Pleasure Session Shiplate Farm.

With the forecast not being to bad good friend Steve Howell & myself decided to make a short trip to have a go for some silvers on the main lake, We opted for two swims on the far bank pegs 13 & 14 with the wind off are backs making it nice for fishing the waggler as well as the pole. Nice and simple today a drake waggler on 4lb main line and an 0.13 bottom with an 18 PR474 hook to fish just over depth in around 6ft of water towards the middle of the lake & 0.6g PB2 pole float to fish a comfy 13mts on 0.13-0.10 and again an 18 PR434 hook where the depth was much the same as I had further out.

Being as we are both into are match fishing there was always going to be the element of a battle between us so we decided on a fiver' side bet between us and agreed on a 6hr session. Starting at 10 o'clock I began by feeding 3balls of fishmeal ground-bait onto the pole line with some micro pellet added and began the day on the waggler feeding 6mm hard pellet with banded 6mm on the hook. It was a slow start and in the first hour I only had two small skimmer on red maggot but was having problems with the float dragging back towards me due to the tow along the inside of my peg, I did notice Steve's swim was shallower on his waggler line and for some reason wasn't having problems with it pulling through? despite laying some line on the deck I was only getting the odd indication and Steve had already netted around 10 skimmers from what I could see so it was time to try and speed things up on the pole line?.

 (Peanut)

Starting With a 4mm expander on the hook it didnt take my long to get my first skimmer of 8oz followed by a couple up to a 1lb but you would get a few bites before things slowed up so I kept topping it up with the odd ball and trying the waggler again.

I did pick off a few bigger skimmers by leaving the line on the surface after casting as not to pick up the tow but it was taking me a lot longer for bites compared to Steve so was soon back on the pole. by laying the rig in different directions I was catching skimmers from 6-12oz at regular intervals and although they seemed to be of smaller stamp than Steve's could I claw my way back? With a couple of hours to go signs of bubbles appeared where I was fishing and my instinct told me a larger fish was in the swim and I wasn't wrong after netting a nice 5lb bream soon after" things went a bit quite so topped it up again and took a few more skimmers on the waggler and 6mm pellet.

Going into the last hour more signs of bigger fish appeared on my pole swim but after getting some false bites on expanders I began to feed the odd grain of corn and fish a single grain on the hook. it worked as 5mins later I had another  bream around 6lb followed by a lone 1lb Tench before a hail storm put a dampener on things'

 

The last hour was slow but I added a few more skimmers on pellet, there were still odd signs of better fish present but I thing the hail prevented catching more of the bigger bream. Steve had managed to draw the attention of a few carp to 9lb on his waggler line which hopefully had given me chance to catch up?

 

Steve was first to weigh and had a nice days fishing catching nearly all of his skimmer net on the waggler and pellet for a total of 24lb,

 

I felt the two bream may have swung things in my favour and the scales don't lie' so was really pleased to end up with a cracking days fishing for a total of 37lb taking the fiver off peanut to boot"

 

A big thanks to owner Steve Oliver today for allowing Steve & Myself the use of keepnets for the blog and to show the potential of this lake and what's in store for the anglers out there who don't always want to target carp, Steve & Carol run regular open matches on this and two canal lakes and if you were lucky enough to land on a few of these big bream a big weight could be on the cards, Steve goes to a great effort to maintain this fishery in its very picturesque surroundings and cant wait to have a crack at some more matches here in the near future. For further details to any matches contact the fishery on 07895852162.      

 

        

Viaduct Teams Of 5 (Round Three).

Back to Viaduct for this popular league and my turn to fish lodge lake with an overspill of 5 swims on Cary Lake and after another help yourself breakfast at the globe pub I'm pleased to add we had are pools money in early today meaning at least I had a chance of drawing us some good swims rather than the repeat of last time ending up last to draw' out of the nineteen teams fishing we were second up and on paper are draw didn't look to bad for a change, For me it was peg 66 lodge lake which happened to be a corner peg and had form for a few carp towards the tree along my inside bank so with this in mind these would be my main target for today as on the last round the lake fished hard with the cold weather and a few carp would be good team points if it was the same scenario this time around? It just so happened Traveling partner and team mate Don Sutherland drew directly behind me on peg 97 Cary so at least we didn't have to use the mobile" I set up 2 new rigs to fish along the bank towards the tree being 0.2g drennan AS2 floats, one on 0.17-0.15 & the other on 0.15-0.13 both with a size 16 PR434 hook, the tackle might seem on the heavy side for this time of the year but with the tree being a real bolt hole" for the fish I couldn't afford to give them much leeway!

 Not putting all my eggs in one basket I decided to have a silvers line at 13mts being a 4x12 wire wonder on 0.11-0.09 and an 18 63-13 hook in around 4ft of water were I planned to fish maggot over ground-bait as my main line but was hoping to bag so many carp down the edge I wouldn't even need to use it...?

I started the match by feeding 2 balls and two loose cups of ground-bait with a few dead red maggots and casters added onto the open 13mt swim and started the match fishing a biggish piece of punched bread fished a few inches off the deck close to me by the bull-rushes just to see if there may be a mug fish to catch early but after 5mins I  tried a bit further along towards the first leg of the pallet. Bingo" After a short battle carp number one was in the net at around 7lb which was a great start but it did cause a bit of disturbance so didn't expect another straight away, I kept in the same area for the first hour as I didn't want to push any carp further under the branches but despite trying at different depths and baits all I had were a couple of blip roach hanging on the end of 3 maggots' so it was time to have a quick look on the Silvers line. Starting on a single dead red maggot I bumped a nice fish first put-in but had a 1lb plus hybrid soon after before bumping two more decent fish straight after! I've had this happen a lot on this venue and just cant fathom out why it happens but took no risks and changed my hook-length anyway. 15mins later and just a couple of small skimmers so I added another ball of bait and tried back towards the tree. I still couldn't get any indications were I first caught so it was time to add a section and go further into the den!". After 10mins of lifting the rig around I was connected   into another carp except this time it was already under the tree" I tried my best to ship straight back but could feel it was already through the sunken branches. I got the pole nearly right back then realised it had came out" result' but it soon appeared why I had such a job as it was hooked in the tail!' it didn't matter and after a few nervy minutes I had it in the net at around 6lb".

