Gareth's Fishing Blog

Back to the blog!

2010-09-30T03:04:00.000-07:00

Well after having a bit of a break from blogging I've decided to pick things up again. I haven't actually fished that many matches since my last blog. I had a 1st and 2nd in consecutive weeks at Greenridge Farm,both on peg 4 canal 1 with 89lb and 96lb on caster short. I then had 3 weeks off due to other commitments before coming 4th overall on my first and only visit to Dandy's Ford fishery with 64lb on the method feeder and pellet wag. I had a nice end to the evening match series at Whinwhistle winning the last 4 matches on the bounce and also ventured up to my old stomping ground Hillview in Tewkesbury. On the Saturday I bombed out with 44lb of skimmers from one of the lakes but on the bank holiday Monday match I drew a peg on the back canal and won the match overall with 118lb on shallow caster to the far bank. My next match then saw a bit of a blowout on canal 3 at Greenridge and I actually packed up early which is something I very rarely do! I hadn't taken any maggots and got caught out bigtime as everyone around me fished maggots and caught a few. I tipped back about 30lb (9 carp) caught short on corn but the winner had 61lb on maggot across.

The next match saw me draw canal 2- the place to avoid with just 60lb being the best weight for weeks and weeks. I drew peg 16 and fished maggot across and corn short for 76lb and the win with 40lb second. Two days later saw me back at Greenridge for a charity match in aid of Help for Heroes and I drew peg 19,again on canal 2. I fished maggot across and corn short,but also mugged some big fish down the middle early on maggot and eventually put 144lb 7oz on the scales. This easily won the canal but there was a 151lb from canal 1 so I finished up second overall. I picked up some cash,had a nice trophy,a new best 5 hour match weight and most importantly of all took a shiny pound off Pete Bailey who drew canal 3 and put 89lb on the scales. Pictured is Mark Richardson (centre:winner with 151lb) Mark Cannings (right:3rd with 136lb) and myself The following Saturday I again drew canal 2,this time peg 20. I wasn't too happy with the draw but by fishing maggot across and to the parrallell bank (endpeg) and then corn short I put 103lb on the scales for the lake win with 86lb second. Yet again it was only good for 2nd overall as Dave Hydes put 112lb on the scales from canal 3. I actually had a fish-on at the whistle but it went under my platform and broke me. It was only about 6lb so didnt cost me but bad angling nonetheless! This match was the first time they had done an optional superpool at Greenridge and as Dave hadn't gone in it and I had I pocketed an extra £60 for my troubles which was nice!

Over the course of the summer I had also managed to finish in 7th place in the Hampshire region of the Angling Times County Champs with 80 points. The semi-final was at Gold valley and I decided to give it a go. It was a bit of a baptism of fire as I had Will Raison next peg to my left and Tommy Hillier next peg to my right. They both fished brilliant matches and qualified with 130lb and 103lb respectively,all caught on the tip. I just missed out in 7th place with 62lb,70lb odd was needed to get through so one decent carp could have seen me OK. I fancy Hampshire's chances with William,Tommy,Pemb Wrighting,Myles Levy and John Light. Good luck boys!

Finally I have had my full sponsorship with Romsey Bait and Tackle extended to April 2011 so I would like to give a big thanks to John and Amanda for continuing to support me. It's a very well stocked shop and all of their livebait comes from Gold Valley and the quality is second to none.

The reason I decided to pick the blog up again is because this weekend saw the first match in the winter series at Greenridge Farm. The format is simple- there are 20 matches (every Saturday except the first in the month) and your best 12 results count. There are 10 points for a canal win so the maximum score available is 120. It's usually one with 115 points + so it's not easy to win. I would have had a decent chance of a pick-up in the summer league with 4 x firsts, 2 x seconds and a third but unfortunately I only fished 9 out of 12 matches so didn't qualify. I will be fishing the majority of the winter series so will hopefully be up there come March.

Unfortunately match organiser Mick Kenny has had to have an eye operation so will be out of action for a few weeks. I wish him a quick and speedy recovery and hopefully he'll be back at Greenridge very soon. Andy Potter took over and would organise the match. With just 16 fishing we were split into two sections of 8 and canal 1 and 2. I really wanted to be on canal 2 as I have won it in my last 4 matches on there. I wasn't too disapointed however when peg 11 stuck to my hand. I drew this peg on my first visit in April 2009 and came 2nd with 96lb,then came 2nd again with 42lb through the ice last February so I was hoping to make it third time lucky. The only other peg I've drawn 3 times is peg 19 and I came 2nd the first two times before winning it on the third. Hopefully the pattern would continue!

Peg 11 can be a bit hit and miss as with all end pegs. Pegs 8,9 &10 were usually better but I felt sure I'd have a chance. I decided on a 4 pronged attack,a maggot line to the farbank,a maggot line to the side bank towards a small pipe,a maggot line in the deep water at 11m and my usual short corn line at 4m. The short corn rig was a 0.2 Hillbilly Billybob on 0.16-0.14 and an 18 B911. I plumbed this on a top 2+2 at an angle to my left,just at the base of the near slope. Shotting was a spread bulk of 10's and elastic was yellow bungee on a pulla. The 11m deep line was a 4x14 KC Chimp on the same gear as the short line. For the farbank I had two lines,one up the shelf and one down it. Both rigs saw a Hillbilly Billybob on 0.16-0.14 and an 18 B911. The top shelf rig was a 0.1 and down the shelf was a 0.2. Both rigs were matched to double 8 slip. The top shelf rig also doubled up as the rig for fishing to the pipe along the bank to my right at just over 13m. For bait I had 2 tins of corn and 4 pints of maggot.

The all in was called and I potted in a pinch of maggot on the top shelf line,a full pot of maggot on the 11m deep line and threw half a dozen grains of corn onto the shortline. Kicking off on the top shelf I started to catch the odd small roach so continued to cadpot in half a dozen maggots every put in. After around 35 minutes I hooked my first carp which was soon safely in the net,despite being foul-hooked. Dave Hydes on peg 10 to my left was spraying bait about (as he always does to good effect) but he was also feeding his short line with handfuls oif maggot,less than a metre away from my short corn line. Despite always looking to fish 'away' from corners when on an end peg I quickly plumbed a short corn line to my right and started to feed here instead as I knew I would struggle on the left hand line with the amount of feed in close proximity. Nonetheless I would continue to feed the left hand line just in case.

The top shelf line didn't seem to be working so I dropped down a shelf and added 2 quick carp,giving me 3 after an hour. It was hard work though and I didn't feel like there were masses of fish in front of me,as I was getting very few signs. After two hours I had 7 fish in the net and felt it was now time to feed the pipe line. A pinch of maggot was cupped in and first drop saw a 6lber in the net with another of around 4lb next drop. This line then also went quiet. Dave next door was catching regularly by spraying maggot so I soon got the catty out and started to loose feed the pipe line. This worked to a degree as I added a few more fish but I couldn't keep them coming. I had a large tree to my left so couldn't see the rest of the canal so it was hard to know how I was faring. I was having a few quiet spells but kept rotating my lines picking off the odd fish. I had 2 carp on the deep maggot line but it didn't seem right for some reason. I even set a new line up at 17m into the corner but this didn't work, nor did trying a shallow rig as there were a few fish mooching about. I then started feeding the far line with a catty which had some effect as I found a few more fish. The short corn line gave me a couple of quick fish before it went quieting but by regularly feeding I picked off a few more. With 40 minutes left I had 23 carp in the net,taken off 5 different lines and then the peg just died! That can be the trouble with end pegs sometimes,if the fish move out there's not alot you can do. The all out was called and I felt very deflated as I felt sure that last spell would cost me. I thought I had around 70lb and I felt sure that Dave next door had 90-100lb.

After packing away the scales made their way to my peg and I tipped 81lb 14oz on the scales- more than I thought. Dave then totalled 76lb odd which really surprised me. There were then a few 40-50lb weights before Jamie Payne tipped 79lb something on the scales- a bit too close for comfort! I was a bit surprised to have won as I felt sure the quiet spell would prove costly but I was fortunate to get away with it on this occasion. Pete Newman won canal 2 with 74lb odd which meant I had won the superpool for the 2nd match out of 2.

After a swift beer after the match I pocketed £90 but most importantly had kicked off the winter series with a maximum 10 point score. I'm back at Greenridge again this Saturday hoping my run of good form (fliers) continues!

On Hold...

2010-07-19T04:18:00.001-07:00

Well, alot has happened since my last blog,and most of it isn't fishing related! In the last 6 weeks my girlfriend has moved in with me,we had a week in Tenerife and a few family do's so time on the bank has been rather limited. I have also changed poles from a Daiwa G8 to a Garbolino Super G10. Finally I have been lucky enough to land a full bait sponsorship deal from Romsey Bait & Tackle. This makes it alot less painful when taking 5 pints of caster to Greenridge Farm. I must say a big thanks to John Hardeley for backing me with the sponsorship.

I have fished two evening matches at Whinwhistle,coming 1st & 2nd,with 21lb both times,mostly consisiting of carp caught down the edge on corn. I also fished a match at Greenridge Farm and drew the wrong end of canal 2- peg 13. I managed to catch a few late on caster short for 56lb,beating the two either side of me but way off the pace of the other end of the lake.

This Saturday I was back at Greenridge for another crack. With 25 booked on only 3 canals were needed this time. After a later than usual breakfast I had my dip into the bag and pulled out peg 28,2 in from the far end of canal 3. I had only fished canal 3 once before, and that day I got caught out as I had no caster. This time I had 5 pints so hoped to do better than the 36lb odd I had last time. To my right I had venue regular Andy Vane, with Lee Woodhouse on endpeg 30 and Mark to my left on 27. The match the week before had fished very well,with 16 weights over 100lb,with Pete Newman winning overall with 176lb odd from peg 29 on shallow pellet. AFter speaking with Pete during the week I planned to fish a similar way to the farbank- just a length of line with a band on a hair,allowing you to get right into the ratholes under the cover. It's by no means the prettiest way to fish as there's no float,but using a float asks for trouble as you instinctively strike,resulting in rigs getting caught in the far bank vegetation on more than one occasion. I planned to start on the deck across,so set up a 4x12 Scone Jubleez for the 2.5ft deep swim,on 0.18-0.16,a Tubertini 3 and 14 latex. The shallow rig was a foot of 0.16- 16 Pr36 with a band on a hair and 14 latex. I also planned on fishing caster short,so plumbed a line at 3m- a 4x12 NG Finesse,0.16-0.14 and a 16 B911. This was matched to yellow bungee and shotted with a spread bulk of 10's, set 2 inches over depth just up the near slope slightly. For bait I had 5 pints of caster,3 tins of corn (for the inside line,although I didnt actually fish here) a bag of 6mm pellets and some 8mms for the hair.

The all in was called and I potted in around 20 grains of corn and a pinch of pellet right up the farbank before throwing a couple of handfuls of caster on the short line. I had an early carp on corn across but it was a bit of a false dawn as after 3 hours I had just 3 carp in the net for about 7lb- 2 across and one short on the caster. The guys on the next pegs were fairing no better and it became quite clear there weren't many fish at our end. I knew that my best bet was going to be the short caster line which I had been feeding from the off. Fishing double caster with a spread bulk and regularly feeding by hand I began to catch a few. Going into the last hour I was absolutely flying and included a few better fish up to 8lb. When the all-out was called I had a fish on and dropped my 28th carp in the net after the whistle. It had been pretty tough and Mark & Andy either side of me both tipped back 7 carp each. Lee on the end peg weighed 30lb odd before my weight was called out at 97lb 4oz. The rest of the weights were in the 30-40lb bracket before we got the far end and Jamie Payne put 86lb on the scales before Paul Barnard on the end peg plonked 124lb on for a comfortable win. I managed 2nd on the canal and 5th overall,with 114lb winning canal 2 and 103lb winning canal 1. I had fed 4 pints of caster on the line I caught well on and learned plenty which I will put to good use next time. I picked up £40 for 2nd in section and after the usual post-match beer headed home.

I have made the decision to put my blog on hold for the foreseeable future. I am struggling to find the time and rather than do a half-arsed job I would rather leave it until things settle down and I can give each blog 100%. I hope you have enjoyed reading about my exploits half as much as I've enjoyed writing about them. I will be black blogging one day but until then 'Tight Lines' and I hope to see you on the bank someday.

Gareth

End of May double header

2010-06-01T03:28:00.000-07:00

Well yet again I am having start my blog with an apology for not updating sooner. It's been the most hectic few weeks and in all honesty I haven't been able to spend much time on the bank. I have fished 5 Wednesday evening matches coming 1st,2nd,2nd,3rd and 4th. The fishing has been very tough and on two occasions I was less than 1lb off the place ahead. I also fished a match at Greenridge Farm a few weeks ago and got caught out big time. I drew canal 3 and didn't have any caster whereas those that did bagged up. I managed 10 carp on corn short for 34lb but was way off the pace- lesson learned. This weekend I had a double header of matches with Greenridge on the Saturday followed by Todber Manor on the Sunday. After getting battered at Greenridge the time before I made sure I had some caster this time and went armed with 6 pints.

I was at the venue almost 2 hours early and it's only 5 minutes from my house....that's the excitiment of a match I guess! After the usual breakfast it was time for the draw and with 28 booked pretty much all of the pegs were in on canals 1,2 & 3. If it wasn't for the fact that there was a festival on at Witherington Farm canal 4 would have been included,something I am yet to have seen in the 15 months or so I have been going to the venue. Into the drawbag I went and out came peg 19. I was happy with this as I drew the peg a few weeks previous and managed 80lb on meat across so I knew it would hold a few fish. I had Andy Potter to my left on 18 who always does well at Greenridge. My main plan today was to be caster across with meat short in the deeper water. For the far bank I set up two rigs- a 4x10 Scone AM Wellardz on 0.18-0.16 and an 18 PR36. Shotting was a spread of 3x10's and elastic was 14 latex. I also set up a small drennan carp 4 on thew same terminal gear set at 6 inches. The Wellard rig was set at around 2ft to fish on the deck just down the shelf but would also be my shallow rig for coming away from the island if needed. For down the track I set up a 0.2g Nick Gilbert Decker on 0.18-0.16 and a 16 B911. This rig covered two lines,the first on a topkit+ short 4 and the second at 6 sections. This was shotted with a spread bulk of 10's and was again matched to 14 latex. For bait I had 6 pints of caster,a tin of hemp and 3 tins of 6mm meat.

The all in was called and I flicked a dozen cubes of meat on the short line before potting in half a pot of hemp and a handful of meat at 6 sections. I dropped in on the short meat line and kept flicking a small amount of bait over it. The catty was already in my hand and I was firing a pouchful of caster to the farbank every 30 seconds or so. After around 5 minutes I had a carp of 3lb in the net,with another following 10 minutes later. To be honest these were bonus fish as I was looking to put anything in the net while priming the shallow line. After half an hour I hadn't added any more so was soon on the far bank line on the deck rig with double caster. Although I caught odd fish it wasn't great but nobody was really catching and it was evidently going to be a pretty tough day. I cut back on the amount of loose feed but maintained the regularity feeding around 10 casters at a time. Andy to my left was foulhooking a few and getting some of them in but from what I could see most people weren't really catching. I knew my best chance would be to persevere with the shallow line and after around 3 hours the fish arrived and I started to catch. It was proper shallow fishing- feed,drop rig in,hook fish,feed,ship back halfway,feed,get down to topkit,feed,net & unhook fish,feed....

The fish were by no means crawling up the pole and I had to search about and switch between the two rigs to keep them coming. Occasionally I would drop short on the 2ft rig and find a fish before switching to the 6 inch rig and finding another. Crucially I wasn't foulhooking any which meant I hardly lost a fish whereas those fishing on the deck were losing plenty. I had one hairy moment where a fish tore through a clump of grass and snagged me but eventually I managed to get the fish out and and in the net. This happened again later on but this time I lost the fish and spangled my rig. I also smashed a topkit when about to net a fish-I'm pretty sure there was a nick in the no 2 and with a bit of pressure it soon went BANG! Every now and then I would drop in on the meat line and up the intensity of the casters long which would result in a quick fish when dropping back in. Unbelievably I couldnt catch on the track line which really suprised me. This was a bit disapointing as you can often pick up some 8-9lb fish here which are worth 3 of the far bank fish. When the all-out was called I had 25 carp,a 2lb chub,half a dozen small tench and the odd roach. Andy had caught a few in the last hour on a top 4 but I knew he wouldn't have as much as I did.

The scales started up the top on peg 12 and Andy Vane put 60lb on,followed by a few 30lb-40lb weights- it had fished very hard for most on canal 2. Andy Potter put 54lb on before my weight was totalled at 80lb something,enough for the win with 60lb being 2nd. The buzz after the match was that one of the two £500 golden pegs might have gone as Mick Howells was admitting to a ton+ on peg 7. He actually put 112lb on the scales which was enough for the overall win and a nice £500 bonus! I picked up £60 for winning canal 2 and canal 3 was won with 90lb. All in all it was a strange day as it fished quite hard. One things for sure,I'll be taking caster on my next visit!

Sunday saw the MFS match at Todber Manor. I fished this venue in April 2009 and had 66lb of mostly F1's for 3rd in section. That day I was told that my peg,28, wasn't in the best area as it was a bit of a nursery for the F1's and you needed proper carp to do any good. On my first visit I caught all day and beat those around me but was beaten by the 2 pegs at the top end of the section.

I was the first one in the carpark (as usual!) and had a quick walk around. 5 minutes later Pete Bailey pulled up and we had a quick walk around. We both agreed that anywhere in the lower numbers would be better and apart from 38 we didn't really fancy anywhere in the thirties or high twenties. Bit by bit everyone arrived and soon there were 21 of us ready for the draw. I pulled out 2 pegs,one for me and one for Pete. I opened mine to reveal peg 32 and Pete opened peg 12...doh! After trudging round to my peg the most obvious thing was the wind. It was already quite breezy and I felt sure fishing across to the farbank would be difficult. As I was picking my girlfriend up from Bristol airport straight after the match I had little room in the car so when Pete kindly offered to let me borrow his Colmic XT500 earlier in the week I jumped at the chance as it meant I could leave my rod bag at home,freeing up some space for a suitcase. I have to say it's a great pole and I was very impressed with it.

The first thing I did was a bit of 'gardening' in the edge to my left as I wanted to get right in against the bank in the 2ft of water. I soon had a lovely little gap cut out that looked sock on. Next it was time to assemble my two rigs for the farbank. The first was a 4x12 Scone Jubleez on 0.18-0.16 and a size 3 Tubertini 175. This was shotted with a spread bulk of 10's and a backshot, matched to 14 latex. I found the standard 2ft of water on the shelf and also found the same depth on my inside line. I also set up a shallow rig- 4x10 AM Wellardz on 0.18-0.16 and an 18 PR36 with the same elastic. This was set at 8 inches deep. Finally I set up a rig for down the track at 6 sections- a 4x14 KC Chimp on 0.18-0.16 and a size 3 Tubertini 175. Shotting was a spread bulk of no:9's and matched to red vespe bi-core. I planned to fish meat on this line so the rig was set 3 inches overdepth. For bait I had around 3 pint of caster (left over from Greenridge) a couple of tins of hemp,a tin of corn and 4 tins of 6mm meat. I couldn't really see anyone from my peg,with Paul Law (JustinCase) 3 pegs to my left and magneticpauli two to my right. There were trees between us so it was to be a lonely old day for me!

The all in was called and I cupped half a pot of hemp and meat down the track,threw a handful of caster and some meat down the edge before going straight on to the far line with meat on the hook and a kinder of meat and hemp. After a couple of missed bites I connected with a fish and soon had a 1lb mirror carp in the net. In the next 10 minutes I put 4 F1's in the bag but the wind was increasing and making proper presentation a nightmare. After 20 minutes I was on the meat down the track line and after 3 or 4 kinders of bait I started to get a few signs and began to put a few fish in the net. I was catching all sorts- golden tench,skimmers,hybrids,F1's,the odd carp and I was being pestered by roach. Although they were decent fish averaging around 6oz they were not what I was after. I tried bulking my shot hoping to bomb the bait down a bit but this was certainly not the answer and the spread bulk was alot more effective. I played about with laying the rig in and feeding patterns and found the best way was to feed a kinder full of meat and hemp and then flick the rig to my left,keeping a tight line as the spread bulk registered. I caught plenty of F1's on the drop like this. I tried fishing a foot off the deck but this only resulted in skimmers and fishing a foot deep only saw roach. It was strange but I persevered with the deep spread bulk rig and was constantly adding fish to the net.

All the while I was feeding caster down the edge,a small handful every 2 minutes or so. After a couple of hours my girlfriend rang just as I dropped a fish into the keepnet. I quickly baited up the edge rig with a piece of meat and dropped in before answering. After a couple of minutes the float buried and I lifted into a decent fish. I hastily hung up the phone and a couple of minutes later had a fat 5lb mirror in the net...bonus! As soon as I hooked the fish I threw some more bait in but the next three drops saw roach so I gave it two big handfuls and came off it as it was still a bit early to be down the edge. I made the decision to feed it quite heavily and spend the last two hours on it,putting whatever I could into the net from the track line. Back down the track and I upped the quantity of hemp slightlyand cut down on the meat which saw my catch rate increase. I managed to find a few of the proper carp here and there but I couldn't get them lined up. Every now and then the wind died down and I'd nick a fish from the farline but presentation was so difficult due to the conditions. With 2 hours to go I fed a big pot down the track and dropped in down the edge- it was solid as I took 5 fish in as many put ins. Every time I'd hook a fish it would swim out of the peg and I would throw a handful of caster and a few bits of meat in which meant there was always a fish waiting for me. My only concern was the fact that I was rapidly running out of caster so I tried bulking it out with some hemp. This didn't have the desired effect and I could feel the margin going away from me slightly. Whenever it went a bit quiet I would go back down the track while feeding the edge quite heavily. After nicking the odd fish from the track line I would always get a fish pretty instantly down the side. I must have foulhooked a fish as it tore off and broke my hooklength so it was back on with an 0.18 bottom this time.

With an hour to go Paul thought the match was over and dumped a load of corn down the edge. When he found out it was actually a 6 hour match he quickly got some more bait and started to sack up! My edge wasn't as strong and I was only picking off the odd fish. In the last hour I only put 4 carp in the net which was disapointing. Redpaste (4 pegs to my right) put 16 in the net in the last hour after also feeding heavily with corn. When the all-out was called I felt sure it would cost me. The scales started to make their way around and after a few 50-70lb weights Redpaste put 104lb on the scales and I knew I didn't have that. Although I had caught over a hundred fish my weight was called at 90lb 14oz . Paul then put 92lb on the board which was closer than I thought as every time I looked up in the last hour he was playing a fish from the edge. The rest of the lake had fished ok with pretty consistent weights. Pete Bailey obliterated the match with 170lb on shallow meat...I knew I should have given him the other peg at the start! In all seriousness Pete is the best snake lake angler I've seen and he would have done that sort of weight from any peg-simply awesome. My 90lb was enough for 6th overall and I must admit I was a little bit disappointed as if I'd had a good last hour like most people I could have easily got the 106lb needed for 3rd. Running out caster had cost me dear and with another couple of pints I would have done alot better. In hindsight I should have fed alot more corn down the side as this is what both JC and redpaste did to great effect.

All in all it was a great day and a very well run match- a big thanks has to go to Mark Poppleton (Slider) for organising and running the day. Todber is a super venue and everyone caught plenty of fish. Most importantly of all I took a pound (well 2 x 50ps!) from Snooty Fox who had claimed that 'Welsh pounds are easy' hehe, Cheers mate!

I'm not actually going to be fishing for the next 2-3 weeks as I've got a load on with work and then I'm off to Tenerife with my girlfriend. Personally I'd rather be at Greenridge with a gallon of caster...but don't tell her that!

The Steve Ramsay Memorial Weekend 2010

2010-05-02T13:55:00.000-07:00

Well I can hardly believe it's been a year since the last Steve Ramsay Memorial but this weekend saw matchfishing-scenes finest gather in Salisbury for a weekend of drinking with a bit of fishing thrown in. After finally finishing work at 4.30pm on Friday I made the 25 minute journey to Withy where one or two of the lads were milling about. After catching up and having a walk around the lakes the rain started so most people headed off to town. A quick taxi to The Kings Head and after a shower and a change I was soon tucking into a delicious Thai meal with Pete Bailey,Graham Aveyard,Pebs and Fordy. It really was top notch and the Thai beer went down a treat. What happened over the next few hours is a bit of a blur but it involved a group of us drinking just about every drink in Bar 44 and after a nice friendly bouncer refused to let myself and Jamie Jones (dotteddown) into a club we somehow found our way back to the hotel at about 3am. I was sharing a room with Jamie and was woken at 7am by a pigeon on our roof. It sounded ginormous and I reckon it was really a badger as it was massive! After forcing down a quick breakfast we were soon on our way to Withy in a minibus that was swiftly turned into a gas chamber by what sounded like the philharmonic orchestra on their Southern leg of the UK tour.......

At 9.30 we were ready for the draw and with my day 1 section on Cottage lake the only pegs I really wouldn't have fancied were 5 & 6,and when I drew peg 7 I wasn't exactly delighted but when I found that peg 8 wasn't in meaning I could fish to the corner I was suddenly more optimistic. Dave 'Pikey' Pearson was opposite me on peg 14 (I think) and when I walked round and commented that he had drawn 'exactly the same peg as last year but on a different lake' I was soon getting some stick. What I meant was that he was in the left hand corner with his back to the tackle shop again but somehow it didn't come out right! I really wasn't in the best shape and almost fell in when putting my nets out....this was going to be a long day......

The obvious area to target was the edge down to my right. There was bare mud bank at 17.5m but after shipping out I soon sacked this as a bad idea as I was in no shape to fish at 17.5m all day. I settled on a line at around 12m where there was a good 3.5 foot tight to the reeds. For this line I set up a 4x12 Scone Jubleez on 0.18-3 Tubertini 175 and orange wilkie elastic. I had a good plumb around and earmarked a few areas in case I needed to search around,with a second edge line at 16m. My open water line was straight out at 12m where there was around 4ft. The peg was very flat from a few metres out which made things simple. I planned to fish corn on this line,feeding decent amounts as I was after proper fish. This rig was a 4x14 KC Carpa 2 on 0.18-Tubertini 175 3 and orange wilkie,set at dead depth. My third rig was for a pellet line at 5m and this was a 0.2g NG Decker on 0.18-0.16 and a size 1 Tubertini 175 matched to red vespe bi-core. Finally I set up a straight lead rod although I only had one chuck on this. For bait I had plenty of corn,some 4mm pellet and 4mm & 6mm expanders.

The all-in was called and I cupped in around fifty 4mm pellets at 5m,a full pot of corn at 12m and a pot of corn & pellet down the edge. Kicking off on a 6mm expander at 5m I lowered the float down and after 30 seconds the float buried and a 1lb skimmer was soon in the net. I started to cadpot in a few 4mms and after 20 minutes I'd had a couple of skimmers although the rig was a bit heavy as I was expecting carp. I was soon on the long line with a single grain of corn but 5 biteless minutes led me to re-feed with half a pot and drop back in on the short-line. The fishing was pretty tough and no-one was setting the world on fire. The long corn line wasn't really working but I maintained feeding half a pot of corn every 30 minutes or so as I felt sure they would turn up. I was picking up the odd skimmer on the long corn line but hadn't had a sign of a carp. I was soon off my box and set up a lighter pellet rig on 0.14-0.12 and an 18 B911 to yellow bungee and plumbed a new line at an angle to my right and picked up a few more skimmers.

After around 3 hours I was soon down the edge as I had been feeding half a pot of corn and a pinch of pellet every 45 minutes or so. I didn't get any immediate signs but after kindering in some more corn I soon had a bite and added a small carp to the net. It wasn't hectic so I refed and dropped back in at 5m. A quick bite saw a 2oz skimmer in the net and next drop the float buried and I lifted into heavy resistance. I thought the fish might be foul-hooked but 10 minutes later I slipped the net under a pristine mirror carp that was 10lb+ hooked square in the top lip....bonus! In the last few hours I added a few more carp from down the edge and one at 13m long and when the whistle went I was relieved as I was struggling bigtime....I knew I shouldn't have had that 13th Jaegerbomb on Friday night! I apologise for the shortness of the match details as I really can't remember how many carp I had as it's all a bit of a blur.....

I thought it might be close as Pikey had caught a few and I really didn't have a clue what weight I had. When the scales got to me Rick Baxter was winning with 39lb odd and when my mixed net (skimmers/tench/small carp and goldfish etc) went 30lb I knew I had 3 carp in the other net for 20lb+,and the scales bounced around to 23lb 8oz giving me a 53lb 8oz total. When Pikey pulled his nets out it was clear it was going to be very close. His final weight was called at 54lb 12oz meaning he had beat me by 1lb 4oz. I was absolutely gutted as I bumped a few fish and in hindsight fished too heavy. I should have fished a sensible pellet match out in front and a proper rig down the edge. I also lost a 6oz skimmer by trying to swing it in....I didn't realise how costly this would prove until day 2.

Jamie had fished an absolute blinder on Barnmoor,catching 52lb 13oz of all skimmers,a super weight without carp. Withybagger won Selwood with 86lb 8oz. I was still in with a chance going into day 2 but I felt sure that 1lb 4oz deficit would cost me big time overall.

After finally getting in the taxi at 7.30 I was absoultely knackered and was glad to get back to the hotel room. A quick half hour kip followed by a shower and we were soon on our way out again. We had booked a table at the local Mexican restaurant for 10 people but as there was a slight wait of 10 minutes when we got there 6 of them left to get fish and chips! That left myself,Jamie,Fordy and Pebs and the meal was superb,washed down by a few Mexican beers. Pebs and Fordy put the world to rights and we all had a good laugh. We couldn't face a heavy night of drinking for a second night so after a few beers back at the hotel we retired at around quarter to 1 and zonked out.

The dancing badger woke us again the next morning and after another breakfast we were soon on our way to Withy for day 2. We got there a bit early for a walk around the snake and with the wind being quite strong and forecast to get worse I knocked up a bag of swimstim green as I felt that the method could be useful if it became impossible to present a bait across on the pole line. At the draw I went into the bag and pulled out peg 42 which didn't mean alot to me but after speaking to Blakey he told me it was a pretty good peg and I had a good chance. I had a few spare pegs to my right which meant I would be able to fish the method to the point by the bridge. For this I used my usual set-up- 11ft Beastmaster,Daiwa TDR,6lb sensor,a small inline 30g feeder and a 4-inch hooklength of 0.18 to a 20 GURU MWG. I prefer to use mini boilies when fishing the method but as these were not allowed it was to be 2 dead red maggots as hookbait. The next line was at 14.5m to the far bank. For this line I set up a 4x12 Scone Jubleez on 0.18-0.16 and a size 2 Tubertini 175 matched to red vespe bi-core. I hoped to catch a few fish down the edge to my right at around 10m,right in front of the spare platform. It looked spot on and I knew I'd have a few fish there at some stage. For this line I set up a 4x12 Scone Jubleez on 0.18-size 3 Tubertini 175 and wilkie orange. As a bit of an insurance policy I set up a line for down the track where there was around 5ft of water. For this line I set up a 4x14 KC Chimp on 0.16-0.14 and a 16 B911 matched to yellow Drennan bungee. For bait I had some soaked micro's,soaked 4mms,a tin of 6mm meat,plenty of corn and some expanders for the hook along with my method groundbait.

The hooter went at 11am and I decided to kick off on the method without feeding the pole lines. I was clipped tight to the bank and first chuck the tip rattled round but I think it was a small skimmer as it fell off after a second or two. Next chuck and a carp was on,not big at around 2lb but a welcome start. I started well and after less than 30 minutes I had 6 carp in the net. They weren't proper lads but they were coming pretty quick although things started to slow up with only 2 more coming in the next 30 minutes. After an hour I fed a pot of corn & pellet with a small amount of meat down the edge and a small amount of corn and a pinch of micro's across. I spent another half an hour on the method and had 2 more carp,slightly better ones at around 4lb apiece,giving me 10 carp for around 30lb or so after 90 minutes which wasn't too bad. I decided to come off the feeder line as it had slowed right up and all signs had stopped. The wind had died down slightly but as I was the first peg on a bend it was whipping round the corner and making things very difficult for myself and Gary Haisman on peg 43 to my left. First drop on corn across and a quick bite saw a 2lb F1 in the net. I then added a few small skimmers and goldfish so started to cadpot some corn in but the wind was making things very difficult.

I had been feeding the edge with half a pot every 30 minutes or so and at the half-way stage I dropped in with a cube of meat and kindered in some corn. A bite wasn't long in coming and the satisfying sight of orange elastic was soon exiting the pole. A chunky 5lb mirror was in the net and with two and a half hours to go I thought I would find a few more. There was some floating grass down the side to my right so I started to loose feed meat here at the base of the shelf,feeding 3 or 4 cubes every few minutes. No more bites on my edge line saw me re-feed and have two fishless chucks on the method,throwing down the edge at around 20m.

There was now 2 hours to go and I could see Pikey catching a few as he had a few spare pegs either side of him. I couldn't see what he was netting as the island was partially obscuring the view but he was putting a few fish in the net. There was now two hours to go and back down the edge saw a couple of quick carp. I had now started to feed a full kinder pot of corn with a pinch of meat every put-in,fishing a 6mm expander over the top. It wasn't hectic but I was catching the odd carp but I couldn't seem to keep the fishing coming. I foulhooked a couple so refed with neat corn and dropped in at 3m on the meat and after a few minutes had a quick bite that was a 1lb skimmer. I dropped in down the edge and had a quick bite that was a right old herbert of around 12lb....very useful! The wind had now died a bit so I fed a bit more corn across before catching another carp down the edge. I then lost one down the edge that was possibly foulhooked before hooking a nice 4lb fish that had it's nose over the rim of my landing net before the hook pulled and I wasn't quite quick enough as it agonisingly disapeared into the depths. A quick re-feed down the edge and I was back across to the farbank and a quick bite saw a 4lber in the net before cadpotting in some corn and then losing a fish at the net that I suspect might have been foulhooked. I was starting to get frustrated at losing a couple of fish so re-fed across before catching another couple down the edge. Back across and I had a couple of skimmers and goldfish but no proper carp. Gary to my left had filled it in with caster down his edge and was now catching quickly and they were proper fish.

I had a carp down the edge with 15 minutes to go and hoped for one more before the all-out but it wasn't to be. In hindsight I should have fed more down the edge but due to the cold & wet conditions I had been a bit too negative at times. I knew I would be in with a shout but I could see Pikey had caught a few and Gary had caught a few lumps late on so it was likely to be close. After packing away I wandered round just as Pikey was weighing in and he put 79lb exactly on the scales. I thought I had around 80lb so this was likely to be very close.....

Scone plonked 61lb on the scales before a couple of 30's and 40's. After two weighs my weight was called at 80lb 4oz...beating Pikey by 1lb 4oz. Unbelievably we had both caught the exact same weight over the 2 days- 133lb 12oz. Gary Haisman then put 78lb 12oz on the scales which was a bit too close for comfort but with no big weights from the other end of the section I had won and Pikey was second. This meant we were both tied on 3 points with the exact same weight. I suggested a race around the Snake to decide the outcome but somehow Dave wasn't keen on this idea....

Everything now rested on the result on inner snake as if Jamie won his section or came 2nd with more than 80lb odd he would win. If not myself and Pikey would tie for the title. When I got round to the scales Jamie was indeed winning with 101lb 4oz but BNF had put an impressive 96lb 14oz on the scales- just one fish from knocking Jamie back a place. As usual Pete Bailey annihilated the section with 175lb odd- he's nigh on unbeatable on snake. This meant that Jamie was second in section and tied with us on 3 points but had a superior weight advantage of just under 20 pounds.

Back at the lodge and after a quick burger it was time for the raffle. Once again I didn't even come close to winning anything....I don't think there were any red tickets in the bucket! The results were soon read out and confirmed that I had tied in joint second place with Pikey on 3 points and 133lb 12oz. The odds of this are unbelievable and I was really ruing a couple of lost fish. To think that if I had caught an extra 1lb 5oz on day 1 I'd have won it with 2 section wins is a bit frustrating,but the same thing can be said for Pikey on day 2 as that's how close it was. Jamie was a very worthy winner as to catch 52lb of skimmers on day 1 while still p*ssed is worthy of the title on it's own! A big well done mate,a top quality performance over the two days- simply awesome.

There was just time for me to recieve a special award from Scone. I was presented with a nice little trophy,about 6 inches tall,red and it's battery operated. That's right....I won the award for 'Dildo of the Weekend' for claiming there was a badger on the roof and pointing out that Pikey had drawn the exact same peg on a different lake. Although I didn't manage to get a picture myself I'm sure it will crop up online sooner or later as there were plenty with their cameras out....gits!

The most important result of all was the fact that we raised a massive £1857 for charity which is a great achievment and by all accounts is a new record. A big well done to all involved,especially Nicky the Bricky who has the unenvious task of putting it all together.

Roll on next year......

