ANGLERS FLOCK TO ‘FISH’ VIRTUAL MATCH
A Fishery has engaged nearly 300 anglers in what’s believed to be the largest virtual fishing match to take place since lockdown began.
Weston Pools, in Oswestry, Shropshire, drew in 298 matchmen after venue owner Darren Humphreys invited anglers to participate on the fishery’s Facebook page.
Darren started the free-to-enter matches around five weeks ago but never imagined they’d get quite so big.
“What started off as an idea to keep our regulars entertained has gained massive popularity lately – which wouldn’t be a problem if we had enough pegs!” he said.
“With only 232 pegs on-site, we ended up having to run two virtual events to keep up with demand, but they both fished incredibly well with weights in excess of 220lb needed to win.
The matches have been great, giving rise to loads of banter from the anglers on social media and providing a welcome escape from the grim times we are enduring at the minute.”
Darren has now taken the matches to the next level and has created a virtual Weston Pools festival. If you’d like to participate and find out how the matches work, simply register your interest on the Weston Pools Facebook page.
The Weston Pools virtual fishing matches have proved to be very popular
World Champs cancelled!
Match fishing has been struck the ultimate blow with the cancellation of the Men’s World Championships, owing to the Covid-19 pandemic.
It was scheduled to be held in Italy in September, but world match fishing governing body FIPSED has had to pull the plug, consigning the event to the same fate as the World Feeder, Ladies, Youth, Disabled, Veterans, Masters and European Champs. The likely outcome seems a full postponement of all these until 2021.
“I think there are plans to have the Veterans and Feeder events fished in October, but as for everything else, it’s been scrubbed,” said England boss Mark Downes.
“I’ve pressed for things to be carried over a year, so that we are fishing the venue in Italy that we’re supposed to be on in a few months’ time when we return in 2021.
“Everything is still a bit up in the air at the moment, but at least we have clarification and can begin to plan for next year. It’ll feel odd come September, not getting ready for a World Champs!”
Action from a previous fishing World Champs
Giant reservoir match to raise thousands for the NHS
WELSH angler David Healey is trying to raise thousands of pounds for the NHS through a massive fishing match… and he wants you to fish it!
The 35-year-old from Cwmbran reached out to anglers on Facebook to see who would participate in a fundraising fish-off on the 434-acre Llandegfedd Reservoir in Wales, and within just a couple of days more than 150 people had signed-up!
The 434-acre Llandegfedd Reservoir will host the epic match
He’s now calling for other anglers to step forward, alongside tackle manufacturers, to help sponsor a potential raffle on the match day.
“The response has been unbelievable and it’s fantastic to see that anglers want to show their respect and support for NHS staff,” David says.
“I will confirm a date when the lockdown has been lifted, but hopefully we can raise at least £2,000 for the NHS, which has given us such a great service during the battle against Covid-19.
“With the assistance of my mates Rob Skellet and Adam Toomey, we have the potential to make this the biggest natural water fishing match in Welsh history.”
Organiser David Healey
Get involved
If you’re interested in taking part or would like to donate a prize, email Dave at davidjohnhealey@gmail.com.
Fishing legend set to publish his life story
Rather than spend the lockdown sorting out his tackle, angling legend Tommy Pickering has been busy fulfilling his long-term ambition of writing his autobiography, filled with tales of a glittering match fishing career.
Tommy hard at work writing his fishing tales
Set to be called The Bionic Bleaker, after Tommy’s nickname gained from his ability to rapidly catch small fish, the book will include tales of big matches in the 1970s and 1980s through to his recent experiences as England feeder team boss.
“I’ve been on about doing it for years,” Tommy tells us,
“I didn’t want it to be a glorified tale of my life, so I’ve kept it honest. I’m about 200 pages in so far.”
Tommy with a bream
Record-breaking venue reopens doors
The Earlswood Engine Pool in Solihull was the original British big-weight water but back in 2017 the venue was drained and emptied of fish after reports of invasive catfish emerged. Now, the pool has been re-stocked and is open for fishing, with local anglers rubbing their hands in anticipation of more bagging days.
Duncan Clarke, manager of Solihull Angling Centre, told us:
“We’re all so pleased that the pool has re-opened and can’t wait for the matches to start again in a few months’ time.
“I fished it for years, through its bream days in the mid 90s, to when they stocked it with carp. I’d never seen so many fish – it was biblical!”
No fewer than five tonnes of carp were introduced between 1999 – 2000, but after being emptied these fish were moved.
