Many thought it would be difficult on Saturday 27th April 2013, due to the change in the weather conditions, with hail, sleet and a two hour torrential downpour of very cold rain the day prior, and going from a balmy 2 degrees on arrival, and never getting to above 7 degrees by the end of the qualifier which did not auger well for the 130 competitors. The likelihood was just the odd peg was likely to throw up a weight of over 80 lbs, but the results showed that if nothing else, the change in the weather conditions had made the event a level playing field for many of the competitors, as well as making it extremely difficult to assess where the winner was going to come from.

The venue fished very well, with nine weights of over 100 lbs and the lowest section winning weight being 72 lbs, with the top five individuals coming from different lakes. There were also no fewer than eight previous final qualifiers fishing the match, and amongst these was the 2010 Fish ‘O’ Mania Champion Neil McKinnon (Preston Innovations – Sonu Baits), a contract manager from Gloucester, who became the eventual winner to become the sixth qualifier for the grand final. Neil drew on Club Pool peg 15 and fished long and short pole using chopped worm, caster and method mix groundbait to amass a total weight of 121 lbs 1 oz made up of carp to 4lb, F1’s and barbel.

In second place and just under 2 lb behind Neil was Howard Kelly (Thameside Matrix), a sales representative from Stalybridge. His second placed weight of 119 lbs 4 ozs was made up entirely of F1’s caught shallow on maggot at 6 metres catching steadily throughout the match from Extension Pool peg 25. Third place went to Steve Seaborn a building surveyor from Herefordshire, fishing peg 5 on Jenny’s Pool. Steve finished the match with a weight of 118 lbs 2 ozs made up of F1’s and the odd barbel using chopped worm and caster, long and down the edge. Fourth place went to Ben Fisk (Middy), a journalist from Leeds with a weight of 116 lbs 3 ozs, made up of carp and F1’s fishing shallow and down the edge from New Pool peg 13. Fifth place went to Kerry Kirkwood a meter operative from Manchester who drew House Pool peg 29, and finished with a weight of 113 lbs 1 oz using worm and caster.

The next Fish ‘O’ Mania qualifier for 2013 moves to Maver Larford Lakes, Worcestershire on Saturday 4th May.

Source: Angling Trust Fishing News

The battle of the day was fished out on adjacent pegs 115 and 116 on Syndicate Lake and Fish ‘O’ Mania bridesmaid Grant Albutt (Daiwa Dorking), got off to a flier on peg 116 taking 6 carp in the first hour on the pellet waggler. At the next peg 27 year old Gavin Millis (Fettham & Twickenham/Farnham), a Gardener from Slough started on the method feeder, but then took this as his cue to switch to the pellet waggler as well and caught straight away. Though behind at the halfway mark Gavin clawed his way back and ended up with 23 carp to Grant’s 18 carp, but Grant’s were reported to be a better stamp. At the weigh in Gavin weighed 144-6-0 and Grant weighed 141-5-0. Unlucky for Grant his eighth runner up spot in the Fish ‘O’ Mania qualifiers, and his second place finish in a week in this competition.

A big congratulations to Gavin who not only held his nerve in the tight battle of this qualifier, but he also stated after the match that he would be booking his wedding the next day.

Third place went to Chris Cameron (Middy) from Gloucester, pegged on the far bank of Syndicate at peg 119. Chris took 114-8-0 of carp on the method and then on the pole down the edge using corn and pellet. In fourth place was Robert Brennan from Kidderminster from corner peg 31 on Gold Lake, a golden spell during the last 90 minutes of the match fishing meat, and pellet down the edge saw him net 15 carp up to 10lb which gave him a total weight of 105-4-0.

The Angling Trust would like to thank John Raison and his team at Gold Valley for an excellent day.

1st Gavin Millis - 144-6-0
2nd Grant Albutt - 141-5-0
3rd Chris Cameron - 114-5-0
4th Robert Brennan - 105-4-0
5th Geoff Vallance - 101-6-0
6th Marc Rodger - 78-8-0
7th Tom Moretti - 76-8-0
8th David Shultz - 65-15-0

The Fish ‘O’ Mania action hots up on Saturday 27th April when it goes to Tunnel Barn Farm in Warwickshire.

