Shiplate Farm (Thursday Costcutter) Main Lake.

With the venue on my doorstep I decided to book in this morning with Gabriel Skarba forgetting they now run a costcutter every other Thursday, The forecast was for an overcast day with patchy light rain so it looked spot-on with the lake quite coloured, fellow blogger Tony Rixon was also fishing today trying his best to give Me some banter' but all in good faith & its good to have a bit of a crack".

I didn't really mind where I would draw as we would be spread around the lake although hot pegs 1 & 15 were in so either of them would be my first choice, Are you sitting down? I only went & drew peg 15! Its a miracle" I've only ever draw this on one occasion & that day I went walk about for 4hrs as my swim was coated in ice', No chance of that today so I was swiftly around to my peg.

The problem here is you have so many options' That makes a pleasant change", I didn't want to complicate things & with signs of fish in the upper layers this would be my main line of attack in the open water at 14mts, I set up a 0.3g dibber style float on a longer length of 0.17-0.15 & an 18 PR36 hook, A 0.3g AS4 on 3ft of 0.17 again to the same hooklength/hook, A 0.3g Hi Vis bristle float again on the same line with an 16 PR 478 to fish at on the deck at the same distance, Finally I made up a 0.2g Hand made float on 0.19-0.17 to fish down my inside edge at 7mts either side in just over 3ft of water which I would feed differently, Owe & I did get the pellet waggler out the bag if things didn't go to plan".

I started the day by potting in a good helping of hard 6mm pellets at 14mts in the open water, Feed a pot of hemp & some meat down to my right & just a palmful of 8mm's down to my left, As normal the fish which had been mulling around before the start seemed to have disappeared (why does this always happen"?) which was a shame as I fancied mugging a few to start with, I decided to start on the longer shallow rig with a banded 6mm pellet in the hair slapping the rig & feeding a few 6mms with the catty, It was a good start as I had a 5lb fish after five minute of starting, I kept at it & after 45mins I was up to four carp to 7lb all on 6mm around 18inches deep, One slight problem though, I hadn't been checking my sections properly as I was having to break down at half the length of the pole with the lake behind me, I hooked my fifth fish just approaching the hour mark & when shipping back I noticed things go slack, looking up I realised the top 5 had parted company with me and was now at a good rate of knots heading towards the end bank about 30mts away! FFS " Why me.. As I pondered what to do I now realised it had done an about turn heading toward the chap on peg 1 filling up with water in the process' I had no choice if I was going to retrieve it I had to get in! I kept my eye on it whilst struggling to strip from my bib & brace & boots, stripping to my freshly ironed boxers & stumbling over my keepnets I was soon into a steady breast stroke" I was praying as got to within a couple of feet it wasn't going to bolt off but luckily I got it, swimming back with it I was doing my best not to disturb my swim to much but I think it might of been a bit late for that"? I managed to clamber out & ended up netting another 5lb fish & yes after all that it was going in the net", I had just slipped it in when it decided to start raining so their I was sat in just my kacks' It could only get better". I got up to take them off and dry myself with the towel I always carry' trying to be discreet & out the way of the view from the house I forgot about standing on the stones & was doing my best to hide what was left of my modesty whilst seemingly doing a dance" In between all this I was trying to ping a few pellets out to try & keep some interested? great fun with just one leg on your joggers".

Eventually it was time to get going again but I had wasted 30mins aswell as trashing my rig so switched to the rig on the shorter line, It had appeared they had gone as I was struggling to put anything in the net just adding a few small fish in the next 45mins & a couple of 1lb skimmers, I tried 8mm banded on the hook but that didn't help. I fed another half pot of 6mms before having a look down my edge swims, I had nothing over the meat line to my right but had a carp off the left hand swim right away, Shame it was only 1lb' but that was it, back on the 14mt swim this time with the depth rig & 8mm pellet I was soon into a run of fish, Mainly skimmers on average a 1lb each as well as a 2lb tench, they weren't my target fish but with a silvers pool up for grabs they were welcome. A couple of small stocky carp & I new I had to try something else as the carp seemed to have moved away from here, It was a bit awkward but I re-plummed a new line at 14mts down my left hand side, it went into a bay area I couldn't see from where I was sitting but my new line was a couple of metres off the bank which I could just see peering over my knees, I fed a handful of hard 6's & 8's & had another quick look on the short margins but they didn't produce as yet but I kept topping them up.

It was time to try the new line again with a hard 8mm in the band, I had a 3lb fish soon followed a 6lb fish so it looked like they were happy to sit that much further along the near bank, I re-fed the same & had another go with the deck rig at 14mts but apart from one missed bite this seemed to be dying, I had noticed a few fish break the surface where I had fed the new longer line down the edge so went in with the shallow rig set around a foot deep, After a couple of slaps the elastic was soon out, I had to pull a bit though to stop them getting into the corner but did manage to land it being around 8lb, This I how I spend most of the last 90mins switching between the shallow & deck rig down the long edge line as well as trying the other shorter lines. With a hour remaining I decided to feed two large pots of micro pellet & a half pot of 8mm on the short left hand swim in the hope of dragging a few fish a bit closer in the dying stages, I managed a couple more on the long margin & a couple again on the shallow rig before finally catching three fish off the short left hand swim, I had just one bite over the hemp/meat line with 10mins to go but managed to prick it & that was it. I had seen Tony catching well in the first few hours & when the scales arrived I was told he was admitting to 150lb plus, I new I didn't have that much guessing my carp would go around 100lb & I wasn't far off with 108lb odd to go with my 16lb of silvers giving me a total of 124lb odd , Tony wasn't far off his guess finishing the day with 162lb odd to easily take the win catching the bulk of his fish shallow in the first 4hrs & Martin Lenahan finishing in 2nd spot with 131lb from peg 3 pushing me into third but at least I had a partly enjoyable day" as well as picking up £13 so I got my money back & a little'. Top silvers went to Mike Owens with 20lb odd so a bit more time on the long depth rig may have seen me take it but I went all out for the win from that peg as I'm sure I wont see it again for a few seasons" A really enjoyable day working a few swims for the odd fish. sorry about no pics as I left the camera in the van door & it was a bit of a hike' to go get it before the start.

