Innholdsfortegnelse for 3258 i Angling Times

THE prestigious Drennan Cup, the world’s biggest specimen fish competition, has reached its climax and produced the closest ever finish in its history. Voting has now closed in the 2015/16 season of the competition which saw specimen fishing’s elite decide who will lift the most coveted prize in the world of big-fish angling – and a host of incredible catches are in contention. The competition has been running exclusively with Angling Times for the last 30 years. Front runners in this year’s line-up include Yorkshire’s Tony Smith, who earned four weekly awards for a string of catches featuring tench to 13lb 13oz, a 16lb 9oz barbel, huge bream and eels. Dai Gribble led the pack of other anglers with three weekly awards in a hectic five-week period that saw him…

A GROUP of angling’s biggest stars have thrown their support behind a campaign to get more juniors involved in match fishing. Statistics have revealed that there has been a reduction in the number of youngsters buying a rod licence, with the competitive side of the sport feeling the pinch the most. Attendances at commercials have been dominated by anglers over 40, with owners becoming increasingly concerned over the lack of young talent competing. But now in an effort to reverse the trend, a number of initiatives have been launched, with top tackle companies and the sport’s governing body leading the way. Among the proposals are plans to overhaul the Cadet, Junior and Intermediate Nationals, with entry fees being slashed in half. Angling Trust bosses have cut the price from £40…

IT DOESN’T seem like a year ago that I was watching thousands of pristine roach being released into the Hampshire Avon by Trev Harrop and Budgie Price, founders of the Avon Roach Project. Once again the team has been at it, and more replenishment of the once-dwindling stocks of the great river’s pride and joy have taken place. Even though there has been a considerable improvement in redfin fortunes on the Avon, Trev and Budgie will be reinstating their famous spawning boards in their carefully selected sites in the next week or so, waiting for the start of the annual ritual which, as the team told me last year, is usually on April 25. The good early spring weather in 2015 brought that date forward a week, but then a…

CANALS LEEDS & LIVERPOOL CANAL, MAGHULL, MERSEYSIDE FISHING on the ‘Ducks’ length has been good, with some encouranging weights of eels, bream and skimmers. Try the pegs near Cornmill Lodge. Contact: Johnsons Angling Centre, 01515 255574 Prices: £5 on the bank, Liverpool DAA LEEDS & LIVERPOOL CANAL, SILSDEN, N YORKS Anglers visiting this stretch are reporting good catches of skimmers to 1lb along with roach and perch on the pole. Contact: Keighley AC, 01535 663695 Prices: £5 from Keighley AC LEEDS & LIVERPOOL CANAL, WIGAN, LANCS Peg 91 at Leyland Mill was a hotspot in a match last week here. The winner bagged a good net of skimmers and roach to 1lb on bread. Contact: Harrys Fishing Tackle, 01942 728532 Prices: £2 on the bank, Wigan DAA MARKET WEIGHTON CANAL,…

BLUNDELLS FISHERY, WARRINGTON, CHESHIRE Oak Lake holds 1lb-plus roach. Fish casters up in the water around 8m out. 01617 752124, Postcode: WA3 6EJ BRADSHAW HALL FISHERIES, BOLTON, LANCS Lake Four can produce roach nets to over 40lb, including fish to over 1lb. Fish casters shallow. 01204 307197, Postcode: BL2 4JW CLEETHORPES BOATING LAKE, CLEETHORPES, LANCS Big bags of bream to 7lb will fall to groundbait feeder, or the Method if sport is prolific. 01472 313131, Postcode: DN35 0AG GREY MIST MERE, WARRINGTON, CHESHIRE This members-only Warrington AA water holds tench to 6lb. Fish corn, pellets or dead maggots to catch. 01928 716238, Postcode: WA1 4AW POTTERY POND, YORK, N YORKS For a good chance of a bream or tench over 7lb, cocktail baits such as worm and corn will score.…

ALVECHURCH has to be considered as the Midlands’ most in-form fishery right now. Horseshoe Lake has been regularly producing near-100lb match and pleasure weights consisting of mainly carp, ide and barbel. But with five lakes to choose from you are sure to find a quiet corner of the Birmingham venue in which to enjoy a great day’s pleasure fishing. HOUSE This lake has been extended, and will feature three disabled platforms when it opens at the end of April. HARRY’S Harry’s is a great beginners’ lake or one for children, containing tonnes of small carp, silverfish, fantail goldfish and koi. The lake is small and fairly shallow, making it easy for pole or waggler anglers. ARROW LAKE Closed for maintenance until further notice. HORSESHOE The largest of the lakes, Horseshoe…

