10/07/22 - Lands End - Match Lake

Weight - 97lb 8oz (9lb 6oz silvers)

Catch - 22 Carp, 8 F1s, 7 Tench, 2 Crucians

Weather - Hot & sunny

Match - Steve Martins Summer Series - rd 4 (15 fished) - 2nd overall, 2nd in section

Coming into the 4^th round of the league I was lying 4^th, a little way behind Pete Ball, Matt Banks and Tony Gilbert, so I needed good section points. With 15 booked in we were all on Match Lake with 2 sections, 1 down each side of the lake.

Looking at recent results it suggested a draw between 19-24 would be a good area, so I was a little disappointed with p16, although when I arrived at the peg there were a few fish showing. However, when Tony drew p24 I thought we were all fishing for 2^nd. The one good thing was this side of the lake would be sheltered from the sun, which I was quite thankful for as it got quite warm today.

As I didn’t get to fish the lake yesterday, I set up a number of rigs to cover my options, including a silvers rig as the results suggested there were loads of silvers (F1s, tench, crucians, skimmers) to be had. However, as usual paste (Blue Ice : Kriller) was going to be my main focus.

Plumbing up revealed it was only 2ft in the deepest part and the lakes really need some water.

On the all-in I soon mugged a carp, before they quickly sulked away or refused to take the bait. I didn’t waste too much time on this, before switching to fishing paste against the far bank in the shadow of the opposite tree, catching 3 carp before they went scatty and difficult to get a proper bite.

Retreating to a 2+2 line off to my right where I had a fed a few micros and 4s, fishing an expander didn’t produce a bite. A switch to worm was better, catching small tench and crucians, but after 30mins it really wasn’t quick enough, and the line was binned.

Matt Banks on p15 decided to go down his margin early catching 3 or 4 fish and soon overtook me. As I thought I needed to catch F1s and silvers mid-match, which in hindsight was a mistake, I switched to fishing a hair rigged 6mm pellet, tapping in 4s at 14m at the bottom of the far shelf. This was better catching some bigger F1’s and tench, but only 1 carp.

Back on the paste by the island resulted in another 2 carp, before they went funny again, but I was still about 10-15lb behind Matt, who was still taking the odd fish from his margin.

By the halfway point (2¾hrs) I probably had about 30lb. I had been feeding mostly 4s, with a little meat/corn into my right margin, but as yet no bites, so I started to introduce more micros, but again no bites which was a little frustrating and surprising. Therefore, with nothing to lose I mixed up some groundbait with loads of micros to try and pull in some fish.

Fortunately, I managed a couple more carp from the island, but I really needed to catch closer in. I had also started feeding 4s on a 2+2 line, initially as a throw away line, but this turned into a really good area, again catching on paste.

As for my right margin, the introduction of groundbait really helped. Initially I tried meat, then double worm, but was getting messed about by smaller fish, so ended up on paste, rotating between the margin and the 2+2 line.

By all out, I expected to be 4^th in section as I thought Matt might have just beat me, Nigel on p22 was admitting to 110lb and Tony had 4 nets in. As it happened I had slightly more than expected thanks to my silvers, beating Matt by 10lb and Nigel had overestimated weighing in 92lb. As expected, Tony comfortably won the match and section.

My 2^nd in section consolidated my league position with 2 rounds remaining. Overall, an enjoyable day and come the end I wished we had fished a 6hr match, rather than 5.5hrs as I finished the match strongly.

1.    172- 7 – Tony Gilbert – p24

2.      97- 8 – Ken Rayner – p16

3.      91-14 – Nigel Reeves – p22

4.      87- 9 – Matt Banks – p15

5.      79- 4 – Martin Pettifer – p12 

09/07/22 - Lands End - Johns Lake

Weight - 105lb 8oz (7lb 7oz silvers)

Catch - 26 Carp, 7 F1, 4 Roach, 1 Skimmer

Weather - Hot & sunny.

Match - Open (22 fished) - 2nd overall, 1st in section

Back to an old favourite venue that I used to fish most weekends when I lived in Bristol, but it’s been 2 years since I was here, and it was good to catch up with some old faces I haven’t seen for a while.

With 22 fishing we were spread across the match lake and Johns (no3) lake. I was hoping for a draw on match lake as I was due to fish in the next round of Steve Martin’s summer series tomorrow, however I ended up on p58 on Johns lake.

Plumbing up revealed no more than 2ft of water anywhere, which would make spotting feeding fish easier as there would be blumes of mud coming up.

On the all in I tried mugging one or two of the cruisers, but they weren’t interested,

so quickly switched to fishing paste (blue ice : kriller) on the point of the island. This only produced 2 F1.

Next, I tried down by the reed bed to my left and caught 3 carp on paste, before the 4^th was too quick and buried me deep in the reed bed. Whilst trying to free the rig the male joint on the no5 section cracked, so I had no choice but to strip off and go into the reeds to free the rig. The fish was still attached but broke free as I untangled everything.

The bank side chatter suggested it was fishing hard, so I decided to fish hair rigged 4mm pellet at 11m slightly to my right tapping a few 4s. This produced a couple of F1s and roach, plus 2 carp, but it was slow going and foul hookers were a pain as the fish wouldn’t settle.

Down the right margin I had been feeding 4s, fishing paste and again it was slow going, therefore I started to feed micros down both margins which really helped. In the meantime, I tried meat at 13m for a further couple of carp and few silver, but again it was slow.

