Opportunities to fish for pike are limited in North Devon with only around half a dozen venues holding the species. If you fancy a try at pike fishing Anglers Paradise has a good stock of these toothy critters available to target with lures. See report from Zenia at AP below.
PIKE ALERT
Ashley Bunning used his day off work to have a couple of hours on Valhalla. Ashley caught 3 Pike in total with this being the biggest and used a Ecogear Ikajaco Lure to catch them.
Remember our Predator Lake Valhalla is now open for all to fish until February, time to get some Winter Lure Fishing in!
Anglers Paradise just held their annual Lure Weekend which was a great success. Full report from Zenia. The weather was testing, rain, wind and hail but every Angler still stuck it out till the end of the Competition!
There were 20 Lure Anglers that took part and the 4 Teams were Captained by Nathan Edgell from Fladen, David Watkin-Smith from Quantum, Kevin Cox from Fox Rage and David Drake from Drennan. The Competition ran over 2 days of fishing on 4 different Lakes that consisted of our Predator Lake Valhalla, the Specimen Cat Lake, the Trout Lake and the Bottom Cat and Carp Lake at Eldorado of which all Teams fished each Lake in rotation.
In total, there were 11 Pike, 14 Perch, 2 Trout and the 1st ever Anglers Paradise Lure caught Koi and Golden Orfe to come out in the annual Competition, there was also a big Catfish lost, so no Cats were landed this year!
The Winner of the whole Competition was Damon Braxton who caught 3 different Species at a combined length of 108cm, Damon caught a 39.5cm Koi (which is the 1st ever Koi to be caught on a Lure here!) a 10.5cm Rudd and a 58cm Pike. Fladen and Anglers Paradise Sponsored this Event meaning Damon Won a Week’s Holiday for 2 at Anglers Paradise and a huge range of Fladen Predator Tackle, including a Rod, Reel, Lures and Clothing. Damon’s Team Captain was Fladen’s very own Pike King – Nathan Edgell, who was very proud of his Team Member to Win the Competition!
The Runner Up was Lee Paynton who had a Perch and a Pike at a combined length of 92cm, Sponsored by Quantum. Third Place was Tom Wilson who also had a Perch and a Pike with a combined length of 80.5cm, Sponsored by Fladen.
Tom Wilson took the Crown for the Biggest Pike with a respectable 68.5cm Pike from the Specimen Cat Lake, although Nathan Edgell actually caught the Biggest Pike measuring 86cm but as he’s a Team Captain – it doesn’t count!! Tom was in Team Quantum with Captain David Watkin-Smith leading him to Victory! Tom won some pretty special prizes from Quantum including a Spinning Rod, a Spinning Reel, a Specialist Bag, a Rod Guard and other goodies – Thank you so much to Quantum for the amazing Prizes.
Ben Taylor Won the Biggest Trout Category with a lovely 45cm Rainbow Trout, it was hard going on the Trout Lake all weekend but in the end he and Joe Drury were the only 2 to catch Trout on the last day of fishing!! Ben was in Team Fox with Kevin Cox from Fox as Captain (and Joe Drury as stand in Captain on Sunday) who both gave Ben plenty of tips and inspiration to help him win this title! Ben won a Fox Rage set up of a Rod, a Reel and some Lures – Thank you to Fox Rage for the great prizes and for sponsoring this Category.
Lee Paynton caught the biggest Perch measuring 33cm from the Specimen Cat Lake. Lee was in Team Drennan with the wonderful Dave Drake as his Team Captain, Lee won an absolute superb selection of Drennan Lures – he could start up a new Lure Shop with them!! Special thanks to Drennan for the amazing prizes and for sponsoring this category. This was Lee’s 1st ever Lure Weekend with us, and we are so happy that not only did he win but he also shared with us that he loved every minute and will be back for next year’s Anglers Paradise Lure Weekend!
The Winning Team was Team Fox – which consisted of Jim Williams, Ben Taylor, Bex Nelson and Father and Son Dominic and Dylan Cooke, Captained by Kevin Cox, (with help from Joe Drury as stand in on Sunday) knocking Team Fladen’s Nathan Edgell off his Thrown!! They won with 5 species, Pike, Perch, Rudd, Trout and the winning/deciding fish was a Golden Orfe caught by young Dylan Cooke just 10 minutes before the end of last session!!
