4^th May 08 Angling column

“A bit of Sun, Pool and Scaffolding”

Last Saturday I travelled a 248 mile round trip to Warwickshire in a final attempt, for me, to qualify for the Fish O Mania final in July. To make sure I found the fishery I left with plenty of time in hand and arrived at the complex shortly after 7am on what felt like a nice spring morning with the Sun already shining through some busy clouds. With the draw taking place at 9am it gave me plenty of time to walk around the Tunnel Barn fishery and take in a big breakfast cooked on site, the day had started well and after walking round some of the seven lakes which were being used for the qualifier there were plenty of pegs that looked interesting with lots of marginal cover to fish up to. A chat with one of the locals confirmed what I already knew that it was going to be catching small carp and F1’s on short pole, which was going to win the match. Although there were plenty of good-looking pegs the venue also had quite a few to avoid and with my bad drawing arm of late I was concerned that one of those pegs would be mine. Some of the pegging was very tight and on the far bank there were numbers on pole’s staked on the islands and features which told anglers what part of the far bank was theirs to fish up to. It all looked a bit dodgy to me and I for one did not want to draw any of those tight pegs so I just made a mental note of the pegs I wanted to pull out of the bag in the hope that positive thinking would help me when my hand went in at the draw.

            So 9am arrived and twenty-five minutes later after queuing up and with the Sky cameras filming anglers as they drew my hand went in and out popped peg T15 that meant Top Pool 15, one of the lakes I had not walked round. A quick look at the map of the fishery in the café showed that the lake or pool as it was referred to was at the far end of the complex and as I stood there looking a local voice said “wat peg yer looking for our lad” T15 mate I replied, “not bad peg that, you have sunken island in front, plus peg is on a jetty that goes 12ft out, also fish can be caught in margins if yer turn round and fish back towards bank” cheers I said, “also you can park car right behind peg if yer want” even better I thought as I made my way back to the car.

            A few minutes later I found my peg and on inspection I was horrified to see that the so-called sunken island in front of T15 was nothing more than seven scaffold poles sticking four feet out of the water. The jetty stuck out at least 12 feet but I just about had a enough room to fit my box and platform stand on it so it was going to be a case of tip toeing around, one trip or mistake and I was going head first in so I made a promise to myself that I was not going to provide the entertainment of that sort as nearly every match someone always falls in. On the other bank an angler plumbed up from his side against the scaffold poles and when both our poles were extended out at 12 metres we virtually sword fenced with them so I was hoping that the fish were going to be close in. Another thing I noticed looking around the lake was the lack of reeds around my peg as all those on the other bank and to my right all had reeds to fish against. I set up three rigs one long one short and one for behind me but was it going to be enough? Was the scaffold peg going to produce enough fish for me to be competitive? No it wasn’t. The top pool lake although it produced some 90lbs weights at the other end of the lake was way out of the equation and from what I can gather 195lbs won the match. Despite my comments above I was quite impressed with the venue as there looked to be many pegs that you can compete from and I will definitely be applying again next season for tickets at the venue. The five hours for me produced about 25 F1’s some of the smallest I have ever caught plus a few small skimmers, I had virtually a bite or indication every put in but the bites were incredibly finicky as I missed bite after bite. So for another season my Fish O dream goes on the back burner but next season I know I need to increase my chances by entering more qualifiers in the hope that I will get a good draw in at least one of them.

            “Tight Lines”

              Russ Evans

            4^th May 2008

28^th April 2008 Angling Column

“Same old story as one chance passes me by”

Last week I competed in a Fish O Mania qualifier at Monk Lakes in Kent with 129 other anglers all chasing a dream of reaching the live televised final On Sky Sports and a crack at the £25,000 first prize. I have said it many times that to qualify for the final must be harder than competing in the 16 man final itself with so many anglers and dodgy draws. I arrived at the fishery just after 8.30am with Colin Wood and already the car park was brimming with cars and the queue of anglers had already started. As we attached ourselves onto the ever increasing line of anglers we were at least eighty anglers back and with a good twenty plus anglers waiting to see if there were going to be any spare tickets, it was plain to see how popular this event is season after season.

            By the time I had reached the front of the queue all the main pegs on lake 3 had already been drawn and when I pulled out number 17 on lake one it was all over. I turned up at my peg a little peeved as I knew that I did not even have the chance of competing despite coming 7^th from peg 16 three seasons back. Lake one realistically has one peg that could win it and that is 23 a peg I have never had the pleasure of drawing over the years. As the rain started to come down as I was setting up I found myself going through the motions and not really wanting to fish which was a great shame as I was really looking forward to the match but I guess when you know a venue and know what the limitations are on certain areas of the complex it kind of takes away the uncertainty straight away, bad peg equals no chance when only one angler out of one hundred and thirty can qualify. After three hours and a dozen F1 carp and tench in the net I packed up to make my way home, as I walked past lake 3 the camera crew were camped on two pegs. What a surprise! Oh well I thought at least I gave it a try but as I walked back to my car and kidded myself that at least I put in the effort and was one of the lucky ones to get a ticket in the first place. Deep down I was very disappointed that lady draw bag gave me another duff peg to fish off again.

            On Saturday May 3^rd I have another chance with a qualifier at Tunnel Barn Farm in Warwickshire at a venue I have never fished, never seen or know very little about. All I know is the match will be competed for over 7 lakes at the complex with the target species being small carp in the margins. A few hours before I wrote this article I phoned the fishery for final directions as it situated near junction 15 on the M40 and I was told that 134lbs won the match earlier that day so it looks to be in fine form. However a full turn out will no doubt push the fish into certain pegs and hopefully my peg will be full of them, however one thing for sure is if I draw a bad peg I won’t know any different not knowing the venue.

