Sunday, November 13, 2011

Rudyard Fish-in Sunday 10th December.


Our final member's fish-in of 2011 was well attended and quite a number of pike were caught. The best fish of the day fell to Scott Hardie. Well done Scott.

December Meeting

We have a special guest speaker for our December meeting; when Geoff Parkinson will be telling us about his zander fishing exploits in Holland. For those who don't know him, Geoff is a real PAC stalwart, having served twice on the national committee, and been a regular visitor to PAC regions for many years - giving talks on his extensive and varied experiences as a predator angler. Geoff is coming a long way to be with us on Monday 5th December. Please make every effort to be with us on that evening.

I have really missed attending our meetings so far this season and am determined that my workload with Northwich AA will not cause me to miss any more. I am looking forward to catching up with you all on December 5th. In the meantime don't forget to send in any material you might have for the blog. Our numbers in the Cheshire Region seem to be dwindling at present and we need to make a greater effort to try and bring more pike anglers into our ranks. So, how about we all try and bring a friend on December 5th ?

Mark.

Saturday, August 13, 2011

Coaching events

There are a couple of coaching events coming up, which I am running on behalf of Northwich Anglers Association. The first is on making rigs and traces for predator fishing and the second is on lure fishing for pike and perch (please see list of events for 2011/12 season for more details).

If you would like to attend either session it is vital that you book with me in advance as I need to know how may people to cater for.

E-mail me at m.leathwood@sky.com

Later on, in October, we are planning to run a 'Pike Fishing for Beginners' event, possibly at a venue in the Crewe area. I will confirm details as soon as I am able.

Online Baits

Check out the new link to Online Baits. I ordered some small roach deadbaits for my eel fishing and have to say that the quality and the prices are fantastic. Real value for money and highly recommended.

Sunday, July 31, 2011

Summer predator campaign update



Joe Leathwood puts his dad to shame with this fit 12 lb. pike, which put up a real scrap after snaffling a couple of lobworms on a single hook (don't let Joe try and convince you he was pike fishing at the time !!!).

Lobworms are still picking up some nice bonus fish, and you'll never hear me complain about catching perch. However, the eel fishing is still slow with Paul and I catching just a handful of fish since the last update ... and it's not as if we aren't putting the effort in.

In the meantime I have caught my first bream on a deadbait ! No, I'm not kidding. It weighed 4 lb. 2 oz. and was nicely hooked in the mouth. It took a roach head section fished on a size 10 hook to a 20 lb. wire trace. In fact, Paul and I are catching quite a few bream and wire traces don't seem to put them off in the slightest !

Is anyone else catching ?

PAC Convention 2011





Please click on the image to see larger version.

Sunday, May 8, 2011

Dates for your diary (2011/12 season)

Our meetings for 2011/2012 will again be held at Owley Wood Club, Weaverham, on the first Monday of the month, and commencing at 7.30pm. These are the dates for your diary:

Friday 29th August 2011 - Rigs & Traces for Predators (coaching session 7.00pm - 9.00pm at Northwich AA headquarters).

Friday 2nd September 2011 - Lure fishing for Pike & Perch (coaching session 7.00pm. - 9.00pm, River Weaver, Northwich).

Monday 5th September 2011 - guest speaker Ian Emmess

Saturday 17th September 2011 - 'North West Piking' hosted by R.A.31.

Saturday 1st October 2011 - PAC Convention, Kettering.

Monday 3rd October 2011 - meeting at Owley wood Club.

Monday 7th November 2011 - Quiz night hosted by Paul Ikin.

Monday 5th December 2011 - guest speaker Geoff Parkinson - zander fishing in Holland.

Monday 9th January 2012 - guest speaker Barry McConnell - zander.

Monday 6th February 2012 - Meeting at Owley Wood Club.

Sunday 19th February 2012 - Fish-in, River Weaver, Northwich.

Sunday 18th March 2012 - Fish-in, Big Billinge, Northwich.

Monday 5th March 2012 - guest speaker Pete Haywood.

Monday 2nd April 2012 - Meeting at Owley Wood Club.

Monday 7th May 2012 - AGM / social night.

Please continue to check for updates.

Summer predator campaign underway


I have now put my pike rods away until the autumn and will be concentrating on fishing for eels during the months ahead. So far Paul Ikin and I have caught a handful of fish between us; the best one of 3 lbs. 9 oz. falling to ledgered lobworms. We're hoping for something much bigger but it's not easy fishing !

North West Piking - Sat. 17th. September, 3.00 pm - 8.00 pm.

Our near neighbours at R.A.31 (South Lancs.) are staging a 'mini PAC convention' on September 17th. Attractions include:

Piking Panel - various.
Lure making demonstration - Mark Berrisford.
Angling Coaching - Eric Edwards
Lure Clinic - Dave Kelbrick
Tackle Stands - to be confirmed.
Boat Demonstration - to be confirmed
Other Predator Groups - to be confirmed.

