29/04/23 - Ivy House - Old Match Lake

Weight - 52lb 2oz

Catch - 10 Carp, 5 Skimmers, 2 Roach, 1 Crucian

Weather - Warm, sunny, light cloud

Match - Open (11 fished) - 2nd overall

No fishing last weekend as we visited Abi’s parents in Lancashire, which as it happened was just as well as it gave Clayton time to repair my 16m section for this weekend.

There was 11 of us today and when I drew p9, I was told the fish were at the other end of the lake and p9 blanked in Tuesday’s match. However, whilst the lake is currently fishing hard, I was hoping the warmer weather would start spreading the fish around.

With no island chuck I didn’t bother setting up any rods. There were a couple of cruisers but decided to start down the right-hand end bank with double corn, toss potting some corn and micros, but other than a few bites from silvers there was nothing doing for the first 20 mins.

Switching to a 14m line slightly to my right where I had feed some micros & 4s, produced a small carp almost immediately on hair rigged 4mm pellet. I then lost next 2, before catching a decent crucian.

As there were a few more cruisers showing I decided to try my luck, mugging 1 on 8mm pellet, but they were really moody. I managed to drop the pellet in amongst a pod of 8, thinking at least 1 would take the bait, but no and I was in danger of wasting time chasing shadows. I tried a 6mm pellet, thinking they would prefer a smaller bait, but the fish just weren’t feeding, so reverted back to an 8mm and did manage an 11lber later on.

I kept the right hand 14m line topped with pellet, hoping the carp would eventually settle over it later in the match, but they never did. In the meantime, I had kept a 14m swim slightly to my left topped up with micros, 4s and dead maggot and since I was struggling to catch carp decided to try for some silvers. Double dead reds only produced a small skimmer and a couple of roach, so I soon switched to a 4mm expander and cut out the dead maggot from my top ups.

This produced a couple of better skimmers and then 3 carp which was a bonus, although regardless of which line I tried lost fish was still a problem and to be fair I wasn’t the only one.

With 2.5hrs remaining I had started feeding my left margin at 5m with micros and corn, but when I started fishing here with an hour remaining it didn’t feel right and I felt the fish weren’t coming over to much feed. Instead, I moved to 8m down the margin and just toss potted some corn and micros, fishing double corn. This produced 3 carp and a skimmer.

Overall, a frustrating day as the fish just weren’t feeding properly and I lost 8 carp in total, any one of which would have won me the match, although Smiffy also lost a few too. It was at least good to see the fish more spread around and hopefully it won’t be long before the weights start improving.

1.    55-14 – Alan Smith – p7

2.    52- 2 – Ken Rayner – p9

3.    50- 2 – Phil Gooding – p17

4.    46- 0 – Paul Baker – p18

Silvers

1.    20- 2 – Phil Gooding – p17

2.    19- 6 – Baggy – p13

3.    15- 0 – Stu Foale – p3

16/04/23 - Rood Ashton

Weight - 25lb

Catch - 6 Carp, 2 Roach

Weather - Cool and cloudy

Match - Open (11 fished) - 7th overall

After last week’s match I was looking forward to coming back and managed to jump on a match organised by Andy Bright. Everyone wanted to draw the far bank, however I ended up on p4 so I would be able to watch the anglers opposite all bagging!

Only 37lb came off the p4 last week and not much was caught from the peg during a match on Thursday. So, a tough day was likely.

First cast on the method at about 35m produced a carp after 2mins. I then had to wait over 3hrs for my next bite. I tried the lead and meat at 20m where I had been pinging  8s and the 11m pole again with meat, without success although the roach seemed to be enjoying the meat.

I kept pinging pellet at 20m hoping the fish would finally get their heads down. However, I had to switch from hair rigging meat to pellet due to the roach which is never a good sign. I did catch 3 fish, but never felt there were many fish in the area.

I only caught 1 more on the feeder, which just left the margins. I fed meat and micros to the left, which just encouraged the roach and meat only to the right where I had 1 carp.