The reservoir is now undergoing a new stocking programme, as John Ellis of the Canal and River Trust reveals:
“By 2021, subject to approval, approximately 40,000 F1s averaging 8oz each will be introduced, which should make for interesting fishing. There is potential to hold Let’s Fish events, as well as expanding the Boddington Classic.”
Licence 'levy' could send our boys to the World Champs
THE COUNTRY’S top anglers face the prospect of missing out altogether on this year’s World Championships unless a solution can be found to the ongoing funding crisis.
Twelve months on from the furore that saw former sponsor Drennan cut ties with the national set-up, England’s Men’s Float Team are still without financial support and will have to dig into their own pockets and find around £2,000 each if they are to make it to the event, which is being held on Italy’s River Mincio in September.
However, one possible answer could lie in the adoption of a funding model that is common in the rest of Europe, as England regular Des Shipp revealed:
“In France and Italy, anglers pay a small premium on top of their licence to support international match fishing. It’s a simple solution yet in England we don’t do this.
“Imagine what we could do with an added 50p on the rod licence fee. All of our teams would be sorted – not just the Men’s Float Team, but the Ladies, the Disables, Veterans and Youth Teams as well – with money to spare!” he said.
And it’s not just the England team who are struggling for cash, as Welsh ace Lee Edwards explained:
“To be honest, we’re in a dire situation. Not only are we short of sponsorship, but our manager also stepped down a year ago and hasn’t been replaced yet.”
“Fishing in the UK has gone down a commercial route, and individual events are far more popular than team ones. I just can’t see anglers donating as it doesn’t suit their personal fishing, unlike in Europe where team fishing is the focus.”
The pegs to draw in the winter league final
If you’re in a team heading for this month’s Angling Trust Winter League Final, there will be only one thing on your mind right now – practice!
But ahead of the big day on the Fen Drains and Decoy Lakes, working out where exactly you’ll fancy being drawn is a tricky job.
There were big matches across both venues recently, and although leading weights were as good as ever, the real tale was told well down the list on the harder sections, which didn’t benefit from the brief spell of frosts following on from what has been a mild winter so far.
Of course, much can change between now and the end of February, but one thing is certain – to do well as a team you’re going to need a slice of luck at the draw to avoid some real duffers and be on pegs that give you a chance.
On Decoy, Daiwa old hand Simon Wheeler won the open comfortably with 130-1-0 of carp from peg 22 on Six Islands Lake, a noted winter draw, using pellet and corn on the long pole – so there’s one to keep an eye on. Meanwhile, 24 hours earlier, the strip lakes took centre stage.
They hosted the bomb and feeder-only Golden Rod qualifier and Elm Lake peg 13 served up victory for Maver man Graeme Wall. He took 72-6-0 of carp and F1s using Method feeder tactics, while on the neighbouring Cedar Lake Stu Fotheringham bagged second place.
However, looking at previous finals, the winner has come off a different lake almost every time, so who really knows?
It’s a little more straight-forward on the drains and the plum area is the Twenty Foot Drain around Chain Bridge near March, which is easily outfishing its more illustrious neighbour – the Old Nene. Graham Welton was there in the latest round of the HAJAC League and bagged a winning 32-12-0 of roach and small rudd on whip tactics. Rob Hewison was second on the next peg with 29-6-0.
Pressure can often play a part on these small Fenland waters, but it’d be a brave man to bet against the Twenty Foot not throwing up the winner. Let’s just hope your skipper hands you Chain Bridge on the big day!
Feedermasters tickets sell out in record time!
THE SOARING popularity of feeder-based match angling was underlined this month when tickets for Feedermasters sold out in a record-breaking 45 minutes.
At 10am on January 15 thousands of super-keen matchmen descended on the event’s Facebook page to book their place on one or more of the 20 qualifiers available, but after just 15 minutes three-quarters of the tickets had been snapped up!
“It was unbelievable to witness,”
said Feedermasters organiser and 2019 champion, Lee Kerry.
“After just 30 seconds some qualifiers had sold out and at one stage around 300 people were trying to buy tickets for just a single event. In the end it took around 45 minutes for the full 1,200 to sell out!
“Part of the success can be attributed to the fact that we didn’t want to be too greedy, so offered just 60 spaces per qualifying event. We pride ourselves on offering balanced fishing matches which give every competing angler a chance to qualify.
“It’s an incredible feeling to see how popular this competition has become, and it certainly proves that there is a massive demand for feeder-based matchfishing.”
To many, the uncomplicated nature of feeder fishing is the reason behind the competition’s overwhelming success, with anglers requiring minimal tackle to be able to compete on an equal footing.