ALDEBURGH, SUFFOLK The bass are starting to show, with fish to 8lb from the Dirty Wall a possibility. Contact: Sax Angling, 01728 603443 HUTTOFT, LINCS Moggs Eye is worth a crack for flounders on lugworms. As the water warms, smoothhounds should show to peeler crabs. Contact: Lakeside Leisure, 01754 872631 KELLING, NORFOLK Anglers are reporting some nice mixed bags of bass, whiting and the odd plaice from this shingle beach on lugworm, squid and mackerel baits. Contact: Team Sabre Tackle, 01263 513676 PWLLHELI, GWYNEDD Bass and black bream are common in front of the golf course from late May right through till October. Contact: D&E Hughes, 01758 613291 THORPENESS, SUFFOLK Small bass and codling are being caught from in front of the country club, fishing at short range between 20…

ALDERWOOD PONDS, STEYNING, W SUSSEX Carp to double figures on legered pellets. For big perch, fish prawns. 01903 816377, Postcode: BN44 3AA AMALWHIDDEN FARM, ST IVES, CORNWALL Carp are now feeding up in the water. Fish a pellet waggler with 6mm pellets. 01736 796961, Postcode: TR26 3AR ARRAN’S LAKE, CHELMSFORD, ESSEX In the warmer weather, 200lb-plus match weights are now possible to paste and pellet close in on the pole. 01277 352404, Postcode: CM13 BACK ARUN FISHERY, ARUNDEL, W SUSSEX Luncheon meat is the best bait for the bigger carp. Fish the long pole with a 6mm cube of meat and feed 4mm cubes for fish to 8lb. 01903 721546, Postcode: BN18 9JL BK FISHERIES, HAYLE, CORNWALL Bream to 3lb, skimmers and roach are being caught on maggot from Bill’s…

THE five-metre line’, ‘topkit and two’, ‘the short line’, ‘the top five line’. There’s a variety of terms for targeting the near shelf swim on a commercial fishery but, when the time and conditions are right, they all have one thing in common – they deliver plenty of fish! Mid-April and May is the time when this part of the peg really kicks off. The water is warming and colouring as fish activity increases, and carp are coming ever closer looking for food. It doesn’t mean you can pile in full pots of bait in 12ins of water in the margins and expect to empty it, but it does mean that 100lb catches are on the cards. Here’s my short-line guide… 1 Look for a flat bottom when plumbing up,…

IN ASSOCIATION WITH Catch carp on sloppy pellets GET on sloppy pellets! If you’re fishing on a stillwater then you’ve got to try this simple pole fishing tactic – it’s perfect for catching carp and F1s from shallow water. In this exclusive Angling Times video Steve reveals how you can make the perfect pellets and the best way to feed them to draw fish into your swim and keep them there. He also shows you why heavier rigs are crucial for success and explains how you can set up such a rig. How to fish Steve’s Hybrid feeders  JOIN Steve at Bishops Bowl Fishery as he puts the new Guru Hybrid feeders through their paces. Learn the best way to set up the feeders – including information on mainlines and…

1 A Carpa Slap float will make a lot of noise when it hits the water. It is placed on a rig with around 2ft 6ins of line. This enables you to flick it out slightly if the fish are shying away from the pole tip. 2 A 4x8 Preston Innovations Pink on a very short line. The rig is no longer than 12ins from the pole tip to hook and, when the F1s are feeding well, this is a favourite of many big-name anglers. The light float takes no shot and the short line means the fish tend to hook themselves. 3 The Jigga float is an inline dibber that runs freely on the line, stopped at the bottom by a bulk shot. It’s used to ‘jig’ the bait…

“IT WAS IVAN’S IRREPRESSIBLE SPIRIT AND WILLINGNESS TO HELP OTHERS THAT ELEVATED HIM TO AN ALMOST ICONIC STATUS DURING THE 1960s AND 1970s” IVAN MARKS ANGLING TIMES COLUMNIST 1972-1980 THERE was no doubting Ivan Marks’ greatness as a match angler, but it was his irrepressible spirit and willingness to help others that elevated him to an almost iconic status during the 1960s and 1970s, when his popularity was arguably at its peak. A member of the hugely successful Leicester Likely Lads match team, Ivan won more big contests than any other angler in those decades. ‘The People’s Champion’, as he was affectionately known, Ivan would regularly draw crowds of 1,000 or more, and although he won many 400-peg events on venues such as the Rivers Welland, Severn and Trent, as…

