Viaduct Fishery Silvers League Rd 5.

Back to Viaduct today for the penultimate round of this popular silvers league, As normal Donald picked me up but the first thing I did this morning was assemble a small bomb rod with a ground-bait feeder before he arrived as it was blowing an absolute wholly at my place & the forecast for it to get worse in some pegs today it could make all the difference?' We had are normal hilltops breakfast before arriving at the fishery & on first glance it didn't appear to be to bad as far as the wind went but after taking a wander around the lakes before the draw their was certainly some pegs I was hoping to avoid! After a warming cuppa it was time for the draw & I wasn't far from the front as normal, I Happened to draw the my most talked about peg at this fishery this year peg 112 on Cambell Lake, It was a draw I did fancy even though the conditions have changed a lot to the previous round but arriving at my swim it didn't look to promising as I was the first one with the wind coming at me which would make fishing the long pole very awkward'.

I had a chat with Dick Bull who drew the peg on the Thursday cost cutter match who told me he had caught skimmers to 10oz on the long pole with caster on the hook over casters & Ground-bait but the conditions were nowhere near the same today so wondered if I could make it work? I set two rigs up to fish at just short of 15mts for my sins' one being a 4x12 wire wonder on 0.11-0.09 and an 18 PR412 hook And the other being a heavier 4x14 wire wonder on the same line but with an 18 PR434 hook, Depth wise I had about 4ft straight out in-front & about 6inches shallower at 2 O'clock to my left, I also plumed a swim at 9-10mts which was just over 3ft deep but the talk on the bank before the match was people were struggling to catch any decent size fish at short range so it would be a bit of a gamble?. On paper I looked to be in a tough section again today with Steve Kedge on peg 110, Geraint Powell next to me on peg 111 who were both doing well in the league,

A

As well as that man again venue expert & league leader Dan Squires on peg 115'& Alan Oram on peg 114.   

I started the match by feeding 3 balls at 15mts in-front of me laced with casters, fed 2 balls with just a few casters & Dead Red Maggot on the 15mt swim to my left & fed 2 balls with worm added on the 10mt line, This took me about 15mins in the wind & already I felt knackered" What was making things worse was the fact the wind was swirling all over the place', I started the match on a small ground-bait feeder towards the middle of the lake with dead red maggot on the hook, After 30mins all I had was a couple of small roach so I  switched to a single grain of corn on the hook hoping for a better fish? It didn't happen & after another 30mins all I added was a skimmer of 4oz again on maggot, At this stage I was already falling behind as Geraint was catching small roach on his short line, Steve was doing the same & also had a few & Further up I had seen Dan net a fish as well as Alan Oram next to me so it was time to battle against the elements & try the long pole lines.

Starting with double caster on the hook straight in-front of me I missed a bite before having a 1oz roach' Not what I was hoping for at that distance! Nothing followed so I switched to the other long line with a small piece of worm on the hook, I bumped what felt like a better fish straight away but then couldn't buy a bite so it was time to try the shorter 10mt swim. With singe dead red on the hook I had a couple of small roach so decided to try a small piece of worm fished 6'inches over depth as it was beginning to tow against the wind which had now increased" I was just about to have a rethink when I hooked a better fish which turned out to be a bream over 2lb' Well that more than tripled my weight and caught up with Geraint's small fish as such which boosted me back up the section as it seemed to be fishing hard at the moment. I added a couple more smaller skimmers to 10oz before I felt the need to re-feed it with a small ball and venture back out to the long lines, For some reason I just couldn't catch anything decent & after being turned around on my box a couple of times in the wind it was going to be a case of trying to make the most of the shorter line. I decided to feed another swim to my left at 10mts with a ball of dead red maggot & Chopped worm in the hope I could pinch the odd fish off each?. Back on the original 10mt line again with worm on the hook I added a couple more 10oz - 1lb skimmers before landing a 2lb Tench after a bit of a battle on light elastic". It did seem to disturb the swim as I couldn't get bites after so decided to feed another small ball & rest the swim. I had a quick look on the long lines again without success so back again on the shorter swims, I tried the new line first and had a skimmer of 12oz but when shipping back  disaster struck'  I broke down on the wrong section, placing my number 4 behind me on my net bag I netted the fish only to turn around and find it had gone! B**locks". It must of blown in & I only got it back this week from being repaired!. luckily I had another in my bag so was able to carry on' The rest of the match was spent picking up the odd skimmer off of each of the 10mt swims either on dead red maggot or bits of worm, I felt going into the last hour I had overtaken Geraint who had had a 2lb plus skimmer to go with his roach & Steve seemed to be struggling on 110 although Dan had netted a few by battling with the wind on his long line and after taking another smaller skimmer of each line major disaster struck & I hooked a carp, Well you would expect the hook-length to snap but owe no, my spare number 4 section did meaning the whole lot was now traveling across the lake towed behind a carp!". Nothing I could do for the time being but it meant the last 30mins all I could do was fish a small bomb over my pole lines as I had no pole to fish with..! luckily for me Paul Elms on the opposite bank peg 132 had managed to hook and retrieve it for me with minutes to go but after just one more 1lb skimmer on the bomb along with two carp one of which I landed' I felt I may of had a few more skimmers if I could of fished the pole? When the scales arrived Dan was leading the section with 14lb odd but I felt I had a bit more than that? pleasingly I had 19lb odd which was enough to give me another section win in the league which I was hoping for, Back at the results It turned out to be another close match With Chris Boulten on peg 126 winning the day with 21lb odd mainly catching on the long pole with maggot over ground-bait, Even better for me as I had managed to finish 2nd overall again picking up another £100 along the way as well as keeping me up near the top of the table with one match remaining in two weeks time. A Hard & sometimes frustrating day as far as the weather went but with the wind the way it was I felt it pushed the better fish closer to are bank than we had expected, I spent most of the day fishing the heavier 4x14 rig set over-depth to keep the rig as still as possible, I didn't feed to much & Only re-fed when I felt confident the fish had backed off. Look forward to the final round when theirs all to play for with regards to the final standings.

