Indholdsfortegnelse for Issue 3248 i Angling Times

A TWO-month prebaiting campaign saw top specialist Adrian Eves beat his barbel personal best with this 15lb 7oz River Thames specimen. Catching big fish by design can often be about sheer patience and determination, and Adrian has these attributes in abundance – as he showed when he visited his chosen stretch twice a week for two months to introduce a few handfuls of boilies each time. It was this careful preparation, designed to get the resident barbel feeding in a certain spot without filling them up, that finally paid dividends for the Fox and Dynamite Baits-backed angler. “Too many anglers just pile a load of bait in the night before and think that there’s a chance the fish are going to be there ready and waiting,” said Adrian. “But I’ve…

TARGETING a net of quality silverfish such as this is a sure-fire way to fill your keepnet this winter. Even on the coldest days you can bet that a few bream and sizeable roach will feed at some point, whereas the carp may well be shoaled up tightly at the other end of the lake and keeping their gobs shut! The catch pictured was taken by England international Simon Willsmore, one of the most consistent performers on the match circuit, from South End Farm fishery in Essex. Drennan man Simon is adamant that the secret is getting your feeding correct – too much and you could kill a swim, too little and you might have a few bream move in but not be able to keep them there. To combat…

SPORT was fast and furious during the latest event at Packington Somers as the winner ended up with one of the biggest match weights of the year so far. Venue regular Daniel Tresigne drew hot peg 45 on Molands, at the West Midlands complex, and worked with the waggler and pellet from the start. His attack paid off, with big F1s and the occasional carp contributing to an impressive 155lb 12oz total. That was way too good for his rivals, with runner-up Jon Newton putting just 63lb 2oz on the scales.…

PENSIONER Ray Bale had never caught a specimen roach in the 40 years he had been fishing, so imagine his delight when he pulled out a 1lb 12oz fish from the Oxford Canal. The 68-year-old Leamington Spa angler was steadily catching small roach while fishing tight to the far bank reeds on the pole when the specimen took his single pinkie hookbait. He said: “I have matchfished nearly my whole life, but have never seen a roach so big.”…

“The relationships we’ve built with both clubs and the fishery owners have proved invaluable.” Pump House, Peterborough Embryo-owned water and eight acres in size. Now been stocked with 150 fish, with fencing nearly complete and swims made. Opening this spring. Lee Valley Club Lake Ten acres with a 1,500m boundary which required fencing. Paid for by Embryo, with half taken in spare stock fish which were then used in other Embryo waters. Treskilling Pool, Cornwall Fifteen acres in size and owned by Roche Angling Club, Pure donated fencing project paid directly by Embryo, with a contribution from Roche Angling Club. South Ings, Hull EAH fishery and two lakes are roughly five and 10 acres in size. Newly fully fenced and stocked with big carp. Membership is currently full with a…

MY mate Roy Marlow works very hard for his members at Mallory Park Fisheries, including the Glebe, of course, and nets every lake on a three-yearly cycle. Each time he is shocked by the numbers of silverfish caught in the process. What causes that shock is that they never – or only very rarely – get caught. Top young match angler Joe Carass interviewed Roy during the recent netting of his Foundation Lake and the footage makes for interesting viewing on YouTube. Roy’s assessment of the situation is what I’ve been saying for years. Those uncaught fish eat the partially-digested higher protein food that the carp excrete when the water temperature is conducive to them feeding. You see, the standard pellets that most anglers are sold as bait aren’t bait…

I CONCUR entirely with the piece this week about lure fishing on our inner-city and suburban canals. Sunday trading rendered most of these venues completely inaccessible for ‘regular’ match fishing, as all the old places we used to park vanished. However, although the intrepid reporters set about their task by car, the great news is that virtually every urban canal is next to a bus stop, train, tube, tram or metro station, and the amount of kit required for lure fishing is no kind of burden... a multi-part rod in a tube, even just its bag, a tiny reel in one pocket and a handful of hooks, weights, jigheads and soft plastic lures in the other, and away you go. In my experience jigging is most effective until fish are…

THIS WEEK’S 2FOR1 WATERS 1 Barlings Country Holiday Park, N Lincs 2 Broom Fisheries, Scotland 3 Llyn-y-Gors Fishery, N Wales 4 Moreton Fisheries, Cheshire 5 Newbridge Lakes, E Yorks 6 Rufford Meadows Fishery, Lancs 7 Birkwood Farm Fisheries, W Yorks 8 Barston Lakes, W Mids 9 Bishops Bowl Fishery, Warks 10 Buttonhole Fishery, Cambs 11 Moorlands Farm, Worcs 12 Sherwood Forest Fishery, Notts 13 Stanwick Lakes, Northants 14 Wold View Fisheries, Lincs 15 Avalon Fisheries, Somerset 16 Bury Hill Fisheries, Surrey 17 Chequertree Trout and Coarse Fishery, Kent 18 Redbridge Fishing Lakes, Essex 19 Rib Valley Lakes, Herts 20 Shearwater Fishery, Wilts Turn to find out how these waters are fishing, plus loads more in your area…

