25/08/25 - Willow Marsh - Sandpipers

Weight - 178lb 4oz

Catch - 21 Carp, 1 F1

Weather - Warm & sunny

Match - Open (10 fished) - 3rd overall

A trip to a new venue near Kidderminster and a 1hr 40min drive. Mark has been here a few times and raved about the venue, so with a spare Monday I decided to give it a try.

Originally, there were 18 booked on and we would be split over Sandpipers and Whispers. A couple had already dropped out, so we were down to 16, but 6 no-shows meant there were only 10 of us, which was really frustrating and meant we would all be on Sandpipers.

Sandpipers has 30 pegs, although a few hadn’t been used for a while and a couple had collapsed due to the recent dry weather and like many fisheries the water level was down by about 2ft.

I was told the lake was full of big carp and F1s

and you have to use fishery only pellet and paste, which got a good douse of So Simple Sludge boost. Looking around the venue it was easy to see why Mark liked the place, it is -really well kept with a good café on site.

The draw put me on the top bank in a corner, which apparently won the last match with 200lb. With the wind blowing down the other end I wasn’t sure how good it would be, however it looked nice. I also had an island to target.

Plumbing up revealed my left margin was only a foot deep, sloping away to 5ft were I feed micros and 4s. My right margin was 2ft deep.

I had my instructions to try catch a few muggers or shallow early on before trying the margins.

On the all-in I started on the mugging rig, but most of them had already disappeared and the ones I could see were proving very difficult to tempt. Therefore, rather than wasting too much time I decided to cast a large method with micros and a 6mm pellet on the hook, towards the island.

3 carp in 4 casts was what I hoped for. As it was shallow by the island I could see some of the carp with their backs out of the water. Unfortunately, this also attracted the attention of the ducks and I had no choice but to leave the swim alone, as they were unsettling the carp and I didn’t want to hook one of them.

A switch to my 13m swim on paste didn’t produce any bites, so back on the feeder now the ducks had their fill, but this time with a 6mm orange gofter. I had to wait a little longer for a bite, but they were a bigger stamp than the early fish with the biggest being about 10lb.

After 3 fish the ducks returned, so back to the 13m swim where I big potted some micros and 4s. This time I lost 1 carp, but caught 2 more, although it was slow going.

I noticed some carp moving around the left margin and started pinging 4s at 11m to my left and the fish were immediately on it.

The remainder of the match was spent alternating between both margins catching carp up to 14/15lb all on paste. I did suffer one dodgy period, when I lost 3 carp in quick succession, 2 snapped the elastic (1 of the elastic was only recently fitted!) and the 3^rd snapped the line at the float.

Other than that, a really enjoyable day and I thought I might have 175lb. So, I wasn’t far off my guess and I was pleased to have come 3^rd overall against some very good locals.

I look forward to returning, but not sure when that will be.

1.    211-15 – Lee Cowlan

2.    189-  9 – Lee Payne

3.    178-  4 – Ken Rayner

4.    167-  1 – Mark Street

24/08/25 - Tunnel Barn - House

Weight - 75lb 9oz

Catch - 43 F1s, 5 Carp, 7 Roach, 5 Perch

Weather - Warm & sunny

Match - Tackle Den (16 fished) - 5th overall, 2nd in section

My first trip back to Tunnel since the over 50s festival in May and I was looking forward to it, as we were on House Pool which is my favourite. However, it would be nice to draw away from pegs 8 to 14 and see a different area of the lake, so I shouldn’t have been surprised when I drew p14. An open deep-water swim with no island within pole range.

I had wanted to fish caster shallow and ideally needed cover or a decent ripple on the water, as I have had 90lb shallow here in the past.

Although I found out that maggot was the current bait, and I did think about buying some from the on-site shop, I decided to stick with my plan of caster and paste.

On the all-in I started at 1+1 fishing paste (50:50 mix of So Simple Coco Squid & Crushed Expander) over fishery 4mm pellet. I stayed on this for 90mins alternating between 2 swims, catching mostly F1s.

I had primed a shallow caster line and when I switched the response was disappointing. After trying 3 different shallow rigs, I only had 1 F1 and 2 roach and soon binned the line.