Full Results -

1st Chris Boulten (Un-Attached) peg 126 Cambell, 21b 3oz.

2nd Dom Sullivan (Maver) Peg 112 Cambell, 19lb 9oz.

3rd Tony Rixon (Mosella/Veals) peg 53 Lodge, 19lb 6oz.

4th Ziggy (Poland Ice Breakers) peg 124 Cambell, 18b 8oz.

5th Chris Fox (Maesknoll Match Angling) peg 130 Cambell, 18lb 4oz.

6th Dick Bull (Bait-Tech Viaduct) peg 77 Cary, 17lb 8oz. 

 

 

 

 

                                 

Bullock Farm Pleasure Session (Rushmoor Lake) Saturday.

It was chance to get out with good friend Darren (Big Bird) Greenwood today and with the forecast not present we decided to take a trip to bullock farm in Kingston Seymour to have a go on Rushmoor Lake as being canal shaped their was plenty of chance to chose a few swims out of the strong winds & heavy rain forecast, After picking him up we did find a nice Burger van for a breakfast roll before arriving at the fishery & already it was bowing a gale' We did find two swims slightly out of the wind so tossed a coin as to who had the choice of pegs.

Now Birdy had told me he hadn't fished here before but after spotting a rod rest on one of the pallets further down the lake he had obviously been here for a recent practice". I had the choice so went for a swim around 13mts to the far bank With Darren pitching up below me, Simple fishing to start with so I set up 1 rig being a 0.2g AS1 on 0.11-0.10 & an 18 808 hook to fish a couple of feet off the far bank in around 2ft of water as it was inches deep tight over to the bank, Darren had opted to plum a line at the same distance an another at 10mts Which was slightly deeper around 3ft. I started the day feeding a few Dead red maggots & dampened micro pellets via a small cad pot with a 4mm expander on the hook, I was getting worried as after 45mins I hadn't had a sniff despite changing baits on the hook, By now Birdy had switched to the shorter line and had netted 4 smaller carp to 2lb and things for me weren't going to plan'. Just in the knick of time owner Phil Simmons came around to collect the money who is a avid Bristol City fan who will talk football for hours should the case arise, After chatting to me he moved down to Darren and as he was about to leave I shouted down that Birdy Just so happened to be a season ticket holder" Bingo' It gave me time to set a complete new rig up to fish at 10mts in the deeper water before he finished chatting footy" to him lol' He wasn't impressed!.

Still choosing to fish maggot on the hook over small amounts of micros I finally had a fish being a carp of 2lb, I wont drag on but we had an enjoyable day Really, Darren ended the day with 30 fish for what we thought would go 30lb odd and was in the driving seat to get the better of me right up until the last hour when I managed to claw my way back with some better 3lb plus fish to end the day with around 40lb + mainly on double red maggot over small amounts of micros through the toss pot. Right on queue it decided to pour down bang on 3pm when we agreed to pack up so didn't take any pic's but I'm sure we will return in the near future.               

Viaduct fishery (Sunday Open) Cambell Lake .

Traveling again with Don today it was noticeable just how much of an overnight frost we had overnight & after the stop off for breakfast we arrived at the fishery with the temperature just above freezing with a white surrounding in the fields'. With 15 booked in I favoured a draw nearer the top end of the lake? It wasn't to be as I ended up on the corner peg 110 at the near end off the lake, It's a peg I've always fancied in the warmer months for carp but being shallower at this end my main target of carp after the nights frost would be a bit of a gamble? Titch Williams had won a Thursday costcutter match here a couple of weeks ago fishing the waggler in 2ft of water to the end bank but it was much milder then so didn't know if it would work so well but as inviting as it looked it had to be my first choice'

I fished a loaded crystal waggler on 5lb main line to an 0.13 bottom & a 16 PR434 hook just touching the deck, Another simple day really as I had a bomb rod set up if needed & a 0.2g rig to fish on the pole down the edge towards the brambles at 16mts on 0.15-0.13 in 3ft of water.

 I had good friend & Neighbour Jonny Page next door so at least we would have a laugh if nothing else'.

