With no league commitments this weekend I was on the lookout for an open match as I didn't fancy pleasure fishing. Nick Lund (aka nicky-the-bricky) rang me on Wednesday night saying there was an open on Cottage so I booked in. I've only fished Cottage twice but loved it both time's so was looking forward to this match
I arrived at the fishery just before 8 and as always the first thing I did was go for a wander around the lakes. The first thing that was noticeable was the wind- it was horrendous! Usually the lake's are flat calm in the morning and the wind picks up later in the day. With the strength of the wind so early on I was a bit concerned as to what it would be like at the all-in!
Into the cafe for a bacon roll and a cup of tea a few of the lads started to arrive and come draw time there was 11 of us. With 16 pegs on Cottage you wouldn't really want more than 11 as it would be a bit tight in certain pegs. With the wind so bad I hoped to draw an island peg which would mean fishing the lead and tea-bag all day. Not the most exciting method but certainly effective on days like this. There were 4 pegs that didn't have an island and I drew one of them- peg 11. I was a little disapointed with the draw as it would mean a pole match which would make it tough to get decent presentation in the wind. Arriving at my peg I had Nick to my left on peg 10 which has been the hot peg of late. The wind was howling from left to right, so I was sure the edge would be worth a few fish late in the day,especially as peg 12 was free. I decided that my best bet was not to go too far out in front due to the wind, so settled on a line at 9m where I had around 4 foot of water. I set two rigs up for here,both on 4x14 KC Chimps (heavier than usual due to the wind). The first was on 0.16-0.12: 18 b911 and a doubled 5 slip. This was shotted with a small bulk of 10's and two droppers-set to just touch bottom. The second rig was on 0.16-0.14 to an 18 Drennan Eyed barbless with a band on a hair. This was for fishing hard pellets and was double bulked with 10's and matched to a double 6 slip. At 11m to my right there were some straggly reeds just the other side of the next platform so this was where I planned to fish the edge in around 2 and a half feet of water. For this line I set up a 4x12 Scone Jubleez on 0.16- 16 B911. This was set to a double 8 slip and had a kinder pot on the pole. All three rigs incorporated a no:8 backshot. I also set up a tip rod with an 0.18 hooklength to an 18 PR36 and a band on a hair. Although I didn't have an island to fish to I knew if the wind got really bad I would have to sit on the tip in open water. For bait I had some damp micro's,4mm pellets,a tin of corn and some hook pellets. The all out was called and I cupped a pinch of micro's and 4mm's at 9m before going straight down the edge on single corn without feeding to see if I could snare an early carp. After 5 minute's the float shot under but it was a roach of about 8oz and not the intended carp. I put a pot of corn and pellet down the edge and turned around to see Nick playing a lump that looked every ounce of 7lb on the tip to the island. I then spent 15 minutes on the tip and corn at around 20m but without so much as a liner it was onto the pole at 9m with a 4mm expander. An instant bite saw a skimmer of around 3oz swung in. I had a few more but it was far from hectic so I clipped on a small pot and decided to start feeding a cadpot of micro and 3 grains of corn after every fish. This upped the catch rate considerably although despite catching a tench of around 1lb most of the fish were small skimmers. After 2 hours I had around 5lb in the net and was going nowhere fast. By now Nick had caught 3 carp and a few other people had caught so I was way behind. I decided I needed to up the ante so removed the small pot and started to ping four 4mm pellets over the top every 30 seconds or so. As expected this stopped the bite's from the small skimmers and I was just thinking I might have made a mistake when the float disappeared and I hooked a decent carp that bolted off before swirling on the surface. There must have been a nick in the hooklength as after a minute or so it broke me. I put a stronger 0.14 hooklength on and went straight back out with a 4mm expander. After a few minute's I had another bite and soon netted a decent tench of around 2lb. I went back out and continued to ping pellets over and after around 5 minute's I had another decent bite and a few minute's later netted a nice carp of 4lb. Around 3 hours in I probably had about 13lb odd in the net but guessed Nicky had atleast double that and I could see a few others that were beating me. I had been feeding a pinch of pellet and corn down the edge every half hour or so but wanted to leave it as long as possible before going down there. In the 3rd hour I continued to catch skimmers at 9m and although I wasn't bagging by any means I decided I would be best putting what I could in the net and hope that I would get a few down the edge late on. With 2 hours left I probably had around 17lb. The lad on peg 14 had now started to catch a few on the lead to the island and I reckoned I was probably in 5/6th place at this stage. I went down the edge on a single grain of corn and after about 5 minute's the float vanished and a lift was met with solid resistance. A couple of minute's later a carp of around 4lb was in the net. I went straight back down with a kinder pot of corn and pellet and after around 10 minute's another bite saw a carp of around 3lb soon in the net. I was now back in contention and felt that a few more down the edge could see me make the frame. No more bite's were forthcoming so I put half a pot of pellet and corn in before going back out at 9m. A few more skimmers showed but they were mostly small. I continued to ping pellet out and soon had another tench of around 2lb. With an hour to go I went back down to my right but couldnt buy a bite. I decided to fire a pouch of pellet instead of cupping and a few minute's later the float once again vanished and I soon landed a carp of about 4lb. With just half an hour to go I hadn't added any more fish and knew I had to go for broke. I put a full pot of corn and pellet down the edge and left it for 5 minute's while I had a few more small skimmers at 9m. Back down the inside and another bite on single corn saw another small carp of around 3lb come to the net. With just 10 minute's to go I fired out another pouch of pellets and after a while I had another bite and netted a small koi carp of around 2lb with a minute to go.
