Paul Chapman Memorial Match (Shiplate Main Lake).

I was looking forward to this match as it was in good memory of Paul who sadly died a couple of years ago of the dreaded cancer' He fished here a lot as was known by all so a good turn out today with twenty three of us fishing, Obviously we all wanted to draw pegs 1 or 15 but would decided what to fish for if I failed to draw one of these, After old timer Andy Bailey had done a speech on Paul's behalf it was time for the draw. I didn't get the hot pegs' but ended up on peg 10 the first peg over the bridge on the far bank with an island approx. 17mts away? Steve had been doing a lot of maintenance & my inside was fishable some way down back towards peg 9a on my right so straight away my thoughts were to target carp, The island turned out to be a bit further than I anticipated, I had my footplate over the edge with the legs at full depth touching the bottom, Just".. the full length of my 16mt pole, plus another 1.5mt extension, plus another mini butt section and by holding the last piece I could just get to the island", Shit...

I managed to assemble a rig being 0.3g on 0.15-0.13 & an size 16 hook to fish in just over 2ft of water, down the edge was the same set up with a lighter 0.2g rig which again was around the same depth to fish around 11mts along the bank, It looked really inviting to my left on my topkit plus two sections but unfortunately on a 1ft deep over 3ft from the bank so ruled this out so my last rig was for open water at 11mts which was around 4ft deep where I set a 4x14 malman on 0.15-0.11 & a 16 808 hook.

I had Kurt pinkett again on my left peg 11, & Gary Finders down on peg 9 but apart from Mark Wynne on 8 the only other I could see were a few in the low number on the far bank. I started the day cupping a small amount down the edge fed some micros/G.bait & 4mms at 11mts to the right & some corn at 11mts to the left, I wanted to have a quick look over & know way was I cad potting at this distance" so cupped in a few grains of corn & 6mms with a big pot & went straight over it with corn on the hook, Bingo' A carp of 2lb which felt like 20 at this distance! but soon in the net, back across I had a 2lb chub after feeding some micros again with the big pot further up the bank but it was such an effort. Well after 15mins surprize surprize the wind picked up turning me right round on my box at one point so sod this for a lark, I would switch to pinging a few hard 6mms across whilst trying my other lines. I started at 11mts with expander on the hook & had a bite as soon as it settled which result In a 1lb plus skimmer soon followed by two smaller size fish, I fed another small amount after a few more biteless minutes & it was instant again with bites, I had a good run of fish from 6oz to a 1lb & by the end of the first 90mins had around 11-12lb of silvers, I had already taken a look down the edge & on the other 11mt corn line but no early signs of carp & I had no chance at this stage to wrap myself around 18mts of pole in the wind so my mind was pretty much set on catching as many silvers as possible with the hope of some carp later in the match down the edge or across if conditions allowed.

I switched to had 4mm when I had to weight for bites and caught a few just as the rig settled but this drew the attention of a carp which came of but killed the peg dead! the skimmers were gone' I tried off and over the feed & even tried maggot on the hook but couldn't buy a bite. Back down the edge and still nothing so had to resort back to 18mts but this only produce another 1lb chub in 15mts of fighting with it'. I spend the rest of the day rotating the lines catching the odd skimmer on pellet over the pellet/G.bait line but couldn't get a bite in the same place twice, It was hard work just to add anything in the later stages of the match , I managed a 1lb skimmer across as the wind dropped at the end of the day & missed a bite & spooked a beast down the edge on corn with a massive bow wave descending across the lake in the after math but that was my only indication. I had a late run of three more skimmers on the pellet line but just one roach over the corn line all day". I had seen a few carp caught on the far bank but didn't have any idea what silvers had been caught, When the scales arrived 52lb was winning from peg 15 & top silvers was 6lb odd, I was really surprized to finish with 25lb odd of silvers, some of the skimmers must have weighed more than I thought". Back at the results & Mike Owens did go on to win the match from peg 15 & Tom downing was second with 2lb less from peg 1" It turned out my silvers was easily enough on what turned out to be a hard day for most with the resent weather changes & had the bonus of £25 from the super pool as well as £45 from the main pool which pays for the weekend again and another enjoyable day, Well done to those who turned up in his memory as their are other matches on in the area, And well done to Andy for presenting the top three with a silver dish each with Pauls name on & to Mike for winning from the hot peg" but you still gota catch um".