I was hoping I now had it sorted and was looking forward to adding a few more but it wasn't to be as any signs of fish seemed to be right under the tree were I had no chance of getting too. Richard Adhere over on the opposite corner peg was also struggling for a carp just taking one on the waggler towards the back of the tree. It proved worth while having the silvers swim after all as I added a couple of better skimmers on the caster to 2lb and some smaller samples on dead maggot to add just under 9lb to my carp weight of 13lb finishing up with 10/19pts so not a disaster, In hindsight it may of paid to have another silver swim at 14mts but I put my faith in adding a few more carp which didn't happen, I chose not to feed anything down the edge and just rely on dobbing different baits about until the last hour when I decided to put-in a few grains of corn against the far leg of the platform but shipping back and not looking I forgot about the branches and got my cupping kit wedged in the groves pulling the top 8mts of my pole off..! I adverted disaster though and quick thinking saw me coax it to the bank with the rest of the pole I had in my hands" it can only happen to me!" Don Had a much better day winning his section with 38lb and finishing 4th in the silvers overall with 14lb odd picking up £100 in total. My section was won by Mark Wynne with 33lb odd but also taking the top silver weight on the day with 24lb.

Silvers winner Mark Wynne.

 

Top angler on the day was Stu woods with 115lb from corner peg 132 Cambell. team wise we didn't do much better but were not last' So with two round to go we can only get better lol, Burt baits took a great win on the day with 78pts to increase there lead at the top of the table. Match lake next time with a couple of pegs on Spring and middle so who knows were Ile end up.?

Overall results -

1st Stu Woods (Viaduct Allstars) peg 132 Cambell, 115lb 11oz.

2nd Andy Crocker (Frenzee  S/w) peg 123 Cambell, 101lb 8oz.

3rd Fred Roberts (MFS) peg 119 Cambell, 73lb 4oz.

4th Steve Denmead ( Burt Baits) peg 78 Cary, 63lb 12oz.

5th Gordon Cannings (Silverfox) peg 74 Cary, 60lb 2oz.

Silvers -

 1st Mark Wynne ( Viaduct Select) peg 69 Lodge, 24lb 15oz.

2nd Nick Chedzoy (Thathers Vets) peg 37 Spring, 21lb 10oz.

3rd Kevin East (S/W Nomads) peg 98 Cary, 16lb 1oz. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

                         

Chiltern Trinity Open (Woodlands Lake).

With the weather being on the verge of most venues at risk of being frozen over traveling Partner Don Sutherland & Myself decided to give the venue another try today. After the normal hilltops breakfast we made are way to the fishery to find the lower end of the lake froze over but with only 11 booked in today there were enough pegs available without having to use Don's new ice breaker' After a nice warming free cuppa it was time for the draw and I found myself on the near bank peg 27 in the middle of the lake which I thought was as good as anywhere with the conditions being the way they were. I planned to keep things pretty simple today as I didn't expect big weights to be on the agenda more of a case of catching what you could in the hope of a few bonus fish hopefully along with a few silvers.

The first thing out the bag was the already made up bomb rod which I happy to say I still own after having it dragged in on my last visit here! (Not a mistake I was keen to repeat today") which I felt would give me a few fish on popped up bread?. Next up was an 1g pole rig on 0.11-0.09 and an 18 PR434 hook to fish in around 8ft of water at 13mts were I plumbed two lines at 10 & 2'oclock one to fish maggot over ground-bait and one to fish expander pellet over micro's. With plenty of time left before the start I decided to set up a loaded waggler to an 0.11 hook-length and an 16 808 hook I case I saw signs of fish up in the water layer.

For company I had Simon Ryall on peg 29 & and Dave (didnt get 2nd name sorry) on end peg 26 with Kev Perry just up from me on the end peg of the opposite bank. At the all-in I cupped 3 balls of ground-bait with some dead red maggots added onto the left hand 13mt swim and a ball of dampened micro on the right hand swim along with a few 4mm expanders. I started the match towards the middle of the lake on the bomb and 3 disc's of punched bread on a hair rig,

 After an Hour the only signs I had were two small liners despite casting around the peg but with other people switching methods I kept my faith and after 90mins I was rewarded with a carp around 5lb after adding some scopex spray to my hook-bait' (Fluke?) who knows but at least I had caught this week". I gave it another half hour before deciding to have a look for some silvers on my pole lines as Kev opposite had already started to put a few together,

 Kev Perry in action.

 

I was surprized after trying both lines for about 15mins each not to have a bite on either a 4mm expander or dead red maggot so decided to try the waggler starting about 6ft deep with a single grain of corn the breeze was playing havoc with the float so it wasn't long before I was back on the bomb and sprayed' bread as it looked like a couple of carp would make all the difference today and felt it was my best chance of catching a few more? Another bite-less 30mins and the flask diminishing at a rate of knots saw me try the pole again with a single dead red over the ground-bait line. First dob-in I had a lift bite which resulted in a 2lb skimmer' followed by two 8oz fish but then I bumped a better fish and couldn't get a bite so topped it up with another ball again with some dead reds added and tried the bomb again. with around two hours to go out of the blue I added another carp of similar size again on the bread and word on the bank was Dave next to me was the only other person to have caught a carp on the pole so there was all to play for. I did try the pole lines a few times before the end of the match but all I added were a few small roach and I was having to wait to long for bites so put my faith in the bomb which proved worth while as 4lb carp was added in the last hour. As a whole the lake fished hard today but had to be expected and it turned out my 3 carp added with my silvers was enough for top weight on the day with a total of 17lb odd picking up £45 which more than paid for the day,

 My Carp.

 

It turned out Kev's weight of silvers was enough to take 2nd place on the day with 13lb odd meaning the silvers pool of £35 went the way of Donald by default giving us bubble in the van" A hard but enjoyable day as this venue has a good depth it gives you plenty of options and my patience proved worth while today, Just".
Back to Viaduct Next Sunday for the teams of 5 and my turn to fish Lodge lake with an overspill of 5 pegs on Cary but no bomb rod needed as this is a float only section so we will see what happens?.