Full result - 

1st Tony Rixon (Mosella/Veals) peg 6, 162lb 12oz.

2nd Martin Lenahan (Bristol PSV) peg 3, 131lb.

3rd Dom Sullivan (Maver) peg 15, 124lb 4oz.

Silvers - 1st Mike Owens (Sensas Thyers) peg 11, 20lb 12oz.

                   

       

Summerhayes Fishery Weds Open (Longs Lake).

With some unexpected time off work for a few days I decided to book in for the Wednesday Open, My First match for a couple of weeks so hoping for a change of fortune on the draw front. I decided to skip the normal fry up before arriving at the fishery, Owner Pete had took a walk around to decided the best pegs to put in as the forecast  was for a pretty miserable day', I didn't mind where I would end up but hoped to avoid peg 16 under the motorway as its around 17mts to the far bank being a new fitted peg its set back, I had it last time I was on this lake & had a few silvers but with strong winds forecast it would be a hard peg to fish long today. I let a few go before me then my turn, Yep you guessed it, Peg 16!" God I'm Consistent....

As soon as I arrived at my swim I new it would be a case of fishing just as far as I could present a light rig for silvers, I settled on a swim at 11mts were I would fish a 4x12 Chanti on 0.13-0.11 & a 16 808 Hook to fish in around 4ft of water were the depth was uniform from the bank out. The same rig would double up to fish meat at 5mts slightly off to my right so the only over rig I set up was hand made 0.2g float on 0.15-0.13 & an 16 PR478 hook to fish 11mts in-front of the disabled platform peg 15 which was vacant at 11mts were again I had close to 4ft of water. I had Bill (The Paste) Hopping around from me on peg 12 & Mike West next to me on peg 18, I could also see Tom Magnell on peg 23 which I fancied for a few carp but apart from them I couldn't see anyone else. I started the day feeding a good halfpot of hemp & meat down in-front the pallet & a small amount of hard 4mms at 5mts with a couple of bits of meat , Starting the day on the 11mt line in the Open water feeding a small ball of dampened micros & fishing a 4mm expander on the hook.

I had a couple of 4oz roach after a couple of minutes then had a skimmer over 1lb, I the first hour I guessed I had around 4-5lb of small silvers & apart from Tom landing a few carp I hadn't seen much caught, Every 30mins I fed the line down by the pallet but didn't really want to use this line until I had to preferring to put as many silvers in the net for the time being hoping to add a few more better skimmers but it wasn't happening, I was getting plenty of small 2-4oz skimmers but only added another 1lb plus fish. After a couple of hours I had a try on the 5mt line but only had a couple of small fish here, I had a look down by the pallet but after a minute or so without any indications it was back to catching what I could from the longer line, I tried a small piece of worm on the hook & red maggot but was getting pestered but small roach so was soon back on the soft pellet, Another run of the smaller skimmers followed so I decided to add a cad-pot & feed small nuggets of micro at more regular intervals, After about 4hrs I estimated to have around 9-10lb off mainly blades" but could only get the odd net fish, I tried the other lines again but the pallet swim failed to produce, I did manage to get some bites off the 5mt line in the end but they turned out to be carp' Aide the tea boy had a wander around with about 90mins to go & said my 10lb ish' of silver was doing ok so I just stuck at it until the final whistle, I had another better 1lb plus fish & a couple of 8oz fish to go with a few more blades & estimated to finish up with something between 14-15lb? When the scales arrive Bill had put just short of the ton on the scales catching carp from his right hand margin, My silvers went slightly over my guess to finish with 16lb 6oz, Tom had a good day to finish up wit just over 103lb but Dave Romaine next door went even better to finish with 130lb odd catching on hard pellets across to the island & on the short pole with meat later in the day to easily win the day so well done to him,

  Winner Dave Romaine.

I managed to have enough to win the silvers pool picking up £26 but only just as Jeff Sparks on peg 32 finished with a level 16lb, I don't thing the peg held enough carp to match the winners so made the right choice to stick with the silvers.

Overall results -

1st Dave Romaine (Viaduct) peg 25, 130lb 13oz.

2nd Tom Magnell (Mosella) peg 23, 103lb.

3rd Bill Hopping (Summerhayes) peg 12, 99lb 11oz.

Silvers - 1st Dom Sullivan (Maver) peg 16, 16lb 6oz.

2nd Jeff Sparks (Summerhayes) peg 32, 16lb.             

River Huntspill Pleasure Session.

Now with the official Fishing Season" in full swing I fancied a change of scenery from the normal commercials opting for a days fishing back on the river Huntspill, I planned to travel light with just my bag, bucket & the one rod which wasn't the case when I went to pick up Lewis Jones who was joining me for the day who had all his kit shrewd all of the pavement! We soon broke it down after I told him the area I planned to go was a bit of a hike & not ideal for todays modern trollies'. We stopped of for some micro barbed' hooks as I don't tend to carry many & the normal breakfast before parking up on the Withygrove Section but I fancied the quite long walk to the section below the motorway which has been known for bream for as long as I can remember but with nobody fishing here since last years' Superleague & no bait going in we didn't really know what to expect. We both found a nice spot about 20yrds apart roughly approx. six pegs up from the Bridge between permanent pegs 264-265 on the north bank. We needn't have worried about the seat boxes as it was just right to sit on the edge of the bank only a couple of feet of the water so the box of bits' & the feeder rod were soon assembled. Their was a breeze on the water but the forecast for it to pick up I decided not to chuck to far opting for a line about 2/3rds across where I set up a 20g cage feeder on 5lb main line to a 4ft length of 0.13 hooklength & a size 16 B611 hook. We had decided to have a £5 side bet between us to give it some interest with the competitive edge', I noticed Lewis was about to pre-bait his swim before we agreed to start so agreed to have a few casts each with just the feeder to get some bait out before starting, I chose just to feed some dead red maggot & some chopped worms through the feeder as the pint of pre-packed caster I planned to use were a bit stinky when I opened them but then they have been in the fridge a couple of weeks" I had around a dozen chucks before adding the hookength which Lewis hadn't noticed I had prepared so had a head start'.

