The Week Ahead...

This entry was posted on 17th February, 2014

The Prospects…

Well what another terrible week of weather! More strong winds, more heavy rain and more misery for thousands of people around the country, in the last few weeks the storms have been relentless!

Last week the country was battered on three separate occasions, by three different storm fronts, each rolling in from the Atlantic and each causing havoc in the way of heavy rain, strong winds and even snow, for some places. The triple-threat, as described by the met office, can be seen clearly in the image below, the three storms in perfect formation out to the west of our country.



Here in the East we suffered the worst of the weather on Friday, as from midday Friday to late Saturday afternoon it rained and it rained and it rained, the wind was also incredibly strong, blowing at a consistent 30mph+ with gusts of nearly 60mph.

Thankfully by Saturday evening conditions eased and yesterday, for the first time in a few weeks we were graced with some fine, dry, sunny weather, which we should hopefully see more of this week. It looks in the short term we may have seen the last of the storms… for now.

This weeks weather doesn’t look to bad, we are still going to see the odd rain shower, but overall many places should stay dry and temperatures will remain around a very pleasant 9-10 degrees. For the early part of the week the winds should also remain light, however there is a risk that these could increase as we head towards the weekend, however they aren’t forecast to be damaging.



What could this mean for the fishing?

According to our friendly fishing app this week looks like being a week of two halves, as for the first half of the week it predicts some pretty average fishing conditions, with Monday-Thursday having a fishing efficiency rating of under 30%, however as we head towards the weekend, this reading increases to over 90% on Friday, Saturday and Sunday!

Fingers crossed the weather plays ball, the flood water subsides, the sunshine’s and most importantly the fish feed!



Whatever happens, if you do plan on having a session and 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…

Unfortunately for the third time in as many weeks my sea fishing plans didn’t materialize as once again the good old British weather got the better of me! For a start Friday evening was a write off, not because it was Valentines (although I did have plans…) but because of the wind, it was also the same story for Saturday… 60mph winds when beach fishing don’t really suit!



What about Sunday? Well Sunday I’d set aside for filming, as once again because of the weather me and Steve hadn’t been out for a few weeks and we were keen to get back on it and get our YouTube channel updated.

We’d talked on numerous occasions about having a go for some Perch and yesterday this is exactly what we done, we had a little lake in mind, where we’d previously caught fish, to around 1lb, not by design, but by accident. We figured there had to be bigger ones and these were what we wanted!

We set up with a specimen approach, two light Avon rods, small Baitrunner reels, bite alarms and running rigs, the chosen hook bait was the good old fashioned lobworm.

Action was pretty instant, however not from our chosen quarry, as hungry Ide and small Carp were first to the bait. We battled away with these for a couple of hours before our hard work and persistence paid off in the way of a Perch around 10oz.

Another hour passed and more Ide and Carp followed, before we finally hooked another Perch, this time it was a better fish and one of the one’s we were after! A super looking, chunky fish, which tipped the scales round to a very pleasing 1lb 8oz, which confirmed our suspicions that some bigger fish were present!



To cut a long story short, we didn’t land any more Perch, but we did leave full of confidence vowing to return at a later date! I’ll keep you posted.

I’m not sure what this week has in store, I’m hopeful we’ll be out fishing and filming Saturday or Sunday, but where and for what has still to be decided. With small tides and average catch reports I’m not to desperate to rush off to the coast, however after missing out for three weeks running a small part of me says we should! Once again whatever happens, I’ll keep you posted and report back next week.

 

Pictures Of The Week…

February’s picture of the month competition is well and truly underway as I posted another bunch of super pictures up on Friday! You can see them all in the album by clicking the link below…

Februarys Picture Of The Month



I’d like to say a massive thanks to everyone who has submitted a picture, especially those on Facebook, who I was lucky enough to speak too. I wish you all good luck! Remember to like and share your favourites to stand the best chance of winning.

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

UK’s Biggest River Competition Continues To Grow

It has been announced that the hugely popular 'Riverfest' competition will grow this year, to take in a total of 20 qualifying venues.

The qualifiers will begin earlier than 2013 with the first match taking place on the River Calder, Mirfield on Sunday 22nd June. They will then continue on a weekly basis through to the last qualifier for 2014 on Saturday 1st November on the River Nene, March.

Three anglers from each qualifier will progress to the grand final on the Wye in Hereford on 15th & 16th November 2014.