            Next Wednesday 7^th May I will be running an open on the front bank at Bury Hill, there are a few tickets available on 01306 883621, the draw takes place at 8.30am with match times of 10am to 3pm.

            “Tight Lines”

              Russ Evans

            28^th April 2008

21^st April 2008 Angling Column

“Boat action is great fun and makes a pleasant change”

Last week I managed a short evening session at Bury Hill after shutting up the shop for the day and headed off towards the jungle in one of the fisheries eight punts, which can be hired out for the day. Despite an easterly wind, which made conditions, feel extremely cold as I was rowing out, I was lucky as the jungle area of the lake was sheltered and when I arrived at my destination it was clearly a couple of degrees warmer on the face and hands. I was not targeting any particular species but I was hoping that a nice big tench would be in the offing as from the front bank recently I have had a couple of nice tincas out on the waggler at distance. I catapulted out a few small pouches of hemp back towards the margins from where I was moored and also introduced some 6mm halibut pellets for the fish to get interested in. I set up a small insert crystal waggler to 6lbs line and placed an 8mm hair rigged halibut pellet as my hook bait offering. The set up was nice and simple but very effective when trying to tempt a few big fish from the margin cover.

            After ten minutes or so the float started to show signs of moving fish as it dipped and moved around from side to side as the fish were brushing their flanks and tails against the line, it was only a matter of time before one of them found my hook bait and in a matter of seconds the red tip buried out of site and a good fish was on. With a bit of side strain on the rod I managed to steer the fish away from its marshy cover and the battle commenced in open water before finally sliding into my waiting net a couple of minutes later. It was a tench of nearly five pounds, a good start to the short session and if that was the only fish to be had I would have been happy, but it was not as the fish appeared to be in a feeding frenzy as the next hour or so passed on.

            All the disturbance of fish being fooled and hooked did not deter them from lining up next to be caught and in the end the session started all to become a bit easy but very enjoyable all the same. In three hours I had six tench with the biggest going 6lbs plus, countless bream up to 5lbs and a very nice common carp, which scaled just over 16lbs. All the fish were caught on 8mm hair rigged halibut pellets and in the session I must have gone through 3 pints of pellet feed and two tins of frenzied hemp for an estimated weight of 80lbs, what a great way to finish a day’s work. No doubt in the near future I will treat myself to a bit of the same especially as the weather at last looks like it is actually behaving like it should be, warm.

            By the time this column goes to print I would have competed in my first Fish O Mania qualifier of the season at Monk Lakes in Kent. It will be a fish race basically and to be in a realistic chance of winning the 130 peg match and qualifying for the live Sky Sports final in July at Browning Cudmore I will have needed to draw one of the end pegs like 113 which has won the last two years of the qualifier. However with all that said and my terrible drawing arm of late I will turn up with a positive mind set and very positive game plan, well put it this way, if I don’t I might as well stay at home in bed.

            “Tight Lines”

              Russ Evans

21^st April 2008

14^th April 2008 Angling Column

“Second place is a good result from poor draw”

Last week I competed in the Bury Hill teams of four event under the Biggin Hill Angling Centre banner along with my teammates Colin Wood, Alan Jopling and Kevin Baptist. We all know the Old lake and Milton well so we were a little disappointed to draw three out of four iffy pegs but with the event being fished under team aggregate weight it spurred us on to chip in with what we could do as Colin Wood was Old lake peg 2 and we were confident that he was going to catch well and put in a good total. Alan Jopling drew peg 15 which on its day can be a good peg but on the day it fished hard with Alan recording just 4-13-0 of bream. Kevin drew peg 16 On Milton, which is another in, and out peg but his weight of over 11lbs was a respectable effort. I drew peg 27 on the same lake and it was that peg that got me out of trouble on a frozen lake during an Angling Times feature just before Christmas, but I knew it was going to be hard going especially as 48 hours earlier the whole of Surrey for was covered in snow. The only plus point in my peg was that to my right I had a nice reed bed to fish up against and that is exactly where most of my nearly 9lbs came from. I had three clonking roach with the best weighing 1lbs 9oz but I had to go down to a size 20 hook and single red maggot to tempt the bites. So it was down to Captain Colin to save the day and despite having a blank first half of the match his peg came alive on the pole line when a shoal of bream helped him to a match winning weight of 38lbs. However his weight and our efforts could not take the event as that went to the Surrey Pirates team who had a level 92lbs, it was a good effort from the winners with skipper Billy McKinley, Martin Kingsley, Paul and Robert Taylor were all smiles after the match result announcement. My team finished second with Leatherhead DAS coming third out of the eight teams taking part. I am sure I will organise another event later in the season and hopefully by then the weather will have warmed up to boost all the weights, however everyone seemed to enjoy the event and the good feedback was well appreciated.

            From this weekend onwards my season really starts to kick off with the third round of the Invicta league where after being snowed out of contention the weekend before I will be battling hard to make amends. A few days later it will be Fish O time at Monk Lakes in Kent where I have worked it out that you will need to draw any one of 6 pegs to win the day, unfortunately there are 130 pegs in the bag, oh dear, not good odds is it? One thing for sure is wherever I draw I will be in a positive mind and attack the match right from the off with all guns blazing.

            I have a IYCF feature to do next month with editor Kevin Green on the theme of Long Distance Waggler fishing for bream and tench so being as I had a free weekend off from matches I decided to take the opportunity to put some of my theories for the feature into practice. I have recently purchased some big wagglers via Hungary from a chap called Attila the Hun (nickname) who was crowned World Champion a couple of seasons back. As soon as I saw the floats on the Total Fishing Club site I knew these would do a very good job on the Old Lake at Bury for the bream so I purchased a couple of sets to try out. The floats are well made but huge and at first I thought what have I done buying these but after they had been hanging around in my house for a couple of months I decided it was time to put them to the test. I simply love fishing the waggler style and in the past in Ireland I have accumulated some massive weights on the method. I was also trying out different hook baits and methods for feeding as over the winter I have been thinking about how the bream feed during the warmer months and coming up with all sorts of things to try out hence the idea of the up and coming feature. In a nutshell and without giving too much away at present I had a great day with 15 bream ranging from 3-5lbs plus two good tench with the biggest going just over 5lbs. I still have a couple of things to try to fine tune things but I think I have almost cracked it and the future open matches coming up hopefully confirm my thoughts and theories.

