Viaduct Fishery Open (Cambell Lake).

I decided at the last minute to make a trip for todays match, The end pegs at the car park end of the lake had been dominating the last few match mainly pegs 110 & 132 although on yesterdays results here peg 110 tipped back just two carp & most of the fish had seemed to move slightly further up on the opposite bank, It was much milder than of late with quite a brisk wind to start with blowing up towards peg 119, Not a bad turnout with 16 fishing so I let the usual few take their pick before having ago & was amazed when I saw peg 110 in my mitt!"

Although the guy didn't catch much here yesterday I was certainly in the right area & looking forward to targeting just carp today" Plenty of time to set up but kept it simple, A bomb rod to fish in the open water & down towards the pallet on the end peg which had been doing some damage here of late with the best bait proving to be meat but had some bread just encase, A waggler to fish all depths but its not deep here with the best depth around 4ft again in the open water & end bank & finally just one pole rig to fish in the open water to my left at 16mts being a 0.2 float on 0.15-0.13 & an 16 F1 maggot hook, This rig would double up to fish down the edge into towards the end corner of the lake at the same distance where it was only inches different, Let the onslaught begin"..

I was a bit concerned not to see any signs of fish towards the end bank whilst setting up but there were fish showing in the open water directly infront of me' The only issue was they were further across than I was allowed to chuck! They have fins though & on the all-in went straight out on the bomb with 8mm meat on the hook dropping short to start with to try & get an early fish, Nothing here so went slightly further this time with double 6mm meat on the hair, Bingo' twenty minutes in & 6lb in the net, I had good company with Richard A'Herne next to me on peg 111 who had started with the waggler & meat & lost a couple of foul hooked fish but after my first pull round the next 45mins fishless, I had been pinging the odd cube of meat down the edge & on the 16mt pole line so decided to have a quick look as the chap opposite me had already netted a few where the continued to show'. Nothing to show in the open water but first drop-in down the edge I missed a bite", Back in again & soon after had another fish in the net around 4lb then nothing so left it & tried the bomb again. Nothing in the open water so started to have a go near the end bank, I had a fish within seconds around 7lb but again nothing followed, The lad on the opposite bank was still catching well but just the other odd fish were being caught, Around halfway through Rich had switched to his silvers line after a couple of early carp on the wagg, I was struggling to get indications, I went back down the edge & had another fish but then couldn't get the rig to settle? I soon found out why after latching into a big branch which then shed the hook right where I was getting indications!" Ho Hum.. I switched to fishing the waggler, First in the open water but it was a nightmare to try & see it so began to fish it along the end bank but the casting was a bit awkward, I did snare another quick fish again with meat on a hair but they didn't appear to be here in numbers as again nothing followed, I did manage one more down the edge more by fluke as I spent far to long trying to get the rig to work without hooking up, The last hour or so proved worth while for Richard as after struggling for silvers switched back to the wagg & meat & took around half a dozen better size carp which would win him the section at least, I finished the day with seven carp & was first to weigh finishing with 46lb odd but fair play to Richard who went on to finish with 77lb odd after going slightly over in his net, which won him the section as Charlie Dalton opposite me finished with 122lb odd to easily win the day so well done to him, catching all his fish on the bomb, His side of the lake" Lol. As far as the silvers went regular Paul Greenwood took 16lb odd off of peg 116 mainly skimmers on the caster,

Learnt a bit more today which is always a good sign, maybe I should have stuck to the open water bomb/wagg line a bit more as I may have had some here late but the fish didn't see to like the scent of my plumrose today".

Happy new year to Steve Helen & Matt who do a stern job at the helm & are always happy to help.

Full Results -

1st Charlie Dalton (Gold Valley) peg 131, 122lb 2oz

2nd Richard A'Herne  (Frennze) peg 111 77lb 10oz.

3rd Jebb Attwood (Gold Valley) peg 119, 48lb 10oz.

4th Dom Sullivan (Mosella) peg 110, 46lb 14oz.

5th Clive Barrow (Southampton) peg 132, 44lb 1oz.

6th Steve Denmead (Keyfords) peg 130, 34lb 9oz.

Silvers -

1st Paul Greenwood (Bait-Tech Viaduct) peg 115, 16lb 1oz.

2nd Steve Axles (Frennze) peg 126, 9lb 5oz.          

Summerhayes Fishery (Longs Lake) Silvers Only.

Making the most of my time off over the festive period I decided to make a trip to Summerhayes as they now run silvers only matches on Fridays & if your fortunate enough to win on the day you go through to a Silvers Final  held at the end of March, Its run on the format that every angler pays a extra £1 on each open which goes in the final kitty & along with the pools on finals day makes for good payouts, It was lashing it down with rain whilst heading down this morning but appeared to clearing up when I arrived but their was a strong wind blowing & most were favouring a draw on the road bank with the worst of the wind of their backs, The match was run in a rover format & I had second choice but didn't chose the road bank instead I went for the top corner as you drive in peg 39 to most's suprize' I felt I might have a few fish down the edge to the dead reeds but had the option of fishing the open water towards peg 1 & across to the island infront of me at 13mts, I set up a 4x12 chanti on 0.13-0.10 & an 18 PR412 for down the deep edge around 3-4ft, Set up a 4x12 malman on the same line to an 18 F1 pellet hook to fish the bottom of the far shelf at 12mts to the island & a swim in the open water the same distance as both were the same depth around 4ft.