The all-out was called and I wasn't sure how I'd done. I was a bit worried that the carp I caught were small- I could really have done with a lump from the inside but it wasn't to be. I thought Nick might have beat me,and the guy to his left had caught well. The lad fishing the lead on peg 14 had caught really well in the last hour and I was sure he'd beat me as he'd caught some decent fish.
After packing away I followed the scales round and saw a few 20lb odd weights before the guy to Nick's left put 31lb on,with Nick weighing 30 odd. My silvers net went 14lb something which surprised me a bit and my six small carp went 21lb which gave me 35lb odd and put me in the lead. Lee to my right on peg 13 put 12lb on the scales before the lad on peg 14 weighed 39lb which proved to be top weight on the day.
I was quite pleased to have come 2nd as I felt I wasn't on the best peg and made a few bold decisions that ultimately paid off. That fish I lost in front probably cost me the win but it's hard to be too critical about things like that. Back to the cafe I picked up £55 and after a cup of tea and a few biscuits I headed home,finally glad to get out of the incessant wind!!
Saturday 28 March 2009
Sunday 22 March 2009
Whinwhistle winter league-final round
Whinwhistle winter league- 22/03/09
Today saw the last round of the winter league at Whinwhistle fishery. After winning my section last time I was on 14 points after 8 matches and couldn't be caught in 3rd place but wasn't likely to catch Richard or Derek in 1st and 2nd (11 and 12 points). This meant that I could effectively enjoy this match with no real pressure, although I had a play-off with Andy Shanks in the knock-out cup for 3rd and 4th place which would be worth a share of the golden peg money that hadn't been won. After breakfast I was ready for the draw and as always was hoping I would avoid The Rail but inevitably pulled out R10. Not what I wanted but atleast it was starting to warm up a bit and a few pleasure anglers had caught on there in the week by all accounts.
I couldn't quite believe I had drawn The Rail AGAIN but was a bit more optimistic this time around. Andy Shanks had drawn the end peg flier on Keepers lake so I knew I would be up against it in the knockout. As you can see in the picture's peg 10 is around 14.5m across with two little stick-ups at around 13m. I had Oscar Wylde on the next peg so would have a laugh if nothing else. I decided to target a few different area's as despite the rumours of people catching in the week my first target was to simply catch a fish. I finally settled on four line's- one at 11m to the base of the tree,one at 11m straight out down the track,one at 14.5m right over and one down the inside at 5m. The two 11m line's were fished with the same rig in around 4 and a half feet of water. This was a 4x12 KC Chimp on 0.14-0.12 and an 18 Gama Pellet shotted with a spread bulk of no:10's. The 14.5m rig was exactly the same but around a foot shallower so a separate rig was assembled. The inside rig was a 4x10 Scone AM Wellard on 0.12-18 B911. All three rigs were on doubled 5 slip. For bait I had some micro pellet,4mm hookers,a pint of maggot and a pint of caster. On the all-in I flicked 6 casters down the edge,cupped in a pinch of micro's and caster on the two 11m line's and a pinch of micro and 3 grains of corn at 14.5m. I went straight down the edge on single caster but after 5 biteless minutes it was onto the 11m line's where I remained biteless. This is par-for-the-course on the rail so I wasn't too bothered. After 30 minutes I went out to 14.5m with a 4mm expander and after 5 minutes I had a small bite and lifted-hooking a fish a foot or so off the bottom. After 10 seconds the hook pulled which was disapointing. I went out with the edge rig set a foot off bottom and started to flick a couple of casters out every minute or so. No bite's were forthcoming so it was back on the deck and I continued to flick the odd caster over. After five minutes I had a bite and this one wasn't foulhooked. After a few minutes I panned a small carp of about 2 and a half pound. Phew-section points secured as I had avoided the blank. Around half an hour later I had another bite on pellet and soon landed a slightly smaller carp of about 2lb. No more bite's from anywhere in the next hour saw me feed a pinch of bait on all three lines. Two tiny skimmers at 11m broke up the boredom slightly but they were gone as quick as they arrived and I was once again biteless. At around midday I had a positive bite down the track at 11m and hooked what was obviously a decent fish. It raced off around the stumps and seconds later the 0.12 hooklength was snapped. I was gutted by this although I was still comfortably winning the section as apart from a few bits no-one had caught. Over the next 3 hours I went through the motions but didn't manage a bite off any of my line's and the time was really dragging. News filtered through that bob Mapes on Peg 4 had caught a few little stockies and probably had about 4/5lb. I knew this would be close to me and I would need one more fish. At five-to-three I went out to 14.5m with a single grain of corn and 30 seconds later the float vanished and I was attached to another carp. A couple of minute's later I netted a 3lb+ fish with a minute or two to spare. Walking along the bank it was clear how hard the lake had fished. My 3 carp and two tiny skimmers went 8lb 4oz which was enough for the section win with Bob's 4lb 7oz enough for second. Andy fished a blinder on Keepers to weigh 19lb of roach and 11lb odd of carp for 31lb and a lake win. Derek Pickard won the square with 13lb,with Richard coming second with 12lb. This left them level on points but after a weight countback it emerged that Derek had won the league-talk about tight! As expected I finished 3rd overall. In the nine matches I had 4 section wins,two 2nds,a 3rd and two fourths. What ultimately cost me was drawing The Rail six time's- 1st and 2nd only drew on there once in the whole series.
