Silvers Open, Plantation Lakes, Thursday 30th December 2021

 Last match of 2021 for me, the forecast was mild, light winds and not too much chance of rain, so happy days.  Regular travelling partner Tony picked me up (thanks mate, I do appreciate the lift every weekend) and we headed to the Bridge Inn at Yatton for breakfast,  For the money, its an OK breakfast, but I really do recommend swapping the sausages for extra bacon, which they will do, as the sausages are particularly bland and have a strange, verging on unpleasant texture. 

Onto the lakes and a quick look reveals the lake has more colour than last week, significantly more, on closer inspection it was an algae bloom, several layers and colour shades, hopefully this would encourage the fish to feed a bit and not put them off.

Into the bucket for a draw and out comes peg 7, had this peg two matches ago and fell short, struggling to put together a decent run of fish, would this colour make it better today, I could only hope so.

I'd brought a waggler and a light feeder rod, they stayed in the holdall, I decided on a pole only approach, given the colour I dropped a section short of where I fished last time and plumbed up two lines at 13m, both the same depth, so the same rig for both, a 4x12 Preston Maggot float with spread 11's, 0.08 hooklength and a 22 F1 pellet hook.  I did set up a 'standard' bulk and dropper rig, same line and hook and I also set up a Guru slim float with spread 11's for a line at 7 joints - same float would do for a line at topkit +1.

Fed 2 lines at 13 on the all-in, one with two 'jaffa's' of GB with caster, magot and pinkie in and one with one ball with just a few casters in, started on the line at 7 joints, where I fed a tiny nugget of GB and casters.  It didn't take long to get into fish, roach to start with and then a couple of decent skimmers, the first hour was great, I put getting on for 10lb in the net.

As the line slowed down I went out to 13m, had a couple of fish off each line, and decided to top them up, not sure this was right as, it seemed to be the kiss of death, I ended up fishing the peg as I did the last time, switching between lines to keep bites coming, catching everything on single caster, feeding the short line by hand, the 7 joints line with a catapult ans the 13m lines with a big cup.  This time I did get a couple more decent skimmers and some nice roach, even having a spell catching them at topkit+1 loose feeding caster by hand

Honestly wasn't sure what weight I had at the end and was slightly surprised to put 29.08 on the scales, which was enough for second on the day, so a reasonable end to the year.

Happy New Year and lets hope for an uninterrupted year of fishing in 2022.

 

Silvers Open, Plantation Lakes, Thursday 23rd December 2021

 Rare Thursday off to fish a match, so looking forward to it. Wasn't overjoyed to draw peg 2 next to Des, who was also not happy about drawing peg 1.

Fed a line for skimmers and then came short(ish) fishing caster, after 20 minutes I had a roach, and it all went down hill from there, I let Des nick my fish, I tried to catch skimmers (and there aren't usually many in pegs 1 and 2), I didn't feed enough and fed a fishmeal based GB, all wrong and I was handed a lesson in roach fishing.

Acorn Open, Saturday 18th December 2021

 Second of my winter opens on acorn, these matches have a 50/50 payout, overall and silvers.  I drew 21 - after last weeks winter league had thrown up an unexpected weight from here, I was hopeful, but it was't to be, I gave it 30 minutes fishing for carp, before switching to silvers, they were hard to come by but at least I had a few bites, I think the weigh sheet shows the fish were bunched up.  Beaten for 1st in the silvers by Joe - just the 1oz in it!

Hopefully it'll fish better next open.

Rons Silvers League R2, Plantation Lakes, Sunday 12th December 2021

 Drew peg 7  not the worst peg on the lake, so needed to get a top two in section to make up for the last round.  It was tricky to get a run of fish totter, I fished 3 lines, two at 14.5m and one at 7 joints and had to rotate them to get one or two fish off a line before moving.  Didn't achieve the desired result, beat the anglers either side but fell 8lb short of the required weight for top  in section.

Acorn Winter League, Round 2, Saturday 11th December 2021

 Onto section B this round, it's consistently the second best section behind A, but that's not important, as it's section points that are being fished for and the payouts are sections only.

In B section over the last couple of years peg 15 and 22 have been the consistent form pegs, so thought I would have to beat them to win the section.  I caught all my fish on one line, tight across in 20" of water toss potting maggots.

Was happy to have beaten Paul on 15, but just couldn't compete with 21/22, well done to Kev on 21, it's not been a decent draw for a while now.  Really need some decent draws in the coming rounds.

Rons Silvers League, R1, Shiplate Farm, Sunday 5th December 2021

 Was looking forward to getting back to Shiplate today, after the success of yesterday, wasn't too upset with my draw, as 22lb had come off it the day before, so was expecting a few fish.

Turned out to be a tough day, 0.08 and 22's came out of the box, a negative and a positive line fished, but really struggled for bites, even at the end I couldn't say what I could have done to catch more.  shame, not a good start to the league.

Shiplate Silvers league, Shiplate Farm, Saturday 4th December 2021

Fished this as a stand in, drew peg 10, which I did wonder if it being a bit closed in by the island, would be OK, I might have preferred a peg in the open water. 

Simple set up, a bulk shotted rig and a strung out rig - it seems the days of catching commercial skimmers on heavy and double bulked rigs are gone, the light strung out rigs seem to be the ones that catch most fish now.

I struggled for 90 minutes, my first fish was a roach after 80 minutes, I then had a skimmer at 14.5m and stayed there for the rest of the match catching skimmers around the 2lb mark on dead maggots over GB, lovely days fishing and nice to win on the day.

Team of Three, Final Round, Shiplate Farm, Sunday 28th November 2021

 Final round and really only pride to fish for, I would have liked to see the canals pegged differently, as I was in the middle of the 'bunches of three' and that as you can see from the sheet was not where you wanted to be....  A real struggle and I wasn't sorry to see the back of this league which has not been kind to me.

Acorn Open Saturday 27th November 2021

 First of my winter opens today, what a day to pick storm Arwen certainly made things tough... I was expecting most to cry off, but we did have 10 hardy souls who wanted to fish

I pegged it to try and keep the wind off most anglers backs, so the not the usual spaces between pegs, as its equal payouts by default, I fished maggot short all day and managed to take the silvers (equal overall/silvers payouts in these winter matches) with 3.15.....

