2 | 9 JULY anglersmail.com
FISH OF THE
Anglers
TIP OF
THE WEEK
THE Richworth Fish Of The
Week competition rewards a
main winner with a fantastic
£100 box of Richworth iconic
bait – the brilliant Megaplex.
Our overall yearly winner will
receive a huge £1,000 haul of
Richworth bait and a big annual
trophy.
Mail columnist Ollie Johnson
reckons now is the time to
catch some ‘kerb-crawlers’.
Ollie said: “With commercial
carp really on the feed now,
fi shing groundbait in themargins with a matching paste
hook bait can result in multiple
bites.
“Fish can often be seen
clouding the water in shallow
venues, as they disturb the
bottom looking for bait, and at
this time bags of fi sh can be
put together.”
Check out the full baits range at: http://www.richworth.comContact the Mail 01252 555051 (to report news) 0330 333 1113 (subscription enquiries).
Whiley old Kim’s
amazing eel
S
PECIMEN ace Kim
Whiley had been having a
wonderful season, and it got
even better when he landed this
8 lb 2 oz PB eel.
The 64-year-old all-rounder,
who has already caught tench
to doubles, a PB bream of 15 lb
14 oz and carp to 30 lb 3 oz this
year, tempted the awesome
eel on legered worm in a Lea
Valley pit.
Cheshunt, Hertfordshire-
based Kim said: “The fi shing
had been going better than I
could have imagined, but the
one species that I had been
hoping would make a guest
appearance had alluded me.
“Just the day before, I’d been
discussing this with friends,
knowing that the water had
done a couple of 6 lb eels some
years in the past, and they were
incredibly rare captures.
“Having done some serious
eel fi shing in the past, I knew as
soon as I hooked this fi sh that it
was a big one. Fighting as hard
as it was, my mind was racing
with the thought of just how big
it could be?
“In the beam of my headlight
I could not believe the size of
this amazing creature, and
knew I would have trouble
getting it in my 36-in. net, which
seemed incredibly small.
“I could see the size 12 hook
in her lip, and after several
nerve-wracking attempts, she
was safely landed.
“What struck me was the
incredible girth of this eel, and
knowing that it would obliterate
my previous PB of 6 lb 8 oz, I
weighed her straight away.
“After a second weighing
to double check, I settled on a
mindblowing 8 lb 4 oz.
“I was stunned, to say the
least, and even though it was
the middle of the night, I rang
my good friend Ade Sproga,
waking his wife Zoe in the
process, but I knew he’d want to
see this fi sh.
“Upon his arrival, we set
about the not-so-simple task of
measuring her at 45-in. length
and 10.75-in. girth.
“I’ve been fortunate to have
caught pike to 35 lb, chub to
8 lb 11 oz, roach and rudd to
3 lb and many others, but this
eel tops the lot.
“Seeing her weave her way
gracefully through the willow
roots upon her release will
remain with me forever.”■ ALEX CHALMERS-WILKES
enjoyed a memorable afternoon
session when he bagged this PB 2
lb 8 oz 8 dr roach in a great catch.
The 36-year-old fi sh merchantfrom Lowestoft, in Suffolk, added
a PB 20 lb 4 oz carp and another
of 17 lb 8 oz, and a 5 lb 8 oz tench,
on legered Urban Bait Nutcracker
boilies to the reeds.EEL – 8 lb 2 oz
74.1% of British recordROACH –
2 lb
8 oz 8 dr
59.5% of
British record£100 BAIT WINNER