Shiplate Farm Series Rd 8.

With the Forcast to be windy and driving rain I wasn't going to venture out today but dreading the thought of my wife finding me some DIY to do a phone call was made to fishery owner Steve and a place available on Westpool Lake in the event of Paul Chapman not fishing today, Being as the fishery is on my doorstep and in the event of my tooth still giving me grief it wasn't far for me to retreat if things got worse.

Greeted by high winds and driving rain on arrival I was beginning to think a coat of paint here and there in the house wasn't such a bad idea" waterproofs on and a nice free cuppa before the draw was welcome as no breky stop today, Steve has done well to pack in the fags in aid of the new E-Cig which no matter what, Has to be better than tobacco except when you first see them it looks like something you would find being smoked at a Bob Marley Gig"

    (notice Carol doing some modelling on the Calendar Behind him..)

 The Lovely Carol taking a laid back role. Back to the draw and I let the others go before me as I was guesting today so had the last in the hat today although Steve (peanut) Howell asked me to draw before him tho which I refused and he ended on peg 3 in the narrows with me ending up on 13, And funnily enough a peg I had never draw before, A quick chat to Andy France as he had won a match off the same lake last week put some ideas in my head as how things should pan out, Andy caught all his fish over to the bull rushes shallow with maggot on the hook so this was my starting plan without feeding and just having a dob around.               Below  -  (Dobbing land)

   

My home for the day.

Opting to fish along the bank to my left and right I set up two identical 4x10 chantis on 0.13-0.11 & an 18 808, a float I use a lot at this time of the year due to the fact I've used them for approx. 20yrs and find them to suit a lot of situations,

I also set a rig to fish at dead depth down my inside in 4ft of water with caster though it was a bit if a through away line as the aerator rope prevented me from going to far, One more rig was to fish at the bottom of the far shelf for silvers in 5ft of water over groundbait and caster with a few floro pinkees added.

For company today I had Gordon (Golly) jones on my right peg 12 and young Tom Light on end peg 15 both guys were doing ok in the league for silvers so there main lines were to be based around them.

Not quite ready in the hooter but no big deal I cupped in 3 balls on the 13mt line with pinkee & casters in and cupped some maggot and caster down by the rope to my left, Starting straight in front of me to give me the option to search further along the bank if need be I set the rig at around 2ft deep with double red maggot and dropped in at 14mts choosing not to feed anything , 20mins in and despite dobing the rig and changing depth I didn't have a sign so it was time to dig the 16mt extension out and go a bit further to my left which would make it easier with the wind picking up but coming off my right shoulder into the far bank, changing to 3 floros gave me a bite straight away at around two and a half feet deep and carp no.1 was netted at 3lb, one more missed bite and a daddy ruff  saw me switch to my right were I decided to feed around a dozen floros & the same of micro pellet but nothing happened so after a look on the left hand swim I decided to try my silvers line to see if one of the lakes resident Bream had turned up, first put in on double caster saw me have a 5oz perch then nothing but this line was towing quite hard so I cupped in another ball squeezed slightly harder and hid the casters & pinkees inside.

Back on the left hand 16mt swim with 3 floro pinkee and another Carp hooked only for it to come off as I picked up the landing net" B###cks! A foul hooker in the next ten mins which also came off" had me thinking It was going to be one of those days until I connected with another lively 3lb carp which was safely netted, By moving the rig along the rushes two feet at a time I was getting the odd bite but I was missing a few as the gusting wind was hampering the presentation and a couple of times I had very small roach attached so switching  back to the silvers line with triple pinkee saw me take a run of small skimmers by dragging the rig once it had settled but I was going to get nowhere fast so I decided to stick it out fishing  across, despite trying a piece of punch bread and double red maggot all along the rushes I could only muster bites on the floro pinkee and without feeding anything I started to hook some carp but they were only small, Owner Steve was now on his way round and after stopping to inform me that peanut had 8 carp and Dean Madlin over on Hawthorn had 6 and as it stood I had 4 for around 10lb but had lost 3" he also informed me everyone he stood behind on are lake had hooked a carp, 2 seconds later and Bingo the float shot under and a better carp was hooked, Steve being a bit of a jinx to me in the past made a hasty retreat to Tom on the next peg only for me to skilfully get it back to my top set and a quick glance of Steve out of my eye saw it shead the hook again! Yep" he's a jinx to me so we have a neutral agreement from now on if he comes any were near me during a match im just ignoring him!

 A check of the hook saw it had gone blunt which then had me cussing as to why I hadn't changed it earlier, its mistakes like this which can cost anyone at the end of the day after all I had done all the hard work by getting the bite! Some heavy showers really put the fish off in the last couple of hours and I didn't have any indications whilst it was raining but the high light had to be when golly went to net a 4lb carp he had hooked on his light rig and his landing net came away at the brass fitting then sinking to the bottom of the lake" in desperation he decided to reach for something to scoop it out with as I couldn't pass him mine as I was wrapped around 16mts of pole' This is where it all went wrong as he slipped backwards and fell straight on his ass still attached to the carp with ten feet of elastic streaming from the end of the pole dispite doing his best he only went and slipped over again this time landing right on his cupping kit with an almighty CRACK"

By now I was dying with laughter only for me to look up as my float shot under but I wasn't ready and didn't set the hook properly causing it to come off! then I turn round to see Golly finally get to his feet and trying his best to scoop his carp out with his maggot riddle!

I couldn't take any more so got off my box to help him net the carp, bloody marvellous there's me trying to keep um on the hook and his wouldn't bloody come off..!

I did manage to retrieve his net after the match with my weed cutter.

