27/07/14 - Rood Ashton

Weight - 79lb 8oz
Catch - 27 Carp, 3 Roach
Weather - Warm & sunny, becoming windy later
Match - Club - 2nd out of 15

Another late blog, because work is really busy at the moment which is good news, however it will mean I won’t be able to go fishing as often as I would like.

 

I did fish Saturdays open, but really cocked it up weighing only 48lb for plum last. So today was a chance to put right what I got wrong yesterday. Groundbait is working at the moment and I wanted to get to grips with it, because it’s not a method I have ever used, plus its margin fishing which I also need to improve. 

My draw today was behind the island, which isn’t a peg you would normally want, although in recent weeks some decent weights have come from the area.

 

The first hour of the match was spent fishing half way across towards the island on the lead/meat over 8mm pellet. I dare not fish closer due to snags, however I wasted too much time fishing the waggler at full depth, which for some reason just didn’t work, when the straight lead would have been better. 

After 75mins I had 4 carp, which was fewer than I wanted at this stage. A switch to the left hand margin, were I had already received a couple of pots of groundbait proved frustrating. I was tried double meat, worm, pellet and paste, but just couldn’t get the fish settled. I couldn’t work out how best to feed, very time I thought I got it sussed, catching a couple of carp, they would become unsettled again, losing fish, some of which were foul hooked.

 

I was gradually putting fish in the net, but not nearly quickly enough. The only angler I could see properly was Andy Lord on the top bank, who seemed to be catching regularly, so I really needed to pull my finger out.

 

As well as feeding the left hand margin, I had also been feeding my right hand margin under the tree on my top 3, which I had intended to be a throwaway line. In the end it proved to be quite productive. The last 2 hours of the match I got my act together, not sure whether it was because I got my feeding right or because it was late in the day. By swapping between the margins, I caught quickly, fishing paste to be my right and meat to my left.

 

I had noticed that Andy had slowed up and was hopeful of catching him up, but at least I knew I was in a better position to frame and pick up a brown envelope than I was 90mins earlier. In the end I fell just short of Andy to finish 2^nd overall, which was a relief, but came away frustrated, because I know I didn’t get it completely right. I don’t seem to have any problem pulling the fish into the swim, but need to think more about presentation.

 

1^st 80-10 – Andy Lord – p8

2^nd 79- 8 – Ken Rayner – p10

3^rd 72- 9 – Chris Davidge – p13

4^th 70-10 – Andy Bradley – p5

5^th 64- 0 – Tim Allen – p6

6^th 63- 7 – Glenn Putterill –p9

15/07/14 - Glebe - Pool 6

Weight - 84lb 0oz
Catch - 16 Carp, 16 Bream, 2 Roach, 1 Perch
Weather - Warm & sunny
Match - MFS - 13th out of 16

I’m a bit late with this blog, simply because I’ve been busy with work and I’ve just spent the weekend in Bournemouth with Sue’s family.
 

I’m not going to dwell too much on this match which was organised by MFS, which was held on pools 6 & 7. I turned up with the expectation of catching shallow and surprisingly it didn’t work as expected. I drew a decent enough peg, p87, however arriving at the lake the breeze was blowing down to the other end of the lake, which meant all the ripple was 2 pegs above me.

 

As well as catching shallow I was also hoping to sort out how I approach the Glebe margins, because I’ve struggled in the past, so I was duly armed with loads of caster to fish shallow, as well as plenty of 6mm pellet. I also had 3kgs of groundbait for the margins.

 

I made 3 mistakes during the day. The first was not taking a feeder rod, because the anglers either side caught straight and Woody in particular to my right on p89 was catching very well, although most the fish were small by Glebe standards. However I’m not a fan of the feeder, so wasn’t too concerned. I had started down the right margin on double corn over regular small balls of groundbait and caught 2 carp, plus a few decent skimmers, before the swim dried up.

 

The second mistake was buggering about trying to catch shallow. I started by feeding caster whilst fishing the margin and soon there was plenty of fish moving about, however as soon I shipped out the pole the fish disappeared due to the lack of ripple. The problem was I spent too long trying to make it work and chasing fish around the swim, dropping either 8mm pellet or maggot in front of them, but the carp just bolted away. A sure sign they have seen it all before and have become very wary. A switch from feeding caster to 6mm pellet produced a better response but still too few carp, with big skimmers showing instead.

