Viaduct Fishery Winter League Round Two.

Back to the second round of this popular ninety five peg league with fifteen teams of five competing, As normal Team mate Donald picked me up we had are normal hilltops breakfast before arriving early to get a decent parking space' It was my turn to fish match lake which had an overspill onto spring lakes which I fancied to produce a few fish but the chances of drawing it were slim" & a couple on middle, We decided Ivan Currie could Honour the draw for us today as he's not able to fish the last few rounds, Thank god" A few of us said, Steve Segar was on peg 6 Spring which doesn't has much history at this time of the year, Ivan was on peg 80 Cary which is shallow so best sitting it out on the bomb for the resident lumps" Don had the same result as me in the last round drawing one of the overspill pegs on Cary from lodge lake peg 74 which was favoured a few weeks ago!, Captain Chris hook looked to have the best on paper drawing 114 on Cambell opposite the spit, And I ended up on peg 44 Match lake on the near bank in the middle of the lake, I hadn't a clue what to expect as I've only fished this lake once before & that was years ago' Arriving at my swim I had talented Chris Davis next to me on the end peg of are bank peg 45 & Venue expert & fellow blogger Tony Rixon the other side" Help... Owe well I had to make my own choices today then & hope I got something right'.

First out the bag was my Maver 10ft bomb rod which is just right for a shorter chuck to the island with a light lead of small cage feeder with 4lb main line to an 0.11 bottom & an 18 808 hook. It looked idea to start with but with strong wind forecast as the day went on I didn't want to venture to far out & chose to target two swims at 13mts to start with & see how things progressed?

I didn't have much depth anywhere with the best being the 3ft on the long pole lines so opted for 2 x 0.2 pencil floats, one on 0.11-0.10 and an 18 63-13 hook & the other on 0.12-0.11 and an 18 808 hook. Last up was a small loaded waggler to fish to the island but I only found a foot or so tight to the bank so wasn't sure it would work to well?

At the all-in I fed 2 balls & a pot of loose Ground-bait with a few casters & dead reds at 13mts in-front of me, A pot of loose to my right at 8mts as a throw away line & fed 6 pieces' of 6mm meat to my left at 13mts. I started on the bomb over to the island with red maggot on the hook but the next 30mins saw me try bread, corn & meat but I still hadn't had a bite nor had Tony or Chris at this stage.

Not long after Chris dropped in on his long pole line with meat & was rewarded with an F1 straight away so I soon followed suit' I gave it 15mins but no early signs so fed another small amount & decided to have a go on my silvers' line as tony was already putting some small fish in the net, I had 3 quick blade skimmers then it died so re-fed another ball & decided to give it another go on the lead, I had been pinging a few cubes over to the far bank with the wind assisting so started with a small cube on the hook. It hadn't been in the water a few seconds before I had an F1 over 2lb shortly followed by another of similar size, The disaster struck as I hooked something bigger which was certainly not in the gob" as soon as bomb hit the water which took me right past Chris into his margin before shedding the hook" Then 10mins later I had another carp on only to pull out bringing it back". this seemed to unsettle then as I didn't get any indications even when I switched to fishing the waggler over the top with maggot as it just threw up some small roach.

I had been topping the meat' swim up at regular intervals so dropped in for another try but still didn't have any signs and Chris hadn't had anymore off it after his early fish but had added a few perch including a fish over 2lb', Tony had managed a couple of F1 of his long pole line at 16mts & a better skimmer but even he was struggling to hold it so I had no chance as he's 3 times the size of me!" I gave my silvers line another go & felt something better was around as I didn't get any small fish? 2mins later I had a decent bite and promptly bumped a better fish" things weren't going quite to plan at this stage & being behind Tony & Chris as felt my best chances to add some better fish would be back over to the island & going into the last couple of hours the wind had swung around slightly giving me more chance of presenting the waggler better. I went back over on the bomb & began to feed casters across with the wind & added another F1 on meat before I switched to fishing single maggot on the waggler, I had an F1 then a couple of small roach which had me thinking they were easily spooked so it was a case of resting it again. The silvers line just wouldn't produce anything of size for me although Tony had added a couple more F1's & another better skimmer & Chris had also added a couple more F1's. back on the waggler I managed another but going into the last hour as soon as Chris back switched to his long meat line he was into a fish so I decided to give it another try.

it didn't take long for the float to go & soon added another F1', Shortly after I had another, Then another" It had came alive" the problem was so had Chris's swim along with tony adding a couple of better carp over his long line, I added a carp of 4lb which was fun on light elastic without a puller system' then added a couple more F1's before the end of the match, Bloody typical as I was just starting to enjoy myself'. I felt Tony had Enough to beat Chris & Myself & Chris had a fish or to more than me, Mat Parsons on peg 42 weighed 16lb before Tony had 9lb of silvers to add to his carp & F1's to finish with 32lb odd, I weighed 25lb & Chris had 29lb so it was a close call in the end but well done to Tony as he always does well here & knows the place well, Unfortunately further around the lake had fished better with a couple of 40lb weights & as far as I know nearly all the pegs on spring lake of are section had beaten us so no mega points for the team today for any off us by the look of it? I did enjoy the match & it proved you had to try & make thing happen so look forward to trying this lake out in the future, It turned out team wise we had a bit of a mare' Steve had 12lb of roach on spring but suffered to the carp having a go today, Ivan had managed a carp on Cary with a few bits, Chris had faired best with 60lb odd to finish over halfway on his lake & Don had a day to forget without hooking a carp finishing the day with a mixed bag for 6oz which cant be helped if the fish just ain't their".

I didn't get the weigh sheets today as Steve Ect have a lot to sort after the match & Don was desperate for a pint which I cant blame him but that's the way it go's with winter fishing, I know the match was won by Rich Lacey from the famous monk peg 66 on lodge lake with 129lb odd & that man again England Star Des Shipp put in another great performance to top the silvers with 35lb odd of skimmers from peg 62 on lodge catching good skimmers/bream at 10mts on caster over casters. Back again in two weeks for the third round I it might be my time to do the team draw? Can I just say now I'm sorry lads before I get the flack!" lol. I will add the full results as soon as I get conformation in the week, As for next weekend a lot will depend on the weather as I have a free weekend with no league matches so will decide later this week. 

