Very strong gusty winds and torrential rain made for a very unpleasant day for the 130 brave souls who faced horrendous conditions at the second Fish ‘O’ Mania qualifier at Gold Valley, Aldershot on Wednesday 18th April 2012.

Someone had to compete against the torrential weather conditions and win on the day, with none other than Simon Fry as he made the best of the bad conditions and landed 9 carp up to 12lb from peg 45 on Gold Lake to secure his place in the grand final in July.

The Starlets and Garbolino backed star from Stratford-upon-Avon fished pellet with a method feeder to win with 72-14-0.

Simon Fry said “The weather on the day was horrendous with really strong rain and winds, but I drew an area where I knew it can be reasonable to fish. My plan of attack was to fish the method feeder across towards the middle of the lake just 10 yards short of the rope to go for carp. One or two people said that I was in with a chance with only an hour to go, so I thought I needed a good last hour. Unfortunately I did not have a bite for the last 40 minutes of the match, but my fish must have been a decent size to win me the match."

“I felt sorry for the angler in second place as he was so close behind me and we have all been in that position. I was familiar with the venue as having fished the UK Champs and Drennan Knock out cup, but having said that I have not fished at Gold Valley since last summer."

Not far behind Simon was local rod, Jonathon Budd from Elstead who missed out on qualification by a mere 10oz. Fishing mini boilies with a method feeder at peg 63 on Middle Lake, Jonathon caught a similar number of carp up to 12lb for 72-4-0. Fish ‘O’Mania stalwart, Steve Jackson came close yet again in third place with 68-10-0, also catching carp to 12lb on pellet and method feeder from peg 121 on Syndicate Lake.

The Angling Trust would like to thank John Raison and his team at Gold Valley Fisheries for contributing to a smooth match.

1st Simon Fry Garbolino Starlets AS 72-14-0
2nd Jonathon Budd Farnham AS 72-4-0
3rd Steve Jackson Garbolino 68-10-0
4th Glen Butler Bowlers Angling 61-10-0
5th Ryan Watson Daiwa Dorking 50-8-0
6th Geoff Vallance PI Delcac 49-10-0
7th Frederick Thompson Andover 47-7-0
8th Mark Brennan Blandford Forum 44-10

The Fish ‘O’ Mania excitement continues for 2012 with the third qualifier to take place on Saturday 21st April at Makins Fishery, Nuneaton, Warwickshire.

Source: Angling Trust Fishing News

Temple’s BIG carp SPRING into life with 75 fish reported already! Despite spring showers, Temple’s big carp are on the move with 23 thirties reported so far along with 52 twenties, which given the fact that it is still early April is amazing fishing!

With six fish topping the magical 35lb mark, Alex Windle-Hills stunning 38lb 4oz mirror tops the list of BIGGIES closely followed by David Hopkins much sort after Ghost weighing 38lb. John Carson and Mark Chandler both caught mirrors weighing 37lb 4oz whilst Jody Derbyshire caught a stunning mirror weighing 37lb 2oz, Mark Simmond’s caught a 36lb 10oz mirror and Gez Schifano caught a 35lb 2oz mirror as part of a three fish haul.

The first few days of April have seen a huge increase in BIG FISH action with a string of anglers reporting multi catches with a good few thirties mixed in.

Below is a quick run down on a few of the latest catches, for further details please refer to the fishery catch reports on our website.

• Mark Chandler caught a stunning brace of thirties during his recent visit, both mirrors weighing 37lb 4oz and 33lb. Mark caught both of his fish on homemade pop ups from peg 5.
• Jody Derbyshire ended his Easter weekend session with a stunning mirror weighing 37lb 2oz, which he caught from peg 13 on a Cell boilie.
• Martin Simmonds managed a cracking brace of thirties during his visit, Robin Hood at 36lb 10oz and a stunning linear weighing 34lb 10oz. Martin fished peg 13 also catching on Cell.
• Matthew Ardley managed three mirrors during his session weighing 34lb 4oz, 29lb 6oz and 22lb 2oz. Matthew fished peg 12 and caught on Cell.
• John Carson managed five fish during his session, three mirrors weighing 34lb, 29lb and 26lb and two commons weighing 23lb and 20lb. John fished peg 6 catching on Cell and a 5 bait stringer.
• Peter Mitchell caught a brace of commons weighing 32lb 11oz and 29lb 12oz.
• Nick Shah managed five fish during his recent session, mirrors weighing 30lb and 24lb and commons weighing 25lb 8oz, 25lb, 24lb and 22lb. Nick fished peg 3 catching on Cell boilies.
  
