LATE SEASON CATCHES AT CASTLE LAKE

Fishing a week this October at Castle Lake, Steve Bardens came away with 17 carp in total, here’s his feedback below…

36.08

Details of your catches: 17 carp in total, vast majority over 35lb, biggest 39lb. We fished grassy point on far side.

Your best tactics/bait/rigs: Found slightly firmer spots at 100m + and baited heavily with 20mm boilies. Nothing in margins went. Caught a couple of cats (40lb’ish) on single pop-ups.

General comments: Very happy! Castle is an excellent lake and i plan to return next year. That’s saying a lot because i normally only fish open lakes and rivers in france & avoid commercial lakes at all costs! But this was a very natural lake and didn’t feel commercial at all. I’m happy for anyone to phone me for info – 0115 9307798.

38.11

For more information on Castle Lake follow the link - Fishing France

MONSTER WELS CATFISH

Fishing for the monster Wels catfish of the river Ebro is something I have always wanted to do, so when I got the chance I grabbed it with both hands. My anticipation was at an all-time high and I was desperate to get started, I had set myself the rather ambitious target of catching a fish bigger than myself in weight but realistically would have been ecstatic with anything over 100lb in weight.

We arrived at Barcelona airport on the Saturday but wasn’t due to head to our guide’s secret “big fish swim” till the Monday. But he could see how eager I was to get fishing so took me to his local swim for a short session on the Sunday. And it would be in this swim I would get my first taste of the Ebro catfishing experience.

My first ebro cat

Each rod was baited with a string of 5 Halibut pellets on the hair and a couple of handfuls of pellet scattered around each hook bait. And I sat back in the morning sun and waited for a bite. This was a stunning part of the river with a large island in the distance and lush green margins all around a great place to be whilst I waited and time passed quickly. It seemed like no time had passed before the rod tip started lunging down signifying a take.

After a short fight I soon had my first Ebro Catfish on the bank, at just over 28lb this was far from the monster I was after, but gave me a good chance to get a real good look at a Wels catfish close up. I had always over looked Wels catfish as being scavengers more than they are predators but I would soon realise during this trip this opinion couldn’t have been further from the truth.  The Wels catfish truly is the apex predator in these waters and there is nothing they won’t take on.

We packed up during the heat of the day to go and do the shopping for the week ahead and returned for another short session that evening. This session resulted in another catfish for me, another kitten of 32lb but at least the fish were getting bigger.

The next day with a couple of bonus cats already under the belt we drove an hour and a half out into the mountains to the “big fish swim”. This swim was totally different from the one we had been fishing the lush greenery was replaced by rocks and mountains. This rugged and wild landscape was the perfect setting for me to do battle with a true monster.

My guide rowed the hook baits along with half a bucket of free offerings per rod to a distant under water snag and began to row back to the bank. When he got about half way back he shouted out that he could see a very big yellowy coloured cat swimming in the direction of my hook baits which just added to the anticipation.

Baiting up the monster swim

We spent the next half hour or so with binoculars watching Eagles and other birds flying high above the mountains. Through the binoculars I was watching a goliath heron hunting in the far margins totally oblivious to the fact that it was also being hunted. A large Wels catfish was slowly approaching the bird along the bank and, when it felt it was close enough  it struck, just missing the panicked bird as it took off. This was the first time I got to see the fearlessness and aggression of these predators.

As we sat talking about what we had just seen the bite alarm sounded and I was in. This was a clearly a big fish and it stripped my reel of line at an awesome rate, before I knew it I was down to my backing line and had to really clamp down to stop the fish from getting away. Trying to stop a big Wels catfish that doesn’t want to be stopped is no easy task and I soon found myself being pulled along the bank. Luckily I was able to turn the fish back in my direction and get some line back on the reel, but the fish was far from beaten. The big catfish take big power lunges stripping line from the reel with ease and this fish continued to fight hard.

When the fish surfaced the guide instantly called out that he was sure it was the big yellow cat he had spotted from the boat and when he pulled the fish onto the mat I was gob smacked by the sheer size of this fresh water monster. This was clearly a big fish but had I achieved my target of catching a fish bigger than me? I’m about 5ft 9 so the fish clearly dwarfed me when it came to length but what about weight, I’m 11st/154lb. As we hoisted the fish up on the scales I soon found that at 158lb it was a case of mission accomplished.

