Fishing Questions

Britain’s first 70lb carp banked

What a handful! Robby Harrison with The Avenue’s Big Rig.      This is the picture of the UK’s first 70lb carp.   The record-breaking specimen, known as Big Rig, tipped the scales at 71lb 4oz and was caught by Robby Harrison from The Avenue Fishery in Shropshire.  It’s the same fish that recently beat the current British best of 68lb 10oz at a weight of 69lb 3oz, meaning that it’s put on 2lb 1oz since it was caught by Tom Doherty just over six weeks ago.  It’s Robby’s first year on the syndicate and he made carp fishing history when he smashed his own personal best that stood at 41lb with Big Rig that took a balanced 16mm Mainline Hybrid boilie.  “This is like the angling version of winning the lottery,” said Robby, from Liverpool.  “One of my fellow anglers helped me net the fish, but he nudged it with the frame twice and it powered off on both occasions.”   “I told him to sink the net, but neither of us knew which fish it was so it was the sheer depth of its body that was colliding with the net.  “I didn’t have a head torch, so I didn’t see it straight away, but when I did I was blown away…I’ve never seen anything like it.  It’s a specimen that has been hand-reared by Avenue owner and boss of RH Fisheries Rob Hales, whose intentions of growing record-breaking fish have caused controversy within the sport.  But Robby agrees with others who believe that what Rob does is provide ‘ordinary’ anglers with the chance of catching the carp of their dreams without going abroad.  “I’m just a normal angler who wants to catch the biggest fish that I can,” Robby added.   “I don’t care what people say because I’ve caught a fish that filled me with emotions and excitement that made me feel like a boy again. Anyone who’s got a problem with that has to remember that it’s just fishing at the end of the day.”

Massive perch on a £1 lure!

John (left) and Ben with just two of the three-pounders taken during a truly memorable trip.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

                                                                                                        This lure, bought for £1, had the perch queuing  up to grab it. Quite a bargain, as it turned out!                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

                                                                                                        This 3lb 14oz perch for John Deprieelle topped a catch of 30 Chew Valley fish over the 3lb mark.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 A lure bought for £1 from a car boot sale is to thank for one of the biggest-ever hauls of specimen perch.   John Deprieelle and Ben Humber boated 30 perch over the 3lb mark, topped by a 3lb 14oz specimen, during a day at the incredible Chew Valley Reservoir.  The Somerset venue, widely regarded as the UK’s best predator water because of its stocks of huge pike, proved that it holds much more when the pair switched to targeting perch after a pikeless morning.  “By 1pm we hadn’t had a touch from a pike so we changed our attack, and that’s when the day turned into the session of a lifetime,” John told Angling Times.  “Initially the odd perch turned up, but then I decided to give a little lure that I found at a car boot sale a try – and it just went off big time.  “They just couldn’t get enough of this thing – you could see the bow waves made by the big perch as they fought to grab hold of the lure as I was retrieving it back to the boat. The transformation was incredible.”  By the time they returned to the fishing lodge, John, from Exeter, and Ben, a Fox Rage consultant from Bristol, had shared in the capture of more than 40 big perch.  “Ben had taken a few fish, but then he found a lure in his collection that was as similar as possible to what I was using, and from then on his catch rate improved no end,” John continued. “We had numerous double hook-ups, follows and missed fish too, as well as six pike to mid-double figures.   “It really was incredible and we won’t be forgetting it in a hurry.”  The haul didn’t come as much of a surprise to John Harris, who is Fisheries and Recreations Officer at the Bristol Water-controlled Chew Valley Lake.  He is fully aware of the perch potential of the vast venue and says there’s every possibility it could contain a specimen that beats the British record, currently standing at 6lb 3oz.  “I would be so bold to say that this venue is more likely to produce a perch record than a record pike,” said John.  “This is one of the best catches of perch we’ve had on lures, but we have massive catches of them every year, especially to those fishing with flies. I’ve had loads of them over 3lb on that tactic, and the vast perch stocks prove just what an incredible venue this is.”  Chew Valley Reservoir has produced more than 40 pike over the 30lb mark since it opened for its annual predator fishing season, and the biggest reported so far is a 39-pounder.

Vote for the best of 2016!

