Monday, 21 July 2025

20/07/25 - Harescombe - Doughnut

Weight - 161lb 7oz
Catch - 62 Carp
Weather - Cloudy, breezy and light showers. Brighter later.
Match - Open (11 fished) - 2nd overall

Back to Harescombe on Doughnut lake. I drew p13, which normally I would be distraught about, however with the low water levels and the wind blowing up this end, there had been a few fish in the area.

Once I got my platform in place the far bank was only 14.5m away. It still plumbed up awfully, however I managed to find a spot that was 3ft deep, before it sharply shallowed to 6-9 inches deep.

I started fishing paste, feeding a few 4s and micros. It was slow going with only a couple of fish, however there were a lot of fish showing themselves in the shallow water.

So, I tried the paste in the shallow water only expecting to catch a couple of fish and ended up staying on this line for the next couple of hours. I only needed to feed a few micros with the paste to keep the fish coming. I think it helped it was cloudy and windy.

Eventually the far line went a bit iffy. I had primed a short line at 2+2 but I struggled to get a clean bite and felt the fish didn’t want to settle in just over 5ft of water.

Resting the far line proved beneficial as I had another run of run of fish, whilst I primed both margins.

Switching to the margins, produced a really good response initially, before I had to wait for bites, but generally the fish were a better stamp.

Overall, an excellent day’s fishing and I thought I might have broken the lake record, which was 137lb (although the evening record is 170lb). So, when I dumped 161lb on the scales I thought that was the win. However, Ronaldo on p20 weighed 164lb, so a massive well done.

Also pleased for Gary and Cathryn who have worked really hard to improve the whole of the fishery and it’s great to see the fruits of their labour coming to fruition, as the lake fished really well.


1.   
164-  2 – Ronaldo – p20
2.    161-  7 – Ken Rayner – p13
3.    126-13 – Jason Crump – p26
4.    117-11 – Nick Hancock – p1 

17/07/25 - Lavington - Ellis

Weight - 39lb 11oz (25lb 9oz - silvers)
Catch - 4 Carp, 8 Bream, 3 Hybrid, 2 Rudd, 1 Ide, 1 Tench, 1 Barbel, 1 Chub
Weather - Cloudy & muggy. Rainy start.
Match - Evening Club (11 fished) - 7th overall

We had 11 for tonight’s evening match and I somehow managed to draw p21 again (the same peg as last match where I struggled for 10lb) – I was not happy, as you can only fish the margins on a top kit and it didn’t plumb up well. The only change to my approach from last week was I searched a little wider to find a flat(ish) spot and found one to my right at 8m at 2 o’clock.

I decided to be quite aggressive with my feed as I felt it was the only way to pull fish into the swim. As well as 4x 200g tins of meat, I had 2pts of 4mm pellet and 3pts of micros – I wasn’t messing about.

On the all-in a half cup of meat and 4s was deposited at 8m and 4mm pellet to my left over a 2+1 line. Initially the meat line only produced silvers up to a pound including a rare barbel.

After 45mins I had my first bream and as the match progressed, I found it was best to cup in feed after each fish, continuing to pick up bream and some big hybrids.

The pellet line only produced a tench and a skimmer, as well as loads of small fish pecking at the bait. However, I did foul hook 2 carp, losing them both, which at least meant there were a few in the area.

Moving into the 2nd hour the pellet line was binned, and I started feeding the margins with micros and meat. Its wasn’t until the 3rd hour that I caught my first carp from the 8m line, soon followed by a 2nd.

As for my margin, I caught a couple more bream, eventually catching a couple of carp late on.

My the all-out I knew I would be nowhere near framing, as I just couldn’t find enough carp, although I was pleasantly surprised with my weight of silvers which was the 3rd best silvers weight on the night with Tom catching 30lb and Steve has 46lb.

1.    93-  3 – Tom Ince – p23
2.    91-13 – Steve Ince – p4
3.    77-  4 – Darren Biss – p27
4.    61-  0 – Terry Fell – p8

Monday, 14 July 2025

13/07/25 - Hillview - Canal 4

Weight - 122lb 10oz (17lb 8oz - silvers)
Catch - 31 Carp, 12 F1s, 30 Ide, 5 Perch, 3 Rudd, 1 Tench
Weather - Warm & sunny. Breezy early, but most calm.
Match - Tackle Den - (22 fished) - 1st in section, 4th overall.

