Southwest Super League Rd 1, River Huntspill.

The return of the Super league and back to a total change from the commercials & rigs I've been used to of late' With Team mate and traveling partner Don Sutherland picking me up we decided on the safe bet of a hilltops breakfast rather than take the chance of the breakfast on offer at the draw venue Laburnham  House, Not that its not nice its the fact the coffee is not included and costs nearly as much as your breakfast!" Arriving with plenty of time before the draw things were already against us as one of are team had told captain Chris Hook he wasn't going to fish on Friday meaning we had to find a stand in for the first match, As well as being very annoying when this happens the stand in anglers tend to fish there own tactics rather than asking what ideas others have to try and catch a few fish, All good if things pay off but we would have to wait and see?, As anybody fishing these matches will know it's not cheap as you tend to need a bit of everything, maggots, casters, worms, squatts , ground-bait then the cost of breakfast as well as your pool's entry on top' I did a quick add up of how much the day was going to cost me and I didn't have much change out of £75" all very well if you are prepared to fish as a team who want to do well.

After Chris did the draw I found myself pegged below woolavington peg 89 with Don drawing the section above, Arriving at my peg I found myself the end peg of are section just before the dug out with the next section starting the other side of it, It didn't look as if anybody had fished the swim since the start of the season which can make the fishing hard until the fish get used to seeing a bit of bait since last year". Quite simple again today, To feeder rods set up, one to fish right over towards the far side on my Maver 13ft multi system rod as well as setting up the 11ft model to fish just past the middle of the river should the case arise.

Two pole rigs, a 0.4 PB2 on 0.13-0.10 with an 20 B520 hook to fish at 12mts on the deck in the open water were I had around 5ft of water, and a lighter 0.3g rig on 0.11-0.09 with the same size hook to fish on the same line but to use for silver's off the bottom by a few inches. I decided to wait and see what the Angler next to me would do with regards to feeding before I made my mind out how to approach my peg and when the all-in sounded & he proceeded to catapult balls of ground-bait into his peg on the feeder line I made my mind up to kick start my swim by feeding it just through the feeder with chopped worm & squatt added, 15 minutes later I had landed 16 feeder full's about 15ft from the far bank and after feeding some casters and white maggot onto my pole line it was time to attach a hook-length and get going. Starting with a bunch of red squatt on the hook I had a pull round 1st chuck resulting in a 1lb skimmer safely in the net which was a good start and got me all excited' it was short lived though as despite trying various hook baits all I added in the opening 90mins was a 4oz skimmer on dead red maggot. I had been loose feeding the pole line with the catty whilst on the tip and after seeing the anglers further down my section taking a couple of eels on there pole lines it was time to give it a try.

Starting with double white maggot on the hook 10mins later I was just about to switch back to the feeder when the float slowly slid away, convinced it was an eel bite I let it develop before giving it a firm strike to set the hook but was surprized to find out it was another 1lb skimmer!. Nothing else followed so I switched back to the feeder line as from what I could see not that much was being caught. 15mins later and another 1lb plus skimmer was added taken on red maggot but bites were hard to come by and it just wasn't happening so I re-fed the swim with another 6 feeder full's laced with squat's and rested it again. Back on the pole it took me another 10mins to get a bite but this time it was an eel' and a bloody big un" I got it off the bottom only for it to come to the surface and flip over on my hook-length snapping it in the process estimated to be over 2lb" Bummer..!

With a new one added I kept switching between the pole line & the feeder but wasn't going anywhere, I decided to switch to the lighter rig set just tripping the bottom with a single white maggot on the hook but cut back on the feed I was putting in with the catty feeding just a few casters & maggots over the top, This did make a difference for a while as I added 3 smaller eels in a 20minute period before the wind picked up making it harder to present it properly. Now with a nice ripple on the water I felt going into the last hour I had the chance of a few more skimmers on the tip. I gave it 15mins with no signs so back to the pole line with the heavier rig this time with a caster & maggot on the hook, 5mins later I had a proper 1lb plus eel but noticed Paul Purchase 2 pegs down had landed a big skimmer on the tip so went back across again with double dead maggot on the hook. With 25mins left I gave it a little twitch and soon after the tip slowly pulled around, Bingo' a 2lb plus skimmer was safely added which really got my hopes up of more in the last 20mins but it wasn't to be, from what I could see it was going to be a close section as far as the points went, One thing I did notice though, the chap next to me who decided to ball in ground-bait on his feeder line at the start really struggled today adding just a few eels despite staying on it all day. I was first to weigh and was pleased to put 8lb 13oz on the scales with my four skimmers & eels , further down the section there was a couple of close weights before Blackmore Vales Simon Hebditch put 11lb odd scales to take the top weight in the section, My weight ended up enough for 2nd picking up £50 for my effort but more to the point good 6 out of a possible 7 points for the team. Back at the results and some sections proved hard which it obvious due to the lack of bait going in for the first match of the year, So what frustrating as far as the team result go's finishing 6th out of 7 on the day as yet again some of the team seemed to go all out for glory instead of scratching for another point or two which makes all the difference in a small league like this. Having fished in the past for teams on the top level I know how hard you have to work at it to get results and although sometimes it doesn't work in your favour if at least you try different things you can at least get a clearer picture of what to expect rather than just hoping things will happen" Don & myself are back for the open match next week before the second round so expecting things to improve. Team wise Daiwa Gordon League won the day with a good 43pts and top individual went to lee green also from Gordon league with 50lb of bream from peg 99 below woolavington taken on the feeder. 

