I have been very fortunate to meet some great people through fishing, some club mates, others on opens and festivals and others through work. I had fished a few festivals at Stafford Moor and although I enjoyed them immensely it was too competitive for ME. I much preferred the relaxed approach as I openly admit I am a club angler who dabbles in opens and those festivals. During one of those festivals I met up with a group of lads from the West Midlands, Yam Yam country. It took a while to understand the lingo and the banter but it was great. No prima donnas, no mis-information and no pulling of punches, if you fished poorly then they tell you straight.
This year they held another festival of there own. The previous few had been at Stafford Moor, but for a change they decided to visit Viaduct Fishery in Somerton. It had all we needed, a cracking fishery, plenty of bars and restaurants to choose from, and easy access from the M5 and A303.
This year there was 12 of us fishing. Nine Yam Yams and three guests, Vic, Del and myself from Milton Keynes and Hemel Hempstead. As per usual for the Yam Yams they travelled down the evening before and stayed in a B&B in Yeovil with a curry night out and a few beers. All was going well until the bill came and after a few discussions with the owner of the curry house over a £3 beer, the police were called and needed to step in the resolve the problem. A good start to the holiday.
Saturday 27th June
My start to the festival was less impressive, picking Vic up at 5am for the trip down where we met up with Del at a Little Chef en route. Still we made good time and met up with the lads in preparation for the days fishing ahead.
We had booked Lodge lake on the complex for our 12 man match and although we would have preferred to fish Cary or Campbell lakes we were happy to just wet a line. We could not book into the lodges until 4pm anyway so we had plenty of time to kill. I had fished it a few times before and not done any good on it. The area at the top of the lake was black with fish and a fancied area. To cut a long story short, I fished for carp and got skimmers, I tried 4 different areas of the swim and did not see a carp at all. I threw back around 20lb of skimmers. Pedro was next door and fished the bomb and Pellet Waggler for second place with around 45lb, just pipping Nobby for third spot with 44lb, but the real star was Paul Davis who fished the bomb into a gap in the trees for 106lb, doubling the nearest weight.
We got settled into the lodges and had a few beers to celebrate before going out for a meal in the evening.
Sunday 28th June
Due to the lakes being closed for a league match we booked a match at Goodiford Mill near Collumpton. This would not form part of the festival as this would run Monday to Friday, but would give the anglers the opportunity to hone the skills on the PW and Bomb. The weather was hot again and there were plenty of cruising carp to be seen, but would they feed. I had drawn peg 2 close to the gate and a good area, Vic was next door on 3 with Paul on peg 1. I decided to fish the PW and pole in the margins. If I could get a few late on on the pole it could really boost my weight as the edge fish run big and hard. I started off on the PW catching 10 fish in the first hour before the wind got up and made presentation a little difficult for my inexperienced hands. Paul and Vic both persevered but it was Cotty and Gongo who were catching well. Word was Dave W was getting one a bung on the waggler and would take some beating. It was a good learning curve for me seeing these guys fishing the way they do, Paul was talking all match saying this and that and I came away having learnt a great deal. I plugged away on the waggler and when I did get it right I had a few fish, but not as many as Cotty and Paul. I managed to snag a couple of margin fish and at around 8lb each they boosted my weight to 79lb. Vic had 80lb, Del had 52lb. However winner on the day was Dave W with 163lb 3oz with Cotty second with 148lb 4oz and Gongo third with 139lb 13oz.
A few beers and a meal followed to celebrate.
Monday 29th June
Cary Lake was our home for the day and the first day of the festival proper. The festival works on two sections of 6, with the winner of each section getting 1pt down to 6pts for last on section. Payouts are based on top three places overall and two section by default winners.
