Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue 3648 i Angling Times

DO YOU ever have one of those sessions where you find yourself sitting there and thinking that you’ve made the wrong decision? This was precisely the situation I found myself in last weekend. After my previous week’s perch trip had resulted in just a few small ‘wasps’ and a rogue carp, I found myself itching to get the chub tackle out and explore a stretch of my local Great Ouse with a ball of cheesepaste. I loaded the car up on the Saturday night and crept out of the house on Sunday morning while it was still dark and everyone else was asleep. I arrived at the river just as it was getting light and enjoyed a beautiful sunrise as I made my way down the stretch. Unfortunately, we’d had…

VICTORY OVER GOVERNMENT A HUGE shout-out this week to the lawyers at Fish Legal who, once again, are at the forefront of protecting our rivers. They’ve won another monumental case that will help protect our waterways. You’ll no doubt have seen the press over the last couple of years, highlighting how abysmal water companies are. They frequently and freely pollute our rivers. You’re probably also aware of how inefficient the EA is at policing polluters, and its seemingly willy-nilly granting of ‘permissions to pollute’. Ofwat, the government-appointed regulator, is irrelevant and impotent. The whole thing is an almighty mess that no one wants or takes ownership of. And that’s just wrong. Pickering Fishery Association lost its fishing on the Costa Beck as a result of 650 different pollution incidents over…

FEW BAITS have made such a big impact in recent years as wafters. They have caught me thousands of fish on the feeder and bomb at a range of different venues. Offering something totally different in the way they sit and behave on the bottom, in many instances they’re the only thing I’ll use on the hook, relegating plain pellets, corn and maggots to the sidelines. They’ve even become a key hookbait on natural bream waters! However, they’re not the be-all and end-all and, in some situations, they can actually be the worst thing to put on the hook! In this situation, a hard pellet straight from the bag can be better. So, it’s important to know when to reach for the wafters and when to leave them firmly in…

SL36 STATION The Nytro SLS36 Station offers lots of comfort and is great value for money! This compact, space efficient seatbox features an elegant, strong aluminium frame with a rigid sliding footplate. The SLS36 Station comes as standard with six, D36 black telescopic legs, two of which feature a threaded end cap. In addition, there are two 40mm side drawer units and a padded seat featuring a carbon friendly pole holder. There is a spirit level on the back of the frame to allow for perfect positioning when setting up. A great seatbox for the demanding pole and feeder angler. Price: £349.95 KEY FEATURES: • Strong, elegant aluminium frame• Six telescopic, black D36 aluminium legs• Two threaded end cap inserts• Sliding footplate• Padded seat with pole retaining strap• Two 40mm…

PICTURE a venue where the float goes under every time from a plump winter roach or a battling perch. Sounds too good to be true? Well, that’s just what happens on the Old River Nene running through the centre of March. Surrounded by a flat, uninspiring Fenland landscape, this small river, the original course of the mighty River Nene hundreds of years ago, becomes packed with silverfish and predators from October onwards, and right now it’s hitting peak form. Matches are being won with 50lb, pleasure bags are close to that figure, and even the most casual of anglers can’t fail to catch double figures. Breadpunch, maggots, hemp or worms will all work on the pole, whip or a little waggler, and moored far-bank boats offer shelter from the wind…

OUR MAN ON THE BANK IF YOU’RE anything like me you’ll have found it difficult to get out fishing with all this flood water around. Rivers are way up, many spilling into stillwaters and making these unfishable too. Luckily, one species is plentiful in most parts of the country. Whether it’s from a backwater, a marina, a canal or a small farm pool, there’s always a chance of a decent perch. By ‘decent’ I mean anything over 2lb, but these days there’s every chance of catching a three-pounder or even a ‘four’. But – and it’s a big ‘but’ – it won’t last forever. Nothing ever does, and I wouldn’t like to count the number of times I’ve put other species on the back burner, only to find their heyday…

FORM is temporary, class is permanent, so the saying goes, and Des Shipp proved just that by winning round three of the big Maver-backed Tunnel Barn Farm Teams of Four Winter League after being absent from the opening two legs. In that time, his South West All-Stars team had got to top spot in the league and, with the former England ace’s help, maintained that start to stay on top after a tricky latest round. Des didn’t just win his section from peg 13 on the Extension Pool – he only went and won the whole match! Weighing in 100-8-0, the Preston Innovations star got the nod by just under 7lb from Sam Collett’s 93-13-0 net off peg 5 on the same lake, with 93-3-0 securing third for Gary Smith…