Back to the lodge and after a delicious complimentary meal of chicken and chips it was time for the presentation. I picked up just over £140 for my troubles along with a nice trophy to round off a profitable series. They're a great bunch of lads and although the fishing was often very tough I enjoyed it nonetheless
Saturday 21 March 2009
Broadlands Lower Lake- 21/03/09
A few weeks ago Andy Ford (or Fordy off the telly as he's known) put a post up on MFS asking if anyone was interested in fishing a match on Broadlands Lower Lake which had apparently been fishing very well. There was a lot of interest and a date was set for Saturday 21st March. In the weeks leading up to the date there were reports of anglers catching 150lb+ of mainly bream with a few carp so it's fair to say we were all looking forward to it. Although I had never fished the lake before my good mate Nick White had fished it the week before and absolutely sacked up on poled pellet at 13m- well over 100lb of bream and a few carp in four hours. I arrived at the fishery at a little after 8 and after chatting to the owner (who I have to say is one of the nicest fishery owners I've ever met) I had a walk around the lake. It wasn't how I imagined,far more mature and I have to say it looked nice. Nick arrived soon after and as we chatted we both decided that we would rather be on the bank nearest the main lake as opposed to the river bank opposite. This side has a shorter chuck to the island and was apparently where the skimmers had been showing,with more carp showing on the river bank. Soon after a few of the lads started to arrive and it was good to finally put a few face's to names. Eventually 23 of us were ready for the draw and I went into the bag hoping for somewhere between 19 and 25. Out came 26 which I was reasonably happy with as I felt I was on the right bank but would have preferred to be a couple of pegs to my right. We had almost 2 hours to set up with an 11am start so I made my way to the peg and decided I would aim to keep things as simple as possible. The pegging was very tight,and with anglers either side I thought it might be a bit tough. I decided to fish one line on the pole at 13m and a method feeder to the point of the island which was around 40m away. The lad on my left fished at 10 & 2,with the 2 being about 5/6m from my swim which I knew would have an effect on my catch rate. I set up two rigs for the 13m line,one quite light and one a bit heavier in case it was a bagging match or the carp showed. Both rigs were 4x14 KC Chimps,with the first on 0.14-0.12 and a 16 Gama Pellet matched to a doubled 5 slip. This was shotted with a spread bulk of no:10's and set to fish just touching bottom. The second rig was on 0.16-0.14 and a 16 B911. This was set an inch over depth and shotted with a double bulk of no:10's. The method rod was an 11ft Shimano Beastmaster with a 15g small inline method feeder and a 3 inch 0.18 hooklength. For bait I had a few pints of soaked micro's,a few pints of 4mm's,a tin of corn,4.5 & 6mm hookers and a handful of dead red maggots. I was ready with plenty of time to spare so had a wander along the bank to have a chat with Nick who was on the end peg 18. It was hard to guess what sort of weight would be needed with the pegging so tight,but we both agreed that 60-70lb should make the frame. The all in was called and I put a pot of micro's and a pot of 4mm pellet with a pinch of corn in at 13m before casting the pellet method to the island with double dead maggot. 5 casts in the first 15 minutes saw one small liner but not alot else which wasn't what I expected to be honest. I went on to the pole line with the light rig and a 6mm pellet and after a further 15 minutes I still hadn't had a bite! I immediately regretted putting in so much bait at the start- that's what happens when you listen to the hype about a new water sometimes,it's easy to get carried away. I scaled the hook down to an 18 Gama Pellet so I would be able to fish the 4.5mm pellets as it was harder than expected with no-one really catching much. I changed hooklength on the method to 5 inch with a band and slipped on a 6mm pellet. Two minutes after casting in the tip rattled round and a minute later a 1lb skimmer was in the net. With nothing to show for the next few chucks on the tip I was now an hour in with just one skimmer in the net. Chris on my right had caught two carp on the method and the odd skimmer on the pole. Out on the pole line with a 4.5mm expander and after 5 minute or so the float slid under and a 2lb skimmer was soon in the net. I then had 3 in the next 3 chucks before it went a bit quiet so I fixed a small pot on the end of the pole and started to feed a pinch of micro's and a couple of 4mm's every put in. This brought the peg to life and I was now catching very well,usually waiting 2-3 minutes for a bite but I wasn't missing any and was starting to put a few in the net. After a while I lost 3 or 4 fish on the bounce,all foulhooked so I decided to cut the micro's out and just feed six 4mm pellets after every fish. This seemed to work as although I was waiting longer for bite's every fish was now nicely hooked in the top lip. Every now and then I would have a spell of 15 minutes or so without a bite, but feeding didn't seem to be the answer so I would just trickle in a tiny amount of bait and patiently wait for them to return. After 3 hours I probably had about 20lb in the net. In the fourth hour I was flying,with 10 fish in as many put-ins,I couldn't get the pole out fast enough. At around five-to-three I had a decent slab of about 5lb just before the owner came round for a chat. I had a skimmer of about 1lb when he was there at 3 o'clock and I reckoned I had about 35-40lb in the net with an hour to go. Unfortunately this was to be my last fish,as despite trying all the usual tricks and even throwing the method to the island I didn't have a bite in the last hour. The two lads either side of me also didn't catch in this time,the fish had obviously moved on. The all-out was called at 4pm and I was a bit disapointed to have such a bad last hour. After packing up the scales made their way around and when they got to me the top weight on our side was Nick with 46lb 11oz. Chris on my right weighed 31lb odd before my all skimmer net went 36lb 10oz for a section win. I knew the last hour would cost me and as Nick was second I only needed to pick up a few in the last hour to make the frame but I ended up 6th overall. Myles Levy put in a great performance to blitz the match with 78lb from the other side,he had a similar net of skimmers but crucially added 39lb of carp on the method. Awesome performance-well done mate.
