CATCH UP WITH OUR AREA’S ANGLERS

All the latest news and views with columnist Tony Burman

NOW that the weather has started to turn, many of the shallower fisheries will prove to be a tougher challenge as the fish get less mobile and not interested in feeding. However, one local water that does not suffer from that is Saltfleetby fisheries. The matches have now switched to the main pond. This is very deep in some areas and the fish seem to want to feed most of the year.

Fishing on the main pond is very enjoyable – it is a natural water and has been there for years.

It holds a variety of fish – as well as the carp, there is a very good head of silver fish there as well.

The fishery holds open matches every Sunday and you can book in at 9am and fish until 3pm. They are a good bunch who fish their matches and everyone is welcome. At last Sunday’s match on the main pond, Vince Martin came out on top with 50lb 2oz from peg 23.

Alistair Murdock finished second with 40lb from peg 28, followed by Gary Harper with 38lb 8oz peg 24.

Another local water that is also a very good depth and holds a vast amount of silverfish as well as the carp is the Swan Pond at Messingham Sands.

Even in the depth of winter this water fishes very well and the open matches held on there are very popular.

If you are interested in fishing the matches, visit the Messingham Sands events page on the internet and see when the matches are. Other fisheries that are not so deep have tended to put in F1 carp that feed most of the year, although a couple of years ago these were usually not very big at places like Lindholme fisheries – they have grown quite considerably.

In the colder months, those who do well are the anglers who get the feeding just right. One pot full of food can destroy your whole day’s fishing, so it is a case of little and not all that often unless you have got the fish queuing up, and then it might be that you can feed slightly more. The choice of ground bait is also vital as you do not want to use one with a lot of food content.

Your local tackle shop will be able to advise you what to use for the waters you are going to. They know the background of the ground bait and have the knowledge to put you right.

Other anglers turn their attention to fishing the natural waters, where the weed dies off and makes fishing the rivers and canals easier.

The fishing for roach as the water gets colder can be fantastic.

One area that got a good reputation for winter roach fish was Tetney Lock, and this area can be very busy, especially around the pub area, but it is great running a float down the lock and catching quality roach. The predator anglers also favour this area as every year, several double-figured pike are caught on various methods.

The upturn in fishing for perch has also been very popular in this area. Using light spinning rods and using a method called drop shotting is a great way to target the perch.

One club who tried natural waters recently was Laceby Saxons as they fished Dunstens at Thorn.

First in was Trevor Brewitt with 16.7lb, followed by Mel Staves with 12.13lb, Paul Foster with 8lb and Mark Finch with 7.14lb. A good day’s fishing was enjoyed by all. Over at Wold View, they are still getting great turnouts for the veteran’s matches. Fishery Manager Steve Gregory was planning on just using the gold lake for their most recent outing, but when 32 turned up he had second thoughts.

It did fish extremely hard, but the very strong cold wind may have been to blame. Over on the silver lake, Bill Marsh took first from peg 35 with 41lb 5oz, while the sections were won by Nev Fisher (25lb 6oz), Charlie Gerrard (22lb 2oz) and Steve Credland (22lb 6oz).

Chris Mawer took the victory on gold as he bagged 27lb 13oz from peg 37.