Viaduct Fishery (Teams of 5) Winter League (Round 4).

My Apologies, The blog was suppose to be on sun evening by I put it on draft by mistake" Anyway - 

Here we go again then for the 4th round of this popular league, As normal team mate don picked me up before heading off for are normal breakfast on route, My turn to fish Cambell Lake today & I was praying for a draw in the fancied pegs I mentioned yesterday as I felt that most of the lake would be hard due to the fact most off the fish in including the silver all seem to be shoaled up in a tight area at the moment between 110-115, It was young Lewis's turn to have a go at the team draw for us today but it couldn't fair much worse than we've already had to date' His face told a story when he came back with the team sheet & it wasn't a good one by his look" Captain Chris was on Lodge Lake next to the rope peg 70 which could be ok, Steve Segar had draw on Cary today again on a peg that had a chance of a few carp, young Lewis had done ok drawing himself peg 51 on match lake which happened to win the lake in the last round, & as for me & Don' He had a poor draw on peg 20 of spring lake which was going to be tough & Me? Peg bloody 131" two pegs below were I was yesterday which basically is shite! Ziggy had it yesterday on the open match & struggled for 5lb odd of silvers including a 2lb perch & the difference from yesterday meant I wouldn't have an empty peg either side like he did yesterday" Just what I needed..! To be totally honest I didn't even what to go to my peg & could of quite easily slung the kit back in the van & p****d off' I seem to be having a right bad run of luck as far as drawing go's at the present & after working hard all week all I'm after is a days fishing rather than watching others have all the luck" I'm a firm believer in the fact that you cant go to a peg thinking you wont catch but through the winter months that's not the case, if you don't draw on them you wont draw fish & its as simple as that.. Roll on the summer".

Still It was a team match & although my expectations weren't high I still wanted to try my best for the team, I had a frenzee lad on peg 130 in-front of the aerator, Jason (Bread Head) Radford on the peg I had yesterday 129 & old friend Nicky Collins on the end peg of are bank peg 132 who was also cursing' as he wheeled his kit around. With to much detail I set up the normal bomb rod, A waggler to fish dead depth at around 20mts, & two pole rigs, one for silvers at 14mts & one for corn at 16mts. five minutes before the all-in the wind picked up from the north east leaving us straight in the brunt of it, Again!. I planned on fishing the wagg to start with but had no chance of presenting it at the start so fed some g.bait with casters & pinkie's at 12mts & feed a handful of corn & casters at 14mts. I started on the bomb with bread but as expected never had as much as a liner in the first hour even after going through the whole bait program" The frenzze lad had managed a carp & a small tench by chucking tight to the aerator in the middle of the lake but the rest of us were struggling, It was time to try the wagger at t5mts feeding just a few grains of coal via a cad but nothing happened.

I chose to feed another line with caster & groundbait at 10mts & have a go on the waggler swim were i had been feeding a few casters with the catty. I managed a couple of small roach on double caster & missed a couple of bites but was hoping for some better fish. a switch to the pole lines saw just a few more small roach added but already we could see regular fish being caught on the opposite bank out of the worst of the wind. back on the waggler I had an 10oz hybrid but no sooner as you had chance to present the rig the cross wind would spoil things"

To say the day was hard going would be an understatement , Even Nicky said to me after a few hours he was losing the will to live" as he was struggling as much as myself, We both kept looking for a carp on the bomb without as much as a liner between us, I was hoping for a late carp to venture from its normal haunts but it wasn't the case, all I had managed were a few more small roach to add to those I caught earlier in the day to finish with just over 2lb, Nicky managed just over a 1lb so it was looking like we would be the last two on the lake today & their was nowt we could of done about it, Ok if we had fished for bits" all day we may have broke 5lb a piece but it still wouldn't of improved are results as there were plenty of fish being caught opposite. Another very disappointing day & another weekend on the banks I gladly forget" I keep saying things have to get better but at the moment it just ain't happening, I'm back here next sunday for the final round & my turn to fish Cary Lake & If I find myself on pegs 85, 86 it will be a miracle!" Overall I think Ryan Shipp won the day from peg 85 on Cary today with 99lb odd catching on the bomb, He wouldn't of won it had Chris Fox not exceeded the net limit of 70-80lb from flyer" peg 113 Cambell which won the last match' He had 82lb in one net with a strict limit of any weight over 80lb being totally discounted leaving him with 57lb from his other net being his final total' Lesson learnt there then as that would of cost him a decent pick-up in the money stakes, Fellow blogger Tony Rixon who happened to be next to him on 114" (I ask you') said the problem was Chris wasn't used to catching that much so had a valid excuse as to why he went over!" Lol.

Not a good day for the team either with Don struggling as expected but Lewis walker managed to win his lake with 76lb out so well done to him.

Full results -

1st Ryan Shipp, peg 85 Cary, 99lb 4oz.

2nd Mike William's, peg 112 Cambell, 88lb 1oz.

3rd Gary O'Shea, peg 86 Cary, 82lb 12oz.

4th Tony Rixon, Peg 114 Cambell, 78lb 10oz.

5th Lewis Walker, Peg 51 Match, 76lb 12oz.

6th Ivan Oakey, peg 96 Cary, 74lb 4oz.

Silvers -

1st Mark Poppelton , Peg 110 Cambell, 25lb 1oz.

2nd Simon Hebditch, Peg 11 Spring, 20lb 2oz.

3rd Nick Chedzoy, Peg 10, Spring 15lb.

Teams on day top 3,

1st Thatchers P.I. Gold 72pts.

2nd South West Nomads 63pts.

3rd 2nd Time Lucky 61pts.