Full results -

1st Rich Lacey (Silverfox) peg 66 Lodge Lake, 129lb 14oz.

2nd Ben Hagg (Keyford/Guru) peg 112 Cambell, 113lb 4oz.

3rd Dan White (Thatchers Vets) peg 110 Cambell, 95lb 11oz.

4th Gordon Cannings (Silverfox) peg 128 Cambell, 94lb 5oz.

5th Adam Mitchell (Freenze S.W Orange) peg 26 Spring, 82lb 9oz.

6th Fred Robert (2nd Time Lucky) peg 56 Lodge, 77lb 4oz.

Silvers -

1st Des Ship (Thatchers Gold) peg 61 Lodge, 35lb 12oz.

2nd Mike Williams (Thatchers Gold) peg 37 Lodge, 26lb 13oz.

3rd Dave Romain (Viaduct Select) peg 19 Spring, 24lb 3oz.

Teams Overall After 2 Matches -

1st Keyford, 134pts

2nd Premier Angling, 131pts

3rd 2nd Time Lucky, 126pts

4th Viaduct Allstars, 124pts  

5th Thatchers Gold, 118pts

6th Freenze Black, 114pts

7th Avon Angling, 113pts

8th Freeze Orange, 109pts

9th Somerset Angling, 105pts

10th Silverfox, 104pts

11th Team Viaduct, 96pts

12th Southwest Nomads, 94pts

13th Thatchers Vets, 88pts

14th Viaduct Select, 83pts

15th Thatchers Welsh Wizards, 76pts

16th Garbolino BVMG, 74pts

16th Moaning Maggots, 74pts

18th Maver, 72pts

19th Amigos, 68pts.                               

         

Landsend Fishery (Saturday Open).

Another chance to try my luck at Landsend Fishery again today, Not a venue I know very well but keen to have another try, I picked up Lewis Jones today & We decided to give the new Café onsite a try today which was very nice & always easier than having to find somewhere on route, It felt quite cold today & their was a fair breeze blowing towards the nearest end of the Lake so was hoping to find myself somewhere a bit more sheltered? We had a wander around before the draw & I fancied a draw at the bottom end of the Lake for some reason' Into the draw & I found myself on peg 7 & Lewis ended up on the end peg in the wind, 24.

Thankfully I was just out the worst of the wind down from the spit pegs 5 & 6 & had plenty or room for a few options, Ken Raynor who drew peg 12 in the bottom corner told me the peg had produced a few fish lately which was pleasing news & told me how he had caught when he was on it a few weeks ago but things can change & fish have fins so would also have a few plans of my own.

First up was a rig to dob hard pellets across to the far bank & along the reeds to my right (Ken's idea")

 A 4x12 Chianti on 0.12-0.11 & an 18 808 hook to fish the bottom of the far shelf again just off the reeds to the right, & finally the same set up to fish towards the point of peg 6 in the open water at 13mts.

 

 The Robin was keen for bait"

 

I had venue expert Andy Hembrow next to me on peg 5 so would keep a keen eye on what he was doing. I started by feeding some corn on the 13mt open water swim & began the match at the bottom of the far shelf with dead maggot on the hook feeding tiny amounts of micros aver the top & had a bite straight away which I promptly missed" but a small roach on the next cast didn't have me to excited, After 15mins Andy was netting his 3rd fish by fishing off the point of peg 5 but I couldn't do the same as the sun was smack in my eyes even then I couldn't fish it really' It was time to try closer to the island so again started with maggot on the hook, Just another small roach which fell off was all I hooked even after trying hard & soft pellets on the hook so it was time to try the dobbing rig closer to the reeds, Starting with hard 6mm pellet on the hook I gave it 15mins working my way around the reeds but still no signs of carp & we were over an hour into the match" Andy had been catching a few F1's & a couple of carp for the first hour but his swim was showing signs of dying & looking around not much else was being caught from what I could see although Ken down on the end peg looked to be having a few fish.

It was 12.30 when I landed my first carp which came on maggot at the bottom of the far shelf but then again nothing followed, I began to feed a couple more lines along the far bank in the deeper water in the hope of pinching the odd fish? I tried again in the shallower water closer to the bank but it didn't matter where I tried I just couldn't get bites!. With a couple of hours to go I dropped in on the open water corn line which produced a F1 of 2lb followed by a 2lb skimmer 20mins later after I rested the swim. I still couldn't get any signs of the longer lines towards the island & was really struggling to put anything in the net, I began to feed small amounts of micro's at 7mts & with 45mins to go added a 1lb perch on the maggot before missing a couple of bites which I found odd as conditions were flat calm now so had the rig dotted to a dimple, I switched to a 4mm expander on the hook & not long after added a 3lb bream' it made a bit of commotion so had a quick look back on the corn line which didn't produce another bite but I added another 1 skimmers from the bottom of  the far shelf. Back in at 7mts with 10mins left again on the expander I had another 3lb bream on but just as I reached for the landing net the hook pinged out" and that was the end of the match for me as it didn't produce another bite before the whistle. Andy Had a great start but unfortunately it didn't last & I think he spent the last 4hrs fishless? when the scales arrived Andy had weighed 11lb odd of F1's which count as silvers & added 3 carp for 18lb, I didn't weigh my single carp but my silvers went 9lb odd so the lost fish would of made a difference'. Back at the results & Alan Oram had won the day from end peg 13 on the bottom bank with 69lb closely followed by Ken Raynor opposite him on the other end peg 12 with 60lb odd, Strangely enough these two pegs had a real struggle in the league last week netting 4 & 6lb so it goes to prove fish have fins" It turned out Andy's 11lb of F1's was enough to take the silvers pot but it wasn't a bad result for me in the end as I picked up £25 for second spot. beginning to get a better picture of how this place fishes at the moment & next time I wont be so keen to try & chase around carp which didn't appear to be in the area".

