30/12/14 - Leech Pool

Weight - eh... nothing!
Catch - take a guess
Weather - Frozen
Match - post xmas knock up - last

After having to miss Saturday and Sundays match due to a pulled muscle in my back as a result of swinging Sapphire around on her ball & rope (which she thinks is the best thing...ever), I was eager to get back out on the bank. A trip to the osteopath, who found it quite amusing how I injured myself, soon straighten me out.

Mark had organised a knock up at Leechpool, really to get out of the house after all the Christmas excesses. However the recent weather had turned colder and we were met by a frozen lake.

Prior to the draw a couple of us cleared some swims, but when Nick eventually turned up he went one better, donning a pair of chest waders  to break a couple more swims. As the picture shows he looked happy doing it, it fact most of us haven't seen Nick smile so much!

With 8 of us meant at least we had plenty of room. Peg 1 was by the farm house, moving clockwise round to peg 8 in the cattle drink. I drew peg 2 which initially I thought would be OK, although it was next to one of the shallowest corners to my left, but it was also next to one of the best pegs on the lake to my right occupied by Andy Fox.

Thanks to Andy for letting me use his platform, which gave me a little extra room to ship back. Despite the thick ice I at least had an 8m long channel to fish. Nick Merry in the meantime on peg 3 was back out into the lake to lengthen his channel to 13m.

Well the match didn't go well for me. Andy on peg 1 caught straight away on maggot and gradually everyone had caught. I tried pinkie, maggot and expander. I evened scaled down to 0.08 bottom 22 hook, but still no bites.

After 2 hours the sun came out, which warmed everyone up except Andy & I as we continued to shiver in the shade of the barn, so I went for a walk.

Everyone had catching, particularly those on the opposite bank where the ice was much thinner and melting. On returning to my peg it had had started ice over again! I gave it another hour, but still no bites, so packed up early, suffering my first blank in over 10yrs. Oh well, it had to happen sooner or later! And yes Foxy you did batter me off the next peg. He was only going to get grumpy if I didn't mentioned it  - lol

Well done to Nick for winning from an unfancied peg, but making the effort to create a nice long channel was worth the effort. Overall it didn't fish badly considering the conditions.

1st 43- 8 - Nick Merry - p3
2nd 41- 4 - Ryan Heard - p6
3rd 33- 0 - Tom Ince - p5
4th 27-10 - Ade Crawley - p4

21/12/14 - Todber -Park Lake

Weight - 6lb 6oz
Catch - 12 Roach, 3 F1, 1 Skimmer, 1 Carp
Weather - Overcast and windy
Match - Winter League - rd 4 - Last in section!

And so to Sundays Match. The 4th and final round of this series and I was lying 2nd overall, just needing a section 3rd to guarantee an overall pay out. My section would run from p13 to p20 and instead of a 6 man section, it had been reduced to a 5 man section, due to a number of drop outs. As a result Mark had to re-peg the lake to ensure there weren't too many large gaps. Ideally I wanted either p13 or p14 which have been the boss pegs, however p16 was definitely not what I wanted. Other than p19 which had been removed for todays match this was the worst performing peg in the section. Then Gary O'Shea, subbing for Steve Tucker drew p13 and Roland Lucas was on p14, which for me was the worst case scenario.

Well I'm not going to go into too much detail, but suffice to say I had a mare. Starting across I foul hooked a carp 1st put in, which came off as it got close to the net, but at least it gave me hope there was at least a few fish in the area. However, I had to wait 30mins for my first fish an F1.

In the meantime Roly started catching, as did Gary and with an hour gone and still only a F1 in the net the writing was on the wall as far as the section was concerned. However the much needed 3rd in section was possible.

For an hour I fished maggot tight to the island, quite happy to catch the small roach, if it meant pulling a few better fish later, but the swim just faded and no decent fish showed.

In a swim that seemed devoid of fish, I started pinging 4s across in the hope of pulling some of roly's fish for later in the match, but only had 1 small carp.

Down the track produced a couple of F1s, but the carp just wouldn't move down from Gary & Roly.

In the meantime Clint on p18 had a couple of carp, as had Dave on p20. I just seemed to be in a dead zone and finished the match with only 6lb and last in section. If I could have managed to beat just one person in section I would have claimed 4th overall in the league, but had to settle for 5th on a weight count back, losing out to Roly who had the benefit of a big weight from p28 in round 2.

Disappointed would be an understatement, which meant I finished the weekend 1 out of the overall league pay outs in 2 leagues on weight back. In the series I didn't have the best draws, p26, p32, p11 and p16, but excluding the last match was pleased with how the league went.

Well done to Ash for comfortably winning the league in the end. Also thanks to Mark and Nick (well mainly Mark, because Nick turned up 5mins before the draw, although he only lives 10mins away) for organising the league. It was a shame the fishing was so patchy.

1st 111- 9 - Allan Oram - p5
2nd 99- 0 - Ash Tomkins - p37
3rd 61- 6 - Mark Wynne - p35
4th 50-10 - Gary O'Shea - p13
5th 47-14 - Dan White - p22
6th 47- 0 - Roland Lucas - p14

Final League Positions
1st Ashley Tompkins - 5.5pts
2nd Steve Tucker - 8pts
3rd Calum Craig - 9pts
4th Roland Lucas - 10pts (220-13)
5th Ken Rayner - 10pts (153-14)
6th Allan Oram - 11pts (271-5)
7th Dan White - 11pts (200-6)
8th Fred Roberts - 11(199-6)

20/12/14 - Emerld Pool

Weight - 17lb 9oz
Catch - 29 Skimmers, 5 Tench, 3 Roach, 1 Eel
Weather - Mostly cloudy, windy
Match - Silverfish League rd 6 - 4th out of 7

Yes, my blog is a little, but to be honest after suffering one of the worst weekends fishing, not because of the fishing itself, but the context of missing out on 2 leagues, I didn't have much enthusiasm. Although having said that I haven't had much spare time, since starting my new job, which is going really well.

