29/12/21 - Todber - Hillview

Weight - 60lb 8oz (should have been 80lb!)

Catch - 19 Carp, 2 Skimmers, 2 Roach, 1 Gudgeon

Weather - Very mild and windy. Mostly cloudy and some rain

Match - Open (30 anglers)

After a lovely Christmas I was looking forward to getting out on the bank and today we were spread over Hillview and Ash. P40 isn’t currently the best area of the lake, however with the mild conditions and the wind blowing right to left I quite fancied it for a few.

I did consider targeting the silvers, but with the pairs match on Friday and the upcoming teams of 4 today represented an opportunity to work out a few things if I drew poorly in the league.

After 2hrs 10mins I had only caught a handful of silvers on the pole at 11m and no carp,

although I had lost 3 foulhookers. Richard Yeo only had a couple on p39 on the straight lead, as had the angler on p42 and it didn’t seem there were many carp in the area.

As I was struggling, I decided to be quite positive with my feed. Pinging pellet 2/3 of the way to the island, produced 2 carp on the straight lead and corn, but it wasn’t right as the wind was spreading the feed over too wide an area.

I had also been feeding meat at 2+2, plus micros (choc orange RTGs) and baninion boosted corn 2m off the right margin. Due to the wind, I ended up using a 0.5g chimp rig on the meat line and started to put a few fish into the net, including a couple of decent ones and was starting to enjoy myself.

The margin swim was a little slower to get going but I had 3 carp on corn in the last 15mins.

In the end I thought I had a 65-70lb, however I badly underestimated my first 1^st net which had 16 fish as it went over the 66lb limit (probably 70lb) and I was knocked back to 50lb.

My final weight put me 5^th in a 10-man section, instead of 3^rd. Fortunately this didn’t cost me as p46 on the spit had 110lb to pick the section money, however a note to self not to make the same mistake in the winter league. Despite this oversight I was pleased with how the 2^nd half of match went and it was nice to feed some bait.

1.    215- 4 – Mark Poppleton – p49 (HV)

2.    149-14 – Mark Wynne – p55 (HV)

3.    142-14 – Jason Powell – p47 (HV)

4.    122- 4 – Nick Ewers – p53 (HV)

5.    113-12 – Chris Martin – p75 (Ash)

Silvers

1.    20-12 – Nick Chedzoy – p37

2.    16- 8 – Tony Day – p50

3.      5- 2 – Andy Weston – p60

19/12/21 - Ivy House - Willow

Weight - 42lb 14oz (6lb 8oz - silvers)

Catch - 4 Carp, 18 Skimmers, 2 Roach

Weather - Foggy & misty all day. Felt colder later.

Match - Christmas Open (50 fished)

This match was fully booked with 50 anglers over the whole complex, but a tough day was expected as it was cold and foggy, and it felt like it got colder throughout the day. 

I drew p20 on Willow, which meant I would be looking for a few big carp. P23 and p34 are usually the better pegs in the winter as they are deeper, however as I was setting up Andy walked round and told me the mid-week match was won from here and 80lb was likely needed to win.

I had been playing around with the idea of setting up a silvers rig, but todays pay-out would be section winners only and the top 2 on each lake receiving a hamper. Therefore, I decided against the silvers rig to concentrate on the carp.

Plumbing up revealed it was only 2.5ft to my right and 4ft out in front. Despite what Andy had told me I wasn’t expecting much to my right as it had turned colder. However, as the all-in was called I noticed the mud turning over at 14m to my right, so decided to toss pot a few micros with corn on the hook. 10mins later I landed a 7lber.

I tried fishing the straight lead & corn and a small banjo feeder to the island, but never had a bite.

After an hour only 2 carp had been caught on the lake and the predicted 80lb was looking very unlikely. I was getting bored staring at a motionless tip and decided to set up a soft pellet rig to fish for skimmers, but had an 0.12 bottom just in case. By feeding nuggets of BMG boosted micros and fishing a 4mm BMG expander at 16m I caught skimmers up to 12oz, whilst keeping an eye on the rest of the section. 

