Indholdsfortegnelse for 30th December 2015 i Angling Times

A RECORD-shaking pike weighing 46lb 8oz has been banked. The specimen - just 5oz short of Roy Lewis’ long-standing British record - was taken by keen predator angler Darren Clark last weekend at Wykeham Lakes near Scarborough. It’s the sixth time the predator has been caught and it became the largest pike ever landed from an English water back in 2014 when it was landed by Wyndon Coole (pictured above) at 46lb 11oz. “For it to come out at a weight like this at this time of the year is incredible and if you consider that it hasn’t reached the full potential of its growth it’s scary to think what this fish could weigh,” said fishery manager Jake Finnigan. “The fish is still in immaculate condition and we are very…

PLANNING has got under way for next year’s RiverFest tournament and organisers are asking anglers for their views on how to make it bigger and better than ever before. The Angling Trust is currently considering which venues to use for the 2016 campaign and is keen to canvass people for their opinions. A spokesperson for the governing body said: “We are after 24 venues for the next RiverFest heats and we want anglers to tell us which waters they enjoyed fishing last year, which could be left out this time and suggestions for possible replacements.”…

ONE of the nation’s favourite fisheries is calling for specimen anglers to come and catch its massive roach, claiming some huge fish are being ‘ignored’. Just two weeks after being voted ‘Stillwater of the Year’ in the Angling Times 2015 National Angling Awards, the famous Linear Fisheries in Oxfordshire is eager to shake off its reputation of being a carp-only complex. Venue bosses have also revealed that 2015 has been its best-ever year for catches of specimen redfins. The biggest fish banked so far this year was a 3lb 2oz specimen recently taken by a carp angler fishing Brasenose 2, and many other specimens over 2lb have also been caught from its other popular venues Oxlease, Hardwick and Brasenose 1. “Most people think our waters are just about carp, but…

BUSINESS END  The hooklength is about 50cm long, consisting of 3lb-4lb line and a size 16 or 18 PR344 hook. OPEN END FEEDER  Use a small or medium cage or plastic feeder, with 6lb line on a free-running rig. ON THE outskirts of Doncaster in South Yorkshire, anglers are flocking to an unlikely source of cold weather action. Two large reservoirs, linked to the Aire and Calder Canal and scarcely 4ft deep, are full of slabs and skimmers, with lots of roach too. Doncaster DAA’s Southfield Reservoirs are popular with match and pleasure anglers and with 120 acres of water to go at, there’s always somewhere to fish. The two waters are separated by a narrow strip of land. It’s a popular hunting ground for England feeder team manager Tommy…

BARTON BROAD, BARTON UPON HUMBER, E YORKS The broad contains huge pike to 25lb. Sea deadbaits are best, targeting the snags and deeper holes. 01652 660589, Postcode: DN18 5SW HEWENDEN RESERVOIR, BRADFORD, W YORKS This is an excellent pike water in winter where fish to 20lb lurk in good numbers. Both lures and deadsbaits work well here. 01132 499943, Hewenden AC, Postcode: BD13 4LH MILL HOUSE, LYDIATE, MERSEYSIDE Mescar Lake is producing carp to 15lb on pellet despite the cooler weather. Fish a big pellet at 10m. 07808 764374, Postcode: L31 4HS SEPHTON FARM FISHERIES, ORMSKIRK, LANCS Willows Lake is worth a visit for perch over 2lb as well as barbel. Both species will take a small bunch of maggots on a float or small bomb. 01704 893178, Postcode: L40…

RIVERS AND CANALS KENNET & AVON CANAL, BATHAMPTON, SOMERSET THE Garage Ponds are good for a mixed net on breadpunch or maggot over groundbait. Contact:Bathampton AA, 01179 715003 Prices:£3 a day from Bacons Tackle Bath, Bathampton AA BRIDGWATER AND TAUNTON CANAL, TAUNTON, SOMERSET On the Nerrols stretch chopped worm is working for some big stripeys to 2lb. Contact:Enterprise Angling, 01823 282623 Prices:£7 a day from local tackle shops, Taunton AA GLOUCESTER CANAL, NETHERIDGE, GLOS The Sims Bridge area is worth a rove with lures for zander, pike and perch. Target features and move around. Contact:Gloucester Angling Centre, 01452 520074 Prices:£4 on the bank or £24 a year, Winget AC OXFORD CANAL, OXFORD, OXON A recent match at Jericho saw lots of skimmers and perch around Elizabeth Jennings Bridge. Contact:Oxford Tackle,…

PRICES:£6 a day in advance from Marlborough DAA or £20 winter membership CONTACT:077132 62959, Marlborough DAA LOCATION:Kennet & Avon Canal, Brook Street, Great Bedwyn, Wilts, SN8 3PB RULES:No fires, no litter, no night fishing, no day tickets sold on the bank FACILITIES: Parking is on Brook Street, and the nearest pub is the The Three Tuns, a free house, on Bedwyn High Street…

FROM bulging nets of bronze-flanked bream to specimen perch, carp and monster barbel, the River Thames has been one of the go-to waterways for angling this year – and for good reason. Because the fact is that the Thames has something for every angler, from its upper reaches in Gloucestershire, right down to the tidal waters in Central London. So whether you want to run a stick float down a steady glide for roach, fish with lures for predators or bang out a feeder for bream, there’s a stretch of the capital’s river to suit. Now that the Thames has finished runner-up in the Angling Times 2015 River Of The Year Award, it’s the perfect time to reveal the top hotspots on this mighty river... FROM UPSTREAM TO DOWNSTREAM IN…

PICKING my hottest tactic of 2015 was pretty easy this year, as I’ve probably spent more time on the feeder than any other style of fishing! When I look back through my diary I’ve had some great success on a huge spectrum of venues – from the bream, hybrid and roach-filled Ferry Meadows during the summer, to the big Irish loughs during World Pairs Festival week, and winning team gold at the World Feeder Champs in Holland. But it’s my favourite big-fish bagging water, Boddington Reservoir, that really sticks in my mind as this is where I spent the winter testing new Hybrid feeders. I was so impressed with them I ended up using them a lot over the past 12 months, and I’m still on them now – that’s…

“If there are chub in your swim, it’s a fair bet that at some point during the day they will be hungry.” IF THERE is one fish to rely on when water temperatures drop in our rivers, it’s the chub. Even on the coldest of days, if there are chub in your swim, it’s a fair bet that at some point during the day they will be hungry. To make the most of the situation you need to tempt them, so this week I’m going to take you through the things that I do to get the maximum number of fish from a swim. Any time soon, we’ll get some cold weather and the rivers will quickly go low and clear. When this happens, it’s important to fish well out…

