12/04/26 - Windmill

Weight - 24lb 15oz 

Catch - 4 Carp, 1 Perch, 1 Rudd

Weather - Windy, sunshine, showers, hail

Match - Tackle Den (19 fished) - 7th overall, 3rd in section

This match was originally scheduled for Heron Lake at Ivy House; however, it was switched when Heron was ‘sold’ and Andy took a load of fish out of the lake. Since then the sale has fallen through, and I understand the fish have been transferred from the canals back into Heron.

The last time I fished Windmill was 9 years ago when I lived in Bristol and to be honest, I think I only enjoyed 1 of the 4 matches I fished there.

On seeing the lake, it had certainly matured, although there seemed to be plenty of reeds and overhangs for any hooked carp to make their escape.

I drew p16 and looking at results for the past 2 months the peg has only featured once finishing 5^th, so not a great draw. At least I had a spare peg either side of me, which also illustrated it wasn’t the best area. Plumbing up revealed it was 5.5ft down the middle and it was less than 14m to island, which is the narrowest part of the lake.  

However, the wind was again going to play its part, and it was unlikely I could fish the pole to the island as the wind was blowing left to right down the lake. I did plumb up around the island, just in case the wind died down, but every time it looked like the wind was easing it would kick off again!

On the all-in I started across on the method with a mix of So Simple Kriller and Baninion micros, with an 8mm orange gofter. This didn’t produce a bite, neither did fishing the straight lead with meat or 8mm pellet.

With 55mins gone I had 1 liner and had seen very little being caught elsewhere.

As I hoped the carp would feed later in the match I thought I would try for a few silvers on dead maggots over micros and groundbait. I caught 1 small perch and a rudd. Oh well at least I avoided the blank.

In the meantime, I had been pinging 6s across to the point of the island and tried the method, this time with mostly groundbait (So Simple Top G) with only a few micros and a squirt of Top G Smog, fishing a 6mm orange gofter. At last, the tip went round and a 7/8lb carp was in the net.

Later I caught another 2 carp both on the straight lead and a 6mm expander by the island.

I had also fed meat at 2+2 and down the right margin. Neither swim produced a bite, which was disappointing.

To make something happen the right margin received 2 cups of groundbait and micros with an hour remaining. With 30mins left of the match I hooked a fish down the margin, but the hook pulled almost immediately and I felt it was a foul hooker.

Surprisingly I couldn’t catch another fish from the island, and I never had a bite over the short meat line. Back down the right margin with 10mins remaining I eventually hooked a carp on meat, netting a 7lber after the all-out.

I was glad when the match finished.

1.    90-  3 – Steve Venn – p9

2.    62-15 – Alistair Tilney – p8

3.    40-  0 – Vince Grillo – p3

4.    39-15 – Michael Triggs – p11

5.    33-  8 – Liam Reynolds – p25

04/04/26 - Harescombe - Match

Weight - 45lb 11oz

Catch - 13 F1, 5 Carp, 2 Skimmers

Weather - Cloudy, increasingly windy.

Match - Open (9 fished) - 4th overall

More wind was forecast for this match! At least there was no rain forecast and I was very happy to draw p24 as that would be sheltered from the worst of the wind.

As it has been a little milder, I decided to start on a small piece of paste (So Simple Top G) to fish against the island, fishing with a long lash as the wind was still problematic. First drop in and I netted a 3lb carp, followed by 2 F1s in the next 20mins.

I probably stayed on this a bit too long. I did try pellet or meat by the island but couldn’t get any decent presentation.

In the meantime, I fed meat over a short

line and 4mm baninion pellet to my left (with the wind) over what would have been the short line for p23. The meat line didn’t produce a bite, however when I switched to the left-hand pellet line fishing a banded 6mm baninion pellet I caught 2 quick F1s, but other than a skimmer later on never had another bite over this line.

I started another pellet line to my right for no bites (and stopped feeding meat over my short line). In fact, the only place I could catch was tight to the island on paste, but there were a couple of times when the wind spun me around!

With 90mins remaining I was conscious that I was falling behind Luke on p15 and Steve on p18. Also, Andy opposite on p5 was catching a lot of smaller fish.

I was really surprised I couldn’t catch over any of my lines, including fishing by the p25 pallet. The left margin was only 1.5ft deep and I decided to feed groundbait (Top G) and dead maggot.

