Shiplate Farm Mini Series Round 4, (Hawthorns).

firstly I was expecting to work yesterday but it all changed at the last minute, I made a call to old timer Terry Taylor who was keen to improve his silvers catches on the Main Lake & arranged for him to come with me whilst I had a pleasure session on their, I fed three lines at 13mts, One positive with G/bait, One with Micros & the other with a small ball of bait, I was going to fish the waggler but the light was awkward so started over the small fed line with maggot on the hook, I caught around 4lb of small fish in the first hour before feeding another small amount, & catching a few more smaller skimmers. It took a couple of hours for the other lines to get going but in the end I started catching some bigger skimmers & had a decent Crucian & tench in the mix, I fished for around five hours & was pleased to end up with around 40lb of silvers for a nice days fishing & I'm sure Terry learnt a lot in the process so hopefully it shows when he's next on the lake.

Back to today & after last weeks match on here I fancied drawing either in the middle of the lake or fancied peg 1 which always seems to throw up fish, It wasn't to be though as this went to Rich Hawkins who I was tying at the top of the league with & when I picked out peg 13 I had a gut feeling we were going to have a hard day again up this far end, I had Mark Jones on peg 12 & Julian Pinkett on end peg 15, We all had an empty peg beside us but unfortunately couldn't go much towards peg 14 as the aerator rope went from bank to bank" I had a rig to fish tight across in just over 3ft of water, A rig to fish in 6ft of water at 13mts against the rope which would double up to fish infront the aerator at 10mts, A 0.2g rig to dob bread along the far bank & finally a 4x12 chanti to fish down both edges to my left on my topkit plus two sections & the same off the bank to my right at 5mts just short of the rope. They started by dobbing either side of me but I started on the deck tight over at 14mts with 4mm expander just hoping to put something in the net. Not a sniff' I switched to maggot but still nothing, it was my turn to try & locate so fish dobbing bread along the far bank, I stuck with this for the first hour changing depths & areas but still couldn't by a bite, Mark had a small roach & skimmer But I couldn't see how Julian was getting on? This was grim" I tried the 13mt corn line & infront the aerator but still nothing, After two hours I was still bite less" The lovely wife turned up with a coffee bless her which was very welcome at this stage, I had been feeding small amounts of corn down each edge & decided I had to give it a go, I was just about to give up after 20mins when it shot under' At last after 2hrs & 25mins I had a fish on which turned out to be around 4lb. Nothing followed so it was back to searching around the peg to try & induce a bite, I would like to say it got better as the day went on but it didn't happen, I had one bite across on maggot which I missed & I put that down to a small fish, Pulled out of a decent fish down the edge but did manage two more carp down the edge to my right on corn one around 2lb & a better 6lb fish with ten minutes to go'.

Julian was first to weigh & finished with 11lb odd, My three fish went 13lb odd & Mark finished the day with 10lb so yep it was hard up here, Further down Kurt Pinkett won the section with 32lb but thankfully I picked up second & £30 along the way, It was to close to call in the other section & Rich Hawkins drew with Steve (Peanut) Howell off the next peg both finishing the day with 38lb 14oz, With one round to go next week on the main lake its still close between Rich & myself with just one point between us so much will depend on the draw?, A real gruller today but it happens but at least I came away with a result points wise & all to play for.

Full results -

1st Steve Howell (Shiplate) peg 3, 38lb 14oz.

1st Rich Hawkins (Wormheads) peg 1, 38lb 14oz.

3rd Kurt Pinkett (Wormheads) peg 10, 32lb 4oz.

4th John Hawkins (Wormheads) peg 4, 24lb 12oz.

League -

1st Rich Hawkins 18pts,

2nd Dom Sullivan 17pts,

3rd Julian Pinkett 15pts.               

Shiplate Farm Open (Hawthorns Lake). Sunday.

Back on my doorstep again just for a small open on Hawthorns as were on this lake next week & being its got much colder with the colour dropping out since my last visit I could use the day as a bit of practice, I fancied peg 1 as it always seems to produce a few at this time of the year down to the inside cover but I couldn't of been further away if I tried after drawing early & ending up at the other end peg 15' Again! I had this peg a few weeks ago & struggled for 20lb odd of what I would call smaller resident fish which was a good weight that day at this end & I didn't expect to be much better? Still you never know & conditions seemed ideal as their was no wind & it was relatively mild whilst setting up.