Ivy House W/L - Stand -In, Sunday 21st November 2021

 Standing in for someone today - no idea who, Kingfisher for me, great I like it, but bloody hell, my last 9 draws on there including this one have been 47,48,45,46,45,37,43,47,43 - a bit of variety would be nice.... 

I think my achievement was beating those either side, but too far away from the winners....  I've only added the weigh sheet sheet for my lake.

Acorn Winter League R1 Saturday 20th November 2021

 First round of the Acorn winter league, after finishing 2nd last year (and I'd been hopeful of a win but the last round fell foul of Covid lockdowns) I was hoping for a good start and wasn't desperately upset to draw peg 1.  Well it was a struggle and this will be my dropper!!

Teams of Three, R5, Shiplate Farm Sunday 14th November 2021

 My turn on match lake and amazingly I was handed 15, a peg I'd never seen before, but it is an end peg with a bit of space.

Approach was waggler and lead, with just a margin pole set up, as I felt an edge and a short line would be enough, with waggler being my main approach.  Simple bait tray, 6mm and 8mm pellets, a few expanders, meat and maggots.  I had time so I set up a method and did some micros. 

Started on popped up bread, didn't spend too long chucking it round the peg, thought the colour and the temperature would suit pellets and a bit of feed.  I pinged pellets on the waggler line and had a couple of fish, then the indications stopped, the fish were rolling past the marker board peg 15 can't fish past and no one on peg 0 to push them back my way.  The did come back and drift away again in spells, I had odd fish on the waggler and the lead.

I tried the method up the end bank, not as much as a liner, I'd fed a short line with meat, never had a bite on that and I did manage a low double down the edge on 8mm pellet with 30 minutes to go.  Frustratingly lost a double on the lead, the hooklength broke, just after landing another low double, so I can only assume it got damaged, that probaly cost me two places.

Enjoyable day on the waggler mainly, fed about 3/4 pint of pellets for 85.02 which was third on the lake and 4th overall, so frustratingly one out of the money, but a big improvement on the last four matches....

1. Joe McMahon 110.12 Main Lake 14

2. Russ peck 92.02 Main Lake 12

3. Paul Nichols 85.03 Westpool 5

4. Chris Fox 85.02 Main Lake 15

5. Brian Slipper 83.06 Main Lake 8

6. Steve Howell 77.11 Westpool 15

Sedges Silvers Open, Monday 8th November 2021

 First trip to Sedges since the cafe and tackle shop has opened, a nice job, breakfast was nice and lovely clean toilets, shame that was the best bit of the day.

I really expected this to be a day where a few bites would be on offer, how wrong can you be.  I drew peg 23, I travelled down with Tony, he drew 29, I just cannot think of anything to write, neither of us had a bite.......  Can it get much worse!

Ivy House Winter League. Sunday 7th November 2021

 Fished this as a stand in, I knew I'd be on either the Old Match Lake or Willow, OK with that.  Drew 26 on Willow,  I had a bad start as I'd pick up the wrong ready rod holdall in the garage and didn't realise until I opened it and found two lead rods and no waggler.  As it turned out, the wind probably meant I wouldn't use it to effect anyway.

Set up one of the bomb rods to fish bread at the start, also a dobbing rig to dob bread up the edge, neither of which produced a fish.  I had a spell catching small skimmers on soft pellet, but it seemed like there were no carp around, I did manage to get two decent carp up the edge in the last 20 minutes, far too little to late.

Another day of underachievement and I felt the draw had contributed, as a few commented that 26 hasn't featured for a while now.

Teams of Three, R4, Shiplate Farm, Sunday 31st October 2021

 Hawthorn for me today, I knew the lake before hand, just the peg to be drawn on the day.  Bob Gullick had said before hand, you don't want peg 2 or 15, I was handed 2......

Struggled to catch I think I beat two on the lake, around 11 am I started to get a terrible headache, feeling sick and generally unwell, stayed fishing to the end, no idea how.  Got home and took a covid test, that was clear, my Mrs thought it might have been a migraine

Not sure I could have done much more even if I was 100%, but I would surely had had a couple more fish.

Acorn Open, Saturday 30th October 2021

 Last of the summer opens and the optional series today.  I was looking OK for a third place in the optional series and last in the money, first and third already taken

Disappointing turnout again, this is a great fishery and there aren't any openings for Sunday opens on here.  10 fishing so a bit of space, I drew 38, which was next to Gareth Boycott on 49, who had second in the series tied up.

Simple set up, rigs for across with pellet and maggot, another for down the shelf and a edge rig.  It was tough going, pellets were a waste of time, so I fished maggots on all lines, but soon realised even that was unlikely to be competing with the pegs further round the lake.  Gareth on 40 was suffering the same fate and Rich on 6 was finding the same thing, so 3 of us on the wrong side.....

I ended up fishing maggots on the bottom of the near shelf to catch tench, skimmers and carp, but not enough of any of them.  Mark Broomsgrove beating me to the last in the money in the series, as I only managed to put 48lb on the scales, pegs 40 and 6 DNW.

1. Martin Rayet 171.12 peg 1 

2.Des Shipp 91.00 peg 9

3. Laurie Lang 72.00 peg 11

4. Mark Broomsgrove 72.00 peg 3

5. Craig Challingsworth 69.02 peg 5

6. Dave Haines 64.00 peg 15

Silvers

1. Kev Perry 24.11 peg 13

Optional Series

1. Martin Rayet

2. Gareth Boycott

3. Mark Broomsgrove

Darby's Pairs, Ivy House, Sunday 24th October 2021

 Ivy House for a pairs match organised by Jon Darby, one of the pair on the Old Match Lake and Willow, the other on the canals.  Fishing with Tony Rixon, we'd already drawn straws putting me on the canals, and Tony on the other lakes.

Tony drew peg 2, which can be OK and me on 48, not the peg of choice on the canal, but I'd usually back myself to catch a few off any peg on Kingfisher (the canal I was on), although the competition was tough.

Only a pole, so a few rigs, one for across with banded pellet, too deep really on the far side, I couldn't find any little shelf or area that was shallower.  A rig to fish caster short, another for the edge and two for down the track, one with a bulk and one light rig strung out.