With 2hrs remaining, p23 & p34 had a single carp, but felt I needed to get back to targeting carp in the closing stages of the match. I had been feeding micros where I had caught my first carp and managed an 11lber on corn, plus a further 2 carp on the straight lead and double corn cast further right down the island. P34 also finished with 4 carp, but those weighed 20lb, so I picked up the section money. I also came 2^nd on the Willow/Old Match Lake which meant a big hamper and plenty of goodies.

1.    64- 8 – Des Shipp – p33 (moorhen)

2.    47-14 – Elick Payne – p34 (moorhen)

3.    47- 6 – Chris Timms – p5 (old match lake)

4.    44- 8 – Allan Oram – p41 (kingfisher)

5.    42-14 – Ken Rayner – p20 (willow)

6.    34- 2 – Jamie Dixey – p14 (old match lake)

18/12/21 - Todber - Hillview

Weight - 58lb 10

Catch - 18 Carp, 4 Roach, 3 Skimmers, 1 Gudgeon

Weather - Cloudy start, brighter later. Light breeze

Match - Open (24 fished)

With the forthcoming Winter League Teams of 4 starting in January I wanted to start getting in tune with Todber and there were 24 of us spread over Hillview and Ash. P42 isn’t the best area at the moment, but there were at least a few fish moving around when I arrived. 

Starting on the maggot feeder, I soon got indications and my first fish was a gudgeon, which wasn’t the start I wanted, although I did manage 1 carp in the first 30 minutes, but those silvers were proving frustrating.

I tried the straight lead and corn over the top but other than a few liners, no fish. Therefore, I spent the bulk of the match fishing the pole initially at 14m, fishing a 4mm 4mm BMG pellet over 4s. This swim wasn’t really working and set up another swim off to my right at 14m, just feeding a small nugget baninion boosted micros, whilst I kept pinging pellet over my first swim.

This 2^nd swim was much better. It was still slow going in flat bright conditions but at least I was catching a few.

I had also started pinging 6s to the island in the hope of drawing a few fish from the pegs in the mid-40s and meat on a 2+2 line. I only had 1 fish on the meat, but this line was more in hope than expectation, however a few fish eventually turned up by the island with 5 fish on the lead and corn in the last 30mins.

Don’t think I did too much wrong today, coming 4^th in section and 11^th overall, just not quite in the right area.

1.    146- 8 – Henry Smith – p66 (A)

2.    113- 0 – Nick Ewers – p38 (HV)

3.    105- 8 – Mark Wynne – p49 (HV)

4.    104- 4 – Mark Poppleton – p58 (HV)

4.    104- 4 – Rob McCann – p71 (A)

Silvers

1.    19-  8 – Lee Woodhouse – p52 (HV)

2.    14-12 – Tony Day – p56 (HV)

3.    12-  2 – Andy Weston – p75 (A)

4.    11-  4 – Simon Stacey – p40 (HV)

12/12/21 - Ivy House - Old Match Lake

Weight - 13lb 14oz

Catch - 19 Roach, 9 Skimmers, 1 Perch

Weather - Mild & breezy.

Match - Winter League (40 fished)

The 6th and final round of this Winter League. Lying 2nd, I was at least guaranteed a top 6 position, but I obviously wanted to stay 2nd, which meant ensuring I stayed ahead of Ryan Shipp who was 4pts behind me. There was an outside chance of winning, but it would have required overturning a 7pt deficit from Chris Telling which was highly unlikely.

P7 on the Old Match Lake would be my home. To be honest I would have preferred p8, but when I got to my peg the wind was blowing into my bank and although the lake has been fishing hard, I fancied it for a few.

Plumbing up the swim was a bit all over the place, with deepest spot at 13m at 5ft and generally shallower everywhere else and not that flat.