WHOOPS GOLLY"

I finished the day with 14lb of carp and just over 1lb of silvers but 6 lost fish (two foul hooked) was looking costly today and so proved as Tom on 15 ended up winning the section with 23lb odd catching well towards the corner in the last hour with chub and carp on maggot,  First on the day went the way of Alan Healy on Peg 5 westpool with 42lb 13oz all caught by dobbing around about 2ft deep on bread or maggot to the far bank with Peanut on next peg 3 finishing up with 37lb 4oz for 2nd on the day top weight on hawthorns was Dean with 28lb 12 oz

full results -

1st Alan Healy (PSV) 42lb 13oz

2nd Steve Howell (Shiplate) 37lb 4oz

3rd Dean Madlin (Dynamite Baits) 28lb 12oz

Silvers-

1st Julian Pinkett (Bristol Post Office) 7lb 10oz

2nd Tom Light (Shiplate) 7lb 2oz

My Catch.

Alan 42lb 13oz 

         Julian pinkett (left) silvers & Alan Healy (winner).

                

Emerald pool,

No match today so it was back to Emerald pool for another Crack at the silvers and after a breky at hilltops which I had to leave most of due to raging toothache" again! back to the dentist Monday I think and its coming out! I was meant to meet Glyn Wickham there but he couldn't make it but Ray & Nigel Wickham were there to join me for the day instead.

After deciding what pegs to fish & loading the gear on the trolley it dawned on me Glyn was suppose to be bringing my bait and all I had was some red maggot and some floro pinkee so after putting my kit on a peg on the far side of the lake opposite the car park a quick trip to Thyers in Highbridge saw me grab a couple of pints of casters for the day.

 

Back in time for me to tackle up two rigs one 4x12 chanti for on the deck in 4ft of water at 13mts and another 4x10 chanti for an inside line in 3ft of water as far as I could  feed by hand both on 0.10 to 0.09 4in hooklenghts with an 18 PR 490 which is a nice fine wire wide gape perfect for the casters when there is a chance of catching quick,

I cupped in 4 large pots of wettish grounbait with a handful of casters added to each on the 13mt line and began to feed the shorter line by hand starting on the long line it took me all of two minutes to get my first bite and a hybrid of 6oz, was netted at the same time Ray on the next peg also had his first fish that was the pattern for most of the day and by swapping between 13mts and 14mts when I re-fed, I managed to catch on the one line all day with caster on the business end for what I can only describe as an awesome days fishing with Roach to a pound plus, Skimmers, Hybrids and crucians of similar size and going into the last part of the session  I decided to count how many fish I could do in an hour only for me to get to 28 fish in 20mins then I made the mistake of trying to swing in fish 29 only for it to fall off and my rig end up in the tree overhead! so I finished the day after four and a half hours with a weight of  Approx. 60lb whilst Ray also had some nice fish and ended with 30lb + all caught on double red maggot and Nigel over on the car park bank opposite ending the day with 50lb + again all on one line with worm so a great day was had by all and really looking forward to Match I have arranged for next Saturday so as long as we don't have any bitterly cold weather I think we will all have a good day, But judging by todays results I don't think that will make much Difference"

Myself

       Myself with my net of fish, followed by Ray & Nigel's Catches.

  

  



 

 

 

 

  

 

   

Emerald pool pleasure day,

A recent rare day for me to have a days pleasure fishing for a change as I nearly always seem to be tied to matches on the weekends, A change of scenery and a chance to catch up with Alan & Anita after I had heard the main Emerald Pool had been fishing well for silvers so that was going to be my target today ,

 I Arrived at the fishery to find I had the lake to myself as there were no other hardy soels venturing the bank , Deciding on not making it hard for myself I opted for a swim 2 pegs up from the bottom of the car park bank shelterd from the wind which would give me a short line to fish a 4x10 chanti on 0.10 - 0.08 and a 18 PR 434 and a 0.2 skimmer float on 0.11-0.10 and a 16 808 for what I planed to fish at 13mt in what I thought would be around 4ft off water"

     

                                           ' My Chosen Peg For The Day

 

                                                       My Inside Line

Pluming up on the long line I was surprized it was only 18- 24inches deep'  All the way from my left to right so I plumed back towards me and at around 11mts I found about 3'6 of water so this is were I would target the skimmers over groundbait and just loose feed my inside with casters by hand, I cupped in 4 big pots of wetted loose ground bait with some casters added onto the long line rather than cupping in balls squeezed together with the water being shallow, and 1 soft ball with some casters and maggots on the same line 3mts to my right.

Alan the fishery owner came round as I was tackling up and after a nice chat he let me use a keepnet to take a pic of my catch as he was sure I would do well though he said I had chosen one of the harder pegs on the lake as far as the recent results had been going but not to be deterred and liking a challenge even tho it had been the coldest night at the fishery.

Starting on the line I cupped one ball in it took me ten minutes for my first fish, A carp of 4lb what was not the plan followed by a roach of around 6oz on single red maggot I was cupping a nugget of groundbait in after every 5mins to keep them searching for offerings and I was getting fish up to 12oz but it wasen't fast so after 45mins I switched to my more positive line with a single caster and netted a nice 14oz hybrid first chuck, I caught quite well over this line for the next 30mins with some roach and hybrids pushing the pound mark tho the bites were drying up and getting iffy and I felt that most of my bait had already been eaten" topping up with one ball containing more caster it was time to try my short swim where I had been feeding by hand.

First lay in of the rig on single caster and float shot under and at the net I lost a cracking roach over a 1lb a couple of smaller roach before a 1lb fish was safely netted then I couldn't get a bite mainly for it being just over 2ft deep the fish could be seen flashing when connecting with them but I wasent expecting to catch short in numbers so I carried on feeding it by hand and returned to the long line, Double caster seen me catching some lovely hybrids skimmers and a bonus tench before the bites slowed again becoming more iffy and after a couple of foul hookers it was time to add more bait to pin them to the deck .