TIME passes so quickly. It had been an age since I spent an evening at Hugh Miles’ wonderful home in deepest Dorset. It had been a regular occurrence during the filming of ‘Catching The Impossible’ and tonight was just like old times, with a glass of wine and Hugh’s wife Sue carving a fabulous joint of roast pork and crackling while Hugh spoke of angling on TV and his endeavours with rod and line. It was obvious that he still misses filming, and the camaraderie and creative challenges to be found during a long project. He misses the wild places that few of us ever get to experience – from darkest Africa to the mountains of the Himalayas. Such worlds show how special the earth is, a place which –…

WE have five copies of Crooked Lines to give away, signed by the author Dom Garnett. Just answer the simple question below and send the answer on a postcard, along with your name and address, to: Crooked Lines competition, Angling Times, Bauer Media, Media House, Peterborough Business Park, Lynch Wood, Peterborough PE2 6EA. Closing date for receipt of entries is January 12, 2016 QUESTION WHO is the six-inch angler Dom takes with him on many of his fishing trips? • THE GENERAL • THE ADMIRAL • THE SQUADRON LEADER…

WORK commitments kept Ross Ryder from the bank for almost two months, but he returned with a bang to land a new pb common. This 42lb 14oz fish was the best of a six-fish weekend haul that also saw two twenties and a 30lb 5oz mirror hit the Dynamite Baits angler’s net. Ross’s mates Ash Bailey and Richie Leat joined him on the trip, and the latter banked a pb common at 38lb. Said Ross: “It was fair to say I was more than happy with my captures and blown away to have spent such a great weekend with a couple of great pals who also banked fish over 30lb.” Ross set up in his favourite swim with depths down to 16ft on his southern syndicate water, buffeted by south-westerly…

Huge eel was a nice surprise... IT WAS a pleasant surprise to see a big eel on page 3 of the December 15 issue of Angling Times. For a moment I wondered if it was from this country, and then wished it was. Eels are such incredible creatures, and people like Barry McConnell who target them deserve every success. I remember catching a bootlace eel from the Thames as a child, and instantly becoming fascinated by these prehistoric fish. I sometimes wonder if today’s young anglers are even aware of eels, such has been their decline in my lifetime. Certainly, I haven’t bumped into a dedicated eel angler on the bank for many, many years. Hopefully the picture you published will inspire a few more anglers to learn about, and…

1 COMMON CARP It’s widely recognised that carp arrived here in the 14th century, possibly as a food source for monks. Nothing suggests they were here before this. 2 BARBEL Barbel are technically native to some rivers created in the Ice Age when Britain split from mainland Europe. What is certain is that the species was introduced to lots of UK rivers in the 20th century, including 509 fish famously going into the River Severn in 1956. 3&4 IDE AND ORFE Originating from Scandinavia, ide (or orfe) have been stocked into British stillwaters for the past 20 years. Ide have escaped into some rivers, including the Trent and Calder. Several variant include the golden orfe and blue orfe. 5 WELS CATFISH The Duke of Bedford successfully imported wels into the…

Alliance & Leicester Liverpool, Chapel Pool: 1 I Pritchard, 72-12-0, pellet, carp; 2 D Lansen, 70-12-0; 3 M Hall, 59-4-0. Andy’s Mob, Monk Lakes: 1 R Jones, 90-0-0, corn, mixed; 2 B Rowden, 61-12-0; 3 G Churcher, 58-8-0. Birmingham Thursday Club, Packington Somers: 1 T Robertson, 16-10-0, pellet, F1s; 2 D Crozier, 9-14-0; 3 P McCranor, 7-11-0. Birmingham Thursday Club, The Riddings Fishery: 1 P McCranor, 29-12-0, maggot, carp; 2 B Edwards, 22-14-0; 3 M Marshall, 22-8-0. Breakingstone AC, Cob House Fishery: 1 D Kiddington, 59-10-0, maggot, carp; 2 G Chivers, 55-6-0; 3 A Fry, 55-0-0. Carshalton DAS, Bury St Austen’s Lakes: 1 D Freeman, 100-15-0, pellet, carp; 2 A Packman, 98-0-0; 3 M Smith, 53-6-0. Carshalton DAS, Henfold Lakes: 1 D Freeman, 11-2-0, pellet, skimmers/ roach; 2 M Charnock,…

PRE DECEMBER 20 Daiwa Hallcroft Fishery Moat Pool (34 pegs) This match was a real pre-Christmas bonanza for Lee Hewison as the Leegem Angling man not won the match but also took the link peg prize to pocket an extra £1,000! Fishing peg 22, Lee landed carp to 12lb for a stunning 238-1-0 final weight on waggler and banded pellet cast to the aerator. Wayne Lomas ended up some way behind with 104-3-0 of carp on the bomb with corn and pellet from next door peg 20. Result:1 L Hewison, Leegem Angling, 238-1-0; 2 W Lomas, Leegem Angling, 104-3-0; 3 S Clark, Mansfield, 88-2-0; 4 J Barningham, Lincoln Whisby AS, 54-0-0; 5 S Gray, Worksop, 53-13-0. Daiwa Hallcroft Fishery Moat Pool (28 pegs) A solid set of weights was headed…

HERE’S your chance to apply for tickets to take part in one of the sport’s richest competitions. Online entry for Fish O’ Mania 2016 will open on Tuesday, January 5 for a three-week period. Dates to apply have been brought forward to help cope with demand and the increase of more qualifier venues on offer. Once the online entry process closes on Tuesday, January 26, a random, computerised draw will determine ticket allocation and a full list of anglers entered for each of the qualifiers will be published at: www.anglingtrust.net…

EXPAT Andrew Deamer had his pole elastic stretched to the limit when he banked a gigantic 17lb eel. The 63-year-old former Hertfordshire angler tempted the huge specimen on a triple maggot hookbait during a session on his local lake in the New Zealand city of Wellington. Amazingly Andy managed to tame the predator, which set a new coarse record for the country, using his UK-brought match tackle consisting of Daiwa Black Hydrolastic, a 0.16mm hooklength and a size 14 hook. The catch follows Barry McConnell’s giant 21lb eel landed from a lake in Australia two weeks ago.…

VENUES in the North East have been given a huge boost with the addition of thousands of fish. Hundreds of chub, dace, roach, crucians, tench, rudd and bream have been introduced into the River Tees at Low Conniscliffe and Darlington, and to the River Wear at Maiden Castle. Six stillwater fisheries in the region will receive 15,000 roach, rudd, bream, tench and crucians to help improve angling. All the fish came from the Environment Agency’s Calverton Fish Farm.…

