GO PRINT for Easter! The new issue of Angler's Mail magazine is out now with two stars of the new ITV fishing series on the cover - and a golden tench!
Dean Macey and Jimmy Bullard, the cover stars, are just two top names in the pages of this big value magazine.
There’s a free rod licence voucher inside, 2-4-1 day ticket deals.. and the biggest & best Where To Fish guide by genuine local experts.
Use the deals and the info inside Angler’s Mail to make the most of Easter and beyond!
Exclusive top tips, exclusive big news, exclusive interesting columnists are yours inside this issue of the mag. It includes…
New river anglers group revealed
Big money Golden Rod Feeder Final
Neville Fickling reveals the pike of the season
Darren Cox’s must-read views on the ‘majors’
Angling mascots… you must check these guys out!
Steve Collett’s final river season session
Michael Salisbury on the next generation
Dave Coster on why you must use black hooks
Fish sex talk with Dr Ian Welch
Andy Browne gets to the sharp end of hooks
John Bailey’s season finale
Colin Davidson shares his multi rig expertise
Historic Moments – the launch of an iconic carp rod
Catch More roach – our guest shows how
Story Special – tackle dealer Roger Surgay
It’s all in print NOT online. Out now. Your perfect reading matter for the long Easter weekend.
This week’s issue of Angler’s Mail print magazine costs only £1.99 in good supermarkets and newsagents in the UK.
MARSH PRATLEY, owner of one of the UK’s best day ticket carp fisheries and a prolific charity fundraiser, has been diagnosed with terminal cancer.
Marsh Pratley, who owns Oxfordshire’s fantastic Orchid Lakes, is determined that both the fishery and his charitable work will continue.
Marsh was a co-founder of the charity Anglers Against Cancer, has already raised £250,000 in four years. It donates to Children With Cancer UK.
Prior to acquiring Orchid in 1995, Marsh was one of the leading all round specimen anglers.
He also holds the unique distinction of being general secretary of the National Association of Specimen Anglers and chairman of the Carp Society.
He was also an Angler’s Mail magazine columnist as well as sitting the British Record Fish Committee. He even won the all round British Casting Champion title in 2001.
Orchid manager James ‘Sibbo’ Simpson explained: “We are open for business as usual despite Marsh’s illness, and he has assured everyone that Orchid Lakes will continue its legacy although there are still some legalities to sort out.
“Since I have worked here its been evident also how much effort and energy the team put into the fundraising work.
“Marsh has auctioned all his old tackle and angling artefacts, for over £3,000 more for the charity.
“Their target for this year is to raise a further £51,355 with the main event here starting September 20,” he concluded.
Top man – Marsh Pratley seen here in the centre with shaven head for charity, alongside carp ace Ron Buss.
Marsh Pratley – “Cancer team were brilliant”
Marsh Pratley has only felt ill for a while and the cancer diagnosis came out of the blue.
Despite the terminal nature of the illness the former Royal Marine has approached the situation with customary good humour.
Marsh himself explained: “For the first four weeks I was being treated for a chest infection.
“My lack of being able to breathe meant I had to call out the ambulance ten times.
“Every x-ray showed the lungs were clear… so ‘hey ho’ we all thought it was me having panic attacks.
“It was purely by chance the doc said he’d do a quick CT scan to make sure there was no blood clot on the lung.
“Within an hour he came searching for me whilst I was waiting at the hospital pharmacy and asked if he could have a word.
“I said to him it’s not good news is it and he was totally honest. There was a massive tumour, and the cancer had spread throughout the body.
“When he told me that my first thought was that I needn’t buy a Christmas tree, just turn off the lights and I’d have my own internal lighting.
“Once we knew the extent of the problems all of the options were discussed, chemo would probably give me a few more weeks but it would depend on how my body reacted and my quality of life.
“A lot of my friends have said how well I’m looking then I remember Spike Milligan’s inscription on his headstone – ‘I told them I was ill’.
“The cancer team were brilliant and pulled no punches. At best I’ve got a few weeks. You have to play the cards your dealt and I’ve been a lot luckier than most so I can’t complain.
“Although I haven’t given in, I have to set in place certain things to lessen the burden on my sister and two children for the inevitable, especially as my daughter is pregnant with her first child in July.
“As and when my time arrives Sibbo will make an announcement on my Facebook page and it would be lovely to pack the church in the village followed by one of our legendary Orchid socials.
“Orchid along was originally stocked with the Leney strain of carp and even to this day I’ve never stocked the lake even when I was offered seven fish all over the then British record some 23 years ago.
