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.....
Thursday, 21 January 2010
Wednesday, 9 December 2009
End of year struggle....
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!
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!
Sunday, 22 November 2009
Wet Wet Wet....
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.
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.
Tuesday, 3 November 2009
Whinwhistle Winter Leage- round 2- 1/11/09
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.
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.
Monday, 2 November 2009
Broadlands Lower Lake- 31/10/09
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.
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....
Tuesday, 20 October 2009
Whinwhistle Winter League- Round 1- 18/10/09
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
Wednesday, 7 October 2009
Broadlands Lower Lake-open 3/10/09
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
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