Old Lake Latest Catches week ending 23/2/20

When the Old Lake bream are willing to feed in numbers, it’s a sure sign that the temperature is on the mild side, even if the wind and rain can make things difficult.
Two anglers from Streatham, Harry and Alan, shared a catch of 15 bream and a 6 lb tench from peg 11 on Friday, making short casts with a maggot feeder and three red maggots on a size 16 hook.
The third round of the Geoff Vallance league, on Saturday, was won by Paul ‘Tommy’ Hiller with 41 lb of bream, fishing peg 12 on the Front Bank with feeder at first and then pole.
And the Steve Gardener Wednesday league match was won by Ray Brewster, who had 31 lb 4 oz from peg 19, on maggots and soft pellets.
Runner-up was Steve himself, with 30 lb 8 oz from peg 32, and Mark Hathway was third with 27 lb 14 oz, from peg 21, ahead of Paul ‘Tommy’ Hiller with 20 lb 8 oz, from peg 10.
Most of the weights came on pole and maggots or pellets.
With just three weeks left of the predator season, catches of zander have been improving, topped by a near-double-figure fish from the Long Bank.
Chris Ward, from Bexleyheath, brought his ten-year-old nephew Sid, and in addition to Chris’s personal best fish of 9 lb 12 oz, Sid caught his first ever zed, weighing 6 lb.
The pair were fishing at peg 40 and using float fished lamprey sections.
Also in action were fishing friends from Colchester Mark and Bob, who shared a catch of six zeds on Thursday, three each, from pegs 16 and 17 on the Front Bank, all of them of 5-6 lb.
They also had a bonus 4 lb pike, and got a good number of runs, all on roach or mackerel sections on a wet and windy day that they ended at 2.30pm.
And on the carp front, Paul Benefield showed how it should be done by having a good look round when he arrived at lunchtime on Sunday before setting up on the Front Bank and catching nine carp on his overnighter.
The biggest fish weighed 24 lb, and all fell to A2 Baits balanced wafters, early evening and the morning being the best times.