Overall Top 3,

1st. Viaduct All Stars 248pts

2nd. 2nd Time Lucky 243pts

3rd Thatchers P.I. Gold             

          

Viaduct Fishery Saturday Open (Cambell Lake).

With not much else on & Saturday traveling partner Lewis Jones having a weekend off I choose to book into Viaduct which made sense as I'm also on this lake tomorrow in the 4th round of the teams of five winter league & I felt the way my lucks been lately the chances are if I draw a poor one today then I'm sure to be sat on um tomoz!"? It was a quick stop off for a warming breakfast before I arrived in plenty of time. I decided to go for a wander around the lake before the draw & it was noticeable that the far side was a lot chillier than the near bank with a slight chilling breeze from the north east blowing into it, Pegs 112 - 114 seem to be the real hot" area to draw at the moment as between then they have thrown up the winner for the last god knows how many matches' & they happened to have the wind off there backs making for a pleasant day should I be fortunate to draw here"?.

I let a few slip in front of me before me in the queue before finally taking my pick, 114 had been drawn straight away & I was praying for one of the others in the area' Nope, I was on the far bank peg 129 below the spit,

One peg away from where I was on my last visit when I was on peg 128 the other side & apart from winning the bank that day didn't put much in the net but had to watch the guy opposite go on to win the match" peg 112 won the match on Thursday which was opposite me today but I was hoping with the wind blowing at us the fish may have ventured further to my side of the lake this time?. I had Ziggy Slozinski? next to me on peg 131 but already he was challenging me to a £1 side bet" which I couldn't refuse as he ain't had any off me on previous occasions! Lol.  

I didn't rule out fishing for silvers today but my main attack would be for the carp, First out was the normal bomb' rod for various baits, And a waggler set up to fish through the water, I set up a 0.3g pencil float on 0.15-0.13 & an 16 Silver fish pellet hook to fish at 14mts slightly off to my left where I planned to fish mainly corn over corn, & finally a 4x12 Chanti on 0.13-0.11 & an 18 PR434 hook to fish over casters at 12mts just off to my right. I did plan to feed worm & casters here but after I opened the sack I purchased a few weeks ago I soon found they had all gone over" so had to bin them' That was a waste of £20 then..! so a caster line it was". Just before the all-in I decided to have a cuppa but had to compromise as I had forgot the flask cup, I'm not sure why it didn't quite taste the same? perhaps it was because the only thing I could put any in was a cupping kit pot!

 Tasty"

  

I started the day feeding a good helping of corn on the 14mt line & a good handful of casters at 12mts before starting the day on the bomb & popped up bread. After 10mins I had just a small liner so it was time to try different baits to try & trigger a response? A few maggots on a longer line didn't get any better, I tried corn on the hair but again only had a small liner after leaving it for over 20mins, By now we were over an hour into the match, Ziggy had managed a decent perch on a small feeder with maggot & Nigel Easton on peg 112 had started to catch a few carp by casting further across into empty peg 113, (No surprize their then"), No matter what I tried on the hook & casting as far across to my left as I dare I just couldn't get a sign from carp not even the odd liner now so things were looking grim'. After just over 90mins it was time to have a quick look on my pole lines, Starting on corn at 14mts I wasn't to surprised when I didn't move after 10mins, I was a bit more hopeful when I switched to the 12mt line with double caster on the hook, But even after switching to maggot on the hook I still couldn't get a bite. As expected the wind had increased the minute the match started which meant fishing the waggler was going to be awkward but after seeing Nigel catch three in as many casts I had to give it ago, I started shallow but it was pushing through at a rate of knots' & even going over depth still didn't produce any signs. To be honest they day didn't get any better' I re-fed the pole lines every 30mins or so hoping for a few fish to switch on later in the day but I never had a bite on either of them! Ok I did feed them positively for this time of the year but I did expect to at east hook a tench or a few skimmers over it later in the day,  Nigel looked favourite to win the day over on peg 112 again as later in the day he even managed some carp down his inside edge so had put odd fish in his net from the off.

 

Ziggy was nearly singing on peg 131 as his few silvers was looking certain for the quid side bet, No such Luck mate" with 20mins to go I had a proper wrap around on the tip with double corn on the hook which resulted I a decent sized carp' AT LAST". even better Ziggy hadn't noticed me slip it into the net & up until the whistle he had me down as a blank'. His face was a picture when after weighing his 5lb odd of bits he realised I still had a net in soon to plonk a 9lb plus carp on the scales' Ching Ching" Lol. I think he retreated to his peg swearing but I wasn't sure as it was all in polish!". As expected Nigel won the day with 93lb odd but the second best weight on the day was only 32lb odd so a very hard day for most,

 Winner Nigel Easton.

 

The silvers weights faired slightly better with Rob Eagle taking top spot with 22lb odd ahead off Roland Lucas who had 20lb odd off of peg 111.

Well, Its down to Captain Chris to draw tomorrow so please, please, please, please, please bloody draw me from 112-115..!". Its not much to ask is it?.

Full Results -

1st Nigel Easton (Amigo's) peg 112, 93lb 10oz.

2nd Rob Eagle (Viaduct) peg 123, 32lb 3oz.

3rd Clive B (Viaduct) peg 129, 30lb 3oz.

Silvers -

1st Rob Eagle , peg 123, 22lb 9oz. 

                

Chiltern Trinity Sunday Open.

A change of scenery for me & traveling partner Donald today as we haven't been to this fishery for a long while so were both looking forward to the change, As normal we had are hilltops stop off which was even better than normal as we had extra bacon for free' Truth be told I think the new old girl has a soft spot for Don, Suits me if I'm getting extras for free' Crack on".