The prestigious Angling Times National Angling Awards are back, and the power is in your hands to decide the winners for 2016. It’s been a great year, with countless incredible catches, huge match fishing achievements and historic TV moments. In a bid to reward the best in the business for their sterling contribution to fishing in 2016, Angling Times is now calling on every reader to vote for their favourites in 28 categories. It’s been a tough job to decide the shortlists in each fiercely-contested category, which include Match Angler of the Year, Specimen Angler of the Year and River of the Year – but now it’s up to you to decide. Editor-in-chief Steve Fitzpatrick said: “I’ve been blown away by how good this year has been for our sport. Every day I come into the office I find out that something new and exciting has happened. “Sometimes it’s a giant fish that’s been landed, or a brilliant TV show that’s been released.  “So much hard work has been put in by people, but now’s the time for you to vote and give them the national recognition they deserve. “The National Angling Awards has been running for several years and, while there are other similar schemes, none of them has the prestige that this one has. “All the nominees are excited to be in with a chance, but now it’s all down to our readers to make them the winners.”  It’s been an equally impressive year in the tackle market as well. Hundreds of innovative products have hit the shelves, with new poles, rods, terminal tackle and baits from the biggest names within the industry. Tackle editor Mark Sawyer has been gauging the mood within the industry ahead of the awards, and said: “I have been incredibly impressed by the quality of tackle released by the top manufacturers this year and now is the time to reward those who have gone above and beyond with their innovations. “I have spent a lot of time talking to staff from each company in recent weeks and there is a lot of excitement about the National Angling Awards. They are all determined to win and gain the trophies that go with that success. “If you’ve bought a piece of tackle this year that has transformed your fishing, make sure you vote to give it a great chance of becoming a 2016 champion.” Readers who register to vote will be instantly entered into a draw that will provide them with a chance of winning one of four £100 vouchers to spend with tackle shop giant Chapmans Angling.  Have your say below!

Switch of swim leads to mirror carp ‘Scar’

Theimpressive ‘Scar’, weighing in at 47lb 10oz      James Butcher has continued his memorable autumn on Kingsmead One lake by banking the big mirror known as ‘The Scar’ at 47lb 10oz.   Just a few weeks after making a bumper ten-fish haul from the Berkshire venue, the East London rod again got among the bigger mirrors in the 30-acre lake on the second night of a four-day session.  Once again, keen observation played a key role in the capture.  “On the first night I fished a swim where the fish had been showing when I arrived, but by the morning they had done the off. I saw a few shows in another part of the lake, so moved my kit round and, as I knew the spots, I flicked the rods out and put out 10 baits around each,” said James.  “After three hours I decided to give it some bait, introducing 1.5kg over each rod to get the fish grazing. As it got dark the fish began to show again, and I sat up listening. Eventually I crashed out, only to be woken by liners on my right hand rod. The tip soon pulled down but when I struck, there was nothing there,” he added.  “I recast a little shorter and got back into the bag and the next thing I knew the right hand rod pulled up tight and I was playing a really heavy carp. It beat me up big time for about 15 minutes or so before I could net it. On the scales it went 47lb 10oz. Happy days!”

‘Dave’ at 55lb tops mega haul from day-ticket fishery

Pick of the bunch was ‘Dave’ at an impressive 55lb.      A last minute-decision to switch lakes paid off in handsome style for Steve Wright after he went on to bank four stunning big carp, topped by a 55lb mirror.   After making the journey from his Hinckley, Leicestershire home to Bluebell Lakes in Northants, the 63-year old was intending to fish the venue’s Sandmartin Lake. However, this changed after a quick chat with the owner of Bluebell Lakes, Tony Bridgefoot.   Steve said: “He told me that there weren’t many anglers on Swan Lake. I didn’t really fancy it as there had been no carp out in the previous nine days, but a mate who was fishing over there convinced me to give it a try for the night. I dropped into a peg halfway down one bank, in the hope of catching them as they moved up and down the lake.”  With just two tench to show for his efforts over the next 24 hours, Steve was beginning to question his choice of lake, before a bite out of the blue signalled a major change in fortunes.  “I was thinking of moving and I’d already reeled one rod when one of the others screamed off. The fish made it into a weedbed but soon came out into open water, and I felt the rod tip bump so I knew it was still on,” said Steve.  “When I got the fish around 20 yards from the bank it surfaced and I recognised it as one known as Dave. On the bank it tipped the scales at 55lb on the nose.”  At 4am the next morning Steve’s session then got even better when he landed a 40lb 4oz mirror, followed by a 32lb 4oz common an hour later and a 39lb mirror later that same evening. The first of the trio was a new ‘forty’ for the lake, so Steve was allowed to give it a name… which he promptly did, calling the big mirror ‘Stevie’!”