Full results -

1st Alan Oram (Premier Angling) peg 13, 69lb 4oz.

2nd Ken Raynor (Ken's Angling Blog) peg 12, 60lb 4oz.

3rd Dave Westcott (Landsend) peg 15, 51lb 8oz.

4th Lewis Jones (Drennan Thyer's) peg 24, 43lb 1oz.

5th Eric Fouracre (The Sedges) peg 10, 36lb. 

6th Derek Beard (The Sedges) peg 19, 35lb 12oz.

Silvers -

1st Andy Hembrow (Clevedon.A.A) peg 5, 11lb 5oz.

2nd Dom Sullivan (Maver) peg 7, 9lb 7oz. 

                              

Viaduct Fishery (Thursday Costcutter).

With my job being a bit quiet at this time of the year I decided to take a days holiday with the forecast for a pleasant day, I had my normal warming breky on route before arriving at the fishery, It was pleasing to see 23 booked in meaning Cambell & Lodge lake would be in today, In the draw queue I was chatting to Titch (Corner Peg') Williams & snuck in-front of him to take my turn & ended up on Cambell peg 130, Titch? Yep he didn't disappoint' End peg 132 Cambell next to me in the corner!" I couldn't believe it". This area has been producing a few carp of late although in the last few matches the fish seem to have moved more into the middle of the lake but we still had the chance of catching a few?

 

 Titch in his corner'.

I planned a big fish approach today so first out came the straight lead & waggler rods to fish out into the lake & apart from that all I set up was one pole rig to fish at 16mts in just under 4ft of water being a 4x12 Chanti on 0.13-0.11 & A 18 PR434 hook. I began the match by feeding some corn on the 16mt line & started the match on the bomb & Hair rigged meat, After just a couple of knocks' in the first 20mins I switched to corn on the hair, Ashley Saunders next to me on peg 129 below the spit Had a good start & had already netted two carp,

 Ashley in action".

Approaching the hour mark I was beginning to get a little worried as I was still to catch then at last I hooked & netted a carp around 4lb on the corn, I kept swapping around baits in different areas of the peg but it was another 20mins before I added another of around 8lb. After this fish I stopped getting any signs Altogether so switched to the waggler just tripping the deck, 30mins later & I was still to add anything to the net' On the two hour mark I decided it was time to try the pole line with a single grain of corn on the hook.

I was surprized to see it go under as soon as it settled but missed it" lowering it back in it didn't take long for it to go again & this time the result was a 3lb Bream' nothing followed which I put down to the clarity of the water causing any other fish to spook away so topped it up & had another try on the lead.

I was searching the swim in different areas but still couldn't get a response & with another 30mins gone I tried the pole line again. First dob in & I netted a 2lb skimmer but then couldn't get another bite' so I decided to feed another line off to my right at 17.5mts" All I fed was a small amount of cubed meat with a cad-pot attached & tried a small piece of meat on the hook but again it failed to produce anything. Ash had netted just one more carp & Titch had landed 3 by the halfway mark. I keep having a quick look on the waggler were I had been feeding small amounts of corn via the catty but it just didn't produce bites, I expected the pole lines to produce a few more bigger skimmers later in the day but it just didn't happen, I managed a 2lb tench on the bomb & meat going into the last hour & added another carp around 6lb on the same bait & managed a 1lb plus hybrid on the pole line with 40mins remaining but that's as far as my day went, Ash had a great last couple of hours to add a run of fish to the few he had early in the match so looked to be in with a shout of winning? Titch was first to weigh & put 26lb odd on the scales, I Managed a total of 27lb odd with my four silvers going just short of 9lb & as expected Ash finished up with 66lb odd when he switched to fishing that bit further out, & area the carp seem happy to be at the moment. Back at the results & peg 119 Cambell in the top opposite corner produced the winner with Martin Rodgers winning the day catching along the end bank on the pole to finish with 81lb odd. Silvers went the way off Andy Power from peg 59 on lodge lake catching on the waggler & casters to finish with 20lb odd. I had an enjoyable day but felt the peg wasn't worth to much more than what I managed, A few weeks ago they were catching well at this end but they do seem to have pushed further up the lake now but that's the way it go's. One bit of good news, The results for the Fisho Mania' tickets are out & out of the 6 tickets I applied for I ended up with all of them" I don't know who was more excited me or the wife' As she looked through the list of names bless her" With venues including Woodlands View, Larford, Gold Valley & of course Viaduct, It looks like a fair bit of travelling over the coming months. Back here for the Winter league on Sunday so hoping for a chance to and on a few".

Full results -

1st Martin Rodgers (Andover) peg 119 Cambell, 81lb 10oz.

2nd Chris Davis (Frampton Cotterell) peg 68 Lodge, 74lb 4oz.

3rd Ashley Saunders (Drennan South West) peg 129 Cambell, 66lb 10oz.

4th Rich Kelly (Un-Attached) peg 64 Lodge, 63lb 10oz. 

5th Gary Cotton (What What) peg 128 Cambell, 37lb 9oz.

Dom Sullivan (Maver) peg 130 Cambell, 27lb 10oz.

Silvers

1st Andy Power (Preston Innovations) peg 59 Lodge, 20lb 15oz.

2nd Chris Fox (Un-Attached) peg 126 Cambell, 19lb 2oz.

        

 

 

   

Summerhayes Fishery Sunday Open. (Longs Lake).

Traveling on my own today I had the normal stop off for my Hilltops breakfast where I met a few off the normal lads off to the Sedges fishery for the start of the silvers league which I would of liked to take part in but two off the matches clash with the final two rounds of the Viaduct winter league' Steve Always has his dates for the Viaduct League sorted in the early part of the year & with a small bit off moving dates around them surely it would give more anglers the chance to enter rather than having to miss matches or find stand-in's? I didn't anticipate many Anglers to be booked in today & arriving at the fishery I was right with only 8 of us booked-in. Owner Pete decided to make the match a rover meaning you could chose your peg depending on which number you drew before hand, Now I still had it in my head it would be best to let somebody else draw for me so I chose Pete's Side kick & tea boy Adie to do the honours for me...

