First time at Viaduct for a while, on Campbell it wouldn't be my choice of lake for a silvers match in January, but it is what is. After the match at Acorn yesterday I was chatting to Martin Rayet and said I really wouldn't fancy 119, (or 135, but that shouldn't have been and wasn't in - great summer carp peg, not a silvers peg). I felt 119 would be too far down the lake (it's a corner peg).
Well, what do I draw - picked up two cards stuck together, put one back and opened 119.... bugger. This time of year you are reliant on the roach feeding and hoping for bonus perch and possibly tench, but they aren't there in the numbers they were. If it had been an open I might well have not bothered. But its a league, so something to fish for and I believe if you enter a league you should fish and give it your best shot, as the outcome could be affected.
First out of the rod bag was a waggler rod (trusty Normark Microlite), had a plumb round and found an area where the light was OK. 4 topkits, one for roach at 7 joints, didn't think I'd catch closer, teo skimmer rigs for 14,5m and one for the hoped for big perch down the edge.
Bait tray was maggots and casters, with the obligatory pinkies. I did have corn and meat, but didn't expect to catch on it, so it stayed in the bait bag. I fed the 14.5m line (one to start with) and then a tiny nugget of GB with casters on the 7 joints line. It took 17 minutes to get a bite and I was surprised to feel a decent fish when lifting into the bite, turned out to be a skimmer nigh on 3lb.
Next was a roach just over the 8oz mark I guess, it tried to get under the pallet and keepnets, lively fellow for a cold day. Couple of small roach in the next hour, I then had a perch, that was at least 2lb, but that seemed to be the end of the shorter line. By now the wind had got up, straight into our faces on this bank, we were rather forlornly looking the the anglers on the opposite bank, with the breeze off their backs.
The long line was hopeless apart from two short bursts of small roach and a skimmer about 8 0r 10 oz with 50 minutes to go, that was the last fish, the second half of the match being tough going.
I was surprised to beat 4 in the section to be honest, the roach didn't feed, not even late on, so that was me scuppered as the top weights in the match were all skimmer weights.
That'll be this league over - getting to be a common theme this winter, next round is on Plantation Lakes, which usually offers consistent silvers sport, but like anywhere, this time of year you still need to draw where the fish want to be.
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