nash 2013 e-zine

NASH E-ZINE

30 YEARS OF INNOVATION

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HELLO AGAIN AND WELCOME TO OUR FIRST E-ZINE OF 2013!

LIFE AT NASH ZIG BUGS SIREN

E-ZINE

THE H-GUN RANGE FEATURES

- DURABLE SLICK GUIDES

- RED TIPPINGS

- ISOTOPE SLOT IN BUTT CAP

- IMPROVED ACTIONS

- QUALITY DURABLE BLANK

- BLACK HIGH QUALITY REEL SEAT

- ABBREVIATED HANDLE

NASH E-ZINE2 NASH E-ZINE30 YEARS OF INNOVATION

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In the mix -

HELLO AGAIN AND WELCOME TO OUR FIRST E-ZINE OF 2013! JANUARY AND FEBRUARY CAN BE A TOUGH TIME TO CATCH A CARP. BUT ONCE MARCH ARRIVES, NATURE GRADUALLY STARTS TO WAKE UP AND SO DO THE CARP. SO FAR THIS WINTER THE WEATHER HAS BEEN UNPREDICTABLE AND HARSH AT TIMES AND THE FISHING PATCHY AND FAR FROM PRODUCTIVE. BUT IT’S NOT ALL BAD, OUR ZT CLOTHING, SHELTERS AND SLEEP SYSTEMS WILL ENSURE THERE’S NO NEED TO BE COLD AND UNCOMFORTABLE. NASH BAIT ALSO HAS A WELL PROVEN AND UNRIVALLED WINTER TRACK RECORD SO IF WE FISH WELL WE CAN EXPECT TO CATCH RATHER THAN JUST HOPE. DIFFUSION MAIN LINE AND END TACKLE ALSO MAXIMISES CONCEALMENT EVEN IN GIN CLEAR WATER, ALL OF WHICH COMBINE TO MAXIMISE THE CHANCE OF SUCCESS AND MAKE WINTER FISHING AN ENJOYABLE AND SUCCESSFUL EXPERIENCE RATHER THAN A FRUITLESS ENDURANCE TEST!

THE OFFICE TEAM HAVE BEEN OUT THERE EITHER GETTING A REGULAR BEND IN THE ROD OR PERUSING A TARGET FISH AND AS YOU’D EXPECT THERE’S BEEN A FEW HIGHS AND LOWS ALONG THE WAY AND A FEW SPECIAL CAPTURES TOO.

CONTINUED

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TOP TIPSWITHIN THESE PAGES YOU’LL FIND PLENTY OF ADVICE AND INFORMATION ON

WINTER BAIT CHOICE AND TIPS ON HOW TO GET THE VERY BEST OUT OF YOUR CHOSEN NASH PRODUCTS. BAIT CONFIDENCE IS SOMETHING THAT MANY PEOPLE

STRUGGLE WITH DURING THE COLDER MONTHS. SOME ANGLERS SEEM TO GO THROUGH THE WHOLE WINTER CHOPPING AND CHANGING BAITS AS THEY SEARCH

FOR SUCCESS. THIS KIND OF APPROACH RARELY BRINGS CONSISTENCY AND OFTEN LEADS TO AN EVER DECREASING SPIRAL OF POOR RESULTS AND LOW CONFIDENCE, AND WHERE DO WE GO FROM THERE? A BETTER OPTION IS TO

CHOOSE A PROVEN WINTER BAIT FROM THE RANGE, STICK WITH IT THROUGH THE HIGHS AND LOWS, EXPERIMENT, FINE TUNE, FISH WELL AND MAKE IT WORK FOR YOU. REMEMBER IF YOU HAVE ANY DOUBTS OR ISSUES WE ARE HERE TO HELP!

In the mix -

CONTINUED

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In the mix -

WINTER BAITINGI usually pre- bait with just boilies during the winter months, the main reason being that Nash boilies are designed to ‘gas up’ and float to the surface if for some reason they don’t get eaten. This rarely happens in the summer but mid winter it’s so easy to get baiting levels wrong and I don’t want to ruin a potential hot spot with

rotten uneaten bait. With water temperatures at a seasonal low, freezer bait probably won’t pop up for a week or so, shelf lifes could sit on the bottom longer. So my raked and prepared spots should stay clean and attractive all winter. A while back on one particular lake I discovered a couple of margin spots that had been filled in with some kind

of particle and pellet mix. Very little if any of that bait has since been eaten and it has now gone seriously off, just out of interest recently I scooped out some weed, silt and bait residue from the area and it smelt absolutely rancid! The spots are being regularly fished but I doubt if any carp will be visiting and feeding on them – food for thought.

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NO TIME TO WASTE

I’ve been fishing lots of short sessions recently, some anglers seem to look upon these as the easy winter option. But scraping ice off the windscreen in what seems like the middle of the night, arriving at one of my target venues at first light, crunching across a frosty field and setting up rigs and fine tuning hook baits with icy cold painful fingers still takes plenty of commitment. But I get a real buzz from it and when success does come its all the more rewarding!

For me, the new Scope rods and luggage have really come into their own this winter. On short hyperactive day sessions when there’s no time to waste, two made up rods, collapsible landing net, Sirens and other essentials are stored in the tiny 44inch Scope Sling, extra clothing, tea making gear, survival rations and large bait bucket are stuffed into the new 100 litre rucksack. Day chair and Elevator mat are strapped together which makes everything simple and easy to carry and set up. When I find fish or

drop onto a baited spot I can be fishing in seconds, I can also be packed up and on the move equally as quick when needed.

Winter camping can be just as rewarding and I also enjoy this type of fishing when time allows, although looking back at my winter diaries over the last few years, the short mobile sessions have often proven much more productive.

So this winter I’ve also adopted the Scope carry-all for the longer visits, bait and all the essentials go in the bottom compartment and the made up rods are stored in the easy access top layer of the bag. When I arrive at the lake, the carp care gear, brolley and bed chair are quickly lobbed on the trolley and the Scope carryall sits on the top. I can fish mobile off the barrow for a few hours and then drop into a swim before it gets dark, in the morning if there’s not much going on I can quickly pack up and go on the prowl, Scope keeps you fit too!

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LOOKING AHEADWhatever your targets or aspirations might be for the rest of the winter and regardless of whether it’s a serious campaign or just fishing for fun, the most important thing is to enjoy it. Alternatively for those who are taking time out to recharge the batteries, if you look really- really hard, the first signs of spring usually start to emerge towards the end of February – spring 2013 bring it on!

In the mix -

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LIFE@NASH

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KEVIN NASH

LIFE @ NASH

Happy New Year! I would like to take this opportunity to wish all friends and customers of Nash a fantastic 2013; and one that I trust will be full of happiness, good health and good fortune. 13 is my lucky number and so I am optimistic about this year – or at least I will be when I deem my year starts sometime in February after the plaster is taken off my broken arm. I have never broken a limb before and it is doing my head. I can live with the pain – it’s the inconvenience that really hurts. I didn’t realise how hard it is to do the normal stuff like cleaning your teeth with your left hand, and try spraying deodorant under your left arm, which is also holding the can! But the real bummer is my winter fishing has gone down the toilet, and this winter thus far has been amazingly mild which has kept the carp feeding.

That is my ‘feeling sorry for myself bit’ over with – time to get positive, and I am most positive about getting back onto my Zig fishing and learning mission. I am so absorbed in Zig fishing now and I can’t wait to continue experimenting with different bugs and critters. For those of you who are getting out, or intend to in the next couple of months, I will say just one thing to you – Zig Bugs. I have been conducting an interesting survey on the Church Lake, and for the last month I can tell you the fish have never been on the bottom. They are always sitting mid water. So my tip for early spring is don’t sit there blanking on bottom bait rigs – get up in mid water.

Be lucky!

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Well, finally our work is complete! The 2013 Nash DVD has gone off to the media plant to be manufactured and will be available for the first show of the year in mid-January. This is one not to miss, especially as it doesn’t cost a penny – it’s totally free! This year has been a bumper year and the DVD is packed full of fish captures, underwater footage, and of course blockbuster new products. It’s been a labour of love for myself and Mr Nash TV Winston, who has been burning the midnight oil to get it finished on time and to his exacting standards. We hope you enjoy it – it’s been great fun to make and we hope you’ll agree it’s a little bit different from your average fishing DVD.

When the cold weather arrives I don’t hang up the rods and hibernate, I’m even keener to get out on the bank for although the carp bites might be hard to come by there are plenty of other

species to fish for. In the last two weeks despite time being short I’ve caught chub, perch, dace, roach, grayling and brown trout. It is always possible to get that fishing fix, you just have to modify your objectives slightly and it makes you appreciate the carp when they do decide to play ball. There are still carp to be caught however and last week my winter venue threw up two fish to other anglers in the space of 5 hours. This is after a month without a single capture. Bizarrely this was on the coldest day of the year, perhaps the extreme temperatures had forced them closer to the lakebed and the waiting traps. It does make me think that the fish are spending the vast majority of their time off the bottom, and I have spent the last two trips fishing Zig Bugs on all rods. I haven’t had one yet but I know if I can get on them there is every chance of a coldwater carp. I’ll let you know how I get on!

