July 2023

There is lot's for us to report this month, with anglers across all disciplines getting amongst the fish. Enjoy our July 2023 catch report below.

We had a fantastic Weekend at our stall at The Game Fair. It was great to see lot's of people visit us to grab some fantastic deals. We also had some familiar faces pop by and say hello, including River Monsters TV star Jeremy Wade, along with Comedian and avid fly angler Paul Whitehouse. Countryfile's Adam Hensol also paid us a visit to do some rod shopping with his son Alfie. Fishing consultant John Bailey was also in attendance.

Make sure you keep your diary free for next years Game Fair!

If you read our June catch report then you will have seen one of our regular clients Luke Gater was exploring the Amazon jungle through Bolivia, chasing predators on the fly. During his second week, Luke caught some more fantastic species such as the Pacu, also known as the “jungle permit”. These super strong predators gave Luke some epic battles, stripping line on numerous occasions with the drag locked up.

Despite some fantastic sport with the Pacu and golden Dorado's, it was Luke's personal best fish on the fly that really topped off the trip. The Maturo Catfish, estimated at 120lb was an epic battle on a 9 weight rod giving Luke over half an hour of arm aching runs!

With the conditions in the favour of the anglers, our rivers produced some stunning fish throughout July. Staff member & Fishing in Wales star Ceri Thomas has been on fire recently. This 19 inch monster was an absolute result on a remote upland tributary.

Ceri said I'll never forget the insane fight this fish put up, my 8ft Greys Lance rod bent almost double for what seemed like an age.

Clywedog Trout fishery has been fishing really well recently. Welsh youth team member Finley Partington caught and released this cracking rainbow on the 23rd, estimated 10 - 12lb.

In Fishing in Wales' most recent video,  Ceri Thomas demonstrates how to fish for brown trout in unfavourable conditions, using lure fishing tactics. The lakes of Rhosrhydd and Glandwgan on the Aberystwyth Angling Association club water in Ceredigion are Ceri's favourite waters for targeting brownies from the bank. 

Carp & Coarse Fishing

As always, there is lot's to report from the carping world, with too many catch reports to chose from. South Wales based angler James Honey has been fine form on his local syndicate, catching some stunning fish in recent sessions. With this fine Scaley mirror on the bank, here's what he had to say: 

“Done a night in the middle of the lake with no joy I woke up at half 5 to notice they've moved on to the wind so a quick pack down and move down the lake onto the wind, set up put my rods on my usual spot and it didn't take long and the rod screamed off resulting in this scaley banger".

At their most active during the warm summer months, it is around this time of year that the Grass carp start to feed. Kurt Jennings absolutely nailed this stunning grassy on a Gardner Mugga hook bought from our website, weighing 25lb 9oz.

For most carp anglers around the UK bream are seen as a pest, however Harry Morgan could not deny that there is always an exception! Harry has spent lot's of time fishing Roath Park lake in recent years, landing some of the waters biggest and most sort after Carp. A relatively shallow lake with a large covering of weed, Roath Park is a challenging water with a small head of Carp & Pike, but also a handful of bream. 

After baiting a spot for 3 days, ‘Hazza’ was disappointed to only be rewarded with a bream, but when the fish eventually found the net his mind changed. Weighing 15lb 8oz of pure slime, this bream is possibly the biggest in Wales. 

A predator that is targeted less frequently across the UK is the Zander. A species that was introduced to Britain in the 1960's, Zander tend be found in the UK's larger river Systems and still waters. With a lack of Zander fishing available in Wales, many anglers make the trip over the Severn bridge in search of these illusive predators. 

For experience all round angler Rhian Bomber it was her first time targeting Zander and boy was she rewarded for her efforts! After visiting our Cardiff store to collect some tackle and a chat, Rhian & her partner Dave headed over the bridge to put in some hours on the bank. 

With some much needed rain, the rivers produced some fantastic sessions for anglers who opted for either the stick float or feeder/ledger approach. Instead of fishing his local Syndicate lake, Blake James and his father Wayne were treated to a weekend on the River Wye with Korum backed angler Kevin Clarke. 

Whether they were trotting with a stick float or feeder fishing, the duo ticked off a load of species from their target list including barbel, chub, grayling dace and grayling. 