First evening match of the year

2010-04-29T01:52:00.000-07:00

Yesterday saw the first evening match of the year at Whinwhistle fishery. I hadn't fished there since winning the last round of the winter league so was looking forward to the evening opens kicking off. The first match was an early start due to the light levels and was scheduled for a 4pm draw with fishing from 4.30 to 7.30. I didn't think I'd get out of work in time for the early one so asked for a peg to be left in the bag and I hoped to get there by 4.30....better late than never! Becuase I thought I'd be late I loaded the car with minimal gear-seatbox,1 method rod,nets and a small bag of bits...simple! As it happened I managed to get away from work at 3.45pm so made it just in time for the draw. There were 8 fishing which wasn't a bad turnout for the first match,especially as it was an early start. As soon as I arrived it was time for the draw and today we were on Whinwhistle Islands. I was second into the bag and out came peg 8....flyer! I have only fished this peg once before and that was in the first round of last years summer league and I managed to win the match off the peg that day. It's a bit of a zoo creature peg and the hardest part is getting the fish out as it's pretty shallow and full of features. People have blanked on the peg on occasions because although they get a few bites,getting a fish in the net is what counts. (the pictures are from when I drew the peg in last years summer league)

The start was put back to 4.45pm to allow people enough time but I was ready within 5 minutes,not like me atall! The rod was an 11ft Shimano Beastmaster,Daiwa TDR,6lb sensor,a small inline 30 g feeder with an 0.18 hooklength to a size 16 GURU QM1 with a bayonet on a hair. For bait I had a kilo of swimstim mixed the night before,some mini 8mm boilies and a tin of corn. I clipped up to the side of the pads opposite at around 14m. I would also use this clip down towards the small bay to my right and I planned to throw most of the tin of corn in at 5m to my right on the corner. With everything ready I went for a walk to have a chat with a few of the others.

The all-in was called and I fed the corn and 1 small ball of groundbait at 5m to my right before plopping the feeder out by the pads. I planned to give each cast 3 minutes inititally but after 20 seconds or so the rod was pulled off the rest but unfortunately the fish broke me. A new hooklength was clipped on and the process was repeated. This time I had to wait all of a minute before the rod wanged round but this time I managed to control the fish and a few minutes later I had a fat 8lb mirror in the net. After a few more casts the tip wanged round again and once again my hooklength gave way. The trouble was I only had 0.18 hooklengths tied up with bayonets. I knew I couldn't keep losing fish so decided to tie up a new hooklength on 0.22 but with a korum quickstop on the hair. This meant I would need to fish corn,something I don't like to do on the method generally,but atleast it would give me a better chance of landing fish. Soon after the tip slammed round and after a bit of tooing and froing I managed to control the fish and it was soon safely in the net,this time a bit smaller at around 5lb. The next two fish hooked broke me on 0.22,there was simply nothing I could do as it was like hooking turbo charged submarines.

This line then went quiet,no doubt caused by all the disturbance,so it was time to chuck down to my right. I had managed to cadge a slice of meat from Andy Franks so went with a 6mm punch and second chuck the tip went round and I had a 1lb tench in the net. Second chuck and I hooked a carp which annoyingly fell off. This line then also went quiet and with just over an hour to go I had 2 carp in the net and needed to find a few more. I plopped the method in at 5m to my right on a grain of corn and after a couple of casts the tip went round and I soon had a chunky mirror of 3-4lb in the net. After this I was getting silly bites from skimmers so came off this line,took the clip off and chucked down towards the sluice in my peg. I was now back on the 0.18 trace as I prefer to use mini boilies and as I wasn't fishing tight to a feature I felt I would be ok. However it can be very tricky to land fish from this area as you have to guide them between two sets of lillies on each bank. After a few casts the tip slowly went round and I was convinced I'd hooked a skimmer as it didn't really fight. I was a bit surprised when it turned out to be a common carp of around 4lb. The next fish I hooked towards the sluice kited straight into the pads and after 5 minutes or so the hooklength went bang.

There was now 20 minutes to go and I decided to focus on the long chuck. Soon after the tip went round and straight away I stood-up on my footplate with the rod behond me as high as I could get it. This worked as planned as the fish wallowed on the surface allowing me to pick up the slack and I soon had a nice 4-5lb fish in the net. 10 minutes later the same thing happened and once again I got the rod as high as I could and the fish was soon safely in the net with his 5 mates.

The all-out was called at 7.45pm and with 6 carp and a small tench in the net I thought I must have 25lb +. After packing up in about 2 minutes (again not like me!) I went for a wander and it looked like the win was mine. I was first to weigh and the scales settled on 32lb 4oz. The other weights were quite consistent with most anglers registering double figures,with 22lb enough for second place. It was nice to start the evening matches with a win and in the 16 I fished last year I picked up in 13 so I wouldn't mind matching that again!

This weekend sees me at Witherington Farm for the Steve Ramsay memorial. It's a weekend of drinking with a bit of fishing thrown in so although I'm booked in for the bank holiday Monday open at Whinwhistle there's every chance I'll be in no fit state to fish it!

Blast from the past....

2010-04-22T03:45:00.000-07:00

Well once again my blog is a bit late. It's been a hectic couple of weeks with work,my birthday and also a family bereavment so I simply haven't had the time. There are 3 matches to write about. The first was on Saturday 10th April at Greenridge Farm. I drew peg 19 on canal 2 and the consensus was that it wasn't the best peg and hadn't produced for a good while. By fishing meat tight to the farbank I managed to take 24 carp (with a further 4 on corn short late on) for 76lb. The guy on end peg 20 had 102lb for the win with 2nd place coming from the other end of the canal with 79lb. I lost a couple of fish which cost me 2nd spot but I was pleased overall as I am starting to get to grips with the venue more and more.

The following weekend I was supposed to be flying to Ireland on the Friday night,landing back at Bristol on Sunday night and then driving straight back to my parents house in Wales as I had a funeral to attend on the Tuesday so had some time-off. Well,thanks to that Volcano my good plans were scupperedwhich meant one thing.....fishing! After a couple of quick PM's to Jake Cork on the Friday I found myself booking into the Saturday open at Hillview Lakes in Tewkesbury. My new plan was to set off at around 6.30am,drive the 2 hours to Hill View,fish the open and then have an hour long journey back to my parents house in South Wales. Hill View was always my favourite venue and I used to regularly fish the Wednesday,Saturday and Sunday matches from the age of around 17-20. It was strange pulling into the carpark for the first time in 4 years and I soon saw some of the old faces as well as some new ones. After Jake came over to say hello I polished off a massive breakfast and was ready for the draw as were 28 others. Both lakes were in along with canal 1 and the general feeling was to avoid the canal,so anything below peg 40 would do. Into the bag went the lucky left hand and out came.......37,that'll do! This put me towards the end of the causeway bank on Heron. After getting to the peg I had Ian Didcote (diddy123) behind me on Moorhen peg 9 so atleast I'd get to see a few fish!

Going from past experience along with speaking to a few people before the draw I had a rough idea of my approach. The sun was blazing with very little ripple and a few fish were mooching about near the surface. I planned to start on pellet short at around 4-5m,shallow meat long between 13m-16m and corn down the edge in front of the spare pallet to my left. My short pellet rig was a 4x12 Chianti on 0.16-0.14 and an 18 B911 to yellow bungee. Shallow rig was a 4x10 Chianti on 0.18-0.16 and an 18 PR36 with a band on the hair and yellow bungee. I set the rig at 8 inches with a 3ft lash as I used to find a long line worked better on bright still days at Hillview. Finally the edge rig was a 4x10 Chianti: 0.18-0.16 and a size 3 Tubertini 175 matched to red vespe. This was plumbed in front of the platform in just over 3ft of water. For bait I had a bag of fishery 4mm pellets,3 tins of meat (2 x 6mm,1 x 8mm),2 tins of corn and some expanders.

The all in was called and a pot of corn and pellet went to the edge swim before I baited with a 4mm expender,put a few 4mms in a cadpot and shipped out to 5m and 3 cubes of meat were pinged out to around 13m. After 5 minutes of lifting and dropping I hadn't had a bite so added a few more 4mms to the cadpot and repeated the process, all the while pinging meat long. Neville Groves had a few early carp short but it was pretty quiet and after 50 minutes I had a skimmer of around 1lb in the net from the short line and despite trying the long line a couple of times I hadn't had any signs shallow. A carp swam past a few metres out so I flicked the rig in front of it and it snaffled the bait but frustratingly fell off after a few minutes. However this led me to believe the fish weren't really feeding so it was back long & shallow but I flicked the rig past and to the right of where I had been feeding. After a few seconds the float buried and a carp was on. A few minutes later and a fat 10lber was in the net. Next put in after a few slaps the float buried and another carp was soon in the net,this time a good 9lb fish. Over the next couple of hours it was a case of flicking the rig around the peg and snaring the odd fish although they were clearly not really in a feeding mood. I kept pinging meat to the same spot at around 13m but was only feeding one or two cubes every 5 minutes or so and picking off fish beyond the feed. All the while I had been feeding to the next platform and hoped that it would be worth a few late on. Ian had been struggling behind me but with 2 hours to go he switched to the margins and started to bag a few.

I managed two fish down the edge but one was foul-hooked and I also lost one before the all-out was called. I thought I had 60-70lb and with Neville admitting to a ton plus I had to hope I might sneak the section. I was the last angler to weigh and when it got to me Neville had put 120lb on the scales,Jake had put 68lb but most others on the lake had struggled. Diddy had put 106lb on for second overall. My weight was called at 66lb 12oz- less than 2lb off second on the lake and a couple of lost fish had cost me. Chatting to Ian afterwards I realised I had fished the edge wrong as it was far better to fish to the side of the platform where it was that bit shallower than in front of it. It's little things like this that can make a big difference and I knew it had cost me.
I heard a rumour that somebody had dropped out of Sundays match so when I got home an hour later I rang to see if I could get on and was told that I had infact won my section and there was an envelope there for me....doh! The sections were split which I wasn't aware of. With a space available for Sunday I duly booked on....well,I had to collect my winnings didn't I!

Arriving at the venue at around 8.45am I duly paid my pools and with 40 fishing there would be 15 on each lake with 10 on canal 1. Once again I really wanted to avoid the canal so was pleased when peg 10 stuck to my hand,almost behind where I was the day before. It was the end peg on the causeway bank with a corner to my right. the next peg to my left was in so there was no platform to fish to and with Neville Groves on a good peg in peg 8 I knew he would be a real threat. My plan was similar to the day before with a shallow 'mugging' rig although this time it was a Scone AM Wellardz on 0.18-0.16 and an 18 PR36 with a band on a hair and yellow bungee. The edge rig was a 4x10 Scone GAZE on 0.18-0.16,Tubertini 175:3 and orange wilkie elastic. I found 2.5ft at 5m to my right and 12m along the bank. The long line would be potted and the short line would be fed by hand. Finally I set-up a short rig at 4m- 4x14 KC Chimp on 0.16-0.14 and a 18 B911. For bait I had 3 tins of 6mm meat,2 tins of corn and half a bag of 4mm feed pellets.

The all in was called and 2 pots of corn with a pinch of meat and pellet were cupped in long down the edge,a handful of meat went short down the edge and a cadpot of pellets went in at 4m,followed by 3 cubes of meat pinged out to 13m. No bites short so I was soon on the long shallow rig and found a few carp. It was hard going for most and several people were fishless after a couple of hours. I had 5 carp in the net all on shallow meat,Shaun Wilson & Richard Ahearne were catching well on the pegs in the far corner and Neville was picking off odd fish shallow. At this stage my peg dried up and I couldn't buy a bite anywhere. I'm really not sure why as I even went out to 16m and played about with the depth etc but it was like a switch had been thrown. I had a couple of looks down the edge but this was also devoid and I knew I needed it to come good to stand any chance. I had been feeding the long edge with half a big pot every half an hour or so but this clearly wasn't working so with just over an hour to go I decided to feed a full kinder pot every 5 minutes. This worked to an extent as in the last hour I managed to get 6 carp down the edge but there were no real lumps and when the all-out was called I expected to have somewhere in the region of 40lb.

The scales made their way around with Richard Ahearne putting 98lb of maggot caught edge fish on the scales before Shaun tipped 84lb of shallow caster fish into the sling. Most other people struggled big time and my 11 fish went 42lb odd,but with Neville framing with 94lb and the overall winner coming from the bottom bank with 102lb I picked up £40 for the section win.

Having not been to the venue for 4 years I was pleased with 2 section wins and I learned plenty and there's a few things I would do differently next time,especially when fishing the edge. I had a good chat with Neville after the match and picked his brains on a few things which I will utilise on my next visit. After packing up I went round to see Shaun & Richard and spent a good hour catching up. I used to fish with them regularly and used to travel with Shaun so it was good to see them. Hillview is 2 hours away from me but I absolutely love the place and will be making the effort to get up there a few more times this year.

End of the winter....

2010-03-29T07:25:00.000-07:00

This weekend saw another 'double header' of matches for me. The first was the Saturday open at Greenridge Farm. After the usual breakfast and laughs we were ready for the draw. The golden peg was drawn first- peg 7 on canal 1. A few comments were made along the lines of 'that's safe' as canal 1 had been won with just 28lb the week before,with 130lb winning canal 2. Due to this the 16 anglers were split into 9 on canal 2 and 7 on canal 1, leaving the worst area on canal 1,the middle,with a couple of spare pegs. Into the drawbag I went and out came.....peg 7. Despite being the golden peg it was a less than great draw as the two pegs to be avoided were 5 and 7. Mark Cannings had the joy of drawing peg 5.

As always I try to be positive and the one thing that might make a difference was the fact that I had a spare peg either side,something that I find especially important on canalised venues as the fish will often settle in the quiet areas. After looking at the peg I started to consider my approach. In the last couple of matches I have found corn in the deeper water to be very effective,so my first line was on a top 2 + 2 (about 5m) slightly to the left. This was at the base of the near slope and was a 4x12 chianti on 0.14-0.12 and an 18 Gama Pellet. This was shotted with a spread bulk of 10's and shotted at dead depth in around 5ft of water. The peg was fairly flat down the middle and I had the same depth straight out at 10m. I also plumbed over to my right towards the spare platform although I wouldn't feed/fish this for a while as I wanted any fish to settle in the quiet water as mentioned. For fishing across in around 2ft of water I set up a 4x10 Chianti on 0.16-0.14 and an 18 B911. Shotting was a small bulk of 10's at half depth. The depth was very uneven along the farbank so I picked two spots where I had the same depth,although the one was very snaggy and I actually lost my hooklength and plummet so this line was sacked-just the one line across then! Lastly I set up a rig for fishing to the side of the spare platform to my right in 3ft of water- 4x12 chianti-0.16-0.14 and an 18 B911. All three rigs were set to yellow drennan bungee with a pull bung. For bait I had a tin of corn,a pint of maggot,some 4mm pellet and 6mm expanders.

The all-in was called and I potted a dozen grains of corn in at 10m,half a pot of maggot down the edge and flicked a few grains of corn in at 5m. Not bites on corn to the farbank saw me attach a small cadpot and dribble in some maggot but the double maggot hookbait resulted in a few 1/2oz roach....hmmm

All the while I had been flicking the odd grain of corn in at 5m but despite dropping in a couple of times I hadn't had a bite. Mark was getting the odd small carp to my left and Andy Potter was catching really well on the peg behind me on canal 2. After an hour and 15 minutes the float buried at 5m and a 3lb carp was soon in the net. This was a false dawn however as I couldn't buy another bite here. A quick carp on corn at 10m offered some encouragement followed by a 2lb skimmer soon after. This line was then also biteless and I was starting to realise why the middle of canal 1 was the place to avoid....

A quick bite down the edge saw a small 1lb stockie on maggot but I could only catch one fish from a line before it died. I even knocked up a shallow rig and started pinging 6mm pellet towards the far bank but 15 minutes on this told me that it wasn't going to work. With around two and a half hours to go any chance of the golden peg seemed to have gone as I had just three carp and a skimmer in the net for around 7-8lb. At this point I plumbed a line towards my right,with 10m of pole fishing about 5m out from the bank. I cupped in a dozen grains of corn and left it for 5 minutes. By this stage I realised that my best bet would be to stick with one line and make it work,rather than chopping and changing every 5 minutes. The depth was the same as my 5m line,and with the float almost overshotted and brought back with some vaseline the rig was a sensitive as I could get it,something that I felt would be important in the flat calm and bright conditions. After 10 minutes of lifting and dropping the float finally dipped and I lifted into a good fish. A few minutes later and a fat 8lb mirror was lying in the net. I shipped back out,tipped 6 grains of corn out of the cadpot and a few minutes later the float again buried and I had a 5lb carp in the net....game on! By regularly sprinkling corn through a cadpot I was catching quickly and they were a decent stamp of fish. The thought started to cross my mind that the golden peg might be on....

Alot of people had stopped catching although pegs 10 & 11 down to my right were catching quite regularly they were fishing to the farbank and the fish were of a smaller stamp. People started to take notice and 'the golden peg's going today' was being said by a few. I knew I was still quite away behind but by regularly feeding corn,lifting and dropping the hookbait I was bagging. The only problem was I had a couple of spells where I went 10-15 minutes without a bite which wasn't ideal,but by dribbling in some more corn the fish would return. It was nice fishing and I don't think I missed a bite and didn't lose a fish.

The all-out was called and I really wasn't sure how I'd done. My clicker told me I had 19 carp but I also had a skimmer and a couple of brown goldfish in there aswell. Some of the carp were proper lads but there were also a few 1-2lb fish in the net so it was hard to guess a weight. Most people were adamant that I'd done enough to take the Golden Peg but I kept telling them I hadn't. My main concerns were Andy Potter behind me and the guy on end peg 1 on my canal who had seemed to have a few. I was very anxious packing up as I thought I had 60-70lb in the net and Andy was admitting to 60-80lb. This could be close.....

They started weighing canal 2 in first and Andy put 81lb on the scales. I shook his hand and congratulated him as deep down I knew I wouldn't have that much. Dave on peg 11 then put 63lb on the scales followed by a 44 and a 50. After two weighs my weight was called out at 71lb odd.....just two proper fish short. I was a bit gutted by this as I had caught really well in the last two hours and had I made the switch earlier I might have had enough. The guy on end peg 1 then put 80lb on the scales knocking me back into third place and £35 for second in section. After the match there was a nice buffet put on as it was the end of the winter series that was won by Pete Newman. Heading home I was a bit deflated as I had come so close to a bumper payout. The only consolation is the fact that no-one had expected me to have a chance from my peg,it would have been far worse if I'd have blown a flyer. I just had to hope I could go one better and win the Winter League at Whinwhistle the following day.

Sunday dawned an hour earlier due to the clocks changing but I was still awake before my alarm as today was the final round of the Whinwhistle winter league. If you are a regular reader you'll know that following a win last week I was now tied on points with Phil James with a 3lb weight advantage. After tucking into a breakfast the banter was flying around as we awaited the draw. It was also the final of the knockout cup which saw me against Phil so it was going to be 'winner takes all'. The peg I really wanted to draw was Whinwhistle 6,with peg 7 being my second choice. These pegs are spot on for the method feeder and I had actually stopped on after the match the week before and spent a few hours fishing the tip on peg 7 as it's always been my weakest method so I need to improve. Following a good practice with a few fish caught I was confident in using it and hoped I'd draw one of the few pegs that it was suitable for. Into the bag I went and looked in sheer disbelief at the disc in my hand....W6! I couldn't believe it,just when you think the drawing gods are against you THE peg you want sticks to your hand. The draw was always going to be crucial today and I now knew I had a big chance of winning the league. Phil drew Whinwhistle 1,the end-peg and a great peg on it's day. This made things very interesting but made my task as simple as can be....beat Phil to win both the league and knockout....game on!

As you can see in the picture opposite the peg has a tree going into the water next to the platform on the farbank. This would be the main focus of my match as I know it holds carp,the trouble is getting the casting bang on the money as you have to get right up against the tree...overhanging branches and all. For this I got my ready made rod out of the bag- 11ft Shimano Beastmaster,Daiwa TDR,6lb sensor with a doctored 30g small preston feeder. The reason it's doctored is due to the fact that Whinwhistle has an 8-inch hooklength rule. This is far from ideal for fishing the method but Andy Shanks came up with a way of gluing a swivel into the top of a preston inline feeder which makes it easier to fold the hooklength over and bury the hookbait in the feeder by layering the groundbait 3 times. Sounds simple......ha! Hooklength was 8 inches of 0.18 Silk Shock to a 20 GURU MWG- spot on for two dead reds. Groundbait was Green Swimstim mixed the night before and riddled four times.

I spent a good deal of time clipping up with a 1oz lead to get bang on the money- my practice session the week before was proving crucial. With the feeder line sorted it was time for a Plan B. The temptation was there to only set up the tip but being a league match I needed a back-up in case it didn't work. This would be my standard pellet line that has served me so well all winter- a 4x12 KC Chimp on 0.12-0.10 and an 18 808. This was set at dead depth in 4 1/2 feet of water,shotted with a bulk of 10's with 1 dropper and matched to double 5 slip. I plumbed two lines,one at 11m and another at 14.5m. If I ended up on the long line I would be struggling!

For bait I had a kilo of groundbait and half a pint of reds for the method,some damp micro,crushed pellet and some 4mm & 4.5mm Ringers expanders. With everything ready I got 'in the zone' and awaited the all in.

The whistle went and the feeder was despatched to the farbank.....first cast and I caught a branch,losing the lot,not the ideal start! If it wasn't for the fact that I'd sussed the method the week before I would normally have picked the pole straight up and thrown the rod up the bank. However I knew that the method was key to winning the section so quickly rigged up,checked the clip which was still bang on and recast......and caught ANOTHER branch! Things weren't going to plan....I was now 5 minutes into the match,lost 2 feeders and hadn't spent any time actually fishing. Time for a clear head,remind myself of the fact there was still almost 5 hours to go and start fresh. After taking half a turn off the clip I cast out for a third time and this time it was inch perfect,landing right on the spot with a small plop. As I was sinking the line I felt a tap on the tip and after placing the rod on the rest it was pulled off after 2 minutes....fish on! A few minutes later and a fin perfect 4lb carp was in the net. This was a big relief and certainly settled my nerves! The next couple of casts were spot on but didn't result in any fish. After the third cast (after the last fish) the tip again pulled round after a minute or two and carp number two was on it's way,this time a fat little mirror of around 3lb. This was now the ideal scenario as these early fish settled me down and gave me the confidence to spend some time on the tip. A few more casts were uneventful before the tip dropped back on the 45 minute mark and a skimmer of around 1lb was soon in the net. Things then went quiet and after an hour I changed from casting every 3 minutes to every 5. This seemed to do the trick as the rod was pulled off the rest soon after and a 2.5lb tench was soon in the net. The next cast went a yard too far and crashed down through the overhanging branches. Before I even had chance to do anything the rod was almost pulled out of my hand as a fish hooked itself almost instantly. Frustratingly the hook pulled. The next 8 casts didn't even give so much as a liner so I potted in a small ball of crushed pellet with a few micros at 11m. The next cast on the tip was biteless so with a fair bit of bait on the tip line I decided to rest it and have an hour on the pole,hopefully putting a few skimmers in the net in the process. The rest of the section was fishing very hard,with just a few small skimmers showing. Crucially,Phil was blanking......

Lowering a 4mm Next Generation expander down the float barely settled as a 2oz skimmer snaffled it. Over the next hour I put exactly 30 skimmers in the net,averaging 2oz but with a better 12oz sample and the odd 6oz fish it kept my catchrate ticking over nicely. With two hours to go I had two carp,a tench and around 5lb of skimmers in the net for around 14-15lb. This was comfortably winning but I was well aware that Phil needed just two carp to wipe that out. Peg 1 threw up an 11lb last week so I wasn't resting on my laurels by any means.

First chuck on the feeder was spot on again,and I actually said 'that's a fish' as it was bang on the money. Sure enough after 4 minutes the tip slammed round and another carp was on. Again it was around 3lb but it settled me down again as it showed me that the rest had done some good. However this was a bit of a false dawn as I didn't add anymore in the next half an hour. Hmmm....decision time. With 90 minutes to go I was back on the pole but as I hadn't been trickling in the small amounts of pellet required to keep the line ticking over the fish had all but gone,with just three 2oz skimmers and a 2oz carp in the next 15 minutes. There was now one hour and 15 minutes to go,Phil was still near enough blanking,I had around 18lb in the net and with the pole line not really working I made the decision to spend the rest of the match on the tip. Would it be the right decision.....?

After a couple of casts right alongside the platform the tip flew round again and a 2lb carp was soon in the net. Although they were a pretty small stamp I was grateful of any fish I could get. Ten minutes and two casts later the tip was once again flying round and another carp was on,this time a bit bigger at 4lb or so. I then added another carp with 15 minutes to go and victory was almost in the bag. As the clock ticked down the rod slammed around with seconds to spare and carp number 6 was soon in the net with his 5 mates,netted a minute or two after the whistle. Phil had struggled bigtime and apart from Oscar to my left who had caught two late carp on the method by chucking towards the sluice nobody had really caught.

I was relieved when the whistle went as I had achieved what I set out to do and won the Winter League. Phil was the first person to come over and shake my hand. Unfortunately it hadn't happened for him today but he's a top angler and is always there or there-abouts. The win was confirmed when my 7lb 10oz of silvers and 21lb of carp gave me a 28lb 8oz total comfortably winning the section and match overall. Oscar was 2nd with 17lb and Bob Wackrill was third with 4lb odd of small skimmers. After packing away I drove up to the lodge where we were treated to an end of series meal of steak pie,chips and peas....delicious! Next came the presentation where the top 5 were announced. In fifth place was Oscar Wylde,followed by Phill Timms in fourth,Roger Clacey in third,Phil James in second and myself winning. I ended up winning by four clear points as my four section wins,two seconds,two thirds and a fourth gave me a 15 point total (dropping the 4th as worst result). I picked up £40 for the section,£65 for winning the knockout and £135 for the league giving me a £240 total payout. This went someway to compensate for my Golden Peg near miss of the day before. As you can see in the picture I also picked up two nice trophies that are now proudly sitting alongside the Summer League one I got last year. That's now four leagues I've fished at Whinwhistle,coming third in each of the first two and then winning last years Summer League and this years Winter League. Winning the Knockout Cup was the icing on the cake as it meant I'd won everything possible at the venue over the past 12 months. There was talk afterwards of making next years league 'Englishmen Only'.....

There's no summer league this year and I'm not sure what to do about next years Winter League. Part of me thinks it's time for a new challenge but I really enjoy the matches as they're a great bunch of blokes and the fishing's always challenging. I've got plenty of time to make a decision and for the time being I'll reflect on what's been a succesful winter campaign.

Back to winning ways....

2010-03-22T04:39:00.000-07:00

Firstly I must again apologise for the lateness of my blog. I can never seem to find the time lately and if this continues I might have to put my blog 'on hold' until things quieten down a bit.

The last match I fished was the winter league at Whinwhistle. It fished very hard and I had 6lb 12oz of small skimmers on pole and pellet for 3rd in section. The frustrating thing was Phil James had 3lb odd of silvers but snared a 10lb carp on his silvers rig which won him the section. Without that fish I would have been 2 points clear at the top of the league but with it I was now 3 points behind with two rounds to go- a near impossible deficit.

This Saturday saw me fishing the Mannings Teams of 4 league. The first round was to be held at Orchard Lakes in New Milton. It's a venue I'd heard a bit about but never actually seen. In summer the weights are massive with people fishing on a topkit for 200lb+ as the fish average around the 1lb mark. In the week leading up to the match I spent a good bit of time on the 'phone to venue expert Nathan Fox who was a massive help and gave me first class info.

After a quick breakfast at McDonalds we drove the 20-odd miles to the venue in convoy (team-mates- Phil James,Roger Clacey & Phil Timms). After pulling itno the gates the most noticeable thing was the wind,it was howling down the lakes and being canalised it would mean fishing to the far bank would be very difficult. The team-draw was made nice and early and I was placed on B6 (peg 19). This meant nothing to me but a quick call to Nathan revealed it was in a good area but there were better pegs in the section,particularly peg 18 to my left that was on the bend and had a perfect margin to fish. After setting my gear down I had a good look at the peg and decided on my approach. Based on Nathan's info my main-line would be at around 13m where I had just over 3ft of water. Due to the wind this rig was an improvised 4x14 KC Chimp on 0.14-0.12 and a 16 gama pellet matched to double 6 slip on a pulla bung. As I was expecting a few fish shotting was simply a bulk of no's 6 inches from the hook as I wanted to get the bait down quickly. This rig was also plumbed at 4m to my right about 1m from the bank where I found the same depth. The edges hadn't produced for some time by all accounts but it was worth targetting as the wind was relatively mild. My second rig was a 4x16 KC Chimp on 0.14-0.12 and an 18 Gama pellet. This was shotted with a bulk of 9's and 2 no:10 droppers again matched to double 6 slip. I had a good 6ft of water from 4m out to around 10m and this rig would be used to cover all of this area. Both rigs had backshots and longer than normal line due to the ferocity of the wind. Lastly I set up a 10ft carbonactive for fishing the bomb and corn if I was struggling or the wind got much worse. For bait I had 2 tins of corn,a pint of 4mm soaked pellets and some expanders (Ringers Next Generation-simply awesome!)

The all in was called and I flicked a few grains of corn in at around 4-5m before potting half a medium pot of 4mm pellet at 13m and flicking a few pellets down the inside. Kicking off at 4m on a single grain of corn the float buried after 30 seconds and I soon had a 2.5lb carp in the net. This was bigger than the average so a useful start. When fishing corn down the track in this way I always like to feed by hand- never more than two grains at a time. I think the noise is a factor,and it also spreads the bait out a bit. By constantly working the bait I had 6 carp in the net after 40 minutes which was as good as anyone I could see. This line then went quiet so I decided to come off it and fish across whilst feeding the short line with a grain or two of corn every minute or so. I shipped across and was surprised I didn't get a bite straight away but by continually lifting and dropping the 6mm pellet hookbait the float eventually buried and a carp was soon on it's way in. I had 12 carp in 12 put-ins on this line and was flying with 18 carp in the net after around 90 minutes or so- far more than anyone else I could see. All the while I was flicking corn in short as the wind was getting stronger by the minute and I couldn't get the right presentation at 13m. I re-fed with half a pot of 4mms as I couldn't fish the line and hoped that there might be a few there if and when the wind died down.

Back at 4m and I couldn't get a bite so added a section and went out to 6m and found the fish again. Every time I caught a fish I threw about a dozen pellets in the edge to my right as I hoped it might be worth a fish or two late on. By regularly feeding corn by hand I was picking off carp regularly averaging around 1lb but with a few bigger ones thrown in. The weather was miserable with constant wind and rain which meant fishing long was a non-starter. This meant I had to make the short line work and whenever the line went quiet I would go slightly further out or to the side and would find a few fish. The anglers that were potting bait were all struggling and it seemed by spreading the bait out a bit I was the only one to really keep fish coming. At one point the wind dropped slightly and I went out to find the long line biteless. I don't think presentation was quite right so rather than waste time I got my head down on the corn. I had a couple of looks down the edge with no bites but kept feeding a few pellets as I had to hope the fish might turn up. The guy to my left on 18 had been struggling but in the last two hours he started to catch regularly down the edge and I was getting worried. Going into the last hour I was still picking odd fish off the corn line by searching around and constantly lifting and dropping.

With 25 minutes left I came off the corn line and dropped in down the edge on a 6mm pellet. After a few seconds the float buried and I struck into thin air! Straight back in and a repeat saw a fat little 1.5lb carp hit the net. I had another 7 carp and a 1lb skimmer down the edge in the last 25 minutes,feeding a dozen pellets everytime I hooked a fish. I netted the last fish after the whistle.

I wasn't sure how I'd done as I couldn't see all of the section but with 55 carp in the net I thought I might be ok. My main worry was the guy to my left who had caught in the last two hours and. First to weigh was Andy (andykoi) to my right who put 44lb on the scales. I was next and after two weighs I had a total of 66lb 12oz. The guy on 18 then put 54lb on the scales which was a relief as I thought it would be very close. I followed the scales round and there were a few 40's with the next best weight being 57lb (this included an 8lb+ bonus). One point I should make is the double 6 slip used. It seems to be a controversial set-up that people either love or hate and today I lost one fish all day that was bumped- the elastic was absoultely perfect for the job in hand.

Back to the hut and the rest of the team had done ok with (I think) a third and two fourths leaving us in 3rd position out of 7 on the day. After picking up my section money I headed home looking forward to getting dry!

Sunday saw the penultimate round of the winter league at Whinwhistle. Going into this round I had slipped to second place and was now three points behind Phil James in first. With only two matches to go it was going to be very difficult to make up the ground,especially as winter league attendances dwindle towards the end. What started off as a league of 24 was now left with a disapointing 11 fishing as those out of the running often don't turn up. This meant that there would be two small sections of 5 and 6,with 6 on Keepers and 5 on The Square. After a superb bacon & egg baguette I was ready for the draw. This might sound like a 'crap draw excuse' but there really was only one peg to avoid and that was peg 4 on The Square. This was the only peg without a feeder chuck and the best weight off it all winter was 4lb odd. My heart sank when I pulled my disc out of the bag and saw W4 staring back at me. I couldn't believe it and was absoultely gutted. Andy Shanks had drawn a flier in peg 1 which won the last match and I fully expected him to win the section with carp both on the feeder and down the edge. The news got worse when it emerged that Phil James had drawn end peg 16 on Keepers. At this moment I genuinely thought any chance I had of winning the league had been lost at the drawbag....

After driving down to The Square I was doing my best impression of a tourettes sufferer as I couldn't believe the peg I had drawn. It's in the middle of the bank with a spit opposite that always has pleasure anglers on it. After setting down my box I finally stopped cursing and began to think about what I was going to do

The peg had almost no chance of throwing up a carp so I thought it best to fish a light pellet approach and hope I could find a few skimmers and rescue a third or fourth in the section. My first line was straight out at 11m where there was around 4ft of water. This rig was a 4x12 KC Chimp on 0.14-0.10 and an 18 Tubertini 808 shotted with a bulk of 10's with 1 dropper. Elastic was double 5 slip. The peg was very flat so this rig also served my 14.5m line that would be a back-up for when the short line died. My final line was a bit of a throaway and was at 16m slightly to my right- same float and elastic but with an 0.12 bottom and an 18 Gama Pellet. This rig was set 3 inches over depth. Lastly I set up a maggot feeder clipped to the farbank but with a couple of pleasure anglers on that bank this was never likely to work. For bait I had half a pint of soaked micro's,some wetted crushed expander,some expanders for the hook and a pint of maggot. I also had some dryish fishmeal groundbait that would be cupped in on the 16m line.

The all-in was called and I fed a golf ball of crushed pellet with a pinch of micro at 11m,a ball of groundbait and a cup of loose groundbait,a few micro's and a few maggots at 16m before casting the maggot feeder to the far bank. I only gave this 5 minutes and as expected no bites were forthcoming so it was out to 11m with 4mm expander. I was delighted to see the float disapear first drop and a small skimmer of around 2oz was soon in the net. After 3 more in the next 3 drops I fed a tiny amount of crushed pellet through the fruitshoot pot,feeding every third fish initially. After an hour I was flying with 25 skimmers in the net. Crucially Andy was blanking which was a bit surprising. Mike Smith on peg 6 had caught a small carp on the method so we were probably about level. After 2 hours I had exactly 50 in the net and by trickling in small amounts of micro's and crushed pellets I was keeping the fish coming,hardly missing a bite and not losing any fish. Normally at Whinwhistle the pellet line dies between the first and second hour but there was no sign of it today so I was happy to get my head down and keep adding weight to the net. Mike next door had added a bream of about 3lb to his carp which would keep things pretty tight between us. Once or twice I had a slight quiet spell but I found waiting was the best thing to do as re-feeding can often be the kiss of death. After 3 hours I had around 60 fish in the net so had slowed down slightly but I was still on for a decent weight. A bite like any other saw a better fish on and I gingerly played a 2.5lb bream to the net-a real bonus.

I was still very wary that all Andy would need is two carp to overtake me but I felt the best option was to keep adding whatever I could to the net and hopefully it would be enough. A quick try on the 16m line with double dead maggot saw a pair of eyes hanging on the end so rather than waste time it was back to 11m. The rest had helped as going into the last hour I had 80 skimmers in the net,including the bonus fish and a couple of 8oz samples. Mike had added a tench to his net on the feeder to give him around 10lb,less than what I had. Andy had caught one small tench on the feeder and I had everything crossed that he wouldn't catch a few late carp. I then had another better skimmer nudging 2lb that tore off like a carp before coming in like a wet carrier bag! I had set myself a target of 100 fish at one stage but the line was showing signs of slowing. A quick try at 14.5m saw one small skimmer but it was slower than at 11m so I sacked the line.

With 25 minutes to go my worst fear happened as Andy hooked into a good fish down the edge. I knew if he got it in quickly he would have plenty of time to find another. Fortunately it took ages and with 5 minutes to go he was still playing it,netting it with just 2 minutes to. It was a right old lump and one more carp would see him overtake me. I was counting down the clock as he shipped back out and was relieved when the whistle went as I felt sure he'd have had another given a few more minutes. A quick check of the clicker showed I had 94 fish in the net and I was pretty confident of the section win.

