Viaduct Fishery Silvers League Rd5, (Cambell Cary & Lodge Lakes).

I was looking forward to today, With good overcast weather & little wind it seemed a lot cooler than yesterday & with everybody fishing for silvers again today I felt some areas would be very hard? Just stopping for a Costa Coffee on route I arrived in plenty of time to mix some G/Bait with Gabo who kindly lent me his drill again' Which managed to last after he dropped it in his bucket of water! Not to far from the front & all the talk was of Nigel catching 30lb off Cambell 118 yesterday on prawns" This just so happened to be the peg I had in the last round & I didn't have any then but just encase I had some today should I draw this lake'. Into the draw & yep you couldn't write it, (Owe I Can) 118 Cambell!" Total confident this time around, I had the banker prawns in tow & nothing could be simpler...

Normal wire wonder rigs of 4x12 to fish on the deck at 13 & 14mts on 0.11-0.09, one with an 18 63-13 hook, The other with an 18 F1 maggot hook, I had a line in-front of me at 14mts, Another off toward the empty peg 117 & a swim at 13mts slightly to my right at 13mts, the only other rig I set up was my banker prawn rig at 9mts where Nigel did well yesterday 0.2g rig straight through to an 16 F1 pellet hook. For company I had Craig (Trig) Edmonds who's been flying' this year on peg 116 but he was in the other section & Gary Webber who wasn't to keen on peg 119 who was in my section with the rest of it opposite as normal. I couldn't bring myself to rely on the banker prawn swim so on the all in fed the three long lines, The 14mt line left with a ball of G/bait with chopped worm & dead reds at 14mts off to my left, fed 4 balls at 14mts with just a few casters & dead reds at 14mts in-front of me, & one ball with dead pinkie's at 13mts. I fed some chopped prawns, casters, & dead red maggot at 9mts where I began the day with my banker segment of prawn. I gave it twenty minutes as did trig, Nothing.. Which Gary was delighted with as he didn't have any prawns'. Onto my 13mt line with double pinkie on the hook saw me take a 10oz skimmer straight off followed by another 8oz fish a few minutes later, No more bites so I had a quick look with a segment of worm on the 14mt line off to the left. I gave it 10mins but with no early signs and around 45mins of the match gone it was onto the other 14mt line with dead red maggot on the hook, Again I had a couple of 8-12oz skimmers straight off then nothing after BUMPING" ( Sorry Mr Rixon") Another, I chose not to feed again as I just had that feeling I was going to hook something else, I was right as ten minutes later I hooked a better fish which turned out to be a 2lb Tench, Oddly enough I had a very similar sized fish last match off the same line around the same time" with around 90mins gone I had around 4-5lb in the net so quite a good start. 

Trig had netted a couple of small skimmers & Gary had only managed few small roach, The next 45mins were a bit of a disaster as I lost two skimmers shipping back as the sections I broke down on became stuck together" I collared Steve who was waking around shortly after & we managed to free them so hopefully know more problems.

Just as I thought it would be a case off picking a few fish off each line I seemed to have the same pattern as the last match, They F****D off" I struggled for the odd small roach for a while then out off the blue after a another hour or so I had a 2lb flying skimmer which I safely got in but it was a flash in the pan as nothing followed. Gary was still struggling & Trig had managed to snare a few net skimmers but was now finding it hard to get bites. I was hoping the prawn' line would produce, Trying it on he odd occasion through the day, even spending the last 5mins on it but still nothing. I managed a couple more 10oz skimmers off the long lines on different baits in the last 90mins but bites were very hard to come by, I did expect a few late fish but we finished 30mins earlier than the last match due to the light so perhaps that made a difference, I did manage two skimmers on the 14mt line in-front of me soon after I fed some casters over the top with the catty & thought I had it sussed at one stage but it didn't last, The worm" line off to my left gave me two small roach all day & I never had bite on the prawn" Word on the bank was the lakes had fished a lot harder today & I didn't really expect the prawn to work but cant say I didn't try", I did try caster over the top on the hook but again just small roach. When the scales arrived Rob eagle was winning the section with 15lb odd & 11lb was second, I thought I had around 6-7lb & ended up with 8lb 12oz which was surprizing, finishing 3rd in the section by 1oz" It means after dropping the 4pts from the last match off the same peg' with one round to go I'm sitting on joint 2nd with five others on 7pts but with a lower weight count-back, Matt tomes is still leading the way with 6pts but All to play for in the last match. Winner on the day again was last years overall winner Sam Powell on peg 59 of Lodge Lake with 19lb of skimmers at 14mts on the pole & Maggot ahead of Glen Calvert on Cambell 115 with 16lb odd including a bonus Tench. I really though after a good start I was going to have a better day but it didn't happen but it could of been a worse result points wise, Cant go without saying in the draw Gabo was just before me & started dancing when he thought he was on peg 99 Cary which won the last round. Nope" he had the ticket upside down & was on 66 Lodge Lake, Lmao'. Nice to have a bit of banter as were not here for ever lol. Back in two weeks for the final round & just hoping for a draw with half a shout of claming a place in the top 6 for a final overall payout. Birthday this Friday, Fourty-six, Don't know where the years have gone but still enjoying the days competing on the bank & long may it continue.