158lb wels catfish

It wasn’t until I was holding the fish in the water while it recovered that I realised the pain in my, now blue, groin where I had been resting the butt of the rod during the fight and the aching arms from the battle but it was all definitely worth it.

In the water with the beast

As the week went on I received more water ski lessons courtesy of monster catfish as well as catching numerous carp and it was one of these that gave me another example of just how aggressive the Wels can be. This particular 26lb common had fresh wounds of a catfish attack running all the way round its body, where it had been unfortunate enough to find itself head first down the mouth of a catfish (but at the same time fortunate enough to have escaped).

A 26lb Common showing the fresh scars of a catfish attack

So far on my fish adventures I have not experienced anything quite like doing battle with huge Wels catfish and I personally can’t wait to go back for another battle.

Rob Inns

Sunset over the mountains

If you’re looking for a carp and catfish fishing holiday take a look at Morgane Lakes in France 

NICK DOES IT AGAIN AT VILLEFOND

November 9th 2013 and Nick Johnson and Dave Proctor return to Villefond. This was Nicks forth visit to our lake, being the last booking of the season the same as the year before.

On their last visit to Villefond they landed  1 x 20, 6 x 30’s to 39lb 10oz, 6 x 40’s to 47lb 8oz and 2 x 50’s to 54lb 4oz. They had to go some to beat that, and go some they did! Unfortunately Dave struggled with a few lost fish so didn’t land any this time but Nick certainly did land some monsters. He went one better than last year and landed 3 x 50lb carp to 54lb 7oz, which meant a new personal best again! Nick also had a 47lb mirror, a few thirties and a few below the 30lb mark.

50.04 ‘Max’

The exciting bit for me as the fisheries manager is every one of the 5 fish over the 50lb mark that Nick caught were different fish, none were the same fish and two of the 50lb fish he had this trip were carp going 50lb for the first time! For people that follow our fish on facebook (under villefond fish) will know Max the fish and that we were expecting him to go 50lb soon so it was exciting for me to finally get the news he has.

50.01 ‘Slate Grey’

The fish have really piled on the weight at amazing rates this year as our house bait has been the main source of food put in the lake by far. So for me again this is great news and more proof of what a great bait it is turning out to be and how good it is for the fish.

So all round this has been a great week and it’s looking good for my winter blog with an amazing amount of monster carp to catch!

Thanks again guys, great fishing! Mark Lambert (Fishery Manager)

47.11 ‘Dorian’

NEW AVID SAFEGUARD XL CARP CRADLES FOR MOLYNEUX

We have this last week had a delivery of Avid safeguard XL cradles for use around Molyneux. Before making my decision I looked at many different makes and types of unhooking mats. I truly believe these are the best out there at the moment with regard to ease of use and fish welfare and our fish and anglers deserve the very best.

I am also in the process of ordering some weigh slings for the start of next season. With large well padded mats taking up so much space in the car and hopefully smelling of carp on the return we thought it was something else we could offer which would make the anglers that visit us life’s a little easier.

If Carlsberg made carp lakes……………

For more information on Molyneux follow the link – French Carp Lakes

ANNUAL NETTING AT BROCARD LARGE

Around this time in France fish farmers are in full swing managing the nettings on their many lakes. It is because of this that Heather and I made a trip over to France this November.  We called in to visit the Bacheliers, who were going to be netting both Jonchery and Brocard Large over two days.

The dates of nettings are pencilled in as autumn approaches, so a ‘window’ for our visit was set, but the wet weather was to play a huge part.  Normally the first netting of the season is the top lake at La Horre.  However, Paul Bachelier had kept me updated and even 10 days after the start of the drain down the lake was still full, simply due to the constant rain.  As the labour is already organised, they opted to drain Jonchery first as this lake’s water level was more easily controllable.  So, with 1 days notice, we packed the warmest clothes we could find as well as all our photography gear and waders.

Day one was spent documenting the netting at Jonchery, which you can read about here.  On our second day we were up bright and early to make the 30 minute drive from Jonchery over to the Brocard Complex.  Arriving at the lake, even with the water drained down to leave all but a sizeable puddle, it never fails to amaze me how lovely the setting is.  It really is a natural beauty, exactly what you would expect from a centuries old lake nestled into a forestry reserve.

