Shiplate Farm Open (Hawthorns Lake).

With full permission from the wife to have another day on the bank it was a short trip up the road to Shiplate Farm today, No breakfast today but I still forgot to have something to eat before leaving the house which I didn't notice until I got to the fishery and became rather hungry' 15 fishing today so the lake was full so no empty pegs to assist anyone, I still fancied a draw in the higher numbers but wasn't really bothered as I hadn't been on this lake for a while & was keen just to do my own thing so I let the wifey have a go at drawing for me for a change, Well it couldn't of been further away as she handed me peg 1 in the corner. I've had this peg before at this time of the year and it can be a bit of hit or miss, it has a very tempting inside edge but its not until you plum up (Check the depth") lol, you realise its deep at around 6ft". Never the less I set up a 4x12 chanti on 0.15-0.13 and a 16 808 hook to fish corn or dead maggot on the hook. Next up was a 0.3g hillbilly float on 0.13-0.11 and an 18 wide gape pellet hook to fish just off the far bank in 5ft of water. Finally I had an in-line dibber on 0.15-0.11 and an 18 434 hook to fish on a longer line up in the water if I thought the fish were going to be shallow.

At the all in I fed a handful of corn & 4mm pellets at 8mts down the edge, A few grains of corn & micro's on a line off to my right at 14mts and began the match over towards the far bank with 4mm expander on the hook feeding a few micro's and a nugget of ground-bait over the top via a cad pot,

 10mins later I netted my first fish which was a nice size around 7lb+, A nice settler and in the first 45mins I added two more smaller 3lb fish, Not a flying start but Julian Pinkett on peg 2 had only netted 1 carp so I was doing ok as far as I knew as I couldn't see anybody else' After 90mins & just 1 more carp I decided to try the other far line I had fed at the start with a single grain of corn on the hook, I had a skimmer of a 1lb and two similar size carp straight off then nothing' I thought this might be the pattern as the sun was out after a chilly night which doesn't make the best fishing conditions causing fish to spook easily. A quick look down the inside on corn produced another 1lb fish but nothing followed, I kept rotating between the lines I had going but most fish came off the far line on expanders, It wasn't hectic but I was getting the odd indication & fish to keep me interested, I thought things were going well until I hooked some line attached to a rig which eventually managed to snag the whole lot in the far corner" well that was the end of that rig so a bit of time wasted assembling another to do the job but even that was short lived as the next fish managed to snap the main line halfway down!.

Deep breaths' And another rig doctored" I re-fed the far lines and decided it was time to give the inside swim I had been priming ago. Starting with as single grain of corn I had a 3lb fish straight off followed by another pasty carp but that was it, With 90mins to go I had to try and get some better stamp of fish so decided to try the longer line rig towards the far corner with 6mm pellet on the hook where I had been feeding a few 4mm's with the catty at different times, Starting around 2ft deep I had a 5lb fish in seconds but again any fish were easily spooked and I couldn't get another sign shallow.

I spent the rest of the match working on the main 3 lines I had going and took a couple more fish off of each the biggest of each came from the shallow long line rig.

I was first to weight and had 49lb of carp added to a few silvers for just over 50lb, Julian had 16lb odd of carp and a few bits and it wasn't until we got further along their were a few more weights around the same" John Hawkins on the other end peg 15 managed to take the spoils with 56lb catching mainly on maggot down his inside edge to pip his dad into 2nd place with 53lb. my weight was enough for 3rd and a couple of lost fish cost me again but I'm sure it happened to others'. At least I came away with £35 so it more than paid for the day, Owe & my £1 off Peanut Howell". Enjoyable to have a chance to get somewhere else for a brief change but back to Viaduct next Sunday for the 3rd round of the silvers league which I'm sure is going to get a lot harder now the weathers getting cooler by the day. 

 My catch.

Full results-

1st John Hawkins (Wormheads) peg 15, 56lb 6oz.

2nd Rich Hawkins (Wormheads) peg 9, 53lb 10oz.

3rd Dom Sullivan (Maver) peg 1, 50lb 12oz.

4th Steve Howell (Shiplate) peg 12, 47lb 4oz.

5th. Titch Williams (Drennan Social Club) peg 5, 37lb 4oz.

6th Pete Sivell (P.S.V) peg 14, 34lb 5oz.

                

Viaduct Fishery (Saturday Open) Cambell Lake.

I was supposed to take the old boy of 76 I know from work out for a days fishing but with the forecast of heavy rain it didn't seem a good idea as I didn't want to be responsible for him catching hyperthermia" Being a hardy soul I still decided to venture out so booked into Viaduct for the Saturday open, The match was due to be fished over Cambell & Cary but with only 14 fishing & Cary having an open match on it tomorrow we were all going to be on Cambell. After another nice breakfast at the Albion Truck Stop on the A39 I arrived at the fishery to find it still surprisingly mild with hardly any wind to contend with although it did look like we were going to have the rain which had been forecast? Into the draw and I found myself on the near bank peg 116, An ok area for carp & silvers but I fancied a change so would take a chance on targeting the carp today.

The Bomb & 6 or 8mm pellet has been working well this year so that was the first out the bag' Next I set up a loaded insert waggler with no shot down the line to fish towards the middle of the lake just tripping the bottom which was around 4ft deep, I wasn't going to bother getting a pole out the bag but after purchasing a pint of casters I set up a 4x12 chanti on 0.15-0.13 and an 16 PR434 hook to fish in the open water at 8mts with bigger bits of worm over pots of casters and chopped worm. Finally I had a 0.2g AS1 on 0.17-0.15 to fish down the edge towards the tree.