RIVERS AND CANALS RIVER TRENT, BOB’S ISLAND, NEWARK, NOTTS REPORTS online have been featuring plenty of barbel catches from this small stretch overlooking Newark Castle. Fish to double figures are on offer. Contact: www.bobs-island-fishing-newark.weebly.com Prices: £5 a day or night on the bank NEWARK DYKE, NEWARK, NOTTS Bream nets to over 30lb on groundbait feeder with small boilies from the Fletchers section. Contact: Tacklebox Match Supplies, 01636 700117 Prices: £4 on the bank, Newark & District Piscatorials RIVER CHET, LODDON QUAY, NORFOLK This quay is full of fish in winter. You can catch on a whip, waggler or pole, feeding a little groundbait and fishing maggots over the top. Contact: Angling Direct Beccles, 01502 713379 Prices: Free fishing RIVER OLD NENE, BENWICK, CAMBS Quality tench and perch are taking chopped…

Catch 20lb of roach! WHEN carp shut down in the cold Steve Ringer switches his attentions to silverfish – with impressive results! In this exclusive Angling Times video, our match ace reveals the tricks and tips you need to catch a big weight of roach as he hammers out 20lb of silverfish and a bonus tench in just two hours. Follow Steve’s advice as he reveals his simple rig, the baits he uses, essential tackle items and how to catch faster. Bag up on the bomb  STEVE shows us how to bag up on the bomb and pellet – a deadly winter match-winning tactic. In this exclusive video, Steve takes us to the famous Barston Lakes in the West Midlands where he reveals his tricks and tips for catching carp…

COLOUR When the water is coloured, the hue of your mix is largely irrelevant – that’s why so many groundbaits are a plain brown colour which will complement most general fishing situations. TEXTURE This will be decided by the particles included in the mix and how finely the core ingredients are blended. Small-fish groundbaits will be finely-textured while big-fish mixes are packed with larger particles. INGREDIENTS Some ingredients are synonymous with certain fish – fennel for roach, coconut for bream and so on. Mixes designed for these fish reflect that. You can even find odd things such as beetroot in mixes! WEIGHT The weight of a ball of mixed groundbait is down to the ingredients used. River mixes will be heavy to combat the flow, while canal mixes are the…

Coat your boilies in a thick liquid that matches their original flavour. A little goes a long way, so work the liquid around before adding more. Next, take a similarly flavoured groundbait and sprinkle it over the baits. Thoroughly work the mix around with a scoop to evenly coat the boilies. You’ll end up with boosted boilies that release a cloud of attraction in your swim.…

BROWNING KING FEEDER ULTRALIGHT/BRAID THIS rod has been designed for fishing with non-stretch braided lines that require a soft action to prevent hook-pulls. The high carbon blank retains enough backbone for casting feeders or bombs of 30g-60g, but the rod has a forgiving through action that is equally useful with fine hooklengths for soft-mouthed bream. It is supplied with three tips in 0.75oz, 1oz and 1.5oz test curves. Price: £145.95 TEAM DAIWA COMMERCIAL FEEDER THIS 10ft 6ins rod will chuck a fair distance but isn’t so long that it hinders accuracy and playing performance. It’s perfect for medium-sized or small waters, where the beautifully balanced blank will cope with double-figure carp. It has push-in carbon quivertips of 1oz, 1.5oz and 2oz. Other features include a high grade cork handle, EVA…

MILD temperatures and energising winds whipped the fish into a frenzy at the Avenue, as two fifties and a host of forties fell in a couple of days. The Shropshire venue, which is part of Rob Hales’ portfolio of carp waters, sprang to life as mirrors of 53lb 7oz, 50lb 6oz and 49lb 14oz hit the bank. “It’s been unreal, almost better than it’s been all summer,” said Rob. Biggest of the bunch, Black Scar, fell to John Lee, while Trakker’s Jon Jones caught the 50lb 6oz mirror known as Sweet Cheeks and Andrew Evans snared Captain Scarlett at 49lb 14oz. “We’ve now got seven fish that have weighed over 48lb, but haven’t yet made 50lb. There are already four fifties in there – two mirrors and two commons –…

1 BIG WINDS: One of my pet hates about maggot fishing is their use in a big wind, particularly if the lake is deep. They sink very slowly and disperse somewhat too, even in calm conditions. When the wind is strong and things like tow come into play, the maggots can end up all over the place. For this reason I try to use them when the wind is light or non-existent. If the wind is strong I will always wait until after dark, when the wind always seems to drop off, and do my baiting then. 2 NUISANCE FISH: The deciding factor when using maggots is pretty much always the number of nuisance fish present. Maggots are an expensive bait to use, particularly in large quantities, and their biggest…

THIS country is full of phenomenal angling opportunities but the most amazing of them all has to be on the Broads. I’d heard plenty about this river system in the angling media but I hadn’t experienced it for myself until last summer. We hired out a cruiser for the day and headed off down the River Bure. Within minutes we’d seen a likely-looking spot and pitched up to wet a line. No bites there and we drifted on, stopping moments later in another potential hotspot. I lost count of the number of areas that looked ‘fishy’ on our day out, and we’d only covered a tiny fraction of the system. Eventually we caught loads of roach and skimmers, and I even landed a 12lb pike that took a silverfish as…

NEW UFO LOADED PELLET WAGGLERS This superb range of Maver pellet wagglers provide perfect up in the water presentation to tempt those hungry carp. This loaded model is designed to cast like a dream and with the anti-dive disc fitted, float diving will be a thing of the past and your float will settle almost instantly. The anti-dive disc takes seconds to fit and as an added bonus the ‘plop’ it makes on entry into the water really does attract those hungry carp into your swim. Available in 4g, 6g, 8g & 10g. RRP £2.99 “The ‘must have’ pellet wagglers for 2016, simply superb!” NEW UFO SLIM TOP PELLET WAGGLERS A hybrid design balsa pellet waggler which combines the buoyancy properties of a traditional pellet waggler, but by creating a…