Angling Times Match Editor Richard Grange said:
“It’s no surprise to me that feeder fishing matches are so incredibly popular, and becoming even more so. When you compare Feedermasters to say, Match This or Fish O’Mania, the difference is substantial.
“Firstly, you only have to win your zone to qualify, not the whole match, so you have more chance at the draw.
“Secondly, the amount of tackle required and setting-up time are both drastically reduced, and thirdly, fishing the feeder is so much easier than slapping and tapping at 16m for carp, for example.
“Finally, there is less choice for the feeder angler when it comes to big events to fish, so anglers tend to go for the ‘biggie’ and that’s Feedermasters.”
Thousands of bleak landed in amazing Wye match
Of all the fish you can be plagued by in a match, bleak have to be the worst of all – but try telling that to Steve Maher and Trevor Chalk after they whipped out literally thousands of these tiny fish to take first and second on a rising River Wye recently!
You see bleak don’t weigh much and often take a bait intended for roach and chub but faced with a river that came up several feet during a winter league round at Hereford, the two men got stuck in with whip tactics to weigh in 46-8-0 and 33-4-0 respectively.
The match saw Steve finish the day standing up to fish owing to the rapidly rising levels while Trevor was adamant there were fish topping behind his box such were the sheer numbers of bleak in his swim, Trevor counting 1,250 fish in his final tally, so god only knows how many Steve ended up with!
“The peg I drew – 92 – has been brilliant for roach and dace on a normal river and I did begin fishing for them but soon got plagued by bleak and caught next to no roach,” Steve said.
“That made my mind up after half an hour to go all-out for bleak on a 3m whip with maggot and they got bigger as the match went on and came shorter too. However, I had to keep moving my seatbox back up the platform with the rising water and in the end, I threw everything on top of the bank and stood up to fish with 90 minutes to go.”
“This wasn’t quite as good, but the big bleak kept coming and after catching solidly for four hours and at the end I was genuinely interested in just what they’d all weigh so to win the match with them was satisfying and rewarding for all the hard work!” he added.
Trevor was further down the stretch at peg 64, a noted bleak peg that was full of fish from the word go and he went for them straight away, aiming to catch a big weight with a 1,000-plus fish target fishing the whip at 2m and 270 of them in the opening hour was on the pace, a speed that never relented as he finished with well over four figures in terms of fish numbers and second in the match.
Best peg in the country!
Many pegs are given the billing of the ‘best in the country’ throughout a fishing year and at present, the king of them all has to be 99 on the Snake Lake at Essex complex Puddledock Farm, scene of a string of 200lb carp weight since before Christmas and home to Tony Raymond’s 213-10-0 winner in the latest open match.
To look at it though, the swim offers nothing different to the 99 others on this sprawling lake, but the carp seem to like it for some reason and have balled up in numbers here for almost two months and are refusing to move!
Tony caught dobbing maggots along the gaps in the far bank sedges at 14m and then feeding minimally down the central track to net fish to 8lb and leave Ian Nash a distant second with 117-4-0 from next-door peg 98. With £500 golden pegs in operation at the fishery too, regulars will be hoping that 99 is put down as one of them in future opens!
“We see it every year when the carp shoal up in a few pegs and stay there all-winter,” said Puddledock boss Steve Mould.
“Pegs 100, 99 and 98 are the current epicentres and they all want to draw there but it has its own pressure when you do get it because everyone is expecting you to win and win with 200lb too!”
The river where 30lb of roach is easy!
For most of us a 30lb bag of river roach would be the catch of a lifetime, but on a certain eastern river, local anglers won’t even raise their eyebrows at a catch of this magnitude.
The River Welland running through Spalding is the venue in question, and in recent matches bags over 50lb have been required to claim the top spot, with 40lb nets coming nowhere.
Essex-based Pemb Wrighting had the biggest weight over the last few weeks with a staggering 53lb 8z of quality roach on his very first visit to the venue.
“It was an unbelievable match,” Pemb said
“one of a like I’ve not been part of before and doubt I will again.
“I didn’t know much about the venue so just fished down the middle all day catching quality roach on bread.
“You have to spare a thought for the chaps who caught 40lb and didn’t even make the frame!”
The following weekend, Frenzee-backed Tom Edwards also got amongst the fish and had ‘one of the best day’s fishing of his life’, after catching 50lb 11oz of roach with bonus skimmers.
“Its absolutely black with fish at the moment!