At the start I fed a large pot of casters and some worm at 8mts, fed a few grains of corn down the edge by hand and began the match on the bomb & 8mm pellet. After 5mins I had my first wrap round only for it to promptly come off" I was pinning just a few 6mm's and a few 8's In a few different areas around the peg and kept switching around the swims, It seemed to be slow on are bank to start with and after an hour I had managed 2 carp of 4 & 8lb both from different areas which was more than those around me, It was time for a change so I switched to the waggler with 6mm pellet on the hook, 20mins later I had lost two foul hookers so decided to try of the deck. This seemed to do the trick for a while as I added a few more by fishing around a 1ft off the deck, Something had to spoil it and after approaching the halfway stage the wind had now picked up and was blowing straight in are chops! This put pay to that as I just couldn't get the rig to stay still long enough for a fish to take interest, A look on the pole lines didn't produce so it was back to the bomb, I thought I had sussed it when I had 2 in 2 chucks when switching to 6mm pellet on the hook but it was short lived' The carp just didn't seem to be happy to stay in the lower layers of the water and I could see Martin Preston just up from me on the opposite bank taking fish off the deck on the waggler which was made easier with the wind assisting him. The guys either side of me were also struggling so it was just a case of plopping the bomb around the peg snaring the odd carp on 6 or 8mm pellets. I expected the swim to produce better going into the last hour but the fish seemed to have other ideas as they pushed further up the lake & the guy on 118 had a good late run of fish it seemed again on the bomb, I managed to take 1 fish off the inside line, an 7oz skimmer on double corn!" but talking after most are side didn't catch anything short and I never had a sign on the 8mt line. The guy on peg 118 ended up with 98lb odd before I had 77lb which was ok until we got to that famous peg 112'' which again won the match with 153lb odd catching on the bomb mainly with pellet on the hook. Their was a couple more 100lb plus weights so it was a shame the wind put pay to catching on the waggler but despite trying it as much as I could it just couldn't present it. On the silvers front Paul Greenwood opposite me put 40lb of mainly skimmers on the scales on the long pole with maggot & casters for an enjoyable day. Back next week for round 3 of the silvers league and after the wife made a last minute change of plan it freed my up to have another day on the bank tomorrow, Very last minute but I've managed to get the last place at Shiplate Farm for their open on hawthorns lake and with it being two minutes from my door I wont be rushing to make it after the clocks go back tonight. Owe & just for the record I now have the sheet from cambell on last weeks silvers league results.

Full Results -

1st Jim Morrison (Tackle Trader) peg 112, 153lb 6oz.

2nd Martin Preston (Bait-tech Viaduct) peg 124, 137lb 8oz.

3rd Mark Wynne (Sensas) peg 110, 120lb 11oz.

4th Dave Hayward (Tackle Trader) peg 118, 98lb 15oz.

5th Dom Sullivan (Maver) peg 116, 77lb 2oz.

6th Nick Ewers (P.I.Thatchers) peg 131, 64lb 4oz.

Silvers - 1st Paul Greenwood (Parsigns) peg 125, 40lb 11oz.

  

                 

Viaduct Silvers League (Round 2)

Back again for the next round & after the first matches result I was keen to try again, Traveling again with Don We stopped off for the normal hilltops brekky but only just timed it right as for some reason their was a mass invasion and the place was nearly full' I had to Laugh though as Adrian Jeffries walked though the door & his face was a picture as he promptly left" Only for us to arrive at the lakes to find him tucking into a pasty! I was near the front of the draw again today just praying that I could have the magic touch' Don't be so bloody daft" peg 132 in the far corner of Cambell, Another area where I was going to have to fish my socks off to get good points to compete against the more fancied pegs around the spit'? We were saying in the café this morning about drawing pegs you don't fancy, And I agree theirs nowt you can do about it you just gotta get on with it, after all a day on the bank is better than working, Unless your Simon Cowell or such like". I drew peg 131 a couple of weeks ago & had a nice day catching lots of roach short and a few tench late after the colder nights I wondered if this would be possible, Peg 131 is left empty and I had Paul Blake & Gary Webber above the tree on 130 & 129, Which produced 3rd in the silvers final yesterday with a net of bigger fish & I fancied Gary to have a few?.

I used the same rigs as yesterday for the long lines one at 12mts left and at 14mts slightly to my right, I couldn't find much depth and my 12mt swim was only around 2ft deep' I had a bit more depth on the 14mt line at around 3ft.

I was hoping I could catch shorter though & put my faith in a line at 7mts which I could just about feed by hand with casters, Again about 3ft deep so set up a 4x10 chanti on 0.11-0.10 and a 16 808 hook, This might sound a little large but I planned to fish double caster or a piece of worm on the hook to hopefully avoid the small fish but should I be lucky enough to hook tench then I would be confident of landing them'. I also set an identical rig on a longer line which I could use at 3mts in the hope of mugging some early roach. Finally I set up a 4x8 chanti to fish under the branches down the edge in 2ft of water but enough said about that for now.

At the start I fed 4 balls of ground-bait with a few hard 4mm pellets and micros onto the 12mt swim and 1 ball with casters & a few red maggots at 14mts, fed a small amount of chopped worm and caster under the branches & fed a ball of chopped worm & casters at 7mts, I had been flicking a few casters in by hand whilst feeding my other lines onto the 3mt line & started here to hand with single caster on the hook. I had a couple of small roach straight away the nothing" by now what breeze their was would cause all the leafs to skim over my side of the lake making it nearly impossible to lay the rig in" As far as the swim under the branches went was out of the question as this is where they all stacked up!' Great.. With only half a dozen roach in the net in 30mins And seeing Paul net a tench & Gary net a bigger fish I felt the writing was already on the cards?.

