Following almost two weeks of typical April showery weather, cold easterly winds and the occasional frosty night the fishing was always going to be tough for many fishing the third Fish ‘O’ Mania qualifier at Makins Fishery, Bramcote, Nuneaton on Saturday 21st April 2012.

The event utilised all the large open lakes at the fishery so it was no surprise, therefore, to find the fish still generally shoaled up in their “winter quarters”. Because water temperatures are still low many carp are cruising shallow trying to find that layer of warmer water and it was these fish which were targeted by a lot of the anglers, and so provided the source of most of the leading weights.

Steve Cooke, better known as 'Cookie' to everyone on the match circuit became the third Garbolino match ace to qualify for a place in this year’s grand final of the Fish ‘O’ Mania on 14th July.

Top anglers Steve Cooke and Phil Ringer found themselves on adjacent pegs in the middle of Lake 1 and not surprisingly, a real battle ensued. Eventually it was Garbolino sponsored Steve from Retford, Nottinghamshire who came out on top to win the event with an excellent 146lbs 6ozs of carp to 12lbs all bar one being taken on the pellet waggler.

Steve Cooke said “I had just driven back from fishing a festival at Whiteacres leaving at 5am that morning to arrive at Makins at 8.45am ready for the draw. I noticed Phil Ringer had drawn so I decided to have a laugh as I had been away fishing for a week with him and Steve Ringer at Whiteacres, so I walked over to Phil and told him to come and look at my peg 8, knowing that this would be next to his peg. He could not believe it, but then I had to come clean and admit that I had not even drawn. To my amazement I actually drew peg 9 next to Phil with only 20 or so pegs left to draw at the time”.

“I had one carp on feeder and the rest on pellet waggler and 8 mm pellets on a 11.6g max waggler rod to 6lb main line and 0.20 hook length to a 16 Guru QM1 with a banded pellet, and caught about 16 fish. This is the sixth time I will have fished in the Fish ‘O’ Mania grand final after winning it in 1999, but this will be my first time fishing a final at Cudmore Fisheries”.

Stuart Belton from Newark on peg A20 on Lake 2 just pipped Phil Ringer for second place with 127lbs 13ozs. Stuart caught a couple of early fish shallow on the waggler but then found some “lumps” down his right hand margin on luncheon meat the biggest being 15lbs. Phil Ringer secured third with 121lbs 13ozs catching carp to 10lbs on the pellet waggler.

Tim Dabrowa, also in the hot area on Lake 1, took fourth spot with 72lbs again on the pellet waggler. Fifth was Sean Huggins who weighed 68lbs 14ozs from Peg 26 on Lizard, and sixth was Marc Jones with 66lbs 2ozs from peg 4 on Lake 5.

On Wednesday 25th April the Fish ‘O’ Mania action moves to Woodlands View, Droitwich, and it will be interesting to see who will join the Garbolino star anglers, Stephen Tucker, Simon Fry and Steve Cooke in the line up to the grand final.

Source: Angling Trust Fishing News

The event UK anglers have been waiting for. On 23-24th March 2013, ExCeL London will host what will be the UK’s largest public angling event.

Angling Live will deliver 25,000 visitors over two open days, in 10,000m2 of internal exhibition space whilst also utilising the extensive waters of the adjoining Royal Docks.

Here are five reasons why Angling Live will be the angling event of 2013.

1. An all round (Carp, Coarse, Game and Sea) consumer event with a controlled retail element (only 15 retailers will be exhibiting) – our focus is on manufacturers/wholesalers and those at the forefront of innovation within the industry. Purchases can be collected from a designated retailers collection area to prevent the need for visitors to lug around gear all day. It will also mean that the exhibition hall itself does not resemble a giant warehouse full of cardboard!
   
   
2. Free to attend for under 13’s. All other tickets are £8 when bought in advance and will be sold through seetickets.com.
   
   
3. Full of interactive angling and non angling features designed to ensure a great family day out - indoor glass feature lake with flowing water and 500 seat theatre, outdoor live fishing environment - non angling features include - a crèche, indoor fairground, circus skills and even a Spa.
   
   
4. Hourly prize giveaways for those visiting.
   
   
5. A true showcase event for our industry in an environment that does justice to the size and diversity of our market.

Interested?
Contact Simon, Chris or Lisa on 0845 1800101 or email sales@anglingmedia.com

A joint initiative by the Environment Agency, Angling Trust and Thames21 aims to boost angling opportunities and the number of anglers in the capital with the appointment of a new angling development manager for London.

Grant Fear has a strong background in coordinating angling-related projects in London and is well-placed to work with communities across the capital to encourage people to fish their local waters.

There are a large number of excellent angling waters in London, many of which have been cleaned up by the environmental charity Thames21 over the past decade. As well as the River Thames, there is a network of rivers, canals, reservoirs and ponds throughout the capital, but information about where to fish can be hard to come by for young people.

London Angling Development Manager Grant Fear said: 'London is a fantastic place for angling, and many of our best fishing spots are under-utilised. I am thrilled to have this opportunity to make the sport more accessible for Londoners and to help ensure its sustainability into the future.'

