Member Tim Atherton had a couple of hours to spare on Friday 13th December 2013, so thought he would try to catch one of the big carp he had seen on previous trips to the river. So, using a Free Spirit Hi S rod, a Daiwa Tournament reel, 10 lbs Ultima Power carp line and a running set up with a 2 1/2 oz lead and a size 8 Drennan  barbel hook, baited with a 14 mm M1 bollie from Wayne Dunns bait company (it's a fish meal with frankfurter sausage flavour) he hooked and landed this really nice mirror from peg 66, which he estimated at between 16 and 17 Lbs (Click on the link). Tim loose fed a handful of the same boilies about two rod lengths out in the steady flow and put his hook bait there. A delighted Tim said " It was a really good looking carp, especially for December, with a full curtain on the top lip so it had maybe never been caught before. My mate had caught a 40 Lber the evening before and it just motivated me to go for a few hours and the river is the best bet for that this time of the year. "

Carp - Tim Atherton.jpg (1,009.61 kb)

On a very mild and mostly sunny 8th December 2013, 12 anglers contested the third round of the 2013/14 Winter League 6 match series. Fished on Swan Pit near Newport, kindly arranged by our colleagues in the WULAC club, all looked set for a good match. However, the carp only fed in short bursts, as the water was very cold. Winner was David Leary with a 5 carp haul (including a couple of real "lumps") for 29 Lbs 8 Ozs, caught on the feeder and corn. Second was Eric (I can't be bothered with this new-fangled method feeder malarky!) Rimmer with 18 Lbs 8 Ozs, inluding one carp that was over 16 Lbs (see photo below) caught on cage feeder and maggot. Third was that man again, Ken Arnold with 16 Lbs 6 Ozs of mostly carp caught on home made "jelly pellets." Ken now leads the league with 8 penalty points, followed by Gary Stinton on 10 and third is David Leary with 11. Only 4 results from the 6 matches will count, so there's all to fish for. See the full result by clicking on the link below. Next round is on Aston Eyre pool on 12 January (weather permitting).

IMG_0850.jpg (2.22 mb)

Winter League Result - 3 Sheet1.pdf (20.65 kb)