By spending the rest of the day swapping between the two lines being careful not to push then to hard I had a great days fishing and in just over 4hrs I had a mixed net of mainly hybrids and big roach for a total of approx. 40lbs

             

Viaduct teams of five rd 1

First of the eagerly awaited teams of five today and I was praying for the draw to be nice to me as all my previous visits have put me in the don't want to draw" areas, I was up early to be picked up by team mate Don Sutherland although to say I felt somewhat under the weather was an understatement as I had a cough, headache & Toothache all at the same time! Not to let the lads down & dosed up to eye balls it was of to the globe pub for the draw and a nice help yourself breky for a fiver, Team Mates today consisted of Myself, Don, Chris Hook, Steve Seager & Glyn Wickham in place of John Green For this match.

Don did the team draw today and came back with a big smile putting himself on Spring peg 4 which his section consisted of the match lake as well meaning the next name on the list would be me for a peg on Spring and where do I end up" peg 7 right in the corner! after a quick chat I found it was to be carp or bust as I would be cut off to fish the open water from the pegs either side and word was to fish as far down the edge as poss for the big boys".

Now this was my first big issue as I arrived at my peg to find an over hanging tree 2mts out from the bank which ment my fishing long down the edge was going to restricted to 4mts in amongst the branches" Great! Now I didn't fancy using my expensive pole so Don lent me his margin pole with 22 elastic", Two new rigs were made up on 0.17 direct to a 16 PR474 for various Baits, One to fish in between the branches in around 3ft of water the other rig to fish at 10mts through the branches in slightly deeper water with a very short line between the float and pole tip as I couldn't strike" & I also set a rig for a silvers line at 14mts as I had mixed my groundbait the night before and I thought I mite catch some skimmers on it late into the match, I fed 4 balls of groundbait packed with caster and a few dead reds on the 14mt line  And started the match not feeding anything and just fishing a big piece of punched bread around 6inches off the bottom in between the gaps of the branches  hoping to mug an early carp which might be lying there but after 15mins and know signs a change was made to fish just touching the bottom with 4 dead red maggot whilst feeding some over the top by hand with some casters.

Now an hr into the match and still know signs I fed the 10mt line with some broken 8mm cubes of meat & some casters and put a big 8mm cube of meat on the hook, After all I was after proper fish! Ten mins of tweaking the bait around and my first bite saw me just lift the pole a couple of inches and the elastic started to come from the end of the pole so I wasted no time in shipping back as fast as poss only to find out it wasent the munter I was looking for but a 3lb F1", at least it was a start but with no more indications I re-fed the line with some more broken meat and caster and reverted back to the 4mt line on a bunch of dead reds were I had been dripping some maggot & caster in by hand, 20mins and out of nowhere the float shot under and I pulled for dear life as much as I could to steer it out of the tree and within 10 seconds in was netted" no messing with this 22 elastic malarkey! Not a big fish but 7lb was a lot of silvers and plenty of time for a few more.

Resting the swim from the disturbance I switched back to the 10mt swim with meat on the hook whilst still feeding the short swim by hand but no more bites had me trying maggot and caster on the hook without success so twenty mins later I was back to the short line but I had no signs of fish I decided to try the 14mt groundbait line but with only two small roach on double caster after ten mins that was soon back up the bank and the rest of the match was to be spent hoping to catch some bigger carp, I even took a gamble to cup  in a full half pot of Dead Maggot on the 10mt line to try and force a fish to have a look but all a could muster was a missed bite which resulted in a perch as I lowerd the rig back down.( same fish?) and a foul hooked carp which was only small both coming on the line in the tree", The guy over on peg 8 was really stuggling and decided to chuck a feeder down to the back of the tree which was 6ft from my float" Marvelous' I did give him a LOOK" and the Gods were with me as next chuck he was in the Tree !, Then just my luck fishery manager Paul Greenwood walked passed him and told him where to fish along his inside bank only for him to end up catching 3 carp for 37lb on the pole at 13mts!

The lake had fished well on the noted pegs with Nicky ewers peg 5 Spring winning the match with some big carp on the straight lead and punched bread to the island for a total of 158lb, Don was next to him and ended 2nd in his section with 80lb , Mr consistent Andy Power won my section on opposite side of the island with 87lb  My total weight of 10lb 2oz was only enough to beat 5 others today but with lack of room it was always going to be big fish or bust and a few anglers in my section only had 1 fish a piece being 14lb plus" And Alan Oram over on cary had a 25lb 6oz carp on the pole!

Team wise we finished 9th on the day but not a disaster as we are only 5pts off 3rd place and there are 4 rds to go yet , next match two weeks time and my turn to be on Cambell, There were a couple of 80lb weights from there today but they were tightly shoaled so im hoping my draw lands me in the right area but that's fishing"

Results- Teams ,

1st Thacthers Vets 71pts

2nd Team Viaduct 66pts

3rd Somerset Angling 61pts

Individuals -

1st Nicky Ewers 158lb peg 5 

2nd James Knight 96-1 peg102

3rd Luke Sorokin 88-8 peg 66

4th Pete Bailey 88-5 peg 85

5th Andy Power 87-6 peg 16 

Silvers-

1st Nick Chedzoy 21-10

2nd Gary O'shea 18-0

3rd Des Shipp 17-8 

Shiplate Farm open Results- Hawthons & Westpool,

1st Andy France 42lb peg10 Westpool , maggot across feeding nothing" 

2nd Dave Coco 30lb peg 9 Hawthorn

Silvers

Julian Pinkett 5lb peg 1 Hawthorn 

   

       

     

      

       

In Memory Of Jeff,

I was unfortunate to receive a message this morning to say good friend Jeff Wye had passed away after a long illness, He had been battling against cancer but was un-deterred to make the most of his time being on the bank as much as possible,

I've known Jeff many years the same as many others have, he was always friendly and liked to fish the Natural Venues more than any other being a member of Weston.A.A for as long as I've known, I remember as a kid reading his article in the Angling Press fishing for roach on the stick float in the middle of winter on the River Axe up to his knees in mud! Over time things have changed a lot and most of his fishing has been on the commercials over the last few years and more recent months mainly at Shiplate Farm & The Sedges on a Sunday.

