28/08/22 - Todber - Hillview

Weight - 462lb 2oz

Catch - 125 Carp, 7 Roach, 2 Perch, 1 Gudgeon

Weather - Warm & sunny

Match - So Simple League - rd 7 (18 fished) - 3rd overall, 2nd in section

The penultimate round of the So Simple League and after missing the last round at Durleigh I was sitting 4^th needing a decent result today.

I haven’t fished Todber for 2 months and in that time the weights can only be described as mental. So, I needed to take plenty of keepnets.

I was a little disappointed with p40, particularly as the wind was blowing into the 30s and I fancied league leader Chris ‘Griff’ Ware for the section on p36.

Decided to keep it simple, paste at 2+1, meat over micros/groundbait down the margins and a shallow rig as a backup, which to be honest I didn’t expect to use as it was flat calm in front of me.

Starting at 2+1 on paste (kriller : choc orange), I found it best not to feed any pellet and just rely on the paste and had a good 70mins catching 22 carp before the swim slowed.

At this point I was probably leading the section and with plenty of fish showing down my margin I was expecting to spend the rest of the match catching on 10mm meat. Unfortunately, I struggled to get going down the margin. In the end cutting out the groundbait/micros and just feeding meat was better, but the 2^nd hour was slow only adding 10 carp. This allowed Griff to overtake me who was now catching really well shallow.

I had no choice but to follow suit and was surprised to catch well on 8mm pellet over 6s and later 4s at 2+2. I stuck with this line for most of the match, except for 20mins down the margins, hoping for some better fish, but whilst I caught well the size of fish were a slightly smaller stamp than the shallow line, so I stayed on this until the end.

With 9 nets I hoped for 450lb, and I wasn’t far off my guess and a PB weight. Well done to Griff who won the section and that 2^nd hour certainly cost me.

If I am being totally honest, I am not sure I would want to do this every week, but it was enjoyable none the less and most of us came away with PB’s, so a lot of happy, if not knackered faces and shattered bodies.

1.    520- 3 – Simon Poynter – p47

2.    489- 4 – Chris Ware – p36

3.    462- 2 – Ken Rayner – p40

4.    448-15 – Chris Whitehead – p45

5.    398-11 – Gary Dennis – p58

24/08/22 - Barston

Weight - 35lb 13oz (28lb 5oz - silvers)

Catch - 33 Skimmers, 6 Carp, 1 F1

Weather - Cloudy and rain later

Match - Garbolino Club Angler Final (44 fished) - 7th out of 8 section

A call from David Haynes at Match Fishing Magazine the day before informed me that Dave Bruton had pulled out of the final and I was 2^nd in section, meaning I could take his place. After arranging a day’s holiday from work at short notice I agreed.

I went into the draw early hoping for 124 and got excited when I saw 24. Unfortunately, there wasn’t a 1 in front of it, however 24 is in a decent area and with the wind blowing in I quite fancied it.

I was hoping for a simple match catching shallow at 16m with a meat back up line at 13m.

Starting at 16m slapping without feed I soon caught a skimmer, losing a 2^nd 5 minutes later, but no carp after 20mins.

I noticed a couple of carp being landed to my left on the feeder, so I gave it a go, but had no pulls. Therefore, 40 minutes in I decided to switch to my meat line and soon caught a couple of carp, but they were only about 1lb a piece and then the skimmers turned up.

2 hours into the match, it was looking like the winner would come from the 120’s and I was just fishing for my section. Whilst I was still catching skimmers, it was steady rather than hectic and news was filtering down that a few carp were being caught further up in my section.

I had been pinging 8s long, fishing the straight lead and waggler over the top but not a bite. The breeze that had being blowing into to me had all but disappeared and as the match progressed the cloud cover increased, and it started to drizzle which turned into persistent rain.

Every time I came back to the 13m line I would catch small carp or skimmers, but I really needed some proper carp to pull back in the section. To try something different I decided to fish 6mm pellet at 16m on the deck to continue catching skimmers but keep pinging 6s over the top hoping to pull in some fish. I caught a few skimmers, but just couldn’t pull in those carp.

