Thursday Costcutter, Viaduct, Thursday 28th January 2016

A rare day off, the forecast said no rain, so a match was the favoured way to spend the day, Viaduct was the best option, as it would give me the chance of fishing for carp or silvers depending where I drew.  As I thought the chance of winning the silvers was restricted to a couple of pegs (at the time I thought the match was Campbell and Cary, it ended up Campbell and Lodge) I didn't bother to take any caster.......... typical that I should then draw 126, a good silvers peg on Campbell.

I believe Tony described Adrian Jeffery as genial, let me add generous to that, as Adrian kindly offered me 1/2 his casters, which I accepted gratefully, thanks Adrian.

I set up a lead rod, this was with the intention of having 20 minutes looking round the peg for bites or liners, also a waggler - this remained unused because as the all-in was shouted, the wind picked up and started blowing straight down the lake towards the river, it did slightly move round to blowing from 110 into 123, but given the bright sunlight I was glad for the ripple it offered. 4 topkits, one for skimmers with a 0.3g wire stemmed float, 0.10 hooklength and a 18 6313.  A double bulk rig with the same line and hook, rig for corn with a 0.2g wire stemmed float with a 0.12 hooklength and finally a margin rig that didn't get used.

Starting as planned with popped up bread on the lead brought no bites or liners, nor did anyone around me or opposite catch on the lead, so up the bank with it, where it stayed until it went back in it's tube. With the bright sunlight limiting my options I had plumbed up off to my left at about 11 o'clock, at 11m and 14m, both lines I sparsely fed with dead maggots and caster, with a couple of grains of corn. I wasn't confident about the 11m line, given the bright sun and remnants of the frost still in the shaded areas, so started on the 14m line.  Double dead maggot tempted a 4oz skimmer first drop in, before the roach, small ones, moved in.

A swap to corn was fruitless and I only had one bite on caster, so back to double dead maggot and I had to endure a few small roach before I got a skimmer, I tried a segment of worm and that was on a par with the corn for a motionless float.  I tried the 11m line and that was just small roach, without the odd skimmer.  As the roach were feeding I tried a short line - topkit to hand - the roach were obliging, but small, although I did hook and lose a decent perch, before landing one about 10oz and a hybrid about 8oz.  Just as I had the fish going, the angler on peg 128 walked down for the third time to tell me how crap it was and the bites dried up......

I decided to try 6mm meat on the 14m line and fed 4 bits in with some caster and dead maggot, the float buried as soon as it settled and a spirited little tench just over 1lb was netted, I stayed on the meat until the end, having one more 8oz tench and a few skimmers up to 2lb.

I was hopeful that I had done enough to win the silvers and qualify for the all-winners final, but that was dashed by Andy Power who pipped me from Lodge lake.  A hard day for many, but I enjoyed having to work at it, maybe I should have gone on the meat 30 minutes or an hour earlier.