Anglers who use their fishing rods on Norfolk's River Thurne have threatened to deny access to the water to prevent work being carried out nearby.

Over 40 years ago, a deadly algae destroyed many fish stocks in the river and anglers fear the same may occur again if the sediment is disturbed by dredging in the Heigham Sound, near Hickling, according to the Norfolk Eastern Daily Press.

Norwich and district Pike Club committee member John Currie claimed that many local fishermen were disappointed not to have been consulted about the plans, which he claimed represented a "huge danger".

"We are urging the [Broads] Authority to at least carry out the work over a two-year period so they can limit dredging to cold water conditions," he added.

The organisation dredged a small area of Heigham Sound last summer, which had no environmental consequence.

Elsewhere, angling enthusiasts in the US held up banners and marched through St Petersburg, Florida in demonstration against the removal of the gag grouper from local waters, Tampa Bay Online reported.

Anglers who use their fishing lures to entice pikes have been urged to help protect the population of the species.

Broads Angling Strategy Group (BASG) has expressed its concerns over the plight of pikes after Environment Agency (EA) officials found three dead fish in the northern Oulton Broad in Suffolk.

BASG chairman John Currie said that although the reasons behind the deaths of the fish remained elusive, anglers should be careful when fishing for the species.

"I would urge all anglers to help us protect pike stocks by ensuring they use the correct handling techniques and proper equipment at all times when pike fishing," he said.

The EA claimed it was working closely with Mr Currie's organisation to examine various causes that may be influencing the current levels of pike in the area.

One of the three pikes found weighed more than 30lbs.

Last week, the Angling Trust discovered that the EA had known of the reasons for low stocks of salmon on the River Teign but failed to implement measures to rectify the problem.

Anglers planning to compete in the Angling Times Team Championships Final will have to take their fishing lures to a different location this year as the venue has moved.

The competition will be held on the Willen and Furzton Lakes in Milton Keynes and not on Peterborough's River Nene after organisers made the decision to move the event.

Official Ken Wade told the publication he was "genuinely excited" for the change, but admitted that he was slightly disappointed to be bidding farewell to the former venue.

"It will be a sad day to see the match moved off the Nene because it's my local river … but it does look as if it's run its course," he said.

Some teams threatened to boycott the final in recent years due to the lack of flow on the Nene and abundance of weeds.

Earlier this month, the Angling Times supported plans to build a new National Angling Centre capable of hosting the World Championships. 

Members of the angling industry put away their fishing lures to pen an open letter to a celebrity chef.

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall has received praise for his TV Fish Fight series and also some advice from the National Federation of Fishermen's Organisations (NFFO) on how to implement the changes he called for.

NFFO hailed the chef as his programme "brilliantly illuminated" the issue of discarded fish, but said that his campaign's success would be measured when the EU Cod Management Policy is reviewed later in the year.

"When the current plan was adopted in 2008, the Commission took the deliberate decision to set the North Sea cod quota at a level in which massive discards were inevitable," the letter explained.

Whittingstall was urged to take notice that initiatives to reduce the level of discards, such as using square mesh panels to catch fish and enforcing seasonal closures on waters, have been adopted.

The chef's programmes focused on the abandoning of many caught fish and the waste of food resources, which he believes are upheld by EU policy.

One angler used his fishing lures to perfection as he caught the biggest carp of the year so far.

Solihull's Anthony Bahnik bagged the 45lb fish with his fishing rod on the half-frozen Nene Valley pit.

Speaking to the Angling Times, Mr Bahnik said that making the scoop was far from easy, describing how "the fight started with a savage run of 30yds, then the fish rose in the water and started shaking its head violently".

After gaining control, the "spirited" fish then went off in another direction before he eventually made the catch, he added.

In bettering his 43lb haul of last summer, the carp turned out to be a new personal best for Anthony, which is no mean feat at a lake containing just 27 of the breed.

Elsewhere, Tom Maker landed a 38lb 2oz carp on his very first session of the year. The angler was trying to sleep when his fishing lures enticed the fish at a southern stillwater, the Angling Times reported.
 

Anglers have been using their fishing rods to scoop top prizes at a host of angling competitions across south Wales.