Always being keen to socialise" He loved to be a DJ in the evenings and for many years he always had a gig" Somewhere as he was that popular! I first Had the pleasure of (DJ Jazzy Jeff") at my surprize 35th Birthday and can remember it well with everyone up dancing to madness whilst' with a big cigar in his mouth and a gunniess"  was lining up the next record to wear us out! He later did my wedding reception which everyone really enjoyed and was as good as ever.

Its always a sad time When Someone passes Away but the memories are still always there and He will always be missed on the bank, I'm sure he sends many thanks to everybody who helped him over his sad illness and for the help on the bank as he fought it for as long as he could and fished when ever he was well Enough with the Special Help of his good friend and long time traveling partner Ron Stark. 

I'm sure we all send are regard's to his partner Ange and family and can all share some memories and remember him well. God Bless Buddy x       

          

Viaduct open

Up bright and early this morning thinking it was the first round of the teams of five so wanted to make sure I had everything but the kitchen sink as you could draw any lake on the first match it wasen't until we got to the fishery and thought it was a bit quiet it clicked it was next week!

Being picked up with traveling partner for the league and team mate Don Sutherland at 7am I was getting worried by ten past then he ran me to ask were I was? only to realise he was at my old address I haven't lived in for ten years!, after he did a quick de-tour we had time for a  breky roll before arriving early enough for the draw and thinking all the pegs were on cambell I fancied a draw from 110 to 118 as the wind was off your back along this bank and the forcast to get wet and windy late in the day would make it hard to fish the opposite bank,

 I was first to draw today as I just happened to be at the front of the queue whilst chatting to Don so into the bucket and peg 130 cambell is my home for the day, Now there was an International Rules match on here yesterday over all the lakes and after chatting With Steve Long before the match I was to find out only the legend himself ex-team mate Des (Smiley) Shipp was on my peg the day before ending up with 30 odd pound of mainly tench to win the match out right on the waggler with caster.

Its been a few years since my last visit and the last time I was here I had the same peg" how does that happen...? but arriving at my swim I was more concerned about fishing the waggler as the wind was straight into my face which ment feeding was going to be a real problem , I wasn't deterred tho and made a waggler rig with 0.10 hooklength to an 18 454 preston hook to fish as far as I could feed , a 0.03g on 0.11-0.10 pole rig to fish at 14mts over groundbait and caster and a Tip rod to fish hair rig meat or bread should I decide to fish for carp although I didn't expect any at this end of the lake and my main plan was to have a day for silvers now knowing there was a few pegs on cary that would catch big carp.

On the whistle I fed 3 big balls of groundbait with caster and a few dead reds at 14mts slightly to my left and started on a single caster with the waggler at around 20mtsand Within seconds I had a bite and and a small roach was my start, Next cast and I barely had time to feed before having another bite but this was a better fish and praying it was a tench I carefully played it before netting one about 2lb as I looked up to see Steve long walking alone the opposite bank give me the thumbs up ( Another jinxed fishery owner") by the look of it.

Next cast and thoughts were going through my mind of ile show you how its done SHIPPY" but a couple of missed bites and some small roach in the next hour despite swapping to double caster and maggot on the hook, I couldn't feed with consistence due to the wind finding it best to catty out when there was a drop in the breeze but with the tow coming towards me it was time to try the pole as I was convincing myself the tench and skimmers would be queuing up.

Starting on double caster five minutes passed before it was clear they weren't there but I spent another 15mins trying maggot and single caster but with still know signs I topped the swim up with a small ball of groundbait containing some more caster and some floro pinkee and switched back to the waggler with single caster, All I could catch was small roach but with the wind now getting stronger it was hard work.

I had no real feeding pattern and when I couldn't keep it at the same distance twice" I was going to swap to the lead and have a look for some carp but I wanted to get a picture of the silvers in this area as next week all the pegs are in around me what are empty today and the carp seem to be caught around the middle of the lake, I kept trying the pole line but couldn't muster a bite even on floro pinkee so a definite re-think on how much to feed on this line next week is in order! I stuck at the waggler for the rest of the match hoping to catch some skimmers and tench late but my only fish were small roach but there wasent much caught down my end except for peg 110 in the corner who had some tench but the guy opposite struggled for a bite.

If I happen to draw this area next week which im praying I don't" I think the waggler will score well if you can present it ok as there will be hard areas on the day on all the lakes but that's fishing at this time of the year, after a chat before the final whistle with Steve (He is a jinx) he was with me on thinking the tench and skimmers had moved down to the calmer water what wasen't pegged and the day before Des had the wind off his back which I will be hoping for next week to make my day easier if nothing else"

full result -

1st Dick Bull (Viaduct) cary peg 77 , 53lb (carp on the tip & 10lb silvers on pole) 

2nd Nicky ewers (Thatchers) cary 86 49lb 

3rd Don Sutherland (Maver/Cadbury Angling)  118 cambell 43lb

Silvers -

Roland lucas (Viaduct) 110 cambell 16lb

Shiplate farm had there series today on the main lake

Results- 1st Dean madlin (Dynamite Baits) peg 1, 58lb

2nd Tim Lewis (Shiplate) peg 11, 43lb

3rd Pete sivell (Dynamite Baits) peg 15, 27lb

Silvers - Paul Chapman (Shiplate) 16lb .             

