no this one

Here is one of the swims at Kingfisher lake 1977. I did have a few tench but no eels.
Never mind there is always the next session although I would prefer to be fishing for the eels when I catch the record. (Yea I can dream)

soup siddleys book 1st edition is on ebay at the moment buy it now 26 quid.

It's a bigger water than I expected Eel. Did it have a "big" Eel reputation prior to the record being taken ?

Has it produced any big Eels since ?

I bet it took a bit of pressure following the capture of the record.

Hi Albionman,
I don`t think the water had any history of any eels bieng caught around this time. I and a group of anglers had formed a fishing club and we used to fish a number of waters and just pleaure fish. I think it was producing carp around this time. As for any pressure aftre the capture, I really can`t confirm that. It did not get me to start to fish for eels, that came a few years later when I started to fish Barry Res and found a dead eel with his head cut off and still weighed 6lbs plus.
As for the present, I am not sure who now owns the water.

Barry Res, a blast from the past. My home town and my home water, I spent a lot of time both day and night on this once great water.
Renowned for its tench back then and we were using par boiled spuds for the Carp which went to about 20lb. A few of us were into big eels
and it produced some great fish, 6lb 2oz is the biggest I remember but we lost bigger!!!. Mostly coming out in the day time on half rudd.
There were many eels in the 2 to 4lb range and lots of the bootlaces were big head silvers as I remember. These were great great times on a great
water sadly to my knowlage it is no more, many many years ago half was filled in. It was run by Glamorgan anglers then but there was allways a problem with the fact that it was on Barry dock property (the water being used to power the main lock gates).
There was a salt water dock right along side the res it was called the timber pond as pit props were floated in it waiting to be taken to the pits up in the valleys and we used to catch mullet in the day time when fishing was slow in the res.
Thanks Eel for stirring some great memories and the roots of my love of these fantastic snakes.

Hi ChrisT, Yep Glamorgan ran the water, just loved fishing there. I also spent some time on the committee and together with some members of the NAC, fished the water for the eels and moved quite a few to other waters before it was filled in . Do you remember Dave Board? He was also a member of the NAC and was also big into his carp fishing.
The GAA have some new waters to replace Barry Res. I hear that they are fishing very well for the Pleasure anglers. I also used to fish the River Wye at Monmouth for the chub etc. Caught one of the first Barbel off the Monmouth stretch back in 1985. Even won a trophy for it.
Thanks for your post ChrisT.

Sorry to sidetrack, but I just cannot believe what Mr Crawford is wearing on that book cover !
Makes Angrys Pink fleece look plain.
Orbeel.

never mind mr crawfords top whats that car in the background.

think its the jockey about to run him over .

nick

looks like a vauxhall viva.

You'd get locked up for looking at a fish like that these days

The 70's still rocked though.

And everybody used to look like that, no poncy gelled hair back then!!!

Getting my flared chocolate brown cordroys caught in my bike chain on my way to the cut, ah 1970s happy days.

Orbeel