LAST CAST WITH DOM Dom Garnett – one man determined to keep the pleasure in angling WHILE not all fishing styles complement each other, certain methods work beautifully in tandem. I often like to cast a lure out while soaking a deadbait, for example, or floatfish for silvers while I’m waiting for the carp alarms to burst to life. Another really underrated winter trick is to fish for pike and roach side by side, which proved to be just the ticket on a recent trip. My two friends, Sal Momen and Mark Peacock, were both up for a sociable day out but had contrasting goals. While Mark wanted to catch his first pike, Sal was keener on some traditional floatfishing. But could both have their cake and eat it? Most…

THIS WEEK EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW FROM THE WORLD OF FISHING PAUL Parish etched his name into the annuls of angling history this week after landing one of the biggest roach ever to come from British waters. The Buckinghamshire rod banked the mighty 4lb 2oz fish from Brasenose 1 lake at Linear Fisheries – a hugely popular day-ticket carp complex in Oxfordshire which also holds huge examples of many other coarse species. The 39-year-old arrived at the lake to find several swims free that he knew would be right in the teeth of Storm Debi, which was set to roll in the next day. “I felt this area would give me the best chance of a big roach or two,” said Paul. “I set my kit up and…

SEND US YOUR PICS • newsdesk@anglingtimes.co.uk• Make sure your pics are hi-res and that you are in them “I HAD WHAT I KNEW WAS A NEW WYE PB” Rui Pedro – 10lb 8oz barbel “I’D BEEN advised not to head to the Wye, due to high water levels, but I decided to try the lower river anyway, as I hoped to catch a barbel. “As expected, the river was pushing through hard, with lots of debris coming down. But I found a few tiny slacks and started fishing. “For the first few hours I was recasting regularly, due to debris on the line, but then I found a spot behind a bush one rodlength out where I could present a bait nicely. I lost a fish there, and after that…

WINTER FISHING SPECIALPART ONETHE JOY OF FISHING THE NIGHTS are long and the days are either cold or wet, so you might well find yourself favouring the sofa over the great outdoors right now. Yet to miss out on four months of fishing would be sinful when there’s so much out there to be caught! That said, comfort is a priority, otherwise you're never going to enjoy yourself. I don’t want to sound like your mum, but layers are the key, starting with thermal underwear and snowboarding socks, followed by a middle layer and then either a warm or a waterproof coat, depending on what the conditions are like. Don’t accept clothing manufacturers' claims at face value. Look at what anglers who fish a lot are wearing, and that’ll tell…

S25 PRO SEATBOXES A brand-new modernised version of the popular S25 Seatbox, with a stylish new design and upgraded features, fully compatible with all Matrix’s current trays, drawers and accessories. Since the launch of the original, anglers have been asking for the S25 to be produced with black legs, which has led to the addition of a black textured, anti-slip, anodised coating to the legs – all of which are 25mm extending with threaded end caps. This, combined with the new minimal backplate design and additional frame cover panels, adds to a discreet sense of style. The addition of a durable textured plastic footplate cover increases grip and reduces the chances of smaller dropped items falling through the gaps, while the improved spring-pin footplate locking mechanism makes setting up quicker…

FISHERIES ON FIRE • Local know-how for bumper nets• Your tried & tested top waters• Expert venue tactics RIVER DON, SPROTBROUGH, SOUTH YORKSHIRE Rotherham and District UAF control some great fishing on this stretch, where you’ll find roach, skimmers, perch and bream to pole or feeder tactics. Contact: Paul’s Tackle Centre, 07957 158608 TRENT & MERSEY CANAL, GREAT HAYWOOD, STAFFS Bags of roach, skimmers and hybrids to over 20lb have recently been landed from the pegs above the lock at the bottom of Hoomill Lane. Fish bread down the track and prime a maggot line across. Contact: 01785 226720 GREAT OUSE, BEDFORD, BEDFORDSHIRE A free stretch full of surprises, with quality roach, perch and skimmers. There was even a big carp caught there recently! Contact: Bleak Hall sports, 01234 852530…

EPIC FIGHT WITH SURFACE CAUGHT GIANT NOT many anglers can claim to have caught a 40lb-plus carp off the surface – but George Rumble is one of the few who can proudly add that feat to his angling CV. This stunning 44lb 8oz mirror set a new personal best for the youngster. It was taken during a session on Lake Pepper at the Cottington Lakes complex in Kent, while fishing in the company of the on-site tackle shop owner, Clint McTaggart. “I have been teaching George the ropes this year, helping him with all aspects of fishing,” explained Clint. “We’d been feeding floaters for around 90 minutes and there was one particular fish that kept doing laps and taking one floater at a time from the same area. I advised…