     

  

Acorn fishery

Back to acorn fishery today as I haven't been for a few weeks mainly due to the fact the same peg seems to be winning due to a stretch of the lake being reserved for pleasure anglers which the fish seem to like backing off  into? Running late this morning left me no time for a breky so straight to the fishery and a quick cupa was it today, Back to the draw with 13 of us fishing we were going to be spread around the remainder  of the lake The pools have been dropped to £12 with an optional £1 golden peg , I was one of the last in the bag ending up on peg 34 next to the bridge with Rich Healey on the other side peg 35. I did fancy it for a few bites although the bridges tend to hold smaller fish and said to Rich I recon 20lb could get in the frame today as venue regular Dave (Dogging) Wride won the Tuesday match with three Carp as rumour had it.   

I wasen't going to complicate things today so opted to fish a couple  of swims away from the bridge infront of me and to my left in around 4ft of water with maggot micro and 4mm expanders via a tosspot , Another swim across at 13mts tight up against the bridge which I would start on in the same depth with 4x12 chanti on  0.11-0.10 with a 20 808 and an inside swim with the same line and an 18 808 at 8mts which is a bit short with the water being clear tho I did draw this peg in the early part of the year and caught some big fish on corn after snapping my pole and not being able to fish more than 8mts!.

Ready before the start I went for a chat with ex-team mate and good friend  Nick ( Morrisons trolley thief) Harvey from Sensas Thyers who was on peg 28 at the far end of the lake and having my usual £1 with him as he had acres of room" to draw a few fish from... I was back for a cuppa before the all in.

Opting to feed a small amount of caster and 10 grains of corn at 8mts down the edge and a small amount of micro and expanders in front of me I stared up against the bridge with red maggot feeding some reds and micro via the tosspot, 20mins in and after trying various depths and baits I was biteless so it was time to try the line straight in front of me so starting on the expander just touching the bottom I had a bite after 5 mins which I wasen't ready for and missed" but at least it a sign, Next put in and I was ready like a hawk and after feeding around ten micros and a couple of expanders I had a carp around 2 lbs the next hr was slow tho nobody was catching much from what I could see except for Aide Baker on end peg 11 so after 2 f1s and two small carp it was starting to dry up so I moved across two metres to my left and started feeding a new line whilst swiching back to expander next to the bridge.

Ten minutes biteless I was onto the new line which gave me a 4lb carp next put in then nothing so I plumed a new swim a metre from the bridge and feed it with a cad pot of expanders hoping a carp or two would come on it in the last hour from under the bridge, swapping between the now 3 lines across" I was getting the odd small carp but I wouldn't get more than a bite from each line even tho I was only feeding tiny amounts on each, I did try at half depth on caster in the middle of the bridge where I was flicking some in but only had 1 roach and a try down the edge on corn and caster saw no response so I stayed across swapping lines for some more small carp and skimmers on expander  for the last 45mins including 2 x  3lb fish taken on the new swim nearer the bridge, the lake was fishing hard for all I could see so it was going to be close on the weight in.

Aide Baker won the day with 54lb odd from peg 11 as I expected although you still have to get it right and he did well to catch some nice carp and 14lb of silvers on maggot and expanders over small amounts of feed via a toss pot and my 19lb 8oz was enough for second which was a few pennies back and above all it was a very pleasant day weather wise which has made a change"

Full result -

1st Aide Baker peg 11 Clevedon A.A 54lb 8oz

2nd Dom Sullivan peg 34 Maver/Cadbury Angling 19lb 8oz

3rd Dave Stephenson peg 5 Clevedon A.A 17lb 4oz

4th Lee waller peg 23 Acorn 11lb 2oz

Silvers

Andy Gard peg 7 Acorn 5lb 14oz

 Trolly thief Nick try to get off with with giving me 50p claiming I had a better peg but I was having none of it so took his i.o.u" off to viaduct for first rd of the teams of five and I haven't been down there for yonks so should be interesting.

 

           

How things change"

We have all had those days when we dip are hand in the drawbag and out pops the peg everyone is raving about (Not normally me may I add") or even a peg you may well fancy yourself for various reasons which brings me to a recent match held on Shiplate farms Hawthorn lake.

There was only 9 of us due to family ties over the Xmas period but never the less we were all keen to win some shillings back and try are best to make the most of are pegs , Into the hat and out pops peg 1 Hawthorns a peg which I had drawn less than ten days before and won off, with 40lb odd, The conditions hadn't changed much with more wet and windy weather and the wind was still blowing down my end of the lake, To be honest I felt sure the fish would be in the same areas as they were before and that the peg being in the corner did hold the odd resident fish so I was confident I could do well off it again and planned to approach it the same way.

I started the match the same as before feeding around 40 maggots down the edge to my left and this time the same amount of casters to my right to give me another option if I needed it, Starting on maggot over a minimum amount of the same and a few micros in 3ft of water I wasn't expecting to catch from the off although after 45mins and no signs on anything I put on the hook I was a little surprized, A quick re-plum a meter or so to my left saw me start a new line feeding just a few pinkees via a toss pot and fishing two floros on the hook, Another 45mins and all I could muster was a daddy ruff which fell off and a foul hooked carp despite ringing the changes depth wise so a search along the far bank without feeding a thing on the shallower 2ft rig was soon the next gambit.

There are two spots towards the corner around a metre apart I was confident it would give me my long awaited first fish" NOPE! I searched the whole length of the far bank again with various baits without so much as a dip of the float although Darren Greenwood on next peg 3 Had two carp on maggot right over in the shallower water in the first hour but was also struggling to add to his total. I had been drip feeding maggot and caster by hand down my inside swims and now I felt it was my banker line so it was time to rest my far bank swims" lol and give it ago.