The first two anglers had 7lb and 3lb respectively before Mike put 11lb 8oz on the scales. I then tipped 17lb 8oz on the scales and with Andy weighing in 11lb 14oz (10lb 14oz carp & 1 tench) I had the all important section win. This was all I could do and I had to hope that Phil had dropped a point or two,but being on the end peg I thought this would be unlikely. I have to say of all my wins at Whinwhistle this was the most satisfying as it was the worst possible draw and I would have taken 7b if you'd offered it at the start. I got a bit lucky in that the carp didn't really show but it was a risk i had to take and fortunately it paid off

A quick phone-call to the top lake revealed that Phil had bombed out coming 5th in section. I couldn't believe it! Although this was now his dropped result and he counted a previous fourth this meant we were now tied on points overall. So with one round to go we are exactly level on points,I have a 3lb weight advantage and we are also against eachother in the final of the Knockout. It's all to play for and the draw will be massive as if one of us draws a flier it could be all over. The final round is this Sunday and I will be sure to write a blog as it's likely to be very,very interesting!

Catching up....

2010-03-01T05:04:00.000-08:00

Firstly,I must apologise for the lack of a blog from last week,we are in the process of moving offices at work so it's been a bit busy to say the least!

The Sunday match was the Winter League at Whinwhistle. Going into the match I was tied in first place with 2 other anglers and there were plenty still in the mix. I drew on Keepers Lake again,with the 2 anglers I was tied with in my section. I managed to beat them both but could only manage a disapointing 4th in section,my worst result so far. I had 6lb 12oz of small skimmers on the pole but couldn't find any bonus fish. The angler to my left was third- he had a 9lb carp after around 3 minutes of the match and not alot else! I dropped the result and counted my third in section from an earlier round.Phil James had drawn the out and out flier (peg 7 on The Square) for the second match running and again walked the section with around 20lb odd on the tip- the same as the last time he drew it. To show how hard that section is just 1lb odd was enough for 3rd. So with 3 rounds to go Phil is now in first place,with me a point behind in second. It's all to play for and the draw is going to be crucial from here on-in so fingers crossed I get lucky.

This Saturday I booked into the open match at Greenridge Farm. I'm still getting to grips with the place but enjoy fishing there and will be putting some time in over the coming months. After the usual breakfast it was time for the draw and with a disapointing 9 anglers turning up we were pegged on canal 2 with every single peg in. I fished canal 2 back in November and had a nightmare on peg 17,so this was the only peg I didn't fancy. It therefore come's as no great suprise when I pulled out peg 17...doh! It was a different day this time and negative thoughts wouldn't achieve anything.......

The barometric pressure had plummeted over the previous 24 hours so I expected the fish to be in the deeper water anyway,and the reason I had a nightmare last time was due to the nature of the far-bank (dug with a spoon!). To my right I had Andy Potter on golden peg 18 and Andy Vane to my left. After setting up my gear I got a few rigs out. My first rig would be for the deeper water where there was around 5ft. A 4x12 KC Chimp on 0.14-0.12 and an 18 B911 shotted with a spread bulk of 10's and matched to yellow Drennan Bungee. I plumbed 3 lines at around 10m to the left of my peg,straight in front and over to the right. My next rig was for on the second shelf at around 13.5m. The rig was the same as the first but the depth was a little over 3ft. Again I plumbed 3 lines across at different angles and marked them in my head by using far bank markers. Finally I set up a rig for fishing tight to the far bank in 12 inches of water. Although I didn't expect to use this due to the conditions if people were catching in this depth I had to be ready. This rig was a 4x10 Chianti on 0.14 to an 18 Drennan eyed barbless with elastic again being yellow bungee. I decided to try something slightly different and set up a bomb rod- 9ft Shimano Beatsmster with a small 1/3oz lead and a 12 inch hooklength of 0.18-18 PR36 and a quick-stop hair. I set this up as on my last visit I had caught on corn without feeding and with the weather forecast uncertain if the wind got up too much it could be worth a few.

For bait I had half a pint of maggot,half a pint of damp 4mm pellet,a tin of corn and some expanders. Five minutes before the all-in Andy Potter wanted to have a waggle with my pole as he's in the market for something new. 'Just dont put my rig up the far bank' were my last words. I was tidying my peg up when I looked round to see my rig snagged on a far-bank branch....typical! As it was the 0.14 rig I had to pull for a break and the rig was left over the far side. I now knew I wouldnt be ready for the start as I had to get a new rig out of my box. Andy was very apologetic and felt terrible....not that I reminded him about it much! In all seriousness he's a good bloke and always a laugh to draw next to so there was no intention....I think!

The all-in was called and I wasn't ready so flicked the bomb out to around 10m with a single grain of corn while I fixed my new rig. After 5 minutes the tip dropped back and I wound into a fish. A brown goldfish of around 1lb wasn't exactly what I was after but it was a start. With my rigs in order I decided to go on the pole at 10m or so with a single grain of corn. I didn't have a sign on any of the three swims after 5 minutes in each so it was time to try fishing further over on the second shelf. I repeated the process of 5 minutes in each spot with no signs so started to ping three 4mm pellets to the middle line every minute or so for around 5 minutes. A grain of corn was dropped onto this line and the float didnt even settle and a 4lb mirror carp was soon in the net. This proved to be a false dawn as I couldn't buy another bite across,despite cupping in 3 grains of corn on the right hand line.

At this stage I cupped in 3 grains down the middle and went over the top after 10 minutes. A quick dink on the float saw a koi carp of around 3lb in the net followed by a 1lb brown goldfish 10 minutes later from the same spot. I then had a spell without a bite and couldn't get any signs across. Nobody was really catching across although Andy to my right was picking up odd fish on corn. It was now pretty grim and despite dribbling in a small amount of bait on my left hand middle line I couldn't get a sign here. After 3 hours I was falling behind so put a new line up at 14.5m as far to the left of my peg I could go in the deeper water. I was kinder potting around 10 maggots every put in and had a couple of chunky rudd before a switch to corn saw a small 2lb carp come to the net. This line also dried up and it was proving hard going. Both anglers either side of me had started catching a few fish short on corn and at one stage it looked like the golden peg might be going.

With an hour and fifteen minutes left it was time for one last throw of the dice and I plumbed a new line at 6m slightly to my left in the deepest water. I cupped in 3 grains of corn,10 maggots and proceeded to feed a grain or two by hand every minute or so. This is something I used to use to good effect on the canals at Hillview as the feeding by hand seemed to trigger a response and often from bigger fish. After 5 minutes or so the float buried and I lifted into a substantial fish. After a further 5 minutes I slipped the net under a fat 8lb mirror and was suddenly interested again. I continued to feed by hand and around 10 minutes later the float buried again and although the 5lb fish was hooked in the tail I managed to get it in the net without too much bother by using the short 4 section. This new line then went quiet despite a few put-ins so it was back over the original swims while I kept feeding the short line by hand. With 15 minutes to go and no bites from elsewhere it was back at 6m as the clock ticked down. With a minute or two left I blinked and the float was gone and I struck into another solid fish.

The whistle blew and I shouted 'fish-on' and a few minutes later panned a fighting fit common of 6lb or so. I must admit I was left feeling a bit disapointed after the match as I should have switched to the new line sooner. I put almost 20lb in the net in the last hour and feel that had I fed the line earlier and kept trickling some bait in they would have been lined up. Andy Vane to my left won the match with 52lb,Paul Barnard on end peg 20 was second with 49lb and Pete Newman third with 47lb. My 32lb odd was enough for fifth,just a pound behind Ray Kelly in fourth. Ray is a regular reader of my blog and it was great to meet him and we had a long chat afterwards about the match and both felt we could have pushed for a win had we done things differently. I was too slow to recognise that there were fish to be caught short and I was only three good fish off winning,something that I feel was very possible had I switched sooner.

After packing away I must have talked with Ray for a good half an hour,so much so that I didn't have time to go back for the customary beer as I was going out in the night so had to get my skates on. It was interesting to bounce ideas off eachother and I certainly learned plenty that will hopefulyl stand me in good stead for next time. This Sunday I have the winter league at Whinwhistle with family commitments taking precedent on Saturday.

Round 5-Whinwhistle winter league

2010-02-09T07:51:00.000-08:00

Sunday 7th Februrary

Sunday saw the fifth round of the Winter League at Whinwhistle. Due to the arctic weather over the past few months a round was cancelled and this was the first league match since December 6th. Going into the match I was tied on 5 points with 2 other anglers but ahead on dropped result (my worst result so far is a third in section.) After a delicious breakfast I was ready for the draw. I had fished for a few hours on The Square the day before and fancied a draw on there but it wasn't to be as Keepers 15 was in my hand. Although I would have preferred to be on The Square I was happy with my draw as it was a great skimmer peg and if the carp didn't show I would expect it to win the section. The match was also a knockout round and my opponent (Daryl Eckett) had drawn on The Square so I wouldn't know how he had done until after the match-not always a bad thing. A couple of pegs to my left was Andy Shanks so the usual pound side-bet was struck-up. His peg could be hit and miss as it wouldn't compete with mine for silvers but he had a great far bank swim where there is an electric post going into the water. For whatever reason this always holds carp and they tend to be big. The day before I had witnessed how good Andy can be fishing the method and I must admit I fancied him for a fish or two from there.

Peg 15 is a great peg as it sits slightly further out than the others,has a good depth and is perfect for silvers. I set up 3 pellet rigs to cover 5 swims. I had 2 lines at 4m at angles of 10 o'clock and 2 o'clock,2 lines at 9m at 10 o'clock and 2 o'clock and one line at 13m on top of a bar where it was a good foot shallower. The peg is nice and flat so I used 2 rigs to cover the four shorter lines- the first being a 4x14 KC Chimp on 0.14-0.12 and a 18 808. This was shotted with a spread bulk of 10's and matched to pink j-range and a pulla bung. As always it was plumbed to dead depth,with the 2 nearer lines being around 2 inches shallower than the 2 longer lines. When switching between the lines it would be a case of moving the float slightly to the mark on the pole. My second rig for these lines was a 4x12 Malman winter wire on 0.12-0.10 and a 20 Black gama. This was also shotted with a spread bulk but matched to double 4 slip and would be used for fishing pinkie,single dead maggot or 3mm pellet if it was hard going. For the 13m shallower line I set up a 4x12 KC Chimp on 0.14-0.12 and an 18 Gama Pellet matched to pink j-range and a pulla. Finally I set up a method rod with a small 30g preston feeder and an 8 inch hooklength (fishery rules) of 0.18 to an 18 PR36. This was clipped up tight to the far bank.

For bait I had half a kilo of groundbait for the method,some damp micro,wetted crushed pellet,half a pint of maggot and 3mm & 4mm hooker pellets. Target weight was 10lb-15lb of silvers,with 20lb + if I managed a bonus carp or two.

The all-in was called at 10am and as always I planned to only feed and fish one pole line out before binning it and moving on to a new one. A small golf ball of wetted pellet and a pinch of micro was potted in at 4m to the left before the method was despatched to the far-bank with two dead reds. It's very tricky using the 8 inch hooklength but by layering the groundbait and looping the hooklength you can bury the hookbait inside. It's a fiddly process but worth perservering with. After less than 10 minutes a cheer went out and Andy had hooked a carp on the method to the post on the far bank. After 5 minutes or so he slipped the net under a lump that was pushing double figures. This was a nightmare scenario as that was most of my target weight in his net after just 10 minutes. After 15 minutes I hadnt had a sign so reeled in and repeated the process. I had a savage liner which gave hope but nothing followed. I had only planned to spend 30 minutes on the tip but due to the liner I decided to pot a further 20 micros and a thumbnail piece of crushed pellet on the pole and have one more cast. No bites followed so I switched to the pole as I was now 45 minutes into the match without a fish. First drop at 4m with a 4.5mm expander saw the float bury after 30 seconds or so and a 4oz skimmer was soon in the net. Over the next half an hour I was catching well on this line with small skimmers coming regularly. What was noticeable was how little feed they wanted,and a pinch every fish was slowing things down so I switched to feeding a pinch every 3 or 4 fish depending on bites. The line was starting to fade slightly but I decided to try something a bit different on my right hand 4m line. I fed a full cup of loose groundbait with a few maggots and left it while I eeked out a few more skimmers from the left hand line. Around this stage Andy added a further carp from the far bank,this time a bit smaller at around 4lb. Realistically I knew that the only way I could catch him now was if he didn't catch anymore,but with feeding fish in front of him and 3 hours still to go I knew this would be unlikely. Still, being a league match it's all about points and I had to make sure of second place. No-one else was really catching bar the odd silver,although Oscar had caught a decent perch on the waggler of around 1lb three pegs to my left. The right hand line was slow but there were a few silvers topping so I jumped off my box and got a new topkit & rig (and snapped my rear seatbox clip in the process!). I quickly attached a 4x10 Chianti on 0.10-20 Drennan eyed barbless and double 4 slip. I kept feeding 3 maggots every 20 seconds or so for around 10 minutes while I had another small skimmer from the left hand line. I had 12 roach in the space of 5 minutes shallow but they were mostly less than an ounce so it wasn't really worth sticking with. It was almost time to switch back to the pellet,this time feeding the 9m left line with a nugget of crushed pellet and around 20 micro's. Over the top after 5 minutes and I was soon catching the skimmers again with a few slightly better fish of 8-10oz. Working out a feeding pattern was difficult as they definitely wanted small amounts but not regularly. This line soon slowed so I re-fed with a small amount before spending 10 minutes on the method without a bite.

The pole line at 9m had all but died so I re-fed, this time with a full pot of loose groundbait before trying short again for the roach shallow. I had a few quick fish before going back out to 9m. It took around 5 minutes for a bite but it was clearly a better fish when it came and I carefully slipped the net under a brown skimmer of around 2.5lb. This was a useful bonus as I still had to consider the knockout competition where every ounce could be crucial. I soon looked round to see Andy into another carp,and this one looked to be a good 8lb+. This effectively cemented 1st place in section which left me with a decision to make. Do I keep catching skimmers on the pole or sit on the so far unproductive method and hope for a carp. As I was clearly in second I knew that if I could keep catching skimmers and get into double figures I would be ahead of the others in the section even if they managed a carp. I felt this would be best rather than sitting on the tip that might not go round to then be knocked down a place or two by a late carp by someone else. This,along with the fact that I had every chance of a carp on the pole made me stick to what I was doing and keep adding what I could to the net,only fishing the method if I was desperate.

With 90 minutes to go I fed my 13m line on the bar with a pinch of crushed pellet and a small amount of micro pellet. First drop and the float dipped and a 4oz skimmer was soon on it's way in. Over the next 60 minutes I kept picking skimmers off both lines while no-one else was really catching. With half an hour to go the line died and as Andy had added another lump to give him 30lb+ I saw no point in fishing the method for the rest of the match as I would probably need 3 carp to overtake him. I came off the long line and rested it for 5 minutes while having one last 10 minute cast on the method to try and snare something. No bites saw me back on the pole and by trickling in a tiny amount of crushed pellet I managed to winkle out 4 more skimmers before the all-out was called. I reckoned on having around 12-13lb with around 38 skimmers in the net.

It was very clear that Andy had walked the section and I was certainly second. I just had to hope that I had done enough to progress through to the next round of the knock-out. The other section on keepers was first to weigh and was won with 7lb. I put 12lb 10oz on the scales for 2nd in section,with 4lb odd being third and Andy winning with 34lb odd (4 carp). Daryl had caught just 2lb on The Square so I was comfortably through to the knock-out and added 2 section points to go with my two 3rds and two 1sts. With 4 rounds to go there are no 4 of us tied on 7 points with a few snapping on our heels on 8 & 9. It's very close and a lot will depend on the drawbag from here on in.

I am not fishing this weekend as I'm whisking the mrs off to Paris for 5 days. The following weekend I have got the next round of the winter league on the Sunday and on the Saturday I will either be going to The Big One tackle show or fishing the open at Greenridge Farm.

Frozen elevens

2010-02-01T06:03:00.000-08:00

Greenridge Farm Open- 30/1/2010

This Saturday I booked on to the open match at Greenridge Farm. My last visit saw me draw peg 15 on canal 2 and I struggled catching just 3 carp. This was back in November when it rained constantly all day and was one of those days best forgotten. This time conditions were very different and upon arrival I was greeted by the demoralising sight of ice on all the lakes. It had frozen overnight and was quite thick. Nonetheless the match was to go ahead with 14 anglers booked on. As always at Greenridge there was food before the draw but this time Mick was using a new electric hotplate that took about 3 days to warm up. It would have been quicker to shine a torch on the sausages! Not that I was complaining too much as I scoffed a few before gathering for the draw. In went the lucky left hand and out came peg 11- endpeg on canal 1. If you are a regular reader of my blog you will know that this is the peg I drew on my first visit to Greenridge back in April. That day I had 96lb on shallow pellet for second place,just 3lb off winning. I somehow felt it would be a bit harder this time around.....

My first job was obviously going to be clearing the ice. Being canalised lakes it was a case of walking around to the far-bank and breaking it up with my landing net handle. This was also done on the near side before breaking up the middle with an ice breaker. Andy Hayden to my left on peg 10 also had a rake head on a rope which was used to drag the sheets of ice away. After spending a good 45 minutes clearing my peg I was relatively happy and began setting up. I set 3 rigs up for fishing across and one for down the track. My down the track rig was plumbed at 10m in the deepest water where there was around 5 and a half feet. This rig was a 4x12 KC Gent on 0.14-0.12 and a 20 Gama Pellet. It was shotted with a spread bulk of 10's and matched to yellow drennan bungee. I plumbed all along this line and found the same depth across my peg from left to right. For fishing across I set up a 4x10 Chianti for tight over in just less than 2ft of water,a 4x12 Chianti for on the next shelf down in 3ft of water and a 3x8 Chianti set at 18 inches deep for searching all over the peg. All 3 rigs were on 0.14-0.12 to a 20 Gama pellet and matched to pink j-range and a pull bung. For bait I had half a pint of red maggot,a couple of slices of bread and some expander pellets. About 5 minutes before the all in a load of ice floated into my perfectly clear peg! I managed to shift some of it against the bank to my right but it wasn't ideal.

The all-in was called and I cupped in 3 maggots at 10m and slightly to my left before going over the op with double dead red maggot. The float settled and kept on going.....the resulting lift so several feet of elastic exiting the pole. I was a bit surprised to get a bite so quickly but disapointingly the hook pulled as it was nearing the net. It felt like a good fish and the ice had hampered playing it. Andy to my left had 3 quick fish at 11m on corn without feeding a thing. He had said that he could feel fish on the line when plumbing up so they were obviously comfortable in the deepest water. I got off my box and had a tin of corn open in record time. I went out to 11m where the depth was the same as this was where Andy was catching. After a couple of minutes the float buried and I bumped a fish that felt foulhooked. I went back out slightly to the left and soon had a 4lb carp in the net. Over the next hour I added a few more,and what was noticeable was that all of the fish came after lifting the rig and letting the corn flutter down. By this stage I still hadn't fed anything and after a couple of hours I had 5 carp in the net,while Andy had 10. I had caught all of my fish from the same spot at an angle to my left,slightly towards Andy,and hadn't had a sign in front of me or to my right. As is so often the case in winter the fish were quite tightly balled up.

At this stage it was slowing down for both of us. Andy fired a few grains of corn out while I held back, waiting to see the reaction. During this time I had a few looks along the far shelf but didn't manage so much as a liner from anywhere. It was clear the fish were in one part of my peg. I fired out the odd grain of corn (about 5 all match) to try and spark something into happening. After around 4 hours I had 10 carp in the net for around 35lb with Andy having almost double that. The rest of the canal was struggling as most people were fishing tight to the far bank with little joy. Andy then switched to 18m to a tree on the farbank (he had a spare peg to his left so was able to fish in front of this) and began to motor. I decided my best bet was to keep searching the deeper water and hope to consolidate second place as I was now too far behind to challenge for first. I had a small brown goldfish from the same spot and then about 10 minutes before the end I had a liner as far left as I could fish. After 2 minutes without further sign I lifted the float 6 inches out of the water and lowered it back down. As soon as the corn hit the deck it was gone and my 11th and final carp of about 4lb was in the net.

The all-out was called and it was clear Andy had walked the match as he must have had near the ton. I reckoned on having 35-40lb which I hoped would be enough for second (they pay top 2 on each canal)

After packing up I was first to weigh and my eleven carp caught at 11m from peg 11 weighed 40lb 2oz. Andy then had two weighs totalling 99lb 6oz,agonisingly short of the ton. The next best weight was then 27lb with a couple of high teens in between. The other canal had fished hard with 50lb odd winning and then much smaller weights. I suppose the match was a prime example of winter match-fishing for carp. You're either on a few or you're not. The hardest part is having the confidence and discipline to not feed anything,as if the fish are in front of you there's no need and if they aren't then they aren't likely to move very far to find your feed. It was pretty simple fishing and if I'm honest there's not alot I would have done differently.

Whinwhistle Open- 31/1/2010

I had thought there was a winter league round this Sunday but I had the dates mixed up and it is actually on 7th Feb. An open match was arranged instead and 12 of us turned up to fish on Keepers Lake. Upon arrival I was greeted by the familiar sight of frozen lakes. It soon transpired that they had been completely ice free the day before and had frozen overnight. Not surprising when the car thermometer showed -7 degrees as I pulled into the carpark. Andy Shanks was busy clearing a few pegs on the far-bank and was knackered by the time a few of us went round to help. I say 'help'- I managed to mostly supervise while everyone else was working up a sweat....

Come the draw and there were only 2 pegs I really didn't fancy,peg 24 and peg 11. These two are the very end pegs of each section and aren't great for silvers for some reason. Anywhere between 15 and 23 would have been ideal. In went the lucky left hand and out came peg 11....Doh! The same number as yesterdays visit to Greenridge but I somehow felt it would be a lot harder today.

Peg 11 was one of the first to be broken in the morning and by the time I got there it had started to re-freeze. There were only a couple of ice breakers available so I began to set up a couple of topkits etc before cadging one and re-breaking my peg. I spent a good 30 minutes and clearead a wide channel out to around 10m. I set-up two rigs- both 4x12 Malman Winter Wires on 0.14-0.10 and both matched to double 4 slip. The only difference was one rig had a 20 Tubertini 808 and the other had a 22 Black Gama. The Gama rig was for fishing single dead maggot or pinkie an inch overdepth and the 808 was for fishing pellet at dead depth. I had around 5ft of water all over the peg and plumbed 4 lines. Two at 4m left and right and two at 10m left and right. All four lines were plumbed right up against the ice. The peg was very flat which might be a reason why it isn't the best for silvers?For bait I had half a pint of maggot,half a pint of pinkie,some damp micro,3mm & 4mm expanders and half a kilo of groundbait (50/50 Ringers dark & PA Low Feed)

The all-in was called at 10.15 am and I fed a nugget of groundbait and 3 pinkies short to the left,before putting two balls of groundbait to the right. I planned to leave this line for atleast 3 hours and to be honest it was a bit of a throwaway line. The long left line received 10 maggots and around 2 micro pellets while the long right line was left unfed. I kicked off on the short left line with single pinkie but didn't have a bite in the first fifteen minutes. I then moved onto the long left line and this was also uneventful. After 90 minutes I hadnt had a bite off either line and neither had Phil Timms to my right on peg 12. The only person to catch in my section was Phil James on peg 15 (flier!) who was catching small fish on squatt long. I was now getting pretty bored so refed the long left line with a pinch of micro pellet and fed a small hard ball of grounbait on the long right line. I then did something I almost never do and left my peg. I walked around to the hut and bought a Mars and a Snickers before walking around the lake and having a chat with Andy on peg 24. He had just caught 3 pairs of eyes in the last 10 minutes and was the only person in that section to have caught anything.

I returned to my peg to find that Phil next door had caught a 3oz skimmer and the other anglers in my section had also caught 1 fish each. I still couldn't buy a bite until just after two hours when the float finally dipped on the left hand long line and I soon netted a plump 4oz roach on single dead maggot. I always prefer to use dead maggot when the water's cold as it stays stretched out whereas a live maggot will shrivel up as soon as it hits the water. In the next 5 minutes I had another 2 roach before I was once again biteless. At this stage Phil next door started to catch a few skimmers. He had resorted to cupping in groundbait loose and it had clearly worked. Never one to be slow on the uptake I cupped in a loose pot of groundbait over the right hand line and left it for 5 minutes. First drop in and the float settled for all of 5 seconds before burying and a 6oz skimmer was soon in the net. I then had a few more before switching to the pellet rig which brought a few extra fish. Over the next couple of hours I kept picking off fish,with my 36th being swung in right on the whistle. Phil James had slowed right up although I felt with the big head start he had it would be close. Phil Timms had caught less fish than me but had crucially found 2 proper skimmers of around 2lb and 1lb respectively that I knew would make the difference.

After packing away I was once again first to weigh and the needle bounced round to 5lb dead. Phil Timms then put 7lb 13oz on the scales- I told you it would have been close without those two bonus fish. The next two anglers had less than 1lb each before Phil James pulled his net out. It was clearly going to be close between us and the scales eventually settled on 5lb 8oz. If I'd had another 15 minutes I probably would have had that. So I finished third in section and one out of the money. The other section was won with 2lb something,with most weights 1lb or under. It had fished hard for most but it was always likely to be given the conditions. Most important of all was Andy Shanks weighing in 2lb 3oz which meant another shiny nugget was in my pocket. The trouble was he finished 2nd in his section so had another 19 to go with it.....

Next Sunday finally sees the next round of the winter league. I'm currently top but only on dropped result as 3 of us are tied in 1st place. I'm hoping for a half decent draw and a few fish to stay in contention.

First match of the decade

2010-01-21T03:00:00.000-08:00

Well,it's been a long while since my last blog due to a break over Christmas and the arctic conditions we've been experiencing these last few weeks. The scheduled winter league match on January 10th was duly postponed as there was 3-4 inches of ice on all lakes. On that weekend I went and fished the river Blackwater with my mate Andy and caught a fair few fish on stick and maggot which was great fun. The fields were covered in snow yet we still managed to find a few fish wandering the river with minimal gear and a flask of coffee

Anyway,during the week I received a call saying that there was to be a match at Broadlands on Lower Lake which apparently wasn't suffering so much with ice. This might have something to do with the power pylons above the lake? After not fishing competitively for 5 weeks I needed no second invitation and duly booked on. I also managed to get my good mate Nick White booked on which meant any winnings would be split 50/50.

Pulling in to the carpark at a little after 8am I was pleased to see that the lake was completely ice free. What was very noticeable however was the clarity of the water. I could see the bottom a few feet out which was likely to make things hard. After paying my pools and having a good catch-up with a few of the lads I hadn't seen since before Christmas I was ready for the draw. I have fished Broadlands four times and every time I had drawn on the same side of the lake in the 20's. In went my lucky left hand and out came peg 21. I was happy enough with this as I have always caught well and fancied it for a few fish. I had heard beforehand that the other side of the lake was fishing well whereas my side hadn't fished for a good 4-6 weeks. Skimmers and carp are the main target and as they tend to be shoal fish I had to hope that a few had moved to my side of the lake. Nick had drawn the opposite side on peg 4 and I fancied him for a few fish.

The rain was already pouring down so the camera stayed in the car hence the lack of a picture.

I decided to fish my usual pellet line at 14.5m with a method to the central island as my opening gambit. I set up two rigs for 14.5m- a 4x14 KC Chimp on 0.14-0.12 and an 18 Gama Pellet. This was shotted with a small bulk of 10's with 2 droppers and matched to pink j-range and a pulla bung. My second rig was a 4x14 KC Chimp on 0.14-0.10 and a 22 Tubertini 808. This was shotted with a spread bulk of 10's and matched to the same elastic. My method rod was an 11ft Beastmaster matched to a 3012 TDR,6lb line,a small preston 30g inline feeder with a 4 inch 0.18 hooklength to an 18 PR36. For bait I had half a pint of red maggot,a pint of soaked micro's,3 & 4mm expanders and a kilo of ringers dark and swimstim green mixed 75/25.

The all-in was called and I cupped in a golf ball of micro's at 14.5m and kicked off on the method with two dead reds. I was clipped right up against the island and my first 5 casts were bang on the money. On my 5th five minute cast I had a very slow liner which led me to believe the fish were in the deeper water away from the island- possibly due to the clarity of the water. I took 5 turns off the reel clip and cast out about 4-5m off the island. After 5 minutes the tip went round and kept going and I lifted the rod into a decent fish. The water was so clear I could see the fish about 10m out. After a further minute I slipped the net under a fat little mirror carp of around 4lb or so- a great start as no-one else in my section had caught a fish by the half hour stage. After 45 minutes I'd had no further bites so went out on the 14.5m line. No bites on the light rig in 45 minutes didnt bother me as this has always been the case. I fed a thumbnail sized ball of micros and went back on the tip for 5 biteless minutes. Back on the pole & pellet and again I couldn't buy a bite. Now I was worried....

The guy on the very end peg (30) was the only angler in the section not on the same straight bank. He was around the corner and was almost fishing the other side of the lake. He was starting to catch the odd skimmer on the method into the open water. The anglers either side of me were still blanking and the word was that most of the section was as well. I switched to the light rig and went out with single maggot. A quick bite saw a 1oz roach being swung in. I began to put a few of these fish together,mostly less than 1oz but with the odd bigger 2-3 oz sample thrown in. With only the end peg catching anything I decided to get my head down and keep catching what I could,safe in the knowledge I had a precious carp in the net. It was hard work at 14.5m but I didn't want to come closer as I felt sure that at some stage I would pick up a better fish over the pellet feed. The rest of the match was spent switching between the pole and the odd cast on the method. When the all-out was called I had around 60-70 roach and the one carp. Either side of me were DNW as they each had a tiny fish each. I was knackered by the end and wished I'd brought the roach closer as the elusive bonus fish never materialised on the pole line.

After packing up the scales made their way around to my section. The guy on end peg 30 put an all skimmer net of 18lb on the scales. I knew this would beat me as I reckoned on having 8-10lb. He fished a good match and took full advantage of the room he had to catch on the method in open water. The next angler to weigh put two skimmers on the scales for 4lb odd. These two pegs next to each other were the only pegs in my section to catch any skimmers a tall. There were then a few DNW's and a 2lb weight before my carp went 4lb 10oz and the silvers went 4lb 12oz giving me a 9lb 6oz total and 2nd in section worth £25. The other side had fished completely differently with a few weights in the 20lb-30lb bracket. Nick had come 2nd on peg 4 with 39lb and Phil Timms won with 42lb of carp on the pole. As the overall winner was paid out Nick got his section by default which was worth an extra £5 to me as we had £60 in the pot between us. All in all it wasn't a bad day and I honestly don't think I could have done any more from the peg I had. If I had fished for the roach properly I might have had a few more but certainly not 18lb of them. I was over 5lb ahead of 3rd in section and would have come 2nd with either the roach or the carp on their own. What was also pleasing is I continued my sequence of 5 pick-ups in 5 visits to Broadlands....no wonder it's my favourite venue! I was also hopeful of continuing my run of my weight improving on every visit,but with 79lb last time out I suppose I was up against it in the near arctic conditions.

Nick asked me if I wanted to fish the Viaduct winter league on the Sunday but with the prospect of getting up at 5am and not getting home til late I decided not to. Instead I had a nice lie-in before heading to Whinwhistle at around 10am. Andy Shanks was there and we decided to have a little knock up between us. The main reason for doing so was to dry everything out from the day before as the weather was glorious. Unbelievably the lakes were all frozen solid so we had to cadge an icebreaker from a couple of anglers fishing at the top end. We (mostly Andy) broke out a couple of pegs (19 & 20) on Keepers before tucking in to a bacon and egg baguette. Fishing was to be from 12-3 with a pound at stake. One rig was set-up to fish at 5m against the edge of the ice. A 4x12 Malman winter wire on 0.12-0.10 and a 22 808. Elastic was double 4. For bait I had Saturdays leftovers- Ringers dark,some micro pellet and some maggot. I also pumped a few 3mm expanders. At the start I fed around 10 micro pellets,3 maggots and a thumbnail sized nugget of groundbait. Andy meanwhile fed two balls of groundbait. We both kicked off and waited....and waited....and waited. After around 25 minutes I finally had a bite which I missed,much to Andys amusement! A few minutes later I had another bite and bumped a fish....doh! Soon after I had a small roach,and then another,then another....Andy meanwhile was still biteless. After almost 2 hours I had around 18 small fish and Andy was still biteless. I kept reminding him that he had overfed at the start while he kept reminding me I was on a flier as usual. Then all of a sudden he started catching. The last hour saw Andy catch at the same rate as me but he was having bigger fish. My pound was suddenly looking dodgy...

The banter was flowing back and forth all match but it was obvious I was now worried as my gob was shut. I then had a bonus 3oz perch followed by a pristine roach of around 5oz. The 'all-out' (if you can call it that) was called and the scales were soon out. My fish went a huge 2lb exactly and Andys went 1lb 10oz. His shiny quid was soon nestling in my pocket...

It was an enjoyable day and made a nice change. A lie-in followed by a superb breakfast,plenty of laughs and a few fish...just what was needed on a cold winters day.

* This blog is around a week late as I have been so busy I haven't had chance! This weekend just gone I was in Brussels with my girlfriend and sampled a few waffles and more than a few of the local beers...hic! I have got the Whinwhistle winter league on Sunday after almost 2 months since the last round and I'm not sure what I'm doing on the Saturday. Hopefully I will find a match somewhere.....

End of year struggle....

2009-12-09T07:14:00.000-08:00

Early last week I called the tackle shop at Witherington Farm to see if there was a match 'on the board'. 'Yes' said the lad,it's on Cottage but it's fully booked'. 'No problem,put me down as first reserve.' I checked on Friday and was still first reserve so decided I would drive out there in the morning,if I got on the match great,if not I'd have a few hours fishing Sellwood (one of the other lakes). I pulled into the carpark at a little after 8 to find it was rammed with cars........strange! I got chatting to a few of the lads I know and it soon transpired that the plank in the shop had got the dates wrong,it was actually the Teams of 4 this weekend. So not only could I not fish the match I couldnt fish Sellwood as this was to be used in the match. So after an hour round-trip wasted I decided to spend the day at Whinwhistle as it was on the way home and I had the car loaded up. I very rarely get to pleasure fish as it doesn't do alot for me but faced with sitting in the hous all day twiddling my thumbs or spending a few hours on the bank I chose the latter. I had a nice day on Peg 1 of The Square catching around 16lb on pole & pellet. With the fourth round of the winter league the next day I tried a few different things that I wouldn't risk in a match situation.

Sunday morning dawned and after a cup of tea and a bacon sandwich I loaded up the car and made the short 5 minute journey to Whinwhistle. I fancied a draw on The Square after the previous day but anywhere along the middle bank of Keepers would suit me. In went the lucky left hand and out came end-peg 10. Now this peg is a bit of a flyer as it has a small bay to the left that usually holds a carp or two so I was reasonably happy. The only trouble is I always target the silvers which has been key to my consistent results over the last couple of years,and peg 10 is a little bit shit or bust as if the carp don't play ball you're looking for snookers. I was less enthusiastic when I got round to my peg to find that the overflow pipe that enters the lake in the small bay was absolutely tonking water into my peg. We have had so much rain lately that it was inevitable but I always find masses of cold water entering a lkae such as this is never a good thing. Setting up I didn't see a single sign of a fish which didn't exactly inspire me and deep down I knew it would be one of those days. I decided I would fish maggot down the edge to my left at 11m,pellet straight out at 11m and a tip rod for casting around in the small bay.

To cut a (very) long story short, I didn't even manage a real liner on the tip all day,and the silvers fishing was very hard. I managed to eek out a few on maggot down the edge and pellet long but I never felt there was any real volume of fish in my area. The water was so coloured due to the inlet pipe which I'm sure had an effect. I weighed 3lb 3oz which was actually enough for third in section so not that disaster that I had feared but I was still gutted at the day. The top 2 weights in section both had a similar weight of silvers but crucially managed a carp for around 12lb and 10lb respectively. If I'm being honest the only thing I would have done differently is fished lighter down the edge as I was geared for carp on pretty heavy gear for this time of year which wasn't ideal and I bumped one or two decent roach, but then if I was to win the section I would have needed a carp anyway.

After the match we had the Christmas meal (hotdogs,chicken legs,pizza,chips etc) and I made sure I had my fill,and then a bit more! It's now Wednesday and I'm still full.....

I haven't got any firm match commitments until early January so there's every chance I won't be on the bank until then so there will be no blogs for a while. I shall mostly be eating too much and getting drunk. Here's to a Merry Christmas and Tight Lines for 2010!

Wet Wet Wet....

2009-11-22T12:00:00.000-08:00

After not fishing for almost 3 weeks I was looking forward to a match-double header this weekend. Looking at the forecast during the week it was clear that the weather was going to be pretty bad and that's exactly how it turned out! Saturday saw me heading to Greenridge Farm to fish the open. I had only ever fished there during the warmer months and had picked up every time so was keen to see if I could continue this run. I was first to arrive and met match organiser Mick kenny and soon found out that there were only 7 fishing. A few people had pulled out as the match drew closer,I think they were the sensible ones that paid attention to the forecast....