Instead, I focused on my margins finding 18ins of water down the left and right toss potting caster, fishing double caster. I bounced between the 2 swims, with the left margin being the strongest, before trashing my rig. Once I sorted a new rig it took 10-15mins to get back in a rhythm, but the right-hand swim wasn’t quite the same.

I tried introducing a small amount of groundbait to kick start the right margin which just drove the fish scatty, so I didn’t do that again.

The left margin was still producing which I kept topped up with caster. As for the right margin I plumbed up a new shallower spot where I fed some micros and 4s, fishing paste over the top. I managed to catch a few better stamp F1s and carp, but generally the fish weren’t feeding confidently.

I must admit I didn’t feel I got it right today and maggot would have been a better option. In the end I was quite relieved to claim the section money by default thanks to John coming 2^nd overall from p6. As I expected the better weights came from the back of the pool.

1.    114-  1 – Andy Black – p27

2.    110-  3 – John Brady – p6

3.      92-11 – Simon Collins – p25

4.      87-  0 – Ian MacDonald – p29

5.      75-  9 – Ken Rayner – p14

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

10/08/25 - Manor Farm - Windmill

Weight - 38lb 2oz

Catch - 13 F1, 1 Carp, 1 Roach

Weather - Hot & sunny

Match - Tackle Den (20 fished) - 2nd in section, 8th overall

We had 20 today, which meant 13 on Windmill and 7 on Ash. When I arrived, I was surprised to see the water level was down by at least 2ft. This meant it was easier to set up in the water.

I drew peg 10 on Windmill, only 1 away from where I drew last year and it meant it was likely I would need to fish against the left-hand reed bed. I managed to get some information from a trusted source who advised pellet worked, although the winner last week caught over dead maggot late on down the margins and very little was caught shallow. Also, the top 3 all came from around the island or above.

Despite the drop in the water levels, it was still deep at 2+1 (5ft) and I couldn’t see any point fishing in deeper water, so I picked a couple of

spots left and right in 4-5ft of water.

As I expected the reed bed to be my main swim, I set up 2 paste rigs, 1 with 0.19 straight through to a size 12 acolyte power rigger hook in case there were carp in the area or I had to fish tight to the reedbed. The other paste rig had a 0.14 bottom to a size 14 B911.

I started the match a metre off the reed bed in 2ft of water on the heavy rig, feeding 4s with paste and caught 2 F1s, including a 3lber almost immediately. Bites then stopped, so I switched to the lighter rig which produced another 2 F1s, but that was it.

I had been feeding 4s at 1+2 in front of me, but didn’t have a bite all match here, which I was surprised about. I also tried the pellet waggler, catching 1 F1 and roach. Other than Andy Black opposite me who caught 1 carp, no one else caught shallow.

My reed bed swim was now full of small fish, so I tried pellet left and right but only managed 1 F1. This was turning into a real struggle.

I noticed the reeds knocking and felt I had no choice, but to get tighter to the reeds where it was 18in deep and fortunately still shaded from the sun. First put in resulted in a 7lb carp, soon followed by a couple more F1s.

With 2hrs remaining I had just over 30lb and thought a late run down my margins would put me in contention. Several cups of groundbait, dead maggot and micros were deposited down the right margin. I hooked 2 carp but lost them both. The shallow water combined with the bright flat conditions, meant the fish just wouldn’t settle and it was probably no coincidence that the only place I could catch was by the reed bed.

I had the best weight at my end of the lake, however, my section ran along my bank and I missed out on picking up the section money. As expected, the top 3 weights on my lake came from the top end, also Ash Lake fished quite well.

1.    81-  6 – John Brady – p3 (Ash)

2.    78-  9 – Darren Hibbert – p18 (Ash)

3.    59-15 – Cliff Dutton – p22 (Windmill)

4.    55-12 – Steve Venn – p24 (Windmill)

5.    54-10 – Alistair Tilney – p12 (Ash)

6.    52-11 – Vince Grillo – p14 (Windmill) 

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

06/08/25 - Barston

Weight - 29lb 0oz (14lb 10oz - silvers)

Catch - 10 Bream, 4 F1s, 4 Roach

Weather - Warm & sunny. Moderate breeze

Match - Garbolino Clubman Final (50 anglers) - 3rd in section

It’s been a long time coming since I qualified in late May, but today was the Garbolino final with 50 anglers across the whole lake

When I arrived, I met up with Jason Crump and Simon Stacey, and we all hoped for a draw at the bottom of the lake. At the draw Jason pulled p41 and I then drew p43, whilst Simon drew up in the 50s! Oh well it was likely we would be fishing for section.

