THE CATFISH have woken up this week in the Specimen Lake at Town Parks Fishery.

Regular Dave Osmond banked three from peg 10, 26lb 2oz, 24lb 4oz and 18lb 8oz respectively.

Fishing doubled up 16mm halibut pellets, Osmond took all three fish from the cut out close to the margins to the left of the peg. Osmond also took a nice 16lb 2oz common on single sweetcorn.

The previous night Steve Hilliard had taken five carp to 18lb 8oz from the same peg and lost two more at the net.

During the night Hilliard had a run that took him around the main island before the fish straightened the hook and escaped.

Due to the still low water temperature everybody believed that it was probably a large carp but, after Osmond's haul, it was probably a catfish!

It does seem very early for the cats to be showing, perhaps it's due to the recent 'haircut' the margins got!

Another fine catch was taken by Dan Handley fishing from peg two.

Handley's mirror tipped the scales at 20lb 8oz and fell to a single artificial sweetcorn offered to the main island.

Jared Lewington took commons of 15lb 10oz and 14lb 4oz from peg 10, and Damien Brading banked a beautiful leather of 11lb 2oz taken on a Japanese squid boilie from peg nine.

Brett Jones took a 16lb 4oz mirror from peg one.

On the top Match lake fishing varied from day to day. Strong easterly winds kept anglers at the more sheltered pegs which were not always where the fish were feeding.

A few carp came to the bank from the sunnier northern pegs but generally small to medium bags of silvers were the order of the day.

One exception was regular Richard McMahon's bag of 11 carp to 7lb 5oz as well as a medium bag of roach and skimmers. Fishing from peg 14 McMahon took all the fish on dead red maggot.

Both lakes are open as usual with no matches booked.

NEWTON Abbot Fishing Association's latest Rackerhayes report says Dores is starting to produce tench to 7lb on feeder and maggot, although carp are still slow.

Fish Wheel Pond for carp to 4lb, Weedy for odd carp and tench, Key for roach, skimmers and big perch, or Eddison for silvers.

Fish Wapperwell for mixed bags of carp and skimmers, or Spring and Charlecombe for carp to double figures.

NINE anglers from Three Elms Originals fished at Goodiford Mill last weekend with a total fish weight of 42lb 4oz.

Eddie Harley won with tench, bream and roach weighing 13lb 2oz, while Graham Lockhart was second with skimmers, bream and roach weighing 11lb 4oz.

Alan Brown was third with skimmers and roach weighing 4lb 15oz.

SOUTH View Farm Coarse Fishery saw a busy weekend with anglers fishing across the three pools — many fishermen seeing some action with the prolific stocks of carp.

The fishery reminds anglers to leave return cards where possible, to give an accurate reflection on the fish stocks and to ensure effective management of the week-to-week sporting stock level.

Willow Pool gave Fred Smart ten carp to 6lb plus a 12lb 8oz specimen on legered corn.

Regulars Michael Hird and father Stephen fished Kingfisher Pool for a change and had 28 carp to 9lb 12oz and 14 carp respectively on legered sweetcorn or pellet — an astonishing catch by any standards.