Now its quite simple just draw me a low number to stand the chance of a better choice? It was Never going to happen was it' Eight of us fishing & low & behold he chose me choice number 8!" Things must change soon hey"???. The only rule Pete has is you have to have a empty peg between each angler on the rover matches & I fancied a peg below the motorway on the narrower end, I fancied going on peg 19 but Ray
Wickham chose peg 18 before me so peg 20 it was then".

The conditions were ideal without any wind & already it was over 12 degree's so very mild compared to the temperatures through the week. I fancied either the island at just over 12mts would produce a few fish or the margin to my left between the pallets would produce a few fish?

I set up my favourite 4x12 chanti on 0.11-0.10 & an 18 808 hook to fish just off the island in 3ft of water on a couple of lines, A
4x10 chanti to fish a couple of feet deep along the edge on 0.12-0.11 & an 16 808 hook  & finally a 4x14 chanti on 0.12-0,10 & an 16 808 to fish off to my left at 13mts in the open water which was around 5ft deep. I started the match by fishing over to the island with red maggot on the hook after feeding the 13mt open water line with some corn feeding a few micro's with a cad-pot. after 10mins I foul hooked & lost a good fish but I wasn't getting the response I expected, I switched to half depth with bread on the hook & added a carp of 2lb before foul hooking 2 more, Back to fishing on the deck I had another of similar size on maggot but then I couldn't get anything but small roach so it was time for a change, I decided to try down towards the pallets so started on the bread again set a couple of feet deep, No sooner had I dropped the rig next to the reeds past the pallet I was into a fish again around 2lb followed by 4 more of similar size in the next 4 put-ins, I was just beginning to think I was going to empty it the disappeared" I tried further along the bank but couldn't get a bite anywhere so rested the swim. by now we were nearly two hours in so decided to have a look on the open water line with corn on the hook. I had a bite straight away which I missed then nothing but was confident some fish would settle here later in the day? back to the island & I added another on the deck with maggot & one on the bread half depth but the fish didn't seem to want to settle in the shallower water, I didn't have much cover over to the island which didn't seem to help so I was a case of taking the odd fish before having to come off it. back down the edge I managed another on the bread but they didn't appear to be here in numbers so decided to feed some 4mm pellets & a few grains of corn to try & draw some fish back into the swim & left it to settle. I had been topping up the open water line at regular intervals so gave it another try, I had a carp of 3lb straight away followed by one slightly bigger 5mins later before again I felt the need to top it up & rest the swim, I rotated between the lines & with a couple of hours of the match left I had 14 carp for around 30lb, Louis turned up to have a wander around & came to sit behind me, I told him I expected my open water line to switch on & as soon as I went back on it I had 4 fish in as many put-ins which were a better stamp adding nearly 15lb to my weight'. As soon as I felt the fish had backed off I re-fed it & switched lines, I added a couple more 2lb fish from down the edge again on corn, managed to add a couple of fish to 4lb on maggot from the island & added a few more 3lb plus fish from the open water line before the all-out sounded. I estimated to have around 60-70lb which I thought would be hard to beat today? & by switching around baits & swims I was able to add odd fish when others were struggling for bites, When the Scales arrived Chris Bolton on peg 15 in the corner was leading the way with 50lb odd, I had tipped around a 1lb of silvers back with an hour to go to use it for carp in fear of going over in my carp net but it proved worth while as I finished the day with just over 70lb. Back at the results I had enough to win the day picking up £49 along the way, Top silvers went to Steve Jackson from peg 33 with just over 13lb on maggot over ground-bait. For a change I had a really enjoyable day, By fishing to my strengths it proved worthwhile coming away with the result I was looking for.

 Part of my catch.

 

Planning another trip to Landsend fishery next Saturday before the second round of the Viaduct Winter League next Sunday.

Full Results -

1st Dom Sullivan (Maver) peg 20, 70lb 2oz.

2nd Chris Bolton (Summerhayes) peg 15, 52lb 4oz.

3rd Martin Addicott (Summerhayes) peg 12, 40lb 12oz.

Silvers - Steve Jackson (Garbolino) peg 33, 13lb 4oz. 

                       

Clevedon A.A League (Acorn Fishery) Saturday.

I had a chance to fill in for Andy Hembrow for the 5th round held on the match lake of Acorn Fishery in Kingston Seymour, With Louis Jones being local to me & Involved in the league I offered to pick him up before having a great breakfast roll on route before arriving at the fishery. It turned out the lake was still frozen over on Thursday so we anticipated the fishing was going to be hard? On the way I was discussing the fact my draw hand isn't great" & Louis suggested I let somebody else do it for me so with this in mind we got on to where we wouldn't want to be' We both agreed the pegs 36-38 as it has poor form of late with peg 40 next to the bridge being always favourite for a few fish before making are way to the draw. Nick Harvey was Near the front of the Queue & drew peg 1 on the island so I asked him to draw me a peg, What does he draw me' Yep you guessed it 36! & It just so happened Brian (Anteater) Slipper Had it on the last match when it was nice & mild & managed 1 carp!",

 Louis On peg 38, Pleasure fishing' Lol.

 

Wow I was full of enthusiasm" Louis wasn't best pleased with his draw on 38, Until that was nobody drew peg 40!" Jammy Git' Lol, To make matters worse I had Nick directly in front of me on the island who was doing his best to wind me up about the what he had drawn me' But I did warn him revenge was sweet'

 

I was going to keep things as simple as possible today so first up I had a rig to fish off the point of the island on my left at 14mts in 5ft of water as I couldn't get onto the shelf here, being a 4x12 chanti on 0.11-0.10 & an 18 808 hook, I set up a 0.3g AS1 to fish along the inside bank for dobbing bread on the same line with an 16 808 hook & finally a 4x10 chanti to fish along the far bank in-front of me on 0.12-0.11 & again an 18 808 hook.

