this barbel gave me the best scrap – my arms were aching for hours afterwards!
“I’d have thought 5lb-6lb would’ve won the match judging by the conditions, but a boulder in my peg created an area of slack water where I reckoned I could have banked a big bream or barbel.
“Luckily the tactic paid off and the barbel added to a few roach I’d caught for me to take the win with 15lb 14oz.”
Brent’s new barbel best fell to a whole lobworm fished via a pole feeder rig over a bed of casters, chopped worm and groundbait.
Four perch for nearly 16lb!
LEE McManus hit the perch jackpot during his latest visit to a Midlands stillwater by catching four big stripeys for a total weight of 15lb 10oz.
By fishing half a lobworm on a running leger rig at range over a bed of chopped worm, caster and groundbait, the specimen-hunter from Leicestershire received four bites in quick succession resulting in perch of 3lb 5oz, 3lb 9oz, 4lb 1oz and 4lb 11oz.
He told us:
“The largest perch was a special fish as it beat my long-standing PB of 4lb 9oz, which I’d managed to match three times from three different venues until this session.”
Lee McManus and his biggest perch of 4lb 11oz
Lure fools a big stillwater perch - Karol Lis
“At the weekend I paid a visit to a local lake in Bedfordshire , where my goal was to just catch a perch of any size on a lure.
“It was a cold and foggy morning which, while slightly uncomfortable for me, were perfect conditions to lure-fish for perch.
“After spending a bit of time walking around the lake making a few casts, I eventually arrived at a tree with a branch that had broken off into the water.
“I made a couple of casts as close to it as I dared and all of a sudden something big smashed my lure.
“A few seconds later I saw it was a huge perch and from then on it was a mad scramble to get it into the net.
“Thankfully, it went in first time and after just an hour of fishing I’d caught a perch that far exceeded my expectations at dead on 4lb.”
Karol Lis - 4lb perch
Monster Avon chub falls on the pin - Darryl Hughes
“I took a couple of days’ leave from work to have a go at catching a big chub from the Hampshire Avon.
“On my first day off I drove to a favourite stretch of mine with a bag of boilies and baited a few bends, overhanging trees and slacks with the plan of returning the following day to fish them in turn.
“Arriving early, I started fishing and spent an hour in each spot before moving on – but I just couldn’t get anything to take my paste-wrapped boilie.
“The daylight was slowly slipping away, but I was determined to catch so I clipped an isotope on to the end of my rod and dropped into a swim on the bend of the river which had a deep hole close in.
“I lowered down my rig, and roughly 15 minutes later the ratchet on my centrepin reel spun away and I struck into a heavy lump that kited straight into the main flow.
“At first I thought it was a barbel from the way it took off, but I was able to guide it into some slack water where I lifted the fish’s head to reveal the unmistakable ‘gob’ of a chub, and a big one at that.
“She went into the net and the first thing I noticed was the size of the belly on it. It was the fattest chub I’d ever seen!”
Darryl Hughes and his 7lb 4oz chub
Second-ever pike is 30lb-plus giant!
MOST newcomers to predator fishing start with a small jack, so imagine Calum Lonsdale’s shock when his second-ever catch resulted in this 33lb 11oz fish!
Having caught a small pike on a trip to the Norfolk Broads, the 24-year-old from Derbyshire was eager to try his local reservoir.
He said:
“The fish hit my Salmo lure close to the bank and over the next 15 minutes my heart was racing!”
Calum Lonsdale and his 33lb 11oz pike
Angler brought to tears by dream pike catch
LEE Wilson shed tears of joy when he banked his first 30lb-plus pike after a 20-minute battle.
Lee Wilson and his 33lb 2oz pike
The angler, from Dumfries and Galloway, struck into the 33lb 2oz pike on his local loch when his mackerel hookbait was engulfed from a deep spot 50yds from the bank.
Lee said:
“When I looked down at what I’d caught, the tears started coming as I realised I’d had my first ‘thirty’ after six years.”
This huge pike brought the captor to tears
Micro pellets for a big Trent barbel
GOLF ball-sized PVA bags of micro pellets and regular casting was the winning combination to bag this 19lb barbel for Mark Roberts.
The Stockport-based species enthusiast arrived at the River Trent to find it running unfavourably clear, but by using refined feeding tactics and single boilie hookbaits, he managed to tempt his new personal best alongside another superb specimen weighing 15lb 13oz.
Mark Roberts and his 19lb Trent barbel
Monster River Trent pike goes over 30lb!
THIRTY-pound pike from the Trent are rare, but James Wainwright hit the jackpot on an early-morning trip with this 33lb 6oz fish.
The Leicestershire-based rod float-legered a popped-up pollan deadbait into a slack off the main flow.
“As I set the hooks the water boiled on the surface before all hell broke loose,” he said.
