Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue 3691 i Angling Times

IN NEWS that could send shockwaves through fishery cafés up and down the country, it turns out that a full English breakfast might not actually be the best way to start a day on the bank! Admittedly, when our news editor, Freddie, said he was speaking to a personal trainer who has worked on fitness and health regimes specifically for anglers, I didn’t expect the fry-up – a pre-session staple for many – to be something highly recommended. I am certainly guilty of not having the best bankside diet, although I have improved somewhat on my younger days, when a meal on an overnight session would generally consist of a Pot Noodle and a packet of crisps. These days it tends to be whatever I can grab from a shop…

HAVING won a prestigious match on the River Trent, Richard Wood selflessly donated the entirety of his £1,500 winnings to charity. He landed three bream for 17lb in the On the Flyer TV Rosebowl Championships final to win on a swollen river at Burton Joyce. That put him a few pounds clear of Dave Revill, who banked a 13lb 3oz barbel for second place, while Hadrian Whittle finished third with 13lb. But it was what Richard did after the match that left many open-mouthed in admiration. “He rang me and asked to split the prize money up between his chosen charities,” said event organiser, Gary Rodgers. “In all our time of running events, this has never happened before, with the winner giving any of the prize money away, let…

IT’S BEEN a key week for me, with big-money finals back-to-back. First up was the Golden Reel final on the Specimen Lake at Larford, with £30,000 for the winner. I drew Match peg 16, not one that I fancied on paper. But my enthusiasm bumped up as I started to see a few fish cruising around. I kicked off on the long pole shallow, and slapping the rig in caught me some of the monsters the venue is renowned for. Once that slowed up, I fished on the bottom over that line with pellets and bagged a few smaller carp. I had about 60lb on the clicker after an hour… then it died a death! I just couldn’t put together another run of fish, and had only three more quite…

Zane Gratton 4lb tench, McGregors Pond, Chesterfield, Derbys, bread Alfie Stott 6oz roach, McGregors Pond, Chesterfield, Derbys, bread Niyah Viner-Walker 10lb common carp, Hordle Lakes, Lymington, Hampshire Ben Kay 18lb 4oz mirror carp, Brough Complex, Hull, Peperami Albie Smith 4lb barbel, undisclosed river, pellet Oliver Towers 11lb pike, River Wensum, Norfolk Jessica Bush 1lb F1, club water, Castleton, Derbyshire, luncheon meat Rowan Hassell Conger eel, Selsey, West Sussex Jamie Graham 13lb barbel, Malton Lakes, Darlington, Co Durham, pop-up Kaden Straughan 9lb 8oz common, Angel of the North, Gateshead, pellets Damion Spiers 24lb 10oz mirror carp, Combe Pond, Hampshire, boilie Jayden Astley Goldfish, undisclosed stillwater George Goodwin Common carp, Hillview Lakes, Gloucestershire, maggot Roman Timbrell 2lb 6oz mirror, Harescombe Fisheries, Gloucestershire George Gainey 3lb roach/bream hybrid, local stillwater, Devon SEND IN…

THIS WEEK Angling Times DRENNAN CUP CATCHES OF THE WEEK 2024 - 2025 SEASON EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW FROM THE WORLD OF FISHING ONE of the season’s biggest barbel has been landed – by an angler using a split cane rod built way back in 1958! Frank Saunders was fishing the in-form Kings Weir on the River Lea in Hertfordshire when he hooked and landed the impressive fish of 19lb 4oz on what was his first trip to the venue in 60 years. He’s a fan of traditional tackle, and showed that it’s certainly still up to the task by taming one of the biggest barbel in the land and one that smashed his previous best of 13lb 12oz. “Catching fish like this is about being in the right place at…

UNLIKE many styles of fishing that require a mountain of tackle, light lure angling is cheap and accessible. What’s more, our canals have plenty of scope for predator fans. To gauge the potential of a canal, stay mobile to try to locate holding areas. All you need do is walk along the towpath until you find a spot you like the look of, then make several casts, looking for ‘quick pulls’, before moving on. In clear water, try lures that replicate the roach or bleak that the predators will most likely be feeding on. In murky water, orange or chartreuse-coloured lures work better, and sometimes pink, too, especially if there are zander about – for some reason they seem to love pink! GIVE IT A GO 1 FIND STRUCTURE AND…

KORUM SUPA LITE STRETCH CHAIRS WHAT THEY SAY: Lightweight comfort at unrivalled levels, these two new chairs feature a stretch material that's durable and weatherproof. The frame is made from Aeronium, a magnesium alloy material that’s extraordinarily light and strong. The Deluxe model features additional padded arms, and the leg lengths have been adjusted to provide maximum available extension at the front of the chair, making this model perfect for steeper banks. Weight: 3.9kg. WHAT WE SAY: Lightweight and comfortable, these chairs look just the ticket for a great day on the bank. The Standard model would be an excellent option for roving sessions when travelling light. Price: Standard £114.99, Deluxe £134.99, www.korum.co.uk MATRIX GRIPPER RESTS WHAT THEY SAY: Two sizes of Gripper rests, designed to hold your rod securely…

JOIN TOP MATCH anglers Lee Kerry and Rob Wootton each week as they unveil the tactics and techniques that really make a difference FEEDERMASTERS is the biggest domestic rod-and-line match in the land, and a real highlight of my annual calendar. The final is held at Tamar Lakes, on the Devon/Cornwall border – a giant, wild venue that’s absolutely stuffed with roach, perch and skimmers. This is a two-day event and, in the week leading up to the showdown, there was plenty of opportunity for everyone to practise. Most of the country had been hit by heavy rain in the days leading up to the final, but Tamar had escaped it and was fishing its head off! Some huge weights of silverfish were caught but, as luck would have it,…

