How can we get more kids to fish matches?
Participation and recruitment are two key factors that will ensure a healthy future for angling and for match fishing that’s never been more important.
Faced with a barrage of technology and the world of the PlayStation, TikTok and YouTube, fishing is always going to struggle to grab the attention of teenagers. Even if they do pick up a rod, is there an incentive for them to enter the match scene?
So many times, we draw for a match and look around, seeing the youngest face at around 30 or 40 years of age. With that in mind, we asked four match aces how can we increase match participation...
How we can get youngsters to put down their PlayStations and start entering competitions?
Bring back club junior sections - Matt Godfrey
“Is the real problem the retention of youngsters? If I was to look at the very first Match Academy in 2016, it’d be interesting to see how many of them are still fishing matches. Admittedly, few will go on to become big ‘names’ and get to big finals – Rob Swan and Kristian Jones are two I can think of – but just as in senior match fishing, there’s a mixture of desires among the youngsters. Some want to be Andy Bennett, while some just want to get better and compete on their local open scene and I do reinforce on the academies and Talent Pathway that most of them are not going to get all the way to the top.
“The backing of parents is crucial in terms of transport and money, but I get tired of people who knock young lads and lasses, saying ‘well, they don’t have to pay for anything.’ This is the same in any sport. Having a parent who is interested but not pushy is a must. If a parent pushes them too much, then by the time that youngster is 17 and can drive and work, they don’t want to match fish.
“What we need more than anything is the re-establishment of club junior sections. That seems to have gone now and as a junior, if you want to fish a match, it’s an open or clubbie up against seniors. It’s then easy to become fed up when you’re not doing well.”
“What we need more than anything is the re-establishment of club junior sections”
Run kids matches - Grant Albutt
“I’ve worked with Steve Porter to develop junior matches at my fishery Moorlands Farm, and the response last summer was tremendous with 44 fishing, so it shows that the interest is there. However, I can’t do it all on my own and would urge other fisheries to do the same.
“Run a match for kids, try and secure some goodie bags and I’m positive it’ll be well-supported. That’s the reason Steve and myself did the matches – the area around Kidderminster had youngsters crying out for matches. Much of this success is down to the parents – without their support it wouldn’t happen.
“How we keep these youngsters interested in matches is the million-dollar question. It’s not about winning, that will come in time. There’s a lot of learning involved beforehand. If they catch fish, be it two or 50, they’ll come back, keep learning and see an improvement. That’s why junior matches on commercials as opposed to canals and rivers are a must.”
“The area around Kidderminster had youngsters crying out for matches”
Decent events - Josh Newman
“Schemes like the Guru Academy and Talent Pathway show that there are plenty of youngsters out there, but the big stumbling block is deciding which match route to go down.
“We see the likes of Andy Bennett and Jamie Hughes fishing only commercials and winning big events and that’s a powerful motivation. As a result, you end up becoming a little one dimensional in your fishing.
“Also, how many junior matches are there on commercials? Very few – to fish a match, you have to go in with the seniors, which is tough. Joining a club is a much better alternative, as you’ll find that they fish a range of venues.
“If you’re not achieving anything, then it’s easy to think ‘what’s the point?’ and jack fishing in. Having matches to fish aimed at your age group would be a big help.”
“Schemes like the Guru Academy and Talent Pathway show that there are plenty of youngsters out there”
Keep them catching lots of fish - Sarah Taylor
“We need taster days on places where juniors are going to catch fish. I’ve seen in the past people hosting days on places where the juniors are going to catch one or two fish a day. Kids are easily bored, so you need to keep them busy.
“Another thing is not to get them straight into carp. This is one reason why youngsters in match fishing are dying out – anyone entering the sport wants to immediately go for the biggest fish. I remember my dad starting me on a rod catching rudd, then slowly moving me up towards carp so I didn’t get obsessed with the biggest fish.
“We also need more junior events. When I was in the old Cadets part of the Junior National, there were more than 15 to 20 teams per category, but it seems to have dropped off. Also, we used to have the CADG (Cheshire Angling Development Group) and NJAA (National Junior Angling Association) leagues which were team events. Unfortunately, they folded, but they kept us fishing from the age of 10-12 – something which is missing a lot now.
“There’s also the issue of money with regards to gear, but that’s a wider issue. In short, companies should encourage juniors, or those in more financial need, by offering cheaper options in their tackle lines. That would help youngsters build a setup they could improve on when they take up fishing seriously.”
“Kids are easily bored, so you need to keep them busy”
Is the all-round matchman gone forever?