OLI DAVIES

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LIFE @ NASHLIFE @ NASH

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MIKE WILS

ON

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LIFE @ NASH

Nash HQ and there’s a huge amount of work that’s been noted on the calendar already. It’s exciting for me because it’s the start of my first full year here at Nash. I’ve already been involved in some of the major projects including the Zed-Bed, Cyber-Shot and of course the blockbuster we now know as Scope. There’s plenty of exciting new products in the pipeline for the 2013/2014 season. I can’t tell you too much but be sure to keep your eyes peeled for products that have certainly changed my fishing during the testing and development programmes.

The Winter carp shows also take up plenty of time, there is still a few to go including Brentwood and of course the new Northern Angling show which I’m really excited about as its going to be huge! Its interesting meeting our valued customers, the feedback we receive also helps us the get the products right.

I didn’t fish during the Xmas break so I couldn’t wait to get back out there in the new year, the Zig Bugs will bring me some winter success I’m sure of that. I want to talk about zigs briefly because most people think they are only a summer tactic but I can assure you they are not! I’ve proven to myself that although we think of carp as bottom feeders they actually spend most of their time anywhere but. Zigs certainly provide a big edge throughout the winter, if you fish them properly you’ll catch more winter fish than those anglers who ignore them – that’s a fact!

Hopefully I’ll catch you soon on the bank or at one of our shows, but for now its rods out, kettle on and eyes glued to the water - tight lines!

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STEVEMCLOUGHLIN

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LIFE @ NASH

It was a surprisingly warm December day, with Christmas still at the fore front of everyone’s mind I managed to slip off for a few hours to check on a section of river I had been baiting and fishing(when time was available, which during December is very rare!) to put a little bit more bait in on my spots. Upon arriving and walking down to the river bank I could see a carp just off the back of my baited spot! This sparked a wave of excitement and nerves as I have been chasing a river carp from this section for a while! It also proved to me that my baiting campaign was working and the fish were getting their heads down on the bait. Now normally I would have only had my bait with me as its quite a walk to get to the section of river I’m fishing, but as I had recently got a set of Scopes I decided to take them with me, as it always seems to be the way ‘when you haven’t got a rod the fish are everywhere’.

Now the few carp that are in this bit of river are notoriously spooky, so I literally got down on to my hands and knees and ever so slowly crept through the bushes and reeds and peered over the top into the water. And there it was! Only a small carp but this wasn’t about size this was about principle. I have been chasing a carp from here for a long time and around 3 weeks ago I

had lost a fish which, in my head, I was sure was one of the elusive carp. As I sat there watching it slowly cruising near my pre baited spot, I took a handful of boilies and one by one as gently as possible flicked them out onto my spot. I then quickly extended my scope rod and flicked my rig into position.

Then as if the subtle splash on the water was acting like a dinner bell the carp came steaming back into my swim, directly towards my bait. Being a crystal clear section of river I waited breath held as it stopped over the top of my bait and dropped its head and started feeding. My jaw hit the floor as I watched it eat one of my freebies, then on to the next , then on to another one. The next one in line was my hook bait, could this be the moment I have been waiting for? Then just at that moment the S5 came to life screaming off with the rod bending and the clutch spinning like mad! After a 10 minute battle a little stunner slipped into the bottom of my net! Not the biggest but the pure feeling of accomplishment, from locating, to pre baiting to having a run to finally catching one, put a massive smile on my face. I left the river shortly afterwards, sure there may have been a chance of another fish, but my battle for the day was done and I was the victor!!

STEVEMCLOUGHLIN

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As water temperatures plummet during November and December, the action on many still waters tends to slow but on the rivers, moving water keeps the fish active which also means they have to feed.

This year I have been focusing on the River Lea, I started my campaign by putting in plenty of legwork in October. I knew that carp inhabited the stretch in question, but I needed to find them before trying to catch one. After a few walks along the river I found a fairly slow moving and much more heavily silted section which I was sure would be full of natural food and attractive to carp. Throughout November I steadily introduced a new boilie on test, applying roughly a kilo twice a week. As a reward for all my efforts, on my first session in early December I had three carp, all lovely commons weighing between 8lb and 16lb and a few big chub which were clearly making the most of the free dinners I was supplying.

My next session drew a blank which was strange but on my next trip I found a huge bed of weed

RICHARD(ditch) BALLARD

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LIFE @ NASH

which had floated down the river and come to rest in the margin a short way downstream of my spot. I could just make out the odd tail or dorsal fin poking through the strands of subsurface vegetation the fish were obviously using it to rest up in. I baited again and on my next trip two double figure commons were landed during a short evening session. This is more like it, I thought to myself! So in went some more food ready for my next visit which turned out to be New Years Eve, but unfortunately the weed had floated away and the carp had done the off.

That’s the nature of river fishing there are so many variables which can make it a real love hate relationship, but even so I love it!

I eventually got the rods out after finding them nearer my original spot but by

11pm I had landed five chub, and although they were a decent size, it wasn’t really what I was after. I re-did my rods and was just getting into the sleeping

bag when my right hand rod went into meltdown – clearly this was no chub. A lively fight ensued and a few minutes later a beautifully scaled double

figure mirror lay in the folds of my landing net.

The Sirens have really given me an edge. On sensitivity level 1 those buzzers are immense! I ONLY get a bleep when there is a fish on the end or if a tree floating down the river wipes my rods out! NOT once did I get a false bleep from wind or flowing water etc.

I’ve also been having a go for a new passion of mine, barbel. On Christmas Day I found a 2 hour window before dinner, conditions were absolutely perfect, with the floodwater just starting to subside, flow levels returning to normal and a serious amount of turbidity in what is usually a crystal clear river. It was more than

worth the effort as I was rewarded with my first double figure barbel weighing in at 11lbs 2oz

which was one of my best Christmas presents

ever!

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TOMFORMAN

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I can’t believe it’s early January as I sit at my desk writing this whilst looking out the window at sunny blue skies, mild temperatures and fish constantly rolling and bubbling in one of the ponds at Nash HQ.

It’s even harder to believe that only a few weeks ago we were hit by freezing temperatures and snow. With this sudden burst of good weather and a serious lack of angling on my part so far this winter, I didn’t need telling twice to get out and catch some carp. As always with this time of year my carp fishing tends to consist of short sessions, on high stock commercial type venues. The reason being, I want to catch fish! For me size is not important at this time of the year, it’s all about getting the bites, keeping active and catching a few carp. Prior to Christmas I managed to get out a few times with our main man Oli Davies and shoot a couple of features, including a hectic 24 hours at Chestnut pool in Bedfordshire where I managed to land over 20 fish. Unfortunately my fishing time will be limited over the coming months as “show season” is upon us. The first weekend of December saw the annual Carp society’s winter show at Sandown take place, and once again it didn’t disappoint. There’s always a great buzz at Sandown as it’s the first “big” show of the year. January through to March sees several of the other “big” shows take place and once again Nash will be there in force showing off the new gear for 2013. Working

on the shows means lots of hard work, long weekends and a lot travelling, but all the effort is more than worthwhile. With the Norfolk Show, the carp spectacular at Brentwood, The Big One at Farnborough and the brilliant Carpin’ On at Five Lakes, all taking place over the coming few months, it’s going to be a hectic start to 2013 but as always I’m looking forward to it and can’t wait to get going.

I’m also incredibly excited about the new Great Northern Angling Show, the guys up North have been demanding a show closer to home for years and finally they will be getting one in March, and a special one at that. The majority of you guys are probably now aware that my good friend Nick ‘Reedy’ Maddix recently left us and is now living “up north” and working for the Great Northern Show angling team which also includes Nash consultant and good friend Jamie Clossick. I wish them all the best on their venture and I’m sure it will be a great event. So if you’re visiting a show over the coming months be sure to come over to the Nash stand and say hello to the team. I look forward to seeing you there.

LIFE @ NASH

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TERRYEDMONDS

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TERRYEDMONDS

Making the change from Nash consultant to full time employee and leaving my past career of 23 years behind represents a big change for me.

My new role in the team involves managing the development of Nash rods, it’s a new challenge and one that I’m really looking forward to. The first three months have already been very busy indeed.

The Scope range is already proving to be a massive success, the whole concept is aimed towards speed and mobility, in these incredible busy times, having more chances to get out on the bank fishing has to be good, Scope is an on-going project so keep a look out for further developments in the near future.

I have also been working on new additions to the Entity range including a spod/marker and a 13ft 3.5 tc rod that’s coming very soon.

I’m really impressed with the performance, the new Entities will be the distance rod within the price range and the spod/marker performs brilliantly at all ranges.

My casting tuitions have also been very busy, and I have been overwhelmed with the positive feedback that I have received. This is an area of my work that I really enjoy, and to see the massive improvements in distance gained by my clients is extremely satisfying.

