Back at Bullock Farm for the third match in Clevedon's spring series, this time on North Pool, reasonably content with my draw (peg 8) I decided to feed two paste lines and a catmeat line in the RH margin. First put in saw the paste float slide under and a fish around 7lb come to the net. That quick start was a false dawn as the fish weren't in a feeding frenzy. I had three more in the first hour ans set myself a target of four an hour, as no one was catching well. second hour saw me net my four, the next three saw me net five, so seven short of target and seven in the last hour took the total to eighteen, but they weren't of the usual stamp and I new I was well short of the 60lb+ that eighteen would often weigh. The scales registered 48lb 8oz, enough to beat Paul Faiers who weighed 42lb 6oz. Shame I wasn't fishing this as a series.
I had the one initial fish from the bottom of the far ledge, directly in front, two from the RH margin on catmeat and the other 15 from tight to the far bank to my left, positive bites when they took it, although there was a lot of 'carp traffic' along the far bank, giving me liners.
May 11th. Fifth match of the Kev Perry series and I must admit, I arrived at Bullock Farm feeling not too good, excessive celebrations after Bristol City's win at Palace in the play-off's being the cause. Knowing I was on Rushcombe I wasn't to worried, the chance of picking up in the series overall gone and very unlikely to frame from this lake.
After two hours the Bullock breakfast and a couple of litres of ice cold squash had me feeling somewhat sober again and the headache was going, I finally sussed how to pick out the bigger carp ( on this lake the bigger carp are 8oz to 2lb) and finished with nearly 13Kg. Tony Goodland won the section with over 18Kg and was 7th overall, had I been in a fit state to fish, perhaps I might have pushed him a bit harder.
May 14th, After the short drive to Hunstrete, I drew a peg I hadn't fished before, 68 on Withy. I'd brought plenty of pellet expecting the carp to be up in the water, Kev Perry had come along on my recommendation and he drew peg 60. The carp were up in the water alright, many just cruising round, some spawning, but few feeding. I drew next to Mike Nicholls and he started, as usual fishing for silvers and he was soon into roach and small perch. I persevered with the pellet waggler, having two rods set up, one shallow, one at dead depth. I foul hooked a fish and lost it on the dead depth rod after about 10 miniutes, this was the full extent of my action for an hour or so.
I had fed a paste line at 11m and tried that, one bite, float shot away, but no contact with a fish was all I had to show for 15 minutes, so back on the pellet waggler fished shallow, persevering with this brought me 7 fish foe 51lb 1oz and first place, another welcome win in this nice little run thats coming together. Mike Nicholls picked up first place in the silvers with 18lb 2oz and the backing weights overall were 44, 42 & 41lb
Thursday, 15 May 2008
April
April saw the much needed improvement in my results, Wed 2nd saw me on Withy Pool at Bathamptons Huntstrete complex. I drew a corner peg, 41 and didn't fancy it for carp, so I set up a waggler and some pole rigs for a silver fish day. The roach were up in the water and I weighed 17lb 6oz of quality roach and hybrids, to qualify for the Carps AC silversmania final. One carp taken on the roach waggler set up took my total to 22lb 15oz and fourth place.
Saturday 5th had me heading to viaduct for the fish o mania qualifier, I drew peg 20 on Spring ( peg 19 won it the last two years) thw guy on 19 had the sky cameras interview him because of the pegs previous record - no pressure there then. Spring didn't fish, it was very clear at the start then an algae bloom during the day sent it pea green. I had a few skimmers, a couple more than peg 19, which I didn't bother to weigh.
Sunday 6th heralded the start of Clevedon 's spring series, as I couldn't commit to the series, I fished this as an open, drawing peg 32 on the main lake at Plantation Fishery. A strange day, with sunshine and several brief snow showers, this didn't stop the lakes large head of carp feeding up in the water, although I couldn't get them unless I fished tight to the island. Kev Perry showed the way (as he often does on this venue) winning with 63lb 5oz, mostly taken on the pole. My waggler caught net of 46lb 13oz was just enough to take second place from Glen Calvert who weighed 45lb 8oz of feeder caught carp.
Sunday 13th - Kev Perry series match 3. this saw me drawn on peg 21, a peg which I've had good weights off of pleasure fishing, Paul drew 24, a noted peg. Well we managed just over 2.5Kg each and once again were 5 & 6th in the section. Series definitely blown now.....
Sunday 20th was the second round of the Clevedon spring series, again on Plantation main lake.
I drew peg 23 and must admit I didn't fancy it to compete with the island pegs. I tried for two hours to get a carp on the pellet waggler and didn't get so much as a liner, I decided to switch tactics and fish the shallow margin in front of the empty peg 22. I landed 7 carp ( lost 5) and was left ruing not trying it earlier, as I took third place with 38lb 4oz, the paste seems to pick out the bigger fish on this lake, Lance Tucker won with 45lb.
