09/08/25 - Harescombe - Match

Weight - 121lb 3oz

Catch - 26 Carp, 21 F1, 3 Skimmers, 1 Roach

Weather - Warm & sunny, breezy

Match - Summer Series Final Round (12 fished) - 1st in section, 3rd overall

The final round of this summer series. As I was lying 4^th, I really needed a good result and for someone above me to blow out. The draw put me on p19 which I was happy with due to the left margin which can produce some big carp between the sedges and Gary had topped up the lake which made the margin even more inviting. Arthur who was lying 2^nd in the league was on p23, and I needed to beat him by at least 2 points to finish in the top 3.

On the all-in I started across by the boards on paste feeding 4s, I caught 4 carp in the first 20mins. I had to set up a new swim to the right

of the first to keep the fish coming, but the action had slowed down and by the end of the first hour I was up to 7 fish.

As is usual for this lake the 2^nd hour was a struggle and I only managed 1 more carp. I even tried fishing pellet and didn’t have a bite.

Fortunately, the 3^rd hour picked up, as I changed to potting 4s catching 2 or 3 fish, before the swim went ‘funny’ and required another pot of pellet. The wind however was proving to be a pain, prompting a bout of wind Tourette’s!

At the halfway point I started feeding micros and 4s down the left margin in 18ins of water and it didn’t take long for it to start clouding up.

The 2^nd half of the match was a case of rotating between the left margin, a 2+2 line and the right margin.

The right margin was just over 2ft deep tight to the bank and was only fed with 4s, which didn’t produce many fish, but it did produce some good stamp F1s. I kept the short line topped hand feeding 4s and it only improved after I dumped ½ cup of pellet. Again, not many fish, but they were a reasonable stamp.

The left margin was by far the best. Initially, I was cupping in bait a metre off the bank and as the match progressed, I started throwing in micros/4s and corn as I hooked a fish. As hoped this swim produced some good stamp carp, as well as some of the rarely seen big F1s, all on paste. In the end I probably fed nearly 5pts of pellet.

On the all-out I knew I had beaten Arthur, it was just a question by how much.

After weighing 121lb, I knew I had won the section, beating Arthur by more than 2pts and I thought I had won the match. However, the lake fished really well and I only finished 3^rd overall.

As for the league, I also finished 3^rd picking up £140. Well done to Lucas for winning the league and commiserations to Steve who after deducting his dropper, dropped from 1^st to finish 2^nd.

Looking back at my own league, my draws didn’t help me, as I managed to get the highest score from the pegs except for 1 match. That said, the first 2 matches cost me as I was too slow to react and/or got my tactics wrong.

1.    143-13 – Steve Brown – p29

2.    124-  5 – Lucas Hurcombe – p10

3.    121-  3 – Ken Rayner – p19

4.      87-  0 – Ronaldo – p7