Match angling has never been more specialised than it is now. From the days of having to be a jack of all trades, you can now focus on one type of angling and find plenty of events to take part in, whether that’s on a canal or commercial using a feeder rod or pole.
That’s not a bad thing, as it cuts down on the kit needed and allows you to focus on your chosen discipline and become very successful at it. The negative is that the all-round match angler, the sort that can win fishing for carp shallow one day and then use the feeder for bream on a tidal river the next, is dwindling.
We asked four top names in match angling: is the all-round match angler becoming a thing of the past?
Is the all-round match angler becoming a thing of the past?
“They aren’t needed” - Tommy Pickering
“There are two types of match angler – the silverfish river angler and the commercial angler. We’ve definitely seen the decline of the all-rounder and the rise of the specialist, people who have learned that they can’t compete on that venue or that venue, so I’ll stick to this venue. They fish a style at a fishery that they enjoy, understand and can do well on, and now there’s so much choice in terms of matches to fish that who can blame them?
“The actual true all-rounder who can do anything anywhere are few, and those who are about tend to be team anglers, who need all of the skills to tackle a range of waters. What we’re seeing now, certainly in my area in Yorkshire, is a development of specific ‘scenes’ based around types of fishery. The Mirfield AC club runs opens on the River Calder and Aire & Calder Canal and gets 70-odd on them, and then there’s Southfield Reservoirs, bream fishing on the feeder, where you can’t get a ticket for an open! That’s before we even get to the commercial fisheries. The all-rounder is still out there, but the reality is, you don’t need to turn your hand to everything any more.”
“The all-rounder is still out there, but the reality is, you don’t need to turn your hand to everything any more.”
”It’s all about the money” - Dave Roberts
“I’ve had success on commercials and rivers at a high level, but certainly I do feel that what I do is a bit different. On my local River Wye match circuit, the crossover of anglers who do both is minimal and I think a lot of this is to do with prize money. Even in river fishing, there are more and more events offering £4,000 here or £6,000 there, which is enough of a carrot dangling to mean you don’t have to bother fishing commercials or canals to try and win a good few quid.
“That’s why the number of all-round match anglers is quite low.
“That’s not to say that many of the people I fish against couldn’t compete on a range of venues. Too many people see the young lads who fish F1-dominated venues and say: ‘I’d like to see them catch on my river’. They’re brilliant anglers and they would empty the place, but they don’t need to because there’s enough to keep them happy doing what they’re most comfortable with.
“Why make the effort to slog a mountain of kit across muddy fields on the river when they can fish almost out of the back of the car on a commercial? I don’t mind the muddy walks, but I can understand why so many are turned off by rivers.”
“Why make the effort to slog a mountain of kit across muddy fields on the river when they can fish almost out of the back of the car on a commercial?”
“It’s too tricky” - Steve Hemingray
“If you are not a professional angler, then it’s hard to do everything. Only a select few can do this and, even for me, work and family come before fishing, so I can’t fish every event that I want to!
“You have to pick the type of matches that suit you, which in my case are based around natural waters. For other people that will be commercial carping.
“The problem with fishing the Thames one day and Larford Lakes the next is the changing over of kit, baits and practice time, especially if you’re fishing venues you’re not familiar with.
“It’d be great to have a crack at the lot, but you have to be realistic and fish to your strengths. There are still some great all-round anglers out there, but they will always struggle to compete against the people who have picked one type of fishing and stuck with it.”
“If you are not a professional angler, then it’s hard to do everything.”
“They’re back!” - Darren Cox
“The all-rounder was a dying breed, but they’ve had a renaissance in recent years owing to the increase in events to fish.
“Take a feeder angler on commercials – they can now fish things like FeederMasters knowing they have the skills to compete and it’s the same with floats. If you can catch roach on the waggler on a river, then you can catch carp on it on a commercial. The only difference is heavier tackle!
“Having an all-round skill set makes you a better angler and many of the people we see as the best started their match fishing doing very different things – William Raison, Andy Bennett and Steve Ringer are a few that spring to mind. They began on rivers and canals and still have those skills learned on natural waters. You never forget them.
“It’s still very difficult to flit between the types of fishing and be successful at it but, if you have experience under your belt, I think you can compete. Years ago, we used to have a National Superleague with rounds on rivers, natural lakes and big canals and that demanded that you had the skills to do the lot. That type of event has gone now, hence why people see so many successful anglers as ‘one trick ponies’, when the truth is that they’re actually not. Perhaps we need more of this type of event?”
“The all-rounder was a dying breed, but they’ve had a renaissance in recent years owing to the increase in events to fish.”