I had drawn peg 94, not a good draw as it is shallow and options are limited, but I was confident of getting a few fish on the bomb and margins. I was also up against it with pegs 81 to 94 in my section. I started on the bomb pinging a few 8mm pellets fishing either an 8mm Jupiter or standard 8mm coarse pellet. After an hour I had one fish for around 12lb and with no one really catching apart from Del who had 2 fish and Dave W with one was still on for good points. A quick look at 5m saw no bites so I re-fed and have look down the left hand edge close to some lily pads. Again no bites were forthcoming. Paul was getting a few on the bomb although I was not too concerned as he was in a different section to me. Although he did tell me after the match that the five fish he caught were all foul-hooked except one. Unbelieveable. Bob and Gongo were struggling and Soupy was losing fish. I did managed to pick up another 2 fish towards the end of the match, but it was a struggle on the lake. Del had sneaked 5 fish to win the section followed by Dave W, I sneaked into 3rd pipping Soupy with Gongo 5th and Bob last.
The other section fished no better, Cotty winning the section, Paul second, Fred 3rd, Nobby 4th and Pedro 5th. Vic did not weigh but had 2lb of bits. Overall Del won the match with 48-10 Cotty second 45-03 and Paul third with 43-03.
I was happy with a third place in section. A good solid start. Del had won the match so got our kitty going, but Vic was not too happy having blanked.
Finally myself and Cotty got through the pairs knockout.
A few beers and a meal followed to celebrate.
Tuesday 30th June
Tuesday saw us on Campbell lake. I was hoping for a draw on the far bank between 129 and 123, as I had always done well from there, but around the aerator it was solid with fish. They could be seen creating dark clouds of silt where they were searching for food. I pulled out 119, end peg on the near bank and one I had not fished before. It was also the furthest peg from the aerator. I set up two margin lines to fish at 7m and 12.5 towards the corner. A bomb rod to fish to the pallet of 120 and a PW rod to fish towards the second platform. I had Paul on 118 who would fish the PW and bomb and at 5m. I started off on the bomb pinging 8mm pellets with a quick fish early on to settle the nerves, a look on the PW saw a couple of bites but no fish. A switch to 7m saw a couple of skimmers and odd tench. A look at 12.5m saw me catch a couple of small carp. But it was fraught with danger, I really had to pull to keep them out of the snags regardless of elastic. I ended up losing loads of rigs and walked away disappointed from my match. The rest of the section fished well and my 48lb would only be good enough for last in section. Not the day I was hoping for. Gongo won the section with 155-15 from 112, Paul was second with 138-01, Bob 3rd with 131-09, Dave 4th with 73-02, Soupy 5th 64-14. The other section fished similarly, Vic having 150-10, Pedro 124-03, Cotty 104-08, Nobby 83-05, Del 57-12 and Fred 43lb.
Overall Gongo was first, Vic second and Paul 3rd. So another kitty boost.
My 6pts score was not what I needed and pushed me back down the pecking order. A big disappointment and to cap it all Cotty and I were out of the pairs knockout. A few beers and a meal followed to celebrate.
Wednesday 1st July
Due to the poor form of Cary Lake we switched the match to Campbell Lake again, This time I drew 116. The previous day Soupy had 64-14 from it so that was my target weight. I decided to fish the bomb for the first hour then have a look down the edge and at 5m with corn and pellet. However, right at the last minute I decided to have a look down the edge at the start. A worthwhile experience as after ten minutes I had 20lb in the net. No more fish followed so I moved out to 5m where I had a few skimmers. A look on the bomb saw a couple more carp come but I could see fish to my left hand margin and thought it was time to have a look. Another carp followed although a smaller stamp before I looked again down the right hand side. I had another couple of fish from here before a couple of foul hooked fish stripped my elastic completely out of the pole. In hindsight I should have changed poles to my margin pole. A couple more fish on the bomb would see me end up with 94lb, so target achieved. However, yet again the aerator pegs had fished well and I had to settle for 4th in section beating Vic who had 79-14 and Bob who had 119 and 34-12. Paul had 177-5 to win the section from Gongo 146-15 and Dave 116-05. The opposite section was again similar, the aerator pegs producing fish. Nobby winning with 186-03, Del 161-08, Pedro 141-08, Fred 112-02, Soupy 90-09 and Cotty last in section 77-13.
Overall Nobby 1st Paul second and Del third so another kitty envelope. I really must start to contribute. A few beers and a meal followed to celebrate.
