27/03/22 - Todber Manor - Hillview

Weight - 201lb 3oz

Catch - 58 Carp, 3 Skimmers

Weather - Easterly breeze. Bright & sunny.

Match - So Simple League - rd 2 (18 fished). 2nd overall & 2nd in section

The 2^nd round of the So Simple League and it fell on me to sort out the pegging (so it was my fault if you didn’t catch 😊).

At the draw there were 3 pegs left, 42, 47 & 58. I really didn’t want 42, and I drew 42! Leaving Andy on 58 and Elliot on 47. With the easterly wind blowing off my back and being flat calm in front of me I was a little concerned, as the bigger fish in particular follow the wind. My section ran from 34 to 43 so at least I could keep an eye on everyone, particularly the 30s where there was a nice ripple.

Like yesterday I wanted to keep it simple, and it was the same plan of attack, i.e. feeder to the island, short meat line and meat down the margin.

On the all-in meat & micros was fed at 2+2 and I started on a small method, with fishery micros boosted with ‘sludge’ and a 6mm orange gofter or 6mm kriller pellet on the hook. 

In the 1^st hour I had 9 carp and to keep them coming I had to swap from the right side of the island to the left, and back again. Trying my short line didn’t produce and I felt sorry for Will to my right who was struggling as he didn’t have an island chuck and there didn’t seem to be any fish on our side of the lake in the flat conditions. I was just thankful I was able to catch on the feeder.

Fortunately, I stayed on the feeder for another 2hrs putting about 90lb in the net, but I noticed the anglers in the 30s catching, particularly Chris on p36 who had some big fish down the margin.

I could have kept on the feeder, but the average stamp of fish was 3lb and I felt I needed my short line and margins to work, and hopefully some bigger fish.

Disappointingly my short meat line only produced 1 carp. A couple of metres off the left-hand margin in 2ft of water I found a few more carp on meat, but it just didn’t seem right.

In the meantime, I had been feeding micros tight in the right margin and noticed the water clouding up. Fishing paste (50:50 mix of Blue Ice & Kriller) I caught my first paste fish of the year. With 2hrs remaining I took a gamble and big potted micros tight down both margins. Initially I struggled to catch properly but found it best to feed the right margin and fish the left, catch a carp, then feed the left and fish the right.

The last hour was particularly good as I caught some better fish and probably fed about 8-9pts of micros down my margins.

In the end I was pleased to have caught what I did and fortunate my feeder line kept me in the running during the first half of the match.

Well done to Chris for winning the section and match from what is regarded a poor peg, it just proves those fish have fins and will follow the wind.

1.    217- 2 – Chris Ware – p36

2.    201- 3 – Ken Rayner – p42

3.    176-10 – Eliott Fay – p47

4.    169- 9 – Chris Whitehead – p56

5.    164-10 – Andy Seery – p58

26/03/22 - Todber Manor - Homeground

Weight - 149lb 12oz

Catch - 41 Carp, 7 Skimmers

Weather - Gusty easterly wind. Mostly bright & sunny.

Match - Open (46 fished), 17th overall.

Today was the first of 2 days at Todber. I was hoping to draw Hillview in preparation for tomorrow’s So Simple league match. However, p85 on Homeground wasn’t great, being the worst area of the lake and my run of poor draws at Todber continues.

When I got to my peg, I was a little happier as the wind was blowing towards my end of the lake, plus I had a spare peg to my right. As the wind was likely to be a little uncomfortable, I decided to ignore the long pole, focusing on a small method to the island, 2+2 meat line and the right margin.

Starting on the method with a mix of fishery micros and blue ice RTG’s I soon caught a couple of fish on 6mm orange or pink gofters, but I could only catch a couple before they backed off. A switch to a 6mm kriller pellet seemed to help and I caught a few more fish, but it was slow going.

I periodically tried the short meat line and as the match progressed this is where I spent most of the time catching 2/3rds of my weight.

My margin proved to be disappointing only catching 4 fish on corn over micros. I even tried paste without success and generally felt I didn’t get it right.

Come the end I beat the guys on either side of me, but Homeground has fished exceptionally well as my weight was only good enough for 9^th out of 12!

1st: Zac Brown: 303lb 6oz (77 HG)

2nd: Perry Stone 294lb 6oz (49 HV)

3rd: Jack Stamp 275lb 8oz (82 HG)

4th: Ash Tompkins 260lb 8oz (48 HV)

5th: Alex Murray 236lb 8oz (90 HG)

Silvers

1st: Lee Woodhouse 27lb (68 Ash)

2nd: Nigel Bartlett 26lb 6oz (72 Ash)

3rd: Pete Ziminiak 16lb 8oz (42 HV)

4th: Clayton Hudson 16lb 6oz (40 HV)

Section A: Jon Grey 178lb 4oz (45 HV)

Section B: Sam Powell 233lb (61 HV)

Section C: Nick Ewers 157lb 4oz (63 Ash)

Section D: Roland Lucas 210lb (88 HG)

20/03/22 - Ivy House - Old Match Lake

Weight - 56lb

Catch - 12 Carp, 3 Skimmers

Weather - Chilly start. Warm & sunny.

Match - Open (24 fished) - 4th overall

Back to Ivy House with the match spread over the Old Match Lake and Willow, and we were also back to fishing 6hrs.

P5 was my home for the day, which is a peg I have won from in the past; however, it is at the narrowest and shallowest part of the lake, and with both pegs in either side of me I was unsure how it would fish.

