IT MAY be steady fishing all round but Tommy Hancock still rules the roost at the Stoppos Fishery, even though the farmer had drawn off a massive amount of water to feed his potatoes.
This probably accounted for the lower than usual weights, but it was still a good match.
Hancock won Saturday’s open by another comfortable margin, this time using the feeder at both 12 and 20 metres.
He used sweetcorn on the hook and a heavy groundbait mix in his feeder that resulted in him netting a single perch and bream and then taking lots of the pool’s smaller cap to make his weight up to 23lbs 6ozs.
Runner-up Geoff Granger was fishing his first match on the pool and his approach with sweetcorn on the hook fished under a pole at 12 metres worked better than expected when he recorded a weight of 19lbs 8ozs.
Third place for the second time running was Alan Taylor.
He fished the pole close in next to the bushes to take fish steadily throughout the event and finished with 15lbs 14ozs.
There were plenty of fish showing on the surface and the average size has certainly shot up over the past 12 months, with several carp weighing into double figures being caught.
Rangemore’s Callingwood Pool is fishing much better than anticipated and an extra open match was quickly organised for last Wednesday.
The result was almost the same as the previous match, with Matt Walker again winning the event, this time with a much improved weight of 30lbs 12ozs, with carp and skimmers making up his weight.
In the previous match, Chris Allen ended up three pounds behind the winner, this time it was just four ounces, weighing in at 30lbs 8ozs — excellent weights for an evening match.
He added more crucians to his bag than the winner and just one more would have reversed the order.
Again, Kev Moseley took third place, this time with 15lbs 10ozs and again he pushed Brian Johnson into fourth place and out of the money placings with 5lbs 13ozs.
THE latest open fished on the River Trent and organised by the Coors Angling Club proved to be a major success, after the roach and perch showed in far greater numbers than even the most optimistic angler could have hoped for.
The match was fished on Bailey’s Meadow, opposite Newton Road Playing Fields, and was won with an excellent weight of 17lbs 8ozs by Wayne Swinscoe.
It was a net made up of good roach and perch, many of which weighed more than four ounces, far greater than those that were stocked by the Environmental Agency after the dual pollution that hit the river last year.
Swinscoe drew on peg five at the top end of the length, and although shallow compared to the rest of the length, he found plenty of fish responding to his waggler and maggot approach.
Runner-up was Vaughn Hill with 12lbs 8ozs, again a net of roach and perch but this time taken on the stick float on either casters or red maggots.
In third place was Dave Webb, who won the previous open on Sherratt’s. He found fish all over the river as he caught on both the stick and the waggler, all on red maggot.
His weight was 9lbs 12ozs.
The weights dropped off at this point with Terry Turner taking fourth place with 6lbs 4ozs.
The important thing is that everyone caught, with the vast majority of the 18 that fished weighing in at least 4lbs.
Whether many of these fish that are in the river at the moment are resident fish or fish that have moved there, is open to conjecture, but it is interesting to learn that a roach that was dye spotted and released by the EA on the Bailey’s length, was later picked up in the smolt traps on the River Dove.
The next open will be on Sunday, August 22, with tickets available from Tony Vandome on 01283 512711.
A decision will be taken after this match about the three day Burton Angling Festival that is currently scheduled for the river to start on September 22. Again, details are available from Vandome.
CARSINGTON Water has thrown up and unusual number of resident brown trout this week, with the staff commenting that it was good to see that the foundation of the original fishery was still there.
Most were not big fish, probably averaging just over the two pounds mark, but even so, it is still good to see them.
The fishery is still stocking brownies but on a much reduced level.
Rainbows prevail though with fish to 4lbs 10ozs being caught this week.
Shinningford Creek, the Dam Wall and the islands in front of the lodge have produced most of the fish this week, with black and green patterns taking the vast majority of those caught.
The rod average was a level 2.0 fish per rod this week.
Thornton Reservoir still remains the only reservoir that is still at full level, but the fishing remains very poor, with an average of just 1.2 fish per rod.
Water temperatures are up and down but most of the fish that have been caught have been caught on dries, especially red hoppers and GH sedges.
Traditional wets fished on floaters or intermediates have also been best.
Again, the fry feeders have been hammering the fry in the margins.
At Foremark Reservoir, the water levels are the best part of 30 feet down and that has meant that most of the fish caught this week ahev been caught either over the aerators and bewteen the dam wall and number one and two buoys.
SUPPORTING Others to Volunteer Actions (SOVA) have found that through angling, they have been able to take youngsters off the street and help to integrate them back into families by encouraging them, and their families, to take part in getting out, not only onto the water’s edge but into the countryside.
To that end, SOVA and the SOVA volunteers would like to say a big thank you to Tim Walker and Rangemore Angling Club for the use of their fishing ponds over the last year.
SOVA recruits people from the local communities and trains them in volunteering to work with young people and families from various circumstances.
The SOVA Engage project, in partnership with Derby City Family Learning, aims to help families by providing different courses to help re-engage young people and their families with an alternative to mainstream education.
They have run a number of different courses and the most successful is the family fishing, this gives young people the chance to be introduced to fishing and experience the countryside, and they also encourage the parents of the young people to get involved and this helps build better relationships within the family.
We have run a number of courses thanks to Tim and the quality of the ponds has meant that the young people have been able to experience fishing at its best.
As a result, a number of members of the group have joined the club.
SOVA are grateful for this opportunity and anyone interested in fishing or becoming a member can contact Tim Walker on 07792 022048, or those interested in volunteering with SOVA can contact SOVA on 01332 256820.