PERSEVERANCE paid for TJ Elliott when he banked a pair of stunning mirrors weighing over 80lb. The Bournemouth rod broke his personal best with a 45lb 2oz mirror, before adding another cracker scaling 35lb 4oz in the same action-packed session at a 60-acre southern lake. It was a change in fortunes for the 20-year-old, who the week before had suffered a frustrating experience many big-carp anglers will be familiar with. He said: “The previous week I spent a couple of nights on the lake staring at huge carp crashing well out of my casting range. I knew I needed to move swims and in hindsight I should have. “However, the weather was terrible and I decided to stay put. Bad angling, to say the least, and needless to say I…

IT’S the bookazine you’ve all been waiting for – Tommy Pickering’s ultimate guide to all things coarse fishing! In an angling career spanning some 55 years, there is little the genial Yorkshireman doesn’t know about the sport. World champion in 1989, world match record holder, winner of the £25,000 Parkdean Masters, co-founder of the Barnsley Blacks and manager of the England Feeder team are just a few achievements of the popular Preston Innovations consultant. Now Tommy has rolled all this experience and knowledge into this 132-page guide. So whether you’re a commercial carp, bream, river or canal angler, you’re guaranteed to learn from the talented all-rounder. 132 PAGES PACKED WITH EXPERT ADVICE FOR ALL ANGLERS ONLY £6.99…

ANGLING Times is at the forefront of fishing, and has been every single week for more than 63 years. We pride ourselves on the quality of our issues which feature award-winning news stories, advice from the best anglers and columnists in the sport, entertaining features, big Where to Fish and Match sections, and the most stunning photography. And next week we’re going to be even bigger and better! Tuesday, April 26 sees the launch of what we firmly believe to be our best Angling Times ever. Over the past few months we’ve been working with hundreds of readers, listening to what you wanted in your favourite fishing weekly, and creating a new glossy magazine for dedicated anglers. Inside our bigger-sized issues you’ll find fresh new content, bigger sections, trusted experts,…

1 TERRY LAMPARD  One of the finest specialist anglers ever, Terry cut his teeth targeting the population of large roach in rivers such as the Dorset Stour and Hampshire Avon. His 3lb 5oz redfin on film for Catching The Impossible was one pinnacle of his career. 2 BOB NUDD  A real pioneer of long pole, short line roach fishing and the pole to hand. Few match anglers would relish taking Bob on head to head on his Fen drains and rivers, especially on his trademark breadpunch method. 3 ALAN SCOTTHORNE  Alan openly admits his favourite species is the roach and it’s one of the fish which has really propelled him to become a world champion five times over. His understanding of bloodworm for the fish is second to none. 4…

PETER Bond has just returned from the fishing holiday of a lifetime – thanks to the Angling Trust and Roxtons. Peter won a trip to the island of Los Roques, Venezuela, in the Trust’s spring 2015 raffle and found many bone fish in the 5lb to 7lb range. But his most productive time came when he opted for a day’s casting and trolling poppers because he had a “dicky tummy”. Peter said: “I had the toughest day’s fishing of the trip, with jacks, barracuda, snapper, tuna, Spanish mackerel and pompano among others. The biggest was 30lb-plus. Many thanks to Roxtons and the Trust for such an enjoyable and memorable trip.” Watch out for news of more amazing Angling Trust raffle prizes in coming weeks.…

THE Sea Angling Species Hunt has been a big success, with more than 700 anglers recording thousands of captures and scores of species in a national competition to catch the most varied and impressive sea fish around our coastline. Go to anglingtrust.net/  specieshunt to see the final results tables and register. In addition, there are details of next year’s Species Hunt – along with the chance to win great prizes, make angling friends and share tips and locations. SUPPORT THE ANGLING TRUST & FISH LEGAL Just go to: www.anglingtrust.net/join…