I knew I had to catch some better fish though the day as I couldn't rely on the roach to give me enough weigh to compete as it wasn't quick enough so I opted to start feeding heavier with caster by hand whilst I tried the longer lines, Starting at 14mts with double caster on the hook I had a decent fish straight away, Shame it was in the shape of a carp! Not a good sign' Over to the 12mt line with an expander on the hook and I was expecting to latch into another but was surprized after 5mins without a bite it shot under & a 1lb skimmer was added' nothing followed but it did do the flying act so it was time to try the 7mt swim I had been feeding by hand. Starting on double caster I did have bites straight away but it was from small roach which I was making a hash of getting in as my elastic was a bit pingy', Another good helping of casters & chopped worm on the 7mt swim before I tried my long lines again, I managed another 12oz skimmer at 12mts but was amazed at the amount of carp that seemed happy to sit over the single ball of feed I had fed at 14mts as I hooked one every time I tried it" In the next two hours I put nothing In the net but did manage to land 3 carp which I was doing best to keep away from my other lines" It just wasn't happening, I couldn't fish the long line rig or even get the rig on the short line under the branches to try and snare a few perch as the leafs had all collected here and to be honest I was starting to lose interest. With about 90mins to go I had a near 4b tench off the 7mt line on double caster after spotting a few small bubbles which got me interested again hoping a few more would follow going into the last hour, I still kept trying the lone lines & although I hadn't been topping them up I just couldn't hook anything but carp, I managed a few hybrids to 1lb off the 7mt line before hooking another carp here but with seconds of the match remaining I hooked a decent fish I could tell was a nice tench so took my time netting a 3lb fish just after the all-out, I had it in my head that I had been well beat above me by Gary & Paul but was surprized to find 15lb odd was winning my section from the other side of the spit when the scales arrived, My total went 13lb 14oz which turned out enough for 3rd in the section as there was another 15lb weight so not a disaster but had me thinking had I missed out catching the extra couple of pounds to win the section?  I bumped off two better fish earlier in the match at 7mts but it happens but I'm sure had the leafs not hindered the swim I could of had a few more roach on the longer line or some fish down the edge but that's Autumn fishing for you, The Good News of the day Was Donald Had managed to win The match With 33lb odd from Cambell peg 124 catching some big Skimmers/Bream' at 7mts with pellet on the hook so at least we had a happy van for the journey home" As far as my peg went from yesterday, Paul Elms drew it who can catch a few and struggled for 7lb so I was right in saying it wasn't an area to draw at the moment.  Back again in two weeks for round three but not planning a match next weekend to keep the wife happy but have a pleasure day planned on Saturday with a dear old boy of 76 who's been itching for someone to take him out as he hasn't been for 10yrs so a bit of a crabtree day I think". I do apologise but it wasn't until we left and had a phone call off Steve I realised I hadn't taken a picture of the weigh sheet from Cambell as it was under the photo copier but will add as soon as possible.  

Full Results -

1st Don Sutherland (Maver) peg 124 Cambell, 33lb 14oz.

2nd Andy Power (Preston Innovations) peg 103 Cary, 28lb 12oz.

3rd Tony Rixon (Drawbag/Mosella/Veals) peg 99 Cary, 27lb 13oz.

4th Craig Edmunds (Flip Flop) peg 69 Lodge, 24lb 4oz.

5th Nick Chedzoy (P.I.Thatchers) peg 112 Cambell, 23lb 2oz.

6th Mark Lehay (Summerhayes) peg 125 Cambell, 20lb 14oz.

 

 

 

 

 

                      

Viaduct Fishery All-Winners Silvers Final.

At last it was time for the Silvers final I've been looking forward too, Traveling with team mate Donald Sutherland we decided to try the Albion truck stop on the A39 for brekky on route for a change & both the £4 & £6 breakfasts were great value for money and all freshly cooked' Shame they don't open on Sundays but well worth stopping off at if traveling that way any other day. Arriving at the fishery it was overcast with no wind and still relatively mild for this time of year although their had been some cool nights leading up to the day. With 44 of us fishing the match would be spread over Cambell, Cary & Lodge lakes, All the talk of which pegs were expected to produce was the norm so into the draw hoping to latch on to one of the talked about flyers", Nope! 55 Lodge' On the lawn directly in front the Tackle Lodge which I didn't fancy' & to make things worse who just happened to be next to me in the draw Queue? Mr Rixon himself" And did he laugh? Very loudly as it happens!". Adrian Jeffries had this peg in last Sundays open & struggled so I didn't expect it to be prolific especially as the pegs by rope through the centre of the lake seem favourite for the bigger Skimmers & Bream and can produce match winning weights quite often, I had Tackle Uk's Scott Russell next to me on peg 66 but we could only speak to each other as I couldn't see him'. Donald was much happier with his draw on peg 71 which happened to be a peg he won off not long ago and the peg Tony Rixon won the first round of the Silvers league two weeks ago but he had Gary Webber On peg 70 next to rope as well as Andy Power on peg 78 just the other side of the rope in his section. It was Going to be a case of 2 long lines and a couple of short lines today so set up two 0.2g PB1's on 0.11-0.10 one with a size 16 808 for soft pellet or bigger baits at 13mts to my left the other with an 18 PR434 to fish maggot or caster over groundbait at 15mts directly infront of me, & two 4x10 chanti's on 0.10 -0.09 and 18 PR412 hooks with the depth around 3ft I had one on a long line & one with a short line to see which worked best?.

