Weight – 20lb 15oz
Catch – 2 Carp, 1 Roach
Weather – Bright & sunny. Lake iced over.
Water Temp – 4.5c > 4.5c
Well Christmas has gone and after all the beer & food, I needed to get out fishing, but most of the morning had already gone.
Therefore thought a short afternoon session at the club water would be ideal and with a recent thaw I intended to fish the lead into the deep water and the pole at 13m. Unfortunately the frost had returned overnight and on arrival discovered the lake was iced over. In fact it looked like the ice hadn’t fully thawed and what areas had cleared, except around the aerator (where the ducks had congregated) and iced over again.
Fortunately someone had left an ice breaker by the hut, so a 9m channel was soon cleared (the rope wasn’t any longer), which gave me 7ft of water. I didn’t expect any carp to fed, but hoped a few roach, rudd and skimmers would. A ball of match blend, with a small amount of green swim stim, mixed with some hemp oil to give it some activity and a few pinkies was cupped in.
Decided on 1 rig, 4x16 jolly with .10 bottom and 22 silverfish maggot hook. After an hour I had what I thought was a bite on single pinkie, but the float had hardly moved. Hopefully a few fish had finally arrived. 5mins later a slight dip on the float was met with a little more resistance than a roach and I hoped it was a bream, which would be easier to get in on a 5 elastic. Nope, it was a carp and 20mins later a mirror carp of 9lb 5oz was landed.
Feeling quite pleased with myself I shipped out again and the float had hardly settled before I was attached to another carp. This time it was 8/9lb common, which tend to fit a bit harder than the mirrors. At 1 point the carp came under the surface of the ice and tried to break though. Unfortunately the hook pulled just I was netting it, a quick lunge had ¾ of the fish in the net, but not its head and it made good its escape.
With a few carp showing, time to get the heavier kit out. A 4x16 chianti with .13 bottom, 18 B911 and 12 latex was soon set up, plus a tin of corn was opened.
A small ball of groundbait and pinkie was cupped in. 15mins later I had a few indications on corn and struck into thin air on what I thought was a nailed on bite. Wasn’t sure whether it was small fish playing around with the corn or carp just mouthing the bait. Another 15mins later and I was connected to another carp, which was much easier to land and weighed 11lb 6oz.
I was briefly attached to another carp, before the hook pulled, which seemed to upset the shoal, because I didn’t have another bite, despite trying double maggot, triple & quadruple pinkie. With the day drawing to a close and my channel starting to ice over again, I switched to the light rig and caught a roach straight away. It was obviously lost because I didn’t have another, although I did hook another carp which broke me.
Whilst packing up I fell in, which isnt recommended on a freezing day. Needless to say, by the time I got home I had a severe case of the shivers.
Wednesday, 30 December 2009
Sunday, 20 December 2009
19/12/09 - Lands End - Match Lake
Weight – 1lb 12oz
Catch – 5 Perch
Weather – Severe overnight frost. Bright & sunny
Water Temp – 4.0c > 4.5c
Match – Open – joint 3rd overall
The weather forecast suggested an overnight frost, but as I left home the temperature gauge on the car showed -5c and by the time I got to Lands End it was -7c.
As a consequence, a couple dropped out which meant there was only 7 of us brave enough to fish. The start of the match was put back 30 mins to allow time to break the ice, which I managed to do with only 15mins spare. According to Mike the lakes where ice free yesterday, but the overnight frost resulted in 2cm of ice.
I found myself on peg 11 for the 3rd time in as many months, just a shame about about the weather. My ice breaker was too light for the job, but I managed to get hold of the boat, which made the ice breaking easier, although I could only break the ice around the margins. I decided against breaking the ice towards the island for 2 reasons, firstly I didn't have a proper ice breaker, but secondly I didn't expect the carp to feed and hoped the perch would.
I intended my main swim to be 14m at the bottom of the shelf along the margin of peg 12, although I had the option of targeting the platforms on peg 10 & 12. Initially started on .10 bottom and 20 silverfish pellet hook, but with no bites I changed to .08 bottom and 22 silverfish maggot hook.
Feed was very light with caster, but with plenty of red atomic cloud, even tried chopped maggot/pinkie to induce a bite. As the morning progressed the channel I had broken started freezing over, it was proper cold. After 2 hours, I tried just off the pallet on peg 12 and caught a 1oz perch – great at least I avoided a blank. 2nd put in I hooked another , but lost it when the float snagged on the ice. 3rd put in I had 6oz perch, but no further bites followed.
So far, Alan Oram on peg 5 had a carp, plus a couple perch, whilst Garry Wall on peg 1 and Mike West on 24, both had a perch a piece, so it was fishing exceptionally hard.
Mike had a decision to make regarding tomorrows Winter League. With the lake refreezing and a dodgy overnight forecast, which would meant dangerous driving condition Mike cancelled the match. With 48 anglers expected tomorrow, I think too many would have cried off and those that did make it would have to break thickening ice. Personally think it was the right decision.
As for my match, I couldn't get another bite, so decided to start feeding under the pallet on peg 10, but had to re-break the ice. 1st put in, I caught another small perch after 5mins. Next put-in I had to wait nearly 15mins, before the float eventually dipped and I was connected to a better perch of just over a pound. My last perch came from the RH pallet, but again it was only small. I certainly had more fish than everyone else, it was just a shame I had 3 “wasps” instead of proper perch.
As expected Alan won with 7lb 15oz, I cant remember a match being won with just a low weight here before. Garry was 2nd with 3 perch for 2lb 12oz. After I weighed in Mike thought his 2 perch would weigh more, because he had a 2lber. Well he wasn't so confident when he lifted his net and his 2 perch weighed 1lb 12oz, which meant we ended up splitting the silverfish pool.
Back in the hut, reports started filtering back that both Plantations and Viaduct had suffered as a result of the weather. The sudden change was obviously a shock to the system, but it shouldn't be long before the fish settle and get used to the change.
Catch – 5 Perch
Weather – Severe overnight frost. Bright & sunny
Water Temp – 4.0c > 4.5c
Match – Open – joint 3rd overall
The weather forecast suggested an overnight frost, but as I left home the temperature gauge on the car showed -5c and by the time I got to Lands End it was -7c.
As a consequence, a couple dropped out which meant there was only 7 of us brave enough to fish. The start of the match was put back 30 mins to allow time to break the ice, which I managed to do with only 15mins spare. According to Mike the lakes where ice free yesterday, but the overnight frost resulted in 2cm of ice.
I found myself on peg 11 for the 3rd time in as many months, just a shame about about the weather. My ice breaker was too light for the job, but I managed to get hold of the boat, which made the ice breaking easier, although I could only break the ice around the margins. I decided against breaking the ice towards the island for 2 reasons, firstly I didn't have a proper ice breaker, but secondly I didn't expect the carp to feed and hoped the perch would.
I intended my main swim to be 14m at the bottom of the shelf along the margin of peg 12, although I had the option of targeting the platforms on peg 10 & 12. Initially started on .10 bottom and 20 silverfish pellet hook, but with no bites I changed to .08 bottom and 22 silverfish maggot hook.
Feed was very light with caster, but with plenty of red atomic cloud, even tried chopped maggot/pinkie to induce a bite. As the morning progressed the channel I had broken started freezing over, it was proper cold. After 2 hours, I tried just off the pallet on peg 12 and caught a 1oz perch – great at least I avoided a blank. 2nd put in I hooked another , but lost it when the float snagged on the ice. 3rd put in I had 6oz perch, but no further bites followed.
So far, Alan Oram on peg 5 had a carp, plus a couple perch, whilst Garry Wall on peg 1 and Mike West on 24, both had a perch a piece, so it was fishing exceptionally hard.
Mike had a decision to make regarding tomorrows Winter League. With the lake refreezing and a dodgy overnight forecast, which would meant dangerous driving condition Mike cancelled the match. With 48 anglers expected tomorrow, I think too many would have cried off and those that did make it would have to break thickening ice. Personally think it was the right decision.
As for my match, I couldn't get another bite, so decided to start feeding under the pallet on peg 10, but had to re-break the ice. 1st put in, I caught another small perch after 5mins. Next put-in I had to wait nearly 15mins, before the float eventually dipped and I was connected to a better perch of just over a pound. My last perch came from the RH pallet, but again it was only small. I certainly had more fish than everyone else, it was just a shame I had 3 “wasps” instead of proper perch.
As expected Alan won with 7lb 15oz, I cant remember a match being won with just a low weight here before. Garry was 2nd with 3 perch for 2lb 12oz. After I weighed in Mike thought his 2 perch would weigh more, because he had a 2lber. Well he wasn't so confident when he lifted his net and his 2 perch weighed 1lb 12oz, which meant we ended up splitting the silverfish pool.
Back in the hut, reports started filtering back that both Plantations and Viaduct had suffered as a result of the weather. The sudden change was obviously a shock to the system, but it shouldn't be long before the fish settle and get used to the change.
Monday, 14 December 2009
13/12/09 - Plantations - Main Lake
Weight – 25lb 5oz
Catch – 20 Roach, 6 Skimmers, 5 Carp
Weather – Cold, mostly sunny, northerly breeze.
Water Temp – 7c > 7c
After our trip a few weeks ago Rich wanted me to take him fishing again. This time I decided on the main lake at Plantations, but the weather had certainly become a lot colder, which meant a difficult day ahead.
Rich sat on peg 7, whilst I was on 8. I started on the straight lead & double corn, cast towards the island, which resulted in 2 carp in the 1st 45mins. I tried the waggler over the tip line, but except for a couple liners I didn’t catch.
I also set up 2 pole lines, 13m at 11o’clock feeding caster and 14.m at 1o’clock feeding micros dusted with green swim stim. The LH swim produced small roach, whilst the RH produced 4 skimmers on 4mm pellet, before 2 carp put in an appearance completely buggering up the swim. A couple of small skimmers followed, but it was a struggle. In the end I probably overfed the swim trying to kick start it again.
Had I stayed on the tip I would probably doubled my weight, but it isn’t my favourite method, so I preserved with the waggler and the pellet swim longer than normal.
As for Rich, although I helped him set up he struggled for most of the day, landing a carp and a skimmer late in the day. However it made me appreciate how far I have come as angler and the kit I use. Unfortunately for Rich he lost 2 carp under his rod tip, because his rod £10 rod off e-bay didn’t have a parabolic action, so when the fish made a final lunge the rod blank locked up resulting in a hook pull. To be fair him whilst disappointed to lose the fish, he was happy to learn and he did pick up a few more tips.
One tip I learnt myself, was don’t have a hot curry the night before you go fishing! Having been to the loo when I woke up, I found myself needing to go again when I got to Plantations. I thought I could wait for the café to open at 10am, but no. A quick 5min trip to Bullocks Farm was required, where their toilet is open 24hrs. Is that why they are called conveniences?
Catch – 20 Roach, 6 Skimmers, 5 Carp
Weather – Cold, mostly sunny, northerly breeze.
Water Temp – 7c > 7c
After our trip a few weeks ago Rich wanted me to take him fishing again. This time I decided on the main lake at Plantations, but the weather had certainly become a lot colder, which meant a difficult day ahead.
Rich sat on peg 7, whilst I was on 8. I started on the straight lead & double corn, cast towards the island, which resulted in 2 carp in the 1st 45mins. I tried the waggler over the tip line, but except for a couple liners I didn’t catch.
I also set up 2 pole lines, 13m at 11o’clock feeding caster and 14.m at 1o’clock feeding micros dusted with green swim stim. The LH swim produced small roach, whilst the RH produced 4 skimmers on 4mm pellet, before 2 carp put in an appearance completely buggering up the swim. A couple of small skimmers followed, but it was a struggle. In the end I probably overfed the swim trying to kick start it again.
Had I stayed on the tip I would probably doubled my weight, but it isn’t my favourite method, so I preserved with the waggler and the pellet swim longer than normal.
As for Rich, although I helped him set up he struggled for most of the day, landing a carp and a skimmer late in the day. However it made me appreciate how far I have come as angler and the kit I use. Unfortunately for Rich he lost 2 carp under his rod tip, because his rod £10 rod off e-bay didn’t have a parabolic action, so when the fish made a final lunge the rod blank locked up resulting in a hook pull. To be fair him whilst disappointed to lose the fish, he was happy to learn and he did pick up a few more tips.
One tip I learnt myself, was don’t have a hot curry the night before you go fishing! Having been to the loo when I woke up, I found myself needing to go again when I got to Plantations. I thought I could wait for the café to open at 10am, but no. A quick 5min trip to Bullocks Farm was required, where their toilet is open 24hrs. Is that why they are called conveniences?
11/12/09 - Little Avon - Huntingford
Weight – 5lb 15oz
Catch – 7 Brown Trout, 5 Grayling, 1 Chub
Weather – Cloudy, cold & damp
I have 2 days holiday left to book off before the year end, so decided on a couple of long weekends leading up to the Christmas. I wasn’t even sure whether I would go fishing today, but having made the decision to go on Thursday, meant getting my bait first thing Friday.
After all the recent rain the rivers were fining down and I really fancied doing something different. The Little Avon at Huntingford Mill near Charfield was a childhood haunt, where I first learned to fish 25 years ago. The river used to have roach, perch, big gudgeon, grayling, trout, bream and a few chub. Fishing the stick was the most popular method, although I was one of the few who regularly fished the waggler. When I got my first pole I was able to achieve better presentation and as a consequence my weights improved topped by 15lb of mostly roach. The fish in the river were never big, but highlights were a 1lb 9oz Grayling, 1lb 5oz roach, 1lb perch and a 3oz gudgeon.
Since there were only a few juniors in the club I used to fish matches against the seniors and 1 year I won 6 out of 10 trophies available. One of my favourite spots was a weir pool, which we called the waterfalls, because the main river came over a sluice gate into a 5 foot deep pool. Unfortunately around 1989 during some very heavy rain the river flooded and the sluice collapsed. Swims that used to have 5 foot of water now had a foot. The club, Charfield AA struggled on, but since the maintenance of the sluice fell to the owners of Huntingford Mill it has never been repaired.
So armed with 2 rods (an Alloy Stick, remember those and a straight lead), a pint of maggot, some hemp and a few bits of terminal tackle I set about seeing what was in the river. To be honest it was a little sad to some of the swims I used to fish regularly overgrown and in some cases unfishable. The river was still quite pacey, following the rain, although most of the flooded colour had dropped out.
After trying a number of swims, it was apparent the river was a shadow of its former self. The old weir pool was the most productive area, catching a few small brown trout up to a 1lb, plus a couple of grayling. Due to the pace of the river the straight lead was the best, although it was nice to catch a few fish on the stick. As the day due to a close, I decided to try the side stream, were I caught a couple more grayling. In the final swim I managed a 2lb chub and my biggest grayling of the day of 12oz.
Catch – 7 Brown Trout, 5 Grayling, 1 Chub
Weather – Cloudy, cold & damp
I have 2 days holiday left to book off before the year end, so decided on a couple of long weekends leading up to the Christmas. I wasn’t even sure whether I would go fishing today, but having made the decision to go on Thursday, meant getting my bait first thing Friday.
After all the recent rain the rivers were fining down and I really fancied doing something different. The Little Avon at Huntingford Mill near Charfield was a childhood haunt, where I first learned to fish 25 years ago. The river used to have roach, perch, big gudgeon, grayling, trout, bream and a few chub. Fishing the stick was the most popular method, although I was one of the few who regularly fished the waggler. When I got my first pole I was able to achieve better presentation and as a consequence my weights improved topped by 15lb of mostly roach. The fish in the river were never big, but highlights were a 1lb 9oz Grayling, 1lb 5oz roach, 1lb perch and a 3oz gudgeon.
Since there were only a few juniors in the club I used to fish matches against the seniors and 1 year I won 6 out of 10 trophies available. One of my favourite spots was a weir pool, which we called the waterfalls, because the main river came over a sluice gate into a 5 foot deep pool. Unfortunately around 1989 during some very heavy rain the river flooded and the sluice collapsed. Swims that used to have 5 foot of water now had a foot. The club, Charfield AA struggled on, but since the maintenance of the sluice fell to the owners of Huntingford Mill it has never been repaired.
So armed with 2 rods (an Alloy Stick, remember those and a straight lead), a pint of maggot, some hemp and a few bits of terminal tackle I set about seeing what was in the river. To be honest it was a little sad to some of the swims I used to fish regularly overgrown and in some cases unfishable. The river was still quite pacey, following the rain, although most of the flooded colour had dropped out.
After trying a number of swims, it was apparent the river was a shadow of its former self. The old weir pool was the most productive area, catching a few small brown trout up to a 1lb, plus a couple of grayling. Due to the pace of the river the straight lead was the best, although it was nice to catch a few fish on the stick. As the day due to a close, I decided to try the side stream, were I caught a couple more grayling. In the final swim I managed a 2lb chub and my biggest grayling of the day of 12oz.
Monday, 7 December 2009
06/12/09 - Ivy House - Little Lake
Weight – 20lb 8oz
Catch – 6 Carp, 4 Roach, 2 Perch
Weather – Mostly sunny, occasional showers. Gusty wind
Match – Club Christmas Match - 1st overall
I drew peg 12, only to find myself on permanent peg 13! Not sure why, but cards had been used to peg the lake, because some of the permanent peg marking had worn away. My peg was in the corner of the lake with the wind blowing into it, which I wasn’t too disappointed about, although I was sharing the corner with Jim and we were a little too close. Personally would have preferred to be on permanent peg 12, because you can fish into the corner, with the wind off my back, plus you had more open water.
Anyway, I had a job to do. The last time I was here was 12 months ago, but reports suggested it had been fishing OK, so I fed a pinch of 3mm pellet at 13m at 1 o’clock (I couldn’t go any longer due to the awkward wind). I also wanted to set up a short line for roach, feeding caster, but plumbing around suggested my swim was bowl shape without any shelves, so I decided to feed at 9m and hoped to catch the roach on the drop. My final 2 swims would be 6m to my left in the corner and under the pallet of peg 12.
After feeding my swims, I started on the tip with hair rigged corn. After 15 mins I was getting liners but no bites. The 13m line didn’t produce a bite, so it was time to try the 9m line after I had kept flicking caster in. After waiting for bites, I managed 2 small perch & a roach, which wasn’t a good sign.
Back on the 13m line I waited it out on double maggot and the float eventually went under. A 3lb carp was very welcome and with just over an hour gone I was the only 1 to have caught a carp, so the lake was fishing hard. Heavy overnight rain probably didn’t help and the wind was making presentation difficult.
By this time, my headache was really kicking in and having the sun shining directly in front wasn’t helping. With no more bites on the pole, it was time to try the lead again, whilst I search for some nurofen plus. Fortunately the car was parked directly behind me and tablets where duly found. When I got back to my peg I was fiddling with some of my kit and my rod nearly got dragged in as carp no.2 found its way in the net.