So Saturdays match and the fact I was still in contention for an overall payout was a surprise, particularily after the 4th round when I caught very few silvers, but plenty of carp. However a win in the last round and a few results going my way, meant that Tim Lewis, Kev Jefferies and myself were all on the same number of points, although I had the lowest weight aggregate, which meant 1 of us was going to missed out, because Dom Sullivan already had the league sewn up.

Its a shame that Dom could only muster 9 anglers for the league, however getting anglers to fish Saturday proved difficult. Unfortunately only 7 turned up for today.

Drop outs seems to be a real problem at the moment regardless of who is running the league. Its usually the same people, which is why I didn't invite 2 anglers to the Lands End winter league this year. There will always be very good reasons why an angler cant attend a match at short notice, but not to attend because you aren't doing well, is unacceptable. Personally I think its disrespectful to the other anglers who are committed to fishing and unless the organiser can get a replacement, it means the numbers are down, which reduces the pay outs and makes it harder for those in the "chasing pack" to get into the pay out positions. I think some anglers, just need to consider the consequences of their actions and how it affects others, because the amount of effort to set-up and manage a league is considerable, which is made harder when people don't turn up. Just remember without match organisers who volunteer their own time there wont be a match or league to fish in the first instance.

Anyway, having got that off my chest! Back to Saturday match. We were all surprised to see the aerator was on when we arrived. Fortunately it was turned off, but since there was only 7 of us, Dom decided not to include pegs 1 & 2 on the island, because they haven't been the best and the carp seem to be in resident in the area.

I fancied either 3 or 8, but ended up with p9, on the left hand shallow end of the lake, which wasn't ideal. Tim drew p8 and I immediately thought he would be difficult to beat. Kev in the meantime was on p6 so at least I could keep an eye on them both.

I had set up 3 rigs, but only ended up catching on 1 (jolly 4x12 > .08 > 22 silverfish maggot). As I was setting up a robin was very eager to take advantage of any free offering. Also Alan the owner came round and said I would struggle from the peg, due to the cold week - great, thanks for that.

Plumbing up revealed the deepest part of the peg was to my right, which received a golf ball of groundbait and pinkie, as did the 13m line, which was shallower. I also started feeding maggot at 5m.

Tim had already landed a tench, before  I finished feeding. After a slow start I began catching on single pinkie, toss potting pinkie, whilst keeping the right hand swim topped up. Over the next 2.5hrs, by rotating swims I kept putting fish in the net, including some better fish on double pinkie or maggot.

The short line only produced 1 tench, but plenty of ineligible fantails, so I didn't spend too much time here. I also started feeding to my left in the corner, but never had a bite.

The 4th hour was interputed by carp and a busted rig that pinged up into the branches, slowed my progress. Everytime I thought I had caught up with Tim, he would catch a couple tench. Kev looked like he was struggling, but beyond that I couldn't how everyone else was doing.

An improved last hour saw me land some better sized skimmers and  to be honest thought I done OK from the peg, only just being beaten by Tim. Dom completed his dominance of the league winning the match. Unfortunately whilst I beat Kev, todays match proved to be his dropped result and Andy Gards late run of tench meant I finished 4th in the match and 4th in the league on weight count back.

Looking back I should have done better in the earlier rounds, however well done to Dom who showed us all how to fish for silvers.

1st 23- 4 - Dom Sullivan - p5
2nd 19- 9 - Tim Lewis - p8
3rd 18- 6 - Andy Gard - p4
4th 17- 9 - Ken Rayner - p9

Final League Position
1st Dom Sullivan - 7pts
2nd Tim Lewis - 17pts
3rd Kev Jefferies - 19pts (116-0)
4th Ken Rayner - 19pts (111-15) 
 

14/12/14 - Fishponds

Weight - 99lb 10oz
Catch - 15 Carp
Weather - Cold, cloudy, strong south westerly
Match - Club Christmas - 1st out of 12

On Friday I was officially unemployed as I left my employer of 14 years on Thursday. A new adventure starts on Monday, still working as a pension specialist, but my new role is more technical, with loads to learn, but with better prospects. Have to say I'm feeling exciting, which I haven't felt about work for the last 2 years.

With some free time I took a trip to my club water on Friday, catching 15 carp and a bream mostly on the lead/bread, adding some late fish on the pole/pellet.

Today the weather was a little different with a strong wind forecast for most of the day and it was cold overnight, so I really wanted an open water draw, so I could cast towards the middle of the lake if required. As it was I ended up on p17 in the top corner, which at least offered some protection from the worst of the wind.

Before the draw Dave Bradley served up bacon & egg baps from the back of his car. Very welcome, as was the cup of tea.

Since I was near the top corner I couldn't cast too far, so decided to focus on the pole, fishing 12m and on the edge of the left hand bush. Rigs for the day:-
- small grip mesh feeder > .17 > 16 carp feeder - bread
- Ackoo Powertrap 0.4g > .16 > 16 B911 - hair rig corn/bread
- HB dweezil 0.5g > .14 > 16 B911 - 12m

On the all in I started by the bush on bread, without feeding, but didn't have a bite after 15mins so switched to the feeder, fishing popped up bread with mashed bread through a small grip mesh feeder, casting as far right as I dare. After a hour 2 carp was the result, but it was definitely slow going and from what I could see no one had more than 2 at this stage. 