   
          

Viaduct Teams Of 5 Rd 2.

After a nice weekend off away with the wife last week I was keen to get back on the bank for this popular league, Traveling as normal with team mate Don Sutherland it was breakfast at the globe again for us for the eat as much as you like for £5 which is good value except we were near the back of the queue and we had to wait some time for are bacon and eggs meaning we were later to get are pools money in for the team draw. It was down to me again today although I didn't have much choice as we had the last pegs in the hat as a result of the late pools but at least I couldn't get the blame for poor draws". It was my turn to fish Cary Lake today and all week I had visions of drawing peg 86 which I really fancied for a few of the lakes munter's' and I couldn't of been much closer ending up on 87, This sounds good but at this time of year the fish seem to hang between pegs 86 & 85 at the end of a spit as theirs a variation in depth that the carp seem to love'.

Arriving at my peg we were lucky enough to have the cold wind blowing slightly off are backs for a start as the pegs on the opposite bank had it straight in the chops' I new you would have to try and catch a carp on this lake for good points as they grow so big one bite could be 20lb+" so first up a 11ft maver multi system bomb rod was assembled with 5lb main line to a 12inch 0.16 hair stop hook-length, I set up a waggler to fish dead depth to start with in about 4ft of water with an 0.11 hook-length and an 18 PR434 hook, with the wind assisting us and the skies overcast it would be easy to feed casters at around 25mts to fish different baits over the top.

 

Last up was a pole rig being a 0.4g PB2 to fish at 13mts , 0.11-0.09 and an 18  63-13 hook. I was in good company as I had Thatchers star Nick Ewers on peg 86 and Thyers silvers ace Paul Faires on peg 88 but wasn't daft enough to challenge Nick to a quid" . At the all-in before feeding any other lines I would cast straight towards the middle of the lake on the bomb and a piece of punched meat in the hope of snaring a early carp' 15mins later I had a liner but nothing followed so decided to rest it and fed my pole line with 4 balls of ground-bait with a fair bit of caster added and some floro pinkees as I hoped to catch some big skimmers and wanted to hold them in the swim longer with-out topping it up if my other lines didn't produce??. Back on the bomb swapping between baits on the hour mark the 3 of us were all fishless although Nicky Collins on the opposite bank was already playing his second big fish"

 Nicky Collins.

 

I had been feeding the waggler line from the off with casters and the odd grain of corn so after 90mins I decided to give it a try starting on a single grain I was already having problems seeing the float as the skies had cleared and the sun was right at us and after trying caster on the hook I was still biteless'.

At the half way point things were looking grim as I couldn't get any indications of any line and to make thing worse Nick next to me had started to catch on the bomb and they weren't small fish" No matter what I put on the hook or where I cast didn't seem to make a difference as I couldn't get as much as a liner, I would like to say my day got better but sadly I ended up with severe neck ache as Nick did a great job of plundering 12 carp which would be enough to win are lake with ease and he was admitting to 90lb, Paul went on to catch some nice perch and a big skimmer on his pole line, and me' NOWT! ZERO, BITELESS'BATTERD"BLANKED!!!!".

 

Whoop's. Owe well' that hasn't happened for a while but I suppose it had to happen sooner or later??? lol. The closest I came to catching was foul hooking a big carp reeling-in which I managed to steer close to the bank before the hook pulled". Back at the results and it turned out Nick's Fish next to me were bigger than he thought as he went on to win the match with a great 141lb 2oz, Its amazing how these fish ball-up" as Simon Jones on fancied 85 only ending with 1 carp but you still have to catch them and he fished a tidy match so well done mate.

 Winner Nick Ewers.

Runner up was that man again Gary O'Shea adding to his ever increasing wallet from peg 119 on Cambell ending the day with 127lb 3oz and I managed to get a pic of him with a few of his fish due to Nicks under estimate"

 Gary O'Shea.

Just to make my day even worse Paul managed to pick-up £60 from the overall silvers pool to rub salt into my wounds" with the top silvers weight on the day going to Clint Wojtyle from peg 37 on middle lake with 17lb 15oz. 

Team wise after two matches Team Flip Flop hold a 6pt lead over Burt Baits but its still early doors, Even with my disaster we managed to lift are self's off the bottom of the table so all is not lost' lol.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

      

   

    

Viaduct Teams Of 5 , Rd 1.

It seems to have come around quickly from last year for the eagerly awaited teams of 5 again but with it being very popular with 19 teams entered I was looking forward to it, After Team mate Don Sutherland picked me up we decided to try the breakfast laid on at the globe pub in Somerton for a change and for £5 eating as much as you like I'm happy to say it was good value for money, We had to Start the league with two Ringer's' so to speak as other team members had commitments and couldn't make it which isn't ideal but at least Simon Ryall & Jonny Page filled in for us, It was decided I would do the team draw so I was hoping to give us all a nice home for the day??.

It turned out I found myself on Cambell Lake peg 125 and this time last year I would have skipped to my peg but the lakes vast head of carp seem to be at the opposite end of the lake of late so wasn't to enthusiastic which didn't help when I arrived at my peg for Mark Poppleton next door on peg 124 to tell me that he drew this area on the Wednesday open and told me there were no carp caught off are pegs except for the opposite corner peg of the lake" Not what I really wanted to here but you never know. I Planned to keep it quite simple today so first up was a bomb rod with 4lb main line and a 12inch 0.14 hook length to an 16 hair stop. I set up a 3AAA waggler to fish at dead depth to begin with an 0.13 hook length an a 18 PR434 hook. last of all I didn't want to put all my eggs in one basket so had a rig to fish at 14mts for silvers over ground-bait being a 4x12 wire wonder on 0.11-0.09 and a 18 63-13 hook.

