Tuesday, 9 December 2025

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 3rd 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 2nd 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)

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