The first 2 put ins resulted in 2 lost fish. After sorting out my rig and I started to catch on 3 dead maggots, plus a few fish over my short line where I restarted feeding meat.

Come the weigh in I was disappointed to have missed out on 3^rd by an 1oz. Andy had 21lb skimmers on maggot to help him finish 2^nd and Luke caught on hard pellet. I should have finished at least 3^rd as I lost a few fish and had I been able to fish longer I could have caught a few more.

I just feel I’m off the pace at the moment and have struggled a little over the last month or so.

1.    77-  2 – Luke Seabrook – p15

2.    52-  2 – Andy Fry – p5

3.    45-12 – Steve Partington – p18

29/03/26 - Tunnel Barn - New Pool

Weight - 57lb 2oz

Catch - 32 F1, 4 Carp, 5 Skimmers, 2 Gudgeon

Weather - Cold overnight, cloudy and rain later. Cold north westerly

Match - Tackle Den (19 fished) - 3rd overall, 1st in section

I always enjoy my trips to Tunnel Barn as you usually get a few bites. However, the weather was pants again with freezing overnight temperatures and a cold north westerly wind, which meant it was likely to be difficult.

Today’s match was on New Pool, which is one of the lakes I have yet to fish, although I was told p25 wasn’t the best area.

I knew meat was starting to work, however due to the recent cold weather I brought 3pts of maggot boosted with Baninion and So Simple red dye just in case. Due to the wind I decided to focus on fishing no further than 3 sections, plus a short kit.

During the first hour I got it wrong, starting down the left margin with maggot for 1 gudgeon, meat down the right margin for nothing and meat at 3 sections for 1 F1. To be honest when the margins didn’t produce, I spent too long trying to make the meat line work.

In meantime, whilst it was slow going for everyone, Andy Burns to my left started catching on maggot and I had to get myself sorted.

Fishing at 3 sections to my left (with the wind) in 4.5ft of water I found it best to feed through a toss pot, mainly because the wind was making it difficult to accurately to feed by hand.

2hrs into the match I probably had 10lb, fortunately the rest of the match went much better as I started getting more regular bites including some decent F1s.

However, it started to rain and at one point I was shivering in the strong wind.

With 90mins remaining, I started suffering from missed bites and foul hookers. A switch to fishing closer where it was 4ft proved to be the correct move reducing the number of missed bites.

To periodically rest the swim, I restarted feeding meat over my original line, however the F1s were a smaller stamp so I didn’t waste too much time on it this time. The left margin, which was slightly deeper than the right, eventually produced a few fish in the last 30mins on maggot, whilst the right margin didn’t produce anything.

I weighed slightly more than expected and was left ruing that poor first hour, as I missed out on 2^nd by 2oz. I am fairly sure had it not been so windy another 10-20lb was possible.

1.    67-13 – Matt Greaves – p17

2.    57-  4 – John Brady – p13

3.    57-  2 – Ken Rayner – p25

4.    51-10 – Alistair Tilney – p15

5.    46-  2 – Ian MacDonald – p10

22/03/26 - Ivy House - Kingfisher

Weight - 37lb 9oz

Catch - 19 Carp, 2 F1, 2 Skimmers, 1 Hybrid

Weather - Sunny, light cloud later

Match - Open (17 fished) - 5th overall, 4th on lake

With limited match availability, I decided to stay local fishing Ivy House, which had an open on over Kingfisher and Moorhen.

I wasn’t too concerned where I drew as it wasn’t blowing a gale or raining. In fact, it was a very pleasant day, so much so I decided to bring a couple of paste rigs.

P47 put me in the right area, however as this has been the better end of the lake, I was in a line of 6 and expected it to be difficult, whilst the anglers at the other end had a little more space.

The weather was obviously making me feel positive and I hoped the fish would take a bit of feed as I didn’t fancy a day of dobbin. On the all-in I started across, however as the far bank is deep at nearly 4ft I know from past experience the fish can be really difficult to catch and dobbin can be hit and miss.

Therefore, I decided to start on a small piece of paste (So Simple Top G : Crushed Expander), just to provide a target bait and caught 2 carp in the first 15mins. It became tricky after this and I could see Rob Guppy on p45 catching on dobbed maggot. As I didn’t have any maggot, I tried dobbin corn skins without success, although I tried later in the match for 1 carp and lost a 2^nd as it got tangled in a large sunken branch.