Full Results -

1st Sam Powell (Preston Innovations) peg 59 Lodge, 19lb 4oz.

2nd Glen Calvert (Maver) peg 115 Cambell, 16lb 12oz.

3rd Des Shipp (Prestion Innovations) peg 68 Lodge (Flyer") 15lb 13oz.

4th Rod Eagle (Viaduct) peg 124 Cambell, 15lb 9oz.

5th Stu White (Viaduct) peg 86 Cary, 15lb 3oz.

6th Dick Bull (Sensas) peg 100 Cary, 14lb 14oz.

 

 

                  

Viaduct Fishery Saturday Open, (Cambell Lake).

Not going to make this a long blog as a lower turnout of only eight booked in today, Steve gave us all a bit of room but looking at the lake there still seemed to be a lot of fish holding up at the bottom of the lake from peg 110 across to 131 on the opposite bank, Into the draw & I found myself on peg 129 next to the spit which I still fancied to produce a few fish hopefully.

I set up the normal bomb & waggler rods to start with along with one pole rig to fish at 16mts to the left & 14mts off to the right as well as a swim off the end of the spit & planned to fish meat on each, I started the day at 14mts on the pole just potting in a few cubes to start with to try & find some early fish, It wasn't to be & after 20mins I was on the waggler at half depth with maggot on the hook, another 30mins without a sign & it seemed Steve Denmead opposite on 112 wasn't having any luck on the carp side of thing either, Lee Davison on end peg 131 had taken a few early carp casting across to the end bank on the bomb & peg 114 had some early fish. After an hour things were proving a bit awkward with the waggler as the north easterly breeze was pushing the float back towards me so I had a try on the bomb with punched meat, I had my first fish after another 15mins around 7lb by casting towards the aerator but nothing followed, I had notice there was a hoard of fish blowing under the surface straight in-front of lee & they didn't seem keen on moving" He noticed when a few broke the surface & soon switched to casting on top of them, He didn't look back from then on taking odd fish on the bomb up until the final whistle in between the liners he was getting every chuck, Its amazing you can be casting 20ft from him & I didn't have as much as a liner" I managed one more on the bomb & going into the last hour I managed a couple of big fish off the 14mts line to my right on meat but didn't have a bite off the end of the spit, I managed a small tench & a skimmer at 16mts but that was it, Lee went on to win the day with 101lb odd & opposite Emma Drysdale on peg 110 who had set out to catch silvers switched to fishing for carp later in the day to finish with 57lb for second ahead of my 40lb odd, Now here's the interesting bit" On Thursday Steve Denmead won the silvers with 29lb off peg 115 fishing prawns" on the hook, This seemed to set a new trend as most today who set about targeting silvers were also planning to try prawns, Did it work? YEP! Nigel Easton took the top weight on the day with 30lb odd of mainly Perch & Tench all on the prawn!" Back here tomorrow for the next round of the silvers league & yep' I made sure I stopped off in Asda on the way home to fetch some PRAWNS!"

Full Result -

1st Lee Davidson (Radstock) peg 131, 101lb.

2nd Emma Drysdale (Prawnheads) peg 110, 57lb.

3rd Dom Sullivan (Maver) peg 129, 40lb.

Silvers -

1st Nigel Easton (Bait-Tech Viaduct) peg 118, 30lb.           

Shiplate Farm Open (Hawthorns Lake).