The 2nd hour produced another 3 on double corn from the bush. Unfortunately the wind was proving troublesome and getting any prolonged presentation at 12m was difficult. When the wind did drop I caught 3 carp including a 13lber on 6mm expander. I even tried the straight lead over the pole line when the wind was really bad, but didn't have a bite.

By continually switching between the long line and the bush I finished the 4th hour with 10 carp. The fifth and final hour proved the most productive with 5 fish coming from under the bush on double corn.

Come the weigh in, it was fairly obvious I had won, with everyone else struggling. Although it was commented a decent angler would have caught a 100lb - lol

1st 99-10 - Ken Rayner - p17
2nd 31- 3 - Andy Bradley - p5
3rd 23- 0 - Tim Allen - p21
4th 22-10 - Graham Millard - p12
5th 20- 0 - Chris Davidge - p3
6th 19- 8 - Gilly - p7 

07/12/14 - Lands End - Speci Lake

Weight - 65lb 6oz (10lb 2oz - silvers)
Catch - 10 Carp, 6 Skimmers, 2 Roach, 1 Chub
Weather - Cold north westerly wind. Showery, but mostly bright
Match - Winter League rd 1 - 3rd out of 33, 2nd in section

Today was the first round of the Lands End Winter League which was fully booked with 36 anglers. However, 3 no shows, 1 of which had a family emergency, meant I was down to 33. Fortunately the way the draw went the 3 non attendees where spread across the 3 lakes. Who would be a match organiser?

It was becoming obvious that the recent cold snap has hit many fisheries hard, with weights a long way below what is expected. With a strong north westerly forecast, I fancied a draw out of the wind. However I drew p32 which would be in the wind and I was a little embarrassed about drawing the peg, because I drew twice in last years league and there were shouts of fix. Oh well, nevermind.

Despite the forecast wind and the very clear water I still fancied it for a few fish, expecting to catch mostly carp. As such I set up a couple of rigs with nothing lighter than .12 bottom.

On the all I wanted to take advantage of the fact the island provided some shelter from the increasingly strong wind and fish 16m down the right hand bank for as long as possible. By regularly toss potting a few 4s & micros and fishing a 6mm expander (ackoo carrat 0.3g > .14 > 16 B911) my first 2 fish where foul hooked, losing them both. Fortunately, by lifting and dropping the next 2hrs resulted in 6 carp.

I had to switch to my 14m open water swim (SM chimp 0.4g > .12 > 18 silverfish pellet), which I kept topped up with 4s & micros, since the wind had switched round a little, making it difficult to get any presentation down the right hand bank. A skimmer and another carp soon followed, before the wind made life difficult again.

Dan White to my left on p31, who was a little more sheltered from the wind started to catch carp and skimmers at 14m and was slowly catching me.

An exploratory cast with the lead and corn towards to the aerator, didn't produce a proper bite. I also tried to fish at 10m down the right hand bank with caster, expecting a few perch, but nothing.

So I decided to concentrate on the open water swim and in between the gusts of wind managed to catch a couple more skimmers and carp, mostly on 4mm expander.

With an hour to go Dan decided to move across to the island, dobbing a 6mm expander and caught 5 carp in 5 puts in, which now put him ahead of me, whilst I was struggling to a get a bite.

The carp had completely backed off the right hand bank, so decided to fed some caster, but this only resulted in a chub. With 10mins to go I tried the lead/corn towards the aerator again and the tip pulled round within a couple minutes, but couldn't repeat the trick before the all out, much to Dan's relief. Although in the end it wasn't quite as close as we both thought, mainly thanks to some bigger carp for Dan. It was a good battle though. Trigger on p29 wasn't happy, he's not used to being on a poor peg.

Adrian's weight on p34 came as surprise, because he spent more time attached to the island than fishing. Apparently he lost 9 rigs fishing across and having the wind blowing him into the island bushes, so I know what he will be spending his section winning money on!

For most it was a relief to pack up and it really was a case you should have been here last week.

1st 89- 7 Dan White - p31
2nd 77-10 Adrian Clark - p34
3rd 65- 6 Ken Rayner - p32
4th 53- 7 Glenn Calvert - p13
5th 39- 7 Ian Brownsey - p7
6th 37- 0 Paul Elmes - p70

Silvers
1st 19-10 Andy Hembrow - p68
2nd 17-10 Chris Fox - p36
3rd 16- 1 Dan White - p31
4th 12-10 Paul Faires - p3
5th 10- 2 Ken Rayner - p32
6th 7-12 Tony Rixon - p39

06/12/14 - Emerald Pool - Emerald

Weight - 14lb 4oz
Catch - 18 Tench, 6 Skimmers
Weather - Frosty start. Cold, sunny and flat
Match - Silverfish League - rd 5 - 1st out of 8

After the disappointment of the last round, when I couldn't catch anything but carp in the later half of the match, I felt any chance of a league pick up was unlikely. However there was an outside chance assuming I won and other results my way.

Another freezing start and the colour had dropped out of the lake, which at least meant the carp where unlikely to be active. I thought 10lb would be a good weight today, although Dom was a little more optimistic with 18-20lb being needed to win. I found myself on peg 8, which along with peg 3 has been a good area for tench, which I didn't think would feed after a frost.

Only 2 rigs for today, because it was pretty much the same depth all over, including down the margins.

