Late Season Mackerel Sport

Just right for pike!

My second trip of this week saw myself and my friend Dave head down to Hope's Nose near Torquay for an afternoon of fishing off the rocks. Starting at low water and fishing the incoming tide we both fished single hook pulley rigs with ragworm as bait to try and tempt a bass, a wrasse or a pollock, all of which are regularly caught here year round, unfortunately not on this occasion though and after a few hours all we had managed were a few missed bites and to lose several sets of end tackle, during which time another angler had been catching plenty of mackerel on lures. Not wanting to return home empty handed we set up our mackerel feathers and were soon both catching regularly. We stayed until just after dark before heading in to Torquay for something to eat both quite happy that we had enjoyed a bit of sport. My freezer is now stocked with a good supply of bait for my pike fishing trips, the next one being next Tuesday when myself and Dan will be afloat on Chew Valley Lake in search of one of its famous monster predators! Watch this space!

Slow Start to Pike Fishing Season

No pike, plenty of swans though!

After a few unproductive hours pike fishing on the River Wye last week I headed to the River Axe on Tuesday in search of my first pike of the season. The stretch of river at Shiplate Farm normally produces a pike or two so I was hopeful of putting a bend in the rod. After a quick chat with Steve I headed to the river and was soon casting out my lamprey baits, these were mounted on size 6 trebles tied to 28lb breaking strain wire and fished on simple running lead rigs to minimise resistance to the pike if one was to pick up the smelly bait. Whilst waiting for the alarm to sound I busied myself by fishing various lures near marginal cover and watching the many swans that inhabit this stretch of the river. A few bleeps on the alarm sounded and I watched the line gently twitch at the rod tip, something was showing an interest! I picked up the rod, counted to ten and hit the bite hard to set the hooks in to the pikes boney mouth only to have a very badly chewed bait come flying back at me, a sure sign that an eel had been the culprit and not my intended target species. Twice in two weeks eels have taken a liking to my pike baits, a similar thing happening last week on the River Wye whilst float fishing a small mackerel. The hours past quickly with no sign of any pike and it wasn't until the end of the day that I saw the only fish of the day, a very small jack of about 2lb snapping at my bait as I retrieved the lamprey rod to pack it up. My second blank in as many trips fishing for pike this season but I will return for another try soon as I know this river has the potential to produce a very big fish! For information on fishing the River Axe at Shiplate Farm or to enquire about the excellent coarse and carp fishing available on the three lakes at this venue call Steve on 07895852162.

Amazing Day Fishing on the River Wye at Courtfield

My 10lb 6oz barbel was the biggest of the day!

To spend an afternoon fishing the River Wye on an unseasonably warm October day was to prove a very good decision last week! Myself, Jon, Jon's dad Tony and regular visitor to the shop Steve Dyke settled in to some lovely looking swims on the Courtfield stretch of the river at Lower Lydbrook and sport was superb all day! As Jon headed off with his pike rod in hand it was Tony who was first to shout fish on! and what a start, a 9lb 15oz personal best barbel! Myself and Steve were soon in to fish and it wasn't long before we were both weighing double figure barbel, a personal best 10lb 3oz fish for Steve and a specimen of 10lb 6oz for me! Lots more barbel followed and I was soon admiring another beautiful Wye double. Fish of 6lb to 8lb were plentiful with the occasional bigger one showing, Tony landed a further two 9lb plus barbel and for a bit of variety a chub which when weighed took the scales to 5lb 4oz, another personal best! Jon returned reporting that he hadn't had any luck with the rivers predators and decided to put a rod out for barbel and as the light faded on an unbelievable days fishing he added three more decent barbel to our tally taking the days combined catch to well over twenty fish! Similar tactics and baits were used by all of us with simple running leads and halibut pellets proving that you don't need to over complicate things to have a fantastic days fishing! For more information on fishing the Courtfield beat at Lower Lydbrook visit www.lowerwyefishing.co.uk and for all you need to know about the River Wye and its tributaries go to www.wyeuskfoundation.org

Steve with his personal best 10lb 3oz barbel

Tony and his second personal best of the day, a 5lb 4oz chub!

Chew Hosts Major Clubs Competition

Thursday 22nd September saw Chew Valley Lake host a Major Clubs competition. Teams taking part included the British Army and the British Navy with a total of twenty four anglers participating. I was there to represent the Bristol Reservoirs Fly Fishers Association team and with overcast conditions and a slight southwesterly breeze blowing things looked promising for a good days fishing. I found fish immediately and by 1 o'clock I had already taken seven of my eight fish limit by fishing holo nymths with a booby on the point. The sun made an appearance breaking through the clouds and as the fish pushed down in to deeper water due to the brighter conditions I swapped the booby for a hares ear and was soon netting my final fish before 2 o'clock giving me a total weight of 16lb and earning a time bonus worth a further 4lb. This was enough to place me fourth individually and to help my team secure third! With twenty anglers taking their bag limit and an average of 7.6 fish caught per person the day was a huge success with the Navy emerging triumphant and winning the competition!