I started the day on three dead red maggots & within seconds of the feeder settling & Lewis still tying his hookength I was playing my first fish which turned out to be a bream of 3lb plus" That's the sort of start you want! Lewis was soon up & going still me stick as he wasn't ready Lol, I expected another bite straight away but it didn't happen, It was about another 10mins before I got another indication which was a drop back just as I answered the phone to the wife, I did feel it but it soon bumped off right over my baited area which I didn't want' It wasn't long after Lewis had his first, Then another, Then another" I felt the fish had just moved up slightly so had another five quick chucks to get a bit more bait out to hopefully grab their attention, It seemed to work as I added a couple more to catch up with him, After a while I started to switch hook-baits & found it best to fish a small segment of worm on the hook topped with a singe dead red maggot, It wasn't hectic but I was adding the odd fish enough to stay ahead of Lewis, He told me he was stuggling to catch on the worm but was getting small fish on the maggot which suited me' Lol.

The little trick I was using was to break the other segment of worm in half I wasn't using on the hook, Putting it through the feeder with just a few dead reds each cast, After a couple of hours I was up to about six fish before it clouded over slightly & the wind picked up. This seemed to spur a few more on to feed as were both seemed to be adding the odd fish at more regular intervals, He soon seemed to catching quicker than me but with him facing away from me I managed to sneak the odd fish in without him knowing" We had a right good bit of banter between us as we were nearly fish for fish come the end. It turned out to be a good choice to venture here & after nearly six hours we called it a day, Lewis got his nets out first for some photos beaming as he though he had enough to take my fiver" ending the day with 17 bream for well over 50lb but it turned out my net contained 19 slabs between 2lb -5lb to finish with over 70lb.

 Proper fishing"

 

This was just the tonic after some horrendous matches so far this year & anybody who says the rivers don't produce don't know what their missing" It was a simple day with just the one rod & minimum amount of kit so well worth the walk & Ile be heading back again soon, We both also had a mix of smaller fish which were mainly smaller hand size skimmers which is a good sign. I think it does us all good to have a change so why not go try it sometime. We have the Southwest Superleague here in a couple of weeks & this is a section I wouldn't mind drawing but we will see".          

          

Maver Match This Qualifier (Viaduct Fishery).

Lewis & Myself had both invested in a ticket well in advance in the hope of getting a place in the £100,000 final at Larford Lakes later this year, We had are normal breakfast before arriving later than most but it was a good turn out with 103 Anglers spread over all the lakes, As expect the talk was Cambell would be the most fancied lake but I was just hoping to avoid Spring lake as I've been on here the previous two attempts over the last couple of years & it didn't compete, We were midway in the draw & Lewis fancied having a few after picking 86 on Cary, Me..? peg 25 Spring lake! the peg is facing up the lake on a small spit but to be honest not one of the most fancied as I would be cut off fishing the bomb or waggler to the island so limited to what I could do, I took the wrong route to my peg & after taking same route back I was heading back to the van with my kit as I just didn't fancy it, At this point Martin Preston informed me peg 26 hadn't been draw so I would have a decent inside edge, He talked me into it & eventually arrived at my peg' Their were only two of us on the spit with local lad Mark Wynn next to me on the end of it peg 25, After a small bit of pruning" I was able to see down the edge towards the empty pallet at 13mts, so decided on a swim here & another close to me at 5mts down the edge I could feed by hand, It was nearly 3ft deep so I did hope of hooking a few, Rig wise it was a 0.2g float on 0.19-0.17 & a 16PR478 hook. It was only inches deeper at 12mts in the open water so had a line here with a slightly lighter rig being a 0.2g float on 0.17-0.15 , The sun was out as we were setting up & I could see some decent fish cruising around just under the surface which looked ideal for mugging" I remember John Arthur Winning a Fisho Qualifier of this lake a few years back catching some right munters mugging" & was hoping they would hang around? I set up a long & short line rig to fish shallow & planned to start the day on the longer line rig. I was sat on my box with £0mins before the start when a common carp which must of been pushing 20lb' kept putting in an appearance slurping particles off the surface , I reckoned with a bit of coxing I could of fed it out of my hand! but needless to say it clouded over before the start & although their seemed to be a few fish still in the upper layers must had disappeared". What made it worse is the fact I was now looking at a white reflection on the surface I couldn't see them'. It was a change of plan then at the all-in I fed a small amount of  8mm meat & a few bits of  corn at 13mts down the edge & started at 13mts in the open water with meat on the hook feeding just a few cubes with a cad-pot over the top. Thatchers Mark Williams over on peg 1 had started the day on a mugging rig & hooked a few straight away which came off but after 20mins of chasing them was still without a fish, No signs of fish on the long pole so after 30mins I had to have a look on the long edge swim, I did catch but it was only a couple of 8oz skimmers & a small perch so carp didn't seem to resident, I tried for around 30mins on the short & long edge swims but it wasn't happening So went back on the 12mt line with meat.