At the start I fed a small amount of casters with a pinch of corn & meat on the swim down the edge and fed a large amount of casters at 11mts in the open water in-front of me which I would top up though the day with the same hoping for some late signs of fish. Starting towards the end bank on the waggler with punched meat on the hook without feeding I began further along the bank working my way back along it. Despite changing baits & depths I was still without a bite after 45mins so decied to have a quick look down the edge again with meat on the hook. A 3lb fish after a few minutes got me going but it was short lived as nothing followed. Re-feeding another small amount I was back on the waggler but this time chose to fish it closer to me which sounded easy but with the tree overhead it meant a bit of tricky sideways casting" I began to feed the odd bit of meat along the bank (Well, Best I could) which resulted in a fish of 4lb but it was soon back to being biteless, Not to drag on but the day didn't improve much, I managed 2 more on the waggler for the rest of the match, Didn't have a bite down the edge on the pole for the rest of the day after my early fish and never had a sign on the open water swim which I fed with casters, I did start another line in the open water with just a few cubes of meat but again nothing, I missed two bites & a foul hooker in the last half hour on the waggler but the numbers of fish just didn't appear to be here today willing to feed? As I expected the opposite end produced the goods with Titch Williams Winning again for the second time in just over a week from end peg 119 with 115lb which was a good weight after the overnight frost so well done to him, Runner-up next door on peg 118 was Tackle UK's Scott Russell with 100lb odd & the opposite bank produced some good back up weights, On the silvers side Chris Davis took the Spoil's with 7lb odd just Above Jonny page next to me with another 7lb' I did tell him not to pack a few bits away as it could of cost him' Owe I forgot it did' a £1 side bet to me! lol. We did have a good crack though & he did laugh when I was chatting & forgot about overhead branches, I sent to rig straight through the lot and finally saw it waving at me on the other side of the tree! I had the last laugh though as I somehow got it back through 3 lots of twigs without as much as a tangle..". Back next Sunday for the 5th round off the sivers league which could be harder now the cold has hit us? A pleasure trip planned with Good friend Darren Greenwood next Saturday but unsure as to where yet'. 

Full Results -

1st Titch Williams (Drennan Social Workers) peg 119, 115lb 7oz.

2nd Scott Russell (Tackle UK) peg 118, 101b 11oz.

3rd Roland Lucas (Wiltshire Angling) peg 125, 80lb 5oz. 

4th Dave Roper (Viaduct) peg 124, 68lb 14oz.

5th Martin Hayman (un-attached) peg 126, 67lb 2oz.

6th Steve Denmead (Keyways) peg 131, 35b 4oz.  

               

Bobby G's Birthday Bash" Sedges Fishery (Brick lake). (Silvers only)

With Bobby Gullick inviting 20 Anglers to fish an arranged match on the open Brick Lake at the Sedges fishery with Him purchasing Breakfast for all of us it was an opportunity not to be missed' We arrived at the café and bobby had kindly asked us in advance if we would prefer a large or small one, Well me thinking everyone would opt for large I told him likewise. Owe No' most opted for small which were served first meaning my double amount came out as most were finishing" Great! Not only did I have to rush it I had to do my best to eat it not to look stupid".

Arriving at the fishery rather bloated' Were weren't greeted by the best of conditions, It was F'ing freezing And blowing a gale from the north one end of the lake to the other", I was hoping for a draw on the bank between Brick & Tile which looked to be out the worst of the wind and an area fancied by most. I haven't fished this lake for years but it was always a good area for big skimmers. Into the draw & I was thankful to find myself in the middle of the bank I fancied peg 5, I planned a simple attack with the cold wind against us so set 1 pole rig up to fish a line at 12mts left & 11mts to my right being a 1g body float on 0.12-0.10 and a 18 PR434 hook, And a small feeder on my 10ft bomb rod I've had 3yrs & never used!". I had good company with Alan Oram next to me in my section of 4 with fellow blogger Tim Ford below him Then Russ Pecker so a good battle ahead for the £40 section money' At the start I fed 3 balls of Ground-bait on the 12mts line laced with micro's & some 4mm expanders and the other line with two balls of a different darker mix laced with chopped worms & a few dead red maggots, I was going to feed casters but after not looking after last weeks batch they were all floaters! I started on the small feeder towards the rope through the middle of the lake with single red maggot on the hook and did catch a couple of small skimmers to 4oz quite early but had noticed Nick Ewers in the corner peg net two nice skimmers on the feeder although he wasn't in my section although most were struggling. I put about 12oz in the net in the first 50mins but Alan net to me had yet to catch. It was time to try the pole so started on the 12mt ine with a 4mm expander on the hook but that was scrapped after 10mins without a sniff, onto the 11mt line & I managed to bump a better fish with a piece of worm on the hook but that was it, Tim Had managed to hook & lose a carp on the feeder then the next cast hook & land a decent tench" Alan added insult to injury by netting a big skimmers of his pole line. I was soon back on the feeder, A few more small fish on the maggot but most below me were struggling for bites on the feeder but at least I was getting bites, or should I say I was', A bloody great gust of wind lifted me ground-bait bowl clean on the air dumping the lot in at 3mts! Not a problem I'le just darken off my other mix & carry on' Nope with the mix of \Ground-bait being different I had one more suspect bite/liner in the rest of the match! I did hook a near 1lb skimmer in the head before the disaster with a few more small skimmers but for the rest of the day all I added was a few roach & rudd off the 11mt line a 5lb carp. Are section turned out to be very hard as did most as we later found out but Tim went on to take the section with 3lb 2oz with the help of his bonus tench' With Alan weighing 2lb 14oz  with his skimmer & a good eel' before I had 2lb 12oz of bits with my skimmer so very close' I was ruling the fact of spilling my ground-bait as it certainly seemed to be the right mix on the day for a few bites but in all fairness it wasn't an enjoyable day for any of us to be fishing in, It was good fun though company wise which made up for the fishing & the nice brew with a slice of Bobby's Birthday cake afterwards was very welcome'.