I set up a rig to fish a couple of lines tight across in around 3ft of water being an Drennan AS3 float on 0.15-0.12 floro Carbon & an 16 f1 pellet hook, This is the first time I've really tried these floats & with the tip being plastic they didn't take on water which can happen on some floats & I do like to dot um down". Set up a 4x12 Chanti on 0.15-0.13 to fish away from me down the track at 13mts with corn or 6mm expanders in nearly 6ft of water & the rig would double up to fish down the left hand edge at 5mts which was around the same depth, & finally a rig to fish up to the reeds on the end bank which was around 4ft deep at 10mts, Owe I did set another rig to dob bread across but more of that later.

I started the day feeding some corn down the track & a small amount of pellets & corn to the end bank reeds, I went straight across with 4mm expander feeding a tiny amount of the same with a few micros, I had a bite straight away being a 1lb carp & another 2lb fish soon after, I was a bit reluctant to feed again but after 10mins with no more signs fed another tiny amount, I had a couple of small roach then had an 8oz skimmer so decided to start the other far line with a small amount of corn & hard 4mm's as I had caught well on corn last time I was on this lake, I let it settle & went back on the other line still on expanders & had a couple more skimmers to 12oz but that was it after the first hour, I did contemplate trying the dobbing bread rig but Tom Light next to me had been working his far bank & was yet to catch which told me there didn't appear to be many carp in the area' I had a look down the end bank & across on the corn' line but not a sniff.

I hadn't a cue what was happening further down but owner Steve was paying out the top two & top silvers today so decided my better option seemed to be the silvers, I decided to start another line with a few hard 4mms & a ball of micros down the track at 11mts & started to feed slightly more across to try & draw a few more skimmers . This seemed to work as I would get a couple then the would back off, It was quite enjoyable really & I always had the chance of catching the carp at some point? It wasn't hectic but I was still putting the odd skimmer in the net mostly between 6-12oz I kept trying the other lines & down the edge but nothing on these, I did manage two small carp down the track on corn on the 13mt line later in the day & did manage a few skimmers at 12mts on 6mm expander" but mostly caught across to my left with 4mm expander over 4mm's & Micros, Only a 5 hour match today with the nights drawing in & with only one more small carp across for the rest of the match I hoped I had chose the right target of fish in the end.

I was first to weight & my carp went 13lb 2oz (had 13lb on the clicker" Lol) but more importantly my net of skimmers went 18lb odd for an enjoyable day, Tom had a hard day targeting the carp but only ending with 8lb odd so they weren't at are end then". Back at the hut it turned out the middle of the lake faired best as John Hawkins on peg 7 had 75lb of carp dobbing bread to the far bank so fair play to him ahead of Julian Pinkett next to him who finished with 52lb on the same method, I Made the right choice then as I won the silvers pool getting £32 back so at least a pick-up', pleased with the catch of silvers as not really noted area for skimmers but goes to prove sometimes bites are their to be had.

Full Results -

1st John Hawkins (Wormheads) Peg 7, 75lb 4oz.

2nd Julian Pinkett (Wormheads) peg 9, 52lb 10oz.

3rd Mark Jones (Shiplate Farm) peg 5, 42lb 4oz.

Silvers -

 1st Dom Sullivan (Mosella) peg 15, 18lb 5oz. 

2nd Glyn Wickham (Summerhayes) peg 12, 12lb 4oz.             

Acorn Saturday Series Round 2.

It Seems Ages Ago since we did the first round & it was a darn sight warmer conditions & I certainly didn't expect it to fish as well as the last match, News was 70lb odd won the recent Tuesday open but yesterday most of this area woke to a heavy frost so hoped for a good area' I was first in the bag today but was a bit disappointed to end up on peg 36, Its in the corner facing back towards the entrance, This area had been producing a few fish of late but I've drawn this area before at this time of the year & struggled for a bite but you never know'?

I planned to keep it simple, A 0.2g rig on 0.15-0.11 & an 18 F1 Pellet hook to fish just off the point of the island at 14mts against the shelf in slightly deeper water around 3ft, I did set a rig up to fish in the slightly shallower water across but didn't really expect the fish to be here? A rig to fish down the edge at 9mts to my left in front the dying reeds in 4ft of water & finally a 4x12 Chanti to fish infront the broken pallet of peg 37 at 13mts which was around the same depth with the rig on the same line/hook as across,  I started the day feeding a small amount of 4mms at 9mts with a pinch of corn, A few bits of corn at 13mts to the pallet & started the day across in the shallower water but after 10mts switched to fishing the slightly deeper water across with 4mm expander over tiny amounts of 4mms & G/bait, I did have two carp in the next 30mins just a shame they totalled 1lb", I did foul hook a better fish briefly but then couldn't get a sign here, I spent the first hour on this line even trying maggot on the hook but still couldn't get indications so went down the edge sooner than I would have liked but from what I could see most people were struggling.

