29/12/25 - Todber Manor - Hillview

Weight - 32lb 0oz (2lb 8oz - silvers)

Catch - 9 Carp, 9 Skimmers

Weather - Cold & cloudy. Cold north easterly

Match - Open (20 fished) - 1st overall

Mark had a full house today thanks to an equal pay out for overall and silver winners per section of 5. I quite fancied a day on the silvers and when I drew p45 thought that’s what I would be doing.

However, I soon found out that the previous match had been won from p44. The question was would the fish still be here following the change in weather. Today, the north easterly breeze was blowing off my left shoulder, and the water temperature was only 3.7c.

On the all-in I started on the bomb and bread cast ¾ of the away across to the island. Within a minute the tip rapped round, but the fish came off halfway across. With no more indications, a switch to the maggot feeder produced a few liners, but no carp, so I went back to the lead fishing corn this time and at last netted a carp.

No more followed and I decided to try the pole at 13m fishing corn (boosted with baninion) over micros (boosted with BMG) pinging 4mm baninion pellet over the top, catching 2 carp. Despite trying later in the match these were the only carp I caught over this line.

Back out on the lead and corn, I stayed on this for a couple of hours and knew I was comfortably winning my section. With an 1hr 45mins to go I stopped catching and all the liners had also stopped. I felt the fish had moved off to my right settling in front of the silver fish anglers on p47 and 48.

After unsuccessfully trying the corn line at 13m, I fed a small ball of groundbait (BMGX: GCS) with BMG micros at 13m to my left. Fishing double reds I caught 9 small skimmers in 45mins, before returning to the straight lead and corn for the last 45mins, but I never had another fish.

On the all-out I think everyone was relieved for the match to finish as the fishing had been extremely hard. Roll on spring.

1.    32-  0 – Ken Rayner – p45

2.    30-14 – Simon Stacey – p37

3.    26-  8 – Rich Yeo – p42

4.    22-  9 – Lee Jan – p51

5.    20-  2 – Barry Robson – p52

Silvers

1.    10-  8 – Guy Manton – p54

2.      7-  6 – Mark Blake – p47

3.      7-  3 – Jack Stamp – p57

28/12/25 - Harescombe - Doughnut

Weight - 11lb 7oz

Catch - 4 Carp, 1 F1

Weather - Cold and cloudy

Match - Open (12 fished) - 9th overall, 4th in section

The first match since Christmas and I decided to fish the Doughnut Lake with next weeks winter league match in mind.

I drew p28 at the narrowest end of the lake. Although a few fish had been caught in the area during the previous weeks, I felt I might be a week late, as the wind has switched to a north easterly, blowing down this end of the lake and it was certainly feeling cold.

Arriving at my peg confirmed my fears as the colour had dropped out of the lake, the water temperature had dropped to 5.7c and water was gushing in from the inlet pipe (this was turned off before the match started).

Well, the first 3hrs was uneventful, losing 3 foul hookers fishing tight to the far bank. In fact, you could see the fish just swimming around the island but not stopping.

With 2hs remaining I caught my first carp on maggot over a nugget of groundbait (Top G: Crushed Expander) from the far bank, adding a second soon after. I had 2 more in quick succession fishing at 14.5m to the point of the island off to my right and an F1 on the straight lead.

I just felt the fish didn’t want to stay in the peg and I couldn’t compete, preferring the wider areas of the lake.

1.    60-15 – George Organ – p24

2.    53-  7 – Simon Duke – p18

3.    43-12 – Steve Ford – p8

4.    34-10 – Allan Oram – p21

21/12/25 - Harescombe - Doughnut

Weight - 33lb 12oz

Catch - 14 F1s, 9 Carp

Weather - Mild, cloudy, light breeze.

Match - Knock-up (8 fished) - 3rd overall

Steve Venn ran a knock up on Doughnut, although I think he was hoping for a few more than the 8 that turned up. At least it meant the lake should fish better than yesterday. Also, the wind was much lighter than yesterday, that would make the fishing more comfortable.

P22 for me which was in the right area. I couldn’t fish tight to the far bank due to the sedges in the water and overhanging branches which would limit where I could fish.

I tried dobbin maggot where I could along the far bank without success and soon switched to fishing maggot (covered in red multi bait dye) over a nugget of groundbait (Top G : Crushed Expander).

