News
Yet another match was transferred from a flooded river this time the canal was used instead of the river Rib.
This was a second match transferred to Lake 1 because of an “out of condition” river.
Rumours Of Big Ouse Cats Are True
A quiet Zander-fishing session on the River Ouse was turned on its head when a freak 35lb catfish sped off with a tiny deadbait.
Twins John and David Worcester were fishing a swim at St Neots, Cambs, when the specimen snatched one of their Bleak hookbaits and motored 60 yards upstream.
The surprise capture then lodged itself in a dense weed bed, and the 44 year old pair gave chase. It ment diving into the water and hacking through the reeds, but the catfish finally came free.
"It was the perfect night for fishing, as we'd had a couple of good Zander. Then John's rod was almost dragged into the river and all hell broke loose" David told the Angling Times.
"As soon as he hooked it, the cat jumped clear of the water and ploughed upstream into the weed bed, so we had to go in up to our chests in the pitch black, and hack through the reeds for ages before it came out"
The fish was finally hauled on to the bank following the eventful fight, which lasted the best part of an hour.
David said: "Because we didn't have a landing net to cope with anything this size, I got into the river and grabbed hold of the fish. Amazingly, the 12lb line held out. The hook had just caught in its lip, which was amazing, as it had ploughed through all those reeds. We've both been fishing the stretch since the 1970's and heard of big cats, but we never imagined we'd experience anything like this. It makes you wonder how many more there are."
Luckily , the brothers had to wait only a couple of hours before members of the controlling Letchworth Angling Club weighed and verified the fish, which now stands as the official venue record.
Article from the Angling Times 2003