Do you have a story to tell or a catch to report? The Society would dearly like to hear from any member as feedback is essential in maintaining the quality of waters the Society has available to its members.
To report *any* catch simply Email us, or why not come along to one of the Monthly Meetings?
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20-12-2005 ~ December Update
Welcome to the December update. As I write this report there is almost three inches of snow on the ground outside and a number of the Society’s waters have been frozen during the last few weeks, no wonder then that results have been patchy! That said I’ve had a number of reports coming in over the last few weeks as plenty of members seem determined to get out and do a bit! Ellenhall has been fishing well and I had a nice email a few weeks ago from a member who had been fishing the venue with his grandfather. Between them they landed eighteen double figure carp over three consecutive visits. Piking seems to be in full swing on many waters and I’ve had a couple of emails from Nick Trbovic who along with his friend Tom, has been having a number of nice pike from both Astbury Mere and Capesthorne Main Lake.
Redesmere has been in good form for carp over the last few weeks with two fish reported at 24lb, one at 27lb and ‘The Snub’ has made an appearance at an impressive 35lb 12oz. Capesthorne Main Lake has been producing a few carp and I’ve had reports of a few fish over twenty pounds banked on mid-week sessions. The Top Pool has slipped into its quiet Winter phase and I believe the last fish off was an 18lb mirror to Andy Freeman just before the start of November.
On the subject of the website itself; I get a number of emails and am occasionally asked on the bank about adding a forum section to the SOTAS website. Whilst in theory this would be a great idea, my experience of forums through my day job (AnglersNet) shows that they require an extensive and constant amount of effort devoted to them by a team of moderators to ensure they run as smoothly as possible. At this stage we don’t have such facilities in place but if the situation changes in the future it is certainly a possibility we could look into. However, for any current or potential members who are after more information in the meantime, you could also visit Northern-Monkeys.com website. The site is run by myself and other SOTAS members and has a small forum section built in, many users of which are also SOTAS members, so there’s a good deal of information available on fishing the Society’s waters.
Other than that, it just remains for me to wish all members a Happy Christmas on behalf of the Society and to ask that if you do manage to wet a line over the festive period please do get in touch with us as we’d love to hear how you’ve been getting on.
If you have a catch to report or an image you’d like to see on the website, just drop me an email.
That’s it for now....
Julian Grattidge
SOTAS
20-12-2005 ~ Main Lake Success.
Society member Richard Barlow enjoyed a successful days fishing on Capesthorne Garden Pool on Sunday. Richard took an excellent bag of roach and rudd to 1lb, along with bream to 5lb and one carp of 17lb 3oz on feeder! All fish were taken on maggot and caster whilst the Main Lake & Stock Pond remained frozen over.
15-12-2005 ~ News from SOTAS AGM
This year’s AGM was attended by 31 Members. Kevin Edwards was elected as a new Vice President, Tom Dean took over the role of Match Secretary; Nigel Thorn will be his assistant. New faces elected to the Committee are Geoff Beckett, Gerry Brookes and Richard Barlow. It was agreed that we would not hold a monthly meeting in the months of April, June and August. Membership subscriptions were unchanged.
Membership subscriptions for 2006
Senior £80, Senior Citizen / Lady / Disabled £40, Juvenile £20. Entrance fee Senior £40, Senior Citizen / Lady / Disabled £20, Juvenile nil. Night Fishing Permit for still waters £35, Non Fishing Guest Permit £5 for year, Guest Ticket £5 per day.
Membership Renewal
Please would all Members with an ST Postcode renew with Mick Hann. All others please renew with Liz Hayes.
CHAIRMAN’S REPORT
I am writing this report with a heavy heart due to the loss of a great friend Arthur Simcock. I have known Arthur for over forty four years as a friend and colleague. He was the one responsible for me becoming a Stoke-on-Trent AS Member and getting me involved with the Committee. For 49 years Arthur was Stoke-on-Trent AS Match Secretary and during that time he did a sterling job, always showing great enthusiasm.