After scoffing a couple of bacon and sausage rolls it was time for the draw and I pulled out peg 17. We were all on canal 2 and a quick check with Pete Newman revealed that my peg wasn't the best. Plumbing up to the far bank it soon become clear that whoever dug my peg was drunk and had used a spoon. The depth variation was unbelievable and I couldnt find a flat spot anywhere. I spent the first half an hour searching along at half depth with a corn skin without a sign but soon had an 8lb mirror on pellet at depth. To cut a long story short I then went a few hours without a bite before taking two more carp of about 2lb apiece. It was quite frustrating as I only fed one spot,and that was fed very light. I tried a few places along the bank and didn't get any liners or foulhooked fish whereas the guy to my left was foulhooking fish all day,and he didn't feed anything either. For whatever reason the fish were happy in his peg although they weren't really feeding. With the rain hammering down I did something that I very rarely do and packed up with 15 minutes to go. I knew I couldn't pick up so there was no point in persevering and I left just before the weigh-in-keen to get home and showered! I believe that about 50lb won from the far-end-this was the word on the grape-vine as I left,but knowing what us match anglers are like it was probably more like 100lb!

Sunday saw the third round of the winter league at Whinwhistle. Going into the match I was in tied second place on 4 points following a section 3rd and then a section 1st. After seeing off a breakfast I was ready for the draw. As usual I was hoping to be on Keepers lake again as I think it is more consistent and I hadn't fished the square since the massive changes took place at the end of the summer. I was second into the bag and pulled out W7- Peg 7 on the square. If I'm honest I was a bit disapointed as I had hoped to avoid The Square,especially as the end pegs 1 & 8 were likely to dominate. Nonetheless there were points up for grabs and you have to make the most of your draw. This match was also the second round of the knockout cup and I had been drawn against Nigel Berry who was on a good peg on Keepers-24. This peg is usually good for a carp or two and I thought I'd be up against it from where I'd drawn. The square is a good few hundred yards from Keepers so I wouldn't know how I had fared in the knockout until the end-not necessarily a bad thing.

After getting to my peg the weather was getting worse as the wind increased and the rain got heavier. I contemplated only setting up the tip to fish a maggot feeder to the platform on the adjacent bank but decided to also set-up the pole and waggler (I only had one chuck on the wag as the weather meant I couldn't feed it). For the pole I set up two rigs. The first was my main rig- a 4x12 KC Chimp on 0.14-0.12 and an 18 Gama Pellet. Elastic was double 5 slip and the rig was shotted with a small bulk of 10's with a single dropper just above the six-inch hooklength. The second rig was a 4x12 KC Speed on 0.14-0.10 and a 22 Tubertini 808. This was matched to double 5 slip and shotted with a bulk and two droppers. Both topkits had a fruitshoot pot on the pole. I plumbed two lines at 13m at angles of 10 & 2 o'clock. I planned to only feed one to start with and have the second as a back-up. The feeder was an 11ft Beastmaster,3012 TDR,6lb sensor with a small maggot feeder and a 12 inch hooklength of 0.16 silk shock to an 18 drennan eyed barbless tied with a knotless knot. I clipped up right in front of the platform that was about 25m slightly to my left. For bait I had a pint of damp micro's,half a pint of crushed pellet,a pint of red maggot and some 3 & 4.5mm hook pellets.

About 10 minute's before the all-in the heavens really opened and the rain hammered down. When the whistle went a few people just sat there hunched under the brollies. I decided to start on the maggot feeder and not feed the pole line atall. I would give each cast around 5 minute's,half filling the smallest drennan feeder each time. I had to add a bit more weight to the feeder as the wind was making casting increasingyl difficult. After 20 minute's I hadn't had a sign,although I did reel in a 1oz roach that had decided to hang itself. After 25 minute's I fed the 13m line with a small ball of crushed pellet and a tiny pinch of micro's. After another biteless cast it was out with a 4mm pellet and after 5 minute's without a bite I was in trouble. I have always caught well on the pellet and the fish are usually on it straight away when fed negatively. After a few more minutes of lifting and dropping the float pimple dipped and I lifted into a small skimmer. It was only around 2-3oz but as no-one else had caught a fish it was most welcome. I then went around 20 minute's without a bite which was quite worrying. I can only assume that all of the rain had knocked things on the head a bit. Eventually by working the bait and trickling in 3-4 micro's every now and then I caught the odd skimmer and had around 12 fish after 2 hours. Phil James two to my right had caught a few small skimmers short but this had dried up. He then went out to 13m and soon had a 3lb bream in the net- DOH! This put him in the lead for the section as I probably had about 1.5lb and most others were blanking. I continued picking off the odd small skimmer but it was very hard going- although I caught far better on a 4mm pellet than a 3mm or single maggot which was perhaps surprising.

With around 2 and a half hours to go I was thinking of changing to the 2 o'clock 13m line but felt with it being so hard the fish would be a bit further out. I went to the rod bag and got out the 14.5m section and plumbed a new line. The depth was exactly the same which made things easier. I cupped in 8-10 maggots,around 10 micro pellets and a tiny piece of crushed pellet on this new line. After a 5 minute biteless chuck on the tip I shipped out to 14.5m and lowered a 4mm pellet down. The float barely settled before disaperaing and a 3oz roach was soon in the net. I went straight back out without feed and after a couple of minutes the float dipped and I lifted into something more substantial. I thought it was a carp at first but as it neared the net it was clear that it was a skimmer of around 1lb hooked in the pectoral fin. A useful bonus on such a hard day but a bit disapointing as I thought it was a bigger fish due to being foulhooked. I went straight back out without feeding and after some 5 minutes the float again dipped and I lifted into a flying skimmer of around 2lb. This one was in the mouth and a very useful fish as it probably put me in the lead for the section. I then went 10 minutes without a sign so cupped in a similar small amount of feed and tried the original 13m line. This swim was now dead so I decided to knock it on the head and spend the last 90 minutes at 14.5m and the tip.

Back out to 14.5m with a 4mm pellet and after 5 minute's or so the float vanished out of the blue and the lift was met with the welcoming sight of double 5 slip. This was a proper fish and it plodded out of the swim. After a good 20 minute's I finally slipped the net under a fighting fit common carp that must have been 9-10lb- a proper bonus fish. Now I got a bit of stick for taking so long to land the fish but on such a hard day there's no rush. At Whinwhistle it's rare to get more than one carp so you have to make sure you get it in and the double 5 is spot on for this. At this point I decided to switch the rig to a different topkit containing pink j-range elastic coupled with a pulla bung as the double 5 was hanging out of the kit following the last fish. This is the softest hollow you can get and I hoped it would be ok for the small skimmers. I only bought some during the week as I felt the pulla bung would give better control with the bonus fish-something else I had never used before. After 5 minutes without a bite I re-fed with a similar amount of bait as the initial feed and decided to give the tip 15 minute's. I switched to an 0.18 hooklength to an 18 PR36 with a quickstop on the hair and a GURU 1oz lead. The reel was unclipped and the double corn hookbait with a tiny PVA bag was cast further along the bank to the next platform. Fifteen minute's without so much as a liner was all I was prepeared to give this as nobody had caught a fish on the tip. I could see that Mike Smith on boss peg 1 had caught 3 carp- 2 smaller fish and a proper lump which I felt sure would beat me. With 20 minutes to go it was back out to 14.5m but 10 minutes without a bite meant it was decision time. I was clearly 2nd in section so had nothing to lose. A half golf ball sized nugget of crushed pellet was cupped in and I went straight over the top with a 4mm pellet. As the clock ticked down there was only 5 minutes remaing when the float shot under out of the blue and I lifted into solid resistance. The fish sat there for a second or two before kiting out of the swim. The whistle blew to signal the end of the match and I called out 'FISH ON'. I got the fish to the topkit and it became clear that it was foulhooked in the tail by the way it was fighting- almost eel-like. With plenty of elastic through the pulla I had the fish in the net but as it was coming in backwards it swam out. I felt sure I was going to lose it and prayed that the 0.12 hooklength would hold strong. As the fish was 90% in the net the hook pulled......but I managed to bundle it in- if it had pulled a second earlier the fish would have been gone. When you're luck's in you're luck's in!!

After packing most of my gear away the scales made their way down. The guy on end peg 8 to my left had caught one small carp down the edge in the last 30 minutes for 3lb odd. My net of skimmers then went 5lb 4oz before the two carp went 14lb 15oz- more than I thought and a pleasing 20lb 3oz total. The guy to my right then weighed 10oz before Phil James put a high 3lb on and promptly handed over a quid. The weights were then very poor as no-one had more than 2lb- proof of how hard it had fished. With only Mike left to weigh he plonked 3 carp on the scales from down the edge for 18lb something and second place. Phil's 3lb odd was enough for third!

After packing up I headed to the lodge for a cup of tea and my winnings. Keepers had also fished hard with 12lb odd winning each section. Importantly for me this meant I had progressed to the next round of the knock-out as Nigel weighed 11lb something- happy days!

So after three rounds I am now top of the league on 5 points following back-to-back section wins. There is still a long way to go and I just have to hope I can draw OK and maintain the results in the remaining six rounds. I'm not fishing this weekend but will be back at Whinwhistle for the 4th round (and Christmas dinner) on the 6th.

Whinwhistle Winter Leage- round 2- 1/11/09

2009-11-03T10:23:00.000-08:00

After a nice days fishing at Broadlands the day before I was looking forward to the second round of the winter league at Whinwhistle. I was less enthusiastic when I was woken up by the sound of rain pounding my roof at 5am! A 3rd in section in the first round wasn't a bad start but I was hoping to improve on that this time around. I must say,if it wasn't a league match I would have stayed at home as the weather was atrocious! The rain was torrential and with high winds a grim day was in prospect. Arriving at the fishery at around 8 I paid my pools and stayed under the cover of the sheltered patio area with everyone else,sheltering from the downpour. I wasn't really fussed where I drew to be honest. The end pegs would obviously be an advantage as always but anywhere on keepers would do me as my light pellet approach scores on all pegs. I wouldn't have fancied a draw on The Square if I'm honest as since the changes it is still a bit of an unknown quantity. I was therefore happy to pull out peg 20 on Keepers,the same peg number as the day before at Broadlands! Could I go one better this time around?

As I was unloading the car Andy Shanks came over and informed me that he had drawn next to me for the second week running on peg 21. After taking a nice shiny pound off him last time I gladly wagered another this time. When I got to the peg the rain was lashing down and the wind was gathering strength. I soon found out that my peg returned 11oz in the first round-great! After setting my box down I started to formulate a plan. The two end pegs in the bottom bay always hold carp and with Phil James on endpeg 25 and Bob Wackrill on 24 I felt sure they would find a few carp and would be the ones to beat. Peg 20 has a good depth in close which would be an advantage with the conditions so I was going to initially target an area at around4-5m,where there was a good 6ft. I set up 4 pole rigs as follows:

4x14 KC Chimp- 0.16-0.12,18 Gama Pellet,bulk of 10's with 1 dropper and double 5 slip
4x14 KC Speed-0.14-0.10,22 Tubertini 808,spread bulk of 10's and double 4 slip
4x16 KC Chimp- 0.16-0.12,18 Gama Pellet,bulk of 10's with 1 dropper matched todouble 5 slip

4x14 KC Speed- 0.14-0.10,20 Gama Black,bulk of 10's and 2 droppers,double 4 slip

The first 3 rigs were for fishing pellet. The first was for standard,the second was if it was tough/3mm pellet. These were both plumbed just touching bottom whereas the 4x16 was set 6 inches over depth in case the conditions detiriorated. The 3 pellet rigs all had a small fruit-shoot pot on the topkit. Finally I set up a straight lead (usual set-up) that I would spend the first 10 minutes on or would sit on if carp were needed.

I plumbed up my first line on a top 2 + 2 straight out. I then plumbed up a second line a further 2 sections out. I always plumb a second line as in my experience you can never keep the first line going all match. Once it goes quiet it's time to move onto the second line. I never feed this second line at the start,waiting until I am just about to fish it. My other line was groundbait and maggot and was on a top 4 at an angle of 2 oclock

For bait I had 1 pint of damp micro pellet,1 pint of wetted crushed pellet,3mm&4mm hookers,a pint of maggot and 1/2 kilo of dark groundbait. Target weight was 10lb for a top 3 finish,but with odd carp likely to be caught I felt that 20-30lb would be needed for the section win.

The all-in was called at 10am and I cupped in 3 balls of groundbait to my right,a golf ball of crushed pellet with a pinch of micro at 4m and cast out a straight lead with double dead maggot towards the lillies on the far bank. 8 minutes without a sign was disapointing but not unexpected so I was soon on the pellet at 5m. Within seconds of the float settling it was gone and a 2oz skimmer was soon swung in. Two more came in the next two drop ins before I dropped in a marble sized ball of crushed pellet through the fruitshoot. 30 seconds later and the float dipped and yards of double 5 slip was streaming from the pole. Two minutes later and a little 2lb stocky carp was in the net- bonus! After this the skimmers were coming thick and fast. Although they were small averaging around 2-3oz they were coming regularly,with all the fish falling to a 4mm pellet at 5m. I was feeding a marble of crushed pellet almost every put in unless bites went iffy when a marble of micros would go in and be fished out. After 90 minutes or so it went a bit iffy so I fed another golfball of bait and dropped in over the groundbait with maggot. 3 quick fish of a similar size were all I could find here before this died. I re-fed with 1 ball of groundbait which was the kiss of death as depsite trying it once or twice more through the day I didn't manage another bite here!

Back on the pellet at 5m and the skimmers had returned. After 2 hours I dropped my 40th skimmer into the net for around 6-7lb and with the carp to go with it I was already not far from my target weight. Around this stage Bob Wack had a real lump of a carp on the tip that must have been around 10lb-great! My 5m line was slowing down a bit and I was reluctant to start the new line just yet as I like to wait until the second half of the match. After 2hrs 15 mins I fed at 7 sections with a golfball of crushed pellet and micro and left it for 5 minutes while I dropped in at 5m. The short line was dying fast as expected and I just hoped I could keep my catch rate ticking over. It took a few minutes to get a bite but I was soon catching a few similar sized skimmers,along with a better fish of around 6-7oz. With around 2 hours to go I hit into a better fish that tore out of the swim-clearly a 'proper' carp. I got Andys attention but the big grin on my face was soon gone as the rig pinged back. However on closer inspection the rig had gone! It had somehow pulled free from the dacron connector. This was the first time it had ever happened to me and I was absolutely devastated as that fish would have been worth mega points. I re-fed a large marble of crushed pellet at 7 sections before getting a new rig out of my box and making sure it was 'just right'. I then went 10 minutes without a bite...it's funny how the rig can seem exactly the same yet for some reason it isn't quite like the one that's been trashed. After a bit of gentle feeding I managed to find a few more skimmers but with an hour to go the line was fading. In the next 30 minutes I only managed a couple more fish and with Bob Wack on one carp and a few bits and Phil James on 1 proper carp and 2 pups I felt it was close between all of us.

I kept an eye on them as at worst I was 3rd in section and if either of them had another carp I would be tempted to sit on the tip for the remainder of the match. Phil was losing a few in the pads....we don't like to see that! I had plumbed and fed a new line at 7 sections at an angle of 2 oclock but despite one quick try I felt it would be best to put anotherpinch of bait in on the original 7 section line and try and eek out a few more skimmers as I thought every ounce could be crucial. With 15 minutes to go I lifted the rig a float length out of the water and as soon as it settled the float buried. The amount of elastic that shot out of the pole made it clear that this was no skimmer.....

With a gallery watching from the hut opposite I hung on for dear life. My arse was twitching like a rabbits nose as this fish would almost certainly be worth the section. After more than 10 minute's and with 5 sections of pole in the air I finally slipped the net under an 8lb common carp,hooked plumb in the middle of the top lip-WOOHOO! 60 seconds later and the all-out was called and the insults started flying in my direction. I've never heard the word 'spawny' used so much in such a short space of time.....

Vic to my left was the first peg in my section and he put 8lb of skimmers on the scales. These were 1lb+ fish all taken on the worm early on...food for thought? My 61 skimmers went 9lb 8oz and the two carp went 10lb 2oz giving me a 19lb 10oz total. Andy then put 6lb something on the scales and duly handed over a quid. I really should start investing these....

There were then a few low weights before Bob Wack put 14lb on the scales and Phil James had 18lb something-more than I thought. That last fish had snared me the section win,what a bonus!
The other Keepers section was won by Roger Clacey and The Square was won by Nathan Fox off end peg 8 with 35lb odd-6 carp on the maggot feeder. So after 2 rounds I'm in the mix with a section 1st & 3rd although there is still a long way to go. Unbelievably I'm not fishing for the next 2 weekends and wont be out again until November 21st. It's my girlfriends 21st this week so I've got half of Ireland staying at mine this weekend and then family stuff the weekend after.

Broadlands Lower Lake- 31/10/09

2009-11-02T06:12:00.000-08:00

With a 'free' Saturday I was desperately looking for a match and had a phonecall during the week and was told that Chichester AC were holding a match on Broadlands lower lake and there were a few spaces available. I didn't need a second invitation and soon had my name on the list. This place is fast becoming my favourite venue as I had fished it 3 times and had a section win,section second and overall 3rd. All of my weights were caught on long pole and pellet and had got better each time which is always encouraging. I had 36lb on my first visit for a section win,54lb for a section second and 59lb for overall 3rd. Every time I had between 30-40lb of skimmers with the extra weight being made up of carp. Arriving at the fishery at around 8am I was pleased to see the weather was looking good and hoped it would stay dry. The lake was to be split into two sections on either side of the central island. Every time I have fished here I have drawn the same section in the high numbers. This is generally regarded as the worst side but that's because most people fish the method and the other side is better for this. As my accuracy on the tip leaves a lot to be desired I would rather be in the high numbers and I didn't disapoint, pulling out peg 20. To my right on endpeg 21 was Marcus Paige (mpmilo) and as he had won the last match on the method on the far side I knew I would be up against it. I decided that instead of fishing the method I would use a straight lead for the island as it's not something I like to spend long on and I hoped I wouldn't need it. I have always caught well on the pole but it is the slow start while this settles that has cost me as 2 or 3 early carp can make all the difference. I also decided I would set up a waggler for fishing at 25m for a couple of good reasons. Firstly,no-one around me had set one up so I would have this area to myself. Everyone set up a long pole line and a tip,leaving the water in between free. I hoped that I might find one or two fish here while the pole was left for the first 45 minutes or so. Also,there wasn't a breath of wind which I often find detrimental to fishing the tip but perfect for the waggler.

My set-up was as follows:

Tip- 11ft Beastmaster AX, Daiwa 3012 TDR,6lb sensor,12 inch hooklength of 0.18 silk shock to an 18 PR36 with a korum quickstop on a hair. The lead was a free running GURU 1oz square.

Waggler- 13ft Carbonactive Sentient,Daiwa 2508 CU,3lb maxima,2.5g Drennan Crystal insert waggler. Hooklength was 0.14 to a size 18 Drennan Carp Match eyed hook with a band on a hair.

For the pole I set up 3 rigs for 14.5m. All 3 were 4x14 KC Chimps 0n 0.16 silk shock. The only difference was the hooklengths. My main rig had a 6 inch hooklength of 0.12 to an 18 Gama Pellet. This was shotted with a bulk of 10's and a single dropper. I then set up a lighter rig with an 0.12 bottom to a 20 Tubertini 808 shotted with a spread bulk of 10's. These two rigs were matched to double 5 slip. My heavier rig had an 0.14 hooklength to an 18 B911 and was shotted the same as the main rig. This was matched to yellow Drennan Bungee.

For bait I had a couple of pints of damp micro's,a tin of corn,some punched meat,a pint of 6mm pellet and some expanders (3mm & 4.5mm)

It was a bit of a rush as we only had about an hour to set-up but I was just ready in time. On the all-in I fed a medium pot of micro's at 14.5m before casting a small pellet cone to the island with a single corn hookbait. After 2 casts in 15 minute's I hadn't had so much as a liner whereas Marcus had caught 3 carp on the method. His casting was within inches of the island every time and I really need to spend some time to get mine up to scratch. All the while I had been pinging 6mm pellet 3 or 4 at a time to 25m. After 15 minute's of watching a motionless tip I switched to the waggler. After a few casts I missed a bite and next cast I hit into the resistance of a decent fish and a few minute's later I panned a chunky common carp of around 6lb-expertly hooked in the pectoral fin! A few casts later and I had another bite and soon had a 2lb+ skimmer in the net. After 45 minute's and no further bites on the waggler I switched to the pole with a 4.5mm expander. After 5 minute's and a few lift and drops I hadn't had a sign,hmmmmm.....! I was satisfied that there were no fish in the swim so re-fed with a golfball of micro's. After 10 biteless minutes on the waggler it was back on the pole and after a few minutes the float dipped and the resulting lift was met with the firm resistance of a decent skimmer,panic over! Again this fish was around 2lb and most welcome. Next cast I lifted into a better fish and it soon became apparent that it was a carp. After about 10 minutes and with a top 5 at full stretch I slipped the net under fighting fit 5lb common. A quick check of the hooklength and it was in good order so back out with a pinch of micro's in the cadpot and a few minute's later the float vanished and skimmer number 3 was on it's way,a bit smaller at around 1.5lb. A few skimmers later I then hooked another carp that tore off and the rig pinged back with a straightened hook- obviously didn't check the hooklength well enough-bad angling!

With a few carp about I attached a new hooklength but went out on the heavier 0.14 rig. Two biteless put ins in 10 minutes had my reaching for the original rig and no sooner had the pellet hit the bottom that another skimmer was on the way. What was interesting was a few times during the day I went out with the heavier rig and apart from the odd liner I didn't recieve a single positive indication. I feel that this was perhaps more to do with the weight of the B911 hook than the 0.14 line,or perhaps a combination of the two. Either way it happened far too often to be a coincidence. Whenever the pole line slowed I would refeed with a golfball of micros and have a cast on the lead or the waggler although neither yielded any more fish. Over the next couple of hours I continued to catch a few skimmers and a couple more carp and although they took a while to get in I was yet to lose any more fish. With around 90 minutes I had a right old warrior of a bream that was a good 4.5lb+ but soon after the pole line died. I felt it was now very close between myself and Marcus with him probably slightly ahead due to one or two more carp. I noticed he put a full pot of pellet in and it didn't bring his peg to life so I decided to cadpot a pinch of pellet in every 5 minutes regardless of if I was getting bites. After the third put in I started getting a few signs and soon had a carp of around 3lb in the net. With just over an hour left I decided to use the heavier rig with Drennan Bungee but replaced the 0.14-18 B911 hooklength for an 0.12-18 Gama pellet. This proved to be a good decision as next cast I had an instant bite and netted a 6lb carp just a minute or two later. It would have taken 10-15 minutes to get in on the double 5. I went straight back out with a full small cadpot of micros and again had a near instant bite and again it was a carp,a little smaller at around 4lb. Next cast saw a skimmer of 2lb or so and I was pleased not to bump it on the slightly heavier elastic. Things went slow for the next 10 minutes but rather than re-feed I decided to rest the swim and have a quick chuck on the lead. 10 biteless minutes saw me back on the pole and I caught a skimmer straight away followed by another carp with just 10 minutes to go. This was the best fish of the day at around 7lb and proved to be my last fish as the all-out was called a few minutes later. Right at the death Marcus hooked a carp that he lost and I felt sure if he had got it in it would have been decisive.

I wasn't really sure on my weight as the skimmers can be deceptively light and I only had 17 but they appeared to be of a better stamp than previous matches. When the scales got to our side the two top weights on the far side were both on the end pegs,with 65lb odd being best. Marcus then put 65lb something on the scales which I felt sure would be too much for me. My skimmers then went 33lb 12oz and the carp weighed 40lb exactly giving a 73lb 12oz total and the lead. The guy to my left had caught well but only had one carp which meant he only weighed 36lb odd. All the way down the section the weights were between 20-40lb but the bloke on the end peg was admitting to 70lb+. His weight of pretty much all carp went 86lb,all taken on the method to the island. The end pegs proved decisive on the day as 3 of the top 4 weights were from these pegs,with mine being the only frame peg that wasn't endpeg. To be honest if I had the match again I wouldn't really do anything different. I continued my sequence of improving my weight every time and picking up in every match. It really is a super venue and suits my style of fishing down to the ground. If only I could make the method work....

Whinwhistle Winter League- Round 1- 18/10/09

2009-10-20T07:29:00.000-07:00

Well it only seems like yesterday that I was enjoying the post summer series BBQ at Whinwhistle, yet this Sunday saw the first round of the winter league. After winning the summer league quite comfortably (drawbag!!) I was determined to do the 'double' and win the winter league, especially after coming third last winter (not a drawbag-the rail 6 out of 9 times put paid to my chances!). I had spent the past few months getting things ready for the winter league and have never been as prepared. The format is a bit different this year. After last years league it was decided that The Rail would be left out this year as it produced so many blanks last time. The league would be based around three sections of 8 anglers, with two sections on Keepers lake and one on the square. This time however Keepers was pegged so that all anglers were in a line on the far bank, whereas it has always been pegged both banks. This meant that the tip was likely to play more of a part. Similarly the Square had a lot of work done to it and would be pegged with 8 anglers in a line on the newly formed bank. This was likely to make things interesting as it would be very different from previous matches.

Arriving at the fishery at around 7.20 I sat down to a superb breakfast as all of the anglers arrived. By 8.30 we were ready for the draw and first of all was the draw for the knockout. Despite most anglers getting a Bye I drew against Peter Smith. Ready for the real draw and my lucky left hand pulled out K12- Keepers 12. To be honest I was quite pleased with the draw as the Square would be a bit of an unknown quantity following all of the recent work. Arriving at my peg I had Andy Shanks to my left on 11 so a £1 sidebet was immediately struck up. To my right on peg 13 was Peter Smith so atleast I'd know how I was doing in the knockout!

I had already pretty much decided how I would fish Keepers,and I would be basing my match around a light pellet approach. Although the target fish were 1-6oz skimmers I personally find pellet is more effective than the more traditional groundbait/maggot tactic that everyone else seems to favour. I planned to have a pellet line short at around 5m,a throwaway groundbait and maggot line at 3m to my right and a straight lead for the far bank that I wouldn't spend long on. I set up two main pellet rigs- a 4x14 KC Chimp on 0.14-0.12 and an 18 Gama pellet. This was shotted with a double bulk of 10's and matched to double 5 slip. I also set up a lighter rig- a 4x14 malman winter wire on 0.12-0.10 and a 20 Tubertini 808. This was shotted with a spread bulk and matched to double 4 slip. My maggot rig was a 4x14 KC Porth on 0.14-0.12 matched to double 5 slip. Although this was a bit heavy you can sometimes pick up some quality perch on this short line and there was a decent colour in the water. My tip rod was an 11ft AX Beastmaster with a 3012 TDR,6lb sensor and a 12 inch 0.18 hooklength to an 18 PR36 with a korum quickstop on a hair. I plumbed the pellet line at 5m slightly to my left where I had around 6ft of water. I then plumbed right out to 11.5m. The peg deepened off to around 11m where it then sloped up and I found the exact same depth at around 11.5m. I didn't plan to feed this longer line but it would give me somewhere to go should I be struggling. For bait I had some crushed pellet,some damp micro,3mm & 4mm expanders,a pint of red maggot,a tin of corn and around 1/2 a kilo of groundbait.

The all-in was called at 10am and I dropped 5 balls of groundbait in at 3m to my right (I wanted to leave this for a few hours without re-feeding) and then cupped in a golf ball of crushed pellet and micro's in at 5m. I then attached a small PVA tea-bag to my single corn hookbait and cast the lead around 6m from the far bank,alongside some dying lilly pads. 15 minute's and just a rattle later I reeled in and decided to have a look on the short pellet line. Jumper Collins two to my right then hooked into something on the lead to the far bank and soon after netted a carp of around 5-6lb-GREAT! I started on the lighter rig and after a few minutes of lifting and dropping the float dipped and a 2oz skimmer was soon in the net. I then took another 5 or 6 in the next 20 minute's or so but it was by no-means hectic. From what I could see no-one else was catching although the bloke on the flier end peg 10 was hooked into a lump from down the edge. He finally netted it and at around 15lb I knew that I was now fishing for 2nd in section at best as my peg wouldn't be worth much more than 10lb. I was still catching the odd skimmer which was more than most people. After around an hour and a half the short line died so I went out to 11.5m on the double bulked rig with a 4mm expander. After fruitshooting some micro's I had a small skimmer before repeating the process. As soon as the pellet hit the deck the float dipped and I lifted into something more substantial. It was clearly a better fish so I took my time and as soon as it broke the surface I had it in the net-a fat little common of around 4lb. With the whole lake fishing hard this was a real bonus. I continued catching small skimmers,although the 5m line had now died so I sacked this with two hours to go. The short groundbait line gave two quick bites from small skimmers before this also died. A quick spell on the maggot feeder to the far bank was also fruitless.

Andy to my left and Peter to my right both had less than 1lb although the guy on peg 10 had now caught two more carp and would be the clear section winner. I felt sure that I was in 2nd place as no-one else was catching. With just over an hour to go disaster struck as Jumper then had two quick carp on the straight lead which clearly knocked me back into 3rd. At this stage I knew that I was comfortably clear in 3rd place so decided to spend the remainder of the match on the straight lead as I had nothing to lose but if I could snare one or two carp I might sneak 2nd.

As it happened despite a few casts tight to the far bank I didn't manage so much as a liner. Jumper had trees opposite him and fished to these whereas I didn't. Andy had spent most of the match on the tip without a bite so there clearly wasn't alot in front of us. The all-out was called at 3pm and after packing up the section was weighed in. Eddie on end peg 10 had caught 3 carp (including one of 15lb 11oz) for 29lb odd. Peg 10 really is a flier as it has it's own little bay to the left that always holds carp. Andy then put 10oz on the scales and promptly handed over a quid-cheers mate! My 33 skimmers went 4lb 13oz and the carp went 3lb 13oz giving me an 8lb 11oz total. Peter then put 1lb 4oz on the scales so I was through to the next round of the knockout. Jumper's three carp then went 20lb which was enough for 2nd. The rest of the section had fished really hard with 1lb 12oz good enough for fourth!!

All in all I was quite pleased with how I fished. The two anglers that were in first and second could just have easily blanked and will not be consistent fishing that way throughout the league. I was the only person to really catch on the pole which vindicated my decision to fish the pellet. I would have had closer to 10lb if I had not spent the last hour on the tip but it was the right decision to make as I had nothing to lose and 10lb would still have got me the same section points. Third in section isn't a bad start as if you can finish in the top 3 every match you will be there or thereabouts at the end. I'm not fishing this weekend but will be back at Whinwhistle in 2 weeks and I'm undecided what i'll be doing on the Saturday at the moment

Broadlands Lower Lake-open 3/10/09

2009-10-07T07:24:00.000-07:00

After a two week break I was raring to go for a return on Lower Lake at Broadlands. If you are a regular reader you will know that I have fished the lake twice before,with a section win and a section 2nd. Both times I had caught on the pole,with 37lb the first time and 54lb the second. Both times I had mostly caught on long pole and pellet whereas most other people seemed to catch on the method. The last match I fished I had no island chuck so this time the match was capped at 20 anglers meaning everyone would have an island swim should they wish to fish it. Whereas last time the match had been split into 2 sections of 12 this time it would be simply be paid top four overall.

As usual I was the first to arrive and had a quick walk around with a cup of coffee. I was a bit dismayed to see a few bivvies on the lake but they were soon cleared when the match organiser arrived. After paying my pools we were ready for the draw and out came....peg 23.

I was quite pleased with this peg as it was near where I had drawn on my first visit and was on the side with a shorter chuck to the island. After getting to my peg I had Andy on the end 3 pegs to my left so a pound side bet was hastily struck up. My approach was going to be pretty much the same as last time as I caught well on the pole and if it aint broke don't fix it. My main line was straight out at 14.5m where I had around 5 and a half feet of water. I set up 3 rigs for here,all were 4x14 KC Chimps on 0.16 mainline. The only difference being the hooklengths. I had an 0.10-20 Tubertini 808 if it was hard,an 0.12-18 Gama pellet which would be my main rig and 0.14-18 B911 if I was getting carp. The first two rigs were matched to double 5 slip and the heavier rig was matched to yellow Drennan Bungee. All 3 rigs were shotted with a bulk of 9's with two no:10 droppers. They were all plumbed accurately to just touch bottom and shotted to a pimple,with around 6 inches of line from tip to float.

I also set up a method rod- 11ft AX Beastmaster with a 3012 Daiwa CU,8lb matchwinner,a small 30g inline feeder and a 4 inch 0.18 hooklength to an 18 PR36. I had a good few casts with a lead to get clipped up as I knew it was important to get as tight to the island as possible which was some 35m + away. For bait I had a bag of soaked 2mm pelllet which would also be used for the method,a tin of corn,expanders (3mm,4.5mm & 6mm) and half a pint of red maggot. I ummed and arred about setting a waggler rod up but decided to keep things simple and left it in the bag.

The 'all-in' was called at 10am and I fed a full medium pot of micro pellet at 14.5m before loading the feeder and casting to the island. Well,not exactly......it fell about 5m short! The next three casts were the same and every time I brought it straight in. I finally found my range and my next few casts were all bang on the money within a few inches of the island. The fish were unimpressed however as apart from a few liners I had nothing to show for it. As far as I could see no-one was really catching so after 40 minutes I was scrambling up the bank and quickly setting up the waggler rod (same set up as last time). I plumbed up at 20m,set the depth at 3 inches over and filled a baitbox with a pint of 6mm pellet. I felt it was right to set the waggler up for a few reasons. Firstly,no-one around me had set it up so I would have the 20m line to myself. Secondly,there was no ripple atall on our side of the lake which I felt was the main reason the method wasn't working. Finally,although I was hoping to drop in on the pole and catch if I didn't I would need somewhere else to go,so by priming a waggler line it would give me another option should I be struggling,as well as allowing me to search more water.

After firing out around 10 pellets to 20m I baited the 0.12 rig with a 4.5mm expander. After lowering the rig straight down the float settled for all of 10 seconds before dipping and the resulting lift was greeted by the satisfying sight of 3 feet of double 5 slip exiting the pole. A 1lb + skimmer was soon in the net and I was up and running. In the last match it was crucial to keep some bait trickling in so I attached a small cadpot to the pole,filled it with a small pinch of micro's and repeated the process. After a few lifts and drops the float dinked and a similar sized skimmer was soon in the onion sack with his mate,with another following next cast. I then hooked a carp which although it took a while (and a top 4) to get in on the lightish gear at around 5lb it was a useful fish. I went straight back out and immediately hooked another one,this time around 3lb. I then went 10 biteless minute's so refed with a golfball of micro's and spent 5 minute's on the waggler without a bite. Back on the pole and it was back into the skimmers. Although I was not catching as fast as in the last match the fish were of a better stamp,and after about 2 hours I slipped the net under a right old warrior of a bream that must have been nudging 5lb. I then had another carp of around 4-5lb out of the blue and after safely netting it I went back out with the heavier rig. Five biteless minute's on this saw me reaching for my regular rig and no sooner had the pellet touched down the float dipped and a decent skimmer was the culprit.

By regularly tickling in small amounts of micro pellet after each fish I was catching steadily whereas most around me were picking up odd fish on the tip with nothing on the pole. Whenever it went quiet I would refeed a golfball of micros and have a throw of the waggler (although I never had a bite in four or five casts). With the peg seemingly slowing I fed positively with half a pot of micros and had a biteless couple of casts on the method. This brought the pole line to life....with carp! I had a spell where I lost 3 or 4 fish in succession,all foulhooked. What was most interesting was whenever I went out on the heavier rig I wouldn't get an indication,yet I was hooking a few carp on the lighter rig. I cut the regular feed out and after 10 minutes or so I had a bite and soon netted a 5lb carp,nicely hooked in the top lip. After this I started to pick up some more skimmers and had a nice fish of around 3.5lb.

With 90 minutes to go I had another spell where I lost two carp,again foulhooked. The same thing happened again with regards to the heavier rig,although I did eventually manage two bites on it- a 2lb skimmer and a decent skimmer that I bumped due to the heavier elastic-DOH! At this point I decided to leave the heavier rig as bites were far far slower on it,and although it was taking me a good 5-10 minute's to land the carp, I was getting the true hooked fish in,whilst also catching the skimmers. I then hooked a carp that was probably just outside the mouth as I pulled out of it when it was nearing netting range-and my rig pinged out into the trees above me. Rather than getting worked up I freed the rig,attached a new hooklength and went back out. With 30 minute's to go I started to feed a full small cadpot of micros every few minute's and caught a 4lb carp with 20 minute's left. No bite's followed so I fed a final golfball with 10 minute's to go and as the clock ticked down I hooked a decent fish that plodded out of the swim. A few minute's later the whistle blew and I shouted 'Fish On' as I questioned whether the fish was foulhooked. 10 minute's later and with a top 5 in the air I slipped the net under a fighting fit mirror carp of around 5lb-hooked squarely in the top lip.

I felt sure I had similar weight to last time (54lb odd) as although I had only caught 22 skimmers to the 33 of last time,they were of a bigger average stamp and I'd caught 6 carp to the 4 from last time. When the scales got to me 39lb was winning my side of the lake. My net of skimmers went 33lb 14oz and my 6 carp went 25lb dead,giving me a 58lb 14oz total. Roger on peg 31 said it would be close between us and with rumour of a decent weight caught on the other side I thought I might struggle. The anglers either side of me weighed less than 20lb-all on the tip. Andy weighed in with around 40lb so begrudgingly handed over a quid...cheers mate!