After an hour I was up to 5 carp and needed to rest the far bank and started tapping in 4mm pellet (boosted with Baninion), fishing a hair rigged 4mm pellet, switching later to a 6mm. I had to keep swapping between this swim and the far bank to keep the fish coming, but at least I had a few bites.

I had also fed a short line, more in hope than expectation and didn’t have a bite.

By the all-out, I knew Rob had beaten me and I was fairly sure I had beaten everyone else I could see, however pegs 41 & 37 with the extra space both beat me.

1.    80-  6 – Rob Guppy – p45 (K)

2.    60-  6 – Carl Mulford – p41 (K)

3.    45-11 – Lenny – p37 (K)

4.    41-10 – Ray Russell – p34 (M)

5.    37-  9 – Ken Rayner – p47 (K)

15/03/26 - Harescombe - Doughtnut

Weight - 32lb 15oz

Catch - 11 Carp, 1 Perch

Weather - Sunny start, cold and showery later. Windy!

Teams of 4 (40 fished) - 4th in section, 9th overall

The last round of the Teams of 4 and once again the weather was doing its best to ruin the day, with more wind and rain. Just feels like every round of this league the weather has deteriorated.

To win the league we (Tackle Den) had to overturn an 8pt deficit from Team 1,2,3,4, which was unlikely. So, we just wanted to maintain our 2^nd place from Maver Harescombe Green who were just 2pts behind.

We also had to recruit a super sub in the shape of Chris Cameron as Alistair was on a stag do, somewhere hot and sunny. So, thank you Chris.

The draw put me on p4, which hasn’t been great with 2x 9pts in the last 2 rounds.

Setting up the sun was out, but the wind was already gusty. On the all-in I tried dobbin maggot tight to the far bank, but the wind was making it difficult. A switch to fishing maggot at 13.5m and presentation was poor as the rig was pushing through the swim too quickly. Although I did catch a micro perch, I didn’t bother fishing long for the rest of the match. Instead, I switched to fishing the straight lead and double maggot (boosted with baninion and red dye), pinging maggot over the top, immediately resulted in a carp.

After 2hrs I had 5 carp all on the straight lead, but the following hour I couldn’t get a bite, In the meantime, both Cliff Dutton (p6) and Rob Kerslake (p8) started catching from their short maggot lines, with Rob doing the best.

Other than 1 lost foulhooker I couldn’t get a bite on my short maggot line. In hindsight (and after speaking to Cliff and Rob), I probably didn’t feed heavily enough.

Fortunately, I caught a further 2 carp on the straight lead, but both Cliff and Rob were now ahead of me. As I was struggling for bites, I decided to set up a new rig to fish meat down the right margin, a metre off the bank where it was 2.5ft deep, feeding 6mm meat and baninion micros, fishing an 8mm cube on the hook to help keep the rig as still as possible in the wind and tow.

I managed 1 carp soon after feeding, but it wasn’t until the last 15mins that they arrived, netting 3 carp for 10lb. This gave me 4pts and a section pickup that I was very happy with and a good finish to what has been a tough league for me.

As for team, we finished 2^nd on the day and finished the league as runners-up. Well done to Team 1,2,3,4 who comfortably won.

1.    71-14 – Luke Fothergill (Future Network) – p15 match

2.    67-13 – Mick O’Brien (Swinetown) – p13 meadow

3.    39-  7 - Rob Kerslake (Fintastic) – p8 doughnut

4.    37-  9 – Allan Oram (Future Network) – p16 doughnut

5.    35-  8 – Matt Shepherd (Future Network) – p9 field

6.    34-  9 – Simon Collins (4 tops) – p14 doughtnut

Teams on the Day

1.    Future Network – 9pts

2.    Tackle Den – 17pts

2.    Maver Harescombe Green – 17pts

4.    Team 1,2,3,4 – 18pts

4.    Fintastic – 18pts

Final top 4

1.    Team 1,2,3,4 – 9pts

2.    Tackle Den – 15pts

3.    Maver Harescombe Green – 17pts

4.    Future Networks – 21pts

08/03/26 - Hillview - Canal 2

Weight - 88lb 4oz

Catch - 30 Carp, 15 F1s, 2 Ide, 2 Tench

Weather - Cloudy, mild but cool breeze at time.

Match - Tackle Den (21 anglers) - 6th overall, 2nd on lake

There were 21 of us over canals 2,3 and 4. I was first into the bag hoping to avoid canal 2 as I’ve been on it a little too often recently, however I pulled p64 on canal 2.

