A slight change to the normal format of the Blog today as I will cover two matches over two days. Saturday saw me and Mick travel to Coleman's Cottage for a Marsh Match on Wood lake. I have never done particularly well here for a variety of reasons but I think it just does not respond to corn very well. And with Mick on a roll leading 7-6 at present I needed a result to get back on track.
Colemans Wood Lake
A good trip down was met with rain, and lots of it. Yet by the time we had pulled into Coleman's the smell of freshly cooked bacon soon put us in the mood. The draw allowed nearly everyone to have plenty of room and when 33 stuck to my hand I was relatively happy to get off the opposite bank for a change. Mick had drawn 25 at the top of the bowl in the corner and would be on a few fish.
I have often thought that on this lake I tend to over complicate things, left and right margins,2+2, 9m and 13m. Today was going to be different. 2+2 and left margin. Simple. Corn with stinky on it as bait and around 2pints of 4mm pellets. I had around 4ft at 2+2 and around 2ft down the edge of the first shelf. Orange vespe with .18 stroft to a MW diamond in .3g to PR36 size 14 on the 2+2. A NG Margin float to .18 and a size 16 PR36.
At the all in I threw half a dozen grains onto 2+2 and lowered a grain of stinky corn in the depths. A few lifts and drops and the float buries. I have 8 carp within the first hour and seemed to be doing well. Dave C next door was getting a few on the maggot down the edge, Al was struggling and Keith P opposite was getting a couple of fish on the tip. I had been throwing 3 or 4 grains continuously into the peg and was hoping the fish would come up off the deck, a tactic which has accounted for plenty of fish in the past however they would not come up. A few skimmers and odd barbel came to the net but it was slow going.
I would have to wait for a bite, a change to feeding pellet made very little difference so I had a look down the edge. Dragging a grain of corn up the shelf prompting a couple of quick bites and a few f1's. However these were still small fish compared to what Keith P was catching. His were averaging 5lb a piece whilst mine would go probably 2lb at best.
Al was now catching well from his right hand edge and I could still hear a lot of splashing from Dave's peg. Back out to 2+2 and a few more fish but again slow progress. And this continued through to the end of my match.
At the weigh in my weight of 81lb was around what I expected. Keith P had 135lb whilst Al had caught late on and put 165lb on the scales only to be surpassed by Mick who was quietly tucked away in the corner, emptying it of fish. A couple of weighs and a good 196lb saw him complete the win and take yet another £1 off me to lead 8-6 overall.
Ash Lake Sunday
Sunday saw me booked into the Ash Lake open at Alders after the Meadowlands match was cancelled. Mick was working today so no MK Nugget at stake. Arriving at the fishery it was noticeable that a lot of very good anglers were present and with 24 booked on a good draw was required. After a cup of tea, the draw took place and for a change I hung back. Peg 4 graced my palm and was happy with it. Vic had drawn peg 36 on the opposite bank.
Again I stuck to my plan of attack that is 2+2 plus a margin line on a top two. However, I put a different variant of corn on the bait table today. I had stinky corn and this would be my main line of attack, but I also knocked up some corn atomic cloud for the edge and dusted some grains off for the hook on both lines.
At the all in I approached the 2+2 line exactly as yesterday with around half a dozen grains and cupped in Atomic Cloud into the edge. I would leave this line as long as possible before having a look as I did not want to spook them too early. Others around me would start on this line and hope it would last the whole five hours. I am not that confident it will with corn so prefer to fish elsewhere first and then go on it late.
I was soon into fish and by continually dripping in three or four grains I managed to keep fish coming through the first hour. John on the next peg was catching well and I thought he would be in for a good weight from peg 5. Mark was also catching on banded pellet close in and if they could keep the fish there I would be in trouble. However it seemed the rest of the lake was struggling with anglers having to wait for bites( something we are not used to at Alders). I kept plugging away and slowly I was managing to claw my way back into it. I still had not gone down the edge but was keeping it topped up regularly. A run of foul hooked fish saw a depth change and it is surprising how much difference an inch or two can make. I was still catching albeit slowly and by half way I reckoned I had 30 fish for about 75lb. One thing I did do though was when it went quiet instead of feeding more I tried an Atomic grain of corn and this brought a few more fish before I needed to switch back to Stinky Corn.
John was now struggling to put a run of fish together and was swapping his lines in the hope of getting on a few. Mark was still catching but I could not see the size of his fish.
Hour four saw my catch rate improve putting 20 fish in the net and with over a ton on what seemed a hard day, I was happy. The last hour and a half flew by and although I kept looking down the edge, it seemed devoid of fish. So I did not waste too much time on it. I could catch at 2+2 and although I needed to constantly alter depth's up and down, fish kept coming. At the all out I reckoned on 73 fish on the clicker for what I reckoned would be about 170lb.
1st Overall was Mark Dickens on Peg 6 with 203lb dead, followed by my self with 202lb 4oz. It was that close.
1st Mark Dickens 203lb
2nd Keith Ashby 202lb 4oz
3rd Colin Fossdyke 196lb 15oz
4th John Wellham 175lb 13oz
5th Pete Archer 167lb 4oz
6th Ricky Quick 160lb 11oz
Where is Mick Wright when I am catching?
I have also learnt a valuable lesson today. Have confidence in what you are doing and eventually things come right. I have been fishing corn all season and have learnt a lot over that time. Differences to depth and shotting helped today. I have not tried Atomic Corn for a while and just had a hunch that after the rain and the water being coloured a bright bait would work.
I am off now to fish in and around Somerset for a few days and will report on the trip when I get back. No matches as I understand it but some decent fishing ahead hopefully.
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