Winner of Stafford Moors fisho festival was Dave Stockton who fished on peg 1 to land 164lb 2oz fishing 8mm pellet on the waggler who won £1000 .
The festival had one main winner then 4 more winners which were one in each of the four sections who each won £365.
These were :
Lee Werrett
Zac Newton
Chris Cameron
Pete Randall
Sue Seton-Smith, 53 from Southampton, and Friend Petula Little showed the men in their life how it’s done when they both caught Personal Bests! Sue caught a Personal Best 20lb 10oz Common from the Main Carp Lake using a homemade wafter rig with half cell bottom bait and trimmed half cell white pop up with a spread of boilies near to the lillies. Petula caught a personal 21lb 1oz Mirror from Xanadu on an Almond Goo Pop Up over Manilia Boilies. Both Ladies beat all the Men in their party and caught the Biggest Fish out of them all!!
Kieran Evans from Wales had a session with his Dad Mark on the Kracking Carp Lake before his annual week with us at the Main Anglers Paradise Complex in the hope of a New personal best Carp. Well, he did just that and caught a Personal Best 46lb 8oz Mirror on Fake Corn at 6.30am on the last day of his session! It certainly made his week!!
Matt Outen, 25 from Rutland had a 48 hour session to remember on the Main Carp Lake after catching 6 Carp and 4 of them being Stunning 20’s! Matt caught a 20lb 4oz Mirror, 2 X 20lb 12oz Mirrors and a 24lb 4oz Mirror on JH Baits White Pepper Pop Ups presented on Multi Rigs over a spread of the awesome JH Baits KLF and Black Pepper Boilies alongside a large bed of lily pads.
Carl Cliff Brown who caught the Complex’s 1st EVER 50 last year came back to the Kracking Carp to see if his luck would continue and managed to catch himself two Mirrors of 24lbs and 30lbs, and we have to say, we had to do a double take as they look so similar!! Carl caught the Kracking Mirrors using 40 Freebies with a White Pop Up over the top.
Peter Gauci, from Cardiff, headed to our Day Ticket Specimen Carp Lake Xanadu in search of a PB. He picked the right Lake and the right Bait and caught a Personal Best 27lb Common caught on The Twist 18mm Boilies fished on a 6inch Hair Rig with a PVA Bag full of Crushed Boilies.
When I decided to go to Norway with my son I wanted to target some of the species using tackle that would maximise the enjoyment of the catch. Some friends had landed some large coalfish on a trip to Norway last year and I decided that the opportunity to catch twenty pound plus fish on spinning gear was likely to be an exhilarating experience.
I contacted St Leger Custom Rods and was provided with a matching pair of their Renegade lure fishing rods. When the rods arrived I was very impressed with their smart appearance and the pleasing addition of our names neatly inscribed on each blank. I will confess however that I was a little unsure whether such a light rod could handle big fish?
My first couple of outings with the rod in early summer targeting bass in homewaters proved unsuccessful fish wise but an eye opener as regards to the rods casting performance. Matched up with a reel loaded with 20lb b.s braid they put a standard sized plug out a good distance with ease. The rod also transmitted the movement of the plug well.
The rods true test was to come in Norway’s Havnnes Handelssted where we would be targeting cod and coalfish. On the first day of our trip we set off in search of fish and I caught my first double figure fish on the rod an evil looking wolf fish of 11lb 2oz. The rod handled this hard fighting fish with ease whilst ensuring that the account was an enjoyable one. Several cod up to 10lb followed with the rod absorbing the lunges of each fish well yet still ensuring an enjoyable tussle.
The rods first real test came when we fished the deep waters of the Rotsund. A six-ounce lead, a boom with an 8ft trace and a sidewinder lure was sent to the depths over 100 metres beneath the boat. I had matched the rod with a Penn loaded with 50lb b.s braid. The rig was slowly retrieved through the depths searching for the coalfish that we knew haunted the deep clear waters. When the take came it was brutal the rod locked over in an intense curve the reel singing as the coalfish crash-dived. At the end of each dive heavy pressure was applied and the fish encouraged towards the surface. The Renegade had far more backbone than I had at first thought and handled these exceptionally powerful fish well allowing an exhilarating battle whilst giving confidence that the battles outcome would be successful. I used the rod to land several coalfish the best scaling 24lb. My son James also used the rod to successfully land several coalfish up to 14lb along with plenty of cod up to 10lb.
The rod also proved a very versatile tool and gave great sport targeting dab off the harbours pier. Easily casting a 3oz lead and a two hook rig for the dabs that we caught to well over a pound. I could happily travel the world with one of these rods knowing that they could be used to target a wide range of species.
The one-piece design certainly gives the rod a very pleasing action with a steely backbone that can tame the largest of fish. The only disadvantage is of coarse the length of the rod necessitating the use of a rod tube to transport when flying. I have also suggested the inclusion of a hook retention eye to secure the lure when moving around.
Rod Specifications
Length 7ft one piece
Action – Medium Heavy Fast
Handle- EVA
Reel Seat – Aero
Guides Microwave and Minima
St Leger Custom Made boat rod
The second rod I took with me to Norway was a 30lb class through action boat rod. Smart eye catching livery and quality line guides with a pleasing to the touch duplon handle oozed quality. I coupled this with a multiplier reel and 50lb b,s braid. This rod was put to use where the depth and current dictated the use of heavier leads and lures to reach big fish that lived within the depths of Norway’s majestic fiords. It was also used in the hope of hooking the huge halibut that can be caught all around Havnnes.
