Sunday saw the 3rd round of the summer league at Whinwhistle on Keepers Lake. After 2 rounds I was in joint first after a section 1st and 3rd so was hoping for a decent draw to move clear. After the usual breakfast it was time for the draw and I came out with Peg 12-not great. I won my section and had a lake 2nd the week before from peg 14 with 11.6 of silvers so thought there might be a few about but if the carp fed I could be in trouble. I was hoping to finish in the top four of the 15 peg section as I knew it would be tough to win from such a non-descript peg.
I decided to approach it in my usual sort of way with a caster line at 3m. I had however decided to try something a bit different with a worm and caster line down the edge at 13m and a worm,caster and groundbait line for 13m straight out. Last week the near line died after a couple of hours,so I hoped the 13m line would give me somewhere to go during the middle of the match.
My first rig was for 3m- a 4x12 KC Porth on 0.12and a 20 Gama maggot matched to double 5 slip. I plumbed up to fish on the bottom of the near slope in 5ft of water but had the option of dragging the rig towards me slightly if I needed to lay some line on the deck. I also set up two shallow rigs for this line set at 12 and 18 inches deep. Both rigs were 4x10 Chiantis,0.12 18 Drennan Eyed barbless and double 4 slip. For the 13m worm line I had around 6.5 feet of water so set up a 4x14 KC Chimp on 0.16-0.14 and a 16 Gama Pellet matched to yellow drennan bungee. I set the rig 4 inches over depth as I was hoping for some bonus fish from this line. Finally I set up the edge rig for the inside at 13m,just this side of the next platform. A 4x10 Scone Jubleez on 0.16-size 3 Tubertini 175 and Red Vespe bi-core completed the set-up.
For bait I had 1/2 kilo of worm,2 pints of caster,a tin of corn and a kilo of groundbait (50% crazy bait gold,40% Sensas Lake 3000 and 10% Swimstim Green). As always at Whinwhistle my target was 10lb to hopefully get good points- although I thought 20lb might be needed to win as one or two carp were bound to feed at some stage.
The all-in was called at 10 am and I flicked a few casters in at 3m before cupping in 6 balls of groundbait at 13m spread over a 1m sq area containing 250ml of chopped worm,250ml of caster and 100ml of damp micro pellet. I then put a full pot of worm/caster with some predator plus in at 13m to the next platform. I kicked off on the deck at 3m with single caster and was suprised to wait around 5 minute's for my first bite-a dumpy 2oz roach. All the while I was flicking in 2 or 3 casters every 15 seconds or so with a view to catching shallow. I waited around 15 minute's for my next bite which was very unusual,a slightly better roach at around 4oz. After 45 minute's I was struggling with just 4 fish so decided to put a segment of worm on even though I hadn't fed any on this line. The float barely settled before disapearing and a lift was met with several yards of elastic exiting the pole. A few minute's later I netted a small tench of around 1.5lb- a very useful fish as no-one else was catching bar the odd bit. I decided to stick with the worm on the hook but continue feeding caster as it was definitely more productive than caster as a hookbait. After an hour I fed another half pot of the worm mix down the edge before going back at 3m and picking up the odd small perch and roach. After around 90 minute's I latched into a fish that tore off and had me adding extra sections. After a good 5 minute's I slipped the net under a near 3lb tench-bonus! This gave me a good 5lb- half way to my target weight with over 3 hours to go. Although I couldn't see the bottom end of the lake news filtered through that a couple of carp had been caught-exactly what I didn't want to hear. Nonetheless I was beating everyone I could see so planned to get my head down catching whatever I could and hope I could pick up a bonus fish or two either from the left edge or the 13m line.
After 2 hours the near line had dried up as all I was catching was 3 to the oz perch (I must have had 25 of these,with many falling off as they were simply holding on to the worm) so I put half a pot of worm and caster in and after topping up the edge went long. No bite's were forthcoming so I made the decision to feed 3 more balls of groundbait and leave it for another hour. A look down the edge on worm saw a few small perch before I hooked a fish that tore off. I thought I had hooked a carp for a few seconds but it turned out to be a perch knocking 1lb- a useful bonus but a bit disapointing as I could have done with a carp. After 20 minute's down the inside and only a few smaller perch it was back at 3m on worm where I again added a few smaller perch and a nice 8oz roach. With 90 minute's to go I went out to 13m with a half segment of worm and after 5 minute's the float slowly slid under and a lift was met with a few feet of elastic coming out of the pole-yes! Err,no....it turned out to be an eel of some 8oz. When the same thing happened about 20 minute's later I decided to come off this line,put another full pot of worm mix down the inside and spend 10 minute's at 3m. With only a few small fish added I decided to spend the last 45 minute's down the edge as I heard of a few carp being caught and Roger Clacey opposite me had caught a decent 7lb+ fish down the inside. The match pretty much fizzled out as despite a few bite's from small fish I didn't manage to catch a carp. The all out was called and I heard a shout of 'Fish On' from Phil James at the bottom end of the lake followed by a shout of 'you beauty!'- Great! I guessed I had about 9lb or so in the net and hoped I would do ok with that. The scales made their way around and there were two weights of 14lb odd- Will on peg 27 had 3 carp for 14lb 8oz and Andy Shanks on (flyer) peg 24 caught 3 carp in the final 30 minute's to go with his 10oz of silvers for 14lb 9oz-he's not spawny honest!! My silvers tipped the scales round to 9lb 9oz which was enough for 5th in the section. I was a little disapointed but as the top 3 were all in a line at the bottom end of the lake I felt I did ok from where I was. More importantly I had won £2 off Oscar from 2 pegs away as he still owed me a quid from about 3 months ago!