Starting at half depth again I fully expected to have a bite on maggot or some sort of movement but it wasn't happening even trying the caster at the same depth to my right had me really scratching my head as most of my fish in the previous match had come off these lines, So a switch to my bottom rig was in order and finally  I had a fish in the net" a carp of around 4lbs, I tried this line for the rest of the match on and off but dispite adding another carp slightly bigger from my right hand swim I couldn't find any fish over and only had one more bite to my left margin even though I tried the rig at all depths they just didn't seem to be in the peg today.

Darren on peg 3 ended the match with 4 carp for 16lb odd and 18lb was second on the day so three more carp would have put me in the coin although with the water being slightly clearer than the previous match I just couldn't entice the bites needed to add to my two fish total, maybe I was right the peg held two resident fish and I'd caught them in an area they were happy to be in on the day,  We all go home wondering how we could catch more tho I believe if you have confidence in your methods on the day and if the fish are willing to feed then you get your rewards , I'm sure we've all draw what we would expect to be (A Good Un") on its day but sometimes it turns out to be the opposite and fish have fins so just because the peg has form" or it looks fishy its certainly worth bearing in mind , After all there's always the next HOT" peg to look forward too.        

      

Fishing funnys"

Having a Bit more time on my hands due to the monsoon season and not being able to get out on the bank which is typical when we have some festive time off" I Thought I would share a few funny moments I still have vivid memories of.

Dating back to my Early days when I was with Weston A.A and a youthful 18yrs old myself and Darren (Bigbird) greenwood travelled together regular to matches and this Sunday was know different and a trip down to Oak Tree Fishery in South Molton was on the cards and the forcast was for a corker of a Day weather wise, After the draw Darren had drawn at the bottom end of the lake which was going to be direct in the sun for the entire match & I had draw just around the side in full view of him in what was to be a more shaded area later in the day, Setting up in the now baking sun he was soon to remove his black joggers to reveal a bright red pair of shorts and a lilly white pair off legs" Now in his younger days he some what resembled all I can describe as Peter Crouch as far as the legs went!

He shouted over if I was to have any high factor suntan lotion to which happily replied I could be of assistance, What he didn't know that being I was a prize Adois myself I had the tan to match so used bronzing oil so I swiftly removed the label and walked round to watch him plaster it over his freshly painted goal posts!

It was quite painful to watch as the day seemed to get hotter and with birdy thinking he at full protection from the glaring sun made no attempt to cover them up! 

Well" after Helping pack up his entire kit at the end of the match , his now glowing posts  had to get in the car walking as if he'd been shot up the backside with a Twelve Boar!" looking Back now it was a bit harsh but never the less the piture off him on are journey home with the cold fans blasting onto his legs as he was to scared to move was worth a bit of pay back".

 

Another time was back in the days of my Thatchers era and we had just fished a match on the Gloucester Canal at Hempstead , We all returned to the local Rugby club for the result and used to have a chat after with a cold pint, This particular day the legend Des (smiley) Shipp challenged me to a game of pool and after losing the toss Des decided to break, Now just as he was going to give it an almighty whack Mark Harper walked past and placed his freshly poured guiness on a small table directly at the end of the pool table whilst he went to the toilet.

As Des launched the white ball at a break neck speed it somehow connected with the pack taking full flight in an upward motion to travel directly towards the table with Harpers pint on" and yes! the cue ball ended up in the glass minus the guiness without even breaking it! Only for Mark to appear back around corner shouting' What did you do that for' Only added to funny side and I was trying so hard not to wet myself with laughter!

 

Back in the days with Sensas Thyers we all arranged one year to have a lads fishing holiday together down at Whiteacres in Newquay , Fishing the matches together and on the Thursday rover I ended up on jennys with My then captain Lance (Two more minutes) Tucker behind me on the high bank of the match lake, with team mates Brian (anteater) Slipper & Mark (pornstar) Broomsgrove,

Halfway thro the Match Tucks got up for a pee climbing the steep back behind him to be slightly more discreet and on his return from the bushes with a Fag hanging from his mouth attempting to re-tie the string in his joggers he ended up some what forgetting his footing and was soon being propelled towards his peg at a rate of knots and with his seat box fast approaching perched on the end of the wooden staging he did his best to stop only for the lip of his trainer to catch in the upturned chicken wire on the front of the pallet' Well the site was worthy of a 9 off any diving board and to see him pop up with the Fag still in his mouth had me chuckling so much the rest of my lake thought I was mad as they missed it!

       

 

       

Shiplate farm main lake

With 21 fishing today And a scene which would resemble any nice Christmas card with a harsh ground frost it was always going to be a struggle for some tho we were all as keen as ever as we should all know what to expect at this time of the year, A nice free" cuppa in the hut and a bit of banter I was hoping for a draw on the end of an island or some more fancied pegs on the far bank so into the draw and peg 5A is stuck to my mitt so not where I wanted to be but fish have fins so you never know, for company I had Alan Healey on peg 5 so we had a quid between us to keep it entertaining.

Even tho it had been cold I felt quite a positive approach was in order today and decided with the water being clearer than of late I was going to fish for skimmers and hopefully some of the resident big Bream so with this is mind a groundbait and soft pellet on the long pole at 14mts was to be my main gambit so 0.04g and made skimmer float was attached to 0.13 main line and 20 808 to 0.11 hook length set to fish around 3 inches over depth with a 4mm expander on the business end" Steve (The Owner) made his way round the far bank with the spare scales should any beasts be caught through the match they can be weighed and returned. Now Steve does tend to have a jinx effect on me and today was no exception as on his arrival I was just checking how my rig should sit in the water and after skilfully shipping back whilst continuing the conversation I turned to see my rig had ended up looking like something that's usually on top of my netbag at the end of a match!! Needless to say he made a hasty retreat leaving me to calmly untangle my prized rig"    

My starting gambit tho was to be a 2gram loaded wager fished at dead depth a comfy 25mts and with the wind being light and slightly of my left shoulder it should be easy enough to fish as long as poss as I planned to leave the pole line to settle as long as possible and with this line being flat calm I could easily see and signs of fish sending pimples to the surface, After riddling my groundbait before the start and getting everything to hand I was just ready for the All in and started the day feeding 3 big balls of grounbait with a good handful of damped micro  added and a pinch of expanders onto the 14mt line.