At the all in I fed 4 balls with just one containing a few casters & pinkies onto the 14mt pole line and cupped a large pot of casters off to my right at the same distance were it was the same depth at around 4ft. To start the match I began on the bomb and popped up bread towards the middle of the lake as did most others with different baits, Approaching the half hour mark things at are end off the lake were rather slow to say the least and the only fish I had seen caught were from the opposite bank peg 119 in the corner, I decided it was time to try something else on the hook and just began to punch a piece of meat out when my tip flew around and not forgetting to set the Bait-Runner this week! I was soon landing a carp of around 4lb, Great Start'. It was short lived though as the next hour failed to produce so much as a liner but as yet nobody else around me or opposite had caught a carp and were soon trying their pole lines or switching to the waggler but having 1 in the net and although I was finding it very boring" I kept to the bread in the hope of pinching another by casting to different areas every 20mins or so. Coming up to the 2hr mark Don rang me and yep' you guessed it" the tip went around and sprang back before the line started to pick up again and after nearly dropping the phone I bloody missed it!"

After another 30mins I couldn't take it any more so switched to the waggler with maggot on the hook but again nothing happened and the only fish being caught on it were small roach that I could see so it was time to try the pole. Starting on single red maggot over the ground-bait line I soon had a skimmer of 6oz followed by another shortly after on pinkie but then couldn't get a sign, I tried over the loose fed caster line but this failed to produce a bite so fed the ground-bait line and went back on the bomb hoping to snare another carp.

Another 30mins passed without a sign and after Mark had a 2lb plus Skimmer on his pole line I gave it another try, as soon as the rig settled it shot under and I bumped a better fish" B*****KS.. it took me 10mins to get another bite but again it was a smaller skimmer of around 6oz but I was having to wait ages for a bite so spent the last couple of hours trying the waggler, Bomb and pole but all I could add were a few more skimmers on the pole towards the end of the match but again they were only of smaller size, The only other carp along my bank came from Ron Hardiman on the end peg 123 but was of a good size the rest of us seemed to have all struggled, I couldn't see what was being caught below the spit on my bank but it turned out that's were the carp were hiding as Nicky Collins won the lake with a good 116lb from end peg 132 with the opposite peg 110 taking 2nd with 113lb, My total weight of 7lb odd was enough to beat the pegs around me but was only good enough for 7pts from a possible 19 but apart from sitting on my hands all day watching the tip for carp that just didn't seem to be in the area or targeting the small fish I don't think there was much more I could of done but that's fishing. Top weight on the day went to Craig (Trigger) Edmonds from corner peg 73 on lodge lake with 150lb odd taken on bread fished along the edge on the pole, Team wise Viaduct Select won the day but overall we had a disaster finishing in last place but the pegs we had today turned out to be in the poorer areas so perhaps its down to someone else to draw for the next round". Taking a weekend away with the wife this coming weekend so no fishing for me' but it will be a nice change before heading back here for the next round in 2wks and my turn to fish Cary lake for the resident munters"?  

Full Results -

1st Craig Edmonds (Team Flip Flop) Peg 73 Lodge, 154lb 1oz.

2nd Adam Mitchell (Frenzee S/W Orange) peg 66 Lodge, 123lb 7oz.

3rd Nicky Collins (Somerset Angling) peg 132 Cambell, 116lb.

4th John Howell (Burts Baits) peg 110 Cambell, 113lb 13oz.

5th Leon Hubbard (Silver Fox) peg 96 Cary, 108lb 8oz.

6th Richard Aherne (Frenzee S/W Black) peg 119 Cambell, 90lb 9oz.

7th Nicky Ewers (P.I.Thatchers) peg 131 Cambell, 79lb 15oz.   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

               

  

Chiltern Trinity Open (Woodlands Lake)

Another change of scenery for a me today as its been over a year since I last visited the venue and after picking up some fresh bait on Friday but not get around to fishing yesterday due to the weather I was keen to use it up, After a good bit of banter with a few others in hilltops at breakfast we were keen to give it a try, Only 12 of us fishing today the match was spread over both sides of the lake with 6 on each side, Not to familiar with the pegging I found myself on peg 8 which turned out to be near the top end of the far side being the second peg down on the match, For company I had Simon Ryall on end peg 6 of my bank in the sheltered corner who informed me it was a good area for carp as was Mark Walsh's peg on the opposite bank being the other end peg, With this in mind it suited me as if I didn't get any early carp I could switch to the lakes good head of silvers.

First up I set up a straight lead to fish popped up bread to start the match on, 5lb main line to an 0.17/12inch hook-length, This venue has a fair depth being around 8ft so I used an 0.8g Skimmer float on 0.13-0.10 and an 18 PR478 hook. that was it rig wise so plumbed up two swims one at 13mts to my left and one at 12mts off to my right where the depth was the same.

At the start I cupped in 4 balls on the 13mt swim with casters and dead maggots added and one ball on the 12mt line with dead pinkie's in. I began the match on the bomb and bread hoping for a quick couple of fish but after 40mins and my flask diminishing fast" I had only had one liner but I could see Walshy' had already taken 4 carp along with a few skimmers on the pole fishing up towards his end bank so it was time to look on the pole. Starting on the positive swim with double dead red maggot on the hook I was surprized not to get a bite quite quick and it wasn't until I gave the 12mt swim a try I had my first fish being a skimmer of about 10oz. by swapping between both swims trying different baits I did have the odd skimmer but wasn't getting anywhere fast but opposite me Jonny (Slaphead) page was catching skimmers twice as fast so I decided I had to try starting another swim at 8mts where I fed half a pot of dead maggots and pinkies. I left it to settle for 30mins but all I could manage was a few small skimmers and blade roach, I wont drag on how the rest of my match went but my long pole lines got worse not better despite topping them up in different ways and john was still catching regularly, So I decided to have another go on the bomb and bread whilst at the same time sort my net-bag out, all was going ok and after 30mins I just got up to pack away my pole roller when the rod flew around! Like a prat the reel I was using was my near £200 bait-runner but I had forgot to flick it on" I managed to grab the butt of rod but disaster struck and I slipped on the pallet causing me to momentarily let go of the rod .." I couldn't believe it as I watched it go straight in the lake only to disappear out of site!!.

Well' After a bit of quick thinking Ray Bass on the next peg lent me his rod and I began in vain to chuck his bomb rig around the lake hoping to hook the rod??? after 30mins I was about to give up when I was hooked up to something so began to reel back slowly only to find I had hooked the line but the fish was still attached"  The Rod surfaced about 20mts from the bank as the fish swam towards me and with Rays help managed to grab the line but the fish bolted and snapped me in a snag and I had no idea where the rod was!? so it was back to chucking his bomb around again but I didn't have much hope and after another 20mins and losing Rays bomb in the same snag I lost the fish I began to pack all my kit up before it got dark and the match finished.