When we got to our pegs, I was little more optimistic about catching as the wind was blowing straight into our bank, although looking at recent results it seemed 50lb would be a good weight although there had been a few DNWs.

On the all-in 8 feeders full of pellet (micros, 4s & 6s), plus some corn was deposited at 42m. I then started on a hybrid at 70m and didn’t have a bite. Moving to the 42m line, again no bites and after an hour I was still blanking. Bank walkers suggested my section (p43-p51) was fishing hard.

In the meantime, I had fed a pole line at 11m with mircos and 4s. When I switched to the pole fishing a 4mm expander, I caught a couple of roach, before latching into a 3lb bream and a couple of skimmers, but the action didn’t last.

I mixed up how I fed, but regardless I would catch a couple of fish before they disappeared. This was a common theme when speaking to other anglers after the match.

I tried my 42m line again and a 20/25m line where I had been pinging 8mm pellet without success.

With 90mins remaining I was told 40lb was winning my section, whilst I only had 10lb.

Back on the straight lead with an 8mm red pellet and the tip finally went round and a 5lb F1 was netted. I then noticed a fish roll to the right of where I had been feeding and tried the pellet waggler, which produced another 3 F1s quite quickly before they disappeared.

Back on the straight lead with a teabag produced a bream and with 30mins remaining I hooked what was obviously a carp, which I lost at the net. At 10lb, it fortunately didn’t cost me as my section was won with c. 55lb.

A bit of an anti-climax in the end, but there is always next year.

02/08/25 - Harescombe - Match

Weight - 56lb 10oz

Catch - 23 F1, 11 Carp, 4 Roach, 1 Skimmer

Weather - Warm & sunny, breezy at times.

Match - Open (8 fished) - 5th overall

There were 10 booked in for today, however 2 didn’t turn up without offering a reason, which is annoying for everyone. So, we were down to 8, which at least meant plenty of space for everyone.

P24 for me, a peg I’ve never drawn before, and it can be boom or bust. When I arrived, I quite fancied it with the wind blowing in, although the only thing I wasn’t able to do was fish past p25 pallet against the end bank.

I started against the island fishing paste (fine attrax), feeding a few 4mm attrax pellet fully expecting to get off to a quick start. 15mins later I eventually caught my first carp, however the roach were a being a right pain. I tried a different spot to my left against the island for more nibblers. By the end of the first hour, I managed to add an F1 and it wasn’t looking good, as the swim just seemed to be full of roach. I should have brought a whip and some pinkie.

I had to set up a pellet rig just to try and get away from the roach. Fishing expander wasn’t the answer but a banded 4mm caught me another couple of F1s, although it was slow, pushing me up to 4 F1s and a carp after 2hrs.

My short line (5m) where I had fed 4s, produced a couple more F1s whilst the carp were proving elusive. I had also been feedings 4s by the p25 platform, but again more roach!

Eventually I had run of fish fishing towards the end bank, but not before losing 5 fish on the bounce. Speaking to others after the match, everyone seemed to have suffered a similar fate.

In the last 90mins a few better stamp carp started putting in an appearance, fishing a new swim set up towards the end bank, 3m to the left of the original swim on paste. I had also fed my left-hand shallow margin with micros and 4s, initially on meat but the roach couldn’t help themselves, so switched to corn which resulted in a couple more F1s, before catching a couple more on paste in the slightly deeper water.

I had hoped my short line would produce a late run but only caught small F1s.

In the last 90mins I put 30lb in the net and ended up feeding nearly 3pts of pellet during the match to try and feed off those roach and encourage the carp to feed.

A bit of a frustrating day, ending a run of 6 straight pickups at Harescombe.

1.    100- 1 – Chris Cameron – p10

2.      85-15 – Steve Partington – p16

3.      83-10 – Chris Gay – p5