IS THIS the iconic image that will be in the pocket of every UK angler? That’s the question being asked this week as the Environment Agency considers printing Dick Walker’s British record carp, Clarissa, on the front of the rod licence. The proposal came from Charles Walker MP, chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Angling, and was made to the Secretary of State for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). It would mark the centenary of the birth of the godfather of modern angling and shows him with the famous 44lb record carp caught from Redmire in 1952. And it’s an idea that’s been quickly embraced at the highest Government level. Since the proposal, that was made in the form of a recent parliamentary question,…

THE committee of a Derbyshire club has remembered a much-loved member who passed away by stocking a big carp into his favourite water. Maurice Walker was known by almost everyone involved with the Earl of Harrington’s AC, and members raised funds to buy the 27lb mirror that has been housed in Allestree Lake. It marked what would have been Maurice’s 70th birthday, with officials revealing that the carp will be known as ‘Moz’.…

1 BLUEBELL LAKES TANSOR, NORTHAMPTONSHIRE Contact:01733 226042 or go to www.bluebell-lakes.co.uk Postcode:PE8 5HP 2 ELPHICKS FISHERY HORSMONDEN, KENT Contact:01580 212512 or go to www.elphicks-fisheries.co.uk Postcode:TN12 8EL 3 LEMINGTON LAKES MORETON-IN-MARSH, GLOUCESTERSHIRE Contact:01608 650872 or go to www.lemingtonlakes.co.uk Postcode:GL56 9NP 4 MANOR FARM LEISURE BIGGLESWADE, BEDFORDSHIRE Contact:01767 317835 or go to www.manorfarmfishing.com Postcode:SG18 9BB 5 NEWBRIDGE LAKES BURSTWICK, EAST YORKSHIRE Contact:07817 058054 Postcode:HU12 9HS 6 ROYAL BERKSHIRE FISHERY WINDSOR, BERKSHIRE Contact:01344 891101 Postcode:SL4 4TE 7 SHILLINGLEE FISHERY GODALMING, SURREY Contact:01428 707 455 Postcode:GU8 4SX 8 TASWOOD LAKES NORWICH, NORFOLK Contact:01508 470919 or go to www.taswoodlakes.co.uk Postcode:NR15 1LX 9 TRICKLEBROOK FISHERY FIVE OAK GREEN, KENT Contact:07743 955812 or visit the website at www.tricklebrookfishery.co.uk Postcode:TN12 6SH 10 WYRESIDE LAKES BAY HORSE, LANCASTER Contact:01524 792093 or go to www.wyresidelakes.co.uk Postcode:LA2 9DG…

MOST big fish from giant reservoirs are usually caught by boat anglers, but Pete Farrow netted this 22lb pike while fishing from the bank at Esthwaite Reservoir. Having made the journey up the M6 to the Cumbrian water from his Preston base, he set his stall out for the predators from the renowned car park swim. A static joey mackerel deadbait was soon put in position and the big fish didn’t take long to home in on the scent. For more details on the fishing at Esthwaite call 01539 436541.…

THIS WEEK’S 2FOR1 WATERS 1 Barlow Coarse Fishery, Derbys 2 Bradshaw Hall Fisheries, Lancs 3 Cheshire Fishing Lakes, Cheshire 4 Forest Lane Fisheries, N Yorks 5 Hambleton Fishery, Lancs 6 Hunters Lodge Fishery, N Lincs 7 Lindholme Lakes, S Yorks 8 Coppice Lane Pools, W Mids 9 Froggats Pools, Shrops 10 Headfen Lakes, Cambs 11 Lakeside Leisure Fishery, N Lincs 12 Shearsby Valley Lakes, Leics 13 Townsend Lakes, Cambs 14 Waterloo Farm Leisure, Northants 15 Clawford Fisheries, Devon 16 Furnace Brook Fishery, E Sussex 17 Lake John, Essex 18 Oakfield Fishery, Bucks 19 Shiplate Farm Fishery, Somerset 20 Peterstone Fishery, Wales FISHING VOUCHER This week’s venues  Barlow Coarse Fishery • Bradshaw Hall Fisheries • Cheshire Fishing Lakes • Forest Lane Fisheries • Hambleton Fishery • Hunters Lodge Fishery • Lindholme Lakes • Coppice Lane Pools • Froggats Pools…

ALEXANDRA PARK LAKE, OLDHAM, LANCS Maggot an inch off the deck on the pole down the 8m line will bring 25lb-plus nets of roach and perch. 0161 770 4056, Postcode: OL8 2BN BARLOW COARSE FISHERY, CHESTERFIELD, DERBYS Maggot and caster are the best baits right now. Keep a constant stream of maggots going into your peg to keep the big roach interested. 0114 289 0543, Postcode: S18 7TJ BASSENTHWAITE LAKE, KESWICK, CUMBRIA This water is full of pike to 26lb and lots of perch to 3lb. Take small lures for stripeys and deadbaits for pike. 017687 72645, Postcode: CA12 4QD BEE FOLD FISHERY, WIGAN, LANCS Big perch and crucians have been coming out on maggot and sweetcorn. Pegs 1-5 are favoured by those who fish down the edge. 01942 876163,…

AMBLE, NORTHUMBERLAND Double-figure bags of cod from Granary Rocks on medium-sized tides. Contact:Amble Angling Centre, 01665 711200 COLWYN BAY PROMENADE, CONWY, N WALES For whiting and numbers of bass to 3lb fish black lug between the pier and water sports complex. Contact:Joker’s Fishing Tackle, 07708 874413 FLEETWOOD, LANCS Plenty of codling, plus whiting and dogfish at Rossall Hospital on the first hour of the flood. Contact:Westcoast Tackle, 01253 851001 FORMBY, LANCS Some chunky flounders being landed off the beach along with the odd bass. Fish down to low water with pumped black lugworms as bait. Contact:Tackle Tarts, 01704 568450 SILECROFT, CUMBRIA Bass and flounders to 3lb have been making the headlines. It is a fairly flat, shallow beach so a distance cast may be needed. Lugworms and ragworms both work…

