Catch - 5 Carp, 28 Skimmers, 2 Roach, 1 Hybrid
Weather - Warm & sunny. Very light breeze
Match - Match Fishing Scene
A change of scenery for today’s match. Mark persuaded me to fish a MFS match at Larford on the Specimen Lake. This was only my second visit to the venue and the first time on Specimen Lake, which is a big water, holding a big head of carp and skimmers.
Being the second of a 2 dayer for the MFS crew, there was a lot of very tired looking faces and with a few extras turning for the Saturday match, there were 60 plus anglers spread out between Match & Specimen. Chat before the match was the winner was likely to come from specimen, because it had been fishing the best, plus you can catch some absolute brutes in excess of 20lb from the margins late on. Whilst most areas produced during day one, the best pegs definitely seemed to be the 60s on the chalet bank with 140lb or so winning.
I found myself on 74, whilst Mark was on 78, both behind the chalets and a high bank which reminded me of some of those steep banks on the Bristol Avon. I was just glad it wasn’t raining. As you go further along the high bank flattens out.
Prior to the match, I did some research by looking at old magazine & web articles. It became clear you could do 1 of 2 things, assuming you haven’t drawn a flyer. Either sit it out on the tip for a few carp and then down the edge late on or catch a weight of skimmers, hope for the odd carp to come along, and then try for munters down the margins. Since I prefer to get a few bites, I was fairly settled on the 2nd option, although the high bank behind me would make shipping out to 14.5m awkward. The one disappointing aspect of my peg was the lack of a margin. Immediately to my right was a bush and to my left I could just about see the next pallet, but it was very shallow and I didn’t really fancy it because the water was clearer than I had expected. Pete Mercer on 72 didn’t have a bite next to it, so I’m glad I didn’t bother.
I did bring a method rod already set up, just in case. I also set up 3 pole rigs:-
- Preston Classic 1 - 1.25g > .14 > 16
B911 – skimmers at 14.5m
- Ackoo Carrat 0.6g > .16 > 16 B911 –
meat at 6m
- Ackoo Powertrap 0.3g > .17 > 16 carp
feeder – under the right hand bush
On the all in 2 balls of groundbait and
soften 4s was deposited at 14.5m, plus a small ball of groundbait & meat at
6m. Starting at 6m, contrary to popular wisdom here were nearly everyone
chucked out the tip, I landed my first carp after 10mins on meat. 10mins later
I hooked another, but this one broke me, before losing a 2nd which
also broke me. A bit annoyed, because I shouldn’t have been snapped up and
suspect I may have a dodgy spool of 0.16, because I lost a few at lands end a
couple of weeks ago in the same manner.
After attaching a .17 hooklength I had a
skimmer. Whilst fishing the short line I had kept the long line topped by catapulting
4s over the top, so after an hour I went out on the long line and started
catching 8-10oz skimmers on 6mm expander or double dead maggot. With hardly any
wind the lake was mostly flat, although there was a slight ripple blowing down
my end of the lake, but hardly classic skimmer weather. I kept catching skimmers,
but keeping them coming wasn’t easy and I found it best to top up by cupping in
a ball of groundbait/pellet, instead of toss potting the bait, which just
didn’t seem positive enough in the 8ft deep swim.
Over the next 2 hours whenever I topped up
the long line I would drop back on the short meat line, which would either
produce a skimmer or a carp. However with 2 hours to go of the 5.5hr match, I
was starting to struggle. The skimmers on the pole line seemed to be getting
smaller, although I did have a 3lb carp on double maggot and my short line
seemed to have died.
One bit of advice I had received was to fish
the method over the 14.5m pole line, because you can catch quicker than the
pole and it combats the tow. Because there wasn’t much tow, I had been reluctant
to fish the method, but needs must. So a full cup of pellet/groundbait was
deposited and 10mins later I cast out the method and was soon attached to a
carp and then a few bigger skimmers. This was the pattern for the remaining
2hrs, catch a few decent skimmers, before the smaller fish moved in, cup in
more pellet and groundbait before switching to the short line. I did hook 2 more
carp on the method, one which straighten the hook, so I think it was foul
hooked and the other tore off, before it hit the clip that I had forgotten
about from my previous trip, breaking me off – doh!
The short line produced one more carp, plus a
couple more skimmers, before I finished with a couple of decent skimmers on the
feeder. All the fish on the method came to double or triple dead maggot, but I
never had a bite on mini boilies.
Overall an enjoyable day, 3 lost carp due to
rig failure probably cost me some section money. The angler to my right
finished with about 30lb, whilst Pete on my left had a decent left hand margin
and managed 2 lumps late on to beat me. Not having a proper margin probably
didn’t help, but it transpired I wasn’t going to compete with pegs in the 60s.
I don’t have the full results yet, but I
think I probably came about half way. I think 220lb won from the 60s.
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