I am pleased to report his great friend Tom Dean will be taking over the position of Match Secretary and I am sure he will do a great job with the tips he learned from Arthur.
It has been an excellent year for the Society with an increase in membership and reports of some great catches from all our waters. We are now becoming one of the most desired Societies to join. It is imperative that we continue to operate to the standards we have achieved and continue to take our great Society further forward.
This is the time of year when I once again publicly thank my fellow officials, Liz, Albert and Geoff for all their hard work and support. A big thank you to all Committee Members with a special mention to Brian Banks for his hard work on Astbury. Also to Tom Dean on the match scene and Mick Hann on his first year as Assistant Membership Secretary, he has done a great job.
I wish to propose for your approval some changes to our Committee. Geoff Beckett to the position of Work Party Organiser and Nigel Thorne to Assistant Match Secretary. Also welcoming Gerry Brookes and Richard Barlow onto the Committee.
I would like to thank Julian Grattidge for his work on the website.
Thank you for your support over the last 12 months. I wish you all the best for the future.
John Davey
FISHERY MANAGER’S REPORT
This year has been one of mixed fortunes. It would be remiss of me not to mention the sad loss of Arthur Simcock. For more years than I care to mention Arthur was an inspiration to countless generations of anglers, and his passing has left a rich legacy for us all in the future, of that I am sure. In fact working with Arthur over the past ten years we have been able to observe an increase in the average match weights across most Society waters. Indeed to be in the frame at Ellenhall these days you need to catch over 35lbs. Testimony to this, is the magnificent new record at Ellenhall by young Damien Thorne with 57lbs. Damien, I am sure is destined to become one of the UK’s future top match anglers.
On the NW fishing scene we have monitored the fish kill situation in the Vale Royal area of mid Cheshire, predominantly of Carp. We have been in constant dialogue with the Environment Agency in order to make informed decisions as to whether or not we should close any of our fisheries. The fact that we remained open, owes much to those discussions, and professional judgements based on facts rather than rumour and speculation.
I would wish to record my appreciation of those Members who have contacted me or Liz to report minor fish deaths over the year. A number of you contacted us to report sores on Carp at Bolesworth and Ellenhall. Again in speaking to Fisheries Scientists at the EA we were able to determine no major problem; the benchmark for this decision was based on the fact that feeding fish which are subsequently caught and give a good account of themselves, normally have very little wrong with them.
Weed control on the Capesthorne Main and Top pools has largely been a success, though I will be introducing more chemicals in the spring to reduce the Fringe Lily. Catch returns continue to impress with Tench, Rudd, Bream and Roach coming back in large numbers. The complex has produced four new 30lbs Carp this year, which was predicted by the regulars.
Over at Redesmere we have seen the worst explosion of Canadian Pond weed in all my thirty five years associated with this fine water. That said the water has produced some excellent fish this year including at least three Bream over 14lbs and a Tench of 10lbs. The low point at Redesmere is the loss of the magnificent Male Common who had been caught over 200 times in his thirty five years, making many anglers happy.
The Fanshawe Carp continue to grow really well. I will be adding more small stock fish; carefully selected 6-8lbs fish will then be transferred into Redesmere this coming year.
At Astbury the rewards are there for those willing to put effort in. Thanks to the work of the netting team, we transferred over 25,000 mixed species from other NW fisheries. I wish to thank the Committee for agreeing to fund further Tench, Roach, Bream, Carp and the long awaited Catfish that will be introduced subject to EA approval. It is worth mentioning at this stage that in terms of obtaining quality fish stocks, sometimes instead of paying for fish we take them in exchange for the applied time and commitment of the netting team.