“If I’d been an out and out business man I knew I could have filled every swim every day of the week.
“The point is that that strain of fish is something special and means more to me than money,” Marsh concluded.
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A NEW river anglers’ group, the River Anglers’ Conservation Group, has been launched by top flowing water anglers to fight for the future of UK rivers.
The River Anglers’ Conservation Group arrives on the scene at a time when many people would argue that there has never been a greater need for action.
Rivers are under threat from micro-plastics and algae blooms, plus pollution, abstraction and habitat destruction… so the River Anglers’ Conservation Group has been born.
Leading anglers united to form the group, and Angler’s Mail print magazine was first to break the full news of the development.
As well as campaigning, the River Anglers’ Conservation Group will organise fun fishing and social events at leading venues, where members can receive tips and guidance from some of the UK’s top anglers.
Matt Marlow – main man in the new rivers group that all anglers are able to join.
River Anglers’ Conservation Group founder and chairman Matt Marlow (pictured above) explained: “As anglers know only too well, there is hardly a river in the UK that is not under threat due to water quality, over-abstraction or predation issues – often all three.
“To date, there has been no specialist group for river anglers irrespective of what species they fish for.
“We want to engage in sensible, level-headed debate in a way that will gain the respect and attention of non-angling bodies, such as water authorities or wildlife organisations. Anglers by themselves can rarely achieve the progress needed.”
The River Anglers’ Conservation Group will also undertake and advise on habitat improvement projects and develop a network of regional officers to collate knowledge.
Member benefits will include social fish-ins, teach-ins and advisory clinics on river habitat improvements, and a regular magazine exclusive to members. It will also forge links with other like-minded groups across Europe.
The better-known anglers on board for the launch included lure expert and former Angler’s Mail match correspondent Darren Starkey, spessy ace Dai Gribble, author Dominic Garnett, barbel specialist Jerry Gleeson, eel angler and author Barry McConnell, international game angler Scott Graham, piker Steve Burgess and perch ace Phil Taylor.
They are supported by geomorphologist and aquatic ecologist Dr Andrew Pledger, river conservationist Trevor Harrop of the acclaimed Avon Roach Project, and Andrew Tredgett of the River Lea Project, which recently featured on BBC TV’s Countryfile. All three have agreed to act as expert advisors to the new group.
The news was welcomed by Angling Trust and Fish Legal’s chief executive Mark Lloyd, who said: “We look forward to working collaboratively with this new group of highly experienced and thoughtful anglers to tackle the many threats to river coarse fishing throughout the country.
“Their specialist knowledge will be invaluable in the fight to protect and improve all fish and fishing. We will be delighted to welcome the River Anglers’ Conservation Group onto our Specialist Anglers Group.”
Anglers can join for just £4.99 via the River Anglers’ Conservation Group website >> www.racg.co.uk
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PIKE fishing at Chew Valley was again spectacular at times during last season's main pike sessions... but some predators are still getting caught there as this hulk proves...
The mighty predator fell to Italian pike fly fishing maestro Enrico Pini who returned to Somerset’s Chew Valley after catching a 36-pounder in October.
His latest visit ended in awesome style too as his pike fly fishing kit tempted a 40 lb beast (pictured).
Enrico, from Padua near Venice, is a double bass player who teaches music and produces fly fishing pike video for the Italian Sky channel.
He went to the No.1 UK predator water after its hugely popular annual deadbait and lure trials finished.
The 45-year-old offered a home-made fly.
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RICHIE LEAT had a dream session when he netted four 40 lb carp in a single night.
40 lb carp catches are rarely as special as this one. Richie had a 40 lb 10 oz common, a 41 lb 10 oz mirror, a 42 lb 4 oz mirror called the Football Lin (above)… and finally the 41 lb Scar Common (below).
And the action didn’t end there as he added three 20 lb fish in the same night.
Wiltshire-based Richie was on Hampshire’s in-form New Forest Water Park syndicate lake when he made the incredible catch of 40 lb carp.
Richie’s end-tackle and bait was interesting too, and rather different…
He explained: “Two of the forties were caught on zigs the other two on Dynamite Monster Tiger Nut pop-up boilies tipped with 18 real maggots balanced with split shot on bait floss hair.
“I fished multi-rigs so the hook sits flat and boilie wafts above and over a stick mix at 17 wraps.
“The stick mix is made with Tigernut and CompleX-T boilies ground to mostly powder but leaving few whole and chopped.
