16 booked into this one, a decent breakfast at home for a change, before a nice steady drive down to the usual cheery welcome and cup of coffee, thanks to Misha and Tom for getting this match organised straight after their honeymoon.
The weather forecasters had been promising rain earlier in the week, but as the day drew nearer, the forecast changed to no rain and a 13-15mph wind, as we drew, it was perfectly still and the lake surface was calm and flat. I had fancied a draw on the far bank, so wasn't disappointed to see peg 8 reveal itself after I drew. I had brought two lead rods and a pole for this match, I'm not normally tempted to fish the lead or feeder on this venue, but the way I feed it in the winter, should see the method or banjo feeder work. By the all-in a chilly wind was blowing straight into my face and there it stayed all day!!!
I set up the two lead rods, one with a banjo feeder on and the other with straight lead, I had brought a couple of slices of bread for use with this, but with the water still well coloured for the time of year, I wasn't sure it would work. next out the holdall were 3 topkits, one with a rig to fish the 4' deep margin, where I fully expected to catch some fish from, especially as peg 9 was empty and I could get under the platform, usually a banker in winter for extracting the resident fish.
Two other top kits, a MW Pinger 0.4g with a bulk of No8's and two No10 droppers, this was finished off with a 0.14 hooklength and a 16 6313 hook. The other rig was a 0.3g NG Gimp, with a bulk of No9 shot, with 3 droppers, hopefully to pick up any fish sat off the bottom, this had a 0.12 hooklength and 16 6313 hook. This was the most successful rig, although neither were frantically busy......
On the all in I fed two pole lines, one at 10m and one at 14.5m, the shorter line was fed with micros and a few dead maggots, the longer line with micros and 4mm pellets, again, just a small amount. I then started by casting a banjo feeder to the halfway point, this was a fruitless exercise of 30 minutes, before I switched to the 10m pole line, this was also biteless. Pushing the pole out to 14.5m saw a couple of fish come to the net, just a small roach and a skimmer, but it was a start. Bites were hard to come by, but they bites I did have were all as a result of lowering the rig through bait toss potted in, a carp about 7lb then graced the net, as i had swapped to corn on the hook to avoid the small roach.
The pole line then died off, an early look in the margin with corn had a 2lb carp take it almost straight away, that would be a good sign usually, but today it was to be a lone bite and fish until another one with an hour to go. Back onto the 14.5m line and it was impossible to see the float at times due to the ripple, occasional bit of sun and constantly changing shades of cloud reflection, colour was irrelevant, the conditions weren't conducive to sensitive bite indication. Surprisingly the 10m line did not produce a bite at any time during the day, even the odd tiny roach and rudd that took the double maggot preferred to stay well away from the bank.
I swapped back to the method, but this time with 3 dead maggots and dropped a lot shorter, on the pole line, this produced a positive pull round and I was surprised when a 21/2lb perch popped up and was netted, Apart from a 3oz roach which fell off, this was the last bite on the method. Switching back to the pole saw another decent perch netted and a couple more small skimmers, but it was too slow and that was the case all along the bank that I had fancied......
My 3 carp went 11.07 and my silvers 8.01 for a 19.08 total which apart from the corner peg, was the top weight on the bank, but it was a long way behind Nick Harvey who had a very comfortable win from peg 20.
A big thanks to Misha and Tom, who kept the Trinty tradition going, bringing round hot soup, sausage rolls and mince pies during the match, it was disappointing to end my good record in this match (2 wins, a 2nd, a 3rd and a 4th), but the cold wind and the draw beat those of us on the far bank today.
Todber Manor next Sunday, last in the series and I think most are expecting a grueller, for my part the section I am due to be in has been dominated by peg 38, so if it stays the same, a draw there looks essential.
1: Nick Harvey 121.09 peg 20
2: Tom Mangnall 61.03 peg 25
3: Steve Evans 40.04 peg 5
4: John Davies 34.04 peg 7
5: Dave Evans 31.12 peg 17
6: Kev Perry 29.05 peg 28
Silvers
Mark Broomsgrove 16.04 peg 14
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