14/09/24 - Harescombe - Match Lake

Weight - 34lb 3oz

Catch - 12 Carp, 4 F1, 6 Skimmers

Weather - Cold start, sunny all day and a strong breeze

Match - Summer Series rd 8 (14 fished) - 5th overall, 2nd in section

When I signed up for this summer series, I felt a top 3 position would be good as there were a number of good local anglers competing.  

Today was the final round of the series and I was lying 2^nd behind Andy Jane who had the same number of points as me but had a better weight advantage. Regardless of today’s result I was at least guaranteed 2^nd place, but I obviously wanted to win if possible.

I drew p14 and was happy with my draw as I fished it in the first round claiming a section 2^nd. Andy drew p15 which is the end peg on my bank and in the other section. To be honest I thought I had a chance of winning my section and hoped Andy would finish no better than 2^nd.

Setting up, there was a stiff breeze blowing left to right down the lake, which could make fishing the far bank difficult. We also had a couple of cold mornings recently and a tricky match was expected. I still decided to focus on fishing meat (covered in Uzit A-krill cloud) as I have done all series, but had some 4 & 6mm expanders, plus maggot just in case.

On the all-in I started on meat at 3+1 to my left and managed 1 carp, an F1, plus a couple of skimmers in the first hour, which was par with those around me.

The next couple of hours were a struggle. I had an early look across to the island, toss potting a few cubes of meat with p-nut micros, but the wind was proving to be a nightmare as I couldn’t get any decent presentation and when I could keep the rig still, I couldn’t get a bite. In the meantime, Mark Saunders to my left on p12 had managed to catch a few fish across and was ahead of me, plus Andy was now catching down the end bank and was probably leading his section.

In an effort to make something happen, I fed a little groundbait (a 50:50 mix of black bubblegum crush expander) with micros at the bottom of the far shelf, fishing a 4mm expander I caught a couple more skimmers, plus 2 small carp. I tried maggot but only caught a tiny skimmer, so stuck with expanders.

With 2 hours remaining I only about 8lb. Fortunately the wind had dropped, and I could now fish the island, and at last I started to catch on meat. As a back up I had fed meat on a short line and down my left margin. The short line didn’t produce, but to be honest as I didn’t have anything to lose, I was being quite aggressive with my feed in the hope of catching some bigger carp.

As for the margin I only caught 2 fish and struggled to catch from the island swim in the last 30mins resulting in a disappointing end to the match. I had hoped to have won my section, however although Mark had fewer fish, he some chunky F1s caught shallow on caster to claim the section win.

In the end it didn’t matter as Andy won his section and the match to claim the series win, so well-done Andy.

Overall, I was pleased to claim 2^nd and £280. The fishing has been tough at times, however it’s a lovely venue, with brilliant owners who just want to improve the fishery.

1.    60-  6 – Andy Jane – p15

2.    44-  7 – Steve Partington – p18

3.    38-  1 – Mark Saunders – p12

4.    36-  4 – Luke Seabrook – p20

5.    34-  3 – Ken Rayner – p14

Series Top 3 (after droppers)

1.    Andy Jane – 9pts (372-  4)

2.    Ken Rayner – 10pts (320-  8)

3.    Steve Brown – 12pts (287-  2)