Hauling the net in

Now on to the real business…

The team tackle the job a section at a time, doing partial nettings around the remaining pool and pulling them steadily back to the bank.  It is here that any large carp and catfish netted are checked and passed back over.  Small nuisance catfish, carp and silver fish are then removed and placed into buckets.  These are hauled up and sorted into aerated tanks on the back of the lorries heading for Pisciculture Bachelier HQ, where they are then transferred to smaller stock ponds.

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A quick and efficient health check takes place as each fish is passed over

We saw a huge selection of the scaley mirrors the Bachelier waters are reknown for, plenty of sizeable commons and around twenty large catfish.

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Carp Fishing Tactics – 34 Videos Packed with Info

MOONTIME CARP – PART 1

After more than a decade of testing the theory and keeping detailed records, I’m convinced you can improve your catch success by being aware of how the moon affects carp behaviour and their feeding.

Have you ever wondered why you can sit by your rods for hours on end with your indicators seemingly “glued” to your rods, and then completely out of the blue, both of your rods scream off at the same time with a carp on the end?   What triggers the fish to feed?  What causes that uncanny feeling when you feel you are going to get a bite? What follows are my thoughts on what could be part of the explanation.

A lot of anglers will agree, or believe, that the moon and its gravitational pull play some part in fishing.  You will often hear anglers talk about their favourite moonphase to fish, whether that is a bright full moon or the dark nights of a new moon.  A large part of my fascination with carp fishing is an understanding of why I am successful on some sessions when everything seems to go right, and perhaps more importantly, why there are times when the alarm going off is a somewhat distant memory and I cannot buy a bite.

An article I read some 12 years ago sparked off my interest about the moon and its possible effect on my successes and failures so I did a great deal of research and started keeping detailed records of both the times of my captures and in relation to moonphase and the moontimes within those moonphases.  12 years later and I’ve become a massive believer and developed an approach to my carp fishing which includes this relationship with the moon, which I have no doubt has added to my catches of both numbers and size of the fish I catch.

Cracking 43lb 4oz Mirror caught at Bletiere during a H.P moontime

The Moonphases

To set the scene, let me start by giving a brief explanation of the moonphases.

As you are probably aware, there are four moonphases, New Moon, First quarter, Full Moon and Last quarter.  In very simple terms, these phases are caused by changing angles (relative positions) of the Earth, the Moon and the Sun, as the Moon orbits the Earth.

• New Moon occurs when the moon is positionedbetween the Earth and the Sun
• At a Full Moon, the Earth, Moon, and Sun are in alignment, just as the New Moon, but the moon is on the opposite side of the earth, so the sunlit part of the moon is facing us
• The First quarter and Last quarter moons happen when the moon is at a 90 degree angle with respect to the Earth and Sun

The gravitational pull of the moon, and therefore potentially the biggest effect on our fishing, is on or around 2 days each side of each moonphase.  For example, the most recent New Moon was on the 3rd November, therefore the best days for fishing would have been the two days before the New Moon (the 1st and 2nd, abbreviated to NM-1 and NM-2) the New Moon itself (3rd November, NM-0) and the two days afterwards (the 4th and the 5th , NM+1 and NM+2).  The same applies for each of the moonphases.  The periods in-between are when the moon has less affect and therefore potentially the least productive.  That does not mean you will not catch in these times, it’s just that if you want to stack the odds in your favour then ideally you would try to fish during the better periods.

Moon phases

However, that is only one part of the puzzle…

Moontimes

The moon rises and sets just as the sun does, except it does not have a 24 hour cycle like the sun.  A moon cycle takes approximately 24 hours and 50 minutes which is key to identifying our best possible times for fishing.

Each moon cycle has a moon RISE, HIGH ORBIT POINT (H.P), SET and LOW ORBIT POINT (L.O).  Bearing in mind what I wrote above, these times move by roughly 50 minutes each day.  Therefore a RISE, H.P, SET or L.O can be at any time of the day or night depending on the time of the month.

Minor feeding periods occur at RISE and SET for approximately 3 hours, 1 ½ hours before and 1 ½ hours after the RISE and SET times.

Major feeding periods occur at H.P and L.O for approximately 4 hours, 2 hours before and 2 hours after the transit time.  At these points, the moon is nearest to the earth and its energies most intense.

You can find out moon RISE, SET and H.P times by finding and downloading the appropriate software off the internet then adjusting to your own time zone.  To calculate the L.O transit time, add 12 hours and 20 minutes to the previous H.P time (this is approximate).