ANGLER’S HIDEAWAY FISHERY, SOUTHAM, WARKS Carp to 15lb and 20lb mixed nets can be taken on Diamond Lake on 11m pole with maggot over groundbait for the silvers, or paste or pellet down the edge for the carp. 07513 321083, Postcode: CV47 2SL ARDEN FISHERIES, STRATFORD-UPON-AVON, WARKS Archers Pool has a good head of perch to 4lb. Floatfish the margins for these with maggot or worm. 01789 731244, Postcode: CV37 OQF COPPICE LANE POOLS, WALSALL, W MIDS The canal-shaped Bridge Pool is fishing well for silvers, the odd carp and chub. Fish down the track, trying across at 13m-14m later on. 0121 351 5198, Postcode: WS7 0LB CURBOROUGH FISHERY, LICHFIELD, STAFFS On Canal Lake, pellet over groundbait down the centre is taking good mixed bags. 07890 333227, Postcode: WS13 8ES…

BLUEBELLLAKES,OUNDLE, NORTHAMPTONSHIRE As well as the carp, Bluebell Lake has been producing some good catches of specimen roach in recent weeks to maggots on the bomb. 01832 226042, Postcode: PE8 5HP CHADWICKSPOND, ILKESTON,DERBYSHIRE Chadwicks has always been popular with specimen hunters as it contains some huge carp over 30lb as well as pike to over 20lb. 07975 04756, Stanton Fishing Club, Postcode: DE7 4BZ EVESBATCHFISHERIES, HEREFORD,HEREFORDSHIRE The Top Lake is arguably the best lake on the complex to head to in winter. Fish the bomb into the middle of the lake for carp to over 20lb. 07967 568124, Postcode: WR6 5BD HURSTFARMLAKES, BRIDGNORTH,SHROPSHIRE Furnace Lake is an excellent, mature venue which contains some quality silverfish including roach and perch topping the 2lb mark. 01746 714375, Postcode: WV16 4TF LANNY’S LAGOON,…

DOGGETTS FARM FISHERY, ROCHFORD, ESSEX Pike to 15lb care taking roach deadbaits tight to snags – hit and hold! 07958 204002, Postcode: SS41QF MANOR FARM FISHERIES, BIGGLESWADE, BEDS On Damsel Lake small pop-ups work for the carp and the bream too when fished over a bed of pellets. 01767 317835, Postcode: SG18 9BB MARIONS POOL, COLEFORD, GLOS This lake holds tench to 8lb. A PVA bag of pellets with worm might be worth a try, fished in deep water. 01291 689687, Forest of Dean AC, Postcode: GL16 8QP MILEMEAD FISHERIES, TAVISTOCK, DEVON Anglers on the Carp Lake are enjoying sport with roach to 2lb. Maggots and casters will attract bites, but corn can nab a bigger specimen. 01822 610888, Postcode: PL19 8NP STOCKBRIDGE POND, TILFORD, SURREY Stockbridge holds roach and…

SHORT POLE  Fish with your top kit plus two or three sections of pole. This usually puts you in deep enough water to catch fish and is a comfortable distance to throw maggots easily. KINDER POT This comes into play if the wind is in your face and it’s difficult to feed by hand. Drop the bait in from a height to make noise and regularly ship in and fill the cup back up. MAGGOTS  Two pints is more than enough for the day. When you throw them grip the maggots by your finger tips rather than the palm of the hand, for more accurate feeding. Delving into the box full of maggots, Ben Holmes took a large pinch and flicked them forcefully forward, unleashing a shower of white and…

AN early spring trip to Lochnaw in search of giant roach almost proved to be a frustrating case of getting too many bites, rather than not enough, as the hordes of small roach had woken up and made fishing with maggots a nightmare. My friend stuck stoically to the task of trying to make maggots work, but after the first day I decided a re-think was necessary. The tactical decision to swap to mini-boilies fished in conjunction with a Method feeder loaded with dark fishmeal groundbait could so easily have drawn a blank, but just as darkness was falling on our final evening a screaming take resulted in a solid resistance and I just knew that a big roach had to be the culprit. I played that fish with kid-gloves…

1 MAVER DARKSIDE POLES MAVER’S Elite Carp series of poles were always going to be a hard act to replace, but these latest Darkside models are worthy successors. The Reglass European-built models, packed with technical advancements, are nicely balanced and a joy to handle. They have good all-round section wall strength and an inherent stiffness in the fast and bounce-free top sections. This makes them just as much at home with F1s and silverfish as they are with big commercial carp. They will be available in 13m, 14.5m and 16m lengths, all with very impressive spares packages. PRICE: £999.99-£1,999.99 2 NASH SCOPE BLACK OPS RETAINER SYSTEM THIS simple device turns your landing net into a temporary retaining sling. Foam caps slide on to either end of your net arms, and…

1 John Cheyne and Steve Wilson, 301cm, 22 fish including pike of 41cm and perch of 23cm. 2 Alan Brown and Vidar Thomassen, 218cm, 11 fish including zander of 49cm and 35cm. 3 Phil Medhurst and Carl Peake, 198cm, nine fish including 43cm pike and 40cm zander. 4 Rob Wootton and Joe Oakes, 191cm, 11 fish including 25cm zander. 5 Robert Busby and Lee Garner, 147cm, 13 fish. 6 Thom Airs and Ian Jones, 143.5cm, seven fish including 40cm zander. 7 Mike McGuire and Jason Chambers, 143cm, 11 fish. 8 Linas Liudzius and Mindaugas Petrikas, 90cm, four fish including 27cm perch. 9 Sam Edmonds and Gary Edmonds, 83.5cm, four fish. 10 Simon Sutton and Ryan Wells, 75cm, three fish. The top three donated their prizes to the junior section of…

Top boys give a lesson on lures THE recent National Drop Shot Championships was a real eye-opener for me, and made me take stock of the way I fish this tactic. When I first started a couple of years ago I would fish with tiny little lure no more than an inch long. Now, as more patterns and sizes have become available, I’ve found myself using much bigger lures, which I now feel might not be right all of the time. Many who fished the Champs used 14 and 16 hooks with lures that didn’t look much different to a skinned red maggot, and in the darker water all-black lures worked a treat. This is akin to what I’ve learned from shooting pellet waggler features on commercial stillwaters with Steve…

“On one trip I had five carp over 20lb in an evening... how carp fishing has changed!” SO that’s another year over and I hope you had a great one. Mine has been both successful and satisfying. Let’s look at a few of the highlights… JANUARY TO MARCH Most of my winter was spent fishing for chub. I caught several over 5lb and it was nice to see the Severn coming back as far as this species is concerned. Over the years I have had to travel good distances to catch 6lb-plus chub but recently a lot more chub of this size are coming from this river, which bodes well for the future. During this time I also took a lot of anglers drop shotting on my guiding days and…

