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The Week Ahead…
The Prospects…
I don’t want to speak to soon, but perhaps finally the weather is taking a turn for the better, as last week the strong winds and heavy rain we’ve become accustomed too, were replaced with calmer, almost spring like weather.
For most of the country the week was relatively settled and mild for the time of year, as temperatures hovered around the 7-9 degree mark and decent spells of sunshine were common place.
Hopefully this means that spring is only just round the corner! On the way into work this morning it certainly felt like it could be. One thing that certainly backs this up is the wide array of flowers that have started to sprout from the undergrowth, as the first Snow Drops, Blue Bells and Daffodils of the year are now starting to make an appearance. These are always so fantastic to see, as not only are they appealing on the eye, breaking up the dull drab browns of winter, but they also signal to all us anglers that the times are changing! As far as this week goes, the weather doesn’t look too bad at all, in fact it looks very similar to last, there’s no heavy rain or strong winds to note and plenty of sunny spells are forecast. Even though temperatures will remain cool at night, which is to be expected, daytime temperatures will still be well above average.
What could this mean for the fishing?
According to our friendly fishing app, once again, this week looks like being a week of two halves, as for the first half of the week it predicts some pretty average fishing conditions, with Monday-Wednesday having a fishing efficiency rating of under 30%, however as we head towards the weekend, this reading increases to over 90% on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, with a peak on Saturday of 100%!
Hopefully with the slightly better weather, subsiding floodwaters, new moon and building tides, there’ll be a few fish feeding and with a bit of luck we’ll all manage to get amongst a few!
Whatever happens, if you do plan on having a session and do get out then good luck and of course don’t forget to let us know how you get on! Send any pictures and reports to: [email protected]
My Fishing…
I didn’t get out on the beach this weekend as I decided to leave it until next week, when a new moon and building tides should offer some excellent conditions. I notice there has been lots of little Codling around, most of these are undersized, with only the odd better fish mixed in, but it’s still a great sign for the future and hopefully on Sunday I’ll be able to get amongst a few!
As far as this weekend goes, Saturday saw me and Steve out with the camera, once again, like the week before, Perch were our main target and to be completely honest, up until 3.00 we had a complete disaster! You know… the sort of session where nothing goes right, where you question why you got up at 5.30 to sit by a cold lake, in the half light of morning! I’ll summarize what a complete disaster it was in the way of a few bullet points…
- The day never starts well when the lovely people at Macdonalds get your order wrong! A Bacon and Egg MacMuffin meal without the MacMuffin… - We arrived at the lake to find our favoured swim had been taken - We moved to a different area, only for the car to get stuck in the mud, meaning we spent a valuable 20 minutes trying to retrieve it. - We spent way to long trying to catch some small fish as livebaits… we didn’t catch any. - As we thought catching baits would be easy, we only took ½ a pint of maggots and 1 small tub of Lobworms - We used these within an hour, but not catching Perch, catching pretty much everything else other than Perch.
By 10.30 it was fair to say we were rather dejected, but did we give up? Of course we didn’t! Gluten for more punishment we headed back to the shop, stocked up with more bait and tackle, before completely changing venues and tactics and heading down the river for Chub!
Fishing roving tactics we wandered the stretch, dropping in every swim that looked ‘chubby’, giving each cast around 20-30minutes before moving on. To cut a long story short we fished the first three swims without success, before finally on the fourth swim, fishing some slack water on the far bank, we were rewarded with a clonking Chub, a few ounces over 5lb! The fish was most welcome and soon banished the bad memories of the morning session.
After a quick picture the fish was returned and we carried on wandering, unfortunately we didn’t land anything else, but we had succeeded and returned home two very happy chaps! We got the whole session on video, which I will edit this week, so I’ll get it uploaded as soon as it’s finished.
As I mentioned this weekend I’m confident and keen to get some fishing and filming done on the beach, and fingers crossed I’ll have a nice Codling or two to show you all in next weeks report!
Pictures Of The Week…
February’s picture of the month competition is almost over, there’s only a few days to vote for your favorite picture, which you can do so by clicking the link below…
Februarys Picture Of The Month
I’d like to say a massive thanks to everyone who has submitted a picture, especially those on Facebook, who I was lucky enough to speak too. I wish you all good luck! Even though February’s album is now closed, you can still get your pictures in for the month of March, so send them in via the usual channels, mentioned below.
There’s a £50 voucher up for grabs each month so it’s well worth doing!
If you want to enter the competition and appear on our blog and social sites then feel free to email your pictures and reports to…[email protected] you can also share them with us on our Facebook and Twitter pages.
In The Press
The Big One = Big Success!
As many of you will know this weekend saw the Big One Show, at Farnborough and even though we didn’t attend, it was fantastic to hear that this year was a huge success, with record crowds on both days and the largest number of exhibitors ever in the arena! A huge well done must go to everyone involved and to everyone who attended. It’s a fantastic event for our magnificent sport and helps promote the world of angling to a wider audience, across all generations.
So to the team at Fishface Promotions, we salute you.
World Record Zander
Could this fish be a new world record?