OVER the years, Angling Times has featured hundreds of thousands of match results. They have ranged from tiny 10-peggers on commercial pools to massive 1,000-plus events on big rivers – and, of course, big-money finals and international events. We’ve reported on records that still stand to this day, the catches that have won big, big money, the highs and lows, and charted the rise of anglers who from humble beginnings have gone on to become the best in the world. Some are no longer with us while others continue to dominate. Of course, the match scene has changed drastically since the 1950s, rivers and canals being supplemented by commercial carp fisheries. Team fishing has been in slow decline in favour of big-money individual matches, but there remains enough choice to…

UK match angling is at an all-time high, especially with the life-changing prize funds now being paid out. The rise and rise of big-money finals, filmed and televised on Sky and BT Sport, has been a swift one and they are now the highlight of many anglers’ calendar. This week we look at three of the best events out there – Fish O’Mania, RiverFest and Maver Match This – and what it takes to make the cut from the, the reigning champions. Let them explain the tricks, techniques and mentalities required and you could win big this year!…

WHEN Maver boss Phil Briscoe decided to raise the bar of competitive coarse fishing he not only succeeded but took it beyond expectation with his Mega Match This concept. The 24 qualifiers stood in line to win £50,000 initially, before the sum gradually increased to a top prize of £65,000 last year. It’s Phil’s dream that Maver Mega Match This will continue to grow and he’ll eventually be able to pay out a £100,000 prize when every qualifier sells out. The man to pocket matchfishing’s biggest prize last year was Pete Upperton, after a super display of big-carp fishing in the edge at Maver Larford in Worcestershire Here Pete reveals how he did it. Q How do you pick your venues for the qualifiers? A Maver Match This is different…

PREDATOR fishing fans are invited to take part in one of the UK’s biggest lure fishing events. The first round of the Lure Canal Anglers Club Pairs League starts on Saturday, April 30 on the Grand Union Canal near Knowle, in the West Midlands. Entry to the competition is open to all LACC members. Joining costs just £20 a year and gives access to more than 20 miles of canal filled with quality perch, zander and pike. For full details visit: www.lureanglerscanalclub.co.uk…

A BRAVE move to visit one of the world’s most dangerous angling locations paid off handsomely for fearless UK angler Thomas Finney when he won the battle with these two huge sharks. The Bedfordshire angler swapped his local stillwaters for a more extreme challenge as he headed to a South African coastal mark so hazardous that anglers must sign a disclaimer before wetting a line. Visitors to Mossel Bay, in Durban, are forced to fish from high cliff faces as waves crash around them, with one wrong move potentially costing anglers their lives. Despite being aware of the potentially lethal scenario he would face, Thomas signed up. “I was visiting family in South Africa and, having seen images of a guide posing with giant bronze whaler and ragged tooth sharks,…

WITH summer just around the corner, all eyes are focused on venues holding specimen-sized carp, bream and tench. However, it’s not too late to bag yourself a fine net of silverfish. Fishing for silvers has often been the second choice of anglers visiting waters stocked with monsters, but little do they know that they’re missing out on some truly outstanding sport. Many big-carp lakes, for example, hold massive stocks of silverfish, grown fat on a diet of boilies, particles and carp waste. These lakes are rarely fished by general pleasure anglers, which has an added benefit in that the silvers have rarely seen a hook. One such water that boasts exactly these qualities is Nanpantan Reservoir on the outskirts of Loughborough. Built in 1870 to provide drinking water for the…

AMBLE, NORTHUMBERLAND In clean water, cod, pollack, coalfish and wrasse are showing from rock edge marks between Amble and St Abbs. Contact: Amble Angling, 01665 711200 EASINGTON, E YORKS Cod are still being reported, with smoothhounds coming in too. There is a good chance of a thornback ray as well. Contact: Top Sports, 01964 612340 FLEETWOOD, LANCS The Rossall Hospital stretch has finally begun to fish well with mixed nets of rockling, dabs, whiting and codling showing. Contact: Westcoast Tackle, 01253 851001 NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE, TYNESIDE In the Tyne estuary crab baits are taking cod, coalfish and flounders. Contact: I.D Fishing Tackle, 01912 763041 SUNDERLAND, WEARSIDE Good numbers of flounders are showing from the upriver marks, and a 48cm specimen was taken from the Vinegar Wells mark recently. Contact: Rutherfords, 01915 654183…