I had a 1lb skimmer then foul hooked a carp which gave me a bit of interest, before I had a decent bream then losing one minutes after' I rotated the lines for over 3hrs & had around 10lb of silvers before hearing Mark next door land a couple of carp, I got up to see what he was doing as I couldn't see him through the tree between us, It turned out he was also struggling only having a few skimmers on the bomb so he decided just to try slapping on the long pole & had caught two in 10mins', As he dropped his rig in for the 3rd time & the elastic shot out I was soon back to my peg shipping out the long shallow rig with banded 8mm pellet, Slap'Slap'Slap, HE'S ON THEN"! I couldn't believe it, I had fed nowt & their didn't appear to be fish their but they soon came to the sound of that pellet" In the next 30mins I put 3 carp in the net for over 30lb one which was a lovely common over 16lb' Then the wheels came off as I hooked another 7 & lost all of them, A few were foul hooked but two I lost at the net one of which was 20lb plus" I was cursing not trying it earlier as was Mark but they disappeared in the last 30mins, He managed one more from down the edge to finish with 7 carp & a few silvers to my 3 & silvers, When the scales arrived my 3 carp went 36lb odd added with my silvers gave me 47lb odd with Mark weighing also weighing 11lb of silvers but his 7 carp went 86lb odd to finish with 97lb to win the section so well done to him, We both felt after we had missed out on fish today & with the size off the fish we were catching you don't need many" Mark also suffered from losing a few at the net including another 20lb fish! Bit of tester as far as your pole goes but as long as you fish a relatively light elastic you should land them" Lol. We didn't stay to the final results as Lewis had also missed out on a pick-up but we had heard Rob Brennan from end bank peg 135 on Cambell had a great day catching on meat at 16mts down the edge & at 6mts to easily win the day with 234lb to see him off to Larford for the big money final. Its been more miss than hit with my fishing since the start of the year & after what has been an expensive venture I have decided to lay back a bit from matches apart from them I'm already involved in for the time being, I will be helping the team as far as the Superleague on the River Huntspill over the next few weeks but plan to try & have a few trips just fishing for Fun".                                      

Summerhayes Fishery (Sellicks & Willow Pool).

Travelling on my own today I met Gabo for a hilltops breakfast on route with 20 of us fishing their would be an overspill of 5 anglers on Willow Pool. It doesn't get used very often for matches but I fancied it to produce a few fish after Steve Kedge had 124lb off it in a resent rover match, Into the draw & I found myself on peg 9 Sellicks, That makes a change' I was on 10 last time & 9 before that" so used to the area but it was a lot colder then. I had 3 pints of casters to use up & around half a kilo of worm so after catching a few on this lake last time it would be my main line of attack fishing tight to the far bank mud at 13mts were I still had 3ft of water so set up a 0.3g float on 0.15-0.13 & an 18 PR36 hook, I also set up a 0.2g AS4 on the same line/hook to fish up in the water on the same line, I plumbed up two areas across but would only feed one to start with. Apart from that I all I had was a rig to fish down toward the pallet on my left in 3ft of water being a 4x10 Chanti again on the same line with a 18PR478 hook, And finally a 0.2g AS4 to fish on my top kit tight to the bank either side.

I started the match feeding half a pot of chopped worm/casters tight across & a small amount of hemp & meat down towards the pallet & started across on a decent size piece of worm, I lost a foul hooked fish nearly straight away but had a 2lb fish soon after, To keep the fish interested it seemed I had to keep topping it up to draw the fish in with a cad-pot each time but I was suffering foul hookers more than I was landing fish. local Craig next to me was also foul hooking a few tight over to a bay area he had next to him but was getting the odd fish in. Their seemed to be a few fish being caught early but after the first hour things began to slow up after a small run of fish I was struggling to get the rig through small rudd attacking the worm & I was having to wait ages for any indications, After the second hour I had only two more 2lb plus carp & a few silvers so re-fed it with a decent amount & decided to try down towards the pallet with a cube of meat, I had a 1lb fish followed by a 3lb fish but then couldn't get any indications so topped it up & went back across.

I managed a couple more but it just wasn't happening, I decided to add a few micro's to my worm & caster mix to try & avoid the rudd' but by the third hour things were sowing right up, I decided to get another rig out to fish in the deeper water away from the island as Craig next to me had taken a few fish on corn over micros also in the deep water so fed a small amount of the same & had another look down the edge, Another two fish again on meat before re-feeding again & trying the new line in the deeper water. Nothing.. We were only a few metres apart & he was getting plenty of indications & odd fish & I couldn't get a sniff' I decided to feed a new line tight over with a few micro & a pinch of corn to see if that would work but it didn't, I tried a meat line down the track & missed just one bite & the wheels really came off in the last couple of hours, I decided to put any fish in my second net & that was a total jinx as I only added two more carp & one of them wasn't even a 1lb". Craig had managed to keep catching the odd fish up until the whistle & Woody on peg 11 had managed a good late run of fish toward the point of the island in the last hour on paste after taking some better fish down the track in the first half of the match again on paste.

When the scales arrived Willow lake proved the place to be as Paul Homewood on end peg 9 finished up with 130lb odd catching a few fish across to start with before catching most of his fish at 5mts with meat or pellet on two lines, I ended the day with 38lb odd which was a bit disappointing after a good start & I fully expected it to get better as the day went on with the worm line but it died completely, I got battered either side with Craig taking 50lb odd & woody did well to finish with 69lb but Gabo came out on top on are lake from peg 12 catching the bulk of his fish tight to the far bank on expanders over micros finishing up with 83lb odd for second place overall, Top silvers came from willow lake peg 13 with Glynn Wickham taking10lb odd. At least the rain held off with only a brief shower, I did manage to get my £1 back off of Nick Harvey, he couldn't keep hold of it for 24hrs" but I made the wrong choices today bait wise I think but that's fishing". Off to Viaduct next Saturday for the Maver Match This Qualifier so hoping for a nice draw but I think Cambell lake will be the one most will want to end up.