During these tuitions the anglers get the chance to try the NR rods and again the response has been brilliant 99% of the time the longest casts have come on the NRXD.

The NR’s are becoming firmly established in the market place as the top end rods for the serious caster, I’m also working on some really exciting new developments for the future.

Fishing time has been extremely limited due to casting tuitions and of course starting my new job, but in the last week or so I’ve managed to get out in the never ending rain, and bag a couple of upper doubles from a local club lake which was very welcome. The weather has been so mild of late, and as I write I’m getting ready for an overnighter in between work, never ideal, but if it’s the only time available, you have to give it a go!

LIFE @ NASH

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Kevin Nash book advert.indd 1 14/11/2012 16:35

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ATTITUDE TO ADVERSE ELEMENTS

WINTER 2013

ZEROTOLERANCE

www.nashtackle.co.uk/ZT

www.nashtv.co.uk

www.facebook.com/OfficialNashTackle

@nashtackleuk

Nash ZT Advert 2012 - A4 - Camp1 - 260912.indd 1 14/01/2013 09:37

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Last season I fished a lot of short evening sessions due to work and other commitments so was looking for quick bites. This entailed using several hookbait types and doing a lot of re-casting, it’s what I call busy fishing.

Most of these sessions were fishing with and teaching Bobby, my mate’s boy the ropes so I wanted to cover as many methods as possible so he doesn’t end up as a carp camper. The standard approach was to get a bed of bait on the most likely looking spot in a swim but if we saw a fish show elsewhere one of us would get a rod on it or we would even move swim if there was room to do so.

BAIT TALK

WITH GARY BAYES

BAITTALK

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Instead of PVA or Chain Reaction, both of which kept getting wet in the abysmal weather I decided to spruce our hook baits up using stiff and sticky dips. It took a bit of messing about to get them right so we could reel in, re-dip and cast them out quickly. Most dips don’t stick to a wet boilie and we didn’t want to waste time drying the hook baits out so I kept re-formulating them until they did. It also got a bit messy casting them with the dip dripping all over us so I started to coat the dipped hook baits with fine powders to form a kind of crust which unless you go too mad stops the drips.

Once in the right spot the powder and dip needs to come off the bait quick to get working but doesn’t need to drift upward too fast so I made the dips quite heavy, similar to another semi proven project I’m working on designed for rivers and flowing water.

We tried out lots of different attractors in the

dips but found the 4 we now call the Magma Glugs to be the best for a quick bite. They are very “fish” attractive and we caught every species in my lake on them using a variety of presentations, straight bottom baits, snowman, off the lead pop ups, zig rigs, float fished maggot and method mixes, mainly using them as they are intended but often adding them to method and spod mixes to speed the fishing up.

Because of the gulls it was difficult to catapult anything except black or dark coloured boilies out (the gulls hardly ever nick black free offerings) so I knocked up several combinations of hook bats to use over the top of black and other dull coloured free offerings. Snowman and other double bait presentations suited the Magna Glugs well as there is a nice gap to fill between the 2 hook baits. The bright 10mm snowman top baits add visual attraction and combine well with 15mm bottom baits to create the perfect presentation.

BAITTALK

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I soak the bottom baits and some free offerings in the dip to create a taste link from the free offerings to the hook bait but leave pop ups bright and dry.

Double baits also cast better than PVA or Chain Reactions so the rig will fish better and can be re-cast or re-used very quickly after a bite. We had up to 3 consecutive fish on the same hook bait which in limited fishing time is a must, it could have been 2 fish instead of 3 if we had to attach a new rig and hook bait.

My lake isn’t the easiest water to catch consistently from and they hate the rain which we had in abundance but most evenings we had at least one chance and often several chances up to 6 on our best evening. That was often not in the best swim either. Bobby caught his personal best 34lb 4oz and a 19 pounder within minutes of moving into a vacated swim one evening on single baits and I’m sure we would have had more if we could have got the swim earlier. The thing is changing the hook baits about and being quick about it definitely caught us extra fish.

We tried out lots of different attractors in the dips but found the 4 we now call the Magma Glugs to be

the best for a quick bite.

“ “

Nash Bait Snowpots available to buy

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Untitled-2 1 28/09/2012 10:00

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© KEVIN NASH GROUP PLC. 2012www.nashtackle.co.uk www.nashtv.co.uk www.facebook.com/OfficialNashTackle www.facebook.com/KEVINNASHCARPANGLER 30 YEARS OF INNOVATION

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GET ON THE DWARFS!

DWARF RODS FEATURE REVOLUTIONARY RETRACTABLE

BUTT SECTIONS, ENABLING A SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION IN THE

OVERALL PACK DOWN LENGTH OF YOUR RODS; OPENING UP NEW

HORIZONS IN COMPACT TACKLE TRANSPORTATION AND STORAGE, AS WELL AS A FISHING LIFESTYLE!

GET ON THEDWARFS! Dwarf is cool.

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Dwarf is cool.

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Your Dwarfs will store in the most compact of car boots securely and out of sight, so you can pop into your lake on the way home from work ready to catch that opportunist carp, and still be home in time for tea.

Youngsters can jump on their bikes and cycle effortlessly through the town to the canal or hop on the train to the city carp pool.

In addition Dwarf rods challenge traditional thinking of how long a rod should be – why do you need a cumbersome 12ft carp rod when a Dwarf will cast over 150yards, be more accurate at casting to that gap in the reeds on the far margin, whilst playing and landing carp is an effortless pleasure.

Whether you are urban carping, walking the banks of an inland sea, or off to foreign shores – Dwarf is cool.

GET ON THE DWARFS!

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PEG ONE NEWS.It has been an incredibly busy autumn and winter for the Peg one lads, with product testing to be completed on all of the new range for 2013, new baits to fine-tune and plenty of fishing to be done! Despite the fishing being challenging, mainly because of the poor weather, the lads have been catching specimens of a variety of species. Here is a round-up of what has been going on.

Seventh 2012 forty for Ted.Many anglers go their whole lives without catching a forty pound carp, but one angler who makes the feat look relatively easy is Peg One’s Ted Bryan. All-rounder Ted decided to spend much of his fishing time this year going back to his roots and fishing for carp on venues around the South East of the country. Using a combination of Scopex Squid and IC1 boilies, Ted has been having an absolute dream of a season catching big fish with incredible regularity and hardly a week has gone passed without him reporting a big fish.

Now the big man has hung up his carp rods for the winter and is in pursuit of a variety of different species over the coming months and we don’t think it will be very long before more big fish start rolling into his net!

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Get on the Whiskey! We might have said it before, but the Whiskey Magic Mix really is THE additive to be using through the winter months, especially if you are targeting carp and barbel. One angler who knows this only too well is Paul Garner who recently visited a day ticket carp fishery for an exploratory look at the lakes roach potential. Bait was maggots flavoured with whiskey that were actually left over from a barbel trip. The roach showed in numbers,

with Paul taking some lovely specimens to over the pound mark, but the lakes carp also found his maggot hookbaits much to their liking with a succession of fish falling for the whiskey grubs.

If you are looking for a flavour that is really going to give you an edge through the colder months then do yourself a favour and get a bottle of the whiskey!

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Cold rivers mean chub.Most rivers haven’t been at their best just recently with a combination of floods and cold weather making the fishing tough, but as the waters return to normal winter level it will be time to get the chub gear out and make the most of some brilliant winter river fishing. Alan Storey lives within a stones-throw of the upper Thames and has taken some massive chub from his local river on the simplest of approaches. His bait of choice is the awesome Monster Squid paste moulded around a small piece of cork on the hair to make it almost neutrally buoyant. Either touch legered or quiver tipped, if there is a chub in the swim the Monster Squid will catch it!

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Duncan Charman joins Nash Peg OneWell known and widely respected specialist angler Duncan Charman is the latest high profile angler to join the Nash team. Duncan has been one of the most successful all-rounders in recent years, thanks to his meticulous approach and huge levels of stamina. In recent seasons he has also set up a successful guiding business, passing on much of his knowledge of fishing for species as diverse as chub, barbel, roach and zander. For more information check out Duncan’s website at: www.duncancharman.co.uk

Well, that’s about it for this time around, despite the cold weather this really is a great time to be out on the bank, and if you think carefully about your approach and which species to fish for then results can be fantastic. Everyone at Peg One would like to wish you a fantastic 2013!

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� e PAG need your support and your donations. Visit us online for more info:

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NASH NXT D_CAM

MONO

Nash Mono - 171212.indd 1 14/01/2013 12:31

42 NASH E-ZINE

UP YOURS MATE!TOP TIPS

TO UP YOUR WINTER CATCH RATESUP YOURS MATE!

43NASH E-ZINE

NIGEL SHARPFor more years than I care to remember if the lakes and canals aren’t frozen I’ve been able to get the rods out and keep catching no matter what the weather has thrown at us. If I had to put my finger on why I have managed to achieve this it’s actually down to several reasons and the main one is staying motivated. For a lot of people it’s easier to make an excuse not to go fishing rather than just go, but for some strange reason I love fishing during the winter months so it never seems like a chore. I think the other reason why I have been so successful during the two coldest months of the year is because I keep it local, fish short sessions during bite times and always bait up lightly before leaving.

