29/12/25 - Todber Manor - Hillview

Weight - 32lb 0oz (2lb 8oz - silvers)

Catch - 9 Carp, 9 Skimmers

Weather - Cold & cloudy. Cold north easterly

Match - Open (20 fished) - 1st overall

Mark had a full house today thanks to an equal pay out for overall and silver winners per section of 5. I quite fancied a day on the silvers and when I drew p45 thought that’s what I would be doing.

However, I soon found out that the previous match had been won from p44. The question was would the fish still be here following the change in weather. Today, the north easterly breeze was blowing off my left shoulder, and the water temperature was only 3.7c.

On the all-in I started on the bomb and bread cast ¾ of the away across to the island. Within a minute the tip rapped round, but the fish came off halfway across. With no more indications, a switch to the maggot feeder produced a few liners, but no carp, so I went back to the lead fishing corn this time and at last netted a carp.

No more followed and I decided to try the pole at 13m fishing corn (boosted with baninion) over micros (boosted with BMG) pinging 4mm baninion pellet over the top, catching 2 carp. Despite trying later in the match these were the only carp I caught over this line.

Back out on the lead and corn, I stayed on this for a couple of hours and knew I was comfortably winning my section. With an 1hr 45mins to go I stopped catching and all the liners had also stopped. I felt the fish had moved off to my right settling in front of the silver fish anglers on p47 and 48.

After unsuccessfully trying the corn line at 13m, I fed a small ball of groundbait (BMGX: GCS) with BMG micros at 13m to my left. Fishing double reds I caught 9 small skimmers in 45mins, before returning to the straight lead and corn for the last 45mins, but I never had another fish.

On the all-out I think everyone was relieved for the match to finish as the fishing had been extremely hard. Roll on spring.

1.    32-  0 – Ken Rayner – p45

2.    30-14 – Simon Stacey – p37

3.    26-  8 – Rich Yeo – p42

4.    22-  9 – Lee Jan – p51

5.    20-  2 – Barry Robson – p52

Silvers

1.    10-  8 – Guy Manton – p54

2.      7-  6 – Mark Blake – p47

3.      7-  3 – Jack Stamp – p57

28/12/25 - Harescombe - Doughnut

Weight - 11lb 7oz

Catch - 4 Carp, 1 F1

Weather - Cold and cloudy

Match - Open (12 fished) - 9th overall, 4th in section

The first match since Christmas and I decided to fish the Doughnut Lake with next weeks winter league match in mind.

I drew p28 at the narrowest end of the lake. Although a few fish had been caught in the area during the previous weeks, I felt I might be a week late, as the wind has switched to a north easterly, blowing down this end of the lake and it was certainly feeling cold.

Arriving at my peg confirmed my fears as the colour had dropped out of the lake, the water temperature had dropped to 5.7c and water was gushing in from the inlet pipe (this was turned off before the match started).

Well, the first 3hrs was uneventful, losing 3 foul hookers fishing tight to the far bank. In fact, you could see the fish just swimming around the island but not stopping.

With 2hs remaining I caught my first carp on maggot over a nugget of groundbait (Top G: Crushed Expander) from the far bank, adding a second soon after. I had 2 more in quick succession fishing at 14.5m to the point of the island off to my right and an F1 on the straight lead.

I just felt the fish didn’t want to stay in the peg and I couldn’t compete, preferring the wider areas of the lake.

1.    60-15 – George Organ – p24

2.    53-  7 – Simon Duke – p18

3.    43-12 – Steve Ford – p8

4.    34-10 – Allan Oram – p21

21/12/25 - Harescombe - Doughnut

Weight - 33lb 12oz

Catch - 14 F1s, 9 Carp

Weather - Mild, cloudy, light breeze.

Match - Knock-up (8 fished) - 3rd overall

Steve Venn ran a knock up on Doughnut, although I think he was hoping for a few more than the 8 that turned up. At least it meant the lake should fish better than yesterday. Also, the wind was much lighter than yesterday, that would make the fishing more comfortable.

P22 for me which was in the right area. I couldn’t fish tight to the far bank due to the sedges in the water and overhanging branches which would limit where I could fish.

