16/05/10 - Cuckoo's Rest

Weight – 6lb 6oz
Catch – 33 Roach, 10 Perch, 8 Skimmers
Weather – Cold, cloudy, rainy start. Brighter later, but windy
Match – Open - 7th overall

16 turned up Mark’s match at Cuckoo’s Rest, with the expectation of plenty of skimmers and tench. However, the weather had a big hand in how the day turned out. After the warm day yesterday, it was back on with the fleece, because it was certainly a bit nippy and with the early start I expecting a slow start.

I drew the 1st peg over the bridge on the left side of the island. General consensus was, it wasn’t a great draw, however a few tench had been caught recently in the area by pleasure anglers. Being on the corner of the island, meant I was sitting at angle to the open water, but to my left there was an over hanging tree at 14.5m on the “mainland”, as well as the margin towards to the bridge, so at least I had a few options.

Green Swim Stim & micros were deposited at 13m and 4mm’s were catapulted towards the over hanging tree. Whilst I let that settle I started at 5m fishing caster and after 30mins I had 10 fish in the net, before bites dried up.

The 13m line produced very little on soft pellet with bites very hard to come by. In fact everyone seemed to be struggling, expect Hippy who was on the right bank, casting a small method feeder towards the far bank, catching proper bream and the odd carp.

I would have been happy to keep going with the roach at 5m but couldn’t keep them going, as they drifted in & out of the swim. Even adding another section didn’t help, so a bit oft head scratching.

My overhanging tree swim did produce a couple of small skimmers on corn, but again no more and I had to keep rotating swims just to keep a few fish going into the net. Even tried the waggler, which only produced 1 roach. Although Hippy was running away with it, a couple of decent skimmers or tench would soon put you back in the contention for the frame.

With the wind increasing strength, I was beginning to regret not packing a feeder rod to fish beyond 14.5m, but with the wind cutting across me, fishing longer as I had intended was no longer an option.

I set up a new swim at 11.5m, just feeding 4mm and caster via a toss pot, reasoning the roach at 5m were worth having , perhaps they would feed more confidentially further out and hopefully a few skimmers would show. Unfortunately the roach got smaller and there were very few skimmers.

As the match drew to a conclusion, I stuck with the pellet and corn hoping for a better fish, but it just didn't happen. Those that framed all had at least 1 decent fish, but overall a very disappointing match. Those skimmers never feed and not 1 of the 2500 small carp stocked last month showed.

Hippy won with 64lb, but 2nd was only 16lb, which was 2 carp, 1 proper bream and a skimmer.