AnglingTimes WELCOME

IDON’T know about you, but seeing readers’ catches always makes me think ‘I want one of those’, and even more so when you discover the great stories behind them.

This week our pages are packed with carp, bream, barbel, chub and rudd, all to huge sizes... massive match catches which shattered fishery records... and an incredible Nile perch that dragged its captor for nearly a mile downstream during an intense 40-minute battle!

Even John Wilson called us from his home in Thailand to let us know how amazing he thought the Nile perch capture was after hearing about it through a mutual friend – credit indeed!

Talking of big fish, they can be finicky at this time of year, often leaving you sitting in a perfectlooking swim wondering why you’re not getting as many bites as you’d expect.

That’s when you need a ‘Plan B’. For example, how many anglers would think about fishing the pole for big summer tench?

Rather than being an alien approach, for our resident angling adventurer Martin Bowler it’s just another tactic in his armoury, and one he’s using to great effect when the fish get finicky at this time of year.

This week he reveals how he does it, and how you too can enjoy tinca success on the stillwaters.

A switch to fishing early evening sessions with adapted rigs can pay dividends on the rivers, too, as Dai Gribble explains in his new column this week.

Whatever you’re fishing for, I wish you tight lines for the week ahead.