Starting at 9mts with corn I was pleased to net a carp within minutes around 2lb & was pleased to get another 3lb fish Five minutes later but that was it from here for now, It was onto the 13mt line again with corn & funnily enough I expected it to go under straight away? I was right' & another 3-4lb fish in the net, For some reason I missed the next couple of bites even though I was fishing just dead depth but after foul hooking & losing a decent fish I put it down to liners rather than bites. This seemed to kill it completely as the next 20mis produced nothing off either edge line. I tried again across but just couldn't get bites, The guy on the bridge peg 40 hadn't caught in the first couple of hours & Brian (Anteater) slipper behind me on peg 33 also next to the bridge had only one small carp so things were hard! I did expect to catch later in the day down the edge even though the wind was straight in my kisser when I fished it'. It didn't happen & the second half of the day was even harder than the first' I managed another Carp off either inside line & lost another fouler & that was it" A real gruller today, But I wasn't the only one' Walshy over on peg 17 never even had a carp" Brian finished with 15lb odd & peg 40 Had 16lb but they weren't in my section, I did the weigh board today as I was last but one to weigh-in, The match was won by Mark Poppleton Guesting today from peg 9 with 59lb & my section was won from behind the shed peg 30 by Andy Gard with 23lb 1oz but I wasn't far off  finishing with 22lb 1oz!. Summing things up I should of took some bread as I may of had a couple dobbing? but I didn't feel like I fished a good match really, My phone died before the start of the day so didn't have a clue all day what the time was which put me off my stride a bit but was happy enough to finish 2nd in the section picking up £40, The next round isn't until mid December so we'll see what that brings.

Full results -

1st Mark Poppleton (Colmic) peg 9, 59lb 8oz.

2nd Mike Owens (Sensas 88) peg 5, 46lb 15oz.

3rd Rich Heatley (Acorn) peg 26, 46lb 14oz.

4th Ray Cooper (Bristol) peg 1, 36lb 7oz.

League to date -

1st Bob Gullit, 2pts.

2nd Mark Broomsgrove, 3pts.

3rd Dom Sullivan, 4pts.           

Shiplate Farm Main Lake Series.

It was certainly a bit chillier in the air when I got up this morning' I arrived in plenty of time to give owner Steve Oliver his breakfast roll enjoying a free brew before the draw, Odiously we all fancied peg 1 or 15 but with peanut present I was sure I could discount one of them!? I dived into the draw quite early with the theory they were their to be drawn' I gingerly open my ticket to find myself on peg 1' Hallelujah" This meant the rest of my section would be on the same bank & although I expected the day to be hard I was confident enough to catch some carp from here. First up I set a bomb rod up to fish different baits across past the point of the island, a 0.2g float on 0.17-0.15 to fish down the edge at 9mts in 3ft of water, a 4x14 float on 0.17-0.13 to fish in the open water at 13mts slightly to my left & would use the same rig to fish back towards the bay on my left but it would mean fishing stood up' A rig to fish back on my inside to the left at 13mts in a couple of feet of water & finally a silvers rig again for the open water  at 12mts infront of me.

I started the day cupping a decent amount of corn on the 13mt open water line, Some micros & 4mms on the silvers line, a same amount of corn & 6mms at 13mts down the left edge & on the shorter right hand margin & began the day on the bomb with 8mm pellet across to the island. I gave it around 20mins after an early liner but no fish followed despite trying other bites, I decided to have a quick look on the 13mts positive corn line, I was surprized when it went straight under & I netted a 3lb carp so at least I was on my way, No more bites here so I decided to switch to fishing 13mts over the bush back in towards the bay on my left just cad potting a few grains of corn with the same on the hook. I added two more decent fish to 10lb in the next 20mins so just after an hour I estimated around 21lb in the net so a good start. I did have a look down the left hand margin but with no signs of fish I would just top it up at times & try it later in the day, No more over the positive fed line at 13mts & I didn't want to try the shorter line for a few hours so stuck to fishing stood up into the bay I did manage another three fish in the next hour again of decent size to 7lb, I couldn't see much being caught & Peanut Howell was struggling on peg 3 for a change & I hadn't seen much caught on are bank or the opposite side for that matter, We did have the wind blowing are direction which was cold' but thankfully it was mostly over my shoulder, it was hard work standing up to fish but it appeared to be where the fish were happy to feed for the time being.

