18/06/11 - Fishponds

Weight – 116lb 5oz
Catch – 15 Carp
Weather – Rain showers & sunny period. Breezy
Match – Club – Float Rod Only – 1st out of 5

I don’t know about everyone else, but I getting just a little p****d off with the weather. Last month was all about the wind and this month it’s all about the rain. For the 3rd match on the bounce the kit got another soaking. Just as we were setting up it rained, before another shower mid match and just as everything had dried out it rained as we were packing away.

Today’s afternoon/evening match was a float rod only match, but disappointingly only 5 turned up, which meant we were pleasure fishing. Being float rod only, would normally mean fishing the waggler, however with the iffy weather I wasn’t convinced I would catch on the pellet waggler, but I still set up 2 rods with different depths, plus a full depth waggler to fish hair rigged 8mm pellet. My 4th rod was a 15ft preston carbon active (13ft with a 2ft dolly section) to fish paste down the shelf.

My peg for the day was 6, which normally I would be happy with, but it’s not normally any good for the pellet waggler, because most of the ripple on the lake tends to go down the long bank, so I expecting to use the long rod. Since I couldn’t pot my paste in, I had to stiffen it up so I could swing it underarm. After 10mins I hooked my 1st carp and already missing my pole. Playing what turned out to be a 12lb 7oz carp on a 15ft rod isn’t much fun, but worked out it was easier to play the carp once I got it close in to tighten the clutch on the reel and hold the rod further up, effectively reducing the rod length to 13ft, which made it easier to land.

After an hour I had 4 carp, before bites dried up. I had been feeding pellet 25m out ready for the waggler. I started on the full depth waggler, but didn’t have a proper bite, although there was obviously fish in the swim. A switch to the pellet waggler didn’t produce either and to be honest I spent too long trying the 3 waggler rigs without success.

Back on the paste and I started to catch again, but still kept the pellet going in over the waggler line. Eventually the carp properly arrived, but I could only catch when it went cloudy and there was some ripple.

To be honest I would have preferred to have fished the pole, because I’m sure I would have caught quite a bit more and on a more favourable day would have caught more on the pellet waggler.

A wins a win, regardless of how many were fishing, which after a number near misses recently was welcome. 94lb was 2nd and 88lb was 3rd.