Earlier in the week Nick had asked me if I wanted to start splitting our winnings and I'm glad he did! He picked up £60 for 2nd and I had £30 for the section which gave us £45 each. All in all a very enjoyable day on a smashing venue that will no doubt go from strength to strength. The owner is very passionate about the place and is keen to see it become a top match water. I think 20 is the most that should fish as the pegging was a bit tight in places but at the end of the day we all caught fish on a gorgeous day-you can't ask for much more than that.
Earlier in the week Nick had asked me if I wanted to start splitting our winnings and I'm glad he did! He picked up £60 for 2nd and I had £30 for the section which gave us £45 each. All in all a very enjoyable day on a smashing venue that will no doubt go from strength to strength. The owner is very passionate about the place and is keen to see it become a top match water. I think 20 is the most that should fish as the pegging was a bit tight in places but at the end of the day we all caught fish on a gorgeous day-you can't ask for much more than that.
Monday 9 March 2009
Back on Track
Whinwhistle Winter League round 8- 8/3/09
After yesterday's result at Witherington Farm I was looking forward to the penultimate round of the individual winter league at Whinwhistle. I spent Saturday night staying with family which is around 10 minute's away from the fishery. I woke up at 4am in a cold sweat after having a nightmare of once again drawing Rail 14 for the third time in a row!! I was absolutely praying for a draw on either The Square or preferably Keepers lake as I was confident that I would win my section if I drew either of these two whereas The Rail has been a bit of a one-fish lottery this winter. I arrived at the venue at around 7.30 and sat down to a breakfast whilst telling the lads about my amazing 'two-in-one' method at Withy Farm. I was quite surprised to see that I was lying in third place overall after the last two rounds, with fourth place some 3 points behind. The draw was made at 8.30 and I nervously had my dip half expecting to see R14 but was relieved to see K18 in my hand,I had got my wish and drawn Keepers lake. I started to unload the car and realised I had left my nets at home- TWONK! I had taken them out of my car the night before and left them on the drive way but had got up in the morning and pulled off without realising. Luckily John the owner lent me a set and I got to my peg and began to set up. Peg 18 is a nice peg with a decent depth,although it's where the lake narrows and is around 20m wide.
League leader Richard Allin had drawn the plum peg to my left- end peg 17. I knew he would be very hard to beat from there as he had half the lake free to his left. Nonetheless I had to get my head down and fish my own match. I set myself a target of double figures which would mean good points and hopefully secure third place overall. I planned on fishing a mainline at 10m where I had a good 6 1/2 feet of water. This was to be fished exclusively with pellet,targeting the skimmers which average around 3-4 oz with a few bigger ones hopefully putting in an appearance. I set up two rigs for this line- the first was a 4x14 KC Chimp on 0.14-0.12 to an 18 Gama Pellet and doubled 5 elastic. This was my positive rig shotted with a double bulk of no.10's and I planned to fish 4.5mm expanders. I also set up a lighter 4x12 KC Speed on 0.12-0.10 and a size 20 Gama Black and a doubled 4 elastic with a spread bulk. This was set to just touch bottom and would be used for fishing 3mm expanders. My 2nd swim was a topkit length out where I planned to fish maggots for roach and perch whenever the long line needed resting. Although I had around 6 feet of water here I set up a 4x12 KC Porth on 0.12-0.10 and a 20 Black Gama matched to a doubled 4 latex. This was shotted with a spread of no.11's as I expected to catch through the layers as I would be regularly trickling in 2 or maggots.For bait I had some damp micro pellets,a few 4mm pellets,3 & 4.5mm hookers,a pint of maggot and some groundbait. The groundbait was for the short line and was a 50/50 mix of VDE Secret and Sensas Roach Noire sieved and darkened with Tracix. At 10am the whistle went and I dropped in 5 balls of groundbait about 1m out and cupped in around 50 micro pellets at 10m. Straight onto the topkit rig and I was immediately into small roach and perch. Richard had a few decent roach pushing 10oz which put him into an early lead. I continued trickling maggot in close and was catching steadily. After 30 Minutes I had around 1lb or so in the net so dropped in another small ball of groundbait,put a 3mm expander on the light rig and went out to 10m. On Keepers if you are going to catch on the pellet (which I usually do) you will get bites quite quickly. Therefore I was quite relieved when after just a minute or so the float slid under and a 3oz skimmer was on it's way. At this point I knew I would be alright. I attached a small cadpot onto the pole and decided to trickle in around 10 micro pellets after every fish. Although I was catching well I was getting a few silly bites and catching the odd roach. I decided to switch to the heavier rig,split the 8 no 10's into two small bulks with the nearest 6 inches from the hook. I also laid 2 inches of line on the deck and put a small cadpot of micro pellets in. This worked a treat as although I had to wait a bit longer every bite was positive and the fish were of a slightly better stamp. Around an hour in to the match I was flying and knew I was winning the section and just had to keep putting fish in the net to keep my nose in front. I found the best way of feeding was to put a small cadpot of micro's in,catch around 3 skimmers before the roach moved in which was the signal to feed again. This