22/07/23 - Todber - Homeground

Weight - 250lb 2oz

Catch - 70 Carp, 2 Roach, 1 Catfish

Weather - Wet & windy

Match - Open (14 fished) - 5th overall

Back to Todber for a final practice before Wednesday’s Garbolino qualifier and we were all on Homeground. With the forecast for wet and windy weather I was hoping to be able to park behind my peg, but instead drew p86, 1 away from where I was last Wednesday.

As soon as we started setting up the rain started and stayed with us throughout the whole match, so an uncomfortable day for everyone.

I started on the paste at 2+2 and struggled to get going, catching only 16 fish in the first hour, which set the tone for the rest of the match.

I don’t think I have sworn so much in a match for a long time, due to rig failures, and trashing 5 rigs for various reasons and I’ve never had so many foul hookers either.

My margins produced the majority of my fish again on paste, but they just wouldn’t settle for long.

Unlike Wednesday I decided to try pellet and soon trashed that rig when I pulled out of a foulhooker. Fortunately, I had a few on meat, before having to go back out to my 2+2 line on paste, even catching a mini catfish, a number of which have been caught recently from the lake.

It’s a bit mad to say that I struggled having weighed 250lb, but it is all comparative. The top 4 all came from the pegs with space, so in hindsight I didn’t do as badly as I thought, but I would really welcome a ‘proper’ flyer, particularly on Wednesday.

1.    415-  6 – Jack Stamp – p82

2.    382-14 – Ash Tomkins – p89

3.    368-  6 – Mark Cannings – p83

4.    324-  6 – Martin Rodgers – p91

5.    250-  2 – Ken Rayner – p86