HELICOPTER FEEDER RIG FOR STILLWATER ROACH Which sort of rig should I be using to target big stillwater roach in winter? Kristian Davies, Aldershot. A The helicopter feeder has become the mainstay for a great many anglers fishing for big roach, as it has two main advantages. It is very tangle-proof, especially when fluorocarbon is used for the hooklength, and it’s also an effective bolt rig, meaning that most bites will be positive, unmissable affairs. Coupled with a maggot feeder, this is an excellent set-up for big roach on stillwaters in winter. The hooklength should be pretty short, typically between around 3ins and 6ins. It can be tricky to tie, but the resulting rig is well worth the effort. This is stopped just above the feeder, but not so close…

BAIT CLINIC Honest advice to help you to catch more fish on every trip, without breaking the bank. OF ALL OUR British predatory fish, perch are probably the most fun to target on lures. This is because they can be caught on such a wide variety of lure tactics right through the year. No matter where you live, you will have some good perch fishing locally. These being a shoal fish, you can often expect plenty of bites when targeting them, making them the ideal species if you are new to lure fishing and want to gain some confidence. SIZE MATTERS Perch have a relatively small mouth gape compared to pike and zander, and this needs to be reflected in the size of lures that we use for them. Yes,…

River Wye Pairs Championship (Sat & Sun)River Wye, Hereford (72 pegs) THE BIG matches are coming thick and fast on the Wye and the latest event saw 36 pairs doing battle on a river that was in perfect nick for day one, but then rose and coloured up for Sunday’s match. Despite that, there were some fine catches taken, and it was a close finish which was decided on total weight. Leading them home with 154-5-0 were Matt Derry and Dan Ashington, closely followed by recent festival winner Hadrian Whittle, and Lee Edwards with 149-14-0. Dave Roberts and Rory Jones took third spot on 133-13-0. Day one saw Dan off to peg 18, where he toughed it out for 9-10-0. Matt, on peg 93 above the new bridge, enjoyed a…

THIS WEEKEVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW FROM THE WORLD OF FISHING VOLUNTEERS are to begin testing the water in some of Britain’s most iconic rivers in a bid to save them from further decline. The Rivers Test and Itchen are two of the world’s most famous chalk streams and form part of England’s impressive collection of these unique waterways. We preside over around 85% of all the chalk streams on the planet, but these precious rivers are under a constant and growing threat from over-abstraction and pollution due to sewage and damaging farming practices. With little being done by authorities to remedy the worrying situation, volunteers in the area have now taken matters into their own hands by signing up with the Angling Trust’s Water Quality Monitoring Network (WQMN),…

“The interchangeable stack system allows it to be quickly converted to a simple canal-style stool” DAIWA 100 SEATBOX This stylish black and red seatbox has a huge kit-carrying capacity, thanks to shallow and deep side drawers that come with dividers. There are three 40mm spacer units, creating a 120mm deep base that can be used for carrying feeder and float boxes, spare reels and catapults. The fully interchangeable ‘stack system’ also allows it to be utilised as a lightweight canal-style seatbox (as shown), ideal for the roving angler. Six 36mm telescopic legs offer rock-solid security on any type of terrain, and can be secured with 180° rotating locking handwheels. It has a durable aluminium and steel construction with integrated retractable footplate that can be quickly and easily removed, should you…

ABSOLUTE STATION Absolute has been a name synonymous with top-end seatboxes for years, but these latest versions have taken that to the next level with a masterpiece in design and engineering. A key part of development was the main frame of the seatbox. Manufactured from lightweight aluminium, including the use of hydroforming technology, this frame is lightweight and super strong, with a flowing aesthetic design. All units can now be removed from the frame so you can fully customise and add units in a specific order to suit your own requirements. Each box is more user-friendly than ever before. Included in the package is a Mag-Lok Stacker Plate which engages with any Mag-Lok unit, making the stack system fully customisable right through to the choice of bottom tray. As with…

Should I still be looking to fish tight across on snake lakes, or is depth more important? BARRY FULLER, BURY AS THE water is now getting colder and clearer, carp and F1s aren’t likely to feed confidently in shallow water of 18ins or less. They are happier in slightly deeper areas, which answers the second part of your question. But exactly what depth should you be fishing in? Is 3ft of water too much? How far away from the far bank should that be? There’s more to this than meets the eye! WHAT I’M LOOKING FOR If we take today’s swim on Thames Pool at Makins Fishery as an example, in summer I would look to fish into a hole in front of me, almost behind the rushes, as this…

GIVES YOU THE INSIDE LINE ONE TO FORGET! I’D LOVE to say that this week’s matches were packed with fish, but not so – they were two of the worst days I’ve had in a long time! First off was a midweek trip to Cheshire Oaks Fishery, where I felt the carp would still be having a go. Two hours in, that wasn’t the case. I’d not had a bite by feeding bait, and had to resort to dobbing. That kind of worked, giving me 11 carp, but by then it was too late to catch up, and my 30lb got me a ‘thanks for coming’. It felt like the first proper winter’s day, and certainly the fish felt the same too. The weekend’s match should have promised a lot…