REED BUNTING MAINLY seen hanging on to reeds at the water’s edge, in winter they will sometimes leave watery sites and can be seen in open areas in search of food. BITTERN ALTHOUGH you may hear the weird ‘booming’ made by male bitterns, they are extremely difficult to see. A water near me has them in residence, but I’d need to camp out to see them. No thanks. RED ADMIRAL BUTTERFLY WITH milder winters comes the chance of seeing more butterflies. The other day I could not believe that this pretty butterfly settled next to me on the bank in December.…

PRE DECEMBER 20 Angling Trust Oxfordshire Winter League (final round) Oxford Canal, Kidlington - Wolvercote (48 pegs) With mild conditions but a blustery wind the canal was once again expected to provide plenty of small fish plus bonuses for a lucky few – however, some of the sections fished exceptionally hard with a mere 1oz winning one section! Most of the interest was in the team result with Sensas A4 and Isis fighting it out for second place behind Drennan Oxford and Sensas A4 got the nod on match wins after tying with Isis on 14pts. Top individual was Drennan Oxford’s John Beesley who from two pegs below Yarnton Lane bridge took roach on bloodworm plus five big perch on lobworm for 14-15-0. Isis-backed Dick Ashby was second with 14-10-0…

MONDAY TO SATURDAY Decoy Lakes Beastie Lake (12 pegs) Result: 1 S Coaten, Jed’s Tackle, 97-9-0; 2 A King, Dynamite Baits, 90-4-0; 3 D Carlton, Decoy, 76-9-0. Manor Farm Leisure (Weds) Island & Middle Pools (14 pegs) Result: 1 D Littlewood, Arthur’s Angling Supplies, 63-10-0; 2 B Duggan, Bailey’s of Warwick, 38-8-0; 3 A Fry, Breakingstone AC, 35-0-0. Nisa (Thurs) Guru Makins Fishery, Lagoon Lake (18 pegs) Result: 1 S White, Kobra, 48-2-0; 2 S Johnstone, Match Catch, 40-14-0; 3 S Smith, Kobra, 36-12-0. Preston Innovations Boldings Pools (Mon ) Larch Pool (10 pegs) Result: 1 P Roberts, Boldings, 68-6-0; 2 S Owen, Monkhall, 54-14-0; 3 R Duke, Mid-Severn Angling, 45-10-0. Preston Innovations Boldings Pools (Weds) Sycamore Pool (12 pegs) Result: 1 S Mottram, Drennan NW, 53-13-0; 2 S Rogers,…

Wigston AS Fur & Feather Grand Union Canal, Glen Parva (53 pegs) WHILE only small roach and perch seemed to be willing to feed for most anglers in this festive match, winner Dave Mawby caught a couple of skimmers. They boosted his small fish catch to a well-deserved 5-15-0 from his peg on the blue boat below the County Arms Bridge where he used punch down the middle and across to the boat. Runner-up Rob Wootton was also drew at the County Arms section and fished punch for 4-14-0 of roach. Result: 1 D Mawby, Sensas Bennett’s, 5-15-0; 2 R Wootton, Shimano/ Dynamite Baits, 4-14-0; 3 B Coles, Wigston AS, 4-3-0; 4 T Boyce, Sensas, 4-2-0; 5 R Marlow, Drennan Leicester Sensas, 3-12-0.…

Sensas Canal Masters (rnd 2) GUC, Loughborough (63 pegs) THE Swing Bridge area was the place to be on round two, peg 23 seeing Ian Phillips win with 15-9-0 of bream and skimmers taken on bloodworm over joker on the long pole. Jason Cunningham was next off peg 35 with 11-14-0 of roach on bloodworm plus a big perch and an eel. Result: 1 I Phillips, Long Eaton Federation, 15-9-0; 2 J Cunningham, Shakespeare, 11-14-0; 3 S Barker, Shakespeare, 10-10-8; 4 S Randle, Matrix Dynamite Baits Trentmen, 10-3-8; 5 M Downes, Sensas/Kamasan Starlets, 10-2-0; 6 D Massey, Shakespeare, 10-1-0. Qualifiers: I Phillips, J Cunningham, M Downes, D Massey, J Woodgett, M Derry, M Eustace and S Hemingray.…

PRE DECEMBER 20 Bait-Tech Pro-Natural Canal Championships (round two) Stainforth & Keadby Canal, Thorne (40 pegs) With more than £2,000 of Bait-Tech prizes and vouchers to be fished for in the mid-February final, this event is attracting a star-studded field and bream fed well in the mild weather. Cameron Hughes won with a fine 32-4-0 of fish to 3lb plus skimmers and roach from peg 302 where he used long pole and caster. The same approach saw Matt Godfrey take second with 28-4-0 of bream and skimmers from nearby peg 297. Result:1 C Hughes, Sensas/Rive, 32-4-0; 2 M Godfrey, Pole Fishing Magazine, 28-4-0; 3 T Scholey, Pole Fishing Magazine, 25-12-0; 4 S Ashby, Sensas/Rive, 17-8-0; 5 J Carass, Match Fishing Magazine, 17-4-0; 6 B Hawkes, Sensas North, 16-10-0. Blundell’s Fishery…

Angling Trust Ancholme Winter League (final round) River Ancholme, Springs & Cake Mills (56 pegs) THE river fished its head off in the mild weather for this final round, with a great set of frame weights led by Phil Hirst with 26-12-0 off peg 34 on the Springs section. He fished worm on the pole to take tench, skimmers and perch. Mike Storey was second with 26-2-0 of tench, perch and a 6lb bream on worm from Cake Mills peg 42. Scunthorpe Tackle won the day to seal the league, Lincs Tide Chasers ending second to join them in the final. Result: 1 P Hirst, Scunthorpe Tackle, 26-12-0; 2 M Storey, Scunthorpe Blue, 26-2-0; 3 D Smith, Lincs Tide Chasers, 23-14-0; 4 A Dyer, Lincs County, 17-9-0; 5 G Watson,…

FOR most match anglers on a commercial fishery, silverfish simply don’t play a part in their plans – carp mean cash at the end of the day and the bloke who sits it out for six fish in five hours almost always wins the match compared to he who slaves away, whipping out roach and skimmers. But as we all know, commercial silverfish can be of an excellent stamp and on fisheries with a good mixed stocking or in conditions when the carp aren’t in the mood, they offer a potential route to victory. As much at 50lb is possible when fished for correctly, but this is where a lot of plans come unstuck – the approach. You may see many feed a line for roach and bream, but this…