At the all-in I fed 6 balls of groundbait and micro's at 15mts & 2 Balls with casters and a few dead red maggots at 13mts I began with the short line rig at 5mts feeding lightly with casters and fished the same on the hook, I didn't have a bad start really, Taking the odd chunky roach amongst some smaller samples, Scott next to me had started on a small groundbait feeder but was yet to catch & looking around those who chose to start on the long pole didn't look to have caught much. It lasted for about an hour before I was struggling to get bites and it was time to look on the long lines. Starting at 15mts with expander on the hook I missed a bite before I had my first skimmer, All of 2oz! I had a try on dead reds or a bit of worm over the top but it didn't produce so was back on the pellet taking my next fish, A roach of 1oz..! Sod this, It was obvious Their weren't better fish on this line so it was onto the 13mt which I was hoping would be a bit more active'? Nope, Another blade skimmer & a single roach already told me it was going to be hard, Back to the short line which I had now turned into two swims feeding left & right with a few casters, By switching between the two I was putting odd roach in the net along with a bonus 1lb hybrid but new I couldn't catch quick enough to put a decent weight together, I kept trying the long lines and no matter what I used on the hook all I could hook were a few small fish, Tony had this problem at this end of the lake last week as the better fish just don't seem to be keen to hold up here, As it happened Don & Gary who were on the more fancied swims were struggling to catch but as the match progressed it was that man Andy Power Making the most of empty peg to catch some better fish on the long pole, Not making it long winded it just didn't happen, The long lines failed to produce anything other than bits so I just made the most of catching what I could on the shorter lines, The last hour was best as I hooked a couple more better hybrids aswell as some better stamp roach to finish the day off. Scott had struggled as had Don & Gary so it wasn't just me' My section was won from the other end peg with 20lb & 13lb 5oz was second so my 13lb wasn't enough for some coin today, Andy Power won are lake with 28lb which was enough to get in the main frame but back at the results Mark Saunders from Newton Abbot walked away with the spoils and £750 richer after taking 35lb of big skimmers at 7mts from peg 112 on Cambell, (I Said This Was A Hot Peg) so well done to him, Good mate Gabriel Skarba Finished 2nd from peg 99 on Cary with 32lb catching on his favourite soft pellet approach which has served him well this season. Well it wasn't to be today but I used the chance to make the most of practicing for the next round of the silvers league tomorrow so here's hoping for a better day?

Full Results -

1st Mark Saunders (Newton Abbot) peg 112 Cambell, 35lb 1oz.

2nd Gabo Skarba (Hillview) peg 99 Cary, 32lb 6oz.

3rd Steve Denmead (Bait-tech Viaduct) peg 129 Cambell, 29lb 1oz.

4th Andy Power (Preston Innovations) peg 68 Cary, 28lb 11oz.

5th Steve Tucker (Garbolino) peg 110 Cambell, 26b 4oz.

6th Paul Elms (Flip Flop) peg 78 Cary, 26lb 3oz. 

                          

Viaduct Fishery (Thursday Costcutter).

A last chance go at the silvers before Saturday's All-Winners Final & With Traveling Partner Don Sutherand as we both managed to take a days holiday, We didn't have time to stop off for breakfast today but managed to stop off and grab a bacon & sausage sandwich at the truck Albion truck stop on route, Or so we thought? It wasn't until unwrapped it after getting a mile down the road we realised they had forgot the sausage! I thought it felt a bit light" Bacon it was then!".

What was noticeable when we arrived is how much cooler it was with the temperature hovering around 7* and it certainly felt fresher' With 19 fishing the match was to be held over Cambell & Cary lakes again today and I fancied Cambell would probably be best for the silvers as there were some nice tench caught here over the weekend, Draw wise I fancied somewhere around 126/125 on Cambell which is above the spit on the far bank an area which can produce the tench or big skimmers/bream quite regularly. Into the draw & I found myself on Cambell 128 which is the first peg above the spit so not to disappointed". The only problem I could face would be hooking carp as there seemed to be a few still wanting to play ball as we arrived at are swims. Quite simple today as I had a 0.2 PB2 on 0.11 - 0.10 an 18 808 to fish a line at 2'oclock at 12mts in around 4ft of water, The same again to fish at 14mt in-front me were it was a couple of inches deeper with a 18 PR434 hook,

A 4x10 chanti on 0.10 - 0.9 and an 18 808 to fish down the edge near the brambles were I had about 2ft of water,

And finally the same set up but on a long line to fish in-front of me at 3mts. For company I had Alex Murray next to me on 127, Mr draw bag himself Gary O'Shea on 126, Don on 125 and Gary Etheridge on peg 123, and yep' We were all targeting silvers".    

At the all-in I fed 4 balls of ground-bait with casters & red maggot at 14mts, 2 balls at 12mts with some casters & micro pellets and began to feed a few casters by hand down the edge & at 3mts. Starting on the long line to hand at 3mts I had a couple of early small roach but after 20mins I could tell this line wasn't going to get me far, I tried down the edge but only one small roach in ten minutes so it was time to switch things around a little, I decided to feed a bigger amount of casters at 7mts via the pot with some chopped worm as Alex had already taken a couple of net fish among his roach further out than I had started, I wanted time for it to settle so after 25mins I was out on the 14mt line with red maggot on the hook. Well in the next 10mins I had three 12oz plus skimmers, Then 5mins later I added two tench for around 3lb odd" This now put me in-front of Alex for the time being but it was still early doors" After 10mins with no more bites I re-fed with another ball and switched to the 12mt line with caster on the hook. In the next 15mins i had a couple of hand size skimmers before another 12oz fish but then nothing so it was time to try the longer line again were I expected some more fish to be waiting? WRONG", I sat there for 15mins on different baits before final connecting with a fish on the head of a worm' A CARP!". It soon parted company but more to the point it seemed to be the reason why I hadn't connected to anymore silvers, I tried again with maggot on the hook and ten mins later I pricked another one' This wasn't a good sign so I left the swim to settle hoping the carp would move off after mopping up what they hadn't already taken" .

A Quick try on the inside & 7mt line but they still were to produce anything worth wile, Back at 12mts on caster & Dead red I had a run of another 4 skimmers in 20mins and a couple of fish on pellet but they didn't seem to want to stay in the peg ong as you would get a few bites then nothing, It was a case of the normal routine of catch what you could of a line then rotate swims searching for fish, Alex had managed a better skimmer or two on the long pole to go with a bonus 3lb perch' off his short line so it was pretty level pegging at the halfway stage, I kept trying my shorter 7mt line fully expecting it to produce but for some reason they didn't want to be this close in my swim? The 14mt line remained pretty none productive for the rest of the day, A few smaller skimmers & one flying 2lb fish was all I could muster as ever since the carp arrived they weren't to keen to leave' I did manage to land two by the end of the match both which were pushing double figures" Most of my fish came off the 12mt line topping up with small amount when I couldn't get bites at all, Alex Had added another big perch along with a nice tench off his long line but was adding bits off his short line all day, Gary's peg had seemingly got better as the day went on as he was adding skimmers to his net at regular intervals along with the odd tench, I did manage to catch a couple of bars of soap' tench down the edge and lost a better fish but bites didn't come here until late in the day again, A couple more 1lb plus skimmers at 12mts was all I could add before the all out sounded.