“To this is added Tigernut and CompleX-T pellets, Frenzied Hemp plus four pints of maggots, Sweet Tiger liquid and a healthy squirt of all the new Evolution Oils.
“This is all left to soak for 24 hours beforehand,” he revealed.
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ANGLERS have been reacting to news that a river in England was found to contain the highest concentration of microplastics in the world.
Geographers at the University of Manchester made the microplastics discovery when they examined river sediments from 40 sites across Greater Manchester including urban rivers and rural streams.
And the River Tame at Denton had a level far excess of anywhere previously sampled at 517,000 particles of microplastics per square metre.
Their research found significant levels of microplastic severywhere, even in the remotest parts of head streams, and calls for tighter regulation.
After the Tame, the highest concentrations were found in the Irwell, Croal and Roch.
Microplastics fears of top angler
Former barbel record holder and environmental campaigner Ray Walton said: “The breakdown and elements of plastics would be in all rivers in the UK that have water company sewage effluent dumped into them.
“These microplastics would affect all fish and every creature along the riverine food chain as the chemicals in plastics are ‘endocrine disruptors’ so can cause sex change.
“As they are not removed in water treatment processing, then surely humans will be affected as well.
“In my opinion, it is one of the main reasons why some fish species like barbel have stopped breeding naturally in rivers, and why the EA have to keep re-stocking fish all over the UK.
“The EA, Government and water companies must have known about the problem for many years but never address or correct the problem, or even want to,” he added.
“We found microplastics everywhere”
Jamie Woodward, professor of physical geography University of Manchester, said: “If you had done the work in the West Midlands or south I am sure you would have got similar results.
“We found microplastics everywhere, even in streams high in the hills. Wherever you find people you find plastic.
“We found we had the worst levels in the world, some of which were extraordinarily high – the River Tame is a global hotspot for microplastics.
“Ultimately we need to get better at managing wastewater, and the Environment Agency urgently needs to look at Britain’s rivers and see what the extent of microplastics is in the UK.
“We believe the microplastics are finding their way into rivers from a combination of industrial effluent and domestic wastewater.
“We also found that around 70 per cent of the microplastics were then washed away into the sea.
“While that is good for the river beds, showing they can effectively cleanse themselves, it is bad news for the oceans.
“We are only beginning to understand the extent of the microplastic contamination problem in the world’s rivers.
“To tackle the problem in the oceans, we have to prevent microplastics entering river channels,” he concluded.
The researchers estimate that the floods of 2015 flushed around 43 billion microplastic particles from the River Mersey and Irwell catchments, and into the Irish Sea.
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BOFFINS have developed a cheap, safe and effective method of dealing with harmful algae blooms that kill millions of fish every year.
Trials last summer by a team from the John Innes Centre and the University of East Anglia showed that hydrogen peroxide – used to dye hair blonde – was effective against the ‘golden algae’ Prymnesium parvum.
It is on the verge of being introduced following successful field and lab tests.
‘Golden algae’ are a group of different species that are responsible for thousands of fish kills worldwide each year.
In 2015, the River Thurne and Hickling Broads saw tens of thousands of fish die including lots of specimen pike to over 30 lb from an algae bloom but quick-thinking work from the EA (pictured above) saw 700,000 fish saved and relocated.
Algae are clearly a threat to the £550 million economy of the Broads National Park in Norfolk and Suffolk where trials have been taking place.
Lab tests have now demonstrated that controlled doses of the versatile chemical compound could be even more effective in dealing with cyanobacteria. Commonly known as blue-green algae, cyanobacteria represents a major public health hazard.
Algae blooms can be ‘easily’ managed
Dr Ben Wagstaff, one of the authors of the study, said: “We’ve demonstrated that the use of hydrogen peroxide is a practical, relatively easy way of managing these blooms.
“Work has already started to put together protocols for the use of hydrogen peroxide to control Prymnesium and our research showed that blue green algae are even more susceptible.
“You can potentially use even lower doses to wipe out blue-green blooms,” he added.
Steve Lane, fisheries technical specialist at the Environment Agency which is helping to implement the research, said: “It is really exciting how scientists, fishery managers, the angling community and partners have worked together and made such important progress to tackle the algae.
“These are a serious threat to the multi-million-pound angling economy of the Broads.
“We are now working hard to make sure that we can use hydrogen peroxide to help manage future incidents, guided by the wonderful world-leading work that has taken place right here in Norwich,” Steve concluded.
