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Wingham Fish-In Sat 18th to Mon 20th May 2013


Steve Burke

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I'm now taking bookings for the Wingham Fish-In on Saturday 18th May to Monday 20th May.

 

Wingham is a syndicate water that, apart from the annual AN Fish-In, is open to members only.

 

However, please note that the only way to book a place is to e-mail me VIA THE WINGHAM WEB SITE at http://www.anglersnet.co.uk/fisheries/wingham.htm, and NOT by leaving a message here or via PM. Please also leave your Forum name if you use an alias.

 

After the last few years fabulous catches on fish-ins (five 15lb+ bream to 16-06, loads of 8lb+ tench up to 10-04, plus lots of 3lb+ perch to 3-14) I should be booked solid very quickly.

 

As many of you will know there's a chance of breaking the bream record at Wingham. We had one of 17-14 in April 2004, and as this fish was at most only 11 summers old it had several years of growth ahead of it! It will now almost certainly be well over 20lbs. Since then Wingham has produced an even bigger (different) bream of 18-06, and more recently we’ve had an 18-04 and another 17-14.

 

Who can come? Anyone who's a Forum member and who’s made at least one post. However, although the venue is 40 acres, places will be limited. Those who missed out last year are guaranteed a place. If necessary priority will then be given to those who haven't been before. Non-fishing guests are welcome, but please don't wear bright clothing! I'll also give priority to those who can fish the entire period.

 

What's the cost to fish? Nothing! It's a thank you to Elton for hosting the Wingham web site, plus a chance to meet Forum members.

 

However please do put something in the bailiff's box in the clubhouse. They're unpaid volunteers and have worked their socks off getting everything ready, and will be working again all through the weekend - including running a taxi service at their own expense to take you and your gear to/from your swim. Without them the Fish-In simply wouldn't be taking place and you wouldn't be reading this!

 

Where is Wingham? On a nature reserve in the middle of nowhere near Canterbury, Kent. The loudest noise is normally birdsong! It’s about 1 hour from the Dartford Crossing on the M25, but detailed directions will be sent to those attending.

 

When is the venue open? It's a 3 day event with the fishery open from 7am Saturday to 7pm Monday. However, please don't arrive after 9pm.

 

Can I bivvy up and fish overnight? Yes. If you don't have a bivvy and bedchair etc we can almost certainly arrange the loan of these items, or anything else for that matter. You can also sleep in the clubhouse (just to the left of the main gate) that has a lounge, kitchen, bait room, shower room and toilets. Alternatively you can kip in the car park. Accommodation can also be booked nearby.

 

Lunchtime BBQs Every lunchtime there'll be a mega BBQ - with enough even for Budgie! Please do let us know though if you're vegetarian. The cost is £6.50 which must be booked and paid for in advance.

 

Which lake can I fish? Normally the Fish-In is on the Main (Coarse) Lake only, which is 40 acres and contains most species. However if we're full up I’ll allow some of you who are both Forum and Wingham Main Lake members to fish for either carp or eels on the 15 acre Carp Lake.

 

What restrictions are there? No keepnets, nuts or fishbaits. No lead core or similar leaders are permitted, but tubing is fine. Also no barbless hooks above size 10 are allowed on the Main Lake, the opposite to many commercials. In these larger sizes please use barbed, preferably micro-barbed hooks. 3 rods are permitted. Full rules will be sent nearer the time.

 

What about lure fishing? My syndicate members aren't allowed to lure fish and so I'm afraid it wouldn't be fair to allow lures on the Fish-In.

 

What tackle should I bring? The venue is very little fished and therefore the fish aren't tackle shy. With the very high average weights and sharp gravel bars a minimum of 6lb line and preferably stronger is recommended. Most members use 8lb line, with a lighter hooklength if necessary. Braid is definitely not recommended because of the bars. For ledgering most Wingham members use rods with a test curve around 1 1/2 to 1 3/4lbs.

 

I can't stress highly enough that if you're fishing after dark you should have heavy bobbins on at least a 24 inch drop (that's longer than it seems and much longer than carp bobbins). Otherwise you'll probably strike at line bites (that big bream are notorious for) and spook them. That'll then almost certainly have blown your chance of a record bream for the rest of the weekend!

 

If you have a short drop on your bobbins and line is taken off your reel you’ll also be getting up all night long to reset the bobbins every time you get a line bite! Believe me, you’ll never make the same mistake again!

 

You'll therefore need your rods up high, and so long bank sticks or storm poles are needed.

 

I have 5 pairs of long banksticks plus 4 suitable bobbins that can be borrowed. Other Wingham members can also help out, so just ask as we have plenty between us. There will be a separate topic on the Forum about borrowing/lending any item of tackle/camping gear.

 

What baits would you recommend? All common baits catch such as worm, maggots, corn and boilies, but remember the lake is very little fished and so unusual baits aren't likely to work so well as you can't pre-bait. Above all, do make sure you have worms, preferably lobs.

 

During the day I'd recommend that you hedge your bets by fishing worm, maggot or caster, perhaps in conjunction with corn, on all your rods as otherwise you could miss out on a 3lb+ perch. These are present in nearly every swim. Worms, especially lobs, have been better than maggots for the perch at Wingham, and worms are also very successful for the Wingham tench!

 

After dark eels will probably make the use of animal baits a problem, unless of course you like eels. The vast majority are between 1½ and 4lbs, but they’ve been caught up to 5-10 on the Carp Lake and 4-13 on the Main Lake despite almost no one targeting them.

 

I can order lobs or dendras for you if given advance notice (9.30 am on the Tuesday before the event at the very latest). The cost is only £7 per large tub (approx quarter kilo.) but must be paid for in advance.