ARDEN FISHERIES, STRATFORD-UPON-AVON, WARKS In the Archers Pool there are crucians and perch to 4lb. Fish the margins for these, using maggot or worm on the float. 01789 731244, Postcode: CV37 0QF BARFORD LAKES, BARFORD, NORFOLK The tiny Top Lake is picturesque and contains a good mixture of species. Fish corn and maggot on the deck over a bed of micros to catch carp averaging 4lb as well as chub, roach, crucians and brown goldfish. 01603 759624, Postcode: NR9 4BJ BOLDINGS POOLS, BRIDGNORTH, SHROPSHIRE Feed pellet and corn down both margins on Sycamore Pool then switch between these two areas to catch carp to 9lb and bream to 3lb. 01746 763255, Postcode: WV16 4SS CASTLE ASHBY LAKES, GRENDON, NORTHANTS On the Brickyard Pond fish maggot and caster over a bed…

CANALS ROYAL MILITARY CANAL, HYTHE, KENT THE Giggers Green section can be fished with lures and is well worth a go for its good head of pike and perch to 3lb-plus. Contact: Cinque Ports AS, 01303 891450 Prices: £5 on the bank, Cinque Ports AS BRIDGWATER AND TAUNTON CANAL, TAUNTON, SOMERSET Head to Charlton, where quality roach and tench to 2lb are showing to breadpunch and chopped worm. Contact: Enterprise Angling, 01823 282623 Prices: £7 a day from local tackle shops, Taunton AA GRAND UNION CANAL, MILTON KEYNES, BUCKS Head to the Lakes Estate area in the city for tench and skimmers. Linford is also fishing well. Contact: Gone Fishin MK, 01908 313158 Prices: £6 on the bank, Milton Keynes AA GRAND UNION CANAL, TRING, HERTS The pegs at Broughton…

A12 CUTON LAKES, CHELMSFORD, ESSEX Target the margins of the Match Lake early or late for tench to 6lb on worm or corn hookbaits. 07946 847703, Postcode: CM2 6NX BEAVER FARM FISHERY, LINGFIELD, SURREY Jeff’s and Major’s Lakes are both good for bream to 8lb. Introduce a lot of pellets, groundbait, and corn to attract the shoals. 07710 656041, Postcode: RH7 6HL MARSHSIDE FISHERY, CANTERBURY, KENT Carp are the main focus here but those after tench have been rewarded with 8lb-plus fish. Use a PVA bag of crushed boilies. 07913 536295, Postcode: CT3 4EB RICHWORTH LINEAR FISHERIES, OXFORD Lots of big tench are coming out of Hardwick & Smiths Lake and a double is possible. Use a Method feeder with plastic corn or a Mainline Cell boilie. 07885 327708, Postcode:…

IN THE last two weeks the time has come for me to move out of the deeps where I have been fishing all winter and into shallower water. Why? Quite simply, because that’s where the fish now want to be. Shallow water warms up a lot quicker once the sun comes out, and there is nothing carp love more than a bit of warmth on their backs. When I’m talking shallow water I’m not talking 8ins-12ins, as would be the case in summer. That’s too shallow with the water on most commercials still being on the clear side. Instead, when it comes to the ideal depth I am actually looking for around 18ins to 2ft. This is deep enough for the carp to feel confident about feeding in, yet at…

WHEN the hawthorn bushes at the end of my garden spring to life and become covered in their white blossom, I know it is time to start my spring bream campaign. I have caught big bream right through the winter, but it is really once the days lengthen and the water starts to warm a little that they begin to feed with gusto. Big bream can still be incredibly fickle creatures, but on large stillwaters it is from now until the middle of June when they can become catchable, and specimens are there to be caught if you get your tactics right. While bream fishing might be at its most productive, these fish are certainly no pushovers, and I’ve started to question much of the thinking surrounding fishing for big…

IN the 63 years since Angling Times first hit the nation’s newsstands, scores of British record fish have been caught, covering all the main species. Some of these captures have been the well-earned result of highly dedicated campaigns by single-minded anglers, while others, perhaps, have involved more luck than judgement, or been mired in controversy. On these two pages we take a closer look at eight of the most significant record catches made over the past six decades, the people who made them, and how the angling world reacted to the captures. 1 Perch 1953 RECORD: 4LB 8OZ CURRENT RECORD: 6LB 3OZ PERCH are a highly adaptable species, thriving in both stillwaters and rivers of all shapes and sizes. This is underlined by the fact that two out of the…

