MOTLEY CREW AND CATS IN PARADISE

Many thanks to my good friend Bruce Elston for sending North Devon & Exmoor Angling News a full report on their trip to Anglers Paradise. Whilst I was unable to attend due to grandad duties I was very much there in spirit and watched developments keenly on our Watts-App group.

It was with much anticipation that a motley crew of like minded anglers assembled at my place for breakfast, prior to annual cat fishing trip on carp and cat 2 at  Elderado. This was to be our fifth year targeting the catfish on this prolific lake and we always have a lot of laughs with a few nice fish thrown in along the way.
Unfortunately Wayne Thomas couldn’t make it this year so Noel Jones readily agreed to take his place.
With the bacon and egg butties and copious amounts of tea and coffee consumed we set about allotting swims by pulling names out of a hat. Unfortunately for Johnny ‘Fat bloke’ Hughes he drew the short straw and had to fish with me!
This year we had been lucky with the weather. With the lake booked months in advance, it is always a worry but with hot and sunny conditions forecast for the 48 hours of fishing we had ahead of us, things looked good. I have always found found this to be good conditions for tempting our whiskered friends.
Arriving at the lake we noticed a few carp spawning which was not ideal. Hopefully our large baits and agricultural tackle needed to tame the large catfish that reside here , would put off any carp fancying a snack after their amorous endeavours.
Barrow loads of gear were quickly deposited in our allotted swims. Well, quickly might be a bit of an exaggeration for this mostly retired and less than spritely bunch of old duffers! Anyway, eventually we were all settled in our swims and sat back in the sunshine awaiting events.
It wasn’t long before I spied a bent rod across the water and Tony Ball was playing the first cat of the session. Only a kitten
at around 8 pounds but it was a good start and fair play to the old fella for thinking outside the box and trying out a float paternoster
fished with worms.


Soon after Alan Palmer also landed a Kitten of a similar size, this was closely followed by a 29 pounder also to Mr Palmer.

Things were looking good and got even better when my alarm sounded and I was suddenly attracted to something that was intent on pulling my arm off. The cats have got bigger and bigger, year on year in this lake and this was definitely one of the bigger ones! Bitter experience of lost fish making it to snags or taking me around islands have meant that I have upgraded the gear I have been using to try and tame these beasts. Despite now using 30lb line, 3 1/2lb test Armorlites and big pit reels the big ones still lead you a merry dance. This one was no exception and decided it wanted to visit Noel in the swim  further up the lake to my left. Eventually it came around to my way of thinking and a nice cat of 40lb 8oz was juggled into
the net by Fatty Hughes.


The action continued with Richard ’Bully’ Bull landing a 20.12.


The cats were definitely on the munch and we were all expecting a busy night but apart from a couple of lost fish and a 15 for Bully it was relatively quiet. Oh, and Fatty Hughes had a micro cat on worms popped up to just under the surface.


As the new day dawned, Noel was woken by lovely looking common carp that took a liking for a half tin of luncheon meat which was soon outgunned on the heavy gear and sent back on its merry way.


Father and son Team, Mitch and Ben Andrews had been quiet (at least fish wise up to this point) but this was about to change. Ben stole the show on day two with two nice fish of 30.08 and 32.14.


As the second night descend on us we could hear the call of a Nightjar nearby but Mitch spoilt the moment by declaring that it was in fact a farting Walrus.
Mitch has had some nice cats in the past but has not had the best of luck on our annual trips so we were all rooting for him as time was starting to run out on the session. Thankfully at 10.45 his bite alarm sounded and this time he wasn’t to be denied and after a spirited battle a 22 pounder was his.

Several other cats were landed in the night including a 28 for Alan, a 27 for Ben and a 24 just before the first light for me.

Fatty contributed to proceedings with another micro cat on worms.


As the new day dawned with mist rising off the water my Alarm sounded for the last time and I was blessed with another 40 pounder to cap off what had been a fabulous trip. Unfortunately Elderado had a sting in its tail for poor Noel as despite the heavy gear he was using and not fishing too close to the snags a big fish managed to get into some sunken branches on the far bank just as he was about to pack up.
Still it was a great trip and fun was had by the old fogeys and a fitting end to our Elderado adventures. I say end as it is rumoured that it will not be available for day tickets next year. I had better make hay…

Anglers Paradise

BIGGEST FISH CAUGHT IN ANGLERS PARADISE HISTORY

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BIGGEST FISH CAUGHT IN ANGLERS PARADISE HISTORY
Lee Meakin, age 36 has made Anglers Paradise history and caught the complex record Catfish at 100lbs from the Main Lake!!
This is the heaviest fish to have ever been caught here and he is now the new RECORD HOLDER!!
As a Fishery, we are all incredibly proud to have grown these Cats on from babies to THIS!!
Lee shared –
“Well my dad said I wouldn’t catch a catfish, so I wanted to prove him wrong haha!! After having no bites on the carp all day, I put 2 rods out for a cat not expecting anything and like he said there is 2/3 in here and the last time 1 was caught, was either last year or 2 years ago but I thought why not try?! I am not going to catch if I don’t try, so out went 2 Dynamite Baits 21m halibut pellets in the middle of the lake and my other went out on big fishy boilie and a fishy pop up.
2 and a half hours later my halibut rod screams off and bringing it in half way felt like a small cat as it wasn’t fighting and coming towards me, only to get it close and off it screamed!!
30 minutes later it tired and I put my waders on to try help it in the net and get it on the bank and only then seeing the pure size of it I couldn’t believe it!!

