Rob has been putting the new prototype Venture rods through their paces and has great things to report. Using one of the prototype rods in 12ft 3.25 test curve he banked a cracking fish of 48lbs and another of 75¾lb. Rob said: “They are an absolute dream to use and play fish superbly from both the bank or a boat. I like the 3.25 test curve fast action rods best as they are brilliant casters and are very forgiving at the same time. The 12ft 3lbs tc is a cracking all rounder and will be ideal for English anglers on smaller ponds in the UK”. The rods should be available in April, will be priced around the £200 (300eu mark) and will set the carp world alight both in the UK and abroad.
December 20th 2007
Carp Killers join Venture team
Venture are pleased to announce that top German carpers Meik Pyka and Mark Bergmann have joined their growing band of European consultants. The two lads are most famous for their catches on Cassien where both of them have accounted for several famous residents to over 25kg (55lb), topped by Meik's capture of Big Scale at 29.5kg (65lb). Besides their long list of big fish captures, the two lads are equally as well known for their fantastic Carp Killers DVDs that have made so many anglers laugh around the world.
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November 15th 2007
It's About Time!
A well deserved trip to Abbey Lakes in France saw Venture's Jon 'Shoes' Jones on the bank for seven days. What with a higher work load and the ever increasing popularity of Venture, a carp angling session for Shoes has been a long time coming. He takes up the story: " To cut a long story short, myself and John Finch of Bankside Tackle 'ventured' across the channel for the BCAC marshals event. After a couple of biteless days we decided to move from Fox Lake to Heron Lake and that’s when it kicked off. I landed 16 carp, including twelve 20s, two 30s, and two 40s to 48lb. Magic!"
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October 29th 2007
Steve’s Triple Crown
Steve Briggs went on his own version of the Tour de France recently when he combined three separate one-week trips in to one session. Besides catching several 30’s and 40’s Steve achieved the feat of landing at least one 50 from each venue. Starting off on Cassien, the Venture director landed a cracking mirror of 53lb 8oz before moving on to Lac Serreire where he also banked another lump of 54lb 4oz. For the final week he moved on to Rainbow Lake where he landed a further two 50’s of 51lb 8oz and 58lb 8oz completing the hat-trick of 50’s. Steve commented: “It’s the first time I’ve combined three different venues in one trip, they all required slightly different tactics but it kept me working and I enjoyed it immensely!”
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In between trips away Steve Briggs has found some time for fishing in England this year and during a four-night session on a private Shropshire mere he managed to land a new English-best common of 40lb 10oz! It was the only run during the session but also the only fish to be caught from the difficult venue over a two-week period. After baiting heavily with BYT boilies and hemp the fish actually picked up a bright pink pop up fished just off the bait on a hinged stiff rig. It is the third English venue that Steve has caught forties from.
October 29th 2007
Canadian Haulin’
Steve Briggs and his partner Joan spent a week in the company of Paul and Lisa Hunt at Canadian Carpin Holidays situated on the banks of the mighty St. Lawrence River. It was Steve’s first time on the Canadian side of the river after fishing in America a couple of times and it was certainly a trip to remember! Steve commented: “It was just incredible! Paul and Lisa were just the perfect hosts and the service they offer is just the best – but the fishing was out of this world! In just six days I landed 117 carp including fifty-four 20’s and thirteen 30’s up to 39lb. Joan also landed fish to over 30lb. It was easily the most action-packed week I’ve ever experienced and the fish are all totally wild and fight incredibly hard. The St. Lawrence is just an unspoilt, untapped carp fishing paradise and I’ll be going back for sure!”
October 29th 2007
Crowy tempts record Austrian brace
Venture's Simon Crow has tempted the biggest brace of carp ever landed from Austria when he landed this 60lb 2oz common along with another weighing 55lb 9oz during the same day at a private venue known only as The Forest Lake.
He takes up the story: "I fished the stunning venue for seven nights after being invited by my good friend Kurt Grabmayer, with the first night being more of a 'setting up' night as I didn't get to the lake until 1am. I didn't catch, and then sorted the rods out properly the next morning and got them into areas I was happy with. I baited half a dozen spots with Solar's BYT 24mm boilies and Bait & Feed High Betaine pellets, fishing with just four rods and leaving two other spots as 'feed only' so that I had more options to try during the week.
"On the second night I went on to land a 35lb mirror, with the third night resulting in a 40lb 10oz mirror (one I caught last year at 37lb), a 39lb 15oz jet black common (a real stunner), and then just before first light a 27.26kg (60lb 2oz) personal best common. This is the same fish that Steve Briggs caught last year at 55¾lb, and since then, according to Kurt it had only been caught one other time when it weighed 27.6kg (60lb 14oz). This fish is believed to be the second biggest 'known' carp in the country.