As the weather has been milder, I decided to take a punt and focus on fishing meat, although I did bring some maggot and pellet just in case.

Starting by the aerator I caught a couple of carp and an F1, before switching to fishing tight to the far bank tapping in 4 cubes of 6mm meat and fishery micros. After 45mins I was up to 7 fish, before suffering a ‘dodgy’ period where I struggled to get a proper bite and the fish I was catching were on the small side.

A switch to fishing 4mm expander a metre off the far bank, tapping in micros resulted in a run of mostly F1s after a slow start.

After about 2.5hrs, Alistair on p68 was admitting to 45lb, whilst I had about 25lb and to be honest I thought I was fishing for 2^nd on the lake.

When the pellet swim faded, a quick look over a short meat line, only resulted 2 small carp. So back to the far bank and I still couldn’t get a proper bite, however by reducing the amount of meat to only 2 cubes and a few micros I started to put a run of fish together.

In the meantime, I started feeding meat and mircos down each margin, where I could use the same rig as I used across down the left side, but I needed a shallower rig for the right margin.

The right side started off the better, but soon faded, prompting a return back to the far bank, before trying the left margin. I managed 25lb in the last hour thanks to a better stamp of fish to finish 2^nd on the lake, behind John who fished maggot most of the day.

1.    155-12 – Steve Broadhurst – p83 (canal 4)

2.    122-11 – Andy Dixie – p92 (canal 4)

3.    120-  4 – John Pearce – p74 (canal 3)

4.      98-  4 – Terry Arnold – p95 (canal 4)

5.      92-15 – John Brady – p62 (canal 2)

6.      88-  4 – Ken Rayner – p64 (canal 2)

01/03/26 - Harescombe - Doughnut

Weight - 9lb 13oz

Catch - 4 Carp

Weather - Drizzly start, dry later becoming increasingly breezy

Match - Teams of 4 (40 fished) - 8th in section

Round 4 (and penultimate) of the Teams of 4. As we were lying 2^nd we needed a decent draw to reclaim the lead from Team 1,2,3,4.

Well, we had a terrible draw whilst Team 1,2,3,4 had a favourable draw. As such, we didn’t realistically think we could win today and damage limitation was the order of the day.

As for me, I had p6 which has produced last and 2^nd to last in the last 2 rounds meaning I was likely in for a tough day.

Last weeks open suggested the fish had spread out from their normal winter haunts, so I was hopeful of a few bites, however the lake fished a lot harder than any of us expected.

Plumbing up revealed a nice even depth across, the issue was the wind that was blowing right to left. I tried for 45mins fishing across initially on expander and then maggot but I didn’t have any indications and the wind was just getting stronger and I just couldn’t get any decent presentation.

A switch to the maggot feeder or straight lead didn’t produce either and I wasn’t the only one who hadn’t caught yet!

I eventually caught my first fish at 8m on maggot. Surprisingly I never had another fish here, even trying the straight lead over the top to combat the tow.

My second fish came an hour later on the maggot feeder on the far bank.

I had also fed meat and micros to my left 2m off the bank. With an hour remaining I tried the swim without success. Returning with 15mins left I managed 2 carp to pull me from last to 8^th. I really could have done with the fish turning up a little earlier, as another 2 fish would have put me 5^th.

Overall, the lake fished really hard. I beat the anglers either side of me and I’m not sure what else I could have done. As for the team we suffered, with Steve Broadhurst being our only bright light as we finished 7^th on the day. Fortunately, we are still 2^nd in the league, but Maver Green are now only 2pts behind.

1.    74-  7 – Luke Fothergill (Future Networks) – p21 (Match)

2.    60-13 – Mick O’Brien (Swinetown) – p24 (Match)

3.    59-14 – Andy Fry (Team 1,2,3,4) – p6 (Match)

4.    54-12 – Tony Picton (Team 1,2,3,4) – p13 (Meadow)

5.    41-  2 – Elvis Randall (Matrix Talisman) – p9 (Match)

6.    40-  5 – Tom Driver (Fintastic) – p15 (Match)

Teams on the Day

1.    Team 1,2,3,4 – 9pts

2.    Swinetown – 14pts

3.    Matrix Talisman – 18pts

4.    Maver Harescombe Green - 20pts

League to Date

1.    Team 1,2,3,4 – 5pts

2.    Tackle Den – 13pts

3.    Maver Harescombe Green – 15pts

4.    Matrix Talisman – 19pts