I soon started catching some of the newly stocked F1s (8oz each) but was already falling behind Simon and Steve to my right who both started catching carp.

I tried a short maggot line, but I only had 1 carp, so most of the match was spent fishing across over 2 spots. I had to keep alternating between tapping in maggot or feeding nuggets of groundbait to keep the fish coming.

As the match progressed, more carp started to put in an appearance, landing 3 in the last 15mins, but it was a case of too little, too late.

1.    41-  3 – Simon Collins – p20

2.    36-  0 – Steve Venn – p18

3.    33-12 – Ken Rayner – p22

20/12/25 - Harescombe - Doughnut

Weight - 18lb 11oz

Catch - 7 Carp

Weather - Bright & sunny. Blustery wind.

Match - Christmas Match (37 fished) - 10th overall, 1st in section

The Harescombe Christmas match with 18 on Match Lake and 19 on Doughnut. I drew p5 on Doughnut and knew I was fishing for section only, as combined with a gusty right to left wind, it would make for a tricky day.

On the in-all I started on bomb and bread, then tried fishing across on the pole in 3ft of water tapping in maggot and nuggets of Top G groundbait, before switching to a maggot feeder without success.

The wind combined with the tow, that was going with the wind was making presentation difficult. Eventually I netted my first fish on the pole after 1hr 45min that was foul hooked, soon followed by a 2^nd that was hooked properly, before the wind got too much again.

It was frustrating because there were fish in the area, as I would get liners when fishing the tip, but couldn’t get a bite.

I had been feeding a short maggot line from the start and halfway through the match I gave it a go and caught 3 carp in 15mins. Unfortunately, and surprisingly I never had another fish off this line.

Towards the end the match the wind dropped a little, adding a further 2 carp from the far line. I knew I had won my section, as no one else had more than 2 carp.

Back at the café, Cathryn had laid on pork rolls, apple sauce, stuffing and chips that was very welcome after a cold, challenging day.

1.    56-  9 – Chris Cameron – p25 (Doughnut)

2.    33-13 – Allan Oram – p28 (Doughnut)

3.    31-  9 – Simon Penny – p17 (Match)

4.    30-13 – Steve Ford – p17 (Doughnut)

5.    21-13 – Ian Didcote – p20 (Doughnut)

6.    21-12 – Kev Parry – p15 (Match)

14/12/25 - Lavington - Ellis

Weight - 61lb 2oz 

Catch - 14 Carp

Weather - Bright, sunny and breezy

Match - Club Christmas (20 anglers) - 1st overall

With 20 Lavington members all on Ellis Lake the draw was always going to be important. Fortunately I drew p5, one of the island pegs where the carp always patrol.

On the all-in I fed 2 balls of groundbait at 13m (in 8ft of water) with the intention of catching silvers, whilst that settled I started on the lead and bread (sprayed with Baninion Boost), expecting to spend no more than an hour on it.

After 90mins I had 6 carp for 35lb and I was still getting indications, adding a further 7 over the next 2hrs, before I couldn’t get a bite.

I hadn’t re-fed my 13m line, however, my good started meant I didn’t need it.

Instead, I decided to feed a shorter line in 5ft of water, with groundbait and pellet, hoping for some bream or carp. I also fed 4mm pellet and corn by the p4 platform. Neither line produced a bite.

I had also started pinging corn towards the island and managed my final carp on corn 10mins from time.

So a very simple match in the end and I was fortunate to land a few, collecting £100, plus a hamper which was very nice.

1.    61-  2 – Ken Rayner – p5

2.    31-  9 – Steve Musitano – p23

3.    22-  6 – Lee Clark – p25

4.    21-  0 – Tim Lynch – p22

5.    20-  8 – Martin Coward – p21

6.    18-  4 – Tom Ince – p24   

 

13/12/25 - Harescombe - Match

Weight - 35lb 14oz (2lb 11oz - silvers)

Catch - 12 F1, 3 Carp, 11 Skimmers, 2 Roach

Weather - Frosty start. Bright and sunny.

Match - Winter League rd 4 (15 anglers) - 4th overall, 1st in section

The 4^th round of the Harescombe Winter League on Match Lake and I drew p6. To be honest it hasn’t been a great area recently, although when I arrived a few fish were showing themselves, so I was hopeful.