• Chris Carpenter also managed a 30lb mirror which he caught from peg 4 on Cell.
• Glen Turner managed three fish this weekend, which included mirrors weighing 29lb 8oz, 26lb 11oz along with a sub twenty.
• Simon Longhurst managed 4 fish during his Easter session, two mirrors weighing 25lb 5oz and 24lb 12oz and two commons weighing 27lb and 22lb 4oz. Simon fished peg 9 also catching on Cell baits with PVA bag and pellet.

Two recent catches from Bury Hill Fisheries, Surrey

Source: Bury Hill Fisheries

Easter Bream Bag up

The bream in the Old Lake at Bury Hill are enjoying a spot of ‘T’ in the shape of small mesh pellet shaped bags commonly known to match and specimen anglers as T-Bags. Two anglers who enjoyed some fabulous bream action during Easter weekend using this method were John Everiss and his fishing buddy Ray Tingley, who shared well over 250lbs of bream between them.

Fishing the T-Bag method with a hair rigged 8mm pellet or corn as hook bait is a great way of targeting the huge shoals of bream and big skimmers that shoal up in vast numbers around the edge of the lake. Fishing a feeder rod with a long chuck is the way that both anglers have been catching stacks of good-sized bream over the past few weeks with the odd slab topping the 8lbs mark. Bury Hill is noted for its huge shoals of bream which are regularly caught to over double figures with a specimen of 9lbs 14oz being caught in a recent match.

In 2009 Bury Hill’s tackle shop manager Russ Evans did a magazine feature with Improve Your Coarse Fishing which can be viewed on our Bury Hill website, here is the link http://www.buryhillfisheries.co.uk/pdf/IYCF-JUNE-2010.pdf This article shows a breakdown and photos of how to prepare and fish the T-Bag feeder method along with plenty of other tips on how to have a successful day’s bream action on the Old Lake.

Source: Bury Hill Fisheries

The first angler to secure their place in the Fish ‘O’ Mania grand final line up for 2012 is Stephen Tucker (Garbolino), from Yeovil. Stephen bagged carp and two tench with a weight of 103lbs 4ozs.

Stephen drew peg 125 on Campbell using both bomb and pole with his biggest fish being a 10lb carp. Stephen used 4lb main line with a size 16 911 hook to land his winning weight taken on red pellets at 6 & 8 m.

Stephen Tucker said “I have only fished three Fish ‘O’ Mania qualifiers before this one as I have usually done team fishing, but gave up team fishing last year to concentrate on bigger matches and I am delighted to win this match at my local venue”.

Very cold weather greeted the 130 competitors for the first Fish ‘O’ Mania qualifier held on Saturday 14th April at Viaduct Fishery, Somerton, Somerset, which made fishing hard for the anglers taking part.

John Dewberry, MBE an Army Officer from Hampshire came in second place on Campbell peg 114 with 99lbs 14ozs made up of carp and tench taken again on both pole and bomb. Third place went to Dave Swain of Stockport pegged next to the winner on Campbell peg 124 with 91lbs 1oz of carp. In fourth place with 89lbs 15oz on Monks peg 65 at Lodge Lake was Tom Mangnall of Taunton and local star Andy Power finished in fifth place with 83lbs 5oz on Cary Lake peg 79.

The second qualifier in this series of Fish ‘O’ Mania XIX is at Gold Valley Fishery, Aldershot on Wednesday 18th April 2012 when the next finalist will be decided.

Source: Angling Trust Fishing News

Following concerns expressed by anglers worried that the Cemex portfolio of about 100 waters could be lost to the sport the Angling Trust has contacted Fennwright, the agents handling the sale, and offered to broker contacts with interested clubs or fisheries interests to see if the owners would consider joint bids in order to retain angling access to these historic venues.