Teams on the day - 

 

Section Results -

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                 

   

Viaduct fishery Spring Series (Final Rd).

I Got the chance to fish the last round of this popular league as a stand in for somebody who couldn't make it and after yesterday's Match This qualifier I was hoping to be lucky enough to draw on a few fish' The normal hilltops breky on route before arriving at the fishery with enough kit in the car to sink a battleship".  Todays match was to be spread over Cambell, Cary, & lodge lakes with a random draw in place so I could end up on any of them but wasn't in a rush to get in the bucket, ending up near the back of the queue.

It turned out I would be on Cambell lake again today on the far bank peg 125,

After a chat with a few other this end of the lake fished hard yesterday but fish have fins so didn't worry to much as things can change over night, Arriving at my peg that was the last of my worries as it looked as if I had drawn one of the hardest to do well in as I had Freenze's Luke Sorokin next to me on peg 126, England Ace Des Ship opposite me on peg 117 and to top it off the man of the moment none other than Giles (the Bomb) Cochrane who has taken the place apart in the last couple of month's the other side of me on peg 124!" and that's not including the likes of venue regular's Phil Cardwell on the end peg of are bank peg 123 with Paul Elms opposite him on corner peg 119 along with Dan white on the peg I had Thursday 118 so I had my work cut out today then..!

I Planned to keep it pretty simple as theirs no point trying to copy what other anglers who are doing well on certain method's so although first out of the bag would be the bomb rod as not to give it all to Giles' I felt my best option would be the short pole line with meat and down the edge both sides with meat & pellet. I set up a rig to fish each side both being 0.2g AS4 floats on 0.21-0.17 and a 14 478 hook, my favourite 4x12 chanti to fish in the open water at 6mts on 0.17-0.15 and a 14 434 hook which would double up to fish pellet on the deck at 14mts should I need a change of plan but didn't plan to feed anything here to start with.

At the all-in a cupped a large pot of hemp onto the 6mt line with some 6mm cubes of meat added, fed a few bits of meat down my inside right had margin and a small amount of 6mm hard pellets down the right hand side by hand. I had noticed on Thursday that some early fish were caught on the short pole line from the off so started with double 6mm meat on the hook, Luke went off like a train having 4 fish in 4 put-in's and I didn't take Giles long to put his first fish in the net on his bomb approach' Thankfully it didn't take me long to have my first fish of around 8lb followed by two more of similar size in the next 20mins, I was feeding a few cubes of meat & hemp over the top via a cad-pot, 2 more smaller carp in the next 20mins were added before things seemed to slow and I had a skimmer and a tench before re-feeding with half a pot of hemp.

A quick look down my edge's didn't produce so it was time to try something else, I fed another half pot of hemp on the 6mt line and had a try on the bomb but buy now are end of the lake seemed to switch off and from what I could see not much was being caught? Luke's swim had also slowed but Giles was still catching the odd fish on the bomb by searching his swim. I decided to re-fed a new line at 14mts with 6mm pellets and fish over the top with a worn on the hook but apart from a lot of fizzing and one missed bite I still couldn't put more carp in the net, back to the bomb and I added a carp and a 2lb skimmer but had to start catching soon as time was ticking away and by this stage Des was catching on the opposite bank along with Paul, And Giles looked to be winning are bank as it stood but Phil had started to take some fish from the end bank of the lake.

 Giles in action.