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ANGLER’S MAIL print magazine has its finger firmly on the pulse of what’s happening on the coarse and carp scene this week… so grab your copy!
Thinking of targeting tench? Be sure to read match ace Darren Cox’s tips for spring tench. And check out traditional angler John Bailey’s 20-day plan for the species.
In another AM exclusive, Steve Collett joins TV sports guru Barry Hearn as he takes on a challenge against ex-boxer Jess Harding.
In the news, there’s a huge 16 lb 1 oz barbel from a stillwater – see the picture and read the report on this amazing specimen.
Angler’s Mail exclusive coach, Michael Salisbury, shares his Top 10 spring stillwater tips to help you over the weeks ahead.
The magazine brings you your last chance to save £6 on the cost of a one-day rod licence. The printed voucher is inside Angler’s Mail. Use it this week!
Also inside this week’s issue of Angler’s Mail print magazine:
How April floods have hit fisheries
Roach revival revealed
Latest great catches and big matches
Dave Coster’s best-ever meat tips
Andy Browne explains how to fish a waggler right
Secret Lives examines fish digestion
A step back in time looking at the Elite reel
Catch More match carp
Colin Davidson’s essential carp rig tips
England carp ace Jamie Londors returns to Linear Fisheries
New Gear selected by Richard Howard
Where To Fish This Week by trusted experts
PLUS much more – it’s all in our print magazine this week.
This week’s issue of Angler’s Mail print magazine costs only £1.99 in good supermarkets and newsagents in the UK.
LURE fishing ace Jason Stokes had the ‘shock of his life’ when he tempted this huge sea-dwelling smelt... from a canal!
The 28-year-old lure fishing fan, from Bridlington, East Yorkshire, caught the unusual coastal visitor from the Aire and Calder Navigation in West Yorkshire.
The property maintenance director said: “I didn’t weigh it in the heat of the moment. I’ve never heard of them been caught there ever before.
“It fell to a Fox Rage ready-tied drop shot rig, with an 8 cm Tiddler Fast lure in marble pattern.
“I didn’t get any perch at all perch at all. It was a tough day compared to how it usually performs but I was chuffed to catch this smelt, a real once in a lifetime fish,” added Jason.
The fish must have been close to the official British record of 6 oz 12 dr caught back in 1981 off Fleetwood in Lancashire.
Smelt sometimes go into tidal rivers but Angler’s Mail has never heard of one from a canal before.
Elsewhere, Darrell Carter (pictured) also had a surprise when his lure fishing trip to a secret lake produced this stunning 24 lb 3 oz common carp.
Ware, Hertfordshire-based Darrell, 45, said: “I was fishing for perch on a light drop shot rod when the carp hoovered up the Berkley Craw jig.
“About 30 minutes beforehand I managed to land a 15 lb pike from the other side of the lake on the same rig.
“When the carp first hit I thought I’d hooked a much bigger pike, perhaps 30 lb-plus by the way it tore off.
“It took me a good ten minutes before I got to see what it was that was dragging me all over the lake, so you can imagine my surprise when I first had a glimpse of her.
“After an epic 20 minutes fight in total, I managed to bring her into the net.
“My PB carp is 36 lb 6 oz but this was something special,” added the marketing director.
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A LAST-ditch attempt was made by the Hunt Saboteurs Association to disrupt the Angling Trust’s Cormorant Watch website.
F28ETA Brian May joins anti Hunt protesters outside parliament Featuring: Atmosphere Where: London, United Kingdom When: 14 Jul 2015
The sabs were encouraging its supporters to record bogus sightings of cormorants, goosanders and mergansers on the website to derail the Trust’s goal of having accurate records of the fish-munching birds.
Luckily the Trust created a quality assurance protocol to avoid false reports so these won’t be included in the final figures. The Cormorant Watch website has now closed.
But things turned ugly on the Hunt Saboteurs Association social media pages when members said anglers should be shot rather than cormorants.
Mark Lloyd, chief executive of the Angling Trust, said: “It is disappointing that these animal rights extremists have chosen to target angling with their hateful action.
“Online comments on forums associated with this movement have even called for anglers to be shot, which is appalling.
“We have never called for predatory birds to be wiped out but we do want to see sensible, proportionate management to control their numbers at sustainable levels that can support viable fish populations.
“Angling is loved by three million people, supports 40,000 jobs and generates £3billion for the UK economy. These people will not stop us fishing,” he added.
Martin Salter, campaigns manager for the Angling Trust, added: “Unfortunately the growth of social media has given a much bigger platform for all types of protest and this does include people who would love to damage angling.
