Oakfield has changed a lot over the years, matches used to be on Brook and Swallow but with Brook having been re-developed and turned into a silver fish water, matches are predominantly on Swallow and Red Kite lake which was being dug when I used to fish it regularly. I have fished it once since then and enjoyed the day, so would be quite happy to get the chance to fish it again.
I arrived early to try to gain some info prior to the match and was told that hard pellet was doing the business, feeding 4mm fishery pellet and fishing 6mm on the hook. I had plenty of 6mm's with me and a few 8mm along with a few cans of corn and some 6mm expanders.
After breakfast in the café and monies paid I went for a walk around Red Kite and noticed that both ends of the lake had plenty of fish activity in them, however the middle sections on both bank only had odd fish topping. Swallow had odd fish showing themselves towards Brook lake yet the rest of the lake seemed devoid of fish.
Back at the draw I pulled out peg 30 on Red Kite and although I had the right lake I was out of the "showing" fish area. I planned to fish at 12m in around 4ft of water as my main line with banded pellet and to both the front of the platform on 29 and down the side of it, with corn.
Rigs were .6 MW Diamond to .18 Stroft and a size 16 PR36 with a bulk of no. 8 shot and a single 10 dropper for fishing a 6mm banded pellet at 12m. A .2 NG Mini Diamond to fish in front of the platform in 18 inches of water and a NG Ghandi for fishing down the side of the platform.
At the all in I potted a full pot of 4mm pellet onto 12m and a half pot of pellet and corn to in front of the platform around a metre from the platform legs. I also put a quarter pot of just pellet around a foot from the platform tight to the edge. Starting off at 12m saw my first bite after around 5minutes, which I promptly lost shipping back. Same thing happens with the next two fish before I swapped my elastics over to a softer and lighter elastic. This seemed to cure things and after 1/2 hour I had a nice 6lb carp in the net, before the swim went quiet. I re-fed this line and had a look down the edge tight in. I shipped out and gently lowered a grain of corn a foot from the leg and as soon as it had settled the float dipped and a f1 around 2lb was in the net. I persevered between both edge swims taking odd fish from each before I had to re-feed these lines.
It seemed that I could catch a couple of fish off each line before going quiet, whether that is the norm or that I had fed it wrong, I will learn in time.
At the all out I reckoned I had around 40lb consisting of 4 carp and around 20 small f1's which were never going to trouble those around me so I threw back. I had seen Nick Bryan and John Beasley catching regularly and had been told the two guys who had the wind blowing into them had also caught well.
Overall
1st Steve Nichols K14 103-14
2nd John Emmerson K22 85-14
3rd Pele Alland S15 85-01
4th Gordon Worrell S5 81-13
5th Nick Bryan S26 80-08
6th John Beesley S4 80-0
A good match where only 5lb separated second and sixth. I really enjoyed the day out although it was frustrating. In hindsight I should have had a line at top three, which is something I normally do but for some strange reason never set up today, I also feel that lighter elastics is the way forward here as I pulled out of a few fish shipping back. I will be back soon as I feel I have some unfinished business here.
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