Innehållsförteckning för Issue 3694 från Angling Times

THE PAST week has definitely been all about perch for me, and I’ve enjoyed two very different approaches. My first outing was to Peatling Pools in Lutterworth with my colleague, Tony Grigorjevs. Now, despite working together, we very rarely get to actually fish with each other these days. So it was nice to get out and try to generate some stillwater perch fishing content for the magazine. Using what I’d describe as ‘traditional’ perch tactics – floatfished and legered baits such as prawns, worms and maggots – we caught plenty of our target species, including a few chunky examples around the 1lb 8oz mark. Whenever I catch perch, I can’t help but remember the famous Richard Walker quote about the species being “the biggest fish of all.” I don’t know…

KIRKWOOD EDGES TIGHT FESTIVAL THE TWO-DAY Guru festival at Shropshire’s Weston Pools went down to the wire, and it was Kerry Kirkwood who triumphed. He kicked day one off with 61lb 10z from peg 27 on Belvedere, and that was good enough to win him the section. Day two saw him on peg 29 of Stretton, and he stepped things up a gear, his 108lb 13oz not just being enough to win the section, but also the match. That gave him a perfect two-point score and a 169lb 14oz total, which edged out Dave Coulson’s 157lb 7oz weight – he too won his zone on both days. CAMERON IS WEDNESDAY WINNER ALL THE winners of the weekly Wednesday open matches at Doncaster’s Southfield Reservoir were invited to fish a special…

RUSTINESS COSTS ME! THE THREE-DAY Drennan Winter Pole Championships at Tunnel Barn Farm was one I that I was really looking forward to, and hoping for three plum draws into the bargain. On day one I drew peg 33 on New Pool – not the greatest of pegs by any means, but not the worst either. It turned out to be tough going, though, and the only way I could catch was by fishing tight to the reeds. I lost lots of fish in the snags, and ended up third in my zone on 47lb, with second place on 51lb. In hindsight, I should have fished away from the cover and been patient, as I’m sure that would have seen me catch enough for the runners-up spot. On day two…

ACROSS 1 Coming to a sharp tip, like a maggot's 'head' (7) 5 __ knot ties backing to reel spool (*or bar) (5) 8 Chad Lakes fishery is near __-on-the-Wold (4) 9 Trout/salmon river in Cumbria – a bit excellent! (5)10/25ac. 110-acre Conwy reservoir for roach, perch, pike (*yell 'Land'!) (4,4)11 Flat lead alternative to pear (*app rig) (6) 13 Bayonet makes this set-up super-quick (4-3) 15 Strain of trout found only in Ireland's Loch Melvin (*Noah sang!) (8)16 Major tributary of R. Eden (*no meat) (6)18 Bullheads' nest material (*so nests) (6)20 Untamed animals generally (8) 22 Baleen whale – in horror qualifier! (7) 24 e.g. fumes trapped in frozen pond water (5) 25 See 10ac.27 Moved like salmon navigating a weir (5) 28 Component part – in Arun…

PREBAITING PAYS OFF WITH A PERSONAL BEST Stephen Dewhurst – 17lb 12oz barbel WHILE on holiday by the Warwickshire Avon, Lancashire angler Stephen Dewhurst tempted this 17lb 12oz barbel after three days of prebaiting. On the first day of his trip, Stephen lost what he reckoned to be a double-figure barbel on float tactics. But with warmer weather rolling in, he knew he had a chance of tempting another one, so he introduced hemp, crushed boilies and maggots with a bait dropper on a crease formed by an overhanging tree. When the time was right, he cast out a 15mm boilie, with the top shaved off to make it egg-shaped, and hooked a heavy fish that he battled to keep away from the main flow. On landing the barbel, Stephen…

THE CITY and town centre zones of many rivers and canals are real hotspots throughout autumn and winter. During summer, when temperatures are high and predators are deterred by busy bankside traffic, stocks are more than willing to spread out, but once the trees start to shed their leaves, they begin to group up tightly. Find a shoal of roach, perch plus a few bonus fish and you could be in for a busy day’s sport on the pole – but this is far from guaranteed. The water is often relatively clear, and you’ll need to tackle your swim appropriately to keep the fish settled and feeding from start to finish. GIVE IT A GO 1 PRIME THE SWIM Kick the session off with three balls of groundbait containing very…

