27/02/11 - Lands End - Mach Lake

Weight –10lb 12oz
Catch – 11 Roach, 4 Bream, 3 Perch, 1 Tench, 1Rudd
Weather – Cold start, showery, chilly wind.
Match – Open – 10th

A really busy week with trips to Cardiff and London which will provide some financial breathing space, which will mean I can get back fishing more regularly and I may able to buy Sue a car albeit a cheap one. Fingers crossed.

After a long week, I wasn’t that bothered about going fishing this weekend, but Mark offered to pick me to fish Lands End and I thought why not, I haven’t been there for ages and to be honest was missing the place.


14 had turned for today’s match, 10 on match and 4 on the 4 corners of speci! There are very few fishery owners like Mike that give you so much room to fish a match. I wasn’t too bothered where I drew, but peg 3 would have been last on the list. Looking at the results from the last 2 matches, it had come close to bottom on both occasions.

Anyway, I had come for a days fishing and the peg can occasionally throw up a weight. However, with an increasingly strong wind blowing down the lake into peg 1 I wasn’t optimistic. So decided that targeting the silvers would be the best way forward.

On the all in, a few casters went in at 5m and in front of the platform on peg 2. A few micros & 4mms went in at 11.5m at the bottom of the shelf. I started tight to the far side to see whether I could pickup an early perch, before the wind got too strong. 1st drop in I had a small rudd, but the wind did get too strong, so concentrated at 5m and in front of the peg 2 platform.

After 45min I had only added 1 small roach, before 1½lb tench made an appearance at 5m. Although it was slow, I started to get a few small roach at 5m, but the platform swim only produced 2 perch, including a 2lber.

With 3hrs gone everyone except Anton on peg 21 were struggling for bites. The recent colder snap was having its effect, but fortunately the wind was dropping, so at least I could now fish the far side again. The top of the shelf produced only a couple of fish, plus 1 very decent perch that dropped the hook – again.

I had started feeding 4mm by catapult 14.5m to my left at the bottom of the far shelf, hoping to pull in a couple carp that were boshing on the corner the island, but I think they went in Anton’s direction, however I did pick up 3 decent skimmers on pellet, plus another over my micro pellet swim.

I tried dumping maggot & caster at the bottom of the near shelf, hoping for a late tench or big perch, but nothing.

Other than Anton who won with 100lb, Match Lake fished poorly with the next best weight on the lake of 28lb from the sheltered peg 16. 2nd on the day was Somerset’s rent boy Tom Thick with 50 odd pound, even his dad called him twat – lol.

Mark won the silvers from peg 25 with 19lb of skimmers & f1 on soft pellet.

A disappointing result, from a dodgy peg, but was glad to get back to Lands End.