Feeding a big ball of BMGX : FA1 (50:50) with some BMG boosted micros & pinkie to my right at 13m and a small ball slightly to my left again at 13m, I started on a mini banjo feeder towards the island hoping for an early carp, whilst letting my pole lines settle. After 15mins I tried the straight lead and corn for a further 15mins, but other than a few liners no bites.
Switching to the 13m right hand line I was soon catching small roach and it took 45mins to catch my first skimmer of about 1lb.

After an hour both 13m swims just died with just the odd small roach. In the meantime, a few carp had been caught around the lake, which was a worry.

The rest of the match was a case of setting up a new swim with a small ball of feed with micros, I managed to catch a skimmer, but couldn’t get a 2nd, so had to set up another swim, gradually moving out to 16m.

I was still periodically looking for a carp by the island, by the aerator to my right where I had been pinging 4s in the hope of stirring the carp into some form of activity and finally down the margins but had no indications.

Fortunately, the last 90mins was more productive on the skimmer front. I had to wait for a bite but was at least catching a few. With 30mins left I potted a ½ cup of micros and dead maggot at 7m which produced a further 2 skimmers, losing a 3rd on the all-out.

At the end of the match, I thought I had blown it, as I was aware a few people had caught carp and I thought I only had about 10lb. Fortunately, a few of my skimmers were bigger than I thought and weighed 13-14 and was relieved to finish 3rd in section, behind Chris who had an excellent match, winning the lake with 23lb of silvers.

This result kept me in 2nd overall and £550 better off, so very pleased with how my league has gone. I only had 1 section win, but managed to be consistent throughout, with a 4th in section being my worst result.

Well done to Chris on comfortably winning the league.

1st - 66-12 - John Morgan - p41 (Kingfisher)

1st - 66-12 - Jamie Dixey - p44 (Kingfisher)

3rd - 48-  8 - Dave Willmott - p4 (Heron)

4th - 34-14 - Glyn Reynolds - p10 (Heron)

5th - 33-  2 - Jason Crump - p20 (Heron)

6th - 32-  6 - Ryan Shipp - p17 (Heron)

11/12/21 - Todber - Homeground

Weight - 110lb 0oz

Catch - 30 Carp, 3 Roach, 2 Skimmers, 1 Perch

Weather - Cold start becoming milder throughout the day. Mostly cloudy.

Match - Christmas Open (82 fished)

86 had finally booked in and paid, however there were still 4 no shows. I was happy with p78 on Homeground as I would probably have a day’s fishing, but the bulk of the fish at moment seem to be centred around p90, probably due to the water level being down. One of the 4 remaining pegs happened to be p90, which meant p77 and p89 would both be casting into 90. 

On the all in I started on the pole at 13m, but only had a few silvers. So, after 20mins I switched to the maggot feeder, casting into the deep water off the island and caught straight away, although I would catch a few, before they drifted off to be replaced by small silvers. 

With the low water levels, I had avoided fishing between the 2 islands, as it was only a foot or 2 deep, however by swapping between here and the deeper water I manged to keep putting fish in the net, but was always behind p77 & p90, plus p88 who was casting into the spare p89. 

In the meantime, I had started pinging 4s at 14.5m hoping for a late run of fish to try and catch up. I managed 7 in the last hour on banded 4mm pellet, but not enough to catch up. 

In the end I was happy with 110lb and a simple match. Bob Gullick to my left on p79 had 40lb which just illustrated how concentrated the fish are at moment on this lake. 

In the end I finished 9^th overall and a small hamper for my efforts.