Results -

1st Mike Owens (Sensas 88) peg 15, 52lb 4oz.

2nd Tom Downing (Baitech) peg 1, 50lb 4oz.

3rd Russ Peck (Thatchers Tackle) peg 12, 46lb 6oz.

4th Steve Howell (Shiplate) peg 5, 46lb 4oz.

Silvers

 1st Dom Sullivan (Mosella) peg 10, 25lb 4oz.

2nd Ron Stark (Weston) peg 7, 10lb 1oz.

             

Viaduct Fishery (Saturday).

I decided to book in for this latest open now that you have chance to qualify for next years all-winners & Silvers finals again, To be honest I did fancy a days fishing for silvers but with the match spread between Cambell & Cary lakes it would really depend where I drew, Twenty four of us fishing so I let a few have their go in the draw first before I ended up on peg 111 Cambell. I had Paul Greenwood on peg 110 who was going to fish for carp from the off & with conditions seemingly ideal I decided to still try for the silvers as I didn't feel the peg would produce enough carp? I had John (The Gimp) Bradford on peg 112 who was going to go down the same route, I set up a 4xl4 wire wonder float to fish at 13mts with a double bulk, A 4x12 with the same float to fish with a strung bulk both on 013-0.10 both with 18 F1 Maggot hooks to fish the same line & a line left & right at 11mts & final a 4x12 Chanti to fish on my topkit plus two sections.

I started the day feeding 4 balls of G/bait with a few casters & dead reds added at 13mts, Fed two balls of worm & caster laced mix at 11mts to the right & some micros & a few hard 4mm's 11mts to the left. I started the day on the short line with caster feeding just a few of the same, The first 30mins saw my put just over a 1lb in the net but John hadn't caught at this stage, I stayed on it adding around another 1lb of fish but bumped of what felt like a decent perch, With bites drying up it was time to try the longer lines as john had gone from not catching anything to landing a near 3lb Tench from his short line' I had a quick look on the 11mts lines with soft pellet & dead maggot but no early signs so went out to 13mts on the heavier rig  as by now it was blowing a gale straight in are chops" you couldn't write it but the minute the all-in sounded it went from flat calm to this!..

I expected indications here straight away but it didn't happen' I couldn't see many silvers being caught, John was struggling despite his early Tench, I went back on the short line & added another 1lb or so of roach & an 8oz hybrid before bites dried again, Back at 13mts this time with caster on the hook, This worked as I had a 1lb plus skimmer & a smaller fish in the first two dob-ins, Nothing followed so went beyond my feed & managed another 12oz fish before I felt it was time to re-feed another ball & rest it. I tried both the other 11mt lines I had been topping up with small amounts but nothing, I did eventually catch two skimmers over the micros with expander on the hook but that was it, & I never had a sniff over the worm/caster line all day'.

I spent the rest of the match picking the odd skimmer off the 13mt line & adding what I could off the short line in between, John had struggled most of the day but with around 30mins to go took two big perch off his short line to stage a late comeback, I followed suit & a minute later landed a bonus 2lb plus tench off the short line' I tried long again just before the all-out & added another 10oz skimmer before the all-out, It seemed the far bank had fished best for the carp in the calmer water with plenty being hooked, When the scales arrived the top silvers weight was a great 36lb of small skimmers from Cary Lake, John ended the day with 11lb odd before I finished with 17lb 14oz, It nearly got me 2nd but I was pipped by a 19lb weight from peg 128 on the opposite bank, I should of had a few more fish today but the wind in are faces hampered the presentation I had to stick to the heavier double bulk rig to stop it towing at me but sometimes you miss out on bites laying a bit of line on the deck but was still happy with what I had, The overall stakes were close today with Mark Hayman just taking the spoils with 165lb 5oz from peg 130 Cambell ahead of Ben Broxson with 165lb 1oz from peg 78 Cary. Off to Shipate Farm tomorrow for Paul Chapmans Memorial Match on the Main lake, A full house booked in so peg 1 or 15 will do me please".