A cracking Chew rainbow caught during the competition

Catfishing in Spain. CatMaster Tours Record Broken With 245lb Wels!

 All in the river together 

When I booked my trip with CatMaster Tours to fish Spain's River's Ebro and Segre back in February little did I know I would be telling this story eight months later. Myself and friend Dave enjoyed a fantastic holiday in Mequinenza last week where we were lucky enough to see and catch some very large wels catfish, but this is the story of one particular, special fish that rewrites catfishing history! Two days in to our weeks trip and fish to a huge 184lb had already been banked but that evening a true monster was about to make an appearance and it all started with a tentative little bite and just a couple of bleeps on the alarm. Upon picking up the rod and striking hard in to the fish I was met with an arm wrenching pull and a seemingly unstoppable run, braid was fast disappearing from the multiplier reel and I was forced to lock the clutch up before the fish reached the snags, as the fish stopped and turned I was able to regain some braid and I soon had the fish under control, a ten minute tug of war unfolded which can only be likened to playing a small car, the fish staying deep and out of sight before finally revealing itself a few rod lengths out. It was clear to see that this was a very big cat and I knew straight away that I was attached to one of Spain's now legendary monsters. After a couple of worrying moments where the cats huge tail slapped hard against the braid I was soon steering the fish towards the guides who were waiting to glove what would surely be a 200lb plus fish! The fish was pulled in to the waiting sling and it was at this moment we all realised just what we were dealing with, the eight foot sling was dwarfed by the fish, the cats tail hanging out the end and the sling barely stretching around the colossal belly of the beast, five of us were needed to haul the fish on to the scales where the needle swung round to a massive 245lb! I knew immediately I had broken the CatMaster Tours record by a whole 10lb and I just stood there staring at the scales in disbelief, my arms and back aching from the battle. Excitement broke out among us all and the decision to put the new record fish on a stringer overnight for photographing the next morning was made. I didn't get much sleep that night and as the sun rose in the morning we were all back at the river to see the huge fish in daylight for the first time. Under the light of the hot Spanish sun the cat looked bigger than ever and we were lucky enough to get some fantastic pictures before allowing the fish to swim away strongly and to grow even bigger for another lucky angler to catch on another day. More than a few celebratory buckets of water were thrown my way and as I stood soaked from head to toe we opened a bottle of champagne to toast what will surely be the most memorable catch of my life! As I write this, over a week later, the fish has been confirmed as the biggest wels catfish caught by a British angler! The photos have appeared in national newspapers both in the UK and in Spain and on the television on ITV1. Angling Times are featuring the story next week and BBC Somerset have been in contact with me to arrange a radio interview. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all at CatMaster Tours for an unforgettable experience and urge anyone thinking of going on a catfishing holiday to visit their website at www.catmastertours.com

At 8 feet 3 inches, the cat is over 2 feet longer than I am tall!

245lb takes some lifting!

Difficult Conditions Produces Personal Best

Dad with his new personal best 9lb 1oz barbel

Recent rain had put some much needed colour in to our rivers so dad and I headed to the Biblins stretch of the River Wye to try and tempt a barbel. On arrival we discovered the recent rise in water level and increase in current was washing all manner of debris down stream and we knew we were in for a tricky days fishing. Keeping a line in the water for longer than a few minutes at a time proved troublesome but as weed and tree branches drifted past we persevered and were rewarded with several fighting fit barbel each. Dad was lucky enough to hook a very good fish and after five minutes of battling both the fish and the river an immaculate barbel of 9lb 1oz was on the scales, a personal best for dad and a real achievement landing such a big, hard fighting fish in such difficult conditions. Very well done! Various baits were used throughout the day with Mistral Baits 15mm Spicy Sausage Instant Carp Food boilies proving very popular with the rivers residents. Tackle used was a running 3oz lead, a 12lb breaking strain Korda IQ2 extra soft fluorocarbon hooklength and a size 8 Drennan Super Specialist Barbel hook. This river has provided excellent sport all summer and a return trip in October has already been booked. Cant wait!

This little chap put up a great scrap for it's size

Barbel love boilies and pellets

Excellent Sport on Offer at Local Lakes

This 1lb 8oz perch took a liking to luncheon meat

The last few weeks have seen Dad and I, joined by my friend Dave, sampling the fishing available on some of our local stillwaters and I am pleased to say with good results. A variety of tactics and baits were used from centrepin reels and floating crust to bite alarms and boilies with all methods producing good fish. Highlights included double figure carp for all of us, topped by a 16lb 1oz common for Dave which he tempted on a red thai curry boilie that I had made myself. Tench to 5lb 2oz made an appearance along with some decent bream, roach and perch. Conditions seem to be perfect at the moment and with summer changing to autumn it provides an excellent opportunity to get out there and enjoy what our lakes have to offer. For information on fishing any of our local venues pop in to the shop and have a chat with us.

Dave with his personal best tench of 5lb 2oz