By keeping my winter fishing local I’m able to do the little and often thing with the bait which I think is the key to my winter success. Once I remember reading something Kevin Nash himself wrote about making the effort to keep the bait going in over the Christmas break and it rang home with me so as sad as it might seem I to have made the effort to nip out during the festivities and it has paid off for me in the long run. On some waters like the famous Sandhurst venue this has been hard to achieve due to angling pressure over the holiday period so I’ve just simply stayed in touch with the water and watched to see where the bulk of the bait has been going in. By biding my time until the holidays are over I have also used this to great success and in early January reaped the rewards. So my tips are 1: keep motivated 2: keep the bait going in and 3: keep in touch with your chosen water.

U P Y O U R S M AT E !

44 NASH E-ZINE

KEITH JONESUse washed out boilies, these being baits that have been soaked in lake water for 24 hours is my top tip. Winter carp in particular seem to find the soft texture instantly appealing which makes them perfect for the short sessions many of us fish at this time of the year. It’s by no means a new idea but an extra little tweak that I’ve developed during the soaking process has turned a good idea into an exceptional one.

By adding the Top Rod Formula liquids to the lake water, as the baits soften, they also take on extra taste and attraction, additional sweetener and a pinch

of salt also seems to give the baits an extra edge too. I tend to think of it as ‘naturalising’ my bait, if you think about it, the carp’s natural food tends to have a very high water content and I think this is partly why soaked baits are so instantly appealing. I strongly recommend you try this quick and simple preparation – good luck!

45NASH E-ZINE


STEVE BRIGGSI seem to manage to catch carp through most months of the year these days but if I’m honest much of that has to do with the choice of water more than anything else. I learned a along time ago that some waters just switch off in the winter while on others the carp will feed right through. The better ones always seem to be the shallower lakes with not much in the way of weed – that’s if we’re talking UK waters of course, as many of my winter trips now involve travelling away. That’s not to say that they are always easy though as I’ve had to graft hard many times to get a winter result.

It’s always vital to pinpoint where the fish are. They might not move much but a bait in front of them will often work. The feeding times are likely to be quite short too. It will vary from lake to lake but on one lake I fished the best time was always the first couple of hours of darkness and knowing that in advance I could cut my fishing time right down and just concentrate on being there when it mattered. The key was to get the baits out mid to late afternoon and then let everything calm down and settle for the prime time. Other people were recasting just on dusk and perhaps spoiling their chances.

One very good tip is to keep the bait trickling in to one area. If they keep finding the bait then they will keep eating it. It doesn’t need to be lots as long as it’s always there for them and as long as it’s a bait that’s easy to digest such as the Amber Strawberry which will be my first choice this winter.

46 NASH E-ZINE

SIMON CROWOf course carp won’t be moving as much as they do in the warmer months, but it’s not uncommon to see them active in the winter. At this time of the year I tend to slow down the amount of overnighters I fish in favour of day-sessions because some of my better catches have been from first light through to last light when the fish react to daytime temperature and light. I’ll put my faith in being mobile and looking for signs of fish activity. I pay particular attention to snaggy areas as well as weed beds and similar places of cover if I don’t see much activity. However, if the weather is abnormally warm or there’s been lots of rainfall, you might just see a few fish coming into the margins for a browse – shallow areas warm up much quicker than deeper spots and when the level is high, there’s lots of new areas for the carp to investigate. The message therefore is to not be static with your fishing because it’s amazing how quick fish react to the weather in the winter months, even at times of extreme cold.

47NASH E-ZINE

RICH WILBY

There are so many things you can do in the coldest months of the year to increase your chances of a bite, but my biggest tip would be to pre-bait an area of your chosen venue on a regular basis. Lakes that fish well consistently in the cold are nearly always busy lakes where the fish keep getting bait sprayed at them. If you can create this feeding activity on your own water in the cold it can pay off big time.On my own day-ticket fishery if bait stops going in the fish switch off very quickly, a week with no bait is all it takes to make things become hard. That is what happened last winter, but this year has been the complete opposite. A few lads have been regularly putting in quality boilies and getting their rewards on nearly every trip. And it’s not just them that are benefitting from their bait applications.

Anglers who are turning up out of the blue are also catching on their first trip down. That’s the deal with pre-baiting, you are not going to catch all the carp yourself and you will give other anglers a slight advantage, especially if they’re lucky enough to just drop on your spot. But they will very rarely be using the same bait as you so the carp will always respond quicker to the boilie they’re seeing the most of. Nash Strawberry Amber Attract is one of the best baits to use in this way. The carp really start to single these white boilies out after seeing them regularly for a few weeks. It is well worth teaming up with a couple of friends and keeping them going in your winter venue. It can make catching them so easy, especially on lakes where you know the winter holding areas.


48 NASH E-ZINE

JULIAN CUNDIFF “You gotta move it,move it” -- No matter how prolific your water is without a shadow of doubt carp do not feed as strongly and for as long in the colder months, particularly at this time of year. And one thing I have noted is that they certainly don’t ‘move’ as much seeming to spend much of their time in one area, or certainly not travelling as they do April to October.

For that reason unless I am fishing to small holes in the weed or can actually see the carp precisely over my end tackle I do not leave baits in one place for much more than 30 minutes, maybe 60 minutes at most. Whether I am fishing on the bottom or Zig rigging I will recast ‘searching’ for the carp. A couple

of feet left or right, shorter or longer, if you do this with two or three rods you can soon cover a lot of water and opportunities in a day. Mid winter you get daylight hours 8am to 4pm so that’s a lot of searching, countless times I have wound a rod in, recast it and bingo fish on! Now its not for lazy anglers but there again those that work harder deserve the results. Today in bitter conditions I winkled two out just by moving my Nash White Chocolate pop ups. If I am recasting and want extra feed its only Nash White Chocolate Soluballs as I don’t want dozens of solid boilies littering the lake bed. Give it a try and it will catch you bonus fish I promise.

49NASH E-ZINE

With winter carp being lethargic and slower moving, paying extra attention to bite indication will catch you extra fish. Taking every angle you can out of the line so the Siren has a direct connection with the end tackle is the way to do this. I’ll have the rods on single bank sticks and point each one at the hookbait

with the rod tip about a foot above the water. I have the rod tip like

this so once the alarm has registered a single bleep I

can look directly at the line for any irregular movements. If there is any then I don’t hesitate in striking the offending rod. Staying alert and not writing off single

bleeps as wind or liners will without doubt,

catch you more fish through the winter. The way

the Sirens work using line speed

rather than distance moved, gives a great edge in the winter. False bleeps are almost eliminated so every single indication, no matter how small, warrants further investigation.

Where weed and snags are not an issue, running leads will be my first choice. To ensure they work as intended I fish with at least a 3oz lead and semi slack lines. If the line is too tight the lead will be felt by the fish on the take, too slack (which seems to be the fashion right now) and the fish will have to move too far to register a take.

MARK WATSON


50 NASH E-ZINE

51NASH E-ZINE

OUR IN HOUSE CASTING EXPERT TERRY EDMONDS LOOKS AT THE NR CUSTOM ROD OPTIONS

The NR Range has been a big success and pushes the boundaries between strength and lightness with ultra- fast performance. Using an overhead cast, the action actually helps the average angler cast further and more accurately, they also give excellent feel to the cast.

WITH TERRY EDMONDS

CustomRods

52 NASH E-ZINE

The rods are available as factory builds, the handle spacing is perfect for most anglers and the rings are placed to utilise performance, casting is trouble free and smooth, I use them for all of my casting tuitions and angling

There is also the option of having your rods customised or personalised by a legend in rod building Nick Buss. There are many options to choose from which I will take you through now, first option to choose is what TC rod is best for your fishing.

12ft 3lb NRD is a stunning all-rounder that will fish from margins to 130 yards optimum cast weight 3.5ounce12ft 3.5lb NRXD slightly more powerful in the butt it can be used close in but also has extra casting power, 3.75 – 4 ounce leads optimum for distance casting

13ft 3.5lb NRXD the biggest casting rod of the range but not overly stiff, I use mine for zig fishing and light hook links no problem, I class it as a ‘fishing rod’ that can cast, 4 ounce is the optimum casting weight.After you have chosen the rod that suits your angling the next step is to choose your favourite handle type, there are 4 types to choose from, the Nash custom service offers

- Abbreviated (standard factory build)- Full Cork- Full shrink- Full Duplon

The next choice is the tipping colours, depending on your handle choice, these

can be placed at the top of the reel seat and either side of the

writing on the blank. These are popular choices, but again it’s really up to you.

Colour options - Silver - Purple- Gold - Green- Blue - Red

There is also the option of having your rods customised or personalised by a legend in rod building Nick Buss.