Overall

1st Mark Hayman, peg 130, 165lb 5oz.

2nd Ben Broxson , peg 78, 165lb 1oz.

3rd Steve Hutter , peg 128, 127lb 5oz.

4th Nick Jones , Peg 127, 121lb 9oz.

Silvers

1st Rocky , peg 88 , 36lb 15oz.

2nd Steve Hutter , peg 128, 19lb 3oz.                    

Shiplate Farm (Hawthorns Lake).

After venturing to the venue yesterday to have a few hours fishing on the main lake where I fished the waggler & banded pellet to take 20lb odd of skimmers & some carp I was back for the latest open on the hawthorns lake, It was still blowing a gale as I expect it was on most venues today but the worst of it seemed to be off are backs slightly which would help, I took a wander up the lake before the draw & the level was right up with all the rain we had through the week, I expected it to fish a bit harder with the added water & estimated 50lb - 60lb would be a good weight, Into the draw & I fancied somewhere in the middle of the lake which seem to be the most consistent of late but it wasn't to be as I ended up on peg 14 at the top end, I drew peg 15 a couple of weeks ago & struggled for 27lb but this peg only produced 19lb & peg 13 which Mark Jones was on produced 16lb so wasn't to hopeful but you never know, Thankfully it seemed we had draw the calmer end of the lake as the wind was whipping through the lower pegs.

I planned to fish a couple of lines over towards the far side close to the bank, I had a rig to fish just off the bank in the slightly deeper water, a rig to fish of the deck either side of me in the margins where it was still over 5ft deep, I would of liked to fish further along the bank down the edge towards peg 15 but had a tree in the way so decided to have a line at 13mts in the deeper water at the bottom of the far shelf off to my right in 6ft of water. I started the day cupping in a good helping of corn on this line, Fed a few hard 6mms & a few pieces of corn on one far line against the far bank & started the day on the other far line with double maggot on the hook just cad potting a few maggots & micros over the top. After 15mis I had a feeling this was wrong as I had dropped off some blip fish & managed to lose one foul hooked carp coming back with a big scale" so I switched to the other far line starting with corn on the hook. at dead depth.

I had a bite quite quickly which I missed' More surprized than anything' then nothing so decided to start cad potting a few hard 4mms & the odd grain of corn, This seemed to work as is soon took a couple of 4lb carp before it dried up. I was going to start cad potting  a bit more but risked fish coming up in the water, I was fishing around a 1ft off the far bank in around 3ft of water so cupped in a palm full of 6mm's & half a dozen grains of corn & let it settle again, I had kept topping up the open water 13mt with corn & had been feeding the odd grain of corn down the edge on my top three to my left & a few hard 6mms to the right at the same distance, I gave these lines a quick look after 90mins or so but didn't have any early signs, I had topped the first far line with more micros & a few dead red maggot but couldn't get any carp over it' back on the other far line with corn I had a bite & another 3lb fish straight away followed by a 5lb fish soon after as I inched the rig up the shelf before it went dead again. After a couple of hours I was on 4 carp for around 17lb but mark was yet to catch.

It was time to try feeding a pinch of corn & some hard 4mm's with the cad pot as soon as I had the rig settled, After about 20mins I started to get regular indications & netted a few more fish but I to wait for the bites, As soon as I felt there wasn't fish present I topped up with a larger amount of 6mm's & half a dozen grains again, Mid match I decided to the open water 13mt line with corn on the hook, As soon as it settled I had a bite which turned out to be a 1lb skimmer then had another bite straight away being a 2lb carp then nothing' I didn't really expect this to work until later in the day but at least I had caught over it already.