In a letter to Martin Freeman, head of Fennwright’s fisheries division, Angling Trust chairman Mike Heylin said:

“The Cemex Angling brand has an excellent reputation for good fisheries management in waters that have produced no fewer than six British record fish. These waters have become an important part of the history of modern angling and it would be a tragedy if they were lost to our sport. I am also sure that you would want to do everything possible to retain the good name and legacy that Cemex Angling will be leaving behind them.

“We are very keen to work with you to ensure that angling access is maintained on this range of historic and important waters that still contain many of the country’s famous fish. We would be happy to encourage local angling associations to submit joint bids for waters in their specific areas if that would facilitate your preferred outcome of minimising the sub-division of the Cemex portfolio. Alternatively we are able to send the details of waters available to our member clubs in the localities and work with you to secure both a fair price and the continuance of these important fisheries.”

Angling Trust Campaigns Co-ordinator Martin Salter added:

“Like many anglers I consider this amazing collection of waters to be of huge importance to the specialist angling scene. Lakes such as Longfield, Theale, and Burghfield are very much part of my own fishing history going right back to the days before Leisure Sport to the old Halls Angling Scheme. They hold a similar place in the memories and affections of thousands of anglers and it is important that we pull together, and if necessary pool resources, to see off any bids from organisations that would exclude angling as future activity on these iconic venues.”

Fennwright have agreed in principle to meet and work with the Angling Trust and are encouraging angling clubs and others interested to register on the Cemex section of their website at www.fisheries4sale.co.uk by the end of the first week in May.
The Trust will be circulating this information to all its 1,550 member clubs and fisheries.

Mike Heylin added:
“I have no doubt that Cemex and its agents would like the sale to be as straightforward as possible and we may be able to assist in bringing together clubs and others in those areas where there is a high concentration of these waters such as Ringwood, Reading and the Thames Valley, or Essex.”

Source: Angling Trust Fishing News

Late yesterday the Charity Commission confirmed the registration of the Canal & River Trust under registration number 1146792. The news means that the fledgling Trust, which already has a Board of Trustees, a governing Council and, in HRH The Prince of Wales, a Royal Patron, is now legally permitted, and will soon be ready, to raise charitable income to support its objectives.

The Canal & River Trust’s Deputy Chair, Lynne Berry, commented: “This is such exciting news and another important milestone towards the launch of the Canal & River Trust this summer. The new Trust is now a fully-fledged charitable body, ready and able to take on the care of the canals and rivers of England and Wales, and ready to start fundraising.”

The Canal & River Trust is due to take over the care of 2,000 miles of waterways, historic buildings, museums and archives from British Waterway and The Waterways Trust in England and Wales. The move, which is subject to Parliamentary approval, will be the single largest transfer of a public body into the charitable sector, and is underpinned by a guaranteed 15-year funding contract with Government.

Lynne added: “The creation of the Canal & River Trust is one of the most exciting projects in the charitable sector at the moment and will hold in trust for the nation one of our most extraordinary national treasures. Charitable registration means that we are now almost ready to start raising income from charitable sources, to add to the waterways’ solid foundation of Government and self-earned income.

“There has been a tremendous amount of work to get us to this point and the Trustees would like to thank the Charity Commission for their assistance in our application, and our legal team for their hard work behind the scenes. The Canal & River Trust is all about securing the future of the waterways, and today’s announcement brings us one step closer to realising this dream.”

Source: Canal and River Trust

Following concerns expressed by anglers worried that the Cemex portfolio of 70 lakes at 19 fisheries could be lost to the sport the Angling Trust has contacted Fennwright, the agents handling the sale, and offered to broker contacts with interested clubs or fisheries interests to see if the owners would consider joint bids in order to retain angling access to these historic venues.

In a letter to Martin Freeman, head of Fennwright’s fisheries division, Angling Trust chairman Mike Heylin said:

“The Cemex Angling brand has an excellent reputation for good fisheries management in waters that have produced no fewer than six British record fish. These waters have become an important part of the history of modern angling and it would be a tragedy if they were lost to our sport. I am also sure that you would want to do everything possible to retain the good name and legacy that Cemex Angling will be leaving behind them.

