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.