Source: Angling Trust Fishing News

26 anglers from all over the country met at Packington Somers on 6th April to compete on Molands Mere in a match fished to FIPSed International rules. The event was the final stage of the 2012/13 Talent Pathway programme that has seen anglers undertake a training programme designed to teach young anglers with aspirations of fishing for England, the skills and techniques required for international angling. 2012 FIPSed Veterans World Champion, and Sensas U18’s and Ladies’ Team England coach, Joe Roberts attended the match to cast his eye over the talent on show and invited anglers to attend the trial at the end of April. Despite the pleasant weather on the day, the overnight temperature of -4c meant that fishing was difficult to say the least, but all anglers from the Northern, Midlands and Southern squads gave it their all, and the Midlands squad prevailed as the winning team with top individual place going to Midlands angler James Lomas with a weight of 4lb 12oz.

Joe Roberts said “the fishing was very difficult on the day, but all the anglers displayed their qualities and gave it their all. It was very encouraging seeing some of the anglers from the previous year’s programme again and it was evident how much they have developed. It’s fantastic that there are so many anglers from all over the country with the desire to fish at the highest level, and this programme gives those anglers the opportunity to learn the skills required to compete at International level. I would encourage all young anglers who want to fish for their country to get involved.”

The 2013/14 programme promises to be very exciting with some of the top international anglers involved in the delivery of the coaching programme. Details of the 2013/14 Talent Pathway programme will soon be available via the Angling Trust website, and those interested in getting involved will be able to find details of events in their region by visiting www.anglingtrust.net

Source: Angling Trust Fishing News

Even so over 30lbs was needed to win 10 of the 13 ten-peg sections and the top six anglers averaged almost 70 lbs a man.

Top rod was Craig Jones (Marukyu) an Accountant from Doncaster, fishing his first ever Fish ‘O’ Mania qualifier, who brought a splendid 99 lbs 8 ozs to the scales from Peg A13 on Lake 2. He only had a dozen fish with the biggest weighing around 15 lbs. He caught the bulk of these on the method feeder tight to the island with an odd fish coming to the bomb, with 8mm pellets his main hookbait. Runner up on the day was the ever consistent Grant Albutt (Dorking), who caught mainly carp to 8 lbs from peg 21 on Lake 5. He caught on both meat and maggots fishing the bomb, and then later on down the margin. Grant amazingly has finished in second spot in 7 qualifiers, and surely must make it to the grand final very soon.

Third with an excellent 74 lbs 15 ozs was 18 year old Adam Logan from Ilkeston. Adam fish meat close in at Lizard peg 29 taking carp to 15lbs. Jamie Hughes was fourth with 74 lbs 10 ozs at A4 on Lake 2 just a carp ahead of Richard Woodsford who weighed 68 lbs 6 ozs further along the same bank at A15.

The fourth Fish ‘O’ Mania qualifier heads to Coleman’s Cottage, a purpose built fishery set in open countryside in Little Braxted, near Witham, Essex on Saturday 20th April 2013.

Source: Angling Trust Fishing News

The England Feeder teams proved tough going for the other teams taking part, with England Green taking the first place medal spot, which consisted of Alex Bones, Rob Wootton, Adam Rooney, Grant Albutt, and Adam Wakelin. England Blue team were; Mick Vials, Darren Cox, Steve Ringer, Phil Ringer and Dean Barlow who finished in silver medal place. England Black finished in seventh place with Glenn Lawrence, Nick Speed, Wayne Bartholomew, Will Freemen and Eddie Brydon.

In the individual category Alex Bones, Captain of England Green went on to win the gold medal with a fantastic perfect two point score, and Rob Wootton finished second individually with three points, Nick Speed fourth with five points, and Grant Albutt fifth with six points. England also scored well on the section wins for Mick Vials and Glenn Lawrence.

Alex Bones, Captain of the winning England Green team and winning individual stated "The fishing was very tough and three practise days prior to the event gave each of the three England teams a chance to formulate their intended plans. England team manager, Tommy Pickering, allowed each of the team captains – myself captaining England Green, Mick Vials in charge of Blue and Glen Lawrence captaining Black - to decide on their own attack for each match.”

"Our team (Green), won day one with an incredible 15 points and we managed to replicate a similar performance on day two to secure team gold overall. Two sections wins also gave me individual gold, which was the icing on an already overwhelming cake.”