One of the most exciting undertakings this year was to enter into a partnership with the EA to rear Crucians for the benefit of angling everywhere. The EA took a sample of brood Crucians from the Capesthorne Stock Pond, and after all the biological checks including blood counts they were determined as a 100% true strain. These fish will now be used to farm thousands of fingerlings over the coming years. The Stock Pond itself continues to be one of our most popular waters for young and old alike.
Bolesworth continued in fine form and remains a very popular venue for mixed fishing. The rivers Sow and Dove remain excellent venues for those who love the noble art of trotting or ledgering. The Dove in particular is proving interesting since the fish appear to be tightly shoaled at this time of year. Sometimes you just have to work that bit harder to find them, so be prepared to keep on the move.
I would also wish to congratulate Pete Collier on his excellent fifth position in this year’s National third division, well done. I suppose it’s all that practice at the Society’s general and OAP matches!
I’ll stop there, got to go fishing!
Tight lines to all Members for 2006.
Geoff Hayes
WORK PARTIES
The Committee would encourage more members to volunteer to carry out some work on our waters. In addition to those Members who regularly help in the Spring to obtain a Work Party Pass we need a pool of volunteers who would be prepared to give us occasional help during the remainder of the year – details in the 2006 Membership cards.
CHRISTMAS and NEW YEAR
The Officials and Committee would like to wish you and your families a very happy Christmas and a prosperous New Year. We look forward to you continuing your membership into 2006 and many years in the future.
15-12-2005 ~ SOTAS Match Results
Capesthorne hall cup 11/09/05
1. P Collier 8 lbs 14 ozs
2. T Dean 7 lbs 14 ozs
3. D Thorn 6 lbs 4 ozs
Victory Jubilee Cup, Ellenhall Pools, 16/10/05
1. D Thorn 57 lbs 13 ozs
2. J Amour 38 lbs 8 ozs
3. P Collier 33 lbs 5 oz
D Thorn set new water match record.
Sam Dawson Cup, Ellenhall Pools, 06/11/05
1. D Thorn 22 lbs
2. N Thorn 14 lbs 4 ozs
3. G Brookes 13 lbs 7 ozs
Fur & Feather, Ellenhall Pools, 04/12/05
1. D Thorn 69 lbs 6 ozs
2. C Bourne 16 lbs 7 ozs
3. D Bosworth 15 lbs 4 ozs
D Thorn set a new water match record
21-09-2005 ~ Capesthorne Thirty for Andy
Capesthorne regular Andy Freeman has banked Main Lake resident ‘Two-Tone’ at 30lb 4oz. Andy has taken a number of fish from the water over the last few years to around 28lb and now goes one better with this stunning capture using MB Baits Snail & Shell.
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Andy Freeman with 'Two Tone' at 30lb 4oz
21-09-2005 ~ Redesmere Success for Darran
If it’s big carp you are after then they don’t come much better than this stunning Redesmere 34lb 4oz mirror. Darran Capewell took the awesome fish during a weekend session back in July, and as if that’s not enough, he also banked a cracking 20lb 7oz common in the same session – Great Result!
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Darran's 34lb 4oz Redesmere stunner
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Darran Capewell with a 20lb 7oz Redesmere common
21-09-2005 ~ Astbury Lump for Nick
Nick Trbovic has only been a member for a few months but has soon got to grips with the carp in Astbury taking this cracking 19lb 5oz mirror recently. The fish is Nick’s second biggest and the smile on his face says it all! Well Done!
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Nick Trbovic with his 19lb 5oz Astbury mirror
21-09-2005 ~ Sow & Capesthorne Pictures
Alan Price has sent us some pictures from recent sessions. The 1lb 12 oz perch was taken from the River Sow on Bank Holiday Monday when three other fish were banked over a pound plus two 10oz roach and two or three chub and a good catch of smaller perch! In addition Alan attached pictures of a couple of Capesthorne Main Lake fish; a lovely 5lb 8oz tench and a chunky 5lb bream.
