Weight - 28lb 6oz (7lb 2oz - silvers)
Catch - 6 Carp, 8 Skimmers, 4 F1s, 2 Crucian, 2 Roach
Weather - Mostly sunny and a gusty breeze
Match - Club - 5th out of 14
Apologies for this blog entry being a bit late, I had already written it once, but lost it and couldn’t be bothered to re-write until now.
The phrase it never rains, but it pours couldn’t be truer at the moment. Work is currently very difficult and in fact it’s probably the worst it’s been for 3 years. Working in a specialist role, means I am more exposed when things don’t go according to the “plan”. The good news is when it does work properly I will prime position to take advantage and earn some money, because there are quite a few jobs around the house that need paying for.
A few weeks ago I took my car back the garage. Having already spent £2000/£2500 in 18 months, which included a new cam gear and belt, the car was making a whirring noise when the engaging a gear. So back into the garage and I now need a new gear box which will cost a minimum of £1700, yet the car is only worth £1500. The garage has given me a good p/x on my car and I brought a new one. I was already to pick it up, only to be told the finance company won’t release the funds to the garage because my driving licence (the ID part card) expired 2009!!! Doh! So new driving licence sorted but it takes up to 3 weeks for the DVLA to issue a new one. It’s now 2 weeks gone and I’m still waiting!
Back to this match, which was a club match and a big thank you to my neighbour Sally, who lent me her car. With 14 booked in, pegging was always going to be a bit tight. The news was the carp had spawned the previous week so the hope was the fish would be keen and eager to have a munch.
I drew p41 which I was happy with and as we were setting up there was a number of fish cruising the surface, so I was fully expecting a few fish. To cut a long and boring match short it was hard work. Those cruising fish just didn’t want to open their mouths, you would drop a pellet or meat in front of them and they would just swim around it.
I decided to keep feeding pellet to the point of the spit with the expectation the fish would get their heads down later in the day. Half way through 3 carp on the bounce fishing 8mm meat shallow tight to spit, I thought I had it sussed, unfortunately not.
I had a few fish on the deck fishing 6mm meat, but it didn’t really work so a change to a soft pellet rig and feeding 4s brought a better response.
In the end the better weights came the top half of the lake, but generally it was hard work for most.
1st 59- 0 – Glenn – p61 (pellet feeder)
2nd 56- 2 – Andy L – p50 (pole/maggot down the track)
3rd 38-14 – Roger – p55
4th 33-15 – Andy B – p53
5th 28- 6 – Ken – p41
6th 19- 0 – Ian – p68
Showing posts with label Lands End. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lands End. Show all posts
Sunday, June 16, 2013
Monday, April 8, 2013
07/04/13 - Lands End - Speci
Weight - 22lb 3oz (15lb 14oz - silvers)
Catch - 8 Skimmers, 1 F1, 1 Roach, 1 Carp
Weather - Gusty wind, sunny with cloudy periods
Match - Open - 18th out of 36, 5th out of 12 - lake, 3rd overall silvers
Catch - 8 Skimmers, 1 F1, 1 Roach, 1 Carp
Weather - Gusty wind, sunny with cloudy periods
Match - Open - 18th out of 36, 5th out of 12 - lake, 3rd overall silvers
Back to Lands End. This was the unused reserve date for the winter league and with 36 booked in all 3 lakes was used. Another mediocre draw for me, p28 this time and I had Mark Brennan to my left on p26 and Sean Townsend to my right on p29. In fact there was a number of very good silverfish anglers on Speci today, with the most disappointed being Nicky Collins who drew the carp flyer p32. I offered to swap.
Sean & I didn’t show much enthusiasm for tackling up, but you have to give it a go. The wind would be an issue today and it didn’t know which way to blow. One moment it would blow from the east into p25, then it would go flat calm before blowing from behind.
I didn’t realistically think I could pick up targeting carp, so hoped the skimmers would have a go. Main rig for the day was HB Chump 0.3g > .10 > 18 silverfish pellet. I did set up a few other rigs, but never caught on them.
A few people have quizzed me about my float descriptions. Most of the floats I use are handmade from Neil Powell who goes under the name Hillbilly www.hillbillyfloats.co.uk At £2.20 the floats aren’t cheaper, however you will struggle to find a better made float and unlike some commercially made floats the eyes don’t rip out or explode, so as a consequence I don’t replace them as often.
Back to the match some caster was cupped by the island, a pinch of micros/4s at 11.5m, then a big cup of loose groundbait, micros & 4s to my left at 13m in p27. I started by the island, but after 20mins I had no bites. A look over my 11.5m line on 4mm expander and I bumped a skimmer. Its no surprise I couldn’t get another bite, so re-fed another pinch of pellet at 12m, which did produce a skimmer as did the groundbait swim. So after an hour I had 2 skimmers, as did Mark and Sean had 1. However the anglers opposite were all catching silvers and Nicky had a couple of carp.
The 2nd & 3rd hours were very quiet with only 1 more skimmer and a roach. I had tried the island again, caster at 5m and caster by the p27 pallet, but not a bite. Sean was threatening to go for a walk when he had a skimmer over his short caster line and I then had a 6lb carp at 12m. He then threatened to go for another walk when he hooked a double figure carp!
At the half way point not many carp had been caught, so decided to feed some meat at the bottom of the near shelf 11m to my left in the hope of catching a few big lumps late on. Another pot of groundbait & pellet was dumped at 14m this time to my left and another pinch of pellet at 13m.
The remainder of the match went quite well. The short caster line didn’t produce, although it was a useful place to allow me to rest the pellet swim. It was a case of catch a skimmer, feed then try another area of the swim. In the end my pellet line moved to 14m and each re-feed moved a foot to my left along the bottom of the shelf. The groundbait swim produced 2 more skimmers.
With 90mins left the meat line was abandoned, because Sean had caught a few more carp as had Steve Skelton on p33 and I wanted to concentrate on the skimmers, because I felt that was my best chance of a pick up. The silverfish anglers opposite had been catching, but mostly a smaller stamp fish so if I could keep catching I thought I might be in with a chance, although losing a big skimmer at the net I thought would cost me, but overall felt pleased with my efforts.
By the all out Sean thought I had won the silvers, but I was conscience that those opposite all started better than me. As it turned out that lost skimmer did cost be an extra £15, because Clint Wotlyla won the silvers (skimmers, perch & roach) with 17-2 from peg 34. In fact it was quite close with silvers on that side with most catching roach and roach in amongst some skimmers, yet hardly any roach or perch showed my side. John Green (p36) had 13-0, Gary Cross (p37) had 14-2 and Shane Caswell (p39) had 9-8. As for Bob Gullick on p40 he only had 1 F1 and a perch.
Since Clint won the silvers overall, it meant I picked up for the silvers on the lake. Sean won the lake with 5 carp, but Trigger easily won the match from p22 with 226lb.
1st 226- 3 - Craig Edmunds - p22
2nd 97-12 - Dave Roper - p68
3rd 70-12 - Bela Bakos - p17
4th 65-14 - Martin McMahon - p58
5th 65- 7 - Paul Elmes - p55
6th 60- 5 - Phil Harding - p70
Silvers
1st 17- 8 - Craig Edmunds - p22
2nd 17- 2 - Clint Wotlyla - p34
3rd 15-14 - Ken Rayner - p28
4th 14- 2 - Gary Cross - p37
5th 13- 0 - John Green - p36
06/04/13 - Lands End - Match
Weight - 21lb 3oz (11lb 2oz - silvers)
Catch - 9 Skimmers, 2 Carp, 2 Roach
Weather - Sunny and light winds. Actually felt like spring!
Match - Open - 6th out of 10 (4th - silvers)
Catch - 9 Skimmers, 2 Carp, 2 Roach
Weather - Sunny and light winds. Actually felt like spring!
Match - Open - 6th out of 10 (4th - silvers)
With the promise of lighter winds I decided to book in at Lands End and it certainly made a pleasant change not to be wearing loads of layers. 12 were booked in, however there was 4 no shows. Why do people think it’s acceptable to book in then not turn up without letting the organisers know? Fortunately Tom Mangall and Jamie Parkhouse turned up after drawing 130 & 131 in the Fishomania at Viaduct, because they didn’t fancy sitting it out for 1 or 2 fish, so the final number was 10.
I was really disappointed to have pulled p1, which has shown very little form over the winter, but with the “warmer” weather I kept my fingers crossed. For company Nigel Bartlett was opposite on p23 and Fabio was the closest to my right on p5.
I’m convinced that groundbait can work at Lands End, so decided to feed ½ a cup of loose groundbait with a few micros and 4s at 13m in open water, then a pinch of micros/4s 14m at the bottom of shelf down the left hand side and towards the island.
Well I caught most of my fish in the first 2.5hrs, over all three swims, although I did pull out of a couple of skimmers which was annoying. I thought I was very slightly ahead of Nigel at this point, but Fabio was catching and looked to be leading the silvers.
The rest of the match was a proper struggle. Caster on top of the shelf didn’t work (why aren’t those perch and roach feeding?) and meat by the right hand bush didn’t produce either. Nigel was also struggling, it was just like the fish completely disappeared from this end of the lake. Nigel did provide some entertainment. He really doesn’t like carp and was having a proper tantrum.
In the warm sun a ball of carp sat under the tree and a few even came for swim around the peg, but they weren’t even taking loose feed pellet. With little ripple and clear water the fish immediately shyed away from the pole, so I didn’t waste too much time chasing them.
In the end the feeding fish were around the middle of the lake, with both Tom & Eric Fouracre catching shallow. Fabio easily won the silvers with a nice bag of skimmers and F1s.
1st 106- 9 - Eric Fouracre - p19
2nd 97- 0 - Tom Mangnall - p17
3rd 43- 6 - Mike West - p21
4th 40-15 - Phil Harding - p5
5th 38-13 - Jamie Parkhouse - p15
6th 21- 3 - Ken Rayner - p1
Silvers
1st 31-12 - Phil Harding - p5
2nd 13-13 - Jamie Parkshouse - p15
3rd 11-15 - Tom Mangnall - p17
Sunday, March 24, 2013
23/03/13 - Lands End - Match
Weight - 78lb 0oz (6lb 10oz - silvers)
Catch - 14 Carp, 6 Skimmers, 2 Roach, 2 Perch, 1 Golden Tench
Weather - Cold & cloudy. Heavy rain the day before
Match - Open - 1st out of 11
Winter is still hanging on and today's weather was more like January. Ideally with the 2nd round of the pole only series at Acorns next week, I should have gone there today. However, with the poor weather, match attendances haven't been great and the fish just sit in the quiet water, which meant there was no real advantage to practising. Also the forecast was for a cold easterly wind and Acorns doesn't afford any cover, whilst Lands End does. Plus I think Lands End is a better fishery, particularly in the winter.
At the draw, peg 9 was put in, together with 7 & 11, despite my protests, because 7 can be a flier, but becomes very ordinary when 9 is in. I think the reason is due to the pegs being slightly narrower and shallower. Peg 3 was left out and it doesn't take a genius to know where the carp were sat during the day.
As for me p21 was my home for the day, with Keith Builder on 19 and Allan Oram on 24. 21 won the Wednesdays match, but with a days worth of very cold rain falling yesterday and overnight everyone was expecting a bit of a struggle. So it was a bit of surprise to see fish moving around, they must be really confused at the moment. The increased light conditions, means they need to think about spawning, however the water temperature is more like January.