“After a 15-minute battle she was netted on the third time of asking.”
James Wainwright and his 33lb 6oz River Trent pike
100lb-plus dace haul is a Wye record!
IT was tough going for some anglers hitting the banks after the return of match fishing post-lockdown. But despite tumbling temperatures and melting snow, the River Wye saw a new match record set.
Even with several feet of extra water the Herefordshire river can fish its head off, and running water maestro Hadrian Whittle demonstrated just that by winning the Hereford DAA open on the river through the city with a mammoth 125-10-0 of dace. That’s right, dace – 585 of them to be precise.
It’s reckoned to be the Wye’s biggest dace match weight ever. Daiwa man Hadrian had taken one look at the river after arriving at his peg 98 draw next to the town bridge and stuck his neck out by saying 100lb was on.
Five fast and furious hours later, he was proving himself right. The win also makes it three in a row for Hadrian on the Wye, including the prestigious Wye Champs.
“Did I think the river was capable of that type of weight? I did, mainly because everything seemed to be right in terms of the river level, the colour of the water and the fact that, owing to lockdown, not much bait had been going into the river,” he said.
At the peg
“As soon as I drew peg 98, I was installed as favourite. Looking at it, the colour was ideal to catch at short range and there was 4ft of extra water on, so all the stars were aligning, if you like, for a big dace weight.
“I’d walked the river a lot and had clocked that, on peg 98, you could catch dace really close in provided there was colour in the water. The peg was one that I’d always wanted to draw, but never had. To say I was looking forward to the start would be an understatement!
“I began fishing at around 6m to hand, but after half-an-hour moved in to 5m in around 4ft of water, as there were so many fish to catch and they were happy to be at close range. To do a big weight, I wanted to settle into a rhythm of cast, feed, strike and swing the fish in, but some of the dace were so big that it took some time to swing them in, even though I was using Grey Hydrolastic.”
The Wye peg where 100lb-plus of dace were caught
Runs of big fish
“The size of dace I was getting went up and down all the time. I’d catch a dozen small dace very fast and then clonk into a run of 6oz fish. Feeding was like clockwork, throwing in a ball of groundbait and soil full of casters each cast and then a handful of maggots over the top. This allowed me to catch either as soon as the float cocked or down my peg a little. Given the depth, I fished a 1.5g Sensas Alberto float with a double bulk and double maggot on a size 14 hook, really positive fishing that’s essential when you’re trying to catch a big weight.
“There were times when I was foul-hooking dace because there were so many fish in the swim. I tried fishing a foot off bottom, and the catch rate slowed right down. My next move was to cut out the loosefeed and rely on just that ball of groundbait each time. It solved the foul hooking, but still the catch rate was too slow, so I had to put up with losing the odd fish.”
The weigh-in
“I’d counted the fish and knew I had 100lb –I’ve always said that if you catch 500 dace on the Wye, that’s 100lb. I had well over that so was thinking getting on for 120lb, and I’d be amazed if that didn’t win!
“The final weight is believed to be the best dace match return from the Wye and probably in the UK. It was just one of those days to savour as they don’t come along that often. I believe 100lb of dace can be caught again this winter if conditions are right and the right angler is on the right peg. There are enough fish there of a big enough size.”
Hadrian and his bumper Wye dace haul
Pop-up fools wary barbel - Carl Hill
“This season I set myself the target of bettering my barbel best of 13lb 4oz, and with the tidal Trent being in great form for big fish, I decided that’d be the best place for me to do it.
“During the closed season I walked miles of river with just a rod and a lead to plumb about, trying to find likely barbel-holding areas, and eventually I fished my first session on June 16.
“That trip proved to be the start of a long, arduous campaign and I endured 12 blanks in a row. I attributed the lack of success to the barbel not venturing far from the weir, which required exclusive access, but I preferred quieter areas.
“I wasn’t happy with my rig either, so I had a rethink. I’d been fishing a 16mm boilie and fluoro hooklink, and while this kept the mitten crabs and small fry at bay, I wanted something that had more attraction and looked a bit more natural.
“That’s why I swapped the boilie for a balanced hookbait made from a pop-up dumbell wrapped in a fast-leak paste. The idea was that the bait would waft around on the bottom. The fluoro hooklink was far too stiff for this approach, so that was ditched for a soft braid which would help pin everything down.
“At this point the second lockdown was looming and instead of travelling to the tidal, I explored local waters and settled on a stretch of the middle Trent that I knew quite well. The river had just had a decent flush through and the levels seemed perfect, so I headed to a swim that held cover in the form of a few snags.
“After baiting just beyond the snags with three bait droppers of hemp and maggot, a PVA sausage of mixed pellets was attached to my hooklink and I wrapped paste around the pop-up before casting the rig to the spot.