"The same day, at just before dark I then went on to catch one they call 'Joan's Fish' at 55lb 9oz to record what I'm told is the biggest brace of carp ever caught in Austria. I went to the lake hoping to catch a 50lb-plus common. To catch two in the same day was just mad!
"My stats at the end of the week were 14 fish landed (no losses, although I pulled into fresh air once), with two of these being singles, two 20s to 29½lb, seven 30s to 39lb 14oz (six of which were over 35lb), the forty, fifty and sixty.
"My wholehearted thanks go out to Kurt and JJ for their fantastic support during the week. They made a very bad week of weather so very enjoyable for me. Thanks guys, I owe you one!"
October 11th 2007
Another Yorkshire biggie for Crowy
Venture's Simon Crow continued his good run of form this season with yet another big fish from the north of England. During an over-night trip to North Yorkshire's Fairview Lake, the 37-year-old tempted the venue's known biggie called C Scale at 38lb.
The big mirror marks the fifth Yorkshire water he's caught 30s from this year, and fell for a Solar BYT 24mm hookbait. He fished this at 20-yards range to a gravel hump, offering a bottom bait on a size 6 Solar Stronghold hook, 15lb Super Nova hooklink and 3oz Atomic lead.
September 6th 2007
Rob Smashes pb with Cassien Whacker
Rob Hughes, Sky Sports tv presenter and MD of the cult tackle company Venture has been hunting for a 50lb plus fish for a while and has recently managed to break that historic barrier with a cracking fish from carp angling mecca Lac de St Cassien in France. Weighing in at 63.12 oz it is one of the biggest fish to be caught from Cassien this year and an excited Rob told us “I went on holiday with the family in August for a few weeks to the Angling International base near to Cassien. It’s a brilliant place for a holiday and being so close to the lake allowed me to keep in touch with what was going on down there. I spent a lot of time just watching water spotting fish and seeing where anglers were fishing but without fishing myself.
I eventually fished just two evening sessions a week during my stay but it was well worth it. I had my eye on an area in the south arm that hadn’t received a lot of pressure, and regularly putting in some bait but not fishing over it paid dividends when I did eventually get out. I found a deeper channel in an un fished bay and baited up the area in and around the channel. I knew it was a biggie when I hooked into it and when it went over the net cord I knew I’d got my fifty. It was only when I tried to lift it into the boat and water started coming in over the side that I realised the sheer weight of the creature. On the scales she went 63lbs 12oz. Solar Club mix with Squid and Octopus 24mm bait fished over the same boilies plus Frolic dog biscuits in 17 feet of water was the successful strategy.
August 1st 2007
New products are Razor sharp!
As most of you already know the RAZORBACK and other Razor products from Venture have been flying out of the door so much so that some items ended up out of stock very quickly! The good news is that the new stock will be in the shops by the middle of August, including the standard RAZORBACK shelters which sold out, and also the new RAZORBACK bivvies which come complete with full groundsheet, zip in front panel, mosquito mesh Velcro door, pegs and poles. The much sought after Sleep Systems (bags and bed chair covers in shower proof material) and the single zip RAZORVISION clear front panel and universal mosquito shrouds will also be available soon. For more info contact your local Venture stockist.
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Added June 29th 2007
Droitwich Angling Centre Open Day - 28th July 2007
There will a Venture/Solar open day on the 28th July at Droitwich Angling Centre. Double World Champion Steve Briggs, World Record holder Graham Slaughter and big fish expert Martin Locke will all be on hand during the day, with Steve and Graham there to talk visitors through the exciting range of Venture gear, and Martin to show off some of the new range of Solar Rig Bits. The lads will also welcome any carpy questions that visitors may have, and will be at the shop between 9am to 5pm. Everyone is welcome.
Come along to the Open Day to see the latest Venture products on display, including the Razor Quiver which is released in July 07.
You'll also be able to see the fantastic new Razor Sling System (released July 07).
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May 23rd 2007
World Record 88lb 6oz carp on VXR-1 Carp Rod!
Venture’s Brand Manager Graham Slaughter set the world on fire in mid-May when he smashed the World Record for a carp with the capture of a colossal 88lb 6oz mirror from Rainbow Lake in France. The giant fish - the first ever carp caught on rod and line to weigh more than 40kg - was landed from Peg 19 during a two-week stint which also saw the Worksop carper tempt a massive 69lb common a day earlier.
Commenting on his catch, Graham said: “I can’t believe it! To land a carp of 69lb one day you think your dreams have all been made, and then the next day to land a new World Record…it takes your breath away. It was like a crocodile coming into the net. It was huge, measuring 18-inches across its shoulders and 4ft in length. The rod handled the big fish like a dream, and if ever there is a test for such a rod, then I‘m sure a fish of such a size from such a tricky venue is IT!”
Graham tempted the new record using a Venture VXR-1 Carp Rod combined with Solar bait.
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May 6th 2007
Another sixty for Steve!