I didn't think I had as much as Alex as again his peg got better as well as Gary's, but after a flying start for me, disappointingly it didn't produce fish at regular enough intervals for the rest of the match, When the scales arrived Gabo was leading the way on the silvers front from the peg I had Saturday with 21lb 13oz, My turn for silvers and the scales went to 21lb 14oz which was dead handy as we had a quid on it before the start" lol, added to the carp finishing with 46lb odd. Alex did well to put 26lb of silvers on the scales and his dog perch certainly helped, Yet Again Gary didn't disappoint putting 30lb of tench and skimmers along with a three carp taken on the long pole with caster or maggot on the hook over ground-bait before Don managed to end up with the same weight as myself'. Winner on the day was Jim Butcher from peg 77 Cary catching mainly on the bomb & Pellet, Well that's all the practice done so hoping for a dream draw on Saturday, Somewhere around where I've been today or the noted pegs on lodge are going to be favourites with everyone by the sound of it so here's hoping".

Full results - 1st Jim Butcher (Viaduct) peg 77 Cary,

2nd Roy Worth (Bait Tech Viaduct) Peg 118 Cambell, 52lb 3oz.

3rd Tony? peg 119 Cambell, 48lb 15oz.

4th Gary O'Shea (P.I. Thatchers) peg 126 Cambell, 47lb 5oz.

5th Dom Sullivan (Maver) peg 128 Cambell, 46lb 6oz.

Silvers - 1st Gary O'Shea (P.I.Thatchers) peg 126 Cambell, 30lb 9oz. 

                                    

Viaduct Fishery (Sunday Open) Lodge lake.

On my own again today as traveling partner Don was fishing the league on the river parrot' So after the normal Hilltops stop off it was off to the fishery, Plenty of time for a pre-match brew & a chat With fellow blogger Tony(In The Tail)  Rixon among others as to what's what with the pegs on this lake, Tony was pointing out the pegs when he told me I would end up on peg 56 with my back to the hut which he didn't rate to highly' We were near the front come the draw & I kindly insisted He went before me. Just as his hand entered the tin I reminded him that going before me he had more chance of drawing it? Well' I nearly wet myself when he opened it and had 56 staring at him" I didn't have to say anything the look on his face said enough..! My turn & I finished up on peg 73 which when I asked owner Steve if it was any good he said it would be better for carp' Craig (Trigger) Edmonds reminded me he drew it last Sunday in the silvers league Catching 20lb odd but having to watch Tony sack up on the more fancied pegs above.

When I got to my swim I was in two minds as what to fish for but after a chat with Roland Lucas & Gary O'Shea (Who just so happened to draw the peg he said he fancied yesterday") I still decided to have a go for the silvers as that was what I wanted to practice for not having fished this lake yet this year. Craig Told me he had a lot of smaller skimmers last week and despite trying couldn't temp any of the larger fish from further up the lake near the rope. I had what looked like two nice inside lines which I would feed with casters hoping for some Perch or hybrids as well as feeding and fishing caster on my topset like yesterday at 3mts infront of me.

Rig wise I set up a 3x8 chanti to fish down the edge on a longer line of 0.11-0.10 and an 18 PR434 hook, A 4x10 Chanti on the same line with an 18 808 hook to fish at 3mts in about 3ft of water and finally a 0.2g PB1 on 0.12-0.10 and a 16 808 hook for 13mts in the open water which was pretty much the same depth all over. Next to me I had John (The Gimp) Bradford above me on peg 71 where Tony Won The League Last week And Chris Davis Next to the rope on peg 70, both of which were also going to target silvers aswell as |Tony Who was opposite me on his choice peg" lol'.

At the all-in I fed 4 balls of Ground-Bait at 13mts but just put some casters and red maggots in one ball I fed half a pot of casters and some worm at about 6mts off to my left and began to feed small amounts of casters at 3mts and down the insides. Starting at 3mts with single caster I had a small roach after 5mins before hooking a skimmer of 5oz which I dropped of like a prat' I expected it to get better but I just couldn't get bite here for some reason and Gimp above me wasn't doing any better at this stage, Tony had caught short" right from the off and I had already noticed him net some better size silver fish so things weren't going to plan at this stage. After 30mins and just 3 small roach I decided to try down my inside lines for any early fish, I did expect to get bites even from small fish but it didn't happen & after 45mins of the match I was out on the 13mt line with dead maggot on the hook, Thankfully I started to get a few bites from small skimmers from 4-6oz with the odd chunkier 10oz fish, I was swapping between Dead maggot & 4mm Expander on the hook in the hook of catching some bigger skimmers but they didn't appear to be in the swim which I pretty much expected, I had a good run of around 10 fish before thing slowed a little and I decided to feed another ball and rest the swim, Back to the shorter line at 3mts and a few more small roach but nothing to add any weight to my net, Another try down the edge still didn't produce and even the 6mt line failed to produce so I new I had to put my faith in the skimmers on the longer line until hopefully the shorter lines would produce?. I kept plugging away adding small skimmers from 13mts mainly on the maggot or expander on and off, Every time I felt the swim was dying I would rest it for 5mins try another line and go back on it & if I didn't catch would top it up again with more ground-bait. At this point Tony was now struggling to catch anything decent on his long pole & The Gimp above me was struggling, Chris next to the rope had landed a few flying" Better Skimmers but not at any pace. This was pretty much how my match went for the first 5hrs as until now the shorter swims seemed devoid' After re-feeding the long line with 45mins to go I had a look down the edge by the brambles yet again except this time it went under the result was a 12oz roach shorty followed by a 1lb hybrid". I hooked another nice fish but it shed the hook on something under the water? so I left it to settle again and tried down the other inside. I pulled the rig right into the grass when it shot under and the elastic ripped out' this time the result was a perch of over a 1lb' Resting them again and few more hand size skimmers off the long line before a run of chunky roach to 6oz down the edge in the last 5mins hopefully kept me infront of Tony & Chris, When the scales arrived I was last to weigh And Both Tony & Trigger' Had 24lb of silvers before Chris weighed 23lb odd, The late fish made a bit of a difference as I ended the day with 27lb odd of silvers which was enough for top on the day picking up £40 along the way. Another enjoyable day really although it started poorly I kept my faith in the peg producing fish especially the way the peg threw up some fish down the edge late proving how important it is not to give up on lines, I did manage 1 skimmer of a 1lb off the 7mt line on worm but the next put-in had a carp over 5lb which I got in but made a bit of commotion'. It Just so happened that one carp cost me another £35 because at the last minute I decided to return it but it turned out after Roland had tipped Back his fish it would of been enough for me to finish 3rd added to my silvers! Doogh!" Much to Tony's amusement I must add until we reminded him he had won nowt". A Good day all round and a good weekend with pleasant mild weather, Cant wait for the Silvers Final next Saturday & the second round of the silvers league next Sunday and long may the run continue"