4 rigs for the day. HB Chump 0.3g > .12 > 18 silverfish pellet (soft pellet down the track rig), HB Shindig 0.2g > .12 > 18 B911 (to fish corn down the track), HB frostie 0.2g > .12 > 18 silverfish pellet (top of the shelf), Ackoo Powertrap 0.2g > .16 > 16 carp feeder (hair rig double corn).
Due to the cold conditions, I started cautiously feeding a pinch of micros 14.5m to my right at the bottom of the shelf and some caster/dead maggot on top of the far shelf.
Starting on the double corn rig 14.5m to my left, the float didn't even settle I was already in, although it was hooked in the wing. My next carp followed 10mins later and this one was hooked properly, but no more followed so after 45mins I decided put some feed into the LH swim. A switch to the RH swim with pellet I lost a 2lb skimmer at the net, before netting 3x smaller skimmers, by rotating between the LH & RH swims.
By the half way point I had added another 2 carp on pellet from the LH swim and knew I was likely to frame, although it was close between Allan, Nick Duckett (p1) and myself. Nick was catching carp & few silvers, whilst Allan was catching some decent silvers.
I tried the top of the far shelf with caster, but never had a bite, so that wasn't tried again. I also tried by the p22 pallet where I had been feeding caster from the off, however only had 2 small perch. I did try again later in the match and caught a cracking 1lb roach on double caster, but no other fish, so that line was binned with 90mins left.
I had been feeding a pinch of pellet into one swim and fishing the other, but it became obvious the LH swim was the stronger of the 2, so at the half way point I started to catapult 4s into the RH swim simply to try something different. In the LH swim I started cupping in slightly more feed. By continually rotating between the 2 swims I kept catching mostly on pellet, included a lovely looking common of 11-10 and a 2lb golden tench. I also tried the double corn rig, which produced 1 carp and the shindig rig which produced 2 small carp towards the end on corn.
A couple of pots of corn/caster was dumped by the p20 pallet, but never a bite so didn't waste too much time.
In the last 2 hours, I pulled away from Allan and Nick. I could see that most struggled and the grapevine suggested that those I couldn't see were also struggling, so a convincing win in the end and it was nice to be drawn at the right end of the lake particularly after my last 2 matches.
1st 78- 0 - Ken Rayner - p21
2nd 45- 7 - Nick Duckett - p1
3rd 40- 5 - Allan Oram - p24
4th 29-15 - Mark Walsh - p13
5th 26- 2 - Keith Walsh - p19
6th 25- 8 - Tom Mangnall - p11
Silvers
1st 17- 3 - Allan Oram - p24
2nd 13- 0 - Tom Mangnall - p11
3rd 7- 1 - Nick Duckett - p1
4th 6-10 - Ken Rayner - p21
Catch - 14 Carp, 6 Skimmers, 2 Roach, 2 Perch, 1 Golden Tench
Weather - Cold & cloudy. Heavy rain the day before
Match - Open - 1st out of 11
Winter is still hanging on and today's weather was more like January. Ideally with the 2nd round of the pole only series at Acorns next week, I should have gone there today. However, with the poor weather, match attendances haven't been great and the fish just sit in the quiet water, which meant there was no real advantage to practising. Also the forecast was for a cold easterly wind and Acorns doesn't afford any cover, whilst Lands End does. Plus I think Lands End is a better fishery, particularly in the winter.
At the draw, peg 9 was put in, together with 7 & 11, despite my protests, because 7 can be a flier, but becomes very ordinary when 9 is in. I think the reason is due to the pegs being slightly narrower and shallower. Peg 3 was left out and it doesn't take a genius to know where the carp were sat during the day.
As for me p21 was my home for the day, with Keith Builder on 19 and Allan Oram on 24. 21 won the Wednesdays match, but with a days worth of very cold rain falling yesterday and overnight everyone was expecting a bit of a struggle. So it was a bit of surprise to see fish moving around, they must be really confused at the moment. The increased light conditions, means they need to think about spawning, however the water temperature is more like January.
4 rigs for the day. HB Chump 0.3g > .12 > 18 silverfish pellet (soft pellet down the track rig), HB Shindig 0.2g > .12 > 18 B911 (to fish corn down the track), HB frostie 0.2g > .12 > 18 silverfish pellet (top of the shelf), Ackoo Powertrap 0.2g > .16 > 16 carp feeder (hair rig double corn).
Due to the cold conditions, I started cautiously feeding a pinch of micros 14.5m to my right at the bottom of the shelf and some caster/dead maggot on top of the far shelf.
Starting on the double corn rig 14.5m to my left, the float didn't even settle I was already in, although it was hooked in the wing. My next carp followed 10mins later and this one was hooked properly, but no more followed so after 45mins I decided put some feed into the LH swim. A switch to the RH swim with pellet I lost a 2lb skimmer at the net, before netting 3x smaller skimmers, by rotating between the LH & RH swims.
By the half way point I had added another 2 carp on pellet from the LH swim and knew I was likely to frame, although it was close between Allan, Nick Duckett (p1) and myself. Nick was catching carp & few silvers, whilst Allan was catching some decent silvers.
I tried the top of the far shelf with caster, but never had a bite, so that wasn't tried again. I also tried by the p22 pallet where I had been feeding caster from the off, however only had 2 small perch. I did try again later in the match and caught a cracking 1lb roach on double caster, but no other fish, so that line was binned with 90mins left.
I had been feeding a pinch of pellet into one swim and fishing the other, but it became obvious the LH swim was the stronger of the 2, so at the half way point I started to catapult 4s into the RH swim simply to try something different. In the LH swim I started cupping in slightly more feed. By continually rotating between the 2 swims I kept catching mostly on pellet, included a lovely looking common of 11-10 and a 2lb golden tench. I also tried the double corn rig, which produced 1 carp and the shindig rig which produced 2 small carp towards the end on corn.
A couple of pots of corn/caster was dumped by the p20 pallet, but never a bite so didn't waste too much time.
In the last 2 hours, I pulled away from Allan and Nick. I could see that most struggled and the grapevine suggested that those I couldn't see were also struggling, so a convincing win in the end and it was nice to be drawn at the right end of the lake particularly after my last 2 matches.
1st 78- 0 - Ken Rayner - p21
2nd 45- 7 - Nick Duckett - p1
3rd 40- 5 - Allan Oram - p24
4th 29-15 - Mark Walsh - p13
5th 26- 2 - Keith Walsh - p19
6th 25- 8 - Tom Mangnall - p11
Silvers
1st 17- 3 - Allan Oram - p24
2nd 13- 0 - Tom Mangnall - p11
3rd 7- 1 - Nick Duckett - p1
4th 6-10 - Ken Rayner - p21
Monday, March 18, 2013
17/03/13 - Lands End - Speci
Weight - 29lb 8oz (8lb 10oz - silvers)
Catch - 2 Carp, 7 Roach, 3 Bream, 2 Rudd
Weather - Cool, but at least it was mostly sunny
Match - Winter League rd 6 - 15th out of 33 (7th out of 11 - section)
The 6th and final round of the winter league, which generally hasn't gone that well for me, with some poor draws. So today I was hoping for a decent days fishing.
Today was also my birthday and I brought cake courtesy of my mum for everyone, although there were very few takers at the draw having already taken their fill of breakfast. It soon went after the match.
Unbelievably Tony drew 32 which was the ideal draw if you wish to win the league, however the league leader Mark drew 37, which has been one of the worst pegs on the lake this year. He was not happy. As for me peg 26 was going to be my home, which isn't a peg I particular like because its 17m to the island and the depth varies so much left to right.
For company Mark Brennan was to my right on p28, whilst Bela was opposite on 40 and Bob Gullick on 39. Aaron Britnell was a no show which meant 25 wasn't drawn. Both Bela & I thought it would provide too much room for the fish to back off into and that's how it turned out with Bela spending most of the match trying to coax carp from the other side of the cage.
I started the match fishing down the track feeding 2 swims with micros and 4mm expander on the hook. However after an hour and only 1 roach to show for my efforts it looked like I had drawn the wrong end of the lake again, because all the fish were being caught down the other end.
I only managed 1 skimmer over the micros, they just didn't want to be here, although Bob on the other side was managing to put a few together. My 5m caster line produced a couple of roach up to a pound, plus a decent skimmer, but I couldn't put a run of fish together.
I did manage 2 carp on double caster within the space of 30mins from the pallet on 25, but again I couldn't get any more. I had been firing 4s to the island, hoping to pull in some carp, I had 1 skimmer on hard 6s and lost another, but it soon died again.
Frustrating day, but I simply drew the wrong end of the lake, although I was surprised I couldn't catch more silvers. Mark Poppleton was probably the most relived man on the day finishing 2nd from last in the section, but fortunately the other results meant he still managed 3rd overall courtesy of better weight advantage over Craig Edmunds (I'm not saying anything)
1st 90- 4 - Kev Molton - p19
2nd 84- 6 - Nick Duckett - p7 (weigh sheet shows 83-6, but someone cant add up)
3rd 83- 7 - Tony Rixon - p32
4th 83- 3 - Craig Edmunds - p22
5th 82-14 - Steve Seagar - p41
6th 73- 0 - Tom Thick - p34
Silvers
1st 24-12 - Bob Gullick - p39
2nd 20-13 - Mike Nicholls - p17
3rd 17-12 - Phil Harding - p13
4th 14- 9 - Allan Oram - p11
Full League tables will follow soon, but well done to the winners
Catch - 2 Carp, 7 Roach, 3 Bream, 2 Rudd
Weather - Cool, but at least it was mostly sunny
Match - Winter League rd 6 - 15th out of 33 (7th out of 11 - section)
The 6th and final round of the winter league, which generally hasn't gone that well for me, with some poor draws. So today I was hoping for a decent days fishing.
Today was also my birthday and I brought cake courtesy of my mum for everyone, although there were very few takers at the draw having already taken their fill of breakfast. It soon went after the match.
Unbelievably Tony drew 32 which was the ideal draw if you wish to win the league, however the league leader Mark drew 37, which has been one of the worst pegs on the lake this year. He was not happy. As for me peg 26 was going to be my home, which isn't a peg I particular like because its 17m to the island and the depth varies so much left to right.
For company Mark Brennan was to my right on p28, whilst Bela was opposite on 40 and Bob Gullick on 39. Aaron Britnell was a no show which meant 25 wasn't drawn. Both Bela & I thought it would provide too much room for the fish to back off into and that's how it turned out with Bela spending most of the match trying to coax carp from the other side of the cage.
I started the match fishing down the track feeding 2 swims with micros and 4mm expander on the hook. However after an hour and only 1 roach to show for my efforts it looked like I had drawn the wrong end of the lake again, because all the fish were being caught down the other end.
I only managed 1 skimmer over the micros, they just didn't want to be here, although Bob on the other side was managing to put a few together. My 5m caster line produced a couple of roach up to a pound, plus a decent skimmer, but I couldn't put a run of fish together.
I did manage 2 carp on double caster within the space of 30mins from the pallet on 25, but again I couldn't get any more. I had been firing 4s to the island, hoping to pull in some carp, I had 1 skimmer on hard 6s and lost another, but it soon died again.