I'm not going waffle on, I struggled, the worst day I have ever had on that lake, I had one bite across, whilst peg 49 had a few, pegs 47 and 46 were also struggling.  I tried short and that was OK if I had wanted to catch roach, but there was little else feeding there.

By now peg 49 had come down his track and was catching, whilst my float remained absolutely stationary.   I tried a line with negative feeding and another positive, neither worked, I was running out of ideas, this may well have been one of those days when I might have been better served just sitting on one line waiting for a bite, but I find that pretty much impossible to do, especially when others are catching.

It didn't even get good at the end, battered off the next peg (49) who weighed 70lb to my 17lb, I was close to being last in the whole match and I still have no idea what I could have done to change it, the lake was won with over a ton from the the area I would have chosen.  

I didn't get the result sheets at the end, as we left with both seats in the van empty handed...  Well done to the winning pairs and onto the the next match!

Mystery Teams Of Three, The Glebe, Saturday 23rd October 2021

 A while back I stuck my name down for a mystery teams match at The Glebe, which was being organised on Maggotdrowning (forum), for the competitors it was as simple as turn up and draw a peg, just like an open, the pegs were allocated to the teams before the draw I believe so it was pot luck who you fished with.

Nice early start for the drive up tp the Glebe, its about 130 miles, but a large part of that is motorway, so not too bad at 2 hrs 15 mins.  Got there in plenty of time, as the event was a team event there was no individual payout, so I ran a superpool, which 2/3's of the field entered.

I haven't really had a chance to get to the Glebe for a few years, shame as it's a great fishery, so I had pestered Mark Poppleton for some info, which helped to cement the thoughts I had and a simple plan was formulated - hard pellets, corn and dead maggots.

Draw done and I must admit I didn't know who I was fishing with, so just my match to concentrate on, peg 7, not one I have heard of as a much revered draw, but I was sure there would be fish to be caught off most pegs.  

Set up two 10' Daiwa Tournament feeder rods, on with a straight lead and one clipped up across with a 4 square feeder,  A 12' Daiwa waggler rod with a straight waggler under which was a 0.16 hooklength and 16 PR36 with a hair rigged band.

Poe rigs were a margin rig (just in case, never expected to catch on it), a skimmer rig in case it was hard, a Malman Roob for corn short, that had a 16 Kaizen to 0.17, two pellet rigs (again, Roobs), one with LWG to 0.15, the other a 18LWG to 0.13.  

Started at 6 joints with a banded 6mm pellet, toss potting a few in, nothing, not even a liner.  Reluctantly I picked up the feeder rod and put a 6mm Coppens in the band, filled the cage with micros and dropped it just short of the far bank (think it maybe too shallow tight in).  I had two fish for about 7lb in a couple of casts, I'd started pinging a few pellets 3/4 the way across and saw some fish moving about.  Happily chucked the feeder up the bank and had a nice couple of hours fishing the waggler with either a 6 or 8mm pellet in the band, fishing at full depth with just one No8 at half depth.

With a couple of hours to go, it slowed up, I started feeding corn at 6 joints, the put the feeder over the waggler line, this time with two worms, had a couple on this, before trying the corn line, this was frustrating, one skimmer and 4 lost foulers - unusual when fishing corn.  I had another look on the waggler, nothing, I had now wasted an hour swapping and changing trying to find the fish again.   I fe a line at 14.5m and fished the pellet rig with the 0.13 hooklength over it, This brought me 4 more fish in the last 30 minutes. I should have done it for the last 2 hours, I'm sure I should have had 125-140lb from the peg.

I weighed 97.09 which was enough to win individually and my team mates (forum names) Can't Compete and Kev Coke were second in the team result, so a successful day.  Team winners were, Peter, 90's Gear and Stewie74 who pipped us by one point.  Thanks to Whisker for organising and all who took part for a match fished with a great atmosphere.  (And I finally got to meet Neil of the Nene).

Penultimate Summer Open, Acorn, Saturday 16th October 2021

 For various had a few dropouts on this match, so more of a 10 peg knock-up than a real open, but there was still the optional series to fish for.  Last match in this series, I drew peg 1, couldn't believe it when I drew it again, another trip over the bridge onto the island.

Unbelievably, Martin Rayet drew peg 5 again, he's never off it!!

On peg 3 I had my old mate Paul Faiers, he was going to fish for silvers, a bit risky as I only pay one in the silvers and you can win both.  I set up two rigs for across, identical except one with a 18 LWG tied with a band in a hair, the other with a 20 LWG to 0.13. One rig for the RH edge, another for the LH edge which is deeper and a strung out rig for where I could find 3' of water.  Plenty of fish moving around, so I didn't set up a rig for on the deck.

Started across with a 6mm banded pellet, toss potting 4mm, had a couple of liners a small carp on it, it didn't seem right, switched to a 4mm in the band, that brought a few small carp, far too small.  I switched to the maggot rig and that did get a response from a couple of better fish, but it was slow going.  I'd been flicking a few maggots on the 3' deep line and went over that with the light strung out rig and a red and a white maggot on the hook, I had a couple of tench and some skimmers, along with a couple of carp, enough bites to keep me at it and it seemed to be fishing hard for most.

I did try the RH edge much earlier than I would usually, I had a instant fish from it and then nothing.  Back across and I had  run of carp around the 1lb mark, but I'd need to get some of their bigger brothers to do any good.

I hadn't seen any sign of activity in the LH edge, but it was a couple of feet deep, so the fish don't always give themselves away in that depth.  The last 80 minutes I spent down that edge, think I may have underfed it at one stage as the bites dried up, but the net I started with 80 minutes to go had 40lb in at the end, the quiet spell I suffered was costly, as my 121.14 was third on the day.

1. Gareth Boycott 136.05 peg 9
2. Glenn Calvert 133.02 peg 38
3. Chris Fox 121.14 peg 1
4. Martin Rayet 116.06 peg 5
5. Glenn Bailey 97.09 peg 15
6. Joe McMahon 96.13

Silvers

1. Paul Faiers 31.15 peg 3

2. Dave Haines 21.12 peg 40

Ivy House Open, Sunday 3rd October 2021

 Over two lakes today, old match lake and willow, I didn't fancy drawing the bank by the speci lake, so where did I draw, 32, one peg away from where I dismally failed to weigh in in the spring festival.