It was a case of a sausage sarnie at home this morning with Shiplate being right on my doorstep, Thankfully the overnight rain had cleared & the wind had dropped so it looked as if we were going to be in for a chilly but pleasant day again, The match was to be spread over Hawthorns & Westpool but with a few drop outs owner Steve decided just to use Hawthorns with thirteen of us fishing, I was in the middle of the drew ending up on peg 3, I had Russ (Tap tap tap tap tap tap tap Pecker on peg 2 & Dave Romaine on peg 4 who had the bonus of & empty peg between him & resident drawbag" Steve Peanut Howell on peg 6, I set a rig up to fish in the deeper water across around 5ft deep at the bottom of the shelf being a 0.3g AS2 on 0.13-0.11 & an 18 F1 pellet hook, A rig to fish tighter towards the far bank in a couple of feet of water being an 0.2g hand made float on 0.13 to an 16 f1 pellet hook, & Finally a 0.4g rig on 0.11-0.09 & an 18 63-13 hook to fish at 9mts down the track for silvers in 6ft or so of water, I began the day feeding two balls of G/bait with pinkees & a few casters added down the track, No sooner had I cupped the first ball in Dave was already playing a carp from his far bank" I fed a small ball of micros in the deeper water across & began the day fishing tighter over in the shallower water with hard & soft pellet on the hook. In the first 15mins Dave had netted three fish but both myself & Russ hadn't caught, I tried a few areas of the far bank at different depths but I just couldn't get a bite even when switching to maggot on the hook, After 45mins or so I decided for the time being I would try & catch some silvers, I started down the track with single maggot but couldn't get a bite on it, I switched to double pinkee & took a few roach to 5oz but after a few bites they would switch off, I re-fed another small ball & decided to feed some chopped worm & casters towards the far bank in the hope of pulling some chub into the swim.

It seemed to be a case getting a couple of bites then having to change depth to put anything in the net but I wouldn't get a run of fish together for some reason, I decided to feed another line down the track after a couple of hours & try to keep putting a few fish in the net, It seemed the only silvers willing to feed were roach as I hadn't had a sign of any skimmers or bonus chub.

Dave Had now starting catching a few down his inside edge on bread & Russ had started to get the odd fish on pellet across but was also getting a few foul hookers, It wasn't until around two hours to go I had a run of fish including a couple of roach pushing 10oz but just as I though things were going to get better it died completely & I struggled to get a bite off either short line. I had a go with a small piece worm on the hook across where I had fed earlier which produced another 10oz roach but then all I had were some small roach on the caster, The last hour was a real struggle with just the odd roach off the short lines. Come the end of the day I reckoned on having 5-6lb of silvers which I didn't think would be much good but you never know, I wasn't far off on my estimate when the scales went 6lb 4oz which turned out to be the top silvers weight on the day after all so I ended up with £35 back, The match was won By Dave next to me who finished the day with 10 carp for 59lb ahead of Steve Howell on peg 6 with 43lb so obviously the gap helped" It was hard for most but the water level had gone up over a foot in the last few days with the heavy rain which was never going to help matters. Back to Viaduct for the silvers league next Sunday but unsure on my plans for Saturday as yet.

Full Results -

1st Dave Romaine (Bait-Tech Viaduct) peg 4, 59lb.

2nd Steve Howell (Shiplate Farm) peg 6, 43lb 6oz.

3rd Russ Pecker (Thatchers Tackle) peg 2, 35lb 15oz.

Silvers -

 1st Dom Sullivan (Maver) peg 3, 6lb 4oz

2nd Julian Pinkett (Wormheads) peg 12, 5lb 10oz.

          

  

Viaduct Fishery (Saturday Open) Cambell & Cary Lakes.

With not much on in the area it was another trip to Viaduct for me today, When I woke I was Greeted with hailstones & things didn't get much better on the way, Thankfully arriving at the fishery down in the hole" It looked as most of it was bowing away, Not a bad turn-out with 18 fishing so Steve would put most on Cambell & a few on Cary, Into the draw & I found myself on peg 131 in the shallow water on the opposite side of the lake, I ruled out fishing for silvers today but decided to feed a positive line just in-case' Conditions were pretty much spot on with no wind so first up I decided to have two lines, One at 14mts to my right & one at 16mts in-front of me to fish meat where I set up a hand made 0.2g float on 0.15-0.13 & a size 16 F1 pellet hook, I set up an identical rig just in-case of any problems' But hopefully not" I set up the normal bomb rod what I'm not a lover off unless its going around none stop' & finally a 0.2g pencil on 0.13-0.10 & an 18 63-13 hook to fish over casters at 14mts to the left.

