Catch of the Month

Mick (left hand picture) and Tony (right hand picture) both had nearly 30 pounds each of bream from pegs 5 and 5a. Tony caught all of his on sweetcorn, and Mick alternated pellet, red maggot and corn to land his. They claim it was almost too easy, although they wish catches like this would materialise during matches!

Send 'Catch of the Month' pictures to info@brackleyanglingclub.co.uk, letting us know which peg, bait, and method was used to capture them.

Mario Jones Wins Polaroid Sunglasses

Congratulations to Mario Jones for correctly answering the competition question, and getting pulled out of the hat first, to win the Polaroid Sunglasses provided by local opticians Spectacles Direct. The glasses will be sent to you in time to benefit from this fantastic weather we are currently enjoying.

QUESTION: Which match is held at St James Lake on Saturday 10th May?

ANSWER: Junior Trophy

A big thank you to all of the people that entered. Unfortunately there can only be one winner, however all is not lost as I'm sure there will be another competition appearing online very shortly!

Quick Tip

Below is a simple but effective waggler rig. Keeping the bulk of the weight around the float ensures a long and accurate cast, while the dropper shot stabalises your bait presentation. A size 18 hook is more than adequate to land roach, perch and bream.

Current lake Champion Mick Stacey used this method last season to good effect. He recommends fishing as far out as you can comfortably feed accurately, with two white maggots as hook bait.

Do you have a quick tip that you would like to share? If something has worked well for you down St James lake, or if there is a piece of tackle that you are particularly pleased with, email us at info@brackleyanglingclub.co.uk

Fish of the Month

Bream (Abramis brama)

Identification
Very deep bodied with flat sides and high back, young specimens are more slender. The head is scaleless, and the mouth can extend to form a tube. An adult bream is dark brown or greyish in colour, and young fish are silver.

Breeding
Bream spawn in late spring/early summer, mostly at night, and in shallow water.

Habitat
Lives in deep slow moving rivers, backwaters and in flood plain lakes, reservoirs and flooded gravel pits. It lives close to the bottom in schools. At night moves into shallow water to feed.

Food
Strongly dependant on bottom living insect larvae, worms, molluscs and crustaceans. The down turned tubular mouth is ideal for feeding on the lake bed.

Statistics
Fish size will vary depending on the location. The lake record is 5lb 14oz.