Celtic Lakes Resort Frisby Presents an evening with MARTIN BOWLER

Join the team at Celtic Lakes Resort Frisby in Leicestershire for an evening with professional angler and TV presenter Martin Bowler. Martin will be showing previously unseen footage from his hit TV series 'Catching the Impossible' and talking about his experiences as a professional angler. It is sure to be a fabulous night!

Tickets are £20.00 which includes a free buffet! The bar will also be open on the night!

Friday 2nd December 2011 - 1900
Celtic Lakes Frisby Clubhouse, Leicestershire

Tickets are limited and sure to sell fast so get in quick by calling Chay Jackson on 07791 104984

Source: Celtic Lakes Resort Frisby

The transition trustees of the new charity being established to tend 2,000 miles of canals and rivers in England and Wales from April 2012 have today (6 October) announced that it will be called the Canal & River Trust (or Glandwr Cymru in Wales) and have unveiled its new symbol.

The decision has been taken following extensive public and internal consultation and market research into the replacement for the name and symbol of “British Waterways.” They reflect the important step the Government is taking in creating a new successor organisation to hold the waterways in trust for the nation in perpetuity. The change also offers an opportunity to attract the attention of, and to appeal to, the wider public.

Multi-award winning design agency Pentagram provided free design consultancy to develop the new national charity's name, symbol and imagery. The worldwide agency has a long history with the waterways, creating the British Waterways symbol over 20 years ago. To make maximum impact at minimum cost, the Canal & River Trust will be working with waterway organisations to plan a phased change to signage on the waterways perhaps by providing a signing kit for local groups.

Tony Hales, chairman of the transition trustees, said: “Our canals and rivers have been part of the fabric of the country's landscape for 250 years and putting them in trust for the nation is the start of a new chapter in the renaissance of the waterways. People have told us that the waterways are important to them as a local haven, for themselves and for nature. Stepping onto a towpath is like entering a different world, where the stress of daily life can be escaped. The Canal & River Trust and our new symbol represent what our waterways mean to so many people.”

John Rushworth, partner at Pentagram, said: “I was immediately interested when I heard about the new waterways charity. I helped create British Waterways' logo in the 1980s and I was keen to get involved in developing the Canal & River Trust brand. The nation's canals and rivers are inspirational and I'm delighted that Pentagram's work will help spread the word to an even greater audience.”

The Welsh name for the new charity, Glandwr Cymru, translates literally as "Waterside Wales" and reflects a determination by transition trustees that the trust has a distinctly Welsh character and focus for its waterways in Wales.

The Canal & River Trust is expected to launch in April 2012 and will hold 2,000 miles of canals and rivers in England and Wales, including the third largest estate of listed structures, in trust for the nation. Britain's waterways also provide a unique haven for wildlife, offering distinctive local tranquillity to some 13 million visitors every year.

The “British Waterways” brand will stay alive in Scotland, where the waterways currently managed by British Waterways Scotland will be kept in the public sector and will not form part of the Canal & River Trust.

Source: British Waterways, Waterscape

Bury Hill Fisheries predator season opens October 1st

With water temperatures starting to drop, the predator season looks all set to get off to a record breaking start with carp anglers already reporting the odd zander to 10lb plus caught on boilies.

Bury Hill are also offering a special winter deal, with anglers who buy a second rod ticket able to use a third rod free of charge.

Single Hook Rigs!

Following our move to ban treble hooks last season in favour of barbless single hook rigs, catch rates increased with many anglers catching their first zander using smaller baits and single hook rigs. More importantly, we saw virtually no deep hooked pike or zander, which at the end of the day, was what it was all about!

The Success of Jelly Baits!

Increasing numbers of fish were caught last winter using new jelly baits which are fished the same as a plug or spinner. Whilst Bury Hill has never been ideal for spinning, possibly due to the coloured water, these new baits, some of which are infused with fish oils, are adding a new dimension to our predator fishing with a number of dedicated anglers reporting excellent catches which included specimen sized pike and zander. Such is the success of this new form of fishing that we are now stocking a proven range of jelly baits in our tackle shop, although please ensure that all hooks are fully de-barbed. We also stock a selection of good quality 'budget priced' spinning rods and reels starting at just £29.99 for a rod and reel combo.

Predator Matches!

Bury Hill has always been renowned for its predator matches and following a rest last winter, I am pleased to announce that we will be resuming matches this winter running a ‘Super Pools’ series on the following dates culminating in a final on March 11th.