Roger then put 72lb on the scales to take the lead. He drew next to where I was last time,but crucially the 2 pegs either side were left out meaning he had loads of room,more than anyone else on the lake. Marcus Paige on one of the early pegs (4?) caught a load of smallish carp on the method to the island for 77lb and the win-well done mate.

So I had come third overall which wasn't too bad considering. Once again I had caught well on the pole while those around me had struggled. If I had managed to find 3 or 4 carp early on the method I probably would have won. I really need to sort something for the first hour while the pole line settles as those extra few fish can make all the difference. Lifting and dropping wasn't as important this week as I caught a few fish keeping the bait dead still. It was also important to lower the rig down through the last foot of water as I caught most of the better fish as soon as the bait touched the bottom. Yet again I feel my decision to exclusively feed micro's paid off as those that fed 4mms really struggled....coincidence?

After packing away I picked up £40 (which I split with my mate Nick) and headed home. I am not fishing again until Sunday 18th October. This sees the first round of the winter league at Whinwhistle. After comfortably winning the summer league I am raring to go looking to do the summer/winter double. It won't be easy as there are 23 other anglers keen to take the title but I'm looking forward to the challenge

A mixed weekend....

2009-09-18T04:52:00.000-07:00

MFS Rolfs Match- 19/09/09

Well seeing as I didn't think I would be able to fish for a month after the last match a change of plans meant I had a free weekend...time for a double header then! I was down as a reserve for the matchfishing-scene match at Rolfs fishery near Oxford and after a few drop-outs my name was down and I was fishing. Now Rolfs is a venue that seems to attract more attention than most due to it's potential for collossal weights. Now anyone that know's me will be aware that it's not my sort of thing,as I would rather win a match with 5lb than catch 200lb for nowhere. Nonetheless I decided to give it a go and see what all the fuss is about! The Wednesday open that had just 8 anglers fishing was won by venue expert Jon Walker. It had fished very hard by all accounts...yet he had won with 220lb! Saturday's match was expected to be alot harder with far more anglers fishing but there was still a match to be won and I personally would rather it being a bit harder as it would be very difficult to keep up with the venue regulars if it became a fish race. I ummed and arred about fishing the match as the lure and cost of staying local appealed to me but in the end I decided to fish Rolfs......big mistake!
To cut a very long story short it was dire! I drew peg 38 in the little lake and I was told that it was either a bagging peg or a blanking peg with little middle ground. I had one bite out long about half way through the match that was foulhooked and I managed to avoid the blank with a 6lb carp down the edge with just 8 minutes to go. I had venue expert Jon Walker to my left and he managed just two carp-both in the last hour on worm out long. Trouble is his two carp went 34lb odd!! It had fished hard throughout and most of the weights were made up of foul-hooked fish from what I can gather. The winner had 96lb odd fishing a boilie shallow in the main lake,it certainly wasn't a day for feeding much that's for sure!

Open-Broadlands Lower Lake- 20/9/09

Sunday saw me fishing the open on Lower Lake at Broadlands. I had only fished the lake once before,back in March, when I won my section with 36lb of skimmers on pole & pellet. Apparently all recent weights were being won on the method tight to the central island,with 60-70lb of carp generally doing well. With 24 booked in (and a few on reserve) it was decided beforehand that three of the pegs would not be allowed to fish to the island to avoid any potential arguments. This would be a major handicap for the three unlucky anglers as all weights had been caught fishing tight against it,so come the draw we were all praying to avoid these. Still,with 21/24 pegs having a chuck I thought I'd be OK. Into the bag I went and out came....29: NO ISLAND! The two words looked to be about 6 inches high,I couldn't believe it. The bloke who drew peg 30 next door decided he wasn't going to bother. He eventually changed his mind and hastily arrived at the peg with 10 minutes to go,cursing as he went.

I decided to get all negative thoughts out of my head and do my best. The match was simply split into two sections,and with top 3 being paid in each I hoped to find a few skimmers on the pole and possibly sneak a pick up. The first thing I set up was a waggler rod. This was a 13ft Preston Sentient with a Daiwa 2503 CU reel with 3lb maxima. This was set with a 2.5g drennan crystal tip waggler with a 12 inch hooklength of 0.14- 18 Drennan eyed barbless with a band on a hair. I planned to fish this for the first hour while the pole line settled and hoped to find a few skimmers. I spent a good 30 minutes plumbing around with the waggler and found a flat area about 7ft deep at 22m. I set the rig 3 inches over depth and shotted the float to the merest pimple (it was flat calm). I then set up 3 rigs for my long pole line at 14.5m. The first was my main rig- a 4x14 KC Chimp on 0.14 to a 6 inch 0.12 hooklength and an 18 Gama Pellet. This was matched to double 5 slip and shotted with a bulk and two no:10 droppers. The second rig was for if things were a bit harder- same float and line but the hooklength was 0.10 to a 20 Tubertini 808 for 3mm pellet. The final rig was for if the carp were showing and was again a 4x14 chimp this time on 0.16-0.14 and a 16 B911 matched to yellow drennan bungee. Finally I set up a throwaway line at 6m to my right under a tree where there was around 3ft of water. This was a 4x10 Chimp,0.16-16 B911 and red vespe. I decided to leave the method rod in the bag as it wouldnt be very effective in the open water. For bait I had a bag of soaked 2mm pellet,some 3mm & 4.5mm hookers,6mm pellet and a tin of corn.

The all-in was called and I fed a medium pot of micro's at 14.5m. I had already decided not to feed any 4mms as I felt it slowed things down- something I'm sure killed my peg on the racetrack lake 2 weeks earlier. I then baited the waggler rod with a 6mm pellet,cast out to 25m,sunk the line and fired 3 pellets over the top. After a minute or two a quick turn of the reel twitched the bait and a second later the float dipped and a 1lb skimmer was soon in the net. Another followed next cast before a small carp of around 1lb took the bait. I was feeding 2-3 pellets every minute or so and if the bait was left still I wouldn't get a sign. Every bite was either just after casting or as soon as I moved the float. After half an hour or so the dimple dipped and I hooked a fish that tore off. It was clearly a foulhooked carp and just as I had it under control the hooked pulled. Next cast I hooked a decent skimmer that I lost on the way in. I decided to change hooklengths to a 16 hook as I didn't want to take any chances. After an hour I had 6 skimmers and a small carp in the net and with the waggler line quiet it was time to look on the pole. 15 minute's of lifting and dropping without so much as an indication satisfied me that there were no fish present so re-feeding wouldn't do any harm.I cupped in a golf ball sized ball of micro's and after 10 minutes on the waggler it was back on the 14.5m line. After a few lifts and drops the float settled before disapearing and a lift was met with the satisfying sight of 3 feet of double slip exiting the pole tip. No more bites were forthcoming so it was time to attach a cadpot and trickle some bait in. After a few put-ins this brought the peg to life and after a while I couldn't get the bait out fast enough with net skimmers regularly taking the 4.5mm hookbait. After 3 hours I hooked a carp which although I got in (and at about 5lb it was most welcome) it upset my rhythym some what. Next drop in I had a similar sized fish that soon joined his mate in the net. No-one was really catching much apart from the odd fish on the method and from what I could see I was doing well.

After the second carp I went 5 minutes without a bite so fed another golf ball of micros and went back on the waggler where I had been regularly feeding 6mm pellets in two's and three's. No bites saw me back on the pole and the skimmers had returned. They all seemed to be 1.5lb- 2lb fish (at the weigh in they weighed alot less than expected,and alot of people commented on this!)

With a couple of hours to go I foulhooked a carp on the pole and after 5 minutes it went on a final run and broke the hooklength. I went straight back out and had another,again about 5lb.

With an hour to go I had a quick look down the edge but with no bites I decided to stick with the long line. The bloke to my right had started to find a few on the method in the last hour and was catching well. When the all-out was called my clicker told me I had 33 skimmers and 4 carp in the net. I guessed I must have had 70lb as I wasn't to know that the skimmers would weigh so little. When the scales got to me the two pegs without islands had weighed 20-30lb odd of mostly carp down the edge. My four carp went 16lb and I was disapointed that the skimmers only went 38lb 8oz- giving me a 54lb 8oz total. The bloke to my right then put 72lb of method fish on the scales to knock me into second place. I followed the scales all the way round and was pleased to hold on to second place,although there were two other 50lb odd weights. After packing up I picked up £35 and reflected on the day. If I had the match again I wouldn't have done anything differently to be honest. I lost two foulhooked carp and just one skimmer. I was always going to be up against it without an island to throw to as the 4-5lb carp that are caught there soon build a weight. It was crucial to keep moving the bait and if I didn't trickle some bait in I wouldn't get a sign. It was a very enjoyable match and I learned a fair bit which is always a bonus. I felt my feeding was pretty much spot-on on the pole line although I would have liked to pick up a few more fish on the waggler when resting the pole.

Im not fishing this weekend but will hopefully be back for the open on Lower Lake on Saturday 3rd.

Catching up.....

2009-09-07T06:27:00.000-07:00

Firstly I must apologise for my lack of blogs of late. I have been so busy at work that I've hardly had chance,and I've only managed to fish three matches in the past month or so. The first of these was at Greenridge Farm. I fancied one more crack at the surface fishing as I was 2nd on Canal 2 when I fished it last time with 122lb,mostly caught when I switched to the bread at the halfway stage. I felt sure that if I fished it for the duration I could do a bigger weight. This time I drew peg 7 on canal 1. I set up fairly standard rigs- 0.22 line to a size 16 fox series 2 hook and red vespe bi-core. I started on paste at 3m but apart from a foulhooked fish that I lost it was very slow. It was hard work fishing on the top across as it was a bright day and I had bare bank,the fish were definitely shying away from the pole. It was only when,with 2 hours to go I moved further to my right towards some over hanging grass that I started to catch....and quickly! I ended the match with 42 fish but they were smaller than those on canal 2 as I weighed a total of 118lb. I was kicking myself for not moving to the cover earlier,a real schoolboy error! For the third time in a total of 3 visits I had come 2nd on my canal.... must try harder!!!!

The Sunday match saw the final round of the summer league at Whinwhistle. It was really strange as I simply couldn't motivate myself to fish as I had already won the league with a match to spare. I contemplated not going but with the promise of a post match BBQ I made the effort. Normally I really look forward to all matches and spend ages preparing gear and thinking things over but no matter how hard I tried I just couldn't be bothered. I drew a good peg (27) but for some reason fished a poor match. Instead of doing what I have done all summer at Whinwhistle I decided that I might as well go sh*t or bust and subsequently bust. I weighed in 7lb odd for 8th (they paid top 6 as the golden peg money was spread about) I can honestly say I have never endured a match like it and didn't enjoy myself for a minute. The highlight was hooking an 8lb+ common that I played for 10 minutes before the hook pulled right at the net. It was foulhooked but would have been most welcome and would have been worth £40-50 on the day. The end of series BBQ was great as always and I took a box of beer along for all the lads. After picking up my trophy and winnings I headed home in a bad mood and fancying a break from fishing.

Last week I had a phonecall from Andy Shanks informing me that there was an open match being held on the match lake at Broadlands. I duly booked in and was quite looking forward to it. I had fished the match lake a couple of times around 7 years ago when I stayed with family during the summer holidays. I had only been fishing for a couple of years but caught a load of carp fishing a bomb to the central island (it's about 14m away on most pegs)

After getting as much info as possible from Andy I established that there were two main cathcing areas- at the base of the far slope at around 9m and tight across to the island. It was around 7ft deep down the middle with a foot or so tight across. Arriving at the venue at around 7.45 I had a chat with the owner,who I have to say is one of the nicest fishery owners you could wish to meet. He also sells Skretting pellets at a bargain of £2.00 for 5 pints! Come the draw there were 23 of us ready and I went into the bag and pulled out peg 26. This didnt mean a great deal to me except it was in the middle of the far side.....probably the longest walk,great!

Arriving at my peg it looked to be around 16m wide. After shipping my pole out it was only around 13.5m wide...I was quite suprised,as were the anglers either side of me who also had 16m of pole out! I decided to set up one rig for across to target the carp and two rigs for down the middle where I hoped to catch skimmers and the odd carp. For across I set up a 4x10 KC Chimp on 0.18-0.16 and a 16 B911. This was shotted with a bulk of 10's and matched to red vespe bi-core. I spent ages plumbing up to find the base of the slope at around 9.5m. I set up two rigs for here. The first was a 4x14 KC Chimp on 0.16-0.14 and a 16 B911 set just touching bottom. The second rig was a 4x16 KC Chimp on the same gear but set 4 inches overdepth. For bait I had a tin of corn,some micro pellet,4mm pellet,dampened crushed expander and hooker pellets. I also had a tin of meat for a throwaway 5m line where I had the same depth as the 9.5m line.

The all in was called and I potted a decent ball of micros and a full pot of 4mm pellets at 9.5m along with a pot of meat at5m slightly to my right. I shipped across with a cadpot of crushed expander and corn on the hook and despite plenty of lifting and dropping I couldnt buy a bite. After shipping out a with a new cadpot of crushed pellet and 2 grains of corn every 5 minute's I finally had a bite after 25 minutes or so and had the welcome site of elastic pouring from the pole. A fat little carp of around 3lb was soon in the net. It was fishing quite hard so I dropped down to a 0.14 hooklength,an 18 B911 and spread the bulk out. I went out with a 4mm expander and some crushed pellet and hooked a fish as I lifted the bait- foulhooked. I carefully played it all the way to the net before the hook pulled- ROLLOCKS!! I then had a similar sized carp before losing one on the way in that definitely wasn't foulhooked- the water was so clear I could see it was in the mouth when it was 6m out. I then had a tench of about 2lb before the line went quiet. Not to worry,this was my cue to sack up on skimmers at 9.5m......

I dropped in with a 4mm expander ( I had already changed to an 18 B911 as the far side was fishing hard). No matter what I did I couldn't buy a bite. The lad to my right was filling it in across with a big pot and the catapult. I couldn't believe it when he started to catch as the only way I could catch across was by feeding light and moving the bait constantly. I decided to put a pot of bait over the far side and give it 10 minutes. Well I didn't manage another inidcation here all match,hmmmph!! Despite the lad catching by feeding heavily it wasnt right for me as I hadnt managed a bite down the track and the far line had died. I plumbed up a new line further along the shelf to my left at 11m and cupped in four pellets. Straight over the top and the float dinked and a 2lb skimmer was soon in the net...sorted!! Errr,not quite. Despite trickling in small amounts of bait I didnt manage any more bites here either. It was time to plumb a new far bank line to my left at 15m,out with some crushed pellet,single grain of corn,lift,drop,dink...fish on! Another 3lb carp was in the net with his mates. It was really hard going and I was at a loss to why. The two lines where I had fed a potfull hadnt given the merest sign,yet the lad next door was filling it in and spraying bait all over the place and catching.

I took one more carp from the left hand line and despite trying all over the peg I didnt manage any more fish. I finished with just four carp,a tench and a skimmer that went 19lb odd for nowhere. I was battered either side by a 30lb and 36lb- Andy on my left had 30lb of skimmers up the slope over groundbait and the lad to my right caught carp and bream across by filling it in. I was not in a good mood and after loading up the car (and taking plenty of stick!) I headed home.

I'm booked in for the match on Lower lake in 2 weeks but might be struggling to make it,and if I can't fish that I won't be fishing for another month! To be honest after my last two matches a break might not be the worst thing....roll on winter!!

A couple of evening matches

2009-08-20T04:07:00.001-07:00

Last Wednesday saw the penultimate evening match at Whinwhistle. The match was to be held on The Square and with 9 fishing there wasn't a great deal of room. We didn't draw until 5.15pm and with a 5.45pm start it was a bit of a rush to say the least!I drew peg 20 on the spit,a peg that used to have a bit of form but since the changes to the lake I wasn't sure what to expect. I quickly assembled two rigs,one for meat at 5m- 4x12 KC Chimp,0.16-0.14 and a 16 B911 matched to yellow drennan bungee. I then set up a rig for fishing at 10m to my left towards the tree on the corner. This was a 4x10 Scone GAZE on 0.18- size 3 Tubertini 175 matched to orange wilkie hollow. For bait I had some damp micro pellet,a tin of corn and a tin of 6mm meat. I was just about ready for the all-in and cupped in 20 odd cubes of meat and a pinch of pellet at 5m before shipping down to my left with a single grain of corn and a pinch of pellet in the cad-pot. All the while I was flicking 2-3 cubes of meat at 5m and after 5 minutes I dropped in at 5m and took a 1lb skimmer straight away. I then picked up a few smaller skimmers but it was pretty quiet. I then hooked a better fish that tore off and I soon netted a carp of around 2.5lb.

It then went quiet again and I couldn't buy a bite off either line. I notcied the reeds twitching slightly to my left at 4m so dropped in with a grain of corn and a pinch of pellet and caught a similar sized carp straight away. I dropped back in without feed and caught another similar sized fish before things went quiet. I took my final fish off the 10m left line but frustratingly lost two more that I pulled out of trying to get them out of a snag.

The all-out was called and I knew I wouldn't beat Colin opposite as although we had a similar amount of fish he had caught a vital lump of 7-8lb. My fish pulled the scales around to 14lb 8oz which was enough for 2nd place to Colins 22lb. The rest of the lake had fished hard with 7lb enough for third.

Wednesday 19th August saw the final evening match of the year and this time it was on Keepers lake. Again there were 9 fishing but this time we got the draw done just before 5 meaning it wasn't such a rush. There were two 'open water pegs' with all the others having a feature of some sort. I was first into the bag and pulled out peg 6...one of the two without a feature,great!
Peg 6 used to have a good edge to fish but on arrival I found that the post at 10m to the right had been moved to around 4m....double great!! I plumbed along at 11m to my right but it was very snaggy and hard to find a clear spot. I set up a 4x10 Scone Gaze on 0.22 to red J-Range as I wanted to ensure I landed anything I hooked. This was tied to a size 3 Tubertini 175 and shotted with a bulk of 10's. I also plumbed to the post at 4m and found a flat spot with the same depth. My other swim was meat at 5m (usual rig,4x12 chimp,yellow bungee).

The all-in was called and I cupped in a small amount of meat at 5m before shipping out at 11m with a grain of corn and some pellet and meat in the pot. A bite after 5 minute's saw a carp on before it swirled on the surface and the hook pulled. It was very snaggy which didn't help matters. After a while the sun made fishing down the edge impossible so it was to 5m on the meat where I caught a few small skimmers but it was very slow. Andy on peg 10 had caught a few tench and skimmers and was doing OK. With 90 minute's to go I put a full pot of bait at 4m and decided I would give it 20 mins before dropping over it and if I had no signs I would pack up.

With nothing at 11m or 5m I drooped in to my right with an over-soaked 6mm expander and missed a bite instantly....small fish. I dropped straight back in and the same thing happened but this time the strike saw the elastic pouring from the pole...maybe not small fish then! A few minute's later I netted a fat common of around 9lb...nice! While I was playing the fish I was flicking meat in to my right and went back out with a full kinder pot of pellet. After around 3 minutes I had another bite and soon netted an 8lb common. It then went quiet so I fed a full pot of pellet and meat and went back long. With no bites I dropped in at 4m and again a quick bite saw a 5lber in the net. It then went quiet so another pot of bait went in and a few minute's later the float buried and a beautiful 7lb linear mirror was soon in the net with his three mates.

The last half an hour was pretty uneventful and despite re-feeding I didn't manage another bite. Andy netted a fish after the whistle to go with the lump he had caught with half hour to go...all 14lb of it! This would be close.....

I tipped 30lb 8oz on the scales to take the lead. Vic on peg 8 then put 17lb odd on before Andy's two carp and silvers went.....30lb dead! 8oz....hard luck mate!

So that concludes the evening matches for another year. It has been an enjoyable series and quite profitable for me personally. I was pleased to finish with the win and will be back at Whinwhistle on Sunday for the final round of the summer league. It is a no-pressure match as I have already won the league but I will still be going all-out to win on the day.

2009-08-10T11:20:00.000-07:00

Whinwhistle Summer League Round 7: 9/8/09

Sunday saw the penultimate round of the Summer League at Whinwhistle. I have been either first or joint first since the first round and going into the penultimate round I was 5 points clear of Andy Shanks in 2nd place. I wasn’t resting on my laurels as I knew that a blow-out for me and a good result for Andy would throw everything wide open. I arrived at the venue at 7.15am…a bit early for the 8.30 draw! I had a good walk around The Islands where today’s match was due to take place. After sitting down to a breakfast it was time for the draw. The two worst pegs have been 9 and 10 due to the fact they are so cramped with little water to fish. As there were a few no shows these were left out. The only two pegs I really wanted to avoid were Peg 1 and Peg 6. I was second into the bag and my lucky left hand pulled out …..peg 6! Not so lucky then! I was very disappointed with the draw, especially as Andy had pulled one of the flyers, peg 11. I felt sure it would be a case of damage limitation today and I just had to finish as close to Andy as possible and hope I could keep the lead going into the last round.

The only weight peg 6 has ever thrown up was in the last round when Nigel had two lumps caught down the edge to his left for 18lb. The worrying thing was there wasn’t anything else to go with them, not ideal in a league match. I just hoped I could snare one or two at some stage. This plan went out of the window when I arrived at the peg as Roger on peg 8 decided he would fish 15m to the far bank which was about 7m to my left, exactly where Nigel had caught in the last round. His argument was that it was opposite his peg (8-THE flyer on the lake) even though he had it in the last round and blew out. I couldn’t be bothered with an argument so decided I would just fill it in at 5m every half hour….if I couldn’t fish my edge then I wanted to make sure he didn’t catch there!! I still set a rig up for there just in case but with Roger fishing so close I knew I wouldn’t catch there (I didn’t even try it through the match).

As you can see in the picture there was an island at 14m straight in front of me. I often find on these small islands you can catch a couple of early fish in the first hour or so and then really struggle. I set up two rigs for fishing to the island, one on the corner and one slightly to the right in front of it. There was a depth variation of around 8 inches so two separate rigs were assembled. Both were 4x12 KC Chimps on 0.16 to a size 2 Tubertini 175. Both were shotted with a bulk of 10’s and one dropper and matched to red vespe bi-core. I also set up a shallow rig although again I didn’t actually use this during the match. I also needed a back up as I knew the island wouldn’t produce throughout the day. I planned on fishing pellet relatively light for the skimmers. I set up a 4x12 Chianti on 0.14-0.12 and an 18 Gama Pellet matched to double 5 slip. I plumbed up two swims where I found the same depth- around 4ft. The first was at 10m straight out and the second was at an angle to my right. I spent a good while plumbing up to ensure the rig was set at dead depth. This rig would also double-up for fishing caster 2 inches over depth at 3m to my left. This was a bit of a throwaway line but would be useful if I was really struggling. Finally I set up a shallow caster rig- 4x10 Chianti,0.12 to a drennan eyed barbless and double 4 slip. This was set at 12 inches. Every rig was slightly over-shotted and brought to a pimple above the service with some Vaseline as it was very bright without a breath of wind. For bait I had a pint of caster, a tin of corn, a tin of 6mm meat some damp micro pellets and some 4mm hookers.

The all-in was called at 10am and I cupped in 3 grains of corn,6 cubes of meat and around 50 micro pellets to the point of the island. I then cupped 1/3 of a cup of micro pellet at 10m. I would only feed the one line initially to gauge the response with the line to the right as a back-up line. I kicked off on a single grain of corn to the island and after 5 minutes of lifting and dropping the float dinked and a 6oz skimmer was soon in the net. I went back out and repeated the process and after one lift and drop the float dinked and a lift saw a few feet of elastic came out. A couple of minutes later I netted a small carp of around 2.5lb- BONUS! After 5 biteless minutes I cupped in a similar amount of bait and went straight back out. After a few minutes of lifting the pimple disappeared and not long after a 2lb common was in the net-DOUBLE BONUS! I then took a 3oz skimmer before it went quiet. After 30 minutes I cupped a pinch of pellet at 10m and a similar amount to the island. After 45 minutes I took a small carp of about 1lb from the island and after an hour I probably had 6lb in the net-not a bad start as everyone else was struggling. As expected the island line died and after feeding it again but remaining biteless I decided to rest the line without feed.

All the while I had been flicking casters at 3m and dropped over on the deck rig. I took a small perch followed by a couple of dumpy roach before this too went quiet. I went out to 10m with a soft pellet and started to pick up a few small skimmers. I changed hooklength to a 16 Gama Pellet as I lost a couple of 3oz skimmers on the way in. This did the trick and I started to put a few fish together- by no means bagging but as everyone seemed to be struggling a bit I was hoping I could sneak a top 5 finish. I attached a small cadpot to the pole and fed a pinch of micros after every fish. This worked for a while but I felt I was overfeeding the peg as I started to get a few iffy bites. I felt it was best to rest the line so it was back on the caster at 3m where I had been regularly flicking in two or three casters every minute or so. After taking a roach on the drop I picked up the shallow rig. First drop saw an 8oz roach followed by 7 roach and rudd between 6-12oz. Nice weight builders! Then like flicking a switch the line died. I got off my box and set up a slightly deeper shallow rig on a longer line but this proved fruitless. I even added a few sections but the fish had disappeared. The 10m line was proving very iffy and I hadn’t managed a bite off either island line….hmm, decision time. I felt sure the fish wanted pellet but even though I had fed pretty small amounts I was pretty sure with the blazing conditions I had overfed the 10m line. This was where the line to my right came in. I cupped in just SIX micro pellets and went over the top with a 4mm expander. After a couple of minute’s of lifting and dropping the float dipped slightly (not fully) and I lifted an inch or so and was pleased to see a bit of elastic come out. A 5oz skimmer was soon in the net. I went back out without feed and after a minute or so the float again dipped and this was a better fish. I gingerly played it to the net where a decent skimmer of some 2lb+ came to the surface before the hook agonisingly pulled….ARGH! I put another 6 micros into the cadpot and went back out. I got into a good rhythm of catching small skimmers feeding (and yes I counted them) 6 micro pellets every other fish- depending on bites. As there was no wind atall I was able to have the float touching the Dacron connector allowing me to lift at the tiniest movement. I then went 5 minutes without a bite and I was considering a re-feed when the float dipped and a lift saw a few feet of elastic came out. I carefully played what I thought was a decent skimmer to the net and was a little surprised when a fat little 2lb common carp popped up. I netted it before it new what was going on- BONUS! I could see Andy on peg 11 and he was struggling big time. I decided to spend the remainder of the match on the negative pellet line picking up the odd small skimmer until the all-out was called at 3pm.

I had 46 fish in the net for an estimated 14-15lb. When the scales got to me Richard Allin on peg 3 was winning with 15lb 10oz. This was going to be close! My silvers net went 9lb 8oz before my four little carp went 8lb 2oz for a 17lb 10oz total giving me the lead. I then followed the scales round all the way and was still winning when we got to Phil Timms on end peg 16. His all silvers net went 10lb odd meaning I had won. I was very surprised with this as I felt sure the pegs I couldn’t see would have had a few but it had fished hard for most. Andy weighed in 8lb odd for 7th on the day which meant I had won the league with a round to spare! After 7 matches I had a total of 16 points with no drops. As you are allowed to drop your worst result and Andy had 20 points including a dropped 7 I now couldn’t be caught- HAPPY DAYS!

I couldn’t believe I had managed to win the league, especially after the draw today. If you had offered me 5th place at the start of the day I honestly would have taken it as it would have meant we were going into the last day on level terms. As it happened it had been a very hard day and by fishing a few areas of my peg in different ways I had managed to winkle out a few fish that proved to be good enough on the day. In the end I was fishing winter tactics with very negative feeding and constantly moving the bait to entice bites.

After heading to the lodge and collecting my winnings (and having a good laugh with Phil James- mostly about sheep and us welsh!) it was time to head home. Everyone was talking about where Roger in peg 8 was fishing and everyone said I should have told him where to go! In trying to cut off my edge he had actually neglected the areas in peg 8 that make it a flyer and caught one small carp for nowhere. As it happened I didn’t need the edge anyway…..

On the top....

2009-08-10T08:13:00.000-07:00

I would have posted my blog about the Wednesday evening match at Whinwhistle but it was a bit pants! I drew plum peg 15 that I have always wanted to draw. I set up one method rod as I was sure it would work....it didn’t! With 20 minutes to go I tipped back around 5lb of small skimmers without having a single sign of a carp! I can’t remember the last time I took an early bath and the match was won from peg 12 with 16lb odd.

Greenridge Farm Open- 8/8/09

With nothing on this Saturday I decided to fish the open at Greenridge Farm near Romsey. It is only 4 miles from my house yet I have only fished there once before- back in early April when I managed second place on Canal 1 with 96lb on shallow pellet. I had heard that surface fishing had been dominating recently with one angler in particular, Pete Newman, having the method sussed. He had won the last 3 matches in a row on floating bread with weights of 210lb, 240lb and finally a new venue record of 280lb! Not bad when the fish average around 3lb....

I’ve never fished a match with surface baits so when I heard that it had been banned at Greenridge I chose to fish there as I would always prefer to fish shallow as opposed to on the top as I feel there is generally more skill involved. A day or two before the match I found out that although it had been banned it would not come into place until the end of September. This didn’t change my plans much as I was sure I could compete shallow- although I did take a loaf of bread and a few floating pellets in-case I was being battered by the bread boys.

I arrived at the fishery at around 8am and as always had a walk around. The match was to be held on canals 1 & 2 and they both looked very similar, around 13-14m wide with 11 pegs on each. After meeting Pat (red-hydro) and his mate I tucked in to a few of the free bacon rolls and cups of tea as everyone arrived and awaited the draw. I went into the bag and pulled out peg 13....unlucky for some? Whilst unloading my gear in the car-park I heard somebody mention that Pete Newman had drawn end peg 12 next to me...great!! Pat had drawn two to my right on 15 so the obligatory quid side-bet was soon struck up.

My match plan was quite simple really with two paste lines at 3m and down the edge and pellet shallow across. I hoped to spend the first 30 minutes or so on the paste whilst priming the shallow line with a few 6mm pellets every 20 seconds or so. I set-up a few rigs to cover my options. My two paste rigs were on 0.18 to a size 5 Tubertini 175 and matched to Orange Wilkie hollow. One was for 2 feet of water tight to the bank on my left and the other was for the base of the near slope at an angle of 11 o’clock. I also set-up 3 rigs for across. The first was a malman MTD1 dibber on 0.18 to a size 20 Fox Series 2 with a ban on a hair. This was set at 18 inches. I also set up a Korum blob on the same terminal gear but set at 6 inches. Finally I had a 2ft length of 0.18 line to a size 16 Fox Series 2 for fishing the bread if I had to. All three rigs were matched to red vespe bi-core elastic. For bait I had some paste, a load of 4mm & 6mm pellets, a loaf of bread and some SonuBaits 8mm Oily floaters.

By 10 o’clock the sun was blazing and there wasn’t a breath of wind- hardly ideal fishing conditions. The all-in was called and I moulded a piece of paste around the hook and dropped in at 3m with no feed. The float sat there for all of 5 seconds before disappearing and carp number 1 was on.....for about 5 seconds! I suspect it was foul-hooked but after firing a few pellets across I dropped in at 3m and the same thing happened. I netted a small carp of around 3lb whilst everyone else was still potting in bait. I dropped straight back in and waited for around 30 seconds before a similar sized carp took the bait and was soon in the net with his mate. This is going to be a bagging match! Errr....wrong! Despite introducing a few 4mm pellets after 10 biteless minute’s I hadn’t added another fish after half an hour. Pete to my left was picking up odd fish on the bread and I was falling behind. All the while I had been pinging 6mm pellets across and with no bite on the paste I fed half a cup of 4mm pellets at 3m before picking up the 6 inch shallow rig and shipping across. After a few slaps the blob dipped and a small carp was soon in the net. Despite fishing my heart out pinging,lifting,slapping I couldn’t buy a bite. Pete was now surging ahead on the surface and although I added another small carp on the 18 inch rig I knew I wouldn’t compete the way things were going. To make matters worse Pat was catching fishing tight to the bare bank in his peg. His rig looked to be about 6 inches deep so I was convinced he was catching shallow but I later found out that’s how deep it was right across. He seemed to be suffering with foul-hookers and lost fish but either way my pound looked like it was heading his way! I couldn’t buy a bite across or on the paste at 3m so I plumbed a new paste line straight out at 6m. First drop with no feed saw a quick carp followed by another next drop. However as with the first swim it then died. Although I hadn’t fed anything except the hook bait there was a lot of blowing in the peg but I couldn’t get any signs. I eventually caught another fish across but after 3 hours I had just 7 fish in the net for around 20lb with Pete surely having close to the ton.

With nothing to lose I accepted that I was never going to frame on the pellet I cupped out a dozen floating pellets and a few bits of bread to the far bank. After 5 minutes or so there were a few ripples and after a while the carp were happily slurping away. The sun was blazing down so I decided to shorten the line right down to 10 inches and poke the small piece of crust under the tree. After a few seconds there was a large boil and the pole was yanked down and carp number 8 was soon in the net. Over the final 3 hours I managed to catch faster than Pete and I also found some bigger fish. Although it was too late to catch him I knew 2nd place was up for grabs as Pat had slowed down a bit. I got into a nice rhythm of hook fish, ship back quickly fire out 3 floating pellets, net fish, fire out 3 more, ship half way across, fire out 3 more. By doing this I always had fish waiting and was able to catch quickly. Whenever it went a bit quiet I would cup out 6 or 7 pieces of bread and a few pellets which always brought the fish back. I often found it best to ship out a metre or two from the far bank and hang the bait out of the water. As soon as I saw some movement I would plonk the crust where the fish were as they kept moving along the far bank. It was imperative that the bait was within an inch or two of the rushes, most of time it would be up against them. Something else that was effective was waiting just off the fish after I had cupped bread out. As soon as the last piece vanished I would drop my hookbait in the same place and it was usually taken instantly. When I was just feeding floating pellets this was less important as the bread stood out more. At one point I had a fish tear under the tree and snap me so I stepped up to 0.22 as it makes no difference to presentation when fishing on the top.

The all-out was called and I had finished on 36 carp with 29 coming in the last 3 hours. I guessed on having around 120lb. Whilst it was clear that Pete had won I hoped to nick second but I thought it might be close with Pat. Pete was first to weigh and totalled 174lb....a bad day apparently! After 3 weighs my total was recorded at 120lb 4oz...a new best match weight. I don’t usually fish bagging matches as most of the waters I fish you are looking for 20-60lb to do well. My previous best was an agonising 99lb 15oz,followed by 99lb 8oz,97lb,96lb and two 95lbs,with loads of 80’s to boot! I followed the scales down and Pat took third place with 87lb odd. I was pleased with the result although a little frustrated as I felt I could have won had I fished on top all match.

After packing away it was back to the BBQ area for a refreshing beer and to collect my winnings. Pat ‘didn’t have any change’ so it’s double or quits next time!! All in all an enjoyable day and there is a lot more to fishing on the top than I had previously thought. I will be heading back to Greenridge in a couple of weeks for another go on it as I’m sure I could do 200lb if I fished it for the duration and like all aspects of fishing those that fish it best will come out on top.

Whinwhistle Summer Series- Round 6

2009-07-27T08:43:00.000-07:00

After a nice result at Withy farm the day before I was looking forward to the sixth round of the summer league at Whinwhistle- so much so that I was up half an hour before my alarm was due to go off! I arrived at the venue at around 7.30 (it takes 8 minutes from my house!) and duly sat down to the obligatory breakfast. Going in to this round I was 3 points clear of Andy Shanks at the top,with 3rd place quite a way off around 10 points behind 2nd. Come 8.30 we were ready for the draw and I pulled out peg 16. There are atleast 5 or 6 pegs I would have chosen before peg 16 but there were certainly one or two pegs I really wouldn't have wanted! Andy had drawn peg 10- not good. With it only being about 6m wide in places it is a bit like fishing in a broom cupboard and he would have his work cut out from there. To my right on peg 15 was Phil James and a £1 side-bet was soon struck up. I have only ever fished peg 16 once before and that was an evening match a few weeks ago. I managed to win that by fishing the method feeder to the island in front of peg 15 (it wasn't drawn) with 3 carp and a few skimmers for 15lb odd. With Phil on 15 I obviously couldn't fish the same area so had to alter my approach. The first thing I set up was a method rod for throwing up the side of the near island hoping to snare a carp or two. Despite having a side-bet with Phil he kindly lent me an extension off his Tourney-Pro allowing me to reach the small island at 17.5m. (I've got my own extension on order!) The peg was like a snooker table from under my feet right the way across which meant things were kept simple.

I set up 3 rigs to cover my various lines. Firstly I set up a 4x12 Chianti on 0.14-0.12 and an 18 Gama Pellet matched to double 5 slip. This was for fishing pellet and caster if it was quite tough and was set just touching bottom. My 2nd rig was similar but stepped up slightly- a 4x12 KC Chimp on 0.16-0.14 and a 16 B911 matched to yellow drennan bungee. This was set 2 inches over-depth as the wind was steadily getting worse. My final rig was for in case the carp were showing- a 4x12 KC Chimp on 0.16- size 2 Tubertini 175 matched to red vespe bi-core. I had a swim at 5m slightly to my left for fishing meat. This was a bit of a throway line and I didn't actually have a bite here. My 'main' line was at 16m straight in front and my back-up line was to the island at 17.5m. I plumbed all over the peg and had about 3 foot everywhere. For bait I had a pint of caster,a tin of corn,a tin of 6mm meat,some damp micro's,4mm and 6mm pellets along with some 4.5mm expanders and some mini white boilies for the method.