I tried dobbin maggot where I could along the far bank without success and soon switched to fishing maggot (covered in red multi bait dye) over a nugget of groundbait (Top G : Crushed Expander).

I soon started catching some of the newly stocked F1s (8oz each) but was already falling behind Simon and Steve to my right who both started catching carp.

I tried a short maggot line, but I only had 1 carp, so most of the match was spent fishing across over 2 spots. I had to keep alternating between tapping in maggot or feeding nuggets of groundbait to keep the fish coming.

As the match progressed, more carp started to put in an appearance, landing 3 in the last 15mins, but it was a case of too little, too late.

1.    41-  3 – Simon Collins – p20

2.    36-  0 – Steve Venn – p18

3.    33-12 – Ken Rayner – p22

20/12/25 - Harescombe - Doughnut

Weight - 18lb 11oz

Catch - 7 Carp

Weather - Bright & sunny. Blustery wind.

Match - Christmas Match (37 fished) - 10th overall, 1st in section

The Harescombe Christmas match with 18 on Match Lake and 19 on Doughnut. I drew p5 on Doughnut and knew I was fishing for section only, as combined with a gusty right to left wind, it would make for a tricky day.

On the in-all I started on bomb and bread, then tried fishing across on the pole in 3ft of water tapping in maggot and nuggets of Top G groundbait, before switching to a maggot feeder without success.

The wind combined with the tow, that was going with the wind was making presentation difficult. Eventually I netted my first fish on the pole after 1hr 45min that was foul hooked, soon followed by a 2^nd that was hooked properly, before the wind got too much again.

It was frustrating because there were fish in the area, as I would get liners when fishing the tip, but couldn’t get a bite.

I had been feeding a short maggot line from the start and halfway through the match I gave it a go and caught 3 carp in 15mins. Unfortunately, and surprisingly I never had another fish off this line.

Towards the end the match the wind dropped a little, adding a further 2 carp from the far line. I knew I had won my section, as no one else had more than 2 carp.

Back at the café, Cathryn had laid on pork rolls, apple sauce, stuffing and chips that was very welcome after a cold, challenging day.

1.    56-  9 – Chris Cameron – p25 (Doughnut)

2.    33-13 – Allan Oram – p28 (Doughnut)

3.    31-  9 – Simon Penny – p17 (Match)

4.    30-13 – Steve Ford – p17 (Doughnut)

5.    21-13 – Ian Didcote – p20 (Doughnut)

6.    21-12 – Kev Parry – p15 (Match)

14/12/25 - Lavington - Ellis

Weight - 61lb 2oz 

Catch - 14 Carp

Weather - Bright, sunny and breezy

Match - Club Christmas (20 anglers) - 1st overall

With 20 Lavington members all on Ellis Lake the draw was always going to be important. Fortunately I drew p5, one of the island pegs where the carp always patrol.

On the all-in I fed 2 balls of groundbait at 13m (in 8ft of water) with the intention of catching silvers, whilst that settled I started on the lead and bread (sprayed with Baninion Boost), expecting to spend no more than an hour on it.

After 90mins I had 6 carp for 35lb and I was still getting indications, adding a further 7 over the next 2hrs, before I couldn’t get a bite.

I hadn’t re-fed my 13m line, however, my good started meant I didn’t need it.

Instead, I decided to feed a shorter line in 5ft of water, with groundbait and pellet, hoping for some bream or carp. I also fed 4mm pellet and corn by the p4 platform. Neither line produced a bite.

I had also started pinging corn towards the island and managed my final carp on corn 10mins from time.

So a very simple match in the end and I was fortunate to land a few, collecting £100, plus a hamper which was very nice.

1.    61-  2 – Ken Rayner – p5

2.    31-  9 – Steve Musitano – p23

3.    22-  6 – Lee Clark – p25

4.    21-  0 – Tim Lynch – p22

5.    20-  8 – Martin Coward – p21

6.    18-  4 – Tom Ince – p24   

 

13/12/25 - Harescombe - Match

Weight - 35lb 14oz (2lb 11oz - silvers)

Catch - 12 F1, 3 Carp, 11 Skimmers, 2 Roach

Weather - Frosty start. Bright and sunny.