Optimism for big summer of match fishing
Match organisers remain hopeful that the sport’s big events, including Fish ‘O’ Mania, Maver Match This and the Division 1 & 2 Nationals, will go ahead later this year.
Although nothing can be set in stone given the current lockdown situation and uncertainty surrounding the lifting of restrictions, Andre Grandjean, Chairman of the Angling Trust’s Coarse Competitions Committee, is optimistic for a summer of big events.
“Our plans are full steam ahead,” he said.
“By June and July, when most of our events are due, we’re expecting that things will be okay to go ahead.
“One concern people have had is how and where we’ll fit the qualifiers for these events in, but most of these don’t start again until after April, and we anticipate that by then these will go ahead as planned, in a Covid-safe way of course.”
Maver’s Andy Kinder is the man behind the mega-money Match This event that unfortunately was cancelled last year. This time though, he’s hoping that event can take place.
“We managed to do around seven qualifiers last year, which frees up a bit of space in the calendar this time round,” he said. “While there’s still a way to go, I hope that the event will go ahead as planned.”
“By June and July, when most of our events are due, we’re expecting that things will be okay to go ahead.”
Fishing ‘Wembley’ is set to reopen
A stretch of the Warwickshire Avon once known as ‘the Wembley of river fishing’ is set to reopen this summer following a major rejuvenation project.
The famous Twyford Farm Fishery once hosted huge 100-peg events, but hasn’t been fished for many years after its owners removed the pegs and closed it to anglers.
The famous Twyford Farm Fishery once hosted huge 100-peg events
Now a return to the glory days looks on the cards after Manor Angling Ltd took control of the stretch and unveiled exciting plans for the future.
The company’s boss Howard Kaye said:
“Matches and festivals for the next river season starting on June 16 are already selling out, and we’ve got a RiverFest qualifier booked in too.
“We’ll also be opening a new tackle shop on site and digging a teaching pool at the top of the stretch for juniors, with tackle hire available.
“It’s going to be a fantastic venue, with big chub, barbel, roach, dace and bream. I’ll start building the pegs now, and we may even have a few ready for the last few weeks of the current season. Watch this space!” he added.
Howard Kaye wants the stretch to return to the glory days
World Freestyle Feeder and Street Fishing matches set for autumn
TWO brand new fishing competitions are set to be launched this year to capitalise on rapidly growing arms within the sport… and England are hoping to send teams to both!
The inaugural Freestyle Feeder Championships, which is scheduled to take place in Hungary in September, will break new ground as competitors will be allowed to use just about any combination of feeder, hooklink and loosefeed, unlike the more established traditional feeder fishing competitions.
The new feeder event will take an ‘anything goes’ approach
Also set to debut in 2021 is the Street Fishing World Championships, an urban lure fishing contest that’s sure to be popular with the nation’s army of predator fanatics.
England Manager Mark Downes is on the FIPS committee organising the Freestyle Feeder Champs and is hopeful that England will competing come the autumn.
“While we still have to wait for everything to be finalised and for the Angling Trust to grant us permission to enter, this new event is an exciting prospect” he told us.
“As the name suggests, there will be fewer restrictions on competitors, meaning that short hooklengths, Method feeders and pellets can be used, unlike in the classic feeder champs, where rules force competitors to use more traditional tactics.”
Meanwhile, the Street Fishing World Champs is scheduled to be hosted in Amsterdam later this year, and will bring a new dimension to the international match angling circuit.
“There was a trial event in 2020 in which 600 pairs entered,” Mark told us,
“so this event has the potential to be something really special. Lure fishing is incredibly popular on the Continent, and while England still need permission from the Trust to enter, it’s one to look forward to.”
The Street Fishing World Champs is scheduled to be hosted in Amsterdam later this year
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.
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
Legal threat to club that broke lockdown
MATCH anglers who held a competition during the current lockdown period have been warned they will lose their fishing rights if they do it again.
HanKat Angling Society flouted the rules on organised sporting events by staging a nine-peg event on the Dudley Canal on November 7.
The club advertised a follow-upmatch, before the Canal & Rivers Trust (CRT) warned them that the matches breach Covid restrictions. The CRT told the club
“Should you go ahead and organise further events we will escalate the matter to our legal team to see what the Trust would need to do in order to ensure compliance with law, including the termination of your club’s angling agreement.
This is something we hope we can avoid, as it would not put angling in a good light at this time and undo the work the fisheries team have been doing behind the scenes in fighting the case for angling to be allowed to continue.”
Jamie Cook, the CEO of the Angling Trust, said:
“It is vital that anglers continue to fish safely, locally and responsibly throughout this pandemic. The last thing we need to see is irresponsible actions like this that brings angling into disrepute and endangers the hard-won concessions we have achieved for us to keep fishing through the lockdown.”