more positive feeding approach was definitely working as opposed to feeding tiny amounts after every fish. I kept switching between the two rigs to keep the fishing coming and found that I could only catch bang on top of the feed. I tried around it a few tiems but never even managed a bite which was quite surprising. Every now and then the long line would slow down so it was in with a pinch of micro's and onto the topkit line where I would catch a few dumpy roach and even managed a couple of skimmers and 2 perch of 8oz a piece. I lost a perch on this line that was a good 12oz. With half hour to go the heavens opened and the wind was atrocius,I could barely feel my hands. I had started the day in a t-shirt but the weather was awful. I cupped in a golf-ball of micro's long and left it for 10 minutes while the wind settled down. Back on the long line with a 4.5mm pellet and after 2 minutes the float dipped and yards of elastic streamed from the pole. A few minutes later a 2lb tench was in the net which was a very useful bonus. The all-out was called and I was pretty confident I had won the section as I knew I had beat Richard and didn't think much had been caught down the other end. I guessed I had around 15lb. We started the weigh in at the bottom end where there were a few good weights,when it got to me 12lb odd was winning. I felt sure I had that and tipped 16lb 10oz on the scales with only Richard to weigh. His net went 13lb odd which meant I had won the lake. I was pleased as I had beat the end peg which if I'm honest I didn't really expect to do. The maggot line on the topkit was very useful as I probably had 4-5lb of fish off this and it gave me somewhere to go when I needed to rest the long line. Back to the cabin and it emereged that Derek Pickard in 2nd place had won the square with 6lb odd and The Rail had been won with 4lb odd. After I had drawn it twice and had 2oz both times Rail 14 was left out this week! With one round to go Richard is in the lead with 10 points,Derek is on 11 points and I'm in 3rd place on 14 points. Fourth place is on 18 points with a dropped 10 whereas my dropped result is a 4. It's very unlikely I'll be able to catch 2nd place but I don't think I can be caught in 3rd. As they pay the top 5 I will be guaranteed a pay out and just need a good last match to ensure I finish well.
*Incidentally this weekend was the first time I have given the doubled Preston Slip elastic a real good go. It is quite simply AWESOME. The doubled 5 is the best skimmer elastic I have found. This weekend I caught a load of skimmers both days with a few tench and a carp of around 3lb. The bonus fish were no trouble and I think I lost 3 skimmers over the two days-it's incredible. The doubled 4 is lovely for roach/perch etc as it's very soft on the strike but you can still swing decent fish in. I now have this through 90% of my kit's with the only exception being 3 power kits with Wilkie Orange for extreme situations.
After yesterday's result at Witherington Farm I was looking forward to the penultimate round of the individual winter league at Whinwhistle. I spent Saturday night staying with family which is around 10 minute's away from the fishery. I woke up at 4am in a cold sweat after having a nightmare of once again drawing Rail 14 for the third time in a row!! I was absolutely praying for a draw on either The Square or preferably Keepers lake as I was confident that I would win my section if I drew either of these two whereas The Rail has been a bit of a one-fish lottery this winter. I arrived at the venue at around 7.30 and sat down to a breakfast whilst telling the lads about my amazing 'two-in-one' method at Withy Farm. I was quite surprised to see that I was lying in third place overall after the last two rounds, with fourth place some 3 points behind. The draw was made at 8.30 and I nervously had my dip half expecting to see R14 but was relieved to see K18 in my hand,I had got my wish and drawn Keepers lake. I started to unload the car and realised I had left my nets at home- TWONK! I had taken them out of my car the night before and left them on the drive way but had got up in the morning and pulled off without realising. Luckily John the owner lent me a set and I got to my peg and began to set up. Peg 18 is a nice peg with a decent depth,although it's where the lake narrows and is around 20m wide.
League leader Richard Allin had drawn the plum peg to my left- end peg 17. I knew he would be very hard to beat from there as he had half the lake free to his left. Nonetheless I had to get my head down and fish my own match. I set myself a target of double figures which would mean good points and hopefully secure third place overall. I planned on fishing a mainline at 10m where I had a good 6 1/2 feet of water. This was to be fished exclusively with pellet,targeting the skimmers which average around 3-4 oz with a few bigger ones hopefully putting in an appearance. I set up two rigs for this line- the first was a 4x14 KC Chimp on 0.14-0.12 to an 18 Gama Pellet and doubled 5 elastic. This was my positive rig shotted with a double bulk of no.10's and I planned to fish 4.5mm expanders. I also set up a lighter 4x12 KC Speed on 0.12-0.10 and a size 20 Gama Black and a doubled 4 elastic with a spread bulk. This was set to just touch bottom and would be used for fishing 3mm expanders. My 2nd swim was a topkit length out where I planned to fish maggots for roach and perch whenever the long line needed resting. Although I had around 6 feet of water here I set up a 4x12 KC Porth on 0.12-0.10 and a 20 Black Gama matched to a doubled 4 latex. This was shotted with a spread of no.11's as I expected to catch through the layers as I would be regularly trickling in 2 or maggots.For bait I had some damp micro pellets,a few 4mm pellets,3 & 