So not a great day. As expected, the top 2 came from the far side. Pete next to me on p5 came 3^rd just fishing a method with meat at 16m pinging 4s over the top. Perhaps I was too positive, but I had to be positive to pull in a few fish. The anglers to my right only had 1 fish a piece.

1.    181-15 – Pete Phillips – p20

2.    110-13 – Andy Bright – p21

3.      92- 0 – Pete Burns – p5

4.      83- 6 – Mick W – p18

 

15/04/23 - Ivy House - Old Match Lake

Weight - 45lb 2oz

Catch - 9 Carp, 5 Skimmers, 1 Roach

Weather - Sunny, with cloudy periods. Previous day was cold and rainy

Match - Open (12 fished) - 3rd overall

After yesterday’s cold and wet weather, today was expected to be hard and I will be glad when the weather finally warms up. I drew p2 which wasn’t the best, but I at least had a bit of space with p3 being vacant.

On the all-in I fed a small amount of micros and Tom Thick natural groundbait at 14m. Whilst that settled I tried a small method to the island without success and soon switched to the 14m line starting on a 4mm expander, but it wasn’t until I tried a single dead red I got a bite.

Except for Steve Waters on p16 no-one was catching. I had been toss-potting tiny nuggets of micros and groundbait, catching a couple of small skimmers but nothing else, so decided to pot in a little more bait with dead maggot and 10mins later I had another skimmer, soon followed by a carp, both on double dead reds.

Re-feeding I had another carp, however I couldn’t repeat the trick for a third time, despite trying a different area of the swim.

Steve on p16 was now mugging the odd fish as was Darren on p18. Unfortunately, due to so much ‘white’ water in front of me spotting fish was nearly impossible.

Back on the feeder I managed 2 carp and thought I was doing ok as other than the 2 opposite I couldn’t see much being caught, I just needed a good last hour or 2.

I had started feeding my margins with micros and corn at the halfway point, but never had a bite. As my 14m line had completely died I cupped in some 4s at 16m where it was slightly shallower fishing a hair rigged 4mm, toss potting and pinging 4s over the top.

I caught a couple of carp and felt a few fish may have finally got their heads down. Switching to feeding and fishing a 6mm pellet was better, adding another 3 fish.

With 20mins to go I was confident I would catch a couple more, however disaster struck when my 16m section snapped. Gutted. Not sure why it snapped, but ultimately it cost me 2^nd place.

1.    90- 8 – Steve Waters – p16

2.    46- 4 – Darren – p18

3.    45- 2 – Ken Rayner – p2

4.    39- 8 – Jamie Dixey – p5

Silvers

1.    24- 0 – Matt Skyme – p9

2.    13- 0 – Pete Ziemniak – p1

10/04/23 - Rood Ashton

Weight - 88lb 4oz

Catch - 16 Carp

Weather - Wet start, heavy showers and sunny periods. Increasingly windy.

Match - Wiltshire Angling Open (18 fished) - 1st overall

The dry weather of the previous 3 days was replaced by more rain, which meant we were not able to drive around the lake to our pegs, which you can normally do at this time of year, as many parts were still very boggy. P20a meant a long walk around the lake to the far side. Fortunately, I had already lightened my kit to make it easier to push my trolley, but I was still blowing a bit!

I had at least drawn the right area, as there had been a couple of ton weights from this side, with 200lb winning last week from p21, although I was a little concerned about being between 20 & 21, which was a little tight. I was also sat on the drain, which meant I had the constant sound of water rushing down the overflow, which Joe Shepherd had nicknamed the torture peg as he was sat on it last week. The peg was also a bit of a parrot cage with overhanging branches making casting a little awkward.

Starting on a small method at 40m, I had a 1lb carp on the 2nd cast, but nothing else during the first 30mins.

Switching to the pole at 11m where I had fed meat and micros, I had to wait for my first fish on 8mm meat, but by continually toss potting meat I started to put a few fish in the net. Unfortunately, the wind started to pick up, so I dropped back to 10m to help with presentation. However, the wind just got stronger, as did the tow and I fouled hooked the next 2 fish, losing 1 of them, before the swim died.