- Jolly 4x12 > .08 > 22 silverfish maggot
- HB Frostie 0.3g > .10 > 20 silverfish pellet (only used for 5mins)

On the all in, a golf ball of groundbait (black mussel & squid & black lake) with a pinch of pinkie and caster was deposited at 11.5m and some micros at 13m to my left. Starting at 11.5m I had a few tremors on the float and missed a bite on maggot. So switched to single pinkie and got a positive bite, which I initially thought was a carp or fantail (which don't count), but was relieved to see an unseasonal tench pop up.

By toss potting pinkie I kept catching mostly tench, which to be honest was a surprise, because I didn't expect them to feed, but I wasn't complaining. It was becoming obvious that everyone was struggling. John to my right had a couple of fantails, but no proper silvers, Dom to my left on peg 6 hooked his first fish after 2hrs, which was a carp, as was his 2nd. 

Swapping left and right kept the fish coming, but in the 3rd hour it slowed down. I had been feeding both margins, with maggot/pinkie to my left and maggot/caster to my right, but never had a bite from either.

With an hour to go, I was still catching the odd fish, but really needed to increase my catch rate, because I could Dom starting to catch quiet regularly. Over the left hand swim I put in a full toss pot of pinkie and my 11.5m swim was extended to 13m which received a ball of groundbait.

All this improved matters, particularly in the last 30mins when I had another run of fish, which made me breath a little easier. Come the weigh in it became obvious how hard it was, with 2 anglers only catching a single fish, which is incredible when you think about how many silvers are in this lake.

This series hasn't quite gone to plan for one reason or another, so I really pleased to have won and with other results going my way, there are now 3 of us all on the same points in 2nd place, which means a straight forward shot out in the last round.

1st 14-4 Ken Rayner - p8
2nd 10- 0 Dom Sullivan - p6
3rd 8- 7 Barry Fitchew - p4
4th 6- 9 Kev Jefferies - p3
5th 6- 1 Andy Gard - p1
6th 5- 8 Darren Greenwood - p5

03/12/14 - Lands End - Johns Lake

Weight - 65lb 15oz (6lb 7oz - silvers)
Catch - 14 Carp, 5 Crucians, 5 Skimmers
Weather - Frosty start, bright, sunny & cold
Match - Open - 2nd out of 12

I was pleased to find this match would be on Johns (no3) Lake, because its a lake I like, however this morning was the first where I had to scrap ice off the car.

Driving through rush hour traffic is never easy, but a journey that normally takes me 40/45mins, took me over 90mins. As a result I had to miss out on a shipham breakfast and making do with a McDonalds instead.

There was a decent turnout for a mid week match, bolstered by those wishing to practice for the forthcoming winter league. I drew p55, which can be very good, but I have never done any good from the peg, much preferring p58 opposite which is one of my favourites on the lake.

Must admit I was little concerned to see the lake being so clear and thought 30-40lb would be a good weight. Mark opposite was a little more optimistic, but then he had a few fish showing themselves to his right by the brambles.

After the disappointing results over the weekend I really wanted to make sure I fish a tidier match and keep it simple. Plumbing up revealed the depth was the same all over which was handy. I did set up 3x rigs, but only ended up catching on one (HB Frostie 0.3g > .10 > 18 silverfish pellet).

On the all in 3s & 4s with a few bits of corn where fed in open water at 15m and to my right towards the island. Caster was also fed under the tree to my right. Starting with double corn hoping for an early mug fish from the end of the spit where I hadn't fed didn't produce a bite. Mark in the meantime already had 2 carp from his open water swim.

A switch of rigs, fishing 4mm expander and I started to catch, by toss potting pellet on the end of spit and in open water, plus I started pinging pellet towards to the island.

As the match progressed the open water & right hand swims proved to be the most productive. However I didn't have Marks luck, although he is trying to say it was down to fed and presentation. After shipping back, he left his rig in the water on his top kit whilst he catapulted pellet down his margin. When he picked up his top kit, there was a 7lber fairly attached in the top lip. A few swear words where said!

After 2.5hrs we both had 7 carp. By continually swapping between all 3 swims I managed to keep the fish coming, but in the last 90mins it really slowed down for the both of us.

I had been feeding caster all match under the tree, but only had a tiny perch, which fell off. So I persevered with my long lines, moving to 16m in the open water and pinging pellet to the point of the spit, I managed a couple more carp.

In the end quite a straightforward match and I was surprised to finish 2nd, because I expected the deeper pegs at the other end of the lake to catch.

1st 69-14 - Mark Poppleton -p58
2nd 65-15 - Ken Rayner - p55
3rd 55-13 - Rod Wootton  - p68
4th 55- 0 - Steve Tucker - p61
5th 51-14 - Adrian Clarke - p66
6th 44- 1 - Tony Rixon - p41

Silvers
1st 13-11 - Rod Wootton - p68
2nd 9- 4 - Bob Gullick - p70
3rd 6- 7 - Ken Rayner - p55

30/11/14 - Lands End - Match

Weight - 65lb 13oz (8lb 4oz - silvers)
Catch - 13 Carp, 3 Perch, 3 Roach, 2 F1s, 1 Skimmer, 1 Tench
Weather - Mild, bright & sunny
Match - Open - 7th out of 19



Todays match was organised by Mark Poppleton as a practice open for next weeks Winter League. With 19 eventually turning up we were spread over Match and Speci, and I fancied a day on Speci, mainly because its been a while since I last fished it. However I wasn't disappointed to see p15 in my hand. Also with 10 on the lake it was expected to fish better than yesterday.

For company I had John Bradford on p18 and Mark on p13. Although recent results from peg haven't been brilliant, its a peg that usually produces a few carp and that was to be my focus today.