 

It was time to change tack slightly and I reverted to the 6mt line cad potting hemp and a few cubes of 6mm meat over the top but added a couple of inches to the depth and switched to fishing single or double worm on the hook with less than two hours of the match remaining, this seemed to do the trick and although it was a case of sitting and waiting for bites when I did get them they were positive whack' under's and the fish were of a good stamp. I slowly began to claw my way back and going into the last hour I felt I had chance to catch up with Giles & Paul on are bank although it was difficult to make out what was happening opposite, I ended up staying on this line until the end of the match taking a couple of fish to nearly 14lb but it was going to be close come the end of the match between the three of us as Luke was still having problems with foul hooked fish. When the scales arrived Luke was first to weigh and put 66lb odd on the scales, My turn and my carp added to my silvers went 127lb odd before Giles had 119lb and Phil 120lb so although there was only one fish in it I had came out on top as far as are bank went,

Over to the opposite bank and Paul put 147lb on the scales and after Dan's 120lb it was Des's turn who ended the day winning the section with 166lb, as a whole the lake fished well and Chris Davis on the end bank peg 135 emptied it to say the least weighing more than 300lb but after going over in one of his nets with the 80lb maximum limit had it deducted but still had easily enough to win with 249lb!" catching on the long pole and down the edge towards the next pallet on 6mm pellet.

As far as the league went Craig Edmonds & Giles Cochrane Were tying for top spot going into the last round but it ended up going Craig's way to finish up taking the league win ahead of Giles

I had an enjoyable days fishing come the end and am really enjoying fishing against the top angler's at the venue of late although with the super-league starting on the river Huntspill next week I'm sure it will much more challenging".

 

Full Results -

1st Chris Davis (Team Flip Flop) Peg 135 Cambell, 249lb 4oz.

2nd Andy Neal (Bait-tech/Freenze) peg 66 Lodge Lake, 218lb 2oz.

3rd Mark Wynne (Bait-Tech Viaduct) peg 112 Cambell, 213lb 4oz.  

4th Des Ship (Preston Innovations) peg 117 Cambell, 166lb 15oz.

5th Bob Gullit (Blackmore Vale) peg 115 Cambell, 161lb 2oz.

6th Bob Giles (Freenze) peg 113 Cambell, 157lb 15oz.

7th Paul Elms (Flip Flop) peg 119 Cambell, 147lb.

Overall League -

 1st Craig Edmonds 4pts. (weight)

2nd Giles Cochrane 4pts

3rd Kev Molton 7pts

4th Steve Tucker 7pts.

Knock-out winner - Andy Neal (Freenze-Bait-tech) 

 

 

 

 

 

 

        

             

     

Maver Match This Qualifier,  (Viaduct Fishery).

After looking forward to this match for a few weeks and a good practice on Thursday I was keen to get up this morning making an extra few rigs and making sure a my pole elastics were in order should I be lucky enough to draw on a few fish? Leaving home in plenty of time to arrive for a cuppa & a walk around the lakes before the draw with the lovely supportive wife we noticed the fish on Cambell lake were heavily spawning in the margins on most pegs,

 

 

With over a hundred Anglers keen to get the place in the big final at Larford lakes later this year five lakes were to be used, Cambell, Cary, lodge, Match & Spring-Middle It was going to be anybody's guess were we would all end up', If I could of chosen any lake it would have to be Cambell despite the early signs of spawning fish as I felt with the resent form of the lake it would produce the winner?

All keen to get the peg we all hoped for most of us were hanging around the hut eager to get into the draw.

 

I ended up nearer the front than most but as last year I still found myself next to twice Fisho" finalist Kevin Dick's"

 

The moment of truth and into the draw I picked up two numbers so decided to drop them back & try again' stuck to my hand came out comes peg 17 on spring  spring lake,

A bit disappointed as its not a lake I really expected the winner to come from but you never know and at least I had an island chuck as an option, For company I had venue expert and Thursdays open winner Gary O'Shea on peg 19 on one end of the island and another venue regular Dave White on the other end of it peg 16 in my section so had my work cut out. Matches like this you have to fish to positive so it was a bomb & Pellet waggler to fish over to the island, A rig to fish meat at 6mts in-front of me and a rig to fish on my top 4 down my inside against the bank in 2ft of water. Starting the match on the bomb an 8mm pellet I expected one of us to latch into some of the lakes munter's' early as we all had the same idea but it didn't happen' 45mins in and I did have a 6b fish dropping short of the island but I already had that feeling it wasn't going to happen, a change to the pellet waggler didn't get much better and although I stuck at it most of the day I missed one bite on it, I did have a problem with some line hanging from the tree opposite which cost me one waggler and two bomb rigs along the way which didn't help matters as I could only really cast to the same area each time.