In the meantime, I had fed 8mm pellet at 30m and tried the straight lead with meat, but only had 1 fish, losing another to a snag. As the wind and tow was getting worst, I tried catapulting meat at 14-16m, fishing the straight lead over the top, but no bites.

Fishing down my left margin didn’t produce either as the tow was worse here as it was amplified by the water rushing down the overflow. As for my right margin, I could only fish a top kit, otherwise I would be interfering with p20, but I at least managed to catch 2 carp.

Moving into the final hour, I had 3 fish quite quickly on the straight lead and meat as the fish finally got their heads down over the 8mm pellet, but the ducks were a pain and at one point I had 4 of the little buggers diving down, which just unsettled the fish in the shallow water.

Back on the pole, by switching from a 0.3g to 0.4g rig I managed another few fish from the 10m line, which meant I probably put about 40lb in the net during the last hour.

The guys either side of me were estimating the same weight of 70-75lb. As it was, we were all slightly out and I was pleased to have just edged it. In hindsight I lost my way a little during hours 4 & 5 as I tried to find the best way of catching but I was pleased to have had a strong finish. Had the weather been a bit kinder I think at least 120lb was on the cards.

1. 88- 4 – Ken Rayner – p20a

2. 86- 0 – Pete Phillips – p21

3. 83-10 – Alan Gibbs – p20

4. 81- 1 – Mayo – p5a

5. 80-12 – Pete Neate – p6

07/04/23 - Ivy House - Heron

Weight - 78lb 8oz

Catch - 60 Carp, 14 F1

Weather - Bright and sunny, with no wind

Match - Open (18 fished) - 3rd overall

After all the recent rains, today’s forecast was for bright sunshine, which would make a pleasant change, although it was a chilly start.

I was looking forward to fishing heron as it’s been 6 weeks since I was last here when maggot dominated, but it was all change now as I only brought pellet and corn.

P22 was my home for the day which hasn’t been the best recently, as p20 has been the boss peg on this side of the lake and p21 won yesterdays match, so at least I would have a day’s fishing. I had my nemesis on this lake Dave ‘are we having a pound’ Willmott on p21, which is always interesting!

After feeding some micros and 4s at 16m at the bottom of the far shelf I started on a mini method with micros and a little groundbait, either fishing 6mm yellow wafter or pellet, cast to the island.

4 fish after 30mins wasn’t the return I was hoping for and Dave was already ahead fishing at 16m, so I followed suit fishing a 4mm hair rigged pellet kindering 4s. I was also pinging pellet, but soon stopped that and stuck with toss potting 4s which resulted in a good couple of hours.

When the swim slowed, I moved up the far shelf to the full 16m and managed a few more fish, but it was slowing. I also tried to catch shallow without success and I wasn’t the only one struggling to catch shallow, not helped by the bright flat conditions and the water was still a little on the clear side.

With 2hrs remaining (6hr match) I really hoped my short line or deep margin would kick into to life. Unfortunately, it didn’t, although I managed a few more fish on the method and another run of fish at 16m, the last 2hrs was disappointing, allowing Dave to overtake me who did catch down his right margin and Joff on p20 had a good run on his short line.

So, pleased and a little surprised to come 3^rd overall, but felt I was a little out of touch with the lake and should have caught more particularly from the short line.

1.    114- 0 – Joff Rogers – p20

2.      84- 8 – Dave Willmott – p21

3.      78- 8 – Ken Rayner – p22

4.      64-14 – Carl Lindley – p6

5.      62- 8 – Carl Mulford – p7

02/04/23 - Shiplate - Hawthorns

Weight - 88lb 10oz

Catch - 18 Carp

Weather - Cloudy with sunny periods. Cool northerly.

Match - Pairs (32 fished) - 1st in section, 3rd overall pair

For the 3^rd year, Mark Poppleton and I entered the pairs match at Shiplate and this year there were 16 pairs. Mark would fish the main lake and I would be on the canals.

To be honest, neither of us were that enthusiastic about our draws, p10 for Mark and p3 on Hawthorns for me, as we both felt we were at the wrong end of our respective sections.