ANGLER LANDS 2ND BIGGEST CATFISH (Above) 
Massive congratulations to Rob Halsey who has caught the 2nd biggest ever Catfish at 92lbs from the Main Lake!
2 in one week, just insane!!🤯
Rob shared –
“92lb Catfish from the main lake, caught on snowman rig with a 15mm Dynamite Baits monster tiger nut boilie and 10mm yellow pineapple pop up fished over bag of crushed boilies and pellet.
This fish run me ragged, from one side of the lake to the other and back again, but after 20 minutes or so, she was mine.
What a fish!”
Anglers Paradise

Anglers Paradise THE TROUT LAKE IS BACK

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Anglers Paradise THE TROUT LAKE IS BACK‼️🎣🥳
Some news that many of you have been waiting for! The Trout Lake is back OPEN and it’s also in a new location! You still go to the same car park, but you follow the path to the left and there it is, all ready and waiting for you to catch the beautiful Trout that reside in there!

Adrian Kruger was the first to christen the new Trout Lake and he had a cracking day! 3 double Rainbows and two stunning Brownies.

Anglers Paradise

 

ANGLERS PARADISE 2024 – Lure Fishing Weekend

Many thanks to Zenia for a full report of the 10th AP Lure Fishing Weekend

The 10th Anniversary of the Anglers Paradise Lure Weekend 2024…

There were laughs, banter, memories made, personal bests, first ever fishes caught on a Lure, the list goes on…
In a nutshell – A MEMORABLE WEEKEND FOR SURE 💫
A Friendly Fishing Competition does exist at Anglers Paradise, big or small love them all and remember sometimes we catch and sometimes we don’t…that’s why it’s called Fishing and not catching…blank days happen to us ALL…💖🎣🙌
STORM BERT💨☔️💨🤪…the most challenging conditions we’ve ever had for this competition that’s for sure!! But all anglers did awesome and we are proud of you all!!!
A massive thank you to all the sponsors for the AMAZING PRIZES
@rapalaeurope
@okumaeurope @okumafreshwateruk
@fox_rage_fishing @fox_international
@rozemeijerfishing @rozemeijer_uk
Voodoo Traces
@drennantackle @espcarpgear
@fortiseyewear @fortiseyeweareurope
@outlaw_pro @outlaw_pro_predator
@capitalangling
Devon Baits
Also thank you to Paul and his helper Grace for all the yummy food, all the adjudicators – Colin Beetz, Paul Tegg, Russell Irving, Duncan Smith, Joe Dietrich, and Toby Cryer. To our 4 fantastic Team Captains – Dave Drake, Ben Humber, Nathan Edgell and Ian Jones – for all doing a great job 👏🏻 Also thank you to the Bar staff, Jason Barnes and Emma Knight. Also a special mention to Joe Drury who has put in a tremendous amount of work…day and night to make this event happen! THANK YOU TO EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU 🫶🫵🏻🫶
We can’t wait to show you the results with all the Winners 🏆🎣 but with 100’s of pictures taken, we are currently in editing mode and will gradually share them with you.
To all that took part – we hope you enjoyed yourselves and hope to greet you again one day.
Well done to all the Winners who all went home with lots of awesome prizes from our great Sponsors!!
Izaak Walton wrote in 1653: ‘He that hopes to be a good angler must not only bring an inquiring, searching, observing wit; but he must also bring a large measure of hope and patience.’
Well everyone who braved ‘Storm Bert’ down in Devon certainly were ‘good anglers’ as they persevered through those awful conditions displaying the very best example of ‘hope and patience’.
So a huge well done to all the friendly companions and competitors who took part in the 10th Anniversary Lure Weekend at Anglers Paradise.
Congratulations to Ian Jones on the win captaining his team to achieve 9 lure caught species which was an amazing result and my fellow captains Ben Humber and Dave Drake.
Massive thanks to my sponsors Rozemeijer UK and Rozemeijer and Robert Lawrie from Voodoo Traces for such generous and quality prizes. It’s an honor and a privilege to attend an event like this on your behalf so thank you again.
Finally special thanks to all at AP especially Joe Drury & Zenia Drury-Gregorek for everything they do for us lure anglers and anglers in general. The whole concept, venue and people make this event truly one of a kind and I’m very grateful to be able to attend it. The lure weekend always reaffirms to me that fishing is so much more than just fish and I like that.