Frustrating day, but I simply drew the wrong end of the lake, although I was surprised I couldn't catch more silvers. Mark Poppleton was probably the most relived man on the day finishing 2nd from last in the section, but fortunately the other results meant he still managed 3rd overall courtesy of better weight advantage over Craig Edmunds (I'm not saying anything)
1st 90- 4 - Kev Molton - p19
2nd 84- 6 - Nick Duckett - p7 (weigh sheet shows 83-6, but someone cant add up)
3rd 83- 7 - Tony Rixon - p32
4th 83- 3 - Craig Edmunds - p22
5th 82-14 - Steve Seagar - p41
6th 73- 0 - Tom Thick - p34
Silvers
1st 24-12 - Bob Gullick - p39
2nd 20-13 - Mike Nicholls - p17
3rd 17-12 - Phil Harding - p13
4th 14- 9 - Allan Oram - p11
Full League tables will follow soon, but well done to the winners
Sunday, March 3, 2013
02/03/13 - Lands End - Match
Weight - 29lb 9oz (19lb 3oz - silvers)
Catch - 11 Skimmers, 3 Perch, 2 F1s, 1 Tench, 2 Carp
Weather - Cold & cloudy, sunny later
Match - Open - 2nd out of 12 (1st silvers)
At last I seem to be finding some form, although it always helps when you draw on a few fish.
We are now in the second week of an easterly weather system, but at least today wasn't going to be as bitter as last week and winds were very light. With 12 booked in today, we were all on match lake, although Tom Mangnall really wanted to be on speci and come the end of the match I think he wished he was having struggled from peg 7, which seems to be an all or nothing peg peg at the moment. Fabio had also turned up following the removal of the cast from his broken arm. He managed to fish nearly 5hrs, but I'm not sure whether it was the lack of fish or an aching arm which saw him leave early.
Back to my day and I found myself on a peg I've hardly drawn, yet I was on 19 for the 2nd time in 3 months. Well it made a change from repeatedly drawing 11 or 15!
With a cold and clear lake I fancied 19 for a few fish, which normally frames, so just needed to make sure I didn't cock it up. For company I was sandwiched between the two Mikes, "lady gaga" West on 21 and new granddad Duckett on 17.
Only 3 rigs for today. HB Frostie 0.3g, .10 > 18 silverfish pellet, HB Shindig 0.2g, .12 > 18 B911 and Muncheez 0.1g, .12 > 18 silverfish pellet to fish top of the shelf.
On the all in a pinch of micros was deposited at the bottom of the far shelf towards the point of the island and 14.5m to my right. I started on the shindig rig with corn, which produced a carp and then a tench after 45mins.
A switch to the frostie rig, with 4mm expander, rotating between the 2 bottom of the shelf swims. It was a case of feeding a pinch of pellet in one swim and fishing the other. I managed to keep the 2 swims going for 2 hours catching mostly skimmers and a couple of F1s.
By the 1/2 way stage I seemed to be leading the way on silvers, but I wasn't sure about the frame, since there had been a few (but not many) carp being caught.
I felt I needed to rest the 2 far swims and had already started pinging 4mm pellet to my left and feeding caster to my left by the tree and to my right in the margin. The right hand margin produced a perch, although I did pull out of a good 'un and the left hand tree swim produced 2 perch. I also tried the far side tight to the island, because I could see a few carp swimming around just under the surface, but nothing.
As for those carp that were cruising, whilst fishing the left hand swim over the loose feed pellet, I noticed a pair of carp rounding the corner, so chanced my arm and swung the rig in front of them and got lucky as one of them took the bait.
The remaining 2 hours was just a case of rotating between the 3 long swims, putting a couple more skimmers into the net.
Come the end I was fairly sure I had won the silvers, but wasn't so sure about framing, so it was a welcome surprise when I did.
1st 47- 1 - Allan Oram - p1
2nd 29- 9 - Ken Rayner - p19
3rd 25- 0 - Jim Jenner - p22
4th 24- 4 - Dave Wescott - p11
5th 22-10 - Mike Duckett - p17
6th 22- 6 - Mark Leeder - p13
Silvers
1st 19- 3 - Ken Rayner - p19
2nd 15- 2 - Mark Leeder - p13
3rd 12- 6 - Jamie Parkhouse - p24
Catch - 11 Skimmers, 3 Perch, 2 F1s, 1 Tench, 2 Carp
Weather - Cold & cloudy, sunny later
Match - Open - 2nd out of 12 (1st silvers)
At last I seem to be finding some form, although it always helps when you draw on a few fish.
We are now in the second week of an easterly weather system, but at least today wasn't going to be as bitter as last week and winds were very light. With 12 booked in today, we were all on match lake, although Tom Mangnall really wanted to be on speci and come the end of the match I think he wished he was having struggled from peg 7, which seems to be an all or nothing peg peg at the moment. Fabio had also turned up following the removal of the cast from his broken arm. He managed to fish nearly 5hrs, but I'm not sure whether it was the lack of fish or an aching arm which saw him leave early.
Back to my day and I found myself on a peg I've hardly drawn, yet I was on 19 for the 2nd time in 3 months. Well it made a change from repeatedly drawing 11 or 15!
With a cold and clear lake I fancied 19 for a few fish, which normally frames, so just needed to make sure I didn't cock it up. For company I was sandwiched between the two Mikes, "lady gaga" West on 21 and new granddad Duckett on 17.
Only 3 rigs for today. HB Frostie 0.3g, .10 > 18 silverfish pellet, HB Shindig 0.2g, .12 > 18 B911 and Muncheez 0.1g, .12 > 18 silverfish pellet to fish top of the shelf.
On the all in a pinch of micros was deposited at the bottom of the far shelf towards the point of the island and 14.5m to my right. I started on the shindig rig with corn, which produced a carp and then a tench after 45mins.
A switch to the frostie rig, with 4mm expander, rotating between the 2 bottom of the shelf swims. It was a case of feeding a pinch of pellet in one swim and fishing the other. I managed to keep the 2 swims going for 2 hours catching mostly skimmers and a couple of F1s.
By the 1/2 way stage I seemed to be leading the way on silvers, but I wasn't sure about the frame, since there had been a few (but not many) carp being caught.
I felt I needed to rest the 2 far swims and had already started pinging 4mm pellet to my left and feeding caster to my left by the tree and to my right in the margin. The right hand margin produced a perch, although I did pull out of a good 'un and the left hand tree swim produced 2 perch. I also tried the far side tight to the island, because I could see a few carp swimming around just under the surface, but nothing.
As for those carp that were cruising, whilst fishing the left hand swim over the loose feed pellet, I noticed a pair of carp rounding the corner, so chanced my arm and swung the rig in front of them and got lucky as one of them took the bait.
The remaining 2 hours was just a case of rotating between the 3 long swims, putting a couple more skimmers into the net.
Come the end I was fairly sure I had won the silvers, but wasn't so sure about framing, so it was a welcome surprise when I did.
1st 47- 1 - Allan Oram - p1
2nd 29- 9 - Ken Rayner - p19
3rd 25- 0 - Jim Jenner - p22
4th 24- 4 - Dave Wescott - p11
5th 22-10 - Mike Duckett - p17
6th 22- 6 - Mark Leeder - p13
Silvers
1st 19- 3 - Ken Rayner - p19
2nd 15- 2 - Mark Leeder - p13
3rd 12- 6 - Jamie Parkhouse - p24
Monday, February 18, 2013
16/02/13 - Lands End - Match
Weight - 17lb 14oz
Catch - 3 Carp, 2 Perch, 1 F1, 1 Bream, 1 Roach
Weather - Cold, misty start, Sunny & no wind.
Match - Open - 12th out of 14
14 turned up for today’s match, which is one of the best Saturday turn outs for a while. We were all on Match Lake, which meant there was going to be a few pegs you didn’t want. I found myself on peg 7, which can be a match winner, but not when pegs 8, 10 & 12 are in. For company I had Mark Walsh on 8 and Allan Oram on 5.
Mark had 3 carp within 30 mins fishing across to a small bush and then picked up the odd carp throughout the match. Allan in the meantime rotated his swims to catch mostly skimmers on soft pellet.
As for me, it was a real struggle and I got battered each side. Initially started down the track and bumped a carp after 10mins, then I lost a skimmer when the hook dropped out as I was shipping back, but it took me 1hr 50mins to catch my first fish, a roach on maggot over my pellet line.
My short caster line failed to produce as did my island swim and the fish didn’t seemed to be settled over my pellet line. In the end to make something happen I started catapulting pellet to the point of the island and slightly to my right (to hopefully pull a few of the carp away from Marks peg). At one point I thought it would work, when I had a carp and missed a bite on pellet, but they soon disappeared again. I also started feeding meat at 5m, which can produce a few big carp late, but they never did, although I did manage to sneak one carp from under the pallet of p6.
A head scratcher of day, after such a slow start I was on the back foot for most of the match and I although I tried to make something happened, it ultimately failed.
On a separate issue Mike netted no4 lake today and reckons he has transfer 2000lb of fish into Johns (no3) Lake. Mostly pastie carp, loads of small silvers and 6 enormous 3lb+ perch.
1st 57-11 - Rod Wootton - p18
2nd 57- 4 - Chris K - p15
3rd 47- 8 - Mark Poppleton - p13
4th 41- 6 - Mike West - p24
5th 41- 5 - Mark Walsh - p8
6th 38-10 - Allan Oram - p5
Silvers
1st 31- 0 - Allan Oram - p5
2nd 16- 9 - Tom Mangnall - p19
3rd 12- 3 - Eric Fouracre - p3
Catch - 3 Carp, 2 Perch, 1 F1, 1 Bream, 1 Roach
Weather - Cold, misty start, Sunny & no wind.
Match - Open - 12th out of 14
14 turned up for today’s match, which is one of the best Saturday turn outs for a while. We were all on Match Lake, which meant there was going to be a few pegs you didn’t want. I found myself on peg 7, which can be a match winner, but not when pegs 8, 10 & 12 are in. For company I had Mark Walsh on 8 and Allan Oram on 5.
Mark had 3 carp within 30 mins fishing across to a small bush and then picked up the odd carp throughout the match. Allan in the meantime rotated his swims to catch mostly skimmers on soft pellet.
As for me, it was a real struggle and I got battered each side. Initially started down the track and bumped a carp after 10mins, then I lost a skimmer when the hook dropped out as I was shipping back, but it took me 1hr 50mins to catch my first fish, a roach on maggot over my pellet line.
My short caster line failed to produce as did my island swim and the fish didn’t seemed to be settled over my pellet line. In the end to make something happen I started catapulting pellet to the point of the island and slightly to my right (to hopefully pull a few of the carp away from Marks peg). At one point I thought it would work, when I had a carp and missed a bite on pellet, but they soon disappeared again. I also started feeding meat at 5m, which can produce a few big carp late, but they never did, although I did manage to sneak one carp from under the pallet of p6.
A head scratcher of day, after such a slow start I was on the back foot for most of the match and I although I tried to make something happened, it ultimately failed.
On a separate issue Mike netted no4 lake today and reckons he has transfer 2000lb of fish into Johns (no3) Lake. Mostly pastie carp, loads of small silvers and 6 enormous 3lb+ perch.