With 8 on the lake I at least had some space with Alex Murray on p1 and fishery manager, John Hawkins on p5.

I was told the locals were catching on maggot and whilst I had a pint of reds with me I was hoping to catch on meat. Starting a metre off the far bank on the 2^nd shelf I had a carp on 8mm meat quite quickly, feeding a small ball of micros with a couple bits of 7mm meat. However, it became obvious that the fish didn’t want to be on the deck as they started swirling around the float whenever I tapped in any bait.

Therefore, I was soon fishing tight to the far bank, again fishing either a 7 or 8mm meat over micros, switching left and right to limit any foul hookers. A pattern was emerging where if I didn’t get a bite within 2mins of feeding, I usually had a bite between 7-9mins. I stuck with this line for 4hrs, catching 40lb which was just ahead of those either side of me. 

In the meantime, I had started feeding micros down the right margin next to the p4 platform, meat at 3+2 and maggot down the left margin. Initially I tried paste down the right margin, but didn’t catch, so in the end I started feeding a small tosspot of meat plus a small ball of micros. I again had to wait for bites, however the stamp of fish was better than those from the far bank catching 7 carp, including 2 in the last 10mins which proved useful. I also managed a carp from the 3+2 line and 1 more from the far bank.

Fortunately those 2 late fish beat Dan Squires who weighed 86lb and Alex 82lb. Mark managed a very good 3^rd in section, which put us 3^rd overall and gave us £50 each for our troubles.

Pairs

1.    Gary Flinders & Alan Quantrill – 3pts (229- 8)

2.    Mark Wynne & Dan Squires – 3pts (190-14)

3.    Ken Rayner & Mark Poppleton – 4pts (179-14) 

Overall

1.    137-  8 – Gary Flinders – p2 (west pool)

2.    104-14 – Mark Wynne – p14 (main lake)

3.      94-11 – Dom Sullivan – p13 (west pool)

4.      92-  0 – Alan Quantrill – p13a (main lake)

5.      91-  4 – Mark Poppleton – p10 (main lake)

6.      88-10 – Ken Rayner – p3 (hawthorns)

01/04/23 - Ivy House - Kingfisher

Weight - 35lb 8oz

Catch - 18 Carp, 4 F1s, 5 Skimmers, 3 Roach

Weather - Rain to start, dry later.

Match - Open (5 fished) - 2nd overall

More rain during the week and heavy overnight rain which was still falling on the drive down meant there was plenty of surface water with some sections only just passable.

At the draw there were only the 5 of us as a number dropped out due to the rain and concerns about flooding.

To be honest I wasn’t overly concerned where I drew as we all had plenty of room and I ended up on p47. As it was a winner takes all, I decided to concentrate on pellet and corn.

I started tight to the far bank and soon caught a couple of carp on 4mm hair rigged pellet over micros, before I started to suffer from liners. I did try a shallow rig without success, so set up a new swim at 13m feeding a small ball of micros, again fishing 4mm pellet. Whilst I caught a few carp I was getting pestered by small skimmers and roach.

After 90mins I had to adjust the depth of my rig as I original thought the fish hollowed out the bottom, before realising the water level was creeping up. The brook that runs parallel to the lake had burst its bank and it probably came up a foot before dropping a little by the end of the match.

I ended up using my down the track rig to fish tight across and I had a nice run of fish on 4mm pellet over micros. The only issue was I was catching a small stamp of fish and falling behind Joff on p43 who was catching a better stamp.

With 90mins remaining I felt the only way I would catch Joff was to catch some proper carp. I had noticed carp milled around my float whenever I tosspotted some bait, so decided to start pinging pellet to get the fish competing shallow. I never had a bite!

I had also fed both margins with pellet and corn, which produced a couple of better fish on 6mm pellet, but it never got going. Besides the lake was starting to colour up due to the influx of extra water, which killed the swim.

I also discovered that after many years’ service my skee-tex boots had developed a leak.

1.    58- 0 – Joff Rogers – p43

2.    35- 8 – Ken Rayner – p47