HanKat Angling Society flouted the rules on organised sporting events by staging a nine-peg event on the Dudley Canal
52lb of bleak secures win from unfavourable peg
A STAGGERING 52lb 5oz of bleak sealed victory in the star-studded Wye Champs for river ace Hadrian Whittle.
The contest, fished on a rapidly rising river, turned out to be the perfect storm for a big weight of bleak, which was Hadrian’s only real chance of victory after drawing an unfavourable peg.
“I was placed on permanent peg 28 on Belmont 1, which is known as one of the last places you want to draw!
“However, with a rapidly rising river I was fairly happy, because I knew there was a chance that the bleak would come into play,” he said.
After a slow start and a look on the feeder, Hadrian switched back to a 2.5m whip and caught 600 bleak before switching to a 1.6m whip and catching another 930.
“By this time, I was flying,” Hadrian added,
“and I checked my watch to see there was an hour and 20 minutes left. In this time I had another 530 fish!”
Hadrian Whittle and his 52lb bag of bleak
Tributes roll in for Britain’s oldest matchman
Frank Posiak, Britain’s oldest match angler, has died at the age of 94 after a short illness.
Having fished around 10,000 matches, Frank was loved by his fellow anglers and tributes have poured in from all corners of the angling community.
Members of Long Eaton Angling Federation, of which Frank was a life member, shared some of their stories.
“My favourite Frank Posiak moment was when he won a match on the ponds with 27lb,” said Pete Allwood.
“He was stood on the bank behind peg 8 with his hands on his hips and a massive smile on his face. Me and Alan Wright stopped to ask him if he had caught carp. ‘Yes’ he responded. Tench? ‘Yes.’ Bream? ‘Yes.’ Big perch.... ‘YES! Can you lift my net out, please, I might fall in!’ RIP Frank, your smile will be sadly missed.”
Club member Daz Lewis added:
“It’s so sad that another one of our great family of anglers has gone. He was a true gentleman of our sport.”
Frank still fished well into his nineties
Ringer brothers win pairs final with Hybrid feeder masterclass
The Ringer Baits Boddington Reservoir Pairs series began with a bang for brothers Phil and Steve Ringer, who made it two wins out of two at the sprawling Northamptonshire water to pocket the £500 prize.
Fishing against 27 other pairs, the two England Feeder men cast in excess of 70m to keep in touch with Boddy’s famed big carp. Scoring two section wins, Phil and Steve triumphed over Jason and Graham Morris who also won their sections.
Finishing first and third individually, it didn’t take long to work out who had topped the shop, the 205-9-0 of the winners easily eclipsing the Morris’ 136-9-0. Phil, top man on the day, had 109-1-0 from peg 10 on the sailing club bank to make the win sweeter.
“After taking second overall last week, I fancied going one better,” Phil said.
“The mild weather means there are still carp to be caught off every peg. I set myself a target of seven or eight fish, which average 10lb apiece, and finished with eleven.”
In the clear water, Phil relied on a washed out yellow 8mm wafter, casting a Hybrid feeder 60m and only going out to 75m when bites stopped. A blank opening hour gave way to much better sport, four carp in four casts getting him off the mark in hour two.
“Cast times were 10 to 15 minutes max as the fish were feeding well, some pulling the rod round within a minute of the feeder settling,” he continued.
“Even though there were carp topping all over, it was important to keep casting to the same spot except in the last hour when the bites ceased.
“I also found that by leaving the wafter just showing on top of the pellets in the feeder, I could get a bite that much quicker.”
The Hybrid feeder was vital to Phil’s win
Match fishing legend's book raises 2.3k for cancer charity
THE very first copy of Tommy Pickering’s autobiography has raised £2,315 for the Anthony Nolan blood cancer charity following an online raffle auction.
A total of 463 tickets priced at £5 each were bought by anglers in the NuFish Southfield Reservoir Match Facebook Group, which is in its third year of raising funds for the charity.
The 1989 World Champ Tommy, who regularly attends matches at the East Yorks venue, told us donating his signed book for the raffle was a ‘no-brainer’.
“My mum died of leukaemia in 2008 and the charity has also supported good friend and Southfield match organiser Andy Renton through his battle with the disease.
“I wanted to offer something a little different to raise money and the book donation was an instant hit – making £1,000 in the first hour of the raffle.The response has blown my mind.”
To generate even more funds, Andy and fellow match organiser Mick Axon created a three-day festival at Southfield Reservoir which attracted 78 competing anglers.
