UK SPECIALISTS ENJOY RUDDY GREAT WEEK!
Two fish of 3lb 2oz from pit and river share honours
IF YOU’RE ever lucky enough to spend a day fishing with Chris Yates then I’m sure you’ll remember it forever.
However, as our resident adventurer, Martin Bowler, reveals this week, it probably won’t be for the fishing involved!
Chris is the epitome of fishing for fun, and it’s the whole, rounded experience on the bank that’s the chief ingredient in his recipe for enjoyment, as Martin reveals in one of his finest columns yet.
This week he transports us all to the bank, where the pair share an incredible tale of a famous old rod… and go hunting for snakes.
There’s a bit of fishing involved, too, but that’s not the important part and, thankfully, never will be...
It’s not the only remarkable story inside this week’s issue – there are several that stand out, including the tale of angler John Barter who forgot how to fish following a neardeath experience.
Undaunted, he didn’t let that stop him getting back on the bank, and he has recently caught carp of 50lb-plus, while raising over £250k for charity.
John, you have my, and the angling world’s, utmost respect – you make our sport what it is.
TWO monster rudd of 3lb 2oz have once again shown that now is prime time to target this beautiful but often elusive summer species.
A large gravel pit in the north of England produced the first ‘three’, taken by Angling Trust campaigns officer James Champkin who has been enjoying a successful year so far.
The specialist from Milton Keynes, Bucks, has been fishing the difficult venue on and off for the last few years, with just a handful of smaller fish to show
for his efforts – but his pursuit of a dream three-pounder finally came to an end during his most recent outing.
He said: “The weed is savage in this water and the rudd are highly nomadic – only feeding in very short spells.
“Consequently, the last two years have been particularly challenging, and I have landed just a couple of two-pounders after an awful lot of effort each season.
“This summer I returned for another crack at the pit and on my first trip over the last couple of days I managed just two bites – one each night – resulting in the 3lb 2oz fish and another of 2lb 3oz.”
James new personal best fell to a small pop-up boilie fished in conjunction with a feeder filled with a combination of Dynamite Baits Zig Cloud mix and Silver X Roach groundbait.
This was fished over a bed of particles and broken Complex-T boilies.
Hertfordshire angler Joe Royffe hooked the second of the week’s biggest rudd with the capture of a 3lb 2oz fish (above) from Cambridgeshire’s River Cam.
The delivery driver banked a personal best 2lb 8oz fish from the waterway at the beginning of July, but was determined to return to try for an even bigger specimen he suspected was in the area.
“I started the session by wandering off downstream for about a mile and eventually saw some decent rudd making bow waves as they swam through just below the surface,” Joe said. “I quickly set up my float rod with bread flake on the hook and cast into the river.
“Almost immediately there a big swirl on the surface, quickly followed by a loud slurp as the first fish engulfed my floating piece of bread!”
Joe’s new personal best was just one of seven 2lb-plus rudd he managed to catch in July in what has been a prolific summer for the species so far.