The last Sunday of the month saw me back at Bullock Farm for the 4th round of the Kev Perry series. This week saw another free draw and a fairly decent draw, peg 26, Faiersy fancied peg 17 and got it!! I struggled to catch for the first hour, there didn't seem to be any crucians or roach in the peg, I decided an out and out carp attack was the way to go, fishing paste long against the rushes and boards and catmeat to the RH margin rushes. Well, I hooked enough fish to win it, but they dive under the boards as soon as you hook them, I ended the match with 16.550Kg, second in the section and 7th overall. (24.000Kg from Mike Ferguson was enough to win it)
Saturday 5th had me heading to viaduct for the fish o mania qualifier, I drew peg 20 on Spring ( peg 19 won it the last two years) thw guy on 19 had the sky cameras interview him because of the pegs previous record - no pressure there then. Spring didn't fish, it was very clear at the start then an algae bloom during the day sent it pea green. I had a few skimmers, a couple more than peg 19, which I didn't bother to weigh.
Sunday 6th heralded the start of Clevedon 's spring series, as I couldn't commit to the series, I fished this as an open, drawing peg 32 on the main lake at Plantation Fishery. A strange day, with sunshine and several brief snow showers, this didn't stop the lakes large head of carp feeding up in the water, although I couldn't get them unless I fished tight to the island. Kev Perry showed the way (as he often does on this venue) winning with 63lb 5oz, mostly taken on the pole. My waggler caught net of 46lb 13oz was just enough to take second place from Glen Calvert who weighed 45lb 8oz of feeder caught carp.
Sunday 13th - Kev Perry series match 3. this saw me drawn on peg 21, a peg which I've had good weights off of pleasure fishing, Paul drew 24, a noted peg. Well we managed just over 2.5Kg each and once again were 5 & 6th in the section. Series definitely blown now.....
Sunday 20th was the second round of the Clevedon spring series, again on Plantation main lake.
I drew peg 23 and must admit I didn't fancy it to compete with the island pegs. I tried for two hours to get a carp on the pellet waggler and didn't get so much as a liner, I decided to switch tactics and fish the shallow margin in front of the empty peg 22. I landed 7 carp ( lost 5) and was left ruing not trying it earlier, as I took third place with 38lb 4oz, the paste seems to pick out the bigger fish on this lake, Lance Tucker won with 45lb.
The last Sunday of the month saw me back at Bullock Farm for the 4th round of the Kev Perry series. This week saw another free draw and a fairly decent draw, peg 26, Faiersy fancied peg 17 and got it!! I struggled to catch for the first hour, there didn't seem to be any crucians or roach in the peg, I decided an out and out carp attack was the way to go, fishing paste long against the rushes and boards and catmeat to the RH margin rushes. Well, I hooked enough fish to win it, but they dive under the boards as soon as you hook them, I ended the match with 16.550Kg, second in the section and 7th overall. (24.000Kg from Mike Ferguson was enough to win it)
March
With the weather still poor, March saw me missing a couple of matches as I worked instead and the main thrust of my efforts was to prepare for the Kev Perry series on Bullock Farm, which was run by Paul Faiers and myself.
March 23rd was the first in the six match series, all seemed to be going to plan, we pegged out, had one of Bullock Farm's hearty breakfasts and all competitors were paid up and ready for the draw. Paul and myself had our pegs drawn for us and even though it was by two different anglers, at different times of the draw, we ended up pegged next to each other A3 & A2 (Rushcombe) respectively.
A bad start for both of us, 7th and 8th in the section.
March 30th saw round two of the series, again the draw took place after a hearty breakfast and once again Paul and myself were drawn next to each other, again by different anglers at different stages of the draw. We knew we'd be in B section, as the sections rotate after the first 'free draw'.
We struggled for fish, Paul managing 0.900 KG and I found a couple of extra fish on bread punch to weigh 1.970 Kg, a slight improvement on the previous week as I was 5th in the section and Paul 6th, but by now the chance of winning the series was already slipping away.
March 23rd was the first in the six match series, all seemed to be going to plan, we pegged out, had one of Bullock Farm's hearty breakfasts and all competitors were paid up and ready for the draw. Paul and myself had our pegs drawn for us and even though it was by two different anglers, at different times of the draw, we ended up pegged next to each other A3 & A2 (Rushcombe) respectively.
A bad start for both of us, 7th and 8th in the section.
March 30th saw round two of the series, again the draw took place after a hearty breakfast and once again Paul and myself were drawn next to each other, again by different anglers at different stages of the draw. We knew we'd be in B section, as the sections rotate after the first 'free draw'.
We struggled for fish, Paul managing 0.900 KG and I found a couple of extra fish on bread punch to weigh 1.970 Kg, a slight improvement on the previous week as I was 5th in the section and Paul 6th, but by now the chance of winning the series was already slipping away.