“ “

53NASH E-ZINE

If you use line clips these can be placed anywhere on the blank, just state your preferred position. A back clip which is Kevin’s preferred addition can be used with the abbreviated handles, this keeps the rods secure even with the most ferocious takes. When fishing with the tips in the air they also stop the rod slipping backwards if placed in front of the rear rest.

Your custom built NR can also be personalised by adding your name or other words of your choice to the blank. The final and possibly most popular option is to have the butt and tip marked with matching numbers, this ensures that the two sections which are machined to very close tolerances stay perfectly matched.

That just about covers the popular custom options, but if you have other requirements, just about anything is possible.

http://nrrods.nashtackle.co.uk/build.phphttps://www.facebook.com/?ref=tn_tnmn#!/TerryEdmondsLongRangeAnglerI can also answer any questions on casting and long range fishing tactics on my facebook page, please feel free to get in touch.

CUSTOM RODS

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BAITEDGESW

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55NASH E-ZINE

ALTERNATIVE FREEBIESMany anglers use special or boosted hook baits, making the hook bait stand out from your winter freebies is a popular tactic that can dramatically decrease the amount of time you have to wait for that first bite. But not many anglers use or have grasped the potential offered by boosted or alternative freebies. On those difficult winter sessions that we all have to endure from time to time high attract freebies can provide a real edge.

Soaking any Nash boilie in the matching Food Dip is a well proven winter bait boosting tactic, although just soaking ready made baits in this magic liquid can be very effective it works even better ‘in’ the bait rather than ‘on’ it. Here’s a red hot tactic that’s proven to boost winter catch rates.

METHOD 1 The first thing we need to make is some boilie paste.

2 We meet quite a few anglers at the Nash Road Shows who have had a half hearted attempt at making their own boilies and have run into problems trying to produce a none sticky easy to role paste and have given it up. Nash Bait ready made boilie paste is ideal for the novice bait maker, as the name suggests it’s ready to go and with a few additional liquids and powdered extracts, it can be used as a base to produce some very effective specials.

3 Start by flattening 200 grams of boilie paste in the bottom of a small mixing bowl and pour in 10ml of matching Food Dip. Knead the paste and add more liquid if needed until the paste is completely saturated.

4 Roll the paste to the required size and shape

5 Drop into boiling water and gently simmer until cooked

6 Remove the baits from the water and allow them to cool dry and harden slightly for 24 hours and they are ready to use, you can also freeze some ready for your next session

7 Loaded with attraction - a special hook bait could produce a special fish!

8 The hardest bit is the washing up!

BAIT EDGES

56 NASH E-ZINE

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COOKING TIMESFor 15mm baits a cooking time of around 50 seconds will produce a soft-ish bait that oozes irresistible food smells and tastes, but the outer skin will be tough enough to resist small nuisance fish such as winter roach.

If you prefer a slightly harder bait, another thirty seconds in the pan will do it but over many years of using high liquid content specials I’ve found that the shorter the boiling time the more attractive they seem to be.

BAIT EDGES

TOP TIPSOn the lakebed, the Food Dip specials leak off an incredibly attractive scent trail, any carp in the nearby vicinity will immediately know they are there. The Food Dip is a very dense liquid so it also seeps into the lake bed leaving behind a kind of food smell residue. Carp can often be seen ripping up the bottom long

after all the bait has been eaten as they search for the elusive smell of food. For this reason when fishing a lake regularly it pays to use the specials for pre-baiting winter feeding spots as carp will regularly visit them and feed. When you arrive, just drop a hook bait and a few freebies onto a pre- baited spot and you can fish confidently expecting to catch rather than just hoping.

The unboiled paste is also perfect for moulding around the boilie hook bait that you will fish over the top of the special freebies, within seconds the paste starts to slowly dissolve into the surrounding water producing massive irresistible food signals. A much faster dissolving time can be created by loading the paste with additional Food Dip or other liquids and attractors.

NASH READY MADE PASTERemember, this is the exact same paste used to manufacture the Top Rod boilies. Available in both frozen and shelf life options and packed in handy 200 gram screw top pots, it’s a winter essential for many of our top sponsored anglers and consultants.

NASH FOOD DIPSNash Food Dips are dense bottom hugging liquids that carp find almost impossible to ignore. The water born food signals created by the Food Dips permeate even the coldest water and have the proven potential to instantly switch lethargic winter carp into instant search and feed mode. The Food Dips are winter bait bucket essentials for many top anglers, they are proven to boost catch rates and provide plenty of options for the thinking angler looking to gain a winter edge.

58 NASH E-ZINE

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Please don’t think that by reading this article, your skills as a catfish angler are going to improve. This is just a tale of a first trip to the River Ebro in pursuit of the huge catfish that dwell in the Ebro/Segre system.

With European and even worldwide fishing destinations becoming more and more accessible the decision to head abroad was an easy one. Once a willing fishing companion had been found in the form of

Doncaster boy Pete ‘Webbo’ Webster, preparations were soon underway and a plan was being formed. A couple or three guiding services were shortlisted thanks to that new fangled gadget the Interwebnet. The big English firms that we wanted were all fully booked for the week (in hindsight this was a bit of a godsend), but eventually the one man band of Gareth Edwards and his guiding service under the name of Catfish Tours was contacted and we were booked. I think it must be said that

Gareth is a catfish/carp-mad Brummie and not the Gareth Edwards of Welsh rugby fame and once British pike record holder, but of course that didn’t stop us ripping the mickey out of him all week. We were informed by the ever-helpful members of the Pike and Predators forum that early May could be a hit or miss affair with the fish having spawning in mind rather than feeding, but as I was going to catch nowt sitting in Wigan, 2nd to 9th May were the

dates allocated for our attack. As always at my age the days passed all too soon and, two hours after leaving Liverpool John Lennon Airport, I was in Barcelona. Twenty minutes after this the hire car was sorted, followed by a quick brew, and Pete was with me after flying in from Doncaster’s Robin Hood Airport... no, I never knew

Doncaster had an airport either.

WRONG SIDE!Sat Nav set and away we went –

or we would have done but for one unforeseen problem we hadn’t thought of: being Spain not only do they drive on the wrong side of the road but the steering wheel, gearstick and pedals of the hire cars are also in the wrong place! After a quick spin round the Airport car park we were off and the two-hour drive was pretty much straightforward. Follow the motorway out of Barcelona, turn left at Llieda and you are in Mequinenza, so literally four and half hours from leaving Liverpool we were in Mequi’s catfish country. A quick phone call for directions and a flash of the headlights found us meeting Gaz, and another 10 minutes saw us in the apartment with brew in hand. I was up early the following morning and while Pete slept on sounding like a baby hippo, I was in the shower thanking my lucky stars we had separate rooms. The apartment was fine for what we

wanted and could not have been any closer to the riverbank. Gareth was with us for 7am and the plan for the week’s fishing took all of two minutes to sort out, with Gaz having one task, to catch us some fish, simple’s. Both Pete and I had discussed targets for the week and agreed that a fish over the ton was not too much to ask, so with this in mind we set to our task with gusto. If I’m honest, though, neither of us had caught a catfish before so any fish we caught would be a bonus.

ON THE MOVEA spot was chosen opposite where the coloured waters of the Segre meet the clear Rio Ebro. From the off we knew it was going to be a struggle as the Segre was flowing at a fair rate of knots, and the first four or five hours of the trip were taken up reeling lines back in to clear the

CATFISH VIRGINS Tony ‘Pieater’ Balfour tells of a first trip to the Ebro.

Tony and Pete with Tony’s 150-pounder

Set up on the Top Lake

In the water with the 150lb cat

Tony’s first ever cat at 54lb

3

Ebro/Segre system.With European and even worldwide fishing destinations becoming more and more

accessible the decision to head abroad was an easy one. Once a willing fishing companion had been found in the form of

Interwebnet. The big English firms that we wanted were all fully booked for the week (in hindsight this was a bit of a godsend), but eventually the one man band of Gareth Edwards and his guiding service under the name of Catfish Tours was contacted and we were

him all week.We were informed by the ever-helpful members of the Pike and Predators forum that early May could be a hit or miss affair with the fish having spawning in mind rather than feeding, but as I

Barcelona. Twenty minutes after this the hire car was sorted, followed by a quick brew, and Pete was with me after flying in from Doncaster’s Robin Hood Airport... no, I never knew Doncaster had an airport either.

we were in Mequi’s catfishcountry. A quick phone call for directions and a flash of the headlights found us meeting Gaz, and another 10 minutes saw us in

before so any fish we caught would be a bonus.

ON THE MOVEN THE MOVEN THE MOVA spot was chosen opposite where the coloured waters of the Segre meet the clear Rio Ebro. From the off we knew it was going to be a struggle as the Segre was flowing at a fair rate of knots, and the first four or five hours of the trip were taken up reeling lines back in to clear the

been found in the form of Tours was contacted and we were

with the fish having spawning in mind rather than feeding, but as I Doncaster had an airport either.

2


CATFISHING IN THE UKDAVE MUTTON

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By the time you get to read this, the frosty days

of winter will be just a

memory; a memory that

hopefully is full of fat pike that

have graced the bank or boat.