I had switched to feeding just hard 4mms on the first far line but still couldn't get indications here. It seemed best to stick to the other far line just off the bank feeding tiny amounts & waiting for bites, I began to miss a few for some reason which were real fly unders! so decided to try a softer 6mm expander on the hook which got me three more fish in the next 20min before I had to top it up with a slightly bigger amount & rest it, The inside lines failed to produce bite so spent the rest of the match picking off the odd fish across & did manage a few on corn over the 13mt open water swim, Mark had a much better second half of the match where mine seemed to slow up, He took six in six bob-ins at one stage but I had noticed he had only started getting fish when he began cad potting over the top' I knew come the end of the day I still had a few more fish but didn't know how the rest of it had fished, I was first to weigh & had guessed 62lb on my clicker but was a bit out finishing with 72lb odd, Mark had 52lb but I decided to get the kit away after he weighed as the skies looked a bit iffy" Back at the results & Kurt Pinkett (wormheads) won the day from peg 1 catching shallow down the edge reed bank on maggot over maggot to finish with 82lb odd, Seems to be a hot peg since the reeds have been trimmed back but I was more than happy to finish 2nd picking up £45 & enjoyed working for the odd fish without suffering from foul hookers, The bites on the 13mt line were un-missible but it seemed to be a case of two bite then nothing before you had to re-feed a decent amount. The rain held out & the wind wasn't to bad for us so better off than a lot of venues in todays conditions know doubt".

1st Kurt Pinkett (Wormheads) peg 1, 82lb 15oz.

2nd Dom Sullivan (Mosella) peg 14, 72lb 10oz.

3rd Julian Pinkett (Wormheads) peg 9, 56lb 6oz.

4th Mark Jones (Shiplate) peg 13, 52lb 2oz.

Silvers

1st Glynn Wickham (Summerhayes) peg 5, 8lb 9oz.

         

Back at it".

Please to say the last couple of weekends have seen me back on the bank, As it stands the wife seems ok at the moment with a regular dosage of tablets every few hours but suffers from grip in her hands at times but is soldering on bless her, Last Saturday saw the start of the acorn series spread over the next few months, 18 of us fishing spread around the lake, I drew peg 40 which was a bridge peg which meant I would be in the section with the other bridge pegs on the lake, Fro company I had Mark Broomsgrove (bunt next to me on peg 6 the other side of me in my section. I had an enjoyable day catching at just over 12mts to the far side just off the bridge on expanders over 4mm's & had a few fish later in the day down the edge but they were a bit spooky after you caught one you had to leave it. Come the end of the match I knew it was close between bunt & myself as he caught well down his deeper edge in the last hour or so. He was first to weigh in are section & finished with 122lb odd, This is where the fun began". It wasn't until we had weighed in half of us somebody weight a small skimmer which weighed 3lb 12oz! A reset was used then it turned out to weigh 12oz' something wrong here? Yep, every one who had weighed a carp net twice they had gained 6lb" Marvellous. well it turned out to be a right mare as after this the battery went in the digital scales so we had to wait for another set' but it wasn't until I was last to weigh I realised after finishing 2nd in the section to Bunt with 118lb I was robbed of 9lb as mark had three weighs on the first set of scales!

Owe well I suppose these things happen just hoping the extra point wont be costly come the end of the series'? Not just me it effected, Scales man Brian (Anteater) Slipper Lost his first net when it went 71lb so over the 70lb limit, then his next net went 85lb" bye bye" he did finish with 20lb odd ending last in the section but again he first net would of counted had he zeroed them! Lol, Ray cooper won the day with 149lb odd from peg 9 catching the bulk of his fish down the edge, I picked up £50 on the day & had an enjoyable one.

Sunday saw me on a knock-up on the Hawtorns lake at Shiplate farm on my doorstep, I've booked in a few matches here in the next few months, Including a mini series on all the lakes until we get more news on how Yvonne will be, I said in the morning to her as we enjoyed a fry-up I would end up on end peg 15, & I did" I had john Hawkins on peg 14 & Kurt Pinkett on peg 13, Well Are end was hard to say the least, I scratched around for what I would say were a few resident fish to end up with 8 carp for 24lb & a few bits for a total of 27lb, John ended with 19lb & Kurt Had 13lb then below him there were a few 60-70lb weights with Rich Hawkins winning the day with 76lb from peg 9, A bit of a gruller but it happens I did lose a couple of fish but it wouldn't of made a difference come the end.