After a few minutes I found the bomb on the platform along with the line and as I began to wrap it up to throw in my bucket the line began to head back towards the edge of the pallet slowly tightening and I could not believe my eyes when the tip of my rod surfaced about a 1ft from the edge giving me enough time to get hold of it!" I couldn't believe my luck  somebody was looking down on me today I'd say'.  At the start of the match there was a heron stalking fish from the end bank for fish in the margins but he was a bit disappointed and took off not long after' 

Well that was a eventful end to the day to say the least but lessons learnt hey"? as expected the first two places went the way of Walshy with 77lb including 10lb of silvers taken on the paste" followed by Simon with 52lb also catching down his inside edge on pellet. Silvers went to Jonny Page With a good 29lb of skimmers taken on expanders over micro pellet so my choice of maggot and casters over ground-bait was certainly the wrong choice today but I was just thankful of retrieving my prized rod and reel back!" Off to Viaduct next Sunday for the start of the popular teams of 5 so hoping for a nice start.

Full results -

 1st Mark Walsh (Acorn) peg 32, 77lb 4oz.

2nd Simon Ryall (Weston) peg 6, 52lb 2oz.

3rd John Page (Weston) peg 30, 35lb 5oz.

Silvers - John Page 29lb 12oz.                                      

Summerhayes Open Sellicks & Lily Pool.

I decided to give Summerhayes another bash today having not been at the fishery for a few months, I booked in along with good friend Nick Harvey who picked me up in plenty of time for the usual hilltops breakfast before arriving at the fishery, A good turn out again today with 24 booked in but it meant that lily pool would have an overspill of 8 anglers on it which I hoped to avoid at all cost despite the hype I have yet to see this lake produce as well as Sellicks can?.

Into the draw and I was happy to end up with peg 21 Sellicks but Nick wasn't so fortunate ending up in the middle of lily pool peg 11, There was no wind to contend with today so reaching the far bank at 14mts was easy enough where a few carp can be caught by dobbing bread around so my first rig was a 4x14 Chanti to fish at various depths towards the far bank on 0.11-0.10 and a 16 63-13 hook, a lighter 4x10 Chanti  to fish right tight into the far bank off to my left for maggot over micro and finally a 4x12 Wire Wonder to fish at 13mts in the open water were I had about 6ft on 0.10-0.08 and an 18 63-13 hook where I would plan to fish with maggot/pinkie over ground-bait.

For company I Had Tackle UK's Scott Russell on end peg 23 who would be hard to beat so would switch to targeting silvers if as expected he took some early carp? on peg 20 I had local Alan Jenkins? who said he planned to target silvers so would make for an interesting day?.

At the all-in I fed one large ball of Ground-bait with a few pinkies & casters Added on the open 13mt swim, a few micros and dead maggots tight into the far bank off to my left. Starting on a decent size punched piece of bread just short of the far bank around 6inches off the deck, I was soon searching around without any success but as I expected Scott had 2 carp in the net from along his inside bank in the first 15mins also on bread, After another 30mins of changing depth and searching around I still hadn't had a bite even trying maggot on the swim tight to the island and when Scott netted two more carp from his longer line near the aerator my mind was soon made up it was to be a switch to targeting silvers with the hope of adding a few carp along the way?

Starting with a red maggot on the hook on the deeper 13mt line I soon had a small roach so blank avoided' followed by another before I had a better fish on which turned out to be a Crucian of a 1lb and soon after a Goldfish of the same size both what counted as silvers today' so a good start! In the next 30mins I had 2 skimmers before I added a 2lb carp which seemed to disturb things so topped the line up with another ball before trying the carp? swims again. Still Nothing on either so after 20mins I went back on the silvers line expecting some bites straight away, Nope" I had myself wishing I hadn't been so keen topping the swim up so soon but after trying around the fed area I started to catch the odd fish being mainly net size skimmers, I had to work the rig and wait for bites but from what I could see nobody else was catching silvers, Scott's flying start had come to an end adding just a couple more carp and Alan was yet to catch so with a couple of hours left and bites becoming hard to come by I decided to start another open water swim off to my left at 14mt the same way I started the day and spent the rest of the match pinching the odd fish off each, It worked for the carp as well adding 3 more by the end of the match with most of my fish falling to single maggot or pinkie, The last hour was hard but I did manage a couple of better skimmers late in the match (Not just Viaduct this happens then!) and estimated I had around 11lb of silvers to go with my 4 carp. I caught up with the scales on Lily pool, And the top silvers weight was 10lb odd of small roach taken by Sam Powell, Back to Sellick's and no weights of silvers as most had caught carp from the fancied 'Lily Pegs" After a couple of none weigh's it was my turn and was pleased to finish with 13lb odd of silvers which was enough for top place to add to my 13lb of carp.

 (My Silvers)

 

There were a few fish caught on the expected pegs on Sellicks but overall the weights were very close, the going was hard but I had a really enjoyable day again which suits my style of fishing adding £43 to the jar. Overall winner on the day went to Tackle UK's Ashley (Sorry didn't get your second name) from peg 14 on Sellicks with 31lb of carp caught on bread from across and down the edge. Cant go without saying that Rodger Russell found out that he lost out for a 3rd place pick-up in the silvers by a pike over 6lb caught by Tony Pointing from Lily pool which count as silvers! It was removed and although missed out he took in good stead, Eventually" lol. 

Overall Results -

1st Ashley (Tackle UK) peg 14 Sellicks, 31lb 10oz.

2nd Bill Hopping (Summerhayes) peg 15 Sellicks,  30lb 13oz.

3rd Rob Birch (Summerhayes) peg 16 Sellicks,  30lb 3oz.

4th Scott Russell (Tackle UK) peg 23 Sellicks,  29lb 8oz.

5th Dom Sullivan (Maver/Cadbury Angling) peg 21 Sellicks. 26lb 9oz. 

6th Gary Webber (P.I.Thatchers) peg 13 Sellicks,  24lb.