I started the day feeding a large pot of casters here in the hope I would see signs of some Tench blowing over it later in the day, fed a tiny amount of 8mm meat at 16mts & began the day at 14mts with 6mm meat on the hook over a few of the same, I switched between both these lines for the first 30mins but without any signs, I noticed some signs of fish off to my right around 20mts so decided to try the bomb & meat over the top. I managed one carp by the end of the first hour but things didn't seem right, I had a feeling the Carp didn't want to be near the deck so was soon off the box assembling a waggler, I started around 18inches deep with maggot on the hook & had a fish within seconds" I added three more by the time the two hour mark approached feeding Nothing" but it seemed the carp were starting to drift further over to peg 110 & the end bank, I decided to start firing a few maggots in with the catty in the hope or drawing a few fish back towards me, I also began to feed a few off to my left around 20mts in the hope of picking off the odd fish, I only added another carp around 8lb shallow in the next hour as things slowed for a while, I did give the bomb another 20mins & had one more but it seemed they still didn't want to be on the deck, back to fishing the waggler shallow without feeding saw me hook three more but I lost two in a snag just past my keepnets".

Going into the last 90 minutes signs of any fish shallow seemed to disappear, I had a quick chuck with the bomb but nothing so was soon on the long pole lines again with meat on the hook, I had been feeding the lines with the odd cubes of meat all day & just as I was about to call it a day at 14mts I had a carp around 6lb, I dropped in at 16mts soon after & had a beast around 15lb, for the last hour I switched between the shallow wag & the pole lines adding one fish on the wagg & a couple more decent fish on the pole.

Not having caught a silver fish all day I had a Perch around a 1lb which I sent back as I was using the net for the late carp" when the scales arrived 92lb odd was winning the match, I knew I had some decent fish but was surprised to end up with just over 100lb. Back at the results & it turned out I had enough to win the day & to be honest I felt brilliant" I thought I had  read the peg  right to add the odd fish when they mattered, I had a really enjoyable day swapping lines when I felt  things were changing, I ended up picking up £65 but more importantly putting myself in the All-Winners final next year,

An enjoyable Day & hoping I have a decent enough draw in the next round of the silvers league next Sunday as Thiers all to play for in the overall stakes.

Full Results

1st Dom Sullivan (Maver) peg 131 Cambell, 101lb 7oz.

2nd Matthew Grindle , (Maver/ Bait Tech) peg 114 Cambell, 92lb 7oz.

3rd Toby Burrell (Fosters Team Army) peg 129 Cambell, 63b 4oz.

Silvers -

1st Toby Burrel,l 21lb 11oz. 

 

              

Viaduct Silvers League Rd 4, Cambell, Cary & Lodge Lakes.

Back down to viaduct for the next round of the silvers league again today, Travelling on my own today with no stop off for breakfast which wasn't a good idea as I spent all day starving but I heard a few went to the new Café in Burnham the old owners of Hilltops have opened so will make a be-line their next time, Weather wise things looked spot on with no wind & it seemed now most of the leaves had done a disappearing act although we could do without the bright sky's. As normal most of the Bristol mob were at the front of the queue' before it came to my turn, I fancied a day on Lodge Lake but it wasn't to be, I ended up on peg 118 on Cambell, Again'

I drew this last week in the Saturday open & struggled for 11lb odd of silvers, Nicky Ewers drew this in the last round & finished up last in the section with 7lb odd & peg 119 didn't fair much better with 8lb odd, We were the only two pegs in this section on the bank backing onto Cary with the rest of the section opposite us which often produce much better for silvers. For company I had Nigel Garrett on peg 119 & Nigel Easton Again the other side of me on peg 116 which I drew last time in the league but he was in the section below. I was still going to be pretty positive feeding three lines at 14mts, One line at 10mts & a short line for casters on my top set plus a section, I would feed the three long lines differently & hopefully gage a response what best to catch on?.

on the all in I fed one ball with some pinkie's added at 14mts slightly to the right, fed four balls with a pinch of casters & a few dead reds to the left, Fed two balls laced with worm & squats' well off to my left at an 10'o'clock angle & finally some loose worm & casters on the 10mts line just off to my right, As normal I started the day looking for a few quick fish on the short long line rig with caster over loose fed casters, 15mins later I hadn't had a touch so it was time to try the longer lines much sooner than I would have liked so started where I had just fed the one ball with double pinkee on the hook, As soon as it settled it slid away I straight away I though it would be a small roach & just lifted the pole slightly, Big mistake" I had only hooked a decent skimmer & didn't set the hook so had it on for seconds" Bollock's not what I wanted, I gave it another go but nothing except for a few small roach so I decided to top it up with another ball & try elsewhere.