Full Results -

1st Paul Homewood (Exeter) peg 9 Willow, 130lb 11oz.

2nd Gabriel Skarba (Oliver's Angling) peg 12, Sellicks, 83lb 8oz.

3rd Woody (Bristol) peg 11 Sellicks, 69lb 1oz.

4th Glenn Baily (Bristol) peg 1 Willow, 66lb 9oz.

5th Steve Kedge (Somerset Angling) peg 2 Sellicks, 56lb 3oz.

6th Steve Jackson (Garbolino) peg 18 Sellicks, 51lb 2oz.

Silvers - Glyn Wickham (Summerhayes) peg 13 Willow, 10lb 6oz.   

                    

Chiltern Trinity (Wildmarsh Lake).

It was off to Chitern Trinity today for the second round of Lee Williams Saturday series, I haven't fished this lake for god knows how many years so didn't really no what to expect although I have heard when matches are fished here it can be hard? I picked Lewis up again today & he looked in a worse state than me as I was suffering with a stinking cold or something" but his was due to Alcohol!'.

We had a wander around After breakfast on-route & we noticed that their were a lot of carp blowing from pegs 59-57 so both fancied a draw here? Their were a couple of stand-ins today with some on holiday but still 18 of taking part, I grabbed & early ticket & found myself on peg 63 in the & had Brian (Anteater) Slipper on peg 62 & Welsh lad Alex Nadin on peg 64 as well as my usual side better Nick Harvey on peg 62 so I could keep an eye on him even though I couldn't see him". Owe forgot to mention Lewis, End peg & an empty peg next to him... Same as the first round I believe" say no more Lol.

Their was hardly a ripple on the lake so first up was a duro waggler to fish shallow towards the middle of the lake with hard pellets, A 0.3g pencil float to fish two lines at 14mts which I would feed differently I nearly 7ft of water, the same rig would double up to fish meat at 6mts so finally just a rig to fish in the margin between Brian & myself where I had just over 2ft of water.

I started the day by feeding a good ball of dampend micros & some hard 4mm's at 14mts left & a half a pot of chopped worm & casters to my right, fed a small amount of meat at 6mts & just a couple of cubes down the margin, I started the day on the shallow waggler feeding 6mm's with either a 6 or 8 on the hook but after 20mins & no early signs it was time to try the long pole lines. I started with an expander over the micro pellet line but after 10mins switched to the left hand swim with a piece of worm on the hook, At this point I hadn't seen anything much caught but Paul Nichols had landed a decent carp down on peg 47 from his margin who also had the aid of a empty peg either side'. Finally after 45mins I finally had my first bite being a 3oz rudd". It took me another 30mins to get my next bite over the micros being a 3oz skimmer, Things were looking grim already, Nick was first to get a decent fish being a 3lb plus bream on his long pole line, but it seemed most were struggling, Alex had opted to target some small fish on his top kit & really was the only one putting anything in the net, I was trying between all my lines but it just wasn't happening & after two hours I took a wander up to Lewis to see if he had worked anything out but he hadn't done much better as he had a 12oz skimmer of the feeder first cast but hadn't had a bite since", On my return I decided to try the waggler again but this time I set the rig to full depth with 6mm banded pellet, I couldn't believe it when it shot under as soon as it settled & I promptly missed it!, 5mins later I foul hooked another coming back with a rather large scale" Soon after I was on the phone to the wife when I hooked another which shed the hook straight away' & 15mins later when I went to put my coat on as it began to rain I noticed the float had gone & so was the line so at last I was in' Nope that came off! That was it.... I couldn't get a bite here after, It was Lewis who visited me next with just over two hours to go who also hadn't added to his one fish", Whilst he was here Nick had just connected to his second carp off his long pole line & Sean Partridge was also playing a decent fish so it gave us hope , Back to the long pole lines & I still couldn't get a bite off either line & the short line seemed barren as did my margin line. I tried the waggler shallow & on the deck but this still wouldn't work so after Brian had a carp on his long pole line this is where I would be spending the last 45mins, I tried the worm over the caster worm line again but still couldn't catch here but finally landed a 3lb plus bream over the micro line on an 6mm expander, the next put-in I foul hooked a carp, then bumped a fish soon after so re-fed another small ball with some more 4mm's which gave me another skimmer of 6oz but that was it, Nick had landed another bream & two more carp but two slipped the net at his feet' & Brian had added an eel from his short line & two more carp from his long line one being on the whistle & a decent skimmer & Alex had a mix of small fish off his short line so it didn't set the place on fire" It turned out Nick had enough to win the day with a mere 24lb odd meaning to add insult to injury I had to give, Lend" Him a quid today.. Lewis had finally managed to hook a couple of fish from his long margin landing two & losing one in the last 30mins which gave him 18lb odd to finish 4th on the day", A real struggle for most & not very enjoyable & my 4lb wasn't going to win anything but that's fishing so hoping for a better day tomorrow when I'm on Summerhayes Sellicks Lake.

Full Results -

 1st Nick Harvey (Sensas Thyers) peg 61, 24lb.

2nd Ziggy (Garbolino) peg 51, 18lb 9oz.

3rd Stuart Nadin (Wales) peg 49, 18lb 7oz.

4th Lewis Jones (Drennan Southwest) peg 67, 18lb 4oz.

5th Paul Nichols (Clevedon.A.A) peg 47, 17lb.

6th Brian Slipper (Sensas Thyers) peg 64, 15lb 6oz.

Larford Lakes Fishomania' Qualifier.