 Birthday Boy Bobby with the lovely cake his wife made us.

full Results -

1st Eric Fouracre (The Sedges) peg 11, 8lb 10oz.

2nd Matt Tomes (Flip Flop|) peg 8, 7lb 13oz.

3rd Nigel Bartlett (Bait-Tech Viaduct|) peg 9, & Gary O'Shea (Thatchers P.I) peg 17, 6lb 6oz.

Winner on the day with 8lb 10oz from peg 12 on the opposite bank was Venue expert Eric Fouracre catching a few better skimmers on the feeder but most sections were won with 3lb telling you how hard it really fished but with the weather always against us was always going to be difficult but that's fishing".  Thanks again for the invite mate & apart from the elements against us a good day all round. 

                                       

Viaduct Fishery Silvers League Rd 4.

After missing a day on the bank yesterday due to the weather I was keen to get back to this popular league, As normal Traveling partner Don Sutherland picked me up & we had are usual Hilltops breakfast before arriving at the fishery, We both needed a good result today to give us any chance of keeping near the top of the league. With the weather still mild I still expected their to be some good weights but with a brisk wind blowing from the southwest I was hoping to end up with the wind off my back to aid presentation, Into the draw & I managed to pull out two tickets stuck together' Before I new it Gary O'Shea swiped one only to open it & find himself on corner peg 110 Cambell which meant he would have the wind in his face' Hoping I didn't have the same fate I was pleased to draw the first peg up on the bank between Cary on Lodge lakes ending up with the wind off my back on peg 73 of Lodge lake. I did draw this peg around a month ago and went on to win the silvers with 27lb odd of small skimmers on soft pellet, The difference today though was pellet is now banded in matches throughout the winter months so I would have to try and work out which more natural baits would work best?, It wouldn't be an easy day though as I had league leader & venue expert Dan Squires on peg 68 which won this section on the last match as well as Rowland Lucas next to the rope on peg 70 which is an area known for the bigger skimmers/Bream 

The good thing about this lake is their is some inviting inside swims you can find big perch & hybrids at certain times but with the water temperatures now low & the colour dropping out I couldn't rely on it being too productive?.

 

 

I set up two rigs for my inside lines, One being a 4x10 chanti on 0.11-0.10 & an 18 PR412 hook to fish in just under 3ft of water a couple of feet off the bank & the other being a 3x8 chanti on 0.10-0.09 and an 18 63-13 hook on a longer line to fish in the up water layer's of close to the bank in the shallower water. Next up was a 0.2g pencil float on 0.10-0.09 & again a 18 63-13 hook to fish out in the open water, First up I plumed a swim at nearly 15mts but still didn't have much more than 3ft of water,

And two lines at 9-10mts left & right. I started the match by feeding 3 balls of Ground-bait with some casters & a few pinkies added on the 15mt line, fed the left hand shorter swim with just one ball with dead pinkies in and fed two balls on the other 10mt line with a worm & Casters added, I began to feed a small amount of casters down both edges & in the open water at 5mts starting here with single caster on the hook.

I did expect a few roach straight away but after 15mins I only had one 2oz fish, By now Rowland Lucas Had already netted a good skimmers & some small net fish so things weren't quite going to plan in the early stages.

It was time to try something else so I switched to the 10mt swim were I had fed just the one ball at the start with double red pinkie on the hook, I managed a small run of fish but nothing over 8oz before bites tailed off so switched to the other shorter swim with a single dead red on the hook. A 6oz skimmer was soon followed by a good 2lb plus skimmer so at least it pushed me back up towards Roland, After 10mins & just one more smaller skimmer I decided to re-feed it with another ball of worm & casters and try somewhere else. I could see Chris Davis On the Lawns peg 55 Catching a few bigger skimmers on his long line with worm on the hook over worm so decided to have a look on my long line.

I started again with dead red maggot on the hook but surprisingly all I could get bites off of was small skimmers but I had to wait ages for bites.

 

I decided I had nothing to lose by re-feeding the 15mt swim with a good helping of casters & chopped worm in another couple of ball of ground-bait and concentrate on my closer swims for the time being. In the next couple of hours I switched between the two shorter lines picking off the odd fish from each before moving lines and regularly topped them up if I felt I had un-settled the swim with a small ball. By using these lines & also the 5mts swim where I fed regularly with a few casters by hand I added small roach from here between the odd skimmer to 1lb from the further lines. Surprisingly despite trying my inside swims I couldn't catch from them which was probably due to the clarity of the water so I didn't waste much time on them as its usually instant but I kept feeding it regardless.

