Clevedon Club Match, Plantation, 25th February 2018

Got the chance to fish this match as a guest of Paul Faiers, so as I was due fish another Coffin Dodgers match on the venue on Thursday, I took the opportunity to get some time on the water and with the added bonus its fairly close to home.

Only a knock-up really with 10 fishing, I drew 38, which is on a point, you have an island chuck and plenty of open water to fish, you used to be able to fish back down the RH side of the spit, but now there are brambles and minor arboreal growths that prevent this - used to catch big perch doing it.

Plenty of time to set up, the wind was pushing fairly hard left to right and I left the waggler rods in the bag, as I felt there was little chance of getting any sort of presentation with them.  Two lead rods, one for bomb and brad, one with a small pellet feeder on.

4 topkits, a double bulk rig for skimmers, a more conventional bulk and two droppers rig, a Chianti with strung out No11's for fishing through the water and another bulk and two droppers, a bit heavier in case any carp were about.

Started on the bomb and bread, without any indication of fish, tried tight to the island and off it, but nothing.  I then fed the pole line, with GB and caster/dead maggot, before trying the small pellet feeder with a plain 6mm pellet and a few variations of wafters, dumbells etc. this was also met with a motionless tip.

By now Kev Perry on 39 had a couple from under the tree down the edge and Mark Broomsgrove was catching well on the bomb on 27.  There is only so long I can sit watching a motionless tip and today I lasted a bit longer than usual before picking up the pole.

I started catching  straight away and had a couple of decent skimmers, but they weren't really on a feeding spree and they came and went, when they went I refed and looked for carp again on the bomb or feeder and that was pretty much the course for the rest of the match, apart from when I went for a walk and stood with Paul behind Mark Broomsgrove, watching him get a bite or an indication virtually every chuck.

No silvers payout today, which was a shame, as it would have given a few of us something to fish for, I kept up my recent record of not hooking, let alone landing a carp and even if I had targeted the silvers the whole match and with a couple of lines, as the roach didn't feed, I think 3rd would have been the best I could have done, as it was trying to catch both left me nowhere.