1st: Steve Denmead 261lb 8oz (89 HG)

2nd: Steve Crawford 152lb 14oz (87 HG)

3rd: Mark Poppleton 145lb 4oz (69 ASH)

4th: Matt Rowe 139lb 12oz (77 HG)

5th: Steve Nadin 139lb 4oz (28 FIRS)

6th: Dan Squire 131lb 2oz (12 WP TOP)

 

05/12/21 - Ivy House - Heron

Weight - 18lb 12oz

Catch - 10 Carp, 6 F1

Weather - Freezing NW wind and cloudy

Match - Winter League - rd 5 (40 fished)

The 5^th and penultimate round of the Winter League and it was back to a random draw. As I’m lying 2^nd in the league, I just hoped for a decent draw and P8 on Heron was certainly in the right area. I also had the added bonus that the island sheltered me from the worst effects of the freezing NW wind, which meant I could at least fish the pole long at 14-16m.

For company I had Vince Shipp on p7 who was lying 3^rd in the league, Jamie Dixey on p9 and Derek Newson on the current form peg p10.

There was certainly plenty of fish moving around in front of p9, but this happened the other week and those fish didn’t want to feed.

Starting on the lead and bread, didn’t produce, neither did a switch to the maggot feeder. I was getting liners, but no bites. Eventually I caught on a micro cage feeder, feeding Choc Orange : BMGX (2:1) and a few BMG boosted micros, with maggot on the hook.

A switch to the pole at 14m didn’t produce a bite, which was a worry and with 2 hours gone I only had 3 fish, whilst Vince had 4, Jamie 2 and Derek 8-10 fish. So, it was fishing hard.

I did eventually catch a couple fish on the pole at 16m (using a short 4) on either maggot or pinkie and 3 fish on a mini banjo feeder tight to the island to bring my total to 8 with 75mins remaining.

The wind eased a little and I was able to fish a lighter rig at 16m (using a long 4) where it was an inch or so shallower. This made a difference as I had a late run of fish tapping in micros and fishing maggot or pinkie, swapping between 2 swims.

The only negative was hooking a decent carp (about 2-3lb) with 20mins remaining, but the elastic (dura 9) snapped at the connector, which was annoying as it wasn’t that old. That lost fish cost me 2^nd in section, but none the less pleased to finish 3^rd in section only 1lb behind Jamie.

More importantly, I consolidated my 2^nd place in the league with Chris Telling now looking odds on to win having won his section today, although as we both know a poor draw and you can be very easy to trip up.

1.    44- 2 – Andy Dixey – p42 (Kingfisher)

2.    40- 8 – Steve Rich – p38 (Kingfisher)

3.    33-10 – Mick Chilley – p40 (Kingfisher)

4.    26-14 – Ian Millichip – p1 (Old Match Lake)

5.    25- 8 – Derek Newson – p10 (Heron)

6.    24- 2 – Paul Bailey – p48 (Kingfisher)

04/12/21 - Ivy House - Kingfisher

Weight - 37lb 6oz

Catch - 14 Carp, 2 F1, 4 Roach

Weather - Strong NW wind, cold, bright and sunny.

Match - Open (12 fished)

On the Canals (Kingfisher & Moorhen) today and p37 Kingfisher for me, which is a flyer, being an end peg. However, I was apprehensive about the cold NW wind which was blowing left to right into the end bank.

Starting on corn, I caught a carp after 10mins fishing towards the end bank, and that was all I caught for the first 90mins!

I had hoped to fish to my left, but the wind simply wouldn’t let me, so I set up a new swim in front feeding micros boosted with BMG and a little BMGX groundbait, at the bottom of the far shelf. By being patient, I started to catch a few fish on maggot. 

I tried tight to the end bank when the swim was fading and had a carp straightaway, but this was a false dawn as I only caught a few roach. So back to the bottom of the far shelf in a new swim slightly to the right of the last and in the last 30mins managed 6 carp to secure 3^rd overall. 

In hindsight I felt I spent too long trying to catch from the end bank, convinced I would a get a few, when in reality the fish didn’t want to be there in the cold wind.