“Although this is a very tiny minority we must always be on our guard to protect our sport. Unfortunately the recent ill-conceived petition for the control of otters did us no favours amongst the public at large,” he concluded.
Who are the anti-anglers?
Hunt Saboteurs Association
Mostly anti-fox hunting and to some extent shooting game, but this recent case highlights they will attack angling.
Campaign For The Abolition Of Anglers
Formed from other groups in 1985, it had over 200 members at it peak and had national campaigns and their own magazine Pisces. But it ceased to exist in 2003. Some members moved onto The Black Fish group, an international marine conservation organisation.
People For The Ethical Treatment Of Animals
This wealthy USA-based group, supported by stars like Pamela Anderson, want an outright fishing ban but are very unlikely to get it in the fishing- mad States where there are nearly 30 million anglers. They don’t even want catch-and-release fishing to be allowed.
The Royal Society For The Protection of Birds
This wealthy group formed in 1889, and are not anti-angling, and allow fishing on many waters they control, but ban fishing on other venues. But they don’t support any culling of cormorants, and won’t be drawn into the otter debate despite the furry predators killing thousands of birds a year. Had an income of £140.6 million in 2017.
Royal Society For The Protection Of Cruelty To Animals
Not directly calling for a ban on angling, the group who have an income of £143.5 million in 2016, thinks angling is cruel. Their own policy statement on angling says: “The RSPCA believes that current practices in angling involve the infliction of pain and suffering on fish. The Medway Report has proved to the satisfaction of the RSPCA that fish are capable of experiencing pain and suffering. The RSPCA advocates that those anglers who see fit to pursue their activities adopt a code of practice based on this report.”
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ANGLERS are up in arms about plans to remove all the carp from a prime coarse fishery - and they look set to be destroyed.
A0YCGK A fisherman setting up early morning at Hatchet Pond Beaulieu Heath
Hatchet Pond in Hampshire’s New Forest is a day and season permit water managed by the Forestry Commission.
Its stocks include carp to over 40 lb, double-figure bream, plus specimen tench, roach, perch, pike and eels.
The 12-acre lake (pictured above) is a Site of Special Scientific Interest and is considered one of the most important wildlife ponds in England. But the FC and Natural England are concerned about deterioration in the water quality.
Top club Ringwood DAA run the fishing and are dismayed at the situation.
Ringwood DAA lakes manager John Sudworth revealed: “It is not an easy venue to fish, but does have some quality specimens.
“Natural England does regard carp as a non-native species and will remove them from waters it controls throughout the area.
“The same thing happened at nearby Cadman’s Pool which was cleared of carp but unfortunately some anglers then re-stocked them only for them to be removed again.
“Natural England did organise a public consultation meeting in February to discuss the issues about the pond and to reveal their proposals but had already made up their mind about the carp.
“They said at the time that they would try to re-home them but I have heard unofficially that this has not been possible so sadly it is likely they will be destroyed.
“I can see some anglers might take matters into their own hands and remove the carp themselves but we could not condone this,” added John.
And RDAA secretary Phil Nixon added: “We know for sure that the that they will electro fish the pond and remove the carp and I have heard from a reliable source that they won’t be transferred elsewhere.
“It is sad to think of these fine fish being destroyed but Natural England seem to be dead set against carp in any of their lakes. I’m sure an angling club elsewhere would welcome them,” he added.
The FC didn’t want to comment and Natural England via DEFRA failed to respond to Angler’s Mail requests for a quote.
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THIS week’s Angler's Mail print magazine is easy to spot, with a HUGE golden orfe on the cover. Read about it exclusively inside the issue!
A brilliantly insightful new series starts this week in Angler’s Mail print magazine – with additives expert Archie Braddock.
Archie starts his Flavour of Fishing series, exclusively for the Mail, by telling the story of how flavouring baits transformed his angling.
There are exclusives too on the Pole v Waggler rematch; the double marathon angler; the sad end for zander; an ‘earthquake’ at a top UK lake; a big raid on a tackle shop.. and a close look at whether meat baits are dangerous to fish?
This week’s AM mag contains more exclusives, all in print:
Travel tips for foreign success
Carp fishing with Billy Flowers and Colin Davidson
Lee Kerry on preparing perfect groundbait
Close Season and merganser threat
Steve Collett goes after stillwater chub
Dave Coster on choosing the right hook styles
Andy Browne explains super spring baits
Bob Nudd’s career highlights
John Bailey and his lady target huge roach
Richard Howard’s New Gear picks
Are you going fishing soon? Find out the latest hotspots via the best Where To Fish coverage, by the Angler’s Mail team of regional experts. This too is only in print, in AM magazine.