Match - Winter League rd 4 (15 anglers) - 4th overall, 1st in section

The 4^th round of the Harescombe Winter League on Match Lake and I drew p6. To be honest it hasn’t been a great area recently, although when I arrived a few fish were showing themselves, so I was hopeful.

My section included Andy Fry on p2 who was lying 2^nd in the league, so a chance to hopefully take a point or 2 back.

After a week of mild weather, last night was frosty and the forecast was for a bright and sunny day. As such I was expecting a slow start, which is how it turned out.

I started on corn and then a 4mm expander over a few baninion micros a metre off the island, eventually catching an F1 on corn after 45 minutes. I couldn’t get another bite, so started feeding a small nugget of Top G groundbait with a micros, over 2 swims, again a metre off the island.

By bouncing between the 2 swims, I caught small skimmers on 4mm expander, plus 2 F1s. I had also tried fishing tight to the island, foulhooking and losing 1 fish, so I didn’t waste too much time.

With 2hrs remaining (5hr match), bites had dried up and I probably had about 7-8lb in the net, which was less than Mark Thomas on p4.

I had been feeding maggot covered in So Simple Red Dye from the start of the match at 2+2. To be honest I wasn’t expecting much from this line, as maggot usually attracts the attention of the hordes of roach. So,I was surprised when I hooked a F1, followed by 2 more and then a decent skimmer, before the roach arrived.

In the meantime, I had noted Mark on p4 had caught a few decent carp from his right-hand margin. I had already plumbed my left margin at the start of the match, discounting it as it was too shallow. However, I felt I needed to try something different and started feeding maggot a metre off the margin where it was 3ft deep.

This resulted in a great last 45mins catching big F1s on double maggot, plus a couple of carp from the far side on pellet.

Fortunately, those skimmers proved vital as I won the section by 1lb 7oz from Sean Taylor on p29, whilst Andy Fry had a mare. The section win pushed me into 3^rd in the league with 2 rounds remaining.

1.    86-  5 – Nigel Reeves – p16

2.    55-  7 – Steve Ford – p15

3.    46-  5 – Chris Cameron – p14

4.    35-14 – Ken Rayner – p6

5.    34-  7 – Sean Taylor – p29

07/12/25 - Hillview - Canal 2

Weight - 24lb 5oz

Catch - 5 F1, 4 Carp, 5 Skimmers, 3 Roach, 2 Ide, 1 Gudgeon

Weather - Mild, showers and increasingly windy

Match - Tackle Den (23 fished) - 16th overall, 4th in section (out of 7)

The final match of the year for Tackle Den and I was virtually guaranteed to finish 3^rd in aggregate standings. The question was who would win the clubs aggregate trophy, Steve Venn or John Brady as there was only 1pt separating them.

With canals 2, 3 & 4 in I wanted avoid canal 2, so was disappointed to draw p58. So, the wrong canal, at the wrong end.

On the all-in I caught a F1 straight away on 4mm expander at the bottom of the shelf but couldn’t get another. A switch to dobbin bread, produced a 5lb carp and a roach, but no more and a switch to maggot only produced an F1.

As dobbin isn’t my favourite method, as I really want to feed something. I started toss potting maggot at the bottom of the far shelf, catching small silvers initially, but it was slow going, although I did manage to catch a couple of F1s and a carp.

I then had a period where I was struggling to a get a bite from anywhere, not least helped by an increasingly strengthening wind. I had been feeding maggot over a 2+2 line and down by the p59 pallet and I needed either swim to come to life, as the wind meant I couldn’t fish the far bank anymore. With an hour remaining, I finally caught a carp down by the pallet, soon followed by an F1, but I never had another fish from here. Another 2 fish from the short line, finished my match.

As expected, the better weights on my lake came down the other end. With 8 and 10lb either side of me, it just illustrated how tough it was.

Well done to John who finished 2^nd on the day to win the aggregate shield.

1.    85-  9 – Luke Sherman – p83 (canal 4)

2.    84-  2 – John Brady – p72 (canal 3)

3.    61-  6 – Matt Greaves – p94 (canal 4)

4.    60-11 – Steve Venn – p78 (canal 3)

5.    50-15 – Darren Hibbert – p96 (canal 4)

6.    45-  5 – Michael Triggs – p62 (canal 2)