“I regard any skimmers caught in the first half of the match as a bonus” How do you decide on the distances to fish your feeder lines for skimmers? Sam Dukes, Horsham ON A BIG, open water I will have at least two lines for skimmers – one long, one short. There’s a way to work out exactly where you should pencil each in, so you can maximise their potential. So, how do you decide where to put the two lines? Take Lambsdown Lake at Meadowlands, in Coventry, as an example of a venue that I regularly fish for skimmers once it’s cooled down. On a normal peg, I have 50m of open water to fish into. In this instance I’ll put my long line at 40m, within easy casting…

• Local know-how for bumper nets • Your tried & tested top waters• Expert venue tactics FISHERIES WITH ACCOMODATION WYRESIDE LAKES, DOLPHINHOLME, LANCASHIRE You can camp in tranquil surroundings at Wyreside, as well as sampling excellent mixed fishing on the River Lake. Contact: 01524 792093 WESTWOOD LAKES, BOSTON, LINCOLNSHIRE Home to the Fish O’Mania final, this bagging hotspot is a great bet for a stay, with comfy lodges and top on-site facilities. Contact: 01205 724162 JANSONS FISHERY, ELTON, NOTTINGHAMSHIRE There’s no shortage of fish to be caught at Jansons, with prolific carp and silverfish sport. Caravanning and glamping are available right by one of the lakes, too. Contact: 07555 892127 REEPHAM FISHERY, NORWICH, NORFOLK This complex is a great bet if you fancy plenty of bites. Reepham Fishery offers comfortable…

(* indicates an anagram) ACROSS 1 Traditional anglers shunning modern aids (7)5 Prolific game river, County Cork – some chub and one-offs! (6)8 Leave out – part of Dolomites (4)9 e.g. big pits and Baitrunners (5)10 Freshwater ___ Mussels, good bait – big water bird (4)11 Small rocky island – seen in dusk, er, Ryedale (6)12 Squashed e.g. bait into banjo feeder (7)14 Non-toxic sort of shot (8)16 Where England won U-15 team World Coarse Angling Champs 2024 (6)18 Shore angling beach between Brean and Burnham (*or brew) (6)20 Hard Italian cheese added to paste (8)22 Rivers Foyle and Eske are in this Irish county (*lad gone) (7)24 Witham flows through this Lincs. town ... in Massachusetts! (6)26 Telescopic rod – found in jumbo lobster (4)28 Port and lough on…

ONE OF the great joys of angling is that we can fish for life. Getting out on the bank can become trickier with age, however. There are a lot of older anglers who wish someone could take them fishing. They can still catch fish, after all, but it’s the things most of us don’t think of – like tying small hooks or getting decent access – that hold them back. With my dad and family friend Bert Brockington both turning 80 this year, a get together felt timely. An ‘old boys reunion’ if you like, with relative whippersnappers Ben Garnett and yours truly getting the gear together and doing the driving. Call it payback! As much as my dad and Bert once loved tidal rivers and reservoirs, current plans had…

JAMIE Hughes, Steve Ringer, Andy Power – all household names in the world of match angling. High-profile, professional anglers, and they win a bit too. Well, more than a bit. You know their record. You know how good they are. For most anglers, a day at the finals of a Blue Riband event is like participating in the FA Cup. To win any match like that is amazing for any angler. But to win more than one shows a level of skill that has nothing to do with luck. There are three types of angler that turn up for competitions: some come along for the occasion, some think they can win it, and a much smaller group know they can. It’s surprising how often it’s won by one of that…

STEVE RINGER World Feeder champ and a constantly successful matchman MARTIN BOWLER All-rounder, big-fish hunter and Angling Times columnist DUNCAN CHARMAN Author, film maker and all-round big fish angler DARRAN GOULDER All-round angler and youngest-ever Drennan Cup winner ROB WOOTTON Top matchman and former Maver Match This winner ANDY MAY 2016 Fish O’ champ and triple Kamasan Matchman of the Year LEWIS READ Top carp angler and consultant for Thinking Anglers LINK LEGER CHUB RIG What’s the best sort of link leger to use for chub? David Ferris, email A Everyone seems to have their favourite type. Some just use a light running rig, with a 3ins-4ins ‘link’ section to add their split shot or light bomb to. Others prefer the old school way of using a four-turn water knot…

BAIT CLINIC Honest advice to help you to catch more fish on every trip, without breaking the bank SHORTENING days act as a catalyst for barbel to begin their big annual feed-up. They’ll be packing on weight to give them the reserves to thrive over the coming winter, and this can see the fish putting on as much as 10 per cent of their body mass in just a few weeks. Not only are the fish much more catchable right now, but they will also be in superb condition. With water temperatures still good, there won’t be a day that passes when barbel won’t be feeding , especially through dusk and into the first few hours of darkness. Handily, these feeding spells fall perfectly for short after-work sessions, enabling some…

OUR MAN ON THE BANK DES TAYLOR YOU’LL like this one! A couple of weeks ago an old mate of mine, Dave Hollyhead, phoned me up and told me about some chub he’d stocked into his water 15 years ago. He said they looked pretty big now, so did I fancy having a go for them? That very afternoon I was there, scanning the water through polarised glasses and, although the fish were quite deep, I could see they weren’t just big – they were huge, all eight of them. When I threw some bread on the surface they moved away, but not before one had taken a piece. Next day I was there again, ready with my tackle, camera, maggots, sweetcorn, mixers and two loaves of bread. I…