I wanted to leave the heavier fed line for as long as possible so went onto the far left 14mt line with a small small piece of worm on the hook, I missed a bite straight away then had an 6oz skimmer soon after, Next put in I had to wait a bit longer for a bite then hooked a better fish which again seemed to be a decent skimmer but half way back it came off' it turned out the worm had masked the hook this time" Not quite going to plan as normal' but at least their seemed to be a few fish present? I gave it another ten minutes but with no more signs topped it up again switching back to 14mt line I started on again with pinkee on the hook, I managed a couple more 4-6oz skimmers straight off but again things stopped, by now we were over 90mins in so It was time to try the line I had been positive with at the start kicking off with single caster on the hook, It didn't take long for an indication & this was a proper fish" First up I could of been mistaken for what I thought was a carp but after it didn't blot off I was hoping it was a decent tench? I got the fish back to my top kit & realised it was a tench around 3lb which I had a close shave with when it went to dive under the pallet leg but thankfully I netted it safely, Well that had boosted things up a bit & hopefully I would attract a few more thought the day? Either side of me it seemed both Nigel's were struggling with just a few small fish showing but on the opposite bank Steve Denmead on end peg 123 had already netted a couple of skimmers & a near 4lb tench & a few others seemed to be catching the odd better skimmer.

Just as I thought things would settled down & a few more fish would start to show the lake seemed to shut down at are end & it became hard to get an indication on any line, I even had another look on the short line which I had continued to feed with a few casters in desperation for bite but it still didn't produce, I the space of more than two hours all I managed was a couple of skimmers to 8oz off the long lines with a couple of roach in between, The 10mt line didn't show any signs of fish despite topping it up with small amounts from the off, With around two hours remaining I decided to feed the positive line' with another three balls in the hope of drawing some more fish into the peg going into the last hour, With around 90mins to go a few fish seemed to start feeding again on the pegs opposite, I managed a skimmer around a 1lb off the worm' line to my far left with maggot on the hook, 15mins later I managed a 2lb plus skimmer on the pinkee' line with dead red maggot on the hook then shortly after managed a run of three 8oz skimmers on the heavy fed line which I began to loose feed caster on with the catty but nothing would seemed to stay in the swim for long, It was a case of trying to catch anything then switch lines, I was hoping the last 45mins or so would give me some more bonus fish but I only managed one skimmer around a 1lb & bumping another decent fish" It just didn't seem to happen, I did miss a couple of late bites for some reason but the end of the match was soon up on us. I though I may have around 10lb but new some of the pegs on the opposite bank had done better.

When the scales arrived Chris Fox was easily winning the section with 20lb odd from peg 128, With back up weights of 15lb & 12lb, Nigel on 119 weighed 5lb odd before I put 10lb 10oz on the scales which meant I would finish 4th in the section, Not a total disaster but hopefully it will be the result I can drop at the end of the series, I don't think I could of done much more to try & catch a few extra fish, The pegs either side of me produced 5lb each so I felt I had done quite well considering, I would of much rather been on the other bank but that's the way it goes hopefully that's my dropper out the way & I draw a more fancied area on the next match, Top on the day went to Viaduct Regular Dan Squires who just so happened to draw peg 99 on Cary again" but did well to finish the day with 32lb of big skimmers ahead of Gary O'Shea who finished second with 27lb odd from peg 68 on lodge which won the last match, After the four matches Matt Tomes who had Des Shipp to thank for winning him the section in the last round is leading the way closely followed by Dan Squires but its still close with dropped results to be taken so all to play for. Back again in two weeks but don't think the conditions can be as favourable as we've had so far can they? forgot the camera again today so sorry I don't have the results sheets this time around but here was the top six on the day.

Full Results -

1st Dan Squires (Sensas) peg 99 Cary, 32lb 9oz.

2nd Gary O'Shea (Thatchers P.I) peg 68 Lodge, 27lb 6oz.

3rd Clint Wojtyla (Bristol) peg 128 Cambell, 25lb 11oz.

4th Chris Fox (Sensas Thyers) peg 126 Cambell,

5th Clayton Hudson (Mosella) peg 111 Cambell,

6th Jess Jordon (County Gardens) peg 96 Cary, 17lb 2oz.                      

Shiplate Farm Open (Hawthorns & Westpool).