1.    53- 6 – Allan Oram – p34 (Moorhen)

2.    50- 0 – Vince Shipp – p41 (Kingfisher)

3.    37- 6 – Ken Rayner – p37 (Kingfisher)

4.    35-10 – Chris Timms – p30 (Moorhen)

Silvers

1.    26- 0 – Baggy – p28 (Moorhen)

2.    17- 2 – John Fuidge – p43 (Kingfisher)

3.    16- 4 – Phil Godding – p31 (Moorhen)

28/11/21 - Todber Manor - Homeground

Weight - 137lb 6oz

Catch - 40 Carp, 1 Roach

Weather - Bright & sunny. Cold NW breeze.

Match - Wiltshire Angling Open (7 fished)

With the upcoming Christmas match in 2 weeks and the teams of 4 Winter League in the new year this was my first chance to see how Todber was fishing in the colder weather.

Following Storm Arwen yesterday, today’s weather was much calmer although still very cold, which is probably why we only had 7 anglers today and all on Homeground. 

I drew p88, and with Mark Poppleton on p90 I thought we were all fishing for 2^nd. Fortunately, the NW breeze was blowing off my right shoulder and the trees behind meant I wasn’t feeling the cold too much unlike the anglers on the opposite bank. 

Starting on the straight lead with bread or corn, didn’t result in any bites, although I was getting liners so there were a few fish in the area. A switch to the maggot feeder produced a carp and then nothing. 

Fishing the pole at 13m only produced a single carp and a roach. So, after an hour I had 2 carp and was already behind Mark, although other than a few silvers no one else had caught. 

So, I decided to focus on the maggot feeder and keep plopping into the same spot in the deeper water off the island, feeding a few FA1 RTG’s with the maggot, with double maggot soaked in BMG boost on the hook. 3 hrs later I was up to c.32 carp, all caught on the maggot feeder. 

A brief look on the pole line and another swim off to my left where I had been pinging pellet & corn didn’t produce, so I stayed on the maggot feeder until the end of the match to finish 2^nd overall behind Mark. 

I got lucky with the draw today, as most of the fish caught were down this end of the lake, but it was still amazing to catch over a ton on a freezing day. 

1.    219- 0 – Mark Poppleton – p90

2.    137- 6 – Ken Rayner – p88

3.      65- 0 – Tim Martin – p76

21/11/21 - Ivy House - Heron

Weight - 45lb 12oz

Catch - 32 Carp, 12 F1

Weather - Bright & sunny. Cold northerly breeze.

Match - Winter League rd 4 (40 fished)

On Thursday I made my first visit to Chard Reservoir and had a really good day with Andy Seery, catching 11 Bream for c.36lb on the feeder. A tricky day as the fish weren’t feeding with confidence, but enjoyable none the less.

Today’s match was the 4^th round of the Ivy House Winter League and my turn for Heron (p7-p11 & p19-p23) on the long banks. With the forecast northerly breeze, I fancied sitting in the 20’s out of the wind, however drew p10 which meant the wind would be cutting across me right to left. Also looking at past results, p10 hasn’t featured in the main frame, with p11 being the dominate peg and p9 starting to come into its winter form, which is where league leader Chris Telling was sat.

Plumbing up revealed the peg started to shallow up at 13m and the depth was about 6in shallower from 13 to 16m. As I was setting up there was obviously a lot of fish

moving along the island and decided to start on the lead & bread hoping for an early fish, but nothing which was a surprise and it became obvious throughout the match that despite a ball of F1 sitting next to the island they just didn’t want to feed.

I also tried a little cage feeder with maggot on the hook, but again no takers, so came back to the 13m line where I had fed a 50:50 mix of Choc Orange and BMGX and some BMG boosted micros. After an hour I had 1 tiny (4oz) carp with Chris already on 6 and must admit I thought my chance of good points was evaporating.

Moving up the shelf to 14m, fishing a 4mm BMG expander and still feeding a tiny nugget of groundbait & micros produced a few fish, but the wind was a pain. A switch to a chimp rig sat better in the wind and by fishing a single maggot, just feeding maggot and micros I started to catch.

