Tony Rixon's Float Only League, Landsend, Sunday 10th July 2011

I secured a guest spot in this match and had it in my mind to fish for silvers, as doing this seems to be the only way I can ever pick up at Landsend. Out of the draw bucket with peg 34 - bad memories, the last time I drew 34, Matt Tomes emptied it on 33, whilst I struggled. Tim Ford on 33 today and when I stood with him in his peg, it was looking likely that history would repeat itself. There were loads of fish moving between the aerator and the end bank.

I set up a rig to fish shallow to the island at 16m, a MW cookie on 0.18 with a 16 B960, I also set up two silvers rigs, a 4x14 carpa chimp on 0.16 to 0.14 with a size 16 808 and a 4x12 carpa chimp on 0.14 with a 0.12 hooklength and a 16 Drennan carp maggot hook. I also set up a paste rig.

I started on the lighter rig, fishing caster at 7m, apart from a couple of small roach, there wasn't much to show for that. I'd fed a line at 13m with softend 4mm and caster, hoping for skimmers, as well as pinging some 8mm hard pellet to the island. Tim Ford kept saying "look at the tails coming out of the water in front of you" - he was right, but they were black, not orange. Some of the tails belonged to chub and occasionally a big skimmer waved its black, forked caudal fin at me.

I looked in on the 13m line, to no avail and by now was three or four fish behind Tim, the thought of luring some of those carp from the aerator, to my island ledge, made me abandon the silvers and over with the shallow pelet rig I went. I had several chub, before it went quiet, I then had two carp, but after them the bites dried up.

Back in on the 13m line with caster and a couple of skimmers, but the bites were few and far between, a look on the devils spawn over the 13m line brought my only fish of the day on it, a 3lb tench. I tried back over to the island, shallow, with a couple more chub to show for it.

With a couple of hours to go, I set up a shallow rig to try meat over and had three carp in three drop-ins - sussed it, no! That was the end of the carp action off the island. I went back in on the light silvers rig, with double red maggot and had a carp around the 5lb mark, next put in, a 15lb carp took the maggots and nearly gave itself up like a skimmer, before realising it was hooked and stretching the double six to its limit, before the 0.12 parted.


I finished the day on the heavier silvers rig, landing several more decent skimmers, which all took double red maggot - I knew I'd messed up, I should have stuck it out for silvers for the full 6 hours, as my 24lb was just not enough to sneak in the silvers coin. My carp went 42.14 or a total of 66.14, that was 8th overall and enough to pick up the section money by double default, with Tim Ford winning and Mike Nicholls winning the silvers with 32lb. So what appeared to be a disasterous day, from being spanked again by peg 33, to poor decision making, at least ended up with some coin.

1) Tim Ford 126.12 peg 33
2) Tony Rixon 111.13 peg 24
3) Dean Malin 99.14 peg 19
4) Mike Nicholls 94.14 peg 36
5) Paul Elmes 86.04 peg 31
6) Chris Davies 85.08 peg 32

Silvers

1) Mike Nicholls 32.00
2) John Bradford 28.15
3) John Green 27.10

Can't log off without a mention for ex Clevedon Veals team mate, Steve Seager, on peg 34, who had a nightmare, at one time he was squirrel fishing, with his rig at least 20' up one of the island trees - shame I didn't get a picture.......