A good turn out for todays match, meant we were spread over canals 2,3 and 4. 7 anglers on canals 2 & 3 and 8 anglers on canal 4. I drew p92 on canal 4, which meant I was at least in the shade to start the match, but also p92 & p91 (Kev Parry) were the only pegs without a spare peg either side.

I had what I thought was a simple plan. Fish short early, whilst priming a caster shallow line and finish on meat down the margins.

Starting on meat at 3m, produced a carp, an F1 and a couple of silvers for what was a slow start.

When I switched to the shallow line I started catching Ide, but I could see carp and F1 in amongst the feed, which was frustrating as I thought I was falling behind Kev who was catching on paste.

I tried various shallow rigs (overshotted isn't allowed) to try and catch those carp/F1, I even tried fishing a full depth rig tight the far bank fishing worm, toss potting caster, but very few carp or F1.

After 2 hours I only had 20/25lb, of mostly Ide. In the end I found the best rig was a RW1 dibber set at 8in with a short lash and gradually the ide were replaced by F1s, then carp.

In fact, I had a lovely couple of hours catching almost immediately as I dropped the rig in, after feeding 2 pouches of caster. I even managed to mug a couple of fish as I shipped out.

With 45mins remaining the shallow swim was slowing down, and I fully expected my margins to be solid. 2 quick fish on meat from each margin had me expecting more. However, it wasn’t as easy as I had hoped. In hindsight, I think I was fishing too deep at 3ft but I couldn’t get into any shallower water due to marginal weed. This prompted a return to the shallow swim, but it wasn’t the same.

On the all-out I was expecting John Drew on the end peg (p84) and Kev to have beaten me. However, I was pleasantly surprised to have won the lake, but a little annoyed I wasted time at the start trying to work out how best to catch properly, as I could have claimed 3rd or even 2nd overall. 

There was no beating Steve Broadhurst today easily won today.


1.   
189-  5 – Steve Broadhurst – p72 (canal 3)
2.    140-  2 – John Brady – p76 (canal 3)
3.    127-10 – Cliff Dutton – p82 (canal 3)
4.    122-10 – Ken Rayner – p92 (canal 4)
5.    104-  3 – Brian Duckett – p70 (canal 3)
6.      99-  2 – Kevin Parry – p91 (canal 4)

Best weight on canal 2 was Andy Burns with 66- 6.

12/07/25 - Harescombe - Match

Weight - 97lb 1oz
Catch - 30 F12, 21 Carp, 6 Skimmers, 1 Roach
Weather - Hot & sunny. Slight breeze.
Match - Summer Series rd 4 (12 fished) - 1st in section, 2nd overall.

The 4th round of the Summer Series and I really needed a section win to put me back in contention. So, we were all delighted to see Matt Hamilton at the draw who was subbing for Steve Brown.

I drew p15 and at least avoided Matt in my section. It was the first time I have drawn p15 (or p16) in 22 attempts! Although, I was pleased to draw p15 I was a little concerned, as only 18lb came off the peg on Thursday, also the breeze was blowing down the other end.

Paste was going to be my main attack; however I was conscious that this end of the lake tends to hold a smaller stamp of fish and set up rigs to fish the end bank with pellet or corn. As it happened, I only used 2 rigs of the 7 I had set up.

On the all-in I started by a clump of sunken sedges to my left catching an F1 and then my rig snapped around the float on my 2
nd fish, so not a great start. Once I sorted a new rig I restarted down by the sedges, but it was full of tiny roach and I never fished there again.

A new swim was set up by the boards off the end of the island. As it happened this swim proved to be my main swim, finding it best to cup in a mix of 2.5mm & 4mm attrax pellet. Whilst that settled, I would fish another swim along various points against the end bank catching a couple of fish, before returning to the island swim.

The first half the match saw me catching mostly F1s up to 3lb, although most were around 1-1.5lb. As the match progressed a few more carp put in an appearance, many of which were of a slightly better stamp and then some proper carp turned up late fishing next to the p14 pallet.