A look down my margin only produced a skimmer, and I eventually caught a carp over my pinged 8mm pellet line on the lead, but again it was small.

By the end I was a little disappointed. Had I stuck with catching the skimmers I would have 40-50lb, but my section was won with 99lb and there was a couple of 50lb weights. So, whilst I finished well down, I felt I had no choice but to be aggressive with my feed in the second half of the match to pull in some carp. It just simply didn’t happen. Always next year.

Well done to Matthew Threlfall who won from p120 with 234lb.

21/08/22 - Ivy House - Heron

Weight - 232lb 8oz

Catch - 149 Carp, 59 F1s

Weather - Cloudy, sunny periods.

Match - Open (6 fished) - 3rd overall

I fancied a change and booked into the open on Heron Lake, although I was out of touch with the lake, I fancied a few bites. Unfortunately, only 6 had booked in, which was a surprise and one of those was Glen Picton, so we were all fishing for 2^nd!

At least we all had plenty of space and I found myself on peg 23, which is probably the one peg I least wanted, but I still expected a few bites. As with many venues the water levels were down revealing the marginal shelf.

The intention was to catch shallow for F1s and small carp. Whilst priming the shallow line at 7m feeding 4s, I started on paste (choc orange) at 2+2 to my left, catching straightaway and had to move into shallower water to keep bites coming.

By the first hour I had 25 fish, all carp except for 1 F1. Switching to the shallow line I caught more F1 which tend to be slightly heavier than the carp, averaging 1¼lb-1½lb, compared to 1lb-1¼lb for the carp.

As I was catching shallow, it was noticeable there were a number of fish moving in the margins, so I threw in a few pellets by my keepnets, and fish came in instantly.

So, a pattern soon emerged where I would have a run of F1’s shallow. When the carp returned or the fishing slowed, I would switch to the top kit fishing next to my keepnets fishing a 6mm pellet. I was able to catch much quicker on the top kit than the shallow line, although I had fewer F1s.

In the end only Glen had more fish than me with 216, so I was pleased to have got close as Glen is really good at this style of fishing. As expected, Glen won despite being knocked back for going over in one of his nets, however I was disappointed to finish behind Jason who had 186 fish, but they were mostly F1s caught shallow.

A few lessons learnt and with a few refinements 240-250lb should have been possible.

Regardless an excellent day’s fishing and a PB for the venue.

1.    247- 8 – Glen – p6

2.    241- 0 – Jason – p10

3.    232- 8 – Ken – p23

19/08/22 - Ivy House - Old Match Lake

Weight - 77lb 8oz (6lb - silvers)

Catch - 20 Carp, 7 Skimmers, 1 Roach

Weather - Sunny, cloudy periods and fresh breeze

Match - Open (13 fished) - 8th overall

Back to Ivy House for the Friday afternoon/evening match and it was a little cooler than of recent.

Although not my favourite peg, I was happy with p7 particularly as the breeze was blowing into the peg. My plan was to catch shallow, before moving down the margins. However, it didn’t quite work out that way.

Starting on the method to the island I caught 2 carp, but overhanging vegetation meant I couldn’t get as tight as I wanted. A third carp came from the right-hand margin on 8mm pellet, but after 90mins that was all I had.

I tried the shallow line, trying 6 & 8mm

pellet but other than 1 lost foul hooker I couldn’t catch, although unbelievably I managed to hook up on a rig I lost on Sunday when the elastic snapped at the connector. What are the chances?!

After 2hrs I decided to bin the shallow line as it just wasn’t happening and neither was the feeder, forcing me into a re-think.

New rigs were set up to fish corn or paste on a short line. Fortunately, I managed to catch a few on corn at 6m and down the right margin on paste, however I could only catch stockies and had nothing over 4lb, although putting a 5lber the wrong side of the keepnet didn’t help.

My left-hand margin which was shallower than the right, which I fed with mostly corn and micros only produced 1 bream, surprisingly.