Bart Morgan finished above 92 other anglers to win the RNLI Annual Fishing Open, donating £50 of the £250 prize to the charity, the South Wales Evening Post reported.

A 49lb 8oz haul of f1 carp earned Matt Morgan first place in the Newport AA Winter Series match, according to the South Wales Echo.

Robert Edwards took home £125 in prize money after his 856gm flounder bagged him victory in a competition on the Sully-Bendricks coastline.

The victor at the Pirates AC match was Geoff Walker, who used his fishing lures to catch 61lb 8oz of carp.

Elsewhere, Nigel Morris braved high winds to take home the White Springs Winter League with 88lb 6oz of tench, bream, perch and carp.

Anglers can practise using their fishing rods in advance of the area's next competition on Mumbles Pier, taking place at 17:00 GMT on February 20th.

English anglers competing in the World Championships might soon be able to use their fishing lures a little closer to home under new plans.

An industry consortium has approved proposals to establish a new National Angling Centre capable of hosting the competition, as well as a National Angling School which would be located at Cudmore Fisheries in Staffordshire.

Such plans have received backing from the Angling Times, although its news editor Steve Phillips admitted that "there is still a long way to go".

The centre will managed by the Angling Trust and will be based near London or Birmingham.

Due to a lack of quality water of sufficient size, England is not currently able to stage the World Championships, which were held in Spain last year.

Last week, the Angling Times quoted the boss of Hampshire complex Golden Valley Lakes John Raison condemning many fisheries as "negligent in their maintenance and repairs"

Angling enthusiast Tony Gilbert has won the Wilts Angling Open at Hordle Lakes in Wiltshire.

The Wiltshire Times reports his total catch of 44lb 4oz of carp was enough to take the first prize at the event, with Pete Neate of Holt coming in second with 42lb 6oz, followed by Matt Skyrme of Trowbridge in third with 31lb 4oz.

Indiovidual honours for the event went to Rob Trim of Tisbury for his 3lb 11oz catch of small trimmers and roach, with the team prize for the day going to Airsprung with 181 points compared to Tisbury's 122.

Meanwhile, David Roe won the recent competition in Beccles Quay Lagoon, East Anglia, when he was able to use his fishing lures and know-how to catch a huge winter tench and a similarly large bream.

Runner-up on the day Joe Beckham said: "It took considerable angling skill to get these two specimens out on light pole tackle so David Roe was a worthy winner."
 

There are sure to be plenty of fishing lures being used on the shoreline between South Shields and Ryhope Dene in the north-east of England when the Sunderland Sea Angling Festival takes place.

The contest has reportedly benefited from £5,000 in funding from the local authority, with councillor Richard Bell describing the occasion as a community event.

"We're delighted that Sunderland is staging one of the biggest ever fishing competitions held in the region and we hope anglers of all ages and abilities will be taking part," he told the Sunderland Echo.

The challenge is set to run on February 5th and 6th 2011, with participants with fishing lures required to pay £10 to enter.

With cash prizes on offer for winners, there are likely to be competitors from across the region showing up to get involved in the angling action.

Meanwhile, in the south of England this week there was a presentation evening held by Weymouth Angling Society to celebrate the talent of the club's juniors, with Josh Wilkinson and Sam Short winning the under-12s and over-12s categories respectively.
 

Youngsters at a Weymouth angling club were rewarded for their skills in using fishing lures and other tools of the trade.

Two of the major prizes on offer were the under-12s accolade and the over-12s gong at the Weymouth Angling Society's junior presentation, with Josh Wilkinson and Sam Short finishing top in the respective categories, reported the Dorset Echo.

Wilkinson had to beat 13 participants to take home the award, while Short needed to finish ahead of eight others.

The publication noted it was also a good day for Nina Frapple, who took home the prize for the best specimen – for a whiting – and was named junior of the year alongside Chloe Frapple and Chloe Jones.

All of the youngsters received their accolades at an event at Weymouth Angling Society's headquarters on Commercial Road.

Meanwhile, the adult angling competition at the Old Nene in Cambridgeshire last week saw some impressive use of fishing lures, with the top six finishers all managing to catch more than 20 lb of fish.