Travelling partner Tony, drew peg 2 which I would have taken in preference to mine.  I did set up a method, a straight lead and a waggler - the two lead rods went away at the end unused, as I thought my best chance of picking up was fishing for silvers and I did expect the OML to produce the winning silvers weight, but decided to give it go, as for me it would be a bit of an unknown, not having fished for silvers on willow before.

Started well catching roach short on caster, then the sun came out and spoilt that, I had fed two skimmer lines, one with GB/maggot and another with micros.  Well I had a frustrating few hours, my bluetooth headphones were flat, so had to listen the the GP from the speaker on my phone (turned right down so as not to upset anyone).  But the biggest frustration was that there were skimmers in the peg, I was missing bites and foul hooking them.  I tried lighter rigs, heavier rigs, not feeding GB, corn on the waggler (not a bite on it) and I was pretty stumped, the one thing I didn't do was persist with expanders, which turned out to be a mistake.

I the last 30 minutes the trees and bushes behind me cast a shadow on the water and the roach came back, I had some decent fish (up to 10oz) amongst the smaller specimens, but felt I'd fall a long way short.

As it turns out there wasn't a big silvers weight from OML (17.12 being top silvers on there) and John on peg 31 to my right weighed 24.14 to my 17.10, he'd sat it out on expanders and caught plenty of hand sized skimmers  - patience is a virtue I am yet to learn..... (likewise having confidence in soft pellets!)

Charlie Barnes Memorial, Acorn Fishery, Saturday 2nd October 2021

 Charlies memorial match is a silvers only match, it couldn't be any other way, Charlie, to put it mildly, was not keen on 'vermin' and only fished for silvers.  For those who didn't know him, a big character for many years on the match scene, he owned a maggot farm at one time and sponsored a very successful team - Avon Bait.  Much missed by his angling friends.

27 fishing, I wasn't too fussed where I drew, although a bridge peg is usually home to a few tench.  13 it was, nowhere near a bridge, but should be OK for a few bites, although I had my doubts it would take a big weight to win it, given the bright sunshine, no breeze and warm weather - not ideal silvers weather and the carp were already active.

Decided there wasn't any need to get more than 11m of pole out, likely to be carp and F1's across, so a rig for skimmers at 11m, another rig for 2+2, one for topkit only and one for halfway up the near shelf either side.  Bait tray was maggots, casters, worms could stay in the bag, they'd attract carp!  Had some micros and soft pellets, but wasn't expecting much but carp on them if I'm honest.

With Sue Faiers on my right on 12 and venue regular Mike Chapman on 15, I had a little space towards 14, but I started short on caster and had 4 tench and a couple of roach in the first hour.  The skimmer line was a bit of a non starter, I had one over it, but there were carp over any feed I put in straight away, I landed carp to just about 10lb on a 20 Guru F1 and 0.10, not losing many at all, they were becoming a nuisance, several times there were five of us in a row playing carp, that went straigh back.

I just stuck at the caster and was rewarded with an odd tench and other silver throught the match, slow going because of the weather, but it was a lovely day to be out.

Come the end, I managed to put 17.15 0n the scales, which wasn't enough to claim the memorial shield, as I was beaten into second place by my mate Paul, who had a great skimmer catch of 21.10, good on the day when most struggled to catch them  Third was another silvers stalwart, Nige Bartlett.

Landsend Open, Sunday 26th September 2021

 I say open in the title, it was a knock up really, with 13 fishing on lake 3.  I wasn't overjoyed when I drew 46, one away from the last time I was here.  For those that don't know the lake this picture sums why I guessed I'd have a fleece on, whilst those on the opposite bank would be in T shirts and sun cream.... The bank the side that says little rhyne stays in the shade all day, I don't like and I'm sure this fish don't either.  peg 46 can fish to the RH end of the middle island.

I thought maybe the island might be the best place to catch, so set up a rig for banded pellet, where ever I plumbed in the peg I was struggling to find 2' of water, the level is down.  I set up a rig to fish for silvers at 6 joints and margin rigs, also a meat rig for later in the match.

Starting across to the island was awkward, shipping back over the otter fence was hurting my thumb and I only had one small crucian to show for it,  I decided to fish for silvers and had a run of crucians, skimmers roach and perch at 6 joints on maggot over GB.  No decent size fish but at least it was bites, it wasn't manic but something to work at whilst I could see it was fishing hard.

I fed live maggots shorter, hoping to get silvers in short, but all I had initially was micro perch, then a carp.  Thought he might be a one off, but then hooked another that broke me.  Switched to a heavier rig (heavier main line and hooklength, not heavier float), as by now the silvers had disappeared, I had 4 more carp but they weren't exactly abundant.

At least it didn't rain and my silvers weight of 12.09 was enough to win the silvers, so a pick up both days of the weekend, best I could do from there i felt, as the top three all came from the far bank.

And they even let me have a crayon to fill in the weigh sheet.....

Acorn Open, Saturday 25th September 2021

 Fourth of my summer matches at Acorn, 20 fishing so everyone would have a bit of room on the lake, I like to peg it so the bridges only have one peg in, as they are close together.

I was due to fish the Landsend 3 day festival last weekend, but sadly had to pull out due to a broken thumb which happened on the previous weekends camping trip.... pulling out of matches I have booked into is not something I usually do, but had no choice, I doubt I could have got my tackle to the peg and set up, let alone fish.  The hospital said rest, pain killers and anti-inflammatory pills, so a week of that and the swelling is down and I have some movement back and fishing is restful isn't it....

Two pegs left in the bag, Martin Rayet took the penultimate ball - 23, leaving me peg 1, a rare trip over the bridge onto the island for me.  I did set up a rig to fish across at 14m, but I could feel that fishing that lengt wasn't going to be comfortable on my thumb, so concentrated on the edge and short rigs when setting up.

I was going to concentrate on 3 lines, the RH margin, which is very short and on a corner, at short line feeding maggots and a 0.1g float with a couple of 11's strung out and a line at topkit +1 where I would feed micros and fish corn or pellet over the top.

