NEWS & FUTURE BRISTOL PAC MEETINGS

Hello,
Well the good news is that two Bristol PAC members have had new personal best pike this Feb. Both “trout fed” fish from Chew Reservoir. Paul Weston had a massive 36lb 12oz pike together with a 24 pounder, while Terry Ellis had a 27lb fish. Both took lures. Terry had his fish from the bank, Pauls was from a boat. Paul will now have 2 entries in Nev Ficklings next Mammoth Pike book with 35lb+ fish, which is a superb achievement. Many others of us had a tough time on Chew with few fish around and some bad weather. Some of us are back on Chew next week, so cross fingers!

News from other local venues has not been good generally and the weather has meant most anglers have struggled to even find waters that are not in flood and looking like hot chocolate. Hopefully the last 3 weeks of the season post Chew will be better with drier weather. Exceptions have been Mike Stephens with I think a 21 from the Avon and Ben Thomas who also nipped in between floods and found some good fish to 18+.

MONTHLY MEETINGS
We have had problems finding suitable venues with meeting rooms now The Midland Spinner has gone up market! Our next 3 meetings are at 2 different pubs as you will see.

NEXT MEETING – WED 28 FEB at 7.30 for 8pm
Speaker: Phil Wakeford – PAC President.
Title: "A Life of Pike". Venue: The Langley Arms, Dibden Lane, Emersons Green, Bristol. BS16 7GA. Tel: 0117 9573512.
Phil will be talking about his exploits in chasing the "Big Ole Girls" around the British Isles over 40 years. 168 x 20lb with 8 x 30s all from 40 different waters (so far). All sorts of waters and methods will be covered. Different experiences along the way, people encountered things seen/experienced and funny things that happened. He was Pike Angler of The Year in 2004. An entertaining night and a chance to ask questions of the PAC Top Man! An evening not to be missed! A fun and interesting night for anyone interested in Esox or wanting to find out how the PAC is protecting pike and pike angling.

MARCH MEETING - WED 28 MARCH at 7.30 for 8pm
Speaker: Mark Brand
Title: "Lure & Jig Fishing”. Venue: The Ratepayers Arms, Elm Park, Filton, Bristol. BS34 7PS. Tel: 01454 866697.

Mark is a specialist lure angler and for the last five years has been a consultant for Sovereign Super baits (http://www.sovereignsuperbaits.co.uk/) who are predator specialists.

He has fished Ireland, Scotland, Sweden and Holland. He is in the LAS - Lure Angling Society and also fly fishes for predators.

The big pike fish in the photo on the left is from the Baltic. He has been Jig fishing for 3 years now and will be talking about how to get the best out of lures and the latest jigging techniques.

APRIL MEETING - WED 25 APRIL at 7.30 for 8pm
Speaker: Andy Cowley
Title: "Nile Perch from Murchison Falls & the River Nile in Uganda”
Venue: The Ratepayers Arms, Elm Park, Filton, Bristol. BS34 7PS. Tel: 01454 866697.
Andy has been catching big predators, carp and barbel since the 1970s and has travelled extensively abroad catching big cats, mahseer and nile perch. This talk and video presentation will be about some very challenging and (maybe) dangerous fishing he has been doing over the last 2 years in Uganda. He is currently in Uganda on his second visit so this talk will be about his latest exploits and one hopes big nile perch captures.