Silvers - 1st  Dom Sullivan (Maver/Cadbury) peg 21 Sellicks, 13lb 9oz.

                2nd Sam Powell (Exeter) peg 4 Lily Pool, 10lb 9oz.

                3rd Tony Ponting (Shiplate Farm) peg 13 Lily Pool, 7lb 1oz. 

        

               

Shiplate Farm (New Year Hangover).

I was fully expecting to be one of many suffering from a bad head but after picking up a stinking cold (Probably due to being frozen on Monday") so was in no mood to celebrate and was in bed before midnight getting woke by the fireworks at 12' . After a bad nights sleep I didn't really think I should be fishing but don't like to let people down so wrapped up to the hilt and made my way to the fishery. The match was all on Hawthorns Lake today and with 15 of us there wouldn't be many pegs you would have enough room to catch down the edge so either end peg today could be useful?

Into the draw and I find myself on peg 3 were Des Shipp happened to draw in the Xmas match catching a few across at the bottom of the shelf and some fish down the edge but nobody was on peg 2 that day so that could be iffy to try and catch there. I set up a 4x12 Maver Invincible on 0.11-0.10 and a size 20 808 to fish the bottom of the first far shelf were I had about 4ft of water, A lighter 4x10 on the same line/hook to fish tight to the far bank in just over 2ft of water finally a 4x12 Chanti to fish down the edge towards peg 4 on my top kit plus 1 section as that's as far as I could go.

At the all-in I cupped a small ball of fishmeal Ground-bait in at the bottom of the shelf with a few maggots in it and fed some casters onto my short line, Starting the match right over I fed just a pinch of dead red maggot and micros via the cad pot starting with double maggot on the hook. It didn't take long to get indications but the problem was it was from half ounce roach and daddy ruff" and after 20mins of this I soon switched to the deeper rig at the bottom of the shelf. I was a bit surprised when I didn't have any signs no matter what I tried on the hook so was soon starting a new line elsewhere across.

This time I just fed small amounts of ground-bait but again it didn't take long for the small fish to find my bait and the area seemed devoid of any carp" I did try looking around on a piece of corn for a while without success. Looking around the few pegs that I could see nobody had caught a carp and Ron Stark On peg 4 seemed happy to plunder the small fish across but this wasn't for me so put my faith in my deeper swims. Back  on the bottom of the shelf I did manage a couple of skimmers to 8oz and an 6lb carp before the wind picked up as forecast and holding the rig still enough to induce bites impossible. This was turning out to be a frustrating day as I had to get another rig out to fish down the track in the deeper water but again all I could catch was small fish, The close in caster swim produced one roach all day and in the last hour when the wind dropped I had a 12oz skimmer over some loose fed micros further along the shelf on maggot but no more carp.

It didn't take long for the weigh-in with the chap on peg 2 weighing 3lb of silvers before I had 5lb 8oz not bothering to weigh my single carp, It proved worth while on the day for Ron to Stick to the blips' as his weight of 7lb was enough to take the silvers pool but it reminded me of fishing on the Kennet & Avon canal! I didn't hang around after weighing as I was keen just to get in the warm but It turned out Resident Steve Howell took the win from peg 6 in the middle of the lake finding a few carp on the maggot to finish with 32lb odd, followed by the swims I thought would produce pegs 15 & 1 taking the next two places with 23lb & 22lb. Not the best start match wise for me but that's fishing at this time of the year, I think I could have winkled a few more skimmers from the longer line by switching to a heavier rig ect but its hard to get motivated when your not up to your best so hoping to shrug it off before my next trip".          

       

Viaduct Pairs (Silvers Only) Day 2.

Back to Viaduct fishery in Somerton for the second day of the pairs With team mate Donald Sutherland and as soon as I took a peek out the curtains when I woke this morning my worst fears were confirmed as everything was white from the overnight frost" After a bit of chasing around on-route to get something warm inside us before the day ahead we arrive at the fishery to find the temperature was -6 Degrees and all the lakes had a covering of a couple of inches of ice' It was my turn to fish Cambell lake today so after wrapping up to the hilt to stay warm I went and took some pictures of what we were greeted with.

 (Pitures of Cambell lake)

Well there was nothing we could do about it and with the forecast of the temperature forcast to stay below zero all day we were all in the same boat meaning nobody would be fishing the waggler or feeder today. The best weights the lower end of this lake yesterday or the pegs either side of the spit on the opposite bank so I was hoping to avoid the shaded area at the top end where Don was yesterday but it wasn't to be and I found myself on peg 118 which is behind the tree meaning the chances of me seeing any sun was minimal", The weights were lower here yesterday with Don Having 3lb odd from peg 116 which was enough to beat the pegs either side of him but just to make things a little harder for company I had England Ace Des (Smiley) Shipp on 116 today! (No Pressure Then!?).

The first main task today was to clear the ice as far as possible as the hope of catching anything short was going to be impossible, Don have a look around the van to see what he could attach to some rope heavy enough to break through the ice whilst I cut what I could out with my landing net handle, 30mins later and I was still doing my best to sling it as far as possible after having to borrow one as Don's Attachments disappeared to the bottom of the lake first chuck!, It was a bit hairy though trying to give it some welly whilst perched on the end of a slippery platform" Put it this way I wasn't cold afterwards whilst I set up with just 30mins to the all-in.

I Chose to make just one new rig up being a 4x12 Chanti on 0.11-0.08 and a 20 63-13 hook where I plumed up at 13mts straight in-front of me which was a couple of feet from the ice, this would be my main line but I could go a couple of feet to the left and right in search of fish away from my bait if need be as I chose to make a wider channel in the ice than some had although the pegs on the opposite bank seemed ok but needed some work.

 (45mins later my swim")

Quite simple at the start' One small ball of ground-bait with a couple of dead pinkies and casters added onto the 13mt line followed with a sprinkling of pinkies over the top! Mega positive today then". I wanted this to settle for a while so start by cupping in a nugget of ground-bait next to the ice at 10mts and going over the top with a single red pinkie on the hook. As expected after 15mins I had know indications so switched to the long line again with pinkie on the hook, It wasn't until we were 50mins in I had my first bite being a 1oz roach which was a bonus as des was yet to catch as were the guys opposite, I had just a pimple of the float showing and struck at any small movement which got me a few more small roach before I had a welcome 10oz skimmer out of the blue and at this point I was getting excited as we were over an hour in and I hadn't seen anything caught".