First hour was a bit slow and I only had two carp and frustratingly lost four decent perch (how come some days you land every perch and others days lose most of them....) I tried the micro and corn line, that did produce a couple of carp, but mainly nice roach were more attracted to the corn.

I wasn't finding fishing short too painful so decided to go down the margin early than I usually would, I pretty much stayed there the rest of the match, I could see activity every time I fed, so whilst I may have rested it by going long for a couple of spells, my thumb dictated otherwise and I rode out the quieter spells.  Couple of mini-disasters, I hooked one fish that dashed off round the corner and when the rig came flying back and tangled in the grass, I could see the mess that was someone else's rig, minus a float and hook all wrapped round mine, I guess the fish was trailing this and I hooked it. 

New rig on and with 40 minutes to go I hooked a decent fish, probably a double by the feel of it, the elastic snapped at the puller, I managed to wrap it round the pole tip and get hold of it, but the fish managed to snap the hooklength and the float flew back into the next and snapped the tip off - great.

Another rig on and I lost a bit of rhythm, which probably cost me a place or two, as I put 158.02 on the scales for 5th and last in the money.

 

Teams of Three, R1, Shiplate Sunday 5th September.

 I said I'd fish this a while back, wasn't sure what the set up was, I just knew I was fishing of one of the two Landsend teams entered.  Turns out I was in Landsend B with Steve Segar and Rod Wootten.

The draw gave me the longest walk on the complex, 15 on Westpool.  I left the waggler and feeder rods in the van.  Given its an end peg I was expecting to catch a few off to my left, although the wind had been pushing up the other end for a week or more, but surely there would be a few hungry residents.....

Rig for across with banded pellet, meat down the track, shallow rig, margin rig for the LH edge and a shallower one for the RH edge and end bank.  Started across and had 3 fish for just over 20lb in the first three put ins, I was starting to think this might be a good day.  The fish had other ideas, the bites dried up and I had to nick an odd fish from across, one from the RH margin, two from the LH margin and one from the end bank, it was a proper struggle, not much more to say.  My 51.05 was enough for 3rd on the lake, as a team we were joint first on points, but lost out on weight.

Foxy's Two Dayer, Viaduct, Fri/Sat 3rd/4th September 2021

 It doesn't seem long for this annual event to roll around, although this year is a smaller match than previous years given the situation at Viaduct where Cary is no longer available to book for matches.  This means that next year I have booked Shiplate Farm Fishery, so the event will revert to fishing pile only one day on one lake and any method the other on the main lake.

Thanks to Steve and Helen at Viaduct for hosting this year, the usual friendly welcome (hope Matt is feeling better, as we didn't see him, he was confined to his sickbed).

21 Fishing, the usual crowd down from Smithy's in a lodge, boosting the local pubs profits..... and still managing to fish the next day.  The match was filled by invitation only, those who had previously fished, Friday saw everyone turn up promptly and pay their dues, so we could get the draw done on time.  21 on Campbell, 3 sections of 7, only section money to fish for on the day.

I got Paul Nichols to draw my peg and he didn't endear himself to me when I opened the card and saw 130 - not the worst peg on the lake, but probably not the one you'd choose in a two day combined weight match.  Never mind, after ensuring I'd stashed the cash away safely, I went to the peg hoping to maximise the weight in readiness for a better draw on Saturday.

As it was pole only, nice and simple to set up, meat short, pellet at 11m, no skimmer rig today, as I wanted land every carp hooked, another rig for pellet at 14m, didn't think there was a need to go longer, but had the sections ready if it was necessary.  A margin rig as well, although with 129 and 131 in I wasn't at all convinced the margin would be a banker.

Started on meat short and had the usual skimmer, I also had a carp, but it was slow going, I did persevere for a bit, but eventually went out to the 11m line where I had 3 carp straight away, but then nothing.  It was a day where you had to switch lines and hope to nick a fish, before moving again, as expected the short line started to come good towards the end, leaving me with 134.10 which was 11th on the day, leaving me needing a big weight tomorrow.  Paul Faiers on 113 won on the day with 206.01.

Saturday morning saw a few hangovers and the normal pre-match banter and stating which pegs were desirable.  Today I dropped Paul Nichols from drawing for me and Mike Walker got the prestigious slot... He drew me 132, which is a peg that can be good and also has off days, I must admit it's not been a peg that I have had much success from.

A sunnier day than yesterday, I did expect the fish to be shallow, so a shallow rig and a swinging/mugging rig set up and a depth pellet rig  The usual meat line rig, margin rigs one to fish further up the edge and one to fish on the shallow shelf in the peg.

Had one carp on the meat short and one skimmer, but there was little activity to keep me on that line, I went out shallow but couldn't get a bite, the sun had come round a put most of my peg in the shade, the fish seemed to want to be out in the sun.

I did have a couple by sticking it out long on pellet on the deck, the LH edge was seemingly devoid of fish and the RH edge which was to be my banker was similarly biteless in the deeper water on pellet, tried meat and that produced one perch.  I fed some GB and maggots onto the shelf and that brought plenty of bites, but it was all perch, skimmers and hybrids, no carp.

I was now convinced I was falling well behind Phil on peg 131, as he was catching shallow, every time I looked round his elastic was out.  I went back to the previous days tactics of rotating lines and picked off an odd fish, but really couldn't put a run together.  Finally at 16:30, with 30 minutes to go, some tail patterns down the edge and I started to catch, too little too late, ending with 147.02 for second in section by 3lb.  Dan White winning from 115 with 253.03.

Dan White did enough to take the win and pocket the £350 top prize, along with the section money and superpool, with Andy Lloyd in second, after drawing the same peg both days, Paul Faiers with third place and Last in the money Alex Nadin.

Thanks to all who supported the match and I'll put full details of next years match at Shiplate on 2nd/3rd Sept 2022.

Viaduct Costcutter, Thursday 2nd September 2021

 Just getting a feel of the place again before my two dayer, tomorrow and Saturday.  Into the coffee tin early and pulled out 118, not the worst peg on the lake.