            “Tight Lines”

              Russ Evans

            14^th April 2008

7^th April 2008 Angling Column

“I pack up and leave the snowmen behind”

I guess it serves me right for recently complaining about the bad weather we have had lately as last Sunday I turned up at Monk lakes in a snow blizzard for the second round of the Invicta league. I fish in all conditions but to be honest I was far from looking forward to spending a few shivering hours by the lakeside. The wind was bitterly cold and I was praying that lady luck would draw me a peg with the wind behind me so when my hand went in the draw bag I was deflated to pull out peg 16 which was bad for two reasons. One the peg was at the wrong end of the lake in my section and worst of all the wind would be blowing right into my chops. As I made my way round to my peg with the snow smashing into my face I was thinking of all nice things like hot cups of tea, a roast dinner and a bowl of hot steaming soup. As I looked into the distance I could see that the hills were white, it looked real pretty but was I going to enjoy the match, I think not.

            I set up my tackle, which was two top sections for the pole and a small cage feeder for the tip. By the time the whistle sounded for the match at 11am I had already had enough but I was going to give it a go as section points were up for grabs and I needed them badly to stay in contention. I went out on the tip line first after feeding my pole line, which was fun as the snow was really hammering down and the wind was blowing my pole all over the place. Twenty minutes into the match my tip went banging round and I was into a small carp of a pound, which went into my net, and it was quite a good feeling to know that a few fish were playing ball. Another slightly bigger carp joined his mate and then the wheels fell off as the wind picked up and cracked the number 4 section of my pole. I was none too pleased and if it was not for the fact that my lips were frozen I think I would have sweared a bit but nothing was functioning including my fingers that were now too cold to feel anything. I sat on my box for a while weighing up the situation, do I carry on or go home and put it down to a bad day at the office. Whatever I was going to do I had to warm up first and put some life back into my fingers so I went for a walk and stopped for the odd chat en route to the mobile café for a hot cup of tea. The snow was still coming down and at 12.30pm the hills in the distance had disappeared as a white background drowned them all out.

            It could have been just a hot cup of water but to me it was the best cup of tea I have ever had as slowly but surely the blood started to run again in my hands and my fingers actually moved again. As I sipped away common sense started to prevail and on the return to my peg I started to pack up with home the only thing on my mind. I was basically ending any chance I had of winning the league but I did not care, I was cold and I wanted to go home and get warm plus in the back of my mind I did not want to get stuck on the A21 should the snow get any worse. As I looked around I could see that I was not the only one that was packing up and as I said my goodbyes to my fellow anglers, from behind they all resembled snowmen as the snow was accumulating on the back of their jackets. Mark Holland won the match with over 40lbs of carp, which was a good effort, but unlike me he had the wind and snow blowing from behind him. The final four rounds for me now will have to be treated as opens but it will still be enjoyable. Assuming the snow does not return that is.

            “Tight Lines”

              Russ Evans

7^th April 2008

30^th March 2008 Angling Column

“Make the most of the warm spells”

I simply cannot believe how bad the weather conditions has been this past year or so, heavy rain followed by cold snaps followed by mild spells quickly followed again by cold snaps all helps to provide inconsistent sport especially when you throw gale force winds into the equation as well. Oh for a decent drop of weather, please. I always look ahead these days to the www.metcheck.co.uk forecasts which does give a good indication as to what to expect especially when you have match commitments up and coming and to be honest I have always had a mind set of nothing will stop me from a days fishing unlike many pleasure anglers who prefer to stay in bed at the first sign of a drop of rain, what a waste!

            This Sunday the second round of the Invica league takes place at Monk lakes where I will be looking to get back on tracks after managing to snatch a section third from a poor draw at Hartleylands in round one. Lake No 1 on the Kent complex has plenty of stocky carp plus a good head of F1’s barbel and tench however the lakes have taken recently a bit of a hammering leading up to the semi finals of the Angling Times winter league with practice matches galore so apart from the noted pegs, that I never seem to draw, it could well be that the weights are lower than expected. I have an average weight of 67lbs on past matches across the lakes notably from the mediocre pegs so that sort of form could well be enough for good points assuming I am not drawn in against the noted end peg flying machines, who knows I may even draw one of them myself and if so I will fill my boots. On a good note the week weather forecast is for higher temperatures so I am sure that will trigger the fish into a bit more action for us all but I am not counting my chickens just yet. I will be taking in a midweek match on the Old Lake at Bury Hill as part of up to date practice for the following weeks ten teams of four event, which is going to be competed for on the Old Lake and Milton. The team of four I will be fishing in is very strong with Colin Wood, Alan Jopling and Kevin Baptist all having very good Bury Hill form so I am expecting big things come next Wednesday 9^th April.

            It was good to see at the fishery last weekend a few nice bream up to 7lbs come out with the odd tench thrown in so hopefully it looks like spring is just around the corner in earnest and plenty of match and pleasure action is on the cards. Last Friday on a wet and very windy day I had a few hours angling with Dorking Advertiser Editor Daniel Jones in the hope of catching a few nice fish. I guess we could not have picked a worse day as it rained, hard at times, all day and with the wind blowing hard into our bank it was a bit of a struggle at times but enjoyable all the same. I will not go into too much detail, as Daniel will be writing an account of the day with photographs of our session together for you all to see. But we did catch as expected from peg 1 against the reeds although small hooks and fine detail was needed to induce the bites. The following day a small open match took place on the lake but only four weighed in with Luke Sheriff winning with just over 21lbs of small carp from peg 13 on the feeder. Again the wind arrived driving into the face of many and I must admit I was glad that I was working in the shop after getting a bit of a soaking the previous day.

