28/08/23 - Ivy House - Old Match Lake

Weight - 45lb 7oz

Catch - 9 Carp, 1 Skimmer

Weather - Short shower  to start, mostly sunny with cloud periods

Match - Pairs (28 fished) - 18th overall, 7th in section

Mark & I had decided to enter the Bank Holiday Monday pairs match, he would take the canals and I would fish the Old Match Lake.

Mark did the draw and drew himself p42 on Kingfisher, whilst he gave me p13. Oh FFS, I really don’t like this peg and my section included P7 to p14, so not to sound too dramatic I was up against it.

I started on a small hybrid with dampen 4s and a 6mm pellet. This produced 2 carp in the first 30mins, but nothing else. I tried micros and then a method feeder, but except for 1 tiny carp I never had another fish.

I managed to catch a few carp at 16m on paste but had to continually back off the swim to let it settle.

As it was fishing hard, I set up a negatively fed pellet swim at 13m off at an angle but this didn’t work either.

To be honest I wasn’t overly concerned about the poor start as I’ve had a number of matches here were I’ve caught late short and/or down the margin. However, that didn’t happen today. I had a couple of fish at 5m and had carp coming into the margin but bolted out almost immediately.

A really frustrating match, which unfortunately went as I expected, with pegs 7, 8 & 10 taking the top 3 in section, whilst I finished 5^th. Except for the end pegs 10,11 & 18, I had the best weight on my bank, so putting it into perspective I just wasn’t in the best area.

Mark managed 3^rd in his section, beaten by the 2 end pegs.

1.    218-  6 – Chris Telling – p2 (OML)

2.    202-  4 – Mick Lane – p48 (K)

3.    145-  0 – Joff Rogers – p39 (K)

4.    134-  8 – Steve Waters – p7 (OML)

5.    116-  8 – Mark Poppleton – p42 (K)

6.    111-  4 – Alfie – p44 (K)

27/08/23 - Ivy House - Kingfisher

Weight - 53lb 3oz

Catch - 24 Carp, 2 Skimmers, 1 F1, 1 Crucian, 1 Roach

Weather - Mostly sunny, with cloudy periods

Match - Tackle Den (17 fished) - 7th overall, 2nd in section

With 19 booked in we were spread over Kingfisher and Moorhen, which meant nearly every peg in. However, 2 anglers didn’t fish and the 2 pegs not drawn were both on Moorhen, which would mean more space.

As for me I drew p42 on Kingfisher. A decent draw, but I expected it to be tough going, with pegs in either side.

In fact, I had a terrible start. Initially, I tried paste tight across, which is usually worth a few fish, but lost 1 foul hooker and put an F1 the wrong side of the keepnet in the first 30mins.

Trying pellet at the bottom of the shelf only produced 2 fish and fishing shallow I caught another, although I also lost 2. So, after 3hrs I only had 3 fish in the net!

Moving back to fishing paste tight across I started catching, which was strange after my earlier struggles.

I had also started feeding both margins, which started slowly, however I kept feeding micros and 4s, and fishing paste meant I managed some better stamp fish. Fortunately, that late run meant I picked up the section money by default. Felt I got away with one today.

1.    89-  9 – Alistair Tilney – p37 (K)

2.    85-12 – Ian Barker – p33 (M)

3.    73-  7 – Dan Barnett – p35 (M)

4.    69-  4 – Pete Phillips – p29 (M)

5.    60-  3 – Andy Bright – p46 (K)

26/08/23 - Ivy House - Kingfisher

Weight - 82lb 9oz (7lb - silvers)

Catch - 34 Carp, 13 Skimmers,  4 Roach

Weather - Mostly sunny, breezy at times

Match - Open (23 fished) - 10th overall, 3rd in section

Today was the first of 3 days at Ivy House and todays match was spread over Old Match Lake and Kingfisher. I drew p40 on Kingfisher which is a decent peg, however I haven’t fished this lake since April, so was a little unsure as to what would work.

I started on paste tight to the far bank and caught 4 carp after an hour, which was slow going, but better than those around me.

A switch to fishing down the track with 6mm pellet over 6s resulted in a couple of fish, but again it was slow going and I was

starting to struggle. I had considered trying shallow, however Joff to my left and Stu to my right both tried it with limited success. I think caster shallow would have worked if I had any.

