Angling

Mark stakes record claim

A giant herring that was poised on the sharp edge of being cut up for sea fishing bait now seems set to be ratified as a new British record.

This exceptional example of what used to be known as the silver darlings by Scottish trawler men until the species was decimated by over fishing, was caught by Norfolk angler Mark Colman while competing in the Dover two day festival.

Fortunately, the 1lb 7oz fish was reprieved from the knife by the captor who decided to keep the succulent specimen for a barbeque supper. And following expert advice ar the end of the tournament he has lodged a record claim with the British Rod Caught Fish Committee.

Over the years herring have been commonly regarded as a species feeding mainly on minute marine plankton. However a few have been reported taken on baited hooks including the 1lb 1oz current record caught by boat angler Brett Bardon fishing in the English channel off Bex Hill in 1973.

Speaking about his remarkable catch, the 43-year-old motor engineer from the Bird estate, Bradwell, said he was on the point of cutting up the herring for bait as soon as he caught it from Dover's admiralty pier but at the last moment decided to save it for the family.

"I had caught a few dog fish and I was reeling in when the herring snatched the lug and rag worm baiting the size 3.0 hook. The fish leapt out of the water a few times before I lifted it out and it lay in the sun for two or three hours and may well have weighed at least 1lb 8oz before it became dehydrated," said the grandson of one of Great Yarmouth's legendry sea anglers, the late Fred Williams.

"I have been assured that my fish was not one of its large cousins from the shad family so I'm expecting good news from the Fish Committee. I've been fishing the Dover festival for 22 years and my best result has been fourth."

n Barford Lake's home team lifted the teams of six league championship on Sunday.

The successful squad, selected from Kevin Ford, Gary Kiddell, Paul Yeomans, Andy Turner, Jim Randell, Chris Nicholson, Lee Carver and Kevin Humpheys, lifted the title by the narrowest of margins after being shadowed to the winning post by Cross Drove and Dynamite Baits in the final round, fished in a gale driven deluge.

Barford's Andy Turner was top individual with nine carp totalling 54lb 15oz and the Barford outfit won the day with 23 section points followed by Cross Drove on 22 and Dynamite on 18.

Thus the top three finishers in the table were Barford Tackle (17 league points), Cross Drove (16) and Dynamite (14).

The champions' team captain, Kevin Ford, said the success was down to all round ability and added "The opposition was formidable but we were able to select our team from eight experienced local lake experts and all of them contributed to this triumph."

League organiser Tony Gibbons said: "The weather was diabolical but the anglers stuck it out to the end and the series raised £150 for the Quiddenham Children's Hospice."

The East Anglian Pike championship on the Weybread Ocean Pit near Harleston was also a wet weather grueller. However Suffolk's David Todd bagged three fish totalling 26lb 12oz, including the heaviest of the day at 12lb 8oz. Another local, Peter Eagley, was runner-up with three fish for 26lb and Darren Knowles of Sudbury was third with two fish for 20lb.

The new champion, a 50-year-old pharmacist from Wayne Close, Lowestoft, hit on the deadly alchemy of a lure and dead bait combination to record his best ever victory.

"This is my best match win by far. I caught my first two fish on a lure along the margin and the third fell to lamprey cast further out," he said.

The first round of the River Wensum pairs tournament along Riverside was won by Robert Hubbard with 21lb 14oz of mainly roach caught from peg 2 by the new bridge. Hubbard and Andy Moss, fishing under the Angling Direct banner, were the top pair with 38lb.

On the big carp scene, Spixworth expert Trevor Nobbs heaved out Taswood's best of the week, a 36lb 6oz common. Other mirrors and commons in the low 20s fell to Norwich regulars Harry Ramsbottom, Alan Evans and Joe Phillips and Darren Stamp of Caister.

Only two fish of note from the Kingfisher club lake - a common carp of 22lb for Mick Hicks of Yarmouth and a 22lb 8oz mirror for Stu Davidson of Buxton.