Viaduct Silvers League R1, Sunday 6th October 2019

After missing this popular league last year due to work, it was good to get a place back and see what I could do.

Travelled down with Tony, after a breakfast locally, where we had to wait 20 minutes for them to cook eggs, as they didn't have a gas lighter.....

Three lakes in for this series, Campbell, Cary and Lodge and I wasn't too fussed which I drew, as they can all throw up a decent weight, there are obviously favoured silvers pegs and some you'd like to avoid.  I was into the draw tin early and drew 90 on Cary, not a brilliant skimmer peg usually, but it does hold a mixture of fish, so at least there should be bites to be had.

Bit of a blow on today and it was pushing right into the corner, I've never drawn this peg when the wind has been hacking in here and there were a few signs of carp - not so good.  The video was taken at the end, when the wind had dropped and the blinding sun had finally moved round......

If the wind stayed as it was, I would not be holding the pole at more than 7 or 8m, so set up a feeder to fish at 18/20m, I got a waggler out of the bag, but it went away unused. as the wind didn't die down until the end of the match.

Topkits, a simple Chianti to fish for roach and what ever else wanted to feed up in the water, a homemade 0.5g diamond to fish at 8m, nice stable float in the wind, a double bulk rig to put 6" of line on the deck if necessary.
Two rigs to fish down the edge, similar rigs, but one with 0.12 and one with 0.14 hooklengths.

Well, it turned out to be an eventful day, I had about 30 hooklengths tied up to 0.10 and by the end, they were all gone and I was a good way into the 0.12 hooklengths, the carp really had pushed up into the corner and had a liking for casters, I fed two lines at 8m, one with chocolate orange micros and 4mm feed pellets and one with Burts Expander/Silver Sensation mixed 50/50.

The carp loved the pellets, they weren't too fussed about the worms and GB, but then neither were the skimmers.  I did spend 30 minutes fishing the feeder, ended up with a 2' tail and a single maggot, nothing, never had a bite on it.

The edge did give up a couple of perch, but the wind hacking into it and turning the water over, was causing a big undertow back against the wind, I just don't think the fish wanted to sit there.

I ended up with a mixture of mainly roach and perch, a couple of better roach and a decent hybrid, a small tench and finally, 2 skimmers, 21.13 and third in section, I think that 30 minutes on the feeder and looking for skimmers cost me, but the time spent renewing hooklengths, playing (and landing some) carp was as much to blame.  Shame it was a silvers match....

Well done to my old Team Mate Nick Ewers on winning from peg 105.

Next up, tying loads of hooks and wondering if I will ever draw 90 with the wind into on a normal open....