The rod proved a joy to use with a responsive tip that registered takes well. On hooking the fish there was plenty of reserve to bully big fish and a forgiving action that absorbed the lunges of the fish. It would have been good to put the rod through a good test but in the event I only managed to hook cod to 22lb and halibut to 13lb. On a few occasions I snagged the bottom and sensed the rods steely backbone. I would confidently take the rod in the search of bigger fish including large halibut and shark.
Its raining and whilst that’s bad for the visitors it’s good news for salmon and sea trout anglers. There have been a few salmon and sea trout trickling into the Taw with peel now throughout the Mole. Chris Steer landed an 8lb salmon from the Weir Marsh and Brightly beats of the Taw; a day ticket water available by contacting Ivan Huxtable on 01769540835.
Alternatively contact the Rising Sun at Umberleigh where day tickets are also available. The steady rain that is falling now should offer every prospect of sport on all three of our main North Devon Rivers the Taw, Torridge and Lyn.
A huge thresher shark has been boated by Nick Lane fishing aboard Dan Hawkins Ilfracombe based Charter boat Reel Deal. The shark calculated by formulae at 368lb was tempted using a whole mackerel hook bait and was landed after a powerful struggle lasting over an hour the fish leaping from the water twice before eventually being brought into the boat where it was measured and photographed before being released. The fish was taken from a mark off the North Cornwall coast around a two hour steam from Ilfracombe. Dan told me the fish swam away strongly, a wonderful sight for all on board.
The fish exceeds the present British Record of 323lb caught back in 1982.
Eighteen anglers fished Appledore Shipbuilders Bass comp at Westward Ho. Fishing was made difficult with large amounts of weed fouling the lines. Despite this four fish were landed with Paul Downing the winner with a bass of 6lb 61/2oz. In runner up spot was Cameron Atkinson with a bass of 5lb 1/2oz. In third place was Steve Ford with a bass of 4lb 14oz.
Joanne Combes keeps a steady stream of carp captures coming my way with some stunning images of captors and their successes.
Close to twenty members of Bratton Fleming Cricket club descended upon the normally tranquil waters of Bratton Water Trout Fishery for what will undoubtedly become an annual event. A mixture of experienced fly Fishers and first timers enjoyed the event that was blessed with warm summer sunshine. In the clear water small imitative patterns proved most successful with a gold headed pheasant tail nymph responsible for the demise of several of Bratton Waters hard fighting residents.
On arrival at the fishery I found experienced local trout fisherman and Bratton Water regular Glyn Rees who had enjoyed a good day at the water landing four brown trout to 4lb targetting the fish using dry fly tactics.
Whilst the fishing fraternity cast their offerings to the lakes trout the remaining members of the Cricket club prepared the BBQ and played a primitive form of cricket using bats made from old sticks. Others watched the anglers and helped with the netting of fish.
Most anglers landed their brace of trout despite the warm sunshine that beamed into the water. A pair of Polaroids were a distinct advantage enabling individual fish to be targetted with the two trout I caught both actually seen to take the tiny fly. The fish were a mixture of brown and rainbows with Debbie Tucker landing the biggest brown trout at 3lb 1oz. James Thomas landed a hard fighting of rainbow of 3lb 8oz that was leading the biggest fish of the day when we left the event to join another local event. Rob Scoines fresh back from a trip to Norway chasing big fish adapted to the finesse of trout fishing landing a brace of rainbows each weighing 2lb 9oz.
The Cricket club give special thanks to fishery owner Mike Williams for hosting the event that raised valuable funds for the Cricket Club.
Stephen Found was targetting thick lipped grey mullet in the River Torridge estuary when his bread flake presented on a size 8 hook to 6lb b,s line was seized by a fine specimen bass of 9lb. The fish battled for 25minutes before being successfully landed. Stephen is a member of Bideford Angling Club and lives in Holsworthy.
Over the years I have landed numerous species of fish whilst targetting mullet with bread flake including bass, wrasse, black bream,pollock, garfish and mackerel. The capture of big bass in the estuary is often accidental which raises the question of how many would be caught if anglers actually targetted them.
Sundays Open match on July 24th was fished Tanners and Woodpecker lakes. Both lakes fished hard today especially Tanners lake. Our winner of the day was Phill Harwick Woodpecker peg 34 with 107lb 6oz fishing 8mm pellet on the waggler well done Phill ! Full match results are shown below.
1st Phil Harwick Peg 34 Woodpecker: 107lbs 6oz
2nd Ricky Johnston Peg 16 Woodpecker: 79lbs 2oz
3rd – Paul Tidbal Peg 24 – Woodpeacker 76lb 9oz
4th – Dave Stockton Peg 6 Woodpeacker
Wednesday 27th July
Mid Week Open open on Tanners Lake, Winner was Mark Hayman peg 36 with 115lb 10oz fishing 11mm on the bomb. In in second place was Paul Goulding next door to Mark on peg 35 with 112lb 14oz fishing 8mm on the bomb.