Tunnel Barn Farm Winter League (rnd 9) Top, House, Canal, Extension, New & High Pools (88 pegs) THE hot pegs on the Top Pool produced the top two anglers on what turned out to be an excellent result at this in form West Mids water. A close finish saw Adam Wakelin out in front from Top Pool peg 33 where he fished maggot on several lines around his peg catching steadily all day to take a mixed bag of F1s, ide, roach and skimmers for 108-0-0. Second place and also drawn in the basin was Andy Neal on peg 5, the MAP/Bait-Tech rod fishing similar tactics to the winner, again alternating several lines to keep the fish coming to weigh in 104-1-0. On the team front it was another strong…

Thornhill AC Pairs (rnd 4) Calder & Hebble Canal, Dewsbury (24 pegs) THE fish were well spread out on a coloured canal, with anglers having to put up with blustery rain showers throughout. Winner was Tri-Cast Calder’s Jim Burke on 4-3-0 of roach to 6oz at peg 9, where he fished bloodworm at 12m. Eric Green also used bloodworm as well as breadpunch on peg 6 to take second with 2-8-0 of small roach. Jim and his partner Ben Davies scored 12 points to win the day, although overall Keith Marshall and John Needham lead with 32 points. Result: 1 J Burke, Tri-Cast Calder, 4-3-0; 2 E Green, Maver NW, 2-8-0; 3 P Dwyer, Matrix Halifax, 2-4-0; 4 T Guthrie, Matrix Halifax, 2-2-0. Pairs: 1 B Davies and J Burke,…

MONDAY TO SATURDAY Highfield Fisheries Over 60s (Weds) Beech Lake (14 pegs) Result: 1 N Cox, Highfield, 9-0-0; 2 S Barker, Gerry’s of Morecambe, 8-4-0; 3 R Harwood, Ingol AC, 7-2-0. Messingham Sands Silverfish Winter League Islands Pond (15 pegs) Result: 1 D Mountford, Grimsby, 31-1-0; 2 K Easton, Grimsby, 28-0-0; 3 P Seed, Grimsby, 25-9-0. Final league: 1 S Richardson, 94pts (superior weight); 2 K Hartley, 94; 3 D Mountford, 93. Messingham Sands Tripp Lake (14 pegs) Result: 1 P Maddison, Winterton, 41-9-0; 2 T Holmes, Ulceby, 25-9-0; 3 K McNee, Scunthorpe, 25-6-0. Messingham Sands (Tues) Swan Pond (12 pegs) Result: 1 P Hewitt, Messingham, 11-3-0; 2 M Young, Grimsby, 10-3-0; 3 D Edwards Jnr, Messingham, 6-12-0. Messingham Sands (Weds) Tripp Lake (16 pegs) Result: 1 A Gregory, Scunthorpe,…

Editor-in-Chief Steve Fitzpatrick – 01733 395097 steve.fitzpatrick@bauermedia.co.uk Deputy Editor Kevin Wilmot – 01733 395098 kevin.wilmot@bauermedia.co.uk Deputy Editor James Furness – 01733 395104 james.furness@bauermedia.co.uk Editorial Secretary Mary-Ann Payne – 01733 395105 mary-ann.payne@bauermedia.co.uk Tackle Editor Mark Sawyer – 01733 395107 mark.sawyer@bauermedia.co.uk Features Editor Richard Grange – 01733 395109 richard.grange@bauermedia.co.uk Features Editor Mark Parker – 01733 395140 mark.parker@bauermedia.co.uk Senior Feature Writer Ben Fisk – 01733 395101 ben.fisk@bauermedia.co.uk News Editor Ben Miles – 01733 395102 ben.miles@bauermedia.co.uk Senior Reporter Thom Airs – 01733 395106 thom.airs@bauermedia.co.uk Senior Reporter Tony Grigorjevs – 01733 395100 tony.grigorjevs@bauermedia.co.uk Senior Reporter Mark Peck – 01733 395103 mark.peck@bauermedia.co.uk News Reporter Ian Jones – 01733 395111 ian.jones@bauermedia.co.uk Digital Media Manager Rose Lloyd – 01733 395108 rose.lloyd@bauermedia.co.uk Head of photography Mick Rouse mick.rouse@bauermedia.co.uk Staff photographer Lloyd Rogers lloyd.rogers@bauermedia.co.uk Studio photographer Jacques Portal jacques.portal@bauermedia.co.uk Join…

BIG-FISH legend Des Taylor is about to make the dreams of a fishing fanatic come true in a project that will inspire the nation’s anglers. The Angling Times columnist will join Bill Finch, who is terminally ill with cancer, for a campaign across the UK’s rivers and lakes to help achieve fish-of-a-lifetime catches that will also provide the content for a book. Giant catfish and double-figure barbel are dream targets for many anglers and Bill (54), from Nuneaton, is hoping Des will make his wishes become reality and help him tick off a number of achievements from his ‘fishing bucket list’. “I’ve been fishing since I was six years old, but some species I’ve just never got around to targeting and others I have found too difficult to catch over…

ENGLAND’S efforts to retain the World Feeder Championships title has just got more difficult after Ireland revealed a strong squad to compete in this year’s event. Teams from all over the world will go into battle in Serbia this summer to try and take the silverware, and Irish officials have announced that Preston Innovations star Michael Buchwalder will make his squad debut. That marks the only change to the team that took part last time round, with Cathal Hughes, Francis McGoldrick, Nigel Houldsworth, Paul Leese and Philip Jackson being called up again. JOIN US ON FACEBOOK: FACEBOOK/ANGLINGTIMES…