Going into the last 90mins I knew that Roland had netted some good size skimmers & the peg above the rope netting some fish but was hoping for some better late fish to turn up on my longer lines? I managed another nice 2lb plus skimmer & two roach pushing a 1lb off my 10mt lines along with some smaller net skimmers so was happy to be putting the odd fish in the net. I found it best to just catch a fish of each 10mt line before adding a few small roach from the 5mt line to rest the swims, I did manage a couple of roach down the edge & lost a better fish but it was to slow so spent most the last 45mins on the 10mt lines, It worked in my favour as three more 2lb plus skimmers (One with seconds to go") & a couple of 12oz fish bumped my net up' . One thing I will add is I always have duplicate rigs set up for my main lines which proved worth while today as 5mins from the end I lost a carp breaking the hook-length so with just minutes to go I was able to get straight back in, And as what I said before can happen I had a good skimmer seconds after".

I had another great days fishing here and was hoping to have over 20lb odd.

I caught up wit the scales on Roland's peg who put weighed 20lb odd but leading the way with 25lb odd was that man Dan Squires, It was going to be close but when I pulled my net out I thought it was in my favour which proved to be ending the day with 28lb odd to win the section. Just the result I needed & when Don came around to tell me he was second in his so a good result points wise for the pair of us'. 

Back at the results It was a close match again with Chris Davis taking the spoil's form peg 55 on lodge catching the lakes bigger skimmers on Worm over worn feed to finish the day with 29lb odd, Luckily for me my weight was enough for 2nd on the day picking up a nice £100 along the way' As it stands Dan still leads the league but its tight at the top with all to play for the placing's. Back in two weeks for the next round so looking forward to it again. Next up I have Bobby G's Birthday match on the Sedges fishery next Saturday to look forward to And back to Viaduct for a carp hunt' next Sunday.

Full Results -

1st Chris Davis (Flip Flop) Peg 55 Lodge, 29lb 10oz.

2nd Dom Sullivan (Maver) peg 73 Lodge, 28lb 10oz.

3rd Bob G' ( Garbolino Blackmore Vale) peg 114 Cambell, 27lb 4oz.

4th Nick Chedzoy (P.I.Thatchers) peg 115 Cambell, 26b 9oz.

5th Dan Squires (Sensas) peg 68 Lodge, 25lb 3oz.

6th Gerrant Powell (Bait-Tech Viaduct) peg 124 Cambell, 23lb 2oz.

 

 

 

 

                                

 

         

Viaduct Fishery (Cary Lake).

Traveling back from are accommodation near Stafford Moor meant a early start for us today and the best we were going to get food wise was a breakfast roll from Greg's at the services' It wasn't to bad a journey compared to the trip down" & we got their in plenty of time & I didn't really mind where I drew as I just wanted a better day than the last two' so I let the wife do the honours today.

Peg 81 for me then, The first peg above the split on the far side, As we didn't have are carping kit' As such, The main plan was to target the silvers again hopefully getting chance to use up some of the bait purchased for the weekend. I have seen this peg produce some nice perch before so was hoping to catch a few down the edge to the monk or along the bank of the split. First up Was a 0.02g PB1 on 0.10-0.09 and an 18 63-13 to fish at 14mts in the open water on two lines over ground-bait in 4ft of water, A 4x10 chanti to fish at 6mts on the same line with a PR412 hook, A 3x8 chanti on 0.11-0.10 an 20 808 to fish shorter down the edge and finally another 4x10 chanti on the same line/hook with a very short line to fish along the split.

Gabo Had draw the next peg around from me on peg 85 who was also going to target silvers so I could keep an eye on him and Ziggy was on opposite side of the lake peg 96 so we all had a £1 to keep the interest, on the all-in I fed 3 balls at 14mts with some casters infront of me the just one ball laced with worms at 14mts to my left, fed some chopped worm & casters down towards the monk & Along the split, And began to loose feed some casters by hand down the edge & at 6mts.

This is were I began the match with single caster on the hook, straight away I had a 4oz hybrid followed by a small roach but that was soon as far as it went, After 20mins I switched to the short light rig down the edge again on caster and had an 8oz hybrid and a perch of the same size but as expected the fish soon backed off so went further down to the monk with double caster on the 4x10 rig, I had a nice 1lb perch and a 12oz roach before the pattern of no bites followed. the next hour or so was a case of catching what I could by switching between the lines but oddly enough I couldn't catch along the split were I expected too? Thinks were slow with just odd fish & by now Gabo had started to catch on his long line so decided to give it ago.

Starting on dead red maggot over the ground-bait & caster line I expected an instant response but it didn't happen with just a small roach in ten minutes so tried the other 14mts swim were I had just fed the one ball of worm with a piece of worm on the hook. It did the trick as I had a 1lb skimmer but soon hooked and lost a carp shortly after and despite trying it a bit longer nothing followed so it was back to the shorter lines, With things slowing I had began to feed the 6mts line heavier with casters as well as feeding more casters down to the monk with some chopped worm in the hope of some more bigger perch. I did have another 1lb fish before hooking something bigger which turned out to be a carp of 9lb which I got in on the light rig" but had noticed with 90mins or so some bubbles on the 6mt line, Owner Steve Long had wandered around & told me it was fishing hard with a couple of people admitting to just a couple of carp and I had a feeling that it was carp blowing in-front of me so rather than risk trashing my lighter rigs I was of the box setting up a heavier rig with a more suitable elastic. Their were still signs of fish at 6mts so went in with a good segment of worm on the hook, It took a while for the float to go under but the reward was a 3lb tench so a great bonus' Nothing followed so I re-fed another larger amount of casters and still loose fed it by hand before swithing back to the monk again with worm on the hook, Two carp and a near 2lb perch" in 3 put-in's were very welcome before hooking something which snapped the hook-length shipping back? I thought it was odd but when I went back in & had an 8oz eel' It had me thinking it had been a bigger eel which bit me off? Time was soon running out so re-fed the monk and had another go on the 6mts line taking a couple of hybrids to 8oz and some smaller fish on the short inside swim. back to the monk in the last few minutes saw me add a couple more perch to 1lb and a 1lb hybrid before the all out.