Congratulations to all the winners and competitors at Anglers Paradises lure weekend. Latest results direct from Zenia.
THE WINNER OF THE NOVEMBER 2017 LURE WEEKEND IS…
**Sponsored by Fladen**
DAMON BRAXTON – Who caught 3 different Species at a combined length of 108cm, Damon caught a 39.5cm Koi (which is the 1st ever Koi to be caught on a Lure here!) a 10.5cm Rudd and a 58cm Pike making him the WINNER OF OUR 2017 LURE WEEKEND!!
Fladen and Anglers Paradise Sponsored this Event meaning Damon Won a Week’s Holiday for 2 at Anglers Paradise and a huge range of Fladen Predator Tackle, including a Rod, Reel, Lures and Clothing.
Damon’s Team Captain was Fladen’s very own Pike King – Nathan Edgell, who was very proud of his Team Member to Win the Competition!
Special Thanks to Fladen for being so generous with the Prizes and a MASSIVE CONGRATULATIONS to Damon for WINNING THE LURE WEEKEND!!
THE BIGGEST PIKE Sponsored by Quantum
Tom Wilson took the Crown for this Category with a respectable 68.5cm Pike from the Specimen Cat Lake, although Nathan Edgell actually caught the Biggest Pike measuring 86cm but as he’s a Team Captain – it doesn’t count!!
Tom was in Team Quantum with Captain David Watkin-Smith leading him to Victory!
Tom won some pretty special prizes from Quantum including a Spinning Rod, a Spinning Reel, a Specialist Bag, a Rod Guard and other goodies – Thank you so much to Quantum for the amazing Prizes.
THE BIGGEST TROUT Sponsored by Fox Rage
Ben Taylor Won this Category with a lovely 45cm Rainbow Trout, it was hard going on the Trout Lake all weekend but in the end he and Joe Drury were the only 2 to catch Trout on the last day of fishing!!
Ben was in Team Fox with Kevin Cox from Fox as Captain (and Joe Drury as stand in Captain on Sunday) who both gave Ben plenty of tips and inspiration to help him win this title!
Ben won a Fox Rage set up of a Rod, a Reel and some Lures – Thank you to Fox Rage for the great prizes and for sponsoring this Category.
THE BIGGEST PERCH Sponsored by Drennan
Lee Paynton caught the biggest Perch measuring 33cm from the Specimen Cat Lake.
Lee was in Team Drennan with the wonderful Dave Drake as his Team Captain, Lee won an absolute superb selection of Drennan Lures – he could start up a new Lure Shop with them!! Special thanks to Drennan for the amazing prizes and for sponsoring this category.
This was Lee’s 1st ever Lure Weekend with us, and we are so happy that not only did he win but he also shared with us that he loved every minute and will be back for next year’s Anglers Paradise Lure Weekend!
An excellent report from John Deprieelle on the recent lure competition at Upper Tamar.
Upper Tamar kayak comp
The first kayak event on Upper Tamar reservoir has been and gone and despite all attempts from mother nature, the event was a success.
When fishery manager Ben Smeeth gave me the thumbs up to organize a kayak comp on the stunning venue set in Cornwall near Bude, I was delighted. This 80 acre reservoir is home to some of the biggest Perch in the Southwest but locating them can be tricky at times. With Kayak lure fishing becoming increasingly popular this was the perfect opportunity to get afloat and see if we could find a few of the dark destroyers.
The eve of the comp wasn’t looking good though as 50mph plus winds howled across the venue. That night I lay in the tent worrying that all my plans might be shot down in flames. As expected some people cried off as for some it was a long journey to just turn around and go home but the die hard anglers were there on time and it was left to the group to decide what to do. We decided to at least head out and give it a shot and test the water so to speak. I might add at this point that Savage gear had kindly donated free goodie bags consisting of T tail fat minnows and cannibal shads for all entrants. On top of that there was a prize for the biggest fish caught on one of the said lures.
