Thursday- 15th June
Rover Match - Canal Peg 12
I Couldn't fit the tackle in the car, only managed to put in some rigs and essential bits, fished using my mums tackle. With over a hundred anglers on the Match drew 28th, with all the best pegs on Twin Oaks gone, I decided to have a go for a few F1s on Canal peg 12, Had a quick walk round the lake before the draw and the wind looked spot on, started across at 16m on banded focus pellet whilst feeding casters at 9m, caught a few across but it was too slow. Switched to my shallow line on banded caster and bagged up shallow, had to keep changing depths to keep them coming. Throughout the day the peg started to fade, come the last 20 minutes I could get a bite shallow, so had a look down the edge and had a nice big mirror and one massive F1, when the scales came, I thought I had about 150lb, in my four nets, but ended up weighing 171lb, with the match being across the entire complex I didn't know if it was enough, quickly headed down for the presentation and was absolutely buzzing when I found out it won the match! with 111lb 12oz coming second, It was a great start to the week winning an invitation to the Preston Innovations festival, winners week, a free holiday, a few quid, a new pole roller and a nice shiny trophy
***Top Tip, when fishing casters give them a couple of sprays of Amino Scopex before tipping them into water, and also add a few sprays into the water I normally work on 10 sprays for a pint of water ***
Thursday - 22nd June
Rover Match - Peg 24 Twin Oaks
Thursday was my third and final match, of my trip to White Acres, Again it was the Rover match, I was hoping for an early draw but ending up pulling out 48 out 50 anglers.
International Match Fishing: Ireland Explored…
Irish feeder international, and two-times World Pairs Champion Phil Jackson demonstrates one of the most demanding but exciting methods of feeder fishing.
If I can’t get a bite when fishing in Ireland, I often put on a heavier hooklength and bigger hook. The fish in Irish waters are the wildest you’ll ever find, and migrate through huge systems of rivers and loughs. They don’t know what a hook or line is, and after a lifetime of fishing for them I’ve learnt that they don’t care either.
England ace Matt Derry explains the setup and feed required for a session on the slider float.
Words and photos: Steve Martin
It’s pretty much nailed on that when it comes to fishing matches on large, deep-water lakes, most anglers will make a grab for their feeder rods. The types of venues that come into this category would be gravel pits and natural lakes, where many of them are controlled by angling clubs and are not seen as commercials.
The fish stocks in the lakes would also vary differently, as the main quarry would mostly be roach, perch, skimmers, bigger bream and possibly tench.
Drennan Red Range Target Carp Pole -
Joe Carass gets out on the bank with Drennan’s new Target Carp pole to see whether it is a hit or a miss.
I must admit, I do enjoy getting the chance to test poles at the cheaper end of the scale. Poles under £500 always surprise me with their quality and usability.
The Drennan Target Carp is the latest in this price range to find its way into my mitts; a 14.
Modern-day commercials are full of fish, but in match conditions, it can be anything but easy to catch them as soon as those nets go in. Des Shipp explains how to maximise your results.
Such is the angling pressure on modern waters, particularly the more heavily fished ones, that the stocks seem to have wised up to sloppy approaches and mundane feeding tactics.
That’s not to say that these fish can’t be caught.
Solhampton Fishery, Stourport-on-Severn, 10th June 2017
Angler's Name
Weight (lbs/oz)
Peg # / Lake
Jamie Hughes (MAP / Bag 'Em Baits)
173-02-00
37 (Dragonfly)
Peter Alan Rice (Mosella)
159-12-00
9 (Valley)
Jon Arthur (Drennan)
130-04-00
8 (Kingfisher)
Kevin Dales
126-06-00
29 (Valley)
Andy Welding (Strike Angling)
124-12-00
5 (Kingfisher)
Zac Brown (Preston Innovations / Sonu Baits)
123-07-00
2 (Valley)
Michael McMillan (Garbolino / Bait-Tech)
110-02-00
15 (Buzzard)
Lee Thornton (Middy)
110-00-00
12 (Dragonfly)
Qualifier number thirteen of the 2017 Mega Match This qualifier campaign saw the introduction of a brand new venue in Worcestershire's Solhampton Fishery. Conditions on the day were ideal with plenty of cloud cover coupled with a moderate breeze creating a nice ripple on the five lakes used. Pegging on the day gave anglers plenty of room and the match itself was a closely contested affair with a number of weights over the 100lb mark.
Winner on the day was 2016 runner-up, Jamie Hughes (MAP / Bag 'Em Baits).
For the second year in succession, Weston Pools teamed up with tackle manufacturer Frenzee to run an open day at the Oswestry venue for the pupils of The Marches School, local to the fishery.
As well as teaching each of the students the arts of rig making, fish care, bait preparation and many other aspects of fishing, all of the children had the opportunity to rub shoulders with, and learn from Frenzee’s sponsored stars such as Jon Whincup, Chris Jones and Phil Canning, among many others.
The weather on the day couldn’t have been any better, with warm temperatures and sunshine gracing the banks of the fishery, while the fish were by no means reticent on a day where everybody in attendance was able to put a few in the net.
With the focus of the event being getting the kids in the local area hooked on fishing, that objective seems to have been very much achieved – many of the children that attended last year’s event are now keen anglers and were only too happy to boast of their recent catches while out on the bank themselves.
Following the first mid-week qualifier of the 2017 Maver Mega Match This qualifier campaign, please see below the full and final result from Decoy Lakes, Peterborough:
Decoy Lakes, Peterborough, 7th June 2017
Angler's Name
Weight (lbs/oz)
Peg # / Lake
Sam Brown (Maver)
128-06-00
22 (Oak)
Ben Townsend (Matrix / Spotted Fin)
126-14-00
5 (Beastie)
Jon Pollard (Leicester Gas AC)
123-04-00
26 (Cedar)
Simon Fry (Garbolino)
114-11-00
23 (Beastie)
Dale Jackson (Marukyu)
112-04-00
21 (Beastie)
Ben Lawrence (Bottisham AC)
106-13-00
15 (Yew)
Marc Rodger
103-14-00
22 (Willows)
Richard Bond
100-06-00
14 (Yew)
The first mid-week qualifier event of 2017 saw ninety-four (94) anglers in attendance at Peterborough's Decoy Lakes. Conditions on the day were pretty extreme with gale force winds making usual methods impossible. Many were forced to improvise and fish short and down their edge in an effort to find the fish. Despite the conditions being more than a little tricky, the standard of fishing on the day was superb with just one fish dividing the top three highlighting just how close and fair a qualifier it was with competing anglers battling the wind making for an even playing field.
Amer Jawad gets his commercial head on to catch a weight from a busy canal.
Words and photos: Steve Martin
Late spring is the time of the year when the UK’s canals come to life, as the cold, clear cut becomes coloured once the boats venture out from their winter moorings. The increase in traffic can often dissuade some anglers from entering matches on the venues, as on some days your hook bait can spend more time out of the water than in, and the frequent wash from the boats means that you have to keep re-feeding in an effort to focus and catch the fish down the middle, and slightly up the far shelf.
Don't fish too close to the feature, to avoid snags, and find a good depth
It all sounds rather negative, but that’s exactly Amer Jawad’s mind-set, as he has discovered a tactic to catch quality fish based on a method you would usually use on a commercial fishery.