After a couple of hours word on the bank was a few anglers on cambell lake were doing really well catching in there margins,

 

 

Things just didn't seem to get going for us are side of Spring lake and with an hour to go next door on peg 18 Colin Horn looked to be winning the section with 3 carp taken on the pellet waggler at this point, Things were really hotting up for a few back on Cambell and Pete Upperton on peg 112 was sacking up from his margins for most of the day by the sound of it,

 

 

Despite trying my other swims through-out the day it wasn't until the last 15min I added a similar size carp from the meat line at 6mts but that was it, Dave Also managed 1 on his paste line he had fished most of the day and Colin on peg 18 added two more on the waggler, A big disappointment come the end but that's the luck of the draw (or lack of it") lol as there didn't seem to be many carp willing to feed on this lake.

 

Pete went on to take full advantage of the only angler not to turn up on peg 113 to finish the day with a great 248lb and make his way to the final at Larford lakes in September picking up £250 on the day so well done to him taking all his fish from the margins at 8 & 13mt on meat, followed by Robert Taylor next door on peg 111 finishing the day with 187lb so that's were the fish hey" lol.

 Winner Pete Upperton.

 

Back to are lake and the section was won by Colin on peg 18 with 5 carp on the waggler and a few skimmers on the bomb to finish with 44lb making the trip from the isle of Wight worth wile picking up £85. 

  Section winner Colin Horn.

 

Back to the venue again tomorrow to take somebody's place in the final round of the spring series but with Spring lake not being used at least I've got a change of lakes to look forward too.

 

Full results -

 

1st Pete Upperton (Middy) peg 112 Cambell, 248lb.

2nd Robert Taylor peg 111 Cambell, 187lb 6oz.

3rd Fred Roberts (Sign Solutions) peg 88 Cary) 160lb.

4th Glen Butler (Maver) peg 114 Cambell, 152lb 3oz.

5th Tony Curd (Map/Bait Tech) peg 31 Middle, 144lb 11oz.

6th Jim Evans peg 127 Cambell, 133lb 15oz.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

    

 

 

 

        

 

 

 

 

Viaduct Fishery (Thursday Cost cutter).

Managing to take a last minute days holiday from work I was keen to get to Viaduct for a session on the build up to the Maver Match This qualifier on Saturday, With the later draw there was plenty of time for a Hilltops breakfast on route. Arriving at the fishery to find 35 booked in the match was to be spread over Cambell & Lodge Lakes as there was a club match on Cary today, I decided to hang back a bit as far as the draw went today as I haven't had the best of luck diving in early and the result saw me on peg 118 Cambell,

End peg 119 had been in good form of late with a lot of fish being caught off the end bank on the long pole but with the set back peg 117 being empty and the breeze blowing into are bank I did fancy it for a few fish as the day went on, I had draw this peg once before in a two day silvers match back in the winter winning the match after breaking the ice' silvers weren't my plan today but I was hoping the swim could be kind to me again this time around?.

Their were some very good anglers fishing today who also fish here on a regular basis so rather than follow suit I decided to try and fish what I felt confident doing and keep an eye on what others were doing around me as the match progressed. First of a the usual bomb rod to fish 6 & 8mm pellets towards the middle of the lake was out of the bag, Next was a 4x12 chanti on 0.15-0.13 and an 16 PR478  to fish meat at around 5mts, and last of all 2 rigs to fish down my inside towards the next pallet and back behind me on the top 3 of my pole tight to the bank, I've started using the drennan AS4 floats and I've found them to be  really strong so the first one was 0.4g to fish down towards the pallet on 0.21-0.19 and a size 14 wide gape pellet hook (Take no prisoners') in 3ft of water,

 The next was a lighter 0.2g  on 0.19-0.17 and the same hook for the shorter inside line.

At the all in I fed a pot of hemp and some 6mm meat on the 5mt open water swim and fed a few 6mm hard pellets down to the pallet via the catty, Starting on the bomb with 8mm pellet I had a stonking pull around first chuck but lost it' but despite trying around the swim in the first hour all I managed was one carp just over 3lb, I had seen Dan White on the end bank take a couple of nice fish on the short pole as well as a few anglers taking fish on the opposite bank so things weren't quite going to plan at this stage. the match behind us had started 30mins later than us so after the commotion of anglers walking up and down before the start I felt it was time to try towards the pallet. I had Gary Flinders who was next to me on Sunday on the next peg 116 and although I couldn't see him very well I had noticed he had already had a few fish down his inside.