After packing away it was back to the lodge where it emerged I was still in joint top spot although I was now sharing the lead with Andy Shanks. All in all not a bad day and I wasn't far off my target of 10lb and 4th in section and wouldn't really have done anything different.
Whinwhistle Evening Match- 17/06/09
After missing the last 3 evening matches I was looking forward to this one as it was on 'The Islands' so I hoped to catch a few carp. The weather wasn't great and with only seven anglers fishing I was a little disapointed. I had my girlfriend with me for company and as she had never seen me fish she wasn't sure of what to expect! I really fancied peg 3,8 or 15-with peg 8 being the out and out flyer. I went into the bag and pulled out peg 16.....no great,until I realised it was in instead of 15-result! After getting to the peg and setting up a carp chair for the mrs it was time to decide on what I was going to do. I had an island in front at 17m with a bay (in front of peg 15) to the right. As it was only a 3 hour match I decided on a simple approach. First th ing I set up was the method- 11ft BeastMaster,8lb MatchWinner with a 15g Preston Inline Method and a four inch hooklength of 0.18-20 Fox Series 2 with a spike on a hair. I set up one pole rig for fishing at 16m,just off the island- a 4x12 Scone Jubleez on 0.18-Tubertini 175 size 3 matched to red vespe bi-core. By now the light drizzle was becoming heavier- not ideal when you've got your partner with you! For bait I had a tin of corn,a tin of 6mm meat,some mini white Ringers boilies and 2 pints for the method (50/50 damp micro pellet and crazy bait gold). With 5 minute's to go I plumbed up the same rig down the edge to my right just in case but didn't really plan on fishing here.
The all in was called at 6pm and I put half a pot of corn,meat and pellet in at 16m before casting the method slightly to my right into the bay with a single 8mm boilie buried inside. I decided I would give each cast 10 minute's as my target weight was probably 20lb or so-4 or 5 carp with a bit of luck. After 7 or 8 minute's the tip rattled around and a 6oz skimmer was soon in the net. I repeated the process and this time after 5 minute'san 8oz skimmer was in the net. On the 30 minute mark the rod slammed around and a carp was on. By keeping the rod high the fish kited out from the island and into the open water.
(One bonus of taking my girlfriend is there's someone to take photo's- this is me playing the first carp at around 4lb or so)
The next cast resulted in another small skimmer after 5 minute's or so. I rebaited and cast tight to the back of the bay and before I put the rod on the rest it was wrenched out of my hand- errr that'll be a bite then! I again held the rod high and the fish kited away from trouble and pretty soon I added a smaller carp of around 3lb. After a couple of biteless casts the wind had dropped down so I decided to try the 16m line that I had been pinging the odd cube of meat over for the best part of an hour. A few quick 6oz skimmers were taken on 6mm meat and although not what I was after I was happy to be adding weight to the net. After 20 minute's or so I decided it was time to try the feeder again so fed half a pot of meat and corn with no pellet at 16m as I was hoping to avoid some of the smaller fish.
The next hour was pretty uneventful apart from a few small skimmers. The trouble was I could only see one angler from my peg, and as he was blanking after 2 hours I wasn't sure how the rest of the lake was fishing. Ringwood match sec Pete Hutchinson was to my right on peg 14 and although I couldn't see him I could hear a bit of splashing every now and then. I had also found out that Andy Franks had drawn THE flyer peg 8 for the 3rd time in a row,and as he had won the previous two I had to be sure he would be catching a few. Another look on the long pole saw two more skimmers but I felt sure I would need 2 more carp to be in with a shout. A quick look down the edge saw bite's from the bits so I sacked this and decided to spend the last 20 minutes on the method. With just 10 minute's to go the tip slowly but deliberately pulled round and carp number 3 was on. Again by holding the rod high the fish kited out and another 3lber was soon added. My final cast with 5 minute's to go and the all-out was called at 9pm.
I was a bit surprised to see Andy Franks drive past after 5 minute's- he had blanked on peg 8 and I suddenly thought I might be in with a shout. I was already regretting telling the mrs I would take her out for a meal the next night if i won,especially as it turned out Pete had lost 8 fish down the edge and landed 2! I followed the scales round and a couple of people had already left,and with 8lb 12oz top weight followed by Pete's 7lb odd and me last to weigh I suddenly realised we were going out for a meal on me!! My 3 carp and a few skimmers went 15lb 2oz for a comfortable win although the brown envelope was out of my hands within a matter of seconds!
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