A cold week resulted in little sport except for the dedicated chub hunters on the Wear around Chester-le-Street and the three men who opted to fish the south bank of the Tyne Anglers’ Alliance stretch of the Tyne opposite Newburn, where one angler recorded a dace and “mini sea fish” net of just under 12lb.
The consistency of the temperature of the deep water at Mill Loch in Loch Maben has seen the free water still yielding roach and perch despite the freeze, while Loch Ken has also been in better form for long-distance ledgering.
They say there is no better sight in coarse fishing than a truly big perch and Harry Lockwood will verify this after fishing the latest Wetherby match.
Freezing conditions saw everyone struggle and Harry was expecting to end the day fishless when he saw his tip move in response to a legered lob-worm bait. He struck and felt a solid powerful resistance, and a few exciting minutes later Harry, from North Yorkshire, had a bristling 4lb monster perch on the bank, a personal best and enough to win him the match on the day.
A Ure that ran low and clear produced some big weights during the Ripon Piscatorials match, Kevin Moor winning with 44lb of chub. Steve Hodson was runner-up with 37lb 14oz, while Chester-le-Street angler Graeme Skirrey made the trip worthwhile by taking third place with 31lb 6oz.
The CAA match fished on both the Tees and Swale found frost putting all fish bar grayling off the feed and that species was the key to success over both rivers.
Steve Wallace put 15 on the scales at Brompton to win the Swale section and overall match with 11lb 4oz, while 12 grayling from Croft were of a smaller stamp and totalled 5lb 9oz for Tees-pegged Andy Simpson of Eastbourne Tackle.
On the Wharfe, Big Waters raider Nigel Ripley made the frame in a match won by Chris Burton on 8lb.
– Gateshead Council has decided to extend the ban on fishing Ryton Willows for another three years.
– Last week’s attempt to stage the biggest ever fishing match on Gull Lake in America attracted 1,500 spectators and 13,000 participants with over 1,000 fish caught through the ice holes.
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