My section included Andy Fry on p2 who was lying 2^nd in the league, so a chance to hopefully take a point or 2 back.

After a week of mild weather, last night was frosty and the forecast was for a bright and sunny day. As such I was expecting a slow start, which is how it turned out.

I started on corn and then a 4mm expander over a few baninion micros a metre off the island, eventually catching an F1 on corn after 45 minutes. I couldn’t get another bite, so started feeding a small nugget of Top G groundbait with a micros, over 2 swims, again a metre off the island.

By bouncing between the 2 swims, I caught small skimmers on 4mm expander, plus 2 F1s. I had also tried fishing tight to the island, foulhooking and losing 1 fish, so I didn’t waste too much time.

With 2hrs remaining (5hr match), bites had dried up and I probably had about 7-8lb in the net, which was less than Mark Thomas on p4.

I had been feeding maggot covered in So Simple Red Dye from the start of the match at 2+2. To be honest I wasn’t expecting much from this line, as maggot usually attracts the attention of the hordes of roach. So,I was surprised when I hooked a F1, followed by 2 more and then a decent skimmer, before the roach arrived.

In the meantime, I had noted Mark on p4 had caught a few decent carp from his right-hand margin. I had already plumbed my left margin at the start of the match, discounting it as it was too shallow. However, I felt I needed to try something different and started feeding maggot a metre off the margin where it was 3ft deep.

This resulted in a great last 45mins catching big F1s on double maggot, plus a couple of carp from the far side on pellet.

Fortunately, those skimmers proved vital as I won the section by 1lb 7oz from Sean Taylor on p29, whilst Andy Fry had a mare. The section win pushed me into 3^rd in the league with 2 rounds remaining.

1.    86-  5 – Nigel Reeves – p16

2.    55-  7 – Steve Ford – p15

3.    46-  5 – Chris Cameron – p14

4.    35-14 – Ken Rayner – p6

5.    34-  7 – Sean Taylor – p29

07/12/25 - Hillview - Canal 2

Weight - 24lb 5oz

Catch - 5 F1, 4 Carp, 5 Skimmers, 3 Roach, 2 Ide, 1 Gudgeon

Weather - Mild, showers and increasingly windy

Match - Tackle Den (23 fished) - 16th overall, 4th in section (out of 7)

The final match of the year for Tackle Den and I was virtually guaranteed to finish 3^rd in aggregate standings. The question was who would win the clubs aggregate trophy, Steve Venn or John Brady as there was only 1pt separating them.

With canals 2, 3 & 4 in I wanted avoid canal 2, so was disappointed to draw p58. So, the wrong canal, at the wrong end.

On the all-in I caught a F1 straight away on 4mm expander at the bottom of the shelf but couldn’t get another. A switch to dobbin bread, produced a 5lb carp and a roach, but no more and a switch to maggot only produced an F1.

As dobbin isn’t my favourite method, as I really want to feed something. I started toss potting maggot at the bottom of the far shelf, catching small silvers initially, but it was slow going, although I did manage to catch a couple of F1s and a carp.

I then had a period where I was struggling to a get a bite from anywhere, not least helped by an increasingly strengthening wind. I had been feeding maggot over a 2+2 line and down by the p59 pallet and I needed either swim to come to life, as the wind meant I couldn’t fish the far bank anymore. With an hour remaining, I finally caught a carp down by the pallet, soon followed by an F1, but I never had another fish from here. Another 2 fish from the short line, finished my match.

As expected, the better weights on my lake came down the other end. With 8 and 10lb either side of me, it just illustrated how tough it was.

Well done to John who finished 2^nd on the day to win the aggregate shield.

1.    85-  9 – Luke Sherman – p83 (canal 4)

2.    84-  2 – John Brady – p72 (canal 3)

3.    61-  6 – Matt Greaves – p94 (canal 4)

4.    60-11 – Steve Venn – p78 (canal 3)

5.    50-15 – Darren Hibbert – p96 (canal 4)

6.    45-  5 – Michael Triggs – p62 (canal 2)

06/12/25 - Todber Manor - Hillview

Weight - 50lb 3oz (16lb 7oz - silvers)

Catch - 6 Carp, 34 Skimmers, 5 Roach, 1 Perch

Weather - Mild, windy and occassional shower.