Starting on the waggler with double dead red I began pinging in around 6-8 4mm pellet over the top with the catty rather than risk spreading maggots over a vast area should the wind pick up at anytime, 30mins in and my fish bite of the day resulted in 2oz roach and looking around the lake it was a slow start for everyone from what I could see although Steve (peanut) howell on peg11 having a couple of early carp on the waggler off the end of the island on red maggot from what I could see, A switch to a banded 6mm produce no bites and a try with corn still gave me know response so I was soon back on the maggot searching for bites and for the next 45mins I was reward with 2 small roach and a change was on the cards"

I picked up the pole and shipped out a 4mm expander to which I fully expected to go under after a few seconds but after 10minutes of lifting and dragging around my Baited area I had no response and with Alan next to me already having been on the pole 15mins before me and still biteless things were looking bleak to say the least" A swith to double red maggot and 5mis later saw a slight lift on float before sliding away and a firm lift saw 6ft of elastic from the end of the pole to which I presumed to be a Big Bream to start with tho as I gingerly shipped back I realised it to be a carp"

I kept the pole low and slowly worked my way back to the kit only then find not only was it of good size it was foul hooked! after around 3minutes I did have a slight hope of me netting it tho that soon faded as it get propelled off into the distance tho I did save my rig, I did try the line again for another ten mins hoping the skimmers may well have settled on the feed now the carp had gone but it wasent to be so I re-fed with a small amount of dry groundbait along with a few red maggots and reverted to the waggler.

Starting back on the pellet I though bein as I was flicking a few pellets out whilst on the pole I would have a few indications but I struggled to get a bite and with maggot on the hook it was a long wait for a few small roach but there just didn't seem to be any bigger fish in the area willing to feed and return to the pole line a couple more times into the last hour resulted in just one small roach, And with both guys around me struggling for bites on the pole we were all in the same boat along are bank and except the one carp caught by Alan next to me on the straight lead and maggot we all had a hard winter days fishing the the day remained pleasant and it made a nice change to fish the rod and reel again rather than waving long lengths of carbon around.

My 12 roach wasn't goin to get me a pick up today so a hasty pack up and back to the hut for a nice warm cuppa and to thaw out a little it was down to the results and 1st on the day went to Matt Tayton with a nice 80lb 12oz off end peg 15 with some nice double figure carp on the maggot feeder cast close to the lawns and later on the waggler .

full results -

1st Matt Tayton 80lb 12oz peg15 (unknown)

2nd Steve Howell 30lb 12oz peg 11 (shiplate)

3rd Julian Pinkett 9lb 1oz  (Bristol post office)

Top silvers-

1st Julian Pinkett with waggler and maggot caught roach and skimmers peg 13a

2nd Rich Hawkins 8lb 9oz (Bristol post office)

     

 

Shiplate open hawthorns

A match run by myself today as still being the festive period its nice to give Steve and Carol a break though Steve did do the weigh in with his fishery helper Roy as it looked very dark over head" (Thank you). Only 11 fishing today so top 3 overall and top silvers gave as all something to fish for and with the weather looking some what unsettled with a blustery south westerly we were all going to have to take as much care as possible with regards to bait and tackle!

Fishing from 9.45 till 3.15 with the draw being 8.30 gave us plenty of time to assess are pegs before the all in and with most drawn I ended up on peg 1 with the wind blowing down my end I was wishing it August" as on many canal lakes it can be the kiss of death in the cold, I have drawn this peg before and new I had around 4ft down my calmer left hand margin around a 1ft off the stick ups fishing a 4x14 chanti at dead death, And around 3ft towards the far bank in front of the bull rushes fishing a 4x12 chanti both to 0.13-0.11 and a size 20 808, I did set a strung out 4x10 chanti to search further along the bare bank towards the far corner if I needed to.

For Company today I had Steve Howell on peg 3 and after a quid side bet and him kindly giving me some maggots we weren't sure what to expect so a very open mind was the order of the day, Back to my peg in time for me to call all in and I fed around 30 maggots down my inside left swim and around the same with some expanders down to my right tho this was head on into the wind so I expected it to be a throw away line if the wind wasn't to subside", deciding not to feed anything across on any other line and started on the far rig infront of  with double maggot just tripping the bottom feeding a few maggots and expanders via mini cadpot, Two minutes in a bit of lifting and dropping a fast bite result in a 4oz roach not what I was expecting but a blank not on the cards, after a few missed fast bites a switch to a 4mm expander left me waiting for any indications apart from a few dinks I was still without a carp and a try on single maggot got me plenty of bites from tiny perch and the odd better roach but I was going nowhere and with only hooking one small carp it was a change to the lighter 4x10 rig and searching further along the bank resulted in my first carp around 2lb on double red maggot a drop back on the same line didn't result in any more signs so back on the far 3ft swim and a few more small silvers it was time for a re-think.

I had been feeding the inside by hand with a few maggots so although earlier than I would had liked I lay my 4ft rig in the edge and seconds later carp 2 was on and swimming nicely towards the middle of the lake tho stopped in its tracks and bolted back where it came from leaving me with a nice size scale! a quick re-feed with a round 40 maggots it was time to look on my throw away line into the wind on my inside right, First put in and carp number three was netted around 4lb but with no more indications I put a bit more bait in and switched back to my left margin, a slowly missed bite and a few liners I decided to try my 3ft rig on the same line and after a quick dip of the float tip in some Vaseline to help hold the float up I lay the rig in and watched the elastic slide from the end of the pole" another nice 3lb mirror in the net but no more fish I was back to the light rig across with maggot searching for any carp that might be sitting further along away from any bait and although I did manage two more carp I was getting more indications from silvers so after a few more 4oz roach and chublets I spend most on the remaining match down both insides ending the day with around 12 carp and approx. 3lb of silvers.