Full Results - 1st Gary O'Shea (Preston Innovation Thatchers) Peg 66, 101lb 9oz.

2nd Craig Edmonds (Flip Flop) peg 62, 85lb 15oz.

3rd Paul Elmes (Flip Flop) peg 57, 31lb 8oz.

Silvers - Dom Sullivan (Maver) peg 73, 27lb. 

                             

Viaduct Fishery Saturday Open (Cambell & Cary).

With the All-Winners Silvers Final on the horizon next Saturday with a cool £750 up for grabs for the overall winner' I was keen to use the weekend as a practice & target the silvers hopefully having chance to fish Cambell today after being on Cary last week, Traveling alone I arrived in plenty of time, I have been getting my casters from the fishery of late & fair play to Steve there good quality which turn lovely and crisp' Into the draw & I found myself on peg 131 Cambell, Above me I had Steve Denmead on peg 129 below the spit but couldn't see him through the tree so was it was gonna be a day of talking to myself with no-one below me".

This can be a good area for tench if they show as well as a good area to target roach on a short line so was glad I had a few pints of casters' The problem I had as we were setting up was a slight breeze towards me which was skimming all the leafs from the trees opposite right were I was hoping to start the match"

Nothing I could do so set about tackling up and would worry about it at the start. I planned to feed casters short & At 7mts and fish a longer line at 13mts With Ground-Bait & Dead red maggot. I set up a 4x10 chanti to hand on my top 2 on 0.11-0.10 and an 18 808 hook, The same set up but on a shorter line to fish at 7mts, & a 4x12 Wire wonder on the same line with an 16 808 hook for the 13mt line in the white gap of the shadow you can see in pic,

At the All-in I feed 4 balls of ground-bait at 13mts containing some dead red maggots, fed a handful of chopped worm & casters in some ground-bait at 7mts and started the match fishing my topset to hand feeding casters with the same on the hook, It was proving awkward to get the rig in properly amongst the leafs but the small roach seemed to like the cover as once got the rig in properly I was having a fish a chuck from 1 - 3oz, In the first hour alone I counted 68 roach into the net also managing to top the other two lines up along the way' but things were slowing a little and with the roach on the small side I decided to have a look on my other lines I the hope of some skimmers or tench. Starting at 13mts with double dead red maggot I had an 8oz skimmer as soon as the rig settled, That had my hopes up but after 20mins all I added was another of similar size, I tried a piece of worm without a sign and added 1 more on 4mm expander but it wasn't getting me anywere so after a quick look on the 7mt line with caster on the hook adding a couple of 3oz roach it was back to fishing the top set to hand, another good run of roach of various sizes with a bonus 12oz skimmer & tench added it was a case of catching what I could happy to be putting something in the net for the time being, After wasting to long in the second hour looking for bonus fish & after another hour on the roach it was time to have another look.

Back out with red maggot on the hook at 13mts I bumped a decent fish within seconds" Balls! 5mins later I had a 12oz skimmer but nothing followed so it was onto the 7mt line with double caster on the hook. Again a couple of chunky roach but despite regularly topping this line up I couldn't catch the bonus tench I had hoped for. I could here a lot of splashing from Steve's peg and although I couldn't see him presumed he was catching carp like the guys opposite, For the next couple of hours I concentrated on catching as much as I could to hand and kept having a look on the other lines briefly every 30mins or so. Going into the last 90mins I noticed a few small bubbles on the 7mt line tried again this time with double red maggot on the hook, Bingo a nice 3lb tench was soon in the net'. Nothing followed so a top up and a try on the 13mts line still didn't produce so back to adding more fish short whilst keeping my eye on the other swims, It didn't take long for more signs on the 7mt line and I added another tench this time on a piece of worm. In the last 30mins I managed a couple of 1lb skimmers on the short line to hand and another 2lb tench and also managed another from 7mts on caster, A really busy days fishing with the added bonus of the late tench just a shame they didn't put in an appearance earlier' I thought had close to 20lb of roach & what ever my bonus tench went? Colin arrived with the scales and it turned out my small fish weight went 23lb added to just over 10lb of tench for 33lb odd which I was more than happy with,

 Part Of my catch.

 

I offered to give Colin a hand with the board on are bank and was really surprized when arriving at Steve's swim all that splashing I presumed to be carp included some tench and skimmers & nice one at that" for a great silvers weight of 45lb which now see's him in next weekend final so well done to him, Sorry I didn't get your picture as as it was to ate by the time I realised'. My Weight turned out to be enough for second in the silvers getting my £20 back at least but more to the point another enjoyable days fishing" The match was won by Mark Wynn on hot peg 112 Cambell with 151lb catching on pellet shallow and on the deck on the long pole, Back Sunday for the match on lodge lake which is sold out at 14 pegs so another chance to try a few things on the last lakes for next Saturdays final.