On the all in a small amount 4s/micros were deposited at the bottom of the far shelf at an angle to my right and at 5m. Also cupped some caster by the p16 platform. Since the water looked a little clearer I decided to start fishing corn (Ackoo carbon carrrat 0.2g > .12 > 18 B911) in the deepest part of the peg, to my left at 14m, toss potting a few 4s and corn.

Over the next 70mins I managed 4 carp, a decent tench and an F1. Mark in the meantime also had a few carp including 2 munters for over 20lb, which meant Mark was ahead of me on weight (no jokes necessary).

Looking down the lake, it looked like Mike Duckett (p20) and Chris Fox (p24) had also caught, but like Mark and I, it had slowed up. The bright flat conditions weren't helping.

A switch to the right at 14m only produced bites from roach pecking at the pellet and down by the platform only yielded a couple of perch.

I had setup a pellet rig (SM slim 0.2g > .12 > 18 B911) to fish 6mm pellet across by the island, but plumbing up revealed only a foot of water, so I didn't expect to catch here. However, after seeing some movement by the island I decided to catapult some 4s across and was soon attached to a carp.

After a further 3 carp followed, before they disappeared, but kept catapulting pellet and caught the rest of my carp later on. Unfortunately the remainder of my lines failed to produce anything of significance, although in hindsight I think I over fed my right hand swims when I should have kept my feed neat & tidy.

During the last hour, Mike had a run of carp, fishing across to the island and looked like to win our side of the lake. As for Mark & I, I thought he had beaten me thanks to his 2 munters, but Mark thought I had beaten him because I had a couple more carp. In the end Mark had the verdict (67lb 14oz) and didn't he enjoy that!

Overall Match fished better than Speci and Mike won the match overall with 93lb 15oz from the peg I had (rested) yesterday. I don't have the full results because the photo I took of that section sheet was too blurry to read.

The good news is we now have 36 for the Winter League and plenty of new faces, which is nice to see. It should be a good series and I am certainly looking forward to it.

29/11/14 - Lands End - Match

Weight - 35lb 15oz (14lb 6oz - silvers)
Catch - 6 Carp, 11 Roach, 6 Perch, 4 F1, 4 Skimmers, 1 Rudd
Weather - Bright & sunny
Match - Open - 5th out of 8, 2nd - silvers

After the usual good breakfast at Shipham, I arrived in plenty of time for the draw. 2 weeks ago Tony Rixon had said he would fish, but speaking to him mid week revealed he couldn't make it. Something about not be able to do too much fishing. Sounds like Judith is getting used to him being home and with so much DIY to catch up on - lol

Must admit I was quite happy with peg 20 and at least the water level on match lake is filling up a little, but still a long way short of its normal level. As I was setting up there was very little moving around and the water was a clearer, following a couple of frosty nights this week.

Regardless I decided to start across in the hope of an early carp, but after 30mins, I only had 1x lost foul hooked fish. I probably gave it15mins too long, because I did have a few liners, but nothing developed. As it turned out this was the only time I spent fishing across.

In the meantime I fed caster to my left under P19 platform, 4s/micros left and right at the bottom of the far shelf. The left side proved to be the most productive fishing a HB frostie 0.3g > .10 > 18 silverfish pellet & 4mm expander, catching a couple of carp, F1s and small skimmers. I had been toss potting bait, but decided to start catapulting 4s to my right instead, which resulted in my best skimmer.

Under the P19 platform, produced a couple of perch including a near 2lber on caster or prawn (yes they are back!).

With 2hrs left my swim faded and all I could catch was roach, even on 6mm pellet, which was a bit frustrating and never a good sign that there are bigger fish in the swim. I think the issue was there was too many spaces for the fish to back off into. As the afternoon wore on a few carp started to show themselves in the gap between the island and in front of the vacant p22. 

Moving back down under p19 platform I managed a couple more perch, but nothing from under p21 platform.

I eventually caught a couple more carp over the loose fed pellet, but it was all a little too late and my carp were on the small side which is unusual for this area of the lake.

1st 125-15 - Andy Hembrow - p2
2nd 48- 9 - Mike West - p13
3rd 37- 9 - Dave Wescott - p11
4th 37- 8 - Ray White - p24
5th 35-15 - Ken Rayner - p20
6th 33- 6 - Adrian Jefferies - p15

Silvers
1st 19- 8 - Nigel Bartlett - p18
2nd 14- 6 - Ken Rayner - p20
3rd 13- 2 - Mike West - p13

27/11/14 - Harescombe - Match

Weight - 46lb 8oz
Catch - 25 F1, 10 Carp, 6 Skimmers, 4 Roach, 2 Chub, 2 Gudgeon, 1 Perch
Weather - Mostly cloudy, sunny later.
Match - Cost cutter Open - 2nd out of 7

I now have some time on my hands, well at least until 15 December when I start my new job, so plenty of time to go fishing, but next time I resign I'll make sure its in the summer.

I had considered fishing my club water, but following our club match at Harescombe 2 weeks ago I fancied another go at the place and knew they did a Thursday cost cutter.

One of the things I like about this venue is you can get bites from most pegs and with 7 pegs spread around I wasn't too bothered where I drew.


Peg 29 put me on the end bank next to the collapsed bank, with the fishery manager Andy Price next to me on p30. As you can see from the photos, there has been quite a land slip. Repairs are planned, but its a big job.

This week saw the first frost of the autumn, but at least it was a little milder today and still expected a few bites. Due to the landslip the deeper water was slightly to my right, whilst to my left I found an area at 13m that was the same depth as by the island. The rest of the left hand bank was very shallow and is normally a good area, but now it was colder I wasn't so sure.

