24th November 2020 Warrington Anglers Association Guardian Notes

24th November 2020 Warrington Anglers Association Guardian Notes

On Saturday Mike Pritchard had an enjoyable session at Hough's Bridge aka the dead length despite the wads of floating leaves which didn't seem to put the fish off the feed. He started off on pinkie for a few small roach, then a change to bronze maggot brought more bites and bigger fish. He had been feeding a caster peg and spent the last hour catching some better stamp roach in the 6 to 8oz bracket. He ended up with around forty roach and half a dozen perch. There were a few pike striking around his peg. As Mike said, "Enjoyable."

 Tom O'Connell reports having a good session on Appleton Reservoir just over three weeks ago when he landed eight carp 18-4-0, 22-8-0,20-2-0, 21-7-0, 28-0-0, 18-8-0, 20-7-0, and 23-5-0.  At one point he was taking photos of a fish when his other rod went and his friend hardly complained when had to play it which was a good 20lbs plus. Tom even managed to foul hook one which was a just over 20lb, it must have been 'solid'. He caught all his fish about 80yards out over a kilo of mix particles using solid bags. He reckoned that he would have had more carp but for running out of solid bag mix but still it was a great session.

Eddie Bates reports catching pike of 11-8-0, 6-0-0, and on his last cast the biggest at 13-4-0. The fish were caught on smelt from the Bridgewater Canal in the Lymm area. I have spoken to a few members along the canal this week who are catching mainly small pike around 6lbs or so and perch either spinning or drop-shotting. They are all simply happy to still be able to go out fishing during these certainly unprecedented times.

Please Note High Legh fishery is now closed until further notice while ongoing remedial work continues. Thanks to the members who turned out for the working party last Saturday who removed a good number of self-seeded trees that had taken over with the result that their decomposing leaf-fall had almost wiped out the fishery. Loads of rotting leaves were scooped out of the margins.

WAA Headquarters at 52, Parker Street, Warrington WA1 1LT will obviously remain closed on Friday evenings until further notice. Members can simply post to this address or put their book or request in an envelope with their payment, a stamped addressed envelope, through our HQ door where mail is collected and dealt with most days. Alternatively, you can post to Warrington Anglers Association PO. Box 71, Warrington WA1 1LR where mail is collected weekly. If you need any further information please give me a call or email as below.

At this time of the year with less anglers out on the banks and sport slowing as we edge towards winter I really need your catch reports. They are all very much appreciated by fellow members. Email frank@warrington-anglers.org.uk or give me a ring on 01928 716238.

Frank Lythgoe

17th November 2020 Warrington Anglers Association Guardian Notes

17th November 2020 Warrington Anglers Association Guardian Notes

Thanks to a member who on Wednesday alerted myself and the Environment Agency on their 0800 807060 emergency number to seeing carp on the surface gasping for oxygen on our High Legh Fisheries. Also, the prompt response by the EA Fisheries staff and a heavy overnight downpour saved the fish stocks that were on the cusp of a complete wipe-out. The deoxygenation was caused by masses of rotting leaves from the heavily wooded area around the banks and both islands. Thanks also to the members who managed the aeration equipment on a 24hour basis over four nights and the small band of volunteers who also got busy tackling the problem by removing leaves from the margins and thinning out the mass of self-seeded trees. We buried nine carp initially followed by a further three fish that were found amongst the leaves on Sunday. The fishery is now closed until further notice while ongoing remedial work continues.

Friday saw our annual carp stocking top-up with five VS Fisheries bred fish being introduced to Grey Mist, Moore Quarry, Small Sandiway, and ten went into the 53acre Big Sandiway Lake. The fish averaged 22.7lbs and the biggest at each fishery saw the Mist with a 24-13-0, Moore 22-6-0 plus a fully scaled mirror at 20-10-0, Small Sandiway best was 24lbs, and finally Big Sandiway by sheer luck received the biggest at 25-4-0. All mirrors this year. Sorry we could not advertise to members as we do normally as Covid-19 restrictions put the kibosh on that.  

Kian Finn aged 15years enjoyed his session at Grey Mist on Saturday morning replacing his previous PB of 19-7-0 with a mirror carp of 22-6-0. The fish fell for a Mainline pink and white 14mm cell pop-up boilie soaked in bumble berry goo. Well done Kian.

Mike Dench fished Appleton Reservoir on Saturday where he targeted the quality roach that this fishery holds. Using ground-bait feeder tactics and double red maggot he went three hours without any sign of fish but then they switched on and it was a roach every cast. Evidently two members who fished pegs on the wall had even better roach sport.

We have been putting quite a number of old photos which are part of the history of Warrington Anglers Association on our Facebook page trying to identify the members in them. If any member can help it would be greatly appreciated. Many are what I rescued from a damp shed at the rear of the British Legion in St Austins Lane which we used as our headquarters for many years. Once a hoarder always a hoarder otherwise they would have been lost forever.

WAA Headquarters at 52, Parker Street, Warrington WA1 1LT will obviously remain closed on Friday evenings until further notice. Members can simply post to this address or put their book or request in an envelope with their payment, a stamped addressed envelope, through our HQ door where mail is collected and dealt with most days. Alternatively, you can post to Warrington Anglers Association PO. Box 71, Warrington WA1 1LR where mail is collected weekly. If you need any further information please give me a call or email as below.

I really need your catch reports coming in at this time of the year as sport slows. They are all very much appreciated by fellow members. Email frank@warrington-anglers.org.uk or give me a ring on 01928 716238.

Frank Lythgoe

10th November 2020 Warrington Anglers Association Guardian Notes

10th November 2020 Warrington Anglers Association Guardian Notes

Junior member Zack Royle fished Grey Mist last week with his dad Trevor. It was chilly but when his rod ripped into action the excitement and subsequent adrenalin flow soon warmed them both up. His dad was busy getting the scales ready whilst Zack played the fish for a good ten minutes before it lay in the net. It weighed in at 23-7-0 and a new PB for this keen young angler.

Committee member Mike Dench decided Sunday was the right time to try out his new toy, a Cadence Pole on the Bridgewater Canal. After a look at a couple of likely areas he decided on Grappenhall trees choosing a swim with the rhododendron bush on the far bank. In true matchman style he had brought maggots, pinkies, casters, bread punch, and hemp. Unlike another committee member (I won't mention his name) who arrived at another fishery only to find at his swim that his casters had fallen out of his bag onto his drive and although he had liquidised bread for feeding in his bag, he had left the vital slices of bread for punch hook-bait on his kitchen table. Needless to say, his day didn't go too well catch-wise unlike Mike's who started off on caster which brought a few roach but soon decided to change to bread punch. This brought a fish every put-in and although nothing of any size kept him busy.  The roach carried on feeding when he made another change to double pinkie then he hit something which eventually took everything including his elastic. He reckons it was a perch, certainly a quality fish which would easily shed his barbless hook. He ended up pleased with both his new toy and his days fishing having caught lots of roach, perch, and some rudd. 

Mike even witnessed and took a photo of Lukasz Witkowski's new PB Bridgewater Canal perch caught on the same stretch on a soft lure, it was just over 1.85lbs They are all in there, it's just catching them😊

Generally, quite a number of smaller perch and pike have been coming out all along both the Bridgewater and Trent & Mersey Canals, mainly taken on the innumerable lures that are on the market nowadays. So far not too many large pike have been reported but enough smaller ones to keep anglers interested. The clue is watch for where the silver fish are starting to shoal as the colour starts dropping out of the canal in some areas and the fish look for better cover from cormorants which now are everywhere.

Mike Kay made the most of his session on Ackers Pit, even more enjoyable with the absence of rain. He fished pole and bronze maggot at 9metres for eight roach and two carp of around 7/8lbs which stretched his elastic to absolute limits.

WAA Headquarters at 52, Parker Street, Warrington WA1 1LT will obviously remain closed on Friday evenings until further notice. Members can simply post to this address or put their book or request in an envelope with their payment, a stamped addressed envelope, through our HQ door where mail is collected and dealt with most days. Alternatively, you can post to Warrington Anglers Association PO. Box 71, Warrington WA1 1LR where mail is collected weekly. If you need any further information please give me a call or email as below.

I really need your catch reports coming in at this time of the year as sport slows. They are all very much appreciated by fellow members. Email frank@warrington-anglers.org.uk or give me a ring on 01928 716238.

Frank Lythgoe

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4th November 2020 Warrington Anglers Association Guardian Notes

4th November 2020 Warrington Anglers Association Guardian Notes

It was a rainy dismal day last Saturday at Ackers Pit but even whilst 'blanking' throughout the session it didn't dampen the spirits of Tommy Lawton aged 7 years. With his dad Wes they had gone through the motions without a single complaint from this keen young angler, albeit nothing to show for their efforts. Thankfully the well-known saying, 'everything comes to he who waits' came true on this occasion when as they started to pack-up for the day the youngsters red maggot offering was taken by one of the resident carp which he landed. I would like to bet his letter to Santa mentions fishing tackle😊

The muddy conditions around some of our fisheries haven't put members off with Rixton Claypits producing a decent catch at this time of the year for Graham Riley when he fished a groundbait feeder and double maggot for a final count of five bream around 2lbs plus and a very late in the season tench which he reckoned was around the 5lbs mark. This week Simon Oldfield enjoyed a session at Appleton Reservoir where he had twenty decent roach on double red maggot with a few on corn sorting out some better stamp fish.

The Sunday Mersey Match Series was fished this week on the Victoria Park stretch with again swollen and coloured river conditions which saw anglers struggling for bites. The match results eclipsed my last week's account of 'the lowest weights on the Mersey for some time' when the winner this week Karl Guy needed only 1-14-0 to take the winners envelope for the first time. He caught a few small skimmers and roach on feeder and maggot and was followed by Jimmy Byrne who drew an end peg with an all roach net of 1-12-0.

Our Disabled & Over 60's Monday match was fished by fifteen members this week on the Bridgewater Canal at Moore. George Barber aka 'The Breadman' was the winner with 3-2-0 of small roach taken on the pole at 11metres; I'm sure you can guess the bait😊. Ron Durr took second place also with an all roach catch for 2-8-0.

ANGLING TRUST NEWS

 04 November 2020

Fish safely, locally and respect the 'rule of two' during lockdown

Having now examined the government's new Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (England) (No. 4) Regulations the Angling Trust is pleased to be able to offer some initial guidance and interpretation to anglers and fishery providers. Our formal guidelines will be published following further consultation with colleagues at Sport England and DCMS once Parliament has debated the regulations today and passed them into law.

Overall, the Angling Trust is pleased that ministers have recognised the value of allowing angling and some other forms of outdoor recreation to continue through the forthcoming lockdown period. However, the new rules are more complicated than we had hoped and anglers should be fully aware of what we can and can't do in the next 28 days.

How to Fish

The regulations are clear and you can only leave home to fish with members of your own household, your support bubble or with one other individual. The Rule of Six is now effectively the Rule of Two for most of us. The tightening of the rules on 'gatherings' means that match fishing or any other organised fishing event is prohibited by law during lockdown. However, competitive fishing will be able to resume once there is a return to the three-tier system of restrictions.

On this basis we can announce that all Angling Trust competitions are suspended for the period covering 5^th November – 2^nd December 2020.

Where to Fish

Angling is deemed a permissible form of 'outdoor recreation', and a lawful reason to leave home. It can take place, without time limits, within the provision allowing people "to visit a public outdoor space for the purposes of open-air recreation".

A 'public outdoor space' is defined as an 'outdoor place to which the public have, or are permitted, access (whether on payment or otherwise).' We believe this clearly includes riverbanks, towpaths, beaches and stillwaters that can either be accessed freely or on the payment of a day ticket or subscription levied by the owner or leased to a publicly available fishing association. The government clearly intends for people to be able to take their outdoor exercise and recreation in the form of angling and these regulations allow this to occur.

Fisheries are not on the published list of businesses that the government has ordered to close and there is no reason that they should do so providing that they operate in accordance with the rules

It does not permit club outings or organised amateur sporting activities of any sort. All indoor or social facilities in any way connected with a fishing venue must close or refer to the relevant Government guidance. Fishing tackle shops, whether onsite or not, can only operate a 'click and collect' service.

Travelling to fish

Whilst the government have chosen not to write their travel guidance into law we are urging anglers to respect the advice which states that it is permissible to travel in order to:

"to spend time or exercise outdoors – this should be done locally wherever possible, but you can travel to do so if necessary (for example, to access an open space)"

Put simply, you can travel to go fishing but long journeys should be avoided 'wherever possible'. Sea anglers should focus on their local beaches and fishing marks and freshwater anglers should not be travelling hundreds of miles in search of fishing during lockdown. It is up to the individual to apply common sense and act within the spirit of the government's guidance. You absolutely cannot leave home to fish if you have Coronavirus symptoms or are self-isolating.

How long to fish

There are no limits on the time that can be spent on outdoor recreation which means that anglers are able to continue fishing into and through the hours of darkness providing the other rules are observed.

Fishery Management

Essential fishery management work, which clearly cannot be undertaken from home, can continue as can any necessary, socially distanced working parties fall within the provisions for 'voluntary work'. Appropriate risk assessments must be in place and numbers should sensibly managed.

Summary

This is going to be an extremely difficult period for everybody and as anglers we must recognise that we are fortunate that our chosen form of recreation can continue even though there are restrictions on what we can do. The Angling Trust made the case for fishing based on the health and wellbeing benefits that angling offers coupled with the importance of reducing pressure on other open spaces by allowing us to continue to safely enjoy the social isolation and peace that fishing brings. It is incumbent on us all to continue to act responsibly and to fish safely, fish locally and respect the Rule of Two.

WAA Headquarters at 52, Parker Street, Warrington WA1 1LT will obviously remain closed on Friday evenings until further notice. Members can simply post to this address or put their book or request in an envelope with their payment, a stamped addressed envelope, through our HQ door where mail is collected and dealt with most days. Alternatively, you can post to Warrington Anglers Association PO. Box 71, Warrington WA1 1LR where mail is collected weekly. If you need any further information please give me a call or email as below.

I really need your catch reports coming in at this time of the year as sport slows. They are all very much appreciated by fellow members. Email frank@warrington-anglers.org.uk or give me a ring on 01928 716238.

Frank Lythgoe

RESULTS:

Mersey Match Series:

1)      Karl Guy               1-14-0

2)      Jimmy Byrne       1-12-0

3)      Paul Fields           1-6-0

4)      Jim Gannon         1-3-0

Monday Disabled & Over 60's:

1)      George Barber    3-2-0

2)      Ron Durr              2-8-0

3)      Jimmy Byrne       2-6-0

4)      Ray Boden           1-13-0

COMING EVENTS:  

ALL MATCHES ARE CANCELLED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE UNDER COVID 19 RULE

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