1st 57-11 - Rod Wootton - p18
2nd 57- 4 - Chris K - p15
3rd 47- 8 - Mark Poppleton - p13
4th 41- 6 - Mike West - p24
5th 41- 5 - Mark Walsh - p8
6th 38-10 - Allan Oram - p5
Silvers
1st 31- 0 - Allan Oram - p5
2nd 16- 9 - Tom Mangnall - p19
3rd 12- 3 - Eric Fouracre - p3
Monday, February 11, 2013
10/02/13 - Lands End - Johns
Weight - 81lb 3oz
Catch - 13 Carp, 2 Crucians
Weather - Rain, rain and a bit more rain. Oh and some wind!
Match - Lands End Winter League rd 5 - 2nd out of 35 overall, 1st out of 12 section
More wind and rain was forecast for the 5th round and Johns Lake isn’t usually a nice place when it’s blowing a bit. Since my league is effectively over I was just looking forward to a days fishing and I wasn’t too disappointed to draw 58 at the top end of the lake, with Tony Rixon on 55 opposite.
So far this series 55 has been the better the peg, whilst 58 has seen 2 lasts in sections. However I knew this peg can throw up a weight and with the easterly wind blowing up the lake into this end it was going to be boom or bust.
Only 2 rigs today a HB Chump 0.3g > .10 > 18 silverfish pellet and a HB Shindig 0.3g > .12 > 18 B911. I also had a lead rod already set up in case the wind got too bad.
Initially settled on 2 swims, 13m to my right towards Tony in open water and 13m down the right hand edge by the brambles. After feeding some micros & 4s in open water I went straight down the RH margin with corn. After a couple of indications I had a small crucian, a switch to soft pellet produced a 4lb carp, before it went quiet, so I started catapulting 4s over the top.
A brief look over the open water swim produced a small crucian, but that was my only fish from here. The next 2 hrs was spent down the margin on 4mm expander, where I came back with a carp most put ins, mostly by lifting and dropping.
After 2.5hrs Bob Gullick was on walk about, because 1 roach was all he could muster from p46 and it appeared that Tony & I were leading the way on a lake that was fishing hard.
The next hour was quiet with no fish added to the net, but I kept pinging pellet into the RH margin and I also started feeding the point of the island because the wind showed signs of abating. The rest of the match was a case of swapping between the 2 swims and I managed to keep just ahead of Tony.
At one point I had to chuck the lead out, whilst I retied a new rig that got fouled on the far bank as a carp made a successful bid for freedom through some submerged brambles. I knew Tony would give me some stick – which he did, particularly as a carp nearly ripped the rod out of my hands. A switch to corn produced a few late fish as did going an extra metre down the margin.
With 45mins to go I netted a 9lber and thinking I had about 65-70lb, so I decided to put in my 3rd net, just in case. Well I need not have bothered because I didn’t have another. As it happens I should have used by 3rd net sooner, because I went 13oz over the net limit, so ended up recording a level 80lb, plus my 2 crucians.
Really pleased to have made the most of the peg and as is usually the way, your best days, tend to be your easiest.
1st 84- 4 – Jamie Parkhouse – p32
2nd 81- 3 – Ken Rayner – p58
3rd 64-13 – Tony Rixon – p55
4th 60- 1 – Clint Wotlyla – p7
5th 52-15 – Ray Bazeley – p11
6th 51- 9 – Adrain Jeffrey – p15
Silvers
1st 31-14 – Tom Thick – p68
2nd 19- 0 – Tom Mangnall – p42
3rd 15- 1 – Mark Brennan – p61
Catch - 13 Carp, 2 Crucians
Weather - Rain, rain and a bit more rain. Oh and some wind!
Match - Lands End Winter League rd 5 - 2nd out of 35 overall, 1st out of 12 section
More wind and rain was forecast for the 5th round and Johns Lake isn’t usually a nice place when it’s blowing a bit. Since my league is effectively over I was just looking forward to a days fishing and I wasn’t too disappointed to draw 58 at the top end of the lake, with Tony Rixon on 55 opposite.
So far this series 55 has been the better the peg, whilst 58 has seen 2 lasts in sections. However I knew this peg can throw up a weight and with the easterly wind blowing up the lake into this end it was going to be boom or bust.
Only 2 rigs today a HB Chump 0.3g > .10 > 18 silverfish pellet and a HB Shindig 0.3g > .12 > 18 B911. I also had a lead rod already set up in case the wind got too bad.
Initially settled on 2 swims, 13m to my right towards Tony in open water and 13m down the right hand edge by the brambles. After feeding some micros & 4s in open water I went straight down the RH margin with corn. After a couple of indications I had a small crucian, a switch to soft pellet produced a 4lb carp, before it went quiet, so I started catapulting 4s over the top.
A brief look over the open water swim produced a small crucian, but that was my only fish from here. The next 2 hrs was spent down the margin on 4mm expander, where I came back with a carp most put ins, mostly by lifting and dropping.
After 2.5hrs Bob Gullick was on walk about, because 1 roach was all he could muster from p46 and it appeared that Tony & I were leading the way on a lake that was fishing hard.
The next hour was quiet with no fish added to the net, but I kept pinging pellet into the RH margin and I also started feeding the point of the island because the wind showed signs of abating. The rest of the match was a case of swapping between the 2 swims and I managed to keep just ahead of Tony.
At one point I had to chuck the lead out, whilst I retied a new rig that got fouled on the far bank as a carp made a successful bid for freedom through some submerged brambles. I knew Tony would give me some stick – which he did, particularly as a carp nearly ripped the rod out of my hands. A switch to corn produced a few late fish as did going an extra metre down the margin.
With 45mins to go I netted a 9lber and thinking I had about 65-70lb, so I decided to put in my 3rd net, just in case. Well I need not have bothered because I didn’t have another. As it happens I should have used by 3rd net sooner, because I went 13oz over the net limit, so ended up recording a level 80lb, plus my 2 crucians.
Really pleased to have made the most of the peg and as is usually the way, your best days, tend to be your easiest.
1st 84- 4 – Jamie Parkhouse – p32
2nd 81- 3 – Ken Rayner – p58
3rd 64-13 – Tony Rixon – p55
4th 60- 1 – Clint Wotlyla – p7
5th 52-15 – Ray Bazeley – p11
6th 51- 9 – Adrain Jeffrey – p15
Silvers
1st 31-14 – Tom Thick – p68
2nd 19- 0 – Tom Mangnall – p42
3rd 15- 1 – Mark Brennan – p61
Sunday, February 10, 2013
09/02/13 - Lands End - Match
Weight - 14lb 6oz
Catch - 12 Bream, 7 Roach, 2 Crucian, 2 Rudd, 2 Perch
Weather - Rain all day, cold
Match - Open - 4th out of 8, 1st in silvers
Yippee! Finally picked up some coin and my worst run of results is over, hopefully never to be repeated. Although at one point I did wonder if I was going to have another of those days.
With only 8 anglers booked in, there was always going to be plenty of space for the fish to hide and the two Mikes decided to put more pegs in the area where the fish have recently shown, so 4,6,8,11,13,19,21 & 23 went into the bucket. I was a unhappy to have drawn 23, because this end of the lake has been awful in recent matches and the only consolation was I would have plenty of space, but that in its self could be a problem with no one opposite in peg 1 to push the fish over.
Caster seems to have lost its effectiveness at Lands End, with most of the best silvers net being caught on pellet. Since I didn't think I could compete with the pegs at the top end of the lake on carp, I decided to focus on the silvers and soft pellet.
Micros was deposited at 14.5m at the bottom of the shelf off the point of the island and 4s and micros to my right towards the end bank. My main rig was HB frostie 0.3g, .10 > 18 silverfish pellet. I did have a heavier rig in case the carp turned up - well that rig never got used, other than the first 15mins when I tried corn without success.
First put in with 4mm expander and I had a decent crucian, however over the next 30mins I lost 3 skimmers! Gutted. I did catch a few hand size skimmers, but after an hour I was struggling. My right hand swim failed to produce all match, despite keeping the swim regularly topped up with micros & 4s. To my left I started pinging 4s hoping to draw some fish away from Rod on 21.
Since there was no carp and the skimmers didn't seem to feeding with confidence I needed another back up swim, so I tried tight against the island with maggot/caster. Unfortunately this only produced a couple rudd and a roach. I even tried under that pallets either side of me, but the fish just didn't want to be in the shallower water.
By the half way point I had only added a few more small skimmers and roach, mostly on pellet, but it seemed everyone, except for Allan on 19 was struggling. In an attempt to try and make something happen I starting feeding caster at 5m, which produced a couple of roach and perch, but it was the 14.5m line off the end of the island that was proving to be the best area.
I kept toss potting micros and a few 4s in the hope that the fish would eventually settle and going into the last 90mins I probably had my best period, by fishing a metre beyond my feed. The bigger skimmers returned, but keeping them on the hook was the tricky bit, because they were so lightly hooked, which indicated they weren't feeding with confidence. My left hand swim also started showing signs of life over the loose feed pellet with 3 decent skimmers, including a 2.5lber on the all out.
It was a surprise the match fished as hard as it did, but when the fish have plenty of space to hid, they usually do in the colder weather. Mike West said they were topping all day in peg 16. With a good final 90mins I was hopefully of picking up in the silvers and the post match chat suggested I had, so when it was confirmed I was really pleased, as well as relieved!
1st 67- 8 - Allan Oram - p19
2nd 22-13 - Mike West - p13
3rd 14-12 - Rod Wootton - p21
4th 14- 6 - Ken Rayner - p23
5th 14- 4 - Dave Wescott - p6
Silvers
1st 14- 6 - Ken Rayner - p23
2nd 8- 8 - Allan Oram - p19
3rd 7-12 - Rod Wootton - p21
Catch - 12 Bream, 7 Roach, 2 Crucian, 2 Rudd, 2 Perch
Weather - Rain all day, cold
Match - Open - 4th out of 8, 1st in silvers
Yippee! Finally picked up some coin and my worst run of results is over, hopefully never to be repeated. Although at one point I did wonder if I was going to have another of those days.
With only 8 anglers booked in, there was always going to be plenty of space for the fish to hide and the two Mikes decided to put more pegs in the area where the fish have recently shown, so 4,6,8,11,13,19,21 & 23 went into the bucket. I was a unhappy to have drawn 23, because this end of the lake has been awful in recent matches and the only consolation was I would have plenty of space, but that in its self could be a problem with no one opposite in peg 1 to push the fish over.
Caster seems to have lost its effectiveness at Lands End, with most of the best silvers net being caught on pellet. Since I didn't think I could compete with the pegs at the top end of the lake on carp, I decided to focus on the silvers and soft pellet.
Micros was deposited at 14.5m at the bottom of the shelf off the point of the island and 4s and micros to my right towards the end bank. My main rig was HB frostie 0.3g, .10 > 18 silverfish pellet. I did have a heavier rig in case the carp turned up - well that rig never got used, other than the first 15mins when I tried corn without success.
First put in with 4mm expander and I had a decent crucian, however over the next 30mins I lost 3 skimmers! Gutted. I did catch a few hand size skimmers, but after an hour I was struggling. My right hand swim failed to produce all match, despite keeping the swim regularly topped up with micros & 4s. To my left I started pinging 4s hoping to draw some fish away from Rod on 21.
