This months report includes a range of catch reports thats spans over a wide range of venues and species. We also have some interesting tactics,tips and tackle advice included throughout.
On the second weekend of September we attended the Welsh Game Fair at the Vaynol Estate in Bangor, North Wales. The Garry Evans stand was at the heart of the Fishing Village, where we displayed a variety of our products across different price ranges across a handful of fishing disciplines. We also had some fantastic deals on offer which many of our customers across the weekend took advantage of! For fishing enthusiasts there was plenty to get involved with over the weekend, such as fly casting competitions and demonstrations from legendary welsh fly fisherman Hwyel Morgan. We look forward to seeing even more people at the next show!
With the trout season drawing to a close, anglers have been out in force to make the most of their last sessions on the river. Welsh international Kyle Cheshire has been making the most of the short windows of oppurtunity he has had. He said the river was “pushing a fair bit so wading was hairy but nice bit of clairty in the water. Pitched my nymphs into a slack behind a fallen tree and my line instantly dropped. He added that his ”first instinct was that i'd caught a submerged branch so I slowly lift the rod and this stunner erupted out of the water. "
Ceri of our fly shop fished in Orkney for a week in mid September, here's what he had to say:
‘’What a place it is! I had a fantastic time with great company, in the form of good mates Alan Parfitt and Vaughan Thomas. Orkney is as wild and remote a location as I’ve ever been too, changeable weather and brutal conditions at times, but the thrill and challenge of sea trout fishing in the ocean is simply unique. For their size the hardest fighting fish I’ve come across. In 6 days fishing I landed 10 sea trout and a good number of pollack on the fly, and also good action spinning. As well as in the sea around the isle of Hoy, we sampled the freshwater lochs of Heldale, Harray, Kirbister and Sandy, plus the Rackwick burn, catching lots of wild brown trout as well. A trip to remember!''
Ceri used the Airflo Airlite V2 9'6 #7 fly rod, Airflo Ridge 2.0 Power taperWF7F and a Hardy Ultradisc cassette 6000 reel as his fly fishing set up for the sea trout.
Luke Gater is another angler that has enjoyed a superb season on the rivers, landing some memorable fish along the way, just like this immaculate brownie which weighed in at over 4lb. After lots of wading, Luke spotted this unit in a deep pool through his Fortis polaroids before landing his fly just on top of the fish, an offer this brownie couldn't resist!
The ebbw river based in South Wales has fished really well this season. Enjoy the video below where stacks of brown trout were rising with the river in perfect condition.
Carp & Coarse Fishing
The catch reports we have received from our Carp anglers throughout September have been unbelievable, especially from around South Wales. The anglers who have been willing to put in the hours are certainly reaping the rewards at the moment.
The Wharf fishery is a regular feature in our catch reports and this month is no different. Callum James and Harry Morgan are experienced anglers on this water, often fishing together during their sessions. However, it wasn't until one of their most recent sessions until they were able to enjoy the excitement of a double hook up. ‘Hazza’ landed his on a slip D rig with a sticky Baits tough one and mesh bag of matching boilies, whilst Callum caught on a zig rig. Both anglers were using their trusty Gardner mugga hooks as usual!
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Alongside the Wharf fishery, The Birch Syndicate is up there when it comes to the best Carp waters in Wales. The 12 acre lake located in Peterstone is known for being the home for well known bait company Pro Baits UK, which is sold in our stores due to it's popularity across South Wales based waters in particular.
9 year old Blake James has grown up fishing the Birch and has become a very skilled angler for his age with the help of his father Wayne. Blake's last session was certainly a red letter day, landing 12 fish including a new Personal best common weighing 31lb 6oz. Blake “baited a spot with Probaits squid & orange boilies, fished over the top with Probaits squid & orange with crustaceans wafters.”
Despite the weather conditions, you will usually see Blake with a beaming smile on his face, it could be to do with the amount of fish he is catching!
Some of our clients have also been heading over to the other side of the Channel to fish some of the best waters that France has to offer. Rhys Sullock is no stranger when it comes to catching specimen carp and barbel. Catching carp in excess of 40lb in his last trip to France, Rhys decided it was time to give himself a new challenge, a French river carp! After a tough few nights to start the trip, Rhys started to get to grips with the challenges of the River Lot.
After losing 2 good fish, Rhys stuck with his spots and continued to keep the feed going in until he finally got his reward, 43lb of prisitne river common. A special fish from a special river.
Professional footballer has been on the rivers putting his new Vision Scout zip waders to good use, which he purchased from us recently. Callum managed to land his new PB Chub whilst fishing with well known guide James Stokoe.