Roland Lucas came around from the other side of the split and said his side had fished hard but he had managed 5 carp and the only person he had seen catch silvers was Gary O'Shea on the opposite bank peg 97, I walked around to Gabo after packing up who was admitting to 7lb odd of silvers which turned out to be 9lb odd before my silvers went 13lb 10oz & the carp 23lb odd so a quid of him was safe' Back at the results & Nicky Ewers had 6 late carp on the bomb to thank for 58lb off peg 86 to take the win but thankfully for me my weight was enough to win the silvers by just 2oz over Gary" Picking up £48 along the way, (Plus £2 off Ziggy & Gabo") But more to the point a place in next years silvers final again" Result!. Funny enough I qualified just a week or so after travelling partner Donald last year & the same things happened again this time around" The lake fished much harder today but I really enjoyed just catching odd fish from each line and working the peg, Turned into a good weekend for me after all but a big well done to good friend Des Shipp Who went on to win the Silver mania At Stafford with 16lb 13oz which spookily enough was just 2oz ahead of his nearest rival..! Back to Viaduct Next Sunday for round 4 of the silvers league but still due to take the old boy fishing next Saturday weather permitting?. 

Full Results -

1st Nicky Ewer's (P.I.Thatchers) peg 86, 58lb 5oz.

2nd Roland Lucas (Wiltshire Angling) peg 80, 53lb 8oz.

3rd Colin Dyer (Bait-Tech Viaduct) peg 96, 46lb 12oz.

4th Chris Davis (Flip Flop) peg 74, 43lb 11oz.

5th Paul Elms (Flip Flop) peg 90, 40lb 6oz.

6th Dom Sullivan (Maver) peg 81, 37lb 8oz.

Silvers - 

1st Dom Sullivan (Maver) peg 81, 13lb 10oz.

2nd Gary O'Shea (P.I.Thatchers) peg 97, 13lb 8oz.

                   

Stafford Moor Silver Mania Qualifier.

Well the day we had been looking forward to for some time had arrived along with the weather! It was bowing a gale when we got up and arriving at the fishery we were also greeted to a few good down pours" At the draw it wasn't a question of which lake you fancied more of a case of anywhere out of the wind'.

A few star names were in the queue before us including Will Raison who managed to draw a couple of pegs away from where he was yesterday on oak lake which just so happened to be an end peg today as they had left out peg 16 due to someone pulling out with an illness but didn't he ever moan" I ask you'.

Back to me and I found myself on peg 23 Woodpecker which was a four pegs up from the end of the lake on a long open straight and yep' The wind was howling in my chops as well as gusting all around!

I happened to draw next to Essex county old boy Pete Vasey who I was next to yesterday and was eager to reap revenge? The problem was both him & the guy on the end peg of are section to my right both had an empty peg either side of them so I ended up pended in the middle" Great.. Not being funny but with all the room available I could of at least an empty peg for a bit of room? Owe well nothing I could and after a quick chat with Adam Wakelin before getting to my peg he said 5lb yesterday was a good weight so things didn't sound promising? I set up a 1.0g PB2 on 0.11-0.09 and an 18 63-13 hook , A 0.4g pencil on 0.10-0.08 and an 20 PR412 hook & finally a 0.06g slim float on 0.10-0.09 and an 18 PR434 hook. Depth wise it was around 6ft every where so I opted for a line off to my left and right at 13mts which was plenty far enough with the weather" And a line at 11mts where I planned to start the match.

At the all-in I fed 3 balls of Ground-bait at 13mts to the right with pinkies & casters added, a single ball with just a pinch of floro pinkies at 11mts & A ball laced with worm & a few dead reds at 13mts to the left. I started the match with double pinkee on the hook at 11mts hoping for a quick fish but nothing happened, I switched to a single dead red and just as the heavens opened I had a nice slow bite resulting in an 10oz skimmer which nobody noticed in the rain'. No more bite so I switched to the 13mt line on the right again with maggot on the hook, I did expect bites but it just wasn't happening as it seemed nothing much was being caught with the guys either side still having nothing in the net. I switched to the other 13mt swim with a small piece of worm on the hook and was surprised to miss a bite but the next put-in I had a 6oz skimmer, I bumped a fish before another 6oz skimmer followed but then I couldn't get a sign. Back to searching around the other lines but I not going to delay the agony as that was it for the rest of the match! I did bump of two small fish during the match in the wind & to be honest the only thing that keep me going was the fact the pegs either side of me only had a small skimmer a piece, That was until Pete foul hooked a 2lb plus bream with 25mins to go which he netted after some effort" Well apart from the weather being against us all day we were informed before the start the pegs further up the lake would produce more which proved right but only 4-5lb weights which is very disappointing, Out of the three of us Ziggy faired best and just missed out from a place in tomorrow's final with 8lb odd of bits from pines peg 24 which I paid a visit before the start of the match and can only describe as the tropics being sat down out of the wind with it off his back!" Gabo was on Oaks again and had 7lb odd but guess who won that lake? Will' with 18lb off the end peg"!..  We have decided with just the open on the lake I was on today we really don't fancy to get any better we are heading back early tomorrow and are all stopping off for the open on Viaduct Fishery where hopefully I can use some of the bait I certainly didn't need down here. Good luck to all those who have made it to the final tomorrow on tanners with someone in with the chance of walking away with a cool £1000. Nice for the experience but I wont be rushing back, Gabriel, His partner Elaina & Ziggy Decided not to let the fishing be a dampener on the weekend so far by making the most of the hot-tub at are accommodation when we returned, By god these foreigners have a taste for Vodka' lol".