I started the day feeding three balls of G/bait in the open water with just a pinch of dead reds & casters added, feed one small ball with some dead pinkees added at the bottom of the far shelf & a small amount of micro of the point off the island, I went straight down the edge with cast on the hook feeding just a few of the same but after 15mins without any signs I went across on pinkee to the bottom of the far shelf expecting bites even from tiny roach but nothing' I had Mark Lehay next to me who was hoping for a better day after fishing with his wind in his face at Shiplate on Weds but already we were getting buffered around by the wind & now it had started to rain again' After 30mis of trying across even having a look over the micro fed line with small expander on the hook I still couldn't get a bite, It was time to try the positive fed line starting with dead red maggot on the hook, I was surprized to get a bite straight away which turned out to be a 4oz skimmer so at least I had caught" Terry Taylor came down to watch me for a few hours but I didn't have much to show him really' The wind was playing havoc & I was having real difficulty seeing the float, I switched to fishing the lighter Chanti rig over the top on a longer line which got me two more small skimmers in the next hour along with a small roach but it seemed every time I had a fish I had to re-feed a nugget of G/bait & leave it, I did eventually get a bite at the bottom of the far shelf netting a skimmer around 6oz but nothing followed.

I fed two new lines, One at 12mts back in to the slack water to my left & at the same angle across to the far bank reeds at 14mts with a handful of casters, This did get me two fish after I had left it to settle for 20mis but both were carp!" It was a real gruller to say the least & at the halfway point I estimated around 1lb in the net but Mark & Jeff Sparks around from him on peg 35 were yet to catch so I wasn't doing that bad by the look of it".

With a couple of hours to go Mark had had enough & started to pack up & just to make things worse as he was doing so one almighty gust from nowhere deposited two trays of mate up rigs into the lake which opened in the process & sinking out of sight!" Poor Mark lucks not with him at the moment..'

It was a case of switching lines constantly looking for bites, I couldn't get a sniff back in the calmer water to my left or down the edge even on maggot or pinkee, when I had indications they were on the open water line but they were few & far between, I managed a couple more hand size skimmers mainly on single maggot but did get one on the caster, I managed two more skimmers at the bottom of the far shelf late in the day again on maggot, A couple of roach in the open water & in the dying seconds hooked a better skimmer which I landed after the whistle around 10oz'. It had been a hard day, Mark & Rob Birch had called it a day & Jeff packed in before the end with just a small roach & a Blade skimmer.

I was first to weigh & thought I may have around 2lb which turned out to be 2lb 14oz, I had heard most had struggled for bites but apparently Bruce Hunt had around sixty small roach but how small? I didn't follow the scales choosing to get the kit back in the van before it rained again so met up back at the hut. I was surprised to here Bruce's roach net went 2lb 10oz & Apart from this the next best weight was 1lb odd so the hard days fishing had paid off" £57 in the pocket & a place in the silvers final" Result Lol. oddly even though it was rock hard having faith paid off for the extra few fish I caught & I did quite enjoy it', A free brew with Owner Pete & the guys after was very welcome though!

Full Results -

1st Dom Sullivan (Mosella) Peg 39, 2lb 14oz.

2nd Bruce Hunt (Tiverton) peg 31, 2lb 10oz.

3rd Gary Butler (Summerhayes) peg 17, 1lb 13oz.

4th Pete Curnow (Summerhayes) peg 29, 1lb 8oz.

Full

\             

Shipate Farm (Main Lake) Silvers Only.

Another match I was running over the festive period only this time it was a silvers only affair, We had had a torrent of rain in the last 24hrs & owner Steve informed me that so much water had gone into the lakes some pegs had water pushing up over the top so when I had a look at a few pegs in the lower numbers I decided to give the anglers the option of moving a swim to the A'peg numbers, Their were thirteen of us fishing as we had one pull out with the lurgy last night & Terry Taylor couldn't get his car started this morning so had to give it a miss, I pegged a section of six on the near bank & the remaining section on the far bank which was always going to be more favourable in the conditions as there was quite a stiff breeze from the north west pushing down the lake.

Into the draw & thankfully I had drawn the far side peg 11, Now Steve had warned me their may be some access water in pegs 10 or 11 but I hadn't bothered to check before the start, I wasn't quite expecting to see my swim totally joining up with Westpool Lake behind me though!" Lol, I had a small area where I could assemble my kit before paddling in on my heels as I only had hiking boots on & was doing my best to avoid a boot full of water".