MATCH fishing legend Roy Jarvis has died at the age of 92. The Boston, Lincolnshire-based fishing fanatic, who was still competing in matches right up until last year, was a highly respected and decorated match angler who not only represented his country at the highest possible level, but also won a National Championships on his beloved River Witham. He passed away on Wednesday, February 3 and leaves behind daughters Christine, Jennifer and Susan, their husbands, and eight grandchildren. His funeral will take place this Thursday, February 11, at Boston crematorium at 2.30pm.…

JOHN Davey had every reason to smile when he landed this superb 6lb chub from Suffolk’s River Waveney. The stretch of the famous waterway at Bungay was just fining down after recent rains when the 74-year-old retired harbourmaster pinned his faith in a piece of homemade cheese paste. His short two-hour session on his local venue also produced a chub weighing 5lb 4oz which, like the six-pounder, was beaten on 6lb line and a size 6 hook.…

TROUT reservoirs might be stealing the headlines, but this big canal pike proves that you can’t ignore your local ‘cut’. Colin Hebb needed just 20 minutes on his local canal when this specimen made off with his hookbait. The 32-year-old, from Cottingham, East Yorkshire, used a lamprey section that was threaded on to size 6 trebles which were tied to a 28lb wire trace and 10lb mainline. “The scales went up to 17lb, but then they broke,” he said. “This just shows what’s possible on canals, because I was there for less than 30 minutes and I had this to show for it.”…

EMBRYO Angling Habitats was founded in summer 2014 by Korda Developments owner Danny Fairbrass. Embryo has two functions – firstly to buy and lease its own fisheries. These venues will be fenced from predation and run as affordable venues with local anglers in mind, plus a focus on helping young anglers access the many benefits that angling can offer. Any profits are reinvested into the next project. Secondly, as well as running its own EAH lakes, it helps other organisations protect their lakes from the increasing threat of predation. As well as using its own funds for this, fundraising is vital to help protect as many venues as possible. All funds raised will go towards fencing other clubs’ and syndicates’ lakes. CONTACT To get in touch with the Embryo scheme,…

I FEARED the worst as we motored down the M6 towards the dreaded Spaghetti Junction, the maze of roads that (if you’re lucky) will eventually lead you into Birmingham city centre. “No problem, just get on to the A38,” he assured me. “It takes you straight into the city.” He was right, for once, and five minutes after negotiating the UK’s most notorious motorway intersection, we were parking up on Lawden Road and unpacking our fishing gear from the car. Our mission was clear – to explore the perch potential of Britain’s second city. And with more miles of canal in Birmingham than there is in Venice, we had plenty to go at. We had driven the relatively short distance from Leicester, but you will enjoy easy access to Birmingham’s…

RIVERS & CANALS RIVER AIRE, LEEDS, W YORKS THE free-to-fish stretches in the city centre have fined down now and are fishing well, with some quality perch and pike being caught. Contact: Leeds Angling Centre, 01132 639333 Prices: Free fishing LEEDS & LIVERPOOL CANAL, WIGAN, LANCS A Leyland Mills match saw silverfish nets to 10lb on punch and caster. Contact: Harry’s Fishing Tackle, 01942 728532 Prices: £2 on the bank, Wigan DAA RIVER DANE, CONGLETON, CHESHIRE Cotton Farm has chub to 4lb on bread and maggot. Contact: Bay Malton AC, 01270 820812 Prices: £60 a year, Bay Malton AC RIVER SWALE, CATTERICK, N YORKS Chub on bomb or feeder from the deeper holes. Contact: Ferryhill AC, 07749 191194 Prices: £5 in advance from the Post Office, Catterick, Ferryhill AC RIVER…

IT’S all too easy to believe that most of the UK’s stillwaters are little more than the oft-derided ‘holes in the ground’. Nothing could be further from the truth. Delve a little deeper, however, and there is a wealth of weird and wonderful waters to enjoy. Fancy fishing a castle moat, meeting a ghost or even staying indoors with a rod in your hand? Then try one of these 20 unique fisheries this year... 1 TYLERS COMMON, ESSEX 60 PEGS, 60 ISLANDS! Every angler loves a feature to fish to, and Horseshoe Lake is the only commercial water in the country where every swim has its own individual island in front of it. Packed with quality carp and silvers, it’s no wonder you can sometimes struggle to find a swim…

NO self-respecting angler fishing a carp water in the spring would be without a few tins of luncheon meat. It’s a brilliant bait for when the water is warming up – but it’s not just something for when the sun’s is shining. A single cube of meat can catch big carp in the depths of winter, and it remains a popular hookbait for chub and barbel on rivers. USE A CUTTER CHOPPING meat by hand with a knife and board takes ages and always ends up with uneven cubes – not much use when fishing for wary carp on commercials. Save yourself the hassle and invest in a meat cutter, which can chop a block of meat into uniform cubes in seconds. BREAK OUT THE DYE IN clear cold water,…

FISH a small river in winter for chub and you’ll catch a lot more by devoting some time to prebaiting a few swims. This means adding small helpings of feed into likely spots and then leaving them to settle before fishing them. Bread is super river chub bait in winter so feeding it alongside using sliced white on the hook makes sense – but how do you get this light feed to sink without being washed away? Mashed bread is over-wetted slices that when soaked will be heavy enough to be fed in balls and so sink to the bottom easily. Two loaves of sliced white bread will be ample for a session – buy the cheapest supermarket brands you can get. Each slice, crusts and all, is ripped in…