When we arrived we were pleased to see the wind was nowhere near as bad as expected & it was pleasantly mild. We had a quick look at the lake before drew & I fancied any peg on the far bank as I thought there might be a few of the lakes bigger carp to be caught with the wind blowing that direction? It was then that good mate Jonny (Slaphead) page said to me anywhere but peg 2" will do me you don't want that its shite' No Problem then mate just avoid it & with 19 fishing the chances of getting it were slim... At the draw I let a few people have there pisk before diving in with my left hand for a change' Well I don't really need to explain where I drew as it was to bloody obvious" Yep peg 2.... Thanks mate.."

Owe well onwards & upwards as I got to my peg full of enthusiasm' The peg is situated at the very end of the lake facing down it with the majority on either side,

Except for Simon Ryall who had draw next to me on peg 3 that was so good company as he's always worth a laugh'.

 Smiley" Simon Ryall.

 

It looked inviting down the edge even though it was cold in the lake but with the over hanging tree's I new their would be a lot of debris close to the bank so first up was a rig to fish 2mts off the bank in just over 5ft of water being a 4x12 chanti on 0.15-0.13 & an 16 PR478 hook,

next up was a rig to fish in the open water at 14mts being a PB2 on 0.12-0.11 & an 18 PR434 hook. The only other rig I had was to Dob bread along the inside bank & apart from that it was a straight lead to start the match on.

I began the day by feeding two good balls of micro's with some 4mm expanders & some 6mm hard pellets onto the 14mt line, Fed a good helping of corn at 13mts off to my left, & fed a small amount of 6mm hard pellets & a few grains of corn down the edge off the bank. I started the day on the bomb & bread chucking over to the opposite bank to start with,

After 20mins I decided to have a chuck into the main area of the lake as around from me on my right was Tom Magnal on peg 33 who had already landed a carp on the method feeder' Those who know me know I never fish the method, I don't have anything against it but its not something I would enjoy fishing so why use something you don't want too'

 Tom with his first on the method.

 

 I was hoping to snare a couple on the straight lead but it didn't happen & after 30mins it was time to try the pole lines. Starting on the 14mts line with 6mm pellet I didn't have a bite even when I switched to expander or dead red maggot on the hook, I had a brief look on the 13mts line where I had fed some corn but after no early signs it was time to try the inside swim, I decided start with a pumped up 6mm expander on the hook which ends up more like an 8mm pellet' to try & avoid any small fish which may be present?. I wasn't in the water more than a couple of mins when I hooked & landed a 5lb carp, I was getting worried as we were over an hour in & although Tom Had landed his fourth on the method Simon & myself were struggling at this stage so I was thankful of catching' I gave it another 15mins but didn't have any signs so decided to re-feed a small amount & rest it. back out at 14mts with a smaller 6mm expander I had a skimmer over a 1lb straight away but then nothing again, I tried various baits to no avail so tried on my other lines again.

I couldn't get a bite on the corn line but kept topping it up as I felt I might catch over it later in the day? back down the inside line I couldn't get a bite but was also struggling to see the float in the shadows & the sun. I noticed that Tom had caught a decent carp off his short line & I had been throwing the odd cubes off meat at 7mts so gave it a go. 15mins later I was back to square one & was going nowhere so it was time for a change, I new closer to the bank was snaggy but felt if I was going to add anymore carp it would be my best chance, I found what appeared to be a flat spot a foot or so off the bank so fed it with a palm full of micros & a few hard 6mm's & left it for 15mins.  I went in with a 6mm expander & no sooner had the rig settled I was in soon adding a 3lb carp, same again next dob in with a smaller 2lb fish followed by a 2lb tench before things when quite so re-fed It again to rest it & try the longer lines again, I managed a 12oz skimmer & a couple of smaller samples, Missed a bite on the corn line' but still nothing on the short meat' swim, We were going into the last hour & all I had added was a 3lb carp down the edge, After losing a decent skimmer off the 14mt line I tried the corn line again at 13mts, I was cursing missing another bite when I hooked a decent carp seconds later but we soon parted company for no apparent reason'? I tried again but missed a bite or was it liners? I re-fed around 20 grains before trying back down the edge, I had another smaller carp but their didn't appear to be any better fish present, With 15mins to go I tried the 13mt line again as the rig settled & Simon who had called it a day was stood behind me we both noticed a load of bubbles coming up where I was fishing, second later the float shot under but again nothing" I had a quick last look down the edge before the all out but nothing was added so finished the day with 6 smaller carp & a few silvers, I was cursing not feeding the 13mt corn line as regular as I started as felt the fish were coming up in the water, I'm sure if I had been a bit more positive at the end of the day I could of kept the carp down enough to add a few more rather than striking at liners" It wasn't going to get me anywhere near the coin today but I used the day as a bit of a experiment & felt I left the bank learning a few new things, Top weight on the day went to Dave (Sorry didn't get you second name) from peg 19 catching most of his fish on the method feeder at 12-20mts, top silvers went to Titch Williams catching on expanders over squatt, dead pinkie, & turmeric favoured ground-bait at 13mts to finish with 13lb,

Going to see what the weather does before deciding on Saturdays fishing but back to Viaduct Fishery Sunday for the 4th round of the winter league & my turn for Cambell Lake, Pegs 110-114, 119,  or 132 please?

Full results -

1st Dave . s  (Bristol P.0) peg 19,68lb 11oz.

2nd Nick (Chitern Trinity) peg 13, 66lb 3oz.

3rd Jonny Page (Drennan Prefects) peg 55lb 3oz.