Plumbing up I had around 5ft of water at 13mts so set up two 4x14 Wire wonder floats on 0.13-0.10 line, One with an 18 F1 Pellet hook to fish on a double bulk set up & the other with an 18PR 412 hook with a small bulk & a few droppers to fish near to dead depth, apart from this all I set up was a 4x12 Chanti on a strung out rig to fish around 6mts over loose fed casters & a small groundbait feeder to fish off the end of the island in the deeper water. For company I had Gordon (Golly) Jones on peg 10 who had some water to contend with but at least he had welly's, & Julian Pinkett on peg 12 but that's the only ones I could see on are bank but I did pity those opposite us as it looked cold in the wind'. I started the day feeding a positive line to the left at 13mts with four balls of G/Bait containing some casters & dead red maggot, Fed One Ball With Pinkees the same distance infront of me & a good helping of damp micros to my right again at 13mts.

I decided to start on the feeder with dead reds on the hook but nothing in the mix to start with, I was a bit surprized to have a bite after five minutes & netted a 5oz skimmer but it was a bit of a false dawn as I gave it another 40mins managing just one small roach, It was time to try the pole lines so I started on the negative line with dead pinkee on the hook & managed a couple of blip roach before switching to caster on the hook, This got me a better 3oz roach & a 5oz skimmer before bumping a fish which seemed to kill it dead, I had a look on the positive line for 20mins but never had an indication despite trying different baits on the hook, I had a look on 4mm expander over the micro fed line but not a sniff here either. Back on the negative fed line & I managed a few more small roach but couldn't temp any skimmers, I fed another ball & had another look on the feeder which resulted in another 5oz skimmer quite quickly the nothing again.

This was hard going but I couldn't see anybody catching much, I decided to ditch feeding micros & Instead fed a ball of G/Bait containing a good amount of dead red maggots on the same line, I let it settle then trying the negative line again which produced a couple of small skimmers but they wouldn't settle in the swim, The positive line was still to produce anything but when I went back over the dead maggot fed line with single maggot on the hook I did begin to catch small roach quite regular, They were only small but at least something was going in the net, After a few minutes it went a bit quite before I bumped a better fish then I couldn't get a bit again' I fed another ball of the same & Tried the other lines but they just didn't produce, I spent the rest of the day mainly on the maggot line adding odd small roach but never had a fish off the positive fed line all match' I did keep trying the feeder which did produce a couple more small skimmers but I really had to wait for indications, The pole lines completely died come the end so I decided to fish the feeder for the last 30mins of the match, I thought I had made the right choice after netting a 12oz fish with 20mins to go but only had one small roach after a few minutes from the end, Golly had been catching quite well in the last few hours on his pole lines mainly small roach but he also netted a couple of skimmers so I thought it would be close, He was admitting to 6b but I didn't think I had that much? Thankfully Owner Steve & his side kick Roy turned up at the end to do the scales for me which would be a big help after having to wade my kit back to the dry bit! When they arrived the top weight was 10lb odd from Mark Jones on peg 14 which was good on the day considering all the extra water in the lake, Julian next to me had 4lb 15oz before my fish went 6lb 3oz, Onto Golly & it was close as he ended up with 5lb odd but I didn't know what had been caught on the opposite bank?.

Back at the hut for a welcome cuppa before the results it turned out Marks weight of 10lb odd was enough to take the win on a hard day so well done to him, Next up was Glyn Wickham from end peg 15 with 8lb odd & I had a result as my weight was enough for third on the day picking up £35 along the way, Even though the lake had fished well below par due to the conditions it turned out the weights were very close come the end & just odd fish made all the difference, It was hard work & surprized I didn't catch late in the day on the positive fed pole line but that's fishing' got a couple more matches planned before we see in the new year when I will also get around to doing the end of year summery.

Full results -

1st Mark Jones (Shiplate Farm) peg 14, 10lb 6oz.

2nd Glyn Wickham (Summerhayes) Peg 14, 8lb 2oz.

3rd Dom Sullivan (Mosella) peg 11, 6lb 3oz.

4th Steve Jackson (Garbolino) peg 4a , 5lb 14oz.

5th Golly Jones (Shiplate Farm) peg 10, 5lb 9oz.

        

Shiplate Farm Open (Westpool)

I had a few people ask if anything was on Xmas eve so ran an open on Wespool lake, It turned out their was only seven of us due to most having commitments for the festive season, I decided to space us all out which meant putting one swim in what I still call the narrows but to be honest I was still hoping to avoid it'

I soon got the draw underway allowing someone to take one off the table for me, Yep it had to happen' Peg 3..!"