We all launched into the white water being blown around like paper hankys but just 10 mins into the comp Bristol angler George Osborne hooked into a fish that not only smashed his previous PB but also caught it on the cannibal shad. The fish weighed in at 4lb 5oz and 44cm. One very happy angler and an incredible fish to set the pace. From there on people started to catch steadily and fish of almost every size graced the boats from just ounces going up in every pound class right up to another fish of 4lb 4oz caught by Lee Garner.
It wasn’t all fun and games though as the weather did claim some of us and over a thousand pounds worth of fishing tackle now sits at the bottom of Tamar reservoir. Four rods and reels, a box of lures, a set of car keys and lots of tears(mainly mine) were the price to pay but everyone took it in good spirit and the fish gods returned us with big fish as compensation.
As the afternoon came the winds finally gave up and for an hour we sat on a flat calm lake as if nothing had ever happened. The fishing slowed up but one final fish just under 4lb marked the end of an enjoyable, eventful day. We ended with two fish over 4lbs, ten fish over 3lbs and loads of fish over 2lbs.
I had hoped for a fun event which wasn’t too competitive with a lot of laughs and I think I achieved just that.
The biggest single fish of the day went to Tony Chesworth with a massive spawned out fish of 47cm(3,14).
The biggest fish caught on a Savage gear lure went to George Osborne measuring in at 44cm (4lb,5oz).
Dom Garnett kindly donated a signed copy of his book for the smallest fish and this was also caught by George Osborne at 14cm.
In 3rd place was George Osborne who looked like he was going to clean up.
In 2nd place was Adam Moxey with a string of fish to low 3’s
And 1st place went to Lee Garner who certainly had the lions share .Everyone who placed went home with goodies from Savage Gear, Costa, Cash and vouchers from Culm Valley angling.
Plans are already in place for an autumn event but these competitions can only exist with your support so watch this space. Massive thanks to Ben and Gary at SW lakes, Richard Taylor at Savage gear, Danny Parkins for the Costa prizes and Culm Valley angling.
When the rivers are low and salmon and sea trout are hard to find many fly fishers are turning to the the estuary where the silver flanked bass can provide exciting sport on both lure and fly. Nick Hart provides tuition in Fly Fishing in both fresh and saltwater, in rivers and still waters. His latest pictures show some happy anglers making the best of ideal conditions where the estuary meets the sea. Investing in guided fishing can make a huge difference to your catch rates boosting success over many years into the future.
The first few bass of the season have been tempted by lure anglers and to celebrate the fact Danny Watson has launched a lure fishing competition. Details below.
High Street Tackle are running a lure fishing competition!
The first one to run from now until May 10th.
The winner will be the biggest fish caught from the shore on a lure that has been bought from High Street Tackle.
To enter you must submit a picture of the fish, details of the lure and weight of the fish.
Pictures will be displayed on our Facebook page – we will not disclose any location information even if it is provided.
IMPORTANT – please ensure that all pictures are sensible ones – blood etc is not a good look.
It will also be assumed that all bass are treated as per the requirements of the law – we do not wish for any controversy to be raised by any of your pictures.
I understand that there may be some openings for dishonesty but hope that all who are interested in taking part can help to ensure that the winner is deservedly judged so.
We have not decided on the exact prize yet but it will obviously be related to lure fishing and be worth the effort of sending an honest photo – we would like to think that this may continue throughout the year!
Please feel free to contact us should have any suggestions etc.
Zenia Drury Gregorek sent news of her young sons latest angling adventures.
Please find enclosed pictures of our eldest Son Zaine Drury-Gregorek, 6 who is proving to be quite the Angler! Zaine went Lure fishing with his Dad Joe on our Predator Lake Valhalla, and within just two hours he caught a Personal Best Perch AND his 1st EVER Pike!! A double Whammy and in just 2 hours!! His arms were aching when he got home after all that reeling in! He is definitely 100% ‘hooked’ into fishing!
Anglers Paradise’s Lure Weekend proved to be a great success with Andy Payne making the headlines with what could be the UK’s first ever catfish on a lure. The huge catfish estimated at over 60lb was tempted on the first day of the weekend and helped to secure a victory for the seven man team captained by Nathan Edgell of Fladen Tackle. The fully subscribed event attracted lure-fishing contestants from all over the UK and was generously sponsored by Fladen, Quantum Specialist, Fox Rage and Drennan. The Individual winner of the event was Tim Halls who landed four species including perch, rainbow trout, brown trout and blue trout. The individual biggest fish were won by James Thomas who landed the events biggest pike at 85cm, Phil Burke who caught the biggest perch of 31.5cm and Dominic Cooke who caught the biggest trout a fine brown trout of 69cm.