As it was a chilly start, I decided to start cautiously, so went straight out at 14m and tapped in a few baninion boosted 4s. Unfortunately, this didn’t work, nor did a small method cast to the island.

After an hour, I eventually caught a small skimmer on a single dead maggot over micros at 14m, but I couldn’t catch anything else whilst I saw a number of anglers all catching and I began to fear the worst.

I did manage 2 carp on the waggler, and hair rigged triple dead maggot between the islands, plus another small skimmer at 14m, but I was going nowhere fast and with 2.5hrs remaining probably had about 12lb.

A change of tactics was required to make something happen, so I moved out to 16m where it was a little shallower toss potting 4s with a 4mm kriller pellet on the hook and started to catch up those anglers around me, except for Joe on p15 who seemed to be catching all day.

I soon ditched the toss pot as pinging pellet seemed to be more productive and was enjoying myself. It’s one of the reasons I like fishing this lake as you are never truly out of it, because if you manage to put together a late run of fish you can soon make up lost ground.

When ever I needed to rest the 16m line I would try my short line or margin but didn’t have a bite off either line.

I only foulhooked 1 carp all match, which was right at the end, and I landed it 5mins after the all-out, which proved crucial as it weighed c.7lb, allowing me to sneak the section money.

It was also nice not to be blown off my peg and to feel the warm of the early spring sunshine.

1.   116- 0 – Joe McMahon – p15

2.    81-12 – Paul Elmes – p18

3.     60- 2 – Robin Guppy – p24

4.     56- 0 – Ken Rayner – p5

5.     52- 4 – Matt Collins – p23

Silvers

1.    10- 8 – Martin Rayet – p9

2.    10- 4 – Paul Elmes – p18 

13/03/22 - Rood Ashton

Weight - 38lb 4oz

Catch - 7 Carp

Weather - Mostly sunny with a strong south westerly breeze.

Match - Wiltshire Angling Open - 5th out of 14 (2nd in section)

With not many options available this Sunday I booked in on the Wiltshire Angling open at a venue I enjoy fishing and its only 10mins from home.

No complaints about the draw as I drew the right side of the ‘lawns’ and in the right area of the lake.

Being only a couple of feet deep, the question was it is a little too early for a decent day, as I don’t normally fish here until April. I really didn’t expect to catch on the pole, so just set up 2 rods, a method for casting into the middle and a straight lead to fish at 20/25m over pinged pellet and meat. I never had a bite on the short line, meaning everything came on the feeder.

I eventually caught my first carp after 75mins on a 6mm pink gofter but had to wait another hour for my next one. By this time everyone around me had started catching a few and to be honest I was getting a bit frustrated as I couldn’t catch as quickly. This frustration wasn’t helped when I lost 4 fish on the bounce, as I think the hair wasn’t sitting right, resulting in poorly hooked fish. A change of hooklength resolved that problem.

In hindsight (and speaking to those that caught) I should have mixed up some groundbait and not simply relied on feeding (cool ice) micros. So, a big mistake on my part and the stupid thing is I recognised this point halfway through the match but still decided to stick with micros! 

Leading up to this match I was on my worst run of results for the last 10 years and was relieved (and surprised) when I picked up the section money, because I didn’t deserve it. However, sometimes to break the cycle you need a bit of luck!

1. 83-  2 - Ian Stainer - p5a

2. 61-  8 - Darryl Mayers - p15

3. 55-  4 - Mayo - p4

4. 42-  8 - Pete Neate - p3

5. 38-  4 - Ken Rayner - p5

06/03/22 - Ivy House - Heron

Weight - 22lb 8oz

Catch - 9 F1, 5 Carp

Weather - Bright & clear. Cold north easterly wind

Match - Open (6th out of 17)

No fishing on Saturday which just left Sunday and I decided to fish Heron Lake at Ivy House hoping for a few bites, as there are signs the fish are starting to wake up from their winter slumber, however it was close to freezing overnight and a cold north easterly wind was forecast.

Being a little out of touch with the venue, I was told the pegs around p9 was still the area to draw. So, no surprise I drew the opposite bank on p21, which is a peg I have always wanted to draw although this side of the lake has been less consistent during the winter. 

As for the wind it was blowing left to right, and it was cold. On the all-in, I fed a nugget of choc orange darkened with BMG, plus some BMG micros and maggot at 14m. Whilst that settled, I tried the lead and bread by the island and 10mins later had a 3lb carp which was a bonus, plus a small carp and a F1. 

With no further bites I moved to the 14m line, and it took 15mins before I caught another carp. After that I didn’t have another bite for an hour or so, despite trying the lead & bread again, as well as a mini banjo feeder. 

Although the wind was awkward, I felt I needed to push out to 16m to move up the far shelf and by being patient I managed to catch a few fish. The frustration was that wind, as it made for difficult presentation with the lake towing which resulted in a few lost fish, as the rig bumped into fish, or I was a split second too late on the strike on delicate feeding fish due to fishing a longer than normal lash in the wind. In addition, the light at times was so bad I couldn’t see the float. 

So, another difficult day where another fish or 2 would have got me into the frame and my bad run continues. I definitely felt I left a few fish in the swim. 

1.    59- 0 – Robin – p14

2.    32- 8 – Phil – p9

3.    26- 8 – Gary – p7

4.    24- 8 – Paul – p10

5.    24- 6 – Paul – p22

6.    22- 8 – Ken – p21