Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue 3698 i Angling Times

HOW OFTEN do you take yourself out of your comfort zone when it comes to fishing? Do you regularly try new venues or tactics? I think it’s all too easy to fall into the trap of fishing the same venue and putting your faith in methods that have worked for you in the past. After all, if your fishing time is limited, then it’s easy to see why you might not want to risk trying somewhere new which could easily result in a blank. Winter, when bites can be at a premium, might not seem like the smartest time of year to start experimenting , but it actually provides a whole host of opportunities. I have to admit to not being the biggest fan of spending hours on end on…

HIGH TIME THEY CUT THE CRAP! I MAKE no excuses for starting to sound like a broken record this week. It is indisputable that one of the biggest threats to angling is the state of our rivers. Horrendous pollution incidents are being repeated time and again by water companies, permitted by an ineffective regulatory body in Ofwat, and allowed by an all-too frequently impotent enforcement body in the form of the Environment Agency. This has been going on for years. The Conservatives did very little. The Labour Government has promised to solve the problem, but at the moment the jury is still out. Actions speak louder than words, and we need action. Angling has done a huge amount to raise awareness of the issue. It was angling through Fish Legal/The…

TOURNAMENT 800 SEATBOX Packed full of features, Daiwa’s flagship box has the strength, durability and storage for top-flight angling. • System 36 - 36mm telescopic legs with 180° rotating, locking handwheels • Aluminium and steel construction with integrated retractable footplate • Fully interchangeable ‘stack system’ with easy-click layers, each featuring a ‘ridge/recess’ compression seal for protection of water ingress • Supplied with 20mm winder tray (perforated) • Two shallow side drawers & adjustable dividers • Fixed 20mm shallow unit • Lift-out stack system supplied with 64 Slide Winders (30 short/20 long/14 wide) • Two 20mm shallow winder trays • 20mm base unit with rubber feet • Supplied with two-tone pole seat and shoulder strap RRP: £825 DAIWA 500 SEATBOX A full-frame box with all System 36 benefits and available at…

INCEPTION STATION – WHITE/GRAPHITE/BLUE The new Inception Station seatbox builds on the success of other Inception seatboxes and boasts many of the same features such as Mag-Lok clips, soft-touch handwheels and footplate-locking plungers. The sleek-looking frame is available in white, graphite or blue, and offers an abundance of storage space. The deep compartmented side drawer unit is perfect for accessories, while the deep side drawer with removable dividers can be used for hooklength boxes, pole winders or any larger accessories. There is an empty shallow tray situated between the drawers and the pole seat which is, again, perfect for storing pole rigs. The cassette under the frame includes a 26mm tray and lid where extra units can be added if required. The box comes supplied with six telescopic legs, making…

JOIN TOP MATCH anglers Lee Kerry and Rob Wootton each week as they unveil the tactics and techniques that really make a difference BOMB fishing is a very popular winter tactic on commercials, and is often used for carp and F1s. Baits such as bread, corn and pellets are used either as single baits or with minimal feed to try to nick a bite or two from fish that aren’t really that interested in feeding hard. The wait between casts is long , and the wait for bites can be even longer! But bomb fishing doesn’t always have to test your patience to the limit, and this week during a match at Lincolnshire’s Lindholme Lakes, I proved that it can be an action-packed approach when combined with a couple of…

How should I target a snake lake for carp in winter? Adrian Brierley, Worksop CATCHING carp in the cold on snake lakes often isn’t easy! On these narrow strips of water, the fish have very little space to push out into, so they back off into empty swims that are out of reach, and don’t return. This is especially the case when there is lots of room on the lake and nothing in terms of features in your swim to hold them, or that they can hide under. STARTING POINT Ideally, I’d want to kick off my session directly in front of me and go across to the far bank. How far across you go depends on what you have opposite. If it’s a big reedbed with 3ft of water…

Harry Boscoe 6lb 7oz common carp, Flushing Meadows, Northwich, Cheshire Frankie Shaw Mirror carp, undisclosed stillwater, maggots Ralph Isaacson Common carp, River Ardeche, France, sweetcorn Olly Bisset 8lb common carp, FLE Fishery, Romsey, Hants, pellet Gracie Taylor Perch, local lake, Cheshire, maggot Coen Greenwood 1lb roach, Wepre Park, Flintshire, maggot Tom Blacklidge 11lb barbel, River Ribble, Preston, Lancashire Josh Baldry 5lb chub, River Ivel, Bedfordshire, lure Quinny Weighill 15lb common, Woodlands Thirsk, N Yorkshire, boilie Kali Lawson 1lb perch, club lake, Worcestershire, worm Arthur Ainsworth 6lb 2oz chub, River Wye, Hereford, pellet Oscar Solder 11lb pike, River Ouzel, Newport Pagnell, deadbait Jacob Balkhausen Morrish 12lb pollack, Isle of Raasay, Skye, lure Noah Clarke 6lb 12oz pike, Top Woodham Lake, Chelmsford, Essex, lure Clementine Rolison Common carp, Stambridge Fisheries, Essex, maggot…

