Another £320,000 is being made available this summer to the Angling Improvement Fund (AIF) to support anglingfacilities and access improvements on rivers and at angling venues around the country.
The Angling Trust, which administers the fund on behalf of the Environment Agency, is seeking applications from clubs, commercial venues, councils, charities and community organisations by 20th September, for grants worth up to £5,000. The grants are only available for projects benefiting angling for coarse fish and non-migratory trout.
The themes in this round are:
Fish protection and predation management
Around 20 awards will be offered for fencing, fish refuges and other non-lethal measures to protect fish stocks from unsustainable predation by otters, fish-eating birds and other wildlife.
British Pole Championship qualifiers: Wayne Sharman, Matt Cuplin & Ray King
Angler's Name
Weight (lbs/oz)
Peg # / Lake
Wayne Sharman (Matrix / Lanes Bait)
202-03-00
28
Matt Cuplin (Weston AA / FTW)
150-03-00
124
Ray King (Cresta / Gamakatsu)
101-07-00
123
Andrew Crocker (Neath)
98-08-00
19
Dan Hull (Dynamite Baits)
89-06-00
5
Michael Williams (Guru / Daiwa / Mainline)
87-12-00
18
Jaroslaw Slusarz
86-14-00
122
Steve Openshaw (Lingmere Fisheries)
84-08-00
13
One hundred and sixteen (116) anglers attended this Sunday qualifier event held at Barston Lakes. Conditions on the day were ideal with a stiff breeze blowing towards the river bank coupled with plenty of cloud cover lasting for the duration of the match. That said, sport was a little slow for some with three anglers breaking the 100lb barrier with the resident carp appearing to have been affected by the impromptu thunderstorm the day before.
Next to qualify for next month’s big money final was Wayne Sharman (Matrix / Lanes Baits).
Shallow fishing is the topic for commercial god Jamie Hughes this month. This is his not-to-be missed guide…
If you were to ask anglers what their favourite method was during the summer months, you could be almost certain that the majority would answer with “fishing shallow”. There are few things more exciting than a shoal of fish swirling for your loose feed, or your elastic being pulled out as soon as the rig hits the water.
Over the years there have been plenty of articles written on this subject, but as it’s something I have never written in depth about myself I felt I would always prefer to fish shallow ‘properly’ using a correctly shotted float.
Des Shipp explains when fishing the waggler can give you the edge over other methods…
Fishing the waggler is a tactic that requires almost unparalleled hard work and perseverance. However, done correctly, in the right situation it can prove to be devastating, just as I proved in a recent Maver Match This qualifier at Gold Valley Lakes, where I qualified for the £65,000 grand final!
Why The Waggler?
The first and probably most obvious reason for choosing to fish a waggler over the pole is its versatility and range. You can simply fish much further out using a waggler than you can the pole; it is therefore suited perfectly for large lakes or up to features where the pole cannot reach or using a feeder isn’t suitable.
It also thrives on tightly pegged venues where fishing the waggler can create space for yourself by fishing an area of the lake nobody else is venturing into.
Angler's Name
Weight (lbs/oz)
Peg # / Lake
Zac Brown (Preston Innovations / Sonu Baits)
194-00-00
4 (Copse)
Les Wetton (Mosella UK)
167-08-00
8C (Pathfield)
Craig Goldstraw (Middy / Bag 'Em Baits)
156-12-00
1 (Woods)
Ben Townsend (Matrix / Spotted Fin)
151-08-00
40 (Woods)
Reece Hearn (Matrix Image / Bag 'Em Baits)
150-12-00
28 (Pathfield)
Ross Harold
136-00-00
33 (Woods)
Richard Bond (Matrix Image)
126-08-00
20 (Woods)
Jon Whincup (Frenzee)
117-08-00
26 (Pathfield)
The final Southern qualifier of the 2017 Maver Mega Match This campaign marked a return to Coleman's Cottage in Essex where fifty four (54) anglers lined the banks of Copse, Pathfield and Woods lakes. Anglers were given plenty of room on the day with the standard of sport and weights recorded being very good. Competing anglers needed in excess of 150lbs in order to grab a British Pole Championship qualification place. Conditions on the day were ideal with plenty of cloud cover coupled with a good breeze producing fourteen weights over 100lbs.
England international Kayleigh Smith thinks that the secret to match-winning success is a balance of both…
Bites or weight, what is more important to you? I know this depends on the style of fishing you do and how seriously you take each session, but for many the tactics we choose are often set by which one of these paths we want to go down.
Do you want to get bites all day and have to work really hard for a match-winning catch, or do you sit it out for a couple of big fish knowing that just a couple of bites could win you the match?
As I do quite a lot of team fishing I often approach a match knowing that putting fish in the net is important; a few extra ounces here and there can make a big difference when just a few points separate the teams at the top. What I have found, though, is that this mentality doesn’t always serve you best when it comes to individual matches. I’m not the type of angler who likes to sit it out for just a couple of bites, but I have had to alter my approach in individual matches to a more positive one.
Want to improve your canal fishing? If the answer is yes then you simply cannot afford to miss this guide from Graham West and Lee Newson.
Canal anglers don’t come much more experienced than Preston Innovations’ Lee Newson and Graham West. The dynamic duo have put in thousands upon thousands of towpath hours over the years, and certainly know how to keep those fish coming.
We decided to put them on a popular stretch of the Grand Union Canal at Three Locks, near Leighton Buzzard, to see how two different approaches can yield some amazing results.