4.5mm hookers,a pint of maggot and some groundbait. The groundbait was for the short line and was a 50/50 mix of VDE Secret and Sensas Roach Noire sieved and darkened with Tracix. At 10am the whistle went and I dropped in 5 balls of groundbait about 1m out and cupped in around 50 micro pellets at 10m. Straight onto the topkit rig and I was immediately into small roach and perch. Richard had a few decent roach pushing 10oz which put him into an early lead. I continued trickling maggot in close and was catching steadily. After 30 Minutes I had around 1lb or so in the net so dropped in another small ball of groundbait,put a 3mm expander on the light rig and went out to 10m. On Keepers if you are going to catch on the pellet (which I usually do) you will get bites quite quickly. Therefore I was quite relieved when after just a minute or so the float slid under and a 3oz skimmer was on it's way. At this point I knew I would be alright. I attached a small cadpot onto the pole and decided to trickle in around 10 micro pellets after every fish. Although I was catching well I was getting a few silly bites and catching the odd roach. I decided to switch to the heavier rig,split the 8 no 10's into two small bulks with the nearest 6 inches from the hook. I also laid 2 inches of line on the deck and put a small cadpot of micro pellets in. This worked a treat as although I had to wait a bit longer every bite was positive and the fish were of a slightly better stamp. Around an hour in to the match I was flying and knew I was winning the section and just had to keep putting fish in the net to keep my nose in front. I found the best way of feeding was to put a small cadpot of micro's in,catch around 3 skimmers before the roach moved in which was the signal to feed again. This more positive feeding approach was definitely working as opposed to feeding tiny amounts after every fish. I kept switching between the two rigs to keep the fishing coming and found that I could only catch bang on top of the feed. I tried around it a few tiems but never even managed a bite which was quite surprising. Every now and then the long line would slow down so it was in with a pinch of micro's and onto the topkit line where I would catch a few dumpy roach and even managed a couple of skimmers and 2 perch of 8oz a piece. I lost a perch on this line that was a good 12oz. With half hour to go the heavens opened and the wind was atrocius,I could barely feel my hands. I had started the day in a t-shirt but the weather was awful. I cupped in a golf-ball of micro's long and left it for 10 minutes while the wind settled down. Back on the long line with a 4.5mm pellet and after 2 minutes the float dipped and yards of elastic streamed from the pole. A few minutes later a 2lb tench was in the net which was a very useful bonus. The all-out was called and I was pretty confident I had won the section as I knew I had beat Richard and didn't think much had been caught down the other end. I guessed I had around 15lb. We started the weigh in at the bottom end where there were a few good weights,when it got to me 12lb odd was winning. I felt sure I had that and tipped 16lb 10oz on the scales with only Richard to weigh. His net went 13lb odd which meant I had won the lake. I was pleased as I had beat the end peg which if I'm honest I didn't really expect to do. The maggot line on the topkit was very useful as I probably had 4-5lb of fish off this and it gave me somewhere to go when I needed to rest the long line. Back to the cabin and it emereged that Derek Pickard in 2nd place had won the square with 6lb odd and The Rail had been won with 4lb odd. After I had drawn it twice and had 2oz both times Rail 14 was left out this week! With one round to go Richard is in the lead with 10 points,Derek is on 11 points and I'm in 3rd place on 14 points. Fourth place is on 18 points with a dropped 10 whereas my dropped result is a 4. It's very unlikely I'll be able to catch 2nd place but I don't think I can be caught in 3rd. As they pay the top 5 I will be guaranteed a pay out and just need a good last match to ensure I finish well.
*Incidentally this weekend was the first time I have given the doubled Preston Slip elastic a real good go. It is quite simply AWESOME. The doubled 5 is the best skimmer elastic I have found. This weekend I caught a load of skimmers both days with a few tench and a carp of around 3lb. The bonus fish were no trouble and I think I lost 3 skimmers over the two days-it's incredible. The doubled 4 is lovely for roach/perch etc as it's very soft on the strike but you can still swing decent fish in. I now have this through 90% of my kit's with the only exception being 3 power kits with Wilkie Orange for extreme situations.
Sunday 8 March 2009
And for my next trick.....
Witherington Farm Teams 0f 4- 7/3/09
Saturday saw me heading to Witherington Farm to fish the teams of 4 match. I already knew I would be fishing on Cottage lake and couldn't wait! I have only fished Cottage once before but had a lovely day catching 33lb odd from peg 2- all small carp,skimmers and goldfish on pole and pellet. I learned a lot last time so was itching to get back on there as I felt I could do better. I arrived at the fishery at around 7.45 and as always had a quick walk around the lakes. There were a lot of fish blowing in front of Cottage peg 10 which was where team-mate Nick White won from 2 weeks before with 83lb caught at 10m. I headed to the cafe to pay my pools and have a chat with the lads before the draw. Nicky went into the bag for us with the words 'Cottage 10 will do me thanks Nick' ringing in his ears. 'Well I got you close Gareth' came his reply, 'You're on Cottage 9'. I was happy enough with that as I was in the right area and fancied it for a few fish. I got to the peg and began setting up.