With 4hrs gone I only had 10 carp for 35lb. In the final hour the fish finally turned up mostly at 5m on paste, plus a couple more from the right margin adding a further 10 carp, plus a few skimmers for 43lb.

So, a great last hour, but again the stamp of fish was disappointing. Normally with 20 carp I would have hoped for at least 100lb. As it turned out the top 4 weights came from p13-p18, meaning I was just in the wrong area today.

1.    151- 0 – Carl Mulford – p15

2.    130- 0 – Val Murray – p18

3.    115- 0 – Mick Lane – p13

4.      94- 8 – Mick O’Brien – p16

14/08/22 - Ivy House - Old Match Lake

Weight - 120lb 0oz (silvers - 6lb)

Catch - 21 Carp, 8 Skimmers, 2 Roach

Weather - Hot (32c) & sunny

Match - Open (28 fished) - 6th overall

With 28 fishing today we were spread out over the Old Match Lake and Kingsfisher, and a draw with some space was required. Alas peg 6 on OML is a good area, but with pegs in either side it is a little tight and not normally included. That said the lake has been fishing well, so I was hopeful of a few, but with Jamie Dixie on p10 and the space the peg offered it was difficult to see past him for the win.

One good think about the peg meant I would be in the shade for most of the day, in fact the sun didn’t hit me until about 3pm which I was thankful for. I also had good company with Phil Wilkins on p7.

I started on a small method loaded with sludge boosted fishery micros and a 6mm orange gofter cast to the island and caught a carp straight away, and then a skimmer which was a worry, as it usually indicates the carp weren’t really on it. I did manage a couple carp from here during the first half of the match, but it was slow.

An early look under the left-hand tree fishing an 8mm pellet over 6s, produced a couple of carp, but with 90mins gone I couldn’t get a bite anywhere for 30mins.

A switch to an 8m line where I had been feeding just corn, expecting to catch a few skimmers, proved to be quite good for about an hour catching some skimmers as well as some much-needed carp.

By the mid-way point I had 50lb and with my 8m line slowing and the feeder being non-productive I was hoping for my margins to kick in. To be honest it was a bit frustrating.

My right margin didn’t produce a single fish leaving me with the left margin under the tree. I tried to catch tight to the bank, but couldn’t catch on either corn or paste, so I ended up catching most of my fish under the tree a couple metres off the bank in slightly deeper water. The frustration was trying to work out how best to feed, as I would get either too many fish in the swim resulting in foul hookers or they would disappear, and I would be plagued by silvers. At least when I got it right, the carp I was catching were a good stamp averaging 5-7lb on kriller : blue ice paste. Sharing the tree with peg 5 probably accounted for why the fish were unsettled.

As the match progressed a few fish started to show themselves and I managed to mug 2 carp. In the end I was pleased with 120lb, which was the best weight from p1 to p7. As expected, well done to Jamie who comfortably won the match.

1.    228-  8 – Jamie Dixey – p10 (OML)

2.    171-12 – Tom Mangnall – p16 (OML)

3.    148-  4 – Baggy – p8 (OML)

4.    123-10 – Stu Foale – p9 (OML)

5.    123-  8 – Val Murray – p49 (K)

6.    120-  0 – Ken Rayner – p6 (OML)

Silvers

1.    32-  0 – Chris Telling – p18 (OML)

2.    21-  4 – Paul – p12 (OML)

3.    19-  0 – Paul – p15 (OML)

4.    15-10 – Glyn Loveday – p46 (K)

5.    14-  0 – Baggy – p8 (OML)

12/08/22 - Ivy House - Old Match Lake

Weight - 175lb 12oz

Catch - 35 Carp, 4 Roach

Weather - Hot (32c) & sunny

Match - Open (10 fished) - 2nd overall

After 2 weeks of no fishing, except for an evening at my club water in Lavington I was looking forward to getting back out on the bank and booked into the late evening/afternoon match.

