Barford Fishery produces valuable hauls for experienced duo

Barford Lakes Silver and Gold pairs match winners Daniel Brydon and Warren Martin. (Image: Archant)

For silver, read bream, roach and perch. And for gold, bring on the carp.

This was the enticing pairs event on Saturday, where carp were the quarry on the Railway Lake while the smaller streamlined shoal fish were targeted on the Pleasure Lake.

Warren Martin, Norfolk's multi-sponsored and now multi-talented since his successful fishing foray into the Broadland tidal rivers, was back on more familiar surroundings on the Railway Lake, where he heaved out 108lb 12oz of quality carp to score the perfect single penalty point.

His comrade, Daniel Brydon, a director of the newly-opened Wensum Valley Tackle Shop at Taverham, scored two points among the silver fish with 23lb 9oz of roach and perch.

This proved to be a winning formula for the dynamic duo, their three PP score reinforced by combined aggregates of 132lb 5oz.

Runners-up were PW Angling's Chris and David Cooper, who also scored three, but with a lower aggregate of 62lb 10oz. Commenting on his outstanding Saturday catch and his season so far, Martin, the Fish O' Mania champion of 2012, said: 'It is not true that I prefer still water competitions. I began fishing in rivers long ago, but most of the big events nowadays are on the lakes.

'I thoroughly enjoyed fishing the recent league on the River Thurne, where I achieved some success and my team came a creditable fourth.'

He concluded: 'I didn't make any of the finals of the big national tournaments this year, but I finished well above average in the qualifiers.'

Brydon commented: 'This is my first competition since we opened the new shop and I was delighted we won Saturday's event fishing under the Wensum Valley banner.'

Meanwhile, Broads rivers continued to deliver and the River Thurne midweek was won by Roger Farmer (Stalham) with 24lb 12oz.

The Angling Direct League on the River Wensum was completed in miserable weather, with a catch of roach and perch totalling 14lb for the winner Colin Urry (Dukes).

Elsewhere on the match lakes, former Norwich Broads champion David Roe headed the veterans at Bergh Apton with 126lb 1oz, while Simon Parker of Angling Direct headed the Mill Farm card with 99lb 12oz.

• Giant carp are hard to come by at the best of times and more wily still as the days shorten.

But for Norfolk angler Kenneth Sturman, it was jackpot time at the Taswood Fishery.

There on the Broadwing Lake, he contacted the carp of his lifetime dream – a wondrous, perfectly scaled common of 35lb 8oz.

Commented the delighted 60-year-old sales administrator, who hails from Long Stratton: 'I have been trying to fulfil this ambition to land a 30-pounder for more than 40 years.

'I was only five years old when I started fishing and my best ever fish remains a 220lb sturgeon caught in Canada.

'But I still wanted that class carp and when I hooked this Taswood beauty on a red and yellow pineapple pop up on a size 10 hook, I realised I was in with a chance.

'I did not mess about and exerted all the pressure I could on the 15lb breaking strain line and it was in the landing net inside 10 minutes.'

• During the past few years, property owners have been puzzled by the disappearance of fish from their ornamental aquariums as well as laying hens from their nightly roost and even mallard ducks from the pond next door.

According to members of our family, two head gamekeepers, an underkeeper and another individual who keeps everything he catches for himself, the main suspects may be easily identified as follows.

Otters and mink almost invariably leave uneaten remains of their meals visible and smelly calling cards nearby.

By contrast, foxes, who are known to snatch fish from shallow ponds, tend to bury their leftovers to retrieve and eat another day, while bird predators leave no revealing clues at all.

On the other hand, in this day and age, when almost anything has a market price, unlawful human activity cannot be ruled out.