Since there was no carp and the skimmers didn't seem to feeding with confidence I needed another back up swim, so I tried tight against the island with maggot/caster. Unfortunately this only produced a couple rudd and a roach. I even tried under that pallets either side of me, but the fish just didn't want to be in the shallower water.
By the half way point I had only added a few more small skimmers and roach, mostly on pellet, but it seemed everyone, except for Allan on 19 was struggling. In an attempt to try and make something happen I starting feeding caster at 5m, which produced a couple of roach and perch, but it was the 14.5m line off the end of the island that was proving to be the best area.
I kept toss potting micros and a few 4s in the hope that the fish would eventually settle and going into the last 90mins I probably had my best period, by fishing a metre beyond my feed. The bigger skimmers returned, but keeping them on the hook was the tricky bit, because they were so lightly hooked, which indicated they weren't feeding with confidence. My left hand swim also started showing signs of life over the loose feed pellet with 3 decent skimmers, including a 2.5lber on the all out.
It was a surprise the match fished as hard as it did, but when the fish have plenty of space to hid, they usually do in the colder weather. Mike West said they were topping all day in peg 16. With a good final 90mins I was hopefully of picking up in the silvers and the post match chat suggested I had, so when it was confirmed I was really pleased, as well as relieved!
1st 67- 8 - Allan Oram - p19
2nd 22-13 - Mike West - p13
3rd 14-12 - Rod Wootton - p21
4th 14- 6 - Ken Rayner - p23
5th 14- 4 - Dave Wescott - p6
Silvers
1st 14- 6 - Ken Rayner - p23
2nd 8- 8 - Allan Oram - p19
3rd 7-12 - Rod Wootton - p21
Monday, February 4, 2013
02/02/13 - Lands End - Match
Weight - 36lb 13oz
Catch - 8 Carp, 4 Roach, 2 Perch
Weather - Cold start. Bright, sunny & cold northerly
Match - Open - 5th out of 10
Sue asked whether its difficult writing a blog when things aren't going well? The answer is yes! Its always easier to write when you are doing well and having such a poor run does affect your confidence, but if nothing else I am a trier! This time last year I was in the middle of my best run, how things change.
Following a week of mild temperatures, last night turned cold with the wind switching to a northerly direction, but at least it was dry. 10 booked in, which was a good turn out for a Saturday open of late. I found myself on peg 15, which I was happy about, since 35lb gave off the peg Sunday, which included 22lb of silvers, although I was concerned that the cold snap would put off the fish feeding, but at least I was out of the worst of the wind.
For company I had Matt Tomes on p13 and Jim Jenner on p17. On the all in, I potted in some micros at 13m to my right, micros & 4s to my left at 14m and some caster to my left under the nearside tree. Having fished this peg a couple of times recently I knew there was a decent depth under the tree, which I hoped would produce a few decent silvers and carp.
I started by the sunken tree to my right with double corn and no feed. After 30mins I had a good start with 3 carp, unfortunately I lost the next 3, losing 2 on a sunken branch.
The remainder of the match was a bit of struggle. I had hoped to catch some decent perch under the tree to my left, but only had a couple of small fish, plus a 4lb carp.
My micros swim produced 2 carp soon after trying the swim but I couldn't get another fish, which was a surprise, because I had hoped to at least catch a few skimmers, but they never showed.
Over the left hand swim I kept catapulting 4s to hopefully pull a few carp from the end of the island. I did have 1 carp late on, but I think because Matt also targeted the area we cancelled each other out. The bush to my right did produce another carp and another lost one.
More out of desperation than any conviction, I set up a rig to fish the top of the far shelf, initially with pellet, but after no bites I switched to caster which produced a chub which threw the hook under my keepnet.
As the match progressed Matt started to catch down the left hand edge and Rod Wootton was catching on p11 by fishing towards p10, whilst Mark Walsh on P6 was catching by fishing towards p7. Apparently the fish were boshing all day between the 2 of them.
In an effort to make something happen I dumped 2 cups of caster/dead maggot under the left hand tree and by the p16 pallet, but to no avail.
Another disappointing result, but the cold snap turned off the skimmers and the carp appear to be tightly shoaled.
1st 96- 8 - Rod Wootton - p11
2nd 80- 4 - Mark Walsh - p6
3rd 59- 4 - Matt Tomes - p13
4th 38- 8 - Tom Mangnall - p21
5th 36-13 - Ken Rayner - p15
6th 25-14 - Nick Collier - p4
Silvers
1st 25-14 - Nick Collier - p4
2nd 11- 8 - Tom Mangnall - p21
Catch - 8 Carp, 4 Roach, 2 Perch
Weather - Cold start. Bright, sunny & cold northerly
Match - Open - 5th out of 10
Sue asked whether its difficult writing a blog when things aren't going well? The answer is yes! Its always easier to write when you are doing well and having such a poor run does affect your confidence, but if nothing else I am a trier! This time last year I was in the middle of my best run, how things change.
Following a week of mild temperatures, last night turned cold with the wind switching to a northerly direction, but at least it was dry. 10 booked in, which was a good turn out for a Saturday open of late. I found myself on peg 15, which I was happy about, since 35lb gave off the peg Sunday, which included 22lb of silvers, although I was concerned that the cold snap would put off the fish feeding, but at least I was out of the worst of the wind.
For company I had Matt Tomes on p13 and Jim Jenner on p17. On the all in, I potted in some micros at 13m to my right, micros & 4s to my left at 14m and some caster to my left under the nearside tree. Having fished this peg a couple of times recently I knew there was a decent depth under the tree, which I hoped would produce a few decent silvers and carp.
I started by the sunken tree to my right with double corn and no feed. After 30mins I had a good start with 3 carp, unfortunately I lost the next 3, losing 2 on a sunken branch.
The remainder of the match was a bit of struggle. I had hoped to catch some decent perch under the tree to my left, but only had a couple of small fish, plus a 4lb carp.
My micros swim produced 2 carp soon after trying the swim but I couldn't get another fish, which was a surprise, because I had hoped to at least catch a few skimmers, but they never showed.
Over the left hand swim I kept catapulting 4s to hopefully pull a few carp from the end of the island. I did have 1 carp late on, but I think because Matt also targeted the area we cancelled each other out. The bush to my right did produce another carp and another lost one.
More out of desperation than any conviction, I set up a rig to fish the top of the far shelf, initially with pellet, but after no bites I switched to caster which produced a chub which threw the hook under my keepnet.
As the match progressed Matt started to catch down the left hand edge and Rod Wootton was catching on p11 by fishing towards p10, whilst Mark Walsh on P6 was catching by fishing towards p7. Apparently the fish were boshing all day between the 2 of them.
In an effort to make something happen I dumped 2 cups of caster/dead maggot under the left hand tree and by the p16 pallet, but to no avail.
Another disappointing result, but the cold snap turned off the skimmers and the carp appear to be tightly shoaled.
1st 96- 8 - Rod Wootton - p11
2nd 80- 4 - Mark Walsh - p6
3rd 59- 4 - Matt Tomes - p13
4th 38- 8 - Tom Mangnall - p21
5th 36-13 - Ken Rayner - p15
6th 25-14 - Nick Collier - p4
Silvers
1st 25-14 - Nick Collier - p4
2nd 11- 8 - Tom Mangnall - p21
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
27/01/13 - Lands End - Match Lake
Weight - 9lb 6oz
Catch - 29 Roach, 5 Skimmers, 5 Perch, 3 Rudd
Weather - Blustery showers
Match - Winter League rd 4 - 24th out of 34 (9th in section)
Due to the recent cold snap, I didn't go last weekend, so was looking forward to getting back onto the bank.
Today's 4th round was back to a free draw and most wanted to avoid Johns Lake which is the most exposed of the 3 lakes used. The recent snow & ice, had been replaced by wind & rain. I'm not sure which I prefer.
This league has so far been poor for me, however prior to today I was lying 5th in the silvers league so that's what I planned to focus on. Peg 3 wasn't ideal, but it had some silvers forms, although it is on the more exposed side of match lake and past experience suggested when its cold the fish prefer the more sheltered side of the lake.
Once everyone had drawn it became apparent I was in the section of doom, with 6 of the top 15 in the overall league and 8 of the top 15 in the silvers league. So my drawing arm handed me a very average peg in a very strong section!
I only set up 3 silvers rigs and no carp rigs. A HB frostie to fish on top of the shelf by the island, a 4x14 jolly to fish maggot/caster down the track and a 0.3g HB chump to fish soft pellet.
After depositing some caster by the p2 pallet and some micros 14m to my left. I started across by the island and immediately caught small roach, plus a 1lb perch before it died after 30mins. I did try to catch across later in the match, but with no sun on the water I don’t think the fish were happy feeding in the shallow water.
I had also being feeding caster by hand to my left by the bush, which produced the odd fish throughout the day, but it was a case of catch 1 or 2 before they disappeared. The swim by the pallet had only yielded a couple of small perch and after a couple of hours I ended up dumping a cup of caster hoping for some better fish to move in later, which they never did.
The pellet swim initially produced a couple of 3oz skimmers on soft pellet and a few roach on maggot. Despite keeping the swim topped in the hope of pulling in some late skimmers it only ever provided small roach.
By the half way stage I had so far left the right hand side of the peg alone to give the fish somewhere to back off to. Since all my other swims had died a small cup of caster and dead maggot was fed 13m at the bottom of the shelf to my right.
So far I had been reasonably sheltered from the wind, but it was gathering strength and I felt I needed to do change my rig and swapped to a 0.4g jean Francois float which provided a more stable presentation. I also changed down to .08 bottom and 22 hook, which the small roach seemed more willing to accept. The problem however was the size of the fish. Initially I had hoped to catch some decent perch and a few skimmers, but they seemed to be completely absent from the swim, so I kept plugging away on the small roach hoping a bigger fish would turn up.
After a really violent heavy rain shower when a gust of wind must have topped 60mph, it quickly calmed down again and I landed a near 3lb skimmer, before the small fish returned. I did managed another decent skimmer, but knew I was way off the pace, with a lot of fish being caught on the other side and bottom end of the lake.
P1 to my left weighed 10-12 (which included 1 carp) and p5 weighed 2-12. I could have probably caught slightly more had I started my right hand swim earlier, but ultimately I think I would have only gained 1 maybe 2 extra places. Typically if you are only catching roach, it usually means there aren’t many bigger fish around.
So my poor run and now become an awful run. It will end, hopefully next weekend!
1st 71-2 Mark Brennan – p13
2nd 64- 5 Tony Rixon –p11
3rd 60- 0 Mike Duckett – p32
4th 59- 1 Bela Bakos – p22
5th 56-14 Clint Wotlyla - p33
6th 48- 5 Mark Poppleton – p19
Silvers
1st 23- 0 Bob Gullick – p17
2nd 22- 9 Tom Thick – p15
3rd 17- 1 Tony Rixon – p11
4th 13- 7 Mark Brennan – p13
5th 13- 5 Mark Poppleton – p19
6th 11- 4 Mike West – p61
Catch - 29 Roach, 5 Skimmers, 5 Perch, 3 Rudd
Weather - Blustery showers
Match - Winter League rd 4 - 24th out of 34 (9th in section)
Due to the recent cold snap, I didn't go last weekend, so was looking forward to getting back onto the bank.