Andy added:
“If it wasn’t for Anthony Nolan I wouldn’t be here, so I’d just like to thank Tommy and everyone who bought a ticket or entered the festival for their contribution to the charity.”
Tommy at the book presentation – with Southfield match organisers Andy Renton (Left) and Mick Axton
How Brad Hancock won the £25,000 Parkdean Masters title
Some big names have clutched the famous silver Parkdean Masters trophy and £25,000 winner’s cheque. Brad Hancock can now add his name to that list after a tight finish to this year’s final on Jenny’s Lake at White Acres in Cornwall.
Brad is, by his own admission, more of a club angler where matches are concerned but also enjoys specimen hunting for big barbel and chub on the Rivers Don and Trent. He’s also a regular at White Acres, fishing the residents’ matches and the occasional festival, with some success.
Making his Parkdean debut, the Sheffield man weighed in 57-9-0 of carp, F1s and carassio from peg 35 to just get the nod by one carp ahead of Ben Dales’ 52-6-0. Victory left him stunned at not only the biggest match win, but also that £25,000!
Parkdean resorts Steve Griffiths presents 2020 champion Brad Hancock with a cheque for 25k
“I’ve fished White Acres for nine years, but have never got close to doing well in one of the big festivals, let alone making the Parkdean final,” Brad said.
“This year qualifying was a bit different. Because of Covid, there were no spring festivals, so the top eight weights from all the residents’ matches through the summer went through, and I was one of those. I also finished in the top eight of the Preston Innovations festival.
“Jenny’s Lake is not one I know well, having only fished it a few times, making it hard to work out a target weight and where you wanted to draw.
“I got the impression that pegs 15 to 17, 21, 4, 7 and 8 were banker draws, so when I got peg 35 it seemed as if I was far away from where I wanted to be! But it looked like being a tight, low-weight match where flyers might not be as good as we all thought.”
At the peg
“Peg 35 gave me the point of one of the islands to cast to with a feeder, and my mind was made up when I plumbed up my pole line at 13m – it was just 2ft deep! I couldn’t see me catching enough to win there, so it was looking like an out-and-out rod match.
“The swim was a little deeper close to the island at around 3ft, getting a bit deeper the further away I came from it, so I settled on fishing the pellet feeder with three dead red maggots on the hook. I thought pellets might be too selective, so I went for maggots to try and catch everything that came along.
“The opening hour wasn’t great, and I only caught a small F1 and a carassio casting a 20g pellet feeder to the island. This lack of action seemed to be the case everywhere.
“In hours two and three, I started to get indications on the tip, showing me fish were there. That helped me decide to stay on the feeder. I began casting more regularly, every three or four minutes, to get some bait in and try and get the fish to have a go. Three carp and some carassio went into the net, but they were small carp.”
Brad kicked off with mainly small carp and carassio
Moving away
“As the match wore on, bites from casting to the island seemed to be fading. Moving a few feet away from the island into deeper water helped, and I snared a couple more carp and some carassio and F1s, but was having to cut right back on how often I was casting. It became obvious there were fewer and fewer fish in the peg. A sixth small carp showed up late in the day.
“In the closing stages, the cameras were behind me, so I knew I must be doing something right! Thinking about my total weight, which I felt was around 50lb-plus, it was in the region of the pre-match target I’d set, but a little bit of me thought that someone somewhere must have caught a bit more than me.
“When my weight was confirmed and I knew I’d won, it was a mad moment and a real shock! Just one fish separated Ben and me, that’s how close it was. I guess I was in disbelief that it had happened to me!
RiverFest Final shows the Trent's a silverfish Mecca!
SILVERFISH sport on the River Trent scaled new heights last week when dozens of anglers put together double-figure nets of roach, dace and perch during the RiverFest final.
The prestigious event, which was held on the Burton Joyce stretch in Nottinghamshire, had competitors and match officials comparing the venue’s impressive current form to that of the river’s match fishing heyday of the mid-1980s, when bumper weights were common.
The Trent fished really well in the RiverFest final
One of them was RiverFest’s chief organiser Dave Harrell, who reluctantly moved the final from the River Severn to the Trent for 2020 – a decision that ultimately proved fruitful.
Dave told us:
“I was a little apprehensive with the venue switch, but the results hammer home just how well the river is fishing for silvers at the moment.
“Roach and dace were caught by pretty much everyone competing, with bream, specimen perch and barbel also making an appearance.
“It reminded me of how prolific the Trent was in the 1980s when the power stations pumped warm water through the river. There then followed a spell in the doldrums when the stations were shut down in the 1990s, but it now looks as though the stocks have well and truly returned to the level of 30 or 40 years ago.