IAN STOTT underlined the merits of trying to find the fish before you set up when he banked this massive 52lb 4oz mirror – his sixth carp over the magical 50lb mark in six months! The 51-year-old landed the heavyweight during a two-night session at Wellington Country Park in Berkshire, but if he hadn’t spent 90 minutes on arrival walking the banks it could have been a different story for the St Neots rod. He said: “The lake was busy when I arrived so I went for a walk. I passed an area called Turtle Corner and saw a few bubbles coming to the surface. I watched for a few minutes before carrying on with my walk. Ninety minutes later I was back in the same corner spot, which had…

I’D be lying if I said that today wasn’t a sad day for me. Angling Times the newspaper has, after all, become something of an institution. But nothing stays the same, and I now look forward to seeing my column in the new magazine from next week. Angling Times first became a big part of my life when I was 14, when I took a paper round in Old Hill in the Black Country. I covered about six streets and even in that small area there were always half-a-dozen copies of the paper in my bag. I would always stop down the same passage between the back-to-back houses and take time out to read the words of Dick Walker and Fred J Taylor. Sometimes I would get so engrossed in…

THE Trust’s North East regional officer Dave Munt was at the opening of the new fish pass at Hexham Weir on the Tyne last week. Also present was angling celeb Robson Green, who lives on the banks of the river and mentioned that although he has fished all four corners of the globe, the excitement of catching his first salmon as a youngster from the Tyne is his best angling memory. Dave chatted with Robson about our #GetOutThere Go Fishing campaign and Robson even kindly spent time recording a video promoting this initiative to get more people fishing more often which we will be posting on our #GetOutThere YouTube. Thanks Robson!…

“For carp and F1s I soak some Bait-Tech micro pellets so that they stick together.” GOOD as the Method feeder is, there will be times when carp that are swimming around islands will be off bottom. They may be reluctant to get on the deck and feed. That’s great if the island is within pole range to let you fish shallow and empty the place, but if you need to chuck the feeder, what do you do to avoid the endless liners and biteless casts? Jon Whincup reckons he has the answer with an approach that borrows a lot from ‘the way we used to be’, a time when the Method wasn’t in use and anglers played around with the length of their hooklinks to catch on the drop using…

THE buzz surrounding ‘The Big Fish Off’ reached fever pitch this week as hundreds of thousands tuned in to episode one of the new ITV series. The first show of Series 2, screened on ITV4, was seen by well over 200,000 viewers, setting an overwhelmingly positive precedent for the rest of the collection of shows that co-presenter and executive producer Ali Hamidi says ‘will be even better’. Bosses at the channel been delighted with the early figures, and Angling Times can revel that Ali has already signed up snooker legend Jimmy White, boxers Ricky Hatton and Kell Brook, footballer Bobby Zamora and professional darts player Adrian Lewis for future shows. Building on the success of the first series, seen by over five million anglers and non-anglers alike, early viewing figures…

THE year 2016 is set to be a record one for roach, thanks to a series of revolutionary projects to rejuvenate the species on rivers and stillwaters nationwide . Leading the charge to revive Britain’s most iconic fish is the longest-running conservation drive – the Avon Roach Project – which has seen a record-breaking year. Species enthusiasts Trevor Harrop and Budgie Price created the scheme to boost redfin stocks on the Hampshire Avon by installing dozens of spawning boards. Roach lay their eggs on these and the juveniles are then nurtured with the aim of later restocking them back into the river. According to Trevor, this year has been the best for the project, launched in 2005. “The past couple of years have been the most fruitful for us by…

A 16lb sturgeon was one of the last things Peter Reed expected from the Grand Union Canal in Watford. Using a Method feeder with two pieces of corn, the 46-year-old couldn’t understand what he’d hooked just 30 minutes into a session targeting carp. But after a 10 to 15 minute battle, the prehistoric-looking surprise was gracing his unhooking mat. “The bite was a few bleeps and the bobbin lifted up and down – I thought it was a bream. Then, when I picked the rod up, it took off down the canal. “It started jumping and tail walking, so I knew it wasn’t like anything I’d caught before. I’d cast to the far bank and had been catapulting a bit of corn in too. I was using 16lb mainline, a…