I started the match in the deep water at 14mts off the point with dead red maggot on the hook feeding small amounts of micros via a cad-pot. I missed a bite after a couple of minutes then had a carp of 3lb in the eye' but at east I got it in". I had a 1lb plus F1 10mins later but then got pestered by small perch so switched to fishing bread on the hook, I lost two more foul hookers so tried fishing at half depth but that failed to produce. After an hour or so I tried along the far bank which again failed to produce a bite so it was time to try along the inside edge starting at 13mts. After 30mins of searching around I couldn't get a sign of fish even when I went further along the bank. Back to the deeper swim I had another smaller carp on maggot before getting bitted out by small perch again so switched to a 4mm expander on the hook which produced another F1 straight off then nothing. I was already watching Louie catch regular by fishing half depth close to the far bank on bread but I couldn't do the same from the angle I was at & in-front of me seemed void of fish along with my inside bank'. Most of the match was spent on the deep 14mt line switching baits & taking the odd smaller carp or F1, I had £1 side bet with Nick so that Keep me focused & every time I hooked a fish I did my best not to let him here whilst telling him he was always beating me'. back to the revenge & after an hour or so of the match gone I had to remind him for ribbing me for the peg so put the full length of my pole together to 17mts+ and filled my large cup half full of maggots' While he had his back to me concentrating I shipped it out lifting it over what I thought would be inline with his head before emptying the contents" I missed judge the distance slightly but still managed to add nearly half a pint of old maggots into his net bag!" that will teach you". He can take a joke so did see the funny side'. My match never really got going with just odd fish, I added a few more later in the match by fishing at 16mts but in the last hour I couldn't see the float with the bad light & shadow on the water which didn't help. I followed the scales around for the weigh-in & best weight on the day went to Mark Walsh with 76lb odd from peg 19 catching mainly down the track on corn. Louis had a good day finishing 2nd with 73lb odd ahead of Shaun Partridge with 70lb so just a fish or two in it come the end, Nick had a run of late carp on the bread across to the island to weigh 25lb odd but he was right peed off when my total went 30lb odd as I had convinced him he had done me' Don't forget Nick you still owe me the £1".

It fished a lot better than we had expected & although I struggled to put a run of fish together to compete I was quite pleased to catch what I did from the peg in the end. off to Summerhayes tomorrow for a change as I haven't had chance to visit for a while but after seeing how well this fished after the cold snap its given me a few ideas as I'm sure their will be a few fish to be caught?

 

               

   

           

Viaduct Fishery Teams Of 5 Winter League (Round One).

Back to Viaduct today for the start of this popular teams of five league to be fished over 5 matches, With 19 teams involved (95 Anglers) All lakes would be in use consisting of Cambell, Cary, Lodge, Match & Spring lakes which we would each fish in rotation with a random draw on the first deciding where we would all end up?. Traveling Partner Donald Picked me up as normal before are usual Hilltops breakfast on route we arrived quite early but already most had arrived, Are team consisted of captain Chris Hook, Ivan Currie, Steve Segar, Donald & Myself & Seeing As Don had been Pretty good lately at drawing the right Areas' We decided it was best Him do the team draw". He Came back to announce that Ivan had drawn a peg we felt was worth a few fish peg 110 Cambell in the corner which was a result for him having not been here a while, (How this happens Ile never Know" Lol). Steve was on Match, Chris on Spring, Don on Cary & Myself on CARY". How? Well, My section consists of 14 pegs on Lodge Lake with an overspill of 5 peg on Cary, The only difference is my section is float only to stop people all casting to the same spot on Lodge with The lead". Cary Holds a Good head of very big carp' Mostly which get caught on the straight lead at this time of the year. With that out of the Question I was going to have to rely on the waggler towards the middle of the Lake in the hope of catching some better fish. Thankfully when I arrived at my peg it looked ideal for a waggler approach in the Duck Zone' with no wind in the air.

 

After setting the waggler with a size 16 Guru Hair to 4lb main line to fish just touching the deck which was just short of 4ft I assembled 2 x 0.3g pencil floats on 0.11-0.09 with an 18 63-13 & 18 PR434 hooks to fish two different lines at 14mts in search of silvers to hopefully boost any weight.

I had Don directly opposite me who was in the true' Cary section & could use the bomb if he chose so it would be interesting how he faired?.

I started the day feeding 5 balls of groundbait containing a handful of casters with some dead red maggots & Floro pinkies at 14mts in the clear water infront of me & one ball of chopped worm & casters in worm soil 14mts to my left in the shadow of the trees. Starting the match on the waggler without feeding anything with hair rigged corn on the hook within a minute of the bait settling I missed a bite! I couldn't believe it' but after 40mins without a bite I was getting a bit concerned, I switched around baits but after trying corn again I did connect with a fish which turned out to be a 1lb hybrid'. From what I could see not much was being caught, Steve Skelton next to me on peg 102 in the Cary section had already landed two carp on the bomb" & bread so I stuck at it but decided to feed a few bits of corn around the float, After another 20mins I finally hooked a decent carp' Thankfully I netted it safely & being double figures it was going be a lot of silvers" I made my mind up to stick at it so topped up my pole lines & continued on the waggler with either Corn, Meat or Bread on the hook. Steve netted 2 more by casting his lead right out in the wider section on the lake but then couldn't get an indication, The guy opposite him had also landed a couple casting to the same area by the aerator but they weren't in my section. I gave it another 30mins but never had a touch so it was time to try & add some silvers from my pole lines.

Starting on dead red maggot in-front of me I had a 4oz skimmer followed by some small roach so switched to caster on the hook which produced a 12oz skimmer straight off then nothing". All I could put it down to was with the depth just over 3ft & clear water the other fish spooked once u hooked one", I tried the other 14mt line with a bit of worm or caster on the hook but had no early signs so it was back to the waggler.

