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)