Steve Briggs notched up another sixty during a two-week trip down to Rainbow Lake just recently. The trip got off to a fantastic start when he landed a 55lb common within a couple of hours of starting the session. But although the fish weren’t particularly feeding well, Steve went on to land eleven carp topped by a big mirror of 63lb 2oz.
The catch which also included three forties to 45lb came to the Solar BYT boilies, either double 15mm bottom baits or in conjunction with a pineapple pop up fished as a snowman. All the fish were landed on the Venture VXR-1 rods.
May 4th 2007
Six Countries - Six 40's for Crowy
"Venture's Simon Crow has chalked up the sixth different country he's landed 40lb carp from, when he slipped the net under this Yorkshire 41¾lb mirror. The huge fish is one of very few home-grown 40lb carp in the north of the UK and fell for a Solar BYT hookbait fished over a bed of 6mm matching freebies during an over-night trip to the tricky Hull & District AA's Brickyards fishery.
Simon commented: "I've wanted a Yorkshire forty for a while now so I'm chuffed to have landed this fish. It came during my seventh night on the fishery this year, and was the remaining fish I wanted from the venue."
The big mirror came during an over-night trip in a VX-1 shelter and was landed using a proto-type VXR-1 carp rod.
April 18th 2007
Orchid Venture Lakes open day/weekend
There will be an open day/weekend at top day ticket venue Orchid Venture Lakes in Oxfordshire held over the weekend 2nd-3rd June 2007. Visitors are welcome to visit the lakes and look around whilst at the same time there will be a public viewing of the full VentureCarp range of gear, including the best selling Razorback shelter. On hand will be Orchid owner Marsh Pratley as well as the VentureCarp team including Steve Briggs, Simon Crow, Rob Hughes, Graham Slaughter and Jon ‘Shoes’ Jones. The gate will open to the viewing public at 10am and close at 5pm both days, and the lake will remain open to day ticket anglers throughout. Light refreshments will be available on-site. For further details visit: www.venturecarp.com or www.orchid-lakes.com.
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March 27th 2007
Venture WOWS the NEC !
The Razorback shelter and Razor Zip n Flip luggage system were the talk of the town following the NEC Go Fishing exhibition on the 16th – 18th March. Anglers from all over the country had the opportunity of seeing the kit first hand following the release of Venture’s products to the UK market earlier this month. The whole team were in attendance throughout the weekend and Briggsy said “The feedback was really positive. Everyone said that they could feel the quality and see the effort and attention to detail that has gone into the products and it’s really nice to know that our gear is appreciated.”
There will be more opportunities to meet the team and see the kit in the flesh later on in the year when the Venture Roadshow hits the tackle shops that supply Venture kit. More details will be released in due course.
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March 19th 2007
First Time Lucky for Hughesy
A 36 hour session at the incredible Wellington Country Park proved worth while for Venture team member Rob Hughes recently when he banked a cracking 39.04 mirror known as Drop Scale from the exclusive water. Rob was out with his camera for the first time in 2007 filming for one of his tv programmes when he banked the cracker mid way through the session. “I moved three times to get on fish and was rewarded with this beauty” said the ever cheerful Hughesy. “Due to the incredible demand for Venture products this was my first session of the year with the camera and what a way to kick of my 2007 account. I can’t wait to get back if our customers and the boys in the office will let me!”
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March 13th 2007
See you at Go Fishing 2007!
We’re proud to say that our UK launch at the Five Lakes complex in Essex went extremely well and we are currently selling gear across the UK almost as fast as our manufacturers can make it! Rob Hughes announced: “We had a great weekend at Five Lakes and we couldn’t have asked for a better launch. The Razorback shelter was received extremely well, as were our VXR Carp Rods and the Zip n Flip system. Already several of our stockists have sold out of stock and are re-ordering so things are going extremely well.
We are going to continue our UK roadshow this coming week and will be at the NEC Go Fishing show on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Visitors can see us teamed up with Solar Tackle in the carp section of the great event. Brundall Angling Centre will also be present and visitors will be able to get hold of any items of gear they like from their stand. Hope to see you there!
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March 5th 2007
Four winter 50’s for Steve!
Steve Briggs has been amongst the big fish again over the winter period landing no fewer than four fish over the 50lb mark, two from Cassien and two from Rainbow Lake. Steve spent all of December down at Cassien and went on to land 25 carp from 26 runs. The catch was topped by two mirrors of 52lb 4oz and 52lb 2oz and included another five 40’s up to 49lb 8oz.
A week in swim 18 at Rainbow Lake in February saw Steve bank two cracking commons of 54lb and 50lb 8oz, which were part of a 15-fish catch that also included a further four 40’s up to 48lb 8oz. Steve commented: “They were two great sessions for sure! It was also a great test for the gear and the bait. The Solar BYT produced all of the 50’s while all the fish were landed using the VXR-1 rods either from the boat on Cassien or in hit-and-hold situations from the bank at Rainbow.”