I was trying different areas of the swim but no matter what it wasn't happing I was just about to try the pole again when I missed another slow bite which I think was a skimmer as I missed it again'. I gave it an hour but nothing was added, Steve next to me hadn't had another bite & from what I could see everyone was struggling, I decided to try & catch what I could on the pole & keep an eye on what others were doing at the same time, Again I had a 12oz skimmer straight off but could only add small roach after but at least something was going in the net, the 2 guys below Don had a carp each but were struggling to add anything, I tried to force a better fish to have a look on the pole line in-front of me so began to loose feed a few casters over the top with the catty, I added a 10oz perch but again after a better stamp fish the swim would die. I kept trying the waggler but still no response & after Steve's good start all he had added was a hybrid again on the bomb so it seemed any carp he moved out of the area, The last 90mins I just kept switching lines trying to add what I could, I had heard there had been a few carp caught on Lodge lake which I was competing with but tried just to keep an eye on the angler in the section on my lake & try to stay ahead of them.

It was hard going & all I added in the last hour was a few roach & an 8oz skimmer off the pole lines but nothing else on the wagg.           

                 Its a shame no more carp seemed to be in the area but nobody added any more after the opening hours around me so adding what I could off the pole line would hopefully prove worth while. When the scales arrived owner Steve told me I needed 12lb to win my section on Cary, I was confident I had enough & my 5lb odd of silvers added to my 13lb' carp saw me win it picking up £40 along the way, Lodge lake had faired better with Matt Parsons on the monk peg 64 winning the section outright with 130lb odd' It turned out I had managed 10/19pts for the team which I was quite pleased with considering I wasn't on Lodge itself. The match was Won by last years individual winner Ben Hagg from peg 16 on Spring lake catching Mainly on the Bomb & meat tight to the island so a good start to the league for him well done. Team wise we had a mixed result as Don & Steve had a struggling day just catching some bits without finding a bonus carp' Ivan Had the same points as me but Chris finished 3rd in his 19peg section so it could be worse, Steve will Have the team points for today added on the facebook page asap as he had a lot to do with all the results for the individuals after the match. The day couldn't go by without me having a mishap & shortly after arriving at my peg I stepped on the pallet to attach my keepnet bar to my box, The trouble was it was wet and I slipped throwing it in the air which landed somewere around a metre out!" Well Steve said he will kindly try & retrieve it in the week but the way I'm going he's going to be charging me as it seems to be a regular habit with me here with one item or another". Back in two weeks & my turn to fish match lake again with a couple of overspill pegs but Ile explain that should I draw them next time'. Off to Acorn Fishery next Saturday to Fill In for someone on the individual Clevedon League so just hope the wind stays away".

Individual Results -

1st Ben Hagg (Keyford) peg 16 Spring, 140lb 15oz.

2nd Matt Parsons (Keyford) peg 64 Lodge, 130lb 5oz.

3rd Andy Neal (Frenzee Orange) peg 131, 93lb 7oz.

4th Mark Brennan (Somerset Angling) peg 112 Cambell, 85lb.

5th Mark Podman (South West Nomads) peg 113 Cambell 75lb 7oz.

6th Phil Harding (Viaduct All-Stars) peg 128 Cambell, 75lb 5oz.

Silvers -

1st John Allan (Frenzee Black) peg 116 Cambell, 16lb 4oz.

2nd Mark Williams (P.I.Thatchers) peg 68 Lodge, 16lb.

3rd Mark Harper (P.I.Thatchers) peg 18 Lodge, 11lb 8oz.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

           

          

Landsend Fishery Saturday Open.

I fancied a change of scenery so decided to have a go at landsend fishery for a change, Its not a venue I get chance to fish that often so was looking forward to giving it a go, Traveling on my own today the lovely wife did me a couple of bacon sarnies before I left which was a god send as it was certainly the coldest night of the year to wake up to. Arriving at the fishery I went & had a quick look at the match lake which we would be on today only to find the far side of the lake taking the brunt of the weather with most of it covered in ice with the near side fairing slightly better with odd patches along the length, I did try to take a photo but soon found out I had left the sim card at home in the laptop so no pic's today then". With 10 of us fishing the pegs would be spread all around the lake & I was just hoping to avoid the worst of the ice for starters?. No such bloody Luck! I found myself on peg 18 which is just below the gap on the far side of the lake but just so happened to be the worst area as far as the ice went along with peg 19 above me" luckily it wasn't to thick and with some careful tapping using my pole pot full of water I began to channel out a swim towards the island at just over 14mts, It proved to be a slow process to say the least as I had just finished my channel" when the all-in sounded & I hadn't so much as got anything out of my bag!". Not a great start then so things were kept pretty simple, One rig being a 4x12 Chanti on 0.13-0.10 & an 18 808 hook to fish close to the island. Once I got started which seemed to be 20mins after everyone else' I began with dead red maggot on the hook feeding tiny amounts of micros over the top after 10mins I had a perch of 12oz but nothing followed, It seemed the swim shallowed up the closer I got to the gap between the islands and I was hooking up to some underwater debris so decided to re-plum a couple of few feet of the island in-front of a bush attached to the far bank & start all over again.

The two pegs below me towards the other end of the lake which just so happened to be totally clear of ice when we arrived" had both taken a couple of early fish so I was already playing catch up at this stage. Still fishing double dead red on the hook I was feeding tiny amounts of micro's via a cad pot over the top and on the hour mark I had my first carp of 6lb plus, 20mins later I added another of similar size but things seemed slow for most. I couldn't add anymore & by now the channel' I had carved out was soon being closed over with the ice moving down from above me" I had no choice to revert back to bashing the ice to try and split it up not the ideal situation when trying to catch wary fish hey" It didn't help when I tried to drag a big sheet away from my swims only for the top 4 to come apart leaving it floating on a sheet of ice in the middle of the lake!" After a bit of careful shifting of the ice with the rest of the pole I managed to retrieve it much to the amusement of Rod Wotton on the opposite bank". back to the line I had caught from but switching to soft pellet on the hook I had a small skimmer followed by one over a 1lb before it died completely so I decided to feed a small ball of micros at the same distance off to my right towards the gap & let it settle.

