MONSTER CATCH

Joe Raczkowski from Haywards Heath who can only fish the water provided he does not reveal its name and location, fished in the margin with a sardine to catch what is probably the biggest pike ever landed in Sussex at 36lb 12oz.

He fished a short three hour session after first baiting the swim with mashed up fish, to catch the huge predator.

The fish is a personal best for Joe who has recently also caught pike 21lb and 24lb from the River Adur.

A new Haywards Heath Angling Society chub record was caught on the Sussex Ouse. David Cheals fished with paste to catch the record chub at 5lb 7oz. He also caught three other chub the same day weighing 4lb 8oz, 4lb 4oz and 1lb 8oz.

Open competitions at Framfield Park are producing weights over 100lb and every competition at least 50lb of mainly carp are caught. However, there were also some good perch to 3lb caught from Spring Lake and Brookhouse Lake produced common carp to 16lb, while on Burywood Lake it was grass carp to 16lb and mirror carp to 15lb to squid flavoured boilies.

Specimen perch headed the list of fish from Belfrey Coarse Fishery where Nigel Hayes fished maggots with a swim feeder to catch a perch weighing 3lb 9oz and 26lb of small carp. John Roberts was also among the big perch while float fishing with red maggots and caught fish 3lb 2oz and 1lb 8oz.

Jason Cooper fished for the carp with red and bronze maggots and landed seven from 9lb 1oz to 6lb. Chris Tripe caught carp 10lb 4oz and 6lb 1oz and Brian Dan landed nine carp on red maggots and sweetcorn from 6lb 8oz to 2lb 8oz. Graham Dan banked 14 carp on red maggots from 6lb 8oz to 2lb.

At Hawkhrust Fish Farm Paul Anscombe caught nine carp from the main lake on pineapple pop-ups. He landed mirrors 21lb, 20lb 8oz, 18lb and 15lb plus common carp 16lb, three at 10lb and one of 9lb. Ben Muzeen also fished main lake, but with Tutti Fruiti boilies to catch two mirrors 21lb 4oz and 11lb.

A competition at Iden Wood Fishery produced weights over 50lb of carp to 18lb: 1, Steve Pugh 51lb 12oz; 2, Kerry Davies 35lb 9oz; 3, Derek Willis 15lb 10oz; 4, Derek Haines 14lb; 5, Nick Hyde 12lb 10oz; 6, A Sandhom 7lb 5oz.