DISTANCE “I’M looking for a flat bottom in the peg with a good depth – around 5ft is ideal – but I don’t want to be fishing mega long as the further out you go, the more chance there is of finding a few carp. That makes around 13m bang on for rig control and speed of unshipping if catching small fish.” THE RIG “I go for a slender float on this line using 4x14 MAP ISF3 model shotted with a bulk of No8 shot and then two No9 droppers. The bulk is set 2ft from the hook with the remaining droppers evenly spaced in between down to the hooklength knot, setting the float roughly 2ins overdepth. Line is 0.15mm MAP Power Optex mainline to a hooklink of 0.10mm with…

COLD FEEDER  The F1 carp is notorious for feeding in even the coldest conditions, making it a favourite among match and pleasure anglers alike. DISTINCTIVE  Using ghost carp to create the new strain means that each fish will have distinctive characteristics, coloration on the head and individual scale patterns. FIGHTER  It’s hoped that the new F1 ghost will fight even harder than the original F1 – and also look much more attactive than its predecessor. IMMUNE  This incredibly hardy species is also popular with fishery owners because it’s immune to the Koi Herpes Virus (KHV). A NEW species of fish could soon be filling nets at some of the UK’s biggest commercial waters. And pictured above is a computer-generated image of what it could look like. The man who was…

A DAY’S roach fishing was interrupted by a personal-best 3lb 8oz perch for Dave Norris as he tackled the Specimen Lake at Kent fishery Tricklebrook Lakes – and it helped him to win his CESAS club match into the bargain! Using maggot on the pole, the Carshalton angler initially thought he’d hooked one of the lake’s massive roach, which go to over 3lb, but had few complaints when the big stripey was netted. His total weight of 22-14-0 saw him take the honours ahead of Jerry Hutchins on 18-4-0.…

THE predator fishing potential of canals has again been highlighted this week following the capture of a mammoth haul of perch. Matthew Perring enjoyed a session of a lifetime during a short lure fishing trip on a day-ticket stretch of the Oxford Canal. The Ecogear-sponsored, Banbury all-rounder, achieved the staggering haul during a manic 90 minutes spent on the cut, which saw him land 13 perch over 2lb topped by a 2lb 14oz specimen. Matt targeted a swim he had never previously fished, only making a chance cast into the peg after spotting small silverfish topping while walking past. “I was on my way to another area where I normally go, but thought I’d have a cast after seeing all those small silvers surfacing,” he said. “Within seconds, I was…

COMMERCIAL carp fisheries are a great resource for specimen perch anglers, as Stephen Smith demonstrated with the capture of this 4lb 1oz stripey. The Rhondda-based angler netted the specimen during a stormy session at White Springs Fishery in South Wales, a venue known for its huge perch. He tempted the fish, which beats his previous best for the species by 5oz, using a floatfished prawn baited on a size 12 Drennan Wide Gape Specialist hook after bait-dropping chopped prawns and maggots into his swim.…

PLEASURE angler Jim Urry became the envy of plenty of specimen anglers when he banked a series of roach to just shy of 2lb during a recent session at Messingham Sands. Targeting one of the day-ticket lakes at the Scunthorpe complex, the local rod fished pole and caster at short range and didn’t have to wait long for the specimens to turn up, with fish over the 1lb mark soon coming into the swim. By the end of the day, he had netted four roach around the 1lb 12oz mark that contributed to an impressive 40lb-plus netful.…

SUNDAY JANUARY 3 Narrows, B1096, Ramsey Forty Foot, Cambs. Keith Rayment: 07551 840409 SUNDAY JANUARY 10 Bishops Bowl. Tony Doolan: 07889 080087 Dinton Pastures Country Park, Berks. Martin Earl: 07979 038074 Holloways Bridge, Whittlesey (PAIRS). Stewart Leonard: 07748 437166 Mapperley Reservoir, nr Ilkeston, Derbys. W.A. Stevenson: 07505 792484 SUNDAY JANUARY 17 Clough Bridge, Wisbech. Michael Mumby: 01406 363779/07749 100145 Englefield Lagoon, Reading, Berks. Steve Parker: 07918 02547 SUNDAY JANUARY 24 Beverley Beck, East Riding of Yorkshire. Dave Hancock: 07811 065835 or John Jenkinson: 07803 983635 Osborns Pond, nr Heanor, Derbys. W.A. Stevenson: 07505 792484 THURSDAY JANUARY 28 Englefield Lagoon, Reading, Berks. Steve Parker: 07918 025472 SATURDAY JANUARY 30 Causeway Lake, Baylham, Suffolk. Bill Davies: 07725 910065 SUNDAY JANUARY 31 Bellwater, Midville, Boston, Lincs. Brian Hunn: 07769 9587775…

RIVERS & CANALS CALDER & HEBBLE CANAL, WAKEFIELD, W YORKS TARGETING the deeper water is paying dividends here, with anglers catching plenty of roach on pinkies fished down the track. Contact:Bob Co. Tackle, 01924 279880 Prices:£32.50 a year, Wakefield Angling Club LEEDS & LIVERPOOL CANAL, SHIPLEY, W YORKS Good nets of roach and bream from swims with features. Contact:K&L Tackle, 01535 667574 Prices:£22 a year, Saltaire AA RIVER ANCHOLME, BRIGG, N LINCS Pegs in the 40s at Cake Mills are tench hotspots. Contact:Brigg Angling, 01652 651650 Prices:£4 on the bank, Scunthorpe DAA RIVER DOUGLAS, BISPHAM GREEN, LANCS Roving with lobworms or bread will bring chub and the odd barbel. Contact:Burscough Angling, 01704 896252 Prices:£30 a year, Wigan DAA RIVER OUSE, YORK, N YORKS Bishopthorpe Palace is seeing barbel to a…

HUNTERS LODGE FISHERY, BRIGG, NORTH LINCS PRICES: Carp lakes £8 a day, £6 concessions. Heron Lake £5 a day, £4 concessions. Ring for special offers running now CONTACT: 01652 680691 LOCATION:Hunters Lodge Fishery, 1 Church Street, Elsham, Brigg, North Lincolnshire, DN20 0RG RULES: Unhooking mats and big landing nets to be used on all carp lakes, no keepnets on carp lakes, no carp sacks, no nuts of any kind to be used, barbless hooks only, no littering, no fires, no rods to be left unattended FACILITIES:Parking, disabled access, café, tackle shop, toilets…