In the meantime, I had also been feeding the deep water just off my right margin regularly with 6s, which quickly produced a carp and then nothing. Next, I tried fishing at the bottom of the far shelf, tapping in 4 & 6s fishing a hair rigged 6, and I started to catch. Only small carp, plus a couple of skimmers, but at least I was catching to keep myself ahead of those I could see.

When this line died, I moved back to the right-hand deep margin, fishing paste and it was much better catching some slightly better stamp fish. I was alternating with the left margin which proved tricky, but once I sorted out how best to feed (feeding small balls of micros was best) it improved.

Moving into the last hour, the right-hand swim was fading, so micros were fed tight into the margins, which resulted in a reasonable finish to the match.

1.    139-15 – Richard Rogers – p14 (OML)

2.    129-  3 – Simon Stacey – p2 (OML)

3.    120-  4 – Mark Poppleton – p49 (K)

4.    100-13 – Chris Timms – p1 (OML)

5.    100-  7 – Andy Dixey – p43 (K)

6.      92-  8 – Sean Rhodes – p2 (OML)

Silvers

1.      60-  6 – Mike Etheridge – p5 (OML)

2.      14-13 – Alfie – p42 (K)

20/08/23 - Ivy House - Heron

Weight - 240lb 0oz

Catch - 189 Carp, 8 F1s

Weather - Mostly sunny

Match - Open (9 fished) - 2nd overall

After the recent high attendances on Heron, we only had 9 today, but that at least meant it would likely be a high weight affair. I was disappointed see p17 staring back at me, as I had hoped for a day catching F1s shallow on caster. Unfortunately, there aren’t many F1s in this area of the lake and there tends to a smaller stamp of fish for some reason, probably because the prevailing wind blows down the other end.

I started on paste off the end of the keepnet and caught a couple decent carp, but the majority were less than 1lb and I only stayed on this for 30mins.

I had been feeding 4s to my left by my keepnets and switched to fishing paste and was soon catching a better stamp of fish.

I had also started feeding caster at 6m with the intention of catching shallow, however I soon had 5 ducks waiting for each feed. I think they did me a favour though and decided to feed caster down my right margins. A bit of a gamble on my part as I have struggled to get my margins to work on this lake, however other than the 1^st 30mins I spent all match on my top kit down each margin, paste down the left and caster to the right.

Typically, I spent 1-1½hr on each swim, only swapping when I experienced a lull in sport.  At the half point of the match, I was up to 85 fish and the caster swim in particular just got stronger.

The paste line produced the better sized fish, but also a few tiny carp, whilst the caster fish were a more consistent stamp.

In the end I was happy with 2^nd from the peg and speaking to Mick afterwards who won from p6 he said he had 175ish fish, so the stamp of fish in my area did go against me. That said a PB for Ivy House and more lessons learnt.

1.    247-  8 – Mick O’Brien – p6

2.    240-  0 – Ken Rayner – p17

3.    203 – 0 – Daniel – p3  

18/08/23 - Ivy House - Old Match Lake

Weight - 93lb 4oz (7lb 12oz silvers)

Catch - 19 Carp, 6 Skimmers, 2 Roach

Weather - Dry & muggy, rain later

Match - Twlight Open (7 fished) - 3rd overall

I think the forecast rain reduced todays numbers to only 7. At least we would have plenty of space.

I was disappointed to draw p14 which isn’t my favourite area of the lake and when Dwayne drew p1 and Carl p7 I really thought I would be up against it.

As I haven’t caught much on the tip recently, I decided to solely focus on the pole starting at 14m with paste, which was more comfortable than 16m due to the breeze.

I soon caught a carp, but that was the only one although there were loads of fizzing in the swim and judging by the number of missed bites I think they were silvers.

There were a few carp cruising and I managed one shallow, but no more and I didn’t want to get sucked in chasing shadows.

As the long line seemed to be a waste of time, I thought I would try down both my margins fishing the pallets of p13 & p15. P13 to my left was a little deeper and all I got was indications from silvers and soon scrapped that swim. Instead, I started feeding heavily with micros and 4s much closer to me.