The first 50mins of this 5hr match was spent at 10m (HB Frostie 0.3g > .10 > 18 silverfish pellet), tosspotting micros and 4s. Initially I tried 4mm expander, but found single maggot was best. I managed a couple of carp and F1s, but was getting bitted out by tiny skimmers and roach.

In the meantime I had been pinging 4s across to the island and since the 10m line didn't seem to be going anywhere I moved across (HB Frostie 0.2g > .10 > 18 silverfish pellet) with 4mm expander.

Over the next 2 hours I caught reasonably well, either on 4mm expander or corn. To get bites I had to keep working the bait, but as the swim was faded, I had to move to the left hand bank. As yet I hadn't fed here, just to leave area for the fish, but now my main swim was fading I started toss potting 4s/corn, continually switching between the 2 swims to keep the fish coming.

I also switched rigs to fish hair rigged 6mm pellet, which resulted in more carp and a few bigger F1s. Unfortunately the sun broke through what had so far been a dull day and coupled with the flat conditions the fish became very finicky.

In the last hour the sun dropped a little and by switching between rigs and swims I managed to keep catching. By the all out, I thought I was ahead of Andy, who had a slow start fishing the maggot feeder to the island, but had caught well during the 2nd half of the match fishing maggot down the right hand margin. Beyond that I wasn't sure, because everyone seemed to have caught a few fish.

Another enjoyable day and was pleased to claim 2nd place against the venue regulars.

1st 58-13 - Tim Allen - p14
2nd 46- 8 - Ken Rayner - p29
3rd 41-14 - Andy Price - p30
4th 32-10 - Steve Burford - p17

23/11/14 - Todber Manor - Park Lake

Weight - 51lb 10oz
Catch - 14 Carp, 2 F1s, 2 Roach, 2 Perch, 1 Gudgeon
Weather - Rainy start, clearing later and becoming colder
Match - Winter League - rd 3 - 6th out of 24, 1st in section

I was looking forward to todays match, but was also little apprehensive. I was lying 6th in the league, but there was 5 of us on 4pts, which meant there would be winners and losers in terms of league position. I would be in A section, pegs 1-11 and with the colder weather the pegs up the arm where to be avoided. Fortunately I did that, drawing p11, but to be honest would have preferred p7 or p9. Roly drew p7, Daryl Falleto was on p9 and Steve Tucker got unlucky with p3.

Having drawn p11 a few weeks ago I didn't get the best out of the peg mainly due to a strong wind and today the northerly breeze was a lot lighter, if not a little colder, which meant I could fish the far bank at 16m a little more comfortably.

Only 3 rigs for today
- SM slim 0.2g > .12 > 18 B911 (hair rig pellet/corn across)
- SM chimp 0.3g > .12 > 18 B911 (down the track)
- Ackoo Carrat 0.3g > .14 > 16 B911 (meat down the track)

My intention was to concentrate on pellet, fishing maggot if needed. With a little spare time before the start I also cut up some meat, because for what ever reason some anglers are still catching on it. After feeding some micros & 4s at 5m and 12m, I started straight across on corn toss potting a few 4s. 5mins later I had my first carp, which was a relief.

After the first hour I hooked 6 carp, but lost 3 which were foul hooked. Moving to 12m produced another carp and a F1 on 4mm expander and a few small silvers on maggot, as did the 5m line. I  kept switching lines and managed to snag a couple more carp from the island on 6mm pellet, catapulting 4s and later 6s across.

At the half way point decided to bin the short pellet line and started feeding meat instead. As for the 12m line I kept it topped up with 4s and a few micros which produced a few more carp.

The far line proved more difficult, the carp where definitely there, but hooking them in the mouth instead of the arse proved troublesome!

Moving into the last hour, I thought I was behind Roly, but couldn't see Steve, so 2nd or 3rd in section was likely. A couple more carp from the 12m line, then 2 carp on meat finished my match.

I had fed the margins, but because I was catching only gave them an unsuccessful 5mins.

The weigh-in started at peg 1 and I was really glad I had avoided drawing up here with Steve's 18lb proving to be best. I thought I had 45-50lb, so when Roly weighed 46lb I was hopeful of winning the section. Must admit I let out a little celebratory "yes" when the scales confirmed I won the section and currently lie 2nd in the league, 1/2pt behind todays match winner Ashley Tomkins.

1st 115- 5 - Ashley Tomkins - p28
2nd 74- 4 - Alan Oram - p38
3rd 61- 9 - Tim Clarke - p25 

4th 54- 2 - Dan White - p13
5th 51-12 - Mike Nichols - p23
6th 51-10 - Ken Rayner - p11

22/11/14 - Emerald Pool

Weight - 9lb 13oz
Catch - 26 Skimmers, 2 Tench, 2 Hybrids, 2 Roach, 1 Rudd
Weather - Wet start, but mostly sunny
Match - Silverfish League - rd 4 - 7th out of 8

Not much to write about in this blog. The 4th round of this silverfish league and with 3 of us sat on the same points for 3rd in the league a decent draw would be required. The weather this week has seen colder, wetter conditions moving in and on the drive down the motorway the rain was so heavy I had to slow down. Fortunately by the time I arrived the storm had pasted, however the aerator was on and all this was doing was circulating the cold water. So a draw well away from the aerator would be required.