Travelling on my own today but again I was looking forward to it having not fished the venue before, I arrived shortly after fellow blogger Lee Williams & His better half (Sorry I didn't get your name') so a quick chat was had over the on-site breakfast which I can say was very pleasant" By draw time I was hovering around the front & the rumours I heard were Arena lake was fancied as it would only have 12 anglers over the 35pegs it holds, I decided to pick the ticket at the bottom of the bucket which turned out to be peg 23 on the Burr Bank of Speci Lake, Before the draw it was announced the yet again there were a number of no shows without informing then meaning their would be some vacant swims for some lucky anglers, Did I have a empty peg either side? Did I heck" what did seem a bit odd as when I went to draw I was sure their weren't as many tickets in their as anglers, The pegs on are bank soon filled up with just one vacant peg along are hole bank yet opposite most anglers had at east one empty peg"

 

 

then 5mins later their the next batch of anglers appeared all drawing on match lake but few & far between" This needs to be assessed as anglers are spending a lot of money in the hope of drawing somewhere with a chance to make the semis but with anglers who don't bother ruin the day for some as the writing is on the wall before you start.

On with the match, The word was it would be a pellet waggler job or the method feeder (Don't fish it so waggler it was then!) & a pole line at 7mts in 8ft of water to fiah 8mm meat over the same feed. The match went like this Started on the bomb, Nothing' Switched to the waggler shallow & had a 4lb bream on 8mm pellet after an hour, Had one bite on the pole line being a carp, All of 5oz!,  had another 2lb skimmer after 3 hours again on the waggler & missed 4 bites on it all day which again I had down to skimmers as I didn't connect with anything" It turned out the breeze had picked up towards us from the start but all the carp seemed to be cruising around, It would of been a good shout to try & mug some but we couldn't see them in the ripple' I started to pack up 15mins from the end as I couldn't punish myself anymore, My three fish would of been enough to beat the guys either side of me but a chap a couple of swims down had landed two carp on the wagg but he did admit one of them he had in the fin" I watched Richie Hull on match lake for a few minutes before the all-out sounded who landed a 8lb plus fish down the edge in the dying minutes but he did have a bit of room"

 

 

Well another year over as far as fisho goes for me as I have to cancel my last ticket to Gold Valley due to a friends wedding but with the way their going I cant say I'm bothered, I had a quick word with Richie on the way back to the van & he thought the guy a couple of swims up from him who also had 3 empty pegs had around 100lb & with word on the bank the Arena pool hadn't fished well he looked favourite to take the spoils but I didn't hang around to find out heading back down the motorway at the first opportunity. Next Saturday I'm at Chiltern Trinity Wildmarsh Lake for the next round of Lee's Saturday Series, Another lake I haven't visited for over 20yrs so it should be intresting?.  

 

       

Acorn Fishery (Saturday Open Take Over Match).

With the fishery now officially back in the hands of the owners Adrian & Bev Bartlett this first match would see then waver the peg fee meaning all the pools monies would be in a 100% payout boosting the winners purse a little, Travelling on my own I was looking forward to the day especially when walking the dog at 5.30 this morning in just a T-shirt so it looked like a pleasant day ahead, I stopped of for a butty on the way as didn't fancy a full breakfast so arrived in plenty of time, It looked spot on, No signs of spawning fish which was a good sign & with the forecast for a mainly overcast day I thought their would be some good weights, We had England ace Des Shipp joining us to day & had to Laugh when Steve (Peanut) Howell (Who got a passport to come out of Weston for the day") asked Gabriel Skarba where he didn't want to draw, Gabo didn't even hesitate when he replied' Not Next To DES!".

As Rod Fogg was explaining the rules ect I had a money spider crawling up my arm, Would it be Lucky? Into the draw I found myself on peg 34, One of the bridge pegs which has had good form of ate so fancied it for a few,

My main plan would involve different areas of the bridge & also a swim down the left hand margin,

 

First up was a 4x8 Chanti on 0.13 & an 20 PR36 to fish banded pellets along the bridge, A rig to fish in 18inches of water across the far side of the peg away from the bridge in the small bay area, It was much shallower closer to the far bank with just inches of water, I felt I would catch a few here but didn't want to risk spooking any fish so would go in the slightly deeper water to start with when fishing over, Last up was a new 0.2g hand made float which I brought a bunch of off Stu Bartlett at the draw which looked very good & strong on 0.17-0.13 & an 16 Wide Gape Pellet hook.

I started the match feeding some hard 4mm's & a small amount of micros over to the small bay by the bridge at 12mts, feed a handful of hard 4mm's to a gap I had across further along the bank at 13mts, fed a ball of micros & some 4mm's down right hand side next to the bridge a few feet off the bank.

I began the day feeding a few hard 4mm pellets by hand starting with a banded 4mm on the hook halfway along the bridge, After 15mins I had lost a foul hooker & missed just one more bite, I had seen signs of fish further across in the shallow water so decided to try here. I started with a 4mm expander on the hook but lost two foul hookers in the next 10mins so over to the shallowest water it was then which was around 10inches deep, I switched to a 6mm expander on the hook feeding some 4mm & Micros with a cad-pot, I soon had a few fish in the net which got me off the mark but most seemed around the 2-3lb mark, It didn't take long for them to get a bit cagey so re-fed a bigger amount & tried shallow again by the bridge shallow. I had a 3lb fish straight off but that was it as they just didn't seem to be their in numbers, Back across I added a couple more fish as well as half a dozen very small carp, After 2hrs it was time to try my short lines, starting next to the bridge on the deck in 3ft of water with a 6mm expander I had three fish in as many put-ins then they seemed to vacate the area

, A try down my left hand side didn't produce a bite so it was back to the shallow water on the far bank, I switched to a small piece of paste on the hook which caught me a fish but then if I missed a bite of had a liner it would pull off so switched back to the 6mm expander, It was a case of catch 2/3 fish before I had to rest the area & try elsewhere

, This turned out to be the pattern for the rest day catching the odd fish before switching lines & from what I could see most were struggling so I new I was doing ok but peg 23 on the bridge opposite me seemed to be netting fish a regular intervals, The last 90mins was a bit of a mare as the light breeze had bow the scum all into the far corner I was trying to fish" I had to keep clearing it in order to get my bait though but was happy to catch the odd fish right up until the whistle, I estimated to have between 80-90lb but I'm not that good a guessing' Thankfully Tim Whitchurch who was on the other side of my bridge lent me & extra net as the last thing I wanted to do was go over".