To optimise my chances, I aim to be fishing at least 90 minutes before a RISE or SET, and 2 hours before the H.P and L.O transit times. Big carp are most apt to be active at the start and end of feeding periods, or very close to the RISE, SET, or transit times.

One thing to watch for at the start and end of major and minor periods are changes in wind.  Wind will often pick up at RISE and SET or drop off completely at transit times. This wind often results in us feeling “positive” and is what could lie behind that “uncanny” feeling we sometimes get moments before we catch.  Other things to watch out for coinciding at key points are when you find yourself yawning, hearing dogs barking and other animal noises (fish are not the only creatures to be affected by the moon).  Even watching the birdlife on your local water at these times can give you a clue.

Summary

I am not claiming this is the “be all and end all” to improve your catch rates, it just adds another dimension to my carp fishing enjoyment.  To me, carp fishing is about trying to get everything as right as possible in order to get the best out of each session and having this information certainly doesn’t do any harm. Next month, I will share with you how I approach my short and long term fishing sessions whilst including this knowledge.

Duncan De Gruchy

Carp Fishing Tactics – 34 Videos Packed with Info

THE RAMBLINGS OF A CARP ANGLER, OR ARE THEY SALIENT POINTS? – PART 1

Barbless or Barbed, that is the Question.

Over the next few weeks I will be putting a few blogs together about a number of controversial issues around carp welfare and carp rigs. My first ramblings will be around the controversial use of Barbless hooks.

Throughout my carp fishing career I have come across a number of waters where the barbless hook rule was strictly enforced. For some reason I never felt confident in using barbless hooks, but once again this year I have been forced to use them due to fishery rules. 2013 has seen me testing a number of different waters for Angling Lines where the rule once again was in force over barbless hooks, which includes all the Bachelier waters such as Brie, Brocard Large andBrocard Small.

The Ultimate Barbless hook rig with 18mil HG All Seasons boilie

Now over the years I have been tampering with different hooks and hook links, but I always seem to go back to my old favourites, Kryston Merlin and the hook pattern which originated in the Ashima range, now produced as the Smart Point SP 315 barbless hooks and SP310 barbed hooks. The barbed version of these hooks are the same pattern that I used over 10 years ago in the Ashima range. This was introduced to me by Shaun Harrison when we fished together on the Mangrove. At that time I was fishing combi-rigs made up of Seaguar Fluorocarbon and 25lb Merlin. I have tweaked the rig a bit and now fish a straight through rig in 15lb Merlin made up with the Ultimate Barbless hook rig at the business end and a figure of eight knot on the other.

Results of barbless hook, no marks at all in the mouth.

I mentioned earlier about the lack of confidence in the barbless hook! Most anglers have the same feelings about the lack of a barb, and give reasons for not using them, such as, the hook slips, they causes mouth damage and you lose too many fish. Over the issue of mouth damage, if it is true, is this caused by anglers fearing the loss of a fish and putting excessive and unnecessary pressure on it, whilst playing it to the net? Surely, once a hook hold is gained, as long as gentle pressure is applied there should be no reason for the hook to slip, and if it does lose its hold, the chance is that the fish will swim off, lips and flesh still intact.

Perfect conditioned 32lb 14oz common from Brie

Rods could also be a cause to losing carp when the angler is using barbless hooks. Carp rods are getting longer and stiffer so that we can cast to the horizon. The rods that I use are 12 footers and behave perfectly when playing in a fish, however they aren’t that stiff that they can be classed as big casting rods. Although I do not, and never have owned bigger rods, I am sure that they must disadvantage the owners when playing in a fish with a barbless hook set up, as they are not as forgiving at the net as a more supple rod.

I have been using barbless hooks and caught and released numerous carp from both French waters and English waters, with no mouth damage at all. The only signs of the fish being hooked, was the small entry wound which appeared the size of a pin prick. They either spat the hook out into the net or the hook was removed from the carps mouth with ease. I have lost 3 carp in the past few months, but I put this down to them not feeding heavily. This incident was on Brocard small, and all 3 fish were lost one after the other. I shortened my hook link and the situation was rectified.