Owe well seems I'm back on my normal home on this lake having drawn it countless times, I did ok off it a while back catching a lot of the newer stocked smaller carp but it was a darn sight colder now & Steve peanut Howell struggled of it in last weeks Xmas match so wasn't to optimistic again' I wont bore you with the details but started the day dobbing bread along the far bank but after 20mins all I had were two blip roach & a pasty carp hooked in the top fin" Already I could see some splashing further down on the more fancied area so made an attempt to switch to catching some silvers in the hope of a pick-up, I spent the day fishing casters short & fed two lines at 13mts left & right with G/bait & Pinkee & the other with G/bait & Casters, I didn't have a fish off the 13mt caster line back towards peg 1 but did end up catching a few 8-10oz skimmers on pinkee of the other 13mt line but they were few & far between & I ended up catching more pasty carp here than silvers" I did have a few roach short on the same rig but would of been better of with a lighter rig but to be honest I was always playing catch up with Mark Thorn on peg 6 in the wider water would was also targeting silvers. Come the end I called it a day with 30mins to go ready in plenty of time to do the weigh-in. The day was won by Mark Jones who just so happened to have the last peg on the table which turned out to be peg 15" with 64lb & John Page close by on peg 12 was 2nd with 58lb, Mark Thorn went on to win the silvers with 12lb odd & I did end up weighing for the sake of it but only had 12lb of carp & 8lb odd of silvers but at least I had mustered a few bites for this time of the year, Well that's it as far as matches go this side of Christmas but my next port of call is another open I'm running on the main lake of this fishery this coming Weds which is a silvers only affair which is limited to sixteen of us to hopefully give us all a bit of room & a few bites".

Overall Results -

1st Mark Thorn (Shiplate Farm) peg 15, 64lb 4oz.

2nd John Page (Thyers Tackle) peg 12, 58lb 4oz.

Silvers -

1st Mark Thorn (The Sedges) peg 6, 12lb 2oz.          

Viaduct Fishery (Xmas Match) All Lakes.

Missed out on something to eat this morning as the burger van wasn't in the Bridgwater layby as I expected so not a good start, Arrived in plenty of time & Had a quick look on Cambell Lake 110 in the corner which has won the last few matches & it seemed their were still fish in the area as three topped whilst I was stood there' Wishful thinking I would draw this then'? A cracking turn-out with 97 fishing & I still managed to be close to the front come draw time. Opened it to find myself on peg 47 Match lake which happens to be the top end of it facing back down the lake with the end of the island to chuck to this lake is well stocked with carp & silvers as well as F1's which still seem to show in the colder weather so I did expect a few bites.

Plumbing up the best depth I had was only around 3ft & with the water being clear I had a 0.2g rig on 0.15-0.13 & a 16 f1 pellet hook to fish at 16mts & set up another identical float on o.13-0.11 & an 18 f1 Pellet hook to fish at 13mts to target silvers if need be. I set up a small bomb to fish over to the island as well as a small waggler. On the all-in I feed just a few cubes of meat at 16mts, two loose pots of G/Bait with casters & pinkies added at 13mts & started on the bomb & punched bread as close to the island I could get, I gave it 15mins but switched to the waggler & pinkee after no early signs, 10mins late I had an F1 around 2lb but only two small roach in the next 20mins, I had Paul Greenwood next to me on peg 46 & with no island chuck he had decided too target silvers from the off & was already putting a few skimmers & roach in his net, I had been pinging the odd 6mm cube of meat at 16mts so it was time to give it a try.

With a single cube on the hook it took me around 10mins to get an indication which turned out to be a decent skimmer around 2lb. Then I couldn't get another bite so after another 20mins I decided to have a look on the 13mt line with double dead red maggot on the hook, I had another skimmer over a 1lb straight away then a few hand size fish before it died so topped it up with another ball & went back on the wagg to the island, Well, Briefly, After a few minutes of casting I hooked a branch I couldn't see hanging off the trees on the island & lost the lot! so soon chucked the bomb back out instead this time with meat on the hook. another 30mins & still no signs of fish close to the island which was odd & didn't fill me with confidence'. back on the 16mts line again on meat & I missed a bite straight away then nothing so decided to feed another line the same distance to my right with a few cubes of meet & a few casters, This did catch me one fish through the day which was a 1lb plus hybrid but that was it, I took another 2lb plus skimmer at 13mts again on maggot but bites were hard to come by, I did manage to catch a decent carp on the original 16mt line with a couple more F1's & did eventually catch a fish on the bomb & meat to the island which again was a better carp but that was it" I had a late F1 at 16mts, Lost a decent carp which was foul hooked & missed a couple of late bites but that was it. Come the end of the match I wished I had targeted silvers for the whole match but had convinced myself I would have caught well off the island but it wasn't to be, Paul Had made the right choice as he managed to put some silvers in the net for most of the day & even had a 2lb plus skimmer down the edge late in the day, When the scales arrived Andy Gard on the other side of me weighed 23lb odd, My nets went 25lb odd before Paul finished with 22lb of silvers & a bonus 6lb carp so well done to him for making the better choice on the day, My lake was won by Nick Chedzoy with 53lb odd mainly on the long pole with meat. Back at the results & it turned out the opposite end peg to peg 110, Peg 132 was best on the day with young Andy Cranston won the match catching on the bomb & meat to the end bank to finish with 95lb so well done to him & to Paul who went on to win the silvers pool with his 22lb. A well run match by Steve, Helen & son Matt who made sure we all had a free beer & Mince pies afterwards as well as a prize for all those who took part so a big thanks their & was happy to walk off with a crate of Carling for the xmas period' I'm running a knock-up tomorrow on westpool lake at Shiplate so one more match before the Christmas onslaught.