Starting on 6mm banded pellet cad potting a few the same size over the top I had a fish straight away which was a pleasing sign' I had to fish black hydro elastic as it was the strongest I had in my top kits as I don't really fish many venues were its necessary, but it was a case of hit and hold" as I couldn't allow them to take me under the pallet or into the snags back towards me! I was getting regular signs and despite losing a few foul hookers approaching the halfway stage I felt I was catching up with those who had caught well at the start with 18 carp in the nets, It was all going to plan when disaster struck and whist playing the next carp the elastic snapped and I lost the fish and the whole rig!" I did have a duplicate rig but the other top set only had a lighter elastic which proved to light as the next hooked fish bolted through the pallet and snagged me the opposite side! What looked like a good first half of the match was soon all going wrong so I had to tighten the elastic down as much as I could in order to get the fish away from the bank.

The next hour proved to my worse only adding 2 more smaller samples and one more on the bomb whilst attaching a new hook length after being snagged again then by some miracle I had another carp of 6lb down towards the pallet only to find it had the rig I had snapped the elastic on in its gob along with the Dacron connecter still attached at the other end! result". Things did slow up towards the pallet after a few more fish so it was time to try the short meat line at 5mts in-front of me, starting with two 6mm cubes on the hook I had a carp first dob in then 3 un-miscible" bites followed in the next 15mins, A quick look on the bomb didn't produce and by now with an hour left I had to hope for a few fish on the short line back behind me tight to the bank. I was a bit surprized when first put-in I had a fish of 6lb followed by another of 8lb' It looked like they had moved onto this line in numbers as although it took me longer to get them in on the lighter elastic they were getting bigger and bigger! I had estimated I had put 60b or more in the net in 45mins and even had to get up to borrow a net off the guy behind me with 10mins to go! one more fish of 9lb before I hooked and lost another on the whistle had me thinking a had around 150b odd by the end of the match, by the time the scales arrived 140lb odd was winning are lake before Andy Rowbottom on 119 put 157lb on the scales and I new it would be close between us after my late run? So it turned out as I went into the lead with 161lb.

Further down on 115 Gary O'shea went on to put 192lb on the scales catching on worm to start with then switch to paste on the long and down his inside bank which proved to be another to win the day followed by Mark woodington over on lodge lake taking 176lb from corner peg 66 on lodge lake, My weigh was enough to take 2nd on the lake and 3rd overall on the day adding £20 to the wallet, well' for a short while before I used it to purchase some new elastic ready for the weekend", looking forward to Saturday and was pleased how my day went so lets hope it continues.

 winner Gary O'Shea.

 

Full results -

 

1st Gary O'Shea (Preston Innovation's Thatcher's) peg 115 Cambell, 192lb 14oz.

2nd Mark Woodington (Un-known) peg 66 Lodge, 176lb 2oz.

3rd Dom Sullivan (Maver) peg 118 Cambel, 161lb .

4th Andy Rowbottom (Un-known) peg 119 Cambell, 157lb 11oz.

5th Craig Edmound's (Flip-Flop) peg 126 Cambell, 149lb 10oz.

6th Steve Walter's (Un-known) peg 59 Lodge, 132lb 14oz.

 

 

 

    

  

                 

        

Acorn Fishery. (Clevedon A.A v Shiplate Farm Fishery).

A match with a slight difference for a change with Shiplate's owner Steve Oliver & Clevedon's  Aide Baker getting together to arrange a friendly match between the two fishery's, Although the match was to be run on an open basis it swelled the attendance to 29 fishing and the top 12 weights from each side would decide who came out on top, Nothing at stake but still the enjoyment of fishing against others. Guesting for Shiplate Farm I was looking forward to a better day than my visit from yesterday hoping to avoid the same area which seen me struggle to put a run of fish together, Not trusting my draw hand I let Mark Birdseye do the honours for me today which saw me end up on peg 8, It wouldn't of been my first choice as I felt I would be cut off from the pegs either side of me along with peg 5 opposite which is directly across the front of me but arriving at my swim it wasn't as bad as I thought as I had the option of fishing towards the island on my left at 15mts putting me in the slightly deeper water at around 4ft deep which I felt would be ideal as I didn't think the shallower water tight over to the far bank would produce as well but we would see?

Not having an inside swim as such with Andy France on peg 7 and Gary Flint on peg 9 my next option was to fish a swim at 5mts in the open water which was around 6ft deep.