Fishing on my doorstep today for a change which gave me chance to walk the dog whilst the lovely wife prepared a bacon sarnie before I left, Their were 15 of us fishing so owner Steve Oliver put ten pegs on the hawthorns & just five on Westpool paying the main monies out to three section winners & top silvers on each lake. It had been very cold overnight which I was sure to put pay to any decent weights, Into the draw & I ended up with peg 10 on Westpool, With only five of us on here I still felt the end pegs would fair a bit better? I was in the middle of us all but at least we all had a bit of room.

First up I set up a 0.2 float for dobbing bread along the far bank on 0.13 & an 16 808 hook, Set a 0.3g AS2 up on 0.13-0.10 & an 18 F1 pellet hook to fish close to 15mts a couple of feet off the far bank in the deeper water around just over 3ft, a 0.3g pencil on 0.11-0.09 & an 20 f1 maggot hook to fish at 8mts down the track in the hope of some silvers & finally a 4x10 chanti on a long line to fish on my top-kit for some roach if need be.

I had Bristol City's Hardest fan's' Either side of me, Pete Sivell on peg 8 & his Travelling partner Jay on peg 12, I did threaten to make out I was a Rovers fan for the day but even I couldn't lower myself that much". At the start I potted two balls of G/bait on the 8mt line with some pinkees & a few casters in, fed a nugget of micros the same distance off to my left & choose not to feed the longer line so just started the day dobbing along the far bank with bread to try & locate some early fish. Nope" Not a good sign as I gave it 40mins without a sniff.

I switched to the far side deeper water with maggot on the hook cad potting a few micros over the top, After two blip roach I switched to 4mm expander on the hook, after ten minutes I had a skimmer about 10oz soon followed by a tench pushing a 1lb" then nothing, I had a go on my top kit but it only produced a few small roach & I had the same result down the track what ever I seemed to put on the hook. Back across & I had a couple more 8oz skimmers but had also bumped a couple as I wasn't fishing to light an elastic, I would get a couple of indications then nothing so decided to feed another line at the same distance off to my right which if fed with a small nugget of micro & left it to settle. Back down the track I had a couple of 8-10oz skimmers on pinkie before the small roach returned, I couldn't get a bite over the micro line at 8mts to the right & it seemed most of my indications were across on the long pole, I was getting the odd skimmer but was losing more than I was netting' I was just about to swap to a silvers elastic when I hooked & landed a 3lb carp, This is pretty much how I spent the rest of the day, swapping between the long far lines picking off the odd skimmer but was losing just as many, I didn't have another skimmer down the track but did hook another tench on my top kit line which I managed to lose at the last second, I would of been better off fishing a silver elastic across as I pulled out of a dozen or so skimmers & never hooked another carp all day, It was going to be a low weight affair on are lake at the finish, Andy France on end peg 14 won the lake with 22lb odd taking a few carp across to the far bank earlier in the day, Jay ended up with 3lb odd of silvers , I didn't weigh the carp but finished up with 7lb 4oz of silvers, Pete had called it a day before the end & didn't weigh before Julian Pinkett on the other end peg 6 won the silvers pool with just over 8lb. It turned out the cold snap had also effected hawthorns as the weights were down on here as well, Roy Ede did well to win the day from peg 9 with 42lb of carp, Catching down his deep margins on corn with a couple of back up weights in the 20's. A hard day for most all round but winter has certainly set in putting pay to the results, I'm sure I would of had double figures of silvers had I set out for them properly & swapped elastics but that's fishing, back to Viaduct for the fourth round of the silvers league next week which I also expect to be a real test.

Full Results -

1st Roy Ede (Shiplate Farm) peg 9 Hawthorns, 46lb 7oz.

2nd Russ Pecker (Thatchers Tackle) peg 6 Hawtorns, 29lb 10oz.

3rd Steve Howell (Shiplate Farm) peg 15 Hawthorns, 23lb 13oz.

4th John Hawkins (Wormheads) peg 4 |Hawthorns, 23lb 9oz.

Silvers - 1st Julian Pinkett (Wormheads) peg 6 Westpool, 8lb 14oz.

       

Viaduct Fishery (Saturday Open).