The P15 pallet was much better, by pinging 6s and toss potting pellet, fishing an 8mm I soon had a big skimmer and a couple of carp. I didn’t want to push the swim too early so rested it after each fish, trying a new 5m line or down my left margin, both with paste. This produced a couple of skimmers early before the carp arrived.

The left margin was a waste of time as the fish would come but would disappear as quickly and I didn’t have a single fish from here.

The right pallet turned into my banker. After catching those early fish on pellet, I then lost 3 carp, 2 of which were foul hooked and it was obvious a few fish were present, which prompted a switch to paste. This quickly produced a few better stamp carp, before this line faded.

For a 90mins spell the average stamp of fish was 7-8lb, but the last 90mins all I caught was 3-4lb fish. Weird.

In the end I knew I had the best weight on my bank, however as expected Carl won from the in form p7 and Dwayne was 2^nd from p1.

So, 1 out of the money again and it rained for the last 2hrs. I hate packing up in the rain.

1.    118-  0 – Carl Mulford – p7

2.    103-  0 – Dwayne Seed – p1

3.      93-  4 – Ken Rayner – p14

13/08/23 - Ivy House - Heron

Weight - 179lb 4oz

Catch - 102 Carp, 52 F1

Weather - Mostly cloudy, sunshine and showers

Match - Open (14 fished) - 4th overall

As I intended to fish caster shallow, I hoped to draw on a few F1s, although P14 wouldn’t have been my first choice as its not a noted area for F1s.

After yet more rain yesterday, I thought it might be difficult to catch shallow and that’s how it turned out, but I still expected a few bites.

I started on paste off the end of my keepnets and had a good start catching 30 carp in the first hour, including a 4lber which was a real bonus.

Moving into the second hour the paste line was fading with tiny carp becoming a nuisance, so I tried the shallow caster line at 10m and initially struggled to catch properly. I eventually worked it out, however the F1s were tricky to find, regularly switching between 6in and 12in deep. It was becoming obvious there weren’t many in the area, as I was catching quite a few carp, including the tiny ones which was proving frustrating.

By halfway I was up to 70ish fish, however Dave Wilmott on p13 was now catching well down his margin on pellet. I struggled to catch down my margin, so stayed on the shallow line, trying to pull the fish closer but they wouldn’t come closer than 8m.

I eventually caught a few fish down my margin on pellet, which was fortunate as my shallow line was fading fast, but I generally struggled to catch in the last hour.

In the end I had plenty of fish, but too many small carp, which probably cost me 3^rd place. Still an enjoyable day’s fishing, although I really need to work on fishing my margins better.

1.    233-  2 – Dave Wilmott – p13

2.    225-  2 – Mick O’Brien – p20

3.    196-  2 – Simon Duke – p8

4.    179-  4 – Ken Rayner – p14

5.    173-  2 – Jamie Durrup – p16

11/08/23 - Ivy House - Old Match Lake

Weight - 92lb 9oz

Catch - 19 Carp

Weather - Warm & sunny

Match - Twilight Open (12 fished) - 6th overall

Well, this was a match of 2 halves, not helped by the realisation that I left my no.5 section at home and missed the first 15mins as I returned home to collect it.

I drew P5 which is Ok and a peg I won from a few weeks ago.

 
Once I got back to my peg I started on the method to the island, whilst I sorted out my pole rigs, I lost everything on the 3^rd cast to an underwater snag and didn’t bother setting up another.
 
A switch to paste at 16m, potting in 6s and catapulting 6s over the top, I soon caught my first carp, but struggled to get a proper bite. There were a number of fish swimming through the swim which I tried catching shallow without success.
 
I kept feeding quite heavily with 6s hoping the fish would settle and did catch 2 more fish on paste but I think I had over done it by being too aggressive with my feed.
 
Ideally, I wanted to catch over my short line where I had fed 6s from the start, to be my main line, but surprisingly this line didn’t produce a bite despite the swim fizzing.
 
At the halfway point (5hr match) I only had 3 carp in the net. I noticed p13 opposite had been catching the odd fish shallow, but not a lot had been caught along my bank and I hoped for a few late on.
 
As I felt I got the feed wrong on my 16m line, I moved to my right at 16m on the other side of the island gap, just feeding through the toss pot which worked much better as I started to catch.
 