I did try the edge to my left again but still nothing, I gave the bomb another 15mins where I had been pinging a few hard 8mms but no more signs on this either. After around 3 hours I thought I had around 36lb but had only managed a couple of skimmers fishing back towards the bay but after regular small amounts of feed down the shorter edge it was time to give it a try. I started with corn on the hook again as this had already been working & although I had to wait a while I did have a fish over 5lb then nothing. Back to the heavy fed line I had another skimmer, & back into the bay area I managed another 6lb fish before hooking a right munter" I did it best to take me right around the corner with the pole bent double" before I managed to steer it out but it changed direction & made a bee line for peg 15 before snapping the hook-length so I stepped up to 0.15 after this.

The rest of the match was spent rotating swims just to try & induce a bite, I never tried the silvers fed line as I didn't see the point as the sections are paid on weight with no separate payout. With just under an hour to go I managed two fish on the short edge line in two dob-ins which pushed 20b between them' I managed a smaller fish from the stood up' line & lost one from the short edge a few min's from the end but made up for it with a decent fish just before the whistle. From what I could see the lake had fished hard for most, I reckoned on having around 70lb but didn't use the clicker today, When the scales arrived as I was last to weigh the top weight was 26lb odd so I new it was safe for a win & section then' I was surprized to total 86lb including the biggest fish so far of the series being 10lb 10oz which could be worth a few quid if it stays that way with two rounds to go, I had the bonus of another £40 back for winning the section which see's Rich Hawkins & Myself at the top after three rounds both on 13pts but I have the weight advantage of 170lb - 130lb so far. Back on Hawthorns for the next round in two weeks so all to play for. Another enjoyable days fishing, It wasn't easy standing to catch the bulk of my fish but with small amounts of feed it worked in my favour & a good weekend all round.

Full results -

1st Dom Sullivan (Mosella) peg 1, 86lb 1oz.

2nd Russ Pecker (Thatchers Tackle) peg 12, 26lb.

3rd Rich Hawkins (Wormheads) peg 13, 23lb 10oz.

4th John Hawkins (Wormheads) peg 14, 19lb 6oz.                   

Johno's Knock-up Shiplate (Squirl Pool).

These little knock-ups have rolled on a bit this year, Just a fun day out with lots of banter between a few mates but still serious enough to try & get a few quid back' As normal Johno Jones left it down to me to sort the pegging ect so with the forecast of rain I pegged us all on the straight with the wind off are backs, Obviously either end peg would be a bonus' Good mate & teen age drinking buddy Darren Big Bird did turn up after dropping out yesterday & I bet he was glad he did as he drew end peg 2 with peg 3 being empty with one no show, Surprize Surprize Resident Peanut Howell drew the other end peg 10 (He's Always On an end peg!) This lad should seriously enter some big matches with the way he draws" Owe I forgot, You don't drive so perhaps not..

Just two rigs assembled today, One for fishing across to the far side at 11mts a couple of feet off the far side which is quite uneven but I found a couple of flattish areas around 3ft deep being an 4x10 F1 pellet float on 0.15-0.11 & an 16 F1 pellet hook, The other being a slightly bigger 4x12 rig on the same line/hook to fish at 8mts down the track in 4ft or so of water.

I began the day feeding some groundbait & hard 4mms down the track feed and area to the right across with a few hard 4mms & a small nugget of groundbait & started infront of me with 4mm expander over cad potted micros & a few 4mms, Most of the fish in this lake are small carp to a 1lb or so & a mix of small goldfish & Fantails although their are so bonus fish over 5lb if your lucky enough to get them!. I soon started to get a few indications But only from tiny carp & a few fairground fish' Johno next me had started short but hadn't caught but peanut on the other hand had started ok with a few carp to 2lb. I was catching odd fish but nothing of any size, from those I could see below me most were struggling after the first hour, After around 90mins Peanut made it worse, Not only was he catching something most put-ins across after losing a decent fish in some snag down his edge he went straight back out & landed a 5lb fish followed by a 3lb fish the next dob-in" It was a case of plugging away hoping things would get better.

Finally I had a fish around 3lb but most fish were only small, By the halfway point I had caught fish on & off but new I was around 15-20lb behind peanut & I had heard Birdy was doing ok on the other end, I felt fish were coming into the peg when I fed a few pellets but didn't really want much feed, I decided to switch to feeding just small nuggets of wetted down G/bait, This seemed to work as going into the last couple of hours I began to get a lot more indications, I started to get a run of carp with a few over the 1lb mark & even the odd fish to 2lb but was having a good run of the small samples in between, Thankfully peanuts peg had slowed right down until out of the blue he catches another fish around 3lb".