So what are you going to do?

Some of you may continue to

fish for pike through the

warmer months, whilst many of

you, as soon as the days

lengthened and the suns rays

started to have some warmth in

them, give a sigh tinged with a

touch of sadness as the

deadbait rods are put away

again to sit there untouched

until October. Some of you may

be after tench, bream or other

species, whilst others may be

targeting carp. I also fish for

those species on occasion, but

I never seem to be able to gain

the same level of enthusiasm

for non-predatory fish as I do

for predators. That is why my

summers are usually spent

targeting that other apex

predator, the wels catfish.

The wels catfish can be

described as a predatory

scavenger, in that it will eat a

huge variety of meat or fish baits,

both alive and dead. Its natural

diet consists of fish, amphibians,

worms, waterfowl and small

mammals. It will eat pretty much

anything that it can fit into its very

large mouth. However, like most

predators its feeding spells are

infrequent and, as the catfish

possesses a proper stomach, it

will gorge on food and then lie up

to digest it. The catfish finds food

by combining its sense of smell,

taste and by sensing vibration in

the water. The catfish has two

sets of nostrils and has an

excellent sense of smell – in

Britain only the eels’ is keener. In

fish, smell is very closely linked to

taste and the catfish has a highly

developed array of taste buds

which are located along its

barbules as well as in and around

its mouth. This means that if it did

not like the taste of a bait, it could

reject it, even without the hook

being anywhere near it’s mouth.

This is worth thinking about if you

are going to target them using

artificially flavoured baits.

The catfish will actively hunt

for prey, particularly in warmer

months, and can often be found in

the upper layers of the water

hunting for fish. This is when it

employs a third sense, that of

vibration. The catfish is very adept

at sensing particle displacement

in the water using its highly

developed lateral line. The catfish

can sense vibrations in the water

such as a fish in distress, and

move towards them. As it nears its

prey, receptors in its barbules will

pick up the vibrations and the cat

starts to fine tune its approach. As

the catfish nears its victim, the two

long whiskers will point straight

ahead almost like a divining rod,

and when it gets within range it

suddenly opens its cavernous

mouth and simply engulf its prey.

Unlike pike or zander, the

catfish does not possess rows of

proper teeth. Instead the wels has

pads in its upper and lower palate

which consist of hundreds of tiny

Velcro-like teeth. It uses these

pads to grip its prey which it then

passes back to four crushing

pads, two top and two bottom, at

the back of its throat.

TO THE LIMIT

So what tackle are you going to

need to tackle this large and very

hard fighting species? The key to

all catfishing tackle is reliability

and strength. The wels catfish is

very powerful and will test all of

your gear to its limit. When

hooked they will either surge off

on a seemingly unstoppable run

that will have your reel screaming,

or hug the bottom refusing to

move and the rod will be hooped

over to the butt as you apply more

and more pressure trying to get

CATFISHING IN THE UKThinking of having a go for wels catfish? Dave

Mutton begins a two-part feature to tell you how.

Above: Powerful rods and sturdy reels are required

Main: The sensor array of a catfish

This 43-pounder is clearly capable of taking very large

baits

CATFISH VIRGINSCATFISH VIRGINSCATFISH VIRGINSTONY BALFOURTONY BALFOURTONY BALFOURGREAT SPECIAL OFFERS WHEN YOU SUBSCRIBE – CALL 01430 440624 OR VISIT WWW.PIKEANDPREDATORS.CO.UK





GREAT SPECIAL OFFERS WHEN YOU SUBSCRIBE – CALL 01430 440624 OR VISIT WWW.PIKEANDPREDATORS.CO.UKTony and Pete Tony and Pete with Tony’s 150-pounder

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AMAZONIAN GIANTSARNOUT TERLOUW

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It is estimated that over 2500

species of fish occur in the

Amazon. The order

Siluriformes (catfish) is the

second most diverse and

probably the most spectacular

group of Amazon species. With

14 families, including more than

1000 species, the Amazon

accounts for almost half of all

the catfish species in the world!

They range in size from the

diabolical candirú, a tiny parasitic

catfish that lodges itself in the

urethral openings of other fish,

animals or occasionally even

humans(!), to the monstrous

piraiba, which has been reported

to grow over nine feet long and

weigh in excess of 150kg. Many of

the larger species of Amazonian

catfish are migratory, extremely

active and aggressive predators

that live mainly in fast water.

Pound for pound, these catfish are

as strong – if not stronger – than

any freshwater fish you will ever

encounter on rod and line!

The piraiba is the largest

catfish in the Brachyplatystoma

genus, and is notorious for its

voracious eating and solitary

lifestyle. This is the true giant of

the Amazon with many stories of

fish weighing over 500lb! Locals

call the juvenile fish (those

weighing under 100lb) filhote.

Once they are over 50kg, locals

call them piraiba.

It is estimated that over 2500 catfish that lodges itself in the any freshwater fish you will ever

With this issue being a catfish special we thought

we would throw this one into the mix. Arnout

Terlouw encounters some really big catfish!With this issue being a catfish special we thought With this issue being a catfish special we thought With this issue being a catfish special we thought With this issue being a catfish special we thought With this issue being a catfish special we thought With this issue being a catfish special we thought With this issue being a catfish special we thought With this issue being a catfish special we thought With this issue being a catfish special we thought With this issue being a catfish special we thought With this issue being a catfish special we thought With this issue being a catfish special we thought With this issue being a catfish special we thought With this issue being a catfish special we thought With this issue being a catfish special we thought With this issue being a catfish special we thought With this issue being a catfish special we thought With this issue being a catfish special we thought With this issue being a catfish special we thought With this issue being a catfish special we thought With this issue being a catfish special we thought With this issue being a catfish special we thought With this issue being a catfish special we thought With this issue being a catfish special we thought With this issue being a catfish special we thought With this issue being a catfish special we thought With this issue being a catfish special we thought With this issue being a catfish special we thought With this issue being a catfish special we thought With this issue being a catfish special we thought With this issue being a catfish special we thought With this issue being a catfish special we thought With this issue being a catfish special we thought With this issue being a catfish special we thought With this issue being a catfish special we thought With this issue being a catfish special we thought With this issue being a catfish special we thought With this issue being a catfish special we thought With this issue being a catfish special we thought With this issue being a catfish special we thought With this issue being a catfish special we thought With this issue being a catfish special we thought With this issue being a catfish special we thought With this issue being a catfish special we thought

BIGCATSOFTHEAMAZON

Longe, slim and acrobatic, they

have been known to jump and roll

in the surface splashing with their

big tails; a very un-catfish-like

behaviour. In Bolivia this fish is

known as saltador, which means

jumper. Piraiba sometimes has a

mysterious ‘milk’ gland at the

anterior upper part of its pectoral

fins. Its function is unknown, but in

Colombia this fish is therefore

known as lechero, which means

milkman.

BIG APPETITE

Piraiba look for food as far down

as 50 metres. They will scavenge

but also actively hunt for prey like

small catfish, characins and

piranhas. Piraiba, like other big

Amazonian catfish such as the

redtail catfish, dourada and jau,

do not worry about the sharp and

pungent dorsal and pectoral fin

spines of small catfish. Examined

dourada and piraiba specimens

revealed perforated and/or

scarred stomachs most likely

caused by catfish spines. The

slicing teeth of piranha are no

problem either, even though they

inhabit the same waters where

hundreds of piranha school.

These giants have extremely thick

tough leathery skin that resists

such attacks. By the time they are

five feet in length, piraiba can

move freely in the deepest

Amazon waters without fear of

predators.

When they’re juveniles,

piraiba are light to dark grey with

small spots on their dorsal and

lateral sides. As they get older,

they turn dark grey on the top and

light grey/white on the bottom.

This coloration aids in

camouflaging their massive

bodies as they hunt in midwater or

shallow places. Most people think

of catfish as true bottom dwellers,

but the opposite is the case for

piraiba, dourada and the shovel-

nosed catfish species. Piraiba

search for food throughout the

entire water column and at night

they can be caught at or just

below the surface. Piraiba have an appetite to

match their massive bodies.

Fishermen who’ve caught these

massive giants have found small

monkeys, birds and cats inside.

While they don’t hunt for monkeys

or birds, piraibas have no problem

scavenging on already deceased Commercial

fishing is

beginning to take its toll

on catfish

populations in the Amazon

Fishing deep pools in daytime – will they bite or will you have to wait until dusk?

Catfish heaven: deep pools below a set of

rapids in an isolated area with no commercial

fishing, mining or other human impact

ww


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BIG APPETITE

Piraiba look for food as far down

as 50 metres. They will scavenge

but also actively hunt for prey like

small catfish, characins and

piranhas. Piraiba, like other big

Amazonian catfish such as the

redtail catfish, dourada and jau,

do not worry about the sharp and

When they’re juveniles,

piraiba are light to dark grey with

small spots on their dorsal and

lateral sides. As they get older,

they turn dark grey on the top and

light grey/white on the bottom.