The wind meant I couldn’t fish comfortably beyond 14m, so every time I felt the swim was fading, I would restart a new one 1m to right of the last. With 90mins remaining I was about 5 or 6 fish ahead of Chris but then hit a sticky patch where I struggled to catch, allowing Chris to catch me up.

Fortunately, the wind dropped a little allowing me to fish at 16m and by alternating between 2 swims back on the pellet rig I started catching again in the last hour.

By the all out I felt there was 1 fish between Chris and myself, and fortunately the result fell my way as I won the section and lake, plus coming 2^nd overall. The result means I am now 2^nd in the league behind Chris with 2 rounds remaining.

1.    68-12 – Ian Millichip – p23 (Willow)

2.    45-12 – Ken Rayner – p10 (Heron)

3.    44- 8 – Chris Telling – p9 (Heron)

3.    44- 8 – Vince Shipp – p44 (Kingfisher)

5.    44- 0 – Stu Foale – p34 (Willow)

6.    39- 4 – Tony Rixon – p33 (Willow)

14/11/21 - Ivy House - Heron

Weight - 38lb 4oz

Catch - 24 Carp, 6 F1s, 1 Gudgeon

Weather -Grey and cloudy.

Match - Open (17 fished)

With a choice of fishing the Old Match Lake or Heron, I fancied Heron for a few bites, plus it served as some practice for next week’s winter league match.

I was happy enough with p6, as you have a long right-hand margin, however on arrival the lake had gone clear. Speaking to Andy he had stopped using the aerators overnight, which I don’t mind, otherwise it just circulates the cold water which has a real negative affect on the fishing.

With it being clear I didn’t think catching short was an option, although when I saw Dave Willmott on p2 do just that, I did wonder.

Initially I started on the lead/bread towards the island hoping for an early fish whilst I let my 14m swim settle after cupping in a small ball of BMGX:FA1 with BMG boosted micros. After 10mins and no bites it was time to try the 14m line, toss potting a nugget of groundbait and micros, fishing a 4mm BMG janner.

After an hour I had 6 fish and it was slow going, but other than Dave not much was being caught from what I could see. I had to keep chopping and changing how I fed, as well as gradually going longer towards to 16m.

Mike Ethridge to my left, had a good spell on the feeder mid-match, so I tried the maggot feeder for 2 carp and a mini banjo for none, but p6 isn’t a noted feeder peg, as you only have a small spit to aim at.

At the start after seeing the clarity of the water I had set up a maggot rig, with .10 bottom and 20 hook, but hoped I wouldn’t need it. However, halfway through the match I was struggling and picked up the maggot rig, which produced a few extra fish, but I still struggled for bites.

Going into the last hour was the best with 11 fish, as I switched back to the pellet rig, just feeding micros and then down the margin for last 20mins on maggot.

Overall, I finished 8^th and felt I should have done a little better, although to be honest I didn’t do enough to challenge the top 4 today.

1.    75- 8 – Jamie Dixey – p13

2.    60- 0 – Chris Telling – p17

3.    55-12 – Dwayne Seed – p19

4.    48- 4 – Mike D – p23

5.    44-12 – Dave Willmott – p2

13/11/21 - Ivy House - Kingfisher

Weight - 41lb 14oz (7lb 14oz - silvers)

Catch - 15 Carp, 10 Skimmers, 3 Roach

Weather - Mild and cloudy. Light breeze.

Match - Open (23 fished)

There were 23 of us today over the Old Match Lake and Kingfisher. I drew p40 on Kingfisher, which was only 2 away from where I was last Sunday.

Unlike last week I didn’t bother dobbin bread along the far bank as I wasn’t confident of catching that way, preferring to start at the bottom of the far shelf and looking around at those that were dobbin not much was caught.

Starting on corn to my left produced no bites after 10mins, so I switched to feeding a small ball of BMG boosted
micros, fishing a 4mm BMG janner and caught 5 carp and a skimmer over the first hour, which was more than anyone else, so a good start.