Things didn't really improve much as I seemed to spend most of the match trying to shift the ice from my swim as the forecast of nice sunshine hadn't appeared to help clear it' I struggled for bites for most of the match but did manage to foul hook & lose two fish one of which was attached to yellow elastic which was from the guy opposite me" It wasn't until the last hour my swim was clear enough to fish a couple of lines properly & I even managed a new swim further down the swim at 16mts where I fed a small amount of meat in the hope of snaring a couple of late big fish but it failed to produce. I did manage another 7lb+ fish from me original line on expander in the last hour & a smaller fish from the line I fed with a ball of micros but frustratingly I lost a decent fish just as I was about to net it in the last 15mins!. 

It wasn't until the scales arrived I realised just how important the lost fish was as top weight at the time was Bob Gullick from end peg 1 with 35lb, My 4 carp & bits went 29lb odd which was just enough to overtake the pegs below me but their was a 33lb on the end peg 24 from Andy Hembrow pushing me down into 3rd on the day but at least I managed £30 back. Bob won the match fishing a similar plan to me catching a few on red maggot & a few on soft 4mm pellet at 16mts so well done mate. It was a hard match & I'm sure if I hadn't had to spend time ice berg shifting" I may well have added a few more fish but I still enjoyed the day & didn't come home empty handed at least. Off to Viaduct Fishery for the start of the popular teams of 5 winter league tomorrow so hoping the draw will be kind as I haven't had the best of luck so far this year'.

Full Results -

1st Bob Gullick (Garbolino Blackmore Vale) peg 1, 35lb.

2nd Andy Hembrow (Clevedon A.A) peg 24, 33lb 8oz

3rd Dom Sullivan (Maver) peg 18, 29lb 10oz.

4th Stu Barrnett (Landsend) peg 15, 29lb.

Silvers - Rod Wotton (Clevedon A.A) peg 5, 21lb.                         

Hillview Fishery (Saturday) & Viaduct Fishery (Sunday).

I've decided to combine both my blogs this weekend as to be honest I haven't much to write about as things didn't pan out for me at all!. Saturday saw myself & Louis jones take a trip up the motorway to Hillview fishery in Tewksbury which would be a first visit for the pair of us, We arrived to find 30 odd booked in and the match would be spread over two of the canal lakes as well as the two open lakes Heron & Moorhen. We both fancied drawing the canal lakes but it wasn't to be as I found myself on peg 20 Moorhen & Louis drew peg 2 on the same lake, Arriving at my swim I found myself in the corner of the lake with the increasing wind smack in my face again" I wasn't an option to set up a rod as I was cut off to were I could cast so it was a pole job for me. Plumbing up I had over 6ft of water at 11mts and had nearly 5ft on a short 6mt line, The information we had been given said this lake was mainly a maggot job over maggots & Micros. Not going to bore you with the details of nothing but after 2hrs all I had managed was a small roach & one missed bite' I was having a mare trying to stop the rig towing back at me as well as the fact I could barely see it in the ripple & After seeing the guys at the other end of the lake taking regular carp & F1's I couldn't take anymore suffering & packed up before what looked like a downpoor so very disappointing as normally I stick it out but it was just telling my it wasn't going to happen". Louis did well to win his section with 44lb & the match was won from peg 12 on are lake with 80lb odd with a couple of back up weights of 60lb around him, Not an ideal first visit but to try & battle against the elements again after Thursdays match at Viaduct was just not for me.

With Saturday out of the way I was looking forward to a better day at Viaduct on Sunday, I was travelling on my own again today as Don had family commitments so made my way for a normal Hilltops breakfast only to see him arrive' It turned out the family thing had to be cancelled due to an illness so he decided to have another go after fishing here yesterday. When we got to the fishery we found that their were 17 booked in today and the whole match would be on cambell, I was near the front of the draw as normal but was right peed off to find myself on the same peg as Thursday peg 118" On Thursday nobody turned up to fish 119 but today I had good friend Jonny Page who just so happens to be a nearby neighbour living just down the road from me so at least we would have a laugh'.

 Jonny Page.

 

  This end of the lake has been a bit of a struggle as far as the carp go lately with better weights continually coming from the opposite end & Don Happened to find himself on one of then peg 110 in the corner.

At least today the wind had dropped so I was hoping to catch a few fish on the waggler just tripping the deck with various baits on the hook.

I did set a bomb rod up as well as a pole rig to fish back into the bay towards peg 117. I started the match on the waggler at around 20mts with punched meat on the hook just pinging a few small cubes of meat over the top, I missed a bite after 20mins but that was as far as it went as I just couldn't get an indication, I Tried the bomb with bread maggot corn & Meat on the hook but didn't have so much as a line bite to tell me there were fish present? John was having the same problem & despite taking an early carp on the long pole off the end bank hadn't added anything else. Looking down the lake we could already see the pegs at the opposite end we fancied were netting a few fish so I went for a quick wander to see what was happing after a couple of hours fishless". Don was admitting to 35lb plus & was playing a fish when I arrived as were the pegs on the opposite bank" It wasn't looking good for us & we needed some sort of miracle if we had any chance of catching up? I spent the next couple of hours trying the bomb, Wagg & pole down the edge but couldn't get a bite off any off them, I did hook one carp on the wagg with meat but it came off' I was beginning to think a blank was on the cards & after a downpour of rain I was stood behind my seatbox trying to warm up when I had a bite on the bomb" I did manage to hit it which turned out to be a perch of around 14oz so at least the dreaded blank was avoided! It didn't get any better as that was it for the rest of the match so another very disappointing day for me, Jonny managed to snare a few late carp down the edge to end bank in the last hour to win the section with 22lb but all the weights came from where we expected with Alex Nadin on fancied peg 132 taking top weight with 108lb catching most of his fish in the early stages of the match dobbing bread on the long pole to the end bank or in the open water on the bomb so well done to him, Silvers wise Roland Lucas had a nice day catching 35lb of skimmers on Chopped prawns!" from peg 111. Probably my worst weekend of fishing for some time but it can happen at this time of the year if your not on um theirs nowt you can do" Its the first round of the Viaduct Teams of 5 winter league next Sunday & with the forecast to get very cold this week the fish on this lake could move up but who knows? One things for sure you will need to draw on them as drawing fish from other pegs just doesn't happen at this time of the year' Back to work in the morning so no fishing until at least next Saturday but Ile see what the weathers like before deciding?.