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21-09-2005 ~ Top Pool Success for Phil Wain
Phil Wain is another new member who has fallen in love with the Top Pool and with fish like this, who can blame him! Phil has spent a number of nights of the venue since August with this 23lb mirror his best fish to date.
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Phil Wain with 'The Light One' at 23lb
21-09-2005 ~ Knypersley Open for Business!
The reservoir at the moment is approx 17ft below full. Most of the lake is fishable although some areas on the deep side are too steep to fish and some flatter areas are too boggy. Since the works began on the road, anglers in general have not being fishing the reservoir. I’m not sure if they know it’s still open, but I've put notices in some newspapers and tackle shops. The fishing however to the few still fishing is very good. Member Boris Olender fished near the car park to catch a net of bream and roach on waggler tactics.
The whole of the road dam is closed at the moment due to the work. I personally was told by an on site workman that they didn’t need any more water out but after reading Glynns letter I now believe that they need to get to the base of the dam (currently approx 16ft under water). However, in the last 4 days the water has risen approx 8 inches. A little problem I have at the moment is that there are signs in Bemersley (at the entrance to the road to knype) saying road closed and with no signs saying there is access to the pool. This is why I have asked for help advertising the fact the pool is still open for business.
Dan Goddard
CNSAA Head Bailiff
21-09-2005 ~ 24lb Top Pool Stunner
Matt from Romiley Carp Specialists sent me this picture recently of 'Big Split Pec'a truly stunning Top Pool mirror which he stalked from the margins. Matt explained that it was his first ever venture on Top pool. After having a nosey around the boathouse he felt the urge to go for a look up the shallows on the Top pool not really expecting to see much. It was therefore a pleasant surprise to find 7 fish happily tails up right at his feet! Seconds after getting a bait in amongst them, whilst turning around to move the mat nearer the bank the line tightened and he was into a big’un! Cracking result and a fantastic picture.
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Matt with a stunning Top Pool 24lb mirror
21-09-2005 ~ New 30 for Capesthorne Main Lake
Mike Foster got in touch with pictures of a stunning 31lb 10oz mirror taken recently from the Main Lake. Mike took the fish whilst floater fishing on the dam. It took Mike a while to get the fish feeding but he persevered with it and eventually got the take. The fish dived into the pads but after some gentle persuasion he managed to get it back out and into the net.
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Mike Foster with his 31lb 10oz floater caught Main lake mirror
01-07-2005 ~ Bolesworth Record?
Junior member Mark Gibbons has been in touch to enquire about the best recorded bream weight at Bolesworth after landing a fantastic 7lb 1oz specimen on a recent session. The fish was one of four large bream taken during a two day session on the venue which seems to be on fantastic form at the moment.
01-07-2005 ~ Best Ever Opening Day for Bream on Bolesworth
I received a lovely letter from Society member William Hughes, regarding his opening session on Bolesworth, so I’ve pasted it below in its entirety.
I had my best ever opening days bream fishing on Bolesworth last Thursday.
Started in a Woods peg at 5.30 a.m. and fished till 1.30 in the afternoon I took 25 slab bream from 2-5 lbs (biggest 5lb 2oz) and a number of skimmers over a lb. with a handful of roach to 1lb. estimated weight around 65 lb.
Net witnessed by several anglers on the bank, also a lady kindly took a picture of 6 of the fish and will post it on to you.
I fished a waggler with 4.6lb main line and 3.6 lb bottom over a bed of small dynamite carp pellets and corn and topped up with a pouch of each after every fish, I have found over the years that you must keep feeding or you loose the fish.
The session was only quiet when carp entered the swim and as I was not geared up I just rested the swim for ten minutes each time.
Congratulations for a beautiful fishery with pristine fish, my catches over the years have included commons and mirrors to 14lb on the pole!, tench to five pounds, roach to 2lb 2 oz, rudd to 1lb 10oz, crucian carp to 2lb 4oz and 1 eel at 3lb, superb fishing in anyone’s book.