Full results -

1st Andy Cranston (Thatchers P.I) peg 132 Cambell,  95lb.

2nd Bob Gullick (Mosella) peg 73 Lodge, 85lb 2oz.

3rd Dan Squires (Sensas) peg7 Spring, 69lb 2oz.

4th Matt Parsons (Parsigns) peg 4 Spring, 57lb 8oz.

5th Nick Chedzoy (Thatchers P.I) peg 44 Match, 53lb 5oz.

6th Richard Adherne (Frenzee) peg 99 Cary, 52lb 11oz.

Silvers -

1st Paul Greenwood (Viaduct) peg 45 Match, 22b 12oz.

2nd Nick Ewers (Thatchers P.I) peg 68 Lodge, 20lb 3oz.

3rd Stu White (Wiltshire Angling) Peg 19 Spring, 20lb 2oz. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shiplate Farm Xmas Match (Hawthorns, Westpool & Main Lakes.

That time of year again when we all seem to come out the wood work in the chance of going home with a box of chocolates if nothing else' Glad to see the conditions were a bit milder today although it wouldn't improve water temperatures so it could be hard for some? A good turn out with 36 fishing so the match would be spread over the three lakes with payouts for each sections & silvers wise & the top three overall on the day, Obviously we all fancied pegs 1 or 15 on the main lake which are normally the hot spots but we would see' Into the draw & I was quite happy to end up on peg 15 Westpool & being the end peg did fancy to catch something at least? I drew this peg when I first fished this fishery years ago but have been nowhere near ever since so was looking forward to the day.

I looked at the clarity of the water when I arrived at the peg & with it being quite clear it looked ideal for bread fishing so that would be my main approach. I set a rig to fish tight at 14mts over being 0.2g float on 0.15-013 & a 16 808 hook where I found nearly 3ft of water, This rig would double up to also fish down my left hand edge from 10-14mts, set up A 4x12 malman on 0.15-0.11 & an 18F1 Pellet hook to fish in the deeper water at the bottom of the far shelf at 13mts if needed & a 4x12 Chanti to fish corn down the edge on the deck in 4ft of water.

I started the match feeding a small ball of G/bait & a few red maggots at 13mts at the bottom of the shelf, Fed a few Micros & dead reds of to my right at 14mts tight over, A small amount of corn down the edge at 10mts close to the bank & began the day on punched bread tight across at 14mts infront of me with the rig set to fish a few inches off the deck. I had more in the first minute than I had all day yest when I netted a 1lb plus carp, I had one slightly bigger straight after which soon saw good mate Russ Pecker follow suit next to me on peg 13, I had to weight a bit before having another fish but it was worth it as 10mins later I netted a fish near 7lb' Russ was also soon into fish but they appeared to be the smaller stamp to start with, In the first hour I reckoned on having around 21lb so was well on my way. The next hour was quite steady adding a few more to 5lb after playing around with the depth & at the halfway point I thought I had around 45lb? before I started to suffer with foul hookers & began to lose a few in the process,  The wheels began to fall of slightly & it didn't help when I saw Russ still adding fish to his nets, The wife Had got me a bargain loaf of bread which I normally use but it turned out to be stale & getting it to stay on the hook was a nightmare & at times it wouldn't even sink after shipping all the way across!.

 After wasting around 40 mins' I reverted back to fishing with the bait just touching the deck but switched to fishing double punched bread on the hook & pushed the rig tight to the bank, This seemed to work & although I had to wait for bites the fish were of good size & I seemed to be clawing back to Russ, through the day I did try down the edge on corn but didn't get a bite on it, I took three 3lb odd carp down the edge on the shallower bread rig in the space of 15mins all in different areas then nothing so spent the last 90mins switching between the edge & across which seemed best, It did slow down quite a lot in the last hour but I knew come the end it was still going to be close between Russ & Myself but I didn't know how the other lakes had faired? I was first to weigh & was surprized the net I had used in the second half of the day went 42lb odd as I had only estimated my first net would be 45lb? Nope that went 66lb odd" Lol so I finished the day with a total of 107lb odd for a really enjoyable days fishing, Onto Russ & after a few weighs he under estimated & had 5lb docked for going over in his first net but it wouldn't have made a difference as he finished with 98lb odd so a good battle between us & enjoyable (Thanks Mate") Back at the results & The Main Lake had Fished harder today with mark jones winning the lake from peg 1 with 50lb odd & On Hawthorns fancied peg 1 came out on top with 74lb odd which meant I had won the day so even better" A nice pick-up of £75 followed & Fair play to Owners Steve & Carol as after the result Steve put all are names into the bucket then drew them out ensuring everyone went home with a prize, luckily my name was draw quite early so still went home with the Jack Daniels I had my eye on"!, Lucky today to have a nice draw after yesterdays slip-up but you still gota catch um' Not really done much of this bread dobbing' so to speak but ensuring depths kept changing I kept bites coming & a cheap day at that' I'm sure if I hadn't had a mare with the drying bread I would of had even more but that was my fault & lesson learnt, Well done to all those who took part & to Steve & Carol for supplying after match rolls & mince pies all round'.

