Monster barbel from Wales 
REWARDS possible in the River Taff were seen here in the Mail recently, but Oliver Hughes is tight-lipped on the location he’s tempting heavyweights to 15 lb 9 oz.
Using heavy leads, the Cardiff-based angler has added other scaling 13 lb 6 oz, 13 lb 2 oz and 9 lb 13 oz in the last few weeks, and is a weekly winner in our Pallatrax Specimen Cup.
Olly, 24, said: ‘I baited up with numerous-sized pellets and SonuBaits Hemp and Hali Crush with garlic powder and chopped up worms to a mush.’
For the full story, grab this week’s Angler’s Mail magazine. And get the magazine every week for top tips, big news, best products, and venues that are in form.
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It’s raining carp!
ANGLERS on a free stretch of river are enjoying a carp fishing bonanza after floods allowed hundreds of big fish to escape from private lakes close by.
The tidal reaches of the River Frome in Dorset have suddenly become home to around 600 new carp, many of them over 20 lb, and as word has spread of the sudden bounty, the banks have been lined with locals and holidaymakers.
Local tackle shop Purbeck Angling, just yards from the Frome at Wareham, has had to order extra stocks of boilies to cope with demand, and one lad aged about 11 has notched up six river 20s in recent visits.
Even roach anglers have landed up to eight carp in a couple of hours trotting with a centrepin.
For the full story, grab this week’s Angler’s Mail magazine. And get the magazine every week for top tips, big news, best products, and venues that are in form.
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Huge zander could be a record breaker
PIKE ANGLERS CLUB president Dilip Sarkar reckons the personal best 17 lb zander he boated could beat British record later this season.
Dilip’s River Severn big ‘un comes after a run of quality fish including ten double-figure zeds and pike to 27 lb 2 oz.
The MBE-honoured historian, whose Worcester-based family are all keen anglers, said: ‘A really big zed eluded me, however, until yesterday.
‘The Sarkars, like everyone else, have been grinding away in difficult, unsettled, conditions that have seen protracted periods of uncharacteristically high water. We have caught many zander but nothing special – until now.’
For the full story, grab this week’s Angler’s Mail magazine. And get the magazine every week for top tips, big news, best products, and venues that are in form.
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Dead fish everywhere in river “wipeout”!
AN ANGLING club has been devastated by the massive fish kill, which they claim could have been far less serious than it was if the Environment Agency had tackled it better.
Winsford DAA believe five miles of the River Weaver in Cheshire may have suffered a total wipeout, and a further five miles been badly affected.
Six years ago the club was hit by a major pollution of the nearby River Dane, for which United Utilities was fined £35,000, but the club believe the latest incident is much worse.
They believe a toxic slick has travelling through the length, covering Newbridge and Winsford marina, killing everything in its path, but the EA are blaming the weather and suggesting an algal bloom may have been responsible for the crash in oxygen levels.
Winsford DAA fisheries manager Guy Humphreys discovered the fish kill when he was investigating a report of fallen trees in the river where the Weaver runs around the back of the club’s carp lakes.
‘When I got there, there were dead fish everywhere – trout, chub, barbel, dace and roach,’ said Guy.
For the full story, grab this week’s Angler’s Mail magazine. And get the magazine every week for top tips, big news, best products, and venues that are in form.
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Mega haul for carp star Martin Locke
FORMER World carp record holder Martin Locke has enjoyed an amazing trip to the venue that produced his personal best fish, landing 1,484 lb of carp to 61 lb 8 oz.
The boss of Solar Tackle banked 42 fish including seven 40s, four 50s and the big mirror in a two-week session at Rainbow Lake, in the south of France.
Kent-based Martin says the water is his favourite foreign venue, having landed his 94 lb World record mirror carp there in 2010.
This time he fished peg 19, and started his session with a 50 lb mirror soon after setting up, but he had to endure 40 degree heat and torrential storms.
Tactics involved boating baits out up to 230 yards after each fish, and the action was so hectic at one stage that the pair stopped putting rods back out again.
For the full story, grab this week’s Angler’s Mail magazine. And get the magazine every week for top tips, big news, best products, and venues that are in form.