Keeping it as simple as I could I set up a 0.2g AS1 float on 0.13-0.11 for with an 16 808 hook for the long line and a 4x12 Chanti on 0.15-0.13 and an 16 PR434 hook, it was all about pellets for me today, soft pellet for hookers along with micros and 4mm for the far swim and 4 & 6mm pellet on the short line. Starting the match I fed half a large pot of 4mm on the 5mt line and began at the bottom of the far shelf across with a 4mm expander on the hook just cad potting a few micros over the top with a cad pot attached, The first 45mins saw me put 6 carp in the net from 2 - 4lb but and although at this stage Andy & Gary were a couple of fish up from the shallower water across I wasn't to concerned, As I had expected after an hour or so things began to slow down around the lake and I couldn't see to many fish being caught, I had seen this pattern before were a few early fish show then its a case of picking odd fish of for the rest of the day until things improve again late in the day.

A look on the short line with a 6mm expander saw one carp of 4lb but early indications told me they weren't their in numbers so it was back towards the island, It wasn't hectic but I was still adding the odd fish by fishing a couple of different area's, The trick seemed to be feeding a few micro's to draw some fish into the swim then switch to feeding hard 4mm's to avoid foul hooking fish and to stop them coming up in the water, Their seemed to be a few fish chasing each other around but they seemed more interested in spawning than taking any bait so I didn't attempt to try and catch them shallow, Switching between the two lines I was able to keep putting the odd fish in the net and felt things were going my way at this stage as Andy was now struggling and I was a few fish up on Gary who was mainly fishing the method feeder" across to the far bank at 12mts in the shallow water.

As expected things seemed to get better in the last 45mins with my far line coming good' only feeding after catching to avoid drawing to many fish into the swim at anyone time worked a treat and in the last 15mins I had 4 in 4 put-ins for around 15-20lb, As expected a few fish got there heads down late on but I couldn't see what had been caught at the opposite end of the lake, by the time the scales arrived at are end Jonny Page was winning with 59lb but I felt I had more than that with around 70lb in the net but I don't count or add up as I go along so who knows", Further around and Steve (Peanut) Howell on peg 37 who had suffered a nose bleed due to a change of fishery! lol, had done well mainly catching down his inviting edge to weigh 77lb odd,

Steve Howell. 

 

Lewis jones on end peg 6 by the bridge had 67lb before Andy put 36lb on the scales, My turn and I was slightly out on my guess but not to far away finishing up with 86lb odd which turned out to be enough to take the spoil's so a pleasing result after a couple of near missis lately,

 My Winning Catch'

 

Just to top things of are top twelve weights were easily enough to see off Clevedon's anglers so pride at stake went are way' I picked up £100 so a good day all-round and a bit of a confidence booster going into the big Maver match at viaduct fishery next Saturday, 

Full results -

1st Dom Sullivan (Maver) peg 8, 86lb 12oz.

2nd Steve Howell (Shiplate) peg 37, 77lb 8oz.

3rd Lewis Jones (Drennan Thyers) peg 6, 67lb 2oz.

4th Gary Flint (Cheddar) peg 9, 61lb.

5th John Page (Weston) peg 29, 59lb.

6th Kev Perry (Sensas Thyers) peg 23, 57lb 8oz. 

 

 

    

        

  

Acorn Fishery (Saturday Open).

Only a brief report on this sorry as limited to what I can write and rushing around in the morning saw me forget the camera' 14 fishing today so the pegs were spread out allowing the option for pleasure anglers wishing to fish some vacant swims should the case arise? I ended up on the island swims peg 3 so my hand of god failed me again as I felt I would be up against it with some more fancied pegs spread around the lake. cutting a long story short I had 4 carp in the first 45mins on soft expanders before carp No.5 snapped my elastic at the net losing the whole rig along with the fish! I made a new rig but how often does it happen that it just doesn't work the same?? A frustrating day but I stuck it out to end up with around 30lb which was nowhere as I watched others catching well all day' Managing to draw next to Brian Hadley again who was on peg 1 we had a quid on it but called it a draw before the scales arrived as it was a close call between us and I had to get to the tackle shop to invest in some new elastic ready for my return visit on Sunday, Mark Walsh went on to win the match from peg 23 next to the bridge with 130lb odd catching short on soft expander's. Not the result I was quite hoping for but felt I had worked a few things out going into the inter club match on Sunday? So hoping for a swim with a bit more form?.       