Going into the last hour I was really motoring feeding every put-in with nuggets & topping up with a few pellets when things slowed up, The last 15mins things slowed up but I did add a couple of fish to 2lb late in the day before the all-out.

It was going to be a closer call than it looked between us come the end of the day but I still though peanut had done enough. He was first to weigh & had 19lb of bits in his first net before adding 27lb of better stamp fish for 47lb odd, I thought they would swing it in his favour, I weighted in what I had caught in the last two hours first which went 24lb odd which I was surprised with before my second net went 26lb odd finishing the day with 51lb so that was a good battle between us'. Johno struggled for 7lb odd but still bet his buddy mick so loads of banter their, The next best weight was Birdy on the end with 33lb so in the end it turned out in my favour picking up £50 along the way' Back tomorrow for the mini series on the main lake but looking at the forecast I expect things to be harder?

Results -

1st Dom Sullivan (Mosella) peg 9, 51lb 1oz.

2nd Steve Peanut Howell, (Shiplate) peg 10, 47lb 4oz.

3rd Darren Bigbird Greenwood (Spandex) peg 2, 33lb 12oz.

4th Andy Light (Shipate) peg 5, 22lb 5oz.            

Shipate Farm (Westpool Lake).

After working overtime yesterday I was looking forward to a days fishing' It was a bit chilly when we arrived but at least it was dry & after walking the kit around before the draw the whole lake seemed sheltered from the wind, I was desperate to have a change of scenery as the last four times I've fished this lake I've drawn peg 4" in which is the narrower bit, Even the Wife refused to draw for me today encase she picked it' So left to me owner Steve informed me it wasn't in today just pegs 1, 3 & 5' so what do I draw' peg bloody 3! Owe well, Not to see the wider part again then".

It was 13mts to the far side so a comfy days fishing at least as I felt with it now being a bit cooler this is where most fish would be? I plummed up a couple of lines just short of the far side in around 3ft of water, Had a 4x12 chanti to fish in the open water left & right at 11mts again where I found the same depth around 4ft which I would feed differently & that was it really as I didn't have an inside as such just open water but a bit shallow I thought, I did set up a 0.2g rig to fish bread (Dobbing) if I couldn't get bites but it still seemed to have a fair bit of colour to the water so hopefully I could catch on the deck across.

I started the day feeding the 11mts lines, Left with corn & right with some micros & damp 4mm's fed a small amount of corn & 4mms across to my right & started the day across infront of me with 4mm expander over tiny amounts of micro's & the odd 4mm hard pellet, I was quite surprized to get indications after a couple of minutes & started to put small carp from 1-2lb in the net, In the first hour I thought I had around 20lb of carp & a few skimmers, Things slowed a bit so I tried the other lines quickly but no early signs so stayed back on the far line where I was still getting the odd fish, I had to start working the rig up the shelf to get bites, if  I left it on the deck I struggled for bites, I caught a couple of fish a couple of inches of the deck but most bite were just as the rig settled on the shelf.

After three hours things had slowed up but I thought I had close to 48lb, After this I really had to work hard for bites, I started a couple more lines across searching for bites but this only produced a fish off each line through the rest of the match, I never had a bite on the small fed corn/pellet line across, but did catch two skimmers in two dob-ins on the 11mt corn line then never had another bite on it!, & the other 11mt line failed to produce a bite all day", I spent the remainder of the day mostly across still with expander & feeding with the cad-pot small amounts, It seemed best in the end to get the rig just touching the deck the feeding & waiting for bites, It turned out to be a lot slower & I really had to wait for bites but still recon on adding another 34lb of carp & some more skimmers before the all out so had a nice days fishing.

When the scales arrived Mark Jones was leading the way with 116lb from peg 10, I knew I had nowhere near that but was pleased to finish with 78lb odd of carp & 8lb of skimmers for 86lb. Back at the results & Mark won the day mostly catching across on corn & a few fish down the edge on maggot over micros later in the day, My weight turned out to be enough for 2nd picking up £35 as Steve paid two out in the silvers again today but at least its something back & the peg produced much more than I anticipated so another enjoyable match.

Results -

1st Mark Jones (Shiplate) peg 10, 116lb 13oz.

2nd Dom Sullivan (Mosella) peg 3, 86lb 7oz.

3rd Julian Pinkett (Wormheads) peg 12, 81lb 8oz.

4th Kurt Pinkett (Wormheads) peg 7, 33lb 12oz.

Silvers -

1st Ray Wickham (Summerhayes) peg 1, 18lb 2oz.

2nd Glyn Wickham (Summerhayes) peg 13, 16lb 4oz.