This Saturday saw me back to Viaduct Fishery for the long awaited Silvers final Over Cambell Cary & Spring lakes, I fancied the winner would come from spring lake but cambell can also produce good silvers weights, 50 odd of us fishing today & I was near the front again, Peg 88, I'le be on the far end bank of Cary Lake then". I wasn't to hopeful I could catch enough to make the main frame but would give it my best to try for the section with anything else being a bonus. I had two lines at 14mts , one with maggot/casters over G/bait & the other with expanders over G/bait & 4mm pellet. I fed a shorter line with chopped worm/casters/G/Bait at 8mts & had a longer line 4x10 chanti to fish down the edge over loose fed casters & hemp on my top-kit + one section, I started down the edge & had around 5lb in the first hour mainly roach but bumped off a decent perch, I couldn't see the long lines I had fed for the first 90mins as the wind had picked up & the glare on the water was blinding' I did manage a few 4-6oz skimmers at 8mts before they disappeared' & managed a few on the expanders at 14mts but I couldn't catch with maggot or casters on the other long line funnily enough, I had one decent 2lb plus skimmer on the expander halfway through the day but I was having to wait for bites & most fish seemed on the small side, I spent most of the day dropping back in on the edge line catching what I could to try & keep the odd 1lb or so going in the net, I had another enjoyable day & estimated on having around 21lb? I did have a bit off a lull just over halfway through & spent to long looking for better fish on the long lines but it could of worked another time. I was surprized to finish with 24lb 6oz, Which turned out to be enough for the £50 section money, As I expected Spring lake was the place to be as Richard A'Herne won the day with 52lb odd from peg 2 & Gabo was second with 32lb from near bye peg 26 on the spit, it turned out 30lb was enough to make the main frame monies. another enjoyable day at the venue as what has to be one of the best silvers venues in the country.

Today saw me back at Shiplate For the second round of the mini series this time we were all on the newly formed sqirle pool, the first round saw me draw peg 4 on the westpool, funny that, I've fished this lake four times in 18 mths and drawn it every time! I struggled to put much together but finished with 30lb with 48lb winning the section & 42lb second so really needed a section win in this round. The Wife came with me to the draw so I let her do the honours. I ended up on the straight section peg 8 with the island across at 12mts, this lake holds a good head of small carp with the odd fish between 4-5lb which are a real bonus" I put my faith in a rig down the track to fish left & right on my top two plus two & had a rig to fish just a couple of feet off the far bank in nearly 4ft of water, again with a line two the left and right. I fed G/Bait and 4mms across to my right at 12mts and fed the two track lines before starting across infront of me on expander over cad-potted 4mm hard pellet.

I had a good start catch fish between 5-8oz quite regular before they were wiped out in one go when Julian Pinkett next to me netted a fish around 4lb", I spend the first few hours swapping the two lines across to keep trying to add fish to the net, Julian hadn't caught as many fish but he was now sticking it out in the hope of catching some better fish tight over, The last couple of hours were a bit harder as I had to keep changing depth to try & add the odd fish to the net, I did manage a fish of 3lb & another around 3lb but most were 4-8oz, The last hour proved best for Julian as he soon added a few fish to nearly 5lb" I did have a quick look tight over on a new rig but though it best to just plod on catching what I could until the all out in the deeper water across, When the scales arrived 42lb odd was winning the section, I had Julian down to beat me with his bigger late fish but he finished with 41lb odd before I was very surprized to end up winning the section & the day with 52lb odd picking up another £40 as the money is paid the same to first in each section. Another really busy days fishing which I really enjoy, most of my fish came on expander over G/Bait Or over 4mm's with a few dampened micros fed over the top. Glad to be having another go, Like I said most of my fishing will be on my doorstep for the next few months but try & get into a bit more detail when I have chance.