My choice of hook this summer

Now we look at barbed hooks. The barb on a hook is there to ensure that a hooked fish cannot escape until the hook is forcibly removed by the captor. Animal activists would have a field day if they saw the damage that can be caused due to the removal of a hook by an in-experienced angler. Even the best anglers can cause mouth damage, even if it is minimal. Even the micro-barbed hooks cause a bigger wound than the barbless hook. If the hook, having penetrated the soft flesh in the carps mouth, exits on the outer part of the mouth, it always has the chance of catching in the netting of the landing net. This is when you can have some real problems in un-hooking your capture. If this was a barbless hook the hook can be removed straight away from the netting, and out of the carp’s mouth with no injury to the fish.

The former barbed hook can cause more damage than is necessary. So why do we prefer barbed hooks? My answer to that is:- that it is not for carp welfare, as many would say, but to please the carp angler, who is frightened of losing the odd fish due to their failings in maintaining steady pressure on the carp during the retrieval process, or putting excessive pressure on it.

English forty pound common on the ‘Ultimate barbless hook rig’

Many anglers, even the most experienced maintain that the barbless hook causes excessive damage to carp. I have not found this, and I can only assume that they have been fishing waters where mostly in-experienced anglers are fishing. Also a lot of this is hearsay, not being witnessed themselves, but picked up by word of mouth from another. A lot of the waters that enforce the Barbless only rule, have enforced this rule out of necessity due to excessive weed or snags in the lake. It is irresponsible anglers fishing the weed beds, or too close too or in snags, that are causing the problems. Just imagine the state of the mouths if barbed hooks were used. There would be fish deaths through tethering rather than the odd lip torn.

Returning a 30+ mirror without a blemish

My conclusion… there are a lot of rules that have been put in place on many waters over the use of leaders, lead core and dropping leads. I am sure that most of these are in place because of poor angling and barbed hooks. If any fish is hooked and gets tethered in weed or a snag, or picks up a bait as the result of a crack off (line breakage on a cast), I am sure that it is far easier for that fish to dispose of a barbless hook than one with a barb in. I am sure that this debate will go on for years amongst carp anglers and the general fishing community, but at present it is down to the anglers choice and confidence in their angling ability.

Paul Cooper

Pat Gillett’s September Fishing Diary

Pat Gillett's monthly fishing diary installment, once again on the hunt for Barbel...

Friday 4th October 2013 – Upper Trent

Not much to say about this session really. The river was rising quickly (1.20m +) and with it came the inherent problem of loose weed (that really 'dogs' the Upper Trent) flowing downstream. This made fishing really difficult and I would say it would have been nigh on impossible if I hadn't have employed the back lead method. Anyway I endured six hours without so much as a tap on the rod tips, even though I tried many different varieties of bait before packing up at 11pm.

Tuesday 8th October 2013 – Upper Trent

Back to the new stretch (same as Friday) with the river having 'fined down' nicely. My only concern that we may have been a day late and that the barbel could have gorged themselves during the extra water of the previous few days. This is something that very often happens and has the year wears on, it becomes increasingly important to get the timing of your fishing sessions right.

How To Get The Best Out of a Swim

It was mid October when Jim Kelly and I visited Brocard Small lake. Small does not describe this lake correctly. It is around 29 acres, this being the  lesser acreage of two  lakes set in a huge forested area, with the larger being around 39 cares. There are approximately 350 carp in Brocard Small as with around 500 in Brocard Large.

Swims 1 to 4 are generously spaced on the small lake, with swims 5 to 12 on the large lake.

From swim 3 looking down the lake towards swim 4 on the dam

Our job was to test Brocard Small. On our arrival I plumbed and leaded various sections of this lake. I settled to fish swim 3. Jim jumped into swim 2 and by mid afternoon we were ready to cast a line.

Swim 3 is a large double swim. There is ample room to assemble all the fishing paraphernalia by the waters edge with a larger area at the back of the swim to erect 2 bivvies and umbrellas for your kitchen etc. What I am going to talk about is how I chose my selected baited area, what problems I encountered and how I overcome them to make my week into a successful one.

French Success for Nic Brown

Check out this short article on the Mainline Baits site to see how Impact Angling Media's Nic Brown got on at Golden Oak ...

http://www.mainline-baits.com/carp-fishing-news/French-Success-For-Nic-Brown-185.html

Angling Lines' Regular Catches World Record Albino Catfish

Regular customer Bernie Campbell has gone and broken the albino catfish world record...