Match - Open (9 fished) - 3rd overall

Mark Poppleton has organised a number of opens at Todber on Hillview Lake. With a maximum of 20, Mark thought he would be turning people away. However, the 11 or 12 that had booked in, dropped to 9, which raises the question – what is happening to the match scene. It wasn’t that long ago that 20-30 anglers at Todber was standard for a Saturday open, but now if you get more than 10 anglers for an open you are doing well, which is a shame.

Due to heavy winds and forecast rain (which wasn’t as bad as expected), Mark decided to peg the areas of the lake where the wind would be coming off your back. So the pegs down the arm and along the road bank adjacent to Ash Lake were in. We still all expected at least 150lb to win.

I ended up on p56, with Mark Wynne to my right and Tom Thick to my left.

On all-in I fed some 4s and corn, boosted with baninion at 8m. Whilst that settled, I started on the method towards the spit opposite, fully

expecting a few pulls. After 15mins I only caught a small skimmer on a 6mm yellow gofter and no carp had been caught near me.

Despite the mild conditions, the water temperature was still low at 7.3c, and combined with the very up and down weather the fish didn’t seem to be feeding. Therefore, I quickly set up a new rig (chimp 0.5g) to fish 4mm expander and maggot. I also fed a ball of groundbait (Top G : Crushed Expander) with baninion micros at 10m.

I immediately started catching small skimmers and roach on maggot, before switching to 4mm expander, catching better stamp skimmers, feeding a small nugget of groundbait/micros every 2^nd fish.

With 90mins remaining, I moved out to 11m, just feeding pellet and corn, fishing corn on the hook. I caught some better stamp skimmers and some carp (at long last).

In hindsight, I missed a trick as both Tom and Toby (p59) caught over 30lb of skimmers, just feeding pellet and corn. I think feeding groundbait just attracted too many small fish into the swim.

Still an enjoyable day to finish 3^rd overall.

1.    80-10 – Mark Poppleton – p60

2.    59-  8 – Dave Brittian – p52

3.    50-  3 – Ken Rayner – p56

4.    48-  0 – Tom Thick – p55

29/11/25 - Harescombe - Doughnut

Weight - 33lb 13oz

Catch - 13 Carp, 1 Perch

Weather - Wet start, sunny later

Match - Winter League rd3 (14 fished) - 2nd section, 6th overall

The 3^rd round of the Winter League and we were down a man, however they had paid their pools which is appreciated.

I drew p3, which to be honest I wasn’t overly excited about, particularly as it came last in section during the first round. Plumbing up revealed why it’s not the best area of the lake in the winter, as its little narrower (14m) and shallower. That said, I would have been disappointed not to get at least 2^nd in section.

I had intended to start the match dobbing bread or maggot, however the far bank plumbed up like a scrap yard and was much shallower than expected. So, I decided to try the lead and bread off to my right where a fish had shown itself whilst setting up, however without success.

I eventually caught my first fish after 45mins, fishing a metre off the far bank slightly the left in 3ft of water where it was flatish, initially feeding a small ball of groundbait (Top G:Crushed Expander) and then tapping in maggot (covered with So Simple Red Dye) and a few baninion micros, with maggot on the hook. A further 3 followed and I was leading the section, with Tom Driver on p1 being the only other angler to have caught in my section.

After that burst of fish, the swim slowed and I tried the straight lead and maggot off to my right where I been pinging maggot but never had a bite all match over this line. Returning to my ‘3ft’ swim produced another 2 fish before the swim died again.

So far, I had ignored fishing tight to the far bank, trying not to put any fish that were in the swim under too much pressure, but I now felt I had no choice. After feeding a little groundbait and maggot I caught 2 carp quite quickly on maggot, but again the action didn’t last. In the meantime, Tom’s peg had sparked into life, and he was catching a better stamp of fish.

I had fed a 2+2 line with groundbait, loose feeding maggot over the top. With an hour to go I dropped in on this line and caught 2 carp straight away and thought here we go but couldn’t catch another.

I had another 2 fish from a new ‘3ft’ water swim to the left of the original, but that was it. During the last 15mins I had another carp over the short line on maggot but couldn’t get another.

By the all-out I knew Tom had one more fish than me, so I was looking at 2^nd in section. Fortunately, the rest of my section struggled with 8lb being the next best.