Travelling on my own again today I stooped off for a bacon butty at the grub van on route before stopping on Walton Hill to take this nice snap from above the morning mist,

 Being one of the first to arrive as normal so a hot cuppa was the first thing I had before taking a wander around Cambell, We were forecast a chilly northerly wind today but for the time being their wasn't a sign of any wind, Into the draw & I ended up on peg 118 backing on to the top end of Cary, Not really what I wanted as I would be in the shade most of the day & not an area that's been prolific on silvers,

Nicky Ewers draw it in the last round of the silvers & struggled for 6lb odd but when I saw that man TRIG" had draw end peg 123 on the opposite bank the carp pool was all but over & I fancied Roland Lucas who had drawn next to me again for the 3rd match in a row on here on peg 119 would also have a few? I didn't think the silvers would be a high weight affair today so would give it another go, I set up the normal 0.3 & 0.2g Pencil floats both on 0.11-0.9, One with an 18 63-13 hook the other with an 18  Guru F1 Maggot hook.

I plummed up a line at 14mts in the clear gap on the left of the picture & another line at 13mts in the clear right hand light line,

 

I also plumed another line at 14mts down the lake at a 10 o'clock angle & last of all set up a 4x10 chanti on 0.11-0.08 & an 18 PR412 hook to fish under the shadow of the tree on my top-kit plus one section, On the all-in I fed fours balls at 14mts in-front of me with casters & a few dead reds, Fed one ball on the 13mt line & fed a pot of loose on the left hand 14mt line with some casters & chopped worm. I started on the short line & gave it about 30mins taking around a 1lb of small roach before I saw Trig net a decent bream in among the carp he was already netting"! I started on the heavier fed line but couldn't get any early signs so switched to the 13mt line with single caster on the hook. I had an 10oz skimmer before two minutes later bumped a better fish' This killed it so topped up with another small ball & switched to the 14mt line off to the left with a small piece of worm, Again I had a smaller size skimmer then hooked & lost a better fish here!, Not quite going to plan at this stage'. I tried the short line again but only had a few more small roach so I was soon back on the longer lines, The heavier fed 14mt line finally gave me a few small net skimmers but after catching a few the would push away, at around the halfway stage I noticed some bubbles on the 14mt line off to the left so went in with double caster on the hook, I missed a bite as soon as it settled then had a flyer" around 2lb, The pattern was the same as you would get a fish the nothing, I spend the rest of the match rotating the three lines with different baits on the hook but couldn't find a single bait which seemed to work best, I managed a near 3lb fish off the left hand 14mt line but again bummed a better fish which put pay to the swim for some time, I'm convinced these fish are foul hookers as they always seem to come off after a matter of seconds? I managed to catch a few more smaller skimmers of both 14mts lines but the 13mt line what had produced early in the day was all but void come the end, The carp put in an appearance in the last 30mins netting one over 10lb & losing another but apart from another 1lb pus fish on maggot I didn't take any late bigger skimmers I had expected, When the scales arrived Trig had weighed 10lb odd of big skimmers but was winning the match with 76lb, Roland had had just the one carp so didn't weigh-in before I put 11lb 11oz of silvers on the scales not bothering to weigh the carp, Spooky really as I managed the exact same weight last Sunday on here in the silvers league from peg 116'. I was leading the silvers until the final peg 110 where Kev Newman put 12lb odd on the scales, A close weight affair as expected but at least I got £20 back as a bonus. As I expected (And the rest of us!) Lol, Trig won the match catching most of his fish on the long pole & meat in the first hour", Gota take your hat off to him, He can draw but never mucks um up". In hindsight I would of probably been best off switching to carp as it appeared the fish moved away from him into the day between me & empty peg 124 opposite but hindsight's a brilliant thing". Thing it will be a lot harder going on a few areas next week in the silvers league but I will make sure I've fine tuned my elastics for sure.

Full results - 

1st Craig Edmounds (Mosella) peg 123 Cambell, 76lb 6oz.

2nd Paul Bell (Viaduct) peg 128 Cambell, 35lb 4oz.

3rd Dave Cockayne (Weston) peg 131, 25lb 13oz.

Silvers -

1st Kev Newman (Bait-Tech Viaduct) peg 110 Cambell, 12lb 5oz.

2nd Dom Sullivan (Maver) peg 118 Cambell, 11lb 11oz.