First to weigh was Stuart Barnett over on the end peg 22 who had been catching well all-day who was admitting to 150-160lb, He was a bit off the mark with 133lb but still a good weight on the day, Steve Howell was the next best with 83lb odd before I was last to weigh, I finished with a bit more than I expected with my nets totalling 116lb which was enough for second on the day picking up a nice £80 along the way,        

 

 Part of my catch.

 Winner Stuart Barnett.

The lake fished a bit harder than we all expected but for once I was fortunate enough to pick some off today picking up enough to pay for my trip to Larford Lakes for the fisho" Qualifier tomorrow, Never fished the venue but know a bit about it depending what lake you draw but hopefully a couple of money spiders are crawling up me in the draw queue tomorrow".

Full Result -

1st Stuart Barnett (Acorn) peg 22, 134lb 6oz.

2nd Dom Sullivan (Maver) peg 34, 116lb 4oz.

3rd Steve Howell (Shiplate Farm) peg 14, 83lb 4oz.

4th Bob Gullick (Mosella) peg 1, 65lb 10oz.

5th Des Shipp (Prestion Innovations) peg 3, 64lb 8oz.

6th Tim Whitchurch (Acorn) peg 33, 61lb 2oz.

     

 

Summerhayes Fishery Weds Open (All Lakes).

Well my final day of fishing after five days on the trot' I didn't bother with breakfast just grabbing a costa coffee on route I got their early which gave me plenty of time for a wander around before the start after a cuppa with owner Pete & Tea Boy Aide, Their were a few fish slurping close in on Longs peg 12 I managed to capture,

 

 

 

 

 He was actually fishing today for the silvers pool & was mixing up some magic mix' when I arrived, Although I'm not so sure his bait chose of poultry feed would produce much!??.

 Tea boy Aide &,

 His special Feed"???

  Todays match was a rover which meant you can chose your swim In accordance to the number you draw, Only Eight of us fishing today so simple just get a low number,  Their was also a £100 bonus peg available for the fortunate to have choice number four, I let a couple of other go first before my turn & my choice? Last!, Yep ball number 8 was stuck to my hand", I fancied going on willow pool which I've never fished & although its a small lake its meant to be stuffed with fish & peg 6 looked inviting, First to chose was Steve Kedge & what did he pick, Peg 6 Willow" what was the chances of that! Owe well everybody had their turn & finally I ended up making my choice & opted for peg 4 on Sellicks basically on my own" I had the option of an island swim at 14mts

& all the open water I wanted' I didn't want to complicate things so had a rig to fish tight to the island which was still 4ft deep against the mud being a 0.3g pencil float on 0.15-0.13 & a 16 Wide gape hook, I had a couple of pints of casters to use up so planned to fish worm/caster approach here. Next up was a 4x12 Chanti on the same line to an 18 PR478 hook to fish 6mts left in 6ft of water & a rig to fish down my inside on the top kit plus one section over the reeds Again a 4x12 Chanti on 0.17-0.15 & a 16 power hook in 5ft of water.  last of all I set up a shallow rig to start the match on at 14mts left into the bay of peg 5.

I began the day feeding some hemp & 6mm meat at 6mts, fed a good pot of casters & some Chopped worn tight to the far bank against the mud line, & just a few cubes of meat down the near margin. I began the day with hard banded 6mm pellet feeding 4mm's over the top, I gave it 15mins but managed two 4oz carp" It was time to try over the worm/caster line with a decent piece of worm on the hook, I hooked one straight away which shed the hook the netted a 3lb fish I the first hour I had Four carp & a couple of skimmers so not hectic, I fed another better amount when things died off which gave me time to try the 6mt line, I had another baby carp & that was it, Back across for the next hour & I only added two more but lost Three in a row before changing my hook pattern, after 2hrs I felt I had to start catching faster as it wasn't quick enough across for the time being, It was time to look down the edge where I had been feeding just the odd cube of meat, I had a 4lb as soon as the rig settled then nothing, Another try on the shallow didn't produce nor the short meat line, It was back across which got a bit frustrating as small rudd were attacking the worm when I put the rig in so ended up bulking all my shot down to try & bomb it threw them, I did have a couple more the had one snag me in something under the water tight to the bank' I got it out but after this I had problems hooking fish which shed the hook seconds after against the snag" It was to hard work after that with losing more than I was netting so opted to feed a positive swim down to the next pallet with a good helping of corn. I tried the 6mt line again without a bite but managed a couple more down the edge. I tried the new line which was blowing like mad & the float just sat their" weird? I had a couple more fish across & In the final hour I managed a few down the edge on the meat late on to put nearly another estimated 30lb in the net?, I made mistakes today as I fully expected the fish to feed shallow earlier in the day & be on the deck ate in the day but it went the other way around" I should of continued feeding pellets into the wider water as I'm sure I would have added a few & even could of had some shallow down the edge as they were coming up for the feed late in the day but lesson learnt for next time.. With everyone spread out I was last to weight & finished up with 81lb odd, But as I expected Steve went on to win the match with 124lb odd catching on the meat at 5mts & a few fish across to the small island but only just because Bill (The Paste) Hopping went to the same swim he won the match off of on Sunday on Longs & missed out on winning by 2oz".

