The hottest day of the year so far triggered frantic spawning of the carp at Lower Slade Reservoir an ideal time to get a look at the carp that live within a lake as they thrash about in the weed oblivious to all else around them.
Stafford Moor Match in glorious weather
Stafford Moors open match on Tanners lake with held in glorious weather. Nick Jones fished peg 35 to put together an impressive haul of 168lb 1oz using waggler tactics.
Bideford Mid Week Coarse Match
Bideford Angling Clubs midweek evening competition held on Tarka Swims was won by David Bailey with a weight of 8lb 4oz Liam Bailey took 2nd spot with 5lb 1oz Martin Turner 3rd on 3lb 1oz
Conditions were hot and still,many of the carp were basking near the surface and not interested in our baits.
Sea Angling News Round up!
Shore sport is starting to take off as summer sweeps in with the first really warm days of the year. Numerous smoothound have been caught from regular shore marks and from boats in Bideford Bay. Bideford Club members weighed some fine specimens into their 24 hour rover.
Bideford 24hr rover May results
1st Nathan clements bull Huss 11lb 15 3/4 119.844%
2nd taz wotton smoothound 11lb 8 115%
3rd Antony smith bull Huss 10lb 12 1/2 107.812%
Great fish tonight 5 fish all over 100%
(Above) Smoothound 13lbs 1/2 oz caught from a boat by Jack Pike.
(Above) Ross Stanway and Lee Holden enjoyed sport at Ilfracombe landing a brace of spotted ray each along with the inevitable dogfish.
The coming week should see mackerel shoals all along the coast with big tides and improved water clarity. Mullet will be present in harbours and from rock marks. Bass will also be well worth targetting with both lures and bait. There is the chance of gilthead bream in the estuary with crab and lugworm the favoured baits. After dark the beaches will produce ray and the rock marks bull huss.
Many thanks to Ian Laird for allowing to post his images of a night on the beach.
It will be no surprise if an early tope shows up, a whole mackerel presented on a wire trace could well bring a screaming reel!
Anglers fishing on Reel Deal off Ilfracombe have enjoyed some top rate pollock sport.
Stafford Moor – Carping at Stafford Moor
(Above)Lily Hammond fished at Stafford Moor Fishery in Dolton with her dad Jason Hammond who fished up on lodge lake using Sticky Baits boilies this is one of Lily’s fish a fine 14lb mirror .
(Above)Darren Garlick caught 3 fish up to 23lb 15oz from the inlet swim on beatties lake using pepperami boilies .
Latest reports from Anglers Paradise – Including a massive catfish!
(Above) Zenia Drury-Gregorek, 33, (-; I got a rare window to fish on my favourite lake, the picturesque Koi Lake and just before leaving to pick the kids up I caught this stunner, using a cocktail of maggots float fishing on the bottom. God I love fishing and it was so GREAT to be out there.I really hope to encourage more ladies to fish as it’s simply magical.
Gavin Simpson, 40 from Wellingborough caught an amazing Personal Best 6lb 12oz Golden Orfe from the Main Carp Lake which is just 1lb 9oz short of the British Record! After about 4 hours of fishing he had a great bite, and he knew this fish felt different straight away. Gavin Said – “As I played it towards the net I saw this huge orange flank and thought WOW! I put the net under it and couldn’t believe what I was seeing, the most enormous Golden Orfe I had ever seen, what an amazing fish! It weighed in at 6lb 12oz, I had to check what the British Record was as I was sure it couldn’t be a lot more. I was right, the current record is 8lb 5oz, this fish was just 1lb 9oz off of the British record!
What a great fish and what a great memory for a trip that was a present from my wife Kerry for my 40th Birthday. I am sure there is a British record to be had in that lake for someone. Get yourself to Anglers Paradise, buy yourself one of Zyggy’s magic hats or hoodies and get yourself in those record books! I’m ‘Orfe’ there again soon myself to try and catch a bigger one!”
Paul Shepperd from Southampton is now the NEW CATFISH COMPLEX RECORD HOLDER – with a 74lb 8oz Catfish from the Main Carp Lake beating Sean Tacy’s weight by exactly 1lb that was caught 2 weeks after!!!
Paul went from 8 years of trying to catch Cat with no success until last year when he caught his 1st to then catching this Monster! Paul baited his swim with 14ml pellets, soaked overnight in Korda halibut goo, using a nine inch hook link with a long hair, with a korda size 6 curved shank hook. Paul Said – “Thank you to my wife and all the lads who helped with netting and weighing this monster. Also, Joe, the estate manager, the rig clinic guru, said this cat only has to eat a 10lb carp to be 84lbs. So there’s the challenge ladies and gents, beat that!
Thank you to the Paradise family for making this dream come true. See you next May. Also just to add to this great weeks fishing, I also met my fishing hero’s Ali Hamidi and Dean Macey at Anglers Paradise. Certainly a Week to remember!”
Lower Tamar Carp catch
Brothers Aaron and Liam Jones had a couple lovely fish from day ticket water Lower Tamar lake near Bude on the Cornwall/Devon border. Liam managed a 16.02 common and Aaron had this cracking 22lb Mirror. The fish fell to Krill boilies.
Stafford Moor – Carp Fishing latest
Stuart and Chris Hutchings fished on Beatties lake and enjoyed success with 19 carp mostly mid to upper doubles with 3 twenties.
(Below) Callum Gardiner with one of his catches from Beattie’s lake using Sticky Baits krill boilies. Callum was well pleased with the new personal best of 24lb 7oz.
Spring sport at Blakewell
Ryan Brentnall traveled from Okehampton to enjoy a fines days sport at Blakewell Fishery where he landed six hard fighting rainbows to 3lb in a 17lb bag.
Guys Big Hound
Combe Martin SAC member Guy Spriggs landed a fine smoothound of 11lb 4oz on his latest visit to the coast.