Avalon Xmas Match, Sunday 18th December 2011

There was a good turnout for todays match, shame the cold rain/snow of a couple of days ago and the overnight frost were likely to effect the fishing. I walked up the pub last night for a beer or two, on the way I bought a lottery ticket and a loaf of bread for bait. The lottery ticket only had one number matching the winning line and I got chatting, had a couple more beers than I intended and left the bread in the pub..........

Into the draw tin and I managed to get an end peg, 48. No island chuck and I guessed the replacement loaf I bought on the way to the match, would go unused, at least the ducks would get a meal at the end. No need to load up the trolley for such a short walk, so a couple of trips to the peg saw me settled in on the nice new pallet that Vic has put in. Vic walked round and offered some advice and information on the peg, always good to get some assistance. I set up a waggler to fish maggot, a straight lead, just because it was set up in the bag (I might as well put all my lead rods on ebay for the use they get) and two pole rigs. Rig one was a 0.4g MW diamond, because the wind was blowing into my face and I wanted a stable float, this was on 0.14 with a 0.12 hooklength and a 16 6313. The othe rig was for the margin, on 0.18 with a 0.16 hooklength and a 16 B911.

I started on the waggler towards the aerator, with a 6mm pellet banded on, no feed, just to see if there was a fish willing to pick up a lone pellet. I had a search round the peg with this and then switched to single flouro maggot. The first fish fell to this, a small skimmer,  I'd fed a couple of lines, off to the left between the 10 & 11 o'clock position, as far as I could catapult casters in the head wind and a pole line, which I lined up with a tree to the left of peg 2 at 14m, this was fed with micro's via a cup. I also fed the end bank at a comfortable 14.5m, this was with micro and maggot.

I had a couple of skimmers and roach, then a 6oz perch, by swapping between the waggler line and the pole line, all falling to the single flouro, soft pellet proved to be a non starter, as did caster. As I started to get a few bites, I picked up the catapult with my usual exuberance and even though I did my best to limit the bait, I think the half a dozen or so maggots was too much, as the bites tailed off. Then the waggler buried and a better fish was putting a curve into the Titan, a 3lb or so carp was duly netted. The waggler line then really dried up, so a look down to the end bank, where there was a nice flat shelf, with nearly 5' of water. No bites here, so I refed it and out onto the 14m pole line and a decent skimmer joined his small cousins in the keepnet.

Both open water lines went really quiet in the last hour or so, that left me concentrating on the end bank, hoping a couple of carp would come up onto the shelf, first put in the float buried and a 1oz roach had taken the double maggot, next put in, the float buried again, this time a small, but angry carp was the culprit, no more carp, but a couple more roach made the net before the all out.

A nice touch at the end as Vic and Mrs Vic had organised soup, crusty bread and hot mince pies, just the job after a cold day, thanks. The usual Xmas match hampers and booze was lined up and I won my section and a 12 year old Malt for my fifth place over all. My silvers went 6lb odd and the 2 carp 5lb odd for a 11.11 total, apart from the winner, it was a nice close match, a lost carp (probably fouled) cost me second place, but that was the only fish I lost.

1.      Vince Brown 48-04-0 peg 19

2.      Andy Gurd 15-08-0 peg 27

3.      Darren North 14-10 peg 10

4.      Shane Caswell 13-04-0 peg 24

5.      Chris Fox 11-11-0 peg 48

6.      John Bradford 11-08-0 peg 9

Silvers:

1.      Tony Rixon 9-0-0 peg 28

2.      Alan Oram 7-14-0 peg 12

Viaduct Xmas Match, Saturday 10th December 2011

A draw and breakfast at the Globe, in Somerton, meant an easy start to the day. Three lakes in the drawbag today and no doubt, the draw would be important, with the fish settling into their winter quarters and the overnight frost. (Down to -3°C on the van temp. gauge).

