With Tony Cheeseman's Colmic-sponsored Northlands Park Evening Series starting tomorrow, both matchmen practicing for the event and pleasure anglers have been taking big mixed catches at the venue.

Pole angler Steve Langdon took a cracking 50lb-plus mixed haul when he fished the Basildon venue's road lake. His five-hour afternoon session brought him a common carp of 14lb 8oz, five tench to over 4lb, three big bream, numerous skimmers, and a net of quality roach.

Langdon fished a hooklength of less than 3lb and a size 16 hook. He tempted the carp with maggot, his tench with luncheon meat, and the bream with sweetcorn.

Matchman Wayne Candy has been making the most of his practice sessions by taking a string of big catches.

Two of his cafe lake hauls, from two different swims, were so heavy that he had to empty his net in the water rather than try to lift it out.

Charlie King fished the cafe lake to include six tench and nine bream in a 58lb 8oz catch.

King fished below the cafe where he alternated between pole, quivertip, and waggler tactics. His fish fell to a combination of luncheon meat, sweetcorn and trout pellet baits.

Northlands Park regular Lloyd Mahoney tackled the road lake with a quivertip to take a 50lb-plus afternoon catch. He started off using trout pellet which produced a number of big bream followed by a succession of quality roach. A switch to sweetcorn produced two tench, followed by more big bream when he changed back to trout pellet.

Pleasure angler Terry Fuller took a personal best 52lb mixed catch when he fished a swim alongside the big reed bed in the cafe lake.

His day started in fine fashion when his first three casts produced three tench totalling over 10lbs between them.

Sensing a big bag was on the cards he switched to his new 13-metre pole, using heavy elastic and a 4lb hooklength to bully the fish away from the reeds.

Switching between luncheon meat and trout pellet baits kept a succession of tench and big bream coming to his net.

Published Wednesday, May 28, 2003

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