I had pellets and meat, no other baits, set up a lead rod that went away at the end, unused.  A waggler rod and topkits for the margin, meat short, pellet long up and down and a light strung out rig for skimmers if needed.

Started short on meat, bt slow a couple of skimmers and a perch.  Not many carp being caught on the pegs I could see, so went out to 9m and the strung out rig, had a couple of skimmers but more carp were evident, as I had a couple and lost a couple of foulers.

I ended up rotating between the waggler, the meat line and the margin, although that was pretty unproductive, just two carp, although they went about 19lb between them.  Couldn't get any line to really switch on and inevitably, just as I though I had, it would die off and I would have to switch.

Enjoyable day with just over 100lb of carp and 35lb of skimmers, which was enough for 3rd over all and 2nd in silvers.  lets hope I'm thereabouts at this time tomorrow night....

Acorn Two Dayer, Day 2, Monday 30th August 2021

 Decided to stop in The Bridge Inn at Yatton for breakfast, it unfortunately turned out to be the best part of the day, even with the sausages that must have spent quite some time in the hotplate, giving them a exterior reminiscent of a Kevlar stab vest..........

I drew myself peg 31, whilst my precious matches on this peg have resulted in DNW, I was fairly confident that the space down to my right would see me catch in the edge or short.

Plumbing up both edges and across, I found more depth than I'd like, near 3' than the 18" I would prefer.  I could find shallower water tight to the far bank so set up a rig for there, rig for the edges and one to fish down the near shelf.  A rig to fish in 3' across in front of the grasses was also put up.  The forecast was for wind, so I did get a method rod set up.

Having caught mostly on hard pellet on Saturday, I had hard pellets, corn and soft pellets, I did have a few maggots but only for hookers.

Started across and had indications. lost a few foulers, I tried dead depth, shallow, over depth, tight to the bank, off the bank, hard pellet. corn, no matter what I could not catch, I had 3 fish in the first 2 hours, not in the plan at all.  I just felt the fish were coming to the noise of the bait (started negatively with a toss pot, the moved onto catapulting and increasing the amount of feed - neither of which improved things..) but not taking it, at least, they weren't taking the hookbait.

I had been feeding a line at 2+1 done the near slope, I fished corn and soft pellet here, had a skimmer, then a carp, but it was short lived, skimmers and roach seemed to be all I could catch from there.  I could see Laurie on 28, which produced a good weight on Saturday from the edges, catching, but he had 16" one side and 22" the other, ideal depths.  My edges stayed apparently void of fish.

Looks like banking on pellets was a big mistake, I dug out the few maggots I had and fed them with GB to my LH side (as Lee on 33 was catching well in his edge), I started to catch on this line, but had to feed my meagre supply of maggots in a short space of time, trying pellets and corn was nowhere near as effective.

Disappointing, but my own fault, the match winner caught on caster, other big weights on maggots, speaking to Rob who won the match on Saturday, he also struggled to catch on pellets.  I was thinking keeping it simple would be the best way, but it doesn't hurt to have four pints of maggots in a bag, they'll keep a week or be frozen, lesson learnt.

The small bag of maggots didn't save me from last but one in the section and all chance framing on the day or over the two, but without them, I would have been a long way behind.  Even thinking about it after, I have no idea how I could have increased my weight without more maggots.

Well done to Darren, catching shallow on caster to win the match on the day and the overall.

Acorn Two Dayer, Day One, Saturday 28th August 2021

 As Acorn isn't available for Sunday bookings, this bank Holiday weekend two dayer is held on Saturday and Monday.  21 Fishing, 3 sections of seven, with section points deciding the placings and weight sorting out the order in the event of drawn points.

Been a few weeks since I have been to Acorn, so no up to date knowledge other than looking at the match results, I didn't think too much would change, although I was hoping they were keener for hard pellets than my last couple of visits.

When bridge pegs were out and out flyers, I could never draw them, now they have lost that lofty position and have become silvers flyers, I wasn't surprised when I drew one, I could never draw when they were king....  peg 34, it isn't a bad peg, I was I thought, up against Rob Wilshire on 29 who had plenty of room and the wind blowing into him, also Mark Broomsgrove on 31 has won the section in league matches a couple of times from there.

Tried to keep it simple and cover a few options, so margin rig set up, one for fishing corn over micros short, a rig for fishing in the deepest part of the peg, which is down the track against the bridge and two similar rigs for over, one with a 6" hooklength and banded hook, one with a plain hook and a 4" hooklength.

Started over, trying to feel my way in, tosspotting  4mm pellets and a 6mm in the band, instant response, small carp, small tench then a bigger carp.  I stuck with this for the first hour, not feeding anywhere else, I had 29lb on the clicker, I then fed some micros on the short line, that started fizzing, but apart from one F1 and one carp, even though it fizzed every time I fed it, I just couldn't get bites over it.

I tried maggots by the bridge, one carp and one tench, but not faster than fishing across, I did try a line across with GB and maggot, that certainly brought fish in, but they were small and I was starting to struggle, I had 80lb in the first 3 hours, which was looking OK on the day, but I was finding it harder to get bites and I started to chase fish - that was a mistake.  Dan on peg 33 was starting to catch down his RH edge, I frustratingly could not get a bite down the edge.

I put a small ball of GB in on my far pellet line, I had switched to feeding 6mm pellets to try and dissuade smaller fish, this did kick start it again, but I was still being tempted by the edge, as others were catching in the margins.  The last 20 minutes I did have a fish every put in down the edge and I somewhat saved my day, putting 126lb on the scales, so a poor last half of the match compared to the first half, some of that was me trying to catch short or down the edge when I should have persevered across.  That gave me second in the section and fourth over all, so some coin for that and some hope of a result overall, if I can get a section win on Monday.

Tony Rixon's Float Only League, Final Round, Landsend, Sunday 22nd August 2021

 5 rounds gone, last round today at Landsend, there were 5 of us sitting in second place with one to go, all reliant on Trigger dropping a couple of points to overtake him, once he drew peg 33, it was unlikely.... with 6 framing places, I felt a section win was going to be absolutely essential, given the standard of anglers at the top.  I knew my weight disadvantage could cost me, but drawing the lowest weight section is nothing new for me, its been happening since the 70's.....

