Short Pole Match, Landsend, Sunday 23rd June 2013

After a week away from work and fishing in Cornwall, which was as relaxed as always, why is the pace of life slower down there? Reminds me of Ireland, it was back to try and vanquish my demons with Landsend. I wanted a draw on the match lake and to fish for silvers, but as usual, when its in, lake 3 was to be my home for the duration of what turned into another struggle.  I drew peg 70, which had it been a normal match, i.e. not restricted to topkit + 3 sections, I might have fancied, so I decided to fish positively, a rig for caster short and 'long' (as long as the restrictions allowed), a rig for meat, another the same as the caster rig, but heavier and with a hair rigged band on, finally a paste rig to fish towards the weedbed which is to the right of this peg.

I fed some meat towards the end bank, but not too close as it looks like a potential tackle graveyard, as the prevailing wind had undercut the end bank exposing tree stumps and a gothic looking maze of gnarled root stumps. I also fed caster short and at full length, with a big pot of micros and softened 4's going in towards the weed bed.  Nothing apart from a lonesome roach on the short caster line - not a good sign, but the line out to the weed bed was producing some fizz.  I dropped the paste rig into this and had 3 carp in 4 or 5 put in's, but that was, as seems all to familiar of my matches lately, all the carp action from that swim.

The long caster line produced nothing and it seemed as if the silvers weren't in residence today, preferring to be out in the main body of the lake, rather than the 3 sided pool that is peg 70.  I had a couple of F1's on soft pellet, a couple of decent skimmers short and another 3 or 4 small carp down the edge on paste, meat was a waste of time, not one bite coming to it. I could see Joe McMahon opposite struggling and he joined a few DNW's on the lake, it seems looking at the weigh sheet, the fish were more concentrated in the middle of the lake, rather than either end, with none of the favoured pegs on the lake producing. My meagre efforts went just over 30lb for a resounding nowhere.

See one of the other bloggers for the results, as I couldn't get near the weigh sheets for David 'silverfox' Bailey and his camera.