(* indicates an anagram) ACROSS 1 River on Notts/Derbys border (*was here) (7)5 The 'B' of BCAC event (7)10 Elliptical, like egg sinkers (4)11 ___fish has long, pointed, weapon-like bill (5)12 Yare tributary – in loch Ettrick! (4)13 Spell of little or no rain (3,5)14 Wiltshire tributary of Salisbury Avon(*and red) (6)16 Briefly immersed e.g. tiger nuts in enhancer (6)18 Gareth Lambert won this Tamar Lakes event in 2024 (*tests few) (4,4)20 Wels catfish has paddle-like ____ fins (8)22 Long curve-bladed grass cutting tool (*chesty) (6)23 An ___ hook point is bent to the side (6)25 Member of silver-winning Masters World Feeder team 2024 (*for my sin) (5,3)27 Bread soaked in water becomes __ (4)29 In short, county location of Peatling Pools (5)30 __ Wilkinson – legendary float maker (4)31…

THIS WEEKDRENNAN CUP CATCHES OF THE WEEK 2024 - 2025 SEASON EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW FROM THE WORLD OF FISHING WITH a few hours to spare, Matt Adams decided to spend a few hours’ trotting with maggots, and ended up banking a remarkable brace of river roach scaling 3lb 7oz and 2lb 9oz. The Dorset angler had hoped to fish the Stour, but with conditions far from ideal he headed for a local chalk stream instead. Settling into a swim he was yet to catch a big roach from, he set up his 15ft John Allerton match rod, rigged with a 4 x No4 stick float on 3lb mainline, a 2lb hooklink, and a size 16 hook. “After loosefeeding for half-an-hour, I ran my float through but didn’t have a…

THIS WEEKDRENNAN CUP CATCHES OF THE WEEK 2024 - 2025 SEASON REPORTS of big chub tend to be dominated by fish from southern rivers, but those in northern England have also produced some very special fish over recent seasons, the latest example being this specimen of 7lb 2oz, caught by John Power from a river in North Yorkshire. John had the fish on a short evening session where he targeted the tail end of a deep hole, just as it started to shallow up. “Once hooked, the chub rolled on the surface and after a mad 30 seconds when it tried to snag me under a nearside tree, it came to the net with little drama,” John told us. “It had the biggest head of any chub I’ve ever seen!”…

BENNETT REIGNS AT MONKHALL TWO-TIMES Fish O’Mania champion Andy Bennett got yet another title under his belt as he was crowned winner of the two-day Monkhall Fishery festival. The Guru-backed star got off to the perfect start as he won the section with 88lb 4oz from peg 16 on Swallow Pool. He kept up the pace going into day two, achieving the same result with an 88lb netful from peg 10 on Buzzard Pool. He was the only angler on a perfect score at the end, which bagged him the £1,250 top prize. ANDY MAY INTO SILVERFISH FINAL COMMERCIAL match fishing star Andy May bagged his place in the Angling Trust Silverfish final thanks to a brilliant display at Cheshire’s Partridge Lakes. Drawn on peg 28 of Piper Lake, he…

SLS36 STATION The Nytro SLS36 Station offers lots of comfort and, above all, is great value for money! This compact, space-efficient seatbox features an elegant, strong aluminium frame with a rigid sliding footplate. The SLS36 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 with a carbon-friendly pole holder. There is also a spirit level on the back of the frame to allow for perfect positioning. A great seatbox for pole and feeder anglers. Price: £349.99 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 side drawer units• Oversized locking system handle…

STEVE RINGER World Feeder champ and a constantly successful matchman DAI GRIBBLE Two-time Drennan Cup champion and ace all-rounder ANDY MAY 2016 Fish O’ champ and triple Kamasan Matchman of the Year PAUL GARNER Angling Times columnist and all-round bait expert DES SHIPP England ace and multiple Parkdean Masters champion ALAN STAGG 2015 Drennan Cup winner and marketing boss at Gardner Tackle RICH WILBY Top specimen hunter and winner of 2020 Drennan Cup I’d love to give pike fishing a go, but I’m wary about unhooking them – can somebody show me the basics? Oscar Theale, Norfolk A With their big mouths full of rows of razor-sharp teeth, pike can look pretty scary at first but, although they are a fearsome adversary if you happen to be a roach, for…