“We are very keen to work with you to ensure that angling access is maintained on this range of historic and important waters that still contain many of the country’s famous fish. We would be happy to encourage local angling associations to submit joint bids for waters in their specific areas if that would facilitate your preferred outcome of minimising the sub-division of the Cemex portfolio. Alternatively we are able to send the details of waters available to our member clubs in the localities and work with you to secure both a fair price and the continuance of these important fisheries.”

Angling Trust Campaigns Co-ordinator Martin Salter added:

“Like many anglers I consider this amazing collection of waters to be of huge importance to the specialist angling scene. Lakes such as Longfield, Theale, and Burghfield are very much part of my own fishing history going right back to the days before Leisure Sport to the old Halls Angling Scheme. They hold a similar place in the memories and affections of thousands of anglers and it is important that we pull together, and if necessary pool resources, to see off any bids from organisations that would exclude angling as future activity on these iconic venues.”

Fennwright have agreed in principle to meet and work with the Angling Trust and are encouraging angling clubs and others interested to register on the Cemex section of their website at www.fisheries4sale.co.uk by the end of the first week in May. The Trust will be circulating this information to all its 1,550 member clubs and fisheries.

Mike Heylin added:
“I have no doubt that Cemex and its agents would like the sale to be as straightforward as possible and we may be able to assist in bringing together clubs and others in those areas where there is a high concentration of these waters such as Ringwood, Reading and the Thames Valley, or Essex.”

Source: Angling Trust Fishing News

The Angling Development Board (ADB) has today become part of the Angling Trust following a merger of the two organisations, their assets and staff, to create a single representative and national governing body for the sport of angling in England which employs more than 40 professional staff, including those employed by Fish Legal, the legal arm of the Angling Trust, which operates throughout the UK.

This is the latest and most significant stage in the unification of angling in England since the formation of the Angling Trust in 2009. The addition of the ADB to the Angling Trust will include 700 licensed coaches, 12 regional and local angling development officers, 30 County Angling Action Groups and a wide range of ongoing programmes and projects at a local and national scale to increase participation in angling by people of all backgrounds and ages.

Over the past 3 years, the ADB has worked with Sport England and the Environment Agency and has involved more than 17,000 people in participation events, has developed and implemented a single licensing system for coaches, and has raised nearly £300,000 in match funding from local sources.

All this work will continue under the banner of the Angling Trust and will be integrated with other elements of the Trust’s work, such as the management of national and international competitions.

The first phase of a funding bid is currently being prepared for the next round of Sport England Funding for the period April 2013 to 2017. This bid will form part of a national angling participation action plan which will be developed over the coming months in partnership with other organisations in the sector to create a coherent plan to sustain and grow angling participation and the social, economic and environmental benefits arising from angling.

ADB Chairman David Moore said: “This merger creates an organisation which is greater than the sum of its parts. It combines two strong, professional teams and the work of angling’s development organisation with the responsibilities and ambitions of the sport’s membership body. Campaigns and legal work to protect and improve angling access and fish stocks are equivalent to other sports’ campaigns for playing fields and they safeguard opportunities for more people to go fishing. The creation of our pathway events for talented young anglers will increase the quality of those in our future Team England Angling and will provide more opportunities for sponsors to support our national teams. We have come a long way in 5 years and built the new foundations that our sport needed for a changing world.’’

Angling Trust Chairman Mike Heylin said: “This is an historic day for angling. Previous attempts at unification have failed over the past 50 years, but no-one can be in any doubt today that we have at last a high profile and successful organisation to represent anglers and to develop, promote and grow the sport of angling for generations to come. This merger will increase our capacity to find positive and creative solutions to the challenges facing angling in the modern age. We must aim for a time when anyone who wants to take up the wonderful sport of angling has good information about where to get access to safe, good quality fishing near where they live, how to fish responsibly, where to get high quality coaching and how they can find other people to go fishing with through clubs, social fishing networks or matches.”