Today's 4th round was back to a free draw and most wanted to avoid Johns Lake which is the most exposed of the 3 lakes used. The recent snow & ice, had been replaced by wind & rain. I'm not sure which I prefer.
This league has so far been poor for me, however prior to today I was lying 5th in the silvers league so that's what I planned to focus on. Peg 3 wasn't ideal, but it had some silvers forms, although it is on the more exposed side of match lake and past experience suggested when its cold the fish prefer the more sheltered side of the lake.
Once everyone had drawn it became apparent I was in the section of doom, with 6 of the top 15 in the overall league and 8 of the top 15 in the silvers league. So my drawing arm handed me a very average peg in a very strong section!
I only set up 3 silvers rigs and no carp rigs. A HB frostie to fish on top of the shelf by the island, a 4x14 jolly to fish maggot/caster down the track and a 0.3g HB chump to fish soft pellet.
After depositing some caster by the p2 pallet and some micros 14m to my left. I started across by the island and immediately caught small roach, plus a 1lb perch before it died after 30mins. I did try to catch across later in the match, but with no sun on the water I don’t think the fish were happy feeding in the shallow water.
I had also being feeding caster by hand to my left by the bush, which produced the odd fish throughout the day, but it was a case of catch 1 or 2 before they disappeared. The swim by the pallet had only yielded a couple of small perch and after a couple of hours I ended up dumping a cup of caster hoping for some better fish to move in later, which they never did.
The pellet swim initially produced a couple of 3oz skimmers on soft pellet and a few roach on maggot. Despite keeping the swim topped in the hope of pulling in some late skimmers it only ever provided small roach.
By the half way stage I had so far left the right hand side of the peg alone to give the fish somewhere to back off to. Since all my other swims had died a small cup of caster and dead maggot was fed 13m at the bottom of the shelf to my right.
So far I had been reasonably sheltered from the wind, but it was gathering strength and I felt I needed to do change my rig and swapped to a 0.4g jean Francois float which provided a more stable presentation. I also changed down to .08 bottom and 22 hook, which the small roach seemed more willing to accept. The problem however was the size of the fish. Initially I had hoped to catch some decent perch and a few skimmers, but they seemed to be completely absent from the swim, so I kept plugging away on the small roach hoping a bigger fish would turn up.
After a really violent heavy rain shower when a gust of wind must have topped 60mph, it quickly calmed down again and I landed a near 3lb skimmer, before the small fish returned. I did managed another decent skimmer, but knew I was way off the pace, with a lot of fish being caught on the other side and bottom end of the lake.
P1 to my left weighed 10-12 (which included 1 carp) and p5 weighed 2-12. I could have probably caught slightly more had I started my right hand swim earlier, but ultimately I think I would have only gained 1 maybe 2 extra places. Typically if you are only catching roach, it usually means there aren’t many bigger fish around.
So my poor run and now become an awful run. It will end, hopefully next weekend!
1st 71-2 Mark Brennan – p13
2nd 64- 5 Tony Rixon –p11
3rd 60- 0 Mike Duckett – p32
4th 59- 1 Bela Bakos – p22
5th 56-14 Clint Wotlyla - p33
6th 48- 5 Mark Poppleton – p19
Silvers
1st 23- 0 Bob Gullick – p17
2nd 22- 9 Tom Thick – p15
3rd 17- 1 Tony Rixon – p11
4th 13- 7 Mark Brennan – p13
5th 13- 5 Mark Poppleton – p19
6th 11- 4 Mike West – p61
Monday, January 7, 2013
06/01/13 - Lands End - Speci
Weight - 24lb 11oz (4lb 10oz - silvers)
Catch - 3 Carp, 3 Skimmers
Weather - Cloudy, mild & calm
Match - Winter League rd 3 - 21st out of 35 (6th out of 12 - section, 2nd in section for silvers)
It was my turn for Speci Lake and I was happy enough with p26. For company I had Mike Duckett opposite on p40, Tom Thick to my left on p25 and Dale Howsen on p28.
4 swims were targeted. The point of the island which is 17m away, 14.5m just off the point of the island, 14.5m to my right and 6m. Caster was deposited by the island and at 6m, with pellet over the 14.5m lines, toss potting 3s towards the island and loose feeding 4s to my right.
Starting by the island I didn’t have a bite on either maggot or caster, which was a worry. In fact everyone was biteless until Tom landed an F1 after 15mins, quickly followed another and then a carp.
After 45mins I finally hooked a carp at 14.5m on soft pellet, but lost it on an underwater snag! (my luck really has to change soon!) 15mins later I was attached to another which was duly landed. The rest of the match was a real struggle, even Tom was finding it tough going and Mike landed his first fish after 3hrs.
The island swim failed to produce, as did the 6m line, which I had kept fed all match. (speaking Tom Mangnall after the match he said the same thing, yet yesterday he caught plenty from this line). Dale threw in the towel after 3hrs landing only 1 roach. When he left I had the p27 platform to myself and cupped in some caster and soon netted a near 10lber on double maggot, but no more fish came from here. Ideally I would have liked to have kept the swim topped up by catapulting caster/pellet, but overhanging branches meant it was too problematic.
The 14.5m swim towards the point of the island produced another carp and I bumped a skimmer. I had periodically tried my right hand swim were I had kept pinging 4s and in the last hour I was rewarded with 3 skimmers, which was enough to finish 2nd on the lake for silvers, just beating Toms 3 F1s, which at least keeps me in with a shout of the silvers league, although I am completely out of it for the main league.
A really tough day, in fact all the lakes fished harder than expected, but fair shout to Mark Poppleton who can seem to do no wrong at the moment, winning the lake and the match from unfancied p29 with 7 big carp.
1st 73- 2 Mark Poppleton - p29
2nd 70- 2 Paul Homewood - p34
3rd 53-15 Paul Elmes - p36
4th 47- 1 Tony Rixon - p68
5th 43- 7 Craig Edmunds - p46
6th 42- 7 Tom Thick - p25
Silvers
1st 19- 3 Tom Mangnall - p31
2nd 14- 7 Aaron Britnell - p41
3rd 14- 6 Pete Nurse - p11
Catch - 3 Carp, 3 Skimmers
Weather - Cloudy, mild & calm
Match - Winter League rd 3 - 21st out of 35 (6th out of 12 - section, 2nd in section for silvers)
It was my turn for Speci Lake and I was happy enough with p26. For company I had Mike Duckett opposite on p40, Tom Thick to my left on p25 and Dale Howsen on p28.
4 swims were targeted. The point of the island which is 17m away, 14.5m just off the point of the island, 14.5m to my right and 6m. Caster was deposited by the island and at 6m, with pellet over the 14.5m lines, toss potting 3s towards the island and loose feeding 4s to my right.
Starting by the island I didn’t have a bite on either maggot or caster, which was a worry. In fact everyone was biteless until Tom landed an F1 after 15mins, quickly followed another and then a carp.
After 45mins I finally hooked a carp at 14.5m on soft pellet, but lost it on an underwater snag! (my luck really has to change soon!) 15mins later I was attached to another which was duly landed. The rest of the match was a real struggle, even Tom was finding it tough going and Mike landed his first fish after 3hrs.
The island swim failed to produce, as did the 6m line, which I had kept fed all match. (speaking Tom Mangnall after the match he said the same thing, yet yesterday he caught plenty from this line). Dale threw in the towel after 3hrs landing only 1 roach. When he left I had the p27 platform to myself and cupped in some caster and soon netted a near 10lber on double maggot, but no more fish came from here. Ideally I would have liked to have kept the swim topped up by catapulting caster/pellet, but overhanging branches meant it was too problematic.
The 14.5m swim towards the point of the island produced another carp and I bumped a skimmer. I had periodically tried my right hand swim were I had kept pinging 4s and in the last hour I was rewarded with 3 skimmers, which was enough to finish 2nd on the lake for silvers, just beating Toms 3 F1s, which at least keeps me in with a shout of the silvers league, although I am completely out of it for the main league.
A really tough day, in fact all the lakes fished harder than expected, but fair shout to Mark Poppleton who can seem to do no wrong at the moment, winning the lake and the match from unfancied p29 with 7 big carp.
1st 73- 2 Mark Poppleton - p29
2nd 70- 2 Paul Homewood - p34
3rd 53-15 Paul Elmes - p36
4th 47- 1 Tony Rixon - p68
5th 43- 7 Craig Edmunds - p46
6th 42- 7 Tom Thick - p25
Silvers
1st 19- 3 Tom Mangnall - p31
2nd 14- 7 Aaron Britnell - p41
3rd 14- 6 Pete Nurse - p11
05/01/13 - Lands End - Speci
Weight - 21lb 2oz (15lb 9oz - silvers)
Catch - 6 Perch, 3 Roach, 2 Chub, 1 Skimmer, 1 Carp
Weather - Mild & still
Match - Open - 5th out of 6 (3rd - silvers)
To keep everything fair for the Winter League on Sunday, today’s match was on Speci, as it has been for the 2 previous rounds.
Had I written this blog immediately after the match, it would have been very short and full of expletives. I should have at finished 2nd overall or at least won the silvers by a comfortable margin, but my run of poor form was set to continue.
I was happy with p40, in fact my 2 previous visits to the peg has resulted in match wins, so I started full of optimism. The water was a little clearer than expected and according to Mike who was opposite on 25 the water was “chocolate” yesterday, but I still expected a few fish to feed following a settled period of mild weather.
With plenty of space 4 swims were targeted. Down the right hand bank towards the cage, 14.5m straight ahead and at an angle towards the island and finally to my left by the overhanging branches.
Starting down the right hand bank on caster I didn’t have a bite, but a switch to maggot produced a carp, which promptly bust me, when it tried to snag me in the nearside bushes. 10mins later I was attached to another carp which I lost when the hook pulled, as did a 3rd, although that one was at least foul hooked.
This set the tone for the rest of the match. The carp had disappeared from the right hand margin, to be replaced by big perch, which kept coming off the hook, which wasn’t frustrating at all! The problem was the fish would drop off as I was shipping back, which I don’t think is helped by the awkward angle you have to ship back at due to the high bank. I even lost a big 3lb F1 at the net, when the hook pulled.
My straight 14.5m swim had been kept topped up with 3s only produced 1 bite, whilst the 14.5m left hand swim, which I loose fed with 4s produced a big skimmer and a carp on soft pellet. The swim by the overhanging branches had been regularly fed with caster and eventually produced a couple chub and perch, but even here the perch were dropping off.
Needless to say come the end of the match I was really disappointed. I thought I had slightly more silvers than Mike, but losing 8 big perch, 1 F1 and 3 carp ultimately was too many, with Mike actually winning the silvers with 17-14. You come to expect to lose a few a perch, due to their boney mouths, but that lost F1 would have been enough.
Taking the positives out of the situation, at least I got my tactics right to put myself in the position to win, but for what ever reason I cant buy a result at the moment and lost fish at the net has cost me money on the 2 last matches at Lands End. Coupled with some poor draws I am now on my worst run of 7 matches without a pick up.