4th Tom Magnel (Mosella) peg 33, 52lb 14oz.

Silvers -

 1st Titch Williams (Drennan Southwest) peg 25, 13lb 6oz.

2nd Rich Coles (The Sedges) peg 29, 7lb 15oz.

                                                    

Acorn Fishery (Clevedon.A.A Series) Final Round.

As I explained on my last on my last blog I was standing in for somebody for this final round held on the match lake, I picked Lewis Jones up on the way who was doing ok in the league but was hoping for a good draw to see him finish in the final standings to pick up in the overall pools, We stopped of for a nice breakfast roll on the way before arriving at the fishery, When we got their we noticed there was quite a breeze in the air but coming in from the sea it hadn't effected the fishery to much but was meant to pick up as the day went on?.

At the draw I didn't have a cue what section I was in of who I was standing in for' so could be anywhere? peg 3 saw me in the middle of the island over the bridge not where I would of chose but at least the wind was off are backs for the time being' Even though Lewis was in a different section to me we happened to draw next to me again' but he happened to be on the end peg 1' (His fourth in a row") Lol, & for company I had match organiser Paul Nichols on the other side also being another end peg in the shape of peg 5.

Bread worked well for a few anglers here last match but the water had colourer up since I last visit so I wasn't so sure it would work so well? First up was a 0.2g AS1 on 0.12-0.11 & an 16 808 hook for dobbing bread along the far bank bunches of bull-rushes but plumbing up I could only find just over a 1ft of water, Coming away from the island by a few feet I had a better depth of 3ft or so where I set up a 4x12 Chanti on 0.11-0.10 & an 18 808 hook. Finally I set another 4x12 Chanti on 0.13-0.11 & an 18 wide gape pellet hook to fish down towards the empty pallet in the deeper water which would double up to fish corn in the open water at  13mts at a 10'o'clock angle. To start the match I fed a good helping of corn on this line , fed just a couple of grains of corn & some dampend 4mm hard pellets towards the pallet & fed a small ball of micros in the deeper water across. I started by having a go dobbing bread along the far bank but after 15mins without a sign I switched to the deeper line across with a 4mm expander on the hook to start with. Straight away I had a 3lb carp followed by a 1lb F1 the next put in but then had to wait for a bite, I added a small 1lb carp with dead red maggot on the hook & also tried bread on the deck which failed to produce a bite, Already the wind had started to pick up which was coming off are backs which was causing the rig to push further up the shelf than I wanted, Another 15mins later I had another 3lb fish, Lewis had also netted a couple & after a slow start Paul was beginning to put a few together, I could hold the rig still enough with 3 no.9 backshot above the float but I couldn't prevent it dragging into the far shelf which was making things hard work, I had a re-think & decided to have another try tight across on the bread as Lewis had managed two in as many put-ins, I had one after a couple of mins but that was it & Lewis hadn't added anymore. Back in the deeper water I had 2 small carp on maggot before hooking a much better fish on the expander again, I swam straight at me so soon had it on the top kit, when it surfaced it turned out to be one of the lakes big mirrors over 6lb, Just as I picked the landing net up for some reason it shed the hook!" Great.. I couldn't get a bite across after so it was time to try the other lines, Starting on the corn' line at 13mts I was hoping for some early signs but nothing showed, Down to the pallet again with corn on the hook I had a 3lb fish after a couple of minutes but again that was it for the time being. Back across on maggot I had another F1 followed by a couple of small perch, & after a long wait added another 4lb carp on pellet but it seemed a case of sitting & waiting for bites, This wouldn't of been so bad if the wind hadn't had by now nearly reached gale force" Why is it the weather is suitable all week then throws the works at us as soon as we get chance to be on the bank!? Lewis was having the same trouble presenting a bait properly as were most other no doubt' I switched back to the line towards the pallet this time with a 6mm expander on the hook, I had another 3lb fish straight off but this seemed to be a pattern as nothing followed, The rest of the match was spent switching between lines trying to find the odd fish. I managed a couple more across before I scrapped it all together putting my faith in taking a few more from down by the pallet going into the last hour, The 13mt failed to produce a bite all day & I only managed 2 more carp on 6mm expanders from the pallet swim before the all out. Lewis had had a similar day picking off the odd fish but I thought they were a lot bigger than the ones I had landed? Lewis was first to weigh & put 38lb on the scales, My fish went 35lb before Paul finished up with 29lb, so just a fish or two between us in the end but we weren't fortunate enough to be picking up in the frame today. Todays top weight went to Mark Broomsgrove who weighed 72lb odd from peg 6 catching most of his fish shallow to the bridge on expanders & a few better fish on the deck later in the day. Back at the results & the overall winner for the series went to Rich Lovering who had a nice pick-up ahead of Rod Wotton in second place.

Another day spent battling with the elements' not very enjoyable for any of us & im sure conditions allowing the weights would of been much better, Lewis wasn't fortunate enough to finish in the main frame losing out on weight count back for 5th spot so no coin in the van today' To make matters worse I had to give Nick Harvey the quid back he gave me this morning he owed me for the last match as he managed 3rd on the day but I told him just to keep it warm as it will soon be back!". Chiltern trinity tomoz so praying the wind will ease up but judging by the forecast it doesn't sound promising?. I did nearly wet myself with laughter at the end of the match though As Andy Gard managed to get his van stuck in the mud trying to take a short cut after packing up, Myself, & Brian (Anteater) Slipper & another chap gave him a hand to push him out & after a few attempts we managed to get him moving, At this point Brian stepped around towards the drivers side just as Andy turned the front wheels totally coating Brian head to toe in mud in the process!" I nearly stopped breathing" Lol, Just my luck the camera is still in Donald's van until tomorrow as the picture would of been a classic".         