      
 

Midweek Stint (Acorn , Summerhayes & Viaduct Fishery's)

At the beginning of the week I had only been at work a couple of hours when stepping out the truck I ended up on my ass after stepping straight into a whole twisting my ankle in the process" I slugged it out until the pain was to much before taking a trip to the hospital to find out I had torn the ligaments in the bottom of my foot, Not good for driving a truck so it meant I had to have a few days off, Not one for watching Jeremy Kyle' I had my ankle strapped up enough to take a trip to the Tuesday Costcutter on Acorn fishery, A turn out of Fourteen today Including Gabo Both hoping for a good draw, I ended up on what I call Cyanide Straight in the middle on peg 17, & Gabo drew 36 on the opposite side. This area was in on the over 50's Sunday match & didn't produce much & today wasn't much different, I had a decemt early carp in the deeper water across on soft pellet then couldn't get a bite on it, I switched to fishing in the shallow water across & took three more on maggot before the cold breeze started blowing into the far bank which killed it totally, I managed one more across for the rest of the day & had banked on catching a few from down the inside edges on corn or soft pellet & had just the one bite all day resulting in a 4lb grass carp" I stuck at it for most of the day but called time with about 45mins to go, As normal some late fish started to show & John Baker next to me on peg 19 took a few late fish on the maggot down the track & in the deeper water across but not enough to make the frame as Andy Gard on peg 12 who had calm water all day which appeared what the fish wanted caught well across catching on pinkee to win the day with just over 100lb, I think I would of been better off fishing maggot down the edges rather than corn or soft pellet but that's the way it goes but it didn't appear we were in the right area today as apart from Andy we all struggled. Gabo had a worse day than me though & had had enough after a fishless two hours & was soon off home.

Still In a bit of discomfort On Wednesday morning but still made the short trip to Fish Summerhayes Rover Match on all the lakes As did Gabo again, Disappointing to only see fourteen fishing again to day but we could only blame areselfs if we had a bad days fishing today as being a rover format you would choose your own swim/lake depending on the position you draw, I pulled out todays bonus peg which would go to choice three then promptly drew out ping pong ball number one giving me first choice of where to go? Having never fished the lake before I fancied a day on Willow pool as I know it holds a good head of fish & would be on my own as the others all opted to fish the other lakes,

I chose peg 2 & had a lovely days fishing & even went to fetch another net at the halfway point confident of catching enough in the last few hours to be over the single net limit. I had worked out early tiny roach & rudd were a problem if I out maggot on the hook so spent most of the day fishing along the island I had infront of me at 13mts with expanders over Micro's & hard 4mms via a toss-pot, It seemed to be a case of catching a few then having to start a new line to catch a couple more & repeat the process,

before finishing the day taking a few fish on corn down to the empty pallet on my right

 finishing the day with 106lb odd of fish in mainly the 2-3lb range finishing 2nd on the day picking up £31 to pay for the day behind Gabo who fished his favourite rover peg" Peg 3 on lily Pool to end up with a better stamp of carp for 136lb mainly from his margins on maggot so a much better day for both off us".

 Gabo.

Feeling a bit better on Thursday I planned to return to work on Friday not before having the day on Thursdays Cost-cutter on Viaducts Cambell & Cary lakes, A much better turn-out with 35 of us fishing but as I've said before its more of a chance to qualify for next years finals than winning much money other than paying for your day. I found myself on Cary lake again today peg 100, peg 99 has been the hot peg of late for some big skimmers but fancied I could catch a few rather than trying for carp which weren't showing themselves in the flat calm conditions, I wanted to try the waggler & corn today now that the pellet ban is in place & really fancied a few fish on it? I gave it nearly an hour & despite having the waggler doted down to a dimple I never had a sniff on any bait' Luckily I had decided to feed a couple of long pole lines at 14mts & spend most of the day picking up the odd 1lb plus skimmer among smaller samples off each line mainly on red maggot or caster, At one point I thought I had hooked the bottom & shipped the pole back to my top 4 only for it to start moving" At first I thought it was a carp but once I got it down to my top kit & had a Zig Zagging effect on my elastic I knew what it was, A rather large EEL" I called Roy Worth who was fishing behind me to come & witness how big it was fully expecting to be bit off" I twice managed to get it on the surface but after two attempts to steer it backwards into the net it had other thoughts smashing its head on the pan & snapping my hooklenght! The size of it? well we both agreed it had to be pushing the 5lb mark if not more, Shame I didn't get it in as it would of been interesting to see how much it would of weighed, I've had some dog eels on the Huntspill over the years But this dwaft them Lol, It wasn't a hectic day but did get a bit better in the last hour when I managed a 2lb fish & a 1lb fish on the whistle which proved worth while as I managed to win the silvers on the day by a mere 1oz" picking up £ 20 so another day paid for. The lakes had fished much harder now the pellet ban is in coupled by the colder weather & Terry Lenay won the day off Cambell lake with only 56lb odd.

 

Back down here on Saturday as the weather doesn't look to bad before Sundays trip to Shiplate farm.