The numbers banded about before the draw as being desirable, were the usual suspects, 110, 130, 85 and the island pegs on spring,  bookies wouldn't have lost much had they offered odds based on the general consensus. My ever unreliable drawing arm gave me 119, although somewhat heartend by the fact it threw up a weight on last weeks Carps match. I had tried to keep things simple on the bait tray, meat, bread, caster & maggot, with a kilo of worms in the bait bag ( that has accompanied me, unopened, for several weeks now!!). I set up a waggler and a straight lead, both to fish meat, a MW diamond to fish at 16m and a Carpa Chimp to fish caster at 13m. A margin rig joined the set up, to fish 16m down to the end bank.

I started pretty negatively, searching the peg with the waggler, lead and margin rig, without feeding, trying to find a bite, all to no avail. The 13m caster line didn't produce a single bite, to caster or maggot, even dropping down to a 22 on 0.08. By midday and still biteless, I decided to switch to fishing maggot down into the corner and across to the pallet of 120, The only place in the peg I could get a bite, was next to the sunken tree in the corner. Of course, the closer to the tree, the more likely a bite, but also more likely a lost fish. It still didn't go mad, I had 5 carp for 13.15 and 2 perch/3 roach for 2lb, a total of 15.15, this was 7th on the lake, with, as expected the weights improving towards the opposite end. 3 fish managed to escape into the tree, 2 of a similar stamp to those I landed and 1 decent fish, but they wouldn't have made a difference on the day.

Spring lake produced the goods, with Simon Jones having a great days fishing and the old favourite, peg 85 gave Dick Bull some cash and the second place hamper.

1) Simon Jones 183.08 peg 3
2) Dick Bull 80.03 peg 85
3) Steve Mayo 77.01 peg 4
4) Colin Dyer 66.15 peg 5
5) Fred Roberts 66.14 peg 129
6) Terry Lenny 65.05 peg 110

Silvers

1) Ray Hayward 17.02 peg 78
2) Geoff Barnett 14.14 peg 18

Plantation, Carps AC Wednesday, Match 7th December 2011

I reckon I must be suffering from early onset senility, I managed to book into two matches today, a few weeks back I booked into this one and last week into Tony's match on Avalon - I went with my conscience and let Tony down as I'd booked in last with him. With hindsight that was the wrong decision, as todays match cost £22, broken down as a £6 peg fee, £5 for breakfast and £1 for Carps AC. That left £10 for the pools and with 16 fishing, £50 / £ 30 breakdown for the match and silvers winners/second. I'd have rather seen the £5 breakfast money paid out on sections.

Once the breakfast was done, I'd got well wrapped up against the windy conditions and then drew peg 4 - for the last 3 months, this bank and row of pegs has been the one to draw, winning every match, today with the wind in our faces, with the occasional gust from left to right and then an equal and opposite reaction back the other way, ensured that long time form, was blown away.

I had venue expert and Plantations Booking Agent, Darren 'Noddy' Vowles on peg 5 for company, so I was expecting a lesson in plastic thing chucking and to be well beaten off the next Peg at least in the overall. The strength of the wind saw me set up a rod and plastic thing (lobotomy impending at this rate), a waggler and two topkits, although 11m was going to be the comfortable limit, due to the swirling wind. One Carpa Chimp on 0.14 to a 0.12 hooklength and a MW Diamond with the same line.

Given the choice, I'd have taken 33, its a good silvers peg and given the equal payout in this match, I fancied it for roach and perch on the caster - Colin Golding drew and I'm sure he would have fished his soft pellet over soft pellet feed approach.

It was a slow start and 3 /4 hour passed before I had a bite on 4mm devils spawn, which saw a carp grace the net, I'd been feeding a close line with caster expecting to, if not plunder, eke out a few silvers. This didn't happen, not any where in the peg, all match, a total silvers blank. The wind made things tricky and swapping between the pole line and (after I'd ripped the plastic thing off and thrown it a long way away) straight lead
saw me land 5 carp in total, on devils spawn, maggot and bread. I managed to lose 5 fish, two on the lead and three on the pole.

I'm happy that the two lead fish were fouled and so be it, but on the pole, I hooked a real big fish, it just kept swimming (no real speed), initially it came in like a skimmer, the once I'd got it close enough to break down to the topkit, it woke up. Still slow, but it swam off and kept going until the 0.12 hooklength parted. I put a new hooklength on and the next drop in hooked a fish, which took the hook and left me with a curly bit of line - I've had a couple of instances of this now, since I started using the pyroti hooktyer. That seemed to kill the poleline.