DAIWA 24 N’ZON PLUS DISTANCE REEL WHAT THEY SAY: The 25mm LC Long Cast spool ensures a near-perfect line release, thanks to a combination of refined line lay and the unique two-edged spool lip. This small feature delivers a big effect by controlling the line release to optimise line travel, but with a micro-level of resistance to ensure maximum casting distances. WHAT WE SAY: This compact, feature-packed new reel certainly packs a sizeable punch and looks likely to replace Daiwa’s popular Cast’izm model. Price: £299.99 DAIWA BASIA X45X F CARP ROD WHAT THEY SAY: This awesome carp rod comes in 12ft and 13ft versions, both with a 3.75lb test curve. Using the renowned Magnum Taper profile, the rods incorporate the next generation of torque-busting X45X carbon, allowing Daiwa to create…

JOIN TOP MATCH anglers Lee Kerry and Rob Wootton each week as they unveil the tactics and techniques that really make a difference THE 2023 European Feeder Cup was the first of its kind, and an event I’ll never forget. Not only did England manage to take gold against some of the best feeder anglers in the world, but I also had the bonus of winning the individual element of it. This year’s event was staged on the Maasplas Geistingen gravel works in Belgium and, as always, we had the gold medal in our sights. We’d had prior experience of the venue a couple of years ago, when roach dominated, but with floods hitting the area in recent weeks, we thought that would change. Once we’d arrived, we noticed the…

How I won individual gold in the European Feeder Cup I’M JUST back from a very successful trip to Belgium for the European Feeder Cup. I was part of the Drennan England Feeder Team that went into battle on the Maasplas Geistingen gravel works – a venue we had prior knowledge of after gaining a silver medal in the 2022 Feeder World Champs there. The team result this time was the same, with a super-consistent German crew winning convincingly. I was fortunate enough to win the individual event, and I’ve had a lot of messages asking how I went about it. So this week I’ll reveal the edges that helped me succeed over the three days. DAY ONE To kick things off, I found myself in D section on peg…

• Local know-how for bumper nets• Your tried & tested top waters• Expert venue tactics TOP URBAN RIVER STRETCHES RIVER OUSE, YORK, NORTH YORKSHIRE The wide, slow-flowing stretch through York is good for bream and skimmers. Feeder tactics with natural baits work well. Contact: York Tackle, 01904 411210 RIVER ANCHOLME, BRIGG, NORTH LINCOLNSHIRE There are cracking perch and pike to be caught in this stretch, with lure tactics a good bet. Scunthorpe AA day tickets available on the bank. Contact: 01724 855730 RIVER WEAVER, NANTWICH, CHESHIRE Controlled by Nantwich AS, the Weaver here is well suited to stalking tactics, with chub the primary target. Day tickets online. Contact: www.nantwichangling.com RIVER WELLAND, SPALDING, SOUTH LINCOLNSHIRE Anglers are already reporting good catches from this prolific waterway. The colder it gets, the better…

CAN you remember the fish that made you a keen angler? For many of us, I suspect, there was one that stood out above all others. The catch that wrenched the rod over, made the reel fizz and your heart thump. For me it was almost certainly a tench when I was aged 10 or 11. I’d fished with my father from much younger, but before that point I regarded the monsters that anglers thrust forward in fishing annuals to be creatures from another planet. Dad’s occasional bream would send us into a state of awe. All of this changed on a summer holiday visiting my mum’s family in Switzerland. We’d been fishing a lake that seemed impossibly clean compared to the Thames. All we could manage were tiny perch,…

POOLE Harbour, on the Dorset coast, is popular with saltwater anglers – but Len Griffin recently landed the roach of a lifetime just a few hundred yards upstream. He caught the 3lb 6oz redfin from the Dorset Frome, just up from where it spills into the harbour, which is filled with flatfish, sea bream and bass. He was fishing with roach angling legend, Alan Storey, off the back of a boat. “I’d caught over 20 small roach from the main flow, but Len was laying on by the reeds, fishing and feeding maggots,” Alan said. “Things had gone quiet before his float sailed away and he hooked what he reckoned was a big trout. “He was a bit gung-ho playing it, but when I saw it was a big…