“To sustain a healthy head of fish you need good water quality, so I don’t think the Trent is in as bad a condition as some people seem to think.”
One angler who can vouch for the Trent’s current red-hot form is Nottingham lad Tom Noton, who angled his way into fourth place in the RiverFest final with an overall weight of 39lb 12oz.
He said:
“I’ve match fished the Trent for the past eight years and it’s been absolutely solid. The fish tend to shoal up in certain areas, but if you find them you’re in for a real red-letter day.
“Slightly milder winters over recent years have encouraged silverfish to thrive, which could be another reason why the sport has been so electric.”
Tom Norton’s 20lb 9oz bag of roach, dace and perch on day two
How the RiverFest 2020 title was won
Paul Cannon lifted the 2020 Angling Trust RiverFest crown - and a £14,000 payout - thanks to a two-day 55-7-0 haul on the Trent.
Fished on the river around Burton Joyce, he finished over 12lb clear of Clive Fletcher on 42-2-0, with Darren Frost’s 40-4-0 third.
The Mosella man had the title in the bag with a day to spare after bagging 44-6-0 of bream on the Saturday, but Sunday still turned into a nervy affair with only 11-1-0 to take to the scales, amid rumours about who may or may not have caught him up. It turned out that nobody had.
Paul Cannon lifted the 2020 Angling Trust RiverFest trophy
“I’m chuffed to bits to win and it’s been worth waiting for!” said Paul.
“Even with a good lead after day one I didn’t assume it was in the bag. Trent bream are big fish and I was sure they’d feed on the Sunday, as the river was rising and should have coloured up. It didn’t, though, and not many bream were caught, but when they weigh up to 8lb you don’t need many to put 50lb together.”
Conditions on the Saturday were wet and windy, with a rising river. That, added to a peg that was ideal for bream on day one, made Paul a happy man going to his swim. Five hours and eight bream later, the job seemed more or less done.
Paul with a River Trent bream
“I got peg B37, the end peg on Nelson’s Field near Dead Man’s Bay. Normally on a low river it’s rubbish but when there’s extra water and a bit of colour, the bream show up. It was always going to be a bream job on the feeder and flat float,” he said.
“At the start I made several quick casts on the feeder about a third of the way over to get some bait in and then waited. My first fish came two hours into the match. After than I had a spell of six more, all big ones on three red maggots. The final few hours were slow, though, with only one more fish.
“I didn’t think the match was in the bag. The big danger was that on Sunday, the river was due to rise even more and perhaps colour up. If that happened, there could be massive bream weights from several areas. I wanted to be in one of those for day two.
“I got peg 33 on the road stretch, close to where I won a RiverFest qualifier from last year with 40lb of bream.
“Only 3lb had been caught off the peg the day before, so there was no point in fishing for dace and roach – it’d be a sit-and-wait feeder job. Double figures was the minimum weight I needed to keep ahead of the pack, and two or three bream would do it, so my approach was more or less the same as on the day before – feeder close in and then a flat float line for perch.
“Early on I caught a big skimmer, which helped settle things down, and the flat float gave me a little run of perch, but I still needed a bream or two.
“After that, it was something of a disaster. I had a skimmer come off at the net and was broken on weed by a big bream.
“Patience was important, though, and 30 minutes from the end I was on the phone to my wife, saying it was hard and I was bored rigid. Then the tip dropped back, and I was in! That was a bream of about 6lb and a real tonic. Even so, there were rumours going around that Simon Willsmore was going to catch 30lb-plus, and he might pip me.
“I weighed 11-1-0, so that bream must have been bigger than I thought! That made me feel a lot better, and shortly afterwards I found out Simon had only weighed in 18lb. There didn’t seem to be anyone who could catch me on total weight, and looking back, I didn’t need to fish at all on Sunday as my day one weight would have won overall!”
Paul in action on the Trent
How the feeder won Steve Ringer £10,000 - NuFish Feeder King Final 2020
Taking a gamble is always a risk, but it worked for Steve Ringer in this year’s NuFish Feeder King Final at Southfield Reservoirs, winning him the match and the £10,000 top prize that goes with it.
A happy Steve Ringer with the 2020 Nufish trophy
Fished on the East Yorkshire venue in atrocious conditions, the Guru-backed AT columnist looked to be heading nowhere, with only the section to try and win at the halfway point. Deciding to risk it and go for bigger bream, he added more feed to the peg, and it worked a treat to see him home with 15-10-0, almost 5lb clear of runner-up Graham Lewis, Brett Clarke taking third.