A few minutes later top angler Gary Etheridge arrived on peg 10. I had drawn next to Gary the last time I fished Cottage and he put in an awesome display to blitz the match with 60lb odd from Peg 3 on the opposite side. He was the last person I wanted to see arrive on dolly peg 10 as he would be very hard to beat from there! Gary's a really nice guy and never holds anything back so atleast I could have a chat throughout the match and hopefully learn a thing or two. One thing I have learned in the limited time I've been fishing at Withy is simplicity is often best. Every time I had fished there I had set the waggler up as I love fishing it even though sometimes I knew I would have been far better off just fishing a lead which isn't generally my favourite method. With that in mind I decided to set up one pole line at 10m in around 4ft of water, an edge rig to my left and a lead rod for fishing to the island. My main line was a 4x12 KC Chimp on 0.14-0.12 and an 18 B911. This was matched to a doubled 5 latex. I also set up a similar rig for the same line on 0.16-0.14 16 B911 and a doubled 6 latex in case the bigger fish showed. My edge rig conisisted of a 4x10 Scone AM Wellard (simply awesome,the perfect margin float) on 0.16-16 B911 and a doubled 8 latex. Finally I set up an 11ft Shimano Beastmaster tip rod matched to a Daiwa TDR reel, 8lb Matchwinner and a 12 inch 0.18 hooklength to an 18 PR36. I planned on fishing small PVA bags of pellet on this line. For bait I had a couple of pints of soaked micro pellets,some 4mm pellets,a tin of corn and a few hookers. The all-in was called and I cupped in around 30 micro pellets and 3 grains of corn at 10m before attaching a tiny PVA bag to the rod and cast around a metre off the island. After 5 minutes I had a small drop back and wound in to nothing. I changed the double corn for a single corn hookbait with a slightly shorter hair and cast out to the same spot. After 5 minutes I had another drop back but this time wound in to solid resistance and 5 minutes later netted a mirror carp of about 6lb. No more bites came in the next 15 minutes so it was onto the pole line at 10m on the light rig with a 4.5mm expander. I started to catch a few small skimmers but was missing a few bites. I double bulked the rig by moving 3 no:10's 6 inches from the hook and first drop saw the float disappear and a lift was met with solid resistance. A minute or two later I slipped the net under a carp of around 3lb. I continued to cad-pot a pinch of micro's and 3 grains of corn in after every fish but although I was catching regularly they were mainly small skimmers. Gary to my right was now sacking on waggler and pellet to the island and I knew I had to try an slow him down so began to ping 6mm pellets across to try and draw some of his fish away. It seemed to work so I cupped in a small amount of bait on the pole line and went on the lead with a 6mm pellet. A minute later the tip wanged around and I had a chub of around 10oz. On with a new pellet and a small PVA of micro's I decided to drop around 5m short of the island. After 10 minutes the tip slammed round and it was clear I had hooked a decent fish as it kited to my right. I thought to myself 'this doesn't feel right' and couldn't work out why. What happened next was one of those million-to-one events. The fish seemed to be fighting hard and when I got it towards me it became clear why. It had a big clump of weed and muck on it's nose,and coming off this clump was a piece of line that also had an 8lb carp attached to it. This made things extremely awkward as I was effectively playing two fish that were swimming in opposite directions. Eventually I netted my fish but somehow the 'other' fish was still attached. I lifted the rod expecting everything to go slack but the fish was still attached and as it just wallowed there I slipped the net under it. A quick check with those around and apparantly it was OK to put in the keepnet so I wasn't going to argue!After all,it's not like it was done intentionally and it was a nightmare trying to land my fish. I almost felt like saying 'and for my next trick'. This put me right back in contention as I felt I was now 2nd on the lake behind Gary who was still catching well on the waggler,mainly goldfish,skimmers and the odd carp. I probably had around 35lb at this stage with 2 hours to go. At this point I fed a bit of corn and pellet down the edge and went back on the pole at 10m. I was catching well but the fish were quite small- skimmers and tench mainly. Back on the tip with a single grain of corn and a PVA bag to the island saw a wrap around after 15 minutes which led to another carp- this time around 7lb. 'Oh no,I've only got one on this time,never mind' I commented to Gary with a big grin on my face. No more bites were forthcoming so it was back on the pole where I continued to catch small skimmers regularly. With an hour to go I put a bit more bait down the inside and went back on the tip. Again it took around 15 minutes for a bite on a single grain of corn that led to a nice mirror carp of around 5lb. No more bite's so it was down the edge for the last 30 minutes where I managed 2 tench and a skimmer on corn before the all-out was called. I was surprised I didn't get any carp down the edge as it looked perfect but it wasn't to be. I was pretty sure Gary had beat me as he had caught well throughout,taking fish on both the pole and waggler. The scales made their way around the lake and when they reached me 39lb was winning. My silvers net went 17.8 and my carp net went 36.12. I was surprised as I didn't think I had that much. My lead was short lived as Gary plonked 65lb dead on the scales. I followed them round the rest of the lake and it finally emerged I had come 2nd, with 39lb coming third. As it happened that 'bonus' fish hadn't made any difference, but I couldn't help but think that if I had won by a couple of pound it would have felt like a hollow victory. I packed up and headed back to the cafe where it emerged that not only had I come 2nd in my section but also 2nd overall which was a nice bonus. I finally feel like I'm starting to get to grips with the place and it's nice when this is reflected in your results.
Saturday saw me heading to Witherington Farm to fish the teams of 4 match. I already knew I would be fishing on Cottage lake and couldn't wait! I have only fished Cottage once before but had a lovely day catching 33lb odd from peg 2- all small carp,skimmers and goldfish on pole and pellet. I learned a lot last time so was itching to get back on there as I felt I could do better. I arrived at the fishery at around 7.45 and as always had a quick walk around the lakes. There were a lot of fish blowing in front of Cottage peg 10 which was where team-mate Nick White won from 2 weeks before with 83lb caught at 10m. I headed to the cafe to pay my pools and have a chat with the lads before the draw. Nicky went into the bag for us with the words 'Cottage 10 will do me thanks Nick' ringing in his ears. 'Well I got you close Gareth' came his reply, 'You're on Cottage 9'. I was happy enough with that as I was in the right area and fancied it for a few fish. I got to the peg and began setting up.