DRENNAN WINTER POLE CHAMPS (MON-WEDS) Tunnel Barn Farm (125 pegs) MANY of the finest anglers in commercial match fishing were on show in this hotly-anticipated event, and it was Kristian Jones who edged victory after three days of nail-biting action. The RW Floats-backed angler finished third in the 2023 tournament, only missing out on the top spot on weight countback – but this time he fell the right side of the scales, and it wasn’t by chance either. Angling Times caught up with Kristian to find out the tactics that helped him to bag the silverware and £3,000 winner’s cheque. DAY ONE – NEW POOL, PEG 31 “Practice had taught me that the F1s were favouring deeper water, while margin and far bank-work were not proving particularly effective. “Peg 31…

STEVE RINGER World Feeder champ and a constantly successful matchman ANDY MAY 2016 Fish O’ champ and triple Kamasan Matchman of the Year PAUL GARNER Angling Times columnist and bait expert ADAM PENNING Big-carp angler now running a tutorial and guiding business DAI GRIBBLE Two-time Drennan Cup champion and ace all-rounder JAMIE HUGHES Former Match This champ, and three-time Fish O’Mania winner NEILL STEPHEN Joint holder of British perch and chub records RIVER PIKE RIG What sort of areas on a river are best for catching pike, and what type of float rig should I use? Ricky Gill, email A Pike can often be found in fast-flowing rivers, so it’s a mistake to always concentrate your efforts on slack water areas. They will be hunting in the current for species…

Honest advice to help you to catch more fish on every trip, without breaking the bank AS THE nights draw in I spend more time preparing my baits for the months ahead. I’m talking mainly about homemade boilies and pastes that can be created well in advance and stored in the freezer. I know I’m probably in the minority, in that I still make some of my own boilies, but this chore allows me to create the exact bait that I want. This can be especially important over the colder months, when the fish appear to be more choosy. Right now I’m making a few batches of milk protein baits ready for my winter carp and barbel campaigns. Owing to the price of the raw ingredients, these are very expensive…

Sonny-Roy Brazier 3lb mirror, Puddledock Farm, Upminster, Essex, sweetcorn George Ford 20lb 10oz mirror, Sumners Ponds, Horsham, West Sussex Hunter White 4lb 10oz barbel, River Itchen, Hampshire, meat Reece Butler 32lb grass carp, Jimmy’s Lake, Fobbing, Essex, pop-up Riley Gray 22lb 8oz catfish, local stillwater, Essex, boilie Ralphie Gray 15lb 12oz mirror, Picks Cottage, Chingford, pop-up Richie Gray 2lb 2oz crucian, Redbridge Lakes, Essex, luncheon meat Ryan Dawson 18lb common carp, Chester Lakes, Cheshire, boilie Evan Berry 9lb mirror carp, local stillwater, Yorkshire, boilie Reggie Fox 5lb mirror carp, Alvechurch Fisheries, Staffs, pellet Jasper Potter Chub, River Lodden, Berkshire, lure Jack Chmielowski 16lb mirror carp, Willinghurst Fishery, Surrey, maggots Luke Gilbert Tench, undisclosed stillwater, whip fishing Jack Hanslip 3lb 6oz crucian, Dandys Ford, Hampshire, Method feeder Oliver Mills 5lb 1oz…

FISHING CHANGES LIVES I JUST wanted to get in touch with what I believe to be a lovely success story. Basically, my son, Logan Darby (15), who has autism and ADHD, and who I have home educated for 12 months, has taken up fishing for roughly the same length of time. He also suffers from anxiety, and doesn’t go out at home after having witnessed a crime in our home town. But fishing has saved him. We found a charitable organisation that takes kids like my son fishing , and the difference is simply amazing. Logan has picked it up so well, and now does some coaching himself via the organisation. He also entered his first match recently and came second. That’s roughly the outline. Just thought it was a…