At this point I hadn't fed anything else so attached a small cad pot to the pole and fed around 6 pinkies and a couple of casters over the top of the rig, this did bring me a couple more small roach before it went dead so I had a swap around between baits just in case there was something bigger around? after trying caster on the hook without a sniff I switched to a single white pinkie and was soon attached to something much better' after taking my time to steer the line away from the ice I still hadn't seen it but it was trying to dive under the platform so was hoping it was a tench so was pleased to net a 2lb plus fish! Bonus.." By now we were halfway through the match and from what I could see most were struggling for as much as a bite and after searching for another better fish I was back catching what I could being the odd small roach by working the rig over another small ball of ground-bait cupping in tiny amounts of pinkies via the cad pot.

In order to get any indications I had to play around with the way I put the rig in as well as changing the depth a couple of inches at regular intervals but it got me bites when others were struggling, Des had managed a big skimmer and a few more small fish but was struggling so I kept at it which kept me from thinking about the cold so much. I Felt if I was to get anymore bonus fish it would be late and in the last 15mis I had two more skimmers one over a 1lb which boosted my weight. It was a very hard day but having Des next to me helped me to keep at it working for bites and although I took his scalp today I didn't know what had been caught on what I thought would be the better end of the section? I was first to weigh and was pleased to end up with 7lb odd and after a couple of lower weights Nicky Collins put 5lb odd on the scales meaning I had won the section picking up 1pt, It was down to Don now on peg 77 Cary and his small fish net of 2lb odd was enough for 2nd in the section picking up 2pts meaning are total of 10pts would be close for a top 3 finish in the pay-outs"?

Back at the results and as expected the lakes fished harder due to the ice but it was a surprize to find out that my weight was enough to take top place on the day pushing Don and me up in the weights for the overall positions, As expected it turned out to be very close with the winning pair going to Gary O'Shea & Bob Gullit with 9pts and a total weight of 22lb ahead of Andy Power & Lee (Peanut) also on 9pts but a lower combined weight of 18lb,

Again it was close for the final placing but my late skimmer helped us to pinch 3rd spot on weight by 8oz finishing tied on 10 points with Martin Preston & Phil Cardwell. A good end to the two days for the both of us with Donald picking up £30, me picking up £50 for the section and adding another £76 for 3rd gave us something to share, A hard but very enjoyable day in more ways than one'.

 Bob & Gary.

Full results -

1st Dom Sullivan (Maver/Cadbury Angling) peg 118 Cambell, 7lb 8oz.

2nd Phil (Fabio) Harding (Avon Angling) peg 85 Cary, 6lb 11oz.

3rd Nicky Collins (Sensas) peg 112 Cambell, 5lb 1oz.

4th Gary O'Shea (P.I.Thatchers) peg 100, 4lb 12oz.

5th Martin Preston (Bait-Tech Viaduct) peg 94 Cary, 4lb 8oz.

6th Phil Cardwell (Thatchers Tackle) peg 115 Cambell, 3lb 5oz.

Overall Pairs Results -

1st Gary O'Shea & Bob Gullit, 10pts  £120.

2nd Andy Power & Peanut, 10pts  £100.

3rd Dom Sullivan & Don Sutherland, 9pts  £76.

 

 

 

 

               

    

      

 

 

 

 

     

Viaduct 2day Pairs Silvers Only.

Myself & Team mate Don Sutherland decided to have a crack at the two day event at Viaduct Fishery after the recent silvers league so felt pretty much in touch with how its fishing at the moment but that could all change after a hard frost as well as a bright day forecast? It was a very welcome breakfast this morning after a day at the races yesterday were a fair amount of alcohol was consumed' but at least I came home with a profit".

We arrived at the fishery to find out the match was to be held over Cambell & Cary Lakes which was a bit disappointing as we both expected a day on Spring lake each which can produce some good silvers weights as its not used as much for matches. At the draw we had to choice which lake we fancied between us so Don let me decide so I opted for Cary on the first day hoping to end up in the 90's as I had been in this area for my last few visits, It was nice to find myself on peg 99 which I've already had this season as well as being on peg 98 in the last round of the silvers, the section fished hard that day with 10lb being the top weight and I expected things to be harder if anything due to the frost? For company I had old friend Nicky (Fur ball) Collins on 100 who gave the challenge of a quid & venue regular Roland Lucas on 97 so had to have my wits about me, This has been a good area to catch skimmers on the waggler and with the lake being flat calm it would be my first option fishing a 3AAA loaded waggler on 3lb main line and an 0.10 hook length topped off with an 18 808 hook. Last time we were here nobody seemed to catch anything on a short line so plumbed up 2 swims at 14mts left and right were I had about 4ft, I had to set up two rigs as the light here was bad with the shadow off the tree from the opposite bank making things more difficult. |For one line I used a 4x14 wire wonder on 0.11- 0.09 and an 18 63-13 hook, and the other with a lighter 4x12 on the same line/hook. My last rig was 4x10 Chanti on a longer line which I could use over both pole swims should I need to conditions allowing.

At the all-in I cupped 4 balls of ground-bait at 14mts of to my right with a few dead pinkees added and two balls off to my left with casters and some chopped maggots in. Starting on the waggler with caster on the hook it took me 30mins to get my first fish a 3oz roach followed by 2 more of similar size in the first 90mins which sounds bad but Nicky only had 1 small roach and Roland who was fishing the bomb was yet to catch. The only person I could see who had netted a few smaller skimmers was Phil Cardwell on peg 96 who was on the long pole.

I was a bit reluctant in coming off the waggler line as the last time I was here those who kept at it were rewarded with some better size skimmers as the match went on but after watching Phil add a few more I decided to give it a go. Starting off to my left with a single dead red on the hook I soon realised it was virtually impossible to see my float as there was now a ripple blowing towards us across the lake, I had already added a few inches to the depth so kept lifting the rig when I couldn't see it and was a bit lucky to hook an 8oz skimmer as I didn't even see a bite! back out again and two more fish of the same size before it seemed devoid so decided to top the swim up with a small nugget of ground-bait and try the other more positive line to my right but this failed to produce anything so far.