Another carp on the pole soon followed on triple pinkie, but the wind was becoming a problem. I had initially set up a 0.5g rig in the 6 foot swim, but really a 1g rig would have been better. My headache meant I couldn’t be bothered to set up a new rig, so I lobbed the lead over the pole line and soon had carp no.4.
The 4th hour of the match was extremely slow. It was close between Graham Millard on peg 15, Brian Stockham on peg 11 and me. Brian was aided by a foulhooked 7lber up the arse!
My margins only produced a single roach and a new swim 12m in front proved fruitless. It seemed everyone had stopped catching and I felt the fish had probably moved further into the middle of the lake, so I cast at an angle into peg 12. 2 casts and 2 carp on double hair rigged corn definitely put me in the lead, but I never had a bite for the rest of the match. Fortunately neither did Graham or Brian.
To be honest this was a bit of boring match, having made the decision to ignore the silvers after an hour, it was just a case of waiting for a carp. Fortunately the nurofen did its job, so I felt better by the end of the match
At the weigh in Graham weighed 15-4 for 2nd and Brian was 3rd with 15-1 for 3rd, so those last 2 carp were needed.
Congratulations to Ian who won the Individual Championship, admittedly courtesy of me missing 1 match.
Catch – 6 Carp, 4 Roach, 2 Perch
Weather – Mostly sunny, occasional showers. Gusty wind
Match – Club Christmas Match - 1st overall
I drew peg 12, only to find myself on permanent peg 13! Not sure why, but cards had been used to peg the lake, because some of the permanent peg marking had worn away. My peg was in the corner of the lake with the wind blowing into it, which I wasn’t too disappointed about, although I was sharing the corner with Jim and we were a little too close. Personally would have preferred to be on permanent peg 12, because you can fish into the corner, with the wind off my back, plus you had more open water.
Anyway, I had a job to do. The last time I was here was 12 months ago, but reports suggested it had been fishing OK, so I fed a pinch of 3mm pellet at 13m at 1 o’clock (I couldn’t go any longer due to the awkward wind). I also wanted to set up a short line for roach, feeding caster, but plumbing around suggested my swim was bowl shape without any shelves, so I decided to feed at 9m and hoped to catch the roach on the drop. My final 2 swims would be 6m to my left in the corner and under the pallet of peg 12.
After feeding my swims, I started on the tip with hair rigged corn. After 15 mins I was getting liners but no bites. The 13m line didn’t produce a bite, so it was time to try the 9m line after I had kept flicking caster in. After waiting for bites, I managed 2 small perch & a roach, which wasn’t a good sign.
Back on the 13m line I waited it out on double maggot and the float eventually went under. A 3lb carp was very welcome and with just over an hour gone I was the only 1 to have caught a carp, so the lake was fishing hard. Heavy overnight rain probably didn’t help and the wind was making presentation difficult.
By this time, my headache was really kicking in and having the sun shining directly in front wasn’t helping. With no more bites on the pole, it was time to try the lead again, whilst I search for some nurofen plus. Fortunately the car was parked directly behind me and tablets where duly found. When I got back to my peg I was fiddling with some of my kit and my rod nearly got dragged in as carp no.2 found its way in the net.
Another carp on the pole soon followed on triple pinkie, but the wind was becoming a problem. I had initially set up a 0.5g rig in the 6 foot swim, but really a 1g rig would have been better. My headache meant I couldn’t be bothered to set up a new rig, so I lobbed the lead over the pole line and soon had carp no.4.
The 4th hour of the match was extremely slow. It was close between Graham Millard on peg 15, Brian Stockham on peg 11 and me. Brian was aided by a foulhooked 7lber up the arse!
My margins only produced a single roach and a new swim 12m in front proved fruitless. It seemed everyone had stopped catching and I felt the fish had probably moved further into the middle of the lake, so I cast at an angle into peg 12. 2 casts and 2 carp on double hair rigged corn definitely put me in the lead, but I never had a bite for the rest of the match. Fortunately neither did Graham or Brian.
To be honest this was a bit of boring match, having made the decision to ignore the silvers after an hour, it was just a case of waiting for a carp. Fortunately the nurofen did its job, so I felt better by the end of the match
At the weigh in Graham weighed 15-4 for 2nd and Brian was 3rd with 15-1 for 3rd, so those last 2 carp were needed.
Congratulations to Ian who won the Individual Championship, admittedly courtesy of me missing 1 match.
05/12/09 - Lands End - Match Lake
Weight – 27lb 0oz (13lb - silvers)
Catch – 8 Roach, 5 Bream, 5 Perch, 3 Carp, 2 Chub, 1 F1
Weather – Bright & calm, later rain
Match – Open - 4th overall (2nd silvers)
Mike Nicholls bless him is obviously getting senile in his retirement years, with far too much time on his hands. As a consequence he finds found fault with most things in life, therefore turning into a proper grumpy old man. The silverfox added a comment to my blog last week saying he didn’t know there were opens on Monday & Tuesday, I assume in reference to the date I add my blog entries. If I had as much time on my hands as Mr Nicholls, then I to could update my blog the same day as I fished. Alternatively it was just a poor attempt at sarcasm.
Today saw me on peg 19, which I haven’t drawn for about 4 or 5 years. Recent form suggested it was worth a few fish, although now the out & out flyer it used to be.
Only 9 anglers turned up so at least there would be plenty of room, which can present its own problems on a cold & clear lake. With so much space, I decided to positively feed in front of peg 18 at 14.5m, with 3mm pellet by catapult. My other swims where fed more conservatively, starting with 20 casters at the bottom of the far shelf and a pinch of green swim stim & micros at 14.5m at 11o'clock.
I started on corn, fishing to my right where I hadn’t fed and 10 minutes later a foulhooked carp was safely landed. With no further bites, I spent the next hour concentrating on the bottom of the far shelf fishing caster, but I had to rotate with maggot and pinkie to keep bites coming. A quick look on top of the shelf produced a run of perch & a chub, but the swim quickly died due to water clarity.
With my caster swim dying, time to try my groundbait/pellet swim and I eventually managed a ½lb skimmer on 4mm pellet. At the ½ way stage I felt I was doing OK, but everyone was fishing for 2nd, because Garry on peg 7 got off to a flyer and probably had 40lb in the first 2 hours. Mike on peg 24 also started getting amongst some proper perch fishing tight to the tree.
As for me, I had to keep rotating swims and the grounbait/pellet swim became the strongest swim, with skimmers up to 1½lb and a carp, all on pellet. My positive swim in peg 18 produced a few liners, but no fish. I tried dumping caster & maggot in front of the pallet on peg 18, but this only produced a few silvers.
As expected Garry won with 63lb. 2nd was Alan Oram from the in form peg 11 with 33lb, but he had to wait 1¾ hours before he got his first bite. 3rd was Mike with 32lb, which included 17lb of mostly perch, plus 4 carp.
I was left a bit frustrated that I couldn’t keep my caster swim going, however I was pleased I was able to catch a few skimmers in less than ideal conditions, so hopefully I have began to get to grips with them.
Catch – 8 Roach, 5 Bream, 5 Perch, 3 Carp, 2 Chub, 1 F1
Weather – Bright & calm, later rain
Match – Open - 4th overall (2nd silvers)
Mike Nicholls bless him is obviously getting senile in his retirement years, with far too much time on his hands. As a consequence he finds found fault with most things in life, therefore turning into a proper grumpy old man. The silverfox added a comment to my blog last week saying he didn’t know there were opens on Monday & Tuesday, I assume in reference to the date I add my blog entries. If I had as much time on my hands as Mr Nicholls, then I to could update my blog the same day as I fished. Alternatively it was just a poor attempt at sarcasm.
Today saw me on peg 19, which I haven’t drawn for about 4 or 5 years. Recent form suggested it was worth a few fish, although now the out & out flyer it used to be.
Only 9 anglers turned up so at least there would be plenty of room, which can present its own problems on a cold & clear lake. With so much space, I decided to positively feed in front of peg 18 at 14.5m, with 3mm pellet by catapult. My other swims where fed more conservatively, starting with 20 casters at the bottom of the far shelf and a pinch of green swim stim & micros at 14.5m at 11o'clock.
I started on corn, fishing to my right where I hadn’t fed and 10 minutes later a foulhooked carp was safely landed. With no further bites, I spent the next hour concentrating on the bottom of the far shelf fishing caster, but I had to rotate with maggot and pinkie to keep bites coming. A quick look on top of the shelf produced a run of perch & a chub, but the swim quickly died due to water clarity.
With my caster swim dying, time to try my groundbait/pellet swim and I eventually managed a ½lb skimmer on 4mm pellet. At the ½ way stage I felt I was doing OK, but everyone was fishing for 2nd, because Garry on peg 7 got off to a flyer and probably had 40lb in the first 2 hours. Mike on peg 24 also started getting amongst some proper perch fishing tight to the tree.
As for me, I had to keep rotating swims and the grounbait/pellet swim became the strongest swim, with skimmers up to 1½lb and a carp, all on pellet. My positive swim in peg 18 produced a few liners, but no fish. I tried dumping caster & maggot in front of the pallet on peg 18, but this only produced a few silvers.
As expected Garry won with 63lb. 2nd was Alan Oram from the in form peg 11 with 33lb, but he had to wait 1¾ hours before he got his first bite. 3rd was Mike with 32lb, which included 17lb of mostly perch, plus 4 carp.
I was left a bit frustrated that I couldn’t keep my caster swim going, however I was pleased I was able to catch a few skimmers in less than ideal conditions, so hopefully I have began to get to grips with them.
Monday, 30 November 2009
28/11/09 - Lands End - Match Lake
Weight – 12lb 10oz
Catch – 9 Perch, 6 Roach, 2 Carp, 1 Skimmer
Weather – Showery start, turning calm & cold.
Water Temp– 9.5c > 9.5c
Match – Open - 7th overall
As I was driving to the venue, I wondered whether it would ever stop raining. For what must be 3 weeks now its been wet & windy. When checking the weather forecast for this weekend, depending on which site you looked at, we would either have 20mph winds with 55mph gusts or it would be flat clam, so not even the weatherman could make up their minds. Having said that Saturdays weather looked better than Sunday.
I found myself on peg 23 which Mike decided to put in instead of 24. In fact looking at it the peg did offer me more options. The tree on the right hand bank was at 17m and the island was at 15m, with plenty of open water in between.
The main concern today was the extra water in the lake, following the rain and it was clear, so a challenging day was anticipated.
I started with ½ a cup of green swim groundbait & 3mm pellets at 14m, plus some caster by the island. 1st put in was by the tree without feeding to see if I could snare a mug fish, with corn on the hook. A few liners indicated fish in the swim & 10 mins later I hooked a carp, but unfortunately I wasn't quick enough throwing 17m of pole behind me and the fish snagged me in the sunken branches.
I decided to let that swim settle and switched to the island and immediately had a 3 perch and 2 roach on double caster, then nothing. This was the pattern for the rest of the match. I couldn't get a run of fish.
My groundbait swim didn't produce a bite, I set up a couple more swims, but the most consistent spots where by the island and under the tree. I even tried under the pallet on peg 24, but only had 3 fish. Ideally I would have preferred to fished my lighter rig my the tree, but I couldnt risk it, because any carp would have done me. When bites stopped I tried flicking casters over to the tree to encourage the carp from under it, but they just weren't having it. The guy on peg 1 wasn't fishing longer than 13m, so there was plenty of room for the carp to sulk away and flicking casters over wasn't working.
On reflection, could I have caught more? Possibly, but the bright, flat conditions meant it wasn't easy. I had 6lb 2oz of silvers and only needed another 1¼lb to pick up in the silvers, all beit by double default.
Rod won the match from peg 21 with 39lb. All his fish came to his left to towards peg 20, so perhaps there wasn't that many carp close to me. Garry was 2nd with 34lb from peg 11, which included 15lb of silvers and Mike was 3rd with 30lb from peg 19, again with 15lb of silvers.
I'm not too disponate about today, because I have had a good run so far this season and the law averages suggested I was due a complete blow out.
Catch – 9 Perch, 6 Roach, 2 Carp, 1 Skimmer
Weather – Showery start, turning calm & cold.
Water Temp– 9.5c > 9.5c
Match – Open - 7th overall
As I was driving to the venue, I wondered whether it would ever stop raining. For what must be 3 weeks now its been wet & windy. When checking the weather forecast for this weekend, depending on which site you looked at, we would either have 20mph winds with 55mph gusts or it would be flat clam, so not even the weatherman could make up their minds. Having said that Saturdays weather looked better than Sunday.
I found myself on peg 23 which Mike decided to put in instead of 24. In fact looking at it the peg did offer me more options. The tree on the right hand bank was at 17m and the island was at 15m, with plenty of open water in between.
The main concern today was the extra water in the lake, following the rain and it was clear, so a challenging day was anticipated.
I started with ½ a cup of green swim groundbait & 3mm pellets at 14m, plus some caster by the island. 1st put in was by the tree without feeding to see if I could snare a mug fish, with corn on the hook. A few liners indicated fish in the swim & 10 mins later I hooked a carp, but unfortunately I wasn't quick enough throwing 17m of pole behind me and the fish snagged me in the sunken branches.
I decided to let that swim settle and switched to the island and immediately had a 3 perch and 2 roach on double caster, then nothing. This was the pattern for the rest of the match. I couldn't get a run of fish.
My groundbait swim didn't produce a bite, I set up a couple more swims, but the most consistent spots where by the island and under the tree. I even tried under the pallet on peg 24, but only had 3 fish. Ideally I would have preferred to fished my lighter rig my the tree, but I couldnt risk it, because any carp would have done me. When bites stopped I tried flicking casters over to the tree to encourage the carp from under it, but they just weren't having it. The guy on peg 1 wasn't fishing longer than 13m, so there was plenty of room for the carp to sulk away and flicking casters over wasn't working.
On reflection, could I have caught more? Possibly, but the bright, flat conditions meant it wasn't easy. I had 6lb 2oz of silvers and only needed another 1¼lb to pick up in the silvers, all beit by double default.
Rod won the match from peg 21 with 39lb. All his fish came to his left to towards peg 20, so perhaps there wasn't that many carp close to me. Garry was 2nd with 34lb from peg 11, which included 15lb of silvers and Mike was 3rd with 30lb from peg 19, again with 15lb of silvers.
I'm not too disponate about today, because I have had a good run so far this season and the law averages suggested I was due a complete blow out.
Monday, 23 November 2009
22/11/09 - Lands End - Johns Lake
Weight – 54lb 15oz
Catch – 13 Crucian, 9 Carp, 9 Roach, 4 Bream, 3 Tench
Weather – Windy & showery
Water Temp– 11.0c > 11.0c
No match today, instead I took Richard Higgs fishing, who recently brought a load of 2nd hand kit. Rich has fished before, but now wanted to go more regularily and he has been pumping me for information, so I suggested a trip to Lands End
Tony had a match on Match & Speci, so I settled on fishing Johns lake, but with a windy day forecast I set up on peg 55 at the far end of the lake, with Rich on peg 54. At least these pegs are a bit more sheltered and the wind usually comes from behind, so I could fish the pole.
I kept things simple fishing pellet or corn at 13-14m, feeding 3mm pellet & corn. Initially potted pellet & corn every 3rd fish, but it became obvious the fish wanted feeding and a toss pot of feed every put in kept the fishing coming.
Most of the silvers came early in the session, on soft pellet, but as more feed went in the carp arrived and most where caught on corn. I also caught a couple carp on the lead, cast into the swim on peg 57 opposite, when ever the pole swim went quiet or the wind really picked up.
Overall a nice stress free day. As for Rich he caught his 1 and only a carp 1st cast on his carp rod, but I set him up with a waggler so at least he caught a few silvers close in.
Catch – 13 Crucian, 9 Carp, 9 Roach, 4 Bream, 3 Tench
Weather – Windy & showery
Water Temp– 11.0c > 11.0c
No match today, instead I took Richard Higgs fishing, who recently brought a load of 2nd hand kit. Rich has fished before, but now wanted to go more regularily and he has been pumping me for information, so I suggested a trip to Lands End
Tony had a match on Match & Speci, so I settled on fishing Johns lake, but with a windy day forecast I set up on peg 55 at the far end of the lake, with Rich on peg 54. At least these pegs are a bit more sheltered and the wind usually comes from behind, so I could fish the pole.
I kept things simple fishing pellet or corn at 13-14m, feeding 3mm pellet & corn. Initially potted pellet & corn every 3rd fish, but it became obvious the fish wanted feeding and a toss pot of feed every put in kept the fishing coming.
Most of the silvers came early in the session, on soft pellet, but as more feed went in the carp arrived and most where caught on corn. I also caught a couple carp on the lead, cast into the swim on peg 57 opposite, when ever the pole swim went quiet or the wind really picked up.
Overall a nice stress free day. As for Rich he caught his 1 and only a carp 1st cast on his carp rod, but I set him up with a waggler so at least he caught a few silvers close in.
Tuesday, 17 November 2009
15/11/09 - Fishponds
Weight - 27lb 4oz
Catch - 3 Carp, 3 Roach, 2 Rudd, 1 Bream
Weather - Mostly sunny, 1 heavy shower
Water Temp - 10.5c > 10.0c
Match - Club Match - 4th overall
16 turned up today’s club match, which was higher than expected and we were all relieved that the weather had improved from yesterdays storms. However a sudden change in the weather doesn’t usually bode well for the fishing and with the volume of rain that fell yesterday I was expecting a hard match.
I found myself on peg 12 which has a nick name of “dead mans corner” and it rarely frames, so I had my work cut out. The peg looks very fishy, with plenty of reeds in the left hand corner, but in a match the peg is cut off by pegs 11 & 13 and with the wind blowing on the other side of the lake a difficult day was likely.
Decided on 3 areas, 12m into the left hand corner, 14m at 1o’clock (wanted to give myself some extra room from peg 11) and the bottom of the right hand marginal shelf. Green Swim Stim, micro pellet with a pinch of 4mm and corn went in at 14m, I was hoping to pull in a few bream as well as create some activity from small silvers. 4mm & corn went into the margins.
Tried the RH margin straight away, but never had a bite. In fact despite trying I never had a bite from this swim all match, not sure why, but I think Chris was feeding the margin from peg 13 may have had an effect.
A small roach on maggot from my 14m line was my 1st fish after 30mins and the fishing generally around the lake was very slow. Pellet and corn failed to produce on the 14m line, so another ball of groundbait went in and I decide to fish over it straight away on maggot to gauge the response. 15mins later I connected with a large carp, which was safely landed. At 12lb 7oz it put me in contention and a 3lb bream, 20mins later was very useful, but unfortunately other than a few small silvers and a lost foul hooked carp this line didn’t much more.