RIVERS AND CANALS NOTTINGHAM CANAL, NOTTINGHAM TRY pegs upstream of Meadow Lane humpback bridge or ‘The Tins’ for silvers on caster and pole. Contact:Notts FoA, 0115 9174736 Prices:£4 on the bank, Notts Federation of Anglers BIRMINGHAM CANAL OLD LINE, BIRMINGHAM, W MIDS A peg outside the Sea Life Centre saw a double-figure bag of skimmers and large roach. Parking is free on Sundays on the surrounding roads. Contact:Fosters, 0121 344 3333 Prices:See Canal and River Trust website NORTH LEVEL DRAIN, TYDD GOTE, LINCS Pike close to 20lb on small coarse deadbaits. Contact:Tydd Gote AC, 01945 463913 Prices:£4 on the bank, Tydd Gote AC RIVER AVON, STRATFORD-ONAVON, WARKS The Rec is fishing well for pike to 16lb and roach to pole and stick. The Lido has plenty of dace. Contact:Bailey’s of…

ABERYSTWYTH, CEREDIGION, WALES Plenty of bass from 2lb-5lb from the Stone Jetty and Borth beach. Contact:Aber Tackle, 01970 611200 CHAPEL POINT, CHAPEL ST LEONARDS, LINCS Loads of flatfish on black lug fishing two hours up to high water, plus whiting and a few codling and bass. Contact:Lakeside Leisure, 01754 872631 FELIXSTOWE, SUFFOLK Visit Golf Road for codling, dogfish and the odd whiting on the flood. Worm baits will catch most species no more than 100 yards out. Contact:Tackle-Up, 01394 274600 GREAT YARMOUTH, NORFOLK The North Beach is seeing whiting, dabs and small codling to fresh black lug. Contact:Pownalls, 01493 842873 ORFORD ISLAND, SUFFOLK A few codling to 3lb and plenty of whiting from Orford. Deep water can be found close in. Contact:Sax Angling, 01728 603443 WEYBOURNE, NORFOLK The fishing has…

ACORN FISHERY, BRISTOL Big bags of carp averaging 3lb are commonplace on the Top Lake, where both the pole and waggler will work. Sweetcorn on the deck is a good starting point, although pellet and maggot are good change baits, especially if the weather cools. 01934 834050, Postcode: BS21 6XS AMALWHIDDEN FARM, ST IVES, CORNWALL There are three lakes to wet a line on at Amalwhidden. For a 20lb winter bag of quality roach, perch and skimmers, fish caster over groundbait at 8m on the Willow Pond. 01736 796961, Postcode: TR26 3AR CLAWFORD FISHERIES, HOLSWORTHY, DEVON JR’s Lake is producing mixed nets to 70lb of carp, bream and tench. Floatfished 6.5mm fishery own pellets work well around two rodlengths out and even in the margins later in the day. 01409…

DUNGENESS, KENT Try Tailor Road at the back of the boats on a rising tide for bass and a growing number of codling. Contact:Seagull Fishing Tackle, 01797 366837 MINEHEAD, SOMERSET Mackerel or a live whiting may take conger eels to 20lb. There are plenty of codling at Dunster beach. Contact:West Coast Tackle, 01643 705745 PORTLAND HARBOUR, WEYMOUTH, DORSET A good chance of a bass or flounder on lures from all the way along Hamm Beach. At this time of year there are pollack, bass and wrasse in the harbour too. Contact:Weymouth Angling Centre, 01305 777771 RIVER CROUCH ESTUARY, ESSEX Bass to 2lb, whiting and the chance of a codling, while the River Roach is seeing flounders and eels to fresh worm baits. Southend pier is also worth a visit for…

SLIM FLOATS  Ben’s favourite floats are fine, slim line affairs, either the Malman Dusty or MW Steady. They are perfect for fairly shallow water of between 2ft and 5ft deep. He uses as light as he can get away with, so in 3ft of water today that was a 4x12 (0.2g). No8 ELASTIC  A grade 8 Preston Original Slip elastic is preferred. It’s set fairly soft and helps to guide fish out of the shallow peg without splashing on the surface. However, if a carp is hooked, it’s heavy enough to stand a chance of landing it. LIGHT TACKLE  Fish such as chub, ide and roach aren’t daft in commercial fisheries and fairly light gear is still required to encourage bites. Ben goes for a 0.10mm Shimano Aspire hooklength, coupled…

STAY MOBILE TO CATCH QI’ve recently been floatfishing on a small river where I catch well for an hour and then bites dry up. What can I do to keep bites coming? Andy Ward A Small rivers are great places to pleasure fish in the winter but unfortunately, because they’re small, it’s difficult to keep catching from one swim. My advice would be to feed lightly, catch what you can and then move on to a different swim when bites cease. By fishing several swims over a day you should get a lot of interesting sport. BIRMINGHAM AA IS THE WAY TO GO FOR RIVERS QI’m moving to the West Midlands in the new year. Please can you recommend me a club or association with good river fishing that is…

PVA STICK  Big chub can become vary wary of anglers’ baits, and the usual ‘quick-bite’ advice doesn’t always work. Try a PVA stick attached to the hook and be prepared to wait for a while for the chub to find your bait. HOOKBAIT  Although chub are known for their catholic tastes – they will eat almost anything – I enjoyed the most success with a boilie wrapped in paste. The paste would dissolve away but the boilie would remain on the hair. HOOKLINK  Weed Green Nash Armourlink is my favoured hooklink for this sort of chubbing. This is a heavy braid, camouflaged to blend in with the bottom and incredibly resistant to abrasion. Perfect for big chub! CAN it really be the end of another year? As I sit back…

WE ARE light years behind our European and American counterparts when it comes to lure fishing. While we might think that baits must outfish these artificial offerings, this is often not the case, especially with pike. The key to fishing lures is confidence. Lure pattern, colour and presentation can all make a difference, but when a big pike slams into my bait there is no denying the adrenaline rush that this style of fishing brings.…

VENTURING from Britain’s lost fisheries to the middle of New York, Crooked Lines represents a wildly different series of angling adventures. From weird accidental catches to the unlikeliest of spots, angling is rich in random possibilities and unsolved mysteries. My own mission has not necessarily been to catch outsized fish, but to catch the untold stories that make fishing so compelling. Crooked Lines has been 10 years in the making, tangling with all sorts of strange characters in even stranger places. Here are some highlights to look forward to: LIFE’S A DITCH These days, big man-made waters steal most of the pike fishing thunder. But for me, some of the most fascinating sport of all lurks in England’s forgotten backwaters – some of the most random and surprising fisheries you…

THE fine art of wobbling deadbaits has fallen out of favour with Britain’s predator anglers, usurped by more ‘trendy’ tactics such as drop shotting as a technique to catch. Wobbling involves mounting a deadbait head-first on a two treble hook trace, casting it out and then slowly winding it back in a series of stop-starts, so that it mimics a wounded or dying fish. But should wobbling be ostracised, confined to pike fishing history for ever? Not according the lads from the British Pike Squad. “Wobbling outfishes static deadbaits or lures tenfold,” was the controversial claim of BPS-member Chris Brookshaw. “It can be incredibly instant and often you’ll get a take within seconds of the deadbait landing on the bottom, before you even start to move it. “That’s not the…