ANGLERS are quite willing to come up to me on the bank and ask me questions. Many relate to bait, so I thought I’d list the commonest here... MAGGOT CARE Q What’s the best way to look after maggots at home and on a fishing trip? A To keep maggots in the best possible condition you must invest in a fridge. I’ve actually got two in my garage, just for bait – that’s how important I consider them to be. Set the temperature at 3ºC and you will slow the maggots down so that the shrinking and turning process takes a lot longer than it would if the bait was left out. On warm days, take the maggots to the venue you are fishing in a cold bag lined with…

FOR the fashion-conscious anglers among you the perch is certainly the winter fish of choice. Post a few pictures of big stripeys on your Facebook profile and you’re sure to get a swathe of ‘likes’ if such things are important to you. I’m too old now to try to be consciously cool, but I fully understand why perch have grabbed the nation’s attention. Of all the fish I have been lucky enough to catch, few are more awe-inspiring than a big ‘Billy’ – and it’s wonderful that more and more of this breathtaking species are being caught with every passing season. On the downside, this means new big-perch venues are at a premium, so I was understandably excited to get a call from Adrian Phipps, who runs the Dynamite Oakfield…

1 Rest the fish in the margins while you lay the unhooking equipment easily to hand. An unhooking mat and forceps are vital pieces of equipment. 2 Place the fish on its back between your legs. This restricts its movement and stops it damaging itself with any sudden movements. 3 Carefully slide your hand inside of one of the gills facing upwards. This will enable you to work the unhooking tools in the pike’s mouth. 4 Grab the shank of the trebles with the forceps, twist and remove them. The process can take less than 30 seconds and reduces the amount of time the pike spends on the bank.…

FEW people would argue that tackle firms Korda and Guru are riding a wave of success. Both focus on innovative carp and match fishing products, helped by household name anglers whose creative awareness and wealth of fishing knowledge helps in the development of unique tackle. This, along with unparalleled media coverage, has kept Korda and Guru on the ‘must have’ tackle acquisition radar of legions of loyal followers. A plethora of new products will grace tackle shop shelves in the next 12 months, so when Angling Times was invited to a combined trade show, we were able to pick out the very best for both match and carp anglers. GURU PELLET WAGGLERS SURE to be the floats to be seen with this summer, the new Guru Pellet Wagglers come in…

YATELEY Car Park Lake might not be the pinnacle of British carping these days, but it still has the form to throw up special moments – like the capture of this elusive forty. The difficult Hampshire venue, known throughout the 1980s and 1990s for giant fish such as Heather the Leather and Arfur, gave Michael Whitney a memory to savour with this 42lb 1oz mirror, which had not been caught for more than three years. He told Angling Times: “This is my first fish out of the famous Car Park Lake. “I got my ticket at the start of this season, but this was only my eighth night on the water because I’ve been lingering on another fishery where I hadn’t caught what I wanted. “However, last week I decided…

A CLUB BOOK IS SUPERB VALUE FOR anglers on a budget, a day at a commercial can cost a small fortune – £8 for a day ticket, £10 bait bill and a few quid on food and petrol soon adds up. But you will pay a fraction of that when visiting a club water. It’s likely to be close to home and the annual fee can be less than £50. So support your local club and enjoy the great angling experience it will provide. Karl Murphy, email LICENCE SURVEY? WHEN you buy a rod licence, why can’t it come with a short survey that asks where you would like your money to be spent? This could filled in and posted back or simply completed online if you buy the licence…

WE’D arranged to fish a London Brick Engineers match on the newly opened Railway Lakes at Whittlesey, Cambs, and my friend Tony Hogg asked me if I’d pick up his maggots from the tackle shop on my way home. This I did, but when I got home, having been in my hot car for some time, they had sweated, and were looking a little the worse for wear. I thought if I put them in the freezer for a while it would cool them down. Oh dear! I forgot all about them until the morning of the match, when I frantically retrieved them. Panic set in. Tony would dissect my limbs if he saw his bait that was now frozen solid. Then I had a brainwave. What if I put…

JUST over a month of the river season left. Most of those in the Midlands and South are looking good for a few fish before March 14. Sadly, many northern rivers are still flooded. I really do feel for people up there because they have had the most dreadful time of it this winter. If any of you northern lads that can’t get out fishing want a day on my and Ray Cutler’s stretch of the Severn, just contact me via Angling Times and come and have a free day on us. Here’s how my week went… MONDAY A pike guiding day with Craig Barlow and Matt Benson from Wigan. We went to a water in the Midlands but the day was quite slow, which was surprising as this water…

Speaking up for bass – we need your help! THE Angling Trust has issued an appeal to all anglers in the battle to protect bass. Last week, North Cornwall MP and keen angler Scott Mann succeeded in securing a three-hour backbench debate in the House of Commons to highlight the unfairness of the current measures on recreational sea anglers. The Trust is asking anglers to email their MPs, urging them to turn up in the Commons to support Scott in the forthcoming debate. The debate is entitled Conservation of Sea Bass and Scott will be moving the following motion: “This House believes that the recent EU restrictions on recreational bass fishing are unfair and fail to address the real threat to the future viability of UK bass stocks.” The Angling…