At the half way stage it was time to try the corner. 1st put in on double hair rigged corn the float buried and a near 6lb carp was landed. 2nd put in the float buried again, but missed it. With no more bites another rotation of swims was required, as well as setting up 2 more swims, 8m in the LH margin and 14.5m in front.
I had 1 more carp from the corner with an hour to go, but when the heavy rain shower cleared the wind dropped completely and the sun shone. Even those that had been catching struggled during the last hour.
Ian won the match from peg 21 with 57-6, 2nd was Beevor from peg 17 with 37-5 and Dave was 3rd from peg 20 with 35-1. Finishing 4th was a good result, particularly since the pegs either side didn’t weigh, in fact there was only 1 other carp caught in my area of the lake.
On a slightly different note, I hear anglers complaining about breaking their poles and how certain makes are crap. I have an N47, which isn’t the strongest pole around, but I have never broken a section whilst playing a fish, only though my own stupidity. I do also have a J27, which is much stronger (and heavier) for margin fishing. Most pole breakages, regardless of make are down to human error, however there are some who just can’t be told. There are a couple in our club, who once they hook a carp, insist on trying to lift the carp to the surface with 13m of pole! One in particular did this a couple of times, on what I suspect was heavy elastic and he was surprised when the carp pulled free. The bigger surprise for me was how his pole didn’t break! Probably made by Carlsberg who probably make the strongest poles in the world.
Catch - 3 Carp, 3 Roach, 2 Rudd, 1 Bream
Weather - Mostly sunny, 1 heavy shower
Water Temp - 10.5c > 10.0c
Match - Club Match - 4th overall
16 turned up today’s club match, which was higher than expected and we were all relieved that the weather had improved from yesterdays storms. However a sudden change in the weather doesn’t usually bode well for the fishing and with the volume of rain that fell yesterday I was expecting a hard match.
I found myself on peg 12 which has a nick name of “dead mans corner” and it rarely frames, so I had my work cut out. The peg looks very fishy, with plenty of reeds in the left hand corner, but in a match the peg is cut off by pegs 11 & 13 and with the wind blowing on the other side of the lake a difficult day was likely.
Decided on 3 areas, 12m into the left hand corner, 14m at 1o’clock (wanted to give myself some extra room from peg 11) and the bottom of the right hand marginal shelf. Green Swim Stim, micro pellet with a pinch of 4mm and corn went in at 14m, I was hoping to pull in a few bream as well as create some activity from small silvers. 4mm & corn went into the margins.
Tried the RH margin straight away, but never had a bite. In fact despite trying I never had a bite from this swim all match, not sure why, but I think Chris was feeding the margin from peg 13 may have had an effect.
A small roach on maggot from my 14m line was my 1st fish after 30mins and the fishing generally around the lake was very slow. Pellet and corn failed to produce on the 14m line, so another ball of groundbait went in and I decide to fish over it straight away on maggot to gauge the response. 15mins later I connected with a large carp, which was safely landed. At 12lb 7oz it put me in contention and a 3lb bream, 20mins later was very useful, but unfortunately other than a few small silvers and a lost foul hooked carp this line didn’t much more.
At the half way stage it was time to try the corner. 1st put in on double hair rigged corn the float buried and a near 6lb carp was landed. 2nd put in the float buried again, but missed it. With no more bites another rotation of swims was required, as well as setting up 2 more swims, 8m in the LH margin and 14.5m in front.
I had 1 more carp from the corner with an hour to go, but when the heavy rain shower cleared the wind dropped completely and the sun shone. Even those that had been catching struggled during the last hour.
Ian won the match from peg 21 with 57-6, 2nd was Beevor from peg 17 with 37-5 and Dave was 3rd from peg 20 with 35-1. Finishing 4th was a good result, particularly since the pegs either side didn’t weigh, in fact there was only 1 other carp caught in my area of the lake.
On a slightly different note, I hear anglers complaining about breaking their poles and how certain makes are crap. I have an N47, which isn’t the strongest pole around, but I have never broken a section whilst playing a fish, only though my own stupidity. I do also have a J27, which is much stronger (and heavier) for margin fishing. Most pole breakages, regardless of make are down to human error, however there are some who just can’t be told. There are a couple in our club, who once they hook a carp, insist on trying to lift the carp to the surface with 13m of pole! One in particular did this a couple of times, on what I suspect was heavy elastic and he was surprised when the carp pulled free. The bigger surprise for me was how his pole didn’t break! Probably made by Carlsberg who probably make the strongest poles in the world.
Wednesday, 11 November 2009
08/11/09 Lands End - Speci Lake
Weight - 26lb 12oz
Catch - 10 Perch, 7 Roach, 5 Chub, 4 Bream, 3 Rudd, 1 Carp
Weather - Cold NW wind & showers
Water Temp - 10.5c > 10.5c
Match - Lands End Winter League rd2 - 24th overall, 2nd in section
Apologised for the late blog on last Sundays match,however my laptop crashed, fortunately only £80 to fix. But why do all the bills arrive when you can least afford them?
The 2nd round of the Lands End Winter League and I was a little underwhelmed to find myself on peg 26 (Speci), because to get good section points you had to beat the normally more reliable pegs 25, 31 & 32.
This week the weather had turned much colder, with the water temperature dropping to 10.5c, so a hard match was likely and with a cold north westerly wind blowing into my face also meant an uncomfortable match.
The island was 17m away and I really wanted to avoid fishing that long, plus I wasn’t confident there would be too many carp sat on top the shelf. Initially started 15m at 11o’ clock and 13m at 1o’clock, fishing soft pellet or corn. After 90mins I had 4 skimmers, the biggest being about 1½lb, but everyone in my section was struggling.
I had fed some caster towards the pallet on peg 27, but could only catch small perch & roach, and even those weren’t coming quickly.
With 2 hours gone, the only swim I hadn’t tried was the island, but I felt I had no choice because I was starting to lose ground on the others in my section. Russ on 25 had caught a few silvers down the LH bank, Mat Dark on 28 had 1 carp and I was fairly certain that Chris & Liam on pegs 31 & 32 had a carp each.
So I bite the bullet and went 17m, feeding caster. Initially went over on my carp rig, but it was obvious there were none around, so a change to a lighter rig resulted in a run of perch & roach, but sport was never hectic, although 4x 1lb perch dropping off the hook as I shipped back was irritating.
As the match progressed a pattern emerged, where I would get a few decent silvers before the small roach intervened, at which point I would rest the swim and try elsewhere. With 2½ hours to go I tried the pallet swim again, but again nothing of value. Time to consider my options. The only place I could catch was at 17m.
My open water swims were lifeless, although I did try fishing away from where I had fed, but I now needed a carp for decent points because everyone now had at least 1. I felt the best place to catch one would be down the margin, because Mat already had a couple and lost a couple fishing to his right, so I started to fed a little heavier down the edge. I would spend 20mins fishing the far side, then fish the margins for 10mins and just keep rotating, at least this way I would keep fish coming to the net so when I hopefully had a carp, I would have a decent silvers net to go with it.
With an hour to go I realised I was fishing for 2nd in section because Mat now had 3 carp, 2 of which were double figures. A run of chublets at 17m was very useful but I still needed a carp, with 20mins to go another pot of food went in by the pallet, but this time I fed just caster. A quick rotation of swims yielded nothing. 5mins to go, back to the pallet with corn on the hook, 3mins to go I was attached to a carp! Great, just got to land it. A rather tense 10mins later I had a very large carp in the net. Russ was gutted, because he knew my 1 fish would probably weigh as much as his total catch.
As it was he weighed 15-7, my silvers weighed 9-14 and my carp was 16-14, a proper bonus fish. Mat won the section with 41-7, Chris didn’t weigh, which left Liam on peg 32. He weighed 26-11, but my weight had been recorded as 26-8, so he thought he clinched 2nd in section, however after a check of the weigh sheets my weight was corrected to 26-12, so I got 2nd in section by 1oz. This means after 2 rounds I am currently 8th overall
League to date
1 Nicky Collier 12 (142- 7)
2 Dean Malin 12 (80-13)
3 Rod Wootton 11 (113-8)
4 Dave Hodgson 11 (87-14)
5 Mat Tomes 10 (147-0)
6 Vince Shipp 10 (118-13)
7 Mitchell Artus 10 (110-3)
8 Ken Rayner 10 (64-7)
Catch - 10 Perch, 7 Roach, 5 Chub, 4 Bream, 3 Rudd, 1 Carp
Weather - Cold NW wind & showers
Water Temp - 10.5c > 10.5c
Match - Lands End Winter League rd2 - 24th overall, 2nd in section
Apologised for the late blog on last Sundays match,however my laptop crashed, fortunately only £80 to fix. But why do all the bills arrive when you can least afford them?
The 2nd round of the Lands End Winter League and I was a little underwhelmed to find myself on peg 26 (Speci), because to get good section points you had to beat the normally more reliable pegs 25, 31 & 32.
This week the weather had turned much colder, with the water temperature dropping to 10.5c, so a hard match was likely and with a cold north westerly wind blowing into my face also meant an uncomfortable match.
The island was 17m away and I really wanted to avoid fishing that long, plus I wasn’t confident there would be too many carp sat on top the shelf. Initially started 15m at 11o’ clock and 13m at 1o’clock, fishing soft pellet or corn. After 90mins I had 4 skimmers, the biggest being about 1½lb, but everyone in my section was struggling.
I had fed some caster towards the pallet on peg 27, but could only catch small perch & roach, and even those weren’t coming quickly.
With 2 hours gone, the only swim I hadn’t tried was the island, but I felt I had no choice because I was starting to lose ground on the others in my section. Russ on 25 had caught a few silvers down the LH bank, Mat Dark on 28 had 1 carp and I was fairly certain that Chris & Liam on pegs 31 & 32 had a carp each.
So I bite the bullet and went 17m, feeding caster. Initially went over on my carp rig, but it was obvious there were none around, so a change to a lighter rig resulted in a run of perch & roach, but sport was never hectic, although 4x 1lb perch dropping off the hook as I shipped back was irritating.
As the match progressed a pattern emerged, where I would get a few decent silvers before the small roach intervened, at which point I would rest the swim and try elsewhere. With 2½ hours to go I tried the pallet swim again, but again nothing of value. Time to consider my options. The only place I could catch was at 17m.
My open water swims were lifeless, although I did try fishing away from where I had fed, but I now needed a carp for decent points because everyone now had at least 1. I felt the best place to catch one would be down the margin, because Mat already had a couple and lost a couple fishing to his right, so I started to fed a little heavier down the edge. I would spend 20mins fishing the far side, then fish the margins for 10mins and just keep rotating, at least this way I would keep fish coming to the net so when I hopefully had a carp, I would have a decent silvers net to go with it.
With an hour to go I realised I was fishing for 2nd in section because Mat now had 3 carp, 2 of which were double figures. A run of chublets at 17m was very useful but I still needed a carp, with 20mins to go another pot of food went in by the pallet, but this time I fed just caster. A quick rotation of swims yielded nothing. 5mins to go, back to the pallet with corn on the hook, 3mins to go I was attached to a carp! Great, just got to land it. A rather tense 10mins later I had a very large carp in the net. Russ was gutted, because he knew my 1 fish would probably weigh as much as his total catch.
As it was he weighed 15-7, my silvers weighed 9-14 and my carp was 16-14, a proper bonus fish. Mat won the section with 41-7, Chris didn’t weigh, which left Liam on peg 32. He weighed 26-11, but my weight had been recorded as 26-8, so he thought he clinched 2nd in section, however after a check of the weigh sheets my weight was corrected to 26-12, so I got 2nd in section by 1oz. This means after 2 rounds I am currently 8th overall
League to date
1 Nicky Collier 12 (142- 7)
2 Dean Malin 12 (80-13)
3 Rod Wootton 11 (113-8)
4 Dave Hodgson 11 (87-14)
5 Mat Tomes 10 (147-0)
6 Vince Shipp 10 (118-13)
7 Mitchell Artus 10 (110-3)
8 Ken Rayner 10 (64-7)
Sunday, 1 November 2009
30/10/09 - Lands End - Match Lake
Weight – 53lb 8oz
Catch – 9 Carp, 2 Bream, 1 Crucian
Weather – Mostly sunny & calm
Water Temp– 14.0c > 14.0c
Match – Open – 3rd overall
The weather dictated whether I would fish Saturday or Sunday, with Sundays forecast for gales and rain. As I write this blog on Sunday morning, looking outside I know I made the right to decision because it’s hosing it down and the wind is pushing the trees sideways.
Today I was going for my 5th pick up on the bounce, but found myself on peg 1. This is only the 3rd time I have drawn here, however recent results from the peg have been disappointing and looking at the results for the last 4 matches, showed between 26 & 36lb.
Carp or silvers? I felt I was up against it today, on what has been a very average peg recently. There was a few carp boshing by the island and under the tree at 17m along the left hand bank, so I decided on the carp, although I did set up a swim in open water, feeding micro pellet for the skimmers.
I started at the bottom the shelf by the island and after 10 mins had a skimmer on corn. In fact that was the only fish I had corn, everything else came to Tony’s soft pellet. Another skimmer and a crucian came from the open water swim, but with it being bright and flat the skimmers didn’t want to feed.
All the while I had been flicking 4mm along the left hand bank hoping to draw the carp from under the tree, as well as keeping the bottom of the island shelf topped up again with 4mm.
The LH bank produced a small carp within 5mins of trying, but other than 1 other that snagged me in the tree I never had another fish from this swim. I was getting indication, but no proper bites. Mike West on 24 was having the same problem.
Half way into the match I only had 2 carp, plus my silvers. I thought about switching feed to caster and trying for some silvers, but I couldn’t see the point, because I was way behind in the silvers pool, so I stuck with the carp. Fabio on peg 3 already had 6 or 7 and I could hear Rod Wootten on peg 6 catching, so I needed a late surge.
I couldn’t get any proper indications fishing down the shelf, the LH bank was proving frustrating, so I started flicking 4mm tight to the island which saw a further 2 carp netted. With 70 minutes to go I was up to 4.
I kept the feed going into the island, but also decided to deposit ¾pt caster, pellet & corn tight into my RH margin. There were carp moving around the island now and I decided to shallow up even further to get tighter across. In the last hour I landed 5 carp, 2 from the RH margin and 3 tight to the island. All of sudden I thought
I might be in with a shout of framing, however speaking to others I started thinking 4th would be the best I could hope for.
The weigh in started in reverse from peg 24, Kev Molton weighed 46lb from peg 18, and Alan Oram had 66lb from peg 16. Darren Roberts 10 carp from peg 11 went 49lb and Rod won the match with 69lb. Dave Wescott won the silvers from peg 5 with 19lb and Fabio’s 9 carp went 32lb (proper squeakers).
So I needed 49lb to frame and I honestly thought I had 40-45lb. My silvers weighed 4½lb, but when I lifted my carp net it felt close to 50lb and decided on 2 weighs. The 1st went 32lb, which meant my remaining 3 carp had to be more than 12½lb and I was really pleased when the needle settled on 17lb.
Overall really happy with how I approached the match. The turning point was taking 2 decent carp from my right hand margin and shallowing up further to get tight to the island. The water temperature had increased to 14c, which probably why the fish didn’t really want to settle on the deck.
Catch – 9 Carp, 2 Bream, 1 Crucian
Weather – Mostly sunny & calm
Water Temp– 14.0c > 14.0c
Match – Open – 3rd overall
The weather dictated whether I would fish Saturday or Sunday, with Sundays forecast for gales and rain. As I write this blog on Sunday morning, looking outside I know I made the right to decision because it’s hosing it down and the wind is pushing the trees sideways.
Today I was going for my 5th pick up on the bounce, but found myself on peg 1. This is only the 3rd time I have drawn here, however recent results from the peg have been disappointing and looking at the results for the last 4 matches, showed between 26 & 36lb.
Carp or silvers? I felt I was up against it today, on what has been a very average peg recently. There was a few carp boshing by the island and under the tree at 17m along the left hand bank, so I decided on the carp, although I did set up a swim in open water, feeding micro pellet for the skimmers.
I started at the bottom the shelf by the island and after 10 mins had a skimmer on corn. In fact that was the only fish I had corn, everything else came to Tony’s soft pellet. Another skimmer and a crucian came from the open water swim, but with it being bright and flat the skimmers didn’t want to feed.
All the while I had been flicking 4mm along the left hand bank hoping to draw the carp from under the tree, as well as keeping the bottom of the island shelf topped up again with 4mm.
The LH bank produced a small carp within 5mins of trying, but other than 1 other that snagged me in the tree I never had another fish from this swim. I was getting indication, but no proper bites. Mike West on 24 was having the same problem.
Half way into the match I only had 2 carp, plus my silvers. I thought about switching feed to caster and trying for some silvers, but I couldn’t see the point, because I was way behind in the silvers pool, so I stuck with the carp. Fabio on peg 3 already had 6 or 7 and I could hear Rod Wootten on peg 6 catching, so I needed a late surge.
I couldn’t get any proper indications fishing down the shelf, the LH bank was proving frustrating, so I started flicking 4mm tight to the island which saw a further 2 carp netted. With 70 minutes to go I was up to 4.
I kept the feed going into the island, but also decided to deposit ¾pt caster, pellet & corn tight into my RH margin. There were carp moving around the island now and I decided to shallow up even further to get tighter across. In the last hour I landed 5 carp, 2 from the RH margin and 3 tight to the island. All of sudden I thought
I might be in with a shout of framing, however speaking to others I started thinking 4th would be the best I could hope for.
The weigh in started in reverse from peg 24, Kev Molton weighed 46lb from peg 18, and Alan Oram had 66lb from peg 16. Darren Roberts 10 carp from peg 11 went 49lb and Rod won the match with 69lb. Dave Wescott won the silvers from peg 5 with 19lb and Fabio’s 9 carp went 32lb (proper squeakers).
So I needed 49lb to frame and I honestly thought I had 40-45lb. My silvers weighed 4½lb, but when I lifted my carp net it felt close to 50lb and decided on 2 weighs. The 1st went 32lb, which meant my remaining 3 carp had to be more than 12½lb and I was really pleased when the needle settled on 17lb.
Overall really happy with how I approached the match. The turning point was taking 2 decent carp from my right hand margin and shallowing up further to get tight to the island. The water temperature had increased to 14c, which probably why the fish didn’t really want to settle on the deck.
