26/06/22 - Durleigh

Weight - 12lb 9oz

Catch - 2 Bream, plus perch, roach, skimmers

Weather - Shower to start. Mostly sunny and windy.

Match - So Simple League rd 5 (18 fished) - 3rd overall, 2nd in section

The fifth round of the So Simple league and I’m not sure anyone was really looking forward to it as Durleigh has been fishing hard. I found myself on p2 by the sailing hut and not where I wanted to be, although a couple of regulars tried to convince me otherwise.

Will Bate was on p1 and the only advantage we had was that peg 3 was 50m away so we at least had plenty of water to ourselves.

I had intended to bring a pole, but when I saw the forecast wind of 30mph I decided against it. However, my peg would have been perfect for the pole, as it was nice and deep close in and sheltered from the worst of the wind.

On the all-in 8 balls of groundbait (river : FA1 : worm meal) and caster was deposited at 16m and then I tried to use a spomb for the first time. Let’s just say it was interesting and if I am going to do it properly I need to upgrade to a suitable rod. I managed to deposit a mixture of FA1 micros, 4mm pellet and corn at 50-55m (most of the time), as well as showering myself in micros, 4s and corn when the spomb opened on the cast. Will didn’t laugh much!

After 3hrs I was bite less. I kept both lines topped up and didn’t see the point of fishing longer than 55m, particularly in such deep water. Eventually I caught my first fish, a roach on the 16m line, fishing a small cage feeder and worm on the hook.

Up to this point Will had managed a few small silvers and reports filtered down that it was fishing hard elsewhere. I managed a few more fish on the 16m line, including a pound skimmer and was really regretting not bringing my pole.

The short line didn’t last long and I topped up with a couple more balls of feed. A couple of casts on the 55m line didn’t produce, so that was topped up again.

Back on the short line and a couple of small fish, but it just wasn’t happening. So, with 90mins I decided to stick with the long line, hoping for a pull and was very surprised when it went round with 70mins remaining on a 6mm yellow gofter, fishing a 60g XR Banjo feeder. That was a relief.

My 2^nd bream came when I added another 3m. With 15mins remaining I cast out thinking it would be my last, only to have a bite within a minute and another bream to secure good section points.

So, a little bit of luck to finish 2^nd in section and a surprise to find out I had enough for 3^rd overall.

1.    25- 4 - Gary Dennis – p4

2.    19-13 – Karl Turner – p8

3.    12- 9 – Ken Rayner – p2

4.    11-15 – Chris Ware – p17

5.      8- 5 – Andy Seery – p14 

25/06/22 - Todber - Hillview

Weight - 191lb 14oz

Catch - 58 Carp, 3 Roach, 1 Skimmer

Weather - Sunny, cool and windy

Match - Open (23 fished) - 7th overall

Back to Todber for the open and we were all on Hillview. I drew p50 which I thought would be ok with a strong south westerly blowing off my left shoulder, but it felt cold.

After last weeks success I wanted to refine my paste approach, sticking with my 50:50 mix of So Simple Blue Ice and Kriller, feeding 4s boosted with sludge.

After feeding a cup of pellet at 2+2 I started on the method towards the far bank, however after 30mins I had only caught a single carp and 1 skimmer. I didn’t pick up the rod for the rest of the match.

Switching to the 2+2 line I started to catch on paste, initially slowly as I tried to work out how best to feed. After 2hrs I was up to 23 carp and looking good for 200lb, although the stamp of fish was a little below average.

Unfortunately, the wheels fell off a little in the 3^rd hour, losing 2 fish when the line snapped around the eye of the float, and this is the 4^th such failure recently. It’s a float pattern I’ve used before without issue, but for some reason the recent batch purchased are cutting into the line. Very frustrating, losing my rhythm and started suffering too many foulhookers, resulting in only 4 fish.

I managed to re-set and got back to catching, although foulhookers were still a problem, regardless of how I fed. Eventually, I sorted it out, but the 2+2 line wasn’t as prolific as earlier in the match.

Fortunately, I found some better fish in the margin again on paste and on 8mm pellet fishing off the end of the keepnets, landing 31 carp during the last 2hrs.

I have to admit I was a little frustrated when I saw the weigh sheet, as I realised that the poor 3^rd hour cost me at least the section and possibly 3^rd overall. However, that’s the way it goes sometimes.

1st: Jack Stamp 255lb 6oz (42)

2nd: Martin Rogers 254lb 12oz (38)

3rd: Simon Stacey 227lb 14oz (55)

4th: Matt Rowe 221lb 12oz (56)

5^th : Mark Cannings 208lb 2oz (34)

18/06/22 - Todber - Hillview

Weight - 223lb 14oz

Catch - 67 Carp, 1 Roach

Weather - Cool & cloudy. Strong northerly

Match - Open (20 fished), 3rd overall, 1st in section

What a difference a day makes. Yesterday was hot, but this morning I woke up to cool cloudy conditions where the wind had switched from a south westerly to a northerly.

