John Jobson fished a North Devon Lake and had a surprise when he hooked a hard fighting fish that took 20 minutes to get to the net using a 1.75lb TC carp rod and 15lb b.s line. The catfish scaled 30lb! The warm sunshine will bring these hard fighting predators onto the feed.
Chillcheaters are now producing army green jackets, smocks and bib and brace in their renowned Aquatherm material these products are ideal for the carp and trout fisherman who want 100% waterproof clothing that is both lightweight and hard wearing. Braunton Baits are stocking the products. The jackets are £159, The smocks £140 and the Bib and Brace £130.
Water temperatures are slowly rising and this normally gets the catfish moving. The latest report from Anglers Paradise come right on time. The first few weeks of springlike weather often see the cats go on feeding frenzy with multiple catches likely especially from Eldorado’s catfish lake that has very good head of fish. If you want a fish of lifetime try the Day Ticket Nirvana lake which has cats to over 50lb!
With the temperatures rising, the Cats are showing!! A 35lb Cat came out of Eldorado’s Bottom Cat and Carp Lake and here’s Jack Sparrow who caught a Personal Best 47lb 3oz Cat from Nirvana’s Specimen Cat Lake on a Krill Wafter on a running rig with a pva bag of smashed up halibut pellets and ground bait. As you can see Jack caught the Catfish at night and had to do a self-take so the quality of picture isn’t great but you can still see the size of it!
The pictures below sum up the Spring so far. Many thanks to Martin Turner for his new report from the enduring North Devon Match Group!
1st Kevin Shears 57lb 12oz
2nd Christopher Morris 52lb 13oz
3rd Martin Turner 42lb 13oz
4th Tom Downing 41lb 11oz
5th Paul Morris 41lb 6oz
6th Nathan Underwood 31lb 2oz .
Silvers James Grogan 7lb 1oz .
Despite our efforts that man Shears has secured yet another victory! Kevin drew on the road side on lake 4 and landed 20 carp on corn on the pole in the margins. Christopher drew on one of the reed beds on lake 3 for second also on corn on the pole. Martin was next peg to him , and caught on bread and maggots. The spring day started well for the 17 competitors but deteriorated in to sleet by the time we weighed in .Thanks to Start Sharp for allowing us to use both lakes and providing breakfast rolls.
Easter is an ideal time to take the family to the waters edge and Agapi Fruit and Fishing Lake is an ideal location to catch a few fish in tranquil surroundings. Situated close to Torrington the lake has a healthy population of crimson finned golden rudd and numerous carp that are growing well. As the waters warms the venues carp should be tempted with that traditional of carp baits the floating crust.
Big Fish Off
The latest series of the Big Fish Off is scheduled to air on ITV4 starting on the 29th March at 8pm. Not sure when the episode that was shot here is on, but there are sure to be some cracking episodes with a load of laughs, can’t wait. The show will be discussed on Soccer AM this Saturday,17th March and there will also be clips from the forthcoming series.
The Big One
If you’re planning on visiting The Big One Show between the 24th and 25th March in Farnborough, Hampshire, then make sure you pay the Anglers Paradise Team a visit! They will be on stand 28a along with Deception Angling. Zyg and Zenia will be there to greet you. Over the course of the weekend there is an opportunity to win a holiday for 8 people. For a lucky few, or probably the early birds, they’ll be a chance to take away a sample of the “Twist” which is one of the Paradise Baits range, produced exclusively by Burton Bait Rollers.
All the big angling names will be there, as well as their products and hopefully there will be some cracking deals to be had. “We hope to see you there for our 1st ever show, we are very excited!!”
Fish Moving Well
Lee Abbott one of our estate staff lost a big fish on Kraking Carp the other day. Fish are moving well now that the milder climes are here, were glad to see the back of the cold spell we had the other week, even we experienced snow even though it “never snows in Devon”
Special Easter Offer
We still have Fisherman’s Majestic on offer (sleeps 4) on March 31st normally £900 a week, for the offer price of £700. Fabulous views across Dartmoor at a saving of over 20%. Offer is on a first come first served basis. Come and join Rose and myself for. Apart from the offer there is still are a limited number of villas available over Easter.
Its seems that spring is slow to arrive and just as we think its getting milder another cold snap is forecast. But any day now we will get that first real day of spring when warmth prevails and balmy air descends.
There are of course signs that spring is here as daffodils, primroses and celandine’s line the hedgerows and roadside verges. Frogs spawned a couple of months ago now and their spawn is already transforming into tadpoles. It will be soon be the turn of the toads to converge onto lakes and ponds their birdlike croak echoing around. Any time now we could glimpse that first sand martin and then that true harbinger of spring and summer the swallows.
As anglers we are of course very aware of nature that is around us and this is all part of what fishing is all about. I am always filled with optimism as the days grow longer and the chance to fish evening sessions in daylight arrives. Of course many plans are made and time is as ever less plentiful than desired. In just a couple of weeks the clocks spring forward.
There will be the chance to cast a fly across the river for spring salmon. Flick a dry fly upstream for wild brown trout or fish a buzzer on a Stillwater for hard fighting rainbows.
Carp anglers will relish the warming water knowing that carp will become more active and as a result will search for food maybe even coming onto the surface where a chum mixer will be slurped down with that delightful sound of summer evenings.
If you’re a sea angler your thoughts will be turning to bass, smoothound and ray. It will of course depend upon your favourite angling style what you seek. The bait angler will enjoy sitting back waiting for the nodding rod and screaming reel. The lure fisher will be more mobile searching for fish casting here and there searching for that electric tug on the line.
I could ramble on but I am sure you get the vibes that I am trying to convey that excitement at the arrival of new a season and fresh piscatorial adventures. I hope to report on your catches over these coming months, not just the fish but also an appreciation of all that angling means. So please feel free to send me your successes, stories and any images of the angling world you enjoy.
Many thanks go to those who sponsor this site and support this project.
John Shapland enjoyed a cold days fishing at Jennetts Reservoir using quiver tip tactics to catch skimmer bream and small roach. A raw prawn bait fishing in the margins tempted this lovely perch of 2lb 9 1/2oz.
Ashley Bunning has followed up his capture of a common carp called ‘The Don’ at 34.04 from Upper Tamar Lake with this cracking Perch of 3.12 caught on an Eco Gear Ikajako soft lure fished from the perch boat.
Kevin Smith has also been in the action with this lovely 3.08 Perch from the same venue.