Monday, 26 October 2009
25/10/09 - Lands End - Speci Lake
Weight – 44lb 8oz (26lb – silvers)
Catch – 31 Perch, 8 Roach, 6 Chub, 4 Carp, 3 Bream, 1 F1, 1 Tench
Weather – Mostly sunny & windy – mild
Water Temp– 12.5c > 13.0c
Match – Open – 6th overall, 1st silvers
I had a decision to make this weekend, fish Saturday or Sunday. Saturdays weather forecast was for wind & rain, which I didn’t fancy much, whilst Sundays weather was much drier, but still windy. A quick call to Mike confirmed he had a match on Sunday, so I booked myself in.
At the draw there was a discussion whether to put all 15 of us on Match Lake or split it and put 4 on 1 bank of speci (25-32). Personally, wanted to include speci simply because I hadn’t fished it this year and needed some practice for the forthcoming winter league match in 2 weeks.
I found myself on peg 25, a sheltered corner on Speci Lake and when I arrived there was what I thought a big swirl at 16m – happy days. Then I noticed a pleasure angler on 39. The big swirl was in fact a method ball landing in my swim – oh great! I suggested he keep to his side of the lake, which to be fair to him he did, although he had to make a few visits to the margins in peg 40 when ever he over cast.
With peg 26 not in I had plenty of space and too many options. I could just about reach the island with 17m, I had plenty of open water and the margin down my left hand side. My opening gambit was to try 14.5m in open water straight in front and towards the island. After 20mins and no sign of carp, it was time to try down the LH edge on double caster. For the next hour I caught consistently, mostly 8oz perch plus a few small roach, whilst all the time flicking 4mms towards the island and 16m in open water.
The island swim did produce 1 carp, which came off as I was shipping back. I also had a few liners, so tried shallowing up with 3 maggots on the hook, but I still couldn’t get a proper bite and too be honest I’m not build well enough to fish 17m waiting for bites.
By the ½ way stage I had 12lb or so of silvers and needed to make a decision. Stick with silvers for the rest of the match or go chasing carp. Mike West on peg 29 already had a few and I was certain a few people would be catching on Match Lake, so I felt I was out of the running for a frame payout, so decided to stick with the silvers. With this in mind I felt a 2nd silvers swim would be required to rest my LH margin line and fed some micro pellet, a pinch of 4mms and a bit of corn at 11.5m for the skimmers.
As the session progressed bites from the margin swim weren’t as frequent, however the quality of the fish had increased, with bigger perch up 1¼lb, chub and few bonuses in the shape of a decent F1, tench as well as 3 carp.
My 11.5m line produced 3 skimmers & a carp on soft pellet, but I had to wait a while for a proper bite. I also had a couple of chub from under the bush immediately to my right.
Come the end of the match I thought I was in with a good shout of winning the silvers, but not knowing how Match Lake fished I would have to wait to find out. 26lb was slightly more than I expected and I would have been disappointed not to have picked up some coin.
In total I fed 1½pt of caster, mostly via a tosspot, mixed with some atomic cloud and had a really nice days fishing. In the end the I won the silvers quite convincingly, with Nicky Collier taking 17lb from peg 6, however he did win the match with 87lb.
A special mention for Nick Merry, who doesn’t know the venue that well, but has decided to fish the Winter League. His 1st match was on peg 31 on speci, a flyer, which he didn’t make the most of. Today he drew peg 32, had 73lb for 3rd overall, including a munter of 17lb 13oz. At least "Mr Angry" didn’t come out.
Catch – 31 Perch, 8 Roach, 6 Chub, 4 Carp, 3 Bream, 1 F1, 1 Tench
Weather – Mostly sunny & windy – mild
Water Temp– 12.5c > 13.0c
Match – Open – 6th overall, 1st silvers
I had a decision to make this weekend, fish Saturday or Sunday. Saturdays weather forecast was for wind & rain, which I didn’t fancy much, whilst Sundays weather was much drier, but still windy. A quick call to Mike confirmed he had a match on Sunday, so I booked myself in.
At the draw there was a discussion whether to put all 15 of us on Match Lake or split it and put 4 on 1 bank of speci (25-32). Personally, wanted to include speci simply because I hadn’t fished it this year and needed some practice for the forthcoming winter league match in 2 weeks.
I found myself on peg 25, a sheltered corner on Speci Lake and when I arrived there was what I thought a big swirl at 16m – happy days. Then I noticed a pleasure angler on 39. The big swirl was in fact a method ball landing in my swim – oh great! I suggested he keep to his side of the lake, which to be fair to him he did, although he had to make a few visits to the margins in peg 40 when ever he over cast.
With peg 26 not in I had plenty of space and too many options. I could just about reach the island with 17m, I had plenty of open water and the margin down my left hand side. My opening gambit was to try 14.5m in open water straight in front and towards the island. After 20mins and no sign of carp, it was time to try down the LH edge on double caster. For the next hour I caught consistently, mostly 8oz perch plus a few small roach, whilst all the time flicking 4mms towards the island and 16m in open water.
The island swim did produce 1 carp, which came off as I was shipping back. I also had a few liners, so tried shallowing up with 3 maggots on the hook, but I still couldn’t get a proper bite and too be honest I’m not build well enough to fish 17m waiting for bites.
By the ½ way stage I had 12lb or so of silvers and needed to make a decision. Stick with silvers for the rest of the match or go chasing carp. Mike West on peg 29 already had a few and I was certain a few people would be catching on Match Lake, so I felt I was out of the running for a frame payout, so decided to stick with the silvers. With this in mind I felt a 2nd silvers swim would be required to rest my LH margin line and fed some micro pellet, a pinch of 4mms and a bit of corn at 11.5m for the skimmers.
As the session progressed bites from the margin swim weren’t as frequent, however the quality of the fish had increased, with bigger perch up 1¼lb, chub and few bonuses in the shape of a decent F1, tench as well as 3 carp.
My 11.5m line produced 3 skimmers & a carp on soft pellet, but I had to wait a while for a proper bite. I also had a couple of chub from under the bush immediately to my right.
Come the end of the match I thought I was in with a good shout of winning the silvers, but not knowing how Match Lake fished I would have to wait to find out. 26lb was slightly more than I expected and I would have been disappointed not to have picked up some coin.
In total I fed 1½pt of caster, mostly via a tosspot, mixed with some atomic cloud and had a really nice days fishing. In the end the I won the silvers quite convincingly, with Nicky Collier taking 17lb from peg 6, however he did win the match with 87lb.
A special mention for Nick Merry, who doesn’t know the venue that well, but has decided to fish the Winter League. His 1st match was on peg 31 on speci, a flyer, which he didn’t make the most of. Today he drew peg 32, had 73lb for 3rd overall, including a munter of 17lb 13oz. At least "Mr Angry" didn’t come out.
Sunday, 18 October 2009
17/10/09 - Lands End - Match Lake
Weight – 56lb 3oz
Catch – 12 Carp, 3 Perch, 2 Chub, 2 Tench, 1 Bream
Weather –Cold start, mostly sunny with cloudy periods
Water Temp– 12.5c > 12.0c
Match – Open – 2nd overall
Peg 11 found its way in my hand again and again Mike was opposite me on peg 13! What are the chances? However it has been 1 of the form pegs recently so I wasn’t too disappointed.
On the all in I potted some caster & pellet into the margins of peg 12 as a back up and catapulted 4mm to my left at the bottom of the track in front of peg 10. My main swim would be 14m in front at the bottom of the shelf.
1st put in, feeding 4mm’s & corn via a tosspot, with corn on the hook, I landed my 1st carp. The next 2 put ins the same thing happened, but now I was getting liners and foul hooking.
A brief look down peg 12 margin, to let the carp settle produced a couple of perch, but I wasn’t catching quickly, so back to the main swim.
The 1st half of the match produced 10 carp on corn, soft pellet and hair rigged 6mm, but liners and foulhooked fish was a constant problem. Mike drew here on Wednesday and experienced the same problem. A brief try up the shelf didn’t produce a bite, although there was fish moving around, but I think the carp were spooked by the pole, despite fishing a long line.
The 2nd half of the match was extremely frustrating. If I wasn’t foul hooking fish, I was losing fish to underwater snags! The 1st dived for the island and Mike thinks is it got caught in some hay bale netting, the 2nd snag was only 8m out down the track and the 3rd dived between my keepnets, wrapping itself around the platform. Not happy, toys came out the pram and I may have expressed myself loud enough for everyone to hear much to everyone else’s amusement.
Most of my fish came from the 14m line, with a couple coming from in front of peg 10. I tried the margins and set up a new line in front of the aerator, but only caught silvers.
When the match finished I suspected I may be lucky to finish 2nd, because I could hear Garry on peg 16 catching strongly late on. Rod was 1st to weigh from peg 1 with 54lb and finished 3rd overall. Garry won the match with 72lb and to be honest I was relieved to finish 2nd and 7lb of silvers proved very useful.
Catch – 12 Carp, 3 Perch, 2 Chub, 2 Tench, 1 Bream
Weather –Cold start, mostly sunny with cloudy periods
Water Temp– 12.5c > 12.0c
Match – Open – 2nd overall
Peg 11 found its way in my hand again and again Mike was opposite me on peg 13! What are the chances? However it has been 1 of the form pegs recently so I wasn’t too disappointed.
On the all in I potted some caster & pellet into the margins of peg 12 as a back up and catapulted 4mm to my left at the bottom of the track in front of peg 10. My main swim would be 14m in front at the bottom of the shelf.
1st put in, feeding 4mm’s & corn via a tosspot, with corn on the hook, I landed my 1st carp. The next 2 put ins the same thing happened, but now I was getting liners and foul hooking.
A brief look down peg 12 margin, to let the carp settle produced a couple of perch, but I wasn’t catching quickly, so back to the main swim.
The 1st half of the match produced 10 carp on corn, soft pellet and hair rigged 6mm, but liners and foulhooked fish was a constant problem. Mike drew here on Wednesday and experienced the same problem. A brief try up the shelf didn’t produce a bite, although there was fish moving around, but I think the carp were spooked by the pole, despite fishing a long line.
The 2nd half of the match was extremely frustrating. If I wasn’t foul hooking fish, I was losing fish to underwater snags! The 1st dived for the island and Mike thinks is it got caught in some hay bale netting, the 2nd snag was only 8m out down the track and the 3rd dived between my keepnets, wrapping itself around the platform. Not happy, toys came out the pram and I may have expressed myself loud enough for everyone to hear much to everyone else’s amusement.
Most of my fish came from the 14m line, with a couple coming from in front of peg 10. I tried the margins and set up a new line in front of the aerator, but only caught silvers.
When the match finished I suspected I may be lucky to finish 2nd, because I could hear Garry on peg 16 catching strongly late on. Rod was 1st to weigh from peg 1 with 54lb and finished 3rd overall. Garry won the match with 72lb and to be honest I was relieved to finish 2nd and 7lb of silvers proved very useful.
Monday, 12 October 2009
11/10/09 - Lands End - Sydneys
Weight – 37lb 11oz
Catch – 27 Carp, 9 Roach, 7 Rudd, 3 Bream.
Weather –Rain to start, becoming windy.
Water Temp– 13.5c > 13.5c
Match – Lands End Winter League – rd 1 – 21st overall, 2nd in section
I had every intention of fishing Ivy House-Match Lake today for the Glenfall V Abbotswood match, however the 1st round of Mikes Winter League was due and Mikes was getting tough with anglers. If you agree to fish the league, then you are committed to pay the match fees, even if you don’t turn up, unless you can find a replacement. Personally have no issues with this policy, because last year a number of absentees buggered up the payouts.
I found myself on peg 92 on Sydney’s. Initially I was reasonably happy, but a quick word with a few suggested the peg could be a bit hit or miss. As I was setting up, it appeared my 6 peg section was reduced to 5, because the end peg 84 hadn’t been drawn, which meant even more space for peg 86. Also there was loads of fish topping in the end peg 94, in fact there appeared to be fish topping everywhere, except in front of me! Which was an obvious concern and 4pts (out of 6) was looking like a good result.
Decided on a 4 pronged attack, 4m was fed with micros & caster in case I needed silvers, I would also catapult 4mms into the gap and towards the island on my right (in front of peg 91). On the all in I decided to start at 12m, using a large toss pot feeding 4mm, a few bits of corn and micro pellet. I caught straight away on expander, but I was getting ragged by silvers, so I cut out the micros and used corn on the hook, which worked. After an hour I had 5 carp and a handful of silvers, but the swim was dying.
The 2nd hour flew by, but other than a handful silvers I was struggling. My short line was a waste of time with only tiny roach and my island swims weren’t producing either.
Time to have a word with myself. I was in danger of cocking up a good start, because after the first hour I was matching everyone else, but slipped during the 2nd hour. So a switch back to my 12m swim, produced 10 carp over the next hour, still using the tosspot, which put me firmly back in contention.
Going into the 4th hour the rain was now replaced by an ever increasing wind and my 4x10 Chianti rig was no longer up to the job. I tried fishing against the island but as well as having difficulty keeping the rig in place, I was also struggling to see the float due to light conditions. A short spell on the waggler fished into the gap, produced a couple more carp, plus a few roach on corn, but the wind was increasing and the rig was getting dragged about a bit too much.
A change of rig was required for the 12m line, so on went a 4x14 Jolly, with a longer line and I started to catch again. Corn was definitely the bait, proving too big a mouthful for the little roach, although it didn’t stop them trying!
By the end of the match I knew the section would be tight and I honestly thought I might be close to bottom in the section, because everyone seemed to be catching more than me in the 2nd half of the match. Chris was 1st to weigh in our section with 30.10, which was less than I thought. Dean was next with 39.8, which included 10.4 of silvers and Jamie had 33.0. I was pleasantly surprised to weigh 37.11 and with Pete last to weigh in 34.9 I was delighted to get 2nd in section.
I think largely ignoring the silvers proved ultimately to be a shrewd move, because I had the best carp weight in my section, although the other bank was won with 60.10 and 53.14 was 2nd.
Catch – 27 Carp, 9 Roach, 7 Rudd, 3 Bream.
Weather –Rain to start, becoming windy.
Water Temp– 13.5c > 13.5c
Match – Lands End Winter League – rd 1 – 21st overall, 2nd in section
I had every intention of fishing Ivy House-Match Lake today for the Glenfall V Abbotswood match, however the 1st round of Mikes Winter League was due and Mikes was getting tough with anglers. If you agree to fish the league, then you are committed to pay the match fees, even if you don’t turn up, unless you can find a replacement. Personally have no issues with this policy, because last year a number of absentees buggered up the payouts.
I found myself on peg 92 on Sydney’s. Initially I was reasonably happy, but a quick word with a few suggested the peg could be a bit hit or miss. As I was setting up, it appeared my 6 peg section was reduced to 5, because the end peg 84 hadn’t been drawn, which meant even more space for peg 86. Also there was loads of fish topping in the end peg 94, in fact there appeared to be fish topping everywhere, except in front of me! Which was an obvious concern and 4pts (out of 6) was looking like a good result.
Decided on a 4 pronged attack, 4m was fed with micros & caster in case I needed silvers, I would also catapult 4mms into the gap and towards the island on my right (in front of peg 91). On the all in I decided to start at 12m, using a large toss pot feeding 4mm, a few bits of corn and micro pellet. I caught straight away on expander, but I was getting ragged by silvers, so I cut out the micros and used corn on the hook, which worked. After an hour I had 5 carp and a handful of silvers, but the swim was dying.
The 2nd hour flew by, but other than a handful silvers I was struggling. My short line was a waste of time with only tiny roach and my island swims weren’t producing either.
Time to have a word with myself. I was in danger of cocking up a good start, because after the first hour I was matching everyone else, but slipped during the 2nd hour. So a switch back to my 12m swim, produced 10 carp over the next hour, still using the tosspot, which put me firmly back in contention.
Going into the 4th hour the rain was now replaced by an ever increasing wind and my 4x10 Chianti rig was no longer up to the job. I tried fishing against the island but as well as having difficulty keeping the rig in place, I was also struggling to see the float due to light conditions. A short spell on the waggler fished into the gap, produced a couple more carp, plus a few roach on corn, but the wind was increasing and the rig was getting dragged about a bit too much.
A change of rig was required for the 12m line, so on went a 4x14 Jolly, with a longer line and I started to catch again. Corn was definitely the bait, proving too big a mouthful for the little roach, although it didn’t stop them trying!
By the end of the match I knew the section would be tight and I honestly thought I might be close to bottom in the section, because everyone seemed to be catching more than me in the 2nd half of the match. Chris was 1st to weigh in our section with 30.10, which was less than I thought. Dean was next with 39.8, which included 10.4 of silvers and Jamie had 33.0. I was pleasantly surprised to weigh 37.11 and with Pete last to weigh in 34.9 I was delighted to get 2nd in section.
I think largely ignoring the silvers proved ultimately to be a shrewd move, because I had the best carp weight in my section, although the other bank was won with 60.10 and 53.14 was 2nd.
Friday, 9 October 2009
08/10/09 - Lands End - Match Lake
Weight – 79lb 14oz
Catch – 18 Carp, 3 Bream, 1 Perch, 1 Tench.
Weather –Sunny & Calm
Water Temp– 13.5c > 13.5c
As mentioned in my previous blog entry, I wasn’t entirely happy with Saturday’s result, because I couldn’t catch carp on pellet. So I managed a day off work to try and sort my rigs & feeding.
Unfortunately I chose a challenging day. Yesterday had turned cold, wet & windy, whilst today had seen a cold start with bright flat conditions, plus the water temperature had dropped by 1.5c.
I settled on peg 19, simply because I’ve never drawn it in a match. With only pellet (micro & 4mm pellet) and corn I wanted to concentrate on the carp, so no caster and no temptation to get distracted by silvers if it all goes pear shaped.
Decided to feed 2 swims at the bottom of the far shelf, feeding a cup of micros & 4mm, then catapulting 4mm over the top on a regular basis in the left hand swim. In the right hand swim I intended to feed more conservatively mostly via a tosspot with the addition of corn.
The session got off to a really slow start, with a small carp tight to the island, but despite plenty of liners, I decided to disregard this area, because I could see me wasting too time chasing fish and with autumn coming it wasn’t a tactic that would feature.
As for the 2 main swims, I initially started on expander and the right hand swim did produce 3 to 4lb carp, plus a couple of skimmers, but despite plenty of liners the fish weren’t getting their heads down. As for the left swim, I thought I might have overcooked it, because I caught very little.
After about 3 hours I had about 20lb and thought it was going to be 1 of those days, so started feeding my RH margin. It wasn’t long before I saw a few swirls and caught my best fish on double expander.