So, at the halfway point I’m lying 4^th in the league and after having 2 ‘iffy’ draws, I am at least still in with a shout making the top 3, although Chris Cameron now has 3pts and is proving difficult to beat.

1.    60-  1 – Chris Cameron – p21

2.    59-  7 – Nigel Reeves – p22

3.    51-  5 – Simon Duke – p26

4.    49-  3 – Tom Driver – p1

     5.    48-  3 – Andy Fry – p17

23/11/25 - Ivy House - Moorhen

Weight - 38lb 8oz

Catch - 16 Carp, 6 F1

Weather - Cold start and bright

Match - Tackle Den (20 fished) - 4th overall, 3rd in section

We had 20 booked on today, 12 on Kingfisher and 8 on Moorhen, and virtually every peg in. I drew p33 on Moorhen which was OK.

I took the water temperature which showed 5.2c, compared to 12c 2 weeks ago. Combined with recent heavy rain (which brought the levels up a little) and a cold snap it was likely to be a hard day.

I started across tapping in a few maggots and didn’t have a bite. In the meantime, Alistair to my left started catching immediately dobbin bread, and I had to follow suit, eventually catching my first fish 30mins into the match.

It was noticeable I was on the edge of the fish as Alistair kept catching and most of my fish came by fishing to my left towards Ali. I only had 1 fish to my right all match.

Over an hour I caught 8 carp all on bread, but my catch rate was slowing, so I switched to fishing at the bottom of the far shelf (13.5m) fishing a 4mm expander over tiny nuggets of fishery micros boosted with Baninion and groundbait (Top G & Crushed Expander). I had to move to my left to stay in contact with the fish, but at least I was catching albeit more F1s which were a smaller stamp than the carp. I tried maggot on the hook to see whether I could catch quicker, however this just resulted in a roach which fell off.

With 90mins remaining the swim was fading and decided to try across tight to the far bank fishing 4mm expander feeding nuggets of micros and groundbait. This resulted in more carp, bouncing between 2 swims to keep them coming.

The last 30mins slowed down, as had the whole lake. I had tried a short maggot line but only gave it 5mins when I couldn’t get a bite.

On the all-out I knew Alistair had won our lake and I missed out picking up the section as Andy Burns on the end peg (p35) weighed 43lb.

1.    55-13 – Alistair Tilney – p32 (Moorhen)

2.    53-  9 – John Brady – p42 (Kingfisher)

3.    43-  8 – Andy Burns – p35 (Moorhen)

4.    38-  8 – Ken Rayner – p33 (Moorhen)

5.    38-  7 – Andy Bartlett – p48 (Kingfisher)

6.    31-  8 – Steve Venn – p47 (Kingfisher)

15/11/25 - Harescombe - Match

Weight - 24lb 0oz

Catch - 7 F1s, 2 Carp (5 Skimmers, 4 Roach, 2 Rudd, 1 Gudgeon)e 

Weather - Grey & overcast. Northerly breeze.

Match - Winter League - rd 2 (15 fished) - 7th overall, 3rd in section

The 2^nd round of the Winter League and after all the rain yesterday thanks to Storm Claudia I was expecting loads of water to be to running into the lake from the spillway. Surprisingly, as the lakes are interconnected, the expected extra (and much needed) water just filled up the lakes above match lake.

I drew p7 which isn’t the best and honestly thought I would be up against it as my section included Chris Cameron on p4, plus pegs 2 and p29.

On the all-in I started on corn boosted with baninion, tapping in a few baninion 4s and micros a metre off the far bank. After 30mins I had 2 F1 and no one else had caught in my section yet.

As expected, the match proved to be hard going. I tried fishing maggot over a 2+2 line fed with BMGX but only caught tiny silvers which weren’t adding a real weight. I also tried my right margin with corn or pellet without success, and maggot only produced more small silvers.

Therefore, I spent most of the match trying to catch tight to the boards (without success) or a metre of the far bank where I had 2 swims, left (fed with nuggets of Top G and micros) and right (fed with micros and a few 4s), fishing a 4mm expander.

The left swim was best and it wasn’t until I fed a nugget of groundbait over the right swim that I caught.

With 90mins remaining I cupped some 4s and micros long to my right at 16m pinging 4s over the top. This produced 2 more fish late, 1 on corn and the other on 4mm pellet.