I packed up as quick as poss to avoid the rain in the distance approaching , and wanderd up Peanut (Steve one line will do Howell) on peg 3 , he was admitting to 13 carp catching on maggot over on the far shelf, The weigh-in was started at the top end of the lake and Ron Stark was winning with 34lb odd, next to weigh was peanut with 40lb 10oz and with just me to weigh I thought my fish were a bit on the small side but added to my silvers gave me first on the day and a nice 65 quid to add to last wkends pickup off the same lake along with four quid in side bets"

  The heavens were against us today tho we all caught but with a couple of breakages along the way with simon ryall breaking a no.4 and john page a no.6 tho can use his wild card to get a new one, (Tight git)

1st Dom Sullivan 43-8 Maver/Cadbury Angling

2nd Steve Howell 40-10 shiplate

3rd Ron Stark 34-12 Weston A.A

4th Russ Peck 23-6 Thatchers Tackle

Top Silvers

Gorden Jones 4-4 Weston A.A        

                               

shiplate farm xmas match

After the normal sunday fry up it is off to shiplate farm for there annual chrismas match, This is a great venue run by steve and carol oliver and bein as its less that ten minutes from are home the traveling costs are minimal,
37 fishing today which is a nice turn out for any match,with both canals and the main lake in, after all the talk of were we were hoping to draw I was in the queue , I fancied end pegs 1 or 15 on the main lake or a high number on hawthorns, into the bag and out pops 8 hawthorns smack bag it the middle.
Not to disappointed as I had won a match recently from peg 9 I made two 4x10 chanti rigs for a cross in 2.5ft off water on 0.13 to 0.11 and a size 20 808 and a 4x14 chanti down the track,
After feeding  all 3 lines with a minimum amount of micro and 4mm expander I started a cross with a 4mm expander at dead depth, 30 mins in and four bites? resulted in 3 missed and one foul hooked carp which did its best to  say hello to my other lines before sheding the hook! shiplate regular and silver fish hunter gordan jones (golly) was on peg 7 and had already had a few silvers and a rouge carp on the silvers line fishing pinkee down the track, 2 hours in and I was still fish less so a switch down the track resulted in a 3oz skimmer  then nothing!
I decided to concentrate on my far lines tho bein it shallow and a switch to double maggot whilst drip feeding the same via a toss pot saw me swap between the lines across for the rest of the match fishing for 1 fish at a time seemed to be the best option then re-feeding and moving to the next swim.
All match I was drip feeding maggot by hand down my short edge and did manage to snare one carp at half depth, Ending up with 7 carp over and the one short
 I was expecting the more favoured high numbers to produce, even the ever present steve howell (peanut) on peg 12 struggled for a mere 7lb odd, I was chuffed to end up winning the lake with 34lb 5oz and back to the hut for a lovely laid on spot of very welcome hotdogs , sausage rolls, and home made mince pies" it was down to the results,
First on the day was phil (Fabio) harding on peg 15 main lake with 50lb 9oz of carp caught on the method feeder & 8mm pellet towards the lawns and after last nights monsoon season the extra water had caused the canals to fish harder of late resulting in my 34lb to be enough for 2nd on the day and a very welcome £75 in the back pocket"
Top silvers on the day went to Julian pinkett with 16lb 10oz of skimmers on main lake peg 13a fishing the waggler and maggot,
full results
1st Phil harding 50lb 9oz
2nd Dom Sullivan 34lb 5oz
3rd Mat tanton 23lb 10oz
4th Lewis jones 21lb 6oz
5th Tim lewis 19lb 6oz
Top silvers
Julian pinkett 16lb 10oz
 
  

A TRIP DOWN MEMORY LANE...

Im 43yrs old now tho I can still remember most of my early learning days as i'm sure most of us have fond memories, Always keen to be on my bike at the crack of dawn to make my eight mile trip to the River Kenn in Clevedon just to get a good peg to chase the big bream shoals by the sea wall or to fish amongst the lily beds on the gravels section, only to return home at dusk and do it all again the next day" I was as keen then as I was when my hormones kicked as far as females go!
After having a few years off  chasing these fine works of art? And moving home to Weston-Super-Mud"  I joined Weston.A.A and met my good friend Darren greenwood (big bird) that know him,
Ending up as traveling partners to matches and many a sunday morning spent with "whitfield" singing Saturday night blareing out the cassette player with the windows down singing along to the words," It was a real learning curve and with so many anglers it was always easy to ask for advice
to help improve my fishing  and the effort I was putting in was reaping the rewards and I was as keen to always get the best for the team,
I moved ranks to the now  Sensas Thyers Squad who were a local bunch of lads which most are still members under long time captain lance tucker, having are team meetings every Thursday some traveling twenty miles or more to discuss are match tactics followed by a game of cards",How offen does that happen now,"
Team fishing to me was at its prime now and I was delighted when asked to join Thatchers  Tubertni soon to be Crazy Bait Thatchers by Ian (piggy) parsons, This squad included the likes of  Des Shipp, Steve Mayo, Ben Leach to name but a few and the effort the team put was second to none and most weekends we would be traveling what seemed like the length of the country"
I always remember Des rubbing his new bright green and pink waterproofs in the mud before he wore them so not to stand out as much!!
As always all good things come to an end as they say but I broke away from team fishing to concentrate on work ect and took time away from fishing altogether for a while but as we all do I have some great and funny memories to go on with...(Tight lines) .