WINNER 🏆 OF THE BIGGEST PERCH OF THE 2024 LURE WEEKEND

Dan Wahid who was our youngest participant aged 13, who caught a very credible 29cm Perch from the Kracking Carp Lake.
This was Dan’s 1st ever Lure Weekend and we are so, so happy for him on winning this category! Despite the horrendous storm, Dan fished his socks off and did not give up at any point, he showed 100% dedication and truly deserved this win!!

WINNER 🏆 OF THE BIGGEST CATFISH OF THE 2024 LURE WEEKEND

Nicole Williams who caught a 75.5cm Wels Catfish from the Easy Cat Lake!
This was also Nicole’s 1st ever Catfish and to catch her first on a lure is pretty impressive!!
Nicole showed 100% dedication, she listened to advice from the Adjudicators and her Captain, and after persevering cast after cast…SHE CAUGHT HER CATFISH!!

WINNER 🏆 OF THE BIGGEST TROUT OF THE 2024 LURE WEEKEND

A TIE between Nigel Kingston and Darren Higby who both caught a 68cm Rainbow Trout from the Trout Lake!

WINNER 🏆 OF THE BIGGEST PIKE (caught by a participant) OF THE 2024 LURE WEEKEND

Elliot Mason with a 62cm Pike from Valhalla 🐊🎣🏆🏅👏🏻🎣👏🏻
Congratulations Elliot, in tough conditions, you still managed to catch a Pike, great angling and another well deserved win!
Anglers Paradise

Carp and cats from Paradise

ELDORADO SUCCESS FOR JOE!
5C’s member Joe Dietrich had a great overnight session on Anglers Eldorado’s Cat and Carp 2 catching 6 Carp to 24lb 6oz and a mid twenty Cat!
Joe shared –
“Was nice to get out on the banks again last night even though it was a very wet one! Had a nice scaley mirror of 21lb 12oz and then a nice common of 24lb 6oz to finish a busy night off nicely! 6 carp and a mid 20 cat. First night for a few weeks! No pics of the rest as was hammering it down and dark!”
Anglers Paradise

GET FISHING AT ANGLERS PARADISE

Pauline and I attended the Get Fishing Day at Anglers Paradise where over fifty keen newcomers to the angling world attended to receive invaluable advice and tuition from a team of Angling Trust accredited coaches. The day was divided into two half’s and participants rotated between three lakes including the Float Fishing lake, New Easy Cat lake and beginners carp lake.

( Below) Martyn Green delivered  Fly casting tuition.


I feel sure that all who took part found the day invaluable in providing an introduction to the fundamentals of angling and the various set ups and tactics.


It was fascinating to watch the various coaches at work demonstrating the many varied methods used to tempt carp and other coarse fish.
A large number of small fish were tempted on the float lake ensuring that all had the chance to catch their first fish. Fish care was one of the main focus areas of the day with good principles highlighted throughout the sessions.


The day was sponsored by the Environment Agency, Angling Trust, Angling Direct, Shakespeare, Anglers Paradise and Dynamite Baits.

Anglers Paradise
( Above) Millie Bryant


The event was very family oriented with every generation represented and the values to mental well-being and a valuable connection with nature very apparent.
Dean Asplin of the Angling Trust and Zenia Drury Gregorek did a Stirling job of organising the event at this extensive and popular angling venue.

(Below) Olivia Diebney enjoys catching a common carp


Eleven year old Bobby Lean certainly had a weekend to remember fishing with his father who was coaching on the New Easy Cat lake. During the afternoon session he banked a catfish in front of an appreciative audience. Then staying on overnight with his dad Gary Lean they fished the Nirvana Specimen catfish Lake banking huge catfish of 84lb and 72lb!

Below are several images from the day that was blessed with sunshine  and light winds.

Zenia Drury Gregorek and Dean Asplin from the Angling Trust
Zyg Gregorek who founded Anglers Paradise over forty years ago with his daughter Zenia Drury Gregorek and Dean Asplin from the Angling Trust.

65lb 4oz Catfish from Paradise

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Anglers Paradise
Report from Zenia Gregorek 
PB CATFISH
Well done to 5C’s member Joe Dietrich who caught a personal best 65lb 4oz Catfish from Anglers Eldorado’s Carp & Cat Lake 2 as well as a few more!!
Joe shared –
“Had a good session on the cats, ended up with five landed and 2 that fell off, 24lb, 28lb, 32lb, 38lb and the big one at 65lb 4oz! My brother in law Neil had a small one of 17lb as his first ever cat so a great session even though we had some mental thunderstorms! No buckets needed as got soaked several times thanks!”
Congratulations Joe 😸🎣👏🏻🥳
Not sure if you’re going to get away from the buckets though…A PB is a PB…💦🪣💦😸😆
Book with 📲 @gocatchfish gocatchfish and please read the rules before fishing…someone was caught using a bait boat and casting over other anglers lines and also had a friend with them that hadn’t booked…rule breaking is not tolerated at our fishery and will result in a ban at the Baliff’s discretion‼️
Simply stick to the rules, respect the others around you and everyone can enjoy their fishing.