Shiplate Farm Open (Main Lake)

It was pleasant to wake up this morning to see the sun was out but better still the wind had dropped to next to nothing' their is a god". A breakfast roll with the wife on route set me up for the day as nothing worse than getting hungry after a few hours on the bank in the fresh air. 15 booked in today and apart from the normally fancied pegs 1 & 15 I just fancied a draw on the far bank somewhere as you have a bit more room, I have a habit of drawing pegs 6 or 7 so was really hoping for a change so my plan was to dive in first at the draw hoping for a change of scenery? Well' I had a change, peg 8" not to far away then' which happens to be at the far end of the lake with a chuck to the end of the island as well as the open water. I couldn't believe it when we arrived at my swim to find it totally in the shade and the wife was not happy as by now the sun was beaming down on every other peg" Whoops, I knew I should of let her draw for me!.

I must have upset him upstairs somehow as this wasn't turning out to be my best weekend with one thing and another' but after wrapping up a bit I was time to get set up, by now the missis was already heading back to the car for more clothes to keep warm.. I planned to fish a couple of swims in the open water one next to the aerator at 16mts off to my left and a line in-front of me at 14mts were the depth was the same at around 4ft so I set up a 0.4g PB2 0.17-0.15 and a size 16 hook with a hair-rig,  Next up was a 4x10 chanti on 0.15-0.14 and an PR478 hook to fish down my inside towards a tree in the water at 8mts were I had 3ft. Keeping it simple last of a I had a bomb rod set up to cast as tight to the island as I could get with 8 or 11mm pellet on the hook.

I started the match feeding half a large pot of hard 6mm and a few 8's next to the aerator and a ball of damp micros and half a pot of 4mm's onto the open water 14mt line & began feeding a few 6mm's down to the tree, Starting the match tight over to the island with 8mm hard pellet feeding a few of the same I had a 5lb carp after 15mins followed by another fish of similar size 20mins later,

 

 

from what I could see nobody else was catching so I kept at it going into the next hour topping my pole lines up along the way. After 90mins I had a fish of 7lb odd followed by a couple of small chub but by now the ducks had taken an interest and with the water level also being down it was shallow tight to the bank so it didn't take them long to hunt down the pellets I had been feeding! this put the carp off and after another 30mins it was time to try the pole lines.

Starting next to the aerator with 8mm pellet on the hook I was expecting a bite of a response but it didn't happen and after 10min I switched to the 14mt line with 6mm pellet on the hook. A couple of 1lb skimmers came in the next 30mins and owner Steve turned up to tell me I was probably doing best at this point, With the long lines not showing any signs of carp I had a quick look down by the tree without a indication before I switched back to the bomb by the island.

I managed another carp before the ducks intervened but it seemed the lake was fishing hard as only the odd carp was caught, things didn't improve until about 90mins from the end of the match when bubbles began to appear on the 14mt line, Back out with an 8mm pellet on the hook I foul hooked a carp after a couple of minutes losing it near the net before getting one in the gob' It seemed the fish had sprung into live as now a few angler were adding fish around the lake, I expected to have a few fish down the edge but it just didn't happen and I never had a bite there all day, A couple more try's on the bomb didn't produce even though I could see signs of fish near the island as soon as you cast to it they were gone" The 14mt line did produce a couple more fish in the last 45mins but I also foul hooked a couple more' I had venue (Live-in) Steve peanut Howell on peg 7 who also lost a few foul hookers and was struggling to put anything in the net as was Duncan Goodhew look alike Jonny Page on peg 9, It was soon time for the all out and by the time the scales arrived at me team mate Don Sutherland was leading the way from fancied peg 15 with 37lb, My 5lb odd of silvers added to my carp saw me take the lead with 41lb odd,

 My catch.

 

Before Rich Hawkins on peg 6 put 49lb on the scales, Steve Jackson had a great last 90mins taking carp from the island on pellet from peg 3 for 50lb odd,

 Runner-up Steve Jackson.

 

 Then finally John Hawkins on end peg 1 took the spoils with 75lb odd catching down towards the jetty on the pole and paste,

 Winner John Hawkins.

 

Top silvers went to Ron Stark on peg 14 with 15lb odd catching on his usual worm over worm approach, First out of the frame again today but I did enjoy working hard for a few fish just a shame I didn't have a couple more" lol. Hoping to get out both days next weekend before a return to the super-league on the rivers with the first practice match on the River Huntspill the weekend after along with the Maver Match This Qualifier at Viaduct on the Saturday so busy times ahead'.

Full Result -

1st John Hawkins (Wormheads) peg 1, 75lb 4oz.

2nd Steve Jackson (Garbolino) peg 3, 50lb 10oz.

3rd Rich Hawkins (Wormheads) peg 6, 49lb 8oz.