Only 8 of us today, because the 9th man decided not to fish the rest of the league and Dom decided to leave out peg 2 which was the closest the aerator. I really fancied peg 3, 7 or 8, but found myself on peg 1 again, which I wasn't happy about

The tow created by the aerator wasn't too bad if I fished to my right, but a combination of the light and constant waves created by the aerator meant I had to choose carefully were I fished so I could see my float

The first half of this 5hr match proved to be OK, I had a few fish at 4m on maggot over caster and the most productive swim was 11m towards the overhanging tree on the other island. After initially cupping in a ball of groundbait and then toss potting caster I picked up a number skimmers. On the opposite bank Barry on p3 had a few tench and was ahead of me, but I felt I was on par with Kev and Tim on p4 & p5.

The 2nd half of the match proved to be very difficult with very few silvers, but I did catch carp and fantails. I even set up a swim at 13m in open water and still managed to catch carp. With so many carp in the swim it unsettled the skimmers and ended up tipping back 7 carp & 8 fantails for about 30lb, as well as a few lost carp, which was to be expected when using 0.08 bottoms.

All this meant my league is effectively over with 2 rounds to go. Whilst its tempting not to bother with the next 2 rounds I have committed to fishing. Its not fair on the organiser who has taken time out to set things up and its not fair on the other anglers, since it makes it harder for those with an outside chance of picking up

Overall the venue fished quite hard and the big weights of last year seem to be a distant memory. It could be the weather or it could be the fish have wised up, although its noticeable I haven't caught nearly as many hybrids I did last year. Today I don't think it was any surprise that the top 3 weights came from the pegs closest to the aerator. I'm not bitter, honest! 

1^st 27- 4 – Dom Sullivan – p9
2^nd 25-11 – Andy Gard – p8
3^rd 22-13 – Barry Fitchew – p3
4^th 18- 8 – Kev Jefferies – p4

16/11/14 - Harescombe - Match Lake

Weight - 67lb 5oz
Catch - 44 F1s, 7 Carp, 7 Skimmer, 1 Gudgeon
Weather - Mostly cloudy, cool NW breeze
Match - Club - 1st out of 11

I was looking forward to this match, because I have enjoyed the last couple of visits although the weather could have been kinder. At least today light winds were forecast, even if they were coming from the NW.

On arrival I had a quick chat with Tim who regularly fishes here, advising pellet & corn was still working. I could fish maggot, but was likely to be pestered by small roach & skimmers, which meant the 2pts of Avon Angling maggots (my last ever – very sad) would remain unused for today at least.

The draw put me on p19 on the far bank and with only 11 on the lake I had plenty of space, which as we know isn’t always a good thing. The good news was the vegetation on the central island has been cut back, although there were still some weeds sticking out, but at least it was a lot tidier than my last visit.

My plan of attack was to start across by the island and feed a 2+2 swim. Only 3 rigs required for today.
- HB Frostie 0.2g > .12 > 18 silverfish pellet (soft pellet/corn)
- SM Slim 0.2g > .12 > 18 B911 (hair rigged 6mm pellet)
- SM Chimp 0.4g > .12 > 18 silverfish pellet (2+2 swim)

Due to the shorter days we would only be fishing 5.5hrs. On the all in I started across toss potting 4s and 2 bits of corn with 4mm expander on the hook and my first fish was a Gudgeon. I used love catching Gudgeon as a kid and used to catch some really big ones from my local river. Next put in I had an F1 and by the end of the 1^st hour I had 10 fish.

The 2^nd hour was a little harder with 9 fish mostly on corn, but at least the fish were a little bigger and the 3^rd I had 12 fish, but started catching more small skimmers as the F1s back off.

F1 fishing is really interesting and you have to continually work out how they want feeding. I had started off in 1 swim, then started left & right of this swim, moving further along the island. I struck with toss potting 4s & corn. I did try micros, but this just brought in those small skimmers, so I stopped that. Since I wasn’t catching anything bigger than 2lb I switched hooklength to .10 which seemed to improve my bite ratio.

Going into the 4^th hour I noticed a few fish moving along the island and decided to start pinging pellet to my right, adding a further 10 fish mainly from the left hand side which I was still toss potting pellet/corn.

The 5^th hour proved to be a golden hour with 15 fish, when I switched rigs to a hair rigged 6mm pellet (which according to Tim no one has done this winter) very tight to the island I had a run of fish, including more carp.

The last 30mins proved to be more difficult, but still landed a couple more fish. The short line proved to be a bust with only 1 more skimmer coming from it. Of the anglers I could see Andy on p24 who had been fishing maggot looked to be the busiest and he did catch more than me including a lot of small blade roach & skimmers, but sticking with pellet and corn won the day.

A really enjoyable day, with plenty of bites. Also this was my first weekend for a while where I have picked up both days. It’s probably no coincidence that I was offered a new job Thursday and feel more relaxed.

1^st 67- 5 – Ken Rayner – p19
2^nd 55- 5 – Andy Lord – p24
3^rd 34-11 – Andy Bradley – p29
4^th 24-10 – Craig Davidge – p30
5^th 22- 6 – Paul Lewis – p14
6^th 19- 3 – Nick Jodrell – p3

15/11/14 - Lands End - Match Lake

Weight - 94lb 4oz (15lb 3oz - silvers)
Catch - 17 Carp, 7 Skimmers, 5 Perch, 2 F1
Weather - Bright, mild & sunny day
Match - Open - 2nd out 10 (2nd - silvers)

After what has been a very tough 18 months at work, mainly as a result of various regulation changes, I decided it was time to look for another job and after 14 years I start a new role next month, which I’m really excited about.

I was a little later than I would normally like for the draw, so it was a bit of a rush to get my kit to my peg and ended up being ready 5mins after the start. I drew peg 13, which I wasn’t that keen on because it’s not my favourite peg, but it normally produces a few fish. For company I had Andy Hembrow opposite on p11 and Dave Wescott on p15.