Eventually bubbles started blowing in my left hand swim, but the expander and corn wasn’t really working, so I changed to my other rig that I hadn’t used so far. I rarely fish hard pellet here, but it’s hard to ignore the results some of the regulars have on it. So out went my rig with hair rigged 6mm and I caught almost straight away, mostly from the left hand swim that just got stronger, before I probably over did it with the feed. I finished the session with a couple of carp from the margin.
Overall pleased with what I learned and hopefully I will be able to put it into practice on Sunday.
As I was leaving I had a look on Speci Lake were Mike had spent the day putting in new platforms on pegs 25 to 32, which is great, because the island was now 1.5m closer so the 17m section can now stay in the bag!
Catch – 18 Carp, 3 Bream, 1 Perch, 1 Tench.
Weather –Sunny & Calm
Water Temp– 13.5c > 13.5c
As mentioned in my previous blog entry, I wasn’t entirely happy with Saturday’s result, because I couldn’t catch carp on pellet. So I managed a day off work to try and sort my rigs & feeding.
Unfortunately I chose a challenging day. Yesterday had turned cold, wet & windy, whilst today had seen a cold start with bright flat conditions, plus the water temperature had dropped by 1.5c.
I settled on peg 19, simply because I’ve never drawn it in a match. With only pellet (micro & 4mm pellet) and corn I wanted to concentrate on the carp, so no caster and no temptation to get distracted by silvers if it all goes pear shaped.
Decided to feed 2 swims at the bottom of the far shelf, feeding a cup of micros & 4mm, then catapulting 4mm over the top on a regular basis in the left hand swim. In the right hand swim I intended to feed more conservatively mostly via a tosspot with the addition of corn.
The session got off to a really slow start, with a small carp tight to the island, but despite plenty of liners, I decided to disregard this area, because I could see me wasting too time chasing fish and with autumn coming it wasn’t a tactic that would feature.
As for the 2 main swims, I initially started on expander and the right hand swim did produce 3 to 4lb carp, plus a couple of skimmers, but despite plenty of liners the fish weren’t getting their heads down. As for the left swim, I thought I might have overcooked it, because I caught very little.
After about 3 hours I had about 20lb and thought it was going to be 1 of those days, so started feeding my RH margin. It wasn’t long before I saw a few swirls and caught my best fish on double expander.
Eventually bubbles started blowing in my left hand swim, but the expander and corn wasn’t really working, so I changed to my other rig that I hadn’t used so far. I rarely fish hard pellet here, but it’s hard to ignore the results some of the regulars have on it. So out went my rig with hair rigged 6mm and I caught almost straight away, mostly from the left hand swim that just got stronger, before I probably over did it with the feed. I finished the session with a couple of carp from the margin.
Overall pleased with what I learned and hopefully I will be able to put it into practice on Sunday.
As I was leaving I had a look on Speci Lake were Mike had spent the day putting in new platforms on pegs 25 to 32, which is great, because the island was now 1.5m closer so the 17m section can now stay in the bag!
Sunday, 4 October 2009
03/10/09 - Lands End - Match Lake
Weight – 32lb 2oz (18lb 2oz silvers)
Catch – 29 Perch, 5 Carp, 4 Chub, 3 Roach, 1 Ide
Weather – Cloudy & windy
Water Temp– 15.0c > 15.0c
Match – Open – 8th overall, 2nd silvers
With heavy winds forecast, I was hoping for a sheltered peg, so I was reasonable pleased with peg 13. I had Rod Wootton opposite on peg 11 and Nicky Collier to my right on peg 15.
The wave machine was only due to be on for 2 hours. So after a quick look under the pallet on 14, without any joy, I decided to try caster down the left hand bank. Initially tried at 14m, tight against the trees, but the branches prevented me from fishing on top of the shelf and after 10 mins without a bite, I came back to 12m were I could fish tight to the bank.
1st put in I had a perch, but the next 15mins proved very frustrating when I kept bumping fish, probably Perch. I got it sorted by increasing from size 20 to 18 hook, changing the shotting pattern and striking harder! The next 2hours produced perch up to 1-12, plus a couple of small carp on double caster, feeding a tosspot of caster and red atomic cloud. By the time the wave machine switched off I had over 20 fish in the net and pleased with my progress.
I had been feeding 4mm towards the point of the island, but when I went over all I got was liners, both at the bottom of the shelf and the top of the shelf. I even tried towards the aerator after cupping in some pellet, without success. This proved frustrating, because both Rod & Nicky started catching regularly, although Rod was suffering from foul hookers.
After unsuccessfully trying for carp, I had a decision to make, either persevere trying for carp, or switch back to the silvers. In reality it was an easy decision, because pegs 17, 18 and 19 were all catching and I felt I was too far behind to catch up.
So back to the left hand bank, where I had kept a pouch of caster regularly going in. A few more perch, where followed by chub and a couple more small carp, but I had to wait longer for fish, lifting and dropping for bites. I tried fishing longer, against the tress, but this only produced small fish and the only place I could catch was tight into the bank.
At the all out, I hoped I had done enough to at least pick up in the silvers. When Dave Hodgson on peg 6, weighed 18lb, which included a tench of 4-14, I wasn’t sure and there was a few tense moments as I weighed in the scales bounced around the 18lb mark, 18-2 was the final reading. However Dave "Beanie" Wescott was still to weigh. According Garry he had over 20lb, whilst Beanie admitted to 15lb! But he did admit to being useless at guessing and as it turned out he had 23lb, all on caster on top of the shelf. Fortunately Mike was paying top 2 in silvers.
Match winner was Kev Molton on peg 18, with 94lb on corn and Nicky was 2nd with 81lb. I felt I’m missing a trick with the carp at the moment, because I cant seem to catch whilst others can. With the 1st round of Mikes winter league next weekend I need to consider my approach, because the last thing I want to do is bugger up a potentially section winning peg, so I see a day off coming up soon.
Catch – 29 Perch, 5 Carp, 4 Chub, 3 Roach, 1 Ide
Weather – Cloudy & windy
Water Temp– 15.0c > 15.0c
Match – Open – 8th overall, 2nd silvers
With heavy winds forecast, I was hoping for a sheltered peg, so I was reasonable pleased with peg 13. I had Rod Wootton opposite on peg 11 and Nicky Collier to my right on peg 15.
The wave machine was only due to be on for 2 hours. So after a quick look under the pallet on 14, without any joy, I decided to try caster down the left hand bank. Initially tried at 14m, tight against the trees, but the branches prevented me from fishing on top of the shelf and after 10 mins without a bite, I came back to 12m were I could fish tight to the bank.
1st put in I had a perch, but the next 15mins proved very frustrating when I kept bumping fish, probably Perch. I got it sorted by increasing from size 20 to 18 hook, changing the shotting pattern and striking harder! The next 2hours produced perch up to 1-12, plus a couple of small carp on double caster, feeding a tosspot of caster and red atomic cloud. By the time the wave machine switched off I had over 20 fish in the net and pleased with my progress.
I had been feeding 4mm towards the point of the island, but when I went over all I got was liners, both at the bottom of the shelf and the top of the shelf. I even tried towards the aerator after cupping in some pellet, without success. This proved frustrating, because both Rod & Nicky started catching regularly, although Rod was suffering from foul hookers.
After unsuccessfully trying for carp, I had a decision to make, either persevere trying for carp, or switch back to the silvers. In reality it was an easy decision, because pegs 17, 18 and 19 were all catching and I felt I was too far behind to catch up.
So back to the left hand bank, where I had kept a pouch of caster regularly going in. A few more perch, where followed by chub and a couple more small carp, but I had to wait longer for fish, lifting and dropping for bites. I tried fishing longer, against the tress, but this only produced small fish and the only place I could catch was tight into the bank.
At the all out, I hoped I had done enough to at least pick up in the silvers. When Dave Hodgson on peg 6, weighed 18lb, which included a tench of 4-14, I wasn’t sure and there was a few tense moments as I weighed in the scales bounced around the 18lb mark, 18-2 was the final reading. However Dave "Beanie" Wescott was still to weigh. According Garry he had over 20lb, whilst Beanie admitted to 15lb! But he did admit to being useless at guessing and as it turned out he had 23lb, all on caster on top of the shelf. Fortunately Mike was paying top 2 in silvers.
Match winner was Kev Molton on peg 18, with 94lb on corn and Nicky was 2nd with 81lb. I felt I’m missing a trick with the carp at the moment, because I cant seem to catch whilst others can. With the 1st round of Mikes winter league next weekend I need to consider my approach, because the last thing I want to do is bugger up a potentially section winning peg, so I see a day off coming up soon.
Sunday, 27 September 2009
26/09/09 - Lands End - Match Lake
Weight – 26lb 8oz
Catch – 6 Carp, 5 Perch, 4 Rudd
Weather – Sunny & warm
Water Temp– 14.5c > 15.0c
Match – Open – 10th overall
With 17 anglers, Mike decided to peg 1 side of Speci Lake (25-32) as well as Match Lake.
Its funny how certain pegs get stuck to hand, whilst other pegs you cant get close to. I hardly draw pegs 1 & 24, but cant keep away from the top end (pegs 10 & 11), so I shouldn’t have been surprised when I opened the card to see peg 11 staring at me.
Mark was unhappy with peg 31, until I told him I would swap it for mine. Anyway I took his casters, which took a little pursuding, to add to my own and hoped for a day catching chub tight to the island.
15 mins before the match the "wave machine" (well that’s what Tony calls it) started. A pot of caster & 4mm pellet went in on the island & I started on double caster, waiting for the chub. After an hour it was obvious there wasn’t many silvers about, but I did notice carp responding to the feed. So a switch 6mm hair rigged pellet resulted in a couple of carp, but the fish weren’t taking the bait properly and a switch to paste resulted in a couple more carp.
This was turning into a frustrating match, because I could see carp moving around but getting them to take the bait was proving challenging. At the half way stage my 4 carp, from what I could hear & see was doing OK, so when the wave machine turned off I was hopeful I could catch properly. Unfortunately the session just become even more frustrating. The carp were coming to the feed, but wouldn’t take the bait.
As well as hard pellet & paste, I tried caster & expander, but it didn’t seem to make a difference. Mike was on 13 and was having the same problems. To be honest I stuck with fishing the island a lot longer than I should have, because I could see the fish and was determined to make it work.
In the end the better weights came from the other end of the lake, where there was a slight ripple.
As for Mark, he won the match with 99-6, which included over 10lb of chub, all on expander to the point of the island, although he said he had to scale down to get bites, despite the carp having their backs out of the water.
Catch – 6 Carp, 5 Perch, 4 Rudd
Weather – Sunny & warm
Water Temp– 14.5c > 15.0c
Match – Open – 10th overall
With 17 anglers, Mike decided to peg 1 side of Speci Lake (25-32) as well as Match Lake.
Its funny how certain pegs get stuck to hand, whilst other pegs you cant get close to. I hardly draw pegs 1 & 24, but cant keep away from the top end (pegs 10 & 11), so I shouldn’t have been surprised when I opened the card to see peg 11 staring at me.
Mark was unhappy with peg 31, until I told him I would swap it for mine. Anyway I took his casters, which took a little pursuding, to add to my own and hoped for a day catching chub tight to the island.
15 mins before the match the "wave machine" (well that’s what Tony calls it) started. A pot of caster & 4mm pellet went in on the island & I started on double caster, waiting for the chub. After an hour it was obvious there wasn’t many silvers about, but I did notice carp responding to the feed. So a switch 6mm hair rigged pellet resulted in a couple of carp, but the fish weren’t taking the bait properly and a switch to paste resulted in a couple more carp.
This was turning into a frustrating match, because I could see carp moving around but getting them to take the bait was proving challenging. At the half way stage my 4 carp, from what I could hear & see was doing OK, so when the wave machine turned off I was hopeful I could catch properly. Unfortunately the session just become even more frustrating. The carp were coming to the feed, but wouldn’t take the bait.
As well as hard pellet & paste, I tried caster & expander, but it didn’t seem to make a difference. Mike was on 13 and was having the same problems. To be honest I stuck with fishing the island a lot longer than I should have, because I could see the fish and was determined to make it work.
In the end the better weights came from the other end of the lake, where there was a slight ripple.
As for Mark, he won the match with 99-6, which included over 10lb of chub, all on expander to the point of the island, although he said he had to scale down to get bites, despite the carp having their backs out of the water.
Tuesday, 15 September 2009
13/09/09 - Fishponds
Weight – 335lb 5oz
Catch – 44 Carp, 2 Bream
Weather – Sunny & warm, but cool NE breeze
Water Temp– 18.0c > 18.0c
If only everything else was going as well as my fishing! And yes I had 335lb. I thought 300lb would be a possible, but had considered the opportunity to had passed until next summer.
I had made a late decision to go fishing today and I thought it may be the last opportunity to fish paste before autumn arrives. I settled on peg 3 and decided on 3 swims, LH margin a few metres away from the reeds. 9m to my right fishing at the bottom of the shelf and the final swim would be shallow at 13m.
When I arrived I wasn’t sure what to except and to be honest I would have been happy with 100lb, however after an hour I had 12 carp for 88lb from my RH swim, at which point I thought 300lb may be on the cards.
I briefly tried the shallow swim and caught 3 carp, but they weren’t coming as quickly as on the paste. So after 2hrs, I decided to concentrate on the paste. Initially all my fish came from the RH swim, whilst the LH swim was only producing odd fish, but as the session progressed the LH swim got stronger, producing the biggest carp of the session at 13lb 5oz.
I could have continued for another hour, but that would have meant re-tying a trashed rig, plus my left shoulder was feeling the strain. It’s never been right since a car accident 2 years ago.
1st hr = 88lb
2nd hr = 141lb (53lb)
3rd hr = 200lb (59lb)
4th hr = 250lb (50lb)
5th hr = 335lb (85lb)
So another PB. It’s been an awesome summer for big weights, this being my 5th weight over 200lb in the last 3 months. Not sure why I have done so well recently? Suzanne reckons I have just relaxed and in some ways she is probably right. Also, because money has been a bit tight, it’s meant keeping a simple approach and a simple bait tray.
I got a call from Mick Duckett this afternoon (Monday) asking whether I wanted to fish his Lands End Winter League. The answer was yes, but during our chat Mike explained how he has been struggling during these difficult times. With the anniversary of the collapse of Lehman Brothers in America this week, the last 12 months certainly has been difficult. Things will improve and at some point in the future there will be another recession, because that’s part of the cycle, but hopefully lessons will be learnt so the next time it wont be as hard as now.
Catch – 44 Carp, 2 Bream
Weather – Sunny & warm, but cool NE breeze
Water Temp– 18.0c > 18.0c
If only everything else was going as well as my fishing! And yes I had 335lb. I thought 300lb would be a possible, but had considered the opportunity to had passed until next summer.
I had made a late decision to go fishing today and I thought it may be the last opportunity to fish paste before autumn arrives. I settled on peg 3 and decided on 3 swims, LH margin a few metres away from the reeds. 9m to my right fishing at the bottom of the shelf and the final swim would be shallow at 13m.
When I arrived I wasn’t sure what to except and to be honest I would have been happy with 100lb, however after an hour I had 12 carp for 88lb from my RH swim, at which point I thought 300lb may be on the cards.
I briefly tried the shallow swim and caught 3 carp, but they weren’t coming as quickly as on the paste. So after 2hrs, I decided to concentrate on the paste. Initially all my fish came from the RH swim, whilst the LH swim was only producing odd fish, but as the session progressed the LH swim got stronger, producing the biggest carp of the session at 13lb 5oz.
I could have continued for another hour, but that would have meant re-tying a trashed rig, plus my left shoulder was feeling the strain. It’s never been right since a car accident 2 years ago.
1st hr = 88lb
2nd hr = 141lb (53lb)
3rd hr = 200lb (59lb)
4th hr = 250lb (50lb)
5th hr = 335lb (85lb)
So another PB. It’s been an awesome summer for big weights, this being my 5th weight over 200lb in the last 3 months. Not sure why I have done so well recently? Suzanne reckons I have just relaxed and in some ways she is probably right. Also, because money has been a bit tight, it’s meant keeping a simple approach and a simple bait tray.
I got a call from Mick Duckett this afternoon (Monday) asking whether I wanted to fish his Lands End Winter League. The answer was yes, but during our chat Mike explained how he has been struggling during these difficult times. With the anniversary of the collapse of Lehman Brothers in America this week, the last 12 months certainly has been difficult. Things will improve and at some point in the future there will be another recession, because that’s part of the cycle, but hopefully lessons will be learnt so the next time it wont be as hard as now.
Monday, 7 September 2009
06/09/09 - Plantations - Horsehsoe Lake
Weight – 14lb 11oz
Catch – 10 Bream, 7 Roach, 4 Carp
Weather – Sunny, becoming increasingly windy
Water Temp– 16.0c > 17.0c
Match – Club Match – 3rd overall
I really didn’t know where I wanted to draw, but with the wind blowing into the bottom of the lake, that would seem favourite. When I drew 2 pegs to the left of were I fished yesterday in the middle I was a little disappointed. There were 3 of us sharing the same island, Graham to my left and Stuart opposite.
I decided on 4 swims, the island, 11.5m at the bottom of the shelf slightly to my right, 10m to my right at the bottom of the near shelf and the margin at 4m to my right.
Having fed my deep water (4ft) swims, I immediately started tight to the island with paste feeding 4mm with the paste. 10mins later I had 2 carp and thought great, but that was it and the rest of the match proved to be a struggle. I had a few skimmers from the bottom of the shelf swims, but had to set up a heavier rig after 2 hour changing from a jolly 4x14 to a polar ice 0.5g because the wind was becoming increasingly troublesome. I could hardly catch on pellet or corn, with most of my fish coming to double red maggot, including a small carp.
The island swim produced another carp late on, whilst I never had a bite in my margin.
This lake has a reputation as a good pleasure fishing water, but a difficult match water and so it proved. Craig only needed 32lb to win the match, beating Chris by 1lb. This was Craig’s first match win, so he was happy. He caught carp on top of the bar at 12m, using maggot, he even had a chub, which must have lost its way. Well done Craig.
I am sure the cool weather during the week had a bearing on results and I got the feeling fishing chopped worm & caster would have been a better way to go.
As for the league, I managed to increase my lead by 1pt.
1st Ken Rayner 156pts
2nd Ian Pople 150
3rd Andy Lord 141
4th Craig Davidge 137
5th Jim Taylor 126
Catch – 10 Bream, 7 Roach, 4 Carp
Weather – Sunny, becoming increasingly windy
Water Temp– 16.0c > 17.0c
Match – Club Match – 3rd overall
I really didn’t know where I wanted to draw, but with the wind blowing into the bottom of the lake, that would seem favourite. When I drew 2 pegs to the left of were I fished yesterday in the middle I was a little disappointed. There were 3 of us sharing the same island, Graham to my left and Stuart opposite.