Garbolino Silverfish Only Winter League (rnd 2) Meadowlands Fishery (50 pegs) THE skimmers again failed to show in numbers, and for most this was a roach match, peg 5 on the Warren Pool seeing Drennan man Lee Klimczuk win with 19-8-0 of roach on long pole and caster. Not far behind was Grant Howie, Bishop’s Bowl. He finished in second with another nice bag of roach for 19-4-0 from peg 20 on the Lambsdown Lake using long pole with maggot and caster. Result: 1 L Klimczuk, Drennan, 19-8-0; 2 G Howie, Bishop’s Bowl, 19-4-0; 3 G O’Shea, Preston Innovations Thatcher’s, 18-12-0; 4 S Sanders, Preston Innovations, 17-0-0; 5 P Burgess, Wilnecote Angling Centre, 16-0-0.…

Leeds DASA Saturday League (rnd 4) Yorkshire Ouse, Hunter’s Lodge & Widdington (35 pegs) FOR once, anglers caught the Ouse in reasonable condition – it was 2ft up at the start of the day and clear, but as the match progressed it did rise. A few more fish than of late were caught though, and out in front with 9-15-0 was Leeds rod Noel Speight. He drew peg 190 at Hunter’s Lodge and caught seven perch and a bonus chub of 4lb on the bomb with lobworm to record the win. Runner-up from peg 37 at Widdington was Mirfield rod Ricky Bonas, who had one barbel and one roach on lobworm for 6-8-0. Result: 1 N Speight, Leeds, 9-15-0; 2 R Bonas, Mirfield AC, 6-8-0; 3 I Bowman, Drennan Barnsley…

A GUARANTEED 20,000 Euros awaits match anglers in Ireland’s richest-ever match, Angling Times can reveal. The Lakeland & Inland Waterways World Pairs is back for 2016, and in addition to the big prize pot, the ever-popular Daiwa Cup running alongside has increased its share of the spoils to £10,000 of top-notch tackle vouchers and equipment. Won by brothers Phil and Steve Ringer in 2015, the series attracts a who’s-who of UK match anglers, plus rods from abroad, including as far away as Malaysia. Entry for this year stays the same at just £170 per pair. Anglers booking through the event’s travel partner Ireland Travel Plus will benefit from a £30 discount. To enter the optional Daiwa Cup, running alongside the main event, you’ll have to pay a further £140. It…

THE Grand Union Canal around Luton, Leighton Buzzard and Milton Keynes is a popular match fishing haunt in the warmer months, and this summer sees a six-match team series taking in the best areas and run under the Sensas and Oakwood Angling banner. Run by Butch Murphy, the Sensas Oakwood Grand Union Teams League already has a healthy number of five-man teams booked on, but more are welcome to help swell the monies paid out and to make this one of the biggest canal series running anywhere in the UK in 2016. Entry is £150 per team, followed by pools of £125 per team across the six matches, with the series running from June through until September. For full details call Butch on 07944 932918. Match dates and venues are…

THOUSANDS of pounds’ worth of antique tackle are set to go under the hammer during a specialist auction. Highly sought-after rods, reels and angling literature will be displayed at the event this Friday (February 12) at Moore Allen & Innocent’s showroom in Cirencester. Gloucestershire. Among the gems to look our for are an extremely rare Hardy Pomeroy West Indian reel that experts believe could fetch up to £5,000. For more details visit www.mooreallen.co.uk/ auction-house…

A HUGE 40lb 4oz pike caught on a homemade rod tops an incredible week at the famous Chew Valley Reservoir, which also saw a record-breaking brace of predators landed. It was the first time that Guy Elson had ever fished at the Somerset venue, and he christened his new hand-built rod with the specimen that smashed his personal best by more than 25lb during the latest pike fishing trials. It also saw an incredible venue record brace of fish weighing 37lb and 35lb taken from Picnic Area 2 off the North Shore. Guy was fishing with boat partner and close friend Craig Holiehead, and the fish-of-a-lifetime provided the only pike of the day for the duo at the Bristol Water-controlled venue, which produced a total of 19 predators reported over…

TONY Curd has made his name on carp-filled commercials but he proved he is no slouch on the silverfish front either when he banked more than 50lb of roach during a session at Shatterford Lakes. The MAP-backed angler made the long journey from his London base to the Worcestershire complex to go in search of its vast shoals of redfins. Using short pole and caster tactics, fish to 1lb were soon coming to the net regularly, with the occasional bonus bream and hybrid thrown in for good measure. To find out more details about the venue visit: www.shatterfordlakes.com…

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 14 Dinton Pastures Country Park, Berks. Martin Earl: 07979 038074 SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 20 Ramsey 40ft Drain, B1096, Ramsey Forty Foot, Cambs. Keith Rayment: 07551 840409 SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 21 Hydneye Lake. Chris Tingley: 07876 185249 Smeatons Lakes, Newark, Notts. WA Stevenson: 07505 792484 Stainforth & Keadby Canal (PAIRS). George Martindale: 01405 815939 SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 27 Causeway Lake, Baylham, Suffolk. Bill Davies: 07725 910065 SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 28 Bellwater, Midville, Boston, Lincs. Brian Hunn: 07769 9587775 Beverley Beck, East Riding of Yorkshire. Dave Hancock: 07811 065835 or John Jenkinson: 07803 983635 Hydneye Lake. Chris Tingley: 07876 185249 Longtown West Pond, Carlisle. Chris Bowman: 07714 168939 SUNDAY, MARCH 6 Hydneye Lake. Chris Tingley: 07876 185249 SUNDAY, MARCH 13 Bellwater, Midville, Boston, Lincs. Brian Hunn: 07769 9587775 Hydneye Lake. Chris Tingley: 07876 185249…