Catch - 6 Perch, 3 Roach, 2 Chub, 1 Skimmer, 1 Carp
Weather - Mild & still
Match - Open - 5th out of 6 (3rd - silvers)
To keep everything fair for the Winter League on Sunday, today’s match was on Speci, as it has been for the 2 previous rounds.
Had I written this blog immediately after the match, it would have been very short and full of expletives. I should have at finished 2nd overall or at least won the silvers by a comfortable margin, but my run of poor form was set to continue.
I was happy with p40, in fact my 2 previous visits to the peg has resulted in match wins, so I started full of optimism. The water was a little clearer than expected and according to Mike who was opposite on 25 the water was “chocolate” yesterday, but I still expected a few fish to feed following a settled period of mild weather.
With plenty of space 4 swims were targeted. Down the right hand bank towards the cage, 14.5m straight ahead and at an angle towards the island and finally to my left by the overhanging branches.
Starting down the right hand bank on caster I didn’t have a bite, but a switch to maggot produced a carp, which promptly bust me, when it tried to snag me in the nearside bushes. 10mins later I was attached to another carp which I lost when the hook pulled, as did a 3rd, although that one was at least foul hooked.
This set the tone for the rest of the match. The carp had disappeared from the right hand margin, to be replaced by big perch, which kept coming off the hook, which wasn’t frustrating at all! The problem was the fish would drop off as I was shipping back, which I don’t think is helped by the awkward angle you have to ship back at due to the high bank. I even lost a big 3lb F1 at the net, when the hook pulled.
My straight 14.5m swim had been kept topped up with 3s only produced 1 bite, whilst the 14.5m left hand swim, which I loose fed with 4s produced a big skimmer and a carp on soft pellet. The swim by the overhanging branches had been regularly fed with caster and eventually produced a couple chub and perch, but even here the perch were dropping off.
Needless to say come the end of the match I was really disappointed. I thought I had slightly more silvers than Mike, but losing 8 big perch, 1 F1 and 3 carp ultimately was too many, with Mike actually winning the silvers with 17-14. You come to expect to lose a few a perch, due to their boney mouths, but that lost F1 would have been enough.
Taking the positives out of the situation, at least I got my tactics right to put myself in the position to win, but for what ever reason I cant buy a result at the moment and lost fish at the net has cost me money on the 2 last matches at Lands End. Coupled with some poor draws I am now on my worst run of 7 matches without a pick up.
1st35- 6 – Mike West – p33
2nd29- 2 – Dave Wescott – p27
3rd24- 4 – Jim Jenner – p31
4th23- 5 – Tom Mangnall – p32
5th21- 2 – Ken Rayner – p40
Silvers
1st17-14 – Mike Duckett – p25
2nd17- 9 – Tom Mangnall – p32
3rd 15- 9 – Ken Rayner – p40
Monday, December 24, 2012
23/12/12 - Lands End - Match
Weight - 36lb 1oz (12lb 4oz - silvers)
Catch - 4 Carp, 10 Skimmers, 9 Roach, 1 Tench, 1 F1, 1 Crucian, 1 Rudd
Weather - Cloudy & mild
Match - Loyalty Open - 9th out of 19 (5th out of 10 - lake)
Having paid my 15 £1 I qualified for todays match. With £331 in the kitty (not everyone who paid turned up or paid the full £15, hence the odd amount), plus normal pools on the day, there was plenty to go for.
I just needed a decent draw and I couldnt believe it when I saw 19 staring back me. Only the 3rd time in 8yrs, so it was about time. For company I had Allan Oram on 17 and Adrain Jeffrey on 21.
What was noticeable was the amount of water in the lake, which after yesterday rain was hardly a surprise, but at least it was mild, although there was mixed views about how it would fish and as it turned out it didnt fish quite as well as expected, although the silvers certainly seemed to fed better than wednesday.
Since I was on a noted peg I decided to focus on catching carp and rigs were similar to wednesdays, feeding pellet down the track, caster across just in case and even meat to my left by the tree.
A pinch of 3s & 4s were dopisted at 14m to my right, whilst I searched the rest of the swim with soft pellet to my left. With only 1 bites after 15mins, a switch to the right hand swim resulted in a 7-8lb carp almost straight away. After an hour I had another, losing a 3rd which was foul hooked in the midrift, but none the less I was quite happy with my start, becasue I had also managed a few silvers from my left hand swim where I had toss potted a pinch of 3s.
Today however I was struggling to get the expected reaction and in the end decided to abandon the left hand swim, creating another by feeding 4s via a toss pot at 13m in front.
I hadnt planed to fish tight to the island, but a further deposit of caster produced an F1 straighaway, plus a few roach, then a small carp. Other than Tom on p13 no-one was really running away with it and I decided to stay positive, feeding 4s to my right by catpult, which has worked in the past, confident the carp would turn up, because 3 or 4 carp would put me in the frame.
So far the 13m line hardly produced, neither had the short meat line. The only swim that continued to produce was the right swim, with a few 6-8oz skimmers and a tench. With 2 hours to go I was really expecting the carp to feed eventually and I did hook a decent 7-8lber, but the hook pulled at the net and the same thing happen agaon 30mins later. Needless to say I wasnt happy and as it turned out it was also costly. We have all lost fish, but when you get them within netting range, thats when it hurts.
My last 2 put ins produced a 2lb skimmers and a 5lb carp, but it was a little too late. After the good start I was disappointed not to catch a few more carp. In hindsight would have changed anything? Feeding meat over my short line was probably a bit ambitous, when feeding caster would have been the better option. However I was surprised not to get a better response over my pellet line.
Catch - 4 Carp, 10 Skimmers, 9 Roach, 1 Tench, 1 F1, 1 Crucian, 1 Rudd
Weather - Cloudy & mild
Match - Loyalty Open - 9th out of 19 (5th out of 10 - lake)
Having paid my 15 £1 I qualified for todays match. With £331 in the kitty (not everyone who paid turned up or paid the full £15, hence the odd amount), plus normal pools on the day, there was plenty to go for.
I just needed a decent draw and I couldnt believe it when I saw 19 staring back me. Only the 3rd time in 8yrs, so it was about time. For company I had Allan Oram on 17 and Adrain Jeffrey on 21.
What was noticeable was the amount of water in the lake, which after yesterday rain was hardly a surprise, but at least it was mild, although there was mixed views about how it would fish and as it turned out it didnt fish quite as well as expected, although the silvers certainly seemed to fed better than wednesday.
Since I was on a noted peg I decided to focus on catching carp and rigs were similar to wednesdays, feeding pellet down the track, caster across just in case and even meat to my left by the tree.
A pinch of 3s & 4s were dopisted at 14m to my right, whilst I searched the rest of the swim with soft pellet to my left. With only 1 bites after 15mins, a switch to the right hand swim resulted in a 7-8lb carp almost straight away. After an hour I had another, losing a 3rd which was foul hooked in the midrift, but none the less I was quite happy with my start, becasue I had also managed a few silvers from my left hand swim where I had toss potted a pinch of 3s.
Today however I was struggling to get the expected reaction and in the end decided to abandon the left hand swim, creating another by feeding 4s via a toss pot at 13m in front.
I hadnt planed to fish tight to the island, but a further deposit of caster produced an F1 straighaway, plus a few roach, then a small carp. Other than Tom on p13 no-one was really running away with it and I decided to stay positive, feeding 4s to my right by catpult, which has worked in the past, confident the carp would turn up, because 3 or 4 carp would put me in the frame.
So far the 13m line hardly produced, neither had the short meat line. The only swim that continued to produce was the right swim, with a few 6-8oz skimmers and a tench. With 2 hours to go I was really expecting the carp to feed eventually and I did hook a decent 7-8lber, but the hook pulled at the net and the same thing happen agaon 30mins later. Needless to say I wasnt happy and as it turned out it was also costly. We have all lost fish, but when you get them within netting range, thats when it hurts.
My last 2 put ins produced a 2lb skimmers and a 5lb carp, but it was a little too late. After the good start I was disappointed not to catch a few more carp. In hindsight would have changed anything? Feeding meat over my short line was probably a bit ambitous, when feeding caster would have been the better option. However I was surprised not to get a better response over my pellet line.
1st94- 2 – Tom Mangnoll – p33
2nd65-12 – Tom Thick – p13
3rd50-11 – Adrian Jeffrey – p21
4th48- 3 – Kev Molton – p32
5th47-14 – Craig Edmunds – p40
6th44- 3 – Allan Oram – p17
Silvers
1st19-10 – Martin Pettifer – p11
2nd18- 6 – Paul Elmes – p5
3rd 18- 0 - Tony Rixon - p29
Thursday, December 20, 2012
19/12/12 - Lands End - Match
Weight - 37lb 1oz (4lb 1oz - silvers)
Catch - 6 Carp, 8 Perch, 4 Roach
Weather - Wind & rain - but at least it was mild
Match - Avon Angling Open - 8th out of 14
When I got home, explaining how my day went, Sue described it perfectly as a "clumsy day", which seemed adapt.
The night before Sapphire managed to scratch my eye whilst playing with her ball, which meant vision in my right eye was a little blurry at times. With 14 booked in, we were all on match lake and I found myself on peg 8. I'll have to check my birth certificate to make sure I'm not related to Chris Fox, because I've had a poor run of draws recently.
Peg 8 isn't normally in, but with 14 pegs in it had to be included. For company I had Ziggy on p6 and Mike West on p11. The problem with this peg is the fish do settle here when 7 & 11 are in, but when ever you put an angler in this gap, you tend to get a couple of early fish, before they disappear. I can only put it down to this part of the lake being slightly narrower and shallower than other areas.
Must admit I was a little despondent to start with, but I made the effort to turn up in the wind and rain, so I had to give it a go, plus the peg was slightly sheltered from the worst of the wind and the rain wasn't quite as heavy as expected - see trying to stay positive.
My initial thoughts were I would do best targeting the silvers, because with Tony on 21 and Fabio on 19 I thought the main prizes would be sewn up. A couple rigs were set up to cover all bases.
- HB Frostie 0.2g > .10 > 20 silverfish maggot - caster/maggot on top of the shelf
- HB Chump 0.3g > .10 > 18 silverfish pellet - pellet down the track
- Jolly 4x14 > .10 > 20 silverfish maggot - caster/maggot down the track
- HB shindig 0.2g > .12 > 18 B911 - pellet/corn down the track
On the all in caster was deposited on top of the shelf, caster under p9 platform, as well as at 5m and micro/groundbait to my left at 13m. Starting on corn I searched the swim to my right to see if there was any fish around, however after 15mins & no bites I switched to the top of the shelf. 2 small roach & 1 perch was all I had from there and was never tried again.
A couple perch came from under p9 platform, but it was slow going and it didn't help when I bumped a couple which seemed to have spooked them. The 5m line didn't produce a bite and neither did the left hand pellet line.
After my initial try with corn, I had deposited some micros at 14.5 down the track to my right and started pinging 4s over the top for later. However, due to the lack of response from my other swims I tried this line earlier than I had intended. Just as well, because I had a carp straight away on soft pellet. Next put in I had another, but lost it at the net when my .10 hooklength gave away. My own fault really. A further 2 were foul hooked on the heavier rig only to be lost and much to Tony's amusement I may I lost my cool. Unfortunately the shoal that was there disappeared.
