This entry was posted on 7th October, 2013

The Prospects…

The shorts are still on!

However I fear this could be the last week of the year, before they are packed away in favour of Jeans!

Last week, well certainly here in Norfolk, was pretty good! It was mild for the most part, especially towards the end of the week when the wind changed to the west/south west. It also remained relatively dry, with Thursday being the only wet day. I know other parts of the country suffered worse than us, with torrential downpours in some places! I think the clouds had lost most of there moisture before they hit us here in the East, as after Thursday evening we enjoyed a lovely, almost unseasonal weekend! However I fear that ‘unseasonal weather’ maybe coming to an end, as by all accounts the weather this week is on a slow downward spiral…



It looks as if the weather is slowly deteriorating, as each day the temperature is forecast to drop, with a high of 18 at the start of the week dropping to just 11 at the end of the week. As well as the drop in temperature we are also forecast rain, with Thursday and Friday looking rather wet! This change looks mainly due to the wind swinging round to a Northerly direction, pulling in some cooler weather fronts.

What does this mean for the fishing?

All in all I think it could be a reasonable week, even though the temperatures are dropping, they are doing so relatively slowly, which is always better than a sudden drop! However, I still think the milder overcast conditions at the start of the week will probably see more fish caught, which is good news for all the fair weather anglers!

This is a slight variation to what our friendly fishing App states, as it predicts the end of the week being slightly more productive; however it doesn’t predict a great week full stop. With the best days, Friday and Saturday, only showing a fishing efficiency rating of only 62%.

However as they say ‘you gotta be in it, to win it’.

If you do get out then good luck and of course don’t forget to let us know how you get on! Send any pictures and reports to: contact@anglingdirect.co.uk

 

My Fishing…

At last I have something to report that’s fishing related!

After a busy week last week and lots of persuasion from my mate in the office, who promised decent weather and half tidy fishing, I was tempted out on to the beach! Secretly I had been keeping one eye on the reports and had seen that a few early season Codling had been caught, but I wasn’t ready! With temperatures still in the high teens and thoughts still on the summer species, Codling were the last thing on my mind, we hadn’t even had the first frost of winter yet! My tackle was also all over the place, the old faithful Coleman Northstar needed a service, my old Penn 525 MAGS were on there last legs and my rigs had been decimated! So to say ‘yes I’m up for it’ 24 hours before we were due to go, saw me busy in the garage assembling my winter Cod fishing armoury!

Unfortunately for the Coleman Northstar and my old Penn 525 MAGS it was the end of the road, they were beyond repair, so it was a case of sorting out some new tackle! The lamp could wait, as my headlamp would be more than ample, however the reels were a different matter! Friday lunch time saw me mulling over my choices in the shop, after much deliberation I settled on what I was familiar with and opted for the new model Penn 525 MAGS. I like these reels as they offer lot’s more cranking power and feel slightly more substantial than other models on the market. I also like the fact that to engage the reel into free spool you have a decent ‘lever’ as opposed to a tiny button. I always worry that without this feature I may accidently ‘knock’ the reel into fishing mode, whilst winding up a cast!



With tackle and bait sorted and after a quick stop at the local chippy, we arrived at the beach around 7.00. With high water around 11ish we’d be able to fish a few hours up and a few hours down, which would hopefully be perfect!

I didn’t take long before I was into the first fish, a proper ‘cod nod’ followed by the classic slack line bite, saw me beach the first fish of the session, a Codling of around 1.5lb. Two more followed in the next few hours leading up to high water, along with a steady stream of Dogfish and Whiting.

By the time high water arrived the fishing had slowed, but we agreed to give it another hour or so, in case we picked up a few more fish as the tide started to ebb. We did exactly this, but unfortunately only suicidal pin Whiting graced our rods.



By 3.00 we were off the beach and on the way home, eventually walking in the door about 4.15 I was tired, but satisfied with my evenings work.

It was fantastic to see so many fish, so early in the year and I hope it’s a sign of a great season to come! Considering I fished all night in only a hoody, as sea temperatures cool and winter takes a grip, it should really only get better! If it does, we could be in for a really good year!



Whilst I did get out fishing this week, I still found time to work on my other fishing related projects, adding another video to the Angling Direct blog!

The second video, float fishing the lift method for Tench and the in depth tackle list, of all products can be seen by clicking the link below...

From The Waters Edge TV – Float Fishing For Tench Using The Lift Method

Pictures Of The Week…

The first entries for Octobers picture of the month competition have been received and can be viewed online here…

October Picture Of The Month Entries

If you want to get in on the action and stand a chance of winning a £50 voucher then get sending your pictures in!