"Twenty five teams competed this year from all over Europe and to win team gold (Green), silver (Blue) and seventh (Black) along with my individual gold, Rob Wootton's individual silver, Nick Speed's fourth, Grant Albutt's fifth and Mick Vials' tenth was incredible!"

Tom Pickering, Preston Innovations England Feeder Team Manager said “It fished really hard because of the very cold weather, but the lads adapted well and found two methods to work on and they got it spot on. I was really proud of all fifteen anglers as they worked hard in practice and now I feel we have a great squad who understand what international fishing is about.”

“I would like to thank the lads for their professionalism on and off the water, and in particular Glenn Lawrence , Mick Vials, and Alex Bones who were captains of the teams and all led from the front by winning at least one section each.”

Source: Angling Trust Fishing News

Win £10,000 in the world's biggest prize in carp fishing!

The Venue

The event will be held on the 7th - 12th October 2013 at Lake Fishabil in France.

Fishabil is a world renowned carp fishery created 23 years ago boasting an incredible pedigree with over 500 years of history associated with it. In the past it has held 6 major European matches, 2 world cups and 2 European carp tournaments. The stunning 85 acre lake holds many carp to over 60lb and is located in Brittany one of the most picturesque regions of France.

Fishabil is only 1 hour from St Malo port. The Fishabil complex has a hotel, a bar, a club house and a restaurant available for families and guests if needed. If this is the case please contact Fishabil to arrange booking.

No less than 8 world records have been set and approved by the international sportfishing Fédèration at Lake Fishabil.

How it works

The event will start by the drawing at 10am on the 7th of October 2013, baiting and feature finding can commence at 2.30pm, the competition will commence at 3pm. Fishing will carry though non-stop until 3pm on 12th October. There will be numerous bailiffs, coordinators and judges on hand 24 hours a day to authenticate catches.

The price is £1,000 per team (2 fishermen per team).

The results and presentation will be held at 6.30pm on 12th October.

The gala dinner will be held at 8pm.

If you think you've got what it takes to be the TF GearCarp Master and pick up the huge £10,000 (for the winning team) cheque why not come along and be part of the world's biggest carp event.

How to take part

For the full set of Terms & Conditions Click Here - To download an entry form Click Here

Whether you’re a seasoned fishing veteran or just starting out, looking for expert advice or just happy to ‘have a go’ with the kids, we can guarantee a great family day out with fantastic viewing and picnic areas.

Show dates are 14th & 15th June 2013!

The aim is make the Longleat Fishing and Country Show a fantastic family day out! The family and especially children will be actively encouraged to ‘have a go’ at the activities on show, whether it’s fishing for real with advice from the very best instructors or watching the experts display their skills.

Set over three lakes in front of the magnificent Longleat House, you will find a top quality food and retail village where you can sample superb food and test the very latest tackle innovations. And for those autograph hunters, you will be able to mix with the stars of the fishing world – the England Fishing Team and TV’s very own Mr Crabtree!

Location & Contact:

Further Information

The first report was commissioned by the European Parliament's Fisheries Committee from Professor Ian Cowx of Hull University's acclaimed Fisheries Institute and the other is the European Commission's clarification on derogation under the Birds Directive which provides important information to support any moves by the UK Government to open up the current inadequate licensing system for controlling cormorant numbers.

A review of the licensing of fish eating birds has been carried out over the past two years following pressure from the Angling Trust for the Environment Minister to act to protect fish stocks.
One of the aims of Professor Cowx's report was to recommend a management strategy to reduce the damage caused by cormorants to fisheries and aquaculture.

Key findings:

• Cormorant numbers across Europe are now at their highest for at least 150 years, in excess of 500,000 birds
• There has been an upsurge of cormorants in inland waters in Europe since the late 1980s
• Cormorants are causing direct damage to fisheries and indirect damage to ecosystem dynamics including forestry, water quality and biodiversity
• Countries need a structured management plan including lethal control
• A large scale management plan on Lake Huron in North America worked: cormorant populations in North America were reduced by 160,000 birds, nests in the Lake Huron area were reduced from a peak of 5,500 nests to 500. This resulted in a rapid recovery of fish stocks
• Each Member State should organise their response to cormorants drawing on lessons from the US Fish & Wildlife Service.

