Ivy House All-Winners Final 2016. Sunday 13th March 2016

Several no shows for this meant that there were 18 fishing, given what I'd seen on the winter league, I fancied peg 19 to win it, 1-3 and 21, 44.  I managed to draw 37, a peg I have won from and would run to it if the weather was warmer, but it was an area devoid of carp in the last couple of league matches.

The weather was cold, freezing, a damp chilly mist hung over Wiltshire and a north easterly wind was right in my face, one of the coldest days I have fished this winter, even once the mist burnt off and the sun came out, which was nearly 1pm.

Peg 37 has an end bank to fish to, the peg slopes from the end bank for about 15m until it levels out at the full depth of the lake, so I set up to rigs to fish up the slope in a3.5' of water and a rig about 2' deep to try closer to the bank, it would also suffice for dobbing bread or maggots along the bank. Two open water rigs, one to fish up the shelf slightly, about 6" shallower than full depth and a rig that would cover two more lines at full depth. These were fed with micros and 4mm pellets in the line furthest most to my left, a positive throwaway line, a line with a few micros and dead maggots and the line that was just up the slope with maggots only.

The only line I had bites on was the 6" up the slope line and this was small roach, if I had got up and set up a roach rig and light elastic, I could have caught a few, but there was no point, I persevered trying for carp in the hope that the weak sun would encourage them up the shelf, but it wasn't to be, no one in around me had a carp and we joined the big list of DNW's.  The match was won from the peg I fancied, 19, Des Shipp the fortunate drawer of it, who was pleased to go home £500 better off.

Not sure what the future holds for Ivy House, Andy and Karen will be gone soon and the new owners in place, they have said they will continue it as a fishery, but we will have to wait and see how that pans out.