I decided on 4 swims, the island, 11.5m at the bottom of the shelf slightly to my right, 10m to my right at the bottom of the near shelf and the margin at 4m to my right.
Having fed my deep water (4ft) swims, I immediately started tight to the island with paste feeding 4mm with the paste. 10mins later I had 2 carp and thought great, but that was it and the rest of the match proved to be a struggle. I had a few skimmers from the bottom of the shelf swims, but had to set up a heavier rig after 2 hour changing from a jolly 4x14 to a polar ice 0.5g because the wind was becoming increasingly troublesome. I could hardly catch on pellet or corn, with most of my fish coming to double red maggot, including a small carp.
The island swim produced another carp late on, whilst I never had a bite in my margin.
This lake has a reputation as a good pleasure fishing water, but a difficult match water and so it proved. Craig only needed 32lb to win the match, beating Chris by 1lb. This was Craig’s first match win, so he was happy. He caught carp on top of the bar at 12m, using maggot, he even had a chub, which must have lost its way. Well done Craig.
I am sure the cool weather during the week had a bearing on results and I got the feeling fishing chopped worm & caster would have been a better way to go.
As for the league, I managed to increase my lead by 1pt.
1st Ken Rayner 156pts
2nd Ian Pople 150
3rd Andy Lord 141
4th Craig Davidge 137
5th Jim Taylor 126
05/09/09 - Plantations - Horseshoe Lake
Weight – 41lb 7oz
Catch – 15 Roach, 13 Bream, 11 Carp, 3 Rudd, 2 Perch
Weather – Cloudy, blustery, showers.
Water Temp– 15.5c > 16.0c
Really going through loads of emotions at the moment. On the positive side I’ve changed jobs internally, which whilst daunting does offer a new set of challenges and in the long term should get me back to earning some decent money again. My fishing has been going well, with the last 4 trips accounting for 714lb. Suzanne on the other hand is really having a mare. A few weeks ago I commented every time we take 2 steps forward, we have to take 1 back, unfortunately it now feels like 3 steps back. Once Sue is up and running, things will improve, but at the moment we have been let down by 2x 3rd parties, which is bloody frustrating.
As for today’s session it really was a practice session for tomorrows match. The last time I fished here was about 18 months ago, so I was really unsure how to approach the match.
A week of heavy rains and cooler weather, I was sure would have an effect. I started on the pole at 3m, fishing maggot, but after 45 mins, I only had 17 small fish and no signs of it improving. I had been catapulting 4mm to the island and fed micro pellet at the bottom of the shelf.
As the session progressed I caught skimmers on the 11m line with soft pellet or corn. The island swim initially produced some carp shallow, but they kept drifting in and out of the swim, I tried paste tight across, which produced a couple more of fish. To finish the session I tried down the edge, where I had been feeding 4 & 6mm, this produced 3 more carp, including my biggest of the session at 7-11.
I am glad I made the effort, because I now had a clearer plan for tomorrow. As for the venue, it has great potential and I know the owners son did a lot of work 2/3 years, but since he has stopped his involvement the lake has been allowed to overgrow. There was a handful of swims that have been allowed to overgrow and the reeds make fishing the margins any longer than 4m impossible.
Catch – 15 Roach, 13 Bream, 11 Carp, 3 Rudd, 2 Perch
Weather – Cloudy, blustery, showers.
Water Temp– 15.5c > 16.0c
Really going through loads of emotions at the moment. On the positive side I’ve changed jobs internally, which whilst daunting does offer a new set of challenges and in the long term should get me back to earning some decent money again. My fishing has been going well, with the last 4 trips accounting for 714lb. Suzanne on the other hand is really having a mare. A few weeks ago I commented every time we take 2 steps forward, we have to take 1 back, unfortunately it now feels like 3 steps back. Once Sue is up and running, things will improve, but at the moment we have been let down by 2x 3rd parties, which is bloody frustrating.
As for today’s session it really was a practice session for tomorrows match. The last time I fished here was about 18 months ago, so I was really unsure how to approach the match.
A week of heavy rains and cooler weather, I was sure would have an effect. I started on the pole at 3m, fishing maggot, but after 45 mins, I only had 17 small fish and no signs of it improving. I had been catapulting 4mm to the island and fed micro pellet at the bottom of the shelf.
As the session progressed I caught skimmers on the 11m line with soft pellet or corn. The island swim initially produced some carp shallow, but they kept drifting in and out of the swim, I tried paste tight across, which produced a couple more of fish. To finish the session I tried down the edge, where I had been feeding 4 & 6mm, this produced 3 more carp, including my biggest of the session at 7-11.
I am glad I made the effort, because I now had a clearer plan for tomorrow. As for the venue, it has great potential and I know the owners son did a lot of work 2/3 years, but since he has stopped his involvement the lake has been allowed to overgrow. There was a handful of swims that have been allowed to overgrow and the reeds make fishing the margins any longer than 4m impossible.
Tuesday, 1 September 2009
31/08/09 - Rood Ashton
Weight – 132lb 15oz
Catch – 45 Carp.
Weather – Warm & cloudy, later sunny. Breezy
Water Temp– 17.5c > 19.0c
Match – Rainbow Trust Charity – 1st Overall
20 had booked in for this match, but a couple of late drop outs, meant 18 would be fishing in 2 sections of 9. At least it meant Mark could leave a couple of the worse pegs out.
I asked Mark what pegs he fancied. 5, 6, 15, 16 & 17 was the reply, so when I drew peg 5 I knew I was in the right area. Unfortunately for Mark, he drew peg 10, which was in the corner. It looked a cracking peg, expect the wind was blowing in the opposite direction.
Whilst setting up a couple local spotted I had a couple of pellet wagglers set up, which apparently doesn’t work here. At the start of the match, I immediately started under the tree to my right on paste, because I had noticed a few fish moving around and I hoped for a couple of mug fish. 15 mins later I had 1x 4lber in the net, but bumped 2 others. In the meantime I started feeding my 13m line with 6mms and the waggler line with 8mms.
After an hour, I managed 4 carp from under the tree and 1 on the waggler. The 13m didn’t produce (although I only tried it for 5mins), so I decided to ditch it in favour of concentrating on just the 2 lines. As the match progressed the waggler line got stronger & stronger.
From what I could see peg 2 (where I practiced on Friday) was catching, as was Nick on the bottom bank. It was noticeable the fish preferred to have a ripple over their heads and for 3 hours I caught consistently on the waggler and knew barring a disaster I was likely to be in the frame.
The 5th hour of the match proved really difficult with only 3 fish. The wind had dropped and the sun came out. There was obviously still fish in the swim, but they wouldn’t take the bait. I tried a longer hooklength, but that only resulted in foul hookers and my paste line was only producing iffy bites. I really wanted the paste line to produce, because you tended to get the bigger fish. Fortunately the average size on the waggler was better than on Fridays practice, so I didn’t persevere too long on the paste.
Going into the last hour the fishing picked up, it was still bright and there was a little more ripple on the water, however I had to wait a little longer for the bites. Previously I was hooking fish almost immediately of the waggler landing, but I now had to wait up to a minute before I got a proper bite.
In the end I had 37 fish on the waggler, which isn’t bad for a method that doesn’t work. Apparently no one can remember the pellet waggler winning at Rood Ashton.
Overall, it was a really enjoyable match, not because I won (although that helps), but I kept things simple struck to the game plan. To be honest, I felt confident the waggler would work on most pegs, simple because any anglers who were casting out beyond the pole line were using method feeders.
Nick finished 2nd with 102lb and 81lb was 3rd.
Catch – 45 Carp.
Weather – Warm & cloudy, later sunny. Breezy
Water Temp– 17.5c > 19.0c
Match – Rainbow Trust Charity – 1st Overall
20 had booked in for this match, but a couple of late drop outs, meant 18 would be fishing in 2 sections of 9. At least it meant Mark could leave a couple of the worse pegs out.
I asked Mark what pegs he fancied. 5, 6, 15, 16 & 17 was the reply, so when I drew peg 5 I knew I was in the right area. Unfortunately for Mark, he drew peg 10, which was in the corner. It looked a cracking peg, expect the wind was blowing in the opposite direction.
Whilst setting up a couple local spotted I had a couple of pellet wagglers set up, which apparently doesn’t work here. At the start of the match, I immediately started under the tree to my right on paste, because I had noticed a few fish moving around and I hoped for a couple of mug fish. 15 mins later I had 1x 4lber in the net, but bumped 2 others. In the meantime I started feeding my 13m line with 6mms and the waggler line with 8mms.
After an hour, I managed 4 carp from under the tree and 1 on the waggler. The 13m didn’t produce (although I only tried it for 5mins), so I decided to ditch it in favour of concentrating on just the 2 lines. As the match progressed the waggler line got stronger & stronger.
From what I could see peg 2 (where I practiced on Friday) was catching, as was Nick on the bottom bank. It was noticeable the fish preferred to have a ripple over their heads and for 3 hours I caught consistently on the waggler and knew barring a disaster I was likely to be in the frame.
The 5th hour of the match proved really difficult with only 3 fish. The wind had dropped and the sun came out. There was obviously still fish in the swim, but they wouldn’t take the bait. I tried a longer hooklength, but that only resulted in foul hookers and my paste line was only producing iffy bites. I really wanted the paste line to produce, because you tended to get the bigger fish. Fortunately the average size on the waggler was better than on Fridays practice, so I didn’t persevere too long on the paste.
Going into the last hour the fishing picked up, it was still bright and there was a little more ripple on the water, however I had to wait a little longer for the bites. Previously I was hooking fish almost immediately of the waggler landing, but I now had to wait up to a minute before I got a proper bite.
In the end I had 37 fish on the waggler, which isn’t bad for a method that doesn’t work. Apparently no one can remember the pellet waggler winning at Rood Ashton.
Overall, it was a really enjoyable match, not because I won (although that helps), but I kept things simple struck to the game plan. To be honest, I felt confident the waggler would work on most pegs, simple because any anglers who were casting out beyond the pole line were using method feeders.
Nick finished 2nd with 102lb and 81lb was 3rd.
Saturday, 29 August 2009
28/08/09 - Rood Ashton
Weight – 113lb 9oz
Catch – 36 Carp, 1 Roach.
Weather – Rainy start, later mostly sunny. Very Windy
Water Temp– 17.5c > 18.5c
Today’s trip to Rood Ashton was a practice for Mondays charity match organised by Mark (Slider). The last time I fished here was 3 years ago, so I needed some up to date info from Mark, who only lives a couple of miles away from the venue. Paste was apparently the bait, which I was more than happy about, however I did notice in the results page of the Angling Times that Rod Wootton won a Carps AC match using pellet.
I asked Mark about whether the waggler would work, the answer was nobody uses it there and he even suggested I had a problem, because I always want to get my wagglers out!
The weather forecast wasn’t great, with heavy winds and showers. I had considered not going, but I had booked the day off work and with other commitments over the weekend I forced myself to go.
On arrival the rain started and the next couple of hours it remained showery. With a strong westerly I didn’t wander too far from the car park and set up right of the first tree, which provided enough shelter to fish the pole up to 11m. Just to illustrate the strength of the wind, I had 13m of pole blown off the 3 flat pole rollers, hence the reason why fishing 11m seemed to be better.
I started at 11m fishing paste over 6mms, but there was a real strong tow which meant I couldn’t fish the paste as soft as I would like and the pellet rig was like fishing the stick!
After an hour I had a 4 fish, but wasn’t happy with my presentation and a few foul hooked fish suggested there was a few fish around. I had fed next to the tree and managed a few fish on paste, but I had to pull hard to get them out of the snags, which meant a few more lost fish.
When I started the session, I really didn’t fancy the waggler and left the rods in the ready made holdall, but decided to catapult 8mms out just in case conditions improved. After 2 hours it was obvious fishing the pole was difficult due to the wind, so it was time to get the wagglers out. 2nd cast I landed a foul hooker, a switch to a shorter hooklength I started to get a little run of fish.
Back on the pole I switched to a heavier 4x18 float in the 2.5ft swim, which helped with the presentation but the wind had switched around slightly, so my sheltered spot, wasn’t quite so sheltered.
The wind proved to be a real pain and I could have probably caught more. I was pleased to catch on the waggler, because it at least proved it can work, however the average size of fish was smaller at 3lb, whilst my paste fish averaged 4lb.
Needless to say Mark will be bring his waggler rod on Monday.
Catch – 36 Carp, 1 Roach.
Weather – Rainy start, later mostly sunny. Very Windy
Water Temp– 17.5c > 18.5c
Today’s trip to Rood Ashton was a practice for Mondays charity match organised by Mark (Slider). The last time I fished here was 3 years ago, so I needed some up to date info from Mark, who only lives a couple of miles away from the venue. Paste was apparently the bait, which I was more than happy about, however I did notice in the results page of the Angling Times that Rod Wootton won a Carps AC match using pellet.
I asked Mark about whether the waggler would work, the answer was nobody uses it there and he even suggested I had a problem, because I always want to get my wagglers out!
The weather forecast wasn’t great, with heavy winds and showers. I had considered not going, but I had booked the day off work and with other commitments over the weekend I forced myself to go.
On arrival the rain started and the next couple of hours it remained showery. With a strong westerly I didn’t wander too far from the car park and set up right of the first tree, which provided enough shelter to fish the pole up to 11m. Just to illustrate the strength of the wind, I had 13m of pole blown off the 3 flat pole rollers, hence the reason why fishing 11m seemed to be better.
I started at 11m fishing paste over 6mms, but there was a real strong tow which meant I couldn’t fish the paste as soft as I would like and the pellet rig was like fishing the stick!
After an hour I had a 4 fish, but wasn’t happy with my presentation and a few foul hooked fish suggested there was a few fish around. I had fed next to the tree and managed a few fish on paste, but I had to pull hard to get them out of the snags, which meant a few more lost fish.
When I started the session, I really didn’t fancy the waggler and left the rods in the ready made holdall, but decided to catapult 8mms out just in case conditions improved. After 2 hours it was obvious fishing the pole was difficult due to the wind, so it was time to get the wagglers out. 2nd cast I landed a foul hooker, a switch to a shorter hooklength I started to get a little run of fish.
Back on the pole I switched to a heavier 4x18 float in the 2.5ft swim, which helped with the presentation but the wind had switched around slightly, so my sheltered spot, wasn’t quite so sheltered.
The wind proved to be a real pain and I could have probably caught more. I was pleased to catch on the waggler, because it at least proved it can work, however the average size of fish was smaller at 3lb, whilst my paste fish averaged 4lb.
Needless to say Mark will be bring his waggler rod on Monday.
Monday, 17 August 2009
16/08/09 - Fishponds
Weight – 218lb 4oz
Catch – 31 Carp, 1 Bream.
Weather – Cloudy, sunny periods. Windy.
Water Temp– 21.0c > 21.0c
Match – Glenfall – 1st Overall
Prospects for this match looked good. It was warm, not overly bright and there was a stiff breeze blowing. Prior to the draw, I suggested over 100lb would win and even the club match record of 155lb could be broken.
I drew peg 13, which I was little disappointed with. Although I caught my personal best weight from here, this area of the lake was sheltered from the wind, whilst the rest of the lake had a nice ripple on.
With 13 anglers fishing, meant everyone had plenty of space, so I set up 4 swims, 13m shallow and 3 paste swims (5m right, 11m left margin and 11.5m 45 degrees to my left at the bottom of the shelf)
It took 20 minutes before I got my first fish over my bottom of the shelf swim. Throughout the match this swim proved to be the most productive. A handful of 8mm where thrown in every time I hooked a fish and when ever I experienced a blank spell, I would try the margins or the shallow swim.
The margins only produced 2 fish, whilst the shallow swim also proved difficult. Initially I thought I could catch shallow on the pole, but the fish simply didn’t want to come in close, properly due the flat conditions. In fact most fish I saw topping were in the windy part of the lake, so I switched to the pellet waggler so I could fish further out and managed 4 carp, but its was sporadic.
With 2.5 hours to go, I knew I was very close to breaking the match record and thought 200lb was possible. However there was a little winding up going on, when I was told Ian had 20 carp from peg 16, which at the time was 1 more than me. I knew he was catching, but I could only see the top of his pole over the reeds when he was landing fish and to honest I don’t think I saw it 20 times.
The last 10 minutes was the worse part of my match. An 8lber leaped clean out of my net and I managed to lose my deep water rig when a carp bolted for the reeds.
At the all out I felt confident of 200lb. During the weigh in Andy was leading with 101lb, Craig beat Jim by 1oz, 97-6 to 97-5 and there was also a 70lb weight, so the lake had fished well. I already had 3 fish for 38lb on the board, the biggest going 14-9 and a further 5 weighs confirmed I had indeed smashed the club match record and caught my first 200lb match weight. Ian was the last to weigh with 133lb for 2nd.
It’s fair to say I was quite happy with the result and whilst I thought breaking the match record was possible, to get over 200lb is a real bonus.
At the moment I have really hit a purple patch and long may it continue!!
1st - Ken Rayner - 125pts
2nd - Ian Pople - 120
3rd - Andy Lord - 114
4th - Craig Davidge - 105 (170-4)
5th -Chris Davidge - 105 (168-6)
Catch – 31 Carp, 1 Bream.
Weather – Cloudy, sunny periods. Windy.
Water Temp– 21.0c > 21.0c
Match – Glenfall – 1st Overall
Prospects for this match looked good. It was warm, not overly bright and there was a stiff breeze blowing. Prior to the draw, I suggested over 100lb would win and even the club match record of 155lb could be broken.
I drew peg 13, which I was little disappointed with. Although I caught my personal best weight from here, this area of the lake was sheltered from the wind, whilst the rest of the lake had a nice ripple on.
With 13 anglers fishing, meant everyone had plenty of space, so I set up 4 swims, 13m shallow and 3 paste swims (5m right, 11m left margin and 11.5m 45 degrees to my left at the bottom of the shelf)
It took 20 minutes before I got my first fish over my bottom of the shelf swim. Throughout the match this swim proved to be the most productive. A handful of 8mm where thrown in every time I hooked a fish and when ever I experienced a blank spell, I would try the margins or the shallow swim.
The margins only produced 2 fish, whilst the shallow swim also proved difficult. Initially I thought I could catch shallow on the pole, but the fish simply didn’t want to come in close, properly due the flat conditions. In fact most fish I saw topping were in the windy part of the lake, so I switched to the pellet waggler so I could fish further out and managed 4 carp, but its was sporadic.
With 2.5 hours to go, I knew I was very close to breaking the match record and thought 200lb was possible. However there was a little winding up going on, when I was told Ian had 20 carp from peg 16, which at the time was 1 more than me. I knew he was catching, but I could only see the top of his pole over the reeds when he was landing fish and to honest I don’t think I saw it 20 times.