The improved rig included a braided hooklink, PVA sausage and a pop-up boilie
“I was field-testing a new paste flavour and I’m sceptical of new baits until I catch on them, but I needn’t have worried. Shortly after dark I had two bites from barbel of 8lb 12oz and 16lb 10oz!
“I thought the latter was a carp as it kited downstream and across the river, but the tell-tale ‘nodding’ sensation told me it was a big barbel.
“It was the fish I was after, and a great reward for all the blanks I’d suffered.”
Carl Hill and his 16lb 10oz barbel
Huge Hampshire Avon barbel leaves it late
“After finishing work at 3pm I headed straight to the Hampshire Avon, hoping to catch another big barbel.
“By the time I arrived I had around half-an-hour of light left, but this gave me just enough time to drop my homemade boilie hookbait and a PVA bag of matching freebies into a deep run.
“Just as I was contemplating packing away, the rod suddenly arched over and line started pouring off the reel spool!
“As soon as I connected with the fish I could tell it was a really good one. It was mint-conditioned, and turned out to be my second barbel over 16lb from this part of the river.”
Simon Daley and his 16lb 9oz Hampshire Avon barbel
Greatest ever winter rudd haul topped by brace of mid twos - Andy Waters
“With work finished for the day I raced down to a Fenland river to fish a deep
spot that I’d caught a 3lb rudd from a few years ago.“After getting into position I cast out a cage feeder filled with liquidised bread with a piece of flake on the hook and began introducing small balls of loose feed by hand.
“By casting every five minutes or so I was able to build up a pretty big area of feed that I’d hope would be enough to draw the rudd’s attention. As it turned out they absolutely loved it and the more I fed the more bites I seemed to get!
“I’d already had a couple of fish when I had another sharp whack on the tip and struck into a hard-fighting rudd, which I needed to bully away from the shoal and into the net as quickly as possible to avoid spooking the rest.
“If they do get into the shoal it’s pretty much game over.
“At 2lb 11oz it was the largest of four over 2lb that I caught in four hours, with the others going 2lb, 2lb 6oz and 2lb 9oz.
“It was my greatest ever winter rudd session but I reckon I could have kept catching had I not ran out of bait!”
Andy Waters – 2lb 11oz and 2lb 9oz rudd
Lobworm fools large Severn roach - Phill Mapp
“OWING to travel restrictions I stayed local for my latest session, hopping on my bike and cycling three miles to a stretch of the Severn.
“The river had come up a good couple of feet, which wasn’t ideal, but I decided to give it a go.
“I put a bit of extra weight on my link leger to cater for the high water, and flicked out a lobworm into the side of a crease.
“I didn’t catch any chub, but I managed to find a shoal of roach which kept tapping away on the rod-tip as they nibbled at my worm hookbaits.
“Eventually the tip properly shot round and I could tell straight away that this was a really good fish.
“At 2lb 6oz it was a new personal best and the biggest roach of a superb session.”
Phil Mapp and his 2lb 6oz Severn roach
Sweetcorn a winner for huge grayling
A TROTTED grain of sweetcorn was all Mike Lyddon needed to tempt this stunning 3lb 1oz grayling on a trip to a southern chalk stream.
The Surrey rod spotted the fish in crystal-clear water and watched as it turned and engulfed his hookbait just inches from the bank!
“I spent five minutes playing it with my heart in my mouth as it powered downstream,” Mike said.
“It’s been a while since I had a fish turn me into a gibbering wreck like that!”
Mike Lyddon and his 3lb 1oz grayling
Topping fish provide location of giant zander
TARGETING a shoal of topping baitfish yielded this menacing 16lb 2oz zander for Martin Hague.
The new PB fell to a small roach deadbait legered in the middle of the tidal River Trent, where he saw the silvers breaking the surface.
Martin said:
“I thought it was a pike at first, but after three good runs and plenty of head-shakes it surfaced for the first time and I saw I’d struck gold.”
Martin Hague and his 16lb 2oz Trent zander
Is this Yorkshire's largest chub?
A CLUB match secretary believes he banked the largest chub ever recorded from a Yorkshire River when this 7lb 4oz specimen sucked in his breadflake hookbait.
Ripon Piscatorial Association official Nathan Proctor banked the thickset fish when he took advantage of the ban on competition angling to target chub on the River Ure with bread feeder tactics.
Casting tight to the far bank, Nathan’s rig had only been in the water for a few seconds before he struck into his new personal best.
He said:
“At first I thought it was a snag but after 30 seconds it moved and just wallowed in the flow.
“After five minutes I gained some line, but it woke up and I had to use my knowledge of the peg to try not to lose it in any snags!
“When we got it on the bank I was in awe of its size. I can’t find any records, but it’s got to be one of the largest chub ever caught in Yorkshire,” he added.
Nathan won a weekly Drennan Cup award for his catch.