Full results -

1st Mark Broomsgrove (Sensas Thyers) peg 6, 72lb 6oz.

2nd Brian Slipper (Sensas Thyers) peg 12, 54b 2oz.

3rd Nick Harvey (Sensas Thyers) peg 38, 49lb 10oz.

Overall Standings -

1st Rich Lovering 12pts

2nd Rod Wotton  14pts (Weight)

3rd Andy Hembrow 14pts

4th Mark Broomsgrove 17pts

5th Lance Tucker 18pts (Weight)                             

Viaduct Fishery Teams Of Five Winter League (All Lakes).

Back to Viaduct for round Three of this Popular League & no matter what it was my turn to fish Spring Lake with no chance of me being in a split section on any other lake & I was looking forward to it as you can usually catch a few of the lakes bigger skimmers from most pegs if the carp fail to play ball" With Donald picking me up  as normal it was off to Hilltops as are first call for something warm to eat. What was noticeable when we arrived was the chilling breeze from the north east so we soon had the gortex on" As I warned on my last blog here it was up to me to do the team draw today but I was feeling confident as my draw hand had to improve' As Don had paid the team pool earlier in the week it was my turn to go first, I pulled out sequence 6 meaning we were on the pegs as followed, Steve Segar on Cambell 115, Captain Chris Hook on 81 Cary the other side of the spit, Young Lewis Had the overspill section from Lodge lake ending up on peg 76 Cary, (We haven't had one of are anglers on Lodge Lake yet") Donald was on peg 45 on Match next to where I was last time & Me? Peg Bloody 7 again" as I had it on this lake in this league last year & the year before" In the corner of the lake with a tree in the water right next to me, It sounds ideal but the problem is you only have a small area to work with out to 16mts without getting cut off by the other anglers

 The famous Viaduct.

& the closest to the tree I could get was only a couple of metres".

The thing here is though if their are a few carp willing to feed under the over hanging branches the next problem you face is getting them out", Ryan Shipp had this peg last match & the score stood at 6 - 1, To The Carp!" Great...

 I cant put the photos up as I left the camera in the van so will add the pics in the week to explain the peg better for those who don't know, Anyhow no Messing today two top kits with 16 red hydro elastic with an 0.2g AS1 on 0.19 & A size 16 Pellet hook set a couple of feet deep for Dobbing bread under the branches, A 0.2g AS2 to fish on the deck under the branches on 0.21-0.19 & the same hook as before, I set up a 0.3g AS1 on 0.19-0.17 to fish at 8mts off the end of the tree & finally a 0.3g pencil float to fish at 14mts on 0.13-0.11 & an 18 PR434 hook just in-case I could temp so big skimmers to swim half the lake to find me as I haven't seen then caught here before".

I started the match be feeding a pinch bait in the small gap I had by the tree, feed around 4 pieces of corn & 6mm Cubed meat on the 8mt line off the tree, Fed a good helping of corn at 13mts in the open water slightly left & a decent amount of casters at 14mts slightly right. I planned to start the match here with a piece of corn on the hook just to see if I could pinch any decent mug' fish which may be in the area but the sun was out coupled by the breeze meant I couldn't see a thing in-front of me to start with so that was ruled out". I decided to try the 8mts line to begin with but after 10mins, I had chance to try the 14mt line as the breeze had dropped. After a few minutes I had to revert back to the 8mt line as again I couldn't see the float,

With corn on the hook we had just approached the 30min mark when I had an un-miscible bite & soon found myself attached to a decent carp which I gave no chance of steering me back toward the tree & was netted after a brief battle at around 10lb' Now the pressure was off a little but I still had plenty to do, I re-fed a small amount back under the tree & gave the 8mt line another 15mins before re-feeding the same as I started. It was time to try under the branches & as I was shipping the rig in underneath the only thing going through my head was the song "Highway To The Danger Zone".

I decided to start on corn as it had already accounted for one fish but after 10mins all I had was a few small dinks on the float & a liner from something better but the water was very clear & being so close I could watch my bait going a fair way down'. I switched to fishing bread at half depth but that still failed to produce. I felt that their was a fish in the area as when I went on the deck I was getting fish brushing against the line, Rather than un-settle them I rested the swim & tried again on the 8mt line. I tried corn , bread , meat & maggot on the hook but couldn't get another sniff, I tried the 13mt corn' swim but know bites followed & I still couldn't see the 14mts to see if anything had settled over the casters.

It was time to try the rig back under the branches & after a couple of minutes I had another liner before the float shot under & again a good fish was on' I just shoved the tip of the pole under the water & Pulled" & it was in the net faster than the first" at around the same size as the first.. It had just turned 1pm so I still had over a couple more hours to add some more? I rested the swim again trying the 13mt corn line & the 8mt line with various baits but couldn't get any signs of fish, 30mins later I was back under the tree fully expecting some indications but 30mins later I hadn't had a knock, Nick Derry on peg 8 who was fishing the long pole down his inside bank toward the other side of the tree had netted two carp the first one he had was nigh on 20lb" & the second I took a picture of was well into double figures'

