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.