Full results -

1st Dom Sullivan (Mosella) peg 15 Westpool, 107lb 4oz.

2nd Russ Pecker (Thatchers Tackle) peg 13 Westpool, 98lb 4oz.

3rd Nigel Wickham (Summerhayes) peg 1 Hawthorns, 73lb 12oz.

4th Julian Pinkett (Wormheads) peg 11 Hawthorns, 64lb 4oz.

Silvers -

Hawthorns 1st Ray Wickham (Summerhayes) 3lb 6oz.

Main lake 1st Mark Thorn (The Sedges) 15lb 15oz.

Westpool 1st John Dursley (Enterprise Angling) 9lb 12oz.            

Acorn Saturday Series Rd 3. (Paddock Lake).

I had a feeling today was going to be hard when I woke to a frost this morning & the grass was still white when we arrived at the fishery & after meeting Bobby G & Tom Cassidy at the grub van by Asda in Clevedon for a decent breakfast roll beforehand. Into the draw & I was disappointed to end up on peg 19 which is a few pegs down from the bridge on the longer straight section, Its only around 13mts wide here & with the pegs in my section below me being in the wider water, & the rest on the far bank at the top end of the lake I thought I was going to struggle to compete today? Mark Walsh drew this in the first round & D.N.W after one small fish so I wasn't to optimistic" I'm not going to bother with explaining rigs ect as I didn't catch much! I started the day across dobbing bread to start against the grassed areas but not a sign of fish, switched to fishing maggot in the deeper water around 3-4ft after Matt Roden on peg 17 hooked & landed a carp but still nothing" Had a go down the track with bread, Same result'. For over three hours I tried just about everything I could think of & Baits for that matter but not so much as an indication on the float even to tell me their were fish present? I Had to go for a wander whilst enjoying the rest of my breakfast roll' I went up to bobby on peg 26 who had a few fish along the end bank on maggot but he did have a bit of room as the pegs either side were 22 & 31" Back at my peg & I had an indication as soon as I went back on the deeper shelf again on maggot but it turned out to be a foul hooked carp in the side of the face which shed the hook at the net!" Owe what a day this was turning out to be...

I Never had another indication on this line even starting new swims further along the shelf, I wasn't going to give up though' I had tried the shallower water infront the reeds on the far bank all day but after trying it again with 45mins to go I had a bite' It turned out to be a 1oz roach but at least I hadn't blanked! I just could not catch a carp anywhere, I had a bigger 3oz" roach with 15mins to go & that was it! A really bad day for me & last in the section so hopefully this will be my dropped result come the end"? Matt on peg 17 took 7lb of skimmers on maggot to go with his 6lb carp & Below him Mark Broomsgrove weighed 8lb odd but the other pegs in are section on the far bank faired better as Walshy won it from peg 31 with 51lb odd. Their were a few fish caught on odd pegs but not for me today but that's winter fishing" Glen Calvert did well off peg 40 fishing bread down the track to win the day so well done to him. Bobby G is well on the way to winning this league already after his 3rd section win but close for the rest of us. Off to Shiplate Farm for the Xmas match Tomorrow so hoping for a better day.

Full results -

1st Glen Calvert (Maver Cadbury Angling) peg 40,  57lb.

2nd Mark Walsh (Acorn) peg 31, 51lb 15oz.

3rd Bob Gullit (Mosella) peg 26, 51lb 14oz.

4th Keith Ray (Acorn) Peg 11, 48lb

League To Date,

1st Bob Gullit 18pts.

2nd Mark Broomsgrove , Ray Cooper 14pts.

4th Tom Cassidy 13pts.

5th Dom Sullivan , Glen Calvert  12pts.       

Viaduct Silvers League (Final Round).

I opted to fill in for Sam Powell for this final round of the popular silvers league held over Cambell, Cary & Lodge Lakes but when I arrived I was having second thoughts as it was lashing down & blowing a gale already & the forecast was for worse winds to come" I left the kit in the van until the draw as I had already made up my mind if I was unfortunate enough to draw with it in my kisser then I would turn around & go home? I was around halfway in the draw queue just behind Steve Jackson who was hoping for a section win today in the attempt to catch Craig Trigger Edmunds at the top of the table, Jacko drew peg 131 on the far side of Cambell with the wind off his back then I went & pulled out peg 130 next to him" With the wind in are favour I had to give it a go just to see if I could upset Jacko's Plan's..