The all-in was called at 10am and I cupped in some pellet and a few casters at 16m before flicking a few bit's of meat to my left at 5m. I then baited up the method feeder and cast to the front of the far island some 25m away. After a couple of minute's Phil was into a carp fishing at long range up the side of the other island and although he lost the fish he was into another on the next cast. Meanwhile after 5 casts in twenty minute's all I had to show was a small 'rattle'- probably from silver fish. I came off the method and shipped out to 16m on the lighter rig as the wind had eased a bit. I was getting instant bite's on 4mm expander but they were mostly 2-3oz skimmers and 16m is a long way to go for fish of that size,especially as 1 in 2 would fall off. After an hour I had less than a pound in the net and despite the wind now howling from left to right I had been pinging the odd cube of meat at 17.5m. It was time to go over the long line with the 0.16 rig and a single grain of corn. First drop saw a skimmer of some 6oz and next drop-in the float barely settled before disappearing and a 3lb carp was soon in the net. I decided to clip on a small cad-pot and fed 4 bits of meat and shipped back out. The wind was making things difficult and at times I actually had to float the pole on the surface in order to keep the rig still. In the next 15 minute's I added a 2lb carp and a 1lb tench but I was finding things increasingly difficult in the wind.

After around 2 hours I added a small 1lb mirror and a couple of skimmers but I felt the line was going away from me. I fed half a pot of pellet and meat at 17.5m but had great difficulty presenting a bait there. With the method not working for me I switched to the straight lead with a 12 inch hooklength,16 GURU QM1 and an 8mm pellet. With 2 fifteen minute casts producing nothing it was decision time. By this time Phil must have had getting on for 20lb and the quid was looking like it was already his. However,I had to focus on the league and ensure I got good points so fed half a cup of micro pellet and caster at 10m as I wouldn't be able to catch the small skimmers fast enough at 16m. After spending 10 biteless minutes at 5m on the meat I baited up with a 4mm expander on the chianti rig and shipped out to 11m. I was pleased to see the float settle and disappear straight away and a 3oz skimmer was soon on the way. At this time I also started to loose feed caster at 5m to my right. In the next 35 minute's I caught 28 skimmers and although they were small they were coming quite fast and by feeding a pinch of micro pellet every 3rd fish and shortening the line rig down to two inches I was hitting almost every bite. I could hear that the venue was fishing very hard so kept plugging away. I hooked a lump of a fish that tore off at a rate of knots before the rig pinged back- almost certainly foul hooked and better it come off straight away then waste a load of time playing it on light gear. With an hour to go the wind dropped slightly so I cupped in a pinch pf pellet at 10m and went out to 17m where I didn't manage a bite.

It was now decision time, do I spend the last 50 minute's sat on the lead with my fingers crossed or do I keep putting the small skimmers in the net? I chose the latter as although I knew I wouldn't catch first place I hoped that I could make a top three finish. The trouble with peg 16 is I could only see two other anglers so it was a bit of a gamble. A quick try with meat saw a longer wait for a bite from a similar sized skimmer so I stuck with the expander. I kept picking off the skimmers and also managed a few dumpy roach at 5m on the caster. The all-out was called at 3pm and I reckoned on having around 12lb in the net.

I was first to weigh and my net of silvers went 8lb 4oz with the three carp only going 6lb giving me a 14lb 4oz total. Phil then put 25lb odd on the scales to comfortably take the lead. I decided to follow the scales round and soon realised it had fished hard for most with mainly low single figure weights. We got to Andy and his 8lb 12oz took 3rd spot before Nigel on golden peg 6 had two lumps fors 18lb odd,knocking me into 3rd. There were no more weights until Jumper Collins on peg 3 put 10lb odd on the scales to take 4th spot,crucially knocking Andy into 5th.

I was happy with 3rd place and would have gladly taken that if it had been offered when I drew peg 16. The decision to target the small skimmers with 2 hours to go proved to be the right one as although I might have snared a carp on the lead it would have been risky,especially as I didn't even manage a liner when trying it occasionally throughout the day. After eventually packing away I made way to the lodge to pick up my winnings. With just two matches to go I am now 5 points clear of Andy as I am on 15 points with him on 20,although we can both drop our worst result( both 5 points). I also have a weight advantage of some 40lb or so which could prove decisive overall. I'm not fishing atall next weekend as I'm in ireland but if the weather isn't too bad I'm hoping i can sneak in an evening match on Wednesday.

Witherington farm Open- Barnmoor lake- 25/7/09

2009-07-27T03:32:00.000-07:00

After not fishing atall for almost three weeks I was raring to go this weekend,especially with the prospect of a match double-header. After umming and arring for a while about where to fish I eventually settled on the open at Witherington Farm on Barnmoor Lake. This is the only lake I have never fished at the venue, and speaking to a few people before hand that wasnt necessarily a bad thing! I called up on the Thursday and booked myself and Nick White in, and with 15 anglers fishing the 20 peg lake it shouldn't be a bad match. I arrived at the venue at around 8 o'clock and as always had a quick wander round to get a mental picture of where I would like to draw. There is a central island which would obviously be worth a chuck on certain pegs, and the only real flier I could see was peg 16 that had the island within pole reach (16m or so). Whilst wandering around with Nick we heard a shout of 'morrrning chaps' from peg 9 on Sellwood where Nick Lund (nicky-the-bricky) was setting up. It turned out he had a day booked with England International Des Shipp. (I later heard someone on Barnmoor remark 'look over there,it's Des Shipp with a sinking ship'). After chatting with Nicky for 10 minute's or so we headed to the cafe in readiness for the draw. Into the bucket I went and out came.....peg 5. It didn't mean alot to me but I soon found out I was in the middle of the island on the near bank.

Arriving at the peg I surveyed my options and decided on a few different approaches. After borrowing Nick's extension I plumbed up at 17.5m (more like 16.5 with the short 4) towards the island,and although I was still some 3m or so off I felt sure I would catch the odd fish here. The peg was also very flat which made things easier. My rig for the long line was a 4x12 KC Chimp on 0.16- Size 2 Tubertini 175 matched to red vespe bi-core. I also set up a line at 13m where I had the same depth but would be predominantly looking for skimmers. For this line I assembled a 4x12 KC Chimp,0.16-0.14 and a 16 B911 matched to yellow Drennan Bungee. I decided to use 0.14 as there was every chance of picking up a carp on this line. My final pole line was the margin to my left. The next angler was pretty close but there was actually a spare peg between us so I set up a 4x10 Scone GAZE on 0.18- Size 3 Tubertini 175 and Wilkie orange. Finally I set up a small inline method feeder with an 0.18 hooklength for fishing to the island. For bait I had a tin of corn,a tin of 6mm meat,some damp micro pellets and skretting pellets in sizes 4, 6 and 8mm. I also had a tub of 8mm Ringers boilies for the method.

The all-in was called at 10.15 and I cupped in some meat and pellet at 13m before casting the method tight to the island. I decided not to feed the 17.5m line until I went on it as I was expecting things to be pretty tough. After 6 casts in 30 minute's without so much as a liner I dropped in at 13m with a 6mm cube of meat and went 15 minute's without a bite. Hmmm....not exactly going to plan!Nobody was really catching bar the odd small skimmer so I put 4 cubes of meat in a cad-pot and shipped out to 17m with a single grain of corn. After 3 or 4 minute's of lifting and dropping the float dipped and yards of elastic streamed from the pole. The fish kited to my right and actually caught the line of the guy to my right who was fishing the method to the island. After a lot of hassle I eventually slipped the net under a plump 7lb mirror (and a method feeder!) I have to say the bloke was very good about it all, I believe his name is Mayo?Anyway,cheers mate! I then repeated the process but couldn't buy another bite and things were pretty grim all around. I felt the method wasn't right so switched to a small cage feeder with a 12 inch hooklength and a single grain of corn. After a few minute's the tip flew round and I soon had a 2lb skimmer in the net. A few casts later and I added a small carp of around 2lb. I then added a couple of small carp and although it wasn't fast and furious I was catching more than anyone else on the lake. After a while the feeder line died and with no signs on any of the pole lines I decided to change tactics.

I switched to a bomb with an 8mm pellet and would constantly ping 2 or 3 6mm pellets over the top. I attached a new hooklength containing a size 16 Guru QM1. I have heard great things about these new hooks so was looking forward to trying them. After 5 minute's the top flew round out of the blue and I lifted into resistance before the fish fell off after a second or two. Nick had told me that he was yet to lose a fish on the QM1's so I was a little surprised. The regular feeding was bringing a few fish into the peg although I had to get my cast within 6 inches of the island in order to get bite's. It took a lot of discipline to retrieve the cast when it fell a foot or so short but it was worth it as I picked up a few smaller carp. I lost another two fish on the QM1's before switching back to Fox Series 2's. I still lost a couple of fish on these and I'm not quite sure what was happening. There was also an underwater obstacle as twice the tip flew round and the hooklength was sheared clean around half way along. I was getting quite frustrated but managed to pick up the odd fish. I went around 40 minute's without a sign at one point so scaled down to an 18 PR36 and a 6mm pellet and within minute's I added a 4lb ghost carp.

Fordy was also at Withy for the day as he was fishing with Des and Nicky and wandered past and kindly bought me a cold can of coke from the cafe- cheers mate! He said that I was winning the lake and there was about an hour or so left. Despite rotating all my line's I didn't manage to add another fish,although I did lose one more which was very frustrating. The all-out was called and I wasn't in the best of moods. I felt sure I had thrown the match away through lost fish and the chap to my left had caught a lot of skimmers and my clicker was on 20lb exactly.

After packing away the scales got to me and the guy to my left weighed 21lb exactly. I was therefore surprised when my carp and two skimmers went 26lb 12oz. The clicker only works if you click the correct amount of times! I followed the scales round and there was a 24lb followed by Nick weighing 20lb exactly. He had struggled all before switching to the bomb and tea-bag late on to catch a couple of carp. He had lost a lump which would prove costly as he was beaten by a pound into 5th and they paid the top 4. This was particularly frustrating for me as we split our winnings when fishing together. As it turned out my 26.12 was enough for the win followed by 24,22,21 something and 21. It had been hard for most but by ringing the changes I had managed to just about do enough.

I headed to the cafe and picked up £90 before giving half to Nick and heading home. I don't think I fished a particularly great match as I lost alot of fish and I'm at a loss as to why. Still,I'd rather fish poorly and win than fish like a pro and come nowhere!

On a roll.....

2009-07-06T07:12:00.000-07:00

Whinwhistle Summer League- 5/7/09

Sunday saw the 5th round of the summer series at Whinwhistle. After four matches I was top of the league but only two points ahead of Andy Shanks who was hot on my heels in second place. There is then a big gap to 3rd place so it's looking very much like it will be a two-horse race. Arriving at the venue at around 7.45 I quickly demolished a breakfast before paying my pools and getting ready for the draw. We were to be on Keepers lake this week which is generally quite fair although there are one or two pegs that are far more likely to hold a few carp. I dipped my lucky left hand into the draw-bag and out came peg 24.....a flier!! It is one of the pegs that usually holds carp as it had a large bed of lillies straight out at 14m with a fair bit of open water to the right. The only trouble is it can be a bit of a tackle graveyard as most people lose fish in the pads. Andy drew it last time and lost 5 carp shallow in the pads before catching 3 on the deck in the last 30 minute's to win the lake with 14lb odd. He was placed on peg 6 this time which has a very decent margin to fish and I knew he would get points from there.

As soon as I drew the peg I made the decision to fish 'proper gear', as I wanted to give myself the best chance of landing everything I hooked- far too often people fish too light to features only to get smashed to pieces and then wonder why. Commercials hold a good colour through the summer months and I personally don't feel line diameter make's that much difference-always better to err slightly on the heavy side when fishing to features. Therefore the first two rigs I set up were for fishing against the pads at 14m. The first rig was a 4x12 scone Jubleez on 0.22 to a size 3 Tubertini 175. This was shotted with a small bulk of 10's and one dropper, set to fish 3 inches over-depth in four feet of water. The second rig was for fishing shallow- a 4x10 Scone AM wellardz on 0.22 to a size 16 Fox Series 2 with a band on a hair. Both rigs were set to red J-Range elastic (beastie stuff!). As it was a league match I couldn't rely entirely on the carp so also planned to fish for the silvers at 3m. I set 3 rigs for here- a 4x12 KC Porth on 0.12- 18 Gama pellet matched to double 5 and two shallow rigs- 4x10 Chiantis on 0.12- 18 Drennan eyed barbless matched to double 4 slip. As I had a bit of room to my right I also set up an edge rig at 8m. There were a lot of cabbages under the water in close and the only clear spot I could find was around 5m out- not ideal but atleast it was clear and flat. The rig for this line was a 4x10 Scone GAZE on 0.18- size 3 Tubertini 175 and Wilkie Orange elastic. Finally I set up a pellet waggler rod as there were one or two carp cruising about down to my right. Standard set-up: 11ft carbonactive,Daiwa 2503CU with 3lb Maxima,0.18 trace to a size 20 Fox Series 2 with a band on a hair. For bait I had two tins of 6mm meat,a tin of corn,some 6mm pellets,a pint of caster and some worm.

The all in was called at 10am and everyone began potting bait into their swims. I've been doing well lately by loose-feeding as oppsed to potting in so catapulted 3 bits of meat to the pads and went out with a single piece of corn. After feeding another 3 pieces of meat and lifting the rig the float buried and a lift was met with solid resistance. By shipping back quickly the fish was in open water before it knew what was going on and a minute later I had a 5lb common in the net while everyone else was still potting in- nice! I then fired another 3 pieces of meat out and repeated the process. After 2 minute's or so the float buried and again I lifted into resistance. This clearly wasn't a carp but the 2lb skimmer that was soon in the net was very welcome! I quickly fed some caster at 5m and around 10 cubes of meat to my right before catapulting another 3 pieces to the pads. I shipped back out and after around 5 minute's the float dipped before disapearing and again a lift was met with firm resistance. The fish sat there for a second or so in which time I had a few metres of pole behind me and had the fish in open water. Three or four minute's later a scrappy 6lb common was in the net. 10lb is always my target weight at Whinwhistle for good points,with 15lb usually needed to win. I was now 15 minute's into the match with around 13lb in the net- not a bad start!

The next 30 minute's saw a few missed bite's and a few small skimmers. Although I was using pretty crude gear the big hook meant I wasn't bumping the skimmers and had a couple of 1lb+ fish and a few smaller 6-8oz fish. I was happy to be adding weight to the net although I was suprised I hadn't had any more carp after 2 hours. I noticed a few carp swirling down to my right and had been pinging the odd pellet down there. A quick look on the caster-line yielded a few small perch but they weren't really worth fishing for. I decided to continuously feed 3 or 4 casters on this line hoping to get some of the better roach shallow. I had a quick try with shallow meat to the pads but only managed a few suicidal rudd. I was reluctant to spend too long shallow as that is how most people lose fish in the peg whereas I had hooked two on the deck and got them both out without any fuss. As I had been regularly pinging meat to the pads I decided to give the 14m line a rest and have a look on the pellet wag to my right. It was hard work as there wasn't a breath of wind but after continous casting and feeding I eventually hooked one as the waggler splashed down but frustratingly the hook pulled after around 20 seconds. Something didn't feel right and I suspect the line had caught over the carps back. With 2 hours remaining I decided to try the method feeder as there were clearly a few fish down there. It was already set-up in my ready-rod bag so I quickly dampened some micro's and attached a new hooklength (0.18-Fox series 2:20 with a spike on a hair).

The first cast down to my right was biteless as I was on the phone to Andy Shanks finding out how the top end was fishing- not well by all accounts! After re-casting I didn't even have time to put the rod in the rest as a carp took the 8mm white boilie within seconds. A few minute's later and a nice 7lb common was in the net. No more fish showed on the line so it was time to try the caster line where I had been religiously feeding 2 or 3 casters every few seconds. First drop in and the double 4 slip was streaming out of the pole as a 12oz roach hooked itself. Second drop in and I had a rudd of some 10oz followed by a few dumpy roach. Although it wasn't fast and furious I was happy to be adding more weight to the net.

I had completely rested the 14m line as I felt the constant feeding of meat had brought too many small skimmers into the peg. I shipped out with a single grain of corn and was pleased to see the float sit there for a few minute's without being knocked around. After 5 minute's I catapulted 3 or 4 cubes of meat out and lifted the rig a foot or so out of the water. Within a few seconds of settling the float buried and another carp was on. With little fuss it was soon in the net at around 4lb and the rest had clearly worked. No more bite's were forthcoming so I fed another small amount of meat before dropping in down the edge where I had been feeding small amounts every 20 minute's or so throughout. After 5 biteless minute's I decided to sack this line and spend the remaining 40 minute's fishing to the pads. I added a few more skimmers for around 2-3lb but unfortunately no more carp when the all-out was called at 3pm.

From what I could see it had fished hard for most and I was pretty sure I had done OK. My silvers net went 9lb 8oz before my four carp went 21lb odd giving me a 32lb 4oz total. I followed the scales round and it had fished harder than I thought with most people weighing around 7 or 8lb. Phil Timms on peg 14 put 15lb something on the scales which was enough for 2nd place until we got to Andy. His 2 carp and a few silvers went 16lb something which was eventually enough for second. It transpired that he had a carp jump out of his keepnet so it would have been a bit harsh if he had been ounced into 3rd!

So all in all an enjoyable day and I doubled the weight of 2nd place which can't be bad can it! I felt I fished a tidy match as I didn't lose any fish to the pads and caught off a couple of line's. I could have done with Andy dropping a few points but that's something I can't influence- I can't do anymore than winning on the day. Another advantage was topping up the weight difference between us which now stands at around 40lb- quite significant at Whinwhistle as there's every chance it will come down to weight between us.

I seem to be on a bit of a roll lately where everything goes to plan and I'm winning matches quite comfortably. I think alot of this is down to feeding. I have been feeding small amounts of bait regularly as opposed to dumping it in and it certainly hasn't done any harm. I've had 117lb of fish in the last 3 matches at Whinwhistle which is almost unprecedented and I feel sure alot of that is down to the feeding. I'm hoping to get back there for the Wednesday evening match- let's hope the run continues!

A New Venue Record.....

2009-07-02T02:06:00.000-07:00

Whinwhistle Evening Match- 1/07/09

With the glorious weather we've been having these past few days I had no hesitation in booking in for the mid-week evening match at Whinwhistle. I managed to get away from work at 4 and after heading home to pick up my gear (and the mrs!) I pulled into the fishery gate's at around 4.50pm. The weather was boiling with temperatures of 32 degrees and bright sunshine. The match was to be held on 'The Square'- the first lake you pass on driving into the fishery. The lake used to be connected to 'The Islands' until it was separated last Autumn with the use of boulders in wire cages. The lake was then netted and all carp removed with the idea being that it would be a good silver fish water. Come 5pm and we were ready for the draw. I wasn't really that fussed where I drew as it's a pretty fair lake and I would fish pretty much the same way on every peg. My hand went into the bag and out came peg 20. It always used to be the best peg on the lake as it had a good edge to the left that always held carp. I had heard rumours that a few carp where still in the lake so I fancied it for a few. The last evening match on there was won with 14lb which is a pretty good weight....until I found out it also included a 10lb carp!!

I was just leaving the lodge when the call of 'RE-DRAW' rang out. There had been a mix up with the pegs so it was time to do it again. This time I came out with peg 23- opposite 20. I've never known it be pegged in a match so wasn't sure what to make of it. Upon arriving at the lake it was clear that somebody had left the back door open...there were carp cruising everywhere!! I had always done well on The Square fishing pellet very light for the 4-6oz skimmers. After seeing the amount of fish near the surface I decided to change my approach and target the better fish (that weren't supposed to be in there!) After setting down my box and making sure my girlfriend was comfy it was decision time. I wasn't sure that the fish basking would be interested in feeding so decided to cover my options. Firstly I would fish meat at 5m at an angle of 10 o'clock. My 2nd line would be straight out at 13m where I hoped I might get a few shallow. My final line would be down the edge to my right at 7m where there was a bit of grass hanging into the water. My 5m deck rig was a 4x12 KC Chimp on 0.16-0.14 and a 16 B911. It was shotted with a bulk of no:10's and a single dropper and matched to yellow Drennan Bungee. The Square is a very flat lake with depths of around four feet. At 13m it was only around 3 inches deepr than at 5m. This was perfect as I could use the same rig on both line's- just touching bottom at 13m and 3 inches overdepth for the meat line. I always prefer to fish pellet just touching and meat just over so the rig was absolutely perfect for both line's. I also set up two shallow rigs- Malman MTD1 dibbers on 0.14-16 Drennan eyed barbless with a band on a hair. One was set at 12 inches and one at 2ft- both were matched to yellow Drennan Bungee. Finally I set up my edge rig. I had around 3ft of water a metre or so from the bank- just on the edge of the grass that was hanging down. For this line I set up a 4x10 Scone GAZE on 0.16 to size 2 Tubertini 175. This was shotted with a bulk of 10's and matched to red vespe bi-core. For bait I had a tin of 6mm meat,a tin of corn,some damp 4mm pellets and some hookers.

On Sunday I found that the fish didn't want bait dumped in, and pinging small amounts regularly was far more effective. With this in mind I decided that I wouldn't feed any bait with the pole pot,preferring to either feed by hand or catapult. The all-in was called and I flicked 6 pieces of meat in at 5m, the same down the edge with a pinch of corn and started to fire pellet out at 13m. I dropped in at 5m with a single cube of meat and followed the rig down. No bite's were forthcoming so I flicked another 3 pieces in and dragged the rig slightly to the right. This did the trick as the float buried and an 8oz skimmer was soon in the net. I flicked another 3 pieces of meat out and again waited for a bite. I repeated the process of slowly dragging the rig and as soon as the float settled it dipped and a gentle lift was met with solid resistance. The fish slowly moved out of the peg as I flicked in another 3 cubes of meat.

A few minute's later I slipped the net under a pristine 6lb ghost carp- Nice! I then threw another pinch of meat and corn down the edge,followed by 3 more bits of meat at 5m. All the while I had also been constantly pinging 4mm pellet out to 13m. I stayed on the 5m line for the another 30 minute's taking a few small skimmers but as nobody else was catching I was happy to be topping up the net.

With 45 minute's of the match gone I felt it was time to rest the 5m line and try out long where I had been feeding every two minute or so. First drop on a 4mm expander saw a 2oz bottle-top skimmer. With better fish about I decided to slip on a grain of corn. As soon as the float settled it kept on going and a flying 2lb skimmer was soon in the net.

A few smaller skimmers long were followed by a couple of missed bite's prompting me to pick up the shallow rig. This just saw the bait being ragged by the bit's so I came off the long line but kept feeding it. Back at 5m and two missed bite saw me spread the bulk out as I felt there were one or two fish off the bottom. As I followed the bait down I had a bite and a gentle lift saw a proper bream come flying out of the water! It was soon safely in the net and at a good 4lb it was a nice bonus. No more bite's on the near line saw me back out long where I had a quck run of four 12oz-1lb skimmers.

With an hour to go I guess I must have had around 18lb in the net and nobody else had really caught except Andy Franks on Peg 17 who had caught a few skimmers. I had been regualrly feeding the edge with small amounts of bait every 5-10 minute's and it was now time to give it a go.

I layed the rig in with a single grain of corn and after around 30 seconds the float buried and a carp was on. As the fish swam out of the peg I threw in around 10 cubes of meat and 3 grains of corn.

After 5 minute's or so I netted a carp of around 6lb and flicked a few more pieces of meat down the edge. I repeated the process and again after around 30 seconds the float vanished and another 6lb carp was soon in the net. Whilst playing the fish I flicked a bit more meat down the edge as they seemed to be responding to the regular feed.

At this stage I decided to feed a new line at 13m down the edge to my left. I wanted to see if the fish would respond to potting the bait in so fed a full pot of corn,meat and pellet. All the while I was still feeding my 5m line as I wasn't sure if the edge would dry up. After 5 biteless minute's down to the right I fed a small handfull of meat and then swang around to the long edge line to my left. No bite's had me back on the right hand line and after a few seconds the float vanished and another carp was on.

This fish was again a good 6lb and I was starting to put a decent weight together. I was now into a rhythm of feed,lay rig in,hook fish,feed,net fish,feed.....

What was particularly pleasing was that I hadn't missed a bite or foul-hooked a fish- every fish was square in the top lip. I dropped back in and again took a similar sized fish straight away and repeated the routine-netting the fish a few minute's later. Next drop in saw no signs so I fed another small amount of meat and a few bits of corn before swinging around to my left at 13m. One missed bite was all I had to show so it was back down to my right with 15 minute's to go. As soon as the bait hit the deck the float buried and another carp was on.

After netting the fish (again around 6lb) I dropped back in and immediately hooked another. After safely adding another 6lb to the keepnet I checked my watchand saw there was just 5 minute's left. Time for one more? YOU BET!! After a bit more feed the float dipped followed by the familiar sight of elastic pouring from the pole. After 5 seconds or so the rig pinged back! Even though I knew I had comfortably won the match I was still annoyed (that's the competitive streak in me!) I dropped back in with just two minute's remaining and as the clock ticked down the float vanished with just 30 seconds remaining. Another carp was on and my final 6lb was added to the net some 5 minute's after the whistle- a beautiful fighting fit common.

The all-out was called and I reflected on the match. It was one of those days where everything went to plan. I lost just one fish and caught from all 3 of my line's. I began packing away and when the scales got to me Andy Franks was winning with 22lb from peg 17. It was clear I had more than that and with my silvers going 11lb odd and my seven carp going 42lb odd (I told you they were all around 6lb!) I had a total of 53lb 8oz. I was even more pleased to find that this was a new venue record beating the previous best of 49lb that had stood for 4 or 5 years- and that was from a 5 hour match! I was even more pleased when I was reminded that the previous record holder was my old mate Andy Shanks....a quick phone call was soon in order!!

After packing away I headed to the lodge to collect my winnings and savour a well earned cup of tea. I was pleased with my decision to loosefeed as opposed to cupping in as it was clearly the right approach on the day. Other anglers that cupped in either caught very little or foul-hooked a single fish. By spreading the feed out a bit and regularly having bait hitting the water meant that by the time I went down the edge the fish were lined up. I think too often anglers simply pot bait in without giving it much thought as it's what they always do. Some days it is the right thing to do but on many occasions spreading things out a bit is far more effective.

The one small thought niggling away was should I have gone down earlier? It's hard to say as I could have gone down half an hour earlier and taken a quick fish but then spooked them out of the peg. By the time I went down at 8pm they had thrown caution to the wind and were feeding confidently,meaning I took 6 fish in the last hour.

On the drive home my girlfirend asked is it always that easy?! She has now sat behind me three times and I've had two firsts and a second....she's adamant that she's my lucky charm!!

Whinwhistle Summer Series- Round 4- 28/6/09

2009-06-29T06:32:00.001-07:00

Saturday night saw me out in Southampton for a few drinks....which turned into a few more and a few more after that! Although I stopped drinking at midnight I finally got home at about 4am so wasn't in the best shape when the alarm went off at 7am on Sunday morning! Nonetheless with round four of the summer league at Whinwhistle I made the effort and dragged myself out of bed before loading the car and heading off to the fishery. I was feeling decidedly rough and fishing was the last thing I felt like doing if I'm honest. I sat down for a breakfast and for the first time ever I couldn't finish it as I had a bad case of the shakes! A quick look at the league table confirmed that I was in joint 1st place with Andy Shanks as we were both on 9 points after 3 rounds.

Come 8.30 and we were ready for the draw with today's match on The Islands. Once again peg 8 was the peg everyone was hoping for, with 3 and 15 the other two traditionally good pegs. Into the bag my lucky left hand went and out came....peg 12. Not a peg I would have immediately chosen but one that I fancied when I got there. There is an island running across the entire length of the peg at around 13-14m straight out and this was to be my main point of attack. Next door on peg 11 I had Richard Allin who is a very tidy angler and he had fished peg 11 three times in the last few matches. Andy had drawn peg 15 which used to be a great peg but hadn't been so good lately. After setting down my box and almost falling in (twice!!) I began to assemble a few rigs.

For fishing across to the far bank I set up a 4x10 Scone Gaze (a bespoke pink Jubleez made just for me!) on 0.16 to a size 2 Tubertini 175. This was shotted with a bulk of four no:10's and a no:12 matched to red vespe bi-core elastic. I plumbed all over the peg and it was like a snooker table which made things easier. I plumbed all along the far bank and had 2 & 1/2 feet of water everywhere so earmarked a few swims although I would only feed one at the start. Although I hoped to fish the far bank for most of the match it was a league where points win prizes so set up a few more rigs to cover my options if the carp weren't playing ball. Firstly a pellet line at 8m- 4x10 KC Chimp,0.12-18 Gama Pellet and yellow drennan bungee. I also set up a caster line at 5m slightly to my left- 4x12 KC Chimp 0.12-0.12 and a 20 Gama maggot to double 5 slip. Finally I set up a 4x10 Chianti on 0.10 at 12 inches in case there were a few silvers shallow. For bait I had a tin of 6mm meat,a tin of corn,a pint of caster a bit of worm and some damp micro pellet.

The all-in was called and I cupped in a pinch of micro pellet,around 10 cubes of meat and 3 grains of corn straight across at 14m. I kicked off on a single piece of meat and after a couple of quick bites I soon had an 8oz skimmer in the net. I went back out with a grain of corn which stopped the lightning quick bite's from the silvers. Richard to my right then hooked a carp followed a few seconds later by my float (or one of them anyway,as I could see atleast 3 and they were all blurry!) disapearing and carp number 1 was on. After a few minute's I slipped the net under a scrappy 3lb mirror. I went straight back out with a pinch of micro and two grains of corn in the pot and after 10 minute's or so had carp number two-this time around 2lb. I hooked my 3rd carp about 10 minute's later after repeating the process and I got it right to the rim of the net before the line broke. The fish was a good 4lb which was gutting as every ounce is usually vital at Whinwhistle and I can only put it down to there being a nick in the line-either that or bad angling!! I cupped a pinch of bait on the line and after setting up a new rig went back out with a single piece of corn. After 10 minute's or so I had a bite and another carp was hooked. Again I got it right to the net before the hook pulled out! I was now getting really frustrated especially as Richard had caught two quick carp in this time. I reasoned that the fish wasn't hooked properly so cut out the micro pellet and fed just 10 grains of corn on this line. I also fed half a pot of meat and corn at 14.5m slightly to my right as not only would it give me somewhere else to try but I hoped it would pull a few fish away from Richard who was now catching well. After 15 minute's over my first line without a sign I switched to the right hand line and a quick bite saw another carp hooked. A few minute's later and a 4lb fish was in the net which settled me down a bit after losing the previous two. No more bite's off either line was suprising so I cupped a pinch of bait on both and dropped in at 5m where I had been constantly feeding 10 casters every few minute's since the start. First drop saw a dumpy 3oz roach followed by a couple more. A piece of worm saw a skimmer followed by a 6oz perch before I picked the shallow rig up and took a rudd of some 8oz first drop. A few 1/2oz fish followed which were definitely not what I was after so I decided to go back to the island. I quickly cupped a small ball of micro's at 8m before searching both of the long lines with little joy.

After 3 hours I guessed I had around 10lb in the net with Richard surely having 25lb+, although he had lost a couple of fish. I couldn't actually see him because of the trees but could see his pole with elastic out with alarming regularity! I knew I had to make something happen as the fish were not responding to the softly softly feeding approach. At the start I had plumbed right across my peg at 16m to my left where there was a bit of grass hanging in the water. With nothing to lose I started to ping three cubes of meat across every 15 seconds or so. After 10 minute's I went on this new line with corn on the deck while continuing to ping meat over the top. After 5 minut'es I had a liner followed by the float burying a few minute's later. A lift was met with a dead weight before it slowly moved out of the peg. I immediately thought it was foul-hooked but 15 minutes later I slipped the net under a big lean common that I guessed was 10lb. A quick look at the watch showed there was 80 minutes to go and suddenly I was interested again-my hangover soon evaporated,especially as Richard had stopped catching! All the time I was playing the lump I had been pinging meat across and after rebaiting I immediately took a carp on the drop,this time a smaller fish of around 2lb. I repeated the process and after 2 missed bites I quickly got a shalllow rig out of my box and went over the line. No bite's saw me get another shallow rig out with a longer line and I went out with a corn skin on the hook. After the 3rd lift and drop the float dipped and a lift was followed by elastic exiting the pole. Again this fish was small for the lake at around 3lb but it was most welcome. Richard added another fish and after no bite's shallow I was back on the deck. With an hour to go I started to ping meat over my right hand line if only to draw some of his fish away.

Back on the deck at 16m to my left and after a bit more pinging I had a bite and another carp was on it's way. Frustratingly the hook pulled at the net and it wasn't foul-hooked. I decided to cut right back on the feed and went back out with a single corn skin. After plenty of lifting and dropping the float buried and another carp was on. This one was slightly better at around 4lb which I guessed gave me in the region of 30lb with 30 minute's to go. Richard then added another fish making my task even harder and I had to try and force the peg a little. I started to feed caster heavily to my right towards Richard and it seemed to work as he didn't catch another fish where I added one more from the left hand line at around 2lb. With 5 minute's to go I lifted into my final fish but after a few feet of elastic came out the rig pinged back as the fish was almost certainly foul-hooked-not that I would have complained if I'd got it in....

The all-out was called and I reflected on the match. I was pleased with the fact that I would have good points but was very frustrated at losing fish as I felt sure they would cost me. Richard wandered over for a chat and the usual 'you've got more than me' started between us. He admitted to 20lb (yeah,right!) and I admitted to 31lb (thanks to my clicker). I felt sure he would have closer to 40lb although he did tell me that he lost 5 fish inclusing a lump under his feet. The scales made their way around and peg 8 put 25lb on the scales so that was the real danger peg out of the way. Richard then tipped 37lb 6oz on the scales which I knew would beat me. My fish went 32lb 6oz, some 5lb short and the lost fish had cost me big-time. The only consolation was the fact that Richard had lost fish (as had everybody around the lake for some reason). This was enough for 2nd on the day with 25lb 3rd and Andy Shanks weighing 14lb odd for 4th. he beat the anglers either side by ounces as well as a few others. I could have dome with him dropping more points but it wasn't to be. After heading to the lodge to pick up £40 and a cup of tea it was time to head home for a lie-down! A quick look at the lead table shows that I am now out-in front by 2 clear points on 11 with Andy on 13. The nearest to us after this is on some 23 odd points so it's a two-horse race at the half way stage. There's still a long way to go however and a coupleof bad draws could make everything wide open.

Whinwhistle Evening match- 24/6/09

2009-06-25T03:47:00.000-07:00

Due to personal commitments I find myself fishing Whinwhistle almost exclusively these days and while I do well there and pick up quite frequently I feel as though my fishing has become a bit stagnant and it is time to go back more to what I used to do. From August onwards I will be able to start travelling further afield and will be fishing bigger opens on a wide range of venues and I must admit I'm looking forward to it. I will continue to fish the remainder of the Summer League but have made the decision not to fish the 2009-10 winter league.

Nonetheless the evening matches are still appealing as it is the only venue I can realisitcally fish of an evening without taking half a day off work. After getting away from work at 4 I made the 15 minute journey home,picked up my gear and the mrs and made it to the fishery at around 4.50 in time for a 5pm draw. This week we were on Keepers Lake, and I really fancied either peg 8,10 or 28. Into the bag I went and out came.....23. Not a peg I would have chosen but I still fancied it for a few fish. After trudging my barrow around and making sure the mrs was comfy I began setting up. (I forgot the camera this week so no pics-bad angling!!)

Peg 23 has an island at 14m but I decided to ignore this as I've never had much success fishing the area in the past. I decided to cover my options and set up 5 top kits. My first plan was to fish for the silvers in close at 3m where I had a good 5ft of water. For this I set up 3 rigs- a deck rig: 4x12 KC Carpa on 0.12- 18 Gama pellet matched to double 5 slip. I also set up two shallow rigs- 4x10 Chiantis on 0.12-18 Drennan eyed barbless and a knotless knot matched to double 4 slip.

I hoped to fish for the silvers for most of the match but knew I had to target a couple of carp swims in case others were catching a few. With the wind pretty strong my first carp line was at just 7m where I had 7ft of water where the slope flattened out. I planned on fishing paste here so set up a Big H 4x12 paste float on 0.18-Tubertini 175 size 5 matched to red vespe bi-core. My 2nd paste rig was for either edge and was on the same line and hook but a 4x10 pattern matched to wilkie orange. For bait I had a pint of caster,some worm,2 pints of hemp and some paste. The all-in was called and I flicked in 30 or so casters at 3m before putting a full pot of hemp and 3 bits pf paste in at 7m. I decided not to feed the margins for the time being. I kicked off on the deck rig at 3m with a small segment of worm and as I followed the rig down the bulk was held up and a small perch was the culprit. A few roach on the way down led me to try the 2ft shallow rig. I was feeding 3 casters every 5-10 seconds and after a couple more fish was soon on the 12 inch-deep rig taking a few roach shallow. I hooked a decent fish that plodded off taking a good 10ft of elastic before the hook pinged back-probably a dog roach. I didn't want to take any chances with the hook so put a new rig on (the trouble with fishing straight through!) and next drop had a decent 10oz roach. There was a decent ripple on the water which I always find beneficial when fishing shallow and I started to get a few. I quickly set up a new top kit with a shallower rig- 6 inches of 0.12 line to an 18 Drennan eyed barbless to double 4 slip. The tiny drennan carp 4 dibber was massively over shotted with a BB shot. First drop the elastic was pulled from the pole and a pristine 12oz roach was soon in the net. They never really got going though and after an hour I decided to rest the line and try the paste. I couldn't see everyone from my peg but from what I could see no-one was catching and I guessed I had 5lb or so in the net.

