Carping In Paradise

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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 !’

Anglers Paradise

 

Mainline Baits carp open pairs at Upper Tamar – top prize of £2000

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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.

 

NDMG, Summer league No.3 @ Highampton Lakes,

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 NDMG, Summer league No.3 @ Highampton Lakes,

1st Stephen Craker 91lb 10oz

2nd Pete Slade 45lb

3rd John Lisle 43lb 2oz

4th Bruce Hunt  42lb 9oz

5th Martin Turner 38lb 12oz

11 fished, conditions were hot and Stephen Craker  dominated the match on peg 10 he has fished a method feeder out to the island , and also landed some big fish in the margins. Stephen has supported our club since he moved down 18 months ago, well done on his first win ,. 2nd spot went to Pete who fished similarly on peg 9 ,just pipping John on peg 6. Bruce’s first trip to the venue resulted in 4th place.

 

Dave Stockton with 234lb 4oz ! Thats a good net!

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Wow some stunning weights during Sundays Open Match at Stafford Moor. The match was held on Tanners and Woodpecker Lakes.

1st place was Dave Stockton with 234lb 4oz from peg 4 on Woodpecker lake

2nd place was Lee Jan with 188lb 5oz from peg 1 on Tanners lake

3rd place was Ben Evenden with 175lb 15oz from peg 17 on Woodpecker lake

4th place was Kev O with 133lb 6oz from peg 5 on Tanners lake

Full match sheet is attached below

Bideford and Appledore Results

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Tarrant Wotton won Bideford Angling Clubs Sea Rover with a fine specimen thin lipped grey mullet of 4lb 81/2oz. Dick Talbot was runner up with a specimen wrasse of 5lb 61/2oz and Rob Harris third with a small eyed ray of 9lb 41/2oz. Forth was Tarrant with a thin lip of 4lb and fifth Andrew Clements with small eyed ray 8lb 3.25oz and sixth Terry Dymond with a wrasse of 4lb 1.5oz.

( Below) Cameron Atkinson won Appledore Shipbuilders monthly Rover with a fine shore caught pollock of 6lb 53/8oz.

 

Pauline Casts a Fly for Blakewell Trout

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Pauline Chard from Ilfracombe’s High Street Tackle visited Blakewell Fishery to learn the art of Fly Fishing. Keen to catch bass on the fly she decided on a trip to Blakewell where she could practice on the hard fighting rainbows that reside with the calm waters. After achieving success I am sure she will return to Blakewell and go onto tempt those silver bass from the estuary.

The warm summer evenings are ideal for spending at Blakewell casting a dry fly. The venue also offers Fun Fishing for Junior anglers and a superb tea room beside the stock ponds to enjoy a slice of tea and cake!

Boat Anglers Enjoy the Calm Waters

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Small Boat owners have been enjoying some great sport whilst taking advantage of calm seas and blue skies. Combe Martin SAC Members have landed tope, huss, pollock and bass.

 

Chris Bonds – Pollock 9lb 13oz

 

(Above)Ross Stanway – tope
(Above) Chris Bonds – bass 6lb 12oz
(Above) Dan Welch – bull huss

 

 

 

(Above) Dan Welch – tope

If you want to sample some of the excellent sport to be enjoyed off North Devon’s Coast line book a trip on one of the Seaside towns charter boats.

 

Anglers play a key role in invasive species management

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.

Basic Biosecurity Advice

 

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].