I enjoy the Tuesday Opens at Alders, there is less fuss and a more go with the flow attitude, everyone gets on (well apart from Madd and Brainy) and pitches in.
Today saw 10 of us on Ash Lake and with good weather predicted I was hopeful of having a few fish. Although I still had to scrape my car windows before leaving. There was still a chill in the air as I pulled up at Alders and after dipping my nets, but getting your gear on a barrow and pushing it along the path to the café soon made me feel comfortable.
With monies all paid in the draw went Ernie on 1, Charlie 2, Mick K 4, Madd 6, Neil 8, Colin 10 before turning the corner and Brainy 14, myself 18 Mick W 19 and Trevor on 21. Some good anglers on good pegs, it was going to be hard to frame today. Still as Madd repeated on more than one occasion " a bad days fishing is still better than a day at work" . I thought he had retired.
I was basing my approach around corn again and thought I would be able to catch close as the breeze was pushing into the dam wall. With this in mind I set up 3 rigs. A margin rig to fish around 2ft from the reeds, a 2+2 line and a 2+3 line with .4g MW diamonds to a size 16 PR36.
I also had a few expanders as a change bait if required and would feed corn and fishery 4mm pellets.
At the all in I cupped a pot of corn and pellet down the edge and threw a dozen grains of corn followed by around 4 or 5 every minute. After 10 minutes I had my first bite a carp around a pound. My next bite came after another 10 minutes and this set the pattern for the first hour, 6 fish for around 8lb in weight, not the start I wanted or expected. Mick had a couple of fish and Trevor was getting a couple by the tree. Colin was get a couple of fish but no one was really pulling away.
Hour 2,3 ,and 4 flew by, I could nick a couple of fish at 5m before it died, go to 6m and the same, back to 5m and nothing, long waits between bites. A switch to 6mm expander again nicked a couple of fish but again it died. It seem as if you caught a couple then they spooked, I tried to the sides to no avail so decided to plug away on the corn in the last hour at 6m. By feeding heavier, I started to get a few fish but then had a couple of foul hookers, In that last hour I reckoned I doubled my weight, just goes to show that if you persevere the rewards can come.
Overall
1st Trevor Price 162-08
2nd Ernie Waterfall 138-07
3rd Colin Spencer 108-08
4th Keith Ashby 95-14
5th Phil Young 86-08
6th Charlie Lancaster 78-02
Overall not a bad match, It fished hard or is it that our expectations are too high. I managed another MK Nugget from Mick who has claimed he will perform his usual comeback towards the later part of the year. Still I make it 4-0 so far.
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