A few minutes later top angler Gary Etheridge arrived on peg 10. I had drawn next to Gary the last time I fished Cottage and he put in an awesome display to blitz the match with 60lb odd from Peg 3 on the opposite side. He was the last person I wanted to see arrive on dolly peg 10 as he would be very hard to beat from there! Gary's a really nice guy and never holds anything back so atleast I could have a chat throughout the match and hopefully learn a thing or two. One thing I have learned in the limited time I've been fishing at Withy is simplicity is often best. Every time I had fished there I had set the waggler up as I love fishing it even though sometimes I knew I would have been far better off just fishing a lead which isn't generally my favourite method. With that in mind I decided to set up one pole line at 10m in around 4ft of water, an edge rig to my left and a lead rod for fishing to the island. My main line was a 4x12 KC Chimp on 0.14-0.12 and an 18 B911. This was matched to a doubled 5 latex. I also set up a similar rig for the same line on 0.16-0.14 16 B911 and a doubled 6 latex in case the bigger fish showed. My edge rig conisisted of a 4x10 Scone AM Wellard (simply awesome,the perfect margin float) on 0.16-16 B911 and a doubled 8 latex. Finally I set up an 11ft Shimano Beastmaster tip rod matched to a Daiwa TDR reel, 8lb Matchwinner and a 12 inch 0.18 hooklength to an 18 PR36. I planned on fishing small PVA bags of pellet on this line. For bait I had a couple of pints of soaked micro pellets,some 4mm pellets,a tin of corn and a few hookers. The all-in was called and I cupped in around 30 micro pellets and 3 grains of corn at 10m before attaching a tiny PVA bag to the rod and cast around a metre off the island. After 5 minutes I had a small drop back and wound in to nothing. I changed the double corn for a single corn hookbait with a slightly shorter hair and cast out to the same spot. After 5 minutes I had another drop back but this time wound in to solid resistance and 5 minutes later netted a mirror carp of about 6lb. No more bites came in the next 15 minutes so it was onto the pole line at 10m on the light rig with a 4.5mm expander. I started to catch a few small skimmers but was missing a few bites. I double bulked the rig by moving 3 no:10's 6 inches from the hook and first drop saw the float disappear and a lift was met with solid resistance. A minute or two later I slipped the net under a carp of around 3lb. I continued to cad-pot a pinch of micro's and 3 grains of corn in after every fish but although I was catching regularly they were mainly small skimmers. Gary to my right was now sacking on waggler and pellet to the island and I knew I had to try an slow him down so began to ping 6mm pellets across to try and draw some of his fish away. It seemed to work so I cupped in a small amount of bait on the pole line and went on the lead with a 6mm pellet. A minute later the tip wanged around and I had a chub of around 10oz. On with a new pellet and a small PVA of micro's I decided to drop around 5m short of the island. After 10 minutes the tip slammed round and it was clear I had hooked a decent fish as it kited to my right. I thought to myself 'this doesn't feel right' and couldn't work out why. What happened next was one of those million-to-one events. The fish seemed to be fighting hard and when I got it towards me it became clear why. It had a big clump of weed and muck on it's nose,and coming off this clump was a piece of line that also had an 8lb carp attached to it. This made things extremely awkward as I was effectively playing two fish that were swimming in opposite directions. Eventually I netted my fish but somehow the 'other' fish was still attached. I lifted the rod expecting everything to go slack but the fish was still attached and as it just wallowed there I slipped the net under it. A quick check with those around and apparantly it was OK to put in the keepnet so I wasn't going to argue!After all,it's not like it was done intentionally and it was a nightmare trying to land my fish. I almost felt like saying 'and for my next trick'. This put me right back in contention as I felt I was now 2nd on the lake behind Gary who was still catching well on the waggler,mainly goldfish,skimmers and the odd carp. I probably had around 35lb at this stage with 2 hours to go. At this point I fed a bit of corn and pellet down the edge and went back on the pole at 10m. I was catching well but the fish were quite small- skimmers and tench mainly. Back on the tip with a single grain of corn and a PVA bag to the island saw a wrap around after 15 minutes which led to another carp- this time around 7lb. 'Oh no,I've only got one on this time,never mind' I commented to Gary with a big grin on my face. No more bites were forthcoming so it was back on the pole where I continued to catch small skimmers regularly. With an hour to go I put a bit more bait down the inside and went back on the tip. Again it took around 15 minutes for a bite on a single grain of corn that led to a nice mirror carp of around 5lb. No more bite's so it was down the edge for the last 30 minutes where I managed 2 tench and a skimmer on corn before the all-out was called. I was surprised I didn't get any carp down the edge as it looked perfect but it wasn't to be. I was pretty sure Gary had beat me as he had caught well throughout,taking fish on both the pole and waggler. The scales made their way around the lake and when they reached me 39lb was winning. My silvers net went 17.8 and my carp net went 36.12. I was surprised as I didn't think I had that much. My lead was short lived as Gary plonked 65lb dead on the scales. I followed them round the rest of the lake and it finally emerged I had come 2nd, with 39lb coming third. As it happened that 'bonus' fish hadn't made any difference, but I couldn't help but think that if I had won by a couple of pound it would have felt like a hollow victory. I packed up and headed back to the cafe where it emerged that not only had I come 2nd in my section but also 2nd overall which was a nice bonus. I finally feel like I'm starting to get to grips with the place and it's nice when this is reflected in your results.
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