THIS WEEK’S 2 FOR 1 WATERS 1 The Cunneries Fishery, Lancs 2 Hunters Lodge Fishery, N Lincs 3 Lloyds Meadow Fishery, Cheshire 4 Rosemary Wood Fishery, Lancs 5 Silksworth Lake, Tyne & Wear 6 Westerly Lake Fishery, Yorks 7 Westfield Country Park, Yorks 8 Alvechurch Fisheries, W Mids 9 Barford Lakes, Norfolk 10 Boldings Pools, Shropshire 11 Castle Ashby Fishery, Northants 12 East Delph Lakes, Cambs 13 Springwood Fisheries, Derbys 14 Woodland View, Worcs 15 Furnace Brook Fishery, E Sussex 16 Landsend Fishery, Somerset 17 Orchard Place Farm Fishing Lakes, Kent 18 Peterstone Fishery, Wales 19 Redbridge Fishing Lakes, Essex 20 Windmill Fishery, Glos Turn to find out how these waters are fishing, plus loads more in your area…

ANGEL OF THE NORTH FISHERY, CHESTER-LE-STREET, CO DURHAM Near 50lb-nets of silverfish and carp to 6lb are still a possibility from Bowes Lake. Try pellet and corn or a maggot feeder cast into open water. 01914 100449, Postcode: DH3 1RF BRAFFERTON CARP FISHERIES, BRAFFERTON, N YORKS Scale down to catch F1s here. Fish the long pole with a 4mm pellet and feed softened micro pellets. 01423 360402, Postcode: YO61 2PD CARLETON HILL FISHERY, CARLISLE, CUMBRIA The Trees Pond is the best lake with carp to 8lb falling to straight lead and pole tactics. Fish 6mm pellets and corn on the hook. 01228 562622, Postcode: CA4 0BJ CROFT FISHERIES, CHORLEY, LANCS Fish corn on the pole over of freebies for carp, tench and skimmers. Every fish feed three or four grains…

CANALS GRANTHAM CANAL, BOTTESFORD, LINCOLNSHIRE THE odd tench is starting to show but anglers need to target the deeper water and feed lightly. Contact: Grantham Angling Centre, 01476 575622 Prices: £3 a day, Bottesford AA DROITWICH CANAL, DROITWICH SPA, WORCS The second pound at Porters Mill is the hotspot where both pinkies and casters are working well for bream and perch catches to 15lb. Contact: Droitwich Spa AC, 07917523735 Prices: £3 a day from the club, Droitwich Spa AC GRAND UNION CANAL, CATHERINE-DE-BARNES, SOLIHULL, W MIDS Targeting the stick-ups is best for the perch here, which go to over 2lb. There are also plenty of roach to be had from most pegs using breadpunch. Contact: 07809 571624 Prices: £2 a day or £15 a season, in advance from 100 AC…

CHARLTON, LONDON It’s mostly eels here now, with some coming in around the 2lb mark. Use lugworm or squid baits to produce a run of fish. Contact: Askari Angling, 01634 575600 FOLKESTONE, KENT The pier is fishing for whiting, dogfish, dabs, and the first of the smoothhounds. Contact: Folkestone Angling, 01303 253881 NEWLYN, CORNWALL The North Quay is producing good catches of mackerel to feathers. Contact: Jim’s Tackle, 01736 360160 SOUTHEND, ESSEX Anglers fishing the pier have reported mullet, small codling, whiting and eels. Even herrings have been showing. Contact: Southend Angling Centre, 01702 603303 WALTON-ON-THE-NAZE, ESSEX Bass between 4lb and 5lb can be caught now at Hipkins beach. The pier has even seen skate to 8lb and bass to 4lb in the past. Contact: Nicky’s Baits, 01255 678564 WEYMOUTH,…

July 10, 1953 The first issue of Angling Times was launched. The front page heralded a new competition whereby tagged fish would be released into a number of waterways and anyone lucky enough to catch one would win a prize ranging from a five-shilling tackle voucher to £20. Over the next year batches of 50 tagged fish were released in the Thames, Severn, Trent, Wensum, Macclesfield Canal, the Leeds-Liverpool Canal and the Tees. ANGLING Times was the brainchild of two great friends – RP Winfrey and Howard Marshall. The former was the owner of East Midlands Allied Press, a group of 17 local newspapers in Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire, Northants, Bedfordshire and Peterborough. Howard Marshall was a former Fleet Street journalist who became the BBC’s Test Match commentator before the Second World…