Cost of entry per match will be £27, to include pools of £12 and a super pools of £5, which will be carried forward to the final on March 11th. The fishing charge for each match will be just £10 for two rods, a reduction of £8 over our normal day ticket prices.

Predator Match Dates for 2011/12:

• November 6th
• December 18th
• January 15th & 29th
• February 19th
• March 11th (Final)

For further information or to book a place, please contact Eric Bailey on (07802) 877575 or call Jane in the office on (01306) 877540.

Angling Tuition

We have always been noted for our angling tuition and in particular our Big fish Predator angling courses, which run each month costing just £40 per angler. In addition to these courses, we will be offering a special promotion for private tuitions this winter, which start at just £65 for 4 hours for one person or £85 for two people with a 6 hour course costing £90 for one and £120 for two.

Tuitions, which include tackle and bait, include instruction in both bait fishing using the new single hook rigs with instructor Eric Bailey showing the benefits of smaller baits and why they catch more fish, as well as how to fish the new soft jelly baits. Anglers will also be given the opportunity to fish on into dark when the fishery has closed, which is known as the ‘witching hour’ giving anglers the very best chance to catch a Big zander.

Source: Bury Hill Fisheries

Esthwaite Water Trout Fishery, situated in the beautiful Lake District, will be hosting the inaugural Esthwaite Kayak Predator Grand Slam competition on Sunday 30th October. There will also be a practice day on Saturday 29th October.

The competition is open to all kayak anglers. It is run jointly with the Angling Trust and Esthwaite Water Trout Fishery and the total cost of entry, including practice day is £40.

The general format for the competition will include catching three predatory species from the lake, Trout, Perch and Pike which must be photographed and measured. The winner of the grand slam will be the longest combined length of all the target species. Fishery rules of fly, spin and worm will apply!

The competition will run from first light until 4pm, with the presentation taking place shortly after and will include a pint and a pie for each competitor.

This will be a superb opportunity for kayak anglers to fish this prolific venue and meet other like minded kayak anglers from around the country.

The event is sponsored by Savage Gear, Okuma, Baitbox and Coarse Angling Today, who are donating some fabulous prizes for what promises to be a fantastic weekend of camaraderie.

Please contact the fishery for registration and to find out more details, telephone 015394 36541 or email trout@hawkshead.demon.co.uk.

Source: Angling Trust Fishing News

From a week’s fishing on the Ponoi in July to “money can’t buy” fishing on private beats; from a copy of “A River Runs Through It” signed by Brad Pitt to original works of art; the annual S&TA auction, its major fund-raising event, is now open for commission bidding online. And, because all the lots are donated, every penny raised goes directly to the S&TA.

The 42 (and counting!) lots are aimed to entice anglers, it is true, but within that remit there is plenty to placate the significant others in the family – such as, for example, a lunch party for six hosted by celebrity chef Prue Leith at her Cotswold home, or an overnight stay at Limewood House Hotel, recently listed in the Daily Telegraph among its choice of best country house hotels.

There is an eclectic and mouth-watering selection on offer with guide prices that start at just £30!  The auction itself takes place during the annual Dinner on October 6th – but you don’t have to attend the dinner in order to bid:  just click here to view the lots and place your commission bids online, by post or by telephone.   It is that simple.

And please don’t keep this to yourself.  The more bids we receive – the more money we raise.  Please send this link on to friends who you think may be interested in putting in their own bid or two – and help us make this our best auction ever!      

Source: Salmon & Trout Association

Wood Lane Farm Fishery is based in Iver, Buckinghamshire and consists of two coarse and carp fishing lakes. We've been hearing some pretty good thinks about the fishery lately including this reader review that was submitted recently.

Wood Lane Farm Fishery Review: Chris Millar, August 2011

Top day out at Wood Lane Farm

Went to Wood Lane on Friday 02/08/2011 with a friend who's never been fishing before and had a great day off, avoiding going to work.

The staff were all very friendly and helpful, the surroundings were tidy and the water looked clean. Even though it was a week day the match lake was almost packed and in the short time it took us to walk round to a free swim almost everyone we could see was into a fish. We spent the first part of the day dangling maggots nice and high in the water and bagging loads of small roach and tiny perch until my mate hooked into the biggest roach I have ever seen. We didn't get a chance to weigh it but it was at least 2lbs if not nearer 3lb.