The River Taff has also produced some quality fish as of late for coarse and fly anglers. Garry Evans staff member Ryan Healey is an expert when it comes to River fishing, particulary on his local stretches on the lower Taff. One of our local customers Tom has been struggling to catch consistently, so he called on Ryan for some hints and tips. After just a couple of hours on the river with Ryan,  Tom soon got to grips with the stick float method. With his confidence growing with every cast, Tom caught plenty of grayling, chub and brown trout in what turned out to be a lovely evening's fishing. 

Sea Fishing

The Smooth hound fishing was prolific throughout July, with anglers enjoying some action packed session all around the British Coast. Some of the best fishing came from the Bristol Channel with The East Region Shore league recording over 500 Hounds being caught between 74 anglers! The majority of fish have been caught over rough ground marks such as Llantwit Major and Aberthaw (South Wales) whilst using rotten bottom set ups and crab baits.

It has also been noticeable the amount of double figure fish that have been caught,like the ones pictured below. Whilst using a scratching rig on Cardiff Foreshore Andrew Davies landed two mega hounds on our dug rag worm, weighing 13lb and 16lb  5oz. The Foreshore is not a mark that is known for it's smooth hound fishing, so it's great to see them pushing further up the Channel.

Our staff members have also been out chasing the Hounds in the last few weeks. Rich & Lloyd have been trying out some different circle hooks such as the TronixPro Mutsu Light, the Mustad Demon Circle and the Sakuma 445 Circle. Rich (Left) headed down to Bury Port, also known as North Channel in search of a Tope off the Beach. Although the Tope didn't play ball, the Smoothounds kept him busy from the first cast. Lloyd (Right) on the other hand stayed local, opting for a session at Witches Point. The weed and South Westerly winds made the conditions difficult, but this Hound couldn't resist a devon Peeler crab.

Barry Dock is known for producing some fantastic fishing, but the catch reports throughout July were mega. Using both bait and lure fishing methods, there were reports of numerous Bass being caught over double figures. TronixPro brand ambassadeur and Garry Evans customer Mario Asprou had this stunning bass in the picture below, tipping the scales at bang on 10lb.

The Rays have also been showing in big numbers for those that have been targeting them. Sakuma Fishing Representative Steve Tucker had a fantastic session on a Swansea Beach, here's what he had to say:

"Few fish from the other day using Sakuma hooks. Standard pennel rigs incorporating 3/0 Manta Extra's & 2/0 Pennel Manta Extra's. I also used the 560 Stingers in a 1/0 and 440 Circle's in 3/0 & 1/0 on "dongle" rigs. Baits used were combinations of Sand Eel & Squid and Crab & Squid."

Lure Fishing & Spinning

Down on the South Coast of England, one of our mail order Clients John Davies has been enjoying some fantastic sport on his new lure set up, which he purchased through our mail order department. Equipped with his MajorCraft Triple Cross & Penn Spinfisher VI Spin loaded with 8 strand braid, John has been catching plenty of fish on both soft plastic lures and jigs, however it was his favourite top water lure that enticed his new Personal Best at 62cm long, pictured below.

It's not just the shore anglers that have been enjoying plenty of action on  the bass, but the boats are too. The Ebony May, skippered by Rob Rennie is an experienced charted boat that heads out from Saundersfoot, Pembrokeshire. Garry Evans employee Bob Gilbert is a regular customer on the Ebony May. however he believes that the month of July produced some of the most action packed sessions he has had in all his years of angling!

Since moving back to Australia at the start of 2023, our former employee Jake Jones has been really enjoying a variety of fishing. Recently, Jake has been putting some time into his Squid jigging. On the light set up these alien like creatures can make it feel like you have hooked the bottom at times, but it's nothing that the Penn Fierce reels loaded with Berkley 8 strand braid can't handle.

Cardiff Bay is renowned for being home to a variety of species from carp and bream to Perch, pike and even Sea Bass! Although the access for fishing is restricted to only a small area of the banks, the fishing can be extremely rewarding with fish that can be targeted all year round. 

Recently, the Perch fishing has been fantastic in the Bay. This stripey beast took  liking to a micro fry soft plastic which was set up on a drop shot set up. Steve Harrington, smashed his Personal best with this one going 4lb 5oz.

We hope you enjoyed reading this months review, for a chance to be featured in next months catch report, feel free to send in your catch reports with a brief description to our email or in the comments section for this blog. Make sure to keep yourself up to date on our social media platforms for daily content.

For tips and advice, feel free to get in touch and we will be more than happy to help!