Angling Trust’s RiverFest enters its second year and once again will carry the biggest ever individual prize for a river match, with a whopping £12,000 going to the winner of the grand final, an increase of £2,000 on the 2013 first prize.

Dave Harrell, the man behind the original concept of the competition said, “We have worked closely with different clubs and associations and introduced eight new venues to the list for this year.  We have also planned things so that there is only one qualifier for each of the first 20 weekends of the season.  This will give anglers the chance to plan their matches more easily, and also give clubs and associations the opportunity to run practice opens in the lead up to the qualifying matches.”

Riverfest – Full Fixture List



Rain Wreaks Havoc For Fisheries

Torrential rain and flooding has left many fisheries in a desperate situation. The South West has been particularly badly hit, and reports state that several fisheries have simply disappeared into a mass of flood water.

One of the lucky ones has been Viaduct Fishery in Somerton – which is located in the heart of the Somerset levels. Owner, Steve Long explained:

“The amount of rain we have had down here has been ridiculous, and I know that some of the venues in the lower part of the levels, and around Oxford have been badly hit. Luckily, our venue is raised slightly, which means that we have avoided any serious flooding – though the ground is obviously very boggy underfoot.

My heart goes out to those who have waters in lower lying ground, or with no flood defenses however, as many of them will lose much of their stock.”

Thankfully, White Acres Fishery in Cornwall has also escaped the worst of the floods, with the fact that the venue is built on a hill meaning that much of the excess water has simply ran away from the venue, without causing any serious damage. Venue manager, Clint Elliott added two shocking videos to the fisheries Facebook page however which can be seen on the links below.

The fishery posted: "I have a team of 10 ready and waiting to get the paths and pegs ready for the opening of the park on the 14th March, the lakes always look better once they have been cut back and regenerate. We have been very lucky with the weather, it helps being on the side of the hill as the water never stands, just runs through to the river."



 

In Store

Last week was another busy week, but also another good one, as many new projects are slowly starting to take shape, a couple of these I cannot mention… yet… but in the next couple of weeks we’ll have a couple of real exciting announcements, so be sure to keep an eye out for those!

As I mentioned last week, the brand new Korda Carp Fishing Masterclass DVD was released and I’m now pleased to say that we have these in all Angling Direct stores, we also have our very own dedicated tackle section online. So for example, you’ve seen a product in the DVD that takes your eye, then simply check it out in our ‘Masterclass’ category, by clicking the link below…

Korda Carp Fishing Masterclass Tackle



Last week we also joined the world of Instagram! Now I must admit I wasn’t a massive fan… I never understood the fact why we spend thousands of pounds of quality camera equipment, to take a stunning picture, to then spend 59 pence on an app that makes it look old and out of focus? BUT… I’m quite happy to admit when I’m wrong and this is one of these occasions, as I now absolutely love it! If you weren’t convinced and were anti-Instagram like me, then try it, as I think you’ll be surprised, I even think its available as a free download from the App store too!

Of course if you do download it, don’t forget to check out our page…

Angling Direct Instagram



Also last week I had a lovely email from a guy called Phil White, who runs a charter boat called the Chinook II, from Bradwell-On-Sea in Essex, he kindly sent us some information on his angling operation as well as a fishing report and a few pictures, from his latest trip. By the looks of it Phil really knows his stuff and I hope to get out with him for a spot of fishing some time soon! If you are looking for a days charter fishing then I’d recommend giving him a call, you can check out all his details and latest fishing reports here…

Phil White – Chinook II Fishing Charters



This week looks like another busy one, as we have a whole new bunch of products to add online, including the new Vass clothing and waders, Maver Centre of Excellence poles and Lenser headlamps. As soon as these are online we’ll get some blog work and links up.

We will also be finalizing details our ‘Managers Specials’,  as well as a brand new Facebook Competition and a whole host of new blog content, so be sure to keep updated with all of these on our social sites.

 

Product of the week…

Fox Supa Brolly Compact

New for Spring 2014 is the upgraded and more compact version of the multi-award winning and top selling Supa Brolly. The Supa Brolly compact is the result of numerous requests from anglers that love the Supa Brolly design but require a smaller shelter for tighter swims. It features a smaller 50inch (127cm) frame compared to the 60inch (152cm) frame of the original Supa Brolly. In addition to the more compact frame this new model also benefits from two mozi mesh panels at the rear for increased air-flow.

To read the full review click the link below…

Fox Supa Brolly Compact