(Middle) Dominic Cooke with the weekends biggest trout(Above)Phil Burke winner of the events biggest perch(Above)James Thomas and team captain Ben Humber of Fox Rage with the weekends biggest pike(Above)Zenia Drury Gregorek, Ben Humber, Zyg Gregorek, Tim Halls(Overall winner),Nathan Edgell, Rob Williams, David Drake, Joe Drury
(Above )The winning Team
Anglers Paradise is one of the UK’s best known fisheries with a reputation for its specimen fish, luxury accommodation, famous anglers and most of all for its colorful founder and man at the helm Zyg Gregorek. The complex was founded after Zyg moved to North Devon in the late 1970’s transforming a marshland into the angling holiday and day ticket destination it is today.
The true heart of Anglers Paradise is the Safari Bar with its walls lined with pictures of big fish and memento’s of Zyg’s globe trotting exploits. It is to the bar that many anglers have returned after a day by the water to recount their tales from the waters edge. The room is certainly unique and oozes angling history with antique rods and angling related paraphernalia all around.
The 2017 Lure Fishing Weekend was certainly a friendly competition with lure enthusiasts who had travelled from all over the UK quickly making new friends and greeting fellow piscator’s from past events. The weather conditions over the two days proved to be a little challenging with cold winds and rain chilling contestants to the bone. However spirits remained high throughout the event with the warmth of friendship and plate fulls of hot food thawing out the chilled anglers.
(Above) The windswept trout lake
On the Saturday night the auction of a 1913 Fishing Gazette book and an Orvis rod raised over £150 for local charities. Since its formation Anglers Paradise are proud to have raised many thousands of pounds for local charities. Anglers Mail contributor Bill Rushmer who has visited many times was close at hand to assist with the auction.
The Saturday night auction raised over £150 for local charities.
The competition was fished on four lakes with the teams of seven rotating over the two days with constant tuition from the four team captains. As an occasional lure angler I certainly learned a lot about modern lure fishing techniques with information and tactics shared willingly between anglers.
(Above)The entire cast of the Lure Fishing Weekend.
Thanks go to the events sponsors, Fox Rage, Drennan, Quantum Specialist and Fladen Anyone can Fish
Many thanks also to Joe Drury for organising the event, to Zyg Gregorek for Anglers Paradise and to the Gregorek Family and all the staff at the complex.
Chris Lambert and Adam Moxey have had another great Perching session from the boat at Upper Tamar Lake. Chris had this to say about their day: The previous couple of visits have been really tough but we are yet to blank….famous last words! When we arrived it was a bit on the windy side. I wasn’t exactly beaming with confidence but the first drift produced a 3.08 perch to my rod on a 3inch black shad fished on a 7.5g jig head, the wind dropped off nicely allowing us to fish a lot more effectively. We went on to take a dozen good sized perch mainly fish in the low 2lb range topped by a brace of 3’s at 3.05 and 3.03 both caught by Adam on the 2inch spikey shad.
Chris Lambert with a fine Tamar perchAdam Moxey displays a superb Tamar perch
2017 Lure Weekend
Friday 24th February to Sunday 26th 2017 is the Dates you need to remember as it’s our Annual LURE Weekend!
Location – Anglers Paradise, Halwill Junction, Devon EX21 5XT.
Prices Start From £110 Per Person which includes – Accomodation for 3 nights, Fishing + Entry into All Competitions!
It’s a Weekend you will not want to miss, they’ll be great Team Captains who you will gain knowledge to better your future fishing, exclusive Lakes to Fish and Great Prizes to be Won, if you’re a beginner, intermediate or experienced – it doesn’t matter – ALL ARE WELCOME!
They’ll be plenty of help and advice throughout the weekend, so it doesn’t matter if you are new to Lure Fishing.
Amongst others we have Drennan, Fox Rage and Quantum Specialist as Sponsors
We have Limited Spaces Left for this Fantastic Event, so if you are interested, please don’t delay!