Ziggy, Elaina & Gabo.  

                       

    

Stafford Moor Practice Match.

With the Silver Mania over the weekend Gabo, Ziggy & Myself booked in for the practice open match whilst the women went off to find the accommodation, At least that was the plan? We all decided to meet at the fishery for the 8am draw so we allowed are self's plenty of time stopping for a costa at the services on the way down, All was going well until the country road we wanted to travel on was closed, No issue we will just follow the Sat Nav' FFS" We must of took every poxy country lane going and 30mins later we ended up back where we started!" by now we were quickly running out of time & I tried to contact Gabo to get him to pay my pools & tell um I was running late" Nope' NO SIGNAL".

This wasn't going well so I just plodded past 8 O'clock hoping Gabo had got the draw time wrong? We eventually arrived ten minutes late but they hadn't draw thankfully so got Gabo to quickly pay my monies.

We were soon drawing & found ourself's near the front, Peg 3 on Oak for me which meant nothing as I didn't even know there was a lake of that name" Gabo was in the same boat as he had peg 12 on the same Lake with Ziggy Drawing peg 10 Woodpecker.

 

I did ask a local what to expect as we took the kit out the van & was informed that it would be small fish but so say plenty of bites? Plumbing-up I had around 5ft or so nearly everywhere I tried from 6mts out, I decided to set up a PB1 0n 0.11-0.09 and an 18 808 hook and a PB2 on the same line with an 18 63-13 hook, one rig was to fish pellet over ground-bait and the other for maggot/caster. last up I had a 4x12 Chanti on 0.10-0.08 and an 18 PR412 to fish at 7mts with casters?.

I Started the match feeding two ball with micro & a few Expanders At 13mts & two balls of a Darker mix with casters & pinkie's at 12mts to my right and began to feed a few casters by hand on the 7mt line. Starting here at with single caster I expected bites but after 10mins I hadn't had a sniff', I tried of to my left again at 7mts feeding just a few micros fishing 4mm expander on the hook, After 45min I was still fishless as well as the guys around me, out on the 14mt line again with 4mm expander saw my first fish being an 4oz skimmer followed by three crucian's to 4oz but then I couldn't muster a bite here so re-fed it & tried the 13mt line with single dead red maggot on the hook. A couple more small skimmers then again nothing, So much for getting your head down putting as much in the net as possible". I would love to say the day got better but it didn't I would catch a couple of small fish off each line then wouldn't get a bite for ages, I did manage to net a few carp along the way but it wasn't as prolific as expected that's for sure, I struggled on until the end just adding the odd small fish, Pete Vasey on the end peg to my right had caught a similar stamp of fish but the extra room would of helped I'm sure, He ended up with 6lb odd with me finishing on a level 5lb & the guy on my left had 3b odd, I did manage to take a £1 off Gabo as he only managed 3 fish & didn't weigh' The best weight along are bank turned out to be 7lb odd with 14lb winning the lake from the opposite bank. Winner on the day was Dave Gundrip from tanners peg 36 with 22lb odd. The fishing was a lot harder than we expected it to be which will be took on board for tomorrow's Qualifier.  Ziggy Did a great job of cooking Are tea when we arrived at are accommodation which I can only describe as raveolli'? well similar" but tasted great'.                   

Viaduct Silvers League (Round 3)

Back Again for the next round of this popular silvers league and after another day sat in a classroom all day yesterday on my drivers Cpc course which runs out in another four years" So have to a module once a year until then, I ask you' theirs a lot more to this than just driving the thing these days!. With team mate Donald Sutherland picking me up we had plenty of time for the visit to hilltops first, Yet again we noticed how mild it was with the temperature reading 12 degree's & its the 1st of November today" It was the last match that pellet would be allowed and with the temperature not dropping much through the week I still felt it would play apart? With the match being held over Cambell, Cary & Lodge I fancied a few pegs on each lake to produce a few fish, For some reason I had peg 62 on lodge in my head but wasn't disappointed (For a change') to find myself on peg 69 Lodge which is the first peg above the rope on the opposite bank & also a peg I happened to draw in this league last year winning the section with 16lb odd but I would have my work cut out as I had silvers maestro Steve Kedge below the rope on peg 70, Mark Lehay above me on peg 68, And Venue Expert Gary O'Shea above him on peg 66 as peg 67 is left empty.   