Also it’s worth remembering it’s a picture of the month competition and not a just a fish of the month, so it’s not all about the biggest Carp!

If you want to enter the competition and appear on our blog and social sites then feel free to email your pictures and reports to…contact@anglingdirect.co.uk you can also share them with us on our Facebook and Twitter pages.

In The Press…

Two interesting pieces this week, the first reports from the World Carp Classic, were a Dutch female duet scooped Carp fishing’s richest prize and the second is an interesting piece on Otters, taken from the BBC’s Inside Out programme. If you haven’t seen them in the press you can find out all the information below…

Dutch female duet land carp fishing's richest prize.

The World Carp Classic has been won by the all-female pairing of Lizette Beunders and Bianca Venema from Holland, the first female pairing to ever win an international carp match.

Lizette and Bianca, representing Dynamite Baits, were out in front for virtually the entire event and finished with a final weight of 366.5kg, a fantastic result that saw them finish a long way ahead of runners up Lee Jackson and Rob Tough, and win by the biggest margin in the events history.

The girls used a mixture of Dynamite Baits new Red Ammo, Tiger Nuts, chopped nuts and black Amino groundbait to capture their final total.

Nic Brown, the events media co ordinator, commented: "It has been an enormous pleasure to witness a moment that will not only change Lizette and Bianca’s lives but I believe will change  the face of carp fishing, breaking down an awful lot of boundaries and putting female carp angling in the spotlight.

The girls have demonstrated far more than angling brilliance, they have physically and mentally operated at an extremely high level and have functioned together brilliantly, with their runner they have been unbeatable and deserve all the accolades they receive after winning the biggest event in carp fishing."

More details, interviews and film will be released in the coming days via www.worldcarpclassic.com



Should otters be controlled to protect fish stocks?

During the 1970s the survival of otters was threatened by a loss of habitats and they were rare in most parts of Britain.

But this native species was brought back from the brink of extinction and numbers have recovered largely as a result of conservation work and improved water quality.

There are now thought to be otters in every county in England.

Some believe their recovery has been so successful that there are too many otters and native fish are under threat.

Angler John Wilson thinks there is a need for more controls on otters in rivers across some areas including Norfolk, but not everyone agrees.

David Whiteley looks to the argument for controlling otter numbers in rivers where fish stocks are threatened.

You can watch the interesting piece on the BBC iPlayer by clicking the link below…

Should Otters Be Controlled - BBC iPlayer



 

In Store…

Last week I had the pleasure of visiting the Nash Tackle 2013 tradeshow, which was hosted at their premises in Essex.

First of all I must say what a fantastic venue and what a great bunch of lads, they couldn’t do enough for us and were very accommodating from start to finish, regularly supplying us with coffee and even some lunch! For me it was great to meet and chat with Kevin himself and his right hand man Alan Blair, both were incredibly busy, but still found time to come and see us.

On the new tackle front, I think it’s a case of… ‘They’ve done it again’, as all the new products we saw, were excellent additions to the, already extensive Nash range. Nothing has been created ‘just for the sake of it’ and everything had been thoroughly thought out and developed. Everything had a purpose and a point.

Even though some of the new items aren’t going to be available for a few months I was still able to grab some information and some sneaky pictures of them! The first blog report from the tradeshow can be seen by clicking the link below, I had over 60 pictures so it made sense to split them up into separate posts!

Nash Tradeshow 2013 Part One



Last week also saw me preparing the artwork for our special, Help For Heroes Charity Event, which we have coming up on Saturday. The posters and peg numbers have been done and the raffle prizes are starting to take shape so hopefully it’s going to be a roaring success and raise lots of money for a very worthy charity. If you are in the Norfolk area and fancy a beer, burger and fishing banter then pop down to the Bridge Pub in Lenwade on Saturday. Also if you want to purchase some raffle tickets you can do so in the Norwich store.

Full details can be seen below.

Finally today we named the winner of our very special Navitas competition; the lucky winner was Lee Gooner Peverall, who scooped a cool £150’s worth of Navitas clothing of his choice! Well done Lee!

Thanks to everyone who entered, we’ll have lots more competitions coming up in the next few weeks so keep your eyes peeled for these on our social sites!

 

Product of the week…

Advanta Stoves

As many of you will know we have recently taken delivery of some brand new, exclusive Advanta products. There are over 90 products in the range and over 100 individual items, with something to suit the needs of all anglers, across all disciplines.

Throughout the next few weeks we will be highlighting a few of the key products and showing off there features and benefits, starting today with the fantastic new range of bank side stoves!

You can check out all the details on these new stoves, which appeared in our tackle Tuesday by clicking the link below…

Advanta Stoves