Aaron Bunning has had a cracking session on Upper Tamar lake near Bude. Aaron caught 7 carp in a 24 hour session with the best being a common of 28lb 8oz. Aaron also had a 21.14 Mirror and 3 other fish over 17lbs along with two at 14lbs. All fish fell to 20mm Scopex Squid cultured boilie hookbaits over a bed of 18mm freebies.
George Holder caught his first ever twenty at Anglers Paradise – a stunning 25lb 15oz Mirror from the Main Carp Lake which also won him our Fish of the week competition. George’s shared – “We got up early in the morning to fish the Main lake which was my first session at Anglers Paradise. There were a variety of swims available so I chose a swim where I saw fish feeding. I targeted an island which had many features so I knew fish would be around there. At around 3pm my rod screamed off and I was into a fish. I had to be careful as there were snags all around the 5C’s island. Although when I was about to net the fish he dived for the reeds and the fight was on!
Finally I netted the fish and what a stunner it was. Tipping the scales at 25.15 blew me away as this was my first Anglers Paradise fish and to catch one of this size was unreal. I caught the fish on a mainline high leakage pineapple wafter fished on a hair rig KD style. Thank you so much to Anglers Paradise for the great fishing and help in the tackle shop, I’ll be back soon!”
(Above) Dave Smith had a session on our day ticket Xanadu Lake and caught the beautiful Xanna at 28lbs which is less than she normally is after spawning in May.
Dave has only been Carp fishing for 6 months so as you can imagine, he was absolutely over the moon to catch Xanna!! Dave caught the beauty on a Manilla bait with a white pop up snowman style.
Luke Cornforth, 19 had a nice surprise when he landed this beaut of a Common Carp at 25lbs from the Specimen Carp Lake. Luke shared –
‘Before arriving at Anglers paradise last Saturday my cousin Kieran and I had the idea of fishing the Specimen Carp Lake later in the week. We walked around the lake in the evenings and found a few carp holding up in the pads and the potamogeton and on Wednesday evening we set about baiting a few spots for the following morning.
We were at the lake at first light on Thursday morning and fortunately there were a few signs of carp on our spots, a few hours after getting the rods out Kieran lost one under the rod tip in the potamogeton. Although this was frustrating, especially with a relatively low stock of fish, it gave us hope that the location was right and pre baiting the night before might have put the odds in our favour. The day was quiet but with more and more fish frequenting the dense weed growth to my right we felt confident going into the evening.
My chosen tactics were solid bags filled with a few 2mm pellets and gs crab boilie crumb from Oxford carp baits with a trimmed down gs crab wafter on a simple rig with a size 4 hook and a few handfuls of whole, chopped and crumbed boilies over the top.
Just as the temperature began to drop at around 6:30 in the evening my right hand rod closest to the pads pulled up tight and after a short fight through the dense potamogeton a stunning common of 25lb rolled over the net cord. A lovely fish and the highlight of my week !’
Many thank’s to Ben Smeeth head of Angling at South West Lakes Trust for sending this report on the latest Mainline Baits Carp Pairs Open.
The second Mainline Baits carp open pairs at Upper Tamar took place from 5-7 July. 33 pairs saw the competition at full capacity and the anticipation at the draw was fantastic! Anglers chose their swims, collected a mainline goody bag and were transported to their pegs. Fishing began at 4pm on the Friday and ended after 45 hours at 1pm on the Sunday.
What was great about the weekend was the competition was very close and every pair were in with a shout of being in the prize money right up until the final hour or so!
Nigel Woods and Rich Ford scooped the top prize of £2000 with 4 fish for 63lbs from peg 31 on the Cornwall Bank. There catch included a cracking mirror of 24lb 7oz.
There was a terrific tussle for second with the O’Connors Barry and Benn fighting it out with Dave Bellew and Steve Lovell. Both pairs caught three fish and only 5 ounces separated them at the finish with Barry and Benn coming out on top to win the £1000 second prize. Dave and Steve settling for the £500 third spot.
Largest fish winning 2kg of Mainline spod and PVA mix was youngster Tristan Cooper who had a cracking 19lb 10oz mirror. Smallest fish, winning 2kg of Mainline spod and PVA mix was Rob Jewell with a common of 8lb 6oz.
Section winners winning 5kg of Mainline freezer baits boilies were:
Toby Green and Danny Moore
Lee Watts and Dean Compton
Peter Higman and Ricky Lawrence
Scott and Tristan Cooper.
Massive thankyou to Mainline Baits for their sponsorship.
The next Mainline pairs competition is 4-6 October and bookings can be made on 01566 771930.
Anglers play a key role in invasive species management
Have you heard of the Check, Clean, Dry campaign? South West Lakes Trust’s Invasive Species Officer, Nicola Morris, is working with anglers and visitors to the lakes to encourage everyone to work together to prevent the damage caused by invasive non-native species and protect the lakes and sports we enjoy.
Over 2000 non-native plants and animals from all over the world have been introduced to the UK by people. Most non-native species are harmless, but approximately 10-15% have become invasive, having a negative impact on our environment, economy (costing the UK economy at least £1.8 billion a year), and even our health and way of life.
Invasive non-native species (INNS) threaten many key sites and are a particular threat in sensitive areas, such as offshore islands, rivers, lakes and streams. They can interfere with recreational activities, preventing anglers from using them. INNS can also cause dramatic declines of some native species including the water vole, white-clawed crayfish, and red squirrel.