            From the 1^st of April you will need to renew your rod licence with costings as follows: Full Adult licence at £25, Junior (12-16) remains at £5, juniors under 12 years of age do not need to buy a licence. Concessionary will now cost £16.75 up £4.50 from last season. Day licences are available at £3.50. The season runs from 1^st April 2008 to 31^st March 2009.

            “Tight Lines”

              Russ Evans

30^th March 2008

“It pays to put in the time to reap the rewards”

I don’t know about you but it feels like winter is going on forever with cold snaps moving in every two weeks or so. The number one question I get asked everyday is how are the lakes fishing at Bury Hill and my reply always seems to be “up and down like the weather” Until the temperatures settle and spring arrives in earnest the fishing is going to be hit and miss unless of course you know where they shoal up at this time of the season. Getting to know your venues is very important as straight away it gives you an advantage in fish location and there is nothing better than turning up to fish a pleasure session or match knowing where the target species are in your peg. Having the right bait is also critical to a good day and when the weather is like what we are experiencing now, the maggot will score every time as all fish including big carp will gobble up a wriggly every day of the week.

            The next couple of months are going to be very busy for myself with individual leagues to compete in, Fish O contests, tuition courses and some more magazine features in the pipeline, so for the time being my carp fishing sessions will have to go on the back burner until June when then I can plan some real quality sessions in the quest for a thirty pound monster. Talking of tuition courses I will have the pleasure shortly of spending some time on the bank side with our very own Daniel Jones in the quest of how to catch fish. I believe it has been quite a few years since the Ed did a spot of fishing so I will make it my mission to make up for lost time by providing plenty of bites and fish, watch this space.

            When spring finally arrives I will be looking forward to getting in amongst the bream and skimmers again on the Old Lake. I had some great pleasure bags of up to 150lbs mainly in magazine features which was handy and I also had my fair share of decent match weights but I noticed that in the matches the bream sometimes took a while to turn up and when they did they moved in and out during the whole of the match which at times was frustrating. All the anglers in every match experienced this pattern and it was not until the winter Predator season started on 1^st October that the penny dropped. The Old Lake is well known for its Zander fishing but I did not realise just how many of the species inhabited the water with plenty over double figures in weight. It all became very clear to me why the bream and skimmers are in and out of my peg as the Zander are always on their tails keeping them on the move. So this has got me thinking of how to approach future matches on the lake over the coming months and I can’t wait to put my thoughts into practice, of course I can’t reveal anything now as you never know who may be reading this piece (some of my fellow competitors) but when the action starts in the next month or so all will be revealed, good or bad.

            If one species over the winter period has come out in flying colours from a variety of waters, river or lakes, then it has to be the mighty perch. Nearly every angling publication has a article or two dedicated on a stripy specimen that someone has caught on a variety of baits and methods and yours truly will have an article I wrote on the species in this months Match Fishing magazine which I believe is out on sale on the 28^th March, the article reflects what a memorable day it was for me back in January where I had my new personal best.

            “Tight Lines”

              Russ Evans

24^th March 2008

“Time to call it a day and move on”

Last week I decided to resign as captain of the BCUK Sport One team and move on to hopefully better things. It was on the cards after last season’s winter league team performance where only four anglers from the squad managed to make themselves available for all six rounds, it was a poor effort that left a bad taste in my mouth. The last few weeks deteriorated in team squabbling and back biting which eventually took its toll on my patience and my decision to leave will now give me the opportunity to concentrate on some personal angling goals for the forthcoming year. My association will still continue with BCUK as they are also my personal sponsors and my now non team commitments will allow myself to push and promote the bait company products even further.

            Last Sunday I competed in the first round of the Invicta League at Hartleylands Farm in Kent, the weather was very poor with it raining for the entire match and when the wind changed direction to a northerly direction the air temperature dropped and it turned bitterly cold. I drew peg 17, which was not great especially as the other four anglers in my section were in the favoured 20 plus pegs. My peg gave me two options to attack, the pole at 5 and 10 metres plus a small groundbait feeder over to the point of the island. The only plus point about being drawn where I was, was that I had the wind blowing behind me and not into the face like those who were drawn on pegs 29- 36. At the start I fed my lines and then went straight out over to the island but after putting three small carp in the net in the first twenty minutes I was plagued with ducks that were too keen to dive under the water and search for my bait that was being laid up on the shelf. Needless to say the bites stopped and I was left with no choice but to rest the feeder peg and go on the pole line, which only produced a few small roach and the odd carp. The first two hours of the match had not gone well and I was clearly last in my section with Mark Holland, Jay Lay, Trevor Little and Ian Carley catching well. When the ducks had disappeared from the island peg I started to catapult a few loose offerings of 6mm pellets and bits of corn to try and build up the swim again in the hope that the carp would return in numbers. Around the lake all the noted pegs were producing with Andy Silver, Nick Gilbert catching fast from pegs 8 and 9 but being as they were not in my section I was none to bothered about their catching rate. The anglers to my right but in another section were also struggling so it was clear my drawing hand was still not functioning, as I had wanted. The last 90 minutes however improved drastically as the carp returned to my peg on the feeder line but to get an instant bite I needed to hit the mark right tight to the bank, the bites were wrap rounds and despite being way behind and cold I started to enjoy the match.