The last 10 minutes was the worse part of my match. An 8lber leaped clean out of my net and I managed to lose my deep water rig when a carp bolted for the reeds.
At the all out I felt confident of 200lb. During the weigh in Andy was leading with 101lb, Craig beat Jim by 1oz, 97-6 to 97-5 and there was also a 70lb weight, so the lake had fished well. I already had 3 fish for 38lb on the board, the biggest going 14-9 and a further 5 weighs confirmed I had indeed smashed the club match record and caught my first 200lb match weight. Ian was the last to weigh with 133lb for 2nd.
It’s fair to say I was quite happy with the result and whilst I thought breaking the match record was possible, to get over 200lb is a real bonus.
At the moment I have really hit a purple patch and long may it continue!!
1st - Ken Rayner - 125pts
2nd - Ian Pople - 120
3rd - Andy Lord - 114
4th - Craig Davidge - 105 (170-4)
5th -Chris Davidge - 105 (168-6)
Sunday, 9 August 2009
08/08/09 - Fishponds
Weight – 251lb 7oz
Catch – 34 Carp, 1 Golden Orfe, 1 Rudd.
Weather – Sunny & calm, breeze picked up later.
Water Temp– 20.5c > 21.5c
It was my turn on the grass cutting rota, so I didn’t need much of an excuse to go fishing afterwards. By the time I finished my chores I had 5 hours available and I really fancied fishing shallow on the pole.
I set up on peg 22 and with plenty of fish moving around prospects looked good, although I was initially concerned the fish wont appreciate a pole over their heads in the flat conditions, however as I started to fish a light breeze picked up.
After 2hrs I already had 100lb, feeding 8mm pellet at 13m, fishing a polyball. Unfortunately I had to take a 20 minute break when I smashed my top kit and promptly caught the shredded end in my index finger. After I got most of the carbon bits out, Ian was on hand with a 1st aid kit. Thanks.
I had also been feeding towards the right hand pallet and when I returned to my peg I immediately went over with paste catching my biggest fish of the day (11lb 15oz).
In total I had 151lb shallow, whilst the rest came to the paste down the right hand margin. In general the bigger fish came on the shallow rig and towards the end I also managed a Golden Orfe of 3lb 11oz.
Catch – 34 Carp, 1 Golden Orfe, 1 Rudd.
Weather – Sunny & calm, breeze picked up later.
Water Temp– 20.5c > 21.5c
It was my turn on the grass cutting rota, so I didn’t need much of an excuse to go fishing afterwards. By the time I finished my chores I had 5 hours available and I really fancied fishing shallow on the pole.
I set up on peg 22 and with plenty of fish moving around prospects looked good, although I was initially concerned the fish wont appreciate a pole over their heads in the flat conditions, however as I started to fish a light breeze picked up.
After 2hrs I already had 100lb, feeding 8mm pellet at 13m, fishing a polyball. Unfortunately I had to take a 20 minute break when I smashed my top kit and promptly caught the shredded end in my index finger. After I got most of the carbon bits out, Ian was on hand with a 1st aid kit. Thanks.
I had also been feeding towards the right hand pallet and when I returned to my peg I immediately went over with paste catching my biggest fish of the day (11lb 15oz).
In total I had 151lb shallow, whilst the rest came to the paste down the right hand margin. In general the bigger fish came on the shallow rig and towards the end I also managed a Golden Orfe of 3lb 11oz.
06/08/09 - Plantations - Main Lake
Weight – 91lb 0oz
Catch – 23 Carp, 1 Fantail.
Weather – Bright start, becoming showery
Water Temp– 20.5c > 20.5c
Spent a day fishing with James & my godson Ross. It is nearly 10 months since we last got together, so we felt it was about time!
Decided on the main lake at Plantations, simply because Jim doesn’t do much pole fishing and Plantations offered plenty of open water for the waggler or lead. I set Ross up with 1 of my lead rods and told him he would catch soon. He gave me a disbelieving look, which soon changed to a big smile when he landed a 2lb carp after 5 minutes.
As for myself, I decided to keep things simple, purely because I knew I would periodically be required to help Jim & Ross, so I settled on the pellet waggler cast towards the island.
The challenge today was the very flat conditions with no ripple on the surface. Fishing was never hectic. I would catch a couple, then nothing, catch a couple more then nothing.
However I did have to contend with the old boy to my right casting a dirty great big method feeder, getting closer and closer to my swim. When he left, a couple of young lads started casting a 2oz lead towards the island from the corner of the lake! It amazes me the lack of respect some people have. As it happen he caught the island and lost his rig – oh well never mind. And finally there was the ducks! Need I say more?
The real issue today was the flat conditions, I am certain had there been a ripple the fish would have fed more confidently. I initially struggled on a 14 B960 to 0.19, but when I switched to 16 B960 to 0.17 I started to catch more regularly. I also lost a few fish some were foul hookers, but I think the majority were only lightly hooked, because of the carp I actually landed most were only nicked in the lips.
Jim & Ross had an enjoyable day, catching 51lb. Jim spent most of his time on the tip, whilst Ross was well pleased to catch 3½lb of silvers on the whip.
Catch – 23 Carp, 1 Fantail.
Weather – Bright start, becoming showery
Water Temp– 20.5c > 20.5c
Spent a day fishing with James & my godson Ross. It is nearly 10 months since we last got together, so we felt it was about time!
Decided on the main lake at Plantations, simply because Jim doesn’t do much pole fishing and Plantations offered plenty of open water for the waggler or lead. I set Ross up with 1 of my lead rods and told him he would catch soon. He gave me a disbelieving look, which soon changed to a big smile when he landed a 2lb carp after 5 minutes.
As for myself, I decided to keep things simple, purely because I knew I would periodically be required to help Jim & Ross, so I settled on the pellet waggler cast towards the island.
The challenge today was the very flat conditions with no ripple on the surface. Fishing was never hectic. I would catch a couple, then nothing, catch a couple more then nothing.
However I did have to contend with the old boy to my right casting a dirty great big method feeder, getting closer and closer to my swim. When he left, a couple of young lads started casting a 2oz lead towards the island from the corner of the lake! It amazes me the lack of respect some people have. As it happen he caught the island and lost his rig – oh well never mind. And finally there was the ducks! Need I say more?
The real issue today was the flat conditions, I am certain had there been a ripple the fish would have fed more confidently. I initially struggled on a 14 B960 to 0.19, but when I switched to 16 B960 to 0.17 I started to catch more regularly. I also lost a few fish some were foul hookers, but I think the majority were only lightly hooked, because of the carp I actually landed most were only nicked in the lips.
Jim & Ross had an enjoyable day, catching 51lb. Jim spent most of his time on the tip, whilst Ross was well pleased to catch 3½lb of silvers on the whip.
Wednesday, 5 August 2009
03/08/09 - Winterbourne Duck Pond
Weight – 45lb 1oz
Catch – 52 Bream, 3 Carp, 1 Hybrid, 1 Roach
Weather – Mostly cloudy and windy.
Water Temp– 18.0c > 18.5c
This week I was suppose to be at Stafford Moor, however I still decided to take this week off as holiday, particularly since I’m waiting for decision about who my future employer will be.
Despite being my day off, I still attended the last consultation meeting and when it finished I set off the short distance for the duck pond.
On arrival the water looked a lot clearer than expected, which was a concern. Instead of setting up on the usual bus stop swim with the wind off my back, I decided to try the swim opposite where the water appeared to be a little more coloured.
The intention was to fish the waggler down the left hand side of the island and the pole at 11m down the left hand margin. Starting on the waggler, I had to skimmer straight away on maggot, but I wasn’t happy with my presentation. The gusting wind meant accurate casting was difficult and I knew I would hook on the islands willow tree sooner or later. Also the strong wind was pushing the waggler towards me, despite fishing overdepth.
Therefore decided to fish the pole instead at 11.5m, loose feeding 4mm pellet. The first hour was a little slow, fishing double red maggot and it wasn’t look before I switched to 6mm expander. After an initial run of fish decent skimmer, the average stamp began to reduce, so I switched to corn, which doesn’t normally work that well here, but today I started regularly getting better skimmers again. Whether it was due to the clarity of the water or the fact the corn sat better in the tow I’m not sure.
Based on my 3 previous visits, I have only managed to catch 1 small carp, so today, due to the strong wind and the usual lack of carp, I decided to use a soft 6 elastic to avoid bumping too many skimmers. So I shouldn’t have been surprised when I landed a 3lb carp. A 5 pounder hooked an hour later however took a little longer to land, it just wont give up!
The left hand margin only produced a handful of skimmers, but with the weather closing in I decide to pack early. This was in fact my 2nd best weight from the pond, which for free fishing isn’t bad at all. Once I put my i-pod on, you tend to forget about the traffic.
Catch – 52 Bream, 3 Carp, 1 Hybrid, 1 Roach
Weather – Mostly cloudy and windy.
Water Temp– 18.0c > 18.5c
This week I was suppose to be at Stafford Moor, however I still decided to take this week off as holiday, particularly since I’m waiting for decision about who my future employer will be.
Despite being my day off, I still attended the last consultation meeting and when it finished I set off the short distance for the duck pond.
On arrival the water looked a lot clearer than expected, which was a concern. Instead of setting up on the usual bus stop swim with the wind off my back, I decided to try the swim opposite where the water appeared to be a little more coloured.
The intention was to fish the waggler down the left hand side of the island and the pole at 11m down the left hand margin. Starting on the waggler, I had to skimmer straight away on maggot, but I wasn’t happy with my presentation. The gusting wind meant accurate casting was difficult and I knew I would hook on the islands willow tree sooner or later. Also the strong wind was pushing the waggler towards me, despite fishing overdepth.
Therefore decided to fish the pole instead at 11.5m, loose feeding 4mm pellet. The first hour was a little slow, fishing double red maggot and it wasn’t look before I switched to 6mm expander. After an initial run of fish decent skimmer, the average stamp began to reduce, so I switched to corn, which doesn’t normally work that well here, but today I started regularly getting better skimmers again. Whether it was due to the clarity of the water or the fact the corn sat better in the tow I’m not sure.
Based on my 3 previous visits, I have only managed to catch 1 small carp, so today, due to the strong wind and the usual lack of carp, I decided to use a soft 6 elastic to avoid bumping too many skimmers. So I shouldn’t have been surprised when I landed a 3lb carp. A 5 pounder hooked an hour later however took a little longer to land, it just wont give up!
The left hand margin only produced a handful of skimmers, but with the weather closing in I decide to pack early. This was in fact my 2nd best weight from the pond, which for free fishing isn’t bad at all. Once I put my i-pod on, you tend to forget about the traffic.
Sunday, 2 August 2009
What no fishing?
You may have noticed a lack of activity on my blog. Unfortunately circumstance has meant fishing has taken a back seat. I was suppose to be spending this week down at Stafford Moor but finances simply won’t allow, which I absolutely gutted about, because I really enjoy my trips to Andy’s fishery.
Suzanne is still amongst the ranks of the unemployed, despite continually applying for positions without success. There is however light at the end of the tunnel. Suzanne has always wanted to leave the motor industry and a few opportunities have come to light for her to go self employed. This obviously provides its own challenge, but Sue is really excited to be control of her destiny. However it is taking a little longer than expected to finalise a deal, which was originally mid July, then mid August, now its likely to be the start of September.
As for myself, I now know who is buying my department. Now whilst I expect the new company to be a good employer, the opportunities for professional development and increased income is likely to be limited. However I am currently in negotiation with my existing employer about staying with them, which could an exciting opportunity, if not more risky then going to the new company.
In the meantime I have been helping Sue set up her business, which has meant less time for fishing (as well as a lack of money). It is therefore with regret I have to stop running the South West Winter League, passing control to Dave Downton. I sincerely hoped I didn’t have to and waited as long as I could before making a decision, hoping my personal circumstances would improve.
I’m confident Suzanne will be successful, but the next 2-3 months are still likely to be very tough. I will still be fishing, but simply not as often as I would like. I am hoping come the New Year I will be back on an even keel and will be able to fish Mikes Lands End Winter League.
Suzanne is still amongst the ranks of the unemployed, despite continually applying for positions without success. There is however light at the end of the tunnel. Suzanne has always wanted to leave the motor industry and a few opportunities have come to light for her to go self employed. This obviously provides its own challenge, but Sue is really excited to be control of her destiny. However it is taking a little longer than expected to finalise a deal, which was originally mid July, then mid August, now its likely to be the start of September.
As for myself, I now know who is buying my department. Now whilst I expect the new company to be a good employer, the opportunities for professional development and increased income is likely to be limited. However I am currently in negotiation with my existing employer about staying with them, which could an exciting opportunity, if not more risky then going to the new company.
In the meantime I have been helping Sue set up her business, which has meant less time for fishing (as well as a lack of money). It is therefore with regret I have to stop running the South West Winter League, passing control to Dave Downton. I sincerely hoped I didn’t have to and waited as long as I could before making a decision, hoping my personal circumstances would improve.
I’m confident Suzanne will be successful, but the next 2-3 months are still likely to be very tough. I will still be fishing, but simply not as often as I would like. I am hoping come the New Year I will be back on an even keel and will be able to fish Mikes Lands End Winter League.
Tuesday, 14 July 2009
12/07/09 - Bullock Farm - Rushcombe Lake
Weight – 23lb 0oz
Catch – 25 Carp, 10 (goldfish, brown goldfish, F1)
Weather – Sunny, but windy
Water Temp– 19.0c > 20.5c
Match – Glenfall – 1st overall
There were 14 for today’s match and it would be on the island part of the lake. I had my concerns, because the island doesn’t get fished that much, except in matches. Most who fish the lake prefer the parts where you can park behind your peg, so with not as much feed going in would there be the any fish?
Ideally I wanted to draw the bottom end of the island near the bridge (when I say bridge I mean a few wooden sleepers!), plus the wind was blowing strongly down that end. As it happened I drew the top end, which at least meant I was out of the worst of the wind, but it was still going to be troublesome.
I started on the far side hoping for the carp to show straight away, but nothing. I wasn’t expecting the sort of session I had yesterday but this was poor. After 20 minutes I switched to the paste rig down the left hand side and as I looked around to see how everyone else was doing, my pole was yanked down as a big carp (well big for this lake) tried to snag me in the bush. A few minutes later a 4lb carp was safely landed, which was an excellent start, considering the average size of fish.
Unfortunately that carp was a false dawn and I only managed 1 more carp from the far side during the 1st hour. This was ridicules, I couldn’t believe I was struggling so badly! I kept feeding the far bank with 4mm and eventually a few carp started to show, but I wasn’t hooking many.
Time for a quick rethink. I stopped feeding the 4mm and tried fishing paste tight across to provide a target bait. It worked and I started to catch, not quickly, but at least I was catching. However going into the 3rd hour the wind was becoming troublesome, buffeting the pole, pulling the hook out of the paste. In hindsight I persisted a bit too long trying to keep on the paste, although I couldn’t catch on corn or pellet either.
At the half way stage the grapevine suggested my 12 carp was leading the way, which I found hard to believe because I was struggling badly. I needed to start catching again, so I fed further along the far bank, hoping the fish had simply moved. The problem with Rushcombe Lake, other than the lack of depth was the far bank is covered with overhanging vegetation, so you have to fish a short line, which was difficult in the wind. So I decide to try double maggot, which the fish were more willing to accept when it’s blowing.
This worked and I started to catch again, admittedly the average size of fish had dropped, but at least I was catching. When the wind dropped I caught a few more fish on paste, but I had to keep rotating swims and baits to keep them coming. The near margin only produced a couple of fish, which was surprising.
During the weigh in it became obvious the fishing had been hard for most. The wind had made things difficult, but I’m convinced there wasn’t that many fish in this part of the lake. As it turned out I had won very convincingly, with Graham coming 2nd with 10lb 7oz and Ian was 3rd with 10lb 1oz.
In the individual league, I moved slightly further ahead
1st Ken Rayner 93pts
2nd Ian Pople 89
3rd Graham Beevor 87
4th Andy Lord 84
5th Chris Davidge 79
Catch – 25 Carp, 10 (goldfish, brown goldfish, F1)
Weather – Sunny, but windy
Water Temp– 19.0c > 20.5c
Match – Glenfall – 1st overall
There were 14 for today’s match and it would be on the island part of the lake. I had my concerns, because the island doesn’t get fished that much, except in matches. Most who fish the lake prefer the parts where you can park behind your peg, so with not as much feed going in would there be the any fish?
Ideally I wanted to draw the bottom end of the island near the bridge (when I say bridge I mean a few wooden sleepers!), plus the wind was blowing strongly down that end. As it happened I drew the top end, which at least meant I was out of the worst of the wind, but it was still going to be troublesome.
I started on the far side hoping for the carp to show straight away, but nothing. I wasn’t expecting the sort of session I had yesterday but this was poor. After 20 minutes I switched to the paste rig down the left hand side and as I looked around to see how everyone else was doing, my pole was yanked down as a big carp (well big for this lake) tried to snag me in the bush. A few minutes later a 4lb carp was safely landed, which was an excellent start, considering the average size of fish.
Unfortunately that carp was a false dawn and I only managed 1 more carp from the far side during the 1st hour. This was ridicules, I couldn’t believe I was struggling so badly! I kept feeding the far bank with 4mm and eventually a few carp started to show, but I wasn’t hooking many.
Time for a quick rethink. I stopped feeding the 4mm and tried fishing paste tight across to provide a target bait. It worked and I started to catch, not quickly, but at least I was catching. However going into the 3rd hour the wind was becoming troublesome, buffeting the pole, pulling the hook out of the paste. In hindsight I persisted a bit too long trying to keep on the paste, although I couldn’t catch on corn or pellet either.
At the half way stage the grapevine suggested my 12 carp was leading the way, which I found hard to believe because I was struggling badly. I needed to start catching again, so I fed further along the far bank, hoping the fish had simply moved. The problem with Rushcombe Lake, other than the lack of depth was the far bank is covered with overhanging vegetation, so you have to fish a short line, which was difficult in the wind. So I decide to try double maggot, which the fish were more willing to accept when it’s blowing.
This worked and I started to catch again, admittedly the average size of fish had dropped, but at least I was catching. When the wind dropped I caught a few more fish on paste, but I had to keep rotating swims and baits to keep them coming. The near margin only produced a couple of fish, which was surprising.
During the weigh in it became obvious the fishing had been hard for most. The wind had made things difficult, but I’m convinced there wasn’t that many fish in this part of the lake. As it turned out I had won very convincingly, with Graham coming 2nd with 10lb 7oz and Ian was 3rd with 10lb 1oz.