A really busy and hot day. Also, a massive thank you to Gary and Cathryn who came around with ice cold squash for everyone twice to help keep everyone hydrated. It was very much appreciated by all.

I was really pleased to have won the section as it pulls me back up to 4th with 2 rounds remaining.

1.   
99-  8 – Jerry Wiggett – p13
2.    97-  1 – Ken Rayner – p15
3.    94-  4 – Matt Hamilton – p5
4.    80-13 – Arthur Hicks – p21
5.    72-14 – Steve Partington – p29











Friday, 11 July 2025

10/07/25 - Harescombe - Match

Weight - 71lb 4oz
Catch - 25 Carp, 5 F1, 4 Skimmers, 3 Roach, 1 Eel
Weather - Hot & sunny, light breeze
Match - Open (15 fished) - 1st overall

I decided to take a flex day off work to fish today, so I could practice ahead of Saturdays Summer Series.

When I arrived, I realised I hadn’t replaced a pair of broken reading glasses. Fortunately, Andy Burns lent me a spare pair – thanks mate.

Bait wise I only cut up 1 tin of meat, as it hasn’t been working the same as last year and I felt in the last couple of matches, I have wasted time trying to make it work.

Since leaving Uzit, I been trying Blakes bait. Following a recommendation, I’ve started using the Attrax 2.5mm & 4mm pellet which are lovely as you can soak them and they won’t breakdown. They also offer a coarse or fine crushed pellet groundbait and I’ve started using the coarse mix as a paste.

Peg 10 for me which had a small collapsed area by the island and some shallow water. There was a bigger area towards p11, but to be honest I didn’t want to fish that long unless I was struggling.

On the all-in I started a metre off the island with paste and had 3 carp in 15mins and by the end of the hour I was up to 8 fish.

The 2nd hour was a nightmare, as I tried various areas of the swim, but was getting bitted out by roach, they were everywhere. I even tried the meat in the shallow water for 1 roach whilst I couldn’t get a bite on hard pellet.

At the start of the 3rd hour, I eventually started catching in the deep water off the island on paste but couldn’t catch more than 2 or 3 fish before having to switch to another deep-water swim to my right.

As the match progressed, I started catching from the shallow water after it received a ¾ cup of micros and 4s, again rotating with another swim to my left tight to the boards. In the fact the shallow waters swim got stronger but still needed to be rested at times.

I had been feeding a short line and both margins, fully expecting to catch late on, however the margins seemed to be full of roach, and I only managed 1 F1 from the short. To be honest I didn’t waste too much time trying to make these lines work as my far lines were proving to be best.

So, a first win for a couple of months and I was pleased as I felt I fished a better match than I have recently.


1.   
71-  4 – Ken Rayner – p10
2.    52-15 – Mick Lane – p12
3.    48-  1 – Ron Whitehead – p29
4.    40-  5 – Gareth Parker – p25
5.    40-  4 – Stitch – p19

Sunday, 29 June 2025

28/06/25 - Harescombe - Doughnut

Weight - 64lb 0oz
Catch - 28 Carp
Weather - Hot, sunny and increasingly windy.
Match - Summer Series rd 3 (12 fished) - 2nd in section, 3rd overall

The 3rd round of the Summer Series and I really needed a result to put me back in the hunt.

I drew p11, not a peg I would normally rush to, however the wind has been blowing up this end and p13 has been a good area recently. My section ran from p2 to p13 and could keep an eye on everyone with the exception of p2

Due to the water levels, I brought a platform, however due to the sharp drop off it slipped down during the match although fortunately not sufficient enough to warrant an adjustment.

Plumbing up the far bank and to be honest it was awful. I found a small flatish spot but it generally dropped off from a couple inches to 5ft within a couple of metres, so not ideal.

On the all-in I caught a carp straight away on paste fishing across, however the right to left wind had already increased making presentation difficult. A switch to fishing worm over the same line just wasn’t right as I was trying to fish over a small spot and the wind was buffering the rig around. I tried fishing the method to the far bank, but never had a bite, neither had Allan Oram (p9) to my right and the signs were a little ominous.