            One of my strengths when fish are in my peg is too catch fast and although I pulled out of three fish near the end I put 27lbs 9oz of fish in the net to move up to third in the section beating the next angler by 4ozs. Ian Carley easily won the section from peg 23 with over 50lbs and Mark Holland put just over 40lbs for a section second. In the end I was pleased to have nicked 3pts out of 5 because realistically my peg should have put me last in the section. So with the next round at Monks in three weeks time I will be looking for one of those end pegs to guarantee me a section win which is much needed. Andy Silver went on to win the match with 76lbs of carp but there is a long way to go yet and I am sure plenty of ups and down will happen to all the anglers as the draw always plays a big part.

“Tight Lines”

  Russ Evans

17^th March 2008

“Now I can call myself a proper carp angler”

Recently I mentioned I was going to have another night session on the Old Lake at Bury Hill with Scott Maslen to try and catch another big carp or two. I was all set up at around 6pm and immediately started to get the odd small bleep on the bite alarms which I had no doubt was from bream. The forecast was for a very cold night and after a fairly mild drop of weather it was a cause for concern to the both of us. As soon as darkness fell the bleeps completely stopped and that set the pattern for the rest of the session, nothing. After a period of rain and sleet at around midnight I settled down for the night and although I was not expecting any action due to the fact that it was really cold I was still keeping my hopes up all the same. In a nutshell neither of us failed to have a take for the entire 20 hours and the only definite action on the alarms was when the friendly ducks were scrambling around the bank at night looking for the odd scrap of food and in the process touched our lines with their webbed feet. Talking of ducks I remember a story an angler told me recently when he suffered a night session on the big lake in gale force winds. Whilst he was clinging on to his bivvy from inside worried that it might get blown away, two ducks waltzed in through the flap door made their way under his bed chair and stayed put all night until the winds subsided. Just goes to show that when dangerous conditions are on the cards even our feathered friends are prepared to make a sacrifice and enjoy man made comforts to keep safe.

Despite the blank it was still an enjoyable session and our future plan is to get on the bank at least once a month for over nighters in the search for a big thirty plus which I am sure is well achievable, watch this space.

            Last Sunday I was booked for my first tuition class of 2008 with a nice chap called Ian Dow of Coulsdon on a one to one basis. Ian informed me when he booked the course a few weeks back that he is a regular reader of the column so that made me even more determined to make sure that my pupil had a good day and caught a few nice fish. I chose Milton Lake for the session as it guaranteed a mixed species of fish to target and that’s exactly what happened with Ian catching plenty of roach, rudd and small perch on the waggler close in to a large bed of reeds. Midway through the session three nice fish were lost which was a shame as I was hoping Ian would catch a fish of around 2lbs, which was my personal target for him. After taking a few catch shots I prompted Ian to have one more cast as I started to pack up the rest of the tackle, and as the saying goes “I am going to have just one more cast” resulted in the fish we were waiting for. A lovely plump Perch of around 2lbs was in the net resulting in a new PB fish for Ian to go home happy with.

            This Sunday I will have my match fishing head on as I compete in the first round of the Invicta league on Nicks Lake at Hartleylands Farm in Kent. If the temperatures stay on the up then I would expect some really good weights will be needed to win the four sections of five, of course it goes without saying that a section win will be a good start as there are some decent anglers in the event. I have been looking forward to the league kicking off as I can just concentrate on my match without having to worry about the pegging and if everyone else is happy with their pegs etc.as I have had to do in the past with the Beastmaster and Exage leagues.

            Before I forget, at the end of this month the annual EA rod licenses run out so that means from the 1^st April you will need to buy a new one before venture out again.

            “Tight Lines”

              Russ Evans

            9^th March 2008

2^nd March 2008 Angling Column

“Today’s throw away society drives me mad”

I am going to kick off this week’s column with a gripe that drives me mad every time I walk around a fishery or street come think of it, LITTER. One day last week I took a walk around the lakes after closing the shop at Bury Hill to make sure the anglers knew what time the fishery gates closed and as I approached one of the pegs around the back of Bonds lake, I was greeted with what can only be described as a rubbish tip. There were three brand name plastic bags scattered around accompanied with two large tins of hemp, three empty luncheon meat cans, drink bottles, sweet wrappers, line and assorted wrappers. As I stopped to pick up the mess which filled a large bag my blood started boil with anger, not because it was I who had to clear up the mess but by the sheer lack of respect and laziness shown by the anglers who created the rubbish. The tins were for a start a danger to wild life but it is funny how anglers are prepared to bring all the heavy bags of food and bait with them but not prepared to take away the light remains of the day.

            To brighten up my week I was pleased to see on the NFA website that I have been successful in gaining the two Fish O Mania tickets I applied for at Monk Lakes and Tunnel Barn Farm, unfortunately a couple of my team mates were not so lucky and did not even make it on the reserve list so I guess I was one of the lucky ones. The dates of the matches are a little way off yet which will enable myself to prepare for them without any excuses.

            In preparation to the up and coming Invicta League, which starts on the 16^th March at Hartleylands on Nicks Lake, I competed in a small knock up match at the venue. The wind was blowing right to left and with the sun out and shining right into my face I decided to fish a short line which turned out to be a good move as I had bite after bite on single red maggot feeding small micro pellets. I was catching plenty of 3-4 oz silver bream for most of the match but the carp were few and far between so it was head down carry on catching. With two hours to go I had my first carp of about a pound quickly followed by another five in between the silvers and to be honest I was enjoying the day. At the final whistle I had 10 small carp but with the help of the skimmers and two good roach I recorded a decent 28lbs 5oz for second place behind 47lbs from flyer peg 8. It was a pole only match and with two the rounds in the league pole only it gave a good indication of what to expect later in the series.

            By the time this column goes to print I would have fished another night session with my fishing buddy Scott Maslen and last time we did a session on the Old Lake back in January I recorded a personal best 28lbs Mirror Carp, who knows one of the big thirty plusses could be next?