When we arrived at are pegs the wind was now gusting to 60mph plus" & I really felt for the guys opposite with it smack in their kisser even when they were attempting to set up their was kit flying everywhere!" Even owner Steve had to come out with a chain saw after a tree toppled over in the car park luckily missing the vehicle's". It was going to be quite a simple set up today, A waggler to fish the open water, A 4x14 & 4x12 wire wonder on 0.13-0.10 & 18 PR412 hooks, The heavier rig to fish slightly over depth with a double bulk & the lighter rig with a strung bulk. On the all-in I fed 4 good balls of G/bait with casters & some dead red maggot at 14mts in-front of me & just one ball with dead pinkie's added at the same distance to my left. I started on the wagg at around 25mts with caster on the hook just feeding minimum amounts of the same via the catty, I had a couple of small roach in the first 30mins or so before taking a 4oz skimmer when I switched to red maggot on the hook, This appeared to be a fluke as after the first hour just a couple more small roach were added, Jacko had also had a slow start with just a couple of small fish & the guy below him was struggling but I couldn't see the others in my section as they were above the spit.

After just over an hour it was time to try the pole lines, I started over the negative line with double pinkee but only had another small roach after ten minutes, Time to try the heavier fed line this time with double caster on the hook, I did have a bite after a few minutes but missed it so switched to single caster with the hook buried inside, This made a difference as I soon netted a few 6-8oz skimmers, I could already tell though after a couple of bites the fish would back off so picked a couple more off fishing off the feed before I felt it was time to top up with another smaller ball. Back on the negative line I took a couple more skimmers again on caster but they appeared to be much smaller so fed another ball here this time just with casters added, I was going to try the waggler again but the bad light had put pay to that & it didn't appear to be working that well as Jacko had only added a few more small roach at this stage.

Back on the positive line & I had to sit & wait for bites but I was putting the odd 6oz plus skimmer in the net at least, I did manage a couple on single red maggot but the bites were really iffy & caster was producing better bites when they happened" I went through a bit of a pattern of catching a couple of fish over the feed, Would knick the odd one off the feed either side then top the swim up again when I didn't have signs of fish in the peg, Just over halfway through Jacko managed to snare a decent 2lb plus perch on the waggler & I think everyone on the lake knew about it! Lol, I was still happy to stick with the pole as I was at least putting odd fish in the net which were slightly better stamp than most of the blip roach Steve was catching, I thought the last couple of hours would see the catch rate improve but it went the opposite way to be honest with bites hard to come by, I did have a better late run of small skimmers off both lines late in the day but was never going to set the world alight, Come the all out I thought I had around 8lb odd, Jacko was admitting to lest than this but had also netted a better skimmer later in the day, Are bank was the first to weigh & the guy below Jacko had 3lb odd, Steve finished the day with just over 6lb & I was a bit surprized to finish with 10lb 4oz so I had shown him the way home today' Lol, Above the spit Ryan Shipp weighed 9lb odd & the guy above him had called it a day before we even finished the day so thankfully it meant I won the section picking up £50 in the process. Back at the results & it was a tie for top spot as Vince Brown from peg 59 on Lodge weighed 24lb 8oz along with Nick Ewers from peg 77 on Cary with the same weight. As far as the overall standings went Craig Edmunds finished 3rd in his section from peg 74 on Cary which was enough to see him wrap the league up with 7pts so another big well done to him" It was very close with the rest of the frame places with a few being decided on weight count back.

Fair play to those who had to contend with the wind & rain in their face for the first few hours but it was like a different world come the end with all the lakes flat calm'. Quite a hard days fishing but still enjoyable for this time of the year & even better to come back with a few quid.

Full Results -

1st Nick Ewers ( P.I Thatchers) peg 77 Cary, & Vince Brown (Mosella) peg 59 Lodge, 24lb 8oz.

3rd Tony Rixon (Mosella) peg 99 Cary, 18lb.

4th Joe McMahon (Veals) peg 78, 15lb 7oz. 

5th Stu White (Wiltshire Angling) peg 70, 14lb 11oz.

6th John Fuidge (The Sedges) peg 55, 14lb 3oz.

Overall Standing -

1st Craig Edmunds (Mosella) 7pts.

2nd John Fuidge (The Sedges) 8pts (weight).

3rd Steve Jackson (Garbolino) 8pts.

4th Gary O'Shea (P.I Thatchers) 9pts (weight).

5th Nigel Easton (Viaduct) 9pts.           

Shiplate Farm Mini Series Final Round (Main Lake).