Full Result -

 1st Alex Nadin (Garbolino Blackmoor Vale) peg 132 Cambell, 108lb 14oz.

2nd Richard Aherne (Frenzee S.W) peg 112 Cambell, 105lb 15oz.

3rd Don Sutherland (Maver) peg 110 Cambell, 72lb 3oz.

4th Glen Reynolds (Frenzee S.W) peg 130 Cambell, 58lb 3oz.

Silvers - Roland Lucas (Wiltshire Angling) peg 111 Cambell, 33lb 10oz.

                       

Viaduct Fishery Thursday Costcutter.

My first match of the new year after my resent trip to Amsterdam with the wife for the new year, What an experience that was" We decided to be clever & decided to use the train & tram after arriving at the airport, We got off where we suppose to but unable to see the road we required so asked a friendly Dutch guy' Who sent us off in the direction of what would be are hotel. Did He F**K" We spent an hour and 45mins on the cobbled streets dragging a suitcase which was no mean feat" only to find out are hotel was 600yrds from where we got off the tram..!" The rest of the trip stayed overcast but dry which was a god send as we had to walk everywhere & must of covered over 80miles before the end of are stay" The only issue we had was the amount of bikes & trams flying around 24/7, How the hell we didn't get ran over I will never know as they come from every angle not forgetting the cars or Segways!.

Back to the fishing & as I was traveling alone to day I had a hilltops breakfast before making my way to the fishery, Quite a good turnout with 23 fishing today & when I arrived the weather seamed pleasant, It didn't last & before the draw the wind had already got right up along with some threatening skies. Into the draw & I found myself at the far end of Cambell Lake on peg 118 which just so happened to be in the worst of the wind!" Marvellous... When I got to my peg it was even worse than I had expected, I wasn't even going to risk my using the pole I purchased yesterday, The waggler was going to be out of the question for the time being so it was down to the straight lead then!. Ile be honest I really didn't fancy fishing in it as being out on the platform I risked having allsorts blown into the lake" I wasn't the only one who thought the same as some didn't even go to their swims so I waited 30mins to see if anybody drew peg 119 which luckily didn't happen so I meant I had a bit more room to cast around.

I had to borrow a bungee strap of Terry Lenny on peg 111 before the start of the match to strap two bait boxes to my side tray so they wouldn't take off..!

I started the match fishing out in-front of me hoping to snare a few in the open water before I worked my way towards the end bank, I switched between corn or meat on the hook but after 50mins all I had was a liner. It was time to try further between peg 119 & the end bank, I started about 10ft off on meat & hooked a fish straight away which felt decent until it did me in a snag in the open water on the way back shedding the hook". I tried all around the area after but just couldn't get a bite, Casting across the peg was proving difficult even with a heavy lead & after nearly 2hrs I was considering packing up as it was just not nice to try & fish in, back to the spot I had hooked one & this time I put a fish over 6lb in the net on meat, Travelling partner Don Sutherland had come for a wander around & I soon netted another smaller fish so he left me to it, One more followed 15mins later but then nothing. The wind had just dropped slightly & with my finger tips frozen I decided to get the waggler out & give it a try at least it would get me moving my hands".

Starting at dead depth I found the tow was coming out of the corner which helped with the presentation & hooked a decent fish nearly straight away but I must have nicked the main line as it broke near the reel & I lost the lot! Give Me Strength" were my next words' as it meant I had to re-set the whole thing, It proved worth while though as I had another on the lead & meat over the same line whilst re-assembling the waggler. Switching back to the new set-up I managed another 6lb fish on it before the wind returned with force & I just couldn't present it even when I put line on the deck so it was back to the bomb. I never managed a fish in the open water in-front of me as the only indications were from the line I had already caught from, I managed a couple more but had to wait ages for bites so decided to try the waggler again down towards the pallet of 119 where I had been feeding corn from the off, I did expect bites but after 10mins with nothing it was scrapped, It was still towing the wrong way to fish over the other lines so I spent the last 45mins on the bomb & meat back where I had caught, I managed 3 more including one on the whistle to finish the day with 9 carp, On the opposite back Jim butcher in the corner on peg 123 had a good day catching carp in the calmer water along the bank to start with then in the open water on the waggler where he had been feeding but I had no hope of that lol" & I expected he had done well. When the scales came to me from Cary Lake the top weight was 28lb so that was also a struggle, My carp went 56lb which turned out to squeeze into 4th on the day, Being a cost-cutter its not really about the money but the £10 back at least covered the fuel, I felt I could of had more fish today had I been able to fish/feed the line I caught on with the waggler as the fish seemed more interested in a bait just tripping the deck rather than being static but we cant help the weather & to be honest we have had a good run of it here lately. As I expected Jim went on to win the day with a good 130lb odd with another ton taking the runner-up spot. Top silvers on the day went to Scott Puddy from peg 127 on Cambell. Not back to work until next Money so may have a few hours somewhere tomorrow, Failing that I'm off to Hillview Fishery with Louis Jones on Saturday for the first time so looking forward to it.

Full Results -

1st Jim Butcher (Wiltshire Angling) peg 123 Cambell, 130lb 1oz.

2nd Nigel Jones (Un-Attached) peg 114 Cambell, 100lb 7oz.

3rd Phil Nash (Ice Road Truckers') peg 129 Cambell, 67lb 4oz.

4th Dom Sullivan (Maver) peg 118 Cambell, 56lb. 

5th Gary Cotton (Un-Attached) peg 112 Cambell, 43lb 8oz.

6th Scott Russell (Tackle UK) peg 126 Cambell, 36lb.