            “Tight Lines”

              Russ Evans

            2^nd March 2008

“Its fingers crossed again for Fish O tickets”

As I write this weeks column the NFA random computer system is hopefully selecting my name for the two Fish O Mania qualifiers that I have applied for, thus being Monk Lakes and Tunnel Barn Farm and by this time next week I should know my fate.

            As usual the weather took another turn for the worse just in time for the last round of the Bury Hill Sunday League and as I drove down the hill which leads to the car park next to the lake I could see that the lake was frozen for the best part. As luck would have it the long bank was fishable plus a few pegs on the front bank so after a bit of re pegging the match went ahead has planned but hard going was an understatement. No one was under any illusions and bites were few and far between for the really lucky ones and my four bites in total for two fish was really bagging as a few remained bite less for the total five hours. The league looked like it was going to be won by Lee Perry until a big slab bream in the dying minutes swung the title in favour of Steve Turner who won the final round with just 10-14-0 of bream. Barry Cope put the most fish in the net, six skimmers for 9-8-0, which claimed second spot just ahead of Anthony Sparrow whose four bream netted him 7lbs 14oz. Lee had to settle for second placed overall in the league just a mere two pounds odd behind Steve Turner who had a nice pay day at the end. Overall the league fished hard with some anglers blanking two or three rounds and although I managed to catch in every round my total weight could not scrape over 15lbs, which a story of how hard it was.

            Recently I mentioned I spent a few days of competition in Devon at a place called Stafford Moor Fishery near Winkleigh, I had basically a fish a chuck for the three days of the event and with weights of 18lbs 14oz, 34lbs 6oz and 31lbs 8oz of silvers it was quality fishing. Going into the final day I was in joint third place just a point behind the top two and in with a real chance of winning. I drew well on Tanners and was expecting big things and after the halfway point I was bang in contention but still with a lot of work to do. In the final hour I started to push on a bit as I knew I was behind the angler to my right and basically that was the biggest mistake I made all week as I pulled out of four big skimmers on the trot. The harder I tried the worse it got and although I had a good finish towards the end I knew I had blown it big time and the scales confirmed it later. I was 4lbs short of winning the festival and slipped down to 10^th overall losing a few places to inferior weight. Disappointed as I was it did not spoil what was a brilliant few days fished in glorious weather at a superb fishery, I definitely recommend it as the massive well equipped lodges can accommodate 5-6 people with all mod cons.

This season at Bury Hill I will be running some tuition courses which I am sure will help the visiting anglers catch more fish over the years to come. Unfortunately my dates are limited due to a busy calendar but if you are interested in booking in for one of the courses which vary from 1 to 1 or 1 to 3 anglers you can contact the fishery on 01306 883621 for more details and tuition charges.

The draw will be announced for Fish O Mania tickets on friday 29th February 2008

            “Tight Lines”

             Russ Evans

“Weather plays havoc with Sunday league as I have a cracking time”

There has been so much going on of late that I have not been able to give an update on how the Bury Hill Sunday league has been progressing over the past few weeks. Last Sunday was the third round on Milton but before I go into detail of how the match panned out allow me to report on rounds 1 and 2. Back on January 20^th the league kicked off the Old Lake and with heavy rain leading up to the match it was going to be hard going and it was. Andy Creech on peg 14 was the only angler who could claim a decent days action with a winning weight of 22lbs of bream and skimmers on the feeder fishing maggots and pinkies. I had two bites for 3lbs from peg 1, a peg I would have run to in the summer months but there you go, the draw bag can be so unkind at times.

Round 2 was on the 3^rd of February on Milton and after fishing so well in the midweek open prior, a cold snap pushed the water temperatures right down and the lake fished like a drain with Lee Perry winning the round from peg 4 with 17lbs of tip and bomb caught carp. With a draw of peg 2 that would have had me sprinting to my peg in the summer, I put just a paltry 7 ounces on the scales but there were blanks just like the first round so I should not moan too much, however when I lost a big perch at the net in the early part of the match I was cursing, loudly. 4lbs plus framed that day which is something Milton is not noted for but when the cold snap moves in after mild spells every fishery is effected.

So last Sunday it was back on Milton for round 3 and after spending the previous week competing in Devon (I will report on the fantastic event I had another time) I was pleased that the weather I enjoyed in Stafford Moor was also shared in Surrey so the conditions looked good on Milton. Of course we all woke up to a heavy frost to dampen things but with the water reading 6.5 degrees C a few bites were on for all. No one wanted peg 6 which blanked last time out so when that peg was the only option left in the bag for Steve Turner who was last to draw, he basically just had to get on with it and in a nutshell it did just that by putting 47lbs in the net for a superb round win. By fishing the pole at 11 metres Steve used maggot on fairly light tackle to fool the carp into a few bites. Lee Perry from unfancied peg 16 was not far behind with 43lbs, which included a nice chub first cast for second on the day, however his combined weight of 67lbs has made Lee the man to catch in this week’s final round on the front bank. I drew last week’s winning peg 4 and when I could see the reeds banging around I knew I was in for some action and that’s exactly what I got but not for all the right reasons.

After an hour I was winning 3-1 against the carp but from then on the fish I hooked got bigger and I started to receive a battering. I had to fish full 16 metres to reach the reeds and with a tree right behind my peg I was a bit hindered when trying to quickly ship back and stop the carp from disappearing into the forest. With an hour to go I hooked into a lump and with the butt of my pole colliding with the tree behind the top 5 of pole parted company with the rest and as I saw a few pounds of pole heading back to the reeds, I just watched in horror and wished I were back in Devon enjoying myself. I managed to with the main part of the pole scoop the top 5 towards the bank and as I grabbed it the fish was still on, however it was not playing ball and has I pulled against its wishes my No 3 and 4 sections smashed sending out a large cracking noise around the lake. With broken bits of pole in my hand I slumped on my box debating whether to call it a day, I carried on but when I lost another carp with twenty minutes to go I promptly waved the white flag, packed up and prepared to do the weighing in. Fishing can be so cruel, but who cares I will be out again in the week having another go.