This week’s issue of Angler’s Mail print magazine costs only £1.99 in good supermarkets and newsagents in the UK.
STARS and catches galore are expected at the 6th annual PDC Fishing Championships which has moved to Hampshire’s mega prolific Gold Valley Lakes.
Spectators are also expected to flock to Gold Valley for the charity event run by the Professional Darts Corporation.
It’s on Tuesday, August 28, and Gold Valley has great facilities as well.
Former World snooker champion Mark Williams has confirmed he will be trying to retain the PDC Fishing crown he won last year at Manor Farm in Bedfordshire with 15 lb 6 oz.
But with huge numbers of carp to 20 lb-plus at Gold Valley, Mark will have to up his catch rate.
Mark, pictured above lifting his 2017 title, joked: “I will give everyone an 8 lb start to make it interesting. I’m looking forward to Barry Hearn giving me that trophy again this year, I still remember his face when he presented it last year.
“The thought of him handing me that trophy again is too much. Knowing Barry, I’m surprised I’m not banned this time!”
Also confirmed to fish at Gold Valley are William Hill World Darts champ and keen angler Rob ‘Voltage’ Cross and snooker legend Steve ‘Interesting’ Davis will be there.
Angler’s Mail can confirm there will be many other sport stars at Gold Valley who you’ll recognise from regular appearances on TV.
The organisers’ current listing (subject to change) includes darts heroes Gary ‘Flying Scotsman’ Anderson and Michael ‘Bully Boy’ Smith, and Chris Mason (the ITV4 pundit with great taste in shirts).
Popular walk-on girls Daniella Allfree and Charlotte Wood will be there again. They were recently and controversially dropped from events including darts’ Premier League.
Rugby League will be represented this time with top players Jamie Jones-Buchanan, Josh Charnley and Sam Powell.
Also lined up are former boxing champs Spencer Oliver and Paul Smith Jnr, who have both shown angling skills in the past. More names are still to be announced.
Former PDC Fishing champions include Steve Collett, the unique Angler’s Mail print magazine columnist.
Steve has been helping event organisers Barry Hearn and Jess Harding brush up their angling skills – as seen in Angler’s Mail, with more to come!
Organiser Jess Harding explained: “Going to Gold Valley will be great with superb fishing and facilities.
“We are very proud to be supporting Parkinson’s UK as our chosen charity for this years.
“It is free entry, with parking at £10 per car, but with 100 per cent of the money going to charity.
“If you can’t make it, it is also going to be televised on Sky Sports 3. For full details please go to our website www.pdcfishing.co.uk” he added.
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DACE record holder and all-round spessy ace Simon ‘Busta’ Ashton completed a ten-year quest for a 20 lb pike from a Lincolnshire lake with this PB 29 lb 2 oz stunner.
The 42-year-old from Durham caught her on a small 10 g rubber shad lure.
Simon explained: “For around a decade I’ve been travelling down to a Lincolnshire water trying to catch a 20 lb pike.
“Closest I’ve come is 19 lb but deep down inside I knew the place had the potential to smash that figure into oblivion.
“I arrived at the venue to find conditions spot on for a day’s lure fishing. I decided to scale everything down and head into the middle of the lake away from the other anglers.
“Five casts in and the biggest, fattest pike I’ve ever seen in the UK had seized my tiny rubber jig.
“Amazingly the 18 lb E-S-P ghost fluorocarbon leader and 10lb micro braid main line held long enough for my mate Ryan Craggs to skilfully net her. Talk about a bonny pike,” he concluded.
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BIG CARP specialist Ed Betteridge upped his PB to 53 lb 12 oz with this big-framed mirror known as Roids... after a tough battle in the weed.
The Derby-based big carp angler, who works as media manager at the Greys tackle brand, banked the impressive fish from a southern ‘Boating Lake’.
It beat Ed’s PB by 3 lb and came on his first night back since November, and at the end of the cold early spring spell.
Ed said: “I didn’t have plans to rejoin the Boating Lake this year but the water I intended on fishing is 150 acres and stream fed, so with all the recent biblical rain fall and cold weather I knew it would be a waste of time until conditions improved.
“So with no other tickets to fall back on, I made the last minute decision to rejoin the Boating Lake.
“I spent hours watching the water without seeing anything show so I ended up fishing an area that I knew had done a few early bites last April.