The venue is the ist floor function room at 'The Caledonian' Public House, 154, Bolton Road, Ashton-in-Makerfield, Wigan, WN4 8PF.

Cost of admission to be announced.

Talk by Bruno Broughton

Monday 9th May is our final meeting of the 2010/11 season and we look forward to welcoming Bruno Broughton as our guest speaker.

Bruno is possibly the country's most eminent fisheries scientist and is also PAC's scientific adviser. A real mine of information, Bruno will be willing to take any questions members may have in relation to pike, pike fishing, or indeed, fishery management. This is a fantastic opportunity to gain a new insight into the way that fish behave and I would encourage everyone to come along.

The venue, as usual, is Owley wood Club at Weaverham and non members are also welcome. The meeting begins at 7.30 pm.

Saturday, February 12, 2011

Congratulations to Joe



I have just spent a very pleasant afternoon fishing a Northwich A.A. still water together with Paul Ikin. Whilst we were there we met 12 year old Joe Hornby, who was also doing a spot of pike fishing. We were delighted to be able to help Joe to catch his first pike, a fish of 5 lbs. 2 oz. on a ledgered lamprey section. This was soon followed by a second well conditioned pike of 5 lbs. 8 oz. - this time taken on a float fished lamprey section. Very well done Joe, you are now a proper pike angler !

Monday, February 7, 2011

AGM Products

You will now see on our homepage a link to AGM Products. For those who aren't in the know this is a locally based company, here in Northwich, which specializes in lures and accessories for the modern lure angler.

AGM Products has an amazing and very diverse range of stock and many of the items available have historically been very difficult to get hold of in this country. The quality of the items on offer and the service is second to none, and I would heartily recommend you give the site a visit.

Big Billinge fish-in, Sunday 27th February


I have had to postpone our fish-in on Big Billinge (originally scheduled for Saturday 19th February) as I am now attending a course on that day. The fish-in will now take place on Sunday 27th February instead.

There are 15 places (limited to PAC members only) so please let me know a.s.a.p. if you wish to attend. The cost is £3.50 per angler and Northwich A.A. rules apply.

Big Billinge is a very clear and weedy water with a good head of specimen carp. Depths range from 18 ft. alongside the road bank, up to about 2 ft. at the far end. The venue is popular with carp anglers and consequently doesn't get fished a great deal by anyone else. It has produced pike to over 24 lbs. (witnessed by a friend of mine) and one of the bailiffs tells me he has seen a very large pike mooching about this year. So, the potential is certainly there.

I will be running one or possibly two coaching sessions on the day, and these may be attended either by PAC members or by members of Northwich A.A. The coaching sessions form part of my coursework in gaining the Level 2 qualification in coaching angling. I will post details of the topics to be covered (which will be relevant to pike and predator fishing) and the times of the coaching sessions nearer the time.

Update; (above) PAC member Jack Prescott with the best of a three pike haul. Mark Johnson and Mark Noon also caught from the same part of the lake - where there seemed to be a number of pike in residence. All the fish were caught either early in the morning or with dusk approaching. Well done to Jack.

Friday, January 21, 2011

February meeting



Our February meeting will take place on Monday 7th, at Owley Wood Club in Weaverham and we look forward to welcoming Barry McConnell as our guest speaker.


Barry is one of the country's most highly respected and accomplished eel and zander anglers and also the inventor of the 'Rollover Indicator'

I have been using 'Rollover's as an alternative to traditional drop-off type indicators for my pike fishing over the last 18 months (especially for fishing deadbaits at close range) and have to say that I am completely sold on them. They are a massive step forward in reducing resistance to a taking fish and, although I do still use other methods of indication in certain circumstances, the Rollover is now - by far - my preferred choice.

I look forward to seeing you at the meeting.

Pike rigs in reality

Over the last several months 'Improve Your Coarse Fishing' magazine has run a series of articles by Paul Garner and Stuart Morgan entitled 'Underwater Angling'. The articles are all about the way in which rigs and baits really behave when in the water, and the accompanying underwater photographs - which are of the highest quality - give a real insight into the subject. More often than not, our rigs and baits are not actually doing what we think they are !

This month's issue is entitled 'Pike rigs in reality', and I would recommend it to anyone who fishes deadbait rigs for pike.

January meeting.

First of all a big 'thank you' to R.A.9 member Paul Ikin for stepping in at short notice and giving a really excellent talk and slide show at our January meeting. Paul's experiences fishing locally for catfish, and the rigs and other items of tackle he has devised for addressing some of the problems he has encountered were a real eye-opener for everyone present. Well done Paul.

A couple of nights after our meeting I visited our near neighbours at the South Lancs. Region to give them a talk and slide show, and was given a very warm welcome. You may recall that last winter we resurrected the old R.A.9 vs. R.A.31 'fish-in' and I had hoped that we might be able to offer the lads from R.A.31 a return fixture on a Cheshire Water this winter. Unfortunately I haven't had time to arrange this, but am hoping we might be able to have a day on the River Weaver in the autumn.