By the weigh in I thought both Tom Driver on p6 and Chris on p4 had beaten me, and they did as I finished 3^rd in section. I think I was little unlucky as we all had similar number of fish, however I caught mostly F1s, whilst both Tom and Chris both had carp including 2 better stamp fish that made the difference.

1.    59-14 – Andy Fry – p16

2.    33-  8 – Nigel Reeves – p15

3.    30-11 – Simon Duke – p20

4.    30-  7 – Chris Cameron – p4

5.    29-  4 – Steve Ford – p11 

13/11/25 - Harescombe - Match

Weight - 23lb 9oz

Catch - 6 Carp, 3 F1, 1 Skimmer

Weather - Mild & sunny.

Match - Open (14 anglers) - 3rd overall, 2nd in section

Fished todays open in preparation for the 2^nd round of Winter League this Saturday and I drew p29, an interesting peg as it has loads of features, but can be a bit boom or bust.

Initially, I wasn’t sure whether it would be boom, as the wind has been blowing down the other end of the lake for a few weeks which has been the place to draw. However, on arrival I saw 2 carp sitting under the aerator and plumbing around I bumped into a couple of fish.

On the all-in I started down the right margin

fishing the other side of the spillway, tapping in a few baninion 4s and micros fishing corn boosted with baninion. After 15mins I had 2 carp, increasing to 4 by the end of the hour and thought 50/60lb may be on the cards.

Well, the next 3 hours was tough. I only caught 1 tiny skimmer in open water on expander over micros. The real surprise was I was unable to catch properly from the point of the island and down the left-hand bank.

There seemed to be plenty of fish, but they just didn’t open their mouths, and I lost a couple of foul hookers.

In the last hour I managed 3 more carp from the right margin all on corn. Looking down the lake, I could see that not much had been caught and fortunately I manged to sneak into 3^rd overall with the better weights coming from the other end of the lake.

1.    48-  5 – Simon Stacey – p12

2.    41-12 – Tony Rixon – p16

3.    23-  9 – Ken Rayner – p29

4.    22-  9 – Allan Oram – p14

5.    17-15 – Mark Wooldridge – p24

09/11/25 - Ivy House - Kingfisher

Weight - 84lb 14oz

Catch - 35 Carp, 9 F1s

Weather - Mostly cloudy, occasional shower and blustery at times.

Match - Tackle Den (17 fished) - 1st overall

Today’s match was on the canals, Kingfisher and Moorhen. Both lakes, along with the Old Match Lake have recently been stocked with the fish from Heron Lake, which has now been sold.

The draw put me on p45 on Kingfisher, which normally isn’t the best area, however I did have a spare peg to my left. I was also surprised at how low the lake was and made the decision to set up in the margin. What I didn’t realise until it was too late was shipping out to 14m was going to be awkward as I was sat so far below the bank.

Plumbing up revealed only 2.5ft of water down the middle and 2ft tight to the far bank.

On the all-in I started on a 4mm expander tapping in fishery micros & 4s boosted with So Simple Baninion at 14m. I caught small carp immediately, but felt the micros were bringing in too many small fish.

So, I switched to hair rigging a 4mm pellet over toss potted 4s and the stamp of fish immediately improved, rotating 2 swims at 14m.

After 2hrs I was up to 16 fish and switched to tapping 4s at 16m tight across to keep putting fish in the net. I had a quiet 30min spell after a fish snagged me in some roots on the far bank.

A brief look over a short maggot line didn’t produce a bite, and I never tried this line again.

The 14m lines continued to produce, but it wasn’t until I went to 14.5m over 2 swims that my catch rate increased, still tapping in 4s. I occasionally tried the 16m swim where I tried pinging pellet, but that resulted in too many liners so I stuck with tapping in pellet, but could only catch 2 or 3 fish before having to rest the swim.

Late on I also caught down the bottom of the left-hand margin, again on pellet.

In the end a lovely day’s fishing.

1.    84-14 – Ken Rayner – p45 (kingfisher)

2.    76-  4 – Matt Greaves – p28 (moorhen)

3.    61-  1 – Steve Venn – p48 (kingfisher)

4.    58-14 – Steve Broadhurst – p49 (kingfisher)

5.    52-10 – Luke Sherman – p31 (moorhen)