“I’ve fished Southfield in the qualifiers for Feeder King through the summer, but always felt that I struggled to get to grips with it,” Steve said.
“After practising the Thursday before the match, I finally felt like I’d got my head around things. Even so, after three hours I wasn’t in the race.”
Drawing peg 53 in pouring rain and strong winds, Steve put in two feeder lines at 62m and 42m, but after two hours with just 3lb in the net, he was fishing for his section at best. Then an angler in his section caught two bream in two casts.
Bream were vital to Steve’s success
“I knew I had to fish for bream,” said Steve.
“More groundbait with lots of chopped worm and dead maggot went in at 62m and I followed it in with a window feeder, a bigger hook and three dead red maggots. After 12 minutes I caught a 2lb bream and then one of 1lb 8oz. I switched to a rocket cage feeder and nobbled two fish in two casts.”
One more fish followed before Steve changed to his 42m line and snared a big skimmer. Ten minutes remained when he took the decision to fish a bigger feeder, and he landed a 2lb bream. It was job done!
Bigger feeders helped Steve Ringer to £10,000
How Andy Power won his third UK Angling Champs title
A DAY after winning the opening Golden Rod qualifier at Larford Lakes, former Match This and Golden Reel champion Andy Power travelled to Barston Lakes to fish the last leg of this year’s UK Angling Championships – and won that too!
Andy Power lifter the trophy for the third time
The Preston Innovations star now joins Jon Arthur and Tommy Pickering in lifting the famous claret jug three times, and he did it with a perfect four point, four section-winning score across the series.
After victories at Hallcroft Fishery, Decoy Lakes and The Glebe, Andy lined up with 79 others at Barston, where the Somerset man focused on winning his 10-peg section to seal the deal. His 25-798 net did just that, earning him the £4,000 top prize and putting him four points clear of runner-up and outgoing UK Champ Ben Bell.
“Winning for the third time is a great feeling and it’s all about having that trophy in your hands, not the money,” said Andy.
“I’d like to think I’ve got plenty of years left to try and make it four wins!”
Here he takes up the story...
At the peg
“I was given peg 81, in the top left-hand corner of the lake. I planned to try for a carp early on the bomb and feeder, then change to the short pole for skimmers. It felt like a safe option. The pellet waggler had been catching carp, and with the wind off my back, conditions for this were ideal.
“I started on the bomb with a PVA bag of pellets at 60m for a carp but had no signs. Changing to the Method feeder and wafters at 40m caught me a few skimmers, but no carp! After 45 minutes, it was time to go on the pole and get stuck into the skimmers.”
Skimmer city!
“Barston skimmers weigh around 3oz. I wanted to catch them in close so I put my pole line in at 6m. My hookbait was a 4mm SonuBaits Pro expander, and feed was a small nugget of SonuBaits Supercrush Expander, Thatcher’s and Banoffee mix with expanders mixed in, thrown by hand.
“Using a 4x14 Des Shipp Maggot float and a size 14 SFL-B hook, I had a great three-and-a-bit hours, but I forgot to count and had no idea of how many skimmers I’d got.
“After three hours I knew others in my section had caught some carp, so it seemed like the time to have a look on the waggler to nick one. I’d been feeding 8mm pellets here and when the chap next to me netted his third fish on the float, that made my mind up. In 30 minutes I lost a carp and caught an F1 – not enough, so I went back on the pole.
“A carp was needed to boost the skimmers I’d caught. In the last 15 minutes I kept chucking the pellet waggler and with five minutes to go, I hooked and landed an 11lb carp on an 8mm pellet fished 3ft deep. That definitely helped!
“My carp and F1 went 15lb so I knew I needed 40lb of skimmers to take the section. I knew I’d got that and sure enough, with four section wins, I couldn’t be beaten.”
Andy Power and his bumper bag of skimmers
The winner on the day
The race to win the £1,000 cheque for best weight on the day centred around the golf course bank, where peg 123 came good for Maver Milton Keynes man Ian Smith.
His 54-148 bag just got the nod over Stuart Fotheringham next door with 51-511, although he nearly lost a 20lb-plus carp that jumped out of his landing net! A quick scoop rescued the situation. Method feeder and wafters was the winning combo, all his fish coming in the second half of the match.
Winner on the day Ian Smith and his big carp bag
128lb of chub taken in memorable Wye match
October heralds the start of the match season on Hereford’s River Wye, the curtain-raiser being the Joe Burrows Memorial/River Wye Charity Shield. This year it drew a 69-strong crowd and produced a massive winning bag of chub for Alex Graham.