Peg 45 for me, lake three after a decent breakfast in the fishery cafe, didn't mean too much, I just knew I had to go and fish for the section, so there was no point in spending time trying to catch the small stockies (F1's) or silvers.  It was going to be 6 and 8mm pellets, 8mm meat and possibly maggots down the edge.

That meant simple rigs, the lake is shallow, 2' all the way across, so I was distraught at cutting down full length rigs, as they won't do for anywhere else... A slim homemade slim float that takes 2 No8 to fish pellet across to the island, two 4x10 wire stemmed rigs to fish open water, both the same except one with a band, one without.  One rig for meat at 5m and a Hillbilly AK47 for down the RH edge.

For those that don't know Landsend, it has a fair amount of arboreal growth and my peg was a bit of a parrot cage, could have been tricky for the waggler, but I didn't have one, so no issue.  Started pretty negatively and tosspotted some 6mm pellets tight across and fished a banded 6mm over them.  A skimmer a roach and a small F1 was the outcome.  It took me 10 minutes to get a carp, I stuck at this for a while but could see Sean and Martin opposite (through the gap in the island) catching short.

My bank seemed to be fishing hard, we had the sun behind us and it was casting a chilly shadow over us and 3/4 of the water between us and the island, I felt the fish wanted to be the other side in the sun.  A switch to the catapult to make some noise did bring a couple of fish in, often you can see them feeding across to the island, but they didn't seem too interested, so it was a long wait between bites.

I even tried the RH edge after a couple of hours, as soon as I lowered 5 maggots into the water, it was snaffled by a micro perch, so I changed it to GB and corn, that just saw roach nibbling at the corn, so I started feeding 8mm pellets as well, trying to put them off.  I did have one carp on corn in the edge and thought that might be the margin coming to life, but he was a lonesome soul.

The meat line was a non-starter, it was just too cold this side of the lake, so I persevered across where there was some sun on the water, I just kept nicking an odd fish on 6mm pellet, going into the last 15 minutes, I'd trashed my across rig on a bramble, I felt I needed another fish, so I sat it out down the edge and was rewarded with one more carp, the biggest of the day at about 8lb.

I ended up weighing the lake, the far side certainly had fished better than my side, but that didn't matter, as I got the much needed section win (and I'm not bitter, but yet again the lowest weight section in the match..... can't see my luck at the draw bag ever changing).

So, back for the results and the final standing only slightly changed from the pre-match table, Rod missing out, but all the rest of us in second place taking max points, as did Trigger who not surprisingly won the match.  My low total weight knocked me down to 5th place, so a few quid and the section money to take home.  It's hard to be disappointed to come 2nd in a notoriously tricky league, so I might wait until the next time I draw the worst section to post all my kit for sale.....

 

Tony Rixon's Short Pole League, Final Round, Todber Manor, Sunday 15th August

 After catching 8 roach in 10 hours in my last two matches, maybe Todber was just what I needed....  Going into this match I was 3rd in the league and needed a decent result to stay in the framing places.

Drew peg 41, looked OK, had peg 40 vacant to my left, so I was hopeful that would benefit me.  I was basing my approach on pellets, but mindful of my last visit where I had to switch to corn to win the section, I had some tins of corn, along with 8mm meat.

Topkits for pellet at 2+2 and topkit, meat rig for topkit, margin rig for just of the bank on the 'second' shelf and a rig to fish in against the rush roots.  Started at 2+2 and had a fish straight away, but I could see others had started catching on the topkit line, so I soon came in on that, it wasn't hectic and plugging away saw me put 29lb in the net in the first hour, too slow. 

Next hour it improved and I had over 40lb, so I was somewhat surprised when the bites dried up, short long and an early look in the edge - two fish for 11lb in the third hour, I knew I was in trouble and had no idea how to get it back.  Going into the penultimate hour I saw a swirl in the edge and couldn't wait any longer, so in there with 8mm pellet, the fish in the edge were a much better stamp but it was sit and wait for one to come in.

I kept feeding the topkit line, switching this to meat and had a few from there, but I knew I was miles off the pace, that middle hour had done for me.  The weights proved that, with the top two weights in the section being 272lb, only separated by ounces, there was a 183lb and then I was equal weight with young Freddy on the next peg, we both had 176.03...

That cost me a framing place by one point, oh well always next year.  Looking back on the match I think I should have been more aggressive with the feed, I am so used to fishing venues where feeding frugally seems to pay off, I seem to have forgotten how to 'pile' it in - and I used to be a master at that!

 Well done to the framers on the day and overall.  I didn't get a photo of the sheets.

Lance Tucker Memorial, River Kenn, Saturday 14th August.

 Today was a match arranged as a memorial to Lance Tucker, who was sadly taken far too early, 55 fishing, as that was the amount of available pegs on the river.  The draw was at the Bridge Inn, where it was good to see some friends and angling acquaintances I hadn't seen in a long time, just a shame it was in these circumstances.

The organisers (Kev and Brian) , along with many volunteers had done a great job in organising the match, clearing pegs and ensuring everyone had a fishable peg.  I drew 35, 3 pegs above Strode road bridge, not noted for bream, but it has been an area for roach in the past.

I was surprised when I got to the river at how clear it was, absolute tap water, I could see the bottom at 6' or 7' deep.

I had intended not to bring a pole, as there have been instances of dogs and inconsiderate walkers/cyclists causing issues, but I did get an old Tournament out of the loft and made up some rigs.

Also set up two wagglers, one insert peacock and another canal grey to fish off the bottom and on the drop, finally a lead rod.  Just as the match started, the wind got up and was pushing upstream - I say upstream, but the river was penned absolutely still.

I managed a miserable total of 7 roach, all on the waggler, only had one bite on the pole, which I missed and no indications at all on the lead.  I didn't bother the scalesman and unfortunately I couldn't go back to the Blue Flame for the results, so not sure what won my section, but I don't think it was much.... the two pegs to my right also DNW.

Big thanks to Kev for organising, I believe a decent sum of money was raised for the Charity that Craig (Lances son) has supported, hoping to fund research to stop the heath issue that Lance died from.

Rail Sport National, Makins, Wednesday 11th August 2021

 This match was over all tree phases of Makins and can be fished either as a Teams of 4 or individually.  I was just fishing individually today, so a nice positive approach trying to win the match.