I had also been feeding both margin with 6s and they started to show signs of life in the last hour. I needed to feed micros to keep the fish coming and managed 4 from the right margin and 3 from the left all on paste to add 45lb.
 
In the end the slow start probably cost me a frame, although the bulk of the weights came from the bottom end of the lake.
 
1.    131-  1 – Carl Mulford – p10
2.    121-  8 – Tim Hadland – p8
3.    105-  8 – Mick Lane – p12
4.      98-  6 – Gary Knight – p16
5.      97-10 – Mike – p13

06/08/23 - Rood Ashton

Weight - 30lb 4oz

Catch - 8 Carp

Weather - NW breeze, sunshine and showers

Match - Tackle Den (19 fished) - 12th overall, 3rd in section

After yesterday’s wind and rain, I felt it would fish hard, particularly with 19 fishing. There was also a large marquee, with adjoining toilets on the top bank that had been used for a wedding do the night before and a couple tents also housed some of the guests! I’m sure it sounded like a good idea when they agreed to camp beside a lake in early August.

P14 put me on the top bank just past the marquee and it was a little busy with the campers trotting to and from the toilets as I was setting up.

On the all-in I started on a small method with a 6mm yellow or orange wafter ¾ of the way across to the island and I netted 3 carp in the first hour. A reasonable start and I thought if I kept picking up the odd fish, I might be alright until the last 2 hours when I would go down the margins and catch a few lumps.

Sadly, it didn’t happen that way, as I only
had 1 fish in the next 3hrs again on the feeder, although losing 4 fish to snag didn’t help.

I tried paste down my left margin and meat to my right but could only get bites from roach.

By gradually casting closer to the island, I managed to net another 4 carp in the last 2 hours, to finish a rather boring match. A disappointing match, but with a 21lb and DNW either side there just didn’t seem to be any volume of fish in front of me.

At least I had a short journey (12mins) home.

1.    70-  7 – Bobby Moore – p20

2.    68-10 – Dave Keen – p21

3.    65-13 – John Williams – p12

4.    57-13 – Brian Duckett – p19

5.  51-  9 - Ann Dee - p20a

30/07/23 - Ivy House - Heron

Weight - 169lb 4oz

Catch - 77 F1s, 48 Carp

Weather - Bright start, wind and rain later

Match - Open (16 fished) - 4th overall

I was looking forward to this match as I haven’t fished Heron for 8 weeks and you usually have plenty of bites, particularly at this time of year.

I was happy with p6 as you have a little space even when the lake is full and when I arrived I quite fancied it as the wind was blowing into the peg.

On my previous visits paste has worked well for me, so that’s what I started on, over a 2+2 line, but all I caught was small/tiny carp. After 30mins I tried a primed shallow pellet line at 10m and caught a couple of fish, but I didn’t feel I was catching quickly enough.

So, back to the paste line and this time fishing off the end of the keepnets hoping the fish would prefer to settle in the shallower water. This worked as the stamp of fish improved, but it wasn’t long before the tiny fish returned. 

I had switched the pellet shallow line to caster and soon started catching mostly F1s up to 2lb, with the majority at 8 inches and stayed on this for most of the match.

Unfortunately, the wind and rain increased. Whilst the rain wasn’t an issue, the wind meant I was struggling to accurately feed the caster and I needed to switch between my 3 shallow rigs to keep in touch with the F1s, which slowed me down.

In the last hour (6hr) I was wishing I had brought more than the 4pts of caster I had with me. I had kept feeding pellet on my short line expecting a late burst which wasn’t as good as expected.

I had also started feeding down my margins and really struggled to get a bite on corn, but I just think I didn’t get the feed or rig right here, which was a missed opportunity. 

In the end, I was pleased to have caught what I had and really enjoy catching shallow on caster putting into practice some of the pointers I picked up at Tunnel Barn.

More importantly I managed to take a pound off Dave, so some consolation after the Garbo qualifier result.

In hindsight, I think I was a little out of touch with the lake and needed to do better down my margins.

1.    195-15 – Martin Thomas – p13

2.    188-  0 – Neil Thomas – p24

3.    179-  2 – Ronaldo – p22

4.    169-  4 – Ken Rayner – p6

5.    134-  3 – Dave Wilmott – p9