TENCH fishing rarely comes into the equation at this time of year, but Carl Singleton bucked the trend when he took this huge net of the species from a Midlands drain. The keen pleasure angler headed to a local day-ticket stretch of the waterway and used worm hookbaits alongside a groundbait feeder packed with choppie and casters. Fish to 5lb soon appeared and by the end of the memorable session he had placed a dozen quality specimens in the net.…

BIRMINGHAM CITY CANAL SYSTEM, WEST MIDLANDS PRICES: £20 a year, £10 for over 65s, £5 for under 16s (Waterway Wanderers scheme) CONTACT: 01829 732748, John Harding, Waterway Wanderers scheme LOCATION: Birmingham City Canal System. Sites fished: Gas Street, Lawden Road and Spaghetti Junction, near Salford Park PARKING: All street parking in Birmingham city centre is subject to pay and display. Parking is limited to a maximum stay of up to two hours in the Inner Zone and up to four hours in the Outer Zone and Gun Quarter Zone. There is a mix of two and four-hour maximum stay bays in the Jewellery Quarter Zone. Please visit www.birmingham.gov.uk/ streetparking for more information. Free parking on Lawden Road and Salford Park at Lucozade Power League, B6 7TG NEARESTTACKLE SHOP Fosters of…

MOLLY’S LAKE Molly’s Lake is approximately two acres in size with three islands and 25 pegs. It is heavily stocked with carp, rudd, roach, bream and chub. The match record was broken on here last month with 98lb of mainly carp averaging 9lb on the bomb, but you can catch a net of silverfish in winter on here if you prefer. THE MAIN LAKE This three-acre lake contains carp to 25lb, roach, rudd, tench, bream and gudgeon. The deepest part of this 28-peg lake (4m) is found in the centre, which is where the carp like to sit in winter. Fish to over 25lb, averaging 8lb-10lb, can be caught on light bomb or small feeder tactics. EMILY’S AND OSCARS LAKES Both these lakes are canal shaped waters around 11m wide…

RIVERS AND CANALS KENNET & AVON CANAL, PEWSEY, WILTS THE pegs at Milkhouse are the hot spots at the moment, where skimmers to 2lb are showing in numbers to anglers fishing pinkie or worm. Contact: 07778 300457 Prices: £5 a day from shop at the Wharf, Pewsey AC EXETER SHIP CANAL, EXETER, DEVON Bream bags to over 30lb from the Lime Kilns. Feed micro pellets or groundbait with pellet or worm over the top. Contact: Exeter Angling Centre, 01392 435591 Prices: £5 from Exeter Angling Centre, Exeter AA GRAND UNION CANAL, LEIGHTON BUZZARD, BEDS The Globe stretch has silverfish on the pole to maggot and bread. Contact: Luton AC, 077044 62635 Prices: £5 on the bank, Luton AC RIVER BOURNE, CHERTSEY, SURREY The free Meads section is good for a…

SOFTER HARD BAITS Blown hard pellets give me a great bait to fish on the bomb in winter, as they are tough enough to hair-rig and cast without coming off while also matching the ‘safe’ baits which have been on the bottom for a while. BIGGER IS BETTER Here’s what a blown 8mm hard pellet looks like before and after it has taken on water. I reckon this was one of the best tactics I’ve ever discovered – and it was a complete accident! THERE are loads of ways to make pellets more attractive to fish and gain an edge on commercials. You can dye them, flavour them, pump them, ‘blow’ them... all these tricks will put more fish in your net. So here are eight great ways to boost…

IT WON’T be long until spring begins to announce itself, and that means warmer weather and healthier appetites on the part of the carp. Meat is much loved by them, and the first place they will head for is the shallow water around islands that are quickly warmed by the sun. Standard cubes of meat used as a feed will catch, but far better is a mix of mushed and whole cubes. This will create a type of slop that can be made into a ball and fed to break up quickly as it falls through the water. Put the meat through a cutter as normal – 6mm or 8mm cubes are better than smaller ones as they’ll provide more bait in the long run. Now take a maggot riddle,…

IF YOU love creating your own designer baits then sooner or later you are going to want to start tweaking the recipes with various additives. There are literally thousands of different bait additives that you can use, but here are some of my favourites, with tips on how to use each one. A AMINO ACIDS For a number of years amino acids have been among the secret ingredients found in many boilies. These simple chemicals are the building blocks of proteins, and so are essential in the diet of fish. Many fish can also detect amino acids in water, making them great attractors, even though to us they appear to be odourless powders. B BETAINE Much talked about, betaine is a feed stimulant used in many animal feeds. In its…

All my tackle for livebaiting for perch fits into a small E-S-P lead bag – you only need a basic rig and a few loafers, silicone rubber, size 4 and 6 Kamasan B983 hooks and some fluorocarbon, which doesn’t take up much room! To unhook perch I prefer a big disgorger (right) rather than forceps, as it’s far easier to use and better for the fish. Try to locate your quarry before settling in a swim – lure fishing is perfect for this even if you intend to bait fish later. In the coloured water often found on commercials early afternoon is often better for perch than dusk. To attach a livebait simply pass the hook through the top lip – straightforward and nothing fancy. MORE INFORMATION BEFORE visiting Dynamite…

THERE are two commercial carp tactics you can rely on when it’s cold, especially when faced with an open-water swim. One is a straight lead set-up with punched bread discs... the other is a small Drennan blockend carp feeder with maggots. Both have their moments – when it’s close to freezing, with gin-clear water, the bread seems to have the edge, and popped-up pieces seem to sort out the bigger fish. The maggot feeder seems to dominate when you’re faced with cold but slightly coloured water, especially when F1s are among the target fish. What most matchmen tend to favour in both cases are light feeder or bomb rods – normal Method feeder rods and powerful lead rods don’t have enough finesse for rigs with light hooklengths and small hooks.…