. I Just couldn't get signs of fish after catching one under the tree which had me thinking I either caught the only one sat my side or I had spooked any fish back under the tree out of reach due to the clarity of the water? Either way it wasn't happening. Going into the last hour I could finally see where I had been feeding casters at 14mts so decided to have a look with double caster on the hook sure I would catch a skimmer or two after leaving it for four hours' I had a 2oz roach straight away, one dropped off the next put-in then 5mins without a bite saw me scrap that'. Concentrating on the 8mt line & under the tree for the last 30mins had me hoping of a late fish but it didn't happen. Funny though as Nick on peg 8 had managed one more carp though the day then had three in three put-ins before the all-out which happened on this peg on the last match! nice to see I had to be right in the vicinity to watch someone catching again". At the weigh-in I think he won the section with 69lb, Not bad for six fish'. Their were a couple of other carp weights & the best silver weight today came off are lake with Chris Davis taking 38lb of skimmers from peg 17. As far as the winner went Ivan Oakley had a great day from peg 113 on Cambell ending the day with 152lb odd ahead of Chris jones who was next door & finished the day with 145lb. As far as the team results go Moaning Maggots won on the day with 73pts But Viaduct all-stars are leading the way after three rounds with 190pts ahead of Second Time Lucky on 182pts. We had a better result team wise today from a draw we didn't really fancy on paper finishing the day with 55pts & ninth on the day, Steve manage to sneak in the frame finishing 6th from peg 115 but had the bulk of his fish in an hour period" Cambell Lake for me next time but one things for sure they wont be volunteering me for the draw!" Might Be at acorn next Saturday taking somebobys place in the last round of the Clevedon.A.A series but not sure yet on plans for Sunday so will have to see what's on?

Full Results -

1st Ivan Oakley peg 113 Cambell, 152lb 2oz.

2nd Chris Jones peg 114 Cambell, 145lb 3oz.

3rd Marc Jones Peg 85 Cary, 112lb 9oz.

4th Mark Harper peg 102 Cary, 105lb 11oz.

5th Mash peg 53 Lodge, 100lb 2oz.

6th Steve Seager peg 115 Cambell, 97lb 9oz.

Silvers -

 1st Chris Davis Peg 17 Spring, 38lb 1oz.

 2nd Chris fox peg 15 Spring, 29lb 13oz.

 3rd Andy Power peg  71 Lodge, 21lb 4oz.

             

          

     

Landsend Fishery Saturday Open.

Lewis Jones & myself decided to have another try at Landsend today after missing a days fishing last Saturday due to the bad weather, We made full use of the new on site café which was pleasant again before having a wander around before the draw. One thing we had noticed as the water was very clear as was viaduct Cambell Lake on Thursday so it might be a bit harder than we expected, I chose to draw my own peg again today as passing it over to somebody else to do doesn't seem to of made a difference' Out pops peg 5 which although I didn't fancy to win the match I did fancy it for a few F1's which count as silvers as on my last two visit's I had seen a few caught off the peg & more often than anywhere else so my hopes were high for a change, I made up a 0.2g AS1 to fish off the point of the island in just over 2ft of water on 0.11-0.10 & an 18 Silver fish pellet hook, A 0.3g Maver Series 2 to fish at the bottom of the far shelf in 4ft of water on the same line with an 18 808 hook & finally a 4x12 Chianti to fish at 8mts down the track on 0.11-0.09 & again an 18 808 hook.

For company I had fellow blogger Ken Raynor on peg 3 & venue resident Beany" on the peg I had last match here being peg 7. Lewis had et owner Mike Duckett draw for him & ended up at the end of my bank peg 12 which was a good area on the last match so could it be the same today? At the start I cupped a total of around 10 micro's' on the far side deep water swim, A small nugget of ground-bait at 8mts with a couple of 4mm expanders & started the day in the shallower water at just over 14mts off the point of the island with a 4mm expander on the hook again feeding tiny amounts of micros via a cad-pot. It took me 20mins to get a bite which turned out to be an F1 just over a 1lb, 5mins later I had a 3lb carp also on expander. In the next 20mins I added another F1 on meat & a similar size carp as the first on dead maggot, It wasn't hectic but I hadn't seen much caught so stayed over until I couldn't get any signs. After another 20mins I decided to try in the deeper water across & fully expected signs straight away but after 10mins & switching baits I never had a sign. After having another look across in the shallower water but nothing showing I decided to have a look down the track where I was hoping to catch a few better silvers, Starting with a 4mm expander I missed a bite which I wasn't really expecting' then the next put-in I had a 2lb plus skimmer', I was going to rest it after it was flashing around in the clear water but decided to have another look, Another 2lb skimmer' Things were looking up" No, I didn't have another bite so fed another small nugget & decided feed another line at the same distance off to my left. Back across & nothing on the far lines so I spent a bit of time searching along the far bank on the shallower rig with either maggot or small bits of meat on the hook but I still couldn't connect with anything, Beany next to me was yet to catch & apart from a better carp down his edge & two better perch across Ken was finding it hard. I would like to say things picked up as the day went on but it didn't happen, I never stopped trying all areas of my swim to try & induce some better silvers but all I could connect with were tiny roach on the track swims which were hanging on the soft pellet" ken seemed quite content in fishing for them in between trying down his margin to the tree & although he managed to hook a couple he was playing a game of catch & release with them under his pallet!". I thought I might connect with a couple more skimmers down the track late in the match of down to the pallet on casters to my right but the only better fish I hooked was a foul hooked carp in the last 15mins down the track which came off'. A bit of a disappointing day as I fully expected to latch into a few more F1's across as well as expecting a couple more skimmers from down the track but it just didn't.