 

The third mistake was not having enough corn with me, I thought I had more than I actually had, which meant I couldn’t attack the 5m line as I had intended, which is a key line at the Glebe at the moment.

 

The only good aspect of the day was the margins. Not much was caught down the margins on our lake and as it turned out I had done well in that respect, so as at least some lessons learnt.

 

I think a few people have expected me to be distraught, but to me honest, my attitude towards fishing as changed in the last couple of years. A few years ago I probably been very grumpy, although I had one of my worst days at the Glebe, I still caught 84lb, but more importantly know where I went wrong and will get it right (hopefully) in 3 weeks for my return visit.

 1^st - 322- 6 – Pete Bailey (pool 7)

2^nd - 218- 4 – Ross – p90 (pool 6)

3^rd - 200- 0 – Scone – p93 (pool 6)

4^th - 175-12 – Woody – p89 (pool 6)

5^th - 147- 8 – J Pearson – p87 (pool 6)

6^th – 147- 4 – p101 (pool 7) 

12/07/14 - Rood Ashton

Weight - 81lb 0oz
Catch - 22 Carp, 5 Roach
Weather - Mostly sunny & breezy
Match - Open - 9th out of 15 (4th in section)

As mentioned in last week’s blog, Saturday opens have started at Rood Ashton for 15 weeks, following the closure of Ridgeway.

15 turned up which is an improvement from last week’s 11, but it was helped that Mark, Nick, Hippy and myself bolstering numbers, which also meant pegs were spread around the lake. I had to smile when I drew the same peg as last Sunday and thought it would be good to put into practice what I learnt from last time.

Today I included a pellet waggler rod, but with the wind again towards me and across I wasn’t sure whether I would catch on it. More importantly for me, I really wanted to make the margins work, because I don’t think I got it quite right last week. On the all in the left margin was fed with 6s & meat, whilst the right margin was feed with just 6s. Each margin was regularly top up. I also fed the 13m line with pellet, but like last week proved to be pointless with just a few roach.

Starting on the waggler looking for a few of the cruisers, but never had a bite, so switched to the lead & meat, which proved successful last week. Unfortunately only 2 carp after an hour suggested otherwise. I wasn’t too worried about the slow start, but a text from Mark on the other side of lake, behind the island said he already had 10, as did Nick Merry 3 pegs to my right and I think Hippy had a few next to Nick, which meant I was already falling behind.

The angler to my  right was also struggling, only catching a couple on the feeder. I kept feeding 8s at 25m in the hope of catching late on, but it never really happened. The margins were also proving disappointing with only a couple carp from the left margin, plus more roach.

So after 4 hours and only 9 carp in the net, I needed some proper fish from the margins. The angler to my right had already caught a few down his edge towards me over groundbait, whilst I struck with feeding 6s. It was noticeable the fish were coming quickly to the groundbait, although so far we had the same number fish from the edge, however when he got a couple of fish ahead of me, I felt I needed to try something different, so quickly knocked up the ½ bag of green swim stim I had in my carryall. The response was almost instant I had some proper fish on double meat.

The left hand margin was still causing me headaches. I had begun feeding more heavily with pellet & meat. I would have like to have tried groundbait, but simply didn’t have enough with me. I did manage a few fish, but still got pestered by roach, despite all the loose feed.

I had also kept feeding 8s at 25m and whilst resting the margins managed 3 carp on the pellet waggler, but they were half the size of the margin fish, so stayed with the margin, hoping to pick up the section money. I knew Nick in particularly had caught consistently on the feeder, although they tend to be much smaller fish.

The last 2 hrs proved to be the most productive putting 13 carp for 51lb in the net. It was just a shame I couldn’t catch during the first 4hrs. I only needed another 20lb to claim the section and do wonder what the situation would have been had I come armed with more groundbait.

Overall the lake fished very well, with 1^st and 2^nd coming from behind the island and 7 weights over a ton.