HAVING worked his way through most of the stock, Adam Rawlings thought his time on Rockford was done – but a return visit for a social produced the lake’s biggest resident at 59lb 6oz. The 32-year-old, known for his long-range tactics at the Hampshire venue, fished a comparatively conservative 165 yards out and baited heavily to snare Single Scale and set a new personal best. The Southampton angler arrived at the venue at 10.30pm and had a quiet first night before seeing signs of fish in daylight. He said: “I awoke at first light and saw two fish show, and I heard three in the night, so I told my mate ‘they’re moving, they’re feeding’. “As I was pulling the rods back in I had a feel of the lake…

I USED to turn my own casters, as many anglers did before they were readily available from tackle shops. Anyway, I wanted a couple of pints for a winter league match on the Thames so bought three pints of whites, cleaned them off and added plenty of dampened sawdust as I always did. Trouble was, the Wednesday before the match it was bitterly cold and I knew they wouldn’t turn into casters on the garage floor. There was only one thing for it. I brought the tray of maggots inside and placed it in the spare bedroom. The following morning I sneaked into the room to take a look. Disaster! The maggots had sweated and climbed out of the tray, nestling happily into the carpet and every available corner. I…

Wet Nets Tuesday, December 29, 6am Matt Hayes talks tactics and Mick Brown says size matters when they target huge carp in a Midlands lake. And Mick says he wants a 30 pounder! Robson Green: Extreme Fisherman Tuesday, December 29, 6:20am Robson Green takes extreme fishing to a different level, testing himself to the limit to outwit the most extreme fish ever. British Carp Cup Wednesday, December 31, 1:30am Coverage of the British Carp Cup, featuring action from the British final. Total Fishing With Matt Hayes Wednesday, December 31, 6am Matt goes to Anglers Paradise in Devon and then visits fish chef Stephen Bulmer to catch and cook some Bibury trout. Jungle Hooks Wednesday, December 31, 6:30pm Jeremy Wade uses modern tackle to see if mythical Victorian monster fish still…

Embassy visit helps spread the message ANGLING Trust staff visited the Lithuanian Embassy in London to seek support in spreading the message among migrant anglers for the UK’s catch and return policy. The Lithuanian Ambassador, Mrs Skaisgiryte Liauskiene, also heard about the work of the Building Bridges Project, run in partnership with the Environment Agency to educate anglers from Eastern Europe on UK angling laws. Dilip Sarkar, Angling Trust national enforcement manager, said: “We made the ambassador aware of the issues around migrant angling and why this is so important for fishing in this country. “Consequently, the ambassador will be supporting Building Bridges Project staff, helping to get the message out to the Lithuanian community in England regarding our conservation-based angling laws.” Ten venues on offer in Junior Angling League…

Q How should I tackle large reservoirs with a low density of fish on the feeder? A Most reservoirs have variations in depth and it’s this that can determine where the fish are happiest feeding. Quite often, once you find the depth where the fish are, that decision will be taken care of and if the chosen depth is right, that will make them easier to catch. The best approach is to fish two lines, the shorter one to target small fish such as roach and perch with a cereal mix such as Pro-Natural Dark or just Golden Brown Crumb. Add some Super Seed Hemp as the larger roach will settle over this later in the session, just as they do on canals. The longer line will usually be in…

Nathan’s of Derby Silverfish Winter League (rnd 5) Rycroft Fishery (35 pegs) THE wind again made life difficult for many, but all of the lakes fished well and more than 20 double figure nets were recorded. Best of them was the 23-2-0 of man in-form Rob Wootton who from peg 24 on the Clover Lake fished caster and maggot at 12m and 5m to take roach, skimmers and a few bream. Second man home was Andy Butler who opted for a chopped worm and caster attack at 11m to take 22-12-0 of mainly skimmers from Donnington Lake peg 9. Result:1 R Wootton, Shimano/Dynamite Baits, 23-2-0; 2 A Butler, Mill Tackle, 22-12-0; 3 A Chisholm, Shakespeare, 22-10-0; 4 L Bennett, Midland Angling Supplies, 18-13-0; 5 L Harrison, Derby, 16-14-0. League:1 R…

March DAA Old River Nene, March (78 pegs) SENSAS Mark One men claimed first and second as the river fished superbly, double figure weights of roach falling from all over the place! Dave Cooper won with 26-15-0 of roach from his peg above Wigstone’s Bridge. He caught on punch at 5m and hemp at 8m. John Taylor was next with 26-6-0 of roach on punch and pinkie at 6m from below the bridge. Result: 1 D Cooper, Sensas Mark One, 26-15-0; 2 J Taylor, Sensas Mark One, 26-6-0; 3 R Hearn, Maver Image, 25-3-0; 4 R Johnson, 24-3-0; 5 A Dixon, Lincs County, 20-9-0; 6 A Wilding, Ramsey, 19-3-0.…

Partridge Lakes Covey Canal Lakes (72 pegs) THE fishery continues to attract big attendances for their weekend opens and this hotly-contested Saturday match saw Chris Weeder Junior win from peg 85 on Canal 4. The St Helens Angling rod fished pellet at 13m across to take F1s and the odd carp for 110-3-0. Runner-up Kev Gallagher drew peg 77 on the same lake and also fished the long pole with pellet before changing to the margins for a good late run of carp, ending up with 92-4-0. Result: 1 C Weeder Jnr, St Helen’s Angling, 110-3-0; 2 K Gallagher, Highfield, 92-4-0; 3 A Bennett, Daiwa/Guru/Bait-Tech, 82-15-0; 4 J Hughes, MAP/Bag ‘Em Baits, 79-3-0; 5 K Clarke, Leigh Tackle & Bait, 77-10-0; 6 I Ridgeway, Rochdale Angling, 69-7-0.…

TOP-flight international matchfishing comes to the South West this March as the 2016 Sensas Challenge Final moves to the Gloucester Canal. Previously held on the River Soar, this massive match is fished to international rules across the weekend of March 12 and 13 and sees the top teams from around the UK take part along with Belgian, Irish and French sides and there are still places available for teams of five that are interested in taking part. Fished on the canal from Gloucester city centre downwards, a payment of £60 per team reserves you a place with pools then payable on each day, teams allowed to be changed on day two but anglers will not be allowed to switch between different teams. Each match is four hours long with a…