Todber Manor Open, Saturday 22nd July 2017

Back to Todber and I can't believe I drew 54 again, same as last match.  It's a peg that as soon as you get it, the usual flyer, you'll win it from there comments start and it looks like it should be a boss peg, as it has loads of space...... or so it seems.  The LH edge is constrained by peg 49 which can cast across and fish a method about 16m along from the pallet.  The RH edge goes into the corner which 55 can fish to, there is no island and 49 and 54 can be trying to take your fish, if everyone fishes long.

That said, its not as if there many really duff pegs at Todber, so with the wind in a different direction to the last time I drew it, I went with a totally open mind and thoughts about where I could improve on the last performance.

One thing I thought might have been better than a pole, was to chuck a method down the LH edge, abut today there was some ripple and the sky was overcast, whereas last time it was flat calm and sunny.  Also last time I really struggled to catch on pellet, so meat was at the fore of my thinking for this one.

I set up a rig to fish pellet at 11m on the deck, a home made diamond float, with a carbon stem, I find this to be really stable and sensitive, probably the best float I've made so far.  A Hillbilly chump to fish pellet short and a Hillbilly Blimp to fish meat short.  A shallow rig and a margin rig, as it was only 12" or so tight in, I went with a Hillbilly AK47, a nice float for shallow margins.

Started at 11m on pellet, whilst feeding meat and corn short, had a couple of small tench and a carp, but it wasn't hectic, so I had a look short, this was a bit of a surprise, plenty of bites here last time, today, not many bites and the first 4 resulted in a tiny tench, 2 small perch and a small carp.  Its not a venue that you feel you can too far behind on, so I was thinking about my next move, to maximise catch rate.

Back out to 11m and a few small tench and carp, but again, not setting the world on fire, I stuck at it and after an hour had 14lb on the clicker.  Not quick enough, so I picked up the method rod, I had fallen for the advertising and bought some 6mm orange wafters.  First chuck up to the inside of the point and a 7lber in the net, next chuck a 3lber, sussed it, but no, a quiet spell, I did change to a 6mm pellet with GB and this brought a couple more fish, but the quiet spells had me doubting myself if this was right - I have no confidence in the lead or feeder as a way of catching.

I had fed a line at 11m down the LH edge and went in this with the pole and margin rig, two missed bites and two trashed rigs proved there was a horrendous snag in there, that had managed to avoid showing its self when I plumbed up.

I abandoned that and tried the short line again, poor, a couple of decent skimmers, but little else.  The 11m started to come to life with 2 ours to go and I was getting a carp from 10oz to 2lb most put ins.  I had fed some meat in the RH margin and whenever I saw a fish there I'd have a drop in and sometimes had one, sometimes didn't.  I saw two 8-10lbers side by side nosing the fed area and quickly dropped a 10mm cube of meat tight in, just in front of them.  The float buried, a bloody 1lber had grabbed the meat first, obviously the brace of weight builders swirled and vanished......

So, should I have stuck it out on the method down the edge and hoped it built, I am sure I wasted too much time chasing bigger fish in the edges, when they weren't there in any number and maybe I should have just fished pellet at 11m all day, as this got stronger and as an opposite to my last visit, they didn't want meat.  Too many questions and no definitive answer, I suppose that's why we keep going!!  96.04 and thanks for coming, can't complain, a decent days fishing and the peg may well have been worth more.