This meant I had to try my short paste line earlier than expected where I had fed micros and 4s. The first drop in over this line and it was obvious the wind had generated quite a tow and a slightly stiffer paste was required to stay on the hook.

It took a couple of attempts to get my first fish and by feeding a ball of micros started catching. After 2hrs I was up to 7 fish, Allan had 6 and Ronaldo on p7 also had 7.

Over the next couple of hours, I mostly stayed on the short paste line, occasionally trying the method for only 2 fish, but importantly I was gradually increasing my lead over Allan and Ronaldo.

With 2hrs remaining (6hr match), the wind had increased further which coincided with my short line fading, prompting a new short swim being fed to my left. I had also fed my left margin, which resulted in 1 carp – surprisingly this was my only fish from this swim.

With an hour remaining I stopped catching. I felt I may have overfed my short line, although the strong undertow may have been putting off the fish as Allan and Steve Partington (p13) were also struggling.

In the meantime, the wind had eased off a little allowing Ronaldo to start catching on the pole over his far line, over taking me.

My short line came back to life with 30mins remaining, but it was too late to pull back the deficit on Ronaldo who had a great last hour catching 25/30lb to win the section.

In hindsight, I was disappointed not to win the section after leading for so long, however p11 isn’t great so I was pleased to finish 3rd overall. The result has pulled me up from 6th to 5th in the series.

1.    88-13 – Arthur Hicks – p20
2.    76-  6 – Ronaldo – p6
3.    64-  0 – Ken Rayner – p11
4.    58-  7 – Steve Brown – p22







Tuesday, 24 June 2025

22/06/25 - Witherington Farm - Selwood

Weight - 83lb 13oz
Catch - 15 Carp 
Weather - Warm, sunny, cloudy periods. Increasingly windy.
Match - Tackle Den (17 fished) - 6th overall, 4th on lake

The information I received about how to approach this match was ‘slap, slap and when you are bored slap some more’. I’ll be honest I wasn’t that excited the prospects of slapping all day.

I was asked (with Andy Burns helping) to peg the lakes with 8 pegs each on Cottage and Selwood. Having pegged Cottage, we had nearly completed Selwood, when Brian Duckett informed us, an extra peg was required. As a result, this meant there was 1 peg that didn’t have a spare peg either side – permanent peg 14, which I promptly drew and in hindsight I wish I had put an extra peg on the opposite bank, as the wind was blowing into that bank.

I didn’t mind which lake I drew so long as I was at the windward end, so I wasn’t that enthusiastic about my draw with wind blowing directly from behind, but at least I could cast to the island. I really need my drawing arm to return.

On the all-in I started on the method to the island without success and fed some 4s and micros at 5m.

A switch to fishing paste at 14m feeding a few pellets with paste, resulted in liners but no proper bites. Eventually I caught my first carp over my 5m line after 45mins.

I did try slapping a pellet over the 14m line, but whilst there were carp around they didn’t seem interested and after 15mins I got bored and never picked up the rig again.

I had been pinging 8mm pellet to the island and first cast on the straight lead with a red 8mm pellet resulted in a 2lber and a further 3 carp soon followed.

The 2nd half of the match I caught a couple more carp on the straight lead, before concentrating on the 5m line and the left-hand margin fishing paste. I was having a frustrating time, with loads of liners and no proper bites, until I cut out feeding micros, feeding just 4s was much better.

I did try worm down the margin which resulted in 1 carp, but paste seemed to be best, catching 3 fish in the last 15mins.

In the end the draw went against me as the windward side of both lakes, proved to be the place to be. An angler on each lake lost their 1 net, Andy Burns went over the net limit and Steve Venn lost 30/40lb when his 3rd fell in whilst doing the weigh in. Needless to say he was still very happy to have beat me by 1lb.

1.    162-  4 – Andrew Black (Cottage)
2.    116-14 – Michael Triggs (Selwood)
3.    109-15 – Vince Grillo (Cottage)
4.      89-15 – Andy Burns (Cottage)
5.      85-  9 – Pete Philips (Selwood)
6.      84-13 – Steve Venn (Selwood)