Alders Farm Ash Lake 22 07 14

With Summer finally arriving over the last few weeks it was nice to get onto the Match lake at Alders Farm, I had spent last Saturday catching well at Arrans Lake in a club match and today promised to match it. Both have plenty of fish in them and it becomes a race to keep fish feeding in your peg for the duration. Many times I have started well but half way in the wheels come off.
Today we had 9 anglers on the lake, which allowed plenty of room for the pleasure anglers on the far bank. With monies paid and everyone ready for the draw, I thought I would change my luck and go in first. Peg 1 stuck to my paw and a groan. I hate the peg. I reckon whoever pruned the trees and brambles on it must have had at least 20 MW floats over the years. I have lost count of the hook-lengths I have done on it. For those who do not know the peg, there is a pipe which runs into the lake to the right hand margin and the fish no exactly where it is. There is also a branch in the water which when a fish goes towards it comes up like Excalibur. And not to forget the brick wall of the café where the fish take you round the corner. You cannot see anyone to know how you are performing and measure your catch rate against anyone else. Oh and its only about 20 inches deep. Did I say I hate this peg.
Jim Willmott was on 2, Colin Spencer on 4, Charlie on 6, Steve Dorks on 8 before a gap to Terry on 13. Josh was on 16 with Ernie Waterfall on 20 and Henry Williams on end peg 23.
I decided to fish it nice and simple, top 2+2 straight out, coming closer or further as required. There was very little change in depth so set up duplicate rigs .20 Stroft straight through to a size 14 PR38 and a .2g MW diamond. I also set up a couple of shallow rigs to fish 8inches and 12 inches deep. Bait was simply 3 kilos of corn for feed with a small pot of Pineapple Gel and some stinky stuff grains. Around 2 pints of 4mm fishery pellet would top up the swim and help keep fish in the peg.
At the all in I tossed around a dozen grains at 2+2 and went straight over with the gelled corn, fish a chuck for the first 20 minutes all around a pound. I was dropping a few grains short and came in half a section and this seemed to pick up a better stamp of fish. Only two or three pounders but certainly improved the weight. I was getting into a rhythm and with every put in I would get an indication, A lot missed but still a sign of fish being present. I had a couple of fish on the shallow rigs but found I was getting quite a few foul hooked fish even in the shallow water. Mainly as soon as the corn hit the water, Perhaps the line was going over their backs. After a couple of hours I reckoned on 100lb in the net and felt it was getting stronger. I was now upping my feed to around 10 grains of corn every 20 seconds and the fish were responding well to it. With three hours gone I was in the zone and it seemed that every hooked fish came to the net. I was still on the Gel but every couple of fish I would put a stinky corn on the hook and this had no adverse effect.
However this was when my problems started, for half an hour every fish snagged me up or snapped .20 like cotton, I think I spent more time replacing hook-lengths and rigs than actually fishing. The branch to my right accounted for a lot of my terminal tackle and if I tightened up the red hydro I would pull out of the fish.
Persevering through this spell put around 20lb in the net but I was now off the pace. Back onto the shallow rigs seemed to sort it out though, instead of foul hookers I was getting proper bites and hooking fish in the mouth. A few fish around 6lb started to make up for the lost fish earlier and I was getting back on track. With 5 hours gone I estimated I had around 280lb and a couple more fish would see me break my own Personal Best on the lake of 298lb taken a while back.
In the last hour I managed another 25 fish and was happy with my days fishing. I had only trashed 7 rigs and done 6 hook-lengths.

Overall

1st Colin Spencer                   612-05

2nd Jim Willmott                   472-01

3rd Steve Dorks                     434-02

4th Josh Blavins                    407-02

5th Keith Ashby                    370-07

6th Charlie Lancaster            356-06

7th Henry Williams              251-10

8th Ernie Waterfall               248-10

9th Terry Lancaster              233-03

 Well done to Colin on the day, a superb feat of angling. Colin has performed well over the last couple of weeks and with a Charity match set for September 13th in aid of the fishforfreddie appeal https://www.facebook.com/fishforfreddie. coming up soon I am sure he will be invited to fish the event. If you cannot make make it on the day please kindly donate to this worthy cause on the facebook page.