Full Results -  1st Mark Wynn (Bait-Tech Viaduct) Peg 112 Cambell, 151lb 8oz.

2nd Roland Lucas (Bait -tech Viaduct) peg 110 Cambell 127lb.

3rd Andy Cronston (Bait-Tech Viaduct) peg 115 Cambell, 126lb 7oz.

Silvers - 1st  Steve Denmead (Bait-Tech Viaduct) peg 129 Cambell, 45lb 10oz.

2nd Dom Sullivan (Maver) peg 131 Cambell,  33lb 14oz.

 

 

   

                              

Viaduct Fishery Silvers League (Round 1)

It only seems a short while ago I entered this league for the first time last year but yet again another 12mths seems to have flown by' I learnt a fair bit last year & was keen to have another bash, After Picking up my new little van yesterday I was keen to give it a spin, I arranged to meet traveling partner Don Sutherland at Hilltops for breky & who was already feeling the cold, Hardly surprising as 24hrs earlier he was on a beach in Dubai" It was a foggy cold start to the day even more so when we arrived. This is a popular league And even with a couple of No Shows" their were 49 fishing, This league has a high class field which makes it even more competitive so getting things right from the off is all important, I was near the front of the queue today and although peg 103 on Cary wouldn't of been one of my first choice I was keen to give it a go, I forgot my camera for starters then realised I didn't have my phone so at least it would be a quite day'. Unfortunately this lake had suffered a loss of the big skimmers earlier in the year but there is a good head of smaller skimmers roach and some big' perch to target.

With this in mind if it was going to be a case of catching quicker so I planned my main line of attack at 12mts with a swim straight in front of me and another off to my left at 10o'clock, Rig wise I set up two 4x12 wire wonders on 0.12-0.10, one with an 18 808 hook and the other with a size 16 to fish in around 4ft of water. Next up was a 4x10 chanti on 0.11-0.09 and an 18 PR412 hook to fish caster on the deck at 3mts and finally a 3x8 chanti on the same line/hook to fish on my top 3 down the edge in just over 2ft of water.

I had good company with Tony Rixon directly behind me on peg 71 Lodge Lake who was already beaming ear to ear at his draw" With Craig (Trigger) Edmunds, Down from him who was already giving him stick" Must say a big well done to Craig as He picked up the all winners" final at the fishery yesterday walking away with a cool £1000, that's fresh of the back of finishing runner up on the Hillview 4 day festival held last week". In my lake Gordon Cannings was next door in peg 102 and I didn't get the guys name but he was on the end peg 105 the other side of the tree.  Pleased to say everything was ready for the start and on the all-in I fed 5 balls of ground-bait at 12mts in-front and 2 balls laced with casters & a bit of chopped worm of to me left and loose fed a few casters down the edge under the tree and a few at 3mts. This is were I started the match with single caster on the hook and by feeding a few whilst I was cupping out bait it resulted in a few small roach from the off, It didn't last long though as bites were hard to come by, I tried down the edge with the shallower rig but again only had a couple more small roach, Back at 3mts and I hooked a 4oz skimmer which I stupidly tried swinging and dropped off" That killed it and after 40mins it was time to try the longer lines.

I started on the swim in-front of me with a 4mm expander on the hook, I was pleased to say as expected I had a run of skimmers on average the size of my hand with the odd 8oz fish thrown in, After a while the fish seemed to average a smaller stamp which was the clue for me to top it up and try the other long line. Starting with single dead red maggot (Which Tony kindly gave me' Bound to go under then!) And to start with it did as I had a few more skimmers but it wasn't as productive as the other line having to wait much longer for bites. Looking around the chap below me went off line a train but his swim seemed to be slowing and Gordon & the guys opposite were only catching odd fish, I re-fed the line with another ball of casters/worm and before going back to the other long line I decided to have another quick look under the tree down the edge. I'm glad I did as I had an 6oz perch soon followed by one pushing 2lb' bonus", With it being shallow the fish here spooked easily so I would only get a couple of bites then nothing. Back over the ground-bait line with expander and another run of fish of similar size and from what I could see I was the only one catching consistently slowly building a weight up, I did hook a carp which soon did my hook-length but rather than re-feed straight away I attached another and it resulted in a 1lb plus skimmer which can often happen when the carp have moved away, When things slowed I kept trying the other long line with various baits but it was nowhere near as good with just the odd fish. Another try down the edge saw me hook a decent fish straight away which turned out to be a hybrid over a 1lb' I did try just my top-kit between Gordon and myself tight to the bank but all I had here was a 3oz eel! By the halfway stage I though I may have around 12lb but was more concerned just trying to put fish in the net at regular intervals rather than try and guess what I had, Most of the fish were all of similar hand size skimmers but I did have the odd 10oz - 1lb fish, It was a case of keep rotating swims catching a few then resting the swim, I did pull out of another decent fish down the edge which I think was another decent perch but with such hard mouths it often can happen, Things were ticking over nicely until the last hour when things did start to slow on the long lines due to interest of more carp' I struggled to add a around 3lb or so in the last 45mins including another 1lb plus skimmer . I could see the guys opposite had struggled but didn't know how the lake had fished further up in my section? The guy below me on the end peg weighed first and put 15lb odd on the scales, I new I had more than that but was really pleased when I pulled my net out, A nice mixed bag which went 35lb and a lovely days again, Gordon put 9lb odd on the scales and my weight turned out to win the lake quite comfortably so the choices I made today went exactly to plan" My net consisted of over 25lb of smaller skimmers and about 10lb of bonus fish, As expected Tony went on to do the business which he's very good at to win the day with 46lb of skimmers taken on his favourite caster/maggot approach without a worm in sight so well done to him. Back at the results and it was a good result for me as I had enough to take 2nd spot picking up £100 along the way" A great start to the league with a Section/Lake win and looking forward to the next round in two weeks.