I drew A5 on lake 2 Phase 1, not that it meant much to me, so a quick shout out on FB brought the usual jokers and one bit of useful info.

I set up a bomb to fish bomb and pellet, a method to get to the island, a waggler for fish round the peg and a pole line at 14m.

I am not going to try and make this sound interesting, I had one bite all day, a roach on meat at 5m, the guy to my left on peg A4 was likewise, I was out of the carpark soon after the final whistle and didn't stop to get any results.

The epitaph for this one is.... at least it didn't rain!

'Pops Pairs' Sedges, Sunday 9th August 2021

 A charity match in the memory of Jamie's father (Jamie owns Sedges) and some money to a local hospice.  Traveling partner Tony Rixon said he wouldn't mind being on Brick lake, so I happily took Tile lake.  We decided (without much difficulty) that Tony would draw, both being nervous of what my drawing arm might pull out....

Tony got 9 on Brick for himself and 37 for me, not a bad draw as a pair.  I expected that I'd need a ton plus to come back with good points, so had 6 & 8mm pellets and 8mm meat.  I also had some paste, as it can work on here. Set up a method to chuck to the island, a straight lead to try bomb and pellet and topkits for meat, pellet on the deck, a shallow rig and a paste rig.

To my right I had Jamie, the owner, he had one rod set up, a method; to my left Guru backed Ben Hagg, so a tough day in prospect.  Just as last time I fished the venue, it was windy, made it difficult to hold anything over 11m, even plumbing up.

I started at 11m fishing pellet on the deck and in 40 minutes had 2 skimmers, not a lot being caught, so I picked up the method, a 6mm pellet into the band and micros/GB on it, I was pretty shocked when it went round after about 2 minutes and a carp about 4lb was the culprit.  Stuck with it for a bit, but never had another bite on it.  I could see some fish moving in front of the island, so off my box and took the waggler rod out of the bag, but that was a waste of time no bites on that.

I still hadn't seen much caught, so tried the bomb and pellet where I'd been feeding the 8mm pellets, about 5m off the island.  Not as much as a liner.

By now I was wishing I'd brought some worms and skimmer GB, I did knock up some GB and opened a tin of corn, just to try and put something in the net, the GB worked and I had a few decent skimmers, then a carp about 6lb, I was hopeful the feeding skimmers would draw some carp in, well that didn't happen, I tried the short meat line every 15 mins or so, but never had a bite on it.

Next to me Ben had persisted with slapping and did get some carp in the end, enough to win the lake, fair play to him, I just cannot do it, the monotony it of breaks me after 10 minutes or so without a bite. Jamie's single rod approach also paid off as he beat me by 8lb.

Thankfully Tony had a second on lake, my gamble on catching skimmers paid off and we ended up third overall and last in the money, with me winning the silvers as well, so a reasonably happy van on the way back up the M5.  Well done to Ben and Scott who slapped their way to victory.

Overall 1st Scott Puddy and Ben Hagg 5 points 124lb 4oz

Overall 2nd Jamie Parkhouse and Paul Homewood 9 points 147lb 4oz

Overall 3rd Tony Rixon and Chris Fox 9 points 140lb 4oz

Phil's open, Viaduct, Saturday 7th August 2021

 First trip down to Viaduct for a while, some no shows put the number down to 17, I managed to draw myself 132, it's one of those pegs that can be brilliant, or not so good, as it's a corner and the fish do come and go from it.

Two rigs for pellet in open water, one on the deck, one shallow, a meat rig for 2+2 and a margin rig to fish up the edge and to the end bank if necessary.  Also set up a straight lead, didn't bother with the waggler, couldn't really see many fish moving.

Started short on meat, but nothing on that, not even a skimmer, I had pinged a few 8mm pellets out into open water and went over them with the lead, I also fed 8mm pellets to the end of the willow that hangs over the RH side of the peg, from both these lines I caught fish and put 60lb in the net in an hour and 50 minutes, happy with that I was hoping for at least the same in the middle two hours and then a good last two.

Well that didn't work, I had two more fish in the middle two hours, one on the lead and one shallow on the pole, I wasn't getting liners anywhere, it didn't feel like there were many fish there.  I even went up the edge a bit early and had a skimmer on 8mm pellet, same down the LH edge, I never even hooked a carp in the edge, which is unusual even for an off day on the peg.

Last two hours I had a few skimmers on meat and an odd carp, about another 60lb in total and so it proved, I put 122lb on the scales for less than half way up the field, not sure what I could have done differently.  135 didn't weigh in,  so there weren't too many fish up this end.   No picture of the weigh sheet, as I manged to put my phone into a bait tub with meat and water in and it died..... expensive day!!!

Tony Rixon's Float Only, Penultimate Round, Todber Manor, Sunday 1st August 2021

 Everyone was a little shell shocked by the results from the festival the week before this match with anglers catching over 400lb and coming nowhere.  I didn't expect such big weights today, as there were less on the lakes.

Peg 52 for me, I felt there were better pegs in the section, so it would be a case of getting my head down and concentrate for 5 hours.  I had banked on pellets being the bait that would see me through the 5 hours, so my main line of attack was two rigs for straight in front at 2+2 and topkit. Also a margin rig and a shallow rig.  The two open water rigs were glass stemmed to take the pressure of catching short and quickly..... hmmm.

Started at 2+2 and banded 6mm, it took a little while to kick off and never really got going at a rate I felt would see a big weight, I'd been feeding the topkit line and came in on that, had a carp instantly, then a small tench and that was it, nothing.  Back on the 2+2 line and by toss potting a few pellets I could get odd bites, but it was pretty slow going.

I tried the LH margin, even 8mm pellet was getting ragged by small silvers, I wasn't convinced there were too many carp down this arm today, but there was obviously some, I needed a section win to be in with any chance of keeping in touch with the league leaders.

I ended up opening a couple of tins of corn and feeding that short, it was better than pellet and I had a steady run of fish at the end, which thankfully was enough to see me over the line of the section, but a long way from the framers.

I think this is the table going into the last round, but I haven't had all the details of stand-in's this does have the worst result dropped.