This can be a good area for the lakes large skimmers and I was hoping to latch into a few on the long pole out towards the rope,

First up I had two 4x12 Wire Wonders made up on 0.10-0.9, one with an 18 808 to fish pellet over ground-bait and 4mm's at 14mts to my left and the other with an 18 63-13 to fish maggot/caster over ground-bait a few feet away from the rope again at 14mts both lines being around 4ft deep. Next up was 4x12 slim float to fish at 7mts on 0.10-0.08 in just over 3ft of water and finally a 4x8 chanti on 0.11-0.09 and an 18 PR412 to fish along my inside bank around 2ft deep.

At the all in In I decided to take quite a positive approach as I felt who ever could catch the lakes bigger skimmers would do a nice weight? I fed the 7mt line first with a good handful of casters some chopped worm and a small ball of ground-bait, Fed the 14mt to my left with 4 balls and some 4mm pellets, & fed the 14mt line nearer the rope with two balls containing some casters & a few dead red maggots and began to flick a few casters down the edge. Starting at 7mts with single caster on the hook it didn't take long to get my first fish being a hybrid of 6oz, Over the next 30mins I added a few skimmers of similar size and seemed to be doing ok as I had only seen mark catch some small roach and Steve didn't seem to be doing much better, As always it slowed down so I re-fed a similar amount as I was itching to try the longer line confident I could catch the bigger skimmers? Starting on the line to my left with 4mm expander as expected I had a bite straight away but it proved to be no bigger than I was catching short, Over the next 15mins I had another 8 skimmer but bite were hard to come by, By now mark had switched to his longer line and had two good skimmers in next to no time. I decided to rest it and try the swim nearer the rope starting on two dead reds on the hook, Again a bite instantly but it was only another small skimmer and the same happened when I switched to double caster on the hook.

By now Mark had added a couple more better fish and although he was having to wait for bites it was proving worth wile as Steve's match seemed to be going similar to mine although he was switching back to his short line more often adding more roach. It was getting a bit frustrating as I just couldn't seem to hook any of the large skimmers I had expected no matter what it tried on the hook bait wise, For some reason they seemed to want to sit further up the lake as Martin Preston opposite Mark was also catching better fish? I began loose feeding 4mm's with the catty on the pellet line and did hook a big skimmer only for it to come off shipping back! But nothing followed so I was back to square one. I was regretting coming of my shorter line so early wishing I had total fished it out before adding more bait as I did because I was also struggling for bites here every time I tried it. I kept switching around my lines hopping for the bigger fish to turn up on the long lines but I just couldn't connect to then the biggest I had managed was around 1lb but most fish were 6-8oz but it just wasn't quick enough to catch up with Mark and Steve had also added a couple of better skimmers to his roach off the short line. I had switched to feeding 4mm pellets along with the casters I was loose feeding by hand at 7mts in the hope some bigger fish would turn up going into the last hour but after a couple more similar stamp fish all I did was attract the lakes carp netting a 5lb fish soon after. With about an hour to go and my swims not responding I had to try and add something to the net so decided to have a look down the edge with single caster on the hook as I had been feeding it by hand threw the day, I had two 4oz roach then hooked into something much better which turned out to be a 3lb bream!" would you credit it' A welcome bonus never the less" A couple of small roach saw me rest it and have another try long which saw me miss a bite on double caster but that was it. Back down the edge and another better fish straight away, A 1lb perch" Now I was beginning to regret not using this line earlier in the day but when your neighbour is catching  better fish its hard not to try and follow suit. I did get another quick chance to try the long lines without success before adding a few more roach from down the edge before the match ended and to be honest I though I had been well and truly battered' from both sides today admitting to about 12lb odd?

Gary was first to weigh and put 21lb odd on the scales, Mainly Perch & Hybrids from his inside edge with a few better skimmers on the long pole, Next up was Mark who was admitting to about 18lb but ended up with 22lb of bigger skimmers to pip Gary, My turn & I was quite surprized to finish with 18lb 9oz which surprized me more when Steve had a level 18lb" With a couple of 9lb weights below him it meant I had enough for 3rd in the section & 3pts which isn't a disaster but again only a few pounds making the difference to win the section, Chatting to Steve afterwards his match had panned out pretty similar to mine also struggling to find the better fish so perhaps they just weren't in-front of us today who knows" Back at the results Sam Powell on peg 111 Cambell won the day with 34lb of skimmers & Tench catching at 7mts with caster and on the long line with squats, Don had another great day finishing second with 26lb odd from peg 114 on the same lake again catching mainly at 7mts on maggot. As it stands Local lad Dan Squires holds the lead with 3 section wins but its close behind him. The venue fished well with the weights being very close again which makes for a good match. Well off to Stafford Moor on Friday for the Silver Mania over the weekend with 60 odd of the country's best anglers it will be a true test but looking forward to it.

Full Results - 

1st Sam Powell (Thatchers P.I) peg 111 Cambell, 34lb 3oz.

2nd Don Sutherland (Maver) peg 114 Cambell, 26lb 6oz.

3rd Martin Preston (Sensas) peg 62 Lodge, 25lb 12oz.

4th Dan Squires (Sensas) peg 96 Cary, 24lb 13oz.

5th Steve Denmead (Bait-Tech Viaduct) peg 128 Cambell, 24lb 10oz.

6th Dave Roper (Thatchers Tackle) peg 24lb 1oz.