Thursday 2nd July
The festival takes on a different approach on the open match day at Viaduct. We take the 6 lowest drawn numbers and the 6 highest to form the sections. As we are split over two lakes it could mean being in a section on a different lake, but it is the easiest way to sort out. I had drawn peg 74 on Cary lake, in the narrow end of the lake and an area I had seen someone win from many years ago. It had an overhanging willow which stretched well over the lake. I opted to fish 12m to the edge of the tree and a bomb further out at around 20m. Starting out on the bomb I had a quick fish on the bomb line. A look at the tree saw my fortunes change, by kinder potting corn after each bite I was soon getting a couple of fish. I would only get two at a time, then have to wait but by regular feeding I managed to keep fish coming throughout the match ending up with 16 fish and a couple of tench. My total weight of 111-12 saw me record my first ton match weight on Cary. I was happy with that and as an added bonus won the lake in the open and fourth overall. I also won my section and pushed me back into contention. Unfortunately I did not take the results but Nobby had 8 fish for 100lb including one of 19lb 14oz. Vic had fared less well with 50lb. Roy, a Viaduct regular won the match from Campbell 111 with a massive 305lb. In fact the first three came from Campbell, pegs 111,118 and 124.
I was able to contribute to the kitty twice in one day, a match win in the festival and a lake win in the open.
A few beers and a meal followed to celebrate.
Friday 3rd July
Last day of the festival and the league position mean that 10 of us were still in with a shout of winning it. I needed a section win to have a chance of a top three placing and hope that one or two drop some points along the way. We were back on Campbell but with a change in sections. The aerator swims 3 on each side in one section and the other end of the lake again 3 each side away from the aerator. I was in the end away from the aerator on 129, I had Fred on 126 and Dave on 124, opposite was Del who had a realistic chance of winning the festival with a good performance today. Paul was on 116 and Cotty on 114 would also take some beating. Again I started on the bomb catching a couple of quick carp from a cloudy area of the peg just past the spit, A switch to 5m and the edge only saw a few small tench, so I concentrated on the bomb line and trying to keep the fish from moving up and down the lake. I could see people changing tactics so thought that they were not catching well on their chosen method. I just kept plugging away. I could see both Paul and Cotty changing to slapping a pole rig for good results but always felt I was in front of them. Del was catching odd fish but not getting into a rhythm. I could also hear noise from both Dave and Fred's pegs and was hopeful they were sharing fish.
Section results
Dave 189-04
Keith 163-00
Del 136-11
Cotty 122-09
Paul 97-06
Fred 60-00
Section 2
Pedro 247-14
Gongo 166-02
Bob 140-14
Vic 125-05
Nobby 105-13
Soupy 83-10
It was disappointing though to hear that my good mate Vic did his Tom Daley impersonation (again) on the last match. He told me he went under completely, this I did not believe as the margins are only 2ft deep and his belly would have stuck out of the water. Gongo managed to save his keepnets whilst he crawled up the back whilst Pedro could not stop laughing, friends. He was though in considerable pain with his hip and back and even after the drive home today you could see he was still in agony. A&E be warned.
It was all over the festival had finished. It was close back at the lodge with Gongo taking the overall title with a score of 13 points. Del on 15 points followed by 6 anglers tied on 16 points with the final frame place going to Pedro on weight difference. I ended up in 6th place and overall weight of 449-4oz. just missing out on 5th by 6lb, one fish.
I must say the festival is a great experience for someone like me, I had a great laugh, learnt loads and enjoyed great company over the course of the week.I caught a few fish, won a few quid and had a few beers. We had a laugh at each other and never a cross word. Hopefully I can make it next year. Finally I have to thank all the Yam Yams for a great week, Steve and Helen at Viaduct Fishery for a great fishery, lodges and hospitality. Also to Trevor Price from GOT Baits and Bulk Fishing Baits for supplying my 8mm and 10mm Jupiters, Gel-its and liquid additives. I know they have accounted for a lot of fish this week as everyone kept nicking them off me.
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