“I caught everything on bread and simply alternated between fishing four metres to hand and at nine metres to keep fish coming.”
Approximately 2,255lb of roach were caught across these two matches, and there are several reasons for this staggering form, as England legend and venue regular Joe Roberts explained:
“I’ve fished at Spalding for years and I’ve never seen it as good as it is now.
“The most obvious reason for the big catches is the amount of colour in the river after the weeks of heavy rain before Christmas.
“Secondly, the fish at Spalding spend summer in the main River Welland that is choked with weed.
“I’ve been told that this makes it difficult for cormorants to hunt, so the fish are thriving.”
Joe also told us that due to the mild weather and coloured water the fish are right the way through the stretch, and anglers are catching 50lb from areas that are rarely fished.
He joked:
“Before Christmas we were all praying for the rain to stop, but now I want it to come back! The fishing has been that good.”
Another big-money final set for rivers
River anglers will have another big-money event to have a crack at in 2020. The Northern River Masters, a competition to celebrate the best that running water in the north of England has to offer, is the brainchild of several river match organisers in that area.
The series will revolve around a dozen 40-peg qualifiers on venues ranging from the River Tyne to the River Hull, all culminating in a Grand Final on the River Tees.
There, the winner is guaranteed £5,000, with pay-outs down to 10th place plus sections. To qualify, all you need to do is win your 10-peg section to make it into the 48-peg Grand Final.
The event will be seen as a bit of a reward for river anglers from the north who, for many years, have had to hit the road and head south in pursuit of big-money, big-match glory.
“A lot of anglers in the north have supported RiverFest down the years and we’re not knocking the event – but with the final always being in the Midlands on venues we’re not that familiar with, the competition has lost a bit of its gloss,”
said Northern River Masters co-organiser Chris Gowling.
“Northern River Masters will be held on rivers in Yorkshire and the North East, and we hope to have support from lads from the north Midlands as well as locals. The £5,000 prize is set in stone, and we’ve got 12 qualifiers booked and ready to go.”
It all kicks off when the season starts in June. Qualifiers will end in November before a break until the end of the season, when the Tees around Yarm and Bowesfield will host what Chris hopes will be a two-day final.
At this point, the river should be in fine form and make for a great event.
“The Tees is full of dace, roach and big perch in March alongside the bream, but for each year we will be having the final on a different venue to keep it fresh and give all anglers the chance to be in a final on their home water,” he continued.
“Tickets will be £25, with a one-off entry fee of £25 up front. Full details are going on to the event website at the end of January. “Qualifiers are set for the Rivers Nidd, Tyne, Swale, Hull, Aire, Calder, Don, Ure, Tees and Yorkshire Ouse – so there’s plenty to go at and venues that should suit everyone!”
Will the Trent measure up to a RiverFest final? - Keith Arthur
RiverFest has a new venue for the final following two years on the Severn beset by bad conditions. It has been unlucky but Shrewsbury is one of those sections where fish either are or not...and if they're not it’s going to be tough. It seems like conditions leading up to the event, even from much earlier in the year, need to be conducive to good sport.
I don’t quite understand why the Wye has been avoided again...unless it’s a question of over using the section. There are festivals, opens, leagues and all sorts on a relatively short stretch - again where huge shoals of fish migrate to – in a fairly brief timescale.
The River Trent is an interesting choice for an Autumn event. As a lowland river it is effected worse by extra water than the Wye and Severn which are both spate rivers and can be shocking if there’s no rain, clear skies and a couple of air frosts so it’s a brave choice.
It does have the advantage of a wide range of species to fish for and with chub seemingly making a comeback to add to the roach, dace, silver bream and perch potential it could be a great selection. I’ll keep my fingers crossed as the Trent has always been my favourite match river.
Big changes to 2020 RiverFest
Angling Trust officials have just announced that the prestigious two-day RiverFest final will be hosted on a different venue in 2020.
Here are five things you need to know about next year’s event…
The River Trent at Burton Joyce, Nottinghamshire will be the new home of the RiverFest final. The River Severn at Shrewsbury played host over the last two years.
Stoke Lane hugs the river bank at Burton Joyce which allows superb access to swims and behind-your-peg parking.
The final will be fished on the weekend of September 26 and 27 to suite weather conditions. The 2019 final was pushed back several weeks due to intense flooding.
Respected Trent expert Wayne Swinscoe will be working closely with RiverFest creator Dave Harrell to ensure the final’s success.
Anglers participating in the final will be able to catch a diverse mix of species, from gudgeon, bleak, dace and roach through to big bream, barbel and carp.