This coloration aids in

camouflaging their massive

bodies as they hunt in midwater or

catfIsh specIal

3

The wels catfishdescribed as a predatory

scavenger, in that it will eat a

huge variety of meat or fish baits,dead. Its natural

and strength. The wels catfish

very powerful and will test all of

your gear to its limit. When

hooked they will either surge off

on a seemingly unstoppable run

that will have your reel screaming,refusing to

2


CATFISH CAPERS IN BRITAINGRAEME PULLEN

3


ww



ANGLERPROFILEName: Graeme Pullen.Age: 59 Hometown: Hook, Hampshire.Favourite Venue: Royalty Fishery, Hampshire Avon.

Favourite Species: Barbel and pike. Most Memorable Catch: None, they are all totally awesome!

While I like my floater fishing for carp, I can see the attraction of avoiding Gerty the Thirty of the overcrowded carp world, in favour of Ton-up Tessie of the wels catfish world. It was while filming with Phil Williams in deepest Devon that I began to realise just how much of a cult fish the catfish has become. We were at Zyg Gregorek’s Angler’s Paradise, which I had never

ANGLERPROName: Graeme Pullen.Age: 59 Hometown:Hook, Hampshire.Favourite Venue:Royalty Fishery, Hampshire Avon.

Favourite Species: Barbel and pike. Most Memorable Catch:they are all totally awesome!

CATFISH CAPERS IN BRITAIN

After many years of not really paying attention, Graeme Pullen discovers catfishing is a viable alternative summer species for UK predator anglers.fished before but we dropped in with a couple of cameras on the way back from a fruitless session hoping to break the British porbeagle shark record. Zyg has a very large head of catfish at the complex, running from five-pounders up to over 50lb, which I certainly consider well worth catching. While filming and catching everything from golden tench to grass carp and ornamental koi I noticed that,

rather than being full of carp anglers, around half of the big fish guys were after catfish. Supposedly night feeders, the catfish at Zyg’s complex didn’t seem to have read the books and many were coming out in broad daylight – blazing sun and blue sky.

There were different techniques, different rigs and some clonking great baits in use – the mouth on even a 20lb

catfish is like a B&Q bucket, so no worries about whether they can eat it or not! Livebaiting at the fishery is not allowed, but deadbaits are okay if you get them from Zyg. So, what do the anglers catch on? Top selling bait in the site’s tackle shop was the giant sized halibut feed pellets. In fact many of the anglers threaded them on a hair rig as doubles to make even bigger hookbaits. I fished a couple of hours for a cat

one evening on a smaller lake and watched a guy walk down to a corner, lob out what I thought was an enormous bait dropper, then walk back to his swim, feeding out line as he went. I sent Phil off on a mission to find out. It turned out he was using a half tin of pork luncheon meat as a monstrous hair rigged cube. Now that’s what I call fishing! Phil got a 15-pounder, so he’s off the mark with a new PB, and although I didn’t get my first cat I was suitably impressed with the enthusiasm level, and as soon as I got back I decided I needed to learn more.

SIMON SAYSAs fortune would have it my local Tackle Up fishing shop is owned and run by Simon Clarke, who is chairman of the Catfish

Conservation Group and has a

personal tally of several hundred catfish...

Graeme Pullen: Give us introduction on the history of the British catfish. I seem to recall the first time I read of them was many years ago at a place called Woburn Abbey”.

Simon Clarke: Yes, they were introduced as a folly of the aristocracy in the late 1800s into Woburn Abbey Lakes by the Duke of Bedford at the time. It wasn’t until the 1950s that their

distribution expanded around the country with some local clubs being given stock, and it basically all started from there.

GP: What sort of sizes were they running back then?

SC: Around 1970 the record was only some 31lb, so they started out small. There were supposed to be accounts that they reached up to 70lb, but there was a lack of photos. Now with the upsurge of commercial fisheries and high protein baits going into the waters there has been a rapid increase in growth, so 30lb is no longer an exceptional fish.

GP: Now the sizes have increased are there many waters where the beginner to catfishing can go and have a reasonable chance of catching?

SC: 20 years ago I would have said there were less than 50 waters in the entire country; today there are over 500. I go to a lot of

tackle shows and meet with many anglers who say they would love to catch a catfish, but they are not in many waters. However, that is not the case today. With over 500 waters holding cats, most anglers are probably within striking distance of a suitable venue.

GP: Is the CCS an elite club, or can anybody join it?

SC: It was started back in 1984 by catfish enthusiasts. Basically it’s a club to help beginners and help understand the species. There are no real cat experts. Even though I have fished for them for more than 25 years I am still learning something from every session I do. After all, that’s the magic of going fishing in the first place.

GP: Let’s start with the tackle a beginner to cats would need. Start at the sharp end with hooks.

SC: What you need is to match the size of hook to the size of bait. Invariably you will be using big baits – lobworms, meat, fish, squid, luncheon meat – and it can be very easy to mask the hook if you are not careful. What you need is a hook with a nice wide gape, long point and long shank so it can sit nicely off the hook bait corner, or you can hair rig it. Catfish have big bucket mouths. They come in and nab the bait so you need plenty of hook to go into that large and very hard jaw. An adequate size for a bunch of small worms would be a size 2 or 4. With a great bunch of lobworms then a 1 or 1/0 would match the

Young anglers are quickly zoning in on the catfish, like Andrew Pillings who took this 40lb-plus from the lakes at Angler’s Paradise

A sustainable food source exists in Devon, where Zyg Gregorek provides shoals of rudd that the cats crash into at night

SIMON SAYSAs fortune would have it my local Tackle Up fishing shop is owned and run by Simon Clarke, who is chairman of the Catfish

Conservation Group and has a

Cats are long so make sure you have a good sized unhooking mat – watch out for them snaking about

Chairman of the Catfish Conservation Group, Simon Clarke, with his recent UK PB cat of 56lb

predator anglers.fished before but we dropped in with a couple of cameras on the way back from a fruitless session hoping to break the British porbeagle shark record.Zyg has a very large head of catfish at the complex, running from five-pounders up to over 50lb, which I certainly considerwell worth catching. While filming and catching everything from golden tench to grass carp and ornamental koi I noticed that,

rather than being full of carp anglers, around half of the big fish catfish is like a B&Q bucket, so n

up to 70lb, but there was a lack of photos. Now with the upsurge ofcommercial fisheries and highprotein baits going into the waters

the size of hook to the size of bait. Invariably you will be using big baits – lobworms, meat, fish,

Group, Simon Clarke, with Clarke, with Clarke, with Clarke, with Clarke, with Clarke, with Clarke, with Clarke, with Clarke, with Clarke, with Clarke, with Clarke, with Clarke, with Clarke, with Clarke, with Clarke, with Clarke, with Clarke, with Clarke, with Clarke, with Clarke, with Clarke, with Clarke, with Clarke, with his recent UK his recent UK his recent UK his recent UK his recent UK his recent UK his recent UK his recent UK his recent UK his recent UK his recent UK his recent UK his recent UK his recent UK his recent UK his recent UK his recent UK his recent UK his recent UK PB cat of 56lbPB cat of 56lbPB cat of 56lbPB cat of 56lbPB cat of 56lbPB cat of 56lbPB cat of 56lbPB cat of 56lbPB cat of 56lbPB cat of 56lbPB cat of 56lbPB cat of 56lbPB cat of 56lbPB cat of 56lbPB cat of 56lbPB cat of 56lbPB cat of 56lb

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ww



The wels catfish is one the most impressive fish swimming and it deserves

every bit of respect after it’s given us the pleasure of catching it.

LANDING THE FISHA very large landing net is a must when cat fishing. It is one of very few species of fish that can swim backwards and they often do this when nearing the net in the final stages of the fight. If there are shallow margins then boots or waders should be used to ensure the catfish is landed properly. Fishing with someone else is an advantage as it can be a big task just getting a catfish into the landing net – a helping hand is always welcome. Be sure to check all fins are flat against its body and the hook is not in a position that will tear its mouth when lifted (slacken off).

ON THE BANKCatfish are big so once the fish has been landed it should be place on a large, wet unhooking mat (multiple unhooking mats can be used). As a rough guide, a 10lb catfish is around 3ft long and a 60lb specimen can be around 5ft long so you can see why you need large unhooking areas and mats. A weigh sling should be wetted and zeroed on a set of scales which should be at the ready to ensure the catfish is out of the water for the minimum amount of time. The hook will most likely be set in the soft corner of the mouth. If you are wary of catfish then wearing gloves will help protect you

against Velcro-like teeth – though these very rarely hurt the angler. Strong forceps or pliers can also be a good idea to help remove the hook if it is held firm. Catfish can feed in hot conditions so it is wise to unhook and photograph in a shady area, and a bucket or two of water should be at hand to keep the catfish moist. One of the most

important features of the catfish is its whiskers so take extra care to not damage them as they help the catfish survive. Ensure camera equipment is at the ready if you want a photograph. Some people can be frightened by catfish but they are docile and easy to handle on the bank if cared for correctly. However, they recover quickly if retained for a few hours for

photographing in daylight, and can become a proper handful. If your catch is particularly lively on the bank then covering its eyes will help it keep calm.