The second report provides the European Commission's clarification on derogations allowed under the Birds Directive. The report can be downloaded from our website HERE (5.8Mb file).

Key Points:

• Allowed to protect fauna & flora and to prevent serious damage to crops, livestock, forests, fisheries and water
• Annual report by Member States to EC required
• Have to show "no other satisfactory solution" to lethal control
• Denmark & France have National Management Schemes
• Derogations to protect eels from predation in eel management plans is acceptable
• Derogations to protect marble trout, grayling and salmon are acceptable where their conservation status is at risk
• Measures should be aimed not at maintaining specific population levels of cormorants but to provide necessary protection for fish and fisheries.

Chief executive of the Angling Trust Mark Lloyd said:
"These two reports are highly significant as they clarify beyond argument that the EU Birds Directive is no barrier to allowing member states to take the necessary action, including shooting, to protect fisheries from unsustainable predation by cormorants whose numbers have exploded in recent decades. Without healthy fish populations in our rivers, streams and lakes many other types of wildlife will suffer, and we will lose the huge benefits of angling to the economy and society. Cormorant numbers are doing untold damage to our fish and fishing, which is why the Angling Trust has persuaded the government to review the current and wholly inadequate system of licensing controls on their numbers and the damage they do. We urge the Minister to act as soon as possible now that the review has concluded."

Source: Angling Trust Fishing News

Buried away in the small print at www.rodlicence.net are details of the extra charges, none of which is necessary.

“Rodlicence.net offers you third party data processing services, for which we charge a service and administration fee of £5 for short-term licences and £11 for full licences.”

The site offers no additional benefits to anglers for these charges. Indeed, it is worse than the official sites because it does not provide anglers with a licence number immediately and so they could be prosecuted if they go fishing while they wait for their licence to turn up in the post.

Angling Trust campaigns coordinator Martin Salter said:

“It beggars belief when we are in the middle of a nasty recession which has hit hard the pockets of so many people that there are organisations out there seeking to charge anglers 40% extra on the cost of a coarse fishing licence for absolutely no benefit at all. Of course the situation has been made worse by the government’s ridiculous ban on marketing by public bodies like the EA which has adversely affected rod licence sales and has prevented the Agency from getting its message out to the wider angling public about renewals. This has opened the door once again to the profiteers who are hoping to make a quick buck at anglers’ expense.”

He added:

“The Angling Trust has been lobbying MPs and government ministers to allow the EA to market rod licences and the correct process for renewals as they provide an irreplaceable source of income for both angling and fisheries. However, in the meantime we strongly advice all anglers to avoid these websites like the plague that they are and to apply either on line at http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/homeandleisure/recreation/fishing/31497.aspx or visit their local Post Office in person.”

The Environment Agency website has been amended to warn people that there is no need to pay any processing charges whatsoever.

Paul Lidgett, Senior Fisheries Officer with the Environment Agency said:

“We are aware that other websites offer to ‘process’ your rod licence application for you and may charge you a fee for this service. We have no connection with such websites and do not endorse the service they provide. Anglers who buy their licence direct from the Post Office website are not charged an additional fee. They also receive a licence confirmation number by email allowing them to go fishing immediately”

Source: Angling Trust Fishing News

To help combat this growing problem and support its member clubs and fisheries the Angling Trust has produced a simple but effective new poster that spells out the rules in five different languages. Clubs just need to download the poster from the Trust's website, print and laminate it, then post them in prominent positions on their rivers, lakes and canals which are shut during the close season.

Martin Salter, National Campaigns Coordinator for the Angling Trust said:

"Fishing for coarse fish between March 15th and June 15th (inclusive) on rivers and some stillwaters and canals is illegal. Yet many people still don't seem to be getting the message, as fishing during the close season is one of the most common illegal angling activities in England. There can't be an angler in the country who hasn't seen someone ignoring the rules on one of their local waters. Not only is it illegal, it's also really annoying!

Ignorance of the rules is a poor excuse, but it is the one most frequently used when an approach is made to an angler caught in the act. Hopefully these new posters will help deter the usual culprits and at worst they will at least mean that rule breakers have no excuse when they get caught!"

Download the poster as a print-ready PDF HERE

Source: Angling Trust Fishing News