MAGGOTS must be the most commonly used bait among general pleasure anglers, if only because they are readily available from tackle shops. What you may not realise is that they are also a favourite food of carp, and at times of the year when bigger, more substantial items are ignored the humble grub can make the difference between a blank and a big hit. I use them a lot, particularly in winter – here are a few tips to help you get the best from your maggots. COLOUR What colour maggots you choose is entirely up to you, but I favour whites and use them pretty much all the time. A lot of anglers like red maggots, as these appear the closest to bloodworm. Imitating a natural food source is…

THE mere suggestion that my favourite bait trick was to fish with ‘bread on legs’ brought derision from my Angling Times and UKCarp office colleagues. “It’s a bit old school,” cried one. “Have you never heard of pellets and boilies?” asked another, while the hard-nosed carpers wanted to know if you could fish it on the hair. But despite the mickey taking I stand by it. How can you beat the combination of a bright white piece of bread flake with two live maggots wriggling underneath? Fish can’t fail to spot it, it has neutral buoyancy, it’s easily slurped down, and every fish loves bit of movement from maggots. Further to my defence, my combo has caught me everything from roach and rudd to bream, carp, chub, and even tench...…

14lb 9oz 9dr CRUCIAN CARP: In 2003 I broke the British crucian record at Eversley – probably the first time anyone had caught a big crucian on a bolt rig. I used an inline feeder and a short hooklength at night and had a 4lb fish in the same session. 2 35lb 4oz PIKE: I have mixed emotions about my pb pike from Milton Abbas. It was named ‘Bernard’ following its capture by Bernard Cribbins in ‘Catching The Impossible’ – but I caught it the same day as my great friend Terry Lampard died. 3 5lb 4oz PERCH: I was filming an episode of ‘Catching The Impossible’ on the Great Ouse in Buckinghamshire and caught a four-pounder. Cameraman Hugh Miles wasn’t happy with the light and insisted we stay another…

Extreme Fishing with Robson Green Tuesday, Feb 9, 8pm Robson heads to the town of Itati in Argentina in search of the elusive pacu, and visits a ranch on the Ibera marshes. The Compleat Angler Wednesday, Feb 10, 6am Geoffrey Palmer and Rae Borras explore Charles Cotton’s contributions to the Compleat Angler. What can he teach them as they fish for wild brown trout on the River Dove? Hooked on Fishing Thursday, Feb 11, 5.05am Paul Young visits Avington Trout Fishery in Hampshire, which raises its own fish, ensuring each one is fin perfect. Mainstream with Matt Hayes Thursday, Feb 11, 6:45am Matt finds an early Victorian salmon ladder and weir pool on the Severn irresistible for a splash ’n’ dash, and explores Abermule’s hotspots. Monster Fish of the Congo…

Tuesday, February 9 Acorn Fishery Tuesday Tenner, Kingston Seymour - Mike 01179 497310 Alders Farm, Affordable Open, Great Brickhill – Trevor 07860 235655 Aston Park Fisheries, Sheffield - Alex 07743 845737 Coleman’s Cottage Fishery, Witham – Gerry 01376 516383 Daiwa Hallcroft Fishery, Retford – Nick 01777 710448 Decoy, Eastrea – Di 01733 202230 Garbolino Lindholme Lakes, Epworth – Neil 01427 872905 Heronbrook Over 55s – Neil 07879 441288 Jansons, Elton - 07976 317864 Kobra, Dynamite Baits Makin’s Fishery, Wolvey – John 07749 284823 Little John Lakes, Ollerton - Steve 07715 096738 Meadow View Fisheries OAP & Dis, Warrington – Brian 01925 757985 New Moorlands Farm, Kidderminster - Dave 07772 297462 Oaks, Sessay - Chris 07885 553323 Old Hough Fishery, Middlewich – Doug 07976 381996 Partridge Lakes, Culceth - Mel/Nel 07950…

CALLING all club sides! This is your last chance to get your team’s entry in for the 2016 Bait-Tech Supercup as just days remain until the closing date. Open to all club sides, this famous event is a simple knockout competition fished across two rounds and then a Semi Final, rounded off with the grand final itself and entries are now being taken ahead of the opening round draw in February when hundreds of sides nationwide will know the task that awaits them. Entry is just £30 per team (larger clubs can enter multiple sides) and a full list of rules can be found on the Angling Times website at www.gofishing.co.uk  – it is a good idea to familiarise yourself with these before entering as they will be…

MONDAY TO SATURDAY Blundell’s Fishery Rover All lakes (25 pegs) Saturday saw a comfortable win for Mike Gillespie as he recorded 69-7-0 of carp to 4lb and F1s from Trio Pool peg 17 using corm at 13m to the island. Second place was shared by Paul Jones and Gary Whalley with 48-0-0 each, Paul taking carp and F1s on pellet at 6m from Trio Pool peg 13, while Gary caught the same fish on maggot at 13m from peg 45 on the same lake. Result: 1 M Gillespie, Edgeley Sports, 69-7-0; jt2 P Jones, Brookside, and G Whalley, Bait-Tech, both 48-0-0; 3 M Higgins, Neptune Tackle, 40-1-0; 4 K Webster, Trafford Tackle, 39-11-0; 5 K Richards, Matrix Leigh Tackle & Bait, 39-1-0. Blundell’s Fishery Rover (Weds) All lakes (18 pegs)…