With 10 anglers we all had plenty of room and I was happy with p10 as it gave me a couple of options. Due to the heat and previous matches, I decided to ignore fishing on the deck as I just suffered with loads of fizzing in the silt and no proper bites.

When I arrived, there were loads of fish on the surface so a mugging rig was set up, plus a small method to fish the end of the island and down the left hand bank. I also set up a paste rig to fish the margins but expected to catch on double corn.

On the all-in and it’s as if the fish know as they soon disappeared. I managed to catch one, but they were proving tricky as there were fewer to target and I didn’t waste too much time.

I soon tried the left margin and caught one carp on paste (kriller & blue ice), but again didn’t stay on it too long as I couldn’t get a clean bite. In the meantime, I had been pinging 6s to the island and down the left-hand bank and picked up the method rod 45mins into the match.

Fishing with sludge boosted micros and a 6mm orange or yellow gofter I was soon catching, mostly small carp, but at least I was putting fish in the net. I spent most of the first half of the match switching between the island and left-hand bank. I did try a pellet rig down the left bank fishing an 8mm pellet and caught 1 carp, but it didn’t feel right and I never picked up the rig again.

At the halfway point I probably had about 50-55lb and was hoping for a few units down my margin. I had already fed a couple of cups of micros and corn down the left-hand margin and 4s down the right margin which were fed by hand.

I did catch a few carp down the right margin on paste, however the left margin was far better. Starting on double corn was a struggle and a switch to paste was far better, by feeding some corn in with the paste. When ever there were too many fish in the swim I switched to the double corn rig, just feeding corn and when it slowed a switch back to the paste rig brought an immediate response leading to a strong end to the match.

By the end I thought I had 140lb and this was the 2^nd time recently that I had grossly underestimated my weight. It could have been more, but I went slightly over in one of my nets.

Felt I fished a much better match than my last couple of visits and it turned into a lovely evening.

1.    177-14 – Carl – p16

2.    175-12 – Ken Rayner – p10

3.    166- 0 – Mark Poppleton – p8

4.    155- 0 – Andy Lloyd – p14

26/07/22 - Ivy House - Old Match Lake

Weight - 116lb 0oz 

Catch - 22 Carp, 4 Skimmers

Weather - Cloudy with sunny periods

Match - Open (15 fished) - joint 4th overall

I had intended to fish the England Ladies 2 dayer at the Glebe and then Baston. Yesterday (Monday) I woke up with a migraine and very little sleep. So decided to see how I felt before going to Barston. Whilst I felt better Tuesday morning, I didn’t feel like the 2.5hr drive to Barston, so decided to book in on the midweek open at Ivy House on the Old Match Lake.

My last 2 matches here, have been disappointing. In hindsight focusing on paste or fishing pellet on the deck hasn’t right and felt I needed to change my approach slightly.

With 15 fishing I was happy to draw p10 which offered some space. It is also a peg I have never drawn and it provided a few options with the island 16m away and a long margin down my left.

Talking to a couple of regulars the straight lead and pellet was mentioned more than once, so that was set up quite quickly.

On the all in I started on the paste hoping to pick up an early carp, before the swim would start fizzing. In the meantime, I started pinging pellet down the left hand bank.

I did catch an early small carp and then a small skimmer, but binned the line off after 15mins. A switch to fishing 6mm pellet at 14m towards the island up the shelf only produced a single skimmer, which was surprising as there were a few fish moving about.

Trying the straight lead didn’t produce a single bite, so tried double corn over micros by the island, but only caught 1 carp. To be honest not a lot was being caught around me but felt I should have had a few more fish the net and fishing the straight and pellet wasn’t positive enough.

With 2hrs gone and less than 10lb in the net, I tried a small method with a 6mm yellow wafter cast down the side of the island and I started to put a few fish in the net, as well as thinking why didn’t I do this earlier!

Fishing down the left hand bank didn’t produce as expected. I had 1 carp on pellet at 14m just past the reeds, I even tried the straight lead again without success.