“There was a raised area that ran parallel with the bank that was heavily weeded in the summer, where as the deeper water around it was featureless.
“I didn’t want to disturb the area too much getting the rig exactly right so I boated out to the zone and cast a chod another 15 yards towards the feature.
“I reasoned the fish wouldn’t be feeding much in the cold water, but I wanted a bit of attraction around the area so I baited with a dozen mixed Mainline Baits boilies.”
Big carp takes Ed into dead weed
Ed continued: “The wind switched in the night to a southerly facer with heavy rain forcing me to zip up the bivvy to keep me and the dog dry.
“A gathering of weed on the line had caused a few beeps during the night, so when I was woken up just before dawn by three beeps, I didn’t think too much of it.
“But then I got a two beep drop back tone, so I unzipped my bag, but before I had chance to get my boots on the alarm ripped off dispelling my doubt.
“I got the fish back 50 yards toward me without any dramatics, just the odd nod, but then it weeded itself.
“I keep steady tension on it, although it wasn’t moving, so I put the rod down and gave it a bit of slack, but nothing moved.
“I had no choice but to put on my life jacket and go out after it in the driving rain.
“Once over the top of the fish it started to inch slowly out of the weed.
“There was a big ball of dead weed and belly sticking out of the side.
“It was hard to gauge how big it was in the half light and if I was a little sharper I could have scooped it up.
“But then it surged off, ripping several yards of line off a tight clutch.
“It once again buried itself in weed and again I brought it slowly to the top.
“I managed to net it third time and I knew I had one of the real lumps,” he added.
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A BUMPER crop of prime roach have been stocked thanks to the hard work of the Avon Roach Project.
Avon Roach Project members put in tens of thousands of roach into three location on the Hampshire Avon around Ringwood. And they predict even higher stockings next year.
Avon Roach Project co-founder Trevor Harrop (pictured above) said: “We have delivered the second largest number of fish in the project’s history.
“It was amazing, and we are still buzzing. We stocked three different locations as we usually do each year, but we probably had enough fish for five batches.
“The EA guys, Jim Allan, Phil Rudd and Stuart Kingston-Turner were once again on hand to help, bringing an element of expertise.
“Thanks to everyone who helped and to everyone who came along at the release sites to share the moment with us and take the wonderful pictures.
“And, that’s not all, before this, back in February, we moved the biggest ever number of tiddlers from our tanks to our stews in the projects history so these will be grown on for the future,” concluded the inspiring Avon Roach Project man.
Elsewhere, amongst many restockings that have been made around the country in recent weeks, Todmorden AS in West Yorkshire stocked 340 lb of roach and 106 lb of carp into the Rochdale Canal. Some of them are seen in the picture above.
Todmorden AS secretary Ray Barber said: “Funding for these fish was provided by the Community Foundation For Calderdale and the Canal & River Trust so we’d like to say thanks to them.”
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PHILIPP REHBERGER had a dream come true when he landed this huge catfish - one of the biggest ever caught.
The huge Wild Catz wels catfish.
Wild Catz Adventure Weeks participant Philipp landed the 265 cm leviathan weighing an estimated 130 kilograms on the floodwaters of the River Po in Italy.
But it didn’t give up easily, Angler’s Mail understands that Philipp had to win a brutal fight from the dinghy that lasted over 25 minutes.
The catfish took off upstream immediately after the bite in just 80 cm of water, which is typical behaviour of only the largest specimens, before sitting on the bottom for several minutes as solid as a rock.
The fully parabolic power blank of the Black Cat Wild Catz rod eventually forced the fish to move on, allowing the fight to continue in deep, fast-flowing water.
After many nerve-racking minutes, the catfish made its first appearance at the surface.
Philipp and Wild Catz Adventure Weeks organizer Patrick Haas quickly realized from the huge appearance of the head that they had to be looking at one of the largest catfish ever caught.
Giant as long as Wild Catz boat!
Patrick Haas used the catfish grip to take the river monster by the jaws and, with the help of Philipp , pulled it aboard the 270 cm Zeepter Ultra dinghy.
Once on terra firma, the catfish was measured in front of several witnesses to confirm its enormous dimensions, before being photographed.
The outstanding specimen fell to a 5 g U-float rig and Black Cat Gripper single hook in size 1/0 gained a secure hold and withstood enormous stresses during the fight.