I switched methods to try and catch my first carp and tried all sorts of methods both on the bottom and mid water. They turned their noses up at 5 maggots on a hook, slices of peperarmi, sweetcorn and bread. As soon as I went and bought some pellets, within 30 seconds of casting out with a feeder and ground bait I was straight into a 2.5lb common carp.

Very happy but very sun burnt.

Score:

Environment Agency announces rod licence price freeze for three years. Anglers are celebrating this week following the news that rod licence prices will be frozen for the next two years.

The Environment Agency has confirmed that the cost of a rod licence purchased between April 1 2012 and March 31 2014 will remain the same as this seasons prices, with an individual adult coarse license remaining at £27.

The news follows last years similar price freeze, meaning anglers will have not seen an increase in the cost of rod licence for a total of three years.

Richard Whiteman, the EA’s Angling Participation Manager said:

The rod licence price freeze demonstrates the EA’s determination to offer anglers a balance between providing the service they want and expect, and value for money. It also shows that the EA recognises that everyone is finding it financially difficult at the moment so it is our intention to keep the rod licence price frozen for the next few years. I will say however, that things may change for example if licence sales drop or inflation rises significantly as we still need to deliver the service that is expected of the agency.

Rod Licence Prices until April 2014

Category	Non-migratory trout, char, freshwater fish (coarse fish) and eels	Salmon and migratory trout (sea trout), non-migratory trout, char, freshwater fish (coarse fish) and eels
Full season	£27.00	£72.00
Senior Concession	£18.00	£48.00
Disabled Concession	£18.00	£48.00
Junior Concession	£5.00	£5.00
Senior Concession	£18.00	£48.00
8 Day	£10.00	£23.00
1 Day	£3.75	£8.00

A salmon and sea trout licence covers you to fish for non-migratory trout and coarse fish as well. Failure to have a licence is an offence.

Remember: If you are fishing with 3 or 4 rods then you will need to purchase a second licence.

Concessionary licences

• junior concession is available to anglers aged 12 and under
• senior concession is available to anglers aged 65 and over
• you have a Blue Badge parking concession, or are in receipt of Disability Living Allowance. You will need to provide your Blue Badge Number or National Insurance Number when buying your licence

Important information

• Anglers under the age of 12 do not need a rod licence to go fishing
• Full and concessionary rod licences expire on the 31st March each year
• 1-day rod licence is valid for 24 consecutive hours
• 8-day rod licence is valid for 192 consecutive hours from the start time and date

Be warned!

If you fish without a rod licence you are cheating other anglers, it is an offence to fish for freshwater fish and eels without a valid rod licence and if you are caught you may be fined up to £2,500.

The money raised through rod licence sales is invested directly in fisheries work that benefits all anglers.

Buy a rod licence online now >>

Following last years de-silting and restocking of Bonds Lake, this summer has seen some incredible action with the past week or so seeing anglers of all ages and abilities reporting arm aching action! Below are just a couple of the most recent catch reports.

Ollie tames the Bonds carp with feeder tactics

Young Ollie Thorn from Surrey is learning new fish catching tactics each time he goes fishing and when he is not fishing his local part of the Basingstoke Canal for roach and perch, he visits Bury Hill quite regular with his brother Nick to sample the mixed fishing on offer. On his recent visit accompanied by his grandfather, Ollie caught some cracking looking carp on peg 8 and this is what he had to say when he emailed details of his catch report and photos.

“I fished a 17gram cage feeder filled with super G green groundbait. For the hook bait I lasso rigged 8mm Cotswold carp pellets. I also hair-rigged white shellfish mini boilies and corn. I fished Peg 8 casting tight to the Island. I caught 13 carp for a weight of around 70lb, I was casting really well yesterday really tight to the island. Thank you Russ for all the help and advice which was the reason I caught all those carp and one of the best sessions ever.”

Josh and Richard go carp crazy on Bonds Lake

Joss Mitchison and Richard Burton had a simply carp crazy session on Bonds Lake recently catching well over 200lbs plus between the two young anglers from Surrey. Fishing from pegs 4 and 5 with two rods each, both anglers caught on 8mm lassoed carp Skretting pellets casting a ledger tight over to a bush on the far side of the island with small pva bags of pellets and groundbait as feed.

With 50 fish in total including three 11 pounders, the average size of the fish ranged between 5 and 9lbs giving the two fishing buddy’s some fantastic sport.