A new swim was set up at the bottom of the far shelf with caster/maggot. A switch to .08 bottom & 22 hook on the jolly rig didn't make any significant difference, so I switched back to .10, which was just as well as I had a few more perch, plus a decent carp on maggot.
The silvers just didn't appear to be feeding, Ziggy to my left packed up an hour early. In fact I had nothing to be left at all and with 45mins left another look over the right hand swim where I had kept pinging in the pellet, produced another 2 carp quickly, before landing my last one before the all-out.
In hindsight I was actually disappointed not to have framed, because other than the top 2 the weights were quiet close, but I didn't help myself losing fish. Other than Mike on p11, my weight was the next best along this bank, so I know where I want to draw on Sunday.
And as I was packing up, I managed to drop my side tray into the lake. I eventually retrieved it, so not one of my better days.
1st77-10 – Tony Rixon – p21
2nd77- 4 – Mike West – p11
3rd46-10 – Phil Harding – p19
4th44-11 – Mark Poppleton – p24
5th44- 5 – Martin Alexander – p13
6th40- 2 – Aaron Britnell – p16
Catch - 6 Carp, 8 Perch, 4 Roach
Weather - Wind & rain - but at least it was mild
Match - Avon Angling Open - 8th out of 14
When I got home, explaining how my day went, Sue described it perfectly as a "clumsy day", which seemed adapt.
The night before Sapphire managed to scratch my eye whilst playing with her ball, which meant vision in my right eye was a little blurry at times. With 14 booked in, we were all on match lake and I found myself on peg 8. I'll have to check my birth certificate to make sure I'm not related to Chris Fox, because I've had a poor run of draws recently.
Peg 8 isn't normally in, but with 14 pegs in it had to be included. For company I had Ziggy on p6 and Mike West on p11. The problem with this peg is the fish do settle here when 7 & 11 are in, but when ever you put an angler in this gap, you tend to get a couple of early fish, before they disappear. I can only put it down to this part of the lake being slightly narrower and shallower than other areas.
Must admit I was a little despondent to start with, but I made the effort to turn up in the wind and rain, so I had to give it a go, plus the peg was slightly sheltered from the worst of the wind and the rain wasn't quite as heavy as expected - see trying to stay positive.
My initial thoughts were I would do best targeting the silvers, because with Tony on 21 and Fabio on 19 I thought the main prizes would be sewn up. A couple rigs were set up to cover all bases.
- HB Frostie 0.2g > .10 > 20 silverfish maggot - caster/maggot on top of the shelf
- HB Chump 0.3g > .10 > 18 silverfish pellet - pellet down the track
- Jolly 4x14 > .10 > 20 silverfish maggot - caster/maggot down the track
- HB shindig 0.2g > .12 > 18 B911 - pellet/corn down the track
On the all in caster was deposited on top of the shelf, caster under p9 platform, as well as at 5m and micro/groundbait to my left at 13m. Starting on corn I searched the swim to my right to see if there was any fish around, however after 15mins & no bites I switched to the top of the shelf. 2 small roach & 1 perch was all I had from there and was never tried again.
A couple perch came from under p9 platform, but it was slow going and it didn't help when I bumped a couple which seemed to have spooked them. The 5m line didn't produce a bite and neither did the left hand pellet line.
After my initial try with corn, I had deposited some micros at 14.5 down the track to my right and started pinging 4s over the top for later. However, due to the lack of response from my other swims I tried this line earlier than I had intended. Just as well, because I had a carp straight away on soft pellet. Next put in I had another, but lost it at the net when my .10 hooklength gave away. My own fault really. A further 2 were foul hooked on the heavier rig only to be lost and much to Tony's amusement I may I lost my cool. Unfortunately the shoal that was there disappeared.
A new swim was set up at the bottom of the far shelf with caster/maggot. A switch to .08 bottom & 22 hook on the jolly rig didn't make any significant difference, so I switched back to .10, which was just as well as I had a few more perch, plus a decent carp on maggot.
The silvers just didn't appear to be feeding, Ziggy to my left packed up an hour early. In fact I had nothing to be left at all and with 45mins left another look over the right hand swim where I had kept pinging in the pellet, produced another 2 carp quickly, before landing my last one before the all-out.
In hindsight I was actually disappointed not to have framed, because other than the top 2 the weights were quiet close, but I didn't help myself losing fish. Other than Mike on p11, my weight was the next best along this bank, so I know where I want to draw on Sunday.
And as I was packing up, I managed to drop my side tray into the lake. I eventually retrieved it, so not one of my better days.
1st77-10 – Tony Rixon – p21
2nd77- 4 – Mike West – p11
3rd46-10 – Phil Harding – p19
4th44-11 – Mark Poppleton – p24
5th44- 5 – Martin Alexander – p13
6th40- 2 – Aaron Britnell – p16
Silvers
1st9- 3 – Adrian Jeffery – p15
2nd8-11 – Mark Poppleton – p24
3rd 7- 4 – Matt Tomes – p5
Monday, December 10, 2012
09/12/12 - Lands End - Johns
Weight - 19lb 14oz (1lb 2oz - silvers)
Catch - 32 Roach, 3 Perch, 2 Carp
Weather - Mostly sunny, but strong cold westerly wind
Match - Lands End Winter League rd2 - 20th out of 35, 8th out of 12 section
Tom Thick is obviously a desparate young man. Following a pint of cider for breakfast, he decided it would be a good idea to try and bend me over the counter - if you know what I mean. Alas, I didnt feel a thing;¬)
It was my turn for Johns Lake and I had a gut feeling that following a crap week at work, I would be rewarded with a crap draw today. There was only 2 pegs left in the bucket. Mike West pulled 42 (flyer), whilst I was left with what is one of the worst pegs on the lake at the moment, peg 51 (just 15 in reverse). During round 1 Matt Tomes only managed 10th and Mark Poppleton the week previous hardly had a bite, so I was really looking forward to this!
I couldnt see me doing any good from the peg, but I hoped to at least catch a few silvers to keep me in the hunt in the silvers league and as such set up a jolly 4x12 with .08 bottom and 22 silverfish maggot hook. 2 more rigs were set up with .10 bottoms to fish either maggot or pellet.
On the all in a nugget of black roach and pinkie was cupped in to my left at 8m and a pinch of micros at 11.5m towards the point of the island. Starting by the island I had a roach on double pinkie, followed by a further 9 in 20mins. The problem was some of the roach were nearly transparent they were that small.
A quick look over the pellet, resulted in a lost foul hooked carp and the groundbait swim produced only a couple of tiny roach. Since the only area I could catch was next to the island, i stuck with the small roach feeding pinkie via a toss pot, hoping the activity would pull in some better fish. After 2hrs I was up to 30 fish, but the wind had really picked up making presentation difficult which meant I had to abandon fishing against the island.
Fishing over the pellet (which I had kept topped up) only more micro roach. There really wasnt any decent fish in the swim. Ray Bazeley to my right on 50 was also struggling and chucked the lead and maggot into the gap between the island. I followed suit half way into the match, but with hair rigged corn and 10mins later I was attached to a large carp which weighed 10-15.
A change to heavier 0.4g chump to fish down the middle, improved the presentation, but still could only catch micro roach. I had also been flicking caster/maggot down my left hand margin, but no bites on any bait. So the remainder of the match was spent swapping between swims, including setting up a new one down the track or fishing the lead into the gap, where I snared another carp again on corn.
A disappointing result, but I dont think I could have done any better from the peg. Ray only weighed 8lb, made up 1 carp and a few bits, so there was very few fish in the area.
1st 63-11 - Nick Merry - p40
2nd 61- 5 - Allan Oram - p32
3rd 54-13 - Mike Nicholls - p21
4th 52-11 - Clint Wotlyla - p31
5th 45-15 - Steve Seagar - p19
6th 44- 3 - Adrain Jeffrey - p5
Silvers
1st 18- 2 - Nick Merry - p40
2nd 13- 5 - Tony Rixon - p3
3rd 10-10 - Aaron Britnell - p11
After 2 rounds Mark Poppleton is leading the way with only 2pts, followed by Mike Duckett, Nick Merry, Aaron Britnell and Steve Seagar all on 6pts
Catch - 32 Roach, 3 Perch, 2 Carp
Weather - Mostly sunny, but strong cold westerly wind
Match - Lands End Winter League rd2 - 20th out of 35, 8th out of 12 section
Tom Thick is obviously a desparate young man. Following a pint of cider for breakfast, he decided it would be a good idea to try and bend me over the counter - if you know what I mean. Alas, I didnt feel a thing;¬)
It was my turn for Johns Lake and I had a gut feeling that following a crap week at work, I would be rewarded with a crap draw today. There was only 2 pegs left in the bucket. Mike West pulled 42 (flyer), whilst I was left with what is one of the worst pegs on the lake at the moment, peg 51 (just 15 in reverse). During round 1 Matt Tomes only managed 10th and Mark Poppleton the week previous hardly had a bite, so I was really looking forward to this!
I couldnt see me doing any good from the peg, but I hoped to at least catch a few silvers to keep me in the hunt in the silvers league and as such set up a jolly 4x12 with .08 bottom and 22 silverfish maggot hook. 2 more rigs were set up with .10 bottoms to fish either maggot or pellet.
On the all in a nugget of black roach and pinkie was cupped in to my left at 8m and a pinch of micros at 11.5m towards the point of the island. Starting by the island I had a roach on double pinkie, followed by a further 9 in 20mins. The problem was some of the roach were nearly transparent they were that small.
A quick look over the pellet, resulted in a lost foul hooked carp and the groundbait swim produced only a couple of tiny roach. Since the only area I could catch was next to the island, i stuck with the small roach feeding pinkie via a toss pot, hoping the activity would pull in some better fish. After 2hrs I was up to 30 fish, but the wind had really picked up making presentation difficult which meant I had to abandon fishing against the island.
Fishing over the pellet (which I had kept topped up) only more micro roach. There really wasnt any decent fish in the swim. Ray Bazeley to my right on 50 was also struggling and chucked the lead and maggot into the gap between the island. I followed suit half way into the match, but with hair rigged corn and 10mins later I was attached to a large carp which weighed 10-15.
A change to heavier 0.4g chump to fish down the middle, improved the presentation, but still could only catch micro roach. I had also been flicking caster/maggot down my left hand margin, but no bites on any bait. So the remainder of the match was spent swapping between swims, including setting up a new one down the track or fishing the lead into the gap, where I snared another carp again on corn.
A disappointing result, but I dont think I could have done any better from the peg. Ray only weighed 8lb, made up 1 carp and a few bits, so there was very few fish in the area.
1st 63-11 - Nick Merry - p40
2nd 61- 5 - Allan Oram - p32
3rd 54-13 - Mike Nicholls - p21
4th 52-11 - Clint Wotlyla - p31
5th 45-15 - Steve Seagar - p19
6th 44- 3 - Adrain Jeffrey - p5
Silvers
1st 18- 2 - Nick Merry - p40
2nd 13- 5 - Tony Rixon - p3
3rd 10-10 - Aaron Britnell - p11
After 2 rounds Mark Poppleton is leading the way with only 2pts, followed by Mike Duckett, Nick Merry, Aaron Britnell and Steve Seagar all on 6pts
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