17/08/25 - Ivy House - Heron

Weight - 109lb 12oz

Catch - 74 Carp, 18 F1s

Weather - Hot & sunny

Match - Open (20 fished) - 2nd overall, 1st in section

So, my first match under the So Simple banner. After Uzit, I considered whether I actually wanted sponsorship again and if I did it had to be right.

Having used So Simple products when Andy Seery ran the business, I was already familiar with some of the product range and still use the gofters and 8mm red gonuts. Other favourites were Baninion Crush Boost and BMG Boost. In the end, it was an easy decision, as I already know many of the So Simple members and the brand appears to be going from strength to strength.

Today’s match was at Ivy House on Heron Lake organised by Rod Wootton, and we had a full house of 20 anglers. It was really nice to catch up with a number of anglers I haven’t seen in a while since moving to Melksham from Bristol.

This match would also be pole only and I was handed p23 which is an average peg, but I was still confident of catching a few. I haven’t fished the lake since last year, however feedback suggested that paste was doing the business and that would be my focus. I also had 4pts of caster to catch shallow and see where the match took me.

My paste was Coco Squid, previously called BOG (Bagging on Green) and something I used a lot in the past. The fishery pellets (4s and micros) were doused in Sludge.

Like many fisheries at the moment water levels were down which meant the margins were very shallow, but as I was setting up there were already fish showing themselves.

On the all-in I started at 1+1 and started catching immediately on paste, feeding 4s over the top. I briefly tried the margin, but the fish definitely preferred the deeper water (2.5ft) and I was flying. After 2hrs I already had 70lb and was thinking 200lb was on the cards.

However, the action started slowing down. I had a little run on the overshotted rig and caster at 11m, catching F1s, although action was short lived in the bright flat conditions.

The remainder of the match was a case of rotating swims to keep putting fish in the net, as the lake just shut down. I’m really not sure why, as the later stages of the matches are usually busy. I do wonder whether the oxygen levels had dropped as the bubblers were turned off at the start of the match, but that’s just speculation.

Fortunately, my good start meant I won my section and finished the match 2^nd overall.

1.    120-10 – Lewis Jones – p4

2.    109-12 – Ken Rayner – p23

3.    101-14 – Lee Massey – p22

4.      95-  2 – Craig Smith – p16

5.      93-  2 – Lee Tennear – p11

6.      92-  8 – Gary Bedford – p7