When the scales arrived at peg 1 who had 3 carp in the last 20mins finished with 30lb odd, Ken ended the day with 20lb odd including 8lb of silvers/blips' before I weighed just under 8lb of silvers & two carp for a total of 15lb odd , Beany had managed to catch a small roach & a skimmer before the all-out but it didn't look as loads had caught. back at the results & Nick Ewer's who didn't fancy his draw on peg 21 won the match with 72lb & next peg to him Rich Lovering  had 45lb odd for 2nd, Top silvers on the day went to Dave Hanson with 10lb odd from peg 18. We don't happen to have turned up here in resent weeks when the fishing has been as good as the matches between" Lewis is now beginning to think I'm a jinx" & I cant blame him! Lol.  Viaduct Winter league tomorrow roll on Spring Lake.

Full Results -

1st Nick Ewers ( P.I.Thatchers ) peg 21, 72lb 8oz.

2nd Rich Lovering (Clevedon A.A) peg 19, 45lb 1oz.

3rd Alan Oram (Premier Angling) peg 15, 31lb 15oz.

Silvers -

1st Dave Hanson (Landsend) peg 18, 10lb 10oz.

2nd Ken Raynour (Ken's Blog) peg 3, 8lb 2oz.

                      

Viaduct Fishery (Thursday Costcutter).

I had the day booked off to take care of are Dog who's been poorly off late but after the wife would be around most off the day I took the chance to get out on the bank, I managed my breakfast on route & bumped into old friend Derek Coles who was off for a pleasure session on Durleigh Res', He was telling me how well the Bristol Avon had been fishing in the last year with 20lb nets of roach common place & the river throwing up 100lb plus weights of big bream when conditions allow so good signs for the future, Arriving at the fishery it turned out their were 24 booked-in so the match would be spread over Cambell & Lodge lakes. I fancied one off the corner pegs on lodge as they can produce some good weights when it gets cold & with a hard frost on the ground when I arrived I did fancy one of the corners to throw up a weight?

Into the draw & I gave the tin a bloody good shake before I picked one out to try and stem my poor run of un-wanted areas'. Peg 128 Cambell, Not the draw I had hoped for but never the less I still fancied it for a few being the first peg above the spit on the far bank which is opposite the current hot peg" on this lake peg 114.

Still trying to qualify for the all-winners final later in the year Carp would be my main target today so first out was a rod to fish the straight lead then a loaded waggler to fish at various depths through the water. I did set up one pole rig being a 4x12 Chanti on 0.13-0.11 & an 18 PR434 hook to fish two lines at 16mts as the forecast predicted little wind today which makes a change!.

 

 

I started the day by feeding a good helping of corn at 16mts to my right & feed just a few 6mm cubes of meat at the same distance to the left. I started on the bomb' with punched meat on the hook searching around the peg if need be to try & locate some fish, It didn't really go to plan as although their seemed to be fish present as I was getting a few liners I didn't have a fish until the end off the first hour & it was small at around 3lb, Adrian Jefferies on peg 114 hadn't done much better as at this stage he also only had one fish, I decided to switch to the wagg' starting with corn on the hook with the bait set just tripping the deck, I hooked a fish after a couple of min's which turned out to be in the fin' & shed the hook at the net" I had another in the tail" 10mins later which I did manage to steer in this time so things were telling me the fish weren't keen to be on the deck, I switched to fishing punched meat again at half depth to start with & lost a fish after 20mins of casting around but things just didn't seem to be happening.

Adrian had managed a couple more on the bomb & bread which I also tried  without a sniff before he to switched to fishing shallow on the wagg, After nearly 2hrs gone I decided to try the pole lines I had been topping up at regular intervals, Starting with a small cube of meat on the left hand swim I expected a bite off of something but nothing showed, A switch to the other line with corn on the hook I was just about to give up after 10mins when I had a bite which turned out to be a near 2lb skimmer, That was it for the time being though as again no more bites. I had noticed a fish swirl in the middle of the lake opposite the end of the spit so had ago on the bomb with double corn on the hook, It worked' as I had one straight away before I saw signs of fish moving further across the lake out of my zone'. Back on the wagg shallow I hooked one on the bread which again came off but then I couldn't get any signs no matter what I fished on the hook. By now over half the match had gone & Adrian had started to catch a few on the shallow wagg but for some reason the carp weren't playing ball my side of the lake' (Nothing new there then!") I managed another 3lb fish shallow on the corn out of the blue but it just wasn't happening so decided to try the pole lines again. Starting on the corn line I hooked a decent carp which didn't stay on to long" so don't know if it was foul hooked? but I just could not get a bite over the meat line which was surprizing as I expected this to produce at least a few skimmers, Apart from another carp on the bomb & corn in the last 30mins & a smaller skimmer off the pole/corn line that was the best my match had got' Adrian had picked off the odd fish so looked favourite to win the lake but yet again they just seem to be happy to sit that side of the lake at the moment for some bizarre reason? My two skimmers & four carp gave me a total of just over 20lb which happened to be the best weight along the whole of my bank but as I expected Adrian won the lake with 67lb so well done to him, As I predicted Lodge was the place to be as Mark Poppleton won the day from the famous Monk Peg' 66 with 120lb taken along the bank on corn & the next two placed anglers were also in corner pegs on this lake so I did well to know what would happen" Lol. Top silvers on the day went to Alan Oram also on Lodge lake peg 69 catching either on caster or meat over casters, Well back here for the winter league on Sunday & my turn to fish Spring Lake so lets see what this throws up?.

Full Results -

1st Mark Poppleton (Wiltshire) peg 66 Lodge, 120lb 6oz.

2nd Lee Werrit (Middy/Bait Tech) peg 56 Lodge, 89lb 8oz.

3rd Emma (Un-attached) peg 53 Lodge, 70lb 11oz.

4th Adrian Jeffries (Avon Angling) peg 114 Cambell, 67lb 1oz.