I kept trying to feed my waggler line as often as possible but had no chance of feeding it whilst trying to hold the pole with the head wind let alone shaking like a leaf as it was freezing. I stuck at the waggler for another 30mins and had a couple more small roach before I bumped a better fish just after twitching the float with a dead maggot & caster on the hook then I couldn't get a sign' Back on the long pole fully expecting a few skimmers where I had taken the first few only saw two more smaller fish so I decided to add a cad pot to the pole & feed a nugget right over the float, It worked' I bumped of a better fish within seconds! B*****KS....

I tried the right hand swim but again it didn't produce but felt there was no need to top it up as nothing had turned up anyhow"?? I new the rest of the match would be a case of pinching odd fish as Roland was still to catch and Nicky only had a few small fish on the waggler but was sticking at it feeding more often than I could manage which could make a difference in the last couple of hours as I know from drawing here this year they can turn up on the pole lines very late in the match and as late as the last 15mins? so put my faith on this being my banker in the last hour.

I did manage a 1lb skimmer on the waggler and thought I had sussed it after putting over a foot of line on the deck as the inside trip was pulling the rig though the swim but nothing followed and my worst fears came to light as Nick had taken a run of small roach and a couple of skimmers after sticking to the line all match and had overtaken me weight wise, The gamble of some late fish on the pole it had to be and as expected they did turn up late' 20mins from the end I took 2 skimmers off both pole lines on maggot to add another nearly 2lb to the net and I new it would be close between myself and Nick which was a great battle we both really enjoyed, as expect the lakes fished hard with Matt Tomes On the end peg 94 winning the section and the lake with 8lb odd, next door on peg 96 Phil took second in the section with 6lb so it was a battle for 3rd in the section between Nick & Me as nobody was admitting to much else? My total went 5lb 8oz before Nick put 5lb 7oz on the scales" result.. Nope! he found another small roach in his keep-net after putting the others back so we agreed on an ounce for it afterwards with owner Steve so we tied on 3rd in the section so a decent result for both of us on the day lol. Donald Over on 116 Cambell did well to beat the pegs either side of him but the better weights were the other end of his section but still ended up with 4pts making for an interesting day tomorrow with some people really struggling, Even the mighty Des Shipp could only manage 12oz" but I have to admit he wasn't in the best of pegs 74 on Cary... Or wasn't that where Dan Squires won a resent Saturday Match from?? lol.

Top weight on the day went to that man again Gary O'Shea over on Cambell peg 129 with 12lb odd including a bonus tench but some close weights followed which keeps things tight for tomorrow when its my turn for Cambell praying that the forecast of plummeting over night temperatures doesn't see us using ice breakers?!.

1st Gary O'Shea (P.I Thatchers) peg 129 Cambell, 12lb 2oz.

2nd Dan Squires (Bait-Tech Viaduct) peg 128 Cambell,  9lb 14oz.

3rd Matt Tomes (Got Baits) peg 94 Cary, 8lb 10oz.

4th Steve Tucker (Garbolino) peg 85 Cary, 7lb 12oz.

5th Andy Power (Preston Innovations) peg 123 Cambell, 7lb 7oz. 

6th Dave Roper (Bait Tech Viaduct) peg 112 Cambell, 7lb 2oz.

 

 

                

A Summing up of my year.

Well with the Xmas Dinner soon to be under way with us skipping the traditional Roast for a nice juicy piece of Rump Steak" I thought I would do a quick summing up of my year on the bank after ripping through the presents in the hope of adding more kit to my armoury only to find the usual array of smelly's , boxers and the bonus' present of a Muppet Show Onesy" which I cant see myself wearing on the bank in the near future..??

I've had quite eventful year on the bank, fishing a variety of venues and different methods, I never really been a fan of accumulating massive weights of fish and much prefer to chose venues that usually produce close overall weights at different times of the year. In the early part of the last after the viaducts teams of Five I started off with the Acorn individual league, After A disaster in the first round mainly down to the gale force winds I was pleased to end up Finishing joint 2nd overall missing out by just one fish at the end of the league, A lot of the fishing was small expanders or maggot on the long pole and a method that seems to suit my style of fishing.

 

Further on in the year when the weather warmed up I really enjoyed fish the meat on the short pole as I have found once the fish take a liking to it the swim often just gets better' And most of the time the bites are un-missible!.

Going back to my routes before most of these commercials were even heard of to the River Huntspill for the Somerset Super League was a good change of scenery and although it wasn't that productive for me a change to a natural venue made a welcome change, I have always had a good record on the venue for catching some decent weight building nets of EELS' but the biggest mistake I made was to try and fish for them to far out' As everyone knows with this venue on the Somerset levels it can look spot on when you tackle-up but can have some big waves on it at anytime" so a lesson learned there.

 

 

Ending the year taking part in the Viaduct Silvers league along with my own silvers league on Emerald Pools again made a change from catching battling Carp'. I felt I did ok at the first attempt at Viaduct but losing fish late in the day on most matches cost me dearly, Something that I will be hoping to adjust in the future but it showed I must be doing something write to get them in my swim in the first place?.

Emerald pool failed to produce the expected silvers weights of last year but nevertheless with careful feeding it proved there were fish to be caught and to finish the year taking the league was a nice end to quite an eventful calendar.

 Going back through my year in total I have fished 82 matches picking -up money in 37 of them so nearly a fifty present record collecting a total of £1987.00 , It doesn't sound a massive amount but if I was to put it all in a jar to collect just before Christmas it would be very welcome! To be fair I have fished a number of cost cutter matches this year and although being popular in numbers you cant go with the hope of adding much to you wallet but I tend to use them more of a learning day under match conditions. As you can tell I tend to stick to just a few patterns of pole floats simply because I believe you can get used to reading a float and making it work for you, I cant remember the last time I didn't work my rig' to induce more bites so getting used a float certainly helps. Well with the new year on the horizon the popular teams of 5 starts soon which is well attended so some nice draws will be hoped for' as well as it being a time on canal lakes I enjoy weather permitting? So good luck to all.