Shiplate Farm Xmas Match (All Lakes)

After The works Xmas knees-up last night I was fearing the worst thinking I would be in no fit state with a banging hangover but I wasn't to bad, must be something to do with age as I called it time at 10pm but after 5hrs I must have consumed well over the weekly recommendation! With the match held over both canal lakes & the main lake I would wait and see where I was before thinking what I would do. I was hoping for the noted pegs 1 & 15 on the main lake or the lower numbers on Hawthorns as it was the most productive at this time last year, I ended up on peg 15 hawthorns which wasn't where I wanted to be due to the fact Owners Steve & Carol recently had a leek repaired as well as extending a new lake right where I was pegged so I felt the fish would pushed into the lower numbers with the disturbance but we would see? With peg 14 empty I had a bit of room to fish down the edge at 11mts but it was deep at around 7ft so set up a 4x16 chanti on 0.13-0.10 and an 18 808 hook,

 

I set up a 4x10 & 4x12 chanti to fish across to the far bank vegetation both on 0.11-0.10 and 18 63-13 hooks in around 4ft of water where I plumed up a few lines to find the same depth but only planned to feed one area to start with to gauge a response.

For company I had Fishery resident Steve (Peanut) Howell on peg 13, I say resident as I recon all the work going on is making way for him to have a mud hut built to save him having to go home! He keenly challenged me to a quid, Before informing me he drew the same peg last match!" Great..'
At the all-in fed a few 4mm hard pellet down the inside swim and started the match close to the far bank reeds feeding just a few dead maggots via the cad pot on the pole and fished two dead red maggots on the hook. It took me 10mins to get my first proper indication, A half ounce perch" and the first hour wasn't much better as I added a chub of 3oz and a carp of 8oz! Peanut was already admitting to 3 carp so taking the quid looked grim' My head wasn't quite on it as last nights session was catching up with me and as well as feeling a bit peaky I had a banging head so took ten minutes out to take some tablets and have a cuppa. I decided to start a new swim off to my left by feeding some micro and maggot together but again all I had were a few missed bites and some tiny perch so things were looking disappointing? It wasn't until we were over two hours in I hooked my first carp which was somewhere in the wrong place as it took off" and I had the same happen shortly after but at the 3rd attempt I had a 3lb fish in the chops! At Last".

With over half the match gone I decided it was time to try my inside swim so started with corn on the hook feeding a few grains of corn over the top with a small ball of micro pellet, I had been feeding the odd few pellets with the catty though-out the match but was hoping to draw the fish right into my bait. It didn't take long and 10mins later had a carp of 4lb but nothing followed so gave my far lines another try but only had another carp and a 6oz roach off the new far bank swim. going into the last hour I expected to catch a few more fish down my inside but was disappointed to finish up with just 2 more and nothing from my far lines.
it turned out Peanuts flying start was short lived as he only added a few silvers for the rest off the match" so when my total went 20lb odd to his 10lb I was soon keen to pick up my nugget! as expected the lower end of the lake threw up the best weights with the top 3 only separated by one fish with Matt Tainton coming out on top from peg 4 with 50lb mainly catching down the edge with maggot closely followed by Russ Pecker with another 50lb weigh so a good close frame to end the match, I don't think there was much else I could of done to catch any more as they just didn't seem to be there in any numbers but the weather held up and it was still an enjoyable day with carol laying on free food afterwards back at the hut before the results which was golly good of them.
Well that's all the fishing I plan to do this side of Christmas but have a two day pairs silvers only match on Viaduct next Sunday & Monday with team mate Don Sutherland so looking forward to having some time off work over the festive period. Merry Xmas to you all and thanks for the support as the blog has been running a year now so Ile do that stats for the soon  to see how I got on??.
Final Results -
1st Matt Tayton (Bristol) peg 4 Hawthorns, 50lb 14oz.
2nd Russ Pecker (Thatchers Tackle) peg 9 Hawthorns, 50lb 12oz.
3rd Des (Smiley) Shipp (Preston Innovations) peg 3 Hawthorns, 49lb 8oz.
4th Rich Hawkins (Wormheads) peg 10 Hawthorns, 41lb 4oz.