First drop on the paste and the float had barely settled before burying. The strike was met with thin air but a 1lb+ skimmer came flying from the water. I repeated the process and after 5 minutes or so a 6oz skimmer was soon in the net. I started to feed a pinch of hemp through the pot every put in and soon added another skimmer of some 8oz. It was pretty clear the carp weren't in the peg so I re-fed with a decent pot of hemp and went back in at 3m where I had been constantly feeding 2 or 3 casters every few seconds. First drop on the 12 inch rig saw a 6oz roach followed by a couple of 3oz fish in the next few casts. The lad opposite on peg 18 caught a carp fishing to the pads but it looked quite small at around 3lb or so. Next cast he hooked a fish that tore into the pads and after a lot of pulling for 10 minute's or so everything went solid. A young kid happened to be walking past so he gave the pole to the kid and ran to the lodge to get some gloves to pull for a break. When he came back the kid was playing the fish as it had somehow come out of the snag and after a few minute's another 3lber was in his net. I'm not sure what the rule is on such a thing as I personally thought that you are not allowed to leave the boundaries of your peg or have assistance in playing a fish?

I tried to put such thoughts to the back of my mind and after putting the 35th silver fish in my net it was time to try the paste at 7m. It was now 7.45 so each margin got a full pot of hemp with a few bit's of paste. After 5 minute's at 7m the float vanished and I hit a fish some foot off the bottom. It tore off before the rig pinged back with a big scale on the hook! I didn't swear much....
I dropped straight back in without re-feeding and after less than a minute the float buried and a fish tore off. I knew it was hooked in the mouth and after a few minute's I had a scrappy common in the net that I guessed was around 4lb. Straight back over the same line and after 5 minute's the float yet again buried......I'd be lying to you if I said I was pleased with the 6oz eel hooked in the tail!! With 45 minute's to go I put 1/4 cup of hemp in at 7m and dropped in down the edge to my right. A few silly bite's from bits was not what I was after and the same thing happened down to my left. I decided to feed a full pot of hemp to my right and nothing else to my left as I wanted to see if feeding would put the silvers off or draw more in.

I went back to 7m and a quick bite saw a flying 1.5lb skimmer soon hit the net that was a useful fish. My match fizzled out in the last 30 minute's as both edges were solid with silvers and the 7m line just produced the odd tentative bite. The lad opposite on peg 28 hooked his 3rd carp with 10 minute's to go and netted it a few minute's after the whistle. It looked a good 7lb and deep down I knew it would be enough to beat me.

The scales made their way around the lake and when they got to me 9lb odd was winning from peg 8. My silvers went 9lb exactly and the 4lb 4oz carp gave me a 13lb 4oz total. I guessed I had around 12lb so was pleased with the final total but I knew it would be close as I guessed peg 28 to have 13-14lb. His weight was finally called out at 14lb dead- that dubious fish had cost me the win knocking me into 2nd place. I decided not to say anything as I wasn't sure on the rules and as the lad has only just started out he was made up with the win.

I'm back at Whinwhistle on Sunday for the 4th round of the summer league and as I'm lying in joint first place I'm hoping for a decent draw that will give me a good chance of a high section place.

Double Header

2009-06-18T03:03:00.000-07:00

Whinwhistle Summer League- 14/06/09

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!

Whinwhistle Open Match- 31/05/09

2009-06-11T04:01:00.000-07:00

Late on in the week I decided I would fish the Sunday open match on Keepers Lake at Whinwhistle as I had no other plans apart from packing for my holiday on the Tuesday. Saturday was spent holiday shopping with my girlfriend in Southampton which earned me enough brownie points to fish on the Sunday!

Arriving at the venue at around 8am I tucked into the obligatory breakfast and had a chat with a few of the lads. The venue as a whole had been fishing poorly for a while so no-one was sure how it would fish, especially as it was scorching hot and flat calm with bright sunshine- far from ideal. I went into the bag and pulled out peg 14- a fairly average open water peg in an area that had a top weight of around 4lb the week before. The ony 'feature' in my peg were a couple of straggly lilly pads to my left margin. I decided to approach the match quite negatively with a view to catching anything that swims as every ounce is usually crucial at Whinwhistle. My first line was at 3m where I had around 5ft of water at the bottom of the near slope. I planned to fish caster exclusively on this line and set up 3 rigs. Firstly for fishing on the deck I set up a 4x12 KC Porth on 0.12-0.10 and a 20 Gama Maggot. This was shotted with a spread bulk of no 10's and matched to double 5 slip. I also set up two shallow rigs- both 4x10 Chianti's on 0.12-18 Drennan eyed barbless and matched to doubled 4 slip. The first was set at 18 inches and the second at 12 inches. I then set up a pellet line at 13m where I had around 6 and 1/2 feet of water. A 4x14 KC Chimp on 0.14-0.12 and an 18 Gama Pellet shotted with a bulk of 10's and one dropper matched to yellow drennan bungee covered this line. Finally I set up an edge rig to my left at 7m- a 4x10 Scone Jubleez on 0.16-size 2 Tubertini 175 matched to red vespe. For bait I had a couple of pints of caster,some feed pellet,a tin of corn and a few hook pellets.

The all in was called and I flicked a few casters in at 3m before putting a full pot of pellet out at 13m. I didnt really expect to catch on the pellet and wanted to leave the line settle for atleast 2 hours. Straight away I was into a few dumpy roach in close but it was very slow. A 6oz fish shallow got my hopes up but it was a false dawn and I was struggling for bite's. I wasn't too bothered as many anglers were still blanking and I was doing better than anyone I could see. After an hour with 8 fish in the net for probably 2lb I decided to shallow the rig slightly and fish at 3m to my left amongst the few straggly pads. I was hoping to find a few perch here after flicking in a few casters for the last 15 minute's or so. The float barely settled before it shot under and around 2ft of elastic exited the pole before the hook pulled-bugger! I decided not to take any chances so changed to a new hooklength and repeated the process. This time I made no mistake and soon had a 10oz perch in the net. After a couple of smaller 4oz perch it went quiet for 5 minutes. I layed the rig slightly further up the slope and a few seconds later the float vanished and I had yards of elastic streaming from the pole. After a few tense moments on the lightish gear I netted a decent tench that I guessed was around 4lb-a very useful bonus on such a rock hard day. Over the next couple of hours I rotated the two lines and continued to pick off some decent roach and perch but it was far from bagging. However I was beating everyone I could see and a quick check with Andy Shanks at the bottom end (flier!) confirmed that everyone was really struggling and no-one had caught a carp-just what I wanted to hear.

With 2 hours to go the two near lines had completely dried up so it was time to try the long pellet line. No bite's on pellet made me decide to start pinging casters out with a view to picking up a couple of fish shallow. It was hard work at 13m but I found the odd small roach but something didn't feel right. By now the sun was blazing and there wasn't a breath of wind so I quickly got off my box and set up a new shallow rig at 2ft deep with 3 ft of line between the float and pole tip. I flicked the rig past my pole and after a few minute's I had a positive bite out of the blue and had yards of doubled 4 slip out of the pole. At first I thought I'd hooked a carp but soon realised it was a 1lb+ roach that was soon in the net. No more bite's shallow long was disapointing but the rest on the 3m line had helped as I quickly took 3 roach while continuing to flick casters out at 13m.

Going into the last hour I had briefly tried the edge for 5 minute's but with no signs and no-one catching carp I decided to sack that line and catch whatever I could. I'd been constantly flicking casters long and went out with the deck pellet rig and single caster. I spread the bulk right out hoping to find fish through the layers. Following the rig down the float was held up when the bait was around a foot off bottom and a chunky rudd was the culprit. I repeated the process and exactly the same thing happened although this time a better fish was hooked. I gingerly played a 1lb+ skimmer to the net. The last 30 minute's saw a couple of roach in close after a lack of bite's long and the all-out was greeted with sarcastic cheers. My clicker was on 26 fish including the tench- almost exactly half of the 51 I had for 7lb15oz the week before. Crucially I had found a much better stamp of fish this week and felt sure I had 10lb+.

The scales made their way around the lake and when they got to me Oscar Wylde was winning with 10lb 8oz and 3lb odd was second! The scales eventually settled on 11lb 6oz giving me the lead. The only person I felt might beat that was Phill Timms on Peg 8 who had caught two tench and a small carp very late on. His fish pulled the scales around to 12lb dead knocking me into second place. For the second time in a week I had just been beaten by someone called Phil on peg 8 with a decent fish landed right on the whistle-atleast this time it wasn't by a single ounce! As it happened it didn't make much difference as the match was split into two sections on each side of the lake with payouts of £40 & £20 on each side with the overall winner getting an extra £10.

After picking up my section money I headed home to reflect on yet another very difficult day where bite's were hard to come by. I don't think I did a lot wrong and wouldn't really do anything different if I had the chance again. Incidentally last week I had 51 for for 7lb 15oz. This week I had 26 fish for 11lb6oz. The tench (which was very spawned out) was weighed separately at 4lb 4oz, leaving the other 25 fish at 7lb 2oz. Almost the same weight as last week but with half the fish showing how important it is to find those stamp roach.

After a nice holiday I'm back on the same lake this Sunday for the 3rd round of the Summer League- hoping it will fish a little better than it has been!

Whinwhistle Summer Series- Round 2- 24/5/09

2009-05-26T07:26:00.000-07:00

Sunday saw the second round of the summer series at Whinwhistle and after winning the first round I was looking forward to it- especially as it was on what is generally the best lake- Keepers. After a night out in Southampton on Saturday I eventually got to bed at around 5am so wasn't in the best shape when the alarm went off around 2 hours later. After loading up the car I arrived at the fishery just before 8 o'clock and hoped a breakfast would sort me out. With bloodshot eyes and a bad case of the shakes I wasn't exactly as prepared as I should have been! After buying four bottles of water it was time for the draw and I came out with peg 23. I was planning on almost solely targetting the silvers and it was not a great peg for what I wanted to do. Unfortunately I left my camera at home so there's no pic but the peg has an island at around 13m and would be regarded more as one of the 'carp pegs'. The only trouble with that is the carp have not been playing ball lately and in a league match it would be very risky to put all your eggs in one basket. I decided that I would spend the first 15 minute's fishing to the island in search of carp and would then get my head down and fish for roach. I thought 15lb would be worth decent points and hopefully top 3 in the 15 peg section.
I set up one rig for fishing to the island- a 4x10 Scone Jubleez on 0.18 to a size 3 Tubertini 175 and orange wilkie hollow. I then set up 3 rigs for the silvers at 4m. The first was for the deck- a 4x12 KC Porth on 0.12- 20 Gama Maggot. Although I had a good 5 and 1/2 foot of water I opted for a lightish float as there wasn't a breath of wind and I was looking to catch through the layers with a strung out shotting pattern. The other two rigs were for fishing shallow and were a 4x10 Chianti on 0.12- 18 Drennan eyed barbless. This rig was set at a foot deep. I also set up a drennan carp 4 on the same line and hook but set at 6 inches. All 3 rigs were matched to double 5 slip. For bait I had two pints of casters, a few pellets and a tin of corn.
The sun was absolutely blazing down and it was flat calm- far from ideal fishing conditions. The all in was called and I flicked a few casters at 4m and shipped out to the island with a cad pot of pellet. The first 15 minute's were unventful and apart from Andy Shanks on flyer peg 27 catching a foulhooked carp to the island there wasnt much happening. I dropped in with a single caster and soon had a few roach. I was feeding two or three casters every five seconds as I knew to do a weight I would have to catch shallow. A few fish on the foot deep rig including one or two 6oz samples had me thinking I would do OK but they weren't really coming fast enough. I lost a decent 8oz roach at the net which was frustrating but sometimes happens. After 1 hour I had 26 fish in the net. The next hour was a lot slower although I had a couple of 8-10 oz roach I found myself fishing on the deck and waiting for bite's. After two hours I had 35 in the net. It was clear how hard it was fishing as I could hear a lot of moaning as most people were staring at motionless floats. I knew I just had to keep putting whatever I could in the net as every ounce would be important on a day like this (I didn't realise just how important at the time). Over the next few hours I put a few more fish in the net,although I found myself fishing shallow caster at 13m to the island which was slow but it was the only place I could buy a bite. With an hour to go I had 51 fish in the net for around 7-8lb which was OK compared to most others. In the next 30 minute's I failed to put any fish in the net as the whole place had dried up and I didnt see anyone catch in this time. I heard that one or two people had caught a carp so with nothing happening on the silvers I put a small pot of pellet out at 13m and went straight over the top. After 5 minute's I lifted the rig and a few inches of elastic came out of the pole as I lifted into a snag. The 'snag' then tore off to my left as it was clearly a foul-hooked carp. After a few seconds the rig pinged back which was frustrating but expected when you foul hook a fish off the deck. The remainder of the match saw no signs and most people were relieved when the all-out was called at 3pm. A call of 'fish-on' went out and I looked up to the top end of the lake to see Phil James on peg 8 slip the net under a decent fish.
After packing up most of my gear the scales made their way around and Andy Shanks was winning with 7lb 13oz when the scales got to me. My net of silvers then went 7lb 15oz- talk about close! This proved to be top weight on my bank but Phil on peg 8 had two carp for 8lb dead- beating me by a single ounce! This was then beaten by Mike Smith on Peg 6 with two carp for 9lb- leaving me in 3rd place on the day. I would have taken that at the start but it was annoying knowing that I lost one or two roach that would have easily given me 2nd place and first place was only a pound ahead.
After taking the gear back to the car I picked up £30 and headed home. After two rounds I am still top of the league on 4 points, although Mike Smith also has 4 but with slightly less weight.
I'm off on holiday next week so wont be fishing for a while, although I'm secretly hoping I can squeeze in an evening match tomorrow night.

Whinwhistle Evening matches

2009-05-21T05:55:00.000-07:00

This weeks Blog is a 2-in-1 as I've been very busy with work lately. The first match was on Wednesday 13th May and was on Keepers Lake at Whinwhistle. With only 6 anglers fishing and plenty of room I decided to leave the caster out and simply fish paste as I felt sure the carp would feed. Over the 3 hours I had one carp and a couple of small skimmers for 5lb 8oz and third place. Andy Shanks was 2nd with a tench and a few skimmers for 5lb 10oz and the winner had two carp for 11lb odd. All in all a very disapointing match as if I had fished for the silvers I would have walked it but I made my decision and had to stick with it.

With no fishing on the weekend, as I was in Ireland visiting the girlfriends parents, the next match was again an evening affair, this time on the Rail. With 10 anglers fishing there were 5 spare pegs on the lake. I drew peg 3 and fished shallow caster at 15m for one carp of 3lb 6oz and yet again third place. For the second week running I was 2oz off 2nd as another angler had one carp for 3lb 8oz. The winning weight was off the end peg with 9lb odd. 3lb 1oz was fourth and everyone else dry-netted. All in all two very poor matches but particularly frustrating as 3oz extra each week would have won me another £50 odd. I suppose that's the way it goes some times. I apologise for the shortness of these blogs but as you can see I haven't had much to write about!

This weekend see's the 2nd round of the Whinwhistle summer league. I am currently in first place after one round so hoping for a good draw in order to stay near the top. Let's just hope I have a bit more to write about.....

Whinwhistle Summer League- Round 1: 10/5/09

2009-05-11T04:42:00.000-07:00

Sunday saw the first round of the Summer League at Whinwhistle Fishery. After coming 3rd in last years series largely due to missing a round through holiday I was looking forward to this years. The format is 1 section of 15 anglers to be fished across the lakes between May and August. I arrived at the venue at around 7.30am and after having a breakfast, paying my entrance fee and pools I was ready for the draw. The two pegs I, and everyone else really fancied were peg 3 and the out and out flyer- peg 8. I really wanted to avoid pegs 9 & 10 as you had very limited options and a frame place would be very difficult. My drawing arm has completely deserted me in recent months so I decided a change was in order. I went in to the bag with my left hand, pulled out the first peg I touched, turned the coin over and saw......W8. That'll do! To be honest I fully expected to win from the peg as it always holds carp and with a target weight of just 20lb the peg is always worth atleast that. As you can see in the pictures there is a large bed of lilly pads at around 13m slightly to the right and an inlet at around 10m to the right.

Although it is an out-and-out carp peg I decided to cover my options as it was a league match where section points were important. Firstly I set up a rig for fishing at 13m to the edge of the lilly pads where I had around 4ft of water. This was a 4x12 Scone Jubleez on 0.18 to a size 3 Tubertini 175 matched to red j-range elastic. The 2nd rig was for the inside to my right where there was a round 2 and a half ft of water. This rig was a 4x10 Scone Jubleez- 0.18 to a size 3 Tubertini 175. This rig was set to orange wilkie hollow. I also set up a skimmer rig for 8m straight in front but hoped I wouldnt have to use it. Finally I set up a 4x10 Chianti on 0.12- doubled 5 slip set at 12 inches deep for fishing shallow maggot to the pads if it was a struggle. To my left on duff peg 9 was Andy Shanks and to his left on peg 10 was Phil James. Both anglers do well at the venue so in terms of the league I was glad to see them sat on pretty poor pegs. For bait I had two tins of corn, a tin of 8mm meat, a few pellets and half a pint of maggots.

The all-in was called at 10am and I fed a pinch of pellet and corn at 13m,a full pot of corn down the edge and a ball of micro's at 8m. I started off on 6mm expander to the pads and a few quick bite's resulted in a couple of 2oz skimmers,including one hooked up the backside- not what I was after. I cupped another decent pinch of bait in and went back over the top. At this point Andy to my left hooked a carp and as he was playing it I had a sail away bite and did exactly what I didn't want to do in this peg- foul-hooked a lump. The fish absolutely tore off to my left before coming back and tearing down to the right. I had no control over it and after completely bottoming out the elastic the rig was broke at the connector knot. Not only had I lost the fish I had also lost one of my treasured Scone Jubleez- leaving me with just three. I cupped in a bit more corn but no pellet as I felt this would reduce the chance of foulhooking fish. I went back on the long line and after 5 minute's had a tench of around 1.5lb. I went straight back out and after around 20 minute's the float disapeared and a lift was met with firm resistance. Fortunately the fish swam into the open water and after around 10 minute's I slipped the net under a decent fish that I estimated at around 10lb. I re-fed with a half a cup of corn and tried down the edge without success so re-fed with another pot of corn. Back on the long line and after 5 minute's or so another postive bite resulted in a small carp of around 2lb. I then went an hour without a sign so re-fed and picked up the shallow maggot rig and shipped out to the pads. A few 1/2oz rudd weren't what I was after and although I started to pick up a few dumpy 2-3oz roach I knew I wouldn't put any weight together at that sort of distance. I got out a shorter rig set at 4 inches with an over shotted drennan carp 4 float. I flicked out a few maggots,went over the top with the sunken rig and a second or two later the elastic was ripped out of the pole as a decent 10oz roach hooked itself. I then had a run of these better 6-10oz fish and as no-one was really catching I was happy to keep adding weight to the net. I put around 6lb in the net during this hour which was about equal to a carp so worth doing. With 90 minute's to go it was back on the long line where a bite on meat resulted in another carp,again small at around 2lb. After 10 biteless minute's I re-fed with half a pot of corn and a few minute's later hit a fish that tore through the middle of the pads before I could stop it and another rig, and another Scone Jubleez was lost. After much cursing I put some more feed in and set up another rig. I couldn't buy a bite but decided to stick with it and ignore the silvers even though I was winning the section. With 40 minute's to go I dropped in down the edge and after a few minute's the float flew under and I struck. The fish boiled on the surface and before I knew what was going on it had tore off around 20m to my right into one set of pads before tearing around into the other set. I have never had a fish run off like that and eventually the rig pinged back with a straightened Tubertini 175.

The last 30 minute's were biteless on both lines and although I was pretty sure I had won the section I was a bit disapointed as I felt the peg was worth more and I should have added more to the weight tally. My clicker told me I had 21lb although I couldn't be sure because of the silvers. When the scales got to me 18lb was top weight. My silvers net went 7lb dead before the big carp was weighed in at 10lb 12oz. The two smaller one's brought the overall totall to 22lb exactly. Andy on peg 9 fished an abosulte blinder to weigh 13lb odd for fourth overall. To be fair he fished a very good match and I wouldn't of expected a result like that from that peg. There were then a few more mid teen weights but nothing more than 13lb meaning as expected I had won the section.

It was quite strange as although I'd won and got the series off to a good start I felt quite deflated at the thought that I should have caught more. The league is often decided by weight countback so I just hope those lost fish don't come back to cost me overall. Still, with a pick-up of £65 and a 1-point score on the board it wasn't a bad day, the worst part was losing two Scone floats!

Witherington Farm Teams of 4- 9/5/09

2009-05-11T03:14:00.000-07:00

This Saturday saw the final round of the Teams of 4 at Witherington Farm. The series began way back in September and although we have struggled for a team most rounds it has been enjoyable and a good way to get to know the venue. For the final round our team consisted of myself,Pete Bailey,Nicky-the-Bricky and Kevin. I was placed on Sellwood,with Nicky on Cottage and Pete and Kevin both fishing the Snake. Arriving at the venue at around 8 I had a quick walk around before meeting the other lads and awaiting the draw. Nicky came back with the pegs and much to Pete's amusement handed me Sellwood 1- not great. As you can see in the pictures peg 1 is in the corner,with an aerator to the left and an island at around 25m.

It is always a bad draw but when I found out that Peg 16 hadn't been drawn I was suddenly more optimistic as it meant I could fish to my left, to the aerator and also to the island. The only downside was peg 15 had been drawn by Jonny Gray (?) who's team was winning the league, and as he had a spare peg to his right and 3 to his left we were all effectively fishing for 2nd place. I had already made my mind up that I would fish very positively, so set up two pole rigs, one for the edge at 11m to my left and one at 14.5m to the aerator. Both rigs were Scone Jubleez on 0.18 to a size 3 Tubertini 175. The edge rig was on red J-Range hollow which I had put in the kit that morning. The aerator rig was matched to wilkie orange. I also set up a waggler and a straight lead for throwing to the island. For the first time ever on Sellwood I decided against setting up an open water rig for the skimmers. For bait I had six tins of corn, some 4,6 and 8mm pellets and one tin of 8mm meat.

The all-in was called at 10.15 and I pinged a few pellets to the island before feeding two full pots of corn down the edge and one pot to the aerator. The first 30 minute's were spent on the waggler for one missed bite that was probably silver fish. I then spent 30 minute's on the lead as the wind had got up and apart from one liner I had no signs in two casts. I wasn't too botered by this as I was pinning most of my faith in the edge line's. Jonny on Peg 15 was catching regularly at 19.5m to the island but was also losing a lot fish. There were one or two anglers on one carp each but no-one was running away with it. After 15 biteless minutes to the aerator I went down the edge and after 5 minute's the float shot under but a 2lb skimmer was the culprit and not the intended carp. I re-fed both line's and went back on the waggler but the wind was blowing towards me and slightly left-to right making presentation very difficult. Another biteless hour had me realising why no-one wanted to draw peg 1,but I kept topping up the edge line's as I was sure they would produce late on. After 3 hours I had a positive bite down the edge and lifted into solid resistance. After a few seconds the fish kited out of the peg and it was clear I had hooked a lump and it felt foulhooked. After tearing all over my peg I eventually got the fish in close and broke down to a topkit + short 4. When the fish made the first run I heard the bung move up the no:3 section-something that seemed trivial at the time but would prove to be costly. As I was applying pressure to net the fish I heard a loud crack as the powerkit snapped about 5 inches from the female end. I can only assume that as the bung shot up the pole a few inches it exerted too much pressure on the wall of the section causing the break. Luckily the section held together by a few shards and I was able to net the fish on the remaining section. At around 12lb it was a decent fish and as expected it was foulhooked. I re-fed the line and despite trying the aerator and the island I couldnt buy a bite. By now the lad on peg 15 was walking the lake,although he was still losing a lot of fish he was constantly catching while everyone else was struggling.

With two hours to go I made the decision to try a new line so plumbed up at 13m straight out in the open water. I cupped in a few pellets and a full pot of corn and after leaving it settle went over the top on 6mm expander. A few quick skimmers weren't exactly what I was after so I started to ping 6mm pellets out in the hope of drawing in a few carp. After 10 minute's I had a few liners so wuickly got a new topkit out and put a shallow rig on set at 12 inches. After a further 10 minute's of lifting,slapping and feeding I had a tiny dip on the float that I struck at and was pleasantly surprised to see yards of elastic leave the pole tip and a few minute's later I netted a fat mirror of around 8lb. I thought I had it sussed but after another half an hour I hadn't had another bite so went back on the deck rig and after 5 minute's a positive bite led to another carp of around 4lb. Unfortunately that was my last fish as despite trying shallow,on the deck and down the edge I didn't have another bite.

The all-out was called and it was clear that peg 15 had won the lake but I knew that 2nd place would be close. I was quietly confident as I guessed I had around 25lb and although Peg 6 had caught a few no-one else had really caught much. As I was on scales duty with peg 2 I was first to weigh and my silvers net went 3lb 8oz. My 3 carp then went 23lb dead giving me a 26lb 8oz total. Lee on peg 2 weighed 18lb,followed by a 19lb and peg 6 putting 24lb odd on the scales. There were then a few mid-teen weights before peg 15 put 52lb on the scales to comfortably win the lake, leaving me in 2nd.

Back to the lodge and we all tucked into the complimentary food and tea. Nicky had come 3rd on Cottage with 66lb odd and Pete had won his section and the match overall with 114lb off the Snake. That's 3 matches he's fished on there and won his section every time- a simply awesome performance against alot of good anglers and venue regulars. I'm not sure how Kevin did as he didn't come back to the lodge so I can't comment. After scoffing the free food it was time to head home and get theings ready for the first round of the Summer League at Whinwhistle Fishery.

Whinwhistle evening series- match 1

2009-05-07T01:39:00.000-07:00

Wednesday saw the first evening match of the year at Whinwhistle fishery. I love evening matches as it breaks up the working week and you are generally fishing at the best time of day. The matches are alternated over 3 lakes,with 6 matches on each over the course of 18 weeks.

I managed to get away from work at around 4.30 and was at the fishery by 4.45 in time for a 5pm draw. It was decided that we would fish from 5.45-8.45pm as opposed to the usual 6-9 pm as we were unsure what the light levels would be like as it was the first match of the year. This week we were fishing 'Whinwhistle Islands', a lake I hadn't fished for a year or so and I wasn't quite sure what to expect. There were two pegs I really fancied- 3 and 8. Peg 8 is the out and out flier as you have a lilly bed at around 14m slightly to your right and a little inlet bay down the edge to your right that always holds fish. Into the bag i went and out came....peg 11. Not a bad peg and a few carp had been caught from the area on the bank holiday Monday open so I was hopefull of a few.

As you can see in the pictures I had two little islands at around 12-13m, one slightly to the left and one slightly to the right. When fishing three hour matches I always find it best to keep things as simple as possible,and I find you have to make a decision to either go all out for carp or all out for silvers,as chopping and changing means you don't do either effectively. I had already made my mind out that I was fishing for carp even though I felt that 20lb should be enough to do well. I chose to set up just two rigs but they would cover four swims. The first rig was a 4x10 Scone Jubleez on 0.16 to a size 2 Tubertini 175 and orange wilkie hollow. This rig was for fishing across,and I found two and a half feet of water tight to the left hand island and the same depth slightly away from the right hand island. My second rig was for down either side at 5m where there were tree's protruding into the water. I had around 3ft of water either side so set up a 4x12 Scone Jubleez on 0.18-size 3 Tubertini 175 and wilkie orange hollow set a bit tighter than the long line rig. Both rigs incorporated a small cad-pot on the pole.

For bait I had a large tin of corn,a tin of 6mm cubed meat,4mm pellets and some 6mm hookers.

I planned on fishing corn and pellet to the left hand island and meat to the right hand swim as I wasn't sure what bait would fish best and wanted to cover my options. With 5 minutes to spare I wandered over to peg 8 where Andy Franks had drawn. I fully expected him to do well off the peg and just hoped I could find a few fish down the edge late on. The all-in was called at 5.45pm and I fed a pinch of corn and pellet to the left hand swim,half a pot of meat to the right hand swim,a full pot of corn down the right edge and a full pot of meat to the left edge. I kicked off on the left hand line and had a couple of lightning fast bite's on single corn that I put down to small fish. After 5 minute's I cad-potted another 4 grains of corn in with no pellet and a few minute's later the float buried and a lift was met with firm resistance as the fish moved out of the peg. I was on 'proper gear' so had no trouble and a couple of minute's later I netted a carp of around 4lb-good start. I baited up with a 6mm expander,cad potted in some more corn on the left hand line and went over the right hand line. A few quick bite's resulted in a couple of small skimmers,not exactly what I was after but with a target weight of just 20lb I wasn't too fussed. I went out with double meat with a full cad-pot of meat and after 5 minute's or so the float buried and the fish tore off to my right. I immediately assumed it was foul-hooked and hung on praying that the hook would hold. Eventually the fish turned and started coming back to towards me. I managed to get it on the surface and soon realised it wasn;t foul-hooked but was a lump of around 10lb. The fish just wallowed there and before it knew what was going on I had it in the net. So I was 25 minute's into the match with 15lb in the net and bar the odd silver no-one else had caught a fish. I put another half pot of meat on the right hand line and went back to the left hand swim with single corn. After a bit of lifting and dropping the float dipped and I again lifted into firm resistance. Something wasn't right however as the pole tip hooped over and no elastic came out. After a few seconds the hook inevitably pulled and upon inspection I could see that the wind had caught the line around the groove in the cadpot-bad angling! I just hoped it wouldn't cost me.......

Over the next hour I only managed a few skimmers off the meat line and no more fish from the left line. At the half way stage I cupped another pinch of bait onto the two long line's and dropped in down the edge. A few quick bite's from small fish down each side was not what I was after so each side got another full pot of bait. Back on the meat line and a quick bite saw a carp tear off before the hook pulled. I could only assume it was foul-hooked but I was still disapointed. By now I could hear a bit of splashing down on peg 8 but I couldn't see Andy so couldn't see exactly what he was catching. Going into the last hour I had only added another couple of silvers leaving me with about 16lb. A look down each side again proved fruitless so with 15 minute's to go I decided to concentrate on the left hand island line. A full cad-pot of corn went out and after 10 minute's the float disappeared and another carp made a bid for freedom. I was a little disapointed as it was only around 3lb-smaller than average. By now the light levels had dropped dramatically and when the all-out was called I could hardly see the float.

I have recently started using a 'clicker' to help me keep track of my weight. It told me I had 19lb in the net,and I knew that no-one else bar peg 8 had caught as a couple of people had packed up early. I shouted down to Andy who said he'd had 3 carp but also lost 3. John came around with the scales and Andy's 3 carp went 20lb 4oz. This was going to be close....

My silvers net went 2lb 14oz and as I lifted the carp net out I knew it would be ounces in it. The needle eventually settled on 16lb 12oz giving me a total of 19lb 10oz-8 agonising ounces short. That lost fish had cost me dearly but I couldn't really complain as I felt I fished a tidy match and the evening matches are always enjoyable no matter what.

The Steve Ramsey Memorial 2009

2009-05-05T01:58:00.001-07:00

Every year a great bunch of blokes have a get-together to remember an old friend who sadly passed away to cancer. The 'Steve Ramsey Memorial' is held every year on the first weekend in May at Witherington Farm lakes in Salisbury. As you may know I moved to Salisbury around 18 months ago,and have fished Withy throughout the winter so signed up as first reserve for the event and luckily manage to get a place as one of last years competitors dropped out. There was plenty of banter flying about on matchfishing-scene in the weeks (and months) leading up to the event,and it was safe to say that everyone was really looking forward to it. The format for the event is a two-day competition with three sections of eleven anglers. We already knew what section we would be in,and I was to be on Sellwood on day 1 with the other two sections on Barnmoor and Cottage respectively. Day 2 saw all three sections on the snake,both inner and outer. In the weeks leading up to the event all of my spare time was spent tying hooklengths,assembling rigs,and I even managed to fish the lakes once or twice.

Well the Friday finally arrived and after working in the morning, (I say working,my time was spent watching the clock and thinking of Withy) I finally pulled into the carpark at around 12.30. Pete Bailey was sat on Cottage peg 2 and was emptying it wherever he fished. I eventually decided that a quick practice was in order so sat on Sellwood peg 3 and set up the waggler. I had a few skimmers on pellet before being told the peg wasn't in the match so I moved around to peg 2 and caught a few decent carp on the waggler and a few down the edge before packing up and moving around to watch Dave 'Pikey' Pearson catch a few on peg 10 on the paste. Eventually a few of the lads that had fished Rolfs during the day arrived and it was good to finally put a few faces to names. Myself, Pebs and Pete had a good look at Hillbilly's Tri-Cast pole that had doubled up powergum through the top. I held on for dear life as Hillbilly told me to pull harder and I can honestly say it's the strongest pole I've ever seen- indestructible comes to mind. Anyway, I headed back to into town for a shower and a change before meeting Pete for a quick Chinese and then heading to the local drinking establishment for a jar or two. One or two became seven or eight before the Jack Daniels came into play.....it seemed like such a good idea at the time! After a few games of pool and plenty of laughing it was time to stagger home and get a few hours sleep in readiness for Day 1

I woke up with a thumping head-ache picked Pete up at around 8am and was pleased to see he looked as rough as I felt! Fishing was the last thing I felt like doing and I just hoped a bacon roll and a coffee would sort me out. A quick look at the pegging revealed that there were two pegs on sellwood without a margin to fish,10 and 14. As all of the recent weights have been caught down the edge I was praying to avoid these,and was hopefull of drawing either pegs 13,11,9,6 or 2. Come 9 o'clock we all assembled for the draw and in I went and saw peg 14 staring back at me- typical! The other margin-less peg went to Ian 'Scone' Toplis who was as pleased as I was.

I got to my peg and found myself in a 'Pikey Sandwich' (oo-err) with Dave 'The Drawbag' Pearson to my left and his brother 'McPikey' on my right. At this stage I bet Pikey a pound that he would walk the lake from that peg,as he had loads of room to his left and the margins would no doubt hold a few fish,ideal for fishing the paste. I told myself that the best I could hope for would be third in section,as I expected Pikey on peg 13 and Gary Haisman on Peg 9 to catch a few as they had plenty of room down the edge. I decided that my best bet would be to fish the waggler in open water at around 25m where I had 3ft of water. I assembled a 13ft Carbonactive Sentient,Daiwa 2503CU reel with 3lb Maxima,a 2.5 AA waggler and an 0.16 trace with a bait band on the hair of a Fox Series 2 18 eyed hook. I planned to fish and feed this line exclusively with 6mm Coarse pellet. I then set up two pole lines at 14.5m where I had a similar depth. The first rig was a 4x10 Chimp on 0.16-16 B911 and doubled 8 slip. I also set up a lighter rig on 0.14-18B911 and doubled 6 slip in case it was a struggle. I also set up an line at 5m to my right on 0.18-4x10 Scone Jubleez and a size 3 Tubertini 175 and Wilkie orange. I didnt really expect to catch here with peg 15 in but I decided to set it up just in case. Finally I set up a tip-rod, 11ft Beastmaster,8lb Matchwinner to 0.16,Fox series 2 18 with a band on a hair. The board said I had the point of the island to fish but it was a good 35m away and with Gary Haisman fishing to the same point from peg 9 I was hoping I wouldn't have to fish here. For bait I had a pint of damp micro's,4mm & 6mm feed pellet,two tins of corn and some hook pellets.

The all-in was called and I pinged a few 6mm's at 25m before potting in half a cup of corn and pellet at 14.5m. I decided not to feed the edge at this stage,preferring to feed it about 20 minutes before I planned to fish it. The first half an hour saw two missed bite's on the waggler that I put down to skimmers,so I decided to change the feeding pattern from two pellets every 15 seconds or so to around 10 pellets every few minute's. By this stage Gary on peg 9 had caught a couple of carp on the waggler to the point of the island and Scone had caught one shallow on the pole at around 13m. I caught a few skimmers on the pole but wasn't catching fast enough to do any sort of weight so decided to put a full pot of corn with a pinch of pellet in and leave it for an hour or so while I fished the waggler. A couple of skimmers on the waggler weren't exactly what I was after so I picked up the tip rod,baited with a 6mm pellet and attached a small tea-bag of pellets to the hook. First cast landed about 2 feet short of the island and after about 5 minute's the tip slammed around. 'Errr,that'll be a bite then' said Pikey,and a minute or two later I panned a small carp of around 4lb. By this stage Pikey had caught a few down the edge and Gary had also had a few down to his left edge. With nothing to show but a few liners in the next 20 minute's I decided to cast a bit closer to the island,landing the lead within a few inches. Again it took around 5 minute's before the tip slammed round and another carp of around 3-4lb was in the net. The two fish I had were quite small for Sellwood,as they normally average aroun 6-8lb. At this point I decided to get off my box and head to the shop and get some 8mm pellets,as I felt it would be better to ping some bait across and I couldnt reach with 6mm's. Despite the odd liner I couldn't add any more fish so it was back on the waggler in the open water. I had been regularly pinging pellets on this line and after 5 minute's the float dipped and a strike was met with firm resistance. A few minute's later I netted another carp,again smaller than average at around 4lb. I re-cast with a 6mm banded pellet and after the fourth cast another bite saw a slightly better carp of around 6lb come to the net.

