New record bream and big bags of autumn tench at Wingham

[Anderoo]

Thanks Steve Fantastic fish. It would be interesting to know how they were caught (bait, tactics) if you're able to share that info?

 

Plus time of capture as the 17 looks like a rare daytime bream unless it was sacked?

Edited December 15, 2014 by Anderoo

[Steve Burke]

I'll see if I can find out, Andrew.

 

In the meantime here's a pic of carp angler, Dave Forward, with the17-08 bream. This was caught late afternoon.

 

 

Dave's also done well with the tench this autumn. He had 11 on an overnighter, including a brace of 9lbers, even though he was trying to avoid them by using huge baits on a size 4!

Edited December 15, 2014 by Steve Burke

[Steve Burke]

I've just been asked why I think the tench fishing at Wingham has been so good this autumn, with bigger bags than in the spring.

 

Firstly, the barley straw has done its job and we've had almost no algal blooms. These create wild swings in dissolved oxygen that, at best, seem to put the fish off the feed, at worse can cause fish kills. Hopefully this'll mean the tench and other fish will grow even faster.

 

Secondly, in the past very few fished in the autumn. The last two years I've allowed carp fishing from mid-July and so there's been a few more fishing, around 4 anglers per day.

 

On the early ticket (mid-March to mid-July) an average of less than 1 tench angler per day fished! Couple this with the odd carp angler who's been lucky enough to get an early ticket, plus staff, the total was about 2 per day. This is about half the number of anglers in previous years.

 

I need about 4 per day to get sufficient fishery management data. So next spring I'm going to increase the numbers by about 50% from 45 to the 65 I already have later in the year. Given that new members tend to fish about twice as much as existing ones, that should hopefully put me up to the 4 per day I need on the 40 acres.

 

Then we'll get a truer comparison between spring and autumn.

Edited December 15, 2014 by Steve Burke

[Anderoo]

I'm pretty certain that the 18.07 is the same one as the 18.02 in 2012, both 17.14 and 17.06 in 2011, and the 17.03 in 2010.

 

The 17.08 is probably the same fish but I can't be sure from those pics. It has a very distinctive rounded upper tail lobe which makes it very easy to identify. (It doesn't show that well in the pic of the 18.07 but the scales in that pic make it easier to identify with other pictures.)

 

So still growing...!

[Steve Burke]

Many thanks indeed, Andrew!

 

Any thoughts on the 17-08?

[Anderoo]

No probs Steve, as above I think the 17.08 could well be the same fish, it's the first pic I've ever seen if it in daylight though so it looks different! But the rounded tail is the giveaway.

 

If it's not that one again, it looks a lot like the one with black, 'blistered' scales that was caught a couple of times at 14.06 a few years ago (2010, 2011). If it's that one, it's had a big spurt!

 

Or it could be a new one.

Edited December 16, 2014 by Anderoo

[Anderoo]

Looking at the pic of the 17.08 compared to several photos of the 18.07 over the years, I'm pretty sure it's the same one (looks much darker in daylight!).

[Steve Burke]

Cheers, Andrew.

[terry t shirt]

The 17-8 looks like the one i caught at 16-10 in 2012 my photo's werent that clear though

[Steve Burke]

What month did you catch that, Terry?