The remainder of the match was a bit of struggle, as skimmers, although welcome, replaced the carp during the middle part. Unlike last week, my short line, fed with BMGX and micros only produced a few skimmers and a decent carp.

At the halfway point, I tried pinging 4s off to my right, but this only produced 2 small carp on banded 4mm pellet. I also feed baninion boosted corn and micro hemp down the right margin and this only produced 2 more carp, so it was just a case of keep rotating swims to keep putting fish in the net, finishing with 2 carp and a skimmer in the last 10mins which proved useful, as I won Kingfisher and surprisingly came 2^nd overall.

1.    47- 6 – Jamie Dixey – p2 (OML)

2.  41-14 – Ken Rayner – p40 (K)

3.    35-14 – Tim – p13 (OML)

4.    35-10 – John Morgan – p8 (OML)

5.    35- 0 – Nic Baggot – p43 (K)

6.    27-10 – Elick Payne – p38 (K)

Silvers

1.    12-12 – Baz – p1 (OML)

2.    11-14 – Andy Lord – p44 (K)

3.    10-  0 – Glynn Loveday – p42 (K)

4.      8-  8 – Baggy – p4 (OML)

5.      7-14 – Ken Rayner – p40 (K)

07/11/2021 - Ivy House - Kingfisher

Weight - 44lb 12oz (silvers - 9lb 12oz)

Catch - 22 Carp, 14 Skimmers, 2 Roach

Weather - Sunny and breezy

Match - Winter League rd3 (40 fished)

Today was the 3^rd round of the Ivy House Winter League, which had been aborted last year due to Covid. Unfortunately, there were a number of anglers who couldn’t make this round or the rest of the league; however, Karen and Andy managed to get all the spaces filled so we had a full house.

 

It was my turn to fish Kingfisher and there were only 2 pegs remaining, 37 & 38, I drew 38, leaving the end peg for Chris Telling, which he seemed happy about! This has been a good area and I was pleased to avoid the mid-40s which would be more exposed to the wind blowing down the lake.
 
Following the first frosts during the week, the water had cleared a little and I expected a hard day, and I was really worried after 30mins of dobbing bread along the far bank for a small carp and a roach. This was the same for Chris, so it didn’t appear there was any concentration of carp in the area.
 
I had fed a ball of BMGX and fishery micros, boosted with BMG at 8m which was the deepest part of the swim. When it became obvious dobbing bread was a waste of time, I dropped in on the 8m line fishing a 4mm expander and caught a small skimmer straight away, but then bumped 3 skimmers. Being quite cold the fish were very tentative and my 9-12 hollow (as I was expecting carp) was just a bit too powerful, so I switched to a 9 dura elastic which was much better.
 
By feeding a small ball of micros and groundbait every put-in I managed to keep catching a few skimmers and a couple of carp over the next hour.
 
In the meantime, I started feeding at the bottom of the far shelf, micros and groundbait in front, and 4mm pellet/corn, flavoured with Baninion to my left. Once the 8m line died, I tried the left-hand swim with corn and caught a small carp, but the wind was making presentation difficult. A change to a heavier rig, improved presentation, but didn’t produce much from either of the far swims, which to be honest was a surprise.
 
I managed a few more fish from the 8m line, but it was slow going and felt I was now slipping behind Chris, as well as the anglers to my left.
 
With half the match left (2.5hrs) I needed to make something happen, so decided to start pinging 4mm pellet to my left at 14m and fed micros/corn at the bottom the left marginal shelf.
 
The left margin produced a couple of carp and decent skimmers, however my long pinging line really kicked into life for the last 90mins; fishing a 4mm hair rig pellet, produced c.13 carp and a big skimmer. The wind dropped a little which helped with presentation and by the all-out I thought I had about 30-35lb.
 
I slightly underestimated my weight and was genuinely surprised to weigh 44lb for 3^rd in section, which was only 2lb behind Chris, which was the other surprise. I could say lost fish cost me, but Chris lost a few as well, as the fish were quite finicky. John Morgan easily won our section dobbing bread!
 
