Forest park is pick of the venues

ANGLERS are continuing to enjoy good sport with some big carp landed as well as excellent bags of tench, roach and rudd and a big cat.

New Forest Water Park heads the list of venues with the biggest fish where carp to 28lb have been caught, a catfish of the same weight and some huge tench to 9lb.

Also in the league of big carp is Waldens Farm Fishery with a common carp of 22lb 4oz and ghost carp to 20lb.

A method that has been rewarding anglers with quality carp following the arrival of warmer weather, is floater fishing and one angler fishing Salisbury Angling Club's Wellow Lake caught 18 carp up to 8lb in one session on Nightingale Lake.

Bishops Lake at Waldens has yielded plenty of big ghost carp to corn and pellet and off the top in the evenings. There have also been good bags of bream, rudd and roach as well as decent chub.

The big common, which took a float-fished worm, came from Bishops Lake and night fishermen on Bishops have also caught plenty of ghost, common and mirror.

Harry Smith fishing Monks Lake caught 52lb of tench and rudd on float-fished corn over pellet while another angler had a barbel of 5lb 4oz using meat. Plenty of crucians, rudd, skimmers and roach as well.

Mixed bags from both Popes Lakes and Deacons Lake.

An open match at Witherington Farm Fishery on Saturday was won by Mick Keens with 49lb 5oz.

This coming Saturday will see one of the biggest matches ever staged at Witherington and it is in aid of charity.

The fishery will be pegged out for a 105 seater match in aid of the Wessex Cancer Trust and the 21 teams of five anglers will be sponsored for a minimum of £100, so the match is set to raise at least £2,000.

An angler fishing New Forest Water Park last week had ten carp in one sitting, six of them in the 20lb range and the biggest at 28lb.

Three 9lb tench have been caught as well as the 28lb catfish while a match last weekend was won with 39lb made up of roach and rudd to 1lb 8oz.

Monday, the glorious 16th, sees the start of the new coarse season on all rivers and stillwaters and the long-range forecast predicts a mixture of sun and cloud with temperatures around 21 degrees - just about right.