RETURNING THE FISHThe catfish are very powerful fighters and will need a short rest before being returned. Catfish can also become very stressed during a

capture and a sign of this can be seen by them changing colour and becoming lighter. If this happens then it is paramount to return them to the water straight away. Because the wels catfish has no scales they can get line marks during the fight, but these are not a long-term damage and do fade. Once it is time to return the fish, hold it upright in the water

and allow it to breathe, regain its strength and swim off strongly. Do not leave a fish unattended and take the time to ensure it swims off safely. You may need to hold and support them in some cases. It is very important to respect the fish you are fortunate enough to catch so that they can give other anglers the same joy you have experienced.

CATFISH CAREThis being a catfish special edition, occasional cat anglerDan Williams has a few tips and cat facts for other cat novices.

More information on catfish care can be found atwww.catfishconservationgroup.com

It is important to care for all catfish regardless of size

A large unhooking

mat is a must

A big cat is one of the hardest fighting fish you’ll ever encounter

Catfish are usually hooked in the corner of the mouth – take extra care with their sensitive whiskers

The wels can live for at • least 35 years.The wels has no scales.• The wels can be found all • over Europe.The wels is predatory and • will anything from insects, rats, birds to fish.The wels prefers to stay in • sheltered locations but can be found in both still and flowing water.The wels features a total • of six barbules; two long ones on the upper jaw and four shorter ones on the lower jaw.The wels can change their • colour depending on their environment. Dark in clear water and pale in turbid water.Female wels can produce • up to 30,000 eggs per kilogram of body weight.When wels spawn they • use a ‘nest’ positioned in tree roots or underwater vegetation.Wels eggs are around • 3mm in diameter.Eggs can take less than • five days to hatch.Only 10% of fry are likely • to survive. Males guard the nest until • the eggs hatch.The average growth rate • of a UK wels is 1-2lb a year.The wels can grow to • nearly 10 feet long and weigh more than 330lb in rare cases.You need special • permission to stock wels in England from the Environment Agency and DEFRA.Young wels (under 30lb) • flesh can be consumed as food.Wels eggs are poisonous • and should not be consumed.

WELS CATFISH FACTS

The wels can live for at least 35 years.

CATFISH FACDID YOU KNOW..?

The British record for the • wels was closed to further claims on 23rd October 2000.The wels was introduced • into the UK more than 100 years ago.The original stocking took • place at Woburn Abbey in Bedfordshire.Spain, Italy and France • have all got established wels stocks.The wels thrives in warm • temperatures where there is also an abundance of food.Prey is detected by both • smell and vibration.Although predators, wels • are also scavengers and will eat pretty much anything.Water temperature is a • major factor in growth rates.Wels are ideal for • controlling the numbers of crayfish in a water.The Latin name for the • wels is Silurus glanis The wels is one of the • biggest freshwater fish in the world.The wels is also known as • the sheath-fish, sheat-fish or giant European catfish.The wels is just one of • thousands of different catfish species across the world.The wels has fantastic • hearing due to a sound amplification system called the Weberian apparatus.The wels has a highly • developed sense of taste due to the whiskers and mouth/lips being covered in taste buds.Once a wels reaches • around 50lb, it has no natural predators.

Despite their fearsome looks, wels are usually

quite docile on the bank

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TERRY EDMONDSTAKES A LOOK AT SOME EXCITING NEW

H-GUN PRODUCTS

61NASH E-ZINE

H-Gun rods 12ft 2.75lb - £49.99

This is a brilliant players rod with inbuilt power in the butt section which provides great casting potential and improved control or stopping power when fishing near thick weed and snags. The action has been re-vamped a little which also makes it a superb floater rod. Attention to detail such as attractive red tippings and a very handy isotope slot in the butt cap ensures this rod really stands out from the crowd. Ideal lead size 2.5 to 3 ounce12ft 3lb – £49.99

Another brilliant players rod and again revamped with a little bit more power for improved casting distance and more control over hard fighting powerful fish. I’ve actually chucked a lead over 150 yards, which makes it much more versatile particularly on bigger waters. Ideal lead size 2.5 to 3.5 ounce 12ft Spod/Marker – £49.99

This is a new concept for the H-gun range, the rod is a 4lb test curve so not over powerful, but even so, it will fire a Spod over 120 yards making it more than adequate for most situations. It’s very easy to compress, because of the power in the butt and the firm tip also makes it perfectly suited for marker and feature finding work. This rod will cast a marker and lead a long way, it’s also easy to ‘read’ when searching for those crucial fish holding features.

The H-Gun range features- Durable Slick Guides- Red tippings- Isotope slot in butt cap- Improved actions- Quality durable blank- Black high quality reel seat - Abbreviated Handle

It takes a lot to impress me but I have to say the new H-guns have done precisely that. The blanks performed superbly during testing and despite some extreme abuse they’ve also proven to be durable and completely reliable.

CONTINUED

H-GUN PRODUCTS

62 NASH E-ZINE

MULTI MATWhat a product - does three jobs in one! Not only is the Multi Mat a superb ‘safety’ mat, thanks to its raised sides and heavy padding, the carry handles also mean that it can be used as a weigh sling without having to transfer the fish, reducing handling considerably. When moving between swims the Multi Mat also makes an excellent carry bag for awkward items, such as bags of bait, bank sticks, scales, you name it!

Made using a wipe-clean fast drying outer with medium density foam padding throughout, the Multi Mat cradles the fish stopping it from sliding off the mat, and enables the fish to be carried back to the water safely before being released simply by unzipping one of the ends.A true multi-purpose product providing maximum fish care.

• Large padded mat area • Raised sides stop fish from sliding off mat• Wipe clean surface• Inbuilt weigh / carry handles• Rubberised mesh drainage sections• Zipped ends for easy fish return• Pegging points

TOP TIP – The Multi-mat also makes a great carryall when stalking

H-GUN BARROW – SINGLE WHEELThis is a rugged barrow providing superb stability. Featuring fold-down front and side bars, and integrated barrow bag making it perfect for safely transporting your gear. Simple functional designs and quality materials combine to make H-Gun a modestly priced tackle range with a difference.

63NASH E-ZINE

H-GUN PRODUCTS

64 NASH E-ZINE

RIG

TALK

STEALTH AND CONCEALMENT:

Diffusion Components

Cling-on Leader

RESPOOLING - MAKING THE RIGHT CHOICES:

D-CAM Mono

NXT Bullet Braid

Hardcore Mono

Featured this month

65NASH E-ZINE

RIG TALK

66 NASH E-ZINE

DIFFUSION PROVIDES AN EDGE.Many waters during winter remain gin clear for long periods of time, this makes end tackle concealment vitally important. In these difficult conditions it can be virtually impossible to create low viz/low spook presentations with conventional solid colour components.

Although some companies market a huge and often confusing range of weed gravel and silt colour options, in a real fishing situation components of this type rarely blend effectively. And even if you manage to get solid colour components to blend in the margins you can never be sure how it will look when cast further out into the pond. But Diffusion rig components are colour and light reactive, drop one of our leaders onto weed and it just vanishes, move it onto gravel or sand and it immediately lightens and appears to melt away. Our extensive tests have proven that Diffusion technology produces more bites and provides a vital winter edge.

CLING ON LEADERSometimes what carp can feel is just as likely to put them on their guard. And this is when our new Cling On leader material really

comes into its own. This ground breaking material sinks just like the heaviest lead

core but unlike lead core, a Cling On leader is ultra supple, so it moulds itself and clings to lakebed contours and undulations making it virtually undetectable.

...Diffusion technology produces more bites and provides a vital winter edge.

67NASH E-ZINE

RE SPOOLING - MAKING THE RIGHT CHOICESD-CAM MONOFor the serious carp angler not wanting to leave anything to chance, D-Cam ticks all the boxes. This line provides exceptional abrasion resistance and knot strength, it’s supple, casts like a dream and sinks quickly and reliably. D-Cam moulds itself to lakebed contours and Diffusion technology ensures that carp will find it virtually impossible to detect on the bottom.

HARDCORE MONO Not every angler or every angling situation requires the exceptional level of performance provided by De-Cam and this is where our new Hard Core mono really comes into its own. Hard Core is strong reliable and casts extremely well, it’s available in clear and brown colour options and a modest price also means that the line can be changed regularly if required to maintain maximum performance. Our tests have shown that when compared to other similar priced materials, Hard Core really is an exceptional product.

BULLET BRAID The new generation Bullet Braid is a specialist product especially suited to slack line tactics. Bullet Braid provides almost bomb proof abrasion resistance and knot strength, zero stretch also maximises bite indication. Carp that are subjected to relentless angling pressure can easily be spooked by what they can feel, brushing against mainline in particular can really put them on edge.Bullet Braid is ultra supple, sinks exceptionally well and hugs any lakebed contours and undulations and virtually melts into the bottom.

RIG TALK

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