BAIT CLINIC Honest advice to help you to catch more fish on every trip, without breaking the bank HIGH river levels can mean fantastic barbel and chub fishing, but can also throw up problems. Often, autumn floods result in a lot of debris being washed downstream. Everything from leaves to whole trees might be moving downriver, which can make the fishing difficult. Regular recasting may be necessary to remove the ‘washing line’ of stuff attaching itself to the line. In itself, repositioning the rig every so often isn’t a problem, but it can mean that feeder fishing , even with very heavy feeders, can be out of the question. More often than not, a straight lead is the way to go, so we need to think of ways of getting…

LAST CAST WITH DOM IS THERE any fish with a more tricky temperament than a true predator? Back in the 1980s and 90s, the likes of Mick Brown would constantly tell us that the secret to catching pike was ‘location, location, location’. Well, in the 21st century that feels like it needs revising to ‘timing , timing , timing’. So often we know exactly where the pike are. From digital maps to venue guides and catch reports, it’s never been easier to track down them down. But finding fish and getting them to feed are two very different things. Nor are the classic ‘early and late in the day’ patterns always gospel. One thing I’ve always sworn by in predator fishing is to identify the mood of the quarry. Are…

BIGGEST STRIPEY SO FAR THIS SEASON HITS THE BANK Phil Rust – 5lb 10oz perch WHILE fishing at a Midlands stillwater, Phil Rust spotted a decent fish pass over a clear spot. He thought it was a carp at first but, on closer inspection, saw it was a colossal perch! He quickly set up a rig incorporating a light lead and a large hook, on to which went several worms. Soon after casting out, the bait roared off and Phil felt the distinct head-shakes of a big perch, which gave him a great battle for five minutes, taking line numerous times. Eventually, it lay in the net, and Phil and his brother James looked at one another in awe. James is a former holder of the British bream record –…

THREE baits spring to mind when big commercial perch are high up the agenda. Given the species’ predatory nature, it’s understandable why maggots and worms feature in that list, as their constant wriggling is likely to draw a response. Prawns are the other bait that many people turn to, although these can be a bit ‘hit or miss’ at many venues. But there is another bait that the match fishing fraternity, in particular, use to great effect – casters. Fed in an appropriate manner and used in conjunction with suitable rigs, they can be absolutely deadly. Like many other coarse fish, perch simply can’t resist the crunch of a caster! GIVE IT A GO 1 TARGET THE SLOPE The area directly in front of you at the bottom of the…

CAPERLAN CSB D36 COMPETITION Four years in the making, and after extensive field testing, lab testing and ergonomic studies, Caperlan is proud to showcase one of the most comfortable and ergonomic boxes on the market. It utilises the CSystem, which allows the legs and accessories to be locked securely into position with a simple 90-degree flip of a paddle. This proves much faster than thumbscrews, some of which can easily fall out and be lost. The redesigned cushion contains two densities of foam to offer superb comfort and support. The footplate also extends further under the seat, allowing optimal feet positioning, resulting in a better posture and reduced chances of back pain. Storage-wise, there are three drawers and one tray above the main tray, and a removable underframe tray and…

ANOTHER FINAL SPOT SHROPSHIRE’S Monkhall Fishery was where I kicked off this week for the two-day festival, and to start with I found myself on peg 5 on Lark – not a great area, but if the match was going to be a low-weight affair, I thought I might still do OK. In short, I got it totally wrong, while Paul Holland next door got it bang on. I thought I’d need to catch carp and F1s, but it was ide that dominated, and I bumped off perhaps a dozen 1lb-plus fish. My 44lb still got me second, but Paul blitzed the section. Peg 11 on the same lake was my home for day two, and I’d put softer elastics in my top kits! Maggots had worked well the day…

OUR MAN ON THE BANK ONE REASON I enjoy doing guide days so much is that they keep me in touch with the average bloke on the bank and, in some cases, beginners to fishing – which is always nice. Various topics crop up in conversation, and some of the faults we discuss, although very basic, can stay with the angler for life if not corrected. Some will tell me: “I always backwind, I don’t like the clutch.” Well, straight away I try to put this right, because the best way to play fish is on the clutch. You might argue that it’s up to the individual, and so it is, but that doesn’t make it right! I’ve been lucky enough to have played some huge fish in my time,…