There was still around 2 hours to go and I was in with a shout,although usually you can rely on a few decent fish down the edge to move you up the section but I knew I didn't really have this option. Despite ringing the changes I couldn't buy another bite on the waggler,so it was back on the pole line where I caught a few more skimmers before hooking a proper carp that I played back to the net before the hook pulled. It didn't feel foul-hooked but it's not often you lose a fish hooked in the mouth so I can only assume it was. At this point I decided to put a bit of bait down the edge at 5m,and it was back on the tip where I eventually managed to find another carp,but at 3lb it wasn't exactly what I needed. A few looks down the edge saw a couple of small fish-a sure sign that there aren't any carp there. The last half an hour was spent on the tip to the island but I failed to find any fish as the match fizzled out. I guessed I had around 25lb,and I thought Pikey would have 40lb+ and Gary Haisman almost certainly had more than that as he had found a few fish down the edge.

The scales made their way around the lake and there were a few low 30's and mid twenty weights before Gary on peg 9 put 52lb odd on the scales. Scone only managed the one carp early on,and Rick in the corner managed a few fish for about 19lb. Pikey then plonked 39lb odd which was enough for second place. My five carp went 19lb odd,with 8lb something of silvers giving me a total of 27.12 and a disapointing 5th in section. I must admit I was gutted,as to stand a chance you needed a bit of room down the side,as most of the weights on Sellwood were caught this way. I effectively needed two decent fish to take 2nd in section,and I'm sure I would have caught a few if I'd had a margin to fish. The only other person without an edge was Scone and he had 1 carp (and a big scale) for a DNW. Knowing that I was out of contention for the title after the first day was hard to accept,and I couldnt even go out and get drunk on the Saturday night as I had to sort a few things out due to recently moving to a new house. To compound the feeling I found out that our section was to be on 'suicide straight' on the Sunday-the low numbers on outer snake. And to cap off my run of bad luck I didnt even come close to winning any of the fantastic prizes in the raffle. The only bit of luck I had was avoiding the boobie-prize of some floats that were 'not quite Wilkie's'

Day two dawned and I arrived at the fishery at around 8.30am as I needed to sort some bait out in readiness for the draw. The most obvious thing was the wind,it was howling from left to right down the straight and would make fishing across extremely difficult. The usual four best pegs in the section were at the top end (23,25,27 & 29) and as they were around the corner and out of the wind it is where we were all praying to draw. Into the bag I went and out came....peg 5. About as far away from the top end that I could get....just what I needed. As I was out of the running I contemplated driving straight out of the car park and going home but eventually decided to give it a go. The wind was absolutely howling and although I set two rigs up for fishing across I felt that a positive near line was needed so I plumbed up at 5m slightly to my right and would feed this line heavily with corn to hopefully catch a decent stamp of fish. At least I could get decent presentation here as I had around 5ft of water so set up a 4x14 chimp on 0.16-16 B911 and doubled 8 slip. For fishing across I set a rig for up the shelf at 15m (4x10 Chimp,0.16-16B911 and doubled 8 slip) and a rig for down the shelf on the same tackle but with a slightly heavier 4x12 Chimp. I also set up two shallow rigs at 6 inches and 18 inches but didn't really expect these two work as feeding shallow would be very difficult. My final pole rig was for the inside at 10m to my left and was a 4x12 Scone Jubleez on 0.18-Tubertini 175:3 and orange wilkie hollow. Finally,I also set up a 9ft tip rod in case the wind got any worse. To my left I had Gary Haisman and to my right on end peg 3 was Steve May.

The all-in was called and I put a full pot of corn in at 5m,and a full pot at 10m to my left. I went straight across on the top-shelf rig with a single grain of corn and cad potted in a few grains and a couple of pellets. After a minute or so the float dipped and I hooked into a carp. I'm not sure if it was foul-hooked but as I got it towards the net the hook pulled and I knew it was going to be one of those days. Gary to my left foulhooked a 10lber that he got in and Steve to my right also landed an early carp. The wind was making things difficult across and what few carp that were there seemed more interested in spawning. All I could catch on the 5m line were skimmers and I couldn't buy a bit down the edge. I was starting to realise why they call the area 'suicide straight' as the only person I could see catching atall was Gary and they were almost all foul-hooked. I never leave my peg during a match unless nature calls or I need to get an extra topkit but by now I was so despondent I decided to put another pot of corn at 5m and down the edge and went to the lodge for an ice-cream. I got back with around 2 hours to go and had a chat with Scone who was suffering exactly the same problems. I made the decision to give it one more hour and if things didn't improve I would call it a day as I had to be in work at 6 so would have had to make a sharp exit at the end anyway. I started to catch a few skimmers and small fantails at 5m before hooking a lump that tore off and pulled out after 5 minute's or so. I'm convinced it was foulhooked which seemed to be a common occurence in our section. A quick look down the edge produced nothing so with just under an hour to go I did something I've never done in a match before-decided to call it a day before the end. I lifted my net and had about 13lb of silvers and as I packed away Gary was still foul-hooking fish across but managed to get a few in. To combat the problem Steve on peg 3 was fishing hair-rigged corn 3 inches deep under a bubble float and managed to catch one or two as it was the only way to avoid the foulhookers.

By this point I had completely had a gutsfull and was happy to pack up and after saying a few goodbyes head home. It was a very disapointing end to the weekend but one thing's for sure in match fishing,sometimes you can't beat the drawbag. I later found out that the title was won by Tim 'firstpeg' with a perfect 2 point score over the 2 days. Well done mate,awesome performance and a thoroughly deserved victory. All in all it was a superb weekend in the best possible company and I'm already counting down the days to next year when hopefully the drawbag will be a bit kinder. One thing I did learn about the weekend is that it's not all about the fishing. It's about meeting up with your mates,having a good laugh and raising plenty of money for a very worthy cause.

Greenridge Farm Open- 18/4/09

2009-04-18T12:41:00.000-07:00

After my birthday celebrations over the Easter weekend it's pretty safe to say I was looking forward to getting back on the bank this weekend. I am moving to Romsey next week, around 4 miles from a venue I had heard alot about but never fished- Greenridge Farm. With nothing on this weekend it was the perfect opportunity to check the place out so I booked myself in for the Saturday open. As is often the case when visiting a new venue I got in touch with a few people on the online fishing forums to try and gather whatever information I could that would give me an idea of what to expect.
Arriving at the fishery at around 8am I had a quick walk around and found 3 canals,all around 13-14.5m wide with a nice colour and no real obvious 'stand-out' swims. I wandered around to the lodge where a few of the regulars had assembled around the BBQ which I later found out is run before every match. A couple of free bacon rolls and a tea later I paid my pools along with 27 other anglers and waited for the draw. Chatting to a couple of people it seemed the general consenus was that canals 2 & 3 were better,and you needed to avoid the end pegs as they hadnt had any form for a while with the fish concentrated in the middle pegs. In went my hand and out came peg 11- the end peg on canal 1- doh! I couldnt quite believe I had drawn the canal I was told I didnt want,and an end peg which I also didnt want.
Nonetheless I walked to my peg and tried to be optimistic,I couldn't see any reason why it wouldn't hold a few fish so decided to get any negative thoughts out of my head and approach the day with an open mind. Every one I could see had several pints of maggot with them which was apparently the best bait on there. I didnt have any with me as I had already made my mind up that I would fish pellet and corn,a decision I hoped I wouldn't regret

As you can see in the pictures (I left my camera in the car but went back after the match to take pics) I had about 15m straight across,with the end bank running to my right. There was a yellow pipe sticking out of this bank at 14m. I decided to fish two lines across,one at 15m on the top shelf where there was around 2ft of water. This rig was a 4x10 Scone Jubleez,0.16-16 B911. I found the exact same depth at 14m to the pipe which was to be my second swim. I also plumbed up at 14m straight across on the second shelf,where I had around 3 1/2 foot of water. This rig was a 4x12 Scone Jubleez on 0.16-16B911. I also set up a rig for the base of the near shelf at 3m where I had around 5ft. This rig was a 4x12 KC Chimp on 0.16-0.14 and a 16 B911. All 3 rigs were set to doubled 8 slip and had cad-pots on the pole. Finally I set up a rig for fishing tight in the corner to my right- a 4x10 Scone AM Wellardz on 0.16-16 B911 and Orange Wilkie Hollow.
For bait I had some Micro pellet,4mm pellet,two tins of corn and some expanders in 4.5m and 6mm. The all-in was called at 10.15 and I slipped on a 6mm expander and went straight onto the 3m line,flicking in 3 pellets every 10 seconds. After 5 minutes with no signs I cupped in a handful of corn and a few pellets. I then picked up the 14m rig,put 10 4mm pellets in the pot and shipped out to 14m at the pipe. After a few liners the float buried and I hooked a fish that turned out to be a small common of around 2lb,foul-hooked in the fin. I then repeated the process and again foul-hooked a fish that pulled out right at the net. After 5 minutes of liners I decided to leave this line and shipped out to the 15m line on 6mm expander with no feed. No bite's atall here saw me drop in at 3m. Two fish in two drops for about 6lb was a false dawn as the swim then died. Despite it feeling quite chilly early on,almost winter-like,I knew I had to make a change and toyed with the idea of fishing shallow. After taking another couple of fish from the two long lines I eventually made the decision an hour into the match. I got off my box,quickly set up a shallow rig (4x10 MTD1,0.16-16 Drennan eye barbless with a band on a hair) and filled up a bait box with 6mm pellets. I could see odd fish being caught to my left but no-one was particularly bagging and I had 5 fish in the net. I started to fire three 6mm pellets out every few seconds tight to the bank at 15m and after a few minute's of lifting and slapping the float dipped and a 3lber was soon in the net. I then had 3 more in 3 chucks before it went quiet. As I had been getting a few liners against the pipe I figured it would be worth trying here with the shallow rig so repeated the process and soon found a few more fish. I had to keep altering the depth, and none of the fish ripped the elastic out,all were slight dips on the float. It wasn't easy as the fish would come in fit's and starts,but I found by constantly feeding the two swims and taking a couple of fish off each I was able to get into a nice rhythym of feed,lift and drop the rig,strike,feed,ship back half-way,feed,net fish,feed which meant I was now catching far more regularly than anyone I could see. Around half way in I made the decision to feed two full pots of corn at 3m as I wanted to leave this line for a while allowing me to solely concentrate on the two shallow lines. I continued to pick fish off the two line's, although I did have a spell of half an hour or so without a fish,or even a bite,which I felt sure would cost me. At this point I shipped right over into the corner at 16m and took two quick fish shallow before I was back on the other two line's and eventually started to get into a rhythym again. With an hour to go I felt the shallow line's going away from me so decided to rest them and drop in at 3m. As there wasnt long left I made the decision to stop feeding the pipe line but would keep pinging pellet straight across at 15m as it had been the stronger line of the two. A quick bite on 6mm expander at 3m saw a 4lb carp in the net followed by a better fish of 6lb around 10 minute's later. The decision to feed corn heavily seemed to have paid off as it was important to add weight to the net while priming the long shallow line. With just over half an hour to go it was back on the shallow line at 15m and the rest seemed to have worked,as I took 6 fish in the final 40 minutes.
The all-out was called and I reflected on how I had done. I knew I would be up there as the guy to my left had around 20-30lb and although Andy Hayden on peg 9 had caught a few late on I was sure I had more than him. After packing away my gear the scales arrived at my peg and after two weighs my fish went 96lb. The chap to my left tipped back before Andy put 86lb on the scales. There were then a few 60's and 70's before the guy on peg 5 put 99lb on the scales- including a 6lb fish netted after the whistle- OUCH! There were then a few more 70 odd pound weights eventualy leaving me second on the lake overall. As expected canals 2 & 3 fished better with a 135lb and a 145lb winning each lake respectively.

Back to the BBQ area and there was time for a quick beer before collecting my winnings and heading home. All in all I felt I fished a good match. I drew a peg that apparantly had no form, fished my own match and managed to put a few fish together. It was a funny day as I dont think the fish really wanted to feed shallow, but fishing on the deck resulted in liners and foul-hooked fish. I spoke to a few other people who experienced the same thing fishing on the deck. Hardly anyone fished pellet,and the top-weights on the other canals fell to maggot. It certainly left me with plenty to think about and I have one or two things that I will be trying out when I return to the venue.

Todber Manor Open- 4/4/09

2009-04-04T13:22:00.000-07:00

I had been hearing good things about Todber Manor for a while so without anything on this weekend I booked in for the Saturday open on Park Lake. I made a few phonecalls to Nick White during the week and he gave me plenty of info on the place as well as telling me that a lot of very good anglers fish there. Park Lake is a 38 peg canalised lake around 14.5m wide and is solid with carp and F1's. 179lb won the last match on there so it's safe to say I was looking forward to it. Unfortunately Nick had to cancel late on Friday as he couldn't make it but I decided I would still go as I wanted to check the place out and hopefully learn a thing or two. Arriving at the venue at around 8am (courtesy of the trusty SatNav) I had a wander around and was immediately impressed with what I saw- the central island was lined with reeds and sedges but every peg had a piece of around 1-2m cut out allowing you to fish tight to the bank. Pretty soon a few anglers started to assemble and it was like a who's who of southwest matchmen. Most of the Preston Thatchers team were in attendance and as they fish the place regularly I knew I would be up against it as it was likely to be a 'fish race' so if I fell behind early on it would be tough to catch up. Nick had informed me that the pegs to draw were the early one's (3-8) or the high thirties,particularly 38 which had been the real flier of late. These pegs were all down the far end of the lake where the big weights had been showing. With 25 pegs in the bag I had my dip and for a split second I thought I had drawn the dream peg but I had in fact pulled out 28. A quick chat with Gary Etheridge confirmed what I thought-not a great area but should still be worth a few fish and the best I could hope for would be a section win.

I decided that my best bet would be to keep things as simple as possible,so set up one line across at 14.5m,one tight in the edge at 3m to my left and a line at 3m straight in front. For my mainline across I set up two rigs-one for on the deck and one for shallow. The deck rig was a 4x10 Scone Jubleez,0.16 to a 16 Drennan Eyed barbless with a band on a hair. The shallow rig was a little Scone AM Wellardz to the same line/hook pattern. This rig was set at around 6 inches deep with just 2 inches of line between pole and float. Both rigs were set to double 6 slip elastic. I had about 3 and a half ft of water on the inside so set up a 4x12 Scone Jubleez on 0.16 to a 16 B911 and doubled 8 slip. Finally I set up a rig for 3m which was a little deeper but was set on the same tackle as the inside rig. For bait I had a few pint's of 6mm and 8mm cubed meat for the two near line's and a few pint's of 4mm&6mm hard pellets for the far line. As there were likely to be a few fish about I decided to simply feed and fish hard pellets across as it's far quicker than using expanders as I knew I would have to be coming back with a fish most put-in's.

The all in was called and I fed a small handful of meat down the edge and at 3m and went straight across with a 6mm pellet on the hair and slapped the rig in without feeding. On the third 'slap' the float shot under and a small F1 was soon on it's way in. Two more followed in the next two chucks before it went quiet so I decided to start pinging the odd 4mm pellet across. This brought a decent run of F1's as I put a further 6 in the net giving me 9 after half an hour. The guy on my right was fishing expanders over pellet slop and was getting proper carp one a chuck-although we were going fish for fish the F1's I was having were all around 1lb or so. I continued to ping pellet across but a few missed bite's was my cue to try the shallow rig. I slapped the rig over and a second later the float vanished and another F1 was on it's way. I continued to catch a few but felt as though the fish were backing off the pole a bit so quickly set up a new rig with a 12 inch length of line between the tip and float. Straight back out and I was now flying and catching F1's one a chuck on the shallow rig. They were mostly small fish between 8oz-1lb but as there was little being caught to my left and the guy to my right had stopped catching I decided to get my head down and keep them coming. After 3 hours I probably had around 25lb in the net but still hadn't caught a proper carp. I then switched from feeding around ten 4mm pellets every go to three 6mm's every ten seconds or so as I had to assume that a few proper fish were showing elsewhere. This soon resulted in my first carp at around 3lb on shallow pellet. The F1's had slowed down a bit so I continued to feed pellet across while I dropped in on the meat line at 3m that I had been regularly feeding every few minute's with 3 or 4 cubes of meat. Three quick fish saw two roach of around 1lb and a skimmer of a similar size-not exactly what I was after but kept the weight ticking over. A quick look down the inside didn't even produce a bite so I decided to put two handfulls of meat down there and leave it for an hour. During this time I had been regularly firing three 6mm pellets tight over and saw a few better fish swirling. They were showing really tight to the bank whereas I had been fishing around 2ft away. I decided it was time to strap on a pair and reach for the extra section. I went back to the short-line rig as there were a few branches and reeds that would make striking difficult. I shipped out with a 6mm pellet,pushed the rig out so the float was touching the far bank and a few seconds later the pole was pulled down as a carp made a bid for freedom. The double 6 slip was perfect and a few minute's later I netted a nice carp of around 3lb. A quick look at the watch saw two hours to go and I would guess I had around 30lb in the net at this stage,although I couldn't be sure as I was told the F1's were deceptively light. Over the next hour I caught really well,every fish a proper carp caught tight to the far bank at 4 inches deep. I could often tell when a bite was coming as the fish would switl and knock the reeds,and I could only get a bite by slapping the rig in. If I left the bait still they wouldn't even look at it. It went quiet with about an hour to go so I decided to try the edge as the guy to my right had a few fishing to his left. After a few minute's the float slid away and I hooked a decent fish but pulled out a few seconds later. I rebaited,went straight back in and after a minute or two the float disappeared and I made no mistake with this one that went around 4lb. Two more slightly smaller fish came in the next two put in's before it went quiet. I had been constantly feeding the far line during this time and went back over,taking five more carp in the last 30 minute's with the last one coming just before the whistle,netted a minute or so later.

The all-out was called and I honestly didn't know how I had done. I was sure I'd beat the two guys to my left and the two to my right,but the two best pegs in the section were on the end and out of sight. The guy next to me was adamant I had around 90lb but I assured him I hadn't as alot of my fish were F1's and it was only in the last two hours that I had a few carp. The scales made their way to me and the two end pegs in my section put on 92lb and 74lb before a few 40's and 50's. The guy to my right weighed 51lb which surprised me a little but he had caught some decent fish early on. I was a little disapointed to put 65lb 14oz on the scales as I had caught all match but only managed third in my section as I had comfortably beat the two to my left. The match was won overall by Mark Harper at the top end with 116lb,followed by a 115 and a 104. The same area produced the big weights again and with top anglers on the top pegs there is only ever going to be one outcome.

Looking back I don't think I did a lot wrong. It's hard to target the better fish when you are constantly adding weight to the net and no-one around you is catching. Maybe if I had fished tight over shallow all match I would have caught a few more carp but then would have missed out on the F1's. I don't feel meat was the best choice of bait for down the edge and maybe corn and pellet would have been better and held the fish for longer while I fished across. I don't feel I could have won the match from where I was as all of the big weights came from the top end and I beat the two to my left and the three to my right which is all you can ask for really. All in all an enjoyable day and I learned a thing or two-one thing's for sure,I'll be heading back to Todber Manor very soon.

Witherington Farm Open- Cottage 28/3/09

2009-03-28T11:59:00.000-07:00

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!!

Whinwhistle winter league-final round

2009-03-22T11:41:00.000-07:00

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

Broadlands Lower Lake- 21/03/09

2009-03-21T15:16:00.000-07:00

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.

Back on Track

2009-03-09T05:11:00.000-07:00

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.

And for my next trick.....

2009-03-08T12:26:00.001-07:00

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.

Deja Vu at Whinwhistle

2009-02-15T12:20:00.000-08:00

If you read my blog from the last round at Whinwhistle you'll know I drew the dreaded Rail lake on peg 14- the worst peg on there. Arriving this morning for breakfast I found out I was lying in second place overall in the league and hopefull of a good draw to push on. Chatting over breakfast it emerged that at 5pm on the Saturday the only peg on the whole complex still frozen was 14 on The Rail. Into the drawbag I went and out came......................Rail 14. I looked at the coin in disbelief as I couldn't believe I had drawn it again. Last time out I had 6 fish for 2oz and 2nd in section which shows how bad it is. I can honestly say I have never ever been so disapointed with a draw,I seriously contemplated going home but as it would result in 10 points I had to try and catch a fish to get some potentially crucial points. As it was milder than last time I expected the other pegs on the Rail to stand more chance of catching,particularly down the other end where league leader Richard Allin had drawn the Rail for the first time- end peg 2. I set up a few very light rigs and a lead rod but to be honest once again I wasn't even expecting a bite. I fed a nugget of groundbait at 14.5m in front and 16m to my left,with a nugget going on top of the shelf at 5m to my left where there were a few straggly branches. I was hoping to catch a few micro perch here as there was a bit of colour in the water following the weeks rain and was a bit of a throaway line. After 45 minutes I hadn't had a bite off either long line so dropped in down the edge with a single white pinkie on 0.8 bottom and a 24 Black Gama. After 5 minutes the float disapeared and I struck into a snag. But then the snag started to move away from the edge and a ghost carp of around 3.5lb wallowed on the surface before plodding into the channel. I played this fish like my life depended on it as I knew it would be worth mega section points. After around 3 or 4 minutes the tiny hook pulled out and the rig pinged back. I didn't swear much honest!!!! Why is it always in the really hard matches that you lose decent fish?!
Over the next four hours I went through the motions and managed 4 fish for exactly the same weight as last week- 2oz! This was only good enough for fourth in section this time as Richard on the end had 4 little carp. I packed up in double quick time and didn't even go to see how the other lake's had fished- that's how fed up I was! All in all a crap day on a crap peg that has probably ruled out any chance I had of winning the league as Richard is now 5 points ahead with only 2 matches to go.

Witherington Farm pairs- 14/2/09

2009-02-14T10:46:00.000-08:00

With nothing on this Saturday I was happy to fill in for Nick Lund in the Pairs match at Witherington Farm . I turned up at around 7.45 in plenty of time for a wander around and I was a little suprised to find half of the lakes frozen, with Tony the owner turning the aerators on as I reached Sellwood. Only half of each lake was frozen and it was only around 1/2 an inch thick so nothing too serious. Into the cafe for a cup of tea and a quick chat to my parnter Colin Sellwood revealed he was happy for me to fish Cottage as I've never fished it and fancied a change. Into the buckets I went for the draw which placed Colin on Sellwood 12 and me on Cottage 2. Peg 2 is to the right of the aerator,but atleast I was on the side of the lake that was ice-free which would save some time. Apparantly peg 2 wasn't great with little form, but Colin filled me in and revealed that there was a plateau running between peg 2 and 3 and it was worth fishing at the base of this. I decided to fish a line at the base of the bar at 13m, with a waggler and lead line to the island which was around 20m away. I expected it to be very hard with the ice on the water so set up to fish quite light. My main line was around 3ft deep so I set up a 4x10 KC chimp on 0.14-0.12 and an 18B911. I initially set this to a 10 latex but changed to an 8 just before the all in- something that proved to be a good decision. I also set up my 11ft carbonactive- 3lb Maxima-0.12 and a 20 Drennan Eyed Barbless with a Mosella micro pellet band on a hair. The lead rig consisted of a 10ft Carbonacive- 6lb matchwinner with the same hooklength as the waggler. Both rods were set with Daiwa TDR 2503CU reels. I wasn't quite ready at the start but when I was finally ready 10 minutes late no-one had caught a fish so I wasn't worried. I started on the 13m line with a 4.5m coolwater pellet and cad-potted in just 4 micro pellets. After 5 minutes I had a positive bite and soon netted a brown gold-fish of around 8oz. 2 more in the next 2 drops was a good start,especially as no-one had caught a fish by this point. After a 10 minute quiet spell I potted in another 4 micro's and started to pick up a few fish- mostly goldfish of all colours with the odd skimmer thrown in. After about an hour I had 6lb in the net and bar the odd plip no-one had caught so I decided to get my head down and ignore the island for the time being-although I had been pinging the odd 4mm pellet across. I continued to pick off the odd fish but it was by no means frantic andnd I had to keep lifting and dropping for every fish. The guy to my right had started to pick off odd fish that were a good stamp but I could see I was still winning the lake after around 2 hours. The guy to my left then went down the edge to the aerator and had a lump- followed by 2 more in the next 10 minutes! This was where I made a mistake as this unsettled me and I decided to set up a new rig and fed a line at 13m down the edge to my left. This meant I was not fishing for 10 minutes and lost my rhythym a bit. A quick look on the waggler with 4mm pellet saw a nice skimmer and a tench before I hit a lump that suddenly went solid half way in as it snagged me and broke the hooklength! Back on the pole line and I was now catching regularly by lifting and dropping and feeding minimal amounts- not big fish but I was constantly adding weight to the net. The guy to my right (Gary-didnt catch his surname)had switched to 17.5m against the island and was sacking- after around 3 1/2 hours he over took me. I then had a spell where fish were coming off the hook,not foulhooked but not feeding confidently. I cad-potted in 6 4mm pellets after every fish which seemed to sort it as I got into a rhythym again and kept putting fish in the net. With around 2 hours to go something strange happened,all of a sudden there was elastic out everywhere as everyone seemed to hook decent fish. I decided to concentrate on putting whatever weight I could in the net as the odd look over the edge line hadn't produced anything. A quick look on the lead saw a wrap around that broke me- if I had known it would fish so well I would have fished a bit heavier. With 30 minutes left it was clear I needed a decent fish as everyone had 2 or 3 by now so I put a full cad pot of pellet in and went over the top with a 6mm pellet. As expected this slowed the bites but after 5 minutes the float disappeared and I soon panned a nice 3lb ghostie. I thought this would lead to a good spell but the next fish was foulhooked,that's the trouble with feeding a bit more. A skimmer netted on the whistle finished off a great day with loads of bites but I didn't know how I'd got on as everyone caught lumps late on. As I was on scales duty I was first to weigh and my 9lb odd of silvers and 22lb of little carp and goldfish went 31-3. Gary on my right then put 50lb odd on as his island line got stronger as the match went on and he sacked in the last 2 hours. The next guy weighed a low 20,then the guy who hadnt had a fish going into the last hour had 4 for 31-8, OUCH! Then there was a 30,a 32,21,34, and a few lower weights. The guy to my left had a few more lumps for 41lb and second on the lake. All in all it was a lovely day as the sun was shining and I had bites throughout. I was disapointed with my eventual 5th in section of 11 as another fish would have seen me 3rd,and I easily lost enough to get 2nd. But still,with half the lake frozen they were cracking weights.

Whinwhistle Winter Leage- round 6

2009-02-01T09:57:00.000-08:00

Well after yesterday's win at Witherington Farm I was raring to go for today's winter league at Whinwhistle. I arrived at the fishery at just after 8 and after paying my pools started chatting to a few of the lads and one thing was clear- nobody wanted to draw the dreaded Rail Lake! To say the fishing has been hard on there of late is an understatement. Into the bag went my hand and out came.....Rail 14! I can honestly say I've never been more gutted with a draw. Not only had I drawn the worst lake I had also drawn one of the two worst pegs on there. It turned out there was a bit of a cock-up with the draw,as there was meant to be 5 on The Rail,6 on The Square and 6 on Keepers. Somehow extra pegs were added on The Rail and 7 of us ended up on there,with only 4 on The Square. As league leader Richard Allin had drawn there and had a whole bank to himself I feared the worst,especially as I had him in the semi final of the knock-out. Top angler Phil James got in his car and went home after drawing Rail 10 which speaks volumes for what it's been like of late. I got to my peg and tried to be upbeat but knew I was in for a real struggle and didn't really expect a bite to be honest.

Nonetheless I had to try and get good section points as I was lying in second place going into this round. To cut a long story short I caught 6 fish for 2oz (mainly small stuff!) for joint second in the section. One guy had 2 carp for 4lb,two of us had 2oz and everyone else blanked. Last year's league winner Andy Shanks drew Rail 2 and fished bloodworm and joker all day without a bite which gives you an idea of how tough it was. I was quite pleased to come away with 2 points as it keeps me near the top of the league but unfortunately Richard put me out of the knock-out with a section winning 2lb 3oz from The Square. All in all a tough day but atleast I didn't blank and come away with 9 points like some people did!

Witherington Farm Open- Sellwood 31/1/09

2009-01-31T09:42:00.000-08:00

Well after finding out late on Friday night that there was an open at Witherington Farm on Saturday I made a couple of quick phone calls and managed to book in. I had only planned to pleasure fish so it was nice to find a match local to me. I set off at around 8am and was at the lakes by 10 past. The draw wasn't until 9 so I popped into the shop for half a pint of red maggot and came out with 40 quid's worth of bit's and bobs! I had a quick walk around Sellwood and there was a strong wind blowing into the car park bank. I fancied either peg 9,12 or 15. In to the bucket went my hand and peg 12 was stuck to my mitt. I was happy enough with this as despite being a corner peg it had the wind howling into it so I fancied it for a few fish down the edge. Now I've only fished Sellwood 3 times,all in the teams of 4, and every time I felt way off the pace. My biggest problem was chopping and changing too much,where a simple approach would have been better. With this in mind,I planned to fish the margins throughout. As you can see in the picture I had some grass/rushes at about 7m to my left,where I had around 3ft of water.

I then plumbed at 14.5m at 10 o'clock against the other bank and found a spot with the same depth. These would be my main two swims,with a back up right up into the corner where it was around 2ft6. My main rig was a 4x10 KC Chimp on 0.16-18 B911. This was matched to a doubled 8 latex with a fruitshoot pot on the pole. Shotting was a small bulk of 10's 18 inches from the hook with one no.10 dropper and a backshot due to the wind. The rig for the shallower swim was all the same except for a 4x10 chianti replacing the chimp. I also set up my 11ft6 carbonactive,with 8lb MatchWinner to 0.18 and an 18 PR36 for flicking in front of me if I was struggling. For bait I had 4mm and micro pellets,some red maggot,a few hook pellets and a small tin of corn. The all out was called and I went straight onto the 7m margin swim with double red maggot and fruit-shooted 4 maggots and a pinch of micro pellet in. After 5 minutes the float disappeared and I lifted into solid resistance. I coaxed the fish in and before it knew what was going on I panned an 8lb common-a nice start! I repeated the process and the same thing happened after around 10 minutes,although this fish was foul hooked and I pulled out! I decided to rest this swim and put a pinch of bait onto my two other lines. I went back onto the 7m line and after around 20 minutes of lifting and dropping another positive bite saw me catch another decent fish-again around 8lb. By this stage no-one had caught so I was pleased with how I was doing,and knew I just had to keep my head down and try to pick off odd fish. No more bites came in the next half hour on the 7m line so I cupped in a pinch of micro's and 4 maggots and moved onto the 14.5m line. A missed bite on double maggot prompted me to try corn and within 10 seconds of laying the rig in the float vanished and a lift was again met with solid resistance. 5 minutes later I slipped the net under another decent carp of around 7lb. No bite's came over the next hour,and the guy on peg 10 decided to pack up as he had no bites. He skylined my peg a bit as he left and I couldn't buy a bite off either swim for the next half an hour. I had a couple of casts on the bomb and corn to rest my swims but as expected I didn't even manage a liner. I had only seen odd fish come out around the lake so knew I was winning and just had to try and keep in front. I tried the shallow corner swim and missed a bite on corn- this was to be my only bite off this swim all day. I went back onto the 7m line with single corn and had an instant bite and soon netted a 4lb mirror. Another pinch of bait went into the swim after 10 biteless minutes and I moved back to 14.5m. No bite's were forthcoming so it was back to 7m on double maggot and another quick bite saw me land another small carp of around 3lb. With two hours left I had about 29lb in the net,and no-one else had more than one carp. A few silvers were coming out but not enough for me to worry about. However Colin Sellwood on Peg 9 then had two carp on the waggler over the next half hour and they were lumps. To go with the one he had I knew he had over 20lb so was one decent fish away from me. With 90 minutes to go I had another bite on double maggot at 7m but the fish snagged me and bust my rig! I thought this could prove costly,especially when despite trying all over my peg I couldn't buy a bite anywhere! My good mate Pete Bailey turned up with an hour to go and sat behind me. I still couldn't buy a bite from either swim so with 20 minutes to go I cupped 10 grains of corn and a pinch of pellet on the 14.5m line. I went over the top and as the corn touched the deck the float vanished and I soon had latex streaming from the pole. A few minutes later I slipped the net under my 6th carp of the day,a nice ghostie of about 4lb. I had one more sail-away bite at 14.5m with 10 seconds to go that I duly missed before the all-out was called. I started packing away and followed the scales round. Peg 1 and peg 2 both had 22lb odd,then there were a few single figure weights. Colin on Peg nine had 3 carp for 24lb,before my six fish went 34lb 4oz. This was enough for the win,with 24lb coming second,followed by a few weights around 20lb. I was delighted with the result,as I felt that what I had learned in previous matches helped. By keeping things simple and feeding negatively I was able to win the match with 10lb to spare. Back at the cafe I pocketed £60 for my troubles and after a quick cup of tea headed home. Tomorrow I'm at Whinwhistle for round 6 of the winter league,praying I don't draw The Rail!!

Whinwhistle practice session- 25/1/09

2009-01-25T11:44:00.000-08:00

I awoke this morning to the sound of heavy rain,not exactly inspiring when a days fishing is on the cards! A quick check of the weather forecast showed that it was due to brighten up during the day,so a flask of coffee was quickly made and I set off for at around 8am. On arrival at the fishery the rain was hammering down,so I spent a good half an hour in the lodge sheltering from the rain and deciding where to fish. I don't get to 'pleasure fish' that often,and when I do I can never decide where to fish. I finally opted to fish the square on Whinwhistle lake as I wanted to try one or two things ahead of next week's winter league. I won my section on here in the last round fishing through the ice,and it was the only time I have drawn the lake in this series. After chatting to a carp angler fishing on the islands I finally settled on Square peg 23.

Around 4lb is usually a good weight on here in the winter league, as there are few big fish and it can be tough at the best of times. Despite this, I planned on mainly fishing pellet to target the small skimmers and hopefully one of the bonus bream or tench that can be so crucial in a tight winter league section. I feel it is far more effective to fish in this way than to try and keep pace with the squatt anglers. I decided to fish two lines at 6m and 13m, and set up 3 rigs to cover my options. My main rig was a 4x10 KC Speed on 0.12-0.10 silk shock and a 20 Gama Black to 6 latex. This was shotted with a spread bulk and was for scratching around. I also set up a 4x12 KC Chimp on 0.12-0.10 silk shock and a 20 Gama Pellet in case the skimmers showed up. This was matched to a 6 latex and shotted with a double bulk of no 10's. Both rigs were set to just touch bottom. My final rig was a 4x12 chimp on 0.12 silk shock to an 18 Gama Pellet and 8 latex. This was set to fish two inches over depth and had a slightly longer line in case the wind got up. All three rigs incorporated a no.10 back shot for stability. For bait I had some micro pellet, a bit of groundbait and some Ringers coolwater pellets in sizes 3mm,4.5m and 6mm,along with a few maggots and pinkies. I began by cupping a golf-ball of micro pellet at 13m,and 3 golf balls of groundbait at 6m. I planned on fishing maggot and pinkie at 6m to see if it was effective as the pellet. I began at 6m on single maggot and had a few tiny roach in the first 15 minutes. It was very slow so I put in a pinch of micro pellet and shipped out to 13m with a 3mm pellet. After about 10 minutes I had my first bite and netted a skimmer of around 4oz. A few more followed before it slowed so another thumbnail sized amount of pellet was cupped in and I went back in at 6m with a 3mm on the hook. Bites were instant and over the next hour I swapped between the two lines regularly taking small skimmers and roach,topping up with minimal amounts of pellet when it went quiet. After about two hours the float dipped at 13m and yards of latex streamed from the pole. There used to be alot of big carp in the square but most have been moved to the islands. However there are still one or two in there and I thought I'd hooked one. The fish was soon under control and as soon as it broke the surface I slipped the net under a pristine 3lb tench-a useful bonus! I caught steadily for the next two hours,alternating rigs and changing between 3mm and 4.5mm pellet on the hook. I would take 3 or 4 fish from each line before feeding a pinch of pellet and switching. It was really interesting fishing as I had to work for each bite and keep tweaking things to keep the fish coming. I finished the day at 3 oclock with around 9lb of small skimmers and the bonus tench in four hours. 12lb would almost certainly be a section winning weight on here next week,and I learned a few interesting things today that will stand me in good stead if I draw the square next week. Interestingly Richard Allin,the league leader, fished The Rail all day for around 5oz of eyes. The fishing is unbelievably hard on there at the moment with lots of blanks and few bites. I'm hoping and praying I don't draw there next week as it could be disastrous for the league campaign. I've almost certainly put the jinx on it now and will no doubt draw there on Sunday!