Must admit my initial thoughts were to target the silvers, because the carp tend to be on the small side at this end of the lake, however you never know. Plumbing up and with the water levels still low, it was too shallow to target the left hand edge, although the shelf along the island at 16m was a little deeper, but didn’t expect any fish to show here till late.

With the colder weather all rigs where on .12 bottoms, expect for the margin rig under the p14 pallet which had a heavier .14 hooklength.

Having seen a carp move under the pallet, I started down there on corn after feeding 4s & micros at 5m, long towards the aerator and long in open water. Despite a few liners I had no bites, so started feeding caster and corn for later.

In the meantime Andy already landed 2 carp and was playing his 3^rd as I started on my long line, which produced 2 small skimmers on 4mm expander before catching my first carp. However I couldn’t catch as regularly as Andy, but at least I was catching, as were a few other further down the lake.

After 90mins I was struggling to catch and switched from toss potting bait to catapulting 4s, really to try and drew some fish to my side of the lake, away from Andy. A switch down the margin on double caster produced 4 decent perch, but no carp.

Back out on the long line I ended up switching between the open water, which I kept fed via a catapult and by the aerator feeding micros/4s via a toss pot. This worked quite well as I picked up carp and a couple F1s.

With 2hrs to go, Andy was still catching. In fact he fished the same swim for most of the match, so a nice easy match for Andy, whilst the rest of us were fishing for 2^nd place. From those I could see a few fish were being caught and wasn’t confident that I was in a framing position.

Back down under the pallet only produced 1 more perch. So far I had kept my 5m line topped up with pellet, which as yet hadn’t produced, but 3 skimmers in 15mins boosted my silvers net and going into the last hour I wasn’t sure whether to stick with silvers or carp. As it turned out carp turned up over the short pellet line, which sorted that problem out.

I had also started pinging pellet towards the island and the 5 carp caught on 6mm pellet proved decisive. My margin swim only 1 small carp, but Dave decided to take advantage of my well fed margin and nicked 2 decent carp from the other side of the pallet!

1^st 156- 8 – Andy Hembrow – p11
2^nd 94- 4 – Ken Rayner – p13
3^rd 83- 7 – Rod Wootton – p24
4^th 64- 5 – Mike Duckett – p22
5^th 59- 2 – Steve Seagar – p20
6^th 49-12 – Dave Wescott – p15

Silvers
1^st 19- 0 – Kev Molton – p7 (perch)
2^nd 15- 3 – Ken Rayner – p13
3^rd 10-15 – Rod Wootton – p24

09/11/14 - Todber - Park Lake

Weight - 58lb 14oz
Catch - 14 Carp, 13 Roach, 3 Skimmers, 2 F1s, 1 Perch
Weather - Bright and sunny
Match - Todber Series rd 2 - 7th out of 24, 2nd in section.

The 2^nd round of the Todber series and after my 2^nd in section during the first round I was really hoping for a decent draw today to keep me in contention. Prior to the draw a 2 minutes silence was impeccably observed for Remembrance Day.

It was section D, peg 31-38 for me and ideally I wanted to avoid pegs 31 & 32 and for Tucks and Roly not to draw 37 & 38, however I did draw p32, Tucks was on p37 and Roly p38. I was really disappointed and felt I was fishing for 3^rd in section.

For company Bob Wheeler was to my left on p31 and Adrian Jeffries, subbing for Clint on p34. Following the colder weather this week, loads of heavy rain yesterday and this morning was cold with 1c showing on the drive down. The prospects were for a difficult day for what were now bright, flat conditions.

Only 3 rigs for today
- HB Frostie > .12 > 18 B911 (soft pellet/maggot across)
- SM Slim > .12 > 18 B911 (hair rigged pellet across)
- Ackoo Carbon Carrat 0.2g > 0.12 > (maggot/soft pellet down the middle)

As I was plumbing up I bumped into a fish across so this is where I decided to start after cupping in some micros/4s/maggot at 6 sections to my right and 13m.

Bob was first to hook a fish, which was foul hooked and I soon hooked a foul hooker in the tail, which I lost at the net. By toss potting a small amount of micros/pellet and 4mm expander on the hook I caught 5 carp and an F1, plus losing a few foul hookers. If I fed maggot or put maggot on the hook I would just get bitted out my tiny roach.

After an hour & 45mins the far line had died completely. The middle part of the match was very quiet. I had hoped to catch at 13m, but only had 2 carp, an F1, a 1lb skimmer and more roach.

I could see Roly catching, so knew that was the section gone, although Tucks didn’t seem to be as busy.

Since the far line wasn’t producing I starting pining 4s across in the hope of pulling in some carp for later, which was just as well, because my short line failed to produce anything other than silvers and my margins fed with dead maggot/caster didn’t produce anything.

In the last 90mins a switch to the far line fishing hair rigged 6mm pellet, produced a further 7 carp, so at least I consolidated 3^rd in section or so I thought. Roly was first to weigh and as expected won the match. Tucks was only admitting to 30lb, so I wasn’t surprised when he put 56lb on the scales. I thought I had 50lb, so I was really happy when I ended up with 58lb and a surprise 2^nd in section. This meant I am 6^th in the league, however there are 5 of us all on 4pts and I just happen to have the lowest aggregate weight.

As I said really happy with the result and hopefully a good sign after a number of recent near misses.

1^st 118-10 – Roland Lucas – p38
2^nd 82-12 – Ash Tomkins – p14
3^rd 81- 9 – Nick Merry – p9
4^th 77- 7 – Chris Fox – p17
5^th 73- 1 – Tim Clarke – p7
6^th 64- 4 – Tom Ince – p11