Todays match was all on Hillview and I was initially disappointed with p37, however when I arrived the wind was blowing straight into my bank and to be honest I quite fancied it for a few.

Like the last match here, my main attack would revolve around fishing paste and this time I also set up a pellet rig to cover my options, but it never got used due to the increasingly strong wind.

On the all-in, a pot of sludge boosted 4s and micros was dumped at 2+2. Whilst that settled, I started on the method, although the strong head wind made casting in the same spot a bit tricky.

After 30mins it was slow going only catching 1 carp and a roach. A switch to the short pole line was unproductive, so back to the method and I quickly netted 3 carp before the line died again. When I switched back to the paste line, I started to catch a few fish.

After 2hrs I had about 45lb which was similar to Simon Stacey next to me on p38 and I couldn’t see anyone running away with it. However, the following 90mins saw the short pole line really kick into life, adding about 100lb.

Unfortunately, with 90mins remaining the head wind was getting stronger and presentation was increasingly difficult. Fishing the left margin where I had been feeding 4s for the last 2hrs I was expecting the swim to be solid, however it was slower than expected and it was necessary to switch between the margin and short pole line for the remainder of the match.

By the all-out I thought I had beaten those I could see and was pleased to finish 3^rd overall, winning my section.

1.    278-14 – Trigger – p50

2.    236-12 – Jack Stamp – p56

3.    223-14 – Ken Rayner – p37

4.    206-14 – Ash Tompkins – p60

5.    196- 4 – Tony Gilbert – p51 

17/06/22 - Ivy House - Old Match Lake

Weight - 112lb 8oz (18lb 8oz - silvers)

Catch - 18 Carp, 2 F1s, 17 Skimmers, 4 Roach

Weather - Hot & sunny, breezy

Match - Open (6 fished) - 3rd overall

I decided to fish the afternoon/evening (2.30 – 7.30) match at Ivy House, however there was only 6 anglers, so plenty of room for everyone. Ideally, I would have preferred the café side of the lake but ended on p11 where I could reach the island at 16m.

Whilst it was very warm, there was a strong breeze blowing right to left and decided not to bother setting up any rigs to fish towards the island. Instead the intention was to fish the method across and paste (blue ice : kriller) at 8m and down the margins.

To be honest I didn’t get it right in the first hour. I tried to catch shallow without success, before catching a carp across on the method. As the wind started blowing from behind, I tried fishing corn across, big potting micros and corn. This produced a couple of small carp and skimmers, but the wind started being a pain again and I wasn’t catching as well as I hoped.

I could see Ricky catching well on p8 and Mark called me to say he had about 65lb after 90mins from p2, so I was already way behind and needed to get going.

I had fed 6s at 8m catching a few decent size skimmers on 6mm kriller pellet, but only 1 carp. I had also fed, both margins with 4s, where I caught a couple of carp on paste from the left margin, before they disappeared. The right-hand margin only produced a couple silvers.

With 2 hours remaining the 8m line had faded, so I came back to 6m potting a half cup of micros and 4s, fishing paste over the top. I was still catching skimmers up to 3lb, but I was at least catching a few carp up to 10lb in between.

The left margin was a bit a frustrating, as I started with nice clean bites, before suffering with too many fish in the swim and false bites. In hindsight I should have fished double corn or worm over the top.

Overall, an enjoyable evening, but a little too far behind the top 2, who both caught fishing shallow, so I probably missed a trick.

1.    162- 8 – Ricky Mills – p8

2.    160-10 – Mark Poppleton – p2

3.    112- 8 – Ken Rayner – p11

12/06/22 - Todber - Hillview

Weight - 233lb 10oz

Catch - 65 Carp, 4 Roach, 3 Skimmers

Weather - Sunny with a strong breeze

Match - Steve Martin Summer Series rd 3 (19 fished) - 3rd overall, 2nd in section

It was a sad day last week when Andy said he was no longer producing So Simple baits, as the physical demands of the job of keeping pace with the orders had taken its toll, although falling off a ladder at Christmas didn’t help! On a personal level I would like to say thanks to Andy who has always been generous with his support of his regular customers, and it has always been greatly appreciated.

Back to today which was the 3^rd round of Steve Martins summer series and we were all on Hillview, split over 2 sections. P47 put me in with the better pegs and I thought 2^nd or 3^rd in section would be a good result.

There was a strong breeze blowing off my right shoulder, but it was quite flat in front of me, so I decided to start on the method towards the island with sludge boosted micros and an orange 6mm gofter. 25mins later I only had 2 skimmers! Not the start I was expecting.

A switch to the 2+2 line where I fed micros and 4s, fishing paste (kriller : blue ice) produced 7 carp before that line faded. Switching back to the feeder finally produced some carp and at one point I thought this line might take off, but sadly not. Had I stuck with it I am sure I would have caught more, but the fish weren’t coming quickly enough, and they were a smaller stamp.