The monstrous zander caught by Romanian angler Andrei Oprea has been reported to weigh a breath taking 35lb 15oz. Caught from a boat while afloat on a flooded river Danube not far from the Romanian town of Craiova, the incredible predator dwarves the weight that the International Game Fish Association (IGFA) current have for the all tackle world record for the species. The current IGFA world record stands at 25lb 2oz, caught from Sweden in the late 1980s.
The species, not to be mistaken with walleye, is believed to have a top end weight of 33lb – a figure that this specimen far exceeds.
Andrei caught his fish vertical jigging, using a St Croix 8ft 6in 0.5-2oz lure rod and 15lb Sunline braid, with the fish falling for an 8in Manns Fire Shad presented on a 5/0 hook.
North Norfolk Bass Festival
In 2013 Holt Sea Angling Club ran its inaugrial Bass Festival on the North Norfolk Shingle Ridge which was an outstanding success. Over the two day event over 90 sizeable bass (36cm and over) were caught which has prompted Holt SAC to make this an annual event. The 2nd North Norfolk Bass Festival will therefore be held over the weekend of May 17th/18th 2014 and will be sponsored by Kelling Heath Holiday Park and supported by Sea Angler Magazine. Holt Sea Angling Club would like to thank these organisations for their help in making this year’s event possible.
The event will comprise of two separate 5 hour matches fished on Saturday 17th May and Sunday 18th May. The venues will be on the North Norfolk Shingle Ridge between Weybourne and Cley but the exact location of each match will not be determined until nearer the event to take advantage of catch information at that time. Similarly, the exact times for each match will not be determined until closer to the date but at this time of year both matches will be in day light.
The entry fee will be £15 for each day with an Optional Pools of £10 per day. Both matches will be catch & release and fished to Holt SAC match rules. Prize monies for each match will be for the heaviest bass, heaviest bass bag, heaviest non-bass bag and heaviest overall bag. There will also be a prize and trophy donated by Kelling Heath Holiday Park for the biggest bass of the festival. Further prize categories will be added if the prize table allows and there will be a ladies and a junior section if numbers allow. Both matches have been registered for Penn Points.
In Store
Last week was once again action packed, and the big news, which we still can’t mention took a step nearer completion! Hopefully next week we’ll be able to spill the beans and offer a few more details!
As promised we added a whole host of new products online this week, including the fantastic new range of Vass clothing and waders, which without doubt is some of the best on the market. Whether you are a Carp, Fly, Sea or Coarse angler there’s sure to be something for you. You can check out the full range by visiting one of our stores or by clicking the link below…
Vass Clothing & Waders
Last week we also added the first part of a new blog series by our very own Michael Stewart, entitled Valley Of The Water pigs, its an entertaining and insightful look back, into his Carping campaign on some ultra tough waters in and around the Nene Valley. If you like you Carp fishing then it’s well worth a read, and without spoiling it too much it contains some mega chunks! You can check out part one by clicking the link below…
Valley Of The Water Pigs – Michael Stewart
Also last week we added the latest DVD installment from Nash tackles fantastic Urban Banx series, which has been a huge success for team Nash. Fishing in the weirdest and wonderful settings Alan Blair and his team go in search of carp in amongst the hustle and bustle of city life.
The series has taken rather intriguing spin in 2014 with Nash team members Alan Blair and Oli Davies taking a trip across the pond to some stunning locations in Belgium and France. The filming and quick pace of Eurobanx makes brilliant entertainment as Oli and Alan get to grips with some of the best fishing that Europe has to offer. You can check out the latest installment by clicking the link below…
Nash Tackle – Euro Banx
Whilst on the subject of Nash Tackle you may remember a few weeks back we ran a special Facebook competition where you could win a set of Nash Dwarf rods and luggage, well the lucky winner was Charlie Wright.
Charlie, who works away with the army sent us this picture and wrote… ‘Thanks once again for the prizes, I still can’t believe I won! As soon as I get some time off, I’ll get some pictures with them on the bank!’
We’d just like to say congratulations to Charlie and of course, good luck and tight lines!
This week looks to be another busy one, and from my point of view, in regards to content, I’m looking forward to adding new posts from the Charter Boat Chinook II, as well as working with a brand new guest blogger; local angler and Angling Direct regular Michael Woods. Michael, who currently runs a blog, entitled Norfolk Angling Blog is passionate about fishing and loves fishing in and around Norfolk, both on Rivers and Stillwaters, so be sure to check out some of his great reports. If you want to get a sneak peak of some of his work, you can check out the link below…Norfolk Angling Blog
As well as all this, more new adverts, promotions, and graphics all need to be created, as regular weekly deadlines always seem to loom! And of course, more new products will be added to our ever growing online site!
Product of the week…
Anatec Bait Boats
On the market for 15 years on the continent, the Anatec brand has truly revolutionized the approach to Carp fishing. It is now the number 1 on the RC bait boat market. To date, the brand has never ceased to evolve and now offers a wide range of boats and optional accessories to meet all the angler’s requirements.
New boats, new remotes, new colours, improved reliability and enhanced functionality, 2014 marks the unquestionable rebirth of the brand, it also marks the year that these boats are now available both in store and online, here at Angling Direct!
To read the full review click the link below…
Anatec Bait Boats