January, February
January saw me still in the throws of over complicating things, but my first trip to Lands End fishery saw me take a third place on the humble maggot from the specimen lake. It was an icy trip down there and the ice on the lake had to be broken before we could fish. The eventual winner was pegged opposite me and he'd landed two fish (for about 35lb) and been smashed up several times before I even had a bite. Eventually a single maggot fished at 14.5m (1.5m further out than I'd fed) saw me land a few lumps for 38lb or so and a couple of pounds of silvers for a 40lb 4oz net.
Other matches at Bullock Farm, Bitterwell and Huntstrete saw me fail to get in the frame, a combination of poor draws and poor tactical selection.
February saw me continual to struggle, one match sticks in mind, an open on the Kennet and Avon canal, I drew the end peg at Ferry Lane, filled with confidence a got to the peg and saw that the resident of the narrow boat I was pegged adjacent to, was clearing the towpath of dog shit. Trouble is she was chucking it into the canal - right into my peg!!
The couple and their kids then proceeded to make a row on the boat for the first couple of hours of the match, even through this I caught netable skimmers and roach on punch, until one of the kids emptied a bowl of soapy water over the side and it drifted right through my punch line.
This just about killed it, I had fed another line with B&J, this produced one small chub, in the last hour I had a couple of decent roach tight across on caster, but fell a couple of pounds short of framing, may have been a different story had the boat dwellers been out for the day!!
Other matches at Bullock Farm, Bitterwell and Huntstrete saw me fail to get in the frame, a combination of poor draws and poor tactical selection.
February saw me continual to struggle, one match sticks in mind, an open on the Kennet and Avon canal, I drew the end peg at Ferry Lane, filled with confidence a got to the peg and saw that the resident of the narrow boat I was pegged adjacent to, was clearing the towpath of dog shit. Trouble is she was chucking it into the canal - right into my peg!!
The couple and their kids then proceeded to make a row on the boat for the first couple of hours of the match, even through this I caught netable skimmers and roach on punch, until one of the kids emptied a bowl of soapy water over the side and it drifted right through my punch line.
This just about killed it, I had fed another line with B&J, this produced one small chub, in the last hour I had a couple of decent roach tight across on caster, but fell a couple of pounds short of framing, may have been a different story had the boat dwellers been out for the day!!
Introduction.
My first venture into the world of blogging, here goes......
After a fifteen year break I returned to angling in July 2006, I've dabbled with sea fishing , but blanked every trip, I am trying to get to grips with fly fishing for trout and I fully intended to just coarse fish for pleasure, but after a few months the competitive urge returned. I resumed my match career in Dec 06, starting with the Xmas match at Trinity Waters, coming third - well pleased with that.
The fishing scene has changed so much in that fifteen year break, I was used to fishing bronze maggot for chub and roach, worm and caster for bream and carp were them big lumps that we very rarely hooked and virtually never landed.
I still enjoy fishing the natural venues, using maggot, caster and punch as baits, but to get back into the match arena, its been necessary to learn a lot of new tactics, baits and getting to grips with the line and hook sizes used nowdays.
Last year saw me return to team fishing, fishing for Sensas Thyers, I managed a couple of wins, on commercial and natural venues, quite a few placings and a second place in the Huntspill championships (fishing the waggler, with about 18lb of roach, hybrids, perch and skimmers).
Towards the end of the year and at the start of this, my results dropped off considerably - it was my wife who commented - "you seem to prepare so much now, when you just went and kept it simple, you we're doing better". This got me thinking, was I over complicating things for myself, taking too many baits, fishing too many lines, too many methods, I think the answer was yes.
So far the last couple of months, I've tried to set out with only one or two strategy's and it seems to be paying off.
After a fifteen year break I returned to angling in July 2006, I've dabbled with sea fishing , but blanked every trip, I am trying to get to grips with fly fishing for trout and I fully intended to just coarse fish for pleasure, but after a few months the competitive urge returned. I resumed my match career in Dec 06, starting with the Xmas match at Trinity Waters, coming third - well pleased with that.
The fishing scene has changed so much in that fifteen year break, I was used to fishing bronze maggot for chub and roach, worm and caster for bream and carp were them big lumps that we very rarely hooked and virtually never landed.
I still enjoy fishing the natural venues, using maggot, caster and punch as baits, but to get back into the match arena, its been necessary to learn a lot of new tactics, baits and getting to grips with the line and hook sizes used nowdays.
Last year saw me return to team fishing, fishing for Sensas Thyers, I managed a couple of wins, on commercial and natural venues, quite a few placings and a second place in the Huntspill championships (fishing the waggler, with about 18lb of roach, hybrids, perch and skimmers).
Towards the end of the year and at the start of this, my results dropped off considerably - it was my wife who commented - "you seem to prepare so much now, when you just went and kept it simple, you we're doing better". This got me thinking, was I over complicating things for myself, taking too many baits, fishing too many lines, too many methods, I think the answer was yes.
So far the last couple of months, I've tried to set out with only one or two strategy's and it seems to be paying off.
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