Another Year has passed & it was my Birthday Yesterday so no fishing as it was defiantly a day for a few Sherbert's" Luckily I was quite sensible going out early & returning for a Chinese with the lovely Wife (Not that I remember much of it?) but at least I was in a fit state this morning. Conditions were in are favour with no wind but with the cold nights we didn't know what to expect, Obviously pegs 1 & 15 would be favoured but with just a point between Rich Hawkins & Myself if I didn't draw them they I had to hope Rich didn't". I was early into the draw & found myself on peg 12 of the far bank & Rich ended up drawing with next to me on end peg 11 of are bank, This was probably the best I could of wished for as I could see if he was catching & the pegs have been pretty even of late, A few methods today, Waggler for banded 6mms or corn to fish around 25mts & lead rod for bomb n bread/corn, A 4x12 Chanti to fish at 14mts to my left if 5ft of water on 0.17-0.13 & an 16 Pellet hook, this rig would double up to fish at 10mts down the edge a couple of meters of the bank at the bottom of the shelf. Finally a 4x12 malman to fish at 13mts for silvers again in 5ft of water on 0.15-0.12 Floro carbon & a 16 F1 pellet hook, All I fed at the start was some micros at 13mts & a few hard 4mms on the waggler line & started the day towards the middle of the lake with the bomb & popped up bread, It was a slow start to say the least & not so much as a liner in the first 30mins, I gave it another 20mins switching to double corn on the hair but still no signs. Nigel next to me had started on the pole & had took a few small silvers & Rich was also yet to catch, After nearly an hour it was time to switch to the waggler where I had been pinging 4mms where I was sure of getting bites with banded 6mm on the hook... Nope, not a sniff & another 15mins gone", Things were looking bleak at this stage, I had seen two carp landed on the opposite bank but apart from Kurt Pinkett on peg 15 catching a few the rest of us were in the same boat' It was time to have a look on the 13mt line whilst I began to drip the odd grain of corn & meat on the 14mt line in the hope of catching a carp of it late in the day? I started with 4mm expander on the hook & caught straight away, A 2oz roach". Five minutes later I had 6oz skimmer & a fish of 1lb soon after then couldn't get an indication, By now we were over two hours in, I had been pinging the odd grain of corn just past the waggler line so decided to chuck the bomb back over it after giving the hookbait a squirt of scopex, The rig had been in about 10mins when I started to attach a cad-pot to the topset of my 14mt line when the rod flew round" He's on then! Soon after I netted a carp not big at around 4lb but at least I had caught one'.

I thought I had it sussed but it wasn't the case as another 20mins or so & not even a liner, I had a look at 14mts with meat & corn but nothing & tried down the edge line but still no signs. back at 13mts I had a skimmer around a 1lb then a better fish pushing 2lb then I couldn't get a bite again, I re-fed again and had another look on the wagg but still couldn't get an indication on here, Nigel was struggling for bites But Rich had managed a few skimmers on the pole by now but no carp.

I gave the bomb another go without a sniff so did the best to catch what I could of the silvers line before switching around looking for bites of the other lines, Well they never happened" I didn't get a bite down the edge line or at 14mts all day' The waggler didn't produce even when I fished it past the feed with corn on the hook & I never had another pull on the bomb, I just managed to add the odd decent size skimmer from the 13mt line but bites got harder to come by as the day went on. It was hard going for all I could see, I finished the day with around 10lb of skimmers & the one carp but Rich had only caught skimmers & Nigel had struggled to add much to his net, When the scales arrived Kurt was going to romp the section with 68lb but next to him Andy Light had 11lb odd & Nigel finished with 2lb odd, I was bang on with my estimate finishing with just over 14lb & Rich managed 7lb of silvers so my second in the section was enough to overhaul Rich for the series, Result". Back at the hut & John Hawkins had emptied it for this time of the year with 154lb odd from fancied peg 1 so fair play to him, Apart from the noted pegs it was hard for the rest of us but it turned into a good battle between Rich & Myself down to the last match, Winning the league saw me pick up £90, I had another £30 on the day for the section second & even had the bonus of another £12 from guessing the closest winning weight on the day' Even though I was around 70lb off I had guessed the highest Lol, Well done to Julian Pinkett for Running the series which was close though out which we all enjoyed, Kurt Pinkett ended up winning the heaviest fish caught through the series with a 14lb 8oz carp in his catch today. Really enjoyed this competitive little series & pleased to come out on top. 

Days Results -

1st John Hawkins (Wormheads) Peg 1, 154lb 2oz.

2nd Kurt Pinkett (Wormheads) peg 15, 68lb 2oz.

3rd Mark Jones (Shiplate) peg 3, 43lb 6oz.

4th Golly Jones (Shiplate) peg 6, 20lb 2oz.

Final League -

1st Dom Sullivan (Mosella) 21pts £90.00

2nd Rich Hawkins (Wormheads) 20pts £80.00

3rd John Hawkins (Wormheads) 17pts (weight) £70.

4th Kurt Pinkett (Wormheads) 17pts £60.00

Biggest Fish - Kurt Pinkett 14lb 8oz. £45.00

3rd