5th Alan Oram (Premier Angling) peg 69 Lodge, 32lb 2oz.

6th Dom Sullivan (Maver) peg 128 Cambell, 20lb 7oz.

Silvers - Alan Oram 18lb 13oz.                  

Summerhayes Fishery (Sellicks Lake).

After missing out on a day on the bank yesterday due to the weather I was keen to have ago today, Traveling on my own I had my usual Hilltops on route before making my way to the fishery. Their was only 12 booked in today but at least Owner Pete had the choice of putting some of the more fancied pegs at the end of the lake out of the wind which was forecast to get up as the day progressed' Before the draw Pete let me do the honours of drawing the bonus peg for the day, I promptly drew peg 13 at the bottom of the lake where I fancied the winner would come from then it was up to me to draw my peg for the day, Peg bloody 7' which would mean I would be smack in the wind if it picked up' Amazing how I can pick a fancied one when its not going to be my swim' but nowt I could do so tried to think what would be option when I got to my swim. I had caught well on corn here on longs lake a couple of weeks ago so would have this as a main line of attack in the open water at 12mts off to my right setting up an 4x12 Chanti on 0.12-0.11 & an 16 808 hook, This rig would double up to fish down towards the empty pallet between Myself & Steve Jackson on peg 5. Next up was a 0.3g pencil float on the same line with an 18 808 hook to fish about a 1ft off the far bank were I found a flat spot with just over 4ft of water, And finally I set up 0.3g AS1 on 0.11-0.10 & an 18 pellet hook on a longer line which I could use to Dob Various baits along the far bank tighter to the island.

 If only it had stayed like this".

I started the day by feeding a good amount of corn on the open water line & started the day on the Dobbing rig with 4mm hard pellet around 3ft deep choosing not to feed anything to start with, I missed a couple of bites before I connected with a 2oz roach which came off' then I couldn't get a bite so decided to try the deep rig across with a small cube of meat on the hook feeding just a few cubes over the top via a cad-pot, 10mins later I hooked a carp but it wasn't in the mouth' & soon came off" & I had the same thing happen 10mins later!. What fish their were present didn't seem to want to be anywhere near the deck so it was time to try something else as I was approaching the hour mark & still hadn't put anything in the net'.

I went back to fishing tighter to the bank this time with the rig set about 2ft deep with a small cube of meat on the hook, I was letting the rig drift into the bank which seemed to work as I had two 2lb plus fish in two try's before disaster struck, I hooked another which found a snag pulling it away from the bank & left me well & truly hooked up" After a new hook-length I went back over & low & behold the same happened a couple of min's later but this time I wasn't so fortunate as I smashed the whole rig!".

With another added the disturbance It had caused had spooked anymore from the area as I couldn't get a bite, I did manage one more further along the bank to my left but again I only had the one bite here so they weren't in numbers, What didn't help me was the fact Steve next door Had decided not to fish across to the far bank as it was pushing 16mts plus were he was but already I could see signs of fish breaking the surface in-front of him so things were already telling me that I didn't have much hope of getting them to return? After another 30mins without another bite I re-plumbed another line on the deck tighter to the bank but this time tried a 4mm expander on the hook over loose fed micro's, I had a 4oz carp followed by an 8oz fish soon after but that was it. By the end of the 2nd hour the wind had arrived with force" & I was really struggling to present any rig across properly spending most of my time being blown around on my box' Steve had managed a few silvers down the track along with a better carp on his silvers line but Mark Lehay below me had already resorted to fishing down his margin's but he to was suffering with the wind, Even to the extent of his roller blowing over snapping his No.6 section in the process".

I began to feed another line at 11mts with small amounts of meat & decided to try the line I had been topping up with corn from the start, I was surprized not to have any indications but did thing a few fish would turn up on it before the day was out? I seemed to be rotating lines every few min's to try & find some fish but it just wasn't happening, Mark was struggling below me but Steve had managed a good skimmers down the track but was also getting the odd better carp from a small bay beside peg 4, I did manage a carp on the deck with meat just off the island but both my open water lines never produced a sniff' I had been feeding small amounts of meat down to the pallet all day between Steve & myself & did try it a few times through the day without success but in the last 40mins I missed 2 bites in as many put-in's so shortened the line between the pole & the rig which did the trick as hit the next bite with the fish being 3lb plus, I had a feeling it was the only one down their though as I never had another bite here or across on the other lines, I had finished with 7 small carp but Jacko" had around 9 better fish mainly from his margin, He was first to weigh as the guy on peg 2 had packed up & finished with 31lb odd, I had just under 19lb & Mark chose not to weigh, Around the other side of the Lake Nigel Wickham won the day with 32lb odd catching most of his fish from down the edge on meat over meat but it was a cose affair as another 31lb by Jess Jordan pushed Jacko into 3rd by 1oz!".

It was a hard days fishing for me & judging by the results those who did catch were fishing up to some cover which was holding fish after all the rain we had yesterday, I never gave up hope though & although it didn't pay off this time I wouldn't of done much different. Back to Viaduct Next Sunday on the winter League but hoping the weather will improve so I can get out next Saturday?

Full Results -

1st Nigel Wickham (Summerhayes) peg 21, 32lb 4oz.

2nd Jess Jordan (Summerhayes) peg 17, 31lb 3oz.

3rd Steve Jackson (Garbolino) peg 5, 31lb 2oz.

4th Alvin Jones (Country Gardens) peg 15, 22lb 13oz.

5th Dom Sullivan (Maver) peg 7, 18lb 15oz.

Silvers - Aide Bishop, (Summerhayes) peg 19, 5lb 11oz.