I'd look on Shakerley Mere as a mystery for Catfish. There is the infamous Cat that was reported to have escaped on the netting the club and the EA did many years ago. The club did originally stock Cats back in the 90s, along with some other weird and wonderful species. I can't remember the exact number of Cats, or more importantly whether they were sexed to ensure no breeding. I'm sure Mike Wilkinson did put the numbers stocked on one of the older websites, so the info was out there at some point, and maybe this is where the club got their information from and have concluded there is only 1 Cat left. I also know a very good Catfish angler who targeted the Cats in Shakerley before the netting, and even back then, it was an absolute ball breaking rock hard water for them.
Cats are notoriously difficult to net as they have the ability to get deep into undercut banks and snags. So who knows whether there might be 1 or 2 more tucked up in the out of bounds areas that has avoided capture, just sitting there preying on the abundance of silvers. Or on the flip side you could also be fishing for ghosts, as any Cat(s) might well have died off due to old age.
Unfortunately if you do get a Cat, it couldn't go back due to licensing issues but on the positive side, it'd be re-homed and I believe you get a full season ticket for your efforts.
Thats going to be hard for any carp angler to do. They wont have the necessary kit to retain a big cat.....well, it all depends how big you are talking? I doubt a cat angler would spend time to catch just a lone fish that hasn't been seen for years......
I'd look on Shakerley Mere as a mystery for Catfish. There is the infamous Cat that was reported to have escaped on the netting the club and the EA did many years ago. The club did originally stock Cats back in the 90s, along with some other weird and wonderful species. I can't remember the exact number of Cats, or more importantly whether they were sexed to ensure no breeding. I'm sure Mike Wilkinson did put the numbers stocked on one of the older websites, so the info was out there at some point, and maybe this is where the club got their information from and have concluded there is only 1 Cat left. I also know a very good Catfish angler who targeted the Cats in Shakerley before the netting, and even back then, it was an absolute ball breaking rock hard water for them.
Cats are notoriously difficult to net as they have the ability to get deep into undercut banks and snags. So who knows whether there might be 1 or 2 more tucked up in the out of bounds areas that has avoided capture, just sitting there preying on the abundance of silvers. Or on the flip side you could also be fishing for ghosts, as any Cat(s) might well have died off due to old age.
Unfortunately if you do get a Cat, it couldn't go back due to licensing issues but on the positive side, it'd be re-homed and I believe you get a full season ticket for your efforts.
I believe the cat needs removing as the mere I sssi status anybody catching it needs to retain it and call the club that's only what I have heard
How can there be only 1 cat left? I've also heard the same, just curious how 1 lone cat escapes
There's only one cat left it is big carp to mid 20s and bream 12lb plus and plenty of silvers