“Tight Lines”

  Russ Evans

11^th February 2008

Just recently I smashed my personal best carp out of site during an unplanned night session on the Old Lake at Bury Hill Fishery, to read the full story with photographs click on this link www.anglingfeatures.com and see My Big Carp page. It took a while for the nights events to sink in and I was on a high for a week.

Coming up soon on my MY SHOUT pages will be all the news from my up and coming visit to Stafford Moor Fishery where I will be competing in a three day silvers festival, until then enjoy your fishing and dont forgot to take a look at the above link.

Tight Lines

Russ Evans

3rd Feb 2008

“Cornish bream awaits and I can’t wait”

One of the most enjoyable parts of my angling diary is the planning and organisation of future events and matches. I have a simple policy and thought pattern, plan properly and you then give yourself half a chance of succeeding, plus a good draw also helps. In two weeks time I set off to Devon to compete in a thirty-man three-day silver fish festival at Stafford Moor and I cant wait to get amongst the stacks of bream, skimmers and roach that roam around the venues lakes. I have never fished the venue before but I have been busy asking questions and compiling bits of news that I feel will help my chances of having a good series. This Sunday I will be spending most of my spare time making rigs, which can be laborious at times but very important in the preparation stakes. A skimmer is a skimmer where ever you fish but one thing that is needed to bag a few at this time of the year is balanced tackle with light elastics a must for their soft mouths. Because it is a silver fish event that means carp are not part of the set up but that does not mean you cant catch them because a carp will take any bait put in front of them. This is my only cause for concern as just one carp can trash a light rig, which in turn disturbs the peg and loses you valuable time. Any carp that is landed will score 4 ounces no matter what size it is so the last thing I will want to do is play a lump for 10 minutes or so knowing that it will count for next to little.

            So what I have learned about the venue that will help my preparation on water that I have not even seen let along fish? I have been informed that the average depth is around 5ft so straightaway if make all my rigs on 6ft of line then I will be covered for any deviations in depth. Small soft pellets can often score when water conditions allow plus the more traditional baits like maggots, pinkies, casters and red worms all do well plus a few grains of jolly green giant for the bonus fish. Ground bait needs to be fluffy and possibly sweet smelling like Supercup or Lake enhanced with a bit of normal brown crumb. However with all that info taken in the most important part of any successful match will be the feeding patterns used on each of the three days. At this present time it is impossible to decide what to do as the weather could and probably will turn cold again and send the water temperatures dropping hence a decision will then be needed how to feed.

            Word is that most regular anglers feed two lines, one short at 4-5 metres and then a longer line at 11 metres or so and then introduce a ball of groundbait on a frequent basis to keep the silvers coming. Looking back at past match results at this time of the year shows that weights of up to 60lbs plus good backing weights can be needed to win, good fishing by anyone’s standards and if I am in for that sort of quality fishing then I will be more than happy.

            Looking further ahead to March 16^th sees the start of the first round of the Invicta Match League at Hartleylands Farm and with some good venues to fish in the six round series I am sure some big catches will be needed to win any of the rounds. Carp will no doubt dominate the event and being as this will be the first time in six years where I don’t have to worry about organising a close season event I can just concentrate on putting fish in the net for a pleasant change. Next time I will report on how the first round of the Bury Hill Sunday league fished on the Old Lake and with all the recent rain making the lake very muddy it was a wonder that some of the fish managed to see a bait to induce a wrap on the quiver.

            “Tight Lines”

  Russ Evans

“Bury Hill Fishery stars in Gone Fishing film”

Check out my new site www.anglingfeatures.com

Bury Hill fishery was the star of the show at Saturday nights BAFTA where the first showing of the film ‘Gone Fishing’ premiered. Filming took place last September for a few days to produce a short film produced by Living Spirit Productions, which starred actors such as Bill Patterson (Auf Wiedersehn Pet) Devon Murray (Harry Potter films) and Ruth Gemmell (too many to mention). I must admit I was looking forward to viewing the film after seeing some of the organised chaos that was involved around the fishery, which included funeral scenes, a fake pike being thrashed around in the water for special effects and our very own Eric Bailey playing the part of George whom in the film had his finger bitten off by a monstrous Pike. The soundtrack and storyline was brilliant but for me the fishery was the real star, which had some spectacular scenes like mist coming off the water on an early summers morning to natural beauty scenes that Bury Hill is famous for, plus the fishing of course. In a few days time the scenes of the short film can be viewed on this website www.livingspirit.com and then by following the links provided. Producer and Director Chris Jones is aiming high with the film as they go in search for Oscar nominations, I wish them well and with much success.

            Talking of monsters, my first outing of the New Year took place on Milton Lake and all I was really concentrating on was big perch. Since doing a perch feature with IYCF magazine in November last year I must admit that I was suffering from the perch bug and my aim was to land a personal best stripey or footballer as they also known. I arrived at the fishery at first light and made my way to peg 1 where a nice wind was blowing into that bank providing ideal conditions. My baits were simple, half a pint of red maggots, a few worms and casters for chopping up into a mush and a bottle of Predator Plus liquid attractant to add a bit of colour when I cupped out my feed. I decided to leave my trusted pole in the rod holdall and plumped for a 15ft Floatmaster rod with reel spooled with 2.6lb Bayer and then attached a tiny Choppa pole float that took 2 No 10 droppers and then attached a size 18 to a 0.10mm hook length. Fishing close to the reeds produced a few roach early on before the peg died a little, which for me meant the predators had turned up to play. Thirty minutes or so into the session the float dipped under and I was into a nice fish which thumped around in front of me trying to shed the hook, a couple of minutes later I was looking at a fine specimen which took the needle on my scales to 2lbs 3oz, not quite a PB but it was early days. Soon after I was again into another perch and this time scaled a level 2lbs, this was turning into a good day but more was to follow after a period of 90 minutes where all I could catch was more roach and two nice crucians.