Best wishes
W. HUGHES (Chester)
01-07-2005 ~ Mystery Angler!
I’ve had an email of a mystery member who did not add a name to the email. However, he (I assume!) and a friend enjoyed a quick overnighter on the snag swims on Bolesworth and had a total of 13 carp to 16lb. He added that they had little sleep during the night with so much action but said it was the best session they’d had for a long, long time
01-07-2005 ~ Bolesworth Bonanza!
Damian Martin and Phil Wain got in touch to tell us about a cracking session on Bolesworth where they had an excellent 36 hour session; in total landing 42 carp! Damian caught 19 fish up to 16lb 4 oz. Out of these fish 9 were double figure carp, with friend Damian Martin landing 23 fish up to 19lb 4oz. Out of these, 13 were double figure fish. Most of the fish were taken from marginal spots on the meadow and from the snag island swim. This was their first session on the lake since 2nd February and they fished 5 bait stringers on MB Baits Snail n Shell and Damian fished over a mix of pellets and boilie crumb.
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Phil Wain with one of 42 Bolesworth fish on Snail & Shell!
13-06-2005 ~ Obituary; The Male.
It is with great sadness that we report the death of ‘The Male’. The fish, which had long been one of Redesmeres most sought after 30lb plus specimens, was found dead and buried last Friday by Fisheries Manager Geoff Hayes.
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The great fish first came to prominence in the early eighties, and is pictured above when caught at just under 26lb by Rob Shapley back in 1982. It did not stop there however, and a plentiful supply of anglers bait along with a nutrient rich environment meant the fish kept piling on the pounds until it weighed in at an impressive 29lb, as pictured below when caught by Geoff Hayes in 1985.
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The fish soon broke the thirty pound barrier and went on to become one of the venues most impressive upper thirties, and as each capture passed its stature grew - You only had to look at the smiles on the faces of those who were lucky enough to capture the great fish, as pictured below at 37lb 8oz with Steve Allen.
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Over the last few years the fish had lost some of its weight, but after having already been written off by many, he continued to appear for a further year before finally succumbing to old age, but not before another year’s successful spawning; testament to the strength and character of this magnificent old warrior.
09-06-2005 ~ First Time Success for Shaun!
Shaun Rossington got amongst the fish yesterday on his very first outing as a Stoke-on-Trent A.S member, taking a stunning 18lb 5oz Common from the Society’s Astbury Mere venue. What a cracking start!
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Shaun Rossington with his 18lb 5oz Astbury common
05-06-2005 ~ Main Lake Success
After a slow start on the Top Pool, Julian Grattidge decided to do some stalking on The Main Lake during his first session of the season. After finding feeding fish in a few areas around the Main Lake and Garden Pool, Julian took four fish of: 14lb 2oz, 18lb 4oz, 19lb 14oz, and 25lb 4oz. Julian is pictured below with his 25lb 4oz mirror.
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Julian Grattidge with a 25lb 4oz Main Lake mirror
05-06-2005 ~ 22lb Common for Nigel
Nigel Weston’s season got off to a flying start with a cracking 22lb common from Redesmere during his opening session. Fishing the front of the stream, Nigel fished a Pineapple Pop-up at around 80 yards over a bed of hemp, which accounted for the downfall of the fish at around 6.00am on Wednesday morning.
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Nigel Weston with a 22lb Redesmere Common
05-06-2005 (From May Update)
With most of the Society’s waters off limits for the closed season, many members have been taking advantage of the all year round fishing on Astbury Mere, and news hot off the press is that Society member Dan Edgar has had a cracking result, banking a 31lb 8oz mirror over the bank holiday! The fish is Dan’s first 30lb’er and is just reward for Dan’s continued efforts on Society waters over the years (picture below). Astbury has also been producing good sport for coarse anglers over recent weeks, with Jamie Ling reporting several perch over the pound mark, along with a number of good pike. Fanshawe has also been on good form with members reporting good mixed catches including carp to 17lb.