The lakes fished well really, But I should of put a bit more thought into catching shallow across to the island which I think would have worked well so my mistake but it was enjoyable to fish the worm/casters for carp for a change & the rain held off to finish off the Five days of fishing on five venues, Not profitable but enjoyable never the less, Off to acorn on Saturday for an invite match As its now been taken back by the owners after a lease to Clevedon A.A which should be a good turnout then off to Larford Lakes Sunday for another Fisho". Owe I nearly forgot to mention how Aide got on? He fished for silvers all day with his secret mix, It was shite as he only managed 5lb odd, Don't worry mate I'm sure I have plenty of odd fishing magazines you can have to help you improve"?. Lol  

Full Results -

1st Steve Kedge (Somerset Angling) peg 6 Willow, 124lb 15oz.

2nd Bill Hopping (Summerhayes) peg 23 Longs, 124lb 13oz.

3rd Martin Addicott (Summerhayes) peg 12 Longs, 89lb 10oz.

Silvers -

1st Jeff Sparks (Summerhayes) peg 20 Longs, 17lb 12oz. 

                  

Acorn Fishery (Tuesday Costcutter).

This wont really be a blog sorry as after all the talk of which pegs were fancied I drew right at the top of the lake on peg, People always seem to say its ok but to date I've never seen much caught from it & its never framed when I've been their so I didn't hold out much hope" I gave it a go but after 4hrs I had had enough of having to push weed into the bank which was blowing straight in my swim with the wind direction infront the next pallet which was the only place I could catch any fish of any size & the few I had were only 2lb fish, I had about 20 across to the island at 12mts but not one was over 10oz!, Bob Smith around the corner on peg 24 was doing well from the off & after a phone call from Gabo that evening it turned out he won the day with 139lb so well done to him. Not that often I call it a day but with time running out I didn't think I could catch up having to shift stuff every couple of minutes, With the wife working it was an early retreat to the pub which I can say was much more enjoyable than the time on the bank'.   

Monday Open Viaduct Fishery.

 First up I will sorry for the late blogs but had trouble with the Tinternet" Both Lewis & myself fancied another try at Viaduct so after the normal stop off for breakfast we arrived after most for a change, Todays match would be held over Lodge & Cary & I fancied one of the corner peg on lodge would throw up a few fish or the pegs in the 100's on Cary seemed to be holding a few fish with Sundays match being won from peg 109 with over 200lb, We were near the back of the draw queue with only a few left & Lewis ended up on 71 lodge with me on 78 Cary so was quite happy with that.

Arriving at the peg it appeared to me as it might not be as easy as I thought as their were double figure fish on top of each other spawning along the bank & under the pallet". Simple today, A 0.3g pencil float to fish around 14mts off the fallen tree & to use at 6mts , A rig to fish shallow, bomb rod for pellet/meat ect,

An AS4 to fish in a couple of feet from the tree in nearly 2ft of water,

 & finally a loaded waggler to also fish over the bomb, I started the day feeding a small amount of 6mm pellets of the end of the tree, fed some 8mm meat by hand onto the 6mt line, fed just a couple of cubes down the edge towards the tree & started on the bomb with 8mm pellet.

I spent the first 40mins chucking around looking for signs of fish pinging the odd pellet but nothing happened, Enough of that then so it was out on the waggler starting at dead depth with 6mm pellet, A far more enjoyable way of fishing than staring at the tip, Zak Brown on peg 80 had already managed a couple of fish on the long pole against the spit but I was still to catch.

 Zak Brown,

 

I began to feed a few more each cast & in the next twenty minutes lost two foul hookers & one which had a yard or too on me before realising the float had gone". I saw signs of fish coming shallow so switched to a smaller waggler & tried to catch a few shallow.

It still wasn't happening & two hours later I was still to put a fish in the net! it was bright & calm on are bank & all the fish seemed to be content on following each other around without having a munch". Looking around those who I could see on the opposite bank were in the same boat & with just Zak still getting odd fish against the spit.

I decided I had to have a look down the edge & was rewarded with a 10lb fish straight off before losing one under the tree when my attention wandered!", I had to rest it up & although I had tried the long pole line before & not had a sign I had been topping it up with small amounts so had another try but it didn't produce a bite all day" for some reason the fish just didn't seem to want to feed anywhere in open water, Zak Had also tried but failed to catch away from the bank. That was about it as far as any line further out went, I managed 5 more carp out from down the edge on my top4 but it was a case of hit & hold",

& finally one on the meat at 6mts 20mins from the end, It looked as though the lake had fished hard really, Zak won the section in the end with 98lb odd & my 7 fish went 58lb, Further down in the 100's I couldn't see Martin Preston had taken the lakes top weigh with 156lb odd, But had two big fish escape a net when it dropped in" & the guy below him had 111lb odd, Over on lodge their was another 150lb odd & the winner Chris Bolton on peg 64 in the top corner took 160lb, Lewis did well to win the section with 147lb odd down the edge late on pellet. An enjoyable day to the extent of using the waggler with conditions spot on for it just a shame they didn't want to play ball?

Full result -

1st Chris Bolton (Summerhayes) peg 64 Lodge, 160lb 6oz.

2nd Martin Preston (Viaduct) peg 105 Cary, 156lb 20oz,

3rd Lee Moore (Unknown) peg 53 Lodge 153lb 7oz.

4th Lewis Jones (Drennan Thyers) peg 71 Lodge, 147lb 5oz.

Silvers - 1st Nige Bartlett (Viaduct) peg 73 Lodge, 30lb 7oz.