Carl Golding is an excellent all-round angler, with decades of experience whether that be catching specimen roach or bluefin Tuna. Recently, Carl's target has been a good sized freshwater eel. After hearing reports of big eels caught by carp anglers from a southern gravel pit, Carl headed down to investiagte and was rewarded with this 6lb 10oz beast.
As a result Carl won the Drennan weekly cup and this is what he had to say:
“He was fishing with Terry Theobald and the pair used feeder tactics, introducing chopped worms and maggots and fishing a bunch of dendrobaenas on the hook. Bites came quickly from smaller fish, before Carl had a take that saw his rod buckle over. It was clear he was into a special fish, and at 6lb 10oz, it was just that. All the action came during a day session, too, and both anglers are looking forward to returning and finding out what the night might bring.”
Ryan Healey has been enjoying his river fishing as usual, with barbel being the target during most sessions. With a bit of height and colour in the river thanks to some much needed rain, Ryan has had some fantastic sessions on his club stretches. He has mainly been fishing feeders with pre drilled hookbaits, Spicy sausage or marine halibut being popular choices. Although Ryan hasn't found any double figure barbel as of late, the smaller fish as pictured below have put up some fantastic scraps when they get out into the main flow of the river.
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Sea Fishing
The Ray fishing has been fantastic in recent weeks, with plenty of anglers getting amongst the fish all around the country. Our young employee Ben Beal had a short but productive session last week, landing 2 blonde rays in the space of 2 hours.
Steve Tucker took the trip down to Chesil beach for an action packed multi species session. Before the weather turned, Mr Tucker was rewarded with some good Plaice fishing from the Western end and some mixed fishing from the eastern end. With the majority of baits being rag or lug worm, the Sakuma 550 Phantom hooks were ideal for the job, allowing for perfect bait presentation whilst keeping the hook point exposed.
This year marked the 10th anniversary of Garry Evans sponsorship for the South Wales Sea anglers Open. Fished at Cardiff Foreshore every year, the Open draws in alot of anglers often touching 100 particapents with big points up for grabs in the Garry Evans Seamaster league.
This years competiton proved to be difficult, with 21 anglers weighing in. Chairman Rob Cole said “Most of the larger size fish was caught on the ebb but there was a constant flow of small straps and silver eels through out the day and a nice bass . ” First was won with a conger eel weighing 6.69kg, with 2nd and 3rd place both catching nice Thornback Rays. As Always, there was alot money to be won as well as a fantastic selection of Prizes. Sakuma also did a fantastic job in supporting the competition.
The Knap beach in Barry is one of South Wales' most popular venues due to it's easy access and the chance to catch a range of species. Andrew Davies has had some fantastic fish from ‘the pebbles’ over the years, such as blonde rays, smooth hounds and big congers. With the poor weather conditions settling in, Andy chose the Knap to escape the winds, sitting on some big fish baits in the hope of a big fish or two. He was rewarded with this 10lb Conger eel for his efforts, caught on one of our whole Joey mackerel.
Spinning & Lure fishing
After 9 cancelled sessions, our store manager Richard was delighted to finally get out on the Kayaks with Joe Shaw from Catch & Cook, based in Pembrokeshire. Accompanied by good friends Rhian and Dave, the trio had a pleasant day out on the water thanks to Joe's expert guidance, catching a number of species such as bass, pollack, mackerel and some nice sized wrasse. The majority if fish fell to soft plastic lures, especially in white/pearl or khaki patterns. Most of the marks are fairly deep, which means that lures above 25g will allow you to cover more water.
Just to top off the session it ended with a BBQ, which consisted of fresh fish that had been caught during the day.
When the water has been more settled between the bad weather spells, the lure fishing for Bass has been productive around South Wales too. Our store manager Rich headed down to one of his favourite marks with his friend Eugene to see if the bass would play ball. Although the fishing was slow, both guys managed to land fish. Set up with a HTO Nebula 9' and Penn Spinfisher VI 4500 , Eugene had two in size bass on a Westin Salty 22g.
Following on from Ceri's fly fishing success in the Orkney's earlier in the blog, he also had plenty of success on the lures. 9' rods and 4000 size reels loaded with braid made for the ideal outfit, capable of sending lures out a good distance and also handling some hard fighting fish. Metal lures such as the Westin Salty's, F360'S or Savage Gear ISP Seekers worked a treat, enticing fish as they make their way through the surf!
Barry Dock has got quite the reputation for pulling out double figure bass, but there are numerous small species that are thriving in the Dock too. Paul Edwards has got his ultra light lure outfit down to a fine art. Using a selection of micro jigs and small soft plastics, Paul has been enjoying some great sport with species such as schoolie bass, pollack, smelt and gobies, often using jig heads a light as 0.5g.
The Pike season is almost upon us, so make sure you send us in your Pike reports throughout October to be featured in our next blog!