Back on the paste line and it was slow going. A quick look down my margin where I had fed 4s fishing paste over the top, only produced bites from the hordes of roach! So back to the 2+2 line and I just kept at it, feeding a handful 4s.

With 2hrs remaining (of 5hrs) I was up to 25 carp for about 85lb and fortunately the fish turned up, catching 40 fish over the remaining 2hrs, mostly from the 2+2 line. It may have helped that the wind shifted slightly creating more ripple in front of me. I did try the margin, catching 3x 7lbers straight away before the roach returned. It was then just a case of rotating both paste lines in the final hour. I finished 2^nd in section as my slow start cost me the section win, missing out by 8lb, however the result pulled me up to 4^th in the league.

1.    312-  8 – Tony Gilbert – p44

2.    241-15 – Pete Ball – p58

3.    233-10 – Ken Rayner – p47

4.    198-  8 – Matt Banks – p57

5.    184-  7 – Andy Eagle – p48

04/06/22 - Todber - Hillview

Weight - 132lb 8oz

Catch - 35 Carp, 2 Roach

Weather - Cool and easterly wind

Match - Open (20 fished) - 8th overall

As I have a couple of matches at Todber this month I decided to book in for the open to try and get back in touch with the place. I did expect to be off the pace, but when I drew p49 I thought happy days, however my day turned into a struggle.

When I got to my peg, there was a strong easterly wind blowing right to left and I had thought about setting up a pellet rig, but the tow was likely to be a nightmare and therefore decided to fish positively on paste with a method as a back-up.

After an hour I was beginning to regret my decision as I only had 3 fish in the net and after 3hrs was up to 50lb. I even struggled to catch on the method, as you would catch a couple of fish before it went quiet.

The left margin was best, fishing blue ice : kriller paste over micros and in the 4^th hour I had a really run of fish from the margin and a 2+2 line. In the 5^th and final hour, it slowed a little, but the wheels fell off a little as I got over excited with my feed trying to force the peg and suffered from too many liners.

A difficult day and by Todber standards the lake fished quite hard and in reality, I fed too aggressively expecting at least 200lb which was my undoing as the fish never really seemed to settle.

1.    235- 6 – Craig Edmunds – p60

2.    216-10 – Jack Stamp – p53

3.    180- 6 – Fred Roberts – p57

4.    155-10 – Alex Murray – p35

5.    154-12 – Barry Robson – p45  

2/6/22 - Ivy House - Kingfisher

Weight - 81lb 8oz (7lb 8oz - silvers)

Catch - 33 Carp, 2 F1, 5 Skimmers, 1 Crucian, 1 Perch

Weather - Warm & sunny

Match - Open (11 fished) - 2nd overall

Originally, I was booked onto Heron Lake, however as this was the Jubilee weekend, 23 were booked in some of whom were practicing for the Southern Qualifier on Sunday. As a consequence, another open was set up on Kingfisher and to be honest having fished Heron twice recently I fancied a change and switched lakes.

I wanted to avoid the willow fluff which was quite thick in the high numbers and fortunately drew p39.

On the all-in I started across tight to the far bank fishing paste (blue ice : kriller) catching 2 carp in 30mins. Action was a little slower than I expected, however no one seemed to be running away with it.

A switch to fishing the bottom of the far shelf, toss potting sludge boosted 4s fishing a hair rig 4mm kriller pellet and I had a bit of a nightmare as I pulled out of the first 4 fish! I am trying some new elastic and I had to switch to a light one which was much better.

Occasionally I switched back to the far bank catching a couple of carp before they went iffy again. Looking around I seemed to be doing OK, however the middle part of the match was a struggle and a change to feeding a little BMGX groundbait with baninion boosted micros, fishing worm resulted in a couple more carp and some skimmers.

Back to the far bank and a couple more carp including a 10lber which was bonus as up to this point, I had nothing bigger than 2lb.

With 2hrs remaining it was time to try my margins which had been fed with micros and 4s, fishing paste over the top, with the right margin being better, as the left margin plumbed up like an egg box! Instead, I fed corn and pellet in the deeper water a metre off the left-hand bank.

Whilst not manic I caught steadily from the right margin where the average stamp had improved. When it needed a rest, I had a couple of carp from the left deep margin and from the bottom of the far shelf on pellet or corn.

As always, an interesting match trying to work out the best way to catch as well as trying to find the better stamp of fish and I was pleased to finish 2^nd overall, maintaining my good run of results at the venue having picked up 8 from the last 10 matches. It's fair to say the venue suits me, but it has probably taken 18 months or so to work it out.

1.    95-12 – Terry Malloy – p42

2.    81- 8 – Ken Rayner – p39

3.    79- 0 – Karl – p38

4.    75- 8 – Jamie – p50