1^st 201- 6 – Jamie Dixie – p12
2^nd 156-10 – Mark Poppleton – p11
3^rd 136- 8 – Frank Donachie – p1
4^th 108- 8 – Andy – p14
5^th 105-14 – Carl – p15
6^th 100-12 – Phil – p6

06/07/14 - Rood Ashton

Weight - 85lb 8oz
Catch - 26 Carp, 8 Roach
Weather - Sunny, cloudy periods, cool NW wind
Match - Airsprung AC - 3rd out of 17

I was on the reserve list to fish Tony’s float only at Lands End, but by Friday afternoon and no drop outs I needed to make a decision about where to go. Fortunately I managed to get in on Airsprungs match at Rood Ashton.

Rood Ashton will be holding Saturday opens for the next 15 weeks, with the first match yesterday, which was won with 150lb and some good back weights. However there were only 11 yesterday and with 17 fishing today it was likely to a little harder.

Peg 6 put me on the lawns and a peg I have always wanted to draw, it was also the peg that won yesterday, mostly fishing the margins. The question was whether the fish would be happy to be caught for a 2^nd day.

Rigs were a method feeder and straight lead, because unlike the evening matches, the fish can sit beyond the pole lines for the day match. A pellet rig was also set up to fish at 13m and a margin rig for meat.

I had thought about a waggler rod, but ended up leaving it at home and was beginning to regret that decision as Tom Ince on p5 had a carp straight away on the waggler, adding a further 2 or 3 in next 30mins.

My match got off to a slow start. After cupping in 6s at 13m and meat/hemp into the left hand margin under the tree, I started on the method feeder with dead maggot, but after 4 casts I only had a small carp and a roach. It just didn’t feel right, particularly with Tom catching over loose feed 8s. I had been feeding 8s as well at 25m out, but the head wind meant some did drop short. Onto the pole line and I was being pestered by roach. Never a good sign here, because roach means no carp.

I did manage my one and only carp from this line before the hour mark, but the roach were being a pain. The wind was also causing issues and I never got the feeling it was going to work over at 13m. An early look down my left margin, also revealed roach were in residence as they tried to take double 6mm meat!

Switching to the straight lead & pellet produced a carp after 10mins and after rotating baits, discovered double 6mm meat was best, as was cutting back on the feed. I had been feeding 2 pouches of 8s every 5mins, but cut this back to 1 and promptly had my best spell. Over a 2 hour period I had a bite most casts pulling back the deficit from my slow start, before it became tricky again.

My 13m had long since been abandoned with the expectation my margins would produce. A carp first put in was a false dawn, as the roach still proved to be residence, no matter how much feed I put in. In the meantime I had been throwing by hand some pellet into the more exposed and shallower right margin, but I was still a little surprised to see a couple of tails waving at me. Despite this I couldn’t get a proper bite, trying bunches of maggot, meat, pellet and paste. Eventually got it sorted, with double 6mm meat proving best again, producing my 4 biggest fish and getting bust up on a 5^th that just shoot off & didn’t stop. I don’t think it was foul hooked, but will never know.

My left margin failed to produce which was a real surprise, since that was banker swim. By the end Steve Musitano to my left was admitting to 30 carp, whilst Tom on p5 said he only had 18 or so, but I was sure he had more, although he lost a few and Tim Martin on p4 also had 30. This all made for an interesting weigh in, because the match pay out was top 3, plus 2 sections. Steve’s fish went 83-6 and I honestly didn’t expect to beat that, however 85-8 said otherwise. The average stamp on the meat does seem to be a little better for some reason. Tom’s fish went 84-6, so a few more than 18 fish then, and Tim’s 30 fish weighed 82-6, so a really close section and those annoying roach, probably swung it for me, because I reckon I had about 1½lb of them.

1^st 119-14 – Rich “I only have 50lb” Whitmarsh – p11
2^nd 108- 8 – Mark Poppleton – p13
3^rd 85- 8 – Ken Rayner – p6
4th 84- 6 – Tom Ince – p5
5th 83- 6 – Steve Musitano – p7
6^th 82- 6 – Tim Martin – p4