            Again the peg went quite and that summoned the arrival of some more perch but this time much bigger and more powerful. Around midday the float buried again and the rod bent right over almost double and as I guided the fish away from the reeds it turned and swam out towards the middle thumping its head as perch do but to my disappointment I pulled out of the fish. I re-baited with a single red maggot as before and five minutes was into yet another fish but this time I was determined not to lose it and after a short battle I slipped the net under a 2lbs 10oz specimen beating my record by 1 ounce, job done. However with about an hour left of my session I went back out to tempt another bite and was instantly greeted with a 1lbs 10oz stripey, what a good session this was turning out to be. As if my day was not complete enough I struck into yet another good fish and it felt very similar to the fish I had lost earlier heading out into the middle of the lake. I played the fish very carefully as I knew I could be raising the bar again and gradually the fish came back in my direction to a point where it surfaced a rod length out in front of me. It rolled over showing all of its colours and when I saw that the hook was barely in its mouth I started to worry that I was going to lose it but in a quick motion I slipped the net under a wonderful 3lbs 1oz PB perch, happy days.

            “Tight Lines”

              Russ Evans

14^th January 2008

1^st January 2008 Angling Column

“Water Temperature is everything to a good day”

Check out my new site www.anglingfeatures.com

Many anglers make the mistake of not adapting to the changing conditions of winter where the rapid fall in water temperature creates the worst scenario for fishing. Sudden cold snaps put the fish right off the feed and that is where fish location and what baits to use and more importantly, how much hold the key to any chances of a bite or two.

When water temperatures fall below 4 degrees C most of our species completely shut down apart from pike and chub, which will feed intermittently. At 4 degrees C fish will shoal up tight and find the warmest spot possible and stay there virtually dormant.

Locating the fish is therefore paramount, as no amount of feed or groundbait will tempt or the draw the fish to your peg. The best chance of catching a fish in these conditions is basically down to finding them and then dropping a bait right on their noses and waiting patiently. They probably have no need to feed but a tempting bait right on their doorstep will at some point will be snapped up providing the bait you offer them is also visual like sweet corn or a popped up hi viz boilie. Flavours will not necessarily do the trick but a visible offering will make all that difference.

            Fish will often feed more regularly if the cold snap remains constant over a period of time as the fish get used to the cold surroundings and will then be prone to move around for short periods of the day or night.

            So what can we do to get the best out of our angling at these times of the year and how do we approach our attack for a bite or two. When anglers come into the shop at Bury Hill and ask how the lakes are fishing and what baits to use I always reply to them in this manner, as this is how I approach my winter fishing plans. Firstly I know they are looking to be put on a peg where they are going to get many bites so I always recommend a lake, which has mixed species, as this will increase the likely hood of catching something. Carp will shut up shop when the temperature drops below 4 degrees C so I steer them towards Milton Lake where there are plenty of quality roach and perch to keep them occupied. My first response is to tell them the truth as I want them to return to the fishery in the future and by giving them false hopes or what they want to hear (plenty of bites when I know they won’t) is not right. All venues at this time of the season fish hard and bites, for all the reasons listed above, are few and far between unless of course you are lucky enough to locate them straight away. So I inform them the fishing is hard going but by scaling down on all departments they could be on for a fish or two. I go on to explain this scenario, which I feel, is best understood in basic terms.

“Imagine you are fishing a peg or swim in the summer where the water is warm and the fish are very active and looking for food. When you present your hook bait the likelihood is that more than one fish will be competing for the bait and there natural instinct is to try and get there first providing a good catching rate. However in Winter when the water is very cold after bad frosts and ice the fish are virtually dormant and not interested in feeding at all, so when a bait is presented and you have not bothered to scale down hook sizes and lines a fish will approach your bait more deliberately and see that the bait on offer does not look natural and will basically give the bait a miss, the fish will not be competing with others this time and if the bait does not look right then I am afraid you will remain bite less.”

At this point I then explain hook sizes and feeding patterns which is basically “very little and not that often” depending on how the bites come and when. Single hook baits are the best way to start off and more often that not I do not feed at all at the start of a winter session as I do not want to over feed the fish from the off. A single red maggot on a size 20 hook tied to a 1.5lb hook length presented on the bottom will 90% of the time score time and time again and if you like to feeder fish then a straight lead with a single piece of corn is another good catching method. But patience is needed at this time of the year and very rewarding when you net a good fish or two.

This simple guide of best times to fish I am sure will make a big difference when planning your next session.

1.      Water temperatures above 6 degrees C with settled weather.

2.      Water has been around 4 degrees C for 4 or 5 days.

3.      Late afternoon when the sun has warmed up shallower parts of a lake.

4.      When water temperatures start to rise after long spells of cold weather.

5.      When the wind direction swings in to a southerly bringing milder weather.

This fish feeding temperature guide is worth noting as well.

6-7 degrees C Fish feed moderately well offering good prospects

4-5 degrees C Fish still aware and feed intermittently expect the odd fish or two

2-3 degrees C Fish become dormant you will struggle

1-2 degrees C Fish virtually inert stay at home

With all this information to hand it will pay to invest in an angling thermometer like many match and specialist anglers do. What the readings offer will dictate how much or if any feed is needed during a session and by taking readings throughout the day will keep you informed of what to expect later on, good or bad.

“Happy New Year and Tight Lines”

Russ Evans

1^st January 2008