For the 2^nd half of the match, I decided to focus down the margins on paste as these had been the most consistent area. Down the left margin I switched to a fishing a short kit to try and pull the fish away from the reeds as quickly as possible. However, 3 fish still made it. Those 3lbers are so quick. I managed to pull 2 out, but not the 3^rd.

The right margin continued to be slow although it improved later, but the pleasure anglers on lake 4 probably didn’t help.

Whilst fishing the margins I also started feeding 7mm meat at 6m, which proved to be a useful backup line adding some better sized carp late on.

An enjoyable day, chopping and changing to keep the fish coming and I was pleased to finish 2^nd overall.

1.    126- 3 – Vic Bush – p46 (Johns Lake)

2.    105- 8 – Ken Rayner – p58 (J)

3.      86- 2 – Russ Peck – p70 (J)

4.      74-12 – Rod Wootten – p55 (J)

5.      74- 8 – Simon Hawkins – p7 (Match Lake) 

03/07/22 - Ivy House - Old Match Lake

Weight - 76lb (6lb 8oz - silvers)

Catch - 16 Carp, 8 Skimmers

Weather - Sunshine, showers, cloudy and variable breeze.

Match - Open (24 fished) - 9th overall, 5th on lake

Back to one of my favourite venues and 24 of us were spread between the Old Match Lake (14) and Willow (10). I was more than happy with p8. Although the pegs either side were in you still have some space and it has been a form area. That said it was likely the winner would come off Willow.

On the all-in I started at 16m fishing a 6mm pellet tapping 4s and just had a few knocks from silvers, and soon switched to slapping a shallow rig over the top as there were a few carp showing themselves. I managed a 7lber but couldn’t get another and switched again to a small 20g method cast to the island with sludge boosted micros and a 6mm yellow gofter, which resulted in 2 quick carp before they disappeared.

This was the pattern of my match, chopping and changing to try and put some fish in the net. Every time I went back to the feeder, I would catch 1 or 2 fish quickly before having to change again.

On the pole line I couldn’t get a clean bite on hard pellet and foul hooked a couple of carp; they just didn’t want to feed on the deck. Possibly because the peg is a little deeper than most and there isn’t much shallow water to attack.

In the end I set up a swim feeding micros and corn at 13m to catch some skimmers, but that was slow going as well, and it didn’t matter if I used corn, expander or worm on the hook.

Although I could see a couple of anglers catching on Willow, it looked like I was doing the best at my end of lake, but I couldn’t see the anglers further down.

With 2hrs remaining I hoped my 7m line would come to life, after feeding pellet for most of the match, but I never had a bite either on pellet or paste which a real surprise. In the meantime, I had started feeding 4s down both margins and finished the match switching between the margins and the feeder.

Down the margin I had a couple of skimmers and 2 carp on paste (kriller : blue ice), before it went quiet. Dumping a lot of micros helped bring the fish back and with 30mins left I caught the 1^st of 3 fish for 20lb and then nothing for the last 15mins.

All in all, a bit of a frustrating day where the fish just didn’t seem to settle. I had the best weight at my end of the lake, but all the better weights came from the other end and as expected the winner came from Willow.

1.    209- 8 – Phil Godding – p23 (Willow)

2.    173- 6 – Mark Poppleton – p20 (Willow)

3.    170- 4 – Steve Waters – p18 (OML)

4.    139- 1 – Craig Taylor – p16 (OML)

5.    115- 2 – Gary Knight – p22 (Willow)

Silvers

1.    30- 4 – Sid – p2 (OML)

2.    16-12 – Billy Ockwell – p14 (OML)

3.    13- 8 – Lennie - p7 (OML) 

29/06/22 - Todber - Hillview

Weight - 144lb 8oz

Catch - 46 Carp, 1 Tench, 1 Skimmer, 1 Roach 

Weather - Showers to start, but sunny and breezy

Match - Garbolino Club Angler (80 fished) - 3rd in section

The Garbolino Club Angler qualifier and only 12 anglers would qualify from 80. So a kind draw was required and I was disappointed to see 52 staring back at me. There was a chance it could be ok as the wind was blowing into the arm, however my section ran from 48 to 54 and with all 5 pegs in down the arm of the lake, meant I really needed a bit of luck.

The intention was to fish my usual paste (kriller & blue ice) approach at 2+2 and down the margins, plus a pellet rig to fish on the top kit, starting on a small 30g method loaded with sludge boosted micros and a 6mm kriller gofter, cast to the far bank.

I had a good 90mins catching some decent sized carp, although Dave Bruton on p50 was about 15lb ahead of me. A quick look over my paste line resulted in a foul hooker, which was a worry as I had expected a better response.

Back on the feeder and a couple more decent stamp carp, before they gradually got smaller and less frequent. By the halfway point (2.5hrs) I had about 90lb and was happy with my progress, but I didn’t feel staying on the feeder was right as I needed some better stamp carp to catch up with Dave.

I fed my paste line positively, but the 2+2 line just wasn’t right, and I was struggling to catch 2m off the margin in 2.5ft of water. Unfortunately, the wind was blowing off my left shoulder which meant it was flat calm over my short lines and having anglers either side meant I couldn’t get the fish to settle as I would like.

Fishing tight into the margins resulted in a few fish and to be honest I got a little pre-occupied chasing tails. I even tried the pellet rig off the end of the keepnet without success.

In the end I finished on the 2m off the margin swim, but I just couldn’t catch quickly enough and knew I hadn’t qualified, beaten by Dave who weighed 207lb, so well done Dave. 2^nd in section was 157lb from p48 and I feel I did OK, but it was always going to be tough from my draw.