“We were catching so many fish at one time that we had to pop back to the onsite tackle shop for more bait as the fish we really in a feeding mood” reported the lads to our tackle shop manager Russ Evans.

Source: Bury Hill Fisheries

Gweryd Lakes provides Carp fishing, specimen silver fish and general coarse fishing and trout fishing on a choice of three lakes set in a 150 acre estate in the Clwydian Mountains Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Gweryd Lakes Fishery Review: L Mac, August 2011

Please don't refer to this venue as one of the leading carp venues in Wales. This just plain and simply isn't true.

There are over 30 pegs with sometimes up to 3 anglers on one peg, having 3 rods each. On one occasion I counted 80 rods in at the same time. We have used this lake for nearly 3 years and have only ever had 2 reasonably sized carp of 18 & 14lb. During a 2 week period there last summer we fished 3 days whilst another gentleman had booked for 2 weeks. All he caught was very small silver fish. He had both the experience and time to try every trick in the book, change bait, tactics, pegs etc and he was a carping guy who had spent 30 years at the game.

The facilities are horrendous as far as fishing goes for using bivvys. The pegs are not up to a good standard, are too close together and very uneven. I have yet to find the 'disabled' pegs - none of the pegs I have seen (and I have checked them all) could be safely used for disabled anglers. On the side of the lake which is reserved for serious anglers and where children are not allowed, there are no toilet facilities whatsoever, unless you can count the 'earth toilet' which is basically a hole in the ground with 3 pieces of wood around it. How is that a problem I hear you ask? Well as a woman, no door can be quite an issue. The reason I have to drive round to the other side of the lake every time I need to use the loo, even after all the hassle of doing that, you can guarantee that the toilets on the car park side are utterly disgusting.

None of the pegs are up to scratch, it's certainly a case of charging as much as you can but not actually giving a flying toot about the fish, lake, or the paying public who for me, have to shell out a lot more than most other places and for what? Very little as far as more than a few people have indicated. Talking to others at the lake it's clear that everyone knows that the owners are simply just not interested. Removing large carp and selling them has been a rumour which has been denied, obviously. Even if it's untrue, surely after 3 years would the 'at least 25lb plus' not have grown even slightly in 3 years?

There is it seems yet another peg being built.....maybe 2. I would have thought expansion would be the last thing on their minds. Probably best to reduce the amount of pegs for additional space? I can't tell you how many times I've heard arguments about one person crossing over onto others swims. The owners are clearly not carp fisherman and just want to take your £27 for 24 hours, oh and an extra £6 for anyone who's just spectating? If you have a dog, get your extra £2 out a night!

Gweryd is close to where we live. Yes we keep returning, we shouldn't, but until the place is either sold or is closed due to brazen health & safety concerns, disability issues or lack of customers through rubbish reviews not giving a true picture, then we will still go. We don't have the time to travel any further. Put up and shut up some might say! Buts it's our choice and we think that anything that can save a family money for extortionate rates or groups of anglers being forever paranoid that they've lost their touch .... then we're happy to fill you in on exactly what goes on. We don't either benefit or lose from this kind of review. People should just read around the reviews before parting with their very hard earned cash!

Score:

This years event took place on the 9th july at sandwich fishery and had 37 anglers fishing. The lakes used were Damson and Victoria which are stocked with carp and bream, Kingfisher which has a large head of smaller carp and Berry which has a main stock of Tench and Crucian with lots of silvers.

Draw was 8:30 fishing 10am-3pm
Total raised overall was £890-26

Results:
Overall: 1st Dan Warman - Kingfisher Lake 43lb of carp 0n pole and paste
2nd: John Warman - Damson Lake 28lb 10oz - carp and Bream on feeder and pole
3rd Bob Atkinson - Damson lake 27lb 6oz  - carp on the pole.

Section winners:
Damson lake - Tony Eversfield 26lb 6oz carp and bream  on pole and feeder
Victoria lake - Mick Powell 10lb 2oz skimmers
Berry lake - Dee Reed 4lb 14oz Roach and Rudd
Kingfisher lake - James Young 14lb 6oz carp

1st overall - Dan Warman

2nd overall - John Warman

Thanks to middy tackle, Cathedral bait, premier bait and south east water gardens for raffle prizes. And everyone who contributed on the day including my team and the musketeers angling club

Next Years dates sat 14th July 2012 Entry £20 fishing 10am-3pm