Overall, I was happy with the result which has pushed me into 3^rd for the league with 3 rounds remaining.

1.    77- 0 – Phil Godding – p23 (Willow)
2.    74-12 – John Morgan – p47 (Kingfisher)
3.    69- 0 – Joe McMahon – p21 (Heron)
4.    62- 6 – Frank Donachie – p16 (Heron)
5.    61- 8 – Tony Rixon – p18 (Old match lake)
6.    60- 0 – Elick Payne – p33 (Willow)

31/10/21 - Ivy House - Heron

Weight - 84lb

Catch - 56 Carp, 26 F1

Weather - Rain to start. Sunny and windy later

Match - Open (15 fished)

After last week’s match I decided to go back to Heron Lake and with the clocks going back an hour, the match times were reduced to 5hrs.

On the drive down I really questioned my sanity as it was chucking it down and the roads were flooded in parts. Fortunately, shortly after the match started the rain stopped and it remained mostly sunny for the rest of the day.

I drew p4, which would mean the forecast strong wind would be blowing straight into me, but the real concern was the number of leaves in the swim which at the moment were mostly in p2 and p3.

Starting at 1+2 feeding 4s and fishing a 4mm expander, I was soon foul hooking fish, so quickly switched to feeding a small ball of micros flavoured with BMG boost juice. After a slow start, I started to catch well and with 3hrs gone was up to 60 fish.

However, those leaves were causing me problems, as I struggled to get the rig in and my margins which were my back up line were completely choked.

The 4^th hour of the match was a nightmare, putting only 6 fish in the net, I couldn’t really fish the pole, so tried a small banjo feeder tight to the island and a maggot feeder at 14m. Fishing the pole would have been a struggle, not least because of the wind, but because the glare from the sun was blinding.

Come the 5hr hour mark the leaves shifted slightly, although the margins were still blocked, but I started to catch on the short line again until the end of the match.

Speaking to Glyn on p2 after the match we both felt we missed out on 20-30lb due to the leaves. So, I was disappointed to finish 5^th, as I should have come 3^rd, or possibly 2^nd, but no one was
going to beat Dave today. Still great fishing for the time of year.

1.    141- 6 – Dave Willmott – p24

2.    108- 8 – Andy Dixey – p15

3.      99- 0 – Matt – p7

4.      94-12 – Mick O’Brien – p11

5.      84- 0 – Ken Rayner – p4

24/10/21 - Ivy House - Heron

Weight - 68lb 2oz

Catch - 50 Carp, 19 F1

Weather - Bright start, then rain.

Match - Open (20 fished)

Sunday and it’s the first time on Heron for a couple of months and p11 for me. Starting short (2+2) on 4mm expander, feeding 4s and it wasn’t long before I caught, but also started foul hooking. By feeding a small ball of micros, it resulted in better bites and fewer foul hookers, but after an hour the swim was slowing.

I had started pinging 4s long, hoping to catch shallow, but when I switched it was hard going and I really struggled to catch. In fact, the middle part of the match was proving difficult. Fishing a small method to the far bank produced a few fish, as did fishing down the margin and long on the deck under the shallow swim, but I just couldn’t get a run of fish going, which was frustrating.

In the end I stopped trying to force the peg, putting the catapult and set up a new swim at 14m slightly to my left and simply toss potted 4s. After an initial slow start, I started to catch properly in the last hour probably putting nearly 20lb in the net.

Have to say I was kicking myself a little, as I should have binned the shallow line sooner and concentrated on catching on the deck, as in hindsight I should have come 3^rd.  Pleased with the start and the end of the match, but it was just that middle bit that I wasn’t happy with, which I put down to being out of touch with the lake.

1-   92- 6 – Jason Crump – p13

2-   83-10 – Rinaldo – p9

3-   78-14 – Jeff Rogers – p15

4-   74- 0 – Steve Water – p14

5-   68- 2 – Ken Rayner – p11