The Banbury rod weighed in 128-2-0 and they were big fish too, with some nudging the 6lb mark. All of them were taken on waggler tactics with hemp and caster from peg 97 at the top of the famed tennis courts in Hereford city centre.
Alex Graham with his bumper Wye chub haul
Runner-up was recent River Severn Float-Only Champs winner Joe Holloway, who carried his fine form on to the Wye.
He drew peg 153 at Breinton and also found the chub on waggler with hemp and caster, landing 96-9-0 of big fish to just miss out on the ton.
That left third place to be decided, and Garbolino man Scott Geens did the honours with 15 barbel on the feeder from the Breinton section for 72-14-0.
Charity also benefited from the match, with £500 being raised for Prostate Cancer Research and a further £345 for a local charity of Hereford DAA’s choice.
Alex Graham with the shield
1,184 fish make up remarkable river catch!
SOMETIMES the smallest fish can win matches – just ask James Robbins, who netted 1,184 bleak in five hours to prevail in a contest on the River Wye recently.
Fishing a RiverFest qualifier in Hereford, James made the most of low and clear river conditions from peg 76 in an area known as The Railings to put together a 47lb 4oz bag on his way to top spot.
James, who works as UK brand manager for tackle firm Cadence, had begun by targeting big perch, but quickly realised a change of tactics was needed.
“I was fishing a whole lobworm but it was getting destroyed by bleak!” he told us.
“After 25 minutes I made the switch and from then on it was mad fishing.”
James set himself a target of 1,000 fish, and after getting into a rhythm was on the road to victory.
“At the weigh-in, someone mentioned that the catch might be a new bleak record for the Wye. I’m waiting for that to be confirmed and looking forward to the final on the Trent,” he said.
James and his amazing Wye match-winning net of 1,184 bleak.
Last gasp fish secures £50,000 match win - How this year's Golden Reel was won
TONY Coates is the new Golden Reel Angling Champion, earning himself a £50,000 pay day.
Tony Coates with the Golden Reel trophy
Lining up as one of the 40 semi-finalists in a one-off eliminator at Larford on the Wednesday before the final, Beverley-based Tony won it with 200lb-plus from peg 28 on the grass bank of the Match Lake – and then went and drew it again for the final!
This time, though, 68-1-0 was enough to win by just 9lb from Welsh rod John Hannam, who was on the end peg of the burr bank. Tony takes up the story...
At the peg
“I felt the end pegs would dominate, so I was pleased to have one. I set up a mugging rig plus 6m and 16m pole lines, margin rigs, and a bomb and Method feeder rod to chuck to the point of the island. I planned to start on the pole short and work my way out.
“On pellet short at 6m I had nothing for 30 minutes. I moved out to 16m, but the wind made it hard to fish here, pinging pellets over the top. I did catch a couple of carp, but it was a real sit-and-wait job.
“The bomb to the island caught me one more carp. Although I managed two on the mugging rig I felt this wasn’t the right method, so it was back on the bomb with 8mm pellet, when I caught two more carp.”
Tony in action
A burst on the Method
“At around 2.30pm I had a look in the margins but the fish were very spooky, coming into the edge but then bow-waving off once you put the pole over their heads.
“It was time to pick up the Method and cast a metre away from where I was fishing the bomb, using a wafter on the hook. Three carp in three casts took me into the lead! But with an hour to go John Hannam began to catch quickly – if his carp were big, I felt he could overtake me in no time.”
Last-gasp carp!
“With half-an-hour to go I snapped my feeder off, so I cast the bomb back out, turned around to pick up another feeder and the rod almost got pulled in!
“With that fish in the net, I set the Method up, chucked it out and caught a carp straight away. Then it went dead.
“I’d still fed the pole lines but had left them alone for a long time. Dropping in at 6m with pellet I foul-hooked a 5lb carp but landed it, then lost another next drop-in.
“The last 10 minutes or so were spent out at 16m on the deck, and with 30 seconds to go I nailed another 5lb fish. Would this be the one to win me the match?”
A last gasp fish secured £50,000
Enough for victory?
“Talk was that I’d won, although John had been catching really well with big fish too. My two late carp seemed to have kept him at arm’s length, however, so I was confident – although 68lb is a very low weight for Larford. I was hoping no-one had sneaked a few big fish out without anyone seeing.
“You couldn’t follow the scales around, so I sat tight and waited anxiously for John’s weight to be broadcast on the tannoy.
“There was relief when his total was confirmed at 59-1-0, more or less one carp behind me. I honestly believe if we’d fished for another 15 minutes he might have beaten me, and without a doubt I owe a lot to those two fish I caught at the death!”
Tony with his catch