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.
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