“I CAN UNDERSTAND SPECIMEN HUNTERS – THEY ENJOY CATCHING BIG FISH. ME, I ENJOY CATCHING ANYTHING THAT MOVES.” IVAN MARKS, 1975 “I’m much happier if I’m talking while I’m fishing, especially to the youngsters. Most of the great names, Billy Lane, Benny Ashurst, all encourage the youngsters; I suppose it’s a way of putting something back into the sport.” IVAN MARKS, 1976, WHEN ASKED ABOUT THE POTENTIALLY ADVERSE AFFECT OF TALKING TO SPECTATORS DURING A MATCH “A REAL ANGLER IS FAR MORE PLEASED WITH ONE OR TWO FISH THAT NEEDED ALL HIS SKILL AND KNOWLEDGE TO CATCH, THAN A NETFUL TAKEN WHERE ANYBODY WITH A BENT PIN AND STICK COULD HAVE MADE A BIG BAG.” Dick Walker, commenting on the merits of specimen angling in his Angling Times column, 1958…

NOW is one of the best times to be a carp angler. The fish are hungry, fit and at their heaviest weights. Here are my five essential tips for spring success. TARGET THE SHALLOWS Shallow water warms up quicker than deep water and as the days lengthen carp love to sneak into the edge and seek out warm, sunny spots where a free meal may be on offer. I’ve had some brilliant spring hits on a windswept reservoir I’ve been fishing by placing my baits in depths of three feet or less. So, look out for marginal areas that act as suntraps, or those where snags are present. The shallows have been kind to me by day and even on cold and foggy nights. KEEP YOUR EYES PEELED As the…

SPAWNING PERCH IN CANALS SHOULD NOT BE FISHED FOR I HAVE targeted canal perch now for a few years, preferably with lures. I’ve now been twice to my local cut since the beginning of April, and although I am sure that they are there somewhere, not only have I not caught any perch, I have not seen any evidence of them. Twice I have seen a couple of breeding pike swimming side by side, the smaller male dwarfed by the female. We are obviously right in the middle of the spawning season, so I’m guessing that this is the reason for the lack of presence of perch in the canal at the moment. I have spoken to carp anglers who have done all-nighters on the same canal, and they too…

SOME commercial fisheries have been criticised for their close pegging as owners try to cram as many anglers as possible on to their lakes. Unfortunately two of the anglers in my club fell foul of this during a match at a place I’d better not name. Mick was fishing the pole and, eight metres away on the next platform, Jeff was on the feeder. Anyway, Jeff hooked a fish and seconds later Mick struck, to be greeted with several yards of elastic streaming from the end of his pole. Immediately it was clear there was a problem as both anglers were obviously playing the same fish, which must have kited towards Mick after Jeff had hooked it. “Leave it with me,” shouts Mick. “Just slacken off.” Jeff opened his bail-arm…

Fishing on the box Total Fishing Tues, April 19, 6:45am Mick Brown’s chasing catfish and Matt Hayes is after golden orfe in Devon’s Anglers Paradise. There’s also top advice on how to catch big cod from the shore. Fishing Adventurer Wednesday, April 20, 9pm Cyril Chauquet explores Quebec, sampling its varied fishing. First stop is the Mohawk Indian reserve of Kanahwake. River Monsters Thursday, April 21, 7pm Tigerfish are Africa’s most fearsome-looking fish, but are they man-eaters? Jeremy Wade decides the only way to get an answer is to offer himself as live bait! The Big Fish Off Thursday, April 21, 8pm The lads are joined by two sporting legends, ex-Liverpool and Spurs hard man Neil ‘Razor’ Ruddock and former boxing champ Steve ‘The Celtic Warrior’ Collins! They head to…

OVER the last few days, we’ve been posting videos of our regional officers on eight new Angling Trust Facebook pages set up to provide anglers and anyone who wants to get into fishing with local info about angling wherever they live. Check out these short films to hear first hand how the officers work to improve angling opportunities throughout England – there’s much more to their roles than you might think! Go to the main Angling Trust Facebook to find and like your region’s page.…

MATCHFISHING legend Ivan Marks would have been 80 on April 13. It’s fitting, then, to celebrate the life of arguably the UK’s best ever match angler in this week’s Angling Times. So what was it that set Ivan Marks apart from other match anglers? Well, his results on the bank speak for themselves – numerous big-match wins, both individually and with his Leicester Likely Lads team – but Ivan was much more than just a very, very good angler. These two photographs from the Angling Times archive sum up the magic that was Ivan Marks. On one, he’s suited and booted, posing with the rest of the England squad and manager Stan Smith before a 1970s World Championships. On the other, he’s in even more familiar pose, pausing to help…