Full Results -

1st Tony Rixon (Mosella/Veals) peg 71 Lodge, 46lb 8oz.

2nd Dom Sullivan (Maver) peg 103 Cary, 35lb 1oz.

3rd Steve Kedge (Somerset Angling) peg 130 Cambell, 32lb.

4th Dan Squires (Bait-Tech Viaduct) peg 55 Lodge, 29lb 5oz.

5th Nicky Ewers (Preston Innovations Thatchers) peg 125 Cambell, 29lb 3oz.

6th Paul Elms (Flip Flop) Peg 60 Lodge, 29lb 2oz.                          

Summerhayes Fishery (Weds Open Longs Lake)

With a Later draw & not back to work until next week I made the trip to Summerhayes today and did find time from a breakfast after yesterday disappointment' Arriving at the fishery no sooner as got at the car tea boy Aide was already on the ball with his banter through the hut window, Apparently I have added a 1lb or so whilst of been off, Hey ho' Bless him, At least I can lose mine! lol,  A bit of a disappointing attendance today with only eight of us fishing but at least we would be well spread out' Owner Pete decided to pay the top two overall as well as the top silvers so we all had something to aim at. Pete let me draw the bonus peg which turned out to be peg 23 then I ended up on peg 7.

The weather was a nice bright morning with a slight breeze in the air but when I got to me peg in the corner the wind was off my back so the swim was like a mirror, I could reach the point of the island with 13mts so would start here just away from the far bank in 3ft of water also pluming another line further along at 14mts in the same depth,

Rig wise I used 0.2g AS1's on 0.12-0.10 and 18 pellet hook, I didn't fancy a day trying to wrestle fish out the lily pads to my left so would feed further from them in line with the empty pallet hoping it would produce late in the day,

The rig was my favourite 4x10 chanti on 0.14-0.11 and an 16 808 hook. It was quite flat from the bank out at around 4ft and away from the danger Zone", The same rig would be used to fish in-front the pallet on my right.

It was a case of use what ever bait I had at home today so all I had was a range of Pellets, Meat & Corn with maggots or worms in sight' with limited bait I decided to feed a mix of corn and meat to my away from the lily's and a mix of corn & pellet to the pallet on my right, I fed some micros and corn along the point of the island at 14mts and started the match pretty much the same as yesterday feeding some micros via a cad pot with a 4mm expander on the hook. I would like to of said it was instant but it wasn't' all I had in the first 30mins was 3 hand size skimmers, I tried the other 14mt line with corn on the hook but didn't have a sign of fish, Martin Addicott on the end peg 2 had managed 4 carp from his inside margin we're the wind was skimming in and I had noticed Colin Wilkins on peg 11 also hook a couple of carp on his silvers line again in the open water with a ripple on it, The sun was warm and bright after a chilly night and with the swim being flat calm their didn't appear to me many carp willing to feed here?.

After an hour of trying all the lines already and only adding a 8oz skimmer off the 13m line and some tiny roach it was time to try something else, I re-plumb the far line and found a flat spot tight against the bank in 18inches of water so switched to feeding hard 4mm with the catty sticking to expander on the hook, after 15mins I had a carp of 2lb & a 12oz skimmer soon after but the fish were spooking every time I put the pole over there heads and I had to wait ages for an indication and was going nowhere fast. I had seen Colin net 2 better skimmers from the open water and decided if I was going to get anywhere it might be a better option to try and catch some silvers? I feed a ball of micro's and some 4mm in the open water at 6mts and began dropping a few 4mm just passed my keepnets trying my other lines before deciding what was best. It didn't take long for me to make my mind up as near the 2hr mark I still only had the 1 carp so I was off the box assembling a lighter rig for silvers. 

As soon as I went on the 6mm line I was catching hand size skimmers every put-in but couldn't catch anything bigger, I was lose feeding regularly 4mm over the top but this seemed to draw the attention of the tiny roach, I cut back on the lose feed and feed a small ball of micro's when the bits appeared, which seemed to bring the blades back, It was quite enjoyable fishing even though they were small but two 1lb skimmers kept me up with Colin and the hope of more as the day went on. Things were going well until the last 90mins or so when the skimmers seemed to do a disappearing act but it was soon apparent why as the carp had now decided to put in an appearance' It was a case of catch a carp, re-feed have a few skimmers hook another carp and repeat the process, I did keep trying the short line by my nets and managed another 12oz skimmer but mainly it was just small roach the were willing to feed close, I kept plugging away right up to the whistle trying to catch as many more blades as possible but the carp really dominated the last 30min which was good fun on the lighter elastic and I never lost one" I hadn't a clue what weight of silvers I had as I only had five 12oz plus fish and a busy mix of blade skimmers & roach, I was hoping for a few tench down the edge by the reeds but this didn't produce a bite, perhaps with a wider bait selection it would have improved the net of fish but it was still enjoyable.

 My Sivers net.

Martin was first to weight and finished up with 53lb odd, My carp net ended up 34lb odd but more importantly my silvers went 13lb odd, Colin put 10lb of silvers on the scales and after a few lower silvers weights john on the end peg pushed me close with 12lb odd so I had done enough to walk away with the silvers pool of £32' Winner on the day went to Craig Stewart on peg 19 with 79lb odd catching most of his fish across to the far bank on corn and a few down the inside on the same bait,

 Winner Craig Stewart.

 

A good return for me with two results in two days, but more to the point a bit of enjoyable fishing, Not sure if fishing before Sunday when the Viaduct Fishery silvers league starts but looking forward to it. 

Full results - 1st Craig Stewart, peg 19, (Summerhayes)  79lb 10oz.

2nd Martin Addicott, peg 2,  (Somerset Angling) 53lb 10oz.

3rd Dom Sullivan, (Maver) peg 7, 44lb 9oz.

4th Bill Hopping, (Summerhayes) peg 29, 42lb 13oz.

Silvers - Dom Sullivan (Maver) 13lb 1oz.