Lisa O’Keefe, Director of Sport for Sport England, witnessed the signatures of the two Chairmen in London and said: "This is an exciting development for the sport of angling and one which Sport England supports wholeheartedly. The Angling Trust as a single governing body for the sport will be able to build on the infrastructure developed by the Angling Development Board over the past five years to develop the sport and get more people fishing regularly."

Richard Wightman, Angling Manager for the Environment Agency said: "The Environment Agency has encouraged and helped angling to become more united over the past ten years. This merger is another significant step in that process. We have been investing in delivery of angling and fisheries objectives with both parties and look forward to continuing and increasing that productive partnership with the newly-unified organisation."

Source: Angling Trust Fishing News

MPRESS proudly presents - The Angling Encounter Of A Lifetime!
A truly exclusive gathering, where you will be able to meet the authors of some of the finest specialist angling books ever written, together with a unique opportunity to view the leading antiquities from the sport of fishing

Come and talk to the legendary John Wilson about his latest book, My Way.
Discuss Dace, the Prince of the Stream, with Mark Everard.
Mark Wintle will be there to talk about Big Roach.
Peter Rolfe and his Crock of Gold book.
Graham Marsden reveals all in his Angling Essays.
Collector’s Guide while displaying leather limited editions.

Other star attractions include -

• The launch of Terry 'Theo' Theobald’s eagerly awaited new book, A Year On The Water
• Unlimited priceless angling advice from the experienced star performers
• Free valuation for your vintage and antique items of fishing tackle
• Free gift and the opportunity to acquire a bargain in the angling auctions
• Direct access to much sought-after limited leather-bound editions
• Six authors together on the one day for book signing

The event provides a once in a lifetime opportunity to view what the definitive reference work describes as the supreme collectors’ reel - Ustonson’s Original Multiplying Winch circa 1760’s; in addition two magnificent rods dating back to the mid-1800’s and formerly the property of the 4th and 5th Earl Spencers’, whose family heritage covers a period of 500 years. Also on display will be possibly the only surviving example of a fascinating antique / vintage crank handled ‘Worm Charmer’ mechanical contraption, designed to attract worm bait to the surface of the ground

This remarkable event is planned for likeminded people to share unlimited knowledge, expertise and passion and the invitation is also extended to anyone who would like to become part of the fishing fraternity

ENTRY IS FREE – IT BEGINS 12 NOON ON SATURDAY 19th MAY 2012

The venue

The Lands End,
Lands End Lane
Charvil,
Twyford,
Reading Berkshire RG10 0UE

Source: Lymm Angling Club

Summer sun and happy anglers

Another good week at Witton Castle lakes with 130 anglers and a total catch of 650 fish, averaging a visit of 5 fish per angler.

Anglers have had some great sport from hard fighting fish with bags of 10 fish enjoyed by many. Joe Lindsay landed a nice 9lb rainbow and Mr. Hibband changed his tactics at the end of a sunny day to dry fly, to be rewarded with a beautiful 10lb brown trout to the net, (returned safely back to the lake).

The bait lake, popular with families have welcomed more junior anglers to the sport this week. Well done to Luke & Jody Reno who both caught there first rainbow trout at the lakes weighing in at 2lb (photo enclosed). We look forward to seeing the Reno family soon.

Weardale Angling Club held a competition on the lakes, Sunday, with some great sport including a 5 1/2lb rainbow for club member Christopher Bramfits. Ian Thornberry said 'the club were impressed with the improvements to the lakes and the quality of the fish caught'.

The top four flies this week are; Olive Dancers, Dawsons Olive, Black Buzzers and CDC's.

The tagged fish still remains uncaught and the total now stands at £150.00

Launched during the weekend to positive feedback from visiting anglers, hot and cold food. The Stevenson family at Bradley Burn Farm Shop, Wolsingham are providing the catering and will be highlighing some of the regions best sourced local food and ingredients.

During the next few days a new website for Witton Castle Lakes will be launched, with information such as water temperature, daily catches and the ability to register for the latest news from the lakes via email.

Fishery officers John and Stewart can be contacted on the following 01388 488691

More images from the week can be found on the Facebook page. www.facebook.com/pages/Bishop-Auckland-District-Angling-Club-Witton-Castle-Lakes