Now onto my near neighbour on peg 5, venue expert, Darren 'Noddy' Vowles, we had some good banter during the match, but this obviously affected Noddy as his lesson to me failed to materialise, in fact it was an anti-lesson as he failed to weigh in (He did claim one carp, but slipped it back on the all out whistle, so was a dismal DNW). Can't wait to have a wasted peg next to me again

I told 'Noddy' that we (me and my missus) were off to the local curryhouse on Xmas day - he fancied that, but I got a text from him saying Mrs Noddy wasn't imprressed. He also asked me to point out he holds the lake record - but surely the only peg on the stock pond doesn't count'

The real venue expert won, with all the weights coming from different pegs to those that have been dominating  the last few weeks, about time those fish started moving - just a shame it was today.


1) Rod Wotton 85.06 (peg 25)
2) John Smith 48.09 (peg 28)
3) John Dursley 37.04 (peg 31)
4) Mike Nicholls 31.15 (peg 38)
5) Chris Fox 31.00 (peg 4)
6) John Bennett 23.00 (peg 29)

Silvers

1) A Gard 9.06 peg 18
2  J Dursley 8.13

Trinity Xmas match, Sunday 4th December 2011

The post title is Sunday 4th, there is a post missing for Sat 3rd, the Plantations match, on which, I drew peg 11, probably, if not definitely the least form peg on the lake, I was minded not to even bothering to walk to it, but I did eventually gather enought fortitude. I knew my gut feeling was right and 2pm packed up and went off to see the incompetent ref hand Middlesborough the game at Ashton Gate - what a shit day!!

So back to today, a long overdue visit to my favourite venue, John has been busy again and the lakes now lack much of the foliage they once possessed - I like it, but there is a balancing act to be had, between barren hole in the ground and fishable fishery. he also expressed his desire to get Wildmarsh up to a similar standard of weight averages that Woodlands achieves - I've no doubt he'll succeed.

I've previously managed a 3rd and 2nd in this match, in fact in 2006, it was my first match back after my long layoff, so a win was the aim, I felt this necessitated a draw on the far bank. Thankfuly a far bank draw, No 8, stuck to my mitt, from Misha's bucket. I had purposely left the rods at home, so set up a couple of top kits with 1g & 1.5g rigs respectively and another with a 0.8 for hard pellet. Finally a 2x10 rig for the margin, although, as much as I plumbed the margin, a decent shelf was conspicuous by it absence. The best flat area was under the platform of the vacant peg 9.

I started at 13.5m, with micros and Devils Spawn, as this is often  a good bet to catch decent skimmers and carp, not today as a couple of hand sized skimmers made the net in the first half an hour or so. I was obvious looking round the lake that no one was catching well, and a switch to maggot caster brought the odd small roach and skimmer. By the time Misah stared the first of her rounds with the gratis soup, mince pies and sausage rolls, I had approx 1lb.

I looked in the margins earlier than I wanted too, and had three carp in three put ins under the pallet of peg 9, that seemed to be the residents caught as I failed to get another bite from the margin, one more carp from the 13.5m swim and another couple of roach was too be my lot, but I wasn't far away with that, as the carp had not fed, the scales swung in my favour, with 17.10 of carp and 3.02 silvers, making my 20.12 enough to win by 2oz. It was nice to win this match, with my previous 2nd and 3rd and I must congratulate and thank John, Sue and Misha on the hampers for my self, 2nd and 3rd, as well as the silvers winner.

Wine, Cheese, Beef, Pork and a variety of other goodies which won't last long.... so much for the diet!!

1) Chris Fox 20.12 peg 8
2) Paul berry 20.10 peg 10
3) Mark 'pastehead' Walsh 18.00 peg 2
4) Brian Cearl 15.04 peg 33
5) Kev Perry 9.14 peg 4 (most of which was an 8lb+ carp on the last put in at 17.5m)

Silvers

Brian Slipper 15.00 peg 16 (Roach on caster)