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Dan Edgar with his 31lb 8oz Astbury mirror
10-05-2005 ~ Astbury Brace
Following on from the 31lb+ mirror banked recently by Dan Edgar, we have received news that another Society member banked a brace of twenty pound plus fish this Saturday from the venue, the largest at 23lb, both of which were mirrors.
04-05-2005 ~ Arpil Update
The Capesthorne Estate has certainly been on fine form with the Main Lake producing a number of fish to visiting anglers. Coarse anglers have reported excellent bags of roach, whilst a number of carp have been banked including a cracking common of 27lb from the Garden Pool. The Top Pool has seen a fair amount of pressure over the last month or two, with many new members looking to get to know the place before the close. Despite this pressure, a few fish have been banked, and Kev Duke has been setting the standard by banking two new twenty pound plus fish over the last few weeks.
Capesthorne Stock Pond has also been on good form with mixed bags of carp. Redesmere has also been giving up a few fish over recent weeks. The big news was a 36lb+ carp taken by a new member a little while back, but more fish have been banked over the last couple of weeks.
A great deal of stocking has taken place on Astbury over the last year and the momentum continues apace with a massive haul of fish added again last weekend. The netting team have been hard at work with over 20,000 silver fish added on this occasion. The stocking included many thousands of roach between 8oz and 10oz, skimmers to 12oz and rudd to 6oz. These continued stockings are designed to increase the competition for natural food and help move the carp onto bait, whilst also providing a healthy abundance of food for the imminent stocking of Catfish to the water. This work reaffirms the Society’s aim of making Astbury Mere one of the finest specimen waters in the North West.
03-03-2005 ~ Capesthorne Main Lake Captures
Gareth Hilliburton has been in touch to report two fantastic captures. Gareth and his friend Mike Burke have spent 10 day sessions on Capesthorne Main Lake over the winter period fishing for carp. During a session on Saturday 26th February, Gareth spotted a pike thrashing at the fry on the Garden Pool and so had a few casts with a spinner. The result was a cracking 16lb 2oz pike (below). The following day Mike struck lucky with a stunning 15lb 2oz Main Lake mirror (below).
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Gareth with a cracking 16lb 2oz Capesthorne pike
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Mike Burke with his stunning 15lb 2oz Mirror
02-03-2005 ~ 2005 Raffle Winners
3687 – AD McCaldon – Free 2005 Membership
3777 – G Wrigley – Free 2005 Membership
2120 – Phil Sutcliffe – Free 2005 Membership
2130 – P Tombs – Free 2005 Membership
2046 – Colin Beever - Free 2005 Membership
4958 – M Beeson – Free 2005 Night Ticket
4922 – A Casewell – Free 2005 Night Ticket
1166 – Mark Henshaw – Free 2005 Night Ticket
3425 – D Rhodes – Free 2005 Night Ticket
1195 – A Potts - Free 2005 Night Ticket
02-03-2005 ~ Bolesworth Brace
Society Member Paul Davis had a good session on a recent trip to Bolesworth Castle. Paul fished the snags and took a 7½ lb common followed by this cracking 12lb Mirror. In addition, Paul reported that an angler fishing for bream was doing quite well in one of the woods swims, taking several fish to around 5lb.
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14-01-2005 ~ Redesmere Page Updated
The Redesmere page has now been updated with new images and information. Well worth a look as there are some cracking pictures to view.
12-01-2005 ~ Site Updates
The following pages have been updated with new information and images; Bolesworth Castle, Capesthorne Main lake, Fanshawe Pool, Horsebridge Pool, Knypersley Pool, River Sow, and Rudyard lake. More to follow shortly.
The 2004 News Items have been archived at the bottom of the site next to the 2003 News Items. The new Members Gallery page is now up; more images to be added shortly.
Other pages:
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