The monster Albino Wels

Bernie has won a place in the record books after reeling in a huge 8ft long albino catfish in Spain. Fishing for the week with son Gary, Bernie caught the 206lb monster near Barcelona. It is believed to be a world record for an albino wels catfish, the previous record was a 196lb beast caught last year. After spending half an hour wrestling with the mammoth fish, he finally banked his prize at midnight on Thursday.

Here's what Bernie had to say;

“When you pick up the rod, you can reel in and it’s as if there’s nothing there until its about 40 yards from the bank – then it hits you. This one nearly pulled me in three or four times. You brace yourself and hope for the best. I’ve never caught an albino catfish and I was determined to get one this time. As it came in I saw it was an albino, then looked again and Gary said to me ‘it’s massive!’.”

Bernie and son Gary with the record breaking 206lb catfish

“I phoned my wife to tell her, she’s absolutely fantastic allowing me to come out and go fishing all the time. She thought I was winding her up until she saw the pictures. I’m absolutely over the moon. The world record could go tonight or it could go in 10 years. It does feel a bit unreal, but I’ve had so many messages congratulating me. It’s a great feeling.”

A huge well done from all of us at Angling Lines!

Glehias to Have New Lake Facilities on Floating Island

Glehias is getting an update. The plans have been drawn, the timber delivered and the hammers and saws poised to begin work on the Floating Island Cabin in readiness of the 2014 Season.

The bespoke hexagonal timber Cabin will float on the tranquil waters of our coarse and stock lake - Lake William, and is set adjacent to our specimen lake - Lake Lauren. The Cabin is to house the new on-site facilities - toilet, kitchenette/diner with seating that can convert to a sleeping area for two anglers (or four really close buddies, lol!)

Constructed in natural materials and accessed via a wooden pontoon bridge from Lagoon Walk, the Cabin will look right at home tucked-in amongst the Reeds of Stump Lagoon. The platform will be a generous 6 meters across, giving plenty of internal space for all the facilities and a comfortable decked walkway overlooking the lake and surrounding countryside.

Map of the Lake

We have been very busy working on the general maintenance of Lake William recently, clearing banks and walkways etc. in preparation of this project, and have rebuilt and enlarged the Island providing a great feature to fish to. A beautifully established lake, Lake William can be fished in seclusion to its sister lake, Lake Lauren.

The new Floating Cabin will come as part of the 2014 package, included with the two lakes and the Farmhouse. This will enable us to cater for larger parties which could include up to 6 people who would prefer not to sleep in a bivvy.  We are very excited about this ambitious new project and will be posting regular up-dates throughout the build. Watch this space! :)

Tracy & Lee
For more information on Glehias follow the link - French Carp Fishing

A Great End to the Season

Golden Oak Season ends in style with a 29 fish catch culminating in 'the Boss' at 59.8!

Nic with 'The Boss'

Impact Angling Media’s Nic Brown and Michelin starred Mid Summer Patron chef Daniel Clifford enjoyed a dream week at Golden Oak in Limoges, resulting in a 29 fish catch culminating in the boss at a very healthy 59.8lbs.

The week started brilliantly with Daniel netting a stunning 38lbs + Mirror within hours of casting out and things just got better from there with fish coming consistently throughout the week.

Nic and Dan arrived with a simple goal, to catch 10 fish each with a couple of 40’s amongst them, thankfully the boys exceeded that goal, and then some!

Dan broke his PB twice during the week, firstly with a stunning 42+ Mirror and then 12 hours later that PB was eclipsed again with another incredible 45+ Mirror, Dan went on to have a further 8 fish; all Dan’s fish were caught on Dynamite Baits new Red Ammo in various sizes.

Nic had a consistent week landing a total of 19 fish ranging from a scaly little Mirror of 19lbs all the way up to the king of the lake, the Boss at a breath-taking 59.8lbs!

Fishing the right hand side of the Gite swim toward the dam wall, Nic fished tight to the far margin snags and spread a combination of Mainline’s Cell and Activ 8 liberally all along the far bank.

Here's what Nic had to say about the lake - 'The fish are immaculate, and fight like horses. If i hadn't been lucky enough to catch the boss we would definitely be back. A right jewel in the angling lines portfolio that doesn't get half the recognition it deserves.'

Dan with his new PB at 45lb

For more information on Golden Oak follow the link - Fishing Holidays