4th Dom Sullivan (Maver) Peg 8, 41lb 12oz.

5th Don Sutherland (Maver) peg 15, 37lb 6oz.

Silvers - Ron Stark 15lb 10oz. 

       

           

Acorn Fishery (Saturday).

A return to Acorn fishery today For which it seems like ages since my last visit so was looking forward to the day ahead, Arriving just in time for a sandwich from the on-site café before the draw and I wasn't really bothered as to were I would draw just as long as I could avoid the couple of pegs which were going to be effected with the already strong wind' It amazes me just how often we get to the weekend and the weather changes dramatically".

True to my run of form in the draw-bag I wasn't really surprized to find myself on peg 23 which just so happened to be the most effected area of the lake along with Brian Hadley on peg 26 with the wind resembling which I can only describe as a washing machine affect in are swims' Just what we wanted to contend with! It didn't help when I had to pass Kev Perry on peg 30 on route to my swim who was on the opposite bank who was already tackling up in a T-Shirt!, No Chance of that for Brian & Myself as we were already adding clothes to keep warm' Seeing as we were going to have to battle through the elements we had a quid between us to keep us interested, First up I had a 0.3g AS1 float assembled on 0.13-0.11 & an 18 Maver pellet hook to fish just off the far bank were I found 3ft of water, A 0.2g Maver invincible to fish tight to the far bank off to my left but pluming up I realised I only had 8'inches of water as the level was down for some reason and didn't expect to catch well from here. Last up was my favourite 4x12 Chanti on 0.15-0.13 and an 16 Wide Gape pellet hook to fish in-front of the Empty pallets to my left and right which was the same depth around 3ft.

I started by feeding a handful of 4 & 6mm hard pellets to the left hand pallet and just a few 8mm pellets on the right hand swim, a handful of Micros and 4mm's tight over in the shallow water and began the match fishing just of the island in the deeper water with a 4mm expander on the hook cad potting a few micros over the top. It didn't take long to have a 3lb carp and a couple of F1's but I was already struggling to present the rig properly being buffered around all over the place'. I saw a sign of fish in the shallow water right over but as soon as I switched to trying it the fish buggered off! I tried the inside sooner than I would have liked but it failed to produce so struck to the deeper swim across.

I had a few more smaller carp & F1's but was already foul hooking a few so switched to feeding a few hard 4mm's to try add pin then down to the deck, I was getting the odd fish but looking around I could see Kev among others had already had a few bigger fish so I had to try and make something else work? Not wanting to get plagued by small fish I decided to fish 8mm pellet on the hook down the inside swims feeding just a few 6mm via the cad-pot over the top, it worked for a few fish before things died again. The wind seemed to be getting stronger as the day went on as I was cursing to myself as I struggled to get the rigs working properly, I had already been blow around on my box and found myself hooked up to the empty pallets in the process' and to be honest wasn't enjoying the day".

I kept at it though and by switching between the two inside swims and the deeper far line I was still adding the odd fish to keep me interested without going insane! I could see Kev had been catching well as well as a few anglers who weren't as effected as us but Brian was also Struggling with the wind, it wasn't until the last hour I had a better run of fish on banded 8mm pellets feeding just a few 6's down both inside swims but didn't think I had done enough to see me make the frame? At the weigh-in we started at fancied peg 9 at the bottom end of the lake Were Shaun Clayton put 99lb odd on the scales before Team Mate Glen Calvert from peg 5 came close with 98lb odd, After a few lower weights we got around to Kev Perry on peg 30 who managed 88lb before Brian threw back around 30lb so it was just down to me' 82lb later so me just miss out on the frame but more annoyingly pulling out of a few better fish due to hooking them when it was gusting cost me dearly' I new had I been able to present a bait properly I would of put more in the net but in hindsight I felt I had done well considering but that's fishing. Shaun went on to win the day catching the bulk of his fish on maggot or worm over ground-bait in his margin.

 Winner Shaun Clayton.

 Runner-up Glen Calvert.

 

Well glad to be back on the bank after missing last weekend and a trip to Shiplate farm tomorrow for an open on the main lake.

Full Results -

1st Shaun Clayton (South Wales) peg 9, 99lb 8oz.

2nd Glen Calvert (Maver) peg 5, 98lb 2oz.

3rd Kev Perry (Sensas Thyer's) peg 30, 88lb 14oz.

4th Dom Sullivan (Maver) 82lb 8oz.

5th Rich Heatley (Clevedon  A.A.) peg 3, 61lb 6oz.