Whilst I was still able to catch on the feeder, I really needed my margins to fire up as the stamp of fish was likely to be better than the feeder fish. The problem was the reeds over hanged a bit and although I managed to pull some the reeds back over, with a no gardening rule I was limited with what I could do. I managed to find a spot at 10m which allowed me to at least fish the top marginal shelf…just.

This line produced 4 decent sized carp, 2 on paste and 2 on double corn, but trying to get the rig tight in was proving difficult. In the end I finished on the feeder netting a fish on the all out.

I was pleasantly surprised to finish joint 4^th and had the joint best weight from our bank

1.    132-  0 – Stitch – p7

2.    126-  0 – Mark Poppleton – p3

3.    120-  0 – Karl – p5

4.    116-  0 – Ken Rayner – p10

4.    116-  0 – Allan Oram – p12

Silvers

1.    29-  0 – Smiffy – p18

2.    24-  0 – Sid – p16

3.    18-  0 – Paul Baker – p4

4.    14-  0 – Mark Poppleton – p3

24/07/22 - Ivy House - Old Match Lake

Weight - 65lb 12oz (12lb 12oz - silvers)

Catch - 15 Carp, 1 F1, 12 Skimmers, 1 Hybrid, 1 Roach

Weather - Warm & sunny

Match - Steve Martin Summer Series (14 fished) - 10th overall, 5th in section

The penultimate round of Steve Martins summer series was supposed to be at Shiplate, but they didn’t have us booked in. Fortunately, we manged to switch the match to Ivy House and a big thank you to Andy and Karen for fitting us in at short notice.

I don’t usually mind where I draw on this lake, but p13 was probably the 1 peg I didn’t want as its not normally the best area.

Starting at 16m on 6mm pellet only produced a couple of small skimmers and switching to paste short produced some better sized skimmers and a small carp.

The way the match went I had to keep chopping and changing, having a run of skimmers on corn before catching a decent carp which killed that swim. I also caught a couple of carp on the short paste line and in between I caught a few on the method which turned out to be my best line.

Frustratingly I lost a few fish, particularly on the feeder, but in truth it probably only cost me 1 place, as the top 3 in my section all had 90lb.

In the last 90mins I managed a couple of carp from my margins on paste, but to be honest I never felt I was in contention as I couldn’t catch quickly enough, and the carp were on average a smaller stamp. As a result, I only finished 5^th in my 7 man section, which was disappointing, but at least managed to consolidate my position in the league

1.    154-  4 – Andy Eagle – p5

2.    150-  9 – Tony Gilbert – p4

3.    111-14 – Steve Martin – p7

4.      99-13 – Si Davis – p8

5.      97-  8 – Martin Pettifer – p14

15/07/22 - Ivy House - Old Match Lake

Weight - 39lb 2oz (17lb 2oz - silvers)

Catch - 17 Skimmers, 3 Carp, 2 Roach

Weather - Warm and sunny

Match - Open (10 fished) - 10th overall

There are some days you wish you hadn’t bothered.

Having decided to fish this afternoon/evening match, I left the house a little later than I would have preferred but should still make it in time. Getting stuck behind a slow lorry and then temporary traffic lights in Calne wasn’t helpful. Then a car decided it was a good idea to pull out in front of me, before brake testing me as I closed in on his bumper. Needless to say, I was neither happy or impressive with such stupid driving.

Successfully made it to the venue, drew p16 which I was happy with, went to get the kit out of car only to realise I had left the seat and drawer module of my seat box at home!

Fortunately, Abi was home and arranged to meet her in Calne to collect the module. As I left, I managed to reverse into the one of the boulders on site, fortunately there was only minor damage, but it really was adding to my tale of woe!

Once I got back, I only had about 15mins left to set up, so kept things simple. The method towards the island, then paste short and down the margins.

Starting on the method, surprisingly didn’t produce anything and eventually caught after 30mins on the short paste line. As the match progressed it was becoming obvious paste wasn’t right but hoped it would come good later. Sadly, it didn’t and a day to forget.