Biosecurity means taking steps to make sure that good hygiene practices are in place to reduce and minimise the risk of spreading INNS and fish disease. INNS can carry diseases that kill fish, and block waterways and banks interfering with fishing activity. They can be small and hard to spot, so are easily spread on damp clothing and equipment. Once established, they become extremely difficult and expensive to eradicate, which is why it is so important to prevent their spread in the first place. Following some simple biosecurity steps can help protect the lakes and the activities we enjoy.
Help protect the environment and fishing we enjoy by keeping your kit free of invasive plants and animals.
Always arrive at the lake with clean equipment and a clean vehicle. Whenever you leave the water, remember to Check, Clean, Dry.
Check your gear after leaving the water for mud, aquatic animals or plant material. Remove anything you find and leave it at the site.
Clean everything thoroughly as soon as you can, paying attention to nets, waders, and areas that are damp and hard to access. Use hot water if possible and make use of any facilities provided on site.
Dry everything for as long as possible (ideally 48hrs) before using elsewhere as some invasive plants and animals can survive for two weeks in damp conditions.
If disinfectants are used, they must be used and disposed of following the manufacturer’s instructions, particularly those regarding Health and Safety.
Going abroad?
It’s even more important to Check, Clean, Dry if you are taking your kit abroad, to ensure you do not bring any plants or animals back with you. Make sure everything is clean and has been dried thoroughly before you use it again at home.
Nicola is keen to work with anglers at South West Lakes Trust lakes and said, “Anglers who fish at our lakes are an invaluable source of knowledge. Many of them fish regularly, know the lakes very well and most already carry out effective biosecurity. Their knowledge and support is invaluable and those I have spoken to since I started at South West Lakes Trust earlier this year have been great. I really appreciate their input and I am looking forward to working with them over the coming months as we work towards improved biosecurity at our lakes.”
For more information on invasive species and to report sightings please email Nicola at [email protected].
Adam Sharpe caught several carp from swim 15 ( Albert Square) including a new Lodge lake record carp of 30lb 12oz
Adam caught on Dynamite Baits Complex T 12,15 & 18mm boilies
Lee Watts banked a superb mirror carp of 36lb 8oz whilst fishing at Colebrooke Lake. The fish sets a New record for the Lake that is owned by Matt Gunn.
Tara, Mark & Nigel fished on Lodge Lake on swims 1 and 2, they had 45 carp out between them ! Including Tara’s 28lb beauty all caught on Sticky baits Manilla and banoffee boilies and Manilla Over particles.
(Below) Karl Hutchinson had nine fish up to 24lb from the inlet swim on Beatties lake caught on raspberry flavour boilies
(Below)Nicholas Billett Nicholas Billett fished on swim 7 on lodge lake then moved to swim 2 on the dam wall, Nick had 5 fish out all caught on Sticky Bits 20mm Krill boilies.
Tony Welch fished on swim 14 (beach 1) up on lodge lake at the weekend Tony had 5 fish out in 24 hours all caught on Essential baits b5 flouro pop,ups
Bideford & District Angling Club Opened their club Lake Tarka Swims back in 2006 and it has been a resounding success for the club attracting a good number of Junior anglers and providing a valuable facility for local disabled anglers. In addition to this it has been the venue for the club’s regular matches that are held monthly throughout the year with popular mid-week evening matches during the summer months.
On Saturday June 22ndthe club opened a new lake named ‘Karen’s Lake’. Construction of this lake commenced in March 2013 and the six years leading up to its opening have not been without difficulty with a few leaks along the way. The club’s membership have done a sterling job in completing the project with regular working parties and much behind the scenes work to obtain funding and expertise. The venture has been a partnership between Bideford Club and the Environment Agency with funding from rod licence revenue and local businesses. The lake has excellent access for disabled anglers along with toilet facilities.
Karen’s Lake has been stocked with around seventy carp over 10lb with the biggest close to twenty pounds. The lakes opening saw a large number of local anglers descend upon the lake with their families. It was a perfect summers day with warm sunshine and a vivid blue sky decorated with white cotton wool clouds drifting on a warm summer breeze.
Gazebo’s, barbecue and cupcakes gave the event a village fete atmosphere. The carp were active swirling in the weeds as some began to spawn amorously as the water warmed. Other carp could be seen cruising in the clear water occasionally slurping down a piece of floating crust.
The first carp officially caught from the lake within fifteen minutes was caught by Matt Cross and pulled the scales close to 17lb. A few minutes later Nathan England hooked a beautiful dark coloured common of 17lb 5oz; in a perfect script his son Jake England hooked a golden mirror carp to allow a father and son portrait. Several other carp were caught including a mirror carp to the rod of Junior angler Tyler Scott and another mirror to Dean Siford.
The carp will undoubtedly wise up quickly and become more of a challenge in the coming years but I am sure the lake will bring many hours of pleasure to local anglers. Both lakes are testament to the hard work of Bideford Angling Club and its supporters. The venues are a wildlife haven with dragonflies, amphibians, grass snakes, bird life and aquatic life abundant.
Karen’s lake is members only and a very good reason to join this club that charges just £25.00 per year with a one off £20 joining fee. OAP Season is £18.00 . Juniors £3.00 per year.
Day Tickets for Tarka Swims Lake can be obtained from Summerlands Tackle.
Jamie Cox from Folkestone, Kent with a 20lb Mirror.
Here is a quote from Jamie
“It’s my First time back at Anglers Paradise since my Dad took me 20 years ago. I returned this year with my own little boy and what a way to celebrate Fathers Day by having this 20lb mirror from the main lake on floating crust. A memory I will never lose”.