In the individual league, I moved slightly further ahead
1st Ken Rayner 93pts
2nd Ian Pople 89
3rd Graham Beevor 87
4th Andy Lord 84
5th Chris Davidge 79
11/07/09 - Bullock Farm - Rushcombe Lake
Weight – 62lb 7oz
Catch – 76 Carp, 30 (goldfish, brown goldfish, F1)
Weather – Warm, muggy, mostly cloudy
Water Temp– 19.0c > 20.0c
Today was a practice session for tomorrows club match. On past experience I knew there was loads of small goldfish, as well as small carp and to put together a competitive weight you need to catch more carp. Being a snake lake it is only 10m wide and 1½ft deep down the middle, so it’s a classic hole in the ground!
1st hour – spent time trying to catch goldfish short on maggot, feeding sloppy groundbait & maggot. Initially struggled to catch, but eventually caught really shallow although I bumped a few, because the fish had come so shallow and I need a much shorter float for tomorrow. 29 fish caught.
2nd hour – had regularly fed 4mm pellets towards the far bank, as well as handful down the left hand margin every 15 minutes. I started on the paste down the left margin and caught 8 carp straight away, before the goldfish started nailing the paste on the way down. Unfortunately toss potting pellet with the paste brought too many small fish into the swim, so I abandoned that line switching to the far side. The far side was only 6 inches deep and I used the smallest dibber I could find, using corn or 6mm expander. Initially had trouble foul hooking fish, so I started to feed a 2nd swim against the far bank to help spread the shoal. 13 fish.
3rd hour – a further 15 carp followed from the far side, but it was frustrating with too many missed bites which where mostly liners.
4th hour – sussed it! Sorted my feeding and found it best to feed 1 swim then fish the other. 26 carp.
5th hour – time to try the paste again. I continued feeding the left hand margin every 15 minutes with a handful of 4mm, but stopped feeding when I started fishing, relying solely on the paste. 23 fish followed and the average size was slightly better than the far side.
I decided to cut the session short as I could see the skies getting greyer, however I wasn’t quick enough and I got drenched as I weighed in.
I was pleased with the weight, because it’s my best from the lake, but frustrated with the missed bites and lost fish. However, quite a bit learned, particularly regarding the best rigs and I it was the first time I used paste on the lake.
Catch – 76 Carp, 30 (goldfish, brown goldfish, F1)
Weather – Warm, muggy, mostly cloudy
Water Temp– 19.0c > 20.0c
Today was a practice session for tomorrows club match. On past experience I knew there was loads of small goldfish, as well as small carp and to put together a competitive weight you need to catch more carp. Being a snake lake it is only 10m wide and 1½ft deep down the middle, so it’s a classic hole in the ground!
1st hour – spent time trying to catch goldfish short on maggot, feeding sloppy groundbait & maggot. Initially struggled to catch, but eventually caught really shallow although I bumped a few, because the fish had come so shallow and I need a much shorter float for tomorrow. 29 fish caught.
2nd hour – had regularly fed 4mm pellets towards the far bank, as well as handful down the left hand margin every 15 minutes. I started on the paste down the left margin and caught 8 carp straight away, before the goldfish started nailing the paste on the way down. Unfortunately toss potting pellet with the paste brought too many small fish into the swim, so I abandoned that line switching to the far side. The far side was only 6 inches deep and I used the smallest dibber I could find, using corn or 6mm expander. Initially had trouble foul hooking fish, so I started to feed a 2nd swim against the far bank to help spread the shoal. 13 fish.
3rd hour – a further 15 carp followed from the far side, but it was frustrating with too many missed bites which where mostly liners.
4th hour – sussed it! Sorted my feeding and found it best to feed 1 swim then fish the other. 26 carp.
5th hour – time to try the paste again. I continued feeding the left hand margin every 15 minutes with a handful of 4mm, but stopped feeding when I started fishing, relying solely on the paste. 23 fish followed and the average size was slightly better than the far side.
I decided to cut the session short as I could see the skies getting greyer, however I wasn’t quick enough and I got drenched as I weighed in.
I was pleased with the weight, because it’s my best from the lake, but frustrated with the missed bites and lost fish. However, quite a bit learned, particularly regarding the best rigs and I it was the first time I used paste on the lake.
Monday, 29 June 2009
27/06/09 - Fishponds
Weight – 250lb 7oz
Catch – 34 Carp, 1 Bream.
Weather – Sunny & warm.
Water Temp– 20.5c > 21.0c
It’s been a mixed and interesting week. Still no news regarding the 3rd party that wants to buy us, yet its been 1 of the most boring and quietest weeks I have experience at work. Regardless of what happens I’ll either receive a decent redundancy package or still have a job, even if that job isn’t what I want to do (trying to keep positive!).
On a more positive note Suzanne may actually be working soon. Admittedly it may be self employed which has its risks, but the opportunity does mean working from home. For the 1st time in a while, Sue has her sparkle back and there has been a sense of optimism in the Rayner household. Fingers crossed, because if Sue does gets the job, its mean I can get back to proper fishing.
As for today, I was back at my club water, thinking of breaking the 300lb barrier. I settled on corner peg 16, with the intention of fishing pole & paste. Decided on 3 swims. The 1st was 8m to my left along the margin, because that has been a reliable area in the past. The 2nd swim was 10m in front, because I’ve noticed the bigger fish tend to be caught in the open water. The 3rd swim was to be in the shallow corner to my right, but there was loads of small rudd on the surface, so 8 or 11mm pellet would be the bait.
As I started there was a few carp cruising the surface, in fact I swear 1 of the carp was chasing the rudd. 1st put in on the left hand swim I had a 6lb carp 1st cast, then nothing for another 45mins. This wasn’t in the script and I knew straight away 300lb wasn’t going to be possible. Perhaps I would have been better choosing an open water swim and fishing shallow?
Moving into the 2nd hour I started to get more indications, concentrating on the 10m line and a 17lb 1oz common was very welcome. You know when you have a proper munter when you have to shake the fish into the net!
As the session progressed, I didn’t bother with the right had swim, simply because I felt I would be spending more time pulling fish out of the reeds than actually fishing. The 10m line was definitely the best, whilst the left hand swim was a struggle, which was a surprise.
On the whole I felt the carp weren’t feeding properly, I had a few fish hooked around the mouth and I lost a few fish where the hook pulled for no particular reason. The issue today was high pressure had taken over from low pressure yesterday, where there was some heavy rain. Also I had brought 6mm pellet, instead of the usual 8mm. Normally I would throw a handful of pellet, but today I found it best to mould a fistful of pellet in to ball, so it sank quicker.
As expected the session improved as it moved into what was a beautiful evening. As well as the 17lber, I also had 4 more doubles, including a mirror of 14lb 2oz.
Just reading Tim Ford’s blog, I am glad to say I avoided killing the reed warbler, which was in attendance for most of the day.
I wont fishing next week, instead I will be preparing for a car boot sale on Sunday to get some much needed cash. Unless I fancy a mid week session, my next fishing trip will on Rushcombe Lake at Bullocks Farm practising for a club match.
Yesterday (Sunday) Suzanne & I went for a drive to take advantage of the good weather and we ended up at Lacock. As I looked over the road bridge there were 5 chub sitting in the flow, 1 of which can’t have been far away from 5lb. Have to say I started to feel nostalgic for the days when I used to regularly fish the river, but I never managed a river barbel (except for 1 of 3oz which doesn’t count) and I keep meaning to get back to the river and give it go.
Catch – 34 Carp, 1 Bream.
Weather – Sunny & warm.
Water Temp– 20.5c > 21.0c
It’s been a mixed and interesting week. Still no news regarding the 3rd party that wants to buy us, yet its been 1 of the most boring and quietest weeks I have experience at work. Regardless of what happens I’ll either receive a decent redundancy package or still have a job, even if that job isn’t what I want to do (trying to keep positive!).
On a more positive note Suzanne may actually be working soon. Admittedly it may be self employed which has its risks, but the opportunity does mean working from home. For the 1st time in a while, Sue has her sparkle back and there has been a sense of optimism in the Rayner household. Fingers crossed, because if Sue does gets the job, its mean I can get back to proper fishing.
As for today, I was back at my club water, thinking of breaking the 300lb barrier. I settled on corner peg 16, with the intention of fishing pole & paste. Decided on 3 swims. The 1st was 8m to my left along the margin, because that has been a reliable area in the past. The 2nd swim was 10m in front, because I’ve noticed the bigger fish tend to be caught in the open water. The 3rd swim was to be in the shallow corner to my right, but there was loads of small rudd on the surface, so 8 or 11mm pellet would be the bait.
As I started there was a few carp cruising the surface, in fact I swear 1 of the carp was chasing the rudd. 1st put in on the left hand swim I had a 6lb carp 1st cast, then nothing for another 45mins. This wasn’t in the script and I knew straight away 300lb wasn’t going to be possible. Perhaps I would have been better choosing an open water swim and fishing shallow?
Moving into the 2nd hour I started to get more indications, concentrating on the 10m line and a 17lb 1oz common was very welcome. You know when you have a proper munter when you have to shake the fish into the net!
As the session progressed, I didn’t bother with the right had swim, simply because I felt I would be spending more time pulling fish out of the reeds than actually fishing. The 10m line was definitely the best, whilst the left hand swim was a struggle, which was a surprise.
On the whole I felt the carp weren’t feeding properly, I had a few fish hooked around the mouth and I lost a few fish where the hook pulled for no particular reason. The issue today was high pressure had taken over from low pressure yesterday, where there was some heavy rain. Also I had brought 6mm pellet, instead of the usual 8mm. Normally I would throw a handful of pellet, but today I found it best to mould a fistful of pellet in to ball, so it sank quicker.
As expected the session improved as it moved into what was a beautiful evening. As well as the 17lber, I also had 4 more doubles, including a mirror of 14lb 2oz.
Just reading Tim Ford’s blog, I am glad to say I avoided killing the reed warbler, which was in attendance for most of the day.
I wont fishing next week, instead I will be preparing for a car boot sale on Sunday to get some much needed cash. Unless I fancy a mid week session, my next fishing trip will on Rushcombe Lake at Bullocks Farm practising for a club match.
Yesterday (Sunday) Suzanne & I went for a drive to take advantage of the good weather and we ended up at Lacock. As I looked over the road bridge there were 5 chub sitting in the flow, 1 of which can’t have been far away from 5lb. Have to say I started to feel nostalgic for the days when I used to regularly fish the river, but I never managed a river barbel (except for 1 of 3oz which doesn’t count) and I keep meaning to get back to the river and give it go.
Sunday, 21 June 2009
20/06/09 - Fishponds
Weight – 284lb 3oz
Catch – 39 Carp, 2 Bream.
Weather – Cloudy, sunny period. Breezy.
Water Temp– 19.5c > 19.5c
When I arrived I was hopeful the fish had stopped spawning and would be hungry. Generally, I don’t enjoy pleasure fishing, as much as I do match fishing, so when I do go, I set myself targets and todays target was to compare the pellet waggler, against the pole & paste.
I settled on peg 13 and started on the pellet waggler, fishing & feeding 8mm pellet. The intention was to spend the 1st 3 hours on the waggler and then fish the pole for the last 3 hours.
1st hour – 35lb. As soon as I started feeding, there were fish swirling and after 5 minutes I hooked what was obviously a big fish. 10 minutes later a cracking common of 12lb 4oz was safely landed. I had set up to 2 waggler rigs, 1 with a 12" hooklength and the other with a 6" hooklength. 4 more carp followed during the next hour on the shorter hooklength.
2nd hour – 14lb. I struggled to hook any fish, despite them swirling. I began to fiddle with my feeding and swapping rigs, but I couldn’t catch.
3rd hour – 72lb. Decided to switch to the pole early. I had fed 2 swims. The 1st was to my left on top of the shelf, next to the reeds and the 2nd was 10m to my right at the bottom of the shelf. I swapped between the 2 swims, hooking a fish almost every put in. A handful of 6mms after every fish kept the fish interested.
4th hour – 58lb. Another productive hour on the pole, with most fish coming from the deeper right hand swim.
5th hour – 53lb. With 2 hours to go I was on target to beat my PB weight of 258lb and wanted another go on the waggler. I had been feeding the swim whilst fishing the pole, but initially things were a little slow, however with more regular feed the fish showed in greater numbers.
6th hour – 52lb. Was 300lb possible? Well I wasn’t sure, but my PB certainly was. Unfortunately, I managed to break 2 rigs whilst trying to land fish, there was only so much abuse they could take. Both those lost fish and the time needed to set up new rigs, probably cost me 300lb, but I’m absolutely delighted to a get a PB weight.
As for the comparison between the waggler and pole, the pole was certainly better, particularly during the 3rd hour, but 100lb on the waggler in 3 hours is not to be sniffed at.
Catch – 39 Carp, 2 Bream.
Weather – Cloudy, sunny period. Breezy.
Water Temp– 19.5c > 19.5c
When I arrived I was hopeful the fish had stopped spawning and would be hungry. Generally, I don’t enjoy pleasure fishing, as much as I do match fishing, so when I do go, I set myself targets and todays target was to compare the pellet waggler, against the pole & paste.
I settled on peg 13 and started on the pellet waggler, fishing & feeding 8mm pellet. The intention was to spend the 1st 3 hours on the waggler and then fish the pole for the last 3 hours.
1st hour – 35lb. As soon as I started feeding, there were fish swirling and after 5 minutes I hooked what was obviously a big fish. 10 minutes later a cracking common of 12lb 4oz was safely landed. I had set up to 2 waggler rigs, 1 with a 12" hooklength and the other with a 6" hooklength. 4 more carp followed during the next hour on the shorter hooklength.
2nd hour – 14lb. I struggled to hook any fish, despite them swirling. I began to fiddle with my feeding and swapping rigs, but I couldn’t catch.
3rd hour – 72lb. Decided to switch to the pole early. I had fed 2 swims. The 1st was to my left on top of the shelf, next to the reeds and the 2nd was 10m to my right at the bottom of the shelf. I swapped between the 2 swims, hooking a fish almost every put in. A handful of 6mms after every fish kept the fish interested.
4th hour – 58lb. Another productive hour on the pole, with most fish coming from the deeper right hand swim.
5th hour – 53lb. With 2 hours to go I was on target to beat my PB weight of 258lb and wanted another go on the waggler. I had been feeding the swim whilst fishing the pole, but initially things were a little slow, however with more regular feed the fish showed in greater numbers.
6th hour – 52lb. Was 300lb possible? Well I wasn’t sure, but my PB certainly was. Unfortunately, I managed to break 2 rigs whilst trying to land fish, there was only so much abuse they could take. Both those lost fish and the time needed to set up new rigs, probably cost me 300lb, but I’m absolutely delighted to a get a PB weight.
As for the comparison between the waggler and pole, the pole was certainly better, particularly during the 3rd hour, but 100lb on the waggler in 3 hours is not to be sniffed at.
Friday, 19 June 2009
18/06/09 - Winterbourne Duck Pond
Weight – 33lb 9oz
Catch – 54 Bream, 2 Hybrid, 1 Roach.
Weather – Cool, cloudy & windy.
Water Temp– 18.5c > 18.5c
Absolutely fed up with work. Nearly 2 weeks ago, it was announced my department would be sold to a 3rd party, which means more uncertainty. Normally, change doesn’t bother me, since I have been through this process on a number of occasions, however this time around, if the rumours are true, about how is buying us, it could mean the end of time at my employer. Ideally, a healthy redundancy package would be welcome.
Since I found myself getting more & more wound up, I decided to take a day off and settled on a visit to the duck pond, simply because it was local and cheap.
When I arrived there were a few carp slurping in the scum that had blown into the road wall, so I was hopeful of catching a few. I started on the pole at 10m along the wall, feeding micros & 4mm pellet. I also started feeding 4mm towards the island ready for the waggler, as well feeding pellet into the corner – right in the middle of scum.
I had my 1st fish on the 10m line after 15 minutes, but it was slow. A switch to the waggler was also slow, but eventually a few skimmers turned up on double red maggot and later 6mm expander. After nearly 2 hours I had 25 skimmers, with nothing bigger than 1lb, but the waggler swim was fading.
The 10m didn’t produce much and I eventually gave up on it. However the corner swim was a surprise. The hoped carp didn’t turn up, but I started catching some bigger skimmers, plus a 1lb plus roach, all on pellet.
As the session progressed I simply rotated between the waggler and the corner swim, catching mostly on the pellet. This despite the attention of some of over enthusiastic on lookers. Although I had to smile to myself, when 1 bloke turned with his son in his push chair, proudly saying he fished my swim yesterday, fishing the same way I was (I was in the corner when he arrived) and he had 12 skimmers in 4 hours. He then asked how I was doing, "35 skimmers in 3 hours" was my reply. He then hung around for 1 hour asking all sorts of questions about fishing. Just as well I wasn’t expecting any peace & quite.
Catch – 54 Bream, 2 Hybrid, 1 Roach.
Weather – Cool, cloudy & windy.
Water Temp– 18.5c > 18.5c
Absolutely fed up with work. Nearly 2 weeks ago, it was announced my department would be sold to a 3rd party, which means more uncertainty. Normally, change doesn’t bother me, since I have been through this process on a number of occasions, however this time around, if the rumours are true, about how is buying us, it could mean the end of time at my employer. Ideally, a healthy redundancy package would be welcome.
Since I found myself getting more & more wound up, I decided to take a day off and settled on a visit to the duck pond, simply because it was local and cheap.
When I arrived there were a few carp slurping in the scum that had blown into the road wall, so I was hopeful of catching a few. I started on the pole at 10m along the wall, feeding micros & 4mm pellet. I also started feeding 4mm towards the island ready for the waggler, as well feeding pellet into the corner – right in the middle of scum.
I had my 1st fish on the 10m line after 15 minutes, but it was slow. A switch to the waggler was also slow, but eventually a few skimmers turned up on double red maggot and later 6mm expander. After nearly 2 hours I had 25 skimmers, with nothing bigger than 1lb, but the waggler swim was fading.
The 10m didn’t produce much and I eventually gave up on it. However the corner swim was a surprise. The hoped carp didn’t turn up, but I started catching some bigger skimmers, plus a 1lb plus roach, all on pellet.
As the session progressed I simply rotated between the waggler and the corner swim, catching mostly on the pellet. This despite the attention of some of over enthusiastic on lookers. Although I had to smile to myself, when 1 bloke turned with his son in his push chair, proudly saying he fished my swim yesterday, fishing the same way I was (I was in the corner when he arrived) and he had 12 skimmers in 4 hours. He then asked how I was doing, "35 skimmers in 3 hours" was my reply. He then hung around for 1 hour asking all sorts of questions about fishing. Just as well I wasn’t expecting any peace & quite.
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