Peter Merkel and Patrick , long-standing team anglers for Tostedt-based fishing tackle manufacturer Zebco Europe, organize guided catfish adventure tours on the River Po in Italy in conjunction with Markus Eule’s “Wallerwelt” angling centre.
The tours focus on practical transfer of expertise to participants and shared exploration of the most unknown stretches of water.
Angler’s Mail understands that the professionally organized tours produce monster catches on a relatively frequent basis.
WANT TO CATCH A CATFISH? Read this week’s Angler’s Mail print magazine (out Tuesday, April 24) for helpful insight.
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WYKEHAM LAKES is home to the biggest pike caught in English waters... and it's where awesome underwater footage of a giant pike has just been recorded.
Wykeham Lakes’ biggest resident was sensationally landed at 46 lb 11 oz – just TWO OUNCES – below the British best, four years ago.
Still the English record, it fell to Wyndon Coole and came agonisingly close to the 46 lb 13 oz record boated by Roy Lewis in South Wales back in 1992.
The water where Wyndon’s catch still lives is Wykeham Lakes in North Yorkshire. It’s a syndicate venue that also contains some other large pike.
But they aren’t easy to catch, far from it… making the new video footage, below, extra special.
Wykeham Lakes giant caught by BBW
The pike in the video had not been seen since or caught since November 2015… until Mark Barrow managed to film her in mid-April 2018.
Mark, who films for under the banner Beneath British Waters, told Angler’s Mail: ‘I spent a whole five minutes filming her via video camera underwater and the video footage itself is amazing.
“I was literally 12 inches away from her as she just lay there and resulted in some of the best footage I have ever gained.”
Mark told Angler’s Mail magazine more about his searching of fish to capture on video in their natural habitat.
Talking about the Wykeham Lakes 30-pounder (in the video above) he said: “I spent a whole two hours searching the lake and kept seeing pike in the distance but could not get near one.
“Then I decided do drop down in depth to 4 metres and slowly come up a particular slope at the very slow speed making hardly any movement.
“It was at that point I noticed a pike but never realised how big she was until I got closer.
“Upon seeing her I stopped all movement and just allowed momentum to move me in close.
“To get this close to such a huge fish – not the biggest in there – was, for me, a huge achievement.
“The pike in Wykeham Lakes really are in superb shape. I have filmed at Wykeham Lakes for the past four years, with good friend Alan Gee.
“I share my footage through my social media pages called Beneath British Waters where fisheries or angling clubs get in touch for us to film,” added Mark.
Wyndon Coole holds Wykeham Lakes’ biggest pike, when it scaled 46 lb 11 oz.
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But, as reported by Angler’s Mail, he is determined to keep raising money for Anglers Against Cancer, the charity he co-founded four years ago.
Marsh is well on course to reach this year’s target of £51,355 which will bring the total raised by the charity to a quarter of a million pounds.
James Simpson, manager of carp-oriented Orchid Lakes in Oxfordshire, said: “The main fundraising event is our big match on September 20 which is already a sell-out.
“Although the fishing is full, others can come and camp on the site (Orchid Lakes) for a charitable £10 and enjoy the activities which will include a hog roast and entertainment.
“We have been donated a lot of items like tackle and fishing holidays which will be raffled on the day as well as some being auctioned in the meantime on our website.
“We are currently auctioning a guided holiday for two to the River Ebro kindly donated by Edd Brett’s Catfish Tours.
“Marsh is having chemo today and responding positively to the challenge of his illness, and we hope he will be well enough to attend.
“We are determined to carry on his legacy of running the fishery (Orchid Lakes) and the charity,” James added.
Orchid Lakes boss helps barbel efforts
Only last week Marsh Pratley donated a rare Fred Crouch rod to the Barbel Society who chipped in with a hefty £750 straight away.
Despite being known in recent times for offering terrific big carp fishing at Orchid Lakes, Marsh is a noted all-round specimen angler. His passions include barbel.
Society chairman Steve Pope explained: “The wonderful rod, a Barbel Perfection which is No.1 of a limited edition of 25 made by Fred and is totally unused, has a very special significance to us.
“We will now set up our own section to help raise money for the charity that is so dear to Marsh.
“It gives us the opportunity to set aside a date each year when we can pay our own homage to those whose shoulders we stand on.
“It isn’t totally decided yet but we will be holding an event in August or September provisionally called ‘Celebrating our Legends’ and the money raised will go to Anglers Against Cancer.
“Marsh has come to represent all that is good about angling, his inspiration will live on in all of us who are privileged to know him and he has reached out way beyond his own huge circle,” he concluded.
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