Angling is an excellent activity for young or disaffected people as it encourages concentration, understanding of, and respect for, the natural world and builds a range of skills. It has been shown to have a transformational effect on many young people who have got into trouble in the past. Additionally, the presence of anglers on the waterside can help prevent litter, graffiti, vandalism and reduce the rate and fear of crime. Recent research has highlighted the important role that anglers play in maintaining and improving water environments.

Environment Agency Fisheries Specialist Lawrence Talks, said, 'I am excited about the opportunities for developing angling in London and our partnership with Thames21 and the Angling Trust will help give Londoners the opportunity to try fishing, learn about wetland wildlife and get involved.'

The Angling Trust's Chief Executive Mark Lloyd said: 'Grant's appointment is supported by Sport England and will expand on some existing good work such as getting angling included in the London School Games. He will be aiming to increase the training and coordination of coaches through two London Angling Action Groups and will also improve the availability of information about where to fish in the capital, particularly through Angling Trust member clubs and fisheries.'

Thames21 Chief Executive Debbie Leach said: 'This initiative will be fantastic for both new and existing anglers in London. In Grant's previous role with Thames21, he was responsible for introducing thousands of people to the sport. Now, this important new partnership between Thames21, the Angling Trust and the Environment Agency will help create a vibrant, developing angling scene in London which opens up a range of opportunities and ways for people to enjoy and progress in angling.'

Grant will be hosted by Thames 21 from its London office and he can be contacted on grant.fear@thames21.org.uk or 07969 645 201

Source: Angling Trust Fishing News

Last year, National Fishing Month was a resounding success with 330 events taking place, coaching over 15,000 new anglers. This year's dates are set for 20th July to 27th August.

There is still a limited amount of funding and other support available to organisers to support their events. For Angling Trust/Fish Legal members only, the deadline for applications has been extended until next Wednesday, 25th April. Please download the funding criteria HERE and application form HERE which should be sent to Naidre Werner (naidre@thesourcefor.co.uk). Please mention in the covering note for your application that you are a member of the Angling Trust/Fish Legal.

If you are planning to organise NFM events again this year and are ready to put the dates of your events on now then please go to www.nationalfishingmonth.com/organisers/organiser-registration/ and fill in the details.

Don't worry if you have forgotten your password, just email Naidre Werner from the Angling Trades Association (naidre@thesourcefor.co.uk) or give her a call on 0845 459 9956 and she will help you out. Deadline to fill in your events online and be in time to receive booklets etc. is 1st July.

This year, Dean Macey has agreed to continue as our celebrity endorser and so you will be seeing press releases going out soon to promote NFM. Naidre will be sending these press releases through to you for your own use, but if you would like to add the details of your local newspapers and radio stations etc to her press list, then please send her the details. It's important that we get as much coverage as possible for NFM.

The Angling Trades Association will be sending out your Participation Forms, Get into Fishing Booklets, Manuals, Certificates and prizes for raffles with NFM carrier bags. Where possible, there will be items of tackle from the trade to send out too, but if you would like something specific, please would you let Naidre know as soon as possible so that she can make specific requests to ATA members.

Naidre will be keeping all registered organisers up to date with what is happening on a regular basis - please contact her if you have any questions.

All our best wishes from everyone at UK Fisherman. We are sure that National Fishing Week 2012 will once again be a resounding success.

Source: Angling Trust Fishing News

The Angling Trust is launching a new initiative to encourage more scouts to try fishing and get their angling badge by teaming up with its member clubs and fisheries to provide coaching to scout troops.

The Environment Agency created the angling badge for the Scouts 3 years ago, and nearly 50,000 packs were requested by Scout troops. However, the take-up was limited because many scout leaders didn’t have the necessary angling skills. This new joint initiative by the Angling Trust, with funding support from the Environment Agency, will enable expert licensed coaches to help Scouts get their angling badge and learn how to fish.

Clubs, fisheries and coaches will initially be matched with scout troops via the Angling Trust’s County Angling Action Groups, which have been set up by the Angling Development Board, which was incorporated into the Angling Trust at the beginning of this month. Licensed coaches and angling clubs and fisheries that have achieved the Clubmark quality standard will be used, to give the Scout troops confidence that they are working with individuals and organisations which have met the necessary requirements to work with young people. All scouts taking part will be given free Angling Trust junior membership and reduced rate fishing by fisheries and clubs.

Jackie Sheldon, Head of Participation and Performance with the Angling Trust explains “Angling is an ideal activity for scouts as it combines practical and mental skills with awareness of the natural environment and is something they can all enjoy irrespective of physical abilities. The Angling Trust will be building on this initiative over the coming years, with the support of our members, to make sure that every scout has the opportunity to get their angling badge.”

Mark Lloyd, Chief Executive of the Trust said: “I cannot imagine any activity that is more suited to the ethos of the Scout movement than fishing. I hope that this initiative from the Angling Trust will enable thousands more young people to have the opportunity to discover the joy, wonder and sense of adventure that angling offers.”

Richard Wightman of the Environment Agency explained: “we have supported the Scout angling activity for about a decade. But while their enthusiasm for fishing was as high as we would all anticipate, delivery of angling activity was more problematic – for a variety of reasons. By directly linking the much expanded Angling Trust coach network to the Scouts who want to go fishing this new approach gets right to the heart of the issue.”

Any scout troop interested in the scheme can contact their nearest Angling Trust Regional Officer through the development section of the website HERE.

Source: Angling Trust Fishing News

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