 

What are the best tactics? The most important requirement is to keep quiet and still (no bright clothing!) as although the fish aren't tackle or bait shy they're very easily spooked due to the lack of fishing pressure. Normally if there's more than 4 anglers on the 40 acres it's busy!

 

The fish have definite patrol routes and they aren't likely to move off these routes. This is because of the huge amount of natural food. Wingham's the only water I know where your feeders come back covered not only with snails but snail's eggs! There shouldn’t be much if any heavy weed, but Gaffer reckons any weed you do retrieve will crawl back in! So the best advice I can give you is to thoroughly plumb the swim and in the vast majority fish the margins as most of these are on patrol routes. Bear in mind though that most of the swims are deep, typically with 8 to 12 feet at the bottom of the marginal shelf. So if you're float fishing I'd suggest a slider. If you’d like a shallow swim though do please ask.

 

Another reason for fishing at close range is that Wingham is a mass of bars, humps, plateaux etc., and so casting and feeding accurately is a must. If you're just a couple of yards astray you could be fishing in 12 inches of water instead of 12 feet!

 

In fact, nearly all the fish from the Coarse Lake, including many of the bream, have come in the margins.

 

They'll be a series of enhanced satellite photos on view in the clubhouse, and I'll also point out hotspots in each known swim for those who'd like this info. However, some of the swims have little form as they've been fished on only a handful of occasions!

 

Bear in mind that the bream are almost entirely nocturnal. The perch feed best in low light, especially from just before dawn (sunrise will be at approx 5am), whilst the tench can come at any time, but particularly in the mornings.

 

Any heavy baiting up is thus best done late afternoon/early evening to allow the swim to settle. This is especially so if you're spodding bait out. Not only might this spook your own fish, but your neighbours' also.

 

However I’d suggest you don’t bait heavily on the first day. This is because you may be putting it in the wrong place. If you catch you can then put some more bait on that spot.

 

<b>One of the best bits of advice comes from Anderoo. If you’re not catching when others are then recast. You may just be a couple of yards from the fish, and at Wingham this can make an absolutely massive difference!</b>

 

You'll also find more questions and answers from a previous year at http://www.anglersnet.co.uk/forums/Tips-Wi...ish-in+bookings

 

What can I expect to catch? Wingham is very unlike the artificially overstocked waters that many of you are used to. It's very much a big fish water, so although you're not likely to catch lots of fish you've every chance of specimens, especially tench and perch, not to mention record bream! Every year about half the guests catch personal bests, even if it’s just catching a bigger fish from Wingham! There are more details on the Wingham web site.

 

How do I book? By e-mailing me VIA THE WINGHAM WEB SITE at http://www.anglersnet.co.uk/fisheries/wingham.htm, and NOT by leaving a message here or via PM. Please also leave your Forum name if you use an alias.

 

Confirmation of booking You'll get a list of questions to confirm your booking. If you don't receive these within 48 hours please leave a message on this topic, although don’t worry as I may be staying over at the lakes as there’s a huge amount of preparation for the Fish-In. However booking a place doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll get one as I may be oversubscribed.

 

Swim allocation These questions will ask about your preferences, including the species you're after, any special requirements, and ask about BBQ and bait orders. Please do answer these questions in full as they'll also help me allocate you the kind of swim you'd like. Of course I can't guarantee every guest will get everything they want, but I normally get very close!

 

Talking of questions, you're welcome to ask them here as others may find the answers helpful.

 

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Wingham Specimen Coarse & Carp Syndicates www.winghamfisheries.co.uk Beautiful, peaceful, little fished gravel pit syndicates in Kent with very big fish. 2017 Forum Fish-In Sat May 6 to Mon May 8. Articles http://www.anglersnet.co.uk/steveburke.htm Index of all my articles on Angler's Net

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I think my wingham dreams may have been ruined by a broken car :( a horrible grinding noise and the engine management light on driving home from work last night. Hopefully its simple and I will get it sorted this weekend without having to spend loads!

http://www.basingengineering.co.uk/

 

Instagram: mrmjv88

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For those who've never seen Wingham or had a chance to fish it, you really should. I traveled over 4000 miles to get there the year I was able to attend. :fishing1:

" My choices in life were either to be a piano player in a whore house or a politician. And to tell the truth, there's hardly any difference!" - Harry Truman, 33rd US President

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As far as I am aware Newt you and Jan are the only people that have travelled further than me to fish at Wingham, mine journey last time being a paltry 650 miles. I was hoping to increase that this year to 750 miles having now moved further north, but the LPG system on my car has packed in and is costing me my entire wingham budget (and plenty more) to get repaired so not trip south for me this year :-(

 

For anyone a bit nervous of being out of their comfort zone, and scared of making a fool of themselves amongst the experts - don't be.

 

Sign up and experience one of the best venues in the UK, all the natives are very friendly and helpful, and even if you don't catch the wildlife is worth the trip.

Nick

 

 

...life

what's it all about...?

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Bookings are now closed.

 

I'm pleased to say we're oversubscribed by one, but I'll be able to fit you all in.

 

If you haven't sent your questionnaire back please help by doing so asap as there's still masses of work for us to do round the lakes because of the late spring.

Wingham Specimen Coarse & Carp Syndicates www.winghamfisheries.co.uk Beautiful, peaceful, little fished gravel pit syndicates in Kent with very big fish. 2017 Forum Fish-In Sat May 6 to Mon May 8. Articles http://www.anglersnet.co.uk/steveburke.htm Index of all my articles on Angler's Net

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I didn't apply this year as unfortunately I've got a family event to attend that weekend that no amount of begging and pleading is getting me out of. :cry